A new year

We rang in the new year the way we celebrate many things these days - surrounded by friends and a whole bunch of kids under the age of 5. And trust me, I'm not complaining!

We hosted (the day after we returned from MT... it was a little crazy), with the ambitious goal of getting 7 kids to sleep in our house so their parents could enjoy some adults-only fun and maybe even manage to stay up until midnight. And believe it or not, we were successful!

By 9:30, Zach (almost 3) and Sawyer (coming up on 2) were both snoring away in Zach's room. The Bergum boys, ages 4.5 and nearing 3, had some fun sharing a room before they settled down and were out like lights. Kasey (almost 2) got her own room, while the Tanious brothers were in our room... with little Carter in Scott's closet! It took 4 pack-n-plays, but we got it done.

Then we adults enjoyed some more food and a few games... Catch Phrase is always a popular one; Taboo proved to be a challenge for some at this stage of the night; and we learned that The Newlywed Game is hopelessly outdated. We did learn some interesting things about each other (sorry, what happens at our house stays at our house), but most of the questions just made us laugh. What color slips were the wives wearing under their dresses? What's a slip?

Of course, since 3 of the 6 wives are pregnant (Jenny and the "other" Liz are due a week apart in late June), the night wasn't too crazy. But most of us managed to stay awake to actually watch the ball drop, before the warm snuggly kids were carried out for the cold ride home to their own beds. I can only imagine what our neighbors were thinking as they watched our friends lug their pack-n-plays, bundled sleeping kids, and other necessary kid gear out of our house!

It was a great way to welcome 2010, and we're looking forward to all the fun and changes that the new year will bring all of us!

Photo guide (from top to bottom, left to right):

- Brady and Zach bowling in the basement

- Carter, Nolan (in back) and Kasey checking out Zach's toys

- enjoying the appetizer spread

- Nolan and Carter loving Koskie's bed, as all small kids do

- Zach and Isak playing - what else - cars

- Sawyer trying on the role of big brother by holding Carter

- more food!

While he didn't get to stay up to watch the ball drop, Zach has been ringing in the new year a different (and better) way - by continuing his progress with the old "potty train." We've graduated to pull-ups (they have Lightning McQueen on them... can't beat that), hopefully just an interim stop before we move on to the revered big boy underwear. The two reasons we went with the pull-ups rather than straight to underwear are that Zach has wavering success with staying dry over his nap, and had been having little to no success with going #2 on the toilet. Neither of these is a unique phenomenon, of course, we just need to figure out the best way to handle both and keep our guy motivated!

And what is working so far? Food as reward, of course. He's been getting all sorts of treats - cupcakes, and his favorite - m&ms - when he wakes up from his nap dry and then goes to the bathroom. And today... the lure of "lots" of those yummy colorful chocolate candies worked to get him to poop on the toilet! WHOO HOO! Hopefully we'll be heading to Target soon for the Lightning McQueen underwear he's already picked out!