Learning to be 3!

It's not easy telling the world you are 3!  Those fingers just don't want to cooperate sometimes.

Getting close..

Almost there..

Well we've got a whole year to practice.

Time flies faster with every child. It seems like he was born yesterday, and now he's 3.  I'm so glad it flies..ha! I'm just kidding, but those first couple of years are exhausting some days.  This is the first time we've had one turn three and not have a newborn coming down the pipes.  Don't worry, I'm not forgetting about cc, but he's already 10 months!  

Speaking of exhausting. I mentioned Garrett got a stomach bug right after we rounded the potty training corner. After 8 days of being sick, we finally got an answer: salmonella poisoning. It has been a long week! That's my excuse for blogging his birthday 2 days late.  We went to see Bunny and Pappy for the weekend and we had a wonderful time! Will get those pics up after I get this boy well. I'm so thankful to know he's going to be better in no time with a little medicine.

We love you so Gman. You are the life of our party and a charmer in deed. You make the world a more light hearted place, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you my big boy! Happy 3!!!

Mother's Day

I had a great mom's day with the fam.  They didn't look so excited huh? That's because super mom there didn't realize the boy had 102 deg temp.  Should've known when he asked to go to bed instead of lunch that something was wrong.  A sure way to get the stomach virus going is to proclaim to the world that you are nearly done potty training. There went that train...choo choo. Oh well, that's kids for you...throw all sorts of wrinkles into your well ironed plans!  It would be very boring any other way.

I made a page of some of the art work they made. They could not WAIT to give it to me. I wish they would stay this way forever!

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with these crazy 3 plus one more! My sisnlaw texted me about mother's day earlier in the week, saying I am a mom of four. It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I am a mommy to a baby all the way across the world.  We very unexpectedly received an update on him earlier in the week with a NEW picture! We were so thrilled to see how he's changed. Allie noticed right off that he was losing some of his chubby in his cheeks.  He must be crawling all over the place.  Just as unexpectedly as we received that update, today we learned that it is highly likely that all families receiving assignments after 11/30/2010 (ours was 12/23/2010) will NOT be granted permission to travel this year.


Wow, just like that our hopes were dashed. It is not an absolute, so we will continue to pray for God's perfect timing.  I just feel like we are missing so much. I feel like our "due date" has been pushed out another 6 months....I'm starting to feel like an elephant.....wait..wait..and wait some more.  It is certainly part of the process...a very uncertain process. This is out of our control, and I find peace in knowing that for all these months we have prayed for God's timing, and as it is unfolding, we have to be satisfied with His sovereignty.  

A "Brief" Announcement

OH YEAH! OH YEAH! The BOY decided this week that he would go to the potty!  It has really been pretty painless...just had to be on his terms. He's had no accidents for a few days and is making me taking him to public potties as we zip around town even with his diaper on, so I guess we are getting there! I think he is going to be one of the "I need to check out every potty on the planet" kind of kids. So the big question for boys???

BRIEFS??

or BOXERS??

He watched the "Potty Time" DVD which was actually very helpful to get him going.  He was screaming , "I have POTTY POWER...and making muscles."

SO cool!

 I'm really really excited to see the end of diapers (after 8 years....) I will enjoy the break...even if it's just a "brief" one..ba ha ha.

Hope you have a blessed Mother's Day weekend.  Maybe this video will make you feel like a mom to the core....just like it did me:)

Easter 2011

Where does the time go? It seems like I'm barely making it to the computer when the end of school is near. We had a wonderful Easter celebrating Christ! I think everyday in heaven will be 100x better than Easter, and I love Easter, so I think I'm gonna be ALL SET!

Stepped outside for a quick pic before church, and unbelievably, they cooperated.

Just a little scrapbooking on a Saturday morning. I'm LOVING today because we have NOTHING to do! Nothing to do means we have time to potty train without leaving the house, and G MAN has potty power today!  Whoohoo! I got the template from noreimerreason.com again! It's so easy! Thank you "A" for your tips..made a huge difference!

Back to Easter, here is the traditional tree pic with Little Lion and Allie..

...here's the first one in 2008.

We have the tradition of taking pics outside the church in front of the same tree.  Can't believe how big the girls are getting.

We celebrated with Em and Adam late in the day.  You know about confetti eggs?? Garrett LOVES THEM! I'll teach you.

Position egg above a child that is clueless and younger rendering them defenseless against you...in this case Abbott.

Either crack or squeeze the egg, using the least amount of force which results in the least amount of pain for the child.

Now, SHAKE violently to dispense all the confetti. FOR SURE to produce lots of giggling among both parties.

Took some sweet pics of Em's family. It's hard to get an almost 2 year old to stand still!

Oh the confetti eggs are $1.97/dozen at walmart or most grocery stores...if you can remember for next year:)

Wordless post

Not exactly

Garrett left a load in my potty. (I'm not being crude...read the sippy...it says LOAD on it.)  I will explain the story behind this pic after I give my thoughts on potty training this.....this......this BOY!

 Listen now, I have not considered myself to be one of these "scratch your head moms". The ones who say, wow my kid just won't potty train. Having trained two already, I thought, what is the big deal? We will do this, this, and that, and he will be trained...no big deal. Potty training woes are only for the faint of heart ( let me kid you, I was just as bad with my first child, but your perspective changes with each child), and that does NOT include me. (Those who know me well would argue that point:)  I can say with all honesty, I have not pushed him. He just won't do it.  We ask from time to time, and I think he has gone ONE time to date. He's almost THREE.


So YESTERDAY, the BOY runs in from the back yard screaming, "I need to squirt, I need to squirt." And he ran in my bathroom of all places (he NEVER goes in there).  I ran behind him cheering quite hysterically at his epiphany.  He ASKED to climb on the potty, and then ...wait...wait...wait...just a poot.  You would have thought he just been named a national merit finalist.  We both screamed...why? Because at least he happily sat on the potty and made an effort. He did this about 10 times...and 10 poots later, my hopes and dreams for progress were simply flushed down the toilet.


Oh well. Maybe another day.  I put his diaper back on, and went about my day.  Later that night, I went to go myself, and the sippy cup is what a found.....a cruel cruel joke left by my son...the BOY.


Sigh.... On to more pleasant conversations.  My nieces, twin brother, and sisnlaw came down for a visit. Here are some pics I took of them..pretty sweet girls.

We were so busy, that I didn't take any other pics of their visit.  The kids love playing with all their cousins, and we had a great time!

Beautiful Grill

Mary had to have pics made at school this morning for pre-k graduation. As she walked down the stairs, Garrett exclaimed, "Well HI, Beautiful Grill!"  I took a few pics before school...can't resist when she's in all white:)