I thought I should finish up the last of the August fun since it is already September!
On August 18th we invited Ron Kean and his Wife Peggy and daughter Sara over for dinner. I met Ron when he came to ASU and the ASU Chamber Singers performed one of his pieces (he is a conductor and composer). I was the assistant director at the time and so I got to work with him and get to know him. Then when we moved to Bakersfield I realized that he teaches at Bakersfield College! I've had the wonderful opportunity to go in and work with his choirs. His wife teaches voice at Cal State Bakersfield and I play for some of her students. So we have been trying to have them over for some time. We really enjoyed a great dinner and hope to have them over again soon.
I've learned that getting ready for Church with two children takes a little more time than one! It's always a race to get ready before we get picked up to direct the Ward Choir. Here is another day of being ready--Lily was hungry!
Abby is so good with Lily. She wants to help change her diaper, feed, her, make her laugh, etc. But we've also had some interesting times since Lily came! Abby has acted out a lot in negative ways and I found myself wondering how to help her be a good girl. I tried rewarding her for good things, such as building this fun fort and watching a movie together.
But then an hour later I found her bedroom like this!
She emptied her drawers and her dirty clothes all over the floor. I had to wash all of it because I was not sure what was dirty and what was clean! She has also been wetting her bed at night, doing the exact opposite of whatever we say, trying to hit us, etc. One day she bit me and she's never done that before, she also crawled into Lily's crib and as she climbed out, went to the bathroom everywhere, found baby powder and you can only guess where that went--all over everything and her! What a mess!
Now, thanks to an idea from my sister, Tiff, we are working on a sticker chart where she earns stickers for doing something the first time she is asked, helping with Lily, and any other positive thing she does. She's earning a Toy story tent that comes with a sleeping bag and pillow for a long time (found it at Christmas and have been saving it!). She is so excited about the tent and is ecstatic about each sticker. I believe it is making a difference!
I've learned that getting ready for Church with two children takes a little more time than one! It's always a race to get ready before we get picked up to direct the Ward Choir. Here is another day of being ready--Lily was hungry!
Abby is so good with Lily. She wants to help change her diaper, feed, her, make her laugh, etc. But we've also had some interesting times since Lily came! Abby has acted out a lot in negative ways and I found myself wondering how to help her be a good girl. I tried rewarding her for good things, such as building this fun fort and watching a movie together. 
But then an hour later I found her bedroom like this! 
She emptied her drawers and her dirty clothes all over the floor. I had to wash all of it because I was not sure what was dirty and what was clean! She has also been wetting her bed at night, doing the exact opposite of whatever we say, trying to hit us, etc. One day she bit me and she's never done that before, she also crawled into Lily's crib and as she climbed out, went to the bathroom everywhere, found baby powder and you can only guess where that went--all over everything and her! What a mess!Now, thanks to an idea from my sister, Tiff, we are working on a sticker chart where she earns stickers for doing something the first time she is asked, helping with Lily, and any other positive thing she does. She's earning a Toy story tent that comes with a sleeping bag and pillow for a long time (found it at Christmas and have been saving it!). She is so excited about the tent and is ecstatic about each sticker. I believe it is making a difference!
