Spring Is In THE Air!!

Spring has sprung! We have been embracing it- playing outside, having picnics for most meals, playing outside, marveling at all the flowers, playing outside, riding bikes, playing outside- you get the picture! It's been fantastic!!

Flowers from our yard- I am SO thankful for the previous owner's need to plant millions of bulbs ALL around the house!

We visited some friends who had just had a baby- we provided the food for a cook-out and the big kids played- what fun!

Addie has mastered a great skill- pumping her swing all by herself- woo-hoo!! Alden has mastered swinging on his belly!

Riding bikes- they love it!

Addie is fascinated with the flowers- that they just came up and we didn't have to plant or water them- and I think the fact that they are alive intrigues her the most- I kill all plants, even plastic ones!

Alden keeps us laughing with his antics- blue socks, black Crocs, striped shirt, no pants, and green tub on his head- and his peals of laughter bouncing all over the house!

Life is good!

School Pics

Addie got some adorable pics taken at school....

She was one of the only kids in her class to actually hold the bunny- even though it looks like it's doing something else....


And here's is her class! These will be Alden's teachers next year- and the class genders are going to be totally flipped- only 3 girls and 7 boys!

Potty Training Update

It's been, well, interesting, to say the least! I would like to say that it's been easy- but I know that once I say that, it will get bad, so I'm not saying it. It hasn't been horrible, either. My house doesn't reak with carpet cleaner (and we only have 2 rooms with carpet anyways!). Alden LOVES being without a diaper. But.... he won't get off the potty! He is perfectly content to sit on it ALL DAY LONG! Good thing my in-laws bought the expensive potty with the cushy seat! When I make him get off the potty, which I do, mean Mommy that I am, he says about every 2 seconds "Pee Pee! Pee Pee!" After making him play for awhile, I'll relent and let him back on his Throne.

He is so funny- when he does have "success"- he gets this smug look on his face and refuses to let loose the big smile I know he's hiding inside. He just gets all gruff and acts like it's not a big deal. When I sing and dance, I get the "Whose Mom are YOU?" look and often a deep sigh (and this from a 2.5 yr old!!). When we went to Wal-Mart to buy his Good-Job toy, he did show excitement- and actually told the clerk "Choo-choo, pee-pee potty!"- which, thank goodness, the clerk fully understood and wasn't offended by....

For those of you who want numbers- he's only had 1 full accident and it isn't a true accident since it is really 2- half accidents- a half accident is when he started to pee, stopped himself before even making a dribble onto the floor, and then making it to the potty to finish. I know, he doesn't spend much time OFF the potty TO have accidents, but we are making progress- only diapers he has worn are to bed for naps and for his "big nap" (nighttime). He did wear a diaper when we went to Wal-Mart because I'm just not ready to trust him yet- I have approximately 5 seconds from "PEE-PEE" to actual pee-pee, and those aren't odds I really want to deal with at Wal-Mart.

So there you have it, he's doing great and I'm super proud!

Potty Time!

**WARNING!! Lots of Potty Talk***

Alden has been showing signs that he is ready to loose the diapers. Today, after looking my schedule and realizing that with a little tweaking, we could be home all week, I decided to Take The Leap. We have been talking about potty-training for awhile with Alden and he "gets it" mentally.... When we told him this morning that he was going to wear his new Big Boy Underpants, he was SO excited- he started jumping up and down!!

We started off the morning with drinking some juice, sitting on the little potty, and watching some Disney.


God must wire boys this way- Addie has never once tried to put her underpants on her head....



Success!!!!! Enjoying his reward- some chocolate ice cream! Once he experienced this, he would not leave the potty- he wanted to drink and sit! Smart kiddo....


It had been raining but there was a break, so I took the kids outside to play. He is still, totally, 100% dedicated to this potty thing- He wouldn't leave the potty but was ready in case he decided to! And yes, I have some pants for him, they are just off to the side!

1/2 through Day 1- 3.5 successes and .5 accident (started, realized it, stopped and then made it to the potty). We will see how he does after his naps, but I am pretty darn proud of him!!

Fun Times

We have been embracing the warmer temps and the fact that there is SO much to do around here!

Alden showing off his hat and his "ready-set-go" pose.


Addie, it turns out, LOVES the balance beam- wonder if I should look into gymnastics for her?


Here a game that these 2 LOVE- they gather up ALL the pillows in the house, dump them into the pack-n-play. One of them "hides" in the pillows while the other one comes to find them. Their squeals of delight just warm my heart! And for those of you who know me and my desire to have everything in it's place- when they are done, they DO put all the pillows back in their proper places!


Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you- they are cleaning the bathroom! They LOVE to do this- and often fight over who gets to do what. It is beautiful - it really is! I know it won't last forever- so I am doing my best to take full advantage of it!

Addie loves to "read" to her brother- her interpretations are typically a hoot- the standard plot with some funny details added. Alden is typically a happy follower- as you can see here!

Hannah came and spent a few days with us- here she is following Addie and Alden's obsession of eating with chopsticks- thank you Addie for sharing yours with her! It was so much fun to have Hannah around- they all played together so nicely!

No, this isn't me, but after taking Addie's pigtails out, her hair was flipped out, just like my hair often in! Addie thought it was just hilarious that she had Mommy-Hair!

Life is just great- I am so appreciative that the Lord has blessed us with such great friends, jobs, kids, weather, etc. My cup runneth over!!

Faith

It has been cold, snowy (it actually snowed last night!) and just plain stay-inside-weather for what seems like ages. In an act of faith that Spring WILL come, the weather WILL get warm, and we WILL see green grass again- I took the kids to have their Easter Pictures taken. When I called to schedule the appointment, I was told to come any time- they were wide open with appointments! If you have ever been to Portrait Innovations, you know that this is a rarity- so I seized the chance! The kids were perfect- making my job pure torture to choose just one pose. I persevered and here is the winner. I know I'm a bit biased (ok, a whole LOT biased, but hey, they are my kids!)- but I think they are pretty darn sweet!!

If you build it, they will come!

The grandparents were very generous and bought the kids a playground- we just had to put it together.... After reading multiple reviews, we choose a playground- and it then it went on sale- whoooo-hooo!

Here they are- we didn't even need to assemble it for them to enjoy it!


Helping Al label all the pieces



A blank canvas....


Helping Daddy by bringing him the pieces he needed!

Helping more!!

Trying out the tree-house- it passed with flying colors!!

The favorite part- the swings!!

The slides Maiden Voyage!!

A HUGE hit, the bench swing!!

The almost-finished product- the "hole" off this side is where the monkey bars were supposed to go- we opted to not put them up, but Al put up some wood to make it safe.

It has been played on a TON despite the cold weather- thank you MarMars and PopPops!!