Potty Training

Benjamin has had a renewed interest in potty training (we tried when he was 2 1/2 but not much real success). This time things are going alot better. He goes poopy in the potty all the time! He wore big boy underwear for 5 days in a row (don't worry he had a new pair on everyday) and he kept them dry. He still needs to wear nap time and night time underwear but we will take these huge steps! We are so proud of him!! He will tell us when he has to go potty and he gets so proud of himself when he does it. When he was 2 1/2 we tried a motivation chart to get him to go potty and that just didn't work. This time he wanted to go potty (like a school kid--he really wants to go to preschool in the fall) and we didn't have to use any real motivation. When he wore his big boy underwear to Dani's house (daycare) he was so happy and proud of himself. We can't get over how grown-up he is getting!!

Hey Diddle Diddle

Benjamin is such a sweet big brother. Every night he will help say Ada's prayers and then he tells Ada the "Hey Diddle Diddle" riddle. Both kids have always liked this riddle and this riddle is/was the only thing that would help settle them down. It is so sweet to watch Benjamin say Ada's prayers and to listen to him say her riddle.

Little Craig

Ada has always looked like my brother Craig (he denies it and does not see it) while everybody else comments how they think she looks like him. If he doesn't see the resemblance in this picture than I have no hope that he ever will. I can't believe how much she looks like him and how much she looks like me, too. Whenever I look into her little face I see me! She is such a beautiful little girl and she makes me proud everyday. Benjamin says Ada looks like a little boy in this picture. Her hair is coming in dark and thick but slowly growing long. One day she can wear a real headband or a hair tie just not anytime soon.

A Few Things About Me Both Interesting and Not

I am trying to catch up on some old post assignments/activities and this is one that I have not done yet so here goes.
Here's how it works: All the ones that are 'bolded' are things I've done or seen or whatever because I just KNOW you wanted to know all this about me. I'm tagging Carrie and Amanda (if you want to do it) and anyone else who wants to play along.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (flute)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
7. Been to Disneyland/world (both actually)
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (while in Europe)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (the kids were sick)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (those of you who know me, know the story)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (studied German in high school & college so I didn't actually teach myself the language but I practiced it)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (a replicated statute in Europe)
41. Sung Karaoke (not very well I might add)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant (I didn't purchase the whole thing just provided the additional money that they needed)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (for a disaster exercise)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (several - as long as my mom hasn't thrown them away)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (it was actually at crawling speed but it felt like speeding to me)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (my masters thesis)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (on a way to a friend's wedding)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (seen the outside of it--was never inside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (choking incident)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit (the anti-tipping mechanism on our oven--from Sears)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I learned that while I have thought that I have done alot with my 30 years there is still so much that I want to do! My list is pretty boring if you ask me!

Little Momma

Ada is quite the little momma to her babies and dollies. She can be so sensitive and caring with them and then turn on a dime. When she has had enough baby time she will throw them down (not very gently I might add) and say "NO". She is sitting here looking so proud wearing and playing with some of her Christmas gifts--a new pair of pj's from Grandma & Grandpa, shoes from uncle Matt & aunt Carrie, and her baby doll from Grandma & Grandpa. As you can see her babies are quite an armful! She is very protective of them and will not go to sleep unless she has them in her crib with her. And she will not go to sleep until she get them arranged just the way she wants them! She is a good little momma to her babies and she even breast feeds her babies!! Unfortunately, we have not been able to capture that on film. I can't wait till she really gets into playing dolls!!

Little Artists...

Benjamin and Ada received an art easel for Christmas from their uncle Craig and aunt Stephanie. The art easel has a chalk board, dry erase board, and two clips to hang paper on for decorating. Benjamin and Ada have been busy being little artists. They have been drawing on the chalkboard and painting (we don't have any dry erase markers so they don't use that board yet) with the finger paint set that Ada got from uncle Colin. They surprisingly have not made much of a mess! They both seem to enjoy painting (Benjamin loves doing art projects so doing just about any sort of project makes him happy). When they are both painting at the same time it gets to be quite the work out! They each want the brushes (we have 3) and to use the easel at the same time. We have it worked out that they rotate easel time, etc. For their paint palate we cut apart an egg carton that they use to put/hold their paint in. It works great! Now, if we could just find some nice painting paper we would be in business!!

Capture (take a picture of) Us If You Can..

I just thought I would share how incredibly hard it is to take a picture of these together when I want too!! These were the best Christmas pictures we could come up with. I vowed to leave the Christmas tree up till we could get a decent picture but I called "uncle" and decided that these would have to do! Maybe I can get my dream photo next year!! Does anyone else have a similar story/situation?

Look Mommy, I decorated!!

Ada has always been a little ham when it comes to getting her picture taken. One morning she pointed to the camera and she ran over to the Christmas tree and stood there looking so proud. She had taken some blue garland and decorated our Christmas tree with it. She was so proud of herself. She could have had her picture taken all morning long if we would have had time. Doesn't she look so old?

Thank You, Grandma!!

Benjamin and Ada just wanted to say thank you for their hats! They enjoy wearing them, but of course not when you want them too!! They also enjoy wearing each others hats (which works out just fine if they are both doing this but when one of them becomes protective of his/her hat it is game over). Don't they look cute? Oops I mean handsome, oops I mean beautiful (I think I will just stick with cute).

Mommy, Stop Telling Our Stories!!

What are people going to think about us?

Happy New Year!!

My co-worker Chris invited us (Dave, the kiddos, and me) to her house for a New Year's Eve Party. We took her up on the offer and had a great time. Dave was a little uneasy with the thought of the kiddos staying up late, etc. but everything went great. Ada is usually always in bed by 7:30 p.m. but that night she rang in the New Year! She wasn't even crabby!! She was sound asleep by the time we got home but you would never have known that she was only one year old and up way past her bedtime! Benjamin takes after us and can be a night owl if you let him. He has never really been a great sleeper--we are so blessed with Ada's sleeping habits! Both kids had a great time playing with Karyne (Karyne and Ada are 3 weeks apart in age) and the other kiddos at the party. There favorite thing to play with lately (the last few months) has been kitchen so they enjoyed playing with Karyne's kitchen. Chris and Vitaliy have two house cats that Benjamin and Ada fell in love with. They would search high and low for those two cats! Benjamin even touched one of the cats. Both he and Dave tell me that we should get a cat. We will have to see about that! Dave and I had a great time interacting with other adults and seeing our children interact with the other kiddos there. It was so nice to include the kids in our evening plans and not have to worry about getting a sitter, leaving the party early, or declining the invitation! Plus, Chris made some awesome food. My absolute favorite were her bacon wrapped water chestnuts! Yummy!!!! Thanks for a great time Chris!! We will have to get together again!

Round Three--Our Christmas

Benjamin and Ada were so cute on Christmas morning. They woke up and gave each the biggest hug I have seen them share. These two love each other and get along so well. They each get upset when they can't see each other. Now, don't let me fool you, they have their days when they are on each others nerves but overall they are the best of friends and I really hope that their relationship continues like this. As you can see we had to read each book after it was opened up! I am so glad that these two love to read but I really didn't expect to be reading each book after they opened them. It sure made the day ours and that being together was the most important thing we could be doing.

We made waffles, an egg bake, and orange julius for brunch/dinner on Christmas Day. We had potato soup and chili for supper. Speaking of food, we made pizza on Christmas Eve. Dave and I look forward to continuing our Christmas traditions with our children and look forward to the day when we take them to Christmas Eve mass. For now, we go on Christmas Day.

We had a wonderful Christmas and we look forward to many more traditions and memories!!

Our Christmas

Santa came and both kids were excited! Benjamin and Ada were both really into opening presents and seeing what each other got. They liked opening a present and helping each other out with opening each other's present and of course stopping to play with some along the way. Santa brought the kids some books, a Diego rescue pack with card games inside, safari animals, tractor, dolly, and a few puzzles. We have a small tree so it didn't take much for it to look full. Dave and I enjoyed seeing the excitement on the kids faces as they opened their gifts.

Our Christmas Eve

Since we did so much traveling over the Christmas Holiday and during December we decided to hold off on our Christmas for a little while. We actually did our Christmas before any of us had gotten sick. Since we are just starting to get back in the saddle with feeling better and getting caught up with everything I finally have time to post "our Christmas".

Dave and I always give the kids pj's on Christmas Eve so that they have something nice to sleep in (especially, with all the running we do that way I am sure that they are clean). After we put Ada down for bed we let Benjamin open one of his gifts from us. As you can tell we gave him the game, "Candyland". He loves it! He likes counting like a school kid and playing games with us. He was trying to bribe Dave into playing one of Dave's games (way to advanced for Benjamin) and Dave kept saying, "soon enough, soon enough". The three of us had a great time playing Candyland but Benjamin prefers spending time with his dad (that noise you hear is me sniffling). I think Benjamin is ready for Chutes and Ladders but he will have to wait until his birthday for that (unless the Easter Bunny brings along a surprise).

Benjamin was pretty excited about Christmas but he did not want Santa to come into his house and bring any presents.

This and That

You may have been wondering what we have been doing lately since I have not been able to update my/our blog. Well, our family has been under the weather lately. All four of us caught a cold (within a couple days of each other) and it was a terrible one. I can't believe how laid up we all were. We didn't eat much, we couldn't sleep much, we just plain didn't do much of anything! Benjamin is "all better" and Dave is just about there. Ada and I still feel pretty yucky! We constantly are blowing our noses (okay, Ada wipes all of her face except for her nose) and have a pounding in our head. Ada has a little bit of a cough while I luckily do not. It has been a long time since any of us have been sick or have not felt good so I hope it stays away for a long, long time! On top of the cold Ada has been teething and it has not been going well for her. She is pretty clingy both due to the cold and her teeth and is a CRAB bucket! We are (I am) enjoying the 3 day weekend with my family. We have enjoyed lounging in our pj's and just taking it easy. Please don't give up on us or me as I intend to blog more regularly from now on.

Playing barbies and tea party...

Benjamin and Johnny (Dave's cousin) were infatuated with playing barbies and tea party. The girls did not stay and play long as they were into the "boy toys" and playing other things. Benjamin could have played barbies and tea party all day! These two were too cute!!

Speaking of barbies, when did they make some that light-up and sing?

Christmas--Round Two at my in-laws

Getting together with my in-laws for Christmas was tougher than originally thought. It seemed like every time we planned to get together there was a blizzard or a really bad storm. But as luck would have it, we found a day to visit and even spent the night!

Lately, you will find Grandma (Dave's mom) knitting, crocheting, and quilting different items for others to treasure. She knitted a couple of stocking hats for the twins and I happened to ask a question "where's the fuzzball?" and so did Harper. So anyhow, Grandma and Harper are working on the "fuzzball" for her hat. Whoops, should have kept that to myself. Sorry Grandma!

A game that Ethan has come to enjoy over the Christmas break is called "Pegs and Jokers". Here is the group playing the game with loyal fans!

Dave's aunt and uncle who live in Wisconsin were visiting over the holidays. We tried to take a group shot of all the grandkids and great grandkids. Tried is the word. Notice that my son is nowhere to be seen and my daughter wants nothing to do with the photo shoot!

Grandma and Grandpa have balloons in their toy box and these kids would play with the balloons all day if we let them. They have Grandpa, daddy, anyone who is willing to blow the balloons up but not tie them. They then take the balloons and let them go and run around and chase them. The adults tire out so fast compared to the kids! Here Grandpa is being convinced that he needs to blow up their balloons. Notice Harper listening quietly to music in the background while the rowdy ruckus is going on around her.

Doesn't Ada look like she is up to something while she is playing tea party with daddy?

The kids received a tea set, pots and pans, play food, hooded sweatshirt, dinosaur t-shirt, a Wiggles guitar, and playdoh with accessory tools for Christmas. It took the kids a split second to dive into their play food, tea set, and pots and pans and start playing with them!

We had some tasty soup to eat and all the cookies a kid wish for. My mother-in-law goes cookie crazy, I swear! She is always baking cookies and giving them away (lucky for us but not good for our waistline). We had a good time seeing everyone and hope to see them all again before to long.

Gift opening

Ada loved opening presents. For being only one years old, she was just as into it as Benjamin (3 years old) was. For a while she was outpacing Benjamin with the gift opening! But her attention was quickly lost if she saw a present that she just had to have and/or play with. Dave and I enjoyed watching the excitement that the kids displayed!