Easter 2012

I have always enjoyed Easter. Its the beginning of Spring, which is always lovely. Everything is bright, wonderful and perfect.
Last year i was super duper into Easter preparations. I made tons of decorations for the house, did lots of fun things with all the kids. It was great building up to Easter. I had several activities planned for all the kids to do at my moms house for Easter. Then that Saturday morning is when we found our Quinny had left us to live with his Father in Heaven. The rest of that Easter we went through the motions. No feeling in the commercialized part of Easter, just doing it for the little kids sake. This year all those decorations hurt my heart to put up. I couldn't do too much regarding Easter. It brought too many sad memories back. So we went for a low key Easter with the munchkins and it was wonderful.
Saturday i Attempted pictures of the kids in their matchy Easter outfits...Kyler is not so good to cooperate. These are my favorites out of the 100 something i took, not many turned out.

This is how the majority of them looked. That is Kylers "cheese" face

A rare thing to just catch a 'real' smile

This is Brookies new face...it cracks me up

Then we went to a BBQ with Brandon's family. It was perfect. Kyler loved it. He ran all day. He was all smiles. Brooklyn loved all the attention, and especially loved that she got to be with daddy all the time. She is such a daddy's girl.

Blowing bubbles while we wait for the hunt to begin

Kyler loved his loot

Brooklyn loved shaking all the eggs

I love this girl...her first otterpop...she loved it

This is my brother in laws girl friend Naomi....Kyler is competing for her love. He wouldnt leave her side.

Told ya, daddys girl

Look at that happy face

Brooklyn and Great Grandma Crisp...i love love this picture

Grandma Jo and the boys

Sunday morning the Easter Bunny visited and left a trail of confetti from Kylers room upstairs down to where he hid the baskets behind the treadmill. Kyler's excitement made my heart sing. He came in our room that morning just as excited as can be, "MOMMY DADDY come look QUICK in my room, look there is something on the floor!! COME ON, get up come look!!!" We proceeded down the stairs, took a quick potty stop in the bathroom(for once it was nice that the toilet is in the 'hallway') Then off to follow the rest of the trail. His eyes were so bright and excited. Both kids got a little candy, and a ball. Brooklyn got a animal touchy book and Kyler got Hop the movie.

Part of the long bunny trail

The loot

Brookie got a toothbrush...perfect for those new little teeth

Add caption

"catch daddy"

"catch Ky!"

Brookie shakin those eggs

Kyler finally did catch after several trys...look how happy he is!

After church we drove to Grandma Nancy's and Grandpa Gaylens for dinner. It was fabulous as usual. I miss her cooking. I will never be as good as her. Love spending time with them!! No pictures. Im lame i know.

Windows

Brooklyn loves windows. These pictures are from a while back...but i just got the computer working for me so i am just posting them now.

Help a Mom Out

Ok how did you teach your kid to poop on the potty? We are struggling with it. He is happy happy happy to pee and never has accidents...but poop, that is a whole different story.
He is great to tell me when he needs to go pee. He is in big boy underwear all day, i put pull-ups on at night, but that is just cause i don't want him to happen to forget. Although in the last week and a half only one night did he "make his stars disappear" on his diaper (they are magic ones that disappear if they get wet).
I have tried reading books for a half hour when he says he needs to poop. I have tried bribing him with awesome awesome trucks, candy, etc. None work.

So please, i know you all have kids and all had to learn, whats a good tip for this mom.

New Posts

I back dated some posts with pictures...so if you care to take a look back click HERE HERE and HERE

Potty Time!!

For about 5 months or so(since the last time we tried) potty training has been close to a swear word in Kyler's eyes.... (cant remember our horrible effort? want to? CLICK HERE and it will take you back in time, magic right!)
*We have asked him from time to time, "Never, ever, ever i say!" would be all we would hear back in response.
*He asked maybe 3 to 4 times in the last 5 months to go pee, he never would. Not once.
*He did show an interest in underwear in the last 5 months...an interest in wearing them on his head. Who teaches kids to do that??
* He was asked by Grandmas, Uncles, Aunts, Friends, and many others when he was going to do it. "never" was his only reply.

SO, Monday (yes, yesterday) We were getting ready, for the day. I grabbed a diaper, pants, shirt and sat down waiting for him to come in to get him dressed. (may i add i grabbed the last diaper, and thought "oh to just be done with these with Ky" Yes, i really thought that. And then thought my order should be at the post office, found out it is later that day.).....in the mean time.... Kyler comes in, bypasses me and walks to his dresser pulls out the bottom drawer, pulls out McQueen underwear and comes over to me, tells me something like, "i want these" i give him a seriously look, he counters with a "yup" look.
In my head all i am thinking is "fine, i will let him. At least maybe he will notice when he pees and that will be one step in the right direction. I wont push it in the least, in fact i will just ask him to go, not making him get on the toilet (this is when the 'never, ever, evers' happened last time) Im going super chill. More chill than anyone would think a mother should be." I fully planned on changing lots of underwear, lots of pants, lots of poopy, wet yucky pants that day. But, i was feeling willing to do it, so here we go.
2 accidents before lunch. NO biggy. He pees on the toilet at nap time, wakes up wet ( i did put a pull up on, i am not that willing to clean up that big of messes.) He later goes in the bathroom all by himself and undresses and is on the toilet peeing!!!!! WHAT!!??  The rest of the story still knocks me flat with shock. He continued to pee the rest of the day. (might i add he loves that he gets to choose the colors of M&M's for his reward. These candies have been in a Mason Jar staring at him for 5 months and he is just loving that he get some now) He Peed before bed, put a pull up on, and HE WOKE UP DRY! Yes, my boy woke up dry. He pees this morning, eat some breakfast, started peeing in his pants, STOPPED and came and told me to help him 'hurry on toilet' and finished peeing. The rest of the day i would ask him if he needed, never doing more than that and i am proud to say he stayed dry the rest of today. He woke up dry from nap, he drove out to Salina-shopped-and back home about 2 hours of time and did perfect. He did say he really needed to go while we were in IFA so we ran to the toilet, but man those big hole toilets are just tooooooo scary for a little bummed almost 3 year olds, and he choose TO HOLD IT till we got home. And he did just that, the minute we got out of the truck he came in dropped his drawers and peed like no ones business. PROUD MOMMY to say the least.
He did this all on his own. At his own time. He is an amazing awesome little man. When he decides to do something he just does it. This is how he has been his whole life. I cant wait to see what he grows up to be...scratch that, i can wait. :) I am enjoying his little personality. I love his super happy smile accompanied by "You smile at me mommy, oh!! you smiled at me, yea!! I so happy" My heart is full of happiness for this kid. He is my big bud. He is wonderful, and not just cause i don't have to change his bottom anymore!!
I will keep you updated on our success's...i am thinking really positive here.

Kyler

What is in a name?

Kyler

There is a lot wrapped up in that name. This beautiful little boy could not fill his name full of anything else. . . He is full of it. What is he full of...come tack a journey with me into a special little boys name:

-A lot of love.... This kid knows when you need a hug. He loves to hug. He loves to kiss. He loves to love. He loves to cuddle he loves to tell you he loves you. He loves.
-A lot of noise.....He is louder than a steam engine coming down the tracks. He loves to scream. I have been trying to get him to understand he can only scream outside. He is slowly getting what i mean....so if you hear absurd screaming from my house outside...its just a almost 3 year old screaming his heart out when he gets outside and has no limitations on how long or loud he gets as long as he is outside. He makes lions roars, he whinnys like a horse, drives loud monster trucks, rumbles loud tractor noises, scares scary monsters with his yells, sings jingle bells and happy birthday all day everyday. His favorite toys (besides the tractors and animals) are toys that make noise. and he pushes the buttons over and over and over and over and over and over...you get the idea. It doesnt even get a chance to finish the sound it was made to make before he hits it again.
-A lot of moving. . . .He rolls, he jumps, he climbs, he runs, he walks, he crawls, he slithers, he gallops, he flys, he chugga choo choo's. I wish i could move as much, as long, and as intense as he does.
-A lot of Deigo. . .  Go Deigo Go is a staple at our house. It is as essential as air, water, juice, milk and candy. :) He also really likes to watch 'George' or Curious George. 'Dragons' or Dragon Tales. 'Mickey, Donald, Goofy' or Mickey Mouse Club House.
-A lot of talking. . . . I have a development test i was trained on in college, so i use it often to see what i should work on with my kiddins. Kyler is on a 5 year old level for Social Skills (which is a lot of just talking. Like saying and recognizing adjectives, verbs, etc) He talks like a grown-up but still VERY child like too. Its awesome and i love love love love talking to the kid. One of my favorite sayings he says often is
"Smile at me mommy" (this is usually said when he is in trouble and i am NOT in the mood at smiling at him, i either say no, i am upset with you, and this breaks his ever loving heart. or Sometimes i will give him a courtesy smile and he will give me a try-again-mommy-that-was-pathetic look. Or when i give him a good one after he apologizes or does what i ask his whole countenance lights up and he grins his golden smile right back at me. Another funny thing he has said; the last 3 times we have gone to the store he stands in front of the automatic doors and just stares. No words, just stares. Well last night we were checking out, he again was staring at the doors he turns to us and yells "they are MAGIC!" He then proceeded to give commands to the doors, some of which worked and some that didn't (mostly the "stop opening doors!" cause he was jumping in front of them.)
-A lot of humor. . . .His whole goal in life is to make people happy and laugh. He does it to Brooklyn all day and night. He does it to all the other kids...although he also makes them the most angry too with his inability to not steal other peoples toys. He does it to me, Brandon, Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, and Strangers. People are just drawn to him. He has a fan club of 10/11/12 year old boys in our ward, not to mention the whole Young Women's begging to babysit. The checkers at the store(we live in a small town remember so we see them often and they know us) love him and I get told all the time they love when i come through their line. And after yesterdays excitement over the doors, he gain the baggers and other people close enough to hears admiration. He is loved, lets just say that.
-A lot of BOY. . . he is boy. He loves boy things. He loves love the outdoors. He loves to be with daddy. He loves to ride his 4-wheeler he got from Gma Gpa Childs this Christmas. He loves the sandbox. He loves the swings. He loves to run and play. He loves to throw rocks at things that should not have rocks thrown at.
-A little of girl :) He loves dolls and barbies. He will kill me one day for telling you this. :) He has a strong sensitive side that likes to play house. And in my defense i didn't teach him, BUT i don't necessarily discourage it either. I think its good for him to explore everything. His dad hates it, but in time he will mutilate his sisters dolls and barbies, so for now i am all good with his thinking they are cool toys.

I love this boy. He is my joy in life. He brings me more happiness than i ever expected. He also brings me more frustration and even more frustration than i could have planned. BUT, really he is everything wonderful, special, beautiful, splendid, perfect to me. He is my pride and joy. This post is for him cause i rarely post about him and his cuteness. Check back for another post in 2 months when he turns the big THREE!

Ten

Ouch. That one hurts. Our baby isn't much baby anymore. Ten months. Ten. ten.ten. sobs.
This big girl is just that. Big. Big in size, big in big girlness. :)

-She is soooo dangerously close to walking. I am so afraid next month i will be telling you she is wobbling around on those two darling little feets. She is walking all around furniture. She is so stinking brave and pushes away from them just to balance on her own. She can last for up to 15-20 seconds....that's a long time!! She can even recover from a miss placed foot. (This is all so new for me and Brandon. Ky didn't even crawl yet. He was still army crawling around.)
-She is a cruiser on those knees. She can move!
-She loves to walk while you hold her. And bonus for her being almost off the charts in height, you don't have to bend over to help her. :)
-She is wearing 18 months/24 months clothes. *sniffle*
- She FINALLY will say "mamamama" and yesterday she said "mom" or at least that's what it sounded like.
-She is a slower talker, but i blame her complete focus on learning how to walk.
-She screams. Oh my can she scream. Its a horrible way to communicate. I need a volume button so i can concentrate on getting her taken care of and not focusing on how stinking loud she can scream. :) Just ask anyone, they will tell you how proficient she is in the screaming loud department.
-She adores her big brother. She doesn't mind being tackled and rolled around with on the floor.
-She is a rotten eater. Rarely eats. Loves her bottle. When she does eat she likes: peanut butter toast, PB and J sandwiches, chicken nuggets, cheese, and celery to gnaw on. She will tolerate yogurt on occasion. She hates fruit but bananas and applesauce....which she will tolerate on occasion (like once a week). She does like veggies...green beans are a favorite. She loves tomato base dinners like Lasagna, spaghetti, etc.
- She isnt a snuggler. This makes me the most sad. She is Miss Independent.
- She loves bath time. its her favorite time of the day. Its mine and Brandon's least favorite cause she will not keep her bottom down. :) She wants to stand up and walk along the tub. She wants to lay down in the water and splash. She wants to steal every toy her bother has, so he pushes her so she again falls into the water. Its a stressful time of the day. I end up drenched...seriously drenched every bath time. I am looking into a full body waterproof suit to wear.
-She has got the cheesey-est smile you ever did see. It makes me smile.
-She finally got teeth this month!! one on bottom one on top, and has an eye tooth that looks to break through at anytime. They are all on her right side. She is going to look a little lop sided. :)

We love this girl. She a so fun to have around. Her bother adores her. She is a blessing in our lives.
**and no sorry still no pictures....still no computer that can read my camera card. Hopefully later this week though!!

Not a proud milestone, nevertheless a milestone

Did you know that Clorox Wipes are essentially harmless? I didn't until me and Poison control had a chat last night around 11PM. Why? Oh because my favorite almost 3 year old son decided that they looked cuddly and fun....
I am still trying to figure out how in the crap he found these. I dont just have things like this hanging around in the house. Hello i am a licensed daycare provider. Thats a biggy, ya know keeping chemicals locked up or high enough they cant get to them. I thought i was good...apparently not. Failure as a mom. Daycare kids are safe i swear!
Anyway, he must have found them while i was running on the treadmill cause i cant hear anything when i am dieing on a motorized killer. When i went in to check on him before going to bed, like i always do, i found a horrible lemony stench in his room, and him seriously holding the open container like you would a cuddly teddy bear. the wipes strewn all over his bed, his comforter drenched in the liquidy stuff that collects at the bottom of the containers. Panic. Yup. He was OUT cold. I nudged him, he was seemingly fine. Still, i am an amateur mom, so me and poison control met and chatted. The agent lady was great. After making sure i understood that there is nothing in Clorox wipes that could hurt him, minus a possible rash where they touched his skin for too long, she said in a chipper voice, "this is a first. A child who cuddles up to Clorox wipes....maybe he wants to be a janitor when he grows up." We had a good laugh and said goodbye.
I wiped him down with a warm washcloth. He never woke up during all this panic, and continued to sleep like a baby through the night.
This morning i asked him
A) where in the heck he found them. He says, "in my room." (?dont ask, i dont know?)
B) Why did he have them in the first place?  He said, "Cause i was sooo dirty, i needed to get clean mommy."
C) How in the world did i get such a cute boy who is smart enough to remember what he did the night before to help mommy understand....he says, "I love you mommy"

It would have been cooler for you all if i had a picture to display his un-smart moment. But in my hast to freak out with poison control I grabbed the container, gathered all the sheets he had pulled out, and threw off all his covers, and found new ones.Yes, bad mom day. Yes, i am still trying to figure out where he found them. No, I had a not so good night sleep even after they told me he was perfectly safe. I'm a mom, i worry.

There you have it, my not so happy milestone...making my first ever call to poison control. Being a mom is a very educational occupation. I am defiantly smarter today than when i started almost 3 years ago.