S11.E03: He Peed! He Peed!

[Libby]

I hope that I set this up properly. This is what my DVR said.

Edited October 3, 2017 by raven
corrected formatting

[ginger90]

The description:

Its back to everyday life in Houston where Bill and Jen keep busy with the kids' after school activities while balancing their own careers; Uncle Joe visits so that he and Bill can test their special pee pad invention.

[Kohola3]

Zoey is freaking adorable.  Period.

[farmgal4]

14 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Zoey is freaking adorable.  Period.

Do they feature a lot of Zoey tonight?  If not, I'm not watching.

[Kohola3]

3 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

Do they feature a lot of Zoey tonight?  If not, I'm not watching.

Both of the kids.  She cracks me up with some of the stuff she says. She's a bright one!

[farmgal4]

Just now, Kohola3 said:

Both of the kids.  She cracks me up with some of the stuff she says. She's a bright one!

Thank you for the info!  She's exceptionally bright, maybe even brilliant.  I wonder if Jen and Bill have had her tested yet? (IQ, reading level, etc.)  

[Emmeline]

Both Bill and Jen and Zoey and Will are so blessed to have found each other.  The kids could not possibly be in better hands.  

[BitterApple]

I really enjoyed watching Zoe's speech therapy. The woman who works with her seems really nice.

I also think it's so sweet how the kids get so excited whenever a family member visits. Bill's brother was adorable with Zoe.

I like the normal, everyday life episodes much better than trip episodes.

[dorcastrilling]

9 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Zoey is freaking adorable.  Period.

Agreed. 

[Ina123]

Yay, Rocky!

More of home life, please.

[AZChristian]

I agree with those who liked the "normal life" episode better than the travel stuff.  We were shown some of the real challenges faced by little people (from how Jen finds those wonderful clothes, to Zoe's speech therapy, to Will's improved physicality from the karate).  If I want to watch people jet-setting all over the place, I'd watch the Kartrashians (which I don't).  

It was a pleasant surprise to see Chloe Dao as Jen's designer.  Chloe won season two of "Project Runway" - back when the show was about fashion and not drama.  

And Bill's pee pad with a built-in "hydrant" was awesome.  Our dog was a female, so it never occurred to me that a male dog wouldn't do as well with a flat pad.  

More of this stuff, please, TLC!!!

[Jellybeans]

I haven’t watched the episode yet but.. the travel episode last week is part of their normal life isn’t it?  By that I mean Jen travels for work and wants to take her kids with her... like I did when my kids were younger.  It is a pain in the butt to travel with kids but I took them anyway.

Anyway, look forward to the new episode!  

[Evagirl]

I have watched this show from the beginning and really feel vested in this family.  Surgeries, the struggle to have a child of their own, adoptions, cancer - it has not been an easy ride.

I look at Zoey now and am just amazed at how far she has come.  When we first met her, she was a cowering little toddler, not knowing what's going on, not understanding the language, and being taken away from the only home she's known by complete strangers.  She was also terrified of Bill.  She cried a lot.

Now, two years later, this little beauty has just blossomed!  She is so smart.  When asked what her favorite animal was, she said "zebra" and then she added that Will's favorite animal was "nothing".  Too cute!

Will seemed to have more easily embraced his new life.  He was a little older than Zoey I think and he LOVED to eat.  Once they started giving him whatever he wanted to eat, he was sold on his new family!

I love seeing Bill interactions with his brother.  Bill has no problem stepping into the big brother role.  It's so obvious that the kids love their Uncle Joe.

I'm so glad Bill, Jenn, and the kids are back on TV.  I missed them.

[flyingdi]

I love how all the men are scared of Jen.

"Throw me up, Uncle Joe!"

"Is your mom around?"

 

I loved how Zoey just would not stop saying "Great Job, Rock!"

It was so cute.

[Bellalisa]

This dog normally pees on everything in the house? 

I wonder why they expect him to pee on this pad. I would have taken it outside.  Usually when they first get outside they pee on something right away. 

They had it in the bedroom?  Why not the garage? I don't get it.

Male dogs "mark" in the sense that their bladder is not full, they don't really have to go but they pee or mark on a spot to show other dogs and the world they were there. A dog normally doesn't mark in his own home- unless another dog shows up, and not the dog they normally live with. It's strange that after all these years Rocky would be marking all over their house. Or when they go out they know he is going to pee inside? Terrible!

Edited October 4, 2017 by Bellalisa

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I loved Rocky “rising” to the occasion, great idea and I hope it continues to work!  I am not sure why Bill said when they moved to Houston they had no where to walk him?  What about the sidewalks and lots of green grass at their home and in other shows we have seen them walking the dogs so that puzzled me.

Zoey is doing very well and I loved the explanation about why speech therapy is necessary and the details of what she specifically needs.  She is doing well at talking that is for sure!

The more I see of Will the more I see him as a toddler still, squealing and running around In excitement, while it is cute, it is not cute for a 7 year old.  He takes over the karate session running around and playing with that friggin belt which shows he has little comprehension of karate and the outfit even after so many sessions.  Seems like a wasted session for the other kids with cameras and Will being Will.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, Foghorn Leghorn said:

 

The more I see of Will the more I see him as a toddler still, squealing and running around In excitement, while it is cute, it is not cute for a 7 year old.  

I noticed that as well. It's pretty obvious how far behind Will is developmentally just by watching him in a class with kids his own age. He has poor impulse control and doesn't listen unless an adult is on top of him making him focus. The constant screeching and running all over the place is something you'd expect from a kid four years younger. I think Zoe seems to be catching up much more quickly. 

Edited October 4, 2017 by BitterApple

[ehall1052]

I loved the normal home life too. The kids were so much better behaved. My oldest son son was like that, too. Well behaved at home or school, but take him somewhere special, he'd turn into this monster child I didn't even know! One time he was so bad when we went to Disney World that, if it wasn't illegal and I would have been put in jail, I wanted to leave him there. Let Mickey deal with the tantrum!

[Absolom]

2 hours ago, Foghorn Leghorn said:

 I am not sure why Bill said when they moved to Houston they had no where to walk him?  What about the sidewalks and lots of green grass at their home and in other shows we have seen them walking the dogs so that puzzled me.

Could it have been because when they first moved to Houston they were living in an apartment?  It was on the smaller side and I believe in a fairly large building.

[sATL]

Bill & his brother is the first to develop , patent & copyright  pee pad for male dogs? I.m not a dog owner but it seems like the issue would have been noticed & solved when the pads were invented. 

I missed the first 10 minutes. .why were they in Houston and not FL? 

Edited October 4, 2017 by sATL

[ellenr33]

I just love how happy they are. I think there is so much love in this house!

[PradaKitty]

THey hadn't moved yet.

[Jellybeans]

I got the impression Rocky pees near the pee pad but misses.  Male dogs like to pee on something...I think male pee pads are a great idea.

Loved this episode.  Zoey’s speech therapy was fun to see.  I am deaf and speech therapy was never fun when I was a kid.  It has come a long ways!  Glad they are utilizing games.  

Love Jen’s style-  her two dresses, wowzie.  

[sATL]

2 hours ago, PradaKitty said:

THey hadn't moved yet.

?? - so they are airing shows backwards? like another TLC show that airs a 2 hr wedding special then 2 mths later premires how the couple met/dated/engaged/prepped for wedding ?

Edited October 4, 2017 by sATL

[PradaKitty]

It appears so...

I also liked seeing the speech therapy. I has speech therapy as a child to correct a lisp. I found it amusing that this therapist has a slight lisp.  That said, I love the way she engaged Zoey.

[Jellybeans]

16 minutes ago, sATL said:

?? - so they are airing shows backwards? like another TLC show that airs a 2 hr wedding special then 2 mths later premires how the couple met/dated/engaged/prepped for wedding ?

I am not sure but I think they were showing one episode out of order because of the hurricanes in both Texas and Florida.  Just a guess.

[sATL]

4 minutes ago, Jellybeans said:

I am not sure but I think they were showing one episode out of order because of the hurricanes in both Texas and Florida.  Just a guess.

ok. I'm really hoping TLC didn't think we needed another backwards-in-time show . networks have a  success on doing something new , they want to do it all the time

[Emmeline]

5 hours ago, ehall1052 said:

I loved the normal home life too. The kids were so much better behaved. My oldest son son was like that, too. Well behaved at home or school, but take him somewhere special, he'd turn into this monster child I didn't even know! One time he was so bad when we went to Disney World that, if it wasn't illegal and I would have been put in jail, I wanted to leave him there. Let Mickey deal with the tantrum!

Thanks EHALL1052 for your refreshing honest answer.  After all the negative comments over the kids behavior in the UK episodes.   It’s nice to hear someone admit their kid/kids weren’t perfectly behaved 24/7.  I know mine weren’t.

[birkenstock]

I think that the show has a wonky timeline because of the prolonged hiatus.  The Scotland/London episode was taped 18 months ago and then, I think, this week's episode was filmed months later.  It's weird, but I'm going off of Will's front teeth.  He had recently lost those teeth in the overseas episodes, adult teeth were partially in during this week's taping, and then adult teeth fully in during the hurricane episode. 

I don't think TLC initially intended to go back in time like they're doing in a never ending cycle with the Duggars.  The hurricane episode threw off continuity, but it makes sense because Hurricanes Harvey and Irene were personally relevant to the family and they wanted to promote viewer donations. 

[BitterApple]

I think the Hurricane Harvey episode was a one-off. They had to air it while the disaster was still fresh on everyone's minds, even if it messed up the continuity for the season. 

I'm thinking everything will go in order from here on out.

[floridamom]

Will acts more like a 3 year old to me. He's no where near 7  years old. He also reacts strangely to any food offered him....like he's starving or something.  I hope he doesn't have a weight issue later in life because of it.

[Absolom]

Ratings were up a bit: 1.451 M viewers and a .25 rating.  7 Little Johnstons had fewer viewers but also a .25.

[mythoughtis]

This was more like it. The kids were doing age appropriate activities.  Zoey has come a long way. I know that girls act more mature than boys, but Zoey  is two years younger than Will. She acts older than him.  On the other hand, Will was a year older than Zoey when he got the tubes in his ears(Bill said so in this episode).  Not sure if that matters in terms of his maturity level. For example, the screams at karate class.  It’s possible that Will is not acting his age because he’s not getting treated  his age. My son was always big and tall for his age - people always thought he was older than he was. Maybe people are doing the opposite with Will. 

[Libby]

I know that Will is probably picking it up at school, but I don't care for the burping. People burp, but it's obvious that Will is doing it on purpose and thinks that it's cool. I'm not surprised that Bill is letting this behavior slide. He acts like a big kid that needs a lesson in manners himself. I am surprised that Jen isn't doing more to nip this burping thing in the bud. She didn't seem to seriously try to teach him the manners associated with burping at high tea or at the breakfast table before school.

[Love2dance]

5 hours ago, Emmeline said:

Thanks EHALL1052 for your refreshing honest answer.  After all the negative comments over the kids behavior in the UK episodes.   It’s nice to hear someone admit their kid/kids weren’t perfectly behaved 24/7.  I know mine weren’t.

I don’t think the problem was that the kids were misbehaving.  All children will try to misbehave, especially when tired or bored. The problem was Bill and Jen were not consistent in stopping the behavior, and there were no consequences for defying the adults. 

[camom]

Quote

I know that Will is probably picking it up at school, but I don't care for the burping. 

That's one of the very few things he does that is typical of a 6 or 7 year old boy.  Otherwise, he acts much, much younger than he really is.

Nitpick -- the speech therapist was teaching Zoey "Can I have a pen?"  instead of "May I have a pen?"  It's just as easy to teach proper grammar, but once they've learned it incorrectly it's harder to fix.

[Me from ME]

Quote

Nitpick -- the speech therapist was teaching Zoey "Can I have a pen?"  instead of "May I have a pen?"  It's just as easy to teach proper grammar

Agreed. And, while we are on the subject of minor nits that get on my nerves. And I am looking at YOU, Martha Stewart, who popularized the incorrect notion of "high tea".  The ultra sophisticated repast with silver teapot, finger sandwiches, petit fours,  scones, jam, and clotted cream is in the afternoon and is referred to as "afternoon tea".  It is usually taken while sitting in an upholstered chair from low tables. Food and tea is served by waitstaff or hostess. And usually music is playing.

High tea on the other hand refers to the height of the table and a modest light evening meal. Although tea is included it usually consists of salad, boiled egg, simple sandwiches and something like boiled pudding for dessert. Unfortunately most cruise lines serve afternoon tea in the dining room which cements the incorrect notion of tea in most people's minds. However, some cruise lines, Cunard for example, offer a proper afternoon tea served by white gloved stewards and accompanied by a harpist. If one doesn't feel comfortable balancing the plates and cups on one's knees then a "children's tea" is offered in the buffet area.

I am surprised that Jen hasn't learned the difference. She is usually mindful of the traditions of other cultures than her own. I am sure she has glanced at a book of etiquette over the years. It's true that their tea was served at a restaurant table but the tea strainers and china service was indicative of afternoon tea.

[booboopbedoo]

11 hours ago, floridamom said:

Will acts more like a 3 year old to me. He's no where near 7  years old. He also reacts strangely to any food offered him....like he's starving or something.  I hope he doesn't have a weight issue later in life because of it.

If I remember when they first got him they said he was starved in the orphanage?

[Ina123]

7 hours ago, camom said:

 It's just as easy to teach proper grammar, but once they've learned it incorrectly it's harder to fix.

Agreed.

Now if we could just get everyone to understand "Jack and me" is perfectly correct when it relates to "us" and it's "Jack and I" when it relates to "we".

This is my big grammar pet peeve and I'm becoming more and more annoyed by it. Soon we will have grammarians who throw their hands in the air and give up only to claim it is now acceptable.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Will is behind and this is likely due to his being starved as an infant before being taken in by the orphanage. He has come a long way.  Will follows the leader and if the leader is a bad influence and does things like burping and farting then Will will do it too and it is clear this is already happening at his school. Will is likely a target and he has already said he was called a baby.  Unfortunately Will doesn’t understand right from wrong at his level of age 7.  He shouldn’t be following the leader and that includes following Bill who is not helping or guiding Will.     

[BW Manilowe]

23 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I agree with those who liked the "normal life" episode better than the travel stuff.  We were shown some of the real challenges faced by little people (from how Jen finds those wonderful clothes, to Zoe's speech therapy, to Will's improved physicality from the karate).  If I want to watch people jet-setting all over the place, I'd watch the Kartrashians (which I don't).  

It was a pleasant surprise to see Chloe Dao as Jen's designer.  Chloe won season two of "Project Runway" - back when the show was about fashion and not drama.

And Bill's pee pad with a built-in "hydrant" was awesome.  Our dog was a female, so it never occurred to me that a male dog wouldn't do as well with a flat pad.  

More of this stuff, please, TLC!!!

Chloe Dao's been designing things for Jen for awhile now. She has a boutique/storefront in Houston. A few seasons ago, Bill surprised Jen by having Chloe secretly design a dress for Jen to wear when they renewed their wedding vows as part of this kinda big anniversary party they had at a hotel in Galveston; Chloe was in that episode & then at the Galveston hotel on the day of the party, to make sure Jen's custom dress fit before the vow renewal ceremony. But Chloe had been designing for Jen even before that.

[AZChristian]

29 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

Chloe Dao's been designing things for Jen for awhile now. She has a boutique/storefront in Houston. A few seasons ago, Bill surprised Jen by having Chloe secretly design a dress for Jen to wear when they renewed their wedding vows as part of this kinda big anniversary party they had at a hotel in Galveston; Chloe was in that episode & then at the Galveston hotel on the day of the party, to make sure Jen's custom dress fit before the vow renewal ceremony. But Chloe had been designing for Jen even before that.

I haven't watched the show for the past several seasons, and am just getting back into it.  This is interesting info on Chloe and Jen.  Thanks!

[BW Manilowe]

3 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I haven't watched the show for the past several seasons, and am just getting back into it.  This is interesting info on Chloe and Jen.  Thanks!

You're welcome. Bill said, in the ep where he commissioned Chloe to do Jen's anniversary/vow renewal dress, that Chloe had done some other things for Jen already, before that, so she had Jen's measurements (which would make it easier for the dress to be a surprise). All Bill had to do was pick a color & style for the dress he thought Jen would like & would be appropriate for the event.

[RedheadZombie]

On October 4, 2017 at 0:54 PM, Absolom said:

Could it have been because when they first moved to Houston they were living in an apartment?  It was on the smaller side and I believe in a fairly large building.

Maybe, but they have more than enough money for a dog walker to come several times a day. 

[RedheadZombie]

17 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

This was more like it. The kids were doing age appropriate activities.  Zoey has come a long way. I know that girls act more mature than boys, but Zoey  is two years younger than Will. She acts older than him.  On the other hand, Will was a year older than Zoey when he got the tubes in his ears(Bill said so in this episode).  Not sure if that matters in terms of his maturity level. For example, the screams at karate class.  It’s possible that Will is not acting his age because he’s not getting treated  his age. My son was always big and tall for his age - people always thought he was older than he was. Maybe people are doing the opposite with Will. 

Zoey could easily run circles around Will and be the leader.  I think it's sweet that she hasn't done that. She likes to follow his lead when he runs off to cause trouble.  I like their relationship as there doesn't seem to be much jealousy or rivalry.  

And I agree that Will is treated much younger than his age.  Whether there is a cause and effect I don't know. 

Edited October 5, 2017 by RedheadZombie
Words.

[RedheadZombie]

7 hours ago, booboopbedoo said:

If I remember when they first got him they said he was starved in the orphanage?

Will looked normal weight at adoption to me. Zoey was clearly underweight.  China is known to give good nurturing care to the orphans they adopt out.  The rest of the orphans are more hidden away and neglected.  Although Will was little, he was also the all important male.  I imagine if he were female he would have been sent to a more neglectful place. 

7 hours ago, Ina123 said:

Agreed.

Now if we could just get everyone to understand "Jack and me" is perfectly correct when it relates to "us" and it's "Jack and I" when it relates to "we".

This is my big grammar pet peeve and I'm becoming more and more annoyed by it. Soon we will have grammarians who throw their hands in the air and give up only to claim it is now acceptable.

I think it's already happening.  I hear the wrong usage on scripted TV all the time.   In fact it happened last night on Criminal Minds.  I brilliant and highly educated agent used her instead of she.  It really threw me even though I'm getting used to it.   I try not to judge those who may have had a poor education, but a script writer should know basic grammar. 

[floridamom]

What sticks in my craw is when people say 'so fun'...it should be 'so MUCH fun'. Another pet peeve is : "ON accident"..as it should be "BY accident". Why can't American born people speak English correctly?

Wasn't it in karate class that Will was called a baby? I think it was because of the way he was behaving, not his height that brought on that comment.

[Me from ME]

Quote

 I like their relationship as there doesn't seem to be much jealousy or rivalry.  

Maybe not on Zoey's part but I do think that Will is cognizant of the attention she receives and doesn't much like it. For example we saw him hitting her with some kind of object at her Princess birthday party while she was talking to the Ice Princess.

 

Back to grammar.  Ina123 was too well mannered to mention the abominations that are in the form of "Me and Jack" or, "Jack and myself".  The latter for those who don't really know but think they are playing it safe and sounding especially well educated.

[gunderda]

19 hours ago, floridamom said:

Will acts more like a 3 year old to me. He's no where near 7  years old. He also reacts strangely to any food offered him....like he's starving or something.  I hope he doesn't have a weight issue later in life because of it.

That's common when a child lives in a orphanage and is then adopted.  My cousin adopted her son and she sent out an email with some guidelines about how to act around him in family gatherings.  One rule was that no one was allowed to give him any food if he asked for it.  He was only suppose to ask his parents. Because they didn't have much food in the orphanage he would try to get as much as he could when he was out of that situation. And it also taught him who his parents were.  Taught maybe isn't the best word but he was at the age where he thought he could get new parents whenever he wanted.   

[SMama]

My daughter’s Social Welfare Institute (what they are called in China, as elderly sometimes reside as well) did not get the memo about proper nutrition.  At 16months old she was surviving on 3 eight ounce bottles of formula a day. She could not walk because her legs could not hold her 12 pound frame.