The Runaway Potty Train

So last week Caden had a little diaper situation (that I should feel guilty as his mom to admit), he wore a dirty diaper a little too long and caused a little pain for the young lad.  I explained to him that if he starts using the potty more regularly this wouldn't happen anymore.
Well, that was all the motivation he needed.  The next day he put on a Pull-Up, he gave me a little demonstration on how they worked and said, "see, easy on, easy off" and then proceeded to potty train himself.  We've now had 3 days accident free.  Although we haven't had any accidents we have had some "mishaps."  Poor kid has fallen in the toilet twice now!
When we worked on potty training Ethan it was so different, definitely parent directed.  This time it is all Caden directed...meaning that sometimes I don't even know he has used the potty...meaning that while I am nursing a baby he comes running into the room naked and informs me that he needs to wash his finger that touched poop in the potty...meaning that using the toilet is such a new fun game that it takes 15 minutes to read one story on account of 3 potty breaks...meaning that I'm feeling exhausted chasing him around the house all day to make sure his little buns are properly covered.
So yes I am thrilled my 2 year old just potty trained himself, but will be even more thrilled when he learns a little bathroom ettiquette.  For now I will just enjoy the loud exclamations of, "I poop-ed (2 syllables) and pee-ed (also 2 syllables) on the potty...and try not to go off the rails of this crazy train!

And just for fun, a few potty trained pirates for your enjoyment.  These phone pictures taken at Target kind of capture perfectly the constant imaginings of these little boys of mine these days!  

Caden saying..."Arrrrgh matey."  

Our 3 Month Old

Sorry to all of the other 3 month old babies out there but I think our little Quinn takes the cuteness cake.  At 3 months he is so interested in his brothers and what is going on around him.  He is interacting more and more with us and it is just too fun!

Really, who could resist those baby blues?!

Things He Loves:
Getting attention.  He will give the biggest, heart melting smiles anytime someone talks to him or smiles at him.  He is starting to laugh more, Grammy was the best at getting laughs out of him.  His laughs are more like guffaws than giggles.

He has started to tell us big stories.  He usually gets into it so much he chokes on his own saliva.

This is the look we get when he starts to get excited, ready to tell us a story.

Snuggling next to his momma to sleep.
Getting his diaper changed, he just grins every time we put him down to change him.

New Discoveries:
He's discovered his feet, especially if they have cute little faces on the toes of his jammies.
He has rolled over a few times, but doesn't do it regularly.
When he is in pain instead of crying he screams, and it sounds an awful lot like the high pitched screeching raptors from Jurassic Park.
He has started to grab at toys and put them in his mouth.

He gives big heart melting smiles anytime we talk to him or smile at him.    He is starting to laugh more, Grammy was the best at getting laughs out of him.  His laughs are more like loud guffaws than giggles.  He loves to tell big stories, usually choking on his own saliva as he gets into it so much.  

There is nothing like a happy baby!!!

Spring Slim Down Challenge Week 3

This week I earned 88 points again, all but 1 for a night of bad sleep.  I lost 1.2 lbs., and 3.25 inches.  Considering the busyness of last week I'm feeling pretty good about my numbers.  Time to kick it up a notch for next week.

The group goal for this week is to have fresh produce at every meal.  This is my favorite group challenge yet.

Spring Slim Down Challenge Week 2

This week I earned 88 points (all but 1 point...yesterday I only got 6 hrs. 40 mins. of sleep because Ethan woke up early).  Everyone says losing weight is easy math, calories in/calories out.  According to the "math" this week I should have lost 4 lbs., but in reality I only lost .8 lbs. but still some how lost 9.25 inches?!  How does that work?!

I'm proud of my points though, not eating after dinner all week was tough, it is such a habit for us to have a snack after the boys are in bed.  I also got 445 mins. of exercise in this week, so that is good too.  Next week's group challenge is no carbonated drinks, and no sugary drinks (including fruit juice).

The Valentine Matrix Mystery

Last night after the boys were in bed I made a maze of yarn around the house for the boys to follow to find their Valentines.  I tried to keep a clear path from their bedroom to the bathroom in case they had to get up in the night.  I also made sure to warn Clark that he would have to jump over to strings on his way out the door in the morning.
At midnight I heard little feet coming up the stairs, and then Ethan yelling, "what is all this rope?"  Clark got him a drink and put him back to bed and assured him the rope was okay and he'd find out about it in the morning.
This morning Ethan ran into my room, "Mom, there is a mystery, there is string all over the house."  Once Caden woke up they found the starting point with their names to solve the "mystery."

They followed their strings until they found their little Valentine gifts.  Caden kept yelling, "oh my goodness."  After they found the gifts I heard lots of, "I wuv it, I wuv it, this is my best present ever," from Ethan.

And now my cutest little Valentine of the day in all of his pre-nap sleepy glory!

Cute little outfit compliments of Grammy.

Don't let his face fool you...He loves this holiday!

And then I got the sweetest, most sentimental, heart felt Valentine from Clark this morning in my inbox:

And if you knew Clark, you would know how much this really means!!!

Our Valentine's Day is off to a great start!  Hope you have a LOVEly day too!

Preschool Valentine Fun

We had preschool at our house this week.  We learned "I" and "J" and had Valentine's fun.

We made fun Valentine Heart guys to hold our valentines.

So excited to see what is inside!

"I" is for igloo.

When the preschool is at our house Ethan gets to say the prayer and lead the Pledge of Allegiance.  It was pretty sweet this week because he let Caden do it for him so he could have a turn.  Caden was pretty proud to hold the flag, it was pretty cute.

Let's Go To The Hop

Last Friday there was a 50's Valentine's Day dance at the church.  At the last minute we almost didn't get to go (Clark was on call)...but then we did and it was so much fun!  We got to do some swing dancing, and some line dancing.  It was such a fun date!
And we looked really good!

Afterwards we went with some friends to Applebee's for half-price appetizers.  We discovered that on Friday night they do BINGO too!  So fun!  BINGO and dancing all in one night, it was almost more than I could handle.

There was also a hula hoop competition.  Clark was A.mazing!  Who knew?  I think he ended up taking 3rd, only to lose to the dance instructor.  He went for a over a minute and a half.  I think at :25 you can see my friend Megan who was pretty amazing hula hooping with her neck, I'm pretty sure she still has a headache from that.

All in all a great night.  We really need to go dancing and dating more often!

Spring Slim Down Challenge - Week 1

So week one is done of my fitness/weight loss challenge.  I worked hard and earned every little point this week!  To get my last 5 exercise points I ended up finishing doing my 60 mins. of exercise at 10:35 last night, I was so tired but I had to get those points.

I was nervous to weigh in and do my measurements this morning, I was afraid that it wouldn't show on the scale...but I lost 3.8 lbs. and 8.75 inches!
Boo-yah!

And now week 2 starts today, the group challenge is no eating after dinner, yikes!

Super Bowl

We had a little Super Bowl gathering last night with yummy food and good friends.  I think the boys were a little disappointed when they realized we were watching football and not playing football.    

The night before I asked Ethan which team he was cheering for and he said, "the robins."  We laughed and told him the team was the Ravens.  So then he decided he was cheering for "the raisins."  Love it.