I did something last night that even I thought was a little strange (and that's saying something) ... and the couple who were walking past our house were probably even more confused.

It's amazing what parents will do to bring a smile to their child's face ...

Yesterday was our beagle's fifth birthday and my husband, my 2-year-old daughter and I put on quite a party. There were birthday treats, presents, candles, and Sammy (the beagle) was serenaded with her very own, very heartfelt rendition of "Happy Birthday" by Emma (the 2-year-old).

Emma was smiles from ear-to-ear when I told her she could sing to the dog ... she was even happier when I lit the birthday candles in Sammy's food bowl, complete with Alpo turkey chunks.

As for presents ... there were Pupperoni snacks, Beggin' Strips and a nice new bone, that is now buried somewhere in her kennel.

It may have been the strangest birthday celebration I've ever participated in, but after seeing the smile on Emma's face, it was worth the confused stares from those who passed by.

So if you are like me and you are looking for a fun way to spend the weekend with your family, there are two activities in Stevens Point that fit the bill.


The Family Fun Fest will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Ben Franklin Junior High School, 2000 Polk St. The event will include a petting zoo, inflatable rides, train rides, live entertainment (with everything from martial arts to a drumming group to science and dance demonstrations) and much, much more. Children also will have a chance to get their picture taken with area mascots as well as check out construction equipment and emergency vehicles.

There also will be a variety of information booths for parents to check out (providing information on everything from dental and health care to school and church groups and everything else in between). Each booth also will feature an activity for the kids.

And the coolest thing ... there will be a giant pinata drop at 2 p.m. A crane will hoist the pinata in the air and drop it, spilling loads of goodies.

Admission to the event is $3 per person and $10 for a family. Children younger than 1 year old are admitted free. And all proceeds benefit Family Connections in Portage County, which oversees the Family Resource Centers in Stevens Point, Amherst, Junction City and Almond; and the Parent to Parent program, which matches volunteer mentors with parents of young children throughout Portage County.


On Sunday, the Rotary Club of Greater Portage County will holds its annual Heart of Wisconsin Kite Festival in the Portage County Business Park, north of Boldt Construction. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Wisconsin Kiters Club will brings kites in all shapes and sizes to fly and those who attend are invited to bring their own kites. Kite-making workshops for children will be held at the beginning of each hour.

Admission to the event is free. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase.


Do you know of any other family-friendly events taking place this weekend? If so, please let me know so I can share them with our readers.

Potty training. Those two words can cause so much anxiety for parents of toddlers.

My husband and I have been working with our 2-year-old daughter since the beginning of the year and we still have a LONG way to go.

Emma is a very smart little girl and a part of me thought in the beginning, "This should be easy. We'll sit her down on the potty, she'll get it right away and we'll be sporting panties in no time."

Not so much.

In addition to being a "very smart little girl," Emma also is a very stubborn little girl and a very independent little girl. (I've been told by my mom a time or two that she may have gotten that from me.)

When it would come time to sit on the potty, she'd refuse. She would kick and scream and stomp her feet and that was pretty much the end of the story. So I decided she may not be ready and we scaled down the mission a bit. We'd put her on in the morning when she woke up and again when she got up from her nap; and I'd ask her if she needed to use the potty throughout the day ... and we left it at that.

But in the last two weeks a miracle has occurred. No, she's not even close to wearing the cute little Elmo panties that we bought, but she will now at least try to use the potty a few times during the day (and several times at day care), and if she has to go, she goes right away.

I picked her up at day care last Friday and she had gone three times (and once in the morning at home and once more before she went to bed). There was clapping and cheering and lots of puppy and kitty stickers being hung on her "potty poster." I think I also may have offered to buy her a house. And, yes, I did a potty dance.

We still have a LONG, LONG way to go, but I'll continue to rejoice with each accomplishment.

I know there are a lot of parents out there who have survived the potty-training battle. Please share with me and other parents who may be facing the same challenge what worked best for you (and what may not have worked so well).

Thank you in advance!!!

When I started this blog one of my goals was to share information on events and activities that families can participate in -- especially those that are inexpensive.

This past weekend my husband and I took our 2-year-old daughter to the Downtown Family Fair, which was held in CenterPoint MarketPlace in Stevens Point. Several organizations and businesses teamed up to make this event possible -- including the Stevens Point Area YMCA and the Central Wisconsin Children's Museum.

I've been trying to find time to take my daughter to see the Let's Play Railway! exhibit at the Children's Museum and Saturday seemed like the perfect time. The exhibit is a giant-sized BRIO train engine, cattle wagon and caboose, and each piece includes a variety of interactive activities for children to play with.

Emma loved the train, especially the whistles and other train sounds, and even found the books interesting (although she didn't want to read them; she wanted to push them around in a little red wheelbarrow).

We spent quite a bit of time playing on the train and then she ventured across the hall to the other side of the museum to check out the grocery store and the other exhibits.

The Downtown Family Fair also had a room set up with slides and cars and tunnels, which she found to be quite entertaining. She also got to check out (and touch) some creepy crawlies (snakes, a turtle and a frog) and saw a snapping turtle in all its glory. I'm fairly certain she'd have taken them all home if we would have let her.

If you missed Saturday's Family Fair, don't fret. The Let's Play Railway! will be at the Children's Museum until May 11. For museum costs and hours, go to the Web site www.cwchildrensmuseum.org.

There also is going to be a Children's Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 19 at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids. The event will include information booths, hands-on children's activities, inflatable rides, live entertainment and the part my daughter is most looking forward to -- the chance to check out a police car, a fire truck and a school bus. And the best part -- it's all free.

So if you know of a family-friendly activity that's coming up or a venue in central Wisconsin that you think other families would enjoy, please let me know so I can spread the word. I know I'm always looking for things to do with my family and I'm sure many readers are too. You can e-mail me at jamie.jung@cwnews.net or call 715-345-2256.

So Saturday was the big day. My 2-year-old daughter finally made the move from her crib to her very own "Big Girl Bed." We knew it was coming for quite some time as her little leg edged closer and closer to the top of the crib rail as she lifted it up, usually in defiance.

I scoped out twin-size beds for weeks until we finally settled on a comfy-cozy Sealy mattress about two weeks ago. Then the Elmo comforter and sheets arrived, and I picked up the bed rail on Saturday. We finally had all the pieces and just needed to put them together.

My husband and I took apart the crib on Saturday afternoon and I definitely didn't remember all of those teeny-tiny little parts. It was hard to imagine that I put that crib together almost two and a half years ago when I was about six months pregnant. It arrived on a night when my husband had class and I was so anxious to assemble it that I did it by myself (with the help of a conveniently sized box). I remember being so anxious and excited about having a baby when I put that crib together, and here we were on Saturday taking it apart and moving onto a new stage in Emma's life — "the big girl."

Emma squealed, "My big girl bed," as we brought the mattress and box-spring up from the basement. She had to help us carry them from the kitchen to her bedroom. And she was ready to jump in even before I had the sheets on.

Despite her excitement I was still nervous about how she'd react at bedtime. However, as it arrived, Emma got in her jammies, grabbed her "kids" and climbed in. She got under her covers, laid down on her pillow and smiled from ear to ear. She was so proud and so excited (and so was I). I think she was asleep before we shut the door.

Sunday was Emma's second birthday party and at one point there were five children under the age of 4 in our living room (a niece, two nephews and our friend's daughter). It was quite a zoo, but it was so much fun to watch them all playing together.

Emma was so excited to open all of her presents. She got piles of the cutest little girl clothing (and we had to try all of them on on Monday night), a gas grill that lights up and makes a grilling sound, a Fisher-Price high chair for her many "kids," a V.Smile TV Learning System and more that I'm sure I'm forgetting.

She's not sure how to play the video game yet, but she and her little cousin certainly had a blast when they discovered the attached microphone. Her party guests were serenaded with a variety of little kids' tunes from the "Alphabet Song" and "Old McDonald" to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Little Bunny Foo Foo." Now I just need to convince her that you don't actually have to inhale the microphone in order to sing into it.

She also was ecstatic when we lit the candles on her Elmo ice cream cake and she got to blow them out. And she was all smiles as everyone sang her "Happy Birthday." She's been singing "Happy Birthday, Emma" for at least a month now to anyone who would lend an ear.

My husband and I got Emma "Sesame Street Stripes and Letters" sheets and a comforter for her "big girl bed," which is still in our basement. The rail that I'm hoping keeps her from rolling out at night came in today, so that's our project for the weekend -- assembling it and crossing our fingers that she actually wants to sleep in it.

I'm sure that will be a whole nother story ... stay tuned next week.

So today my baby turns 2. It seems like just yesterday I was lying in a hospital bed holding her for the first time and now she's eating pizza (her favorite food in the world), trying to brush her own teeth and even singing her ABCs.

When I was pregnant and after Emma was born, every parent I ran into was telling me to appreciate every minute of time with my child because they grow up so fast. I thought they were overexaggerating at least a little, but it was no lie.

Emma's always been very, VERY independent and has never been a real snuggler. Even when she was a newborn she would rather have explored the world on her blanket than be held for too long. As she got older, that never really changed. However, the past few nights she's been all into snuggling up with Mommy and Daddy. It was the greatest feeling in the world last night when Emma and I snuggled up on the floor with a blankie and, of course, yellow teddy to watch "American Idol."

Emma's been talking about her birthday for several weeks now, maybe even longer. It took me quite awhile to convince her that she was really going to be 2. (One day on our car ride home from work she was adamant that she would rather be 8.) She's also very excited that her grandmas, grandpas, aunties, uncles, cousins and friends will be coming over this weekend to celebrate. She understands the cake and presents thing this year, and is counting down the days.

I've enjoyed every minute of the last two years (OK, maybe not the tantrums and late-night wake-up calls), and while I'd like to keep her a baby forever, I'm sure there will be many more milestones and snuggling sessions to look forward to in the years to come.