she speaks

Love Bug said her first word today. "Bye". It was precious and so clear. If you say it to her, she will say it back. And on top of that, she now waves. And not like most babies where they are closing and opening their hand backwards to themselves...no, she waves her hand side to side like a big girl.

Love Bug, this is your mother. Stop it! You are becoming a big girl way too quickly.

the student becomes the teacher

The Mayor: me go potty

Me: you did! I'm so proud of you

The Mayor: yes, me go potty. Now it's mommy's turn. Mommy you go potty

Me: oh, you want mommy to go potty

The Mayor: yes, mommy go potty. Mommy do NOT go in your underwear

It was so beautiful outside today. It would have been criminal to not have spent the afternoon outside. The Mayor ran up and down the hill from the front yard to the back yard, pulled Love Bug in the wagon, pushed Love Bug around in her car, played baseball and golf. Then Bennett arrived for the slumber party and the fun really started. The Mayor enjoyed pulling Bennett and Love Bug up and down the street in the wagon before dinner. After dinner was playtime in the playroom then bath time. We put all 3 kids into our jacuzzi tub...the idea was a lot better in my mind. The kids were so tired that they were so not interested in the bath. Bennett and Love Bug took turns crying and then The Mayor got upset when we quickly bathed the babies and took them out of the tub. We got everybody in their PJs, gave Bennett his milk and Love Bug her bottle and all 3 were asleep by 7:08. They were worn out. Fingers crossed they stay asleep until morning.

doing a u-turn

The brakes have been slammed and we have been thrown in reverse...today was not a great day in the potty training arena. Three accidents. Life is a constant up and down roller coaster so why would potty training a 3 year old be any different?

Meega and Bennett came over this morning to hang out and play and then my friend Wendy and her kids Emersyn and Landon came over. Emmy and The Mayor are a few months apart and Love Bug and Landon are a few months apart too. And they are cute, cute, cute playing together. Especially Emmy and The Mayor. They sat together on the couch to watch an episode of "Thomas" and each took turns laying their head on the other's shoulder and that led to a tickle fight where they just cracked up with laughter. When it was time for them to leave, The Mayor leaned in and kissed her. His first little girlfriend. It was so cute and when he went in for kiss number two, she pushed him away. They both laughed and then spent the next 10 minutes kissing and pushing each other. Oh, young love.

Tomorrow will be an outdoors day. The weather is going to be sunny and almost 60. Bennett is coming over tomorrow night for a spend the night party. We are looking forward to the cousins playing together.

hello corner, we have finally rounded you

Today was beyond a great day. I spent all morning with my sweet Love Bug and then had an impromptu shopping and playdate with Bennett and Meega. Those alone would have made today a great day. But the icing on top of the cake was The Mayor had no accidents today. He made it through the entire day in one pair of underwear. And that includes car rides to and from school, 4 hours in school, playing all day, going to the mall and doing a little shopping, sitting through dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and the ride home. Not one accident. Awesome.

Tomorrow promises to be just as great. We have a playdate scheduled in the morning with some really fun friends and then hello, it's Friday. What's not great about Friday and the start of the weekend? A weekend where the highs will be almost 60 and the sun will be shining. Can't wait.

even superheroes need a bathroom break

Man, I feel like all I blog about is the bathroom...but such is life and this is the stage we are in.

Meega informed me that The Mayor was going to kill me when he was older for taking these pictures...and he probably will. But I will just tell him pictures of you on the potty are totally appropriate when you are 3. And when he is old enough to know that I blog (and read it) and be embarrassed that this is what I blogged about, no one is even going to remember that this is what I wrote. So we will be all good.

I have a head cold that I just can't shake so today was declared PJ day. Not like I really needed to be sick to claim a PJ day, but it does take away all of the guilt that could come with being lazy. We bounced around from room to room, floor to floor playing all day today. Surprisingly enough, the day flew by and went pretty smoothly.

Tomorrow is a school day for The Mayor so I am looking forward to some girl time with my Love Bug. And then I am really looking forward to this weekend. Sunny and 58. YES! We will be outside A LOT this weekend. Need to soak up this spring type weather before we have another cold snap.

i'm gonna get you

number two

Warning: this blog entry is about poop...The Mayor's poop. Not graphic but you have been warned :)

The Mayor pooped in the potty today!!! For weeks we have been trying to get him to poop in the potty and he wouldn't. He would either go in his pull-up, his nighttime diaper or his underwear. For weeks we have had a container of playdoh and playdoh cutters and accessories on the counter as a bribe. We tell him if he poops in the potty he can get this bucket. At least once a day he tries to outsmart us by saying because he peed in the potty he gets the bucket...oh no, no, no my friend. To get the bucket, you've got to poop. And do it in the potty.

He spent the better part of the afternoon in only a shirt. He had a little accident in his underwear and I thought it would just be easier to leave him naked from the waist down. Plus, he hadn't pooped today so I thought now was as a good a time as any. I knew he had to go, he kept doing his potty dance but since he had just peed, I knew it was the other. I kept asking him if he had to go and he would say yes and we would go off to the bathroom. And then nothing. Except the request for the playdoh (he is persistent). I would tell him no, you have to poop in the potty and then you get the playdoh. Four other trips in 10 minutes resulted in nothing. I kept encouraging him, washing his hands and then sending him on his way. Two minutes later he bolted out of his playroom and said "I've got to go poopie!" while his legs were literally crossed. We ran to the bathroom and sure enough...he did it! And then he cried...not tears of joy but tears of fear. But once I kissed him and told him how proud of him I was, the tears went away. We washed up and went to retrieve our reward...and some underwear.

The rest of the afternoon he sat at the kitchen table and played with his playdough. And if he wasn't fast asleep, I am pretty sure he would still be sitting there.

so proud!

flashlight fun

Our new playroom in the basement has no windows, so when the lights are off it is pitch-black dark. The Mayor is currently infatuated with playing with flashlights (or flashmights as he says) so D and The Mayor locked themselves in the playroom and played with the flashlights. The Mayor had a blast putting the light on the walls, the ceilings, playing with his toys and every once in awhile blinding his father by flashing the light in his eyes. Once Love Bug was done with her breakfast, we went downstairs and joined in on the fun. They each had their own flashlight and D and I just sat back and watched. They were so cute. Love Bug kept putting her flashlight in her mouth and we just cracked up seeing her little mouth glowing. This entertained them for the better part of an hour...I love this age, entertaining them is so cheap and easy.

I just got back from the grocery store and now we are watching football. Taco night is tonight and then early bedtimes for everyone. It's been a great, low-key weekend.

D and I had more fun then the kids...it was awesome capturing these pictures while D moved the flashlight around

"L" for Love Bug

"M" for The Mayor

the cutest hiney in the world

I am not a huge fan of wording or graphics on the buttocks of a female unless she is still in a diaper. And since Love Bug is definitely still in diapers, having something on that sweet tush is just precious. Here she is sporting her "my first valentine's day" outfit.

When we weren't playing, we were organizing. And when I say "we" I mean D. Today he hung up the wire rack organizer I bought last weekend to hang on the inside of the pantry door. As listed in the instructions, if hanging the rack on a hollow door (which our pantry door is) you need to purchase hollow door anchors. D went to Ace Hardware and purchased said hollow door anchors and went to hanging the rack. He got about half way through installation when one of the hollow door anchors went through the door. Since the door is hollow, the anchor is now living at the bottom of the inside of the door. So D had to ghetto rig the rack to hang on the door. Let's just say, if we ever move from this house, we will be replacing the pantry door. But until that day, I am going to love having that rack. All of the cans are now housed in this rack on the door and every time I go into the pantry, I smile. I love how organized it is.

D and I are now enjoying the quiet of the house and are going to watch a movie we just rented. I love the weekends!

The Mayor "cleaning" while D gets ready to install the wire rack

Love Bug mimicking her daddy

all smiles

the planning begins

Less than two months away from Love Bug's first birthday and the planning has begun. Too be honest, I have been looking online for decorations and invitations probably for the past 4 months but today was the first day I actually purchased something. The invitations have been ordered and next will be the decorations, her party hat and an outfit for Love Bug. I love planning a party for my kids...can't wait to celebrate the first year of her life and the many, many, many more years to come.

I already have the cake pans. I will be using the same cake pans I used for The Mayor's first birthday turtle cake. The shape of the ladybug will be the same as the turtle, but the way I ice it will obviously be different. That is a huge load off since I know how to make that cake and don't have to worry about a practice cake (yes, I am that anal).

Today was a school day for The Mayor so Love Bug and Bennett played while Meega and I decided on an invitation and took pictures of Love Bug for the invite. The invite will hold 5 pictures so I chose a newborn picture of Love Bug, a 3 month old picture, a picture when she was almost 6 months and one from when she was about 8 months. Then I chose one from today. I did something similar for The Mayor's first birthday invite...I love seeing how much they have changed in their first year of life.

The countdown begins...

one of the adorable outtakes

*the picture at the beginning is the one that made the cut and will be on the invite...isn't she deliciously precious?! not that I'm biased or anything...

impromptu

The best part about my sister living 3 miles down the street is the impromptu play dates and visits that occur. It is awesome waking up in the morning with no plans and hours later having all 3 kids in one room playing together. The kids love playing together and Meega and I get some much needed adult conversation.

Today was a school day for The Mayor. Thank goodness!! I mean I miss him terribly when he is gone, but unlike public school, we don't make up these missed snow days and we don't get our tuition reimbursed. So it was nice having him go to school and seeing our money being put to use.

With The Mayor in school that left the morning with me and my girl. It was so nice being able to run errands and come home and play with her. I love the one-on-one time we get to have together.

Tomorrow is registration for next year's preschool. The Mayor will be going 3 days next year. When did my baby become so big?

dance party

We celebrated the three day weekend today with a dance party. D and I had downloaded some new workout songs through iTunes and The Mayor wanted to listen in...so we cranked up the music and danced around the basement. Because sometimes it is just awesome to dance for no reason...

After the dance party we had a tickle fight. D would tickle Love Bug which inevitably meant The Mayor needed to be tickled...can't do to one if you don't do to the other. Listening to the two of them crack up and feed off of each other's laughter did my heart good. It is really sweet to watch them interact with each other. They are such little buddies.

Both kids had baths tonight (Love Bug was desperate for one, she had hotdog in her hair from lunch and banana in her hair from dinner) and they were asleep before 7:00. That's a good day.

tough life

D taught Love Bug how to drink from a straw

dancing around the room

tickle fight

hotdog/banana hair

it's almost gone...

...the ice or my sanity? A little of both. D went back to work today and considering we have been cooped up in this house all week long unable to go somewhere, you would think we would have been painting this town red since the roads were mostly passable today. But we didn't go anywhere. With the exception of a quick errand where we met a friend to give her Love Bug's jumper and to the gas station to fill up, we didn't leave the 4 walls of this house.

This weekend is a 3 day weekend (seriously, we are beyond spoiled with D being here. He has been home almost every day since before Christmas - we are going to be in a serious depression next week) and we don't really have any plans. Getting my butt into the gym tomorrow (since I am such a slack on this 100 day challenge...gotta kick it into gear), hanging with some great friends tomorrow night and I am sure at some point this weekend we will wonder aimlessly around some shopping facility to kill some time and to get out of this house. Man, I am really looking forward to spring when the temps are in the 60s, the flowers are starting to bloom and the sun is shining. Can't wait to load the kids up in the jogging stroller and go for walks and get some fresh air. I usually love winter but this week of being iced in has given me my fill...until next year.

"working"

this girl l-o-v-e-s bath time...she used to hate it - she would cry when we bathed her but now she cries when bath time is over. She tries to climb into the bath every night while we bathe The Mayor so now we just put her in and let her play

the mind of a 3 year old

Day 4 of hanging in the basement and The Mayor created a new game...yoga run. The Mayor took our yoga mats, laid them on the floor and then ran back and forth on the mats...cracking up the entire time. Then he wanted D and me to join in on the fun. "Come on momma, come on dada", so D and I followed behind The Mayor running back and forth on the yoga mats. Not sure why or how this game was created but it provided The Mayor with tons of entertainment.

Considering we have not been in our car and left this house since Sunday, I am surprisingly not about to climb the walls. And I know it has to do with D being home. Having him here all week has definitely helped. He will be here tomorrow and Monday is a holiday so worst case scenario, I will be with the kids alone one day this week. Not too shabby.

And a huge apology to my daughter. All this snow and I totally bypassed mentioning her 10 month birthday 2 days ago. It did not go unnoticed but it did go unmentioned in the blog. Sweet girl is changing so much. She now pulls up without batting an eye. She even takes some steps now while holding on...today she went from one end of the couch to the other while holding on to the cushions. She is learning how to sign "more". The sign is both hands having a semi-flattened 'o' shape and taping the fingers. Her interpretation is taking her right hand and waving it above her head. To her that means more and we understand it. The girl is inventive. She is completely off baby food now. She much prefers table food and I can't deprive her. She is eating table food much faster than her brother ever did...but that is my fault. I was too nervous to let him eat anything that wasn't pureed until he had some teeth. She has 2 bottom teeth and would eat a steak if I put it in front of her. Amazing how things change once you have a 2nd child. Suddenly you realize they won't choke just by looking at a piece of food.

Our county went ahead and canceled school for the rest of the week, so The Mayor will miss both days of preschool this week. He hasn't noticed and I'm not complaining. It has been an awesome week with all 4 of us here together. And we chose a great week to get serious with the potty training since D has been here and both of us have been able to tag team the training. He now tells us when he has to go and he hasn't been in a diaper in 3 days (except when he is sleeping at night). He may be able to handle big boy underwear when he does finally go to school next Tuesday...here's hoping!

yoga run

loves to stand

the Love Bug pose...she loves to tilt her head to the side

snow jam 2011

When the weatherman predicted snow this week I was confident we would get some but just thought it would impact us for a day. Nobody thought it would be like this. Just about everything is still closed, including all of the malls. Luckily Publix was open today, so we bundled up and walked to the grocery store. We were all getting a touch of cabin fever and needed a field trip but more importantly, Love Bug was down to 4 diapers. Thank goodness Publix was open!

The city is going to be practically shut down again tomorrow. Every county has canceled school and D will be working from home again. The snow is still here but it is the ice that is causing the issue. We have about 2 inches of ice in our neighborhood, and sections of the major highways are so bad here that they have been shut down with miles worth of tractor trailers and cars stranded. Some of those cars have been there for over 24 hours! And with temperatures staying below freezing (the lows tonight are in the teens) the slush will refreeze and the ice already here ain't going anywhere.

We decided not to put the kids in the stroller for our venture out to the grocery store, so we bundled Love Bug up and D wore her in the Baby Bjorn and we let The Mayor walk. What is normally a 5 minute walk took almost 20 minutes because we had to walk through 6 inches of snow and The Mayor had to stop every few feet to pick up some fresh snow and eat it. Because of the longer walk, he ended up peeing in his big boy pants but did pee in the potty at Publix twice! Other than that, we had no accidents today. He is really getting good at knowing when he has to go...we didn't have to set the timer at all today to remind him to go.

Because we let The Mayor walk to Publix and walk home, he was worn out. He actually stopped walking at one point and told me he was tired. About 20 minutes after we were home, I found him laying on D's shoulder sound asleep. We let him sleep for about 30 minutes and then spent about another 15 minutes waking him up. He was out. Even with Love Bug poking him in the face, he still was sacked out. Gotta love the snow.

one tired boy

wake up brother!

she is such a girl...she loves her baby dolls

so big!

white calm

At 6:19 this morning, D heard The Mayor talking to himself in his bedroom. He heard The Mayor make his way to his window, pull the shade and heard him say "wow" as he laid his eyes on the fresh, fallen snow. I couldn't describe it better myself.

There is nothing more beautiful to me in nature then the white calm that is a fresh snow. The stillness and silence that comes from snow. Almost as if sound is just muffled and absorbed in the white stuff. It is so peaceful.

Luckily The Mayor went back to sleep until 9AM and a few minutes after he was awake for good, he and D were bundled up and enjoying the snow. About 20 minutes later, they were back inside where The Mayor requested some hot cocoa. After he enjoyed his hot cocoa and Love Bug finished breakfast, we all bundled back up to play a bit more in the snow. The freezing rain had already started, and in an effort to keep the kids from being pelted in the face by the rain, we put them in the wagon to try and protect them. We went on a small walk just taking in the calm and still of our street and then each made a snow angel in the yard (except Love Bug, she just watched) before heading back inside for good. With a windchill in the teens and freezing rain, it was just too cold to be able to enjoy the snow.

We spent the rest of the day playing in the basement and working on potty training. And I am thrilled to report that The Mayor wore the same pair of underwear all day long...no accidents! I am really so proud of how far he has come in the past few days. With school canceled tomorrow and D's boss telling them to work from home, it will be another great potty training day here. It is so much easier when both D and I are here.

I'm really just relieved The Mayor won't be starting college in pull-ups.

eager to get out there and play in the snow

enjoying his hot cocoa after his first trip outside

getting bundled up

D making his snow angel

me and my snow angel

D helping The Mayor with his snow angel

The Mayor's snow angel