3 Day Potty Training: Take 2!

So, this summer I had found this 3 day potty training approach that I thought looked great!  We tried it out in mid July and Ayden was not ready!  (check back in my blog posts if interested) We tried all three days and it was very intense but by the end we had to put the potty away and wait a little while...

So here we are 5 months later!  We started potty training on Monday and here on Friday I can say we are mostly potty trained!!!!  Monday we had 5 accidents (3 poops and 2 wet).  Tuesday we had 2 accidents (1 poop and 1 wet but finished both times in the potty).  Wednesday we only had 1 accident finishing in the potty.  Thursday 1 accident.  That night we went out for dinner and to the mall all night and he checked out every potty he could and did great!  No accidents out in public and one successful trip to the potty!!!  Friday 1 accident (poopy) and I ventured out to Kohl's by myself and no accident there!  We were at a friends house and he ran in the other room and came running back out saying "I go potty!  It a big one!" and it was but it was in his pants... Shoot!

So, we need to work on AJ telling us before he poops but as far as peeing I can say I am pretty sure we have it!  He will either go sit down and try if we ask him or else he will tell us before he goes.  I can see such a big difference from this summer!!!  This summer he had 10 accidents before nap on day 1!  We didn't even go potty 10 times on day 1 this time!  I think he really has control of it and I can feel pretty confident that after he goes potty he will be good for atleast an hour!

There is no going back to diapers now!  We do put him in a pull up for naps and bedtime but I will say he has woken up dry from his naps 3 of the 5 days!  I am just so proud of him!!!  This has really gone very smoothly!  I would recommend this method to anyone that is looking for a quick approach to potty training that is centered around your child and is very positive!  If you are check out www.3daypottytraining.com

I can testify to trying this when AJ was not ready and sticking it out for 3 long days then trying it again when he was!  This is a great approach and I will use it again when it comes time for Ahnie to be potty trained!  The only down fall is having to stay home for 3 day straight.  To working mom's you would either have to take a day off or do it during a break from work.  But it is so worth it!!!!  I have never wanted potty training to take a long extended amount of time!

New Christmas Tradition!

I just love Christmas time because it is time to do things again that we have not been able to do for a year and we also get to come up with new things we want to add to our Christmas memories!  This year I will say I did feel like I was trying to add to much and got caught up in the little traditions and forgot to remember my kids are young and we don't always have the time I would like.  Now, looking back I wish I would have taken a breath and enjoyed some quiet this Christmas season to take it all in!

But, our newest tradition that did help me to take a breath and remember what the Christmas season is all about and to enjoy it thought the eyes of little ones was to wrap up 24 Christmas books and let Ayden and Ahnie (mostly AJ) open one book a day.  I was so amazed at what all this quick simple thing added to our lives in the month leading up to Christmas!  At first Ayden was excited to see all these wrapped gift for him and his sister!  He kept asking if he could open it now!  This opened it up to talking about waiting and how advent was all about waiting for the birth of Jesus!  Then as we opened each book, some being about Santa, some about gingerbread men and some being about the first christmas story we were able to talk about what Christmas really means.  AJ started to realize that each gift was going to be another book but was still excited each day when I got home from work to see what the new one was going to be!  Some he loved, some were board books for his sister and some were a little too long and might be better next year but every day before nap we took a little time to cuddle and read a new christmas story!  And since Christmas AJ has found a book he wanted to read before nap!  Something I always ment to do before naps and just seemed to forget more than I care to admit!  After 24 days of this it is not a routine that needs to happen :)

My favorite memory from this christmas time was this....

AJ was quietly watching a commercial that had a little boy dressed up like Santa and giving a present to his mom.  He looked at me when the commercial was over and this was our conversation...

AJ:  "Mom, Santa come to my house and bring me presents?"  (We had fun with Santa this year but really didn't go into the whole bringing AJ gifts thing...So this idea had never come up before...

Me:  "Why do you think Santa brings presents?

AJ:  After a long pause...  "Umm because those guys go visit baby Jesus and bringed him presents?"

Me:  Okay that sounds good!

I was blown away that he could make the connection between Santa bringing gifts to the 3 Wise Men bringing Jesus gifts!  I know this was because of all the books we had read and talked about the gifts that Jesus received. 

Lastly another funny comment by AJ.  We had my family christmas the week before Christmas and I wrapped all the presents while he was asleep the night before we were going to be going out of town.  When Ayden woke up that morning he came out and started yelling "Jesus Comed!  Jesus Comed!!"   

Dis My Christmas Present?!

Yesterday morning, while I was at work and Brett was home with the kids he was doing some laundry and came up to find Ayden holding on to his Christmas presents very excited!  He looked at Brett and said "Dis my christmas present?!"  Brett quickly said maybe and went and to re-hide them.

I guess like father like son...Brett used to always look for his presents (I did too here or there following my brothers but I think Brett might have most christmases).  Fail by this mommy!  I had them hid but not very well and I didn't think at 2 he would look for them...  We have 2 weeks for him to forget what he saw :)

This video is from the beginning of November.  This night I was trying to get dinner made and it was one of the first days of wrestling practice so I was by myself with the kids.  Ahnie was not happy so I told Ayden to play peek a boo with her.  He did it a few times and she went from screaming to giggling for the first time ever!  I told him to keep playing with her and I ran to get the camera.  I think this may be the first actual 'first' I have gotten on video for either of my kids!  Still to this day Ayden can get her to giggle at almost any time and he doesn't have to try very hard.  I just love when he makes her giggle and now they are really starting to play together on their own!  I just love it!!!  I think I could listen to this video all day long!  I just love the sound of first giggles!!

Bye Bye Binky

On Friday, Ayden and I were talking about how we were going to have to throw away his binky soon because he was getting to be such a big boy!  This is a conversation we have been having for atleast a month with no excitement about it!  We were telling him that we were going to pick out a toy and when he threw it away then he could have that toy.  This was exciting but he never really went through with it.

So, back to Friday.  Well I was talking to him about it and then I said and after you give up your binky you can get your big boy bed!  He has been in a toddler bed for a year and I just don't think it is very comfortable for him anymore.  He looked at me and said "I want my big boy bed!" and I said well you need to throw away your binky first.  He took out his binky and said "Ok, I throw it away".  Being very surprised I was a little nervous but I thought we should go with it!  I opened the gate to the kitchen and sure enough he threw it away!  We looked at it and I told him it was yucky now and we couldn't use it again.  He looked at me and said "yeah, yucky!"  Then we went on with our afternoon.

When it started to get close to bed time and we were on our way home from our friends house this is our conversation:
AJ: "Mommy, I NEED my binky."
Me: "Remember we threw it in the garbage"
AJ:  "My football binky yucky, I want my baseball binky"
Me: (In my head was thinking shoot!) "I don't know where you baseball binky is... (I really didn't at the time)

Then we had a melt down!!!  And it continued as we got our jammies on and while we rested and finally for 45 minutes in bed!  He would sit at the door and knock while yelling "MOM! I NEED MY BINKY!!"

He woke up on Saturday at 6:15 and wanted his binky.  We didn't give in and he stayed awake then.  Nap time came and asked again for it!  I didn't give in and neither did he!  He did not nap until brett got home at 3:30 and finally got him to calm down.

Sunday, he woke up at 5:30!!!  I was not happy!!  Still did not give in and he never went back to sleep. I decided to feed him lunch at 10:30 before church and I drove around after church until he fell asleep.  This worked great and we finally took a nap!  Then bed time was not bad.  He went to sleep pretty quickly.

Monday he finally slept in till 7.  But would not take a nap!!  We decided to go to the store and pick out his new sheets for his big boy bed.  Then went to bed pretty good for a sitter.

Tuesday he slept in till 7 again, but again would not nap!

This has been a long week for me!  But it is getting better!  I will say it is rather funny to hear him in his room while he is supposed to be taking a nap.  He lays in his bed 'singing' (yelling) Welcome to Big House!!  then sings either "No, No never going to keep me down" or many different lines from "Roaring like a lion".  If nothing else he is teaching Ahnie to fall asleep and stay asleep during anything!!!

I hope he goes back to his old routine quickly.  He has stopped asking for his binky we just need to get a new routine to get him to calm down and rest without his binky.

Christmas Cookies!!!

I LOVE baking with little helpers!!!  Ayden has really started to like to help me in the kitchen making baby food and now it is the season to bake cookies!!!  We started a few weeks ago with my favorite cookie peanut butter blossoms!  I wasn't sure how it was going to go but they were the best cookies to make with a 2 year old!  He could help me with it all!!!  

Of course he loves scooping, pouring, counting and stirring but that was only the start!!  

Next we rolled balls, which I did but he then rolled them in the sugar and sprinkles!!

I put them on the pan and while we were waiting for them to finish cooking Ayden unwrapped ALL the hersey kisses for me! (this is my least favorite part)  He didn't even try one!  I told him he could either have one kiss or a cookie and a kiss!

Then I put the kisses on the cookies and we let them cool!

Finally we got to try our cookies!  (before lunch I may add and he didn't eat his lunch...)

Sorry sweetheart!  Ahnie you have a few more months before you can enjoy these yummy cookies!!!  Maybe next Christmas!

3 Crazy Moms and 6 Kids 2 and Under

Seriously look at our table!!

Last Thursday evening Emily, Alex and I decided to venture out to Jingle and Mingle on Main with all 6 kids!  We started the night at Tony's pizza.  Sorry for any family that was their that needed a booster seat because I think we had all of theirs!  There were a few moments of craziness but looking back I think they all did very well!!!

Gotta love these 3!!!

Jordann and Ahnie entertained each other during dinner!

Then we headed to the library to wait in line for the horse drawn trolly ride down Main St.  It was COLD and took FOREVER!  Last year Emily and I took Ayden and Madi and the line waited in lobby of the library.  This year the line was outside!  After complaining for a while I decided to try to do something about it!  I went to the front of the line and told them my great idea about swinging the line in through the lobby.  Everyone agreed that that was a great idea but nobody would do it!  I was so annoyed!  Finally, Alex told us to take all the kids in the lobby and she would wait outside for us.  It was much warmer and we spent quite a bit of time trying to keep the kids busy and help them understand why they had to wait in the lobby and couldn't go in and play at the library.  Well, after a long wait it was finally our turn for the sleigh ride!  The kids loved it!  Santa was walking up and down Main St. and Ayden was so excited to see him.  His face lit up and he started waving so fast as soon as he caught his eye.

Enjoying our ride!

The night was a success!  A few bumps in the road but pretty good considering how big our crew was and how young they were!!!  Gotta love Christmas traditions!

Our Kids Stats

We just got home from getting the kids their flu shots and I had them weighed and measured...so this post is just so I can look back and see how big they are :)

Ahnie 7 months:  19lbs 10oz

Ayden 2.5 years: 34lbs; 39in

Wow, I have big kids!  Now for the search for new carseats....

7 Months!!!

7 months ago today I was laying in my hospital bed holding my daughter for the first time wondering what life would be like raising a girl and how we would juggle two kids.  7 months later I can honestly say we have had some stressful moments but they have also been the best 7 months!  I know I said this in this the last month but I love this stage!!!  I think Ayden and Ahnie are a great age difference and we all are having so much fun!  They make us laugh daily!!

This month Ahnie is trying so hard to move!!!  She is not there yet but I bet by her next monthly post we will have a crawler.  She gets up on all 4's and rocks back and forth so fast I think she is going to fly forward!  She can scoot backwards and turn herself around in a complete circle.  She can roll by from back to belly and from belly to back.  Basically she can get herself all around the living room just not the easy way.

We have tried lots more food this month!  She has tried peas, green beans, broccoli, yogurt, bananas, puffs and Mum Mum's.  Ahnie also tried her sippy cup for the first time this past month.  She is really starting to like eating.  If we put her in her high chair you better have food ready or puffs out!  As soon as she sees the spoon her mouth is open and she will be mad if it's not in her mouth in about 5 seconds.  She usually eats 2 cubes and sometimes 3.

Ahnie's personality is really starting to form!!!  She is very happy and content almost always but she can get mad in about 3 seconds!  She will show you if she is not happy about something!  This month she giggled for the first time!!  Ayden was the first to get her to giggle and the only one that can get her to giggle unless you are tickling her.  She loves when Ayden does peek a boo with her in her high chair and when he wipes out on the floor when they are playing.  Their newest game is after we put them to bed Ayden turns on the lights and talks to her and she moves all around her crib just watching and babbling... I love that sound but not at 9pm!!!  She babbles all the time and even will say dadadada!  She is a daddy's girl! :)

Ahnie is growing out of her 9 months clothes and I just washed up her 12 month things.  She is quickly out growing her infant car seat and is still in size 3 diapers.

Again her schedule has stayed pretty consistent to what it was last year!!

 

Walking Tacos

Today, while I was at work I got this text from Jess, Ayden's awesome sitter,

"I just told Ayden we are having walking tacos.  He asked me where the walking tacos were going?"

I just love watching and hearing his language develop!!!

"I Run Out the Garage!"

So, ever since Ayden went to his first CF Tiger game this year he has loved hiding in his bed room and we have to yell "Here come the tigers!" and he runs out with his football.  At CF games they run out of a garage when they yell here come the tigers.

Well, today after our sitter left Ayden went outside.  I didn't think anything of it because he usually comes right back in.  I went to take care of the dog because he was barking out the back door.  When I came back and looked for Ayden he was gone!  I went outside and started calling his name.  Starting to get a little worried I was walking up the drive way yelling "Ayden!"  Then I hear a voice from the closed garage saying "Yell here come the tigers!"  I went in through the side door to find Ayden in the back of the garage.  He clearly was not coming out until I opened the big door and yelled for him.  So I did...  He started running a little to early and clipped the top of his head and fell backwards!  I went over to see if he was ok and he said "I okay, I think it left a mark" but he could not have been happier that he got to run out of the actual garage!!!

Oh the joys of having BOYS!!!!

I Wish I Could Freeze Time!

Wow, today I took Ayden and Ahnie to the park quick before dinner to enjoy this beautiful day!  While Ayden was playing on the horses and Ahnie swinging for the very first time I could not help but think how blessed we are to have two great kids!  I think I could freeze time for a little while!  I love how Ahnie is so happy, content, loves to play and get so excited over the littlest things!  She is such a sweet heart!  And there is Ayden... so curious, loving to ask questions, ALL boy, our little football player, so sweet to his sister, starting to be independent yet still loves his mommy and daddy, pushing the boundaries yet knows when he does something wrong.

I love love love watching my kids grow and learn new things everyday!  I am just loving their ages right now!!!  I need to try to take in all these moments right now because they are both growing too fast!!

Trick Or Treat!

Happy Halloween from our little giraffe and lion!!!

Tonight was a crazy busy night but we had so much fun!  We started out at Brett's parents house so they could see the kids all dressed up!  Then we headed out to a friends house where they had a little Halloween party.  Wow there were a lot of kids!  So many of the families had added a new baby since last year!  It was very fun!!!  

Then we headed out to a friends house and went trick or treating with the families in our small group!  This was sooo fun!!!  Ayden was very excited and I might be biased but we had quite a cute bunch of kiddos!  There were seven dressed up kids from the age of 4 to 9 months and Ahnie slept away in her carseat.  They were dressed up as a spider, a pumpkin, giraffe, spiderman, batman, UNI's TC and a UNI Football player.  

I think the best part of the night was the first house!  We got up there and Ayden was so excited!  When they opened the door he ran inside!  I was so embarrassed!  I had to go inside and get him.  Usually when we go to someones house we go inside...  We had to talk about this before the next one.  He loved the whole night!!!  While trick or treating he would run to every house and have to wait for his friends to get there!  I think he will sleep good tonight!!!

My Baby Is 6 Months Old!!!

Ahnie's 6 Month Stats:
Weight: 18lbs 3oz 90%
Height: 26 3/4in  75-90%
Head: 16 1/4in   25th%


Where has the last 6 months gone?!?  Its official, Ahnie is growing up way too fast!!!  As a mom I need to remember to enjoy the moments as they come.  Not wish away my time.  I LOVE this stage, it might be my favorite age in the 1st year but I find myself missing the newborn stage a lot quicker this time!  It might be because after having the first baby I knew we would have more and now after the second I know we will have more kids but I know that our family will be complete at some point.  I will miss that newborn stage so much when our family is complete!  I need to enjoy each moment as they come!  I hate missing stages or waiting for the next stage!  I need to be satisfied with what we have right now and not want anything else!!!

Ayden felt left out!

Like I said, I LOVE this stage!!!  Ahnie is just so fun right now!  This month she learned how to sit up and now loves to just play and play!  She loves when anyone talks to her, she loves her toys and her binky!  She now grabs at everything around!  It is funny, Ayden loves this but hates it and you never know what his reaction will be.  She often grabs for his binky or blanket and a few times has grabbed for his toys!  He loves his sister so much but some things do cross the line!  I love sibling love!  Today we were at the mall and Ayden chose to sit up front in the stroller and Ahnie started kicking the back of his seat.  He kept yelling "Ahnie!  Nice to you brother!"  Then looking at me like aren't you going to do anything about this!  To humor him I told her to be nice and she had to keep her feet to herself! :)

This month Ahnie also started eating baby food.  She now has eaten carrots, sweet potato, squash, and apples.  Sweet potatoes and apples are her favorite.  Ayden loves to help me make baby food and has actually requested her food over his some days!  She also started formula this month.  ( check the earlier post).  Both changes in her diet are going well!!

Ahnie loves her mommy!  :)  Usually if I am in the room and someone else is holding her she wants me!  I like this but sometimes I feel bad!  But, she also loves her daddy!  She just stares at him and when they connect eyes she just lights up!  I love seeing her smiles at him!  The smiles I get don't even compare to the smiles she gives her daddy!  She also just started showing her excitement!  She kicks her feet so quickly, waves her arms and squeals!  I love this!  She does it when someone talks to her, when I get home from work, when we start the bath water and when she sees her bottle!

I love that I can finally say two months in a row that she is very predictable!  She wakes up between 7 and 7:45 then naps around 9 wakes and eats at 11 goes down around 1 back up again around 2:30 or 3 then takes a quick 30 min nap anytime after 4 and before dinner.  Then is up for dinner, bath and her bottle!  I love when they get to a good schedule!  I do so much better when I know what to expect and I also know if they are on a good schedule then we can go a way from it from time to time and she does pretty good!

Rejection

I had to blog about this so I will remember it!!!  And, for evidence so I can read it to Ayden and Madi someday :)

On Sunday afternoon we went to prairie lakes to take Ayden's 2 year pictures and Ahnie's 6 month pictures with the Hoffert's.  A few days before we had planned on going to the bouncy park with Madi but it ended up getting to late and it was not going to work out.  Ayden was still bummed 3 days later and talked about it the whole way to Prairie Lakes.  I finally told him he could ask Madi when we got there....  After we had been there for quite awhile Ayden must had remembered.  He walked right up to Madi put his face right up to hers and asked "Madi, you come to bouncy house with me?"  (as he was doing this he was shaking his head yes and moving his face all over to keep it right in front of Madi's.)  She ever so nicely said "Not today Ayden, maybe later."  Ayden then just walked away.  Madi already knows never to seem to eager and don't jump at the first time a boy asks you out!  I guess Ayden will just have to keep asking!!!

I asked Ayden later that night if he asked Madi about the bouncy park:

Me:  "Ayden did you ask Madi if she wanted to go to the bouncy park with you?"
AJ:  "Yeah"
Me:  "What did she say?"
AJ:  "Maybe later..."

Oh Yeah...

This is Ayden's latest phrase..."Oh Yeah..."  I feel like I am talking to a 3rd grader!  He will ask lots and lots of questions and his response is always "Oh Yeah..."  For example:

AJ: "Mom, where Packers at?"
Me: "They live in Wisconsin"
AJ: "Oh yeah"

AJ:  "Football on TV, mom?
Me:  "No, this is their day to practice"
AJ:  "Oh yeah"

AJ:  "I go to school mom?"
Me:  "No, you go on Tuesday and Thursdays"
AJ:  "Oh yeah"

AJ:  "Sean come to my house mom?"
Me:  "Sean is at school"
AJ:  "I go to school with sean"
Me:  "Your not old enough to go to high school."
AJ:  "Oh yeah..."

And you get the idea!  I love that Ayden is starting to be able to communicate better and better every day but he does not stop talking!!!  If we drive anywhere he is a non-stop chatter box!!!  Sometimes I just turn up the radio to get some piece and quiet...  He also asked the same question over and over and over again!!!  Oh, how I love his inquisitive personality but sometimes I just need quiet!

Ahnie's New Diet

This week has been a big week for Ahnie!  She started eating baby food!!  Ayden helped me make her first food: carrots.  He kept saying he wanted to try it but I still have not gotten him to eat any.  He does like carrots just not mashed up like his sister.  She is doing okay with them.  She seems to eat them a little better than her cereal but still doesn't finish a whole ice cube.  We will work on that.  I think we are going to try Sweet Potatoes next then maybe some green veggies like avocado, peas and green beans.  Then the fun fruit!!

The other new thing in her diet is formula...tear...  Again just like after having Ayden I was diagnosed with Postpartum Thyroiditis.  In my case my thyroid is hyper and produces to much hormones and this causes me to loose weight.  With Ayden I didn't know I had it until I had lost a lot of weight and finally when he was almost 6 months old I got it check and that is when I found out my levels were off.  After a few months of medicine I was ok and able to maintain my weight and not loose anymore with out medicine.  My levels stayed normal throughout my pregnancy with Ahnie and for her first 5 months.  At my check up on Monday they said I was a little hyper again.  Luckily I didn't loose very much weight yet and they said I needed to start my medicine again.  While, with Ayden they told me I could not breastfeed so I had to quit quickly.  This time I guess my dosage is less so they said it would be ok so I took a couple days and went back and forth and researched what could happen if I took it while breastfeeding.  I really felt uneasy about taking medicine and breastfeeding so I decided we should switch to formula.  Brett gave it to her for the first time yesterday and she did ok so I breastfed her for the last time before bed last night...  Today she has had only formula and seems to not mind.  I am a little sad that I have not fed her at all today I just have to keep telling myself that it is best for both of us!

Trading Places

Ayden thought he was pretty funny climbing in Ahnie's highchair until I put Ahnie is his...  This was the first time he wasn't so sure about sharing with her.  I love this picture because I think she looks so big!  Ayden also looks pretty funny in a pink high chair...

My First Race and How it Felt Like Labor...

I ran my first race two weeks ago in Minneapolis.  I have always wanted to run the 1/2 marathon in my home town Duluth.  My bro and his wife ran this year and I told them next time I wanted to run it with them.  After they finished this they decided no more 1/2 marathons but 10 miles would be better.  Then they found that the Twin Cities Marathon had a 10 mile run instead of a 1/2 so they were in!  They asked me to join their team and I agreed.  About 6 weeks before the race my brother threw out his back and decided it wasn't worth messing up his back for ever to run a race.  So, our team was down to Jen and I.

The morning was a beautiful day!  We started at the Metro Dome and finished at the State Capital in Saint Paul.  It was the most beautiful run!  The leaves were just starting to change and we ran along a river for about half of the race then we heading through a gorgeous neighborhood then through St. Thomas' campus and finally over the last hill and down to the finish line.  My parents, Brother and his son and Brett and the kids were waiting at the finish line!!  It was great to see them as I was crossing the finish line.

While I was running I kept thinking how much this race felt like my first labor.  You are anticipating the start but I really didn't know when we were going to get going...I was in the last corral so we started 15 minutes after the race officially started.  The beginning of the race starts out slow and is a bit painful...I always have side ache through the first 2 miles.  Then you get in the grove and start feeling good...just like after you get the epidural.  During this point you think about how great this is and how its not very bad and you totally want to do more and more races...or have more and more kids!  Then its time to push...you are in the last few miles of the race and you notice its starting to get a bit harder.  I had to keep telling myself the faster I run the quicker I get to see my babies faces...just like while you are telling yourself to push harder so you can meet your baby!  Then you come over the last hill and around the corner and you see the finish line...Just like seeing the babies head and you just need a few more pushes.  Then I saw Ayden and Brett and gave Ayden a Hi-Five...just like seeing your baby for the first time.  You cross the finish line and get the metal...just like when you are handed your baby for the very first time!  Then you think this wasn't so bad but you don't want to think about your next race/baby for a little while!

Ok, so not as amazing as having a baby but there are some parallels and it did make me laugh a little during the hardest part of the race...The final 3 miles!

My goal was to run the race in just under 2 hours and I finished at 2 hours 6 minutes.  It was a beautiful morning and I am so glad my brother asked me to run even though he didn't get to run with us!

Cuddle Buddies!

This night we were laying in bed saying our prayers and I just couldn't help snapping a few pictures!  Ayden loves when anyone cuddles in bed with him for a few minutes before bedtime but he always gets a kick out of cuddling with his sissy!  

5 Months

Ahnie turned 5 months on the 28th.  These months are just flying by!  The 2nd time around you realize how quickly they are growing up and I just want to say  SLOW DOWN!

She is finally becoming more and more predictable!!!  Ayden came home from the hospital and I felt like for the most part he was pretty by the book!  Ahnie has been a little more work!  Not that it has been very hard but I just feel like we have had to work through everything!  This month I had to try to make herself cry it out.  She was not taking great naps and would wake up after 30-45 minutes and you knew she was not ready to get up but if she feel back to sleep you would either have to hold her or she would wake up...  Well one day she started crying after a 30 minute nap and it didn't seem to bother Ayden napping so I took out my Baby Wise book and told myself I was not going to pick her up until I read what I was supposed to do. While reading it and finally finding the right paragraph I realized she was quiet...She put herself back to sleep!  Ever since I have laid her down awake and she might cry a bit and I might put her binky back in 1 or 2 times but then she is asleep!  Now her naps are usually around 2 hours!  Beautiful!!!  And they are usually during 1 hour of Ayden's nap!!  The other thing that I feel is finally the way it is supposed to be is breastfeeding.  I don't remember when she really became very comfortable with it but I think it has been in the last 2 months.  When we took her to her 2 month check up the Dr. noticed that she didn't move her head to the left.  This I think made breastfeeding a little challenging.  Then we got over that and she would not eat very well on the 2nd side...it did not matter which side it was but always the 2nd side.  Knowing that she was gaining wight I would just told myself she didn't like 'desert' and kept praying that one day she would love nursing and just relax so I could relax.  While I think we finally have it!  I now can just sit and enjoy every feeding!!

Ahnie has been such a happy talkative baby!!  Brett and I find ourselves saying 'do you remember Ayden smiling like this or talking this much?'  She loves playing on her tummy with her toys and just talking!  She always greets us in the morning or after her nap with a BIG smile and will just stare across the room at Brett and when he looks over at her she gives him the biggest smile!  I just love it!

We started cereal this past month.  She is not loving it but we are practicing for the real yummy stuff to come!  I am planning on making my own baby food again and I am getting excited about do this!  It was so rewarding knowing exactly what she is eating and also saving some money as I do it!  Hopefully she will be just like her brother and be a great eater!!

This month Ahnie rolled from her back to tummy and has not laid on her back since!  She loves to play on her tummy!!!  We are also working on sitting up!  She loves to sit up and look around but can't do it quite yet.  If I am right there I will let you sit by herself but soon after she has tipped!  She loves the bumbo most of time too!


Ahnie fits in so well to our family and we all love her!  Ayden loves to say Good Morning Pretty Girl every morning!  And still showers her with hugs and kisses often!  I just love to see this side of Ayden since the rest of the time is spent tackling things!!! :)

You Know You Have a Boy When....

• All we do is play football, baseball, basketball etc (all depending on the season it is)
• You hear a big long fart and all of a sudden burst of laughter followed by "I farted!!"  Then trying to do it again.  And his last comment "I think I ripped it!"  What?!
• There is a new scape, scar or cut somewhere on his face everyday!!!  (we have been waiting over a month to take his 2 year pictures...)
• We wear our football jerseys over our clothes everyday!!!  These can be his jersey, Bretts Jersey or his jersey from last year....
• When we eat grapes they are called footballs...
• When your child refuses to eat you have to be Thomas and do train sounds...Then he covers his mouth and won't open up until you say "Move the rock Mr. Conductor!"  
• We play the 'drums' during all of our songs!  And the drums can be his lap, the couch, the table...anything!
• Instead of our days winding down my son gets busier and busier as we get closer to naptime and bed time.
• The first thing we say in the morning is "Where's my football Mom?"
• We have to do "Here come the Tigers/Hawkeyes/Packer" multiple times a day!  
• Instead of playing with stuffed animals we tackle them

I LOVE having a boy around the house but I am also so excited to see what fun things our little girl does as well!!!  I can't wait to compare the list in a few years and see how much she picks up from her brother and what different interests she has!  

Pretty Girls!

One of Ayden's new favorite songs is Pretty Girls! If your not familiar with it it goes like this: 

 There's a lot of pretty girls in this city 

There's a lot of pretty girls in this town 

You gotta pick the right one 

Gotta pick the right one 

 Any time you ask Ayden who the pretty girls are he will say either Mommy. Ahnie or Madi and every time you ask him who Ayden's right one is he says "Madi!" Brett made this video today while I was at work!

Ayden's Happy Day!

Ayden's birthday year after year falls during Caravan so that means we have his party before Brett leaves and then I get to celebrate his actual birthday without Brett! Here is our day this year in pictures! Some things are quickly becoming yearly traditions and some things are new each year! We had a great time but would have loved to have Brett a little closer on his actual day!

This is our traditional birthday breakfast at Village Inn! This year we added two new kiddos to join us. This picture was taken while we were waiting for our check! Look how messy the table was! All the kids were ready to go so this was the best picture we could get of all 4 kids!

Then Ayden, Ahnie and I headed out to one of our favorite parks! It is in a new development off Greenhill. Ayden knows when we go to Walmart we usually stop at the park on the way. He now tells me when I should turn to get there! We had a blast! It was such a beautiful morning and had not gotten too hot yet!

We made a quick stop at Walmart before heading home and when I pulled into the driveway I look in the back and found Ayden alseep! We had already had a great day!!! Time for a nap then more fun to come!!

When naps were over we headed to the petting zoo in Waterloo with Madi, TT and Emily! The kids had so much fun watching all the animals. This was our first visit this summer and they had a great time!!!

Finally, we headed to the Hoffert's for a special birthday dinner Emily had planned just for Ayden!!! It was so sweet and she was really my livesaver while Brett was on Caravan this year!!! Ayden loves this picture because it shows his 'happy day!" and he thinks Chief is hiding!! Can you find him?

Playing Catch Up

I have not been able to upload pictures in 2 months! We finally have them on our computer so get ready for some new posts! I put some pictures on previous blog posts! Thanks for checking in with our family! Happy reading!

Ayden's 2nd Birthday Party!

We had Ayden's birthday party a few days before his birthday because Brett was on Caravan over his birthday. We celebrated Friday morning. It had been a very very warm couple weeks before but the morning was a little cooler which we were very thankful for! Ayden wanted a tractor theme with a Tractor Cake, playing in the sandbox and finding surprises in the sand. When the kids arrived we just let the kids play for a while then we grilled and had a yummy lunch! We had cake and finally presents!

I can say this was Ayden's first birthday party that he really knew what was going on! He was so excited for his cake! I did it the day before to make sure it was perfect so I would have time to adjust if needed and anytime anyone new came to our house he had to show them the cake!!

He was very excited to see all of his friends come to his house all at once and to see both grandparents! He was so excited he woke up really early that morning and kept saying "Ayden's Happy Day!" My dad was a life saver because he kept him busy while Brett, my mom and I got things ready for the party! My dad spent lots of time walking him around in his wagon and playing golf in the back yard. I think he was ready for his nap at 10 AM and the guests were coming at 10:30!

He got a second win to get through his party! He had a lot of fun running around and stealing chips out of the dump truck! He also loved blowing out the candles on his cake! I didn't realize this until a few weeks ago during my birthday he kept saying "Mom, happy day! Blow out your candles!!" He also had a lot of fun opening presents! He got lots of great toys! That is a plus doing a party before your husband leaves for 10 days! We had lots of new things to keep us busy!

Our new favorite toy!! Lightning McQueen Bike!!!

Ahnie is 4 Months Old!

Ahnie turned 4 months old last week! She is getting to be more fun everyday! I just love how smiley she is and she loves to just lay on the floor and talk! She is sooo close to rolling over! She will get herself to her side and just hangs out there forever! I gave her a little nudge the other day and she rolled over and Ayden was so excited! He started jumping up and down and was yelling "You did it!" I can't wait for her to start rolling on her own! She loves to be up looking around! She loves the bumbo, her swing in the sitting up possition and her newest toy the Jumperoo! Wow, I think she likes that even more than Ayden did! Ahnie loves to grab at toys and always has her hands in her mouth or around a toy! She also is constantly trying to sit up. If you look at her laying on her back or in her carseat she picks her head up like she is doing crunches. We have been working on sitting up but she still is aways away. Maybe at next months posting! This month I went back to work. She has really done well being away from her mommy during the mornings. I sure miss her and her brother but it is so great knowing she is in good hands! I have never worried about them! I feel so blessed to have my kids spending time with great family and friends while I am at work. She has really done good and is becoming much more predictable!! We streached her feedings out to 3 1/2 hours and I think I waited to long to do that. Since I did she has been able to sleep all night and is much more content during her awake times. She now takes 2 long naps and 1 shorter nap right around dinner time which is very nice! Then is in bed between 7 and 8 and will sleep for close to 12 hours! Ayden continues to love his sister! Its so sweet anytime she starts crying he tries to calm her down with either a hug, a kiss or sweet words. The other day we were coming home from somewhere and Ahnie started to cry. All of a sudden we heard Ayden saying "Its okay Ahnie almost home! Almost home sweetheart!" I just love how sweet he is to her! We have also had to talk to him about how he can't play rough with her. He sometimes thinks she is a good wrestling buddy or wants to play football. This has not happened very much though. At her 4 month check up she weighed in at 17 lbs and is 26 inches long! Both at 95% and her head is at 20%. Still just like her brother! Big and long with a small head! :) We are growing quickly into all 9 month clothes. She still fits into her 6 month clothes that have pants but that is about it. You will have to wait for her 4 month pictures. We are between computers so I can't upload any pictures until we get that taken care of... I have over 150 pictures on my camera!!! I will be post much more frequently again!

Our First Ride in an Ambulance

Today we had quite the adventure! We went to the park at Cedar Heights with Emily and her kiddos. We were playing and having a great time when Ayden was playing and lost his balance and fell. He was on this climbing thing to get up to the slide and was at the top. Luckily we were right there and Emily quick caught him before he fell, he just bumped his head or so we thought. He started crying right away so I scooped him up and flipped him over. Then it got a little more scary for this Mama! I saw lots of blood and just covered his forehead. Emily found a towel and I was able to hold that over his cut. I took a peek and quickly asked her to call 911. She went to the street to wait for the help to arrive and Madison stayed with us and would not leave Ayden's side. She was blowing him kisses and finally got close enough for a few sweet kisses on the cheek. We could hear the fire truck and that finally calmed Ayden down as we sat and listened for the fire truck and ambulance to arrive. When they got there his cut had stopped bleeding but they did confirm that he needed stitches. He had about a 1 inch cut on his forehead that was rather deep! We could not get a hold of Brett and we were at Cedar Heights school so we really were not close to our house or the car so we decided we better let the ambulance take us to the ER. By the time we got into the ambulance Ayden was very calm and started to warm up and was soon his normal chatty self! By the time we got to the ER he was done wanting to cuddle so that was a little bit of a struggle. We were at the ER for a little over an hour. All things considered Ayden did pretty good. Brett had not made it to the ER by the time I had to decide on either stitches or glue and I was having a hard time looking at his forehead I didn't think I could handle watching him get stitches by myself. Luckily Brett got there right after I talked with the doctor. I was so relieved Brett was there with me at that point! Ayden got the glue applied and we had to wait a few more minutes and we were able to go home! Ayden was a champ! I had a hard time but I am very thankful that he is ok and we had such wonderful EMT's, doctors and nurses. It made a difficult situation a little better! I am also very thankful for Emily! She quickly calmed me down after I saw Ayden's cut and got help there quickly and spent a long time trying to get a hold of Brett! She also took care of Ahnie till we were able to get home. I don't know what I would have done if I was there by myself...

3 Months Old!!

Ahnie turned 3 months old on July 28th! This past month has been a very fun month!!! Ahnie is really starting to get a personality and is so smiley! I just love it! All I need to do is usually smile at her or say HI and you get a big toothless grin!! She talks a lot too! She loves to lay under her play gym and coo and look all around! She still loves to suck on her fists and she is even bringing toys to her month (just recently)! A few days before she turned 3 months she started to scoot on he back! She will kick her feet so much that she will either turn in a complete circle while playing on the floor or else you will find her up in the corner of the crib. I am not ready for a mover yet but it is fun to watch! Ahnie also loves to stand in your lap! I have a feeling she is going to love her bounceroo! She has not really tried rolling over yet but she will look to one side and arch her back so I'm sure she could if she really tried but there has not been to much interest. She love to play on her tummy and we tried her bumbo for the first time this month. She is getting better each day at sitting in it and now loves to sit in it at her play gym or in front of a toy I have that she will be able to use more once she is sitting by herself. She is not crazy about her bouncy seat but she will sit in it from time to time. I just started putting her in the swing to play. I put the seat sitting up and she loves to hold on to her toys and watch Ayden play in the living room! It keeps her busy for quite a while!

Our little girl is still growing like a weed! I love her chubby cheeks and thighs! Some of her 6 month clothes is starting to get tight and we moved up to size 3 diapers already! I am excited to see how much she weighs and her length at her next check up!

Ahnie is getting even better at her routine! She eats every 3 hours, she is awake for at least an hour but I try to get her to stay awake for 1 1/2 hours then sleeps. Her naps have been much better! She doesn't always wake up in the middle anymore and if she does she will put herself back to sleep sometimes! When she does wake up and I go in there she is a happy, talking, smiley baby!!!

We for sure have our bedtime routine. She usually eats around 6:30 or 7 plays or takes a bath then we get ready for bed. She is usually asleep around 8 and then every night at 9 I get her out of her bed and feed her as much as she will eat, then put her right back to bed. She will now (as of the week before her 3 month birthday) sleep till 6:15-6:30. Then she is awake for the day. I would love it if I could sleep in till 7 but with school starting in a few weeks 6:30 will probably have to be my wake up time anyway!

(I will add her 3 month pictures as soon as I up load them) :)

Our Early Morning Surprise

This morning I lay in bed listening to Ayden yell my name...Me thinking usually he comes in here so maybe he is just talking in his sleep... Then I hear him talking to Ahnie and her start crying. I realized that my morning has begun I get slowly out of bed and before I got to Ayden's room I hear "Mommy change!" I found him laying on the changing table on his tummy. I rolled him over and his PJ's were ALL wet and I could see his diaper had ripped open so all the jell like beads where EVERYWHERE!!! I asked Ayden what happened and all of a sudden he started bawling! So, I called for Brett to get Ahnie and I started cleaning. We had those things everywhere! On his legs, tummy, cheeks, hair... I rolled him to his back and cleaned there and rolled him back over and he had them all over his tummy again! It was never ending SO at 6:30 AM I decided to throw this tired, crying little boy in the bath!

What a morning... Days like this make me wish I had a video monitor. Not for piece of mind when he was a baby like Ahnie but to get some of my questions answered!!!

Let Go Mommy!

Tonight we went to a 1st birthday party for one of friends little boys. The family has an in ground pool and I forgot our swim suits. Bummer! Luckily they have three boys under the age of three so they were able to let us barrow a suit, life jacket and diaper for Ayden. He was very reluctant to wear the life jacket and then did not want to get into the water with out me. We spent a lot of time on the stairs! Finally, my friend Stacy was able to get him in the water with her. After that he was getting a little more comfortable! He was playing on the stairs and leaned back to far and found out he could float with the life jacket! He was very content playing there for a while and I would hold on to him so he didn't roll to his front. Finally he started yelling "let go mommy!" "Ayden float myself!" We have only been 2 for 3 days but we have learned a few new words... "myself", and "I do it". This could be a fun year!

We were very proud of Ayden tonight though! He did a great job in the big pool with out me! I was very proud of him for floating on this back (something he normally will not do) and he was practicing putting his face in the water! He did so great! Even though he is in the independent stage and it is not always easy for a mom to hear those words he is doing lots of first these days! I am so excited to watch him grow and grow!

Happy Birthday Ayden!!!

Wow! Two years ago we welcomed such a perfect little baby boy into our family! We had no idea how he would change us and our family and I couldn't imagine life with out him!

I love this energetic, loveable, sweet, talkative, funny, little boy!!!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the year!

Baking Birthday Cake!

I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE baking with kids! It started when I used to babysit and now I have been having Ayden help me around the kitchen more and more this summer! It makes baking so much more fun! Ayden loves to "dunk" (dump) everything in. He gets so excited when we push the chair over to the counter.

Today he helped me bake his birthday cake and cupcakes! He was a great helper! I even showed him how to lick the beaters! Yum :) Then he put the cupcake liners on the pan! I always remember helping my dad do that! Here are some pictures from this morning! You have to wait till after his party to see the finished product: The Tractor Cake!!! :)

Do They Look Alike?!?

When ever we go anywhere we always hear how much Ahnie looks like her brother. So, I decided to take a picture of Ahnie that is very close to one of my favorite pictures of Ayden. Both sporting the same hawkeye shirt!



So what do you think?!? Do they look alike?

Sunday Morning Photo Shoot

I love Sunday mornings when I get to dress the kids up to go to church! I love the outfits the two kids wore today and had to take pictures! This might be the first time I got both of them looking and smiling at the same time! :) Ayden loves Ahnie's outfit too the few times I have put it on her he always comments and says "Ahnie cute!" So sweet!

I LOVE these two kiddos!!!

Sturgis Falls!

Sturgis Falls is our town's summer celebration. It is always filled with lots of music, food venders, walking, seeing lots of people, parades, rides and just a fun weekend spent outside with family and friends. I used to always feel like it was the one weekend I was reminded I was not from Cedar Falls. I can say now it is a weekend I look forward to and get excited about seeing friends and spending the time with my family!

This year Brett had a baseball tournament so we was not able to join in the fun. We were bummed but I tried not to let it stop us going down for the fun! Thanks to our friends the Hoffert's I was able to pack up the two kids and get them to the parade. Ayden and Madi were in Ahh through the whole thing!! I don't think they moved except to ask for more snacks :) TT sat with Matt and loved to watch everything going on! Ahnie slept...surprise surprise! I can't wait for the days that she is up and alert for all these fun things too but for now I enjoyed cuddling her on my lap as the parade went by! Then we headed home for naps.







After naps Brett's sister, Kelly and her hubby Mike came to town and we headed down for more Sturgis fun! Mike had a blast running around with Ayden and Kelly enjoyed pushing Ahnie in the stroller and I enjoyed spending time with both of them! Mike was so great with Ayden and really made the afternoon fun! We got some pop corn and headed to the rides first. Mike got Ayden some tickets and he got to go on his first ride, the big fish! He was to little to ride on anything else so we got to ride twice! Ayden loved it! Then we headed up to the kids tent and Mike and Ayden checked out the chalk and legos while I waited in line for the balloon guy. Kelly got to spend some good cuddling time with Ahnie while we all waited. Once we got up to the balloon guy Ayden wanted a deer hat. When we ask for this we realized the guy making the balloons was deaf. So when he was done I told Ayden to say thank you with his hands and he did. It was so cool that the sign language he learned as a baby is still helping him communicate to people. I was very proud of him to remember how to do it!