Zoo

A couple weeks ago, Jennifer and I took the kids to Noah's Ark, an animal rehabilitation center. We had a lot of fun looking at all the animals. We saw snakes, turtles, tigers, zebras, bears, monkeys and lots of birds. Bailey loved looking at the animals . . . Aiden on the other hand was more interested in the "fa-fas" (flowers). He would take one look at the animals and he just wasn't impressed, he wasn't scared or fascinated- his attitude was neutral/nonchalant. I had to tell him that there were flowers to make him walk along, he had a hard time keeping up with Bailey. It was a hot day and we did a lot of walking- a little too much walking. Aiden got very tired and cranky at the end. . . and I got a good work-out carrying Ty around the park. It was fun, but next time, we'll be sure to bring the stroller. :-)

Strawberry Pickin'

Yesterday we took a family field trip to a local Strawberry Farm. It's funny how you can live in the same city for so long (13+ years) and still discover new places. Southern Belle Farms is about 10 minutes from our house and open to the public to pick strawberries. We thought this would be fun for our fruit-loving toddler!We picked a gallon of strawberries, which didn't seem like much at first, but it turned out to be a lot! They taste really good- so fresh and yummy!

We walked around the farm and saw goats, cows, chickens, and bunnies.
Aiden holding the "how-we" bucket of strawberries. He had a blast!

Ty enjoyed the cloudy weather and nice breeze- enough to sleep the whole time. :-)

We picked for about an hour- it took that long to fill up our bucket. We will definitely enjoy our strawberries.
and we will definitely be back next year. great cheap fun for kids!

While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

Wordless Wednesday

Fun at the Park

Yesterday we enjoyed a family picnic and some fun at the park. Going with Jeff is so much easier than going by myself. and of course Aiden loves playing with his Da-Da. We had a great time!

Pot-Tee

Guess who is using the potty like a big boy? I'll give you a hint- it's not Ty! ha ha.


Here's the story of how I did it. I know this may seem odd to write about, but I want to remember A. b/c it's funny, and B. for when we have to do it with Ty in a couple years. I also think it might help those of you who are approaching the task. I honestly was clueless on how to start/what to do. Thanks to a great friend Kelsey (experienced mom of 2 boys, soon to be 3) I got a lot of advice on what do to.

We started potty training Aiden about 2 weeks ago. We decided to try one Saturday morning. We took Aiden's diaper off and let him play in the house "bare". We brought his training potty in the living room or where ever he was playing. He has sat on it many times and actually peed on it once in the past so he was familiar with it. I was constantly reminding him that if he needed to go, he should sit on the potty. After a couple hours of playing- he did it! I was so excited and "threw a party" as Kelsey suggested. He got a sucker and lots of praise. So I left him "bare" and kept reminding him. I was trying my best to watch him at all times, while taking care of Ty. Well he left my sight for about 30 seconds and I started to smell something. Sure enough, he had pooped on my carpet!!! I cleaned it up, put a diaper on him and I decided at that point, I just wasn't ready to tackle potty training right now, that it was too difficult with a 2 month old.

A couple days later (after we had put him back in diapers) I was laying him down for a nap and he kept saying potty ("pot-tee"). So I took him in the bathroom and after a few minutes, he went! Okay, that was my sign that he was interested and I should go for it. Same strategy- I let him run around with just a shirt on and kept the potty close by. He went again! I gave him a second sucker and just as soon as he finished his sucker he sat on the potty again. He forced just a little bit out and said "saaa-fur" (his word for sucker). I was reluctant to give him a third sucker but I had to give him one- I wanted him to know it was good to go on the potty. Well he got about 10 suckers in a matter of 2 hours. I thought "he is totally playing with me", but it was too new for me not to give him a sucker each time. (don't worry- I bought small suckers low in sugar). So we did that for a couple days and didn't leave the house. The potty went everywhere we went . . . even outside. :-)

Then I put "big boy undies" on him. At first he was excited about them, but then he realized they just got in the way of him using the potty. He has a hard time pulling them up and pushing them down, so he prefers not to wear them (or anything at all). We've only had 2 accidents, one at the house and one at a friends house. He does great when we go out- I'll let him go before we leave the house and he usually can hold it until we get back. Just this week, he has become interested in the real potty and is using it just fine (sitting). One time he went in the bathroom on his own, did his business (I could hear), flushed and walked out and asked for a sucker. ha ha- I just laughed! He is done with the small training potty. I'll let Daddy handle teaching him how to stand and pee when the time is right.

He sleeps in undies and has yet to have an accident at night. I bought 1 pack of pull-ups and put them on him the first couple nights and he woke up dry, so we switched. He still doesn't like wearing his undies at the house. We are working on pulling them up and pushing them down on his own.

Honestly the whole process wasn't near as hard as I expected. I thought I would have a lot more accidents to clean up. I am so proud of him and I am super excited about the money we are saving on diapers!

Who's who???

Here's a little quiz for you. Leave me a comment and guess who is who in these pics. Obviously the first 2 are from their birth and the second two are when they were about 2 months. I'll let you know in a couple days. Let's see who knows my boys best!


Pic # 1Pic # 2

Pic # 3
Pic # 4



Results: Pic 1 & 4 are Aiden, Pic 2 & 3 are Ty

Ty- 3 months

Ty is 3 months old today! It's hard to believe




Ty . . .

is so big! According to my scale he is 15 1/2 lbs! (almost double his birth weight)

loves to be looked at and talked to. Daddy does this a lot and Ty gets very upset when he quits to do something else.

is very gassy and toots very loud! What a boy!

smiles all the time! He smiles and gets excited when I go to pick him up.

is such a great sleeper at night. He goes down around 9:30-10 and usually wakes up to eat around 5:30am. 7-8 hours already!

eats constantly during the day- about every 2 hours. I don't mind though since he sleeps so well at night.

is not even trying to roll over. He's not interested in doing it, but he is bearing all his weight now.

Slip-n-Slide

Yesterday I got out the slip-n-slide for Aiden. We set it up in the back yard and he had a ball! He couldn't grasp the concept of running and sliding, so we had to give him a push down the slide. It came with a little "boogy board" and it was perfect size for him. He liked going down on his belly!

Ty watched his big brother from the shady patio. :-) He likes being outside.
sliding on his bottom- actually it was more like scooting. ha ha
well worth the $5 I spent (bought it in the winter). He loved it!
Daddy pushing him down the slide- "Ready . . . Set . . . GO!!!"

Brothers

just thought this was a cute pic, and I wanted to share. :-)

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day! The boys (with the help of their wonderful Daddy) gave me a homemade coupon organizer!! Aiden painted a picture that went on the front cover! I love it! We got to see all of our mom's and the boys saw their grandmothers + other family. It was a great day. I am so thankful to be a mother.

At church we dedicated both the boys. I put them in matching Hawaiian shirts- they looked so cute. They both behaved very well during the dedication.

Our Pastor, Paul Leslie
The boys in their matching outfits. :-)

To see more pictures of the dedication click here.

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."
- Lin Yutang

Words

We're at that point where Aiden is repeating EVERYTHING! He likes to repeat the last word in each sentence I say. He talks so much these days. Some of his favorite words are:

Yucky- which comes out "Uck-Key" He says it when he eats something he doesn't like, or when he sees a bug outside.

Yellow- his favorite color and he thinks all things are "whey-woa". Sometimes he recognizes blue as well.

Hot- he's been saying it for a long time, but he still loves to tell us when something is hot (pictures in a book, the stove, his food, etc.)

Ty- he constantly let's me know what is Ty's (diapers, cloths, etc.) and where Ty is.

boo-boo- he has scraped his knee multiple times the past month and he likes to show off his "boo-boo".

Elmo- when he wants to watch sesame street or when he sees Elmo.

Heavy- he is always trying to pick up heavy things, and move them. He moves my coffee table all the time- he really is strong, but now he says "heavy" as he's moving/lifting.

Outside- he is always asking to go outside.

Okay- this is funny! when he is scared/nervous he will reassure himself by saying "okay" as in "I'm okay". He does it when were wrestling and he goes upside down or when I turn the vacuum on.

He has picked up a few phrases too:

Here ya go- he just repeats this when I say it to him.

Thank you- which comes out "ank (long pause) youuuuuuu". And he will say it again and again until he gets the response "your welcome"

All gone- this is usually said after a meal when he eats everything on his plate. :-)

All done- when he is ready to get down from his high chair

Mowing

Have you ever seen a cuter butt than that? :-)