So Very Proud

I couldn't be more proud of Monkey. He has met potty training head on and has pretty much kicked it's ass. But if you would have asked me if I thought we would be where we are today on Tuesday, I would have laughed and said 'in your dreams'. So lets hit rewind and look back over the last few days of this Mommy's STAYcation. 

Late Monday night my nephew and I ran to Walmart and we loaded up on HotWheels, bubbles, bouncy balls, coloring books--really anything that was inexpensive that we could put in a "surprise" box and let Kaden choose from when he actually peed in the potty. We stepped up the prize for pooping, we bought walking Transformers, three of them-red, blue and yellow! We made a potty chart and got stickers. We got a few pull-ups for nap time. We crossed our fingers it would be enough. 

We finally arrived back in Kansas City around 11:30 on Tuesday and as soon as we had the car unpacked  I sat Kaden down on the potty, we tried, nothing happened and on the big boy underwear went. (I have been informed that the word panties is not appropriate for little boys and trust me, harder than one would think to stop from using that word!)

By 5 o'clock on Tuesday evening I was in tears. I was on the phone with my mom in tears. I was frustrated. I felt defeated. Kaden had peed through 8 pairs of underwear. I would sit him on the potty and he wouldn't go. Five minutes later he would be crying as pee dripped down his legs. I would sit him on the potty, try to calm him down and tell him that is was okay that we would get it next time. We put on the new underwear and no more than five minutes later he would pee again. And we repeated that for at least 30 minutes. The only thing that made it worse, I was holding him twice when he did it. So not only did he get to change his underwear, I got a new change of clothes too. And we had a large pile of laundry that had to be done for the following day. The positive from Tuesday, he did poop in the potty twice-we might have sat there for a little while but he did it and for that he got two of his BIG surprises…

But Wednesday was a new day right? RIGHT! And thankfully too. Yesterday, Kaden only had one accident and it was on the way to the potty, he just wasn't able to tell me quick enough. By the end of the day we were no longer having to go "sit" on the potty, he was telling me when he needed to go and he pooped twice but both during the morning hours. We went through a lot of suckers, too many for his poor little teeth but they were doing the job and he was getting excited each and every time he did it. As he sat there on the potty, his eyes would get all big and he would whisper to me, "peeing, I did it" as though it was some sort of secret and then he would clap and we would high five. Things were looking better! We went to bed not having to do any additional laundry!

And then there is today. He was a ROCKSTAR. We didn't have a single accident. He told me every time he had to go potty and he was able to hold it for a little longer while we made our way to the bathroom. We ventured to the mall to pick up a few pants I was having altered--he had a pull-up on but it came home dry and he said he had to potty as soon as we walked in. We also took an evening stroll around the lake and he went in his Big Boy Underwear and came home dry. I know we will still have accidents and I know there could be regression but I am just so proud of how my little guy has taken to this, especially after the first day. 

A few of the cute things he does…

He always insists on looking at "it" afterwards. Pee or Poop, he wants to see what he just did. 

He tries to poop every time. He gives it a quick grunt and then lowers his head and says "I can't do it."

He immediately runs to tell Blake and Leah that he just peed. He can't wait to share his news. 

He reads to me, asks me what colors are what and what the truck names are. And when I give him the wrong answer he makes sure to correct me. But when I get them all right, he congratulates me with a "good job."

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I also need to give a great big thanks to Leah and Blake, my niece and nephew. They have been here since Tuesday with us and have been such a huge help. I am not sure I could have done this without them because each time I had to jump up and run to the potty with Kaden, they were there with Logan. They were able to play and entertain him and I was able to focus on Kaden and the task at hand. Actually, I lie, I could have done this without them, Logan just would have spent the last 3 days in his highchair or crib! :0) Thanks Leah and Blake, you guys helped out so much and I am so thankful you were able to be here with us and spend some QT with Logan and Kaden, even if it meant not stepping foot outside until today! Love you both. 

Memorial Day

We are still enjoying our extended weekend at my Mom and Dad's and this morning we were able to take part in a beautiful Memorial Day celebration and remembrance at Mitchell Cemetery. We honored those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and their families, those who fought before us and those who are still fighting now for our wonderful country. The flag was at half mast. Dozens of smaller flags lined each and every soldiers grave, my Grandpa Earl's included. It was beautiful. It was heartfelt and I found myself holding Logan a little closer than normal as he sat there on my lap in the grass as we listened to the 21 gun solute. Everyone of them, HEROES. Thank you just isn't enough…

After a wonderful start to the morning we decided to get a little water time in before nap time. Both kids were pretty tired but we figured if we added a little water to the mix they would perk up for a little bit and then take a SUPER long nap. Mission accomplished. For the second straight day, they took a 3+ hour nap and actually Logan is still going! This NEVER happens at home--maybe its because we don't have any blinds in our house yet…and maybe that is why they wake up so early too. Interesting.

Anyways, back to the fun in the sun. Grandma Sara had purchased a Waterpillar that hooks on the end of the hose and her hopes were high that the kids would just love it. They didn't. Luckily they had a little pool and some bubbles. For the next hour or so the kids soaked up as much water as they could, literally, we had no swim diapers. Logan wasn't really an issue, he felt safest outside the pool (right there with you buddy) and Kaden finally just went without the heavy old diaper. His trunks were a tad big and we had a little plumber issue but hey, its not as though anyone could see him! 

I had to take a second look at this picture, for a moment I thought I saw Neil Smith!

Finally we just put Logan's trunks on him.

Now we are gearing up for the rest of the family to arrive for some of Dad's famous burgers and fries. I hear a new gourmet hotdog made it on the menu to and we all know how much I love hotdogs, especially if it has cheese on it! 

Uncle Gack.

My little brother is about to celebrate his 29th birthday--guess that doesn't make him so little anymore--he is also about to become a daddy in just 8 short weeks. Most importantly, he is one of Kaden's favorite people to see when we come home. Kaden talks about Uncle Gack a lot. Every police car we see, its Uncle Gack. Doesn't matter if we see 10 within 10 minutes, they are ALL Uncle Gack!

I wanted to wish my little brother a very happy birthday and I figured the best way to do that would be to post a picture of his newest hobby…

Growing a mustache. A nasty, disgusting mustache! At least its for a good cause, all for charity! I would certainly recommend not keeping this around one day longer than he needs to because one might confuse him for a horny old man that likes little boys!

Happy Birthday Officer Hartley. I'll make sure to hold on to this picture and let Madison use it to get exactly what she wants! Never to early to teach a little blackmail! 

Wow, that far...

Now that we have been in the house for a little over a month I thought it might be time to show off a little bit of what we like most about the house.

When we first started looking for a house we were really hoping for land. Coming from a very small town in SW Missouri having land was all that I knew. When we lived in the country we had a pond, a creek, cows--area to explore. We later moved into town but we still had plenty of space. Space where my brother and I could ride bikes, play volleyball and basketball (and yes, we had a volleyball court and a half basketball court, lines and all). Moving to Kansas City was a little bit of a shock at first but I got use to it. I got use to the small, fenced in back yards. The busy streets that you end up living on and hardly ever venturing into the front yard. But I knew when we decided to purchase our next home that land would be important. Top of the list important. I wanted our kids to be able to explore.

There were a number of houses that we looked at that just didn't fit the bill. The location wasn't right, the houses to the left or the right or even behind us were just too close. Then we found the one and we scooped it up. And it is as close as I am going to get to what I grew up with, especially since my JOCO husband wouldn't be happy moving farther out than what we already are.

The drive may be a little longer than what we had before. We may not have as many restaurants around us as we had before but coming home this weekend and spending time at my parent's completely solidified the choices we made. We have this when we go down to see them...

and we have this when we come HOME.

Space. Space where the boys can run and play and I don't have to be following them on their heels yelling to stay away from the street or the neighbors car or anything else. Out with the stress and in came the joy of watching them run wild.

Frame Worthy

About a week and a half ago we had a few family pictures taken by the VERY talented Katy Gitto Photography. I just happened to be perusing FB one evening and noticed that she had a cancelation on a mini-session so I swiped it up. I figured it had been awhile since we have had family pictures done and I have some frames needing to be filled in the new house.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I had never worked with Katy from Katy Gitto Photography but she was AWESOME. She used a number of great animated voices that kept the kids attention and they hammed it up for her. Kaden has never smiled like this before! She also had access to great location for the pictures and since we went at 7, we had the golden hour to shoot with! Some how she even managed to make me not hate myself in the pictures. It was a delight and I can't wait for our fall shoot--and trust me, Justin is excited too! Thanks Katy!

A LIttle QT Time.

I had been wanting to get out and take some "real" birthday pictures of Logan but for the past 5 weekends we have been swamped-buying a house, selling a house, a baby shower, a first birthday and a few out of town work trips... So this weekend we decided to clear the calendar and just have a relaxing, quiet family weekend. To get a few things done around the house and to play with the kids. Daddy took Kaden and had some one on one time at Costco and I took Logan down to the West Bottoms for some QT picture time. And as an added bonus, Becky brought Colton too. He just turned three and she was need of some updated pictures too.

We divided and conquered. She snapped away at Colton and I snapped away at Logan. Once in awhile we switched just to see if we were able to get a different reaction. The boys did great and we were in and out before the rain started. 

Here is a little (or not so little) preview of what we were able to capture today. Pretty sure these boys just happen to be the cutest one year old and three year old that I know!

Look how much fun this guy was having…

And my cute nephew, Colton. 

Bye-Bye Bottle

Tonight Logan said farewell to the bottle. At bedtime that is. We transitioned him away from the bottle at all times of the day except for the one bottle at night and the periodic bottle in the wee, and I do mean wee hours of the morning about a month ago. And it has been no secret that Logan has never really been the best sleeper. He never got the hang of sleeping through the night, he would wake up, sit up and cry. I would go in and soothe him and hand him a bottle and in a matter of 10 minutes we were both to sleep. I babied him but he is my baby so I was cool with that. But ever since he turned the big ONE, he hasn't woke up once during the middle of the night. I am not sure what it was but whatever it was, I am forever grateful. There might be a teeny, tiny piece of me that misses getting up and caring for my little guy but then I remember how nice interrupted sleep just really is. Oh how I have missed you!

Now that we have made the transition to whole milk and moved away from bottles with Logan, why not keep the transitions going? Up next, Kaden and potty training. Our dear Miss Brenda will be taking vacation at the end of the month so I figured why not take off work and do a little potty training. I'll probably regret it seeing how it will probably be more work than if I was at work but the thought of not having to double up on diapers is SOOO appealing! Wish us luck. And yes, I'll document every last trip to the bathroom!

ZAP! BOOM! KAAAA-

POW! BAM! 

Our nephew, Colton turned 3 yesterday and today he celebrated with a SUPERhero birthday party. He had fun capes and masks for all his friends, his mom made the coolest superhero suckers, and everywhere you looked you saw Spiderman, Batman, The Hulk, Iron Man and so forth. It was such a cute theme and Becky did such a great job pulling it all together. And lucky us, we already had a Superman and a Green Lantern shirt for both the boys so deciding what they should wear was a piece of cake!

There was a lot of fun being had but I wish Kaden would have joined in a little more on that said fun. Lets just say he was the only kiddo that didn't want to wear the cape or his mask. The only thing that he wanted, the rock candy suckers. And to be outside but thats not unusual. Logan on the other hand wore his mask and cape for a long time. He kind of resembled an enemy of Superman that had been turned to stone because the kid stood in the exact same spot for 20 minutes as Colton unwrapped his gifts. It wasn't like he was interested in what Colton was doing more so he was just listening to what Mommy had said, "stand here for a picture"…

YUP. Hasn't moved one inch!

We had such a great time at the party this afternoon and we are so blessed to have such a great nephew like Colton to grow up alongside our boys and be best of buds. Here are a few pictures from the party. And although Kaden wasn't always joining in on the fun, when it was time to leave, I had to take him kicking and screaming. I guess being with some buddies was more fun then going back home..

the only picture with his cape on...

notice the missing Kaden, he is off whining about not wearing the cape.

Before the birthday party I took the boys outside and bribed Kaden with a sucker to sit next to his brother for a picture. He did and Logan stayed put but they never managed to look at the camera at the same time. Turkeys! But tonight while we were having our family pictures taken I was asked what I hoped to get out of the shoot and my response was a simple request but difficult to achieve--One FAMILY picture. To my surprise, our two little boys hammed it up in front of the camera for this new photographer and we got that family picture on the first try! Plus when it came time to taking a picture of just the boys, they rocked that too. They were Superheroes all day long!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame...

We are probably some of the worst Royal fans, we have yet to make it out to a game. That all changed on Wednesday night. Thanks to our dear friends, Scott and Korie, we had 4 tickets to see our Royals take on the Boston Red Sox. We arrived in good time, changed the kids in the parking lot and loaded them up in the double stroller-the thing is a BEAST but I am glad we took it. Once inside the park we sat down at a picnic table and pulled out our dinner. Kaden was too excited to sit still and kept running to the rail and seeing if anything new was happening. Music was playing, he was dancing and every once in awhile he would run back to us and grab another apple to munch on. He was in his element and it was nice to be able to sit back and let him roam a little more than last year.

Logan never really moved from his front row seat in the stoller but why would he. He was being pushed around, had his milk in one hand and a cracker, or two, in the other. He was full of giggles and loving life just as Kaden was.

As they were announcing the players we decided to check out the outfield experience and let Kaden run wild. On our way fireworks were being set off and if anyone knows anything about my son, its that he doesn't like loud noises that just pop out of nowhere. He freezes, covers his ears and locks eyes with me. But this time Daddy and I tried something different, we went BOOM, BOOM, BOOM too and cheered each time they went off and it worked. In the end, Kaden started making the same firework noise and was jumping up and down a hooping and hollaring.

Although we were only there for about 2 hours we covered a lot in one night. We rode the carousel. We played on the jungle gym. --Side Note. I can't believe how big Kaden is and the sort of things that he is able to conquer on his own when playing on a jungle gym. I would want to help him walk across some steps and he would push me away. "Mommy, I do it." He is almost too fearless and independent for the control freak Mom! -- After the outfield experience we headed back over to the right field area where Kaden took a seat on the top of the steps and yelled "Go Royals!" He got so many girls to turn around and smile at him. He may have turned a little red but you could tell he was eating it all up.

We were certain we would have two little boys deep asleep and dreaming about our next trip to The K but they both held strong and were awake when we drove into our driveway 30 short minutes later. (We were a little worried about our new drive to the stadiums but pleasently surprised when really it took the same amount of time to get home.) Once home and tucked into their beds they drifted peacefully off to sleep and surely they dreamt of the day they would walk out onto the field to 'I'm Sexy and I Know It', step into that batters box and hit their first home run infront of their hometown crowd. And even if they weren't dreaming about it, I sure was.