Swim Lessons!

We have been taking mommy and me swim lessons at the Pulley's this summer. Teacher Libby has been teaching the little ones to float and kick:


To blow bubbles and go under the water (which the Boy still doesn't particulary care for):

To monkey walk on the side of the pool with their hands:

And to jump, of course. Here he goes off the side of the pool:

And now off the board!

There were a few days where it was pretty chilly. So the Boy went to warm up in the sun afterwards.


(Thank you, Aunt Deborah for letting us use the pool for our class and for being my stand-in photographer!)

Some Summer Fun

Enough potty training posts. Let's talk about summer. We had one day where it was actually warm enough to play in the water.
Posting baby butt pictures is a must.

This was the same warm day. The Boy said he needed to "cool off". Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Finally

A fiber drink, a cup of prune juice, and a quarter of a glycerine laxative later we have *** potty training*** success! Who knows what will happen tomorrow though.

***phrase added after April's comment on this post : )

Bad Sign or Good Sign?

...or neither? The Boy poops in his diaper when I put him down for a nap. Only now, instead of crying for me to come up there, he takes it off, folds it up, finds the wipes and tries to clean himself up. I'm thinking this is not the turn I was hoping he would take.

Potty Training: Get Used to Public Bathrooms

Seems that we are back on track. After a half day of waist down nakedness and catching the Boy in the act twice, he did fine the rest of the day. He loves his sticker chart, too.

I realized that if you want to have a life during potty training, you best get used to public bathrooms - even the ones at Wal-mart. Ew. We were shopping yesterday when the Boy said, "I need to use the big potty, please". As quickly yet safely as possible, I flew down the aisle telling him to hold it. Of course we get to the restroom and they are all occupied. We wait. He does fine. A stall opens up. Ew. I'm glad I carried wipes with me.

Ask The Man whether or not he would take the Boy to a public bathroom - say KFC. Go ahead. Ask.

Potty Training: Revised Strategy

If you're sick of hearing my potty training stories, I apologize. I'm doing this mostly for me so that I can remember it for the next child.

After eight potty accidents yesterday, some of which were very deliberate, I am yet again adapting my strategy. Today we are going birthday suit from the waist down - I couldn't tell when he was peeing in his underwear until it was too late. The Boy still tells me he needs to go, but he just doesn't want to do it in the bathroom now. After peeing on the carpet twice this morning (isn't it lovely that I just had them cleaned yesterday?), we finally had some success with him wanting to use the toilet. I've given up on the jelly beans; we are moving to stickers.

One more week. Maybe we'll have to wait another six months if he's just not ready.

Potty Training: The Set Backs

Day Three and Four: One minor pee-pee accident each day, but now the Boy poops in his underwear - which he did at a Radiology Department picnic last night.

Today: The big potty is no longer novel. It is easier to pee in your underwear. So why not do it three times in one hour? And then tell mom that you want to go back to diapers... Oh boy.

Anyone else feel like they are on their own in this?

Potty Training: Day 2

After giving up on Pull-Ups early yesterday (too much like diapers to be compatible with potty training) and enduring three accidents, we had some success yesterday afternoon when I caught him amidst accident number four and yelled, "STOP!", which he abruptly did. He was dry the rest of the day and initiating potty breaks.

Today he was dry all morning long. Sure enough, I get on the phone after his nap and he has an accident. Luckily he stopped himself half way through. The only thing I cannot get him to do is #2. He keeps doing it immediately after I put him down to sleep or when he wakes up. The good news is, he no longer likes how it feels and he takes his diaper off right afterwards. Ok that's not good from a clean up stand point, but it's progress.

First Attempt at Potty Training

Day 1: Not promising. I have learned two things: 1) I went about this the wrong way loading him up with liquids this morning to the point where he got sick of going on the potty and 2) I do not own enough big boy underwear.

Quotes from the Boy

While I was singing the Boy his lullabies at bed tonight, he rolls over, faces me and says, "I'm hot like a beast."

Last week while we were riding our bikes, The Man said to the Boy, "Mommy is fast like a mongoose." The Boy agrees, "Mommy is fast like a momgoose." And then asks, "Daddy are you fast like a dadgoose?"

Weeks ago I tell the dog she stinks. The Boy repeats after me. So I say to him, "Does Roxy stink?" He replies, "No, she STANKS!"

Fourth of July!

The Boy and I started off the day cheering on our friends Amy, Darren, and Brandon at the Town 5K. I was a little sad not to be running it this year. But the Boy got to hang out in a police car for a little bit. How cool is that for a two-year old?

All of us took a nice bike ride around the park and then headed off to the Pulley's. We are serious sissies and decided it was just a tad too chilly to swim, but the Boy enjoyed the trampoline as always...

...and the food. And the homemade ice cream. And playing in the mud with Jack's digger. Just look at that tongue.

The little guy probably would have made it to the fireworks, but his tired old parents just couldn't. Maybe next year, buddy. Thanks, Pulleys!

SNAKE!

The Man was outside with Roxy doing some yard work the other morning when he ran across a Garter snake. It was quite a large one if you ask me - probably three feet or so. And Roxy would NOT leave it alone. It finally got sick of her and slithered back into our bushes. *eek*

I later went around back with the Boy, and there was yet another one! I hate snakes. Hate them. I don't care how "docile" they are. Now I'm a little faint-hearted walking around in our yard.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband.

We celebrated him by bringing him breakfast in bed. He was also supposed to have a nice dinner and dessert, but ended up having to go into work that evening. So we ate dinner at 3:30.

I picked the menu this time - all new things. The turkey burgers turned out to be pretty yummy. But my dessert...which was supposed to look like this:


Ended up like this:

The cake completely fell apart. So I slapped the rest of the filling on there, covered it with crushed oreos, cried a little, and apologized to The Man. He didn't care of course. I feel bad that he had to go into work without a nice piece of cake. But we love and appreciate you, honey. Happy Father's Day!

We Are the Cleaver Family

The other morning I was upstairs folding laundry and both males were downstairs eating breakfast. That's when I heard The Man um...."break wind"... loudly. It was followed by one adult male giggle and then one toddler-sized giggle. I felt the need to remind The Man that we are trying to teach the Boy some manners.

Me (from upstairs in my best "don't you have something to say" tone): Daddy?!

The Man: Excuuuuuuuuuuse meeeeeeee! *giggles*

The Boy: *more giggles*

I just had to shake my head and laugh. We are so classy.

New Room! - Almost

We still have some minor things to do on the attic - the window, the door, and a little trim in one spot. But the room is finished enough that we can and did move everything back in to reclaim our bedroom. I wanted to snap a "finished" picture before that, though. So when you see the final product, just imagine the window is done, too. Thank you.

Before:

The wall I built up and dry walled myself (I had to boast):

The new room:

I am amazed at how nice the floors turned out. The Man did a great job on everything. Thanks, honey! What do you think?

Bee Update

Just a few days after they arrived, the bees in my tree decided to move on. Thank goodness. They left behind a little something, though.

The Man brought it in and put it on the mantle. The next day I noticed a few drippings under it. He was brave enough to verify that it was honey - I was not.

I cannot believe how many bees were attached to this thing. I am so glad they left on their own. Rest easy, naturists.

We Love Our Firemen

I stopped by one of the city fire departments the other day, but it was temporarily relocated due to construction. So today I went into my local station just to ask where it had moved. Not only did I get that information, but the Boy got the grand tour.

Firefighter Mark (in the middle) let him "drive" the big engine and even turned the lights on for him. After that, he wanted to give the Boy a hat, but did not have any available at that station. So they sent another fireman (eek, I think his name is Bill - he's on the left) off to a different site to get one. Instead of having me wait, they brought it to my house! Firefighter Alan personally delivered it.
Thank you, guys! You made both our days.

Happy Birthday to The Man

The Man turned thirty-two this week. He got breakfast in bed, a shopping trip (tripS, actually), a steak dinner, and a personal chocolate orange tart from Goodness Cakes - which was oh so good.
I also got him some balloons. Of course these ended up being more fun for the Boy and Roxy than for The Man.

Those two wore themselves out playing that night.

Biting.
Chasing.
Happy Birthday, honey. I'm sorry this post ended up with more pictures of the dog on it than of you. I hope you enjoyed everything else at least. We love you!

Bees in my Trees

Any ideas on how to take care of this? Go ahead and click on the picture. Get a real good look.

Big Boy Bed

Yep. We took the plunge yesterday. I came back from a Saturday morning activity and The Man had turned the crib into a bed.

So far, so good. The Boy doesn't have any issues with it..............yet.

Arkansas

Well you all should have bet against me. I did not finish the room before the Man got back or before I had to leave for Arkansas.

I took the Boy down for a few days to see the fam. We stayed with Aunt Jo Jo and Guncle. Of course I didn't take a camera, but we had a great time. The Boy was absolutely perfect the entire way down and back.

We miss our family and we can hardly wait to see them again.

(Room project still in progress, but getting close thanks to all the work The Man did while we were out of town. I'll post pictures when it's all finished.)

Room Update

Alright...let me quell any rumors for ya. I am not pregnant. Do I talk about it enough to make people to wander? Probably. Will the room be a small, second nursery? Hopefully. Will it be used for that within 9 months? Definitely not. I just want to be prepared when number two finally comes along.

Now, on to what I've learned trying to finish this room by myself.

1. Circular saws are a little scary.
2. Make sure you watch the blade until it has come to a complete stop.
3. Watch the cord attached to the saw so that it does not get in the way of said spinning blade.
4. Elecrtical tape works on power tool cords.
5. Jig saws, unlike circular saws, are fun.
6. Shop vacs should have a filter in them when using the "dry" setting.
7. My quilt is machine washable.
8. Wear a mask when sanding off spackle.
9. Dry spackle turns wet inside your nose after inhaling it.
10. The overhead lights we installed are really hot to the touch.
11. The male workers at home improvement stores are very willing to help you.
12. They assume you know nothing.
13. This is more work than I thought, but I still managed to dry wall the most difficult portion of the room.

I can't wait for this to be finished.

Grandpa!

Grandpa Jim came to visit us this week. The Boy loved Grandpa - he was the best toy ever. And he came with books! Although Grandpa did MUCH more with the Boy than read, I didn't take my camera along for the fish hatchery at Powder Mills Park or the Butterfly Garden at the museum.
The other thing Grandpa did was help us finish our attic space. This is what it looked like when he and The Man started:

This is where we are now (yay, lights!)

Unfortunately, Grandpa had to go back home and The Man had to travel, too. But we would have never gotten even this far without Jim. We'll miss you, Grandpa. Thank you!

Should we take bets on whether or not I can finish this room by myself before The Man gets back?

Backseat Driver

The Boy now understands that a red light means stop, a green light means go, and a yellow light means slow down (or as he says, swooooooo doooooown). Unfortunately, he does not know that there are exceptions to the red light means stop rule.

Yesterday I was driving as he kept his running commentary of what color the light ahead was and what that means. When I went to make a right at a red light, he yelled from the back "stop....Stop...STOP! Red means stop!"

Oh joy. A backseat driver.

Happy Easter

The Boy enjoyed hunting for eggs much more this year.

It is deceivingly warm-looking outside. The temperature was actually forty degrees.

So we pushed through the hunting and hurried back inside for the candy eating. The Boy has a deal with lining things up lately. It almost brings tears of joy to my slightly obsessive, organizing, symmetry-needing eyes.

Here we decided to let the Boy try one of these:
Extreme Sour Warhead

Is is wrong to do things like this to your child purely for your own enjoyment?

Even The Man had a hard time with this one.

Happy Easter everyone!