Potty Update

Potty Pals.

Nope. We're not potty trained yet, but we're working on it. I'd LOVE to do the 3-day method that a few of you have sent me information about, but it's not feasible with our schedules. We won't have a 3-day weekend anytime soon and it will be hard to find one where we have nothing to attend. Summers are full of showers, weddings, events, etc for us!

Nonetheless, we're trying to get him on the potty as much as we can. This weekend we woke up both mornings and played around in the bathroom while he sat for a while. We had a #2 as well a couple #1's in his toilet and he also went #1 on the potty before school Monday. He's gotten rewarded with candy, stickers, stamps but mostly hugs, kisses, high fives and happy dances. He's read many books while sitting on the toilet, but we've let him use the iPad quite a bit. Generally, in a week he uses that thing a total of probably only 30 min. We don't want him addicted and prefer to save the 'fun' of it for things like sitting on the potty and when mommy is hungover long car rides.

We're nowhere near ready to leave the house without a diaper on, but we'll get there! I'd love for him to be trained within the next few months, but we're not pressuring him at all. It will click soon enough and with him being cloth diapered, I don't have to worry about the costs associated with disposables!

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get him to tell us before he has to go? We've noticed that he'll say "I go poopy", but then literally be going in his diaper 2 seconds later. I'm not sure as to how to get him to hold it until he's on a toilet! Suggestions are welcome. Thanks mommas!

Fun in the Sun

It's only appropriate to post some pictures from our heat wave last week seeing as how it's been rainy and cooler this week! There's nothing better than beating the heat by being in water of some kind.. amirite?

 I guess filling your croc with water and dumping it out of the pool is fun too.

Hope you're staying cool wherever you are!

Kansas City

For anyone who wants to learn a little bit about my hometown, watch this. It's pretty much perfect.

And that 'Troost Avenue' that he was driving on... um... yeah it's SCARY. I got lost around their one time before cell phones and thought I was going to die. Literally.

Isn't my hometown awesome? 

From Wimp to Pimp

We've noticed over the past few months that Drew really wants to go on pint-sized rides, but then generally ends up balling his eyes out and screaming for us to pluck him off quickly. I'm not sure where this fear comes from, but nonetheless we have continued to try and change this. Our friends invited us to Memphis Kiddie Park on Saturday and I knew having Drew's girlfriend there would help him get over this fear.

Somehow, I knew this is exactly how the first ride would go. See the tears, death grip and sad face?

So we decided to take the plunge and put him on the roller-coaster, accompanied by daddy. I was terrified this would be even more traumatic for him therefore sealing his fate of avoiding amusement parks for the next 25 years. Boy was I 100% wrong. He absolutely loved it and laughed the entire time.

That meant it was time to try a parent-less ride again, so we picked something pretty short and slow. We plopped him in this car with Charlotte and they were off. Holding hands the entire time, you couldn't wipe the grin off his face if you tried.

So it was then on to the rocket ships, trains and carousel. Check out the hands-in-the-air confidence even!

We had to end with a fun car ride to snap a few more pictures of them together. Derek told Drew to put his arm around Charlotte thinking that would last a total of 3 seconds. Nope. He held onto her the entire ride and Charlotte even snuggled in and grabbed his hand. 

Can we say adorable? These two are totally getting married in 24 years from now! 

And as a parent, what did I learn? A lot, actually. Mostly that I shouldn't underestimate how much we can change our children's fears, feelings, emotions and reactions to certain things. By being over-the-top enthusiastic about rides and smiling until our jaws hurt along with not giving up, we completely were able to reverse his fears. It's amazing how influential their little minds are, and I need to remember that in times of stress or when I'm reacting negatively to something!

Thank You Notes

Am I the only one in the world left who appreciates a good thank you note? I realize that handwritten letters have mostly been replaced with emails and even birthday cards and party invites have been hijacked by ecards and evites. I understand people are generally busy and don't have time to hand write a note, but is it acceptable to not acknowledge a gift at all?

I grew up in a household stressing the importance of prompt, hand written thank you cards. I'll admit though, as a 'youngster' I dreaded the arduous process after birthday parties and Christmas, but knew my mother would give me no choice. Somewhere around my time in college, I began to appreciate thank you notes; both giving and receiving them. I found pleasure in finding adorable cards and written personalized notes in them knowing they would elicit a smile from the recipient. It began to bug me that others did not feel they were needed any longer. In fact, I still give my BFF crap for never getting a thank you card for her wedding gift!

I know the 'norms' have changed over the years, but is it not mandatory for people to write a thank you for all wedding gifts? Shouldn't it be even more mandatory if say someone wasn't even able to attend the wedding, yet still sent a nice gift? What about baby gifts after the birth? I like to splurge on newborn baby gifts with something from Janie and Jack... does that not warrant a brief thank you note? I had a baby too, I know how busy life is, but you can bet your ass I wrote a thank you for every gift received. I appreciated people spending their hard earned money on gifts for my child. Am I ranting now?

Anywhoo, where do you stand on this? Am I completely old fashioned and shouldn't expect thank yous anymore for gifts? Or were these recent examples just flukes and people still do write thank you notes?

Taylor & Drew

As some of you noticed, Miss Taylor was in a couple pictures I posted Monday as part of our trip to Buffalo. Taylor is my blog friend, Shannon's, little one and she is just a doll. Shannon and I met over a year ago and instantly clicked. We are both working mothers, have the same parenting styles and share a lot of the same opinions. It's hard to read every post by every blogger you love out there, but I generally don't miss one of Shannon's and bet you'll love her too!

Knowing we wanted to get up to Buffalo/Niagara Falls this summer to enjoy a weekend away with Drew, we started planning a weekend that would work for both of us. I wanted to meet one of my favorite little toddler bloggers and couldn't wait to finally meet Shannon in real life! Both husbands were reluctant, but this wasn't my first blogger meetup and I assured Derek it would be ok. We met at the zoo and then Shannon and her husband had us over for a delicious dinner and time for the kids to play in the backyard. Drew and Taylor were instant buds sharing the basketball, chasing each other around the yard and splashing in the pool.

Thanks again for having us over Shannon!!

Buff Trip

Sometimes I feel lucky to live up here in Cleveland. Sure, I'd rather live down south soaking up the warmth more months out of the year and not dealing with snow, but when it comes to travel, we're in a good spot. There are quite a few cities within 4 hours making it easy to explore new cities and easily drive to them for a long weekend. We knew we wanted to get up to Buffalo/Niagara Falls again this year and made the trip this past weekend! We visited there just over 3 years ago when Drew was in my belly, but this time did more 'toddler-friendly' activities. Here's the rundown!

Stop #1: The Buffalo Museum of Science

It was pretty small and perfect for Drew with the dinosaur bonus and animals. I'd say it needs a big sponsor to come in and give it a little TLC, however, as it was quite dated with a lot of exhibits not working. Drew loving the 'movement' room, also, where we learned about wind, gravity and motion. 

Stop #2: The Buffalo Zoo

This zoo is much smaller than Cleveland's zoo, but did have a few animals that we don't have as well as a toddler train that Drew screamed on for the 60 second ride. Anyone recognize this little lady in the pictures with Drew? More on her later this week! 

Stop #3: Paula's Donuts

Ranked #1 out of 774 places to eat in Buffalo, according to Tripadvisor, it didn't disappoint. The donuts were delicious. I might or might not have eaten more than one.

Stop #4: Niagara Falls

So amazing. This place is just beautiful and completely magical. Drew loved riding the Maid of the Mist and getting sprayed with the water as well as just watching the waterfall. Honestly though, the highlight of the boat ride for him was the 80 million seagulls that were in the water and flying around! 

(warning: these next pictures are from a $13 underwater camera!)

Stop #5: Aquarium of Niagara

This place was tiny, and really not worth $10 per adult, but we knew Drew would enjoy it, and he was free. Sea lions, penguins, fish and sharks are all a toddler needs to get excited. Cute seahorses are all a mom needs to get excited.

We are so lucky to have such a good traveler and sleeper or we couldn't make these weekend trips work. Co-sleeping in the hotel went well, once again, and he took perfectly timed naps in the car. I'm also lucky to have an amazing husband who let me snooze while Drew did for 2 hours on the ride home too!

The worst part of the trip? We were in this huge food court on Sunday and neither women's bathrooms had a changing table. I despise changing a diaper while he's standing, especially when there's a juice #2 that takes 13 wipes to handle. Ugh. #toddlerproblems. 

Beer Me

So for Derek's birthday last month I ordered him a beer kit. We've had a few friends make their own and he's been dying to try it out. I went with one I found on Amazon that had a ton of positive reviews and kept the process simple. It ended up taking just under a month for everything to ferment and the process was quite simple.

For our first batch we tried the Mexican Cerveza and it was delish! In the end, it's a very inexpensive way to make beer and we can't wait to try out another blend soon. If your needing a gift idea for someone in your life who enjoys a good brewha, I'd recommend a basic beer-making kit!

2.5 Years Old

Oh baby bear. These past few months have been incredible with what you've accomplished. Your ability to soak up information and never forget it boggles my mind. You definitely have more of an independent streak, but still like us to help sometimes. I barely carry you anymore as you prefer to walk and if you don't want to do something, you certainly let us know. Still, though, your teachers referring often to you as 'so sweet' and 'such a good boy' is music to my ears. Thank you for being such a good kid and still sometimes, our cheeseball.....

Good-Bye Grandparents

Once again, we're back to a house of three. I sure do look forward to getting more sleep with less entertaining, but I definitely miss my parents when they leave! Thanks again for such a fun visit and can't wait to see you guys again this fall! 

I also have to thank my dad, once again, for all he did around our house! From fixing Drew's puzzles and toys to helping take off our house numbers he always does so much. I've mentioned before that Derek and I aren't really handy, right?  Example: our main handrail had pieces of the old paint/stain on it removed from when we took off painters tape 3 years ago. {FAIL} My dad stripped it all down for us, re-stained it and added polyurethane! Also, who knew how much better rubbed bronze spray would make our gold door chime look? 

Not sure what I'd do without my dad! 

Seeing Blue

We are a blueberry-loving family and I knew we wanted to go pick some while we had grandparents in town. Worried that Drew would squish them all over, we all dressed in dark colors and headed out early on Saturday morning. With perfect weather and a field almost all to ourselves, it was a great setting for some family fun.

Drew ended up doing a great job and loved the process. Sure he ate his fair share of blueberries out in the field, but he loved carrying his own bucket and searching for just the right berries. And I don't think we even had a single squished berry.

And if anyone has any recipes we should absolutely use with blueberries, please send those on! For now, I've made turnovers, muffins and a crisp. Unfortunately, we still have TONS left! I guess we'll be having blueberry pancakes all week!

Fun on the Fourth

We've had grandparents in town for each of Drew's July 4ths and this year it was Gramma and Poppa's turn to visit! We did what probably 95% of Americans did yesterday which was watch a parade, grill out, drink some Summer Brew and watch fireworks. It was perfect.

And what fun is the 4th without sparklers?

God Bless 'Merica! 

Sweet Boy

Dear Sweet Boy,

        Lately, you've been knocking me off my feet. And not in a bad way, I'm talking about in those magical ways where you say something and I have no clue you knew what that meant, or how to even phrase your sentence that well. I can't tell you how many times lately your daddy and I have looked at each other with pure surprise at your story telling and grammatically correct monologues. We've always thought we had a smart cookie, but to hear teachers and neighbors and friends comment on your amazing inflection and speech makes us beyond proud. I wonder how many other 2 year olds add such a variety of adjectives to their sentences, or use the correct tense when referring to something that happened. I think it's absolutely adorable that whenever daddy tells you something right in front of me, you must repeat the entire thing to me as if I didn't hear. I always act like I heard it first from you as I secretly know this makes you happy. 
        You're only 2 and we have been seeing signs of the 3-year-old stutter for weeks now, but they aren't that often and I think it's mostly because your mouth can't keep up with your speedy brain. Your impressive, beyond-you-years, ever growing brain. We can pretty much understand 98% of what you're saying these days and you always seem to know exactly what we're saying. Sure if I told you that there was a purple elephant in the oven, you'd be confused, but if I asked you to get your purple elephant and put it in the oven, you'd do it. 
        Your memory also seems to be expanding in ways I couldn't even imagine at this age. You'll bring up something we talked about the week prior, or a phrase you use with your grandparents last time we saw them. We can ask you what you did over the weekend and you remember. But you don't just say 'zoo'. Oh no, you describe the animals we saw, how we didn't see your teacher there (who we thought we would) and that it rained and you caught the rain on your fingertips. Oh, and songs and books? You can sing around 10 songs all by yourself and know 2 books by heart.{proud momma face}
        We have friends who think your voice sounds like a 4 year old, but to me, I still hear a baby voice. And I'm glad. I like being over a decade away from puberty and would love for this sweet, toddler voice to stick around for a while. 'Love you mommy' will sound good at any age, but I have to admit I love it more now than I did last year. Maybe it's because I know you know what it means, rather than it's something we say often. Or maybe it's because I hope we are this close forever. I asked your daddy the other day if I overuse those 3 magical words. I wouldn't ever want you to think I just nonchalantly throw it out there. We decided that there are children who probably never hear those words and they simply can't be overused. I like reminding you all day that I love you.
        So here's to you and your brain my little angel. Some parents brag about walking early or potty training early. I'm bragging about your brain, and quite frankly, it would be the #1 wish on my list of what I'd prefer to brag about anyway. You keep blowing me away, sweet boy, and know that your proud mommy and daddy are your biggest fans.

Love, 
Mommy