Walking Machine

Charley has become quite the walker. She has really started to walk a lot more within the past couple of weeks. She definitely prefers it to crawling. She is a little Frankenstein when she walks, which is so cute. I love that she is walking, but it makes me realize just how big she is getting.

Ouch!

Today Thi came up to me and said something about his finger. I didn't think anything of it and went to go wipe his hands off, and that's when I noticed a huge blister on his index finger and two smaller ones on his middle and ring fingers. I have no idea what happened or even when it happened. He has since popped the blister on his index finger. He now has a nice Dora band-aid on it.

Pick a Sticker...Any Sticker

Jon's aunt sent the boys some stickers for Christmas last year. We have been saving them because we didn't want the boys to simply waste them by sticking them on their shirts or places they didn't belong (furniture, walls, etc.). We didn't really know what we would use them for, but when we started potty training we knew they would be a perfect reward for Justus. He loves stickers. There are so many different kinds to choose from that he becomes a little indecisive when it comes to picking his sticker. It's worth the wait though if it means he is going on the potty. Potty training is going great!!! We have only had the a couple of accidents and that's it. I guess it's true that when they are ready they will pretty much potty train themselves.

Chicken Pox?

I'm thinking I'm going to have to make a trip to the doctor's office tomorrow. She has a little bit of a rash, and I'm not sure what it is. My first thought is chicken pox, but only because that's the only type of red bump rash I know. It all started with Thi having little spots on his face, but I didn't think anything of it since it was only on his face. Now though Matthias' are pretty much cleared up and Charley's have spread....hmm. She is due to go back to the doctor tomorrow to get her ear checked anyways, so I will just ask the doctor about the rash while I'm there.

Day #2

Day #2 of potty training has gone very well. He did have 3 accidents...one pretty big one and two small ones. We were expecting accidents, so we just remained calm explained to him that big boys don't go potty in there underpants and then gave him a quick little shower. After the little accidents he seemed to understand a lot better the difference between wet and dry. A few times he would start to go pee and then stop and run to the bathroom telling us he had to potty. A big success of the day was him going poo on the potty! We knew he had to go since he normally goes twice a day and he hadn't gone since Thursday night. Him going poo on the potty resulted in me taking him to QT to get a candy bar....only because I had promised him one the first time he went poo on the potty. He chose a Snickers with almonds....good choice. This picture is him showing off his stickers that he has gotten for going on the potty.

Potty Training: Take 2

Today we began our second attempt at potty training. After some advice/tips from some friends we realized that we just needed to buckle down and start. So far it is going well. We haven't had any accidents, but we took him to the bathroom just about every 30 minutes or so. Jonathan took the day off, so that helped out quite a bit. When he goes pee on the potty he gets a sticker and every 3 stickers he gets a penny for his candy machine. If he goes poo on the potty he gets a sucker, but we aren't pushing that right now. I now realize that Justus was probably ready the first time we tried potty training, and that the problem was probably that I wasn't. Oh well...we are going to stick with it this time, and hopefully start Thi within a couple of weeks.

Have a Seat

Charley is so funny sometimes. She just does her own thing. Today she decided to have a seat on the car bin. I can't imagine it was comfortable sitting on a whole bunch of Hot Wheels and plastic cars, but if she was okay with it then so was I.

New Man

Thi got a haircut today. It was much needed. His hair is very "fluffy". I know it's time to cut his hair when it just stands straight up.

I Like You, Okay?

While I'm not a fan of my children laying half-naked on the kitchen table, I love when my boys play and laugh together. They were having so much fun. It's moments like these that I think there is hope that maybe, just maybe, they actually do like each other.

A Little Privacy Please

The kids are getting too big for all three to take a bath together. The boys unfortunately don't understand that Charley now gets her own bath. They still want to climb in and play in the water. She doesn't seem to mind though.

Happy Father's Day!

Jon has had a pretty good Father's Day. It started off with McDonald's breakfast...yum! Then we headed to church. When we got home Jon got Burger King, took a small nap, watched the Cubs game (they won!), and then headed to Toy Story 3 with Justus. It's been a pretty peaceful and relaxing day. I tried to get a picture of the kids with Jon, but this was as good as it got. Justus was being a stinker and didn't want his picture taken.

My Boys

You know how sometimes you have a skewed view of your children and their personalities. This picture is exactly how I feel our kids are in comparison to other children. We had our friends the Wilson's over this evening. Their son was so calm...and my boys weren't. They were running wild...thus their blurriness in the photo....while Sam was just taking it all in.

Boxes

Today after we got home from grocery shopping Charley decided she wanted to play with all the empty boxes. I thought it was pretty cute. She had a good time with them for quite awhile.

Walking Tall

So technically she isn't walking, but she is rather tall. At least that's what the doctor told us today at her well check-up. She now weighs 22 lbs. and is 31 inches tall. She is in the 70th percentile on weight and a whopping 95th percentile on height. The nurse actually commented that she thought she was older due to her height. We also learned that Charley has another ear infection...boo! She is back on antibiotics. Other than that she looks great! She received two shots...notice her little band-aid on her arm. As you can see though she was in a very good mood this evening.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Charley's first birthday! I can hardly believe it has been a whole year since she was welcomed into our family. She is a pretty amazing little girl. She says "mama" and "dada". She can crawl to the middle of the room and stand up and even take a few steps. She wears size 12 month and most 18 month clothes fit her also. She has skinny little feet and most shoes won't stay on her feet. She loves bath time. Charley loves to snuggle with her Daddy and loves following her brothers around the house. She is a good eater and enjoys just about anything. She has 9 teeth, but I'm thinking she is getting some more. She is getting so big! She has her one year check up tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing just how big she has gotten.

Ginormica

So we watched Monsters vs Aliens a couple of weeks ago. Today Justus came into our bedroom riding two cars. He has such a great memory and is so imaginative sometimes.

Lightening Bugs

Tonight Jonathan decided to take Justus outside to catch lightening bugs. He loved it! He didn't really want to touch them, but he liked Jonathan catching them. He would laugh and squeal and then run to point out another one for his dad to catch. He had a pretty good time.

Thanks, Husband!

Today's picture is compliments of Jonathan. Anyways...last night Matthias and Justus were playing. Matthias then came out of Justus crying, which is not unusual...it's actually very common. Matthias was actually hurt this time though. We have no idea what happened or how Matthias hurt his eye.

Happy Birthday (Party)!

Today we celebrated Charley's first birthday with a ladybug party. She loved it! She took the hands free route when eating her cake. It was pretty sweet. She got some great presents from Aunt Sarah, Grandpa, and Mimi and Papa....and us of course. Another huge thing....she took her first steps today!!! Aunt Sarah got her to walk...all for a half full water bottle. Whatever works. I can't believe my little girl is almost one.

Getting Closer

Charley has now started bear crawling a lot. She is pretty good at it. Today she figured out how to stand up while in the middle of the room. That's what she is doing in this picture even though you can't really tell. She is getting so close to walking.

Close the Door!

Justus and Matthias love to play in Justus' room. The great thing is that there is absolutely nothing they can destroy in there, so I'm more than okay if they go in there and close the door. I love hearing them play together. They laugh and squeal. If I try to get in the room though Justus will say, "Close the door." He really doesn't want me to be apart of their fun play time. Today, Justus came out of the room to grab some toys, but when he realized I was going to go into the room once he walked away he stood at the door to make sure I didn't go inside.

He then said, "Don't open that" as he walked away. I'm glad that my boys love playing together, but I'm bummed that I've already begun to be un-cool.

Mommy, Brush Your Hair?

When I hear those words I usually know that Thi is about to pull and mess up my hair. I usually let him because he thinks he is being nice and it's kind of sweet that he wants to play with my hair.

Look Ma! No Hands!

Charley is getting really good at standing. Now if only we could get her to take some steps.

Members Only

Tonight we had a members meeting at our church. Jon and I met at the church so we got there early so that we could eat. The great thing is that our church has a small "playground" in the parking lot. It's wonderful!! The kids got to play and run around and Jon and I got to eat our dinner.

Swimming

Our neighbor bought the kids a small pool for the backyard. We have a great neighbor! Anyways, the kids LOVE it! I decided to set it up after Jonathan mowed the lawn this afternoon. It was a little on the cooler side and breezy, but the kids didn't mind. They had fun splashing around. It was Charley's first time in a swimming suit/pool. She was so excited, and very upset when I took her out.

Please

Matthias still uses baby signs sometimes. Usually it is "please". I think it's pretty cute.

Favorite Place

Charley has a new favorite place. She is now able to climb up on the couch. She couldn't be more happy when she does it. She loves it! She crawls back and forth on the couch, squealing and laughing the whole time. It is pretty cute. The great thing is she can climb down also, so that makes me a little less nervous about her climbing up there.

Yum!

Charley gave spaghetti a try for the first time today. Needless to say she loved it!

Baby

Today Justus was pretending to be a crying baby, so Matthias put the pacifier in his mouth. I'm not sure what that says about my parenting.

Story Time

Today was Aunt Barbara's last day in town. She spent the morning at our house and then we headed to the airport. While she was here she read to the kids, which they really enjoyed. They must have liked her because they won't sit still and let me read to them. I'm glad that they enjoyed their time with their Aunt!