Potty Training

When we told Henry that we were going to start potty training, this is what he did.

No, seriously. The kid was NOT interested in the potty. We had one of those little ones, you know, the kind that was separate from the actual toilet. I think it scared him. We hoped he would like it when we brought it home a YEAR AGO. It was something we thought he might come around to. He didn't.

Before this last weekend, this was the extent of his interest in the bathroom-

That said, we think we tried every way we could to make this work. We made him sit on the potty every hour. We made him walk around without clothes on (now you know why I need new carpets...), we tried bribes, we tried punishment. Nothing worked.

So last weekend we spent 3 days at home. THREE DAYS. We didn't do anything. We pooped. We peed. On the potty. Every 10-15 minutes. By the end of the day he looked at me and said, "I don't have to poop mom, okay?" And by the end of the second day he was exhausted. By the end of the third day? He was telling us when he needed to go to the bathroom.

POTTY. TRAINED. I have some pictures, but in an effort to keep my kid in my good graces, I won't post them. He is playing with a train and wearing a bow in his hair. What? It was what he wanted that day. It was a good day anyway.

New Bedding

Since Lizzie is getting to the point where she likes to move around (read, crawl) in her crib, we are thinking it might be time to nix the bumper we have in her crib. We LOVE the one we have in there now, but honestly? They can be very dangerous to babies.

So we are looking at this buying a breathable bumper. I actually found one at BRUS that has a PRINT! It would still match her room, and would make me feel better about her being in there. At the same time, is it worth the $30 if we end up removing it in a couple months anyway?

Thoughts?

House Updates

Am I the only one who has a list of things they want to update at their house?

My house is new. As in, built in 2006. We moved in and painted every surface, replaced all the kitchen and bathroom counters. Put in new sinks, new floors, new blinds, a deck. You know, the essentials.

But I still have a list of things I want done here. I KNOW they aren't adding much value to my house- we are already over improved. And although we love our little house, we know that it isn't a house we can live in forever. It is too small for any more kids, it is in a bad school district, we want to live in an older, more established neighborhood WITH TREES, we want a place with some character that needs some fixing- something we can really make our own, a place our kids remember fondly when they grow up.

So here is what is on our list:

Update downstairs bathroom- almost done- need to replace the light
Paint front door- done
New house numbers
Install custom shelves in family room- half done- thank you baby!
Paint garage floors
New sinks in all bathrooms- done
New light in eat in kitchen
Replace carpet in family room
Trees planted on side of house
Update wooden spindles in kitchen and dining room
Carpet to the basement
Drywall basement
Carpet in at least half of basement

And that is just things we have talked about this month. I am sure that about half of these won't happen before we move someday....but it is good to have a list, a goal, something we know we want to spend our money on...

Pumpkin Patch

Better late than never, right? We took the kids up to Rock Creek Farms in Broomfield. It was crazy! I have never in my life seen so many pumpkins. Seriously. Henry loved running in the fields.

We took Nana, Papa and GG. Good day.



Henry picking a pumpkin.... he brought home 10.

Nope, not drinking... just loving the pumpkins.

Daddy and his girl.

GG and her girl!

Papa and Henry

Henry loves cotton candy.

Pretty sure we won't be getting a good family photo for years.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

We start them early

We play strong republican cards in our house. We don't care what our kids decide when they grow up... as long as they find the right to vote important.....

Both our kids were born in voting years. This year? Liz voted. She liked it. Her candidate lost. But she was pretty happy that day all the same.

Henry voted his first year too. He candidate lost and he cried.

Love that we have photos of both with their stickers. Maybe one day we can use these when they run for office.

Etsy...

Here are some things I am loving from this site today....

Slippers for Henry.....

This amazing wool coat, for ME

This diaper bag (since I don't carry a purse)

This necklace... with my kids initials. I have another one I love....

These longies for lizzie to wear over her diapers. Cute for Christmas!

all photos from www.etsy.com

Go Wyo

Henry.... likes Wyoming. He liked football and those cowboys....

And now? Well, Liz likes them too. Good girl.

Baby Food

When Henry was born one of the things I wanted to do as a STAY AT HOME MOM, was to make all his baby food. I mean, I was at home all day, it was the least I could do. Plus, you have read the benefits, right? It is full of vitamins and cheaper, plus there are no preservatives and I am keeping the plastic out of landfills. You get it.

Well, when it was all said and done, there were about 5 things that I made regularly for Henry. Squash, bananas, pumpkin and applesauce. Wait, that is 4 things, and he HATED the bananas. So pretty much, I gave up. And you know what? Henry is a picky eater. He doesn't like many veggies, and the fruits he does eat are random- one day he likes them, the next he doesn't. Maybe this isn't about the fact that I fed him jarred baby food. Maybe it was the fact that when he didn't like something we gave in and let him have something else. Who knows.

With Liz we (ok, I) really wanted to try and make as much as we could. We waited until she was 6 months old to start any kind of solid- we figured she wasn't ready at 4 months and didn't want to push it. We started with some organic jarred foods- I wanted to see what she liked (and really, what liked her). Once we had a better idea we got started.

We use a Beaba- it makes it so easy to steam then puree any food. That said, I don't think it makes the food as smooth as Lizzie likes. And it is only good at making small batches. So we switched it up to the large steamer and food processer. We now have a freezer full of food that lizzie loves.

A quick sample of what we have:

- mango/banana
- mango/sweet potato
- sweet potato/ banana
- brocolli/pear
- chicken/cauliflower
- peas/carrots
- peas/apples
- apples/chicken

Here's hoping we can keep this up.....

My kids

A quick update on Henry and Lizzie. This is for my one reader.... and my mom :)

Henry:

- Started MDO this fall, he LOVES it. There are 8 boys and 2 girls. He wants to go everyday. Looks like next fall will be 3 day a week preschool!

- Is POTTY TRAINED. This is the best news ever. Seriously, B and I had a mini party to celebrate.

- May or may not be using some choice words he has heard mommy use. Bad bad news. I won't tell you what ones they are, but I will say, they are not ones I hope he uses while at church.

- Loves, loves, loves his sister. It is awesome. He crawls in her crib after her naps (and sometimes during her nap) to play. It melts my heart.

Lizzie:

- is army crawling

- is still cloth diapered. 8 months- wasn't sure we would make it. But still love it.

- is eating EVERYTHING. I make all her food so she has some pretty great mixtures (post to come, I am obsessed)

- waves at us (oh lord, this is the cutest thing, ever)

And because they are cute......