Father's Day (a.k.a. 'Noli Cake Day)

This weekend we celebrated Father's Day. When I explained to AJ that we were celebrating a day for dads like the Mother's Day we had last month, he was quiet for a few minutes while he thought and then went over to the refrigerator and said "I want 'Noli Cake!" Guess the cannoli cake that Papa bought to celebrate Mother's Day was a hit with him, because that was the only association that remained in his mind after the event.

We had a nice time swimming with the boys and taking in the model train exhibit at the Botanic Gardens with the Grandma and Papa. We are looking forward to celebrating a belated Father's Day in person with Great-Grandpa and Pops this week in Iowa!

Birthday Fun

The video speaks for itself--an instant family classic!

Turtle Time

We had AJ's official birthday party on Saturday at a local wildlife center. They had guinea pigs, prairie dogs, ferrets, a boa constrictor and--my favorite--turtles--for the kids to look at and touch. AJ was in a good mood and seemed to have a great time. And this was even before we got home and started opening presents later in the day.

Little brother Davey was in need of a nap and had a tougher go of it, but he perked up when it was his turn to take a swing at the pinata and was grinning for a few minutes as he got a few good whacks in. This was our first year doing a party outside of our house, and I have to say I can see the attraction--no need to clean ahead of time, lots of activities run by the staff and they handle all of the cleanup. From a mom's perspective, my view of the Chuck E. Cheese-type birthday party just improved significantly.

The photos are of AJ enjoying his cupcake, Davey taking some whacks at the pinata, AJ and our family friend, Gigi, checking out the turtle tank, and the turtle pull-apart cake made of cupcakes and way too much frosting for the shell.

AJ's 3!

We kicked off AJ's birthday weekend with a fire truck cake and ice cream at a family dinner tonight. I got a great video of AJ blowing out his candles that I will post this weekend once I remember how to post videos. I have decided that 3 may be the perfect age for birthdays--he is so thrilled about his birthday, has huge enthusiasm for the cake itself and can remember his birthday is coming and get excited for it. It makes me happy just being around him.

Mr.Ricci

This is Mr. Ricci, a nickname that Davey's Papa has given him. Ricci is Italian for curls, so it is very fitting. There have been several incidents recently in public where people have mistaken Davey for a girl, but I still can't cut those curls.

Would you believe that a face so innocent and sweet belongs to a little boy who was laying on the floor at the Chicago Art Institute screaming and flailing his arms and legs in a terrible twos tantrum that echoed off those beautiful white walls on a peaceful Sunday morning? Don't be fooled by that smile--this little guy is no angel! He is friendly and outgoing, enthusiastic about almost every task in life and in general a real joy to be around. But don't cross him or you'll see the opposite of this face.

I Did It, Mom!

Apologies for the delayed post this week, but blogger was down last night for some reason.

With AJ's third birthday approaching, it just seems like it is time for him to be potty trained. So after months of offering the potty nonchalantly, we have started to up the ante. I talked to my good friend, Anna, and asked her how she potty trained her son, S. She explained that he was into Thomas the Train at this age as well, so she bought a Cranky the Crane (one of the most desirable Thomas toys) and placed it in a prominent location in the house just out of his reach. Every time he went on the potty, he got a sticker, and every time he didn't she took one away. Once he earned 10 stickers, he got Cranky the Crane.

A little motivational bribery seemed like a wise approach to me, so Joe promptly took AJ to Target to pick out the Thomas toy of his choice. They came home with two, Diesel 199 and another Diesel engine just referred to as the black Diesel.

Diesel 199 sat on the fireplace mantle for about a week while we kept pointing at it and lifting AJ up to see it while asking "don't you want to use the potty?!?" He seemed pretty excited about it all and would go on the potty about 75% of the time, enthusiastically do the potty dance, put his sticker on the chart and ask for his one M&M reward for using the potty. After a week, our nanny sent me the picture posted above with the caption "I did it mom!!!" He is clutching his sticker chart and the Diesel 199.

I am sorry to report that the black Diesel is still sitting on our fireplace mantel two weeks later with no progress being made toward earning it. When I ask AJ "don't you want to go potty on the potty chair so that you can play with the black Diesel???" he just politely responds "No, thanks." My thought was that this toy must not be motivational enough and we should change the bait. Joe's thought is that we shouldn't be giving AJ a choice about using the potty. Any advice?