Potty Training

I don’t think I have mentioned on here that Maddie is potty trained! She has been for a while, 2 months +. I just don’t think I ever took the time to write it all out. I decided to wait  until she had finished school so that we would be home all the time and I wouldn’t have to worry about her teachers trying to replicate my methods.

We started Memorial Day weekend because she was so excited about using frog potty. We “ran out of diapers” and only had big girl underpants left. I started out with me asking her to go every 15 minutes or so. Sometimes she would have to go and sometimes not, but did treats when we did go. Eventually we got to the point where she knew 1 jelly bean for “pee pees” and 2 jelly beans for “poops.” Maddie went through the phase where she wouldn’t poop on the potty. Fortunately we did get through this although it wasn’t pretty for a little while, ha!

I eventually made a big chart to go along with the potty training, a bigger version of what we started with. Yes I bribed her/rewarded her with jelly beans. And there was a time where I thought she is going to be wanting jelly beans for pee when she's 10, but she doesn’t even ask for them now. Just like there was a time where I thought she will never “go on her own,” I'm going to always say, “ok go potty and then we’ll do . . . “ but now she just goes on her own when she needs too.

The frog potty if great. I wish I had a stool a little taller so she could just get on the big potty and go herself – she likes to dump the potty herself and sometimes it’s a little . . . messy. 

Frog potty:


The chart I used: we were obsessed with the stickers!

We do use “Doras” for nap times (she naps ~3hrs) and at night. We are working on naps now.

Bye-Bye Baby Bath

Sorry D, I have put it off as long as possible but you are just too darn big for the sink bath. I know, you love it because you can have the little water spray on you but I really think its time. Trust me you will love the big bath tub.

What do you mean I’m done with the baby bath?


Look, I’ll help out, I’ll wash out my own shampoo!


What's wrong with this thing? The water won’t come out!

Well fine I’m just going to lay here and drink the water with my hands.


Oh sure, tickle me with bubbles, that’s just not fair.


That’s it! I’m sulking now, I’ll pout!! You can’t make me give up the baby bath, I won’t do it, I’m going to lounge here until you drag me out.

The Dishwasher

I don’t know what it is about the dishwasher that kids love. D is obsessed with it – the second you drop that door he comes crawling over so you better finish up quick. He just likes to pull up to stand on it and slide the racks in and out.

Just like some other little baby not too long ago . . . .



Looks like I’m going to be cleaning more than dishes this morning.

How to eat a puff

1. Look cute and be hungry – a given.


2. Ask for your sister to share a puff with you.


3. Insert puff.


4. Keep puff in your mouth.


5. Make sure the puff is actually in.


6. Yay puff!


7. Wait, is it supposed to taste like this?


8. Want another? Sorry food trains leaving the station.

Family Golf Outing

Friday night we decided that if we left the house and ate dinner at Chik-Fil-A real quick we could probably get in nine holes and maybe make it to some ice cream afterwards before bedtime. Clearly we had our priorities straight: food – golf – food. Maddie and Dada were pumped. We took a cart too figuring that way our bags could be on it and then whoever had D could drive. Maddie goes out with Donny all the time to play, its adorable. She knows where the water coolers are, she can tell you where to tee up, and how to appropriately clap depending on the shot. Also, when you tee up she says “1, 2, 3, hit” as you are getting ready to swing. She knows her stuff. Well, D made it to about 6 holes and then was starting to fade so we cut across and played 8 and 9 and called it a night. We headed down for ice cream where D got his first bite – “green kind” from Maddie – he loved it!

Headed down the first hole – such a beautiful night!


Here, I get you some water.


View from the fourth tee.


The boys teeing off.


Maddie teeing off too!


Caddie.


Maddie running up the eighth hole – she likes to run/walk the whole course!


Tending the pin.


Maddie coming off the green when I told her we had one more hole and then we would go get ice cream, ha!!

iPhone dump

I just recently got an iPhone (yay) and have been obsessed with taking pictures and videos with it. Thus I have been seriously slacking in the blog department. Trying to see if I can sync the two......

D: 7 Months

For some reason unbeknownst to me you seeming to be aging much faster than I would like. You are also getting to be a real little big boy!


Yes, you read that correctly, D is crawling. He does this one leg down one leg drag maneuver and it is amazing and quite effective. Along with the crawling is the pulling up to stand. Maddie and I have been going around and adding extra padding on some corners and the tv table. He manages to bonk his head all the time anyways – usually on the floor from trying to “get down.”
So gone are the baby toys and out come some of the big kid play ones. I have put the exersaucer and jumper downstairs – he just doesn't want to be stationary. This makes me a little sad but at the same time soooo happy to have those huge things away. Now we have the piano and play table he pulls up on.

You are still taking two great naps during the day, 9-11 and 2-5. You usually tire and are ready for bed around 7:30 and sleep til/are chatting and waiting for us at 6:30. All this movin really wears you out!

In terms of eating – well you like everything! You eat three times a day and we have you down to three bottles a day too. One before breakfast and then one after lunch/before nap and the other before bed. Usually about 7oz in each. You love to eat crackers too. Haven't mastered the feeding yourself puffs yet but you love to eat them.

You are one happy little man. You are so smiley – that’s the first thing people always say too – is he always so smiley? You are! And you giggle all the time too at the funniest things – a pretend sneeze, peekaboo, someone else laughing, its so cute.

You are still wearing size 3 diapers (although you could probably do a 4) and wearing 12 month clothes. Clothes just depend on whether they are too tight in the legs – sorry buddy – which in turn cause the snaps in the crotch to bust, ha!

Oh, and super important, you say “mamamama”!!! You did say Dada before we headed up to Boston but now you just babble mama a lot, smart man!

Boston Part II

For the rest of our trip we did lots of other fun stuff – golfing, going to the pool (a lot) and walking around the neighborhood and playground. One day Lin and I took Maddie in to the Museum of Science while the boys stayed home and hung out (D resting for most of the morning). Aside from the whole money stuff – Wells randomly cancelling my debit card and the MOS being the only establishment to not take Discover – we had a blast! We got to go around and touch, play, and interact with all kinds of things. I know next year she will have even more fun doing things like this. We easily could have stayed much longer but Maddie’s nap was looming as was my 3 o'clock tee time.


Two places at once!

Not sure who was having more fun . . . .

T-rex footprint


Maddie loved her some “camel ride”