Getting Dressed.

Let's start with half of the story.

I have been teaching Jackson how to pick out his outfit for the day.  We went through the stage where I would tell him to get dressed and he would come out of his room wearing long sleeves and pants in the middle of summer.  We had to work on this for awhile, talk about the weather, and what clothing would be appropriate for the season.  

Once he understood this, we moved on to matching clothing.  This is typically easy because he has a lot of khaki shorts which match almost everything.  His plaid shorts are a challenge for him and as well as a pair of red shorts.

One night a few weeks ago, we were going outside and Jackson put on his red shorts with his red Texas Rangers shirt.  Okay, yes.....red and red.....it matches.....it REALLY matches.....job well done by Jackson and I praised him for his work.  Then I looked at Aaron when Jackson wasn't looking and smiled.  I guess Aaron didn't realize why I was smiling, because he replied to me with "That is really good!  That is an outfit I would have picked out for him!"  ...................... and at this point I couldn't control my laughter.

Fast forward to tonight.  Aaron was going outside to mow and I was cleaning up the kitchen from dinner, so I told the boys to get dressed and we could go outside and play.  Jackson gets dressed and I noticed Garrett could use some help, so I asked Jackson to help Garrett while I finished up in the kitchen.            

  

I really think I want to frame this picture because it makes me smile every time I look at it.

What I Can Make with Shapes.

I cut out shapes, had the boys identify the shapes, and then told them to make a picture using their shapes.  Jackson quickly figured it out....

 Garrett was caught cheating off of his brother....

Well, I THOUGHT he was cheating, but maybe he was trying to figure out how to steal the glue stick from Jackson, because Garrett's picture didn't reflect that he was cheating....

I really don't know what his picture was, but he kept saying "You like that Mommy?"  I would reply, "Yes, I do like that Garrett!" and he would say "Ohhhhhhh!  Thank You!"

 

Jackson made us laugh the other night.  We have had an alarm system, but it hasn't been monitored, so we had the alarm company come out the other night to get us set up to be monitored.  The alarm guy put the "this house is armed" sign in our flower bed and as Aaron and I are standing in the driveway talking to the guy as he was leaving, we hear Jackson counting.  We look down and see that Jackson is counting the sides on the sign and then yells, "It's a hexagon!"  Aaron looked at me with this face that meant "What the heck?  Is it a hexagon?!"  I'll be honest, I had to think about it for a second.  It was actually an octagon, but I was pretty happy with hexagon from my 3 year old.

Building a Bird House.

Aaron has been telling me for awhile now that he wanted to get the boys this little tool kit sold at Lowe's.  There are different kits you can buy to build things with your tools, such as a bird house, a bug house, a tool box, etc.  

 

Aaron has told me about this tool set and the different kits several times, but I just never got too motivated to actually buy one because I feel like the boys have enough tools.  The tools they already have aren't real tools, but they are perfectly fine for them!

However, I know that wasn't the important part.  The important part was that it could be a good father/son project and a good bonding activity for them.  

So, one day when the four of us were home with nothing going on, we headed to Lowe's (like we always do...) and bought a tool set and a kit to make a bird house.  

The bird house said 8+, but that is just the recommended age.....right!? 

8+ to complete independently, but any age to complete it with an adult....

When they first began their bird house, everyone was involved -

Jackson was really involved....Safety first!  :)

But after realizing that this screw driver was harder to use than his toy screw driver, he was more interested with the tape measure than the bird house.

Garrett was still trying....

While Aaron was helping....

But it quickly became, Daddy's project.

Perhaps there really is more meaning to 8+....

Aaron made a birdhouse with a little bit of assistance, but they made memories together and that is what really matters!

"My Purple Ball"

I was looking through my Flip video camera and came across this short video created by Jackson. It makes me smile every time.

Jackson is obviously just looking for something to record because I never knew his love for his purple ball.

Blogging.

We are alive....
We are doing well....
And I do think about blogging.....
I just haven't been.

Since we have moved, I am never as motivated to blog.
Maybe because....
We live closer to things now.  We used to be so far away from things, so I think we spent more time at home.  Maybe it is because the boys are getting older, or maybe it is because it is summer.....but I feel like I don't have as much down time as I used to have.  Or maybe I still do have the same amount of down time I used to have, but I have found other hobbies that I enjoy more?

I enjoy blogging.  I love connecting with other moms.  I love that it is an easy way for my family and friends to see what we are up to.  And most importantly, I love how it documents the boys' life.  But for this moment, I am kind of enjoying life without blogging.  With that being said, maybe at the end of the week or end of the month I will feel differently and I will be back to blogging daily.  You just never know.....because I really don't know!

My purpose of this blog post was just to let you all know why I haven't been blogging.  I will still blog, but for this moment it will slow down.  Keep checking back.  Be sure to add your email to the 'subscribe via e-mail' box on the top right of my blog and you will automatically receive an e-mail when I update my blog (you may want to add my e-mail address to your address book so it doesn't go to spam mail- jordan8082@sbcglobal.net)

Again, I am not done blogging, just giving you all my excuse.....

Diaper Free....Could it Be?

We have had a child in diapers since September 27th, 2006.  Then on March 21, 2008, we had TWO children in diapers which continued for 10 months.

We were beyond thrilled when we got Jackson out of diapers, but I was never one to say potty training was easy.....on him or I.

Pampers has been a huge part of our family for almost 4 solid years.    

Sunday night, Garrett went to sleep knowing that the Potty Fairy would be coming to our house that night  - 

The Potty Fairy came and took all of Garrett's diapers - 

    Replaced them with big boy underwear - 

and left a basket of rewards -

Garrett was extremely happy when he woke up Monday morning and discovered what the Potty Fairy had left for him.  

He was ready to put his big boy underwear on and get started - 

His big brother quickly corrected him and told him he was supposed to take his pants off first - 

Day 1:  He did so well!  He only had 2 accidents all day which was fabulous!  He was kind of motivated by the rewards, but he was more excited about getting to put his underwear back on after he went potty.  Jackson is sure enjoying the rewards.  He thinks he needs them too....

Day 2:  A little more challenging.  

Garrett wasn't as excited as he was on day one.  I also bought the e-book called Potty Training in 3 Days.  I basically combined this technique with the one I was already using.  Potty training is all about staying positive (which can be so hard to do), so I try to avoid forcing him to "try to go" which ends up relating the potty to a negative place he doesn't want to be because he was forced to be there.  

One thing Potty Training in 3 Days taught me was to never ask "Do you need to go potty?"  This question can quickly be followed with "NO" and the conversation is over.  Instead, it says you should say "Let Mommy know when you need to go potty." and you say this over....and over....and over again.  This isn't a closed question, so it gives him the opportunity to think about it and make the decision on his own.  He thinks he is in control, not me.

On day 2 that is what I said and never forced him to go to the potty.  There were two times that I KNEW he needed to go, but he didn't DECIDE to go.  So, when the accident started, I quickly scooped him up (as it was dripping all over us) and ran him to the potty.  We were still able to celebrate that he got [some of] it in the potty, didn't mention what didn't get in the potty, and then I just said "Yucky! Wet underwear!  Let's put on some dry underwear!" and we went on with our day.  

Day 2 was the hardest day for me because I had to watch and play with him all day long so I could quickly see if an accident was starting.  Even though he only had 2 accidents on day 2, there were the moments that I thought to myself "Is he really ready for this?," but looking back, it was still a great day!

Day 3:  WOW!!!

While eating breakfast, I said several times "Let Mommy know when you need to go potty."  {silence}

Then as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I looked into the living room and Garrett was gone.  I pictured him hiding somewhere with wet underwear, but then I found him in our bathroom, sitting on his little potty, and he said "Me need to go potty Mommy."  (I didn't even know he was fully capable of pulling down his underwear on his own!) And this is how our day went!!  When he needed to go, he just went in the bathroom, on his own, and went!  No stickers, no prizes....just celebrating! 

Since Garrett was doing so well and we had been locked up in the house since Monday,  I decided we would take a risk, leave the house wearing underwear, and drive through Chick-fil-a for lunch.  Garrett fell asleep in the car and when we got home he didn't want to wake up, so I let him sleep.  He slept for about an hour and when he woke up he was groggy from his nap and hungry.  I said the quote I have said 1,032 times now..."Let Mommy know if you need to go potty!" I knew he needed to, but he was really focused on his food!  

Then, it happened.  I ran him into the bathroom to finish, then when we returned to the kitchen, and I started to clean it up, he ran over to Jackson and said "Oh noooo Jackson.  Look what me did.  Me made a mess.  Oh noooo."  He then walked back over to me and said "It all clean now Mommy?"  I said "Yes, it's all clean!!"  He said "Okay, Mommy" and the rest of his day has been great!

Although we are only on day 3 and haven't been out in public, Garrett is convincing me that when it comes to potty training, it really is the child and every child is different.  I dreaded potty training Garrett because Jackson seemed to take forever, but it has been so different with Garrett.  Although I could try to explain every reason why I think it is different this time around, I will let this picture do the talking.  I think it sums it up pretty well....

Scentsy Discontinued Items

Scentsy is getting ready for the Fall/Winter catalog which will be available September 1st.  For the month of August, most items are 10% off!  This is a list of the discontinued items that are only available while supplies last.  I am sad that Cutiepie Cupcake and Sugar will be discontinued.  :(

Baseball Cupcakes and Cake.

I made these cupcakes for Brittany Dlabaj's son, Eli, who turned one and I wanted to share them with you all.  I had to be very sneaky making the baseballs around Garrett.  At one point he said, "Me get that baseball and go Hey Batter Batter Swing!  I go get my baseball bat Mommy!"  :)   

This was Eli's smash cake!