Makayla's One-Year Pictures

Here's a taste of Makayla's one-year pictures. She is so beautiful!

Undies!!!

The day I had been dreading finally arrived...dun, dun, dun...potty training. I kept telling myself that I've never met a high-schooler who didn't know how to use the potty, so that was somewhat comforting. After getting some mommy advice from friends, we went to work on Sunday. The plan was to be potty trained in three days, and I'm happy to say that Joshua did GREAT (incentives of stickers and M&M's probably didn't hurt)! We had a few accidents on the first two days, but by the third day, we were proudly wearing our undies and telling mommy and daddy when we had to use the potty. I'm so proud of my big boy. Hopefully he does just as great in the coming days. The real test will be leaving the house. Oh, the joys of parenting! And, for the next few months, I have a feeling that I will constantly be referring to the toilet as the potty ; )

I've got my reading material

Stickers of success

Truck undies, or course!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm blessed to have three really awesome Valentines in my life. It's amazing how much you can love another person in marriage, and even more amazing how your love manages to increase once you have kids. It's a wonderful mystery indeed! And, the most important thing, is that all of these relationships are built upon the greatest love of all - the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. What a great day to remember the One who first loved us when we were unlovable. It's this love that I pray our family would meditate on each and every Valentine's Day.

Andrew made a pit stop on his way home from work yesterday, and bought a dozen donuts from a really good donut shop called Rebel Donuts. We celebrated Valentine's Day this morning with the yumminess!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. If you are reading this, you hold a very special place in our hearts!

What Are The Kiddos Up To?

Every day the kiddos change. Since I'm with them all day, I don't notice it as much. I only let it sink in when someone will have gone a couple of weeks without seeing them, and notes all of the changes that have taken place. So, here are a few of the changes that have happened recently...

Makayla

• All four of her top teeth have fully come in, so we are at six teeth.
• We have been off of formula since her 1st birthday, and she enjoys a cold glass of whole milk.
• I've mentioned it before, but the girl can scarf down food with the best of 'em. She LOVES food!
• She is so thoughtful with her toys. Joshua used to throw all of his toys at her age, and never really "played" with them. Her favorite toys right now are the Mega Blocks, which she likes to piece together, and a puzzle where you stack shapes on pegs. She gets so proud of herself when she gets it right.
• She likes to mimic, and is starting to say a few words. Some of her favorite words are mama, dada, ball, hi, block, and milk.
• She is experiencing a bit of separation anxiety, which sometimes makes for a very needy girl. I don't mind the extra cuddles ; )

Joshua 

• His vocabulary is exploding, and he is starting to string together longer sentences. 
• He loves to dance and sing. Dancing usually involves turning around in circles while nodding his head. His favorite songs to sing right now are "Mama Manatee", "Jesus Loves Me", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and songs from his "Choo-Choo-Soul" cd. Whenever Makayla starts crying, he breaks out into "Mama Manatee" to quiet her down (so cute!).
• He likes to tell everyone that he is "two" while holding up his two little fingers.
• He is an avid reader, and will bring book after book to me to read.
• He is a social butterfly!

It's amazing to look back and see everything that has happened recently. It is such a blessing to see my babies learning and thriving!

Explora!

We met our dear friends, the Weirs, at Explora today. The Weirs are moving to Indiana in a few weeks (sad face), so we are trying to squeeze in as much time together as possible. Explora is a hands-on museum with lots of fun exhibits. It has been years since my last visit to Explora, so it was just as much a treat for me as it was for the kids. We had a blast!

Flight lessons

They could have stood and watched the balls go through the maze for hours...

Note to self...next time stop at the trains last. The kid did not want to leave his choo-choos!

Amy gave the kids a lesson in moving water.

Parker the cutie

iPhone Pics

 I've been really bad at taking pictures with our actual camera. I find myself capturing more of the every day moments with my phone, despite the fact that the quality is definitely not up to par. I have a feeling that kids of the future will have most of their memories captured this way. It's just so much easier! Anyway, here are some pics off of my phone from the last month...

Go Niners!!!

Watching the laundry...30 minutes of easy entertainment.

Even superheroes have timeouts

Go Bobos!

Beanie Cutie

I love seeing my kids in cute hats...