Family Pictures - 2 Years Old

We finally had our family pictures taken last Sunday. I say finally because we had to reschedule twice. Once thanks to strep throat and acute tonsillitis, and once because of a swollen black eye. We rounded up the kids and met up with the fantastic Gill of Gillian Dyan Photography. The kids had no interest in pictures because they knew we were at the park. Once they saw the playground, they were over it. Gill still managed to get some amazing photos.

These two kill me! Even with all of their craziness, running circles, standing on chairs, jumping off suitcases, they are still the two cutest kids I know. I may be partial, but they are so sweet and adorable. I love that these pictures capture so much of who they are, and who we are as a family.

On a more serious note, Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to all of the men and women who have served our country, especially those who have given their lives while fighting for our freedom. Because of their dedication and sacrifice, I am able to enjoy this day, and every day with the ones I love. I am thankful beyond words.

2nd Birthday Party

Harrison and Brooke's second birthday party was this weekend. We planned a Mickey and Minnie brunch. Preparing enough brunch for 25 people made for a hectic morning, but the party turned out great.

Brunch Menu

Muffin Tin Quiches

Hot Diggity Breakfast Dogs

Mini Muffin Pancakes

Mixed Berry Bake

Fresh Fruit

Drinks

Mimosa Bar

Iced Coffee

I had a few projects that kept me busy during naps for the week leading up to the party. Mickey plates, mickey confetti, hanging door banner, mouseketool favors, and a picture wall. Most of the work went into the food though. A few things I tried for the first time, and I was happy with the results. Smokey links wrapped in blueberry biscuits and cinnamon rolls, were the hit of the party. I wanted a simple way to do sweet and savory, and Pillsbury rolls worked perfect. Harrison kept coming back for more, and so did everyone else. Sorry to my vegetarian friends who didn't get to eat them.

Brooke and Harrison chose not to wear their special ears for more than a few minutes. 

Minnie and Mickey Ears

We staked balloons in the grass, and the kids absolutely loved it! I got the idea from Pinterest (where else, right?) and I'm so happy we actually did it. The morning of I considered just saying forget it because we were busy doing other things to get ready. If we do it again, I won't use black balloons though. The heat was too much for them and they popped pretty quickly, and it was only 62.

Strawberry cupcakes with chocolate ganache and strawberry cream cheese frosting. 

As a massive party host fail, I got super busy and forgot to send the kids' favors with them when they left. All the kids who attended will be getting a special hand delivery from yours truly.

We of course never got a picture of the four of us, but I did get in on a great selfie with my favorite redhead who just started blogging recently.

 photo from Just 2 Gingers                                                

I love hosting get togethers and planning themed parties. One thing I won't be doing again is hosting a large brunch. I was still making food 30 minutes after the party started. I still got a chance to enjoy the day, but I wish I would have had it all done sooner. Maybe I just need a second oven. One can dream, right?

Thank you to everyone who joined us, and those of you that were here in spirit. I know H and B had an amazing day, and I did too. I was asleep before 10, and they slept in until 9 the next morning. That's how you know it was a great party!

2 Years Old

Harrison and Brooke turned two on Friday. We had big plans for a trip to the zoo in the morning and family pictures in the evening. We woke up to frost on the ground, so the zoo trip was nixed. I also got a fabulous black eye the day before, so we had to reschedule pictures, again.

I woke up before the kids and headed out to get birthday donuts. I wound up eating almost the entire box because they licked off the icing and then wanted nothing to do with the donuts. And the cake donuts they loved so much last month, forget about it. They wouldn't take a bite. The rest of the day went much more according to plan, well plan b. The big grocery shopping trip for their party, great naps, a trip to the park, and dinner at one of mine and Rob's favorite restaurants. A little Facetime with my family before bed, and they were spent. I think we sang "Happy Birthday" to them at least 2,947 times. As soon as we'd finish, they'd say "again."

I thought I would be more sentimental on their birthday, but I really wasn't. I am just so thankful that we've had an amazing two years of their life, and I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us.

Brooke

• Is starting to put together two word sentences. "more milk," "outside play," "go store." She's also saying bigger words like, "awesome," and "orthodontist (o-dontist)."
• Wearing 3T shirts and dresses, 2T pants, and size 7 shoes.
• Loves necklaces, rings, bracelets, headbands, and anything shiny.
• Also loves trains and trucks.
• Weighs 29 pounds and is 35" tall.
• Counts from 1-10. She randomly walks around counting out loud.
• Constantly asks to go to the park or zoo. When looking at pictures, she can tell if a picture was taken either place. That makes her ask to go even more.
• Is doing really well potty training. Still having a few accidents here and there, but is back to wearing underwear all the time except when sleeping. 
• Loves when I sing "Lady" by Styx. She says, "again," as soon as I'm done. I only know the first verse and the hook. I better get on learning the rest.
• Is super picky about her clothes and shoes. She is becoming better, but most mornings I have to ask her about 10 different outfits before she's willing to wear one.

Harrison

• He is becoming quite the parrot. He repeats just about everything we say. It's still sometimes difficult to understand him, but his enunciation is improving. He's working on bigger words too, "orthodontist (dontist)," is my favorite.
• Is constantly giving the dogs commands. "No," "stay," "outside," "go," "sit," "crate." He also yells their names pretty frequently and gives them the sweetest hugs.
• Wearing 3T shirts, 2T pants, and size 8 wide shoes.
• Loves helping me clean. His mini Dyson and broom are constantly being used. He has also started wiping things down and helping me dust.
• Loves trains, trucks, planes, buses, and diggers. Especially diggers.
• Weighs 32 pounds and is 35.5" tall.
• Anytime I ask him to "come here," he says "two," and waits for me to count to three. He often times says "again," as soon as I'm done. I think the concept is lost on him.
• Has zero interest in potty training, but has become a professional toilet flusher. And he thinks it's pretty great that Brooke uses the potty.
• Favorite song is "Wheels on the Bus." He loves when you use his baby to do the moves.
• He loves bubbles but wants to do it "self." He then pours out the bubbles and flips his lid because there are no bubbles left.

Both kids have started climbing into their car seats. They are still rear facing and we plan to keep them that way for at least another few months. I didn't realize how much they could see in their seat mirrors until this month. Harry is constantly calling out trucks and buses that pass by in front of us.

We had a massive mommy fail this month. During an evening trip to the zoo, Harrison used both of his diapers so I put a pair of pull ups on him. He was kind enough to poop in those as well. Thankfully we were just about done when it happened, so we headed out to the van where I could get him cleaned up. There is really no good way to take off a dirty pull up diaper. While I'm trying to get the diaper off, he starts trying to walk away. I said something along the lines of, "I need you to stop moving. There's poop on me and shit everywhere." He immediately looks at me and says "shit." Definitely not one of my proudest moments. Thankfully he hasn't said it since.

Happy birthday Brooke and Harrison! Your dad and I love you so much and are so lucky to call you ours. We can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us. 

Big Girl Panties in the House

Not that there was ever any question about this being a mom blog, but this post definitely solidifies my mom blog status. We're potty training. We've been encouraging the kids to us the toilet after baths each night for months. While they've both had a few positive hits, we've mostly had misses. And by misses I mean the kids peeing on the carpet, or the dog. Yes, poor Tyson got a spray down from Harrison before baths the other night.

A few weeks ago Brooke started wearing training pants after her interest in using the potty increased. She refused to #2 in her diaper anymore. So the "potty training" began. I put it in quotes because we really aren't training her at all. She is doing all of this on her own and we are just following her lead. I let her pick out big girl panties at Target, she decided on Elmo, and she's been wearing them around the house ever since. We have even started letting her wear them outside of the house.

Some days are better than others. On Mother's Day we went to the zoo and had an accident free morning. 3 hours of spaced out bathrooms and no issues waiting. Some days are worse. Yesterday we went to the park, walked past the bathroom and B told me she didn't need to go. 45 seconds later she stepped on the jungle gym and it looked like her water broke. After an outfit change and 20 more minutes of playing I asked her if she needed to pee. She said no, and two minutes later peed all over the ground. Thank goodness we were outside.

We still have quite a ways to go. When we're at home she pees every 30 minutes or less, so we haven't figured out holding it yet. There are a lot of times she says she needs to go when she doesn't. Our biggest challenge we still need to overcome is going #2 in public. So far she refuses to do it and will clench to try and keep herself from going. It's rather funny, until she has poop in her panties. I feel like it's a step backward, but we have reverted to training paints for outings until we get a little bit more reliable.

Harrison has no interest in going on the potty at all.  He tells us before he's going to go, and immediately after, but throws a fit if you try and sit him on the toilet. He does however want the candy rewards without actually going on the toilet. I think it's a blessing that one of them is potty training now and not the other. I can't imagine going through this with both of them at the same time.

Does anyone who's been through this already have any tricks? Any books I should be reading? Right now we are just following her lead, but I'm sure there are ways we could be expediting the process. Please share your wisdom.

On a separate note, Rob and I both had strep throat a couple weeks ago, and amazingly the kids didn't get it. I just took my last antibiotic yesterday, so I think we are all in the clear. We had to reschedule our family pictures thanks to the sickness, and I have been completely wiped. I'm so glad things are back to normal, because the kids turn two in 2 days!! Our family pictures are now Friday evening, and their Mickey birthday party is on Sunday. Lots to do, and I'm so excited!

Happy Hump Day!

Harry's First Haircut

After months of saying it needed to be done, Harrison finally got his first haircut. He went to the same stylist that does my hair and sat on my lap while she gave him a trim. I was expecting a full on meltdown, especially since he was throwing a fit over raisins while we waited, but it never happened. He didn't she a single tear. He didn't even fidget. He just sat there eating raisins answering yes to every question Samantha, my stylist, asked him. He was so great!

Last picture before the cut!

The finished product!

After the haircut we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant before heading home for baths and bed time. It's crazy what a difference a haircut makes. The entire evening I kept thinking to myself, and aloud, that he looks so much older. I see it in pictures of little boys all the time. They go from baby to little man with a snip of the scissors. It's crazy to see it happen to your little boy though. Congrats on taking your first haircut like a champ, handsome little man!

It's Zoo Season

Over the weekend the kids and I got to go to an awesome event at one of the local colleges. It was the "Touch a Truck" event, and it was heaven on earth for little boys and girls who love trucks. We also had our first trip to the zoo this weekend. I didn't bring my camera for either event which means iPhone pics are the best thing I got all weekend. We had fun both days, even though it was freezing cold on Sunday when we hit up the zoo. Well, maybe not quite freezing but it was 42* when we first got there.

Yesterday we got to visit the zoo again and we had slightly better weather and got to see more animals. We love having a zoo membership! It's the perfect morning activity during the spring and summer months. I know we'll get to go to the Seattle zoo this summer and I'm to visit Indy and at least one of the Chicago zoos over the summer.

We didn't make it through the whole zoo yesterday because we got distracted by the trains, both the one you can ride and the one you can climb on, and the geese. Harrison gets more excited about the geese than any of the animals on exhibit. Maybe because they roam free? He runs around saying "geese, geese," over and over again pointing to every Canadian goose he sees. Me: "Um Harrison, there are zebras and ostriches out there." Harrison: "Geese, geese." Maybe I should just take him to Grandma's house so he can watch the geese on the pond.

We ride the train and the carousel almost every time we visit the zoo. We had a very hard time deciding on carousel animals yesterday and had to switch animals before the ride started. They also decided they needed to sit in different train seats, so Harry sat in front of Brooke and I. I was worried it would be a disaster, but they both sat still the entire time. They got to pet a snake yesterday which I'm pretty sure I though was cooler than they did. Quite possibly the best part of the zoo yesterday was seeing all the peacocks and then hearing Harry make "cock" noises all afternoon. If you know what a peacock sounds like, you can probably imagine how hilarious it is to hear a two year old imitate one.

Next Tuesday is my last official day of work for the summer because my amazing summer employee is coming home from college for the summer. That means lots more zoo trips in our near future.