Saturday Morning Diversion

Most Saturdays, we run around like crazy! This morning, we decided to set up the water toys to keep the boys entertained while we did things around the house. They are giants in their little baby pool, but they had fun! Wish I could say they were sleeping in one of the pictures...but they were just relaxing.

The "Twins" Dressed Themselves

The boys have been working on getting dressed by themselves and have their proudest moments when they are dressed before we get out of bed. This morning, they showed up in our bedroom to show us that they had dressed themselves and were dressed like twins. Yes, we do have duplicates of some outfits, but not for that reason! Aren't they so cute!

Toddler Artwork

Gotta love toddler artwork..luckily, Connor can tell us what he "intended" this drawing to be so we aren't left to our own imaginations. Can you guess what it is??

The guesses I received from friends were "Mommy and Daddy", "Two Cars at Demolition Derby", "Orange Dog getting hit by a Blue Buffalo". The final answer is....

A blue whale and a yellow school bus. Not sure why those two belong in a picture together....

Reward System...Potential Bust??

We decided to pull out another tool in our effort to potty-train Brady in time to change schools in August. I know..he will make this decision on his own just like Connor did. Doesn't hurt for us to throw a little encouragement his way. However, Brady has a different plan in mind AND is a little too smart and stubborn for his own good.

We decided to introduce a reward chart that would earn Brady a trip to Chuck E Cheese (his idea one day as we passed by CC). I found out that CC had reward charts on their site, so I printed one for both Brady and Connor. A little brotherly competition is always good, especially since they already create their fair share (with EVERYTHING).

I explained to the boys what the reward was and then explained that Brady would earn stickers for potty-training and Connor would earn stickers for getting dressed (something he needed to start doing). They thought that was a great idea, was really excited about it, and kept talking about how they were going to get stickers.

Okay, let's see some action! Connor started out good. He quickly realized that Brady was not playing along, so to up the ante, we told Connor that if he got his stickers first that he would not have to wait and could go with a friend. On Monday, Connor declared that he was only working on his chart on Sat and Sun, which we quickly pointed out it would be 7 weeks before he would be rewarded. He has made up some of that time since with counting the morning and the evening (PJs).

So, what about Brady, you ask? He gets himself dressed now and thinks he should be able to earn stickers for that because he just can't go potty. I made the mistake of giving him a sticker for that in hopes it would motivate him to get more stickers on his chart with his "real" goal. Nope, not a chance! He tells everyone that he is earning stickers for getting dressed, not potty training.

Daddy's New Ride...

For Father's Day, daddy got a new ride...a Razor Scooter that he could push along beside the boys when they were riding their bikes. We thought this would be a great idea for daddy after seeing him toy around Toys R Us on one...of course, we had to get one that was age and weight appropriate.

See them go...don't they look like they are having fun?

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dad's out there! We are very happy to have one of those wonderful Dad's in our own household...Chris is awesome with the boys (and to me also). The boys came home Friday night excited to share their gifts with Daddy. Brady made a fishing rod with a wood fish on the end that says "Daddy, you're a Keeper!" Connor made a picture frame and a book for Daddy...I thought that I would share what Connor and his daddy do though questions that Connor answered in his book.

My Dad and I watch...Penguins.

My Dad and I like to...play Air Hockey.

My Dad and I play...trains (he drew a picture on this page also).

My Dad and I eat...pizza.

My Dad and I go to...Chuck E Cheese (he is actually working on this trip with a reward chart).

My Dad and I read...Goodnight Train.

On Father's Day, the boys let us sleep in for a little bit. I love this age where they just get up and start playing without worrying about us or making 20 demands. I gave Chris a free pass for the day...no honey-dos, no babysitting the boys while I went to yoga, and no grocery shopping. We also got him a Razor Scooter, so the boys are really excited that daddy can ride beside them while they are riding their bikes. That afternoon, we spent the afternoon with Chris's family visiting. The boys had a lot of fun playing in Papa's garage with their cousins. Happy Father's Day Chris! Hope you had a relaxing day!

Hot Saturday Fun!

For this weekend, we had pre-arranged to do a couple fun things that would be new to the boys. Little did we know that it was going to be a scorching hot day, especially at the events we chose.

We started out the day attending the Freedom Festival downtown on the riverfront. There actually turned out to be quite a bit there to entertain the boys...but it was really hot and there was a lot of down time, so we didn't stay long. They enjoyed watching the Champ boats practice before the race (they didn't know they weren't really racing yet), they saw the Dock Dogs in action, saw a stunt plane perform, and got to enjoy Festival food of hot dogs and Shake-Ups.

Our next stop was someplace where the boys could cool-down. We ended up at my mom's where the boys could swim with their grandma and cousin Ethan. Connor loves to swim and show off what he is learning in swim lessons, so he always has a blast. Brady usually wants out sooner and today was no different - he said it is too hot and went inside to the A/C with Papa.

That evening, we attended the Otters baseball game and took cousin Ethan with us. We had tickets through my work, so a meal was included (more hot dogs, of course). After the meal, we found a seat in the stands. It was hot...no wind like we had down on the riverfront. I tried explaining the terminology and what was going on to the older boys, but there just wasn't enough action to keep them entertained. At one point, the boys were yelling "Go Batter, Batter" and "Strike" at the appropriate times. The remainder of the time they were passing popcorn and sodas between the three of them or fighting over them. We left at the 5th inning and called it a night!

New experiences...check! Fun with family...check! Traveling with three boys...check! Hot Day...check!

Swimming Fun!

What a great weekend to go swimming and try out Gma's new pool! Gma purchased an easy up pool that would be large enough to accommodate several of the grandkids and adults, which makes our pool from last year look like a kiddie pool.

Connor can luckily touch...but barely, so it is a good height for him to practice what he is learning in swimming lessons. We also learned very quickly that he has no fear and doesn't seem to care if he swallows a gallon of water at a time...he has a blast jumping off the ladder into the pool! Brady is a little bit more reserved since he can't touch (yet), so he just floats around in a swim ring content.

After Brady and I got out this afternoon, Connor and Daddy decided to kick it up a notch with some underwater tricks and special jumps. They looked like they were having some fun!

Vroom Vroom...Look who turned 3!

For Brady's 3rd birthday, we had a celebration at our house with our family and friends. When asked what Brady wanted for his Birthday, he quickly said Lighting McQueen (Cars theme) cake and presents. Makes sense since that is his latest obsession!

The countdown to the party at 2pm the day of his birthday was torture for Mr. Brady. He kept asking when everyone was going to get there so he could eat cake and ice cream and open presents. He was just sure there was going to be Lighting McQueen gifts. He wasn't disappointed...we had a great cake for him that came with a toy Lighting McQueen and he got several Cars themed gifts. In addition, he got some fun games, puzzles, books, and outfits.

Thank you to everyone for joining us in our big boy's celebration of his 3rd birthday! Happy Birthday Brady!

Brady's 3 Year Picture Slideshow!

This Saturday, Brady will be turning 3 years old (always goes by so fast)...here is our picture session where he did a great job (as usual)! You will notice pictures with a Soccer ball...this is his latest activity that he really enjoys. Afterwards, Connor jumped in for some fun brother pictures.

CMoe Fun

We attended Family Fun Night at the local children's museum, CMoe, last Thursday. The kids had a blast and we ran into several people we knew including my sister with her extended crew of kiddos. Surprisingly, Connor spent an extended period in the acting area where the kids dress up in costumes, can add music, and the performance is recorded. My only complaint about CMoe is that the most interesting part is the water area, so they leave soaked.

Aww...he apologized!

Tonight was a rough night for Connor...without boring you with the specifics, he was demanding, whiny, and had attitude. He earned himself 2 timeouts all before 7pm. This was one of those evenings that the behavior frayed our nerves quicker than usual. We finally just ignored him and started a cartoon show. The rest of the evening was quiet.

Later that evening, Connor jumped up announcing he was tired, ready for bed, and should have went to bed early (that would have been nice). As I was tucking him in, he said "Mommy, I'm sorry that I wasn't behaving at dinner tonight and had to go to timeout two times. I won't do that again."

He apologized to me without any mention of the earlier part of the evening. I will take that as a good sign that he understands his behavior impacts the family!