Potty training Success

I'm happy to update that the potty training is going terrific! It looks like we can say goodbye to diapers, well for atleast one child anyway. We were at our widths end with this potty training business so we recently purchased a book which helped us tremendously. Luckily the book didn't have too many pages and didn't take long to skim through, it just took some motivation and a little studying. It is guaranteed to successfully potty train your child in less than a day...and low and behold, that's exactly what it did! I was kind of apprehensive in the beginning just because I had tried everything in the past with Avery and didn't have results. I was amazed how quickly she caught on with some patience on my part and lot's and lot's of praising, of course. There were also lots of cookies and sugary drinks involved, but hey, it worked. Avery is consistently using her "big girl potty" now and hasn't had any accidents since the second day we started training. She hasn't even hesistated to use the "big girl potty" when we are out and about. I told her I am so proud of her and we can soon transition her into her "big girl bed." Way to go Avery girl! Mommy is so proud of you!

Table for Two

Philip and I ventured to Ikea yesterday in hopes to find a toy chest for the kids. Well, we didn't find the toy chest we were looking for, but we found this cute little table for two instead. It is just perfect for them and I thought they looked so cute sitting down having their snacks this morning. Awww....they look so grown up! Now mommy and daddy need to find themselves a nice new grown up table.
 

Memorable pics of the Month

Can we say "Spring Fashion!"

Callum making a new friend at Knott's Berry Farm

Avery enjoys her first pony ride with Dan

A possible future Farmer's career with Daddy??

Avery is styling in Daddy's hat

Callum's 1st Birthday

My little guy just turned 1 year old this past weekend and we decided to throw him a birthday party with his cousin Alexa, who also turned 1, three days earlier. I still think it's crazy how they are only 3 days apart. Callum seemed to enjoy his party and had fun running around in the chaos with all the other little kids. Although he seemed to get a little overwhelmed during his Happy Birthday song, he certainly had fun indulging in his cupcake and made sure he smeared it all over himself really good before throwing the rest of it on the ground. That's my boy!

He is now approaching toddlerhood, which is crazy, and has developed the sweetest little personality ever. He's constantly on the move and is always looking for new obstacles and is beginning to be fearless at everything he does. Not so sure that's a good thing. He's starting to imitate what people are saying and has a vocabulary of about 6-7 words now. He enjoys watching cartoons with his big sister and has really taken a liking to mashed potatoes and gravy. Yummy, his favorite!

This year has already flown by so quickly and my little boy is growing up so fast. Hope you had a very Happy Birthday little man!!!

 

  

Callum crying during his Happy Bday song

He loved his ice cream cone cupcake!

He had a lot of fun opening his presents

He got lots of new clothes...Yay!

 

His sister was even nice enough to help open his presents

One of Callum's favorite Birthday gifts

Pretty pink Tutu

So my sister recently sent Avery a new tutu. It is the cutest thing you've ever seen. It has crazy amounts of pink ruffles and not to mention, weighs a ton. I couldn't believe how big and poofy it was, never seen anything quite like it. Avery adores it and has been wearing it ever since she got it. I had to share some pictures of her wearing this ridiculously cute skirt. Thank you Auntie Jeanette! XOXO

Callum get's a workout while Avery enjoys the ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIBUeU4bsHk

Happy V-Day

Since it is almost Valentine's Day, I let Avery have some fun in the kitchen and bake some of her own cookies. Last week was chocolate chip and this week was sugar sprinkles. Avery loves her cookies!

 

  

  

Mmmmm......Deeeelicious!

Family Bonding

Philip got back into town last night from San Jose. Exactly one day before his birthday. Good timing! I took some pictures of him bonding with the little ones this afternoon. Awww..... I love family bonding time!

 

 Say "Feeeeet!"

 

 

Funny Pictures of the Month

 

 Miss Pouty Face

 

Callum thinking, "How am I going to climb up here?"

 

Avery brushing the little bit of hair that Callum has

 

Mr. Daredevil himself

Fun Sandwiches

I came across this website the other day and thought these kid sandwiches were adorable. I thought to myself, what a fun way to introduce Avery to some new sandwiches. She loves her peanut butter and jelly but I'm sure she'd eat other sandwiches if they looked like this. Time to get my sandwich groove on!

http://www.funkylunch.com/gallery.htm

 

  

 

Potty Training Continues

I went to Target today and got some toys in the dollar spot. I figure I can do the reward system with Avery to encourage her during potty time. I tried the whole sticker thing in the past and that doesn't seem to work. She gets too distracted on the potty and just plays with the stickers, forgetting why she is sitting there. So that's not so good. I have heard the first step is to take your child out and let them pick out some big kid underwear. Ummm....I don't think so. I think once we can get past Avery doing well in the pull ups, we can take it to that level. For now we will just have to try different routes and see what works best. I know she'll get there, with more time and patience on my part. Okay, a lot of patience!

TinkerBell

Philip and I got Avery a couple of TinkerBell movies for Christmas, not knowing  just how much she would love them. TinkerBell, TinkerBell, TinkerBell! Avery loooooves TinkerBell. From the time she wakes up in the morning to the time she goes to bed, she wants to watch TinkerBell. I tell her that she watches it so much, she just might turn into one of the Pixie Hollow characters. I know she'd love that! There's definately a lot of pixie dust going on in the house these days.

Oh look, it's TinkerBell and Terrence!

Visit to the Science Discovery Center

Well, the holidays are officially over and things have calmed down around here. Happy New Year by the way! My parents and I had decided to take Avery and Callum down to the Science Discovery Center in Santa Ana this weekend. I've never been there before and I thought Avery would have fun exploring. We've seen the giant gingerbread cookie on the top of the building a million times passing by on the freeway, and it sparked our curiosity. Luckily we made it on time for the gingerbread house display because this was the last weekend. Not only was it neat to look at but it smelled pretty darn yummy too! They had other fun things to look at like the outdoor dinosaur exhibits, which was one of Avery's favorites. She loves the dinosaurs, as long as they're not moving of course. They also had a rock climbing area where she wanted to put herself to the test. Hey, she's got to burn all that energy somehow. She seemed to enjoy the Gravity Well display and tossing all the balls kept her pretty entertained. What a fun place for the kids! After a couple hours of exploring and one tired, cranky little boy, we headed home.

Avery and Grandpa looking at the Gingerbread houses

Avery's gingerbread friend!

Me with the kiddos

Little rock climber

 

Avery sliding down the dinosaur tail slide....Weeee

Happy New Year!

We wish everyone a happy 2010!

Callum walking at 9 mos.

Here is a video link that Philip and I took of Callum, walking earlier this morning. He is certainly a motivated little boy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JvoIfKWf-U

2009 is coming to an end

This year is almost over and Avery and Callum have grown so much. Callum is now standing and walking on his own, and to think he was born just 9 mos. ago. By the end of this month, the little guy should be a pro at walking. He loooves to eat and has a gift for being one of the world's messiest babies. He is such a boy!
He is constantly learning from his big sister and soaking it all in. Now if only the little munchkin can get a tooth in...hee hee.

It was a big year for Avery this year, as she turned 2. She has changed so much in just the past 3 mos.
She is now speaking in full sentences and is great at her ABC's. Her favorite word is LOVE, as she seems to looooove everything these days. Her stranger anxiety has gotten so much better and she has turned into quite the chatty Kathy. I'm still working with her on potty training, as I had taken a little break, but am back on track. (not on my top favorite list).

As for Phil and I, we are already starting to plan for Callum's 1st Birthday and are anticipating moving to a new home out in the Temecula area. This has been a great year for our family and we've been thankful for the all the blessings it has offered. Can't wait to see what next year has in store!

My little boy is growing up

 

 

Wow, I can't believe Callum is 9 mos. already. It seems like he's definately growing up a lot faster than Avery. I have to enjoy these last few months of having a baby in the house, as he will soon be a wild and crazy toddler. I'm excited to be able to share his first Christmas with him, that should be a lot of fun. Last year I was still pregnant with him and this year he is going to be old enough to rip open his own wrapping paper. Kinda crazy! He is still working on walking and is getting pretty good at standing at times. He is quite a bundle of energy and is ready to conquer the world.... so he thinks.

Things I'm thankful for at the moment.......

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we should all be thankful for the special things in our
life. Here are a few things I'm thankful for at the moment.......

* being able to stay at home and raise my children
* having a home to raise my children in
* Phil's deployment almost being over and working soooo hard for our family
* having love and support from family and friends
* having a reason to eat lots of pumpkin pie
* my heater in the cold mornings
* having all my appliances working while Phil is out of town
* having happy, healthy children
* not having to go to the grocery store today...yeah!
* the beautiful fall weather we've had all month
* sharing a giant chocolate chip cookie with Avery for lunch

Enjoying the Simple Things

In these tough economic times, it's up to all of us to enjoy the simple things in life.

For Avery, it's indulging in the decadence of a chocolate truffle!

For Callum, it's making a work of art out of a simple sweet potato!

Happy Halloween

 

Halloween 2009 has come and gone. Our trick-or-treat athon was spent at Grandma Sue Sue's and Grandpa Gerry's house. Avery dressed in a ladybug fairy outfit and Callum sported Halloween PJ's with a big pumpkin on his butt. It was Avery's first Trick or Treating experience. She started out a little hesitant but soon warmed up to the idea when she realized people were giving her candy. Callum decided to catch some zzz's while his big sister ran around the neighborhood. Avery was dissapointed that after spending several hours sorting and re-sorting her candy, she didn't get any. She did walk away with a braclet and necklace for her troubles.  All in all I would say that it was a spooktacular Halloween!

Yummy Apple Crisp

Avery had fun today helping daddy make a very yummy apple crisp. It was her first time baking and she had a good time tasting all the ingredients before they went into the oven. She was quite an excellent little helper and didn't mind getting in there and getting her hands dirty. I am hoping she will inherit her daddy's cooking skills. I think her favorite part of all was eating it for dessert...mmmmmm.

Pumpkin City

 October is here and it's finally fall! Today we headed over to Pumpkin City's pumpkin patch, as they just opened yesterday. I remember working for Pumpkin City a long time ago when I was still in highschool. Oh, the memories. They had pony rides, a petting zoo, and games. Avery had fun taking silly pictures with her brother. She really wanted to ride on the little kids train and go in the jumpee, but she's still too little. I think 3 is going to be an awesome year for Avery! It was incredibly warm and we ended up loosing one of our cameras, but we all seemed to enjoy ourselves at the pumpkin patch.