Day 215

Welcome to the world baby Xavier. Colette (Sam's sis) and Dale's latest addition (3 boys - yikes!) was born yesterday. Sam and I were able to go down to the hospital to see him today. Newborns are so tiny! And to think that both my kids were a lot smaller than this 7 pound 7 ounce little boy. It all just seems so far away at this point...

Day 214

Kaitlyn came home from grandma's last night and told me "Mom, we forgot grandpa's birthday." And she was right. My dad's birthday was on Tuesday - you know the day that totally fell apart on me? Yeah. I guess it's almost understandable that we forgot. So this morning we baked a cake, the kids drew some pictures and we told Grandpa that we switched his birthday to today. The highlight of the visit was not in fact the cake, but the Nerf dart gun my cousins had given my dad for his birthday. I could hardly drag the kids away from it so we could get home for Ty's nap.
Anyway - Happy Birthday Dad!

*it was also a good day for Tyler too. Despite the frustrations of Tuesday we have kept up with the potty training and Tyler went the WHOLE day today without any accidents!

Day 213

Peanut butter and candy sprinkles - why not? :)

Day 212

Today's word: FRUSTRATION. Tyler was having a really rough time with the potty training. When it finally got to the point where he had 4 accidents within one hour I put him in pull ups for the rest of the day. I am seriously considering quitting the training for now and coming back to it later. To top it off, Kaitlyn was tired, cranky, and moody all day. I had to force her to take a nap instead of her usual quiet time. And then she fell on the driveway and limped around the rest of the day. What else went wrong? I know there was more...

Day 211

Day 210

Just hanging out at home today so we can keep on top of the potty training. Did a quick run to the grocery store but spent the rest of the day at home

Day 209

Tyler started potty training today! He is doing very well with only 2 accidents and more than 14 successes (including staying dry at naptime). (yeah he drinks a lot!) Kaitlyn has been so excited about starting this for Ty and of course wants to have a large part in it. So she (on her on initiative) started a sticker chart and happily waits for a good report each "potty time" so she can give him a sticker. Ty on the other hand, prefers the treat that goes along with it.

*today's photo isn't exactly blog-appropriate and will not be posted

Day 208

24th of July = Poineer Days in Utah and Frontier Days for Francis/Kamas. We don't get into all that too much (I know, I know - any excuse for a party and fun activities and we didn't grab it?! strange) but we did have to go to the parade, especially after missing the one on the 4th.
We got there 45 minutes early and found a small spot of shade to wait in. Sam walked the kids across the road to the Chevron to get popsicles and keep them from fidgeting. Kaitlyn couldn't wait for the parade to start, but did mention a couple of times that she was a bit nervous about the horses. That didn't last long though. As soon as the candy started flying, the kids were well occupied. We were next to quite a few kids and at first thought our little ones wouldn't get any candy, but the nice little boy next to us (with a nudge from his parents) started leaving some for Kate and Ty and even tossing some of his own candy to Ty. The kids also loved waving at everyone that went by - Kaitlyn was so enthusiastic about it. It was so cute!
Katy was very happy to snag a frisbee and a water bottle. Ty was happy to devour all 3 of his OtterPops before we got home. And I think Katy's fav treat was the Nerds. Me, I prefer the vanilla tootsie rolls, but the kids weren't fast enough to get me any.

Day 207

Day 206

The hot days of summer: scraggly hair from running through the sprinklers and an Orange Julius mustache

Day 205

I have spent the last 2 days sorting through all the baby stuff in preparation for selling/giving it away. Who knew babies had so much STUFF?!! And those garbage bags? Yep, they're ALL stuffed full of baby clothes.

Day 204

The kids were playing with the camera today. Ty thought he took a bunch of photos but I think he just pushed the button enough for it to beep (focus) and thought it was good. But it was so funny when he turned the camera over to Kate for a minute so he could pose. He put his hands on his hips, tilted his head and said "Cheese!"

Day 203

The tree in our front yard provides hours of entertainment for the kids. When they aren't climbing it, they are pulling leaves from it or trying to find berries (and the squishing them onto the driveway!).

Day 202

Another Saturday with The Girls - and a very girly day it was. We got pedicures and had lunch together.
In the evening Kaitlyn and I went to Colette's baby shower - so more girly stuff. Sam and Ty hung out with the guys as Czar's house until the festivities were over then we all sat around and visited for hours. It was a pretty good day.

Day 201

The kids have been spending lots and lots of time in the sprinklers lately because it's been really HOT. Today it was with the next door neighbor and they decided to use their snorkel masks.

Day 200

Day 199

Today was the first really "productive" day we've had in a while. Sam had an unexpected half day off work and decided to get things done. Not only was he able to fix the hot water in the kids' bathtub and mow the lawn, but he was also able to get my new scrapbooking cabinet and shelves installed - yay! No more having to look at that icky mess. And my arm felt good enough to help with the cabinet and shelves AND I managed to prune the monster bush by our driveway. Not bad for a Wednesday.

Day 198

Unexpected naptimes are the best! Kaitlyn had been told she had to play quietly in her room (something she has a hard time doing - playing alone is not her thing) while her brother took a nap so that I could get a bit of a break. I guess she was playing with her beanbag and Hello Kitty on her bed and just dropped off. I have to laugh because sleeping with the head tipped back and the mouth wide open is exactly like her dad.

Day 197

Tickles!

Day 196

Bubbles!
When I get a decent camera again I want to do a cute bubble photo session, but this will have to do for now.

Day 195

The kids started swimming lessons today. (with Sam at the base I had my hands full so no photos) Kaitlyn had her first class "all by myself!" and loved it. Tyler was in a parent/child class with me. And let's just say he's got a lot to learn about how to behave in a class setting. He wanted to do his own thing the whole time - telling me No! No! No! a lot. And when he did get involved in one of the activities with the rest of the class it was usually at the point where they were ready to move on. My injured arm wasn't happy with the whole thing either.

Swimming always wears the kids out, especially Ty. Before we could even get lunch I found him in his room fast asleep.

Day 194

Friday is our big cleaning day around here - that's the day I scrub the bathrooms and get everything ship shape so we can enjoy the weekend. The kids love to help.

Day 193

Day 192

Tyler took today's photo. I had to change a stinky diaper to get Sam to do the dishes tonight, but

at least I didn't have to change the diaper AND do the dishes! (no really he's usually pretty good about sharing the household and kid stuff but he's had this block about the dishes lately and I am so sick of having them waiting for me in the morning)

Day 191

The 2 black eyes that we had predicted finally showed up. As you can see, Kaitlyn isn't bothered by them.

Day 190

Those are snow boots. And Ty struggled for 5 minutes putting socks on all by himself because he was determined to wear those boots.
The hands on the hips is one of his common stances - very cute!

Day 189

Our girl - at this point very happy that we let her run around (since she was past the concussion worries and back to her normal self) and play with her "fire frisbee." (The frisbee was given to her by the firemen EMTs at the parade in an effort to calm her down/distract her while they checked her out.) I'm so happy that she seems to be so resilient.

Day 188

Happy 4th of July? Not really. There was an incident at the beginning of the parade (the parade that Katy was SO excited to go to) where a horse got out of control and caused some injuries - to us. Without going into detail (because it was pretty chaotic and who knows all the details), I will say that the result was a bloody/swollen nose and a cuncussion for Kaitlyn, 2 stiches on my head along with a badly bruised arm (not broken though!) and numberous bruises and scrapes. The rider left in the ambulance with at least a broken leg. And the horse didn't make it.
We spent a nerve wracking couple of hours getting everyone looked at and taken care of and a few more hours trying to calm our nerves. Then were (mostly) able to enjoy the BBQ with my family in the evening, and had a lot of fun at the rodeo.

Day 187

I was admiring the view on the drive home from the gym this morning. I love the low hanging clouds that are left after a night of rain. Lucky me, I had left the camera in the car and could stop and snap a photo.

Day 186

Photos to be added if/when I can get them off the camera

Day 185

First day of July and it actually feels like summer! The kids have been in the wading pool every day for at least the last 3 days and loving it.