Sleepover!

Little Man has been asking for a sleepover for the last couple of weeks.....finally had one last night.

We always have lights out at 8 pm but last night he just wouldn't stay in bed...so The Husband and I told him he could read until he was ready to go to sleep. Explained that he would need to turn off his light and put himself to bed. Well, we heard some movement and noticed the light was still on at 9:30 pm so I peeked under his door and saw him getting his blankets out and spreading them out on the floor. Then he put all of his friends on the pallet and then tucked himself in.

The light was still on at 10 p.m. so we went in to check on him and this is what we found...Little Man and his friends having a sleepover. :D

Puppy, Llama, Pooh, Big Tigger, Little Tigger and Little Man fast asleep.

Birthday Party Bonanza!

We celebrated Little Man's Birthday on Saturday, then went straight to Miss J's Birthday party and then celebrated Miss E's Birthday on Sunday! Whew!

A fun time was had by all!

Here's some pics from the weekend's celebrations:

I've had this birthday hat since Little Man's 1st Birthday.

You can change the number for every year!

How festive is that?!

And yet he still has the same expression every year..."Mom!

Did you get the picture?!

Can I take this thing off my head now?! Daaaad!"

Spiderman Birthday Cake! Super Cool!

Little Man and his cousins!

Miss J and her Tinker Bell Cake!

Little Man and Miss J

It's not a backyard party until you break out the water pistols!

Miss J's brother and Little Man.

Miss E, Cinderella and the Disney Princess Cake!

And because no parent's blog is complete without an embarrassing picture of the kid...here is Little Man on the ride home from Miss E's party. It rained during the party and he decided to play in it and got soaked so I stripped the kid except for his pull-ups and his mask & flashlight from the goody bag. Didn't want to give up the mask probably because I told him he looked like Batman. =D

This one goes into the archives for when he starts dating....mwaaaa haa haa haa (<---evil laugh).

Our Little Man...

Little Man's 3rd Birthday was Wednesday last week but his party is this Saturday. Had to wait to get a Saturday with the time we needed but it will be worth it....it's a PUMP IT UP Party! Woo Hoo!

Here are some pics of Little Man from Day 1 to now.

Just a few hours old and ready to see what the world has to offer!

7 lbs, 13 oz, 21 inches long

Little Man and Grandma M at his first birthday party!

Crowned Birthday Boy at School for his 2nd Birthday!

Our 3 year old!

Hard to imagine that he was EVER a tiny newborn so over the last few days Little Man and I have been looking at pictures and videos of him when he was younger. He just giggles, points and says, "That's Me!!!"

Looking forward to celebrating his birthday with family and friends this weekend!

Video

Here is the short video I took of Little Man at the beach in Galveston.

Easter Weekend / Little Man's Birthday Trip

Little Man has been asking to see "The Beach" for the last couple of months. He wanted to build sand castles...like Olivia in one of his favorite books. The Husband and I decided to use the 3 day weekend for a quick trip to the nearest beach as part of his birthday. Little Man turns 3 tomorrow! Hard to believe.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Daddy & Little Man on The Beach in Galveston, TX

Sand Castle!

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

Little Man & Cha! Cha! the Tree Frog

The grunting gorillas, trumpeting elephants & booming thunder caught us off guard!

I think Little Man was scared but soon got over it when the

waiter handed him his Cha! Cha! frog cup.

Mommy & Little Man on the train @ the Kemah Boardwalk

Little Man got scared in the Gunfight Tunnel!

Red Barron has nothin' on Little Man!

Easter cookout & swim @ Aunt & Uncle's house

Little Man & Cousin C squirting everyone.

Little Man & his cousins!

We had a great weekend! Hope you did too!

Picture Catch Up...

Here is a rundown of Little Man's world the last couple of weeks.

Found a new place where kids eat free on Sundays! Little did we know that the kids pizza was the same size as an adult small! Holy Cow! Little Man thought he was so cool! Big pizza and his first Rootbeer! Didn't know that it wasn't the caffeine-free kind until it was too late. :)

Iris' are in bloom along the waterway. So pretty!

The kids are starting to play in the spray fountains around town, now that the weather is getting warmer.

Our playgroup had their Easter Egg Hunt on Wednesday. I wonder how many of the kids skipped their nap that day because they were hyped-up on sugar? :D

The wildflower plot near our house has beautiful Bluebonnets right now. It's a Texas thing to get a picture every year of your kids sitting in them.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

I'm Cool Again!

I was perusing the JCrew website the other day to see what the new spring offerings were and lo' and behold! They were selling "classic" Tretorn Sneakers.

Classic Tretorns, according to JCrew

They look too much like the Converse All Stars

and I already have those.

Now these Classic Tretorns weren't the Tretorns that were popular when I was in high school so I did some research and found the type I had on the Lands End Canvas website! So, of course I ordered them!!!

Went with the Navy!

Kickin' it Old School Style! =D

My pink swoosh Tretorns from back in the day.....ahhhhh.

I LOVED those shoes! I wore them so much that they were falling apart.

You know, I have noticed that retailers are showing jeans rolled up at the ankles! We did that in JR. HIGH! Except now it's leggy model types wearing them with high heels. Ah, well...I'll just roll up my mom jean pant legs and wear them with my Tretorns. :)

I'm still cool.

Give me a P! Pee!

We're on day 5 of Potty Training and here's the score: successful trips to the potty = 70%. accidents = 30%.

Day 1 - I really had NO CLUE what I was doing. Friends told me to take him every hour or some pre-determined amount of time but it seemed like every time I escorted him to the bathroom he didn't need to go and then minutes later he'd have an accident.

Spent most of the day in the bathroom with him in the tub. bleh! Luckily my OCD self thought to jot down EVERYTHING with the time that it happened and figured out his "timeline".

Day 2 - Used the timer as a reminder of when to go. MUCH MUCH better. Cheered for the first official potty training poopy in the potty! YEAH Little Man! High Five! (((Smack!))) (wait...were his hands clean?!)

Still won't tell me when he feels like he needs to go so we had a couple of accidents. Also, stopped using the plastic underwear covers because he would be content to go in them and keep playing. Too much like a diaper I guess.

Day 3 - REALLY great day. Like clockwork and he didn't complain....too much. :)

Day 4 - One time he asked to use the potty which is HUGE! And I got a #2 out of the deal! woot woot! :D

Day 5 - Asked to use the potty first thing this morning! Yeah!

We're still using pull-ups for naptime and night diapers for overnight...that challenge will come later.

What really surprises me the most is that he hasn't asked for any M&M's! Amazing! So of course you know I've been hitting the bag...can't wait for Spring Break / Potty Training Boot Camp to be over so I can get back to the gym and work off this M&M butt!

Lessons Learned:

1. The boy will ALWAYS say he doesn't need to go when asked and only tells you he needs to go when it suits him.

2. You don't always need bribes! A big cheer is just as effective. Who knew that cheering for pee and poop could be so much fun! :D

3. Increased water intake can throw off your well planned timing...in a BIG way. :(

4. Always keep your beach towels handy...to cover the couch. see #3 above.

5. Keep a separate trash bag in the laundry room for the "special stuff".

6. If the child disappears and the house is suddenly quiet...it means he's found a "special spot"for going number two.

7. Stock up on movies BEFORE the training begins...you don't want to have to leave the house.

Which brings me to...

8. If you have a Starbucks addiction...(a) learn to make it at home. (b) find a sucker...uh hem...I mean friend, to bring you one so you don't have to leave the house. OR (c) go cold turkey...which I don't recommend because when you're potty training a toddler...the last thing you want is to be cranky because of withdrawals. :)

Hope your adventures in potty training are just as productive! :)

It's Time...

It's Spring Break!

I remember when I was in high school; Spring Break was a time to hit the beaches or the slopes.

Teenagers going to the tanning salons to get some "color" before hitting the beach or getting together all their gear for the ski trip. Everyone looking forward to a weeks vacation from school!

Now that I have a toddler; Spring Break is a 1 week vacation for Little Man from Mother's Day Out to spend potty training! Woo Hoo! 2 weeks of preparation for the big event. Buying big boy underpants, making sure the little potty is ready to go and the big potty has a good insert if the boy is so inclined (you know...so he doesn't fall in), stocking up on M&M's (aka bribes. oops! I mean reward!), discussing the pros of being potty trained. "If you use the potty like a big boy this week we'll go to the Zoo or Pump It Up or (fill in the blank here)! Also used the fact that his cousins play flag football and you have to be potty trained to play sports!

Little Man and the supplies

Someone suggested I do the countdown. So we did the.."In one week, no more diapers!" "In 3 days, no more diapers!" And this morning:

Me: "Guess what tomorrow is?!"

Little Man: "What?!"

Me: "No more diapers, only underwear!"

Little Man: "Oh, yeah!"

Don't know if he really understands the big picture but he did tell a friend of ours that now he can play sports and go to Pump It Up! He doesn't like "poops" in his diaper and is put out when he has to stop playing to get his diaper changed. So, I think he is ready! We've already been practicing, "aim at the square of toilet paper" in the big toilet. May try my brother's suggestion of "shoot at the cheerio in the toilet". We'll see what works for Little Man. Not doing the pull-ups though because he treats those just like diapers.

Will keep you posted on our potty training adventure! :)

Picture Catch Up...

Recently we attended the birthday party of one of Little Man's playgroup friends. A great time was had by all!

Aren't those blow up jump around things the best!

Little Man and his buddy - bubble blowing contest?

Woo!

Ahhhh....

R - E - L - A - X