Jump Around, Jump Around

Jump up, jump up and get down! ;-)

This morning was Fletcher's first jumperoo experience. Just like the other boys, he was not quite sure what to think at first. But, after a few minutes, he warmed up and thought that it was pretty fun.

Quinn acted as helper and entertainer . . .




until he was ready to go solo . . .

Firsts

Upstairs in our hallway, I have two shadowboxes labeled "First Thanksgiving" and "First Christmas". I have been needing to update them to include Fletcher. So, yesterday I spent a little time going through some pictures and looking at my babies as they celebrated a few firsts. It was fun to compare them.

First Thanksgiving:
Quinn . . .


Holden . . .


Fletcher . . .


First Christmas:
Quinn . . .


Holden . . .


Fletcher . . .

I think that Holden and Fletcher look the most similar, so far. What do you think?

Lego Photo App

Quinn got his first Lego set for Christmas, and he fell in love. So, of course, Holden quickly fell in love with them, too. Now, both boys have their own sets in their bedrooms, and they play with them almost every day. It's been a lot of fun building knight's castles, airplanes, houses, and trucks. Thankfully, they share and let me play!

Brant has an iPhone and was able to find a free Lego photo app. You take a picture, and the app shows you the picture built with Legos. You can even change the colors. As 2 new Lego fans, the boys thought that it was super cool!

Quinn . . .


Holden . . .

Parenting Goals

Tuesday was a rough day at our house. It was a day that I spent way too much time over-disciplining, over-parenting, over-reacting and over-talking. It was not a "good mommy day", so it was certainly not a "good family day" either. It was just a yucky day. After wallowing and feeling badly about it for 2 days, I decided to buck up, get over it, and move on. I took some deep breaths, prayed, re-read my "1-2-3 Magic" parenting book, and decided to make a few changes/goals.

First goal? To say "yes" when at all possible. I'm not talking about whether or not to buckle their car seat belts, go to school, or run into traffic. But, yes to the little things that really don't matter in the long run. Things like clothing choices (please note that Holden is wearing black socks with brown pants in the picture below - also, he wore that same shirt to preschool on Wed!), a little more dessert, or 5 more minutes of a movie.

Second goal? To have a little more fun each day. I decided to start "Fun Fridays". On Friday mornings before preschool, the boys are allowed to have a living room picnic breakfast, watch PBS Kids, and have chocolate milk. We started "FF" this morning, and the boys were pleasantly surprised and happy about the change of pace . . .


Fletcher was also happy (but, he usually is anyway!) . . .

Third goal? Follow my "1-2-3 Magic" parenting book/method! I had gotten a little lazy about it. Time to get back to it!

Star Student

Yesterday, Quinn received a Star Student Award at preschool for "good listening, being helpful & polite". He was super proud of himself, and we were thrilled too! Way to go Q!

Diorama

Over a year ago, my parents gave Quinn a dinosaur book complete with dinosaur models and a diorama kit. We have read the book many times. However, I didn't think that he was quite old enough to put together the models/kit and really appreciate them. Well, he decided last week that he was ready (and he really was!). We spent some time constructing his dinosaur world, and he's keeping it all safe in his bedroom. Here it is . . .

Go Exploring

How do you occupy 2 energetic little boys in freezing cold weather? You bundle them up, give them a notebook and a crayon, and take them outside to explore. We looked for animal tracks (we found deer footprints) and dinosaur bones (amazingly we didn't find any of those!). It was FREEZING, but we were able to get a little fresh air and burn some energy.

The explorers . . .


making their observations . . .


and recording them in their notebooks . . .

Cell Phone Pics

I haven't downloaded Brant's cell phone pictures in a while. Actually, it's been over 4 months! It was fun to look through these pictures and remember these events, both big and small. So, here are some snapshots of our last few months.

A new baby . . .


An NC State football game . . .


2 brothers at bedtime . . .


A trip to the dentist . . .


Some fun in the leaves . . .




An NC State basketball game . . .




Spending New Year's Eve with dear friends . . .


Some Gator fun . . .


Fletcher in Sunday School . . .


And, finally, a haircut for Holden . . .

One of Those Weeks

Ever had one of those weeks? Well, poor Holden has! This week has included potty training boot camp, a yucky stomach bug, and a bump on the head!

Last night, I went to see The Lion King with some girlfriends. It was FANTASTIC, by the way! I called during intermission to check on the boys. Brant was afraid that he would be asleep when I got home and gone to work when I woke up, so he decided to warn me about this before I saw it for myself . . .

It seems that Quinn and Holden were playing and rough-housing (as brothers do) in the living room. Holden went head-first into the coffee table. Thankfully, he is fine today. The swelling has gone down, and he seems back to his old self.

Let's just say that we are all ready for this week to be over. Hello weekend! We're ready for you!

*Despite all of his drama, Holden's potty training is going great! He was accident-free at preschool this morning. What a trooper! ;-)

Not a Great Combo

A little stomach bug (upset stomach/low-grade fever) + potty training = not a great combination (I will spare you the details - you can thank me now!)

Holden stayed home from preschool this morning. He was not sad at all to "stay home with Mommy". Mommy, on the other hand? Well, let's hope that the big guy gets well soon and can make it back to school on Friday! ;-)

Costume Nook

I have been in a cleaning out/organizing/simplifying frenzy since the start of the year. I have tackled closets, bathroom drawers, and the kitchen pantry. I've been throwing away so much stuff that the kids probably think that they're next! ;-)

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that my boys LOVE costumes. After working some in the playroom, I knew that I had to do something with all of their costumes and accessories. They had so much stuff spread out in different rooms and tucked away in toy boxes. They really had no idea what treasures they had! So, with Brant's help, I turned one of the dormer areas of our playroom into a costume nook.


We found an over-the-door mirror at Target so that the superheroes can admire themselves all dressed up . . .


We found these accordion racks for the wall at the Dollar Tree . . .


This old toy box holds all of their accessories (hats, masks, claws, capes, etc.) . . .


Batman checking himself out . . .

*Holden's been doing really well with potty training. 2 accidents on day 1 (Sunday), 1 accident on day 2 (yesterday), and a mini accident (a dribble) today during his room time. He even stayed dry at MOPS this morning. We are so proud of him! YAY Holden!

Potty Party

Potty training went so well with Quinn that I decided to follow the exact same routine with Holden. I waited until just after his 3rd birthday and instituted Potty Training Boot Camp . . . today! Brant took Quinn to church and lunch. Holden, Fletcher and I stayed home and had a potty party. We gathered our supplies, went to the playroom, traded diapers for underwear, drank TONS of juice, watched TONS of TV, and tried to potty every 10-15 minutes.

So far, so good. This morning went really well; Holden only had 1 accident. He's napping right now. As soon as he wakes up, we'll get right back to it.

Supplies included the royal potty,


caffeine for me (it's going to be a LONG day!),


juice boxes and big boy underwear for Holden,


and my little helper/Holden's moral support!


Well, ready or not, here we go!

*I chose to start today because preschool is closed tomorrow for the MLK, Jr. holiday. This will give us 2 straight days to stay home and "potty like rock stars" . . . just couldn't resist! ;-)

"Boys Only" Castle

Brant took the big boys outside this morning for an adventure. First, they hiked through the woods behind our house. Then, they made a "castle". Using the Gator tractor box and sidewalk chalk, the boys made and decorated their castle. Brant tied it to our swing set. When it was all finished, everyone grabbed their swords and slayed dragons.









*And, I must say that I was super impressed by the fact that Brant kept the boys outside and entertained for almost 2 hours in the freezing cold! What a trooper!