Beautiful Baby contest(s)

Every mom thinks their babies are the most beautiful babies...I'm just silly enough to enter them both in a contest! Parents magazine is holding a contest for a cover "model", and since the boys fall into separate age groups I decided to enter them both. Click on the image to go to the site and vote:)


(if you can't click here are the links: Hayden - http://www.parents.com/photos/photo-contests-1/cover-kid-1/764700011/ , Brody - http://www.parents.com/photos/photo-contests-1/cover-kid/764700010/ )

Brody's b-day invite

I FINALLY got around to getting Brody's birthday invitation done. My trials for photoshop and photoshop elements ran out on my computer, so I had to download one to Ken's to get this done. I just need to buy the stinkin' program...but I REALLY want CS4 and its uber expensive! Oh well, enjoy!

Easter

Hayden with his easter basket. This is the first year we have done easter baskets. Until this year, he seemed too young to really even know what was going on. This year was a lot of fun for everyone!
Brody had fun on Easter too, but he was teething so there were quite a few fussy moments.





Hayden and Gabe had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard






Our family picture. They boys weren't too happy about the impromptu photo session, so this is the best we could manage.

Foto...ugh, I am so bad at this!

So, its Sunday and not Friday...AND I've missed 3 weeks in a row of pictures. Warning...I am going to make up for it today!

This week (and last) we had a garage sale. The boys all enjoyed being outside so much. Hayden and his cousin, Gabe, got to spend a lot of time together.



Brody discovering "flowers"

Hayden cuddling with Tinka. He even covered her up with his "bink"

Foto Friday

Foto Friday (on Saturday)

Only my second week for this and I'm a day late! Not good...

Foto Friday

Not a terribly original recurring theme, I know...

Spring!

What a slacker I am! It's been almost a month since my last blog...ugh! There has been a lot going on, and my mind has been obsessing over other things so I am using that as my excuse. Hopefully things will chill out this week sometime...let just hope the news is good!

I am so excited for Spring. Being cooped up in this house has made us all rather grumpy and crazy! Hayden REALLY wants to go outside to play, and I think the lack of good doses of natural sunlight is beginning to make me depressed. I've already started planning my garden (eek...yes, Candy is planting a garden complete with veggies!) as well as other landscaping that NEEDS to be done. This house will look so much better once it has nice pretty flowers all around!

Break time

Yesterday marked the day that we have been potty training non-stop for a month. Honestly, he did SO well in the first week that I was very hopeful...but its like we hit a wall after that first week. He's still pretty much in the same place he was at the end of that first week...so I am giving it a break. Its driving me crazy and making me cranky, and I am sick of not being able to leave the house. So...back in pull ups for a couple of days, maybe a week or two. We'll see. I just needed a break, and I want to be able to enjoy my little boy. I think he may still be a little too young to really understand what he needs to do, and hopefully a little more time and a break will be just what we both need. Its frustrating, because I feel like I am giving up...but I can't stand the thought of doing this for months on end. I've heard they will train when they are ready, so heres to hoping that he will be ready in a couple of weeks when we try again. If not, I'll just keep trying every couple of weeks until we get it right. But no more potty boot camp...I can't take it and little boys need to go out and have fun!

Lose it!

One of my new years resolutions is, by this summer, to get back down to the weight I was when I met Ken (yikes!). January slipped by without me noticing it, so its time to get crackin'! I've started a new blog to follow my journey (and to keep myself in check), here.

A foot of snow!!

We woke up to a foot of snow this morning! Hayden was very excited that he finally got to outside to build "Frost the Snowman" (his favorite christmas movie). We bundled up and went on out, only to find that the snow was not really snowman snow...too dry. Oh well, he had fun anyways. I taught him how to make a snow ball and he spent quite a while flinging handfuls of snow up in the air.
After naps we all went out to play again. Brody was not sure what to think of the cold, wet snow...but he didn't cry at least.

Hayden wanted to take Brody on the sled...Brody was none too happy about it, but I took a quick picture anyways.

Hayden was having so much fun he didn't want to come inside...even though his poor little hands were like ice when we took his gloves off! He really enjoyed the snow. Maybe we'll go back out again tomorrow!

Photography...

I have many hobbies...photography has been one of them since high school. I started out on a 35mm Nikon SLR camera that my sister let me borrow for a high school photography class. Then I moved on to digital point and shoot, and now I have a DSLR (Nikon D50). I recently started playing around with it in manual mode, and also trying to do a bit with Photoshop. I am far from experienced, in fact today is my first attempt at editing a picture taken in manual mode. I don't have the info on my camera settings, because I was honestly just messing around and learning what all the different things do. The first picture is unedited, and the second is after I "played" with it. I am not sure what I think of the edited one, or if I really even did anything right...but I'm excited to be learning so you all get to be subjected to it :)

Dry Night!!

Ok, so I promised no more potty updates until Hayden has his first dry week. I lied. This morning, he woke up dry!! As in, he slept all night in his bed with a pull-up on, and at 8:30 this morning when he went potty they pull up was still dry! Woo Hoo for Hayden!!

We've had 3 days in a row of no accidents, but we had several accidents yesterday during the day. He's also sick with a cold...so I am blaming him not feeling well on those accidents :)

1 full day!!!

Yesterday was Hayden's first full day in underwear with absolutely no accidents!! Yay!! He's even going about half the time all on his own, with no encouragement from us. My cutie pie is growing up!

In other news...WE ARE GOING TO THE ELTON JOHN/BILLY JOEL CONCERT!!!!! Fun times!! Aren't we such dorks? We logged on to ticketmaster so we could "be in line" right at 10AM when they went on sale. We even scored good seats!!! I'm so excited!!

1 full week in undies!!!

Today was day 7, and marks Haydens first full week in big boy underwear! I am so proud. He had 1 accident all day, seemingly on the way to the bathroom (can't say for sure), so we have not had a full day free of accidents yet, but I feel it is really close. We even went to visit my sister today (Hayden REALLY wanted to see his cousin Gabe) and he didn't have an accident on the way there or back (or while we were there!). I was nervous about the time in the car because I don't really think he can hold it for very long once he realizes he has to go, but he went just before we left both times and it was all good!

I won't bore everyone with daily updates from here on out...but I will update when he has his first accident free day/week/month.

In other news, our new toilet seat came! I know, silly thing to be excited over huh? Its a "family" toilet seat. Basically, it has the toddler adapter built right in so you don't have to take it out every time, just flip it up like you do the lid. Its pretty neat, and has decluttered our bathroom a bit. I'm all about the de-cluttering!

And the saga continues...

Day 6. 1 Accident....all day!!! Its a good day in the Evans' household!! I must go to sleep...but I just had to post my excitement!!!

On the 5th day of potty training my toddler gave to me...

a big MIGRANE.

It wasn't terrible, but this potty training thing is just such an emotional rollercoaster. Every other day seems like a great day, or half the day will be great and then all of a sudden he has forgotten (or refuses to practice) everything he has learned.

No accidents today until around 2PM. Then, we have our first pair of wet underwear. No biggie...its gonna happen. He sits on the potty while I go for fresh undies and pants. For the next 20 minutes he won't really sit on the potty, but he doesn't have any interest in putting pants back on...he only wants to play in the sink. Finally, after he has gotten a ton of water all over the countertop, I tell him that its time to leave the bathroom. "I have to potty". Ok. So I tell him he can get up on the potty whenever he wants and use it. "no". So I start to pick him up to help him up onto it. Screaming fit. Definitely nap time. On goes the pull-up, and he goes down for a nap.

After he got up he once again did not want to take the pull up off. after about an hour he decides he wants to go on the potty...and does. Gets his praise and rewards, etc. He had 2 more accidents before bedtime and 2 successfull times on the potty. When I write this out, it really doesn't seem that bad. Sounds pretty successful. Ugh...I think I am just becoming emotionally drained with all of this. The happieness of the high points where he goes on the potty and we are all super excited and dancing around, coupled with the low times where he is just a terrible twos tantrum mess and screams about everything. Doesn't want to go on the potty, doesn't want to get off the potty, doesn't want underwear, doesn't want pull ups, doesn't want m&ms...just wants to say no and fuss because he's 2 and he can.

WE CAN DO THIS!! (right?)

If you give a toddler a flashlight...

he'll drop it in the toilet. Hayden has his very own flashlight, which he loves to "play" with Tinka with. He will shine it all over the floor and walls, and she will chase it. It's pretty cute, although sometimes annoying because Tinka becomes obsessive about such things. Anyways, he was playing, and then needed to go potty. I told him he could take the flashlight with him if he was careful not to get it in the toilet. He was good the whole time he was sitting there, until right before he got up. Then he looked at me, giggle, and dropped the thing in! Lil' Stinker!

Day 4 went ok. The first part of the day was half successful, with about 3 accidents and 2 trips to the potty. The middle was not succesful at all, and resulted in a pull-up as well as a much needed nap. The end of the day was much better. The pull-up was wet when he took it of, but he always made it to the potty after that (and by his own need...not our request!).

I seriously thought that we were going to end up giving up this afternoon. I don't want this to be a power struggle. I don't want to "make" him use the potty and wear underwear. I want him to be excited about it and WANT to do it. This afternoon, he definitely did not WANT to do any of it. Hence the accidents and eventually a nap (and consequently a pull-up). When he got up, he didn't want to take the pull-up off. I didn't fight him, I let him keep it on for 45 minutes or so...at which time he told us he needed to go potty. He went, and we then put him in undies. He went in once after that all on his own...before I made it in there to see if he needed help he had his pants and undies off and was sitting on the potty! He told me "I gotta hurry!". So once again, by bedtime I had renewed excitement. His grandpa and his "Uncle Paul" came by this evening, and I think that had a bit to do with his excitement tonight. New people to show off his new skill to. Wonder who we can get to come over tomorrow night.....

Day #3...

was a VERY successful day! We were accident free until 5:30 this evening...then had 2 accidents in a row. One of them was my fault though...he was in the bathroom, but I was too busy rearranging the track on his train table to realize he was gone. He had an accident right beside the toilet...so I should not really count that one. The other was right before bed. He was just too tired I think (we have cut out naps recently).

So...PTT Day #3:
Hit - 10!!!!! Miss - 2

He also got a new "Cars" car because he went in the potty 10 times in a row! Here he is with "Tex"

Adventures in potty training...day #2

Today was not nearly as good as yesterday. We started off badly...Hayden refused to get dressed this morning. He was kicking at me the whole time and it took forever just to get his underwear and pants on. Then he didn't want a shirt either..so I had to put it on him as he was running away. Oh the joys of the terrible twos!

I was getting very discouraged...he kept wetting his pants, and not even caring. I wouldn't even know he did it until he went to sit on the potty and his pants were wet as he pulled them down! He didn't seem uncomfortable, and I began to lose hope. Even getting him to sit on the potty was difficult. He just plain didn't want to. I got desperate and moved the potty into the living room so he could watch Diego while he sat. He sat on it but didn't potty in it (even though he sat there for 20 minutes!). He got up and less than a minute later he was wet! GRR!!

It was 2:30 this afternoon before he finally went on the potty! After that, things were more like yesterday. He still had 3 accidents throughout the evening...but all three times I knew right when they happened because he stopped what he was doing and grabbed at his pants. This was still a great improvement because he realized that he was peeing...while he was doing it!! The very last time he sat on the potty tonight he even managed to stop peeing for a moment to re-adjust because he was missing the potty and hitting the floor, so he's learning how to control it. My excitement was renewed by bedtime.

Brody even joined in on the encouragement. After Hayden went in the potty, we would dance around in the kitchen (while I was getting his reward...yes I bribe my son with M&M's to use the potty). Brody got very excited and started bouncing around too. I told Hayden "Look, Brody is proud of you too!!". After that when he was dancing Hayden would say "Brody, you proud of me?". Ahhh...I hope they remain this close and cute as they grow up!

So there is progress...I just have to keep reminding myself (and him!) that even if the day seems to be a total failure, he CAN do this!!

So...Potty Training Tally (LOL):
Day 1:
Hit - 8 Miss - 3

Day 2:
Hit: 6 Miss - 6...but only 3 times after his first success of the day