Cold (Wet) Turkey

Well, here we are, AJ is 3 years, 1 month old and still not potty trained. We decided to take a more serious cold turkey approach and pull the diapers entirely in favor of "big boy underpants" with the exception of nap and bedtime. So we rolled up the family room rug on Saturday and started singing the praises of how cool AJ's Lightning McQueen and Tow-Mater character underwear are from the movie Cars. I will spare you the details, but we went through 8 pairs of underpants on day 1, 9 pairs on day 2 and another 7 pairs today. Needless to say, our washing machine is getting a workout. He does not like the sensation of #2 in his pants but has no problem running around all day with #1 in his pants. Several times I have noticed him with a telltale wet spot on the front of his shorts, but when I ask him if he needs to change his pants, he insists that he does not and says "no, mama, I like to wear cold, wet underwear that smells like pee pee all day long!!!" Here's hoping for a breakthrough soon.

Choo Choo + Waah Waah

We went to our little town fair recently and the boys were psyched to ride on the miniature train that went around and around in a circle. Let me correct that--AJ was psyched, and Davey was over-the-moon-died-and-went-to-heaven-super-psyched. So much so that when it came time for all the kids to climb out because their turn was over, AJ followed the rules and the other kids and climbed out, but Davey crawled up into the corner of his train car and hung on for dear life. Because he was having so much fun and was absolutely not going to come out. So his mama had to cram herself into that munchkin-sized tin can to pry his chubby little hands off the railing and carry him kicking, screaming and wailing to the back of the line to wait his turn to ride again. And again. And again.

AJ and Grandma Francie

When AJ was about a year old, he developed a huge interest in his Papa, Joe's dad. He talked about Papa constantly and was interested in anything that Papa was interested in, from sand boxes to tools to trains to clocks. When Grandma Francie came over, the joke was that AJ would run up to her at the door, look past her and demand "where's Papa???" When it came time to read the bedtime stories, only Papa would do.

AJ still has a deep love for his Papa, but he has lately started to develop a fascination with Grandma Francie as well, which is fun to see. AJ and Grandma Francie have lots of activities that they like to do together, and she is always encouraging him to explore the world and try new things from foods to field trips. Grandma Francie is a teacher with a specialty in reading and loves to bring AJ books from the library or bookstores on subjects that she thinks will interest him or that are appropriate for the current holiday or special event. When we went to the beach, she came prepared with two books on the ocean for the boys to read. She introduced AJ to Dr. Seuss's The Lorax for Earth Day, and it is now a fan favorite at our house. Grandma Francie has also become one of AJ's preferred readers at bedtime. I thought these were some very nice pictures of AJ with his Grandma Francie from our recent vacation to the beach.

Photographic Evidence

Here it is...photographic evidence of what happens if you give an 18 month old a chocolate chip granola bar while he is riding in his car seat. This is why mini-vans come with an interior that you can wash out with a hose.

Me Likey

Me likey Uncle John's spaghetti sauce. Lots.

Vacation Davey

Davey's favorite part of vacation at 18 months seemed to be a toss-up between pulling the levers on the 5 gallon water dispenser in the kitchen, trying to turn the stove on and stirring up trouble with AJ. Curse the vacation house that is not baby-proofed. Davey is getting a little naughty recently as he tests his boundaries on everything. I have started referring to him as my drama king because when denied anything, including pulling the levers on the water dispenser for the 20th time and sending water all over the floor, Davey throws a full-body trantrum, laying on the floor and banging his arms and legs like something you would see in a cartoon. This makes for very cheerful parents when it happens 50 times a day. Our strategy is to make sure he gets down to the floor safely (he has been known to fling himself wildly without regard for his poor head) and then let him have the tantrum until he can pull himself together. But he managed to have some fun on the vacation, too, and enjoyed sitting on the beach and letting the waves come in over his legs, as well as the three or four trips that we made to the ice cream store at the end of our block. Davey is funny with ice cream--depending on his mood, he can take it or leave it, but if you catch him on a night when ice cream sounds good to him, it makes him really happy.

My funniest memory of Davey from this vacation was seeing him interact with his cousin Johnny, who is 1. Johnny is a big boy and nearly Davey's size even though he is 6 months younger. Despite this, Davey took great pleasure in patting Johnny on the head whenever he was close enough to pat. It seemed like his way of saying "You may be almost as big as me, but make no mistake, I am the big cousin here, small fry."

Let's Go Fly a Kite

We just returned from a week long vacation with the boys and Joe's extended family that we spent at a beach in Georgia. AJ's favorite part of the trip was learning to fly a kite with his Papa. If you are going to teach a kid how to fly a kite and want them to love it, I recommend starting at the beach. AJ and Papa were not out there two minutes before the kite was up in the air, and with the ocean breeze it was so easy to keep it up that AJ got to hold the string by himself for 20 minutes, which thrilled him. The concept of a kite was a new one, and he initially kept referring to it as his umbrella. But he quickly caught on and fell in love with kite flying.

Baby Vi-Vi

We had a nice trek over to Iowa a couple of weeks ago now to visit my sister, her husband and our adorable niece, Violet, who is now 7 months old. Baby Violet or Baby Vi-Vi, as AJ likes to call her, is inquisitive and an observer who does not miss a beat. We loved watching her take in everything that her cousins did. AJ was especially interested in feeding Violet and offered his assistance in this department.

The trip also involved the chance for both boys to captain Pops' boat. There was one all guys family cruise where rumor has it the guys were game enough to let AJ sit in the captain's seat all by himself until he hit the throttle and nearly rammed the boat lift and/or dock. AJ fell in love with driving the boat and is showing more interest now when we pass by boats or see them in books or movies.

Our whirlwind tour also included a stop at Grandma Julie's, which she turned into kiddie haven via some strategic toy purchases at recent garage sales. Combined with Grandma's fun personality that is very kid-friendly, this resulted in AJ spontaneously saying "I really, really, really, really liked playing at Grandma Julie's house. Can we go back and stay with her again?!?" I have never heard him use four reallys in one sentence before.

Here is a pic of the family at the DSM farmer's market. I will share more pictures later.

Hello Again

I have been on a bit of a hiatus as we were travelling to see family both in Iowa and then for a week at the beach with Joe's extended family. I will try to do some catch up posts here to update you on the latest comings and goings. We also had the start of swimming lessons for both boys and the start of soccer and a montessori preschool for AJ, so things are hopping around here this summer.

Topic number one will be a potty training update (pun fully intended). Before we went on vacation, AJ had been pretty good about going on the potty for our nanny during the week and would also go on the potty at school with the other kids. On the weekends it was more hit-or-miss, and then we went on vacation and didn't even bother lugging the potty chair onto the airplane, so the last week was 100 percent diapers. On the plus side, AJ does not resist diaper changes anymore and asks almost immediately after going in his diaper to have it changed (another sign he is ready for potty training). This is good for us, as Davey is now deep into the throws of not wanting his diaper changed ever and screams and cries every single time it has to be done. By the time I catch him and pin him down, I am thinking that I can't imagine having twins who go through the no diaper changing routine at the same time. Another plus is that I don't think it will be as much of a challenge to train Davey, as he already shows interest in sitting on the potty like his big brother. Monkey see, monkey wanna doo-doo.

The photo is of Davey trying out AJ's potty. Terrible picture, but this guy does not sit down or slow down for photos.