Potty training... the on going Saga

We started potty training Katelyn last summer when she was 20 months old. we were told it should take a week Cameron had an 8 week break from school so we figured we would be safe... There is no way I would have attempted this by myself with a new born... Dallin was 2 months old at the time.


























well it's been over a year now and she still has "ax-a-dents." generally she is at least in the bathroom when these accidents occur... that's progress. she use to just stand there as it trickled down her leg while she was playing.

We tried putting her on a time out whenever she had an accident, reasoning that if she didn't want to take the time to go to the potty while she was playing then she would have to take some time away from her play time... it didn't work so well, the accidents became more frequent.

one day I was reading one of my old journals when Katelyn came up to tell me something, She stopped with a worried look on her face and said "ax-a-dent" she then rushed on to say, "it's OK I'll clean it up, I don't need a time out"

She is certainly keeping us on our toes...

Packing

Cameron came home early yesterday and needed to run some errands, I was planning to pack and it's always nice when he take at least one of the kids, so I asked Katelyn,

"Would you like to go bye bye with Daddy or stay home with mommy?" and then in an effort to persuade her to go with Cameron I added, "Mommy is going to pack and clean the house"

Katelyn replied, I want a stay home a pack with mommy, I want a pack a same as mommy."

then she ran into the living room which is quickly becoming overcome with boxes pointed at an empty one and shouted, "Look a box, YEA!"

so Katelyn and I stayed home and "packed"

Faces

Dallin makes the cutest faces, here are some of my favorites

Popsicles

Have I mentioned that Dallin LOVES ice cream... It's incredible, he can eat an entire Popsicle, ice cream cone, or bowl of ice cream faster then anyone I know, without, It seems, getting a headache. This weekend Cameron's parents stopped by for a visit, while they where here we had Popsicles, the push up kind. Dallin sat on Grandma Louise's lap happily eating his Popsicle while Louise pushed it up for him, Her hands got too cold so I gave her a towel to hold it with, meanwhile Dallin who is also holding the Popsicle doesn't seem to even notice that his hands are cold. He finishes in record speed and when he was done his face was dyed the color of the Popsicle. What an amazing kid!

Raising Couch Patatos.

I don't know when it happened, (perhaps while I was writing a blog or checking my email...) but my kids are addicted to movies. The first thing Katelyn says when she wakes up is "I watch a moomee mommy?" I usually insist that she at least eat breakfast, then get dressed and ready for the day before I consent. With Dallin he walks around the house saying "boo-dee a boo-dee" then he grabs our hand and guides us to the TV where he points and says "Melmo watch" which is "I would like to watch Elmo."
Yesterday as we were walking into the house from the car, I asked Katelyn what she would like for dinner, she announced, "No Food, Just Moo-mees" Dallin joins in with "boo-dee, boo-dee" They got louder and louder, by the time we got to our door and inside they were announcing it at the top of their lungs. I'm sure our neighbors think we are great parents... How did it come to this?

Dallin's New Car Seat

Dallin was way overdue for a new car seat. He was suppose to move out of his infant car seat almost 5 months and 2 pounds ago. He wanted to be in a big car seat so bad, when ever we would get into the car he would try desperately to climb in on Katelyn's side before she could get there then he would cry as I put him into his seat. we weren't trying to make his life miserable we were just waiting for an amazing deal. Cameron was hoping we could find a car seat that was narrow enough to fit with the other two seats so we wouldn't have to get a van when we have a new baby. Personally I don't think one exists. So today I decided enough was enough, deal or no deal we were getting Dallin a car seat.

He LOVES it. when I brought it into the house to adjust the seat belt to fit he decided to try it out and he and Katelyn spent over an hour climbing and playing on it. we had to constantly remind Katelyn that it was Dallin's seat and she needed to let him have a turn.

He is so happy with his new car seat. He beams up at us as we look at him through the rear view mirror.

Halloween in August

as I was going through the stuff in Katelyn and Dallin's closet I came across last years Halloween costumes. Katelyn was a princess for Halloween last year and has three different princess costumes, When she saw the "princess dress" she striped down and put it on immediately. We showed her pictures from last year and she quickly changed into her green princess dress, it was a bit tight so she decided a green church dress would work just fine.

she also insisted that Dallin wear his monster costume... Dallin was 6 months old last October so as you can imagine it was a bit tight. but we managed to get it on and I had to snap a few pictures because there is no way Dallin will ever wear it again.

against our better judgment we reminded Katelyn of how we went Trick or Treating at Calvin's house last year. Her eyes lite up and she announced, "I want a go hick-er-heating at Cal-bin's house" She looked at us grabbed each of our hands in hers and said "shall we go?" so then we tried to explain how trick or treating is just once a year, she looked at us and with pleading in her voice said, "shall we go a marrow?" so we pulled out the calender and showed her when it would be Halloween... an eternity for a 2 year old. We spent the rest of the evening playing Trick-or-Treat. Katelyn would come to the bedroom door, knock say, Trick or Treat and we would take turns putting small toys in her out stretched bag.

Good Listening

we have been working on being a good listener since before Katelyn could understand the concept. at times I feel like a broken record. "I need you to be a good listener." "Oh good listening!" "Mommy loves it when you are a good listener!" and on and on it goes all day every day.

Yesterday Dallin was having a hard time after he had woken up. He wanted something to eat but he wanted me to hold him but he wanted to sit in his seat. he didn't want me to feed him but he didn't want to feed himself... he gets like this when he first wakes up. Finally I decided to put him down at the little table and put the food in front of him and let him figure it out... Katelyn came over gave him a big hug and in the sweetest voice said "I love you Dallin, you're just not being a good listener." He was still a bit upset so she came back and said "Dallin I love you, you're just not being a good listener Dallin." apparently she has heard that a few times...

I Can Cry if I Want To

Dallin has started this fun new thing where he gets upset about something and is completely inconsolable. this past weekend we went to Busch Gardens. We had a coupon for buy one get one free ice cream so we got two huge waffle cones, Dallin took one look at the first waffle cone and decided that would be his, all to himself and he wasn't about to share
Now don't get me wrong, this kid can wolf down ice cream with amazing speed, but there is no way we are going to let our one year old have a ginormous waffle cone with two huge scoops of ice cream all to himself. so naturally Cameron had to pry it out of his hand and Dallin was not happy about that. We tried everything to console him, nothing worked we even gave him the cone when it was a more manageable size. in the end he held onto the cone, refusing to eat it, dumping the now melted ice cream all over himself and the ground and fell asleep in the car where he ended up dropping the mushy cone onto a very surprised Katelyn.... I thought girls were suppose to be the moody ones....

It's Raining it's Pouring!

It's the beginning of Hurricane season and umbrellas were on sale at Target so Katelyn got to pick out her very own umbrella she loved it so much she wanted to use it all day. It's too hot to play outside much especially when it's not raining so we brought the fun inside. she was very careful to keep her baby dry. What a good mommy!

Choo Choo

Dallin Loves trains, trucks, cars and anything with wheels. He clumps them into one category, "Choo Choo."

Grandpa's Little Helper

Katelyn Loves to cook, she is more then happy to help anyone willing to let her. This last weekend while we were in Naples visiting Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Katelyn and Grandpa decided they were in the mood for cup cakes... so they made cupcakes.

Dallin at the Zoo

We haven't been to the zoo for a while... something about Florida in the heat of the summer... so when we went this past week it was like a whole new experience for Dallin and he LOVED it.
Checking out the white tigers, There were two tiny baby cubs, of course they were a bit camera shy. There is an awesome water play area where the kids can play and cool off.Dallin may have gotten a little too cool, He likes to cuddle when he is cold.
Dallin Loved the petting zoo, he would make his rounds on the goats gracing each one with a little pat before moving on to the next one.... so considerate.

Cookies

nap time is becoming a sketchy thing for Katelyn, She still mostly naps but it's becoming difficult to put her to bed at night now. Yesterday I decided to try not having her take a nap and she and Dallin fell asleep at 5pm watching a movie while I was getting dinner ready, they woke up at 6:30pm. They were a bit on the grumpy side and Katelyn wanted to make cookies, she loves to cook, especially when there are sprinkles involved... we have tried to make it a policy not to give into little terrorist demands but... they are so convincing especially when you know it will make them happy...

Katelyn's favorite part is adding the sprinkles of course.
Dallin and Katelyn helped decorate, Dallin mostly got to choose some colors. He's not so good a cookie decorating yet, he likes to try and eat the sprinkles while they are in the container.

We only have wheat flour right now so I was a bit concerned about how they would turn out, The kids didn't seems to mind they loved it... at least the loved the frosting...
What a happy guy!

Rings and Princess Dreams

Katelyn has become interested in anything remotely related to princesses including weddings (because they all get married and live happily ever after of course) Last night as I was putting her to bed she stood there looking around for something. When she spotted my wedding ring she said,

"you had that a you got married?"

Yes, Daddy gave this ring to me when we got married.

"oh.... I had one when I get married?"

yep you will get one when you get married.

"oh."

she thought about it for a while then as she jumped into bed she said with a gleam in her eye, " I want lots of them!"

We may have to warn her future husband about this...