Happy 3rd Birthday Carson!!!

I can't believe our Carson is 3. Well, actually I can. He talks like he's way older than he is, and he has been fitting into 3T-4T clothes for a while. So honestly, he's seemed 3 for a long time. But actually admitting that he's 3 is a different story. He has been ready for 3 for a while. He was constantly asking us "When I'm 3, can I do _________ like Brody?" Or, "When I'm 3, then I will like ______." (some sort of food that he doesn't like)

Carson Jace, we absolutely adore you sweet boy. You are hilarious, sweet, cuddly, and can be so considerate of others. We love watching you play with both of your brothers..you try to be a big boy to play with Brody, and then turn on your funny baby voice to talk to Brooks. Your huge animated eyes melt this mama's heart...and sometimes when I'm supposed to be disciplining you. 

Favorite things: You love just about ALL food, super heroes, movies, and books. You LOVE playing baseball with Daddy and are really starting to like soccer as well. 

Dislikes: Jelly, ponatoes (tomatoes), naps, thunder and bugs.

We love you so much Car-baby (I guess I can't call you that any more ). You are so precious and bring us so much joy! We hope you feel super special today!!

He's known for a while that he wanted a Batman Birthday Party. Fortunately, there happens to be a Batman movie being release soon so every aisle at Target is loaded with Batman themed party decor, toys, etc. I'm not a party kit person at all...I prefer handmade with a few store bought pieces thrown in. So I steered clear of the comic book plates, cups, etc and went with a general color scheme and printed my own Batman symbols and decor. I love how the party turned out and I think Carson had a blast!! I tried to focus more on fun activities for the kids than table decor this year and I think it was a wise choice!!

 We turned our front entry into the Batcave. As our guests entered the front door, they walked into a dark cave with only a small opening into the living room. We created a Batman symbol to shine through the window at the top of our door which shown on the floor. It turned out so cool!

Outside of the Batcave. This created a cool place for the kids to go into and play. And yes, its still up and will be for a while since it took a while to create.


 Cupcake tree.

 Ignore my hideous, rushed handwriting. I forgot to make the food labels so they didn't turn out quite like I envisioned.

Party favors...Batman cups filled with just about every Batman themed favor you could find..pencils, erasers, tattoos, candy, etc.

Food table. I had the teal serving pieces and picked up the black and yellow buckets in the $1 spot at Target, of course.

 Funfetti Dip was a hit...i heart Pinterest. We served it with animal crackers, pretzel sticks and graham crackers. A lot of folks put it on the apples and grapes and said that was great as well.

 On the front door.

 Vaporize a Villain..Pictures of villains were tacked to the fence and the super heros used water guns and grenades to "vaporize" them.

Villains were hidden all over the yard (as seen below) and whoever found the most was given a prize.

 I don't have a photo of this game because it was over so quickly. We put a piece of candy in balloons and blew them up. They had to pop all the balloons by stomping, sitting, etc to get the prize out. This was probably a fave among the kiddos! Make sure you have lots of balloons! We used 30 and it was over in seconds.

 Bubble station (honestly, our guests weren't interested)

 

 The birthday boy!!

 Mr. Wade making it interesting

 

 The best shot we could get with Carson and his guests.

 My mom convinced me to add these balloons to the party favors and boy am I glad she did! The kids LOVED these! It started raining right at the end of the party so they were able to keep the fun going indoors.

And I just had to include this big 10 month old cutie!! He needs his own post!!

Carson told us it was the best party...and that's all that matters! He had a blast! We love celebrating him so much that we are turning this 3rd birthday into a weekend long event. Daddy took him to see Ice Age on Friday and then he had his party on Saturday. Today we went to Chick Fil A with friends and are headed to dinner and then games at Chuck E Cheese with Trent and Dre Drea tonight. He might be getting a little spoiled by all this special treatment :) We love you Carson Jace!!!

chore chart solution

I posted last week about looking for the best chore system for the boys. After look into many ideas, and considering what would work best for our family, I decided on a simple check-off system. Although so many were very tempting to try to implement, I felt that with them being 3 and 4.5, we would start with simple. Here's what I came up with....

I haven't had then laminated yet, so they aren't hanging. Therefore I have no photos so you can at least see the digital version. Just a simple 8.5x11 designed in photoshop. The boys are really into Super Heros right now, and even call themselves Super Helpers when they are helping out. So it took no time to come up with a theme for the header. I chose to include images since the boys can't read yet. I'll explain what all the pictures mean and knowing them, I'll think they'll get the hang of it real quick. We'll laminate, hang on the fridge, and have the boys check off as they complete tasks. Tasks included are being kind to each other (one that we are working on daily), cleaning their room, cleaning their toys from the living room, Mom's Choice (I get to choose a job for them), Being Kind to Brooks, Brushing Teeth at night, and then the Super Help Bonus. This is my fave. This is where I will give them a check for doing something to help out with out being asked. Just out of their desire to help out. They do this a lot..usually more than if we tell them to do something. I'm excited to get these up next week and let the boys start using them. We've been talking about their new chore charts and they seem excited. We'll see if the enthusiasm remains...

I've also created some blank and generic charts if any of you have any super helpers of your own. They don't include a name at the top. One includes the images and the other is completely blank for you to fill in your own tasks.

 To download the files, just right click. They should save at full size. If not, let me know and I can send them to you. I'm sure there's a fancy way to offer downloadable files, but I haven't had time to research it. (If anyone knows, feel free to let me know!)

We are preparing for a super helper's big birthday this weekend so we're putting the chore charts off until next week. But I can't wait to get them started!!

Potty training: day 3 and beyond

The last few days I haven't been able to blog. So hopefully I remember how day 3 went. His pull up was dry when he woke up on day 3. We went through the whole day following the same method as days 1 and 2. He only had one accident the whole day and told me every time he needed to go. That night we had church and since I was working in the preschool, I requested to be in his class so I could keep an eye on him and reinforce our training method. He did great and asked to go twice while in the class.

Thursday,day 4, was Brody's Birthday. I wanted to be able to get out and do fun stuff with the boys that day. However, that morning I spent 2 hours putting together a Mario kart race track and the boys were glued to it all day. So we got to have an extra day at home to make sure we had this potty training thing down. We went to dinner that night with no problems.

Friday and Saturday we ran errands, ate out, etc and big Carson was a champ. No accidents, always told us when he needed to go, and never argued if we suggested he go before we headed out.

So, I would say that Carson is officially potty trained. We still remind him periodically, but he seems to really know what to do and is glad to be a big boy in underwear. It may have been nice to have it done before 2 1/2, but since it was so easy and he was so ready, the timing was perfect.

2 down, 1 to go....

Potty training: day 2

Day 2 went almost the way I expected, but not quite as bad as I imagined. We woke up, went potty and got into underwear (his pull up was wet when he woke up). I immediately gave him a glass of milk and we all had breakfast. He didn't go potty for a while since he had gone during the night, as well as when he woke up. I was constantly pushing liquids and annoying him with the reminders to tell me if he had to go. He was standing in the middle of the drop cloth when he finally peed for the first time in his underwear. He screamed and said oh no! I need to potty. I feel like this was when the real training began.

We ran to the bathroom, he finished on the potty, and we talked about how he would try to keep his underwear dry next time. Probably not even 10 minutes later, he had another accident. We did the same thing over again. He probably had 5 or 6 accidents before naptime. About the fourth or fifth time I noticed that he was only starting a small bit in his underwear and catching it quicker.

Showing off Thomas. 

Legos are a new fave around here. We literally played for hours this morning.

 

 

After naptime, we had a mixture of both. Sometimes he'd tell me in time and we'd make it with no leaking. Other times he'd start in his underwear and finish in the toilet.

Pooping: before nap he acted like he needed to poop. I said tell me if you need to poo-poo. He said he did so we went in the bathroom. He grabbed the potty seat that Brody learned to poop on and put it on the potty. He sat for a minute then said he didn't need to go. We went back to play and 5 minutes later he said he needed to go again. We went back in and he got on the seat. He said he didn't need to go and I suggested that he sit a little longer and make sure. He then said he didn't like the seat. So I took it off and set him on the toilet backwards. He almost immediately started pooping. Of course there was lots of cheering and fruit snacks as a big prize. Unfortunately, about 10 minutes or so later, I smelled something. He apparently wasn't finished and had gone in his underwear and never mentioned it to me. Later in the day, after dinner, he ran to Matt and I to tell us he had to poo poo. When we got to the bathroom, he had started a tiny bit in his underwear but had stopped himself. He said "I stopped it!" He, and the rest of us, were so proud.

The first attempt to poop on the potty.

Overall, I feel like day 2 was successful. There were accidents but he seemed to learn from each of them and seemed to gain more bladder control as the day went on. So will he be fully potty trained after 3 days??? We'll see.

Potty Training: Day 1

I was hoping to get to write this post last night, so that today's events wouldn't affect my opinion of yesterday, but..it didn't happen.

Day 1 didn't start out the way the book says to do it. Brooks had his 4 month well check up, and since his doctor is popular and you have to schedule well-checks well in advance to get in with him, I didn't want to reschedule. So we did that first thing in the morning, and began potty training when we got home around 10am. We (Brody, Carson and I) laid out the vinyl drop cloth that Matt picked up the night before.  The "plastic blanket" was a hit with them. Next, we all went in the bathroom and talked about how exciting it was for Carson to get to wear underwear. He picked a pair from the bucket we keep under the sink  and worked hard to get them on his chubby legs. (Apparently 2T-3T are a little small for my 2 1/2 year old. We'll be picking up a bigger size once we can leave the house.)

The underwear bucket we keep under the bathroom sink.

We played all morning on the plastic blanket. I tried to push fluids so the need to tee-tee would come up more often. But for some reason, he was not interested. He kept telling me "I'm not thirsty, Mommy." I even offered glasses of sweet tea, his fave. Still no interest. The book tells you to constantly remind them all day to tell you if they have to go, not to ask them if they have to go. So all day I felt like a lunatic saying "Remember to tell mommy if you need to go potty. Make sure you tell mommy if you need to tee-tee. Let's check and see if you're underwear are dry. Oh good they are! So remember to tell me..." He actually got very tired of it and even sighed one time before he said "Yes, they are dry." 

The only shot he would let me get of him in his underwear. 

We took a break from playing and watched a short movie. 

Don't you just love the drop cloth? So glad we thought of this. We can't get new carpet yet :)

The first time he had to go, he told me and we ran to the potty. He went a tiny bit, but who cares! Brody and I were so excited and gave him lots of praise and high fives. He then received a Mini M&M as a reward. This opened up a whole  new world for him. So you're telling me if I even drip in the toilet I get an M&M? For the next 2 hours he would tell me every 15 minutes he had to go. We'd run in there and he'd barely go and then ask for his prize. If they go even a tiny bit, you are supposed to reward them. So I tried to explain to him to only tell me he had to go if he really had to go. But at the same time, I couldn't figure out how to prevent him from doing this. And worse, Brody felt he needed a reward every time he went to the bathroom and he started doing the same thing. He's been potty trained for a year, but didn't see why Carson got a prize and he didn't. So, in order to avoid making an ordeal out of it, I just went along with it. But I did convince Brody to stop going when he didn't really need to.

I eventually had to put these in the kitchen cabinet. Having them in the bathroom was too tempting for them. (and the lighting in this bathroom is really yellow..hence the hideous pictures.)

At nap time, I went ahead and put a pull up on him. I just decided that I wasn't ready to attempt that right now. Maybe I'll regret it later, but he's typically pretty wet when he wakes up so I knew it would be a mess to deal with right now. After nap time, we had a lot of the same...refusing to drink more than he wanted, and never really going to the bathroom with a full bladder. He'd go more often and just have small releases. He never let himself get to the point of REALLY needing to go, so we never had a single accident the entire day. But I knew not to be excited about that. The real training comes when they really have to go, they start to pee on themselves, and are rushed to the bathroom. This teaches them the sensation of needing to go and how to control it. Going every 15 minutes when they don't really need to go doesn't teach them much, at least not in a quick fashion. 

So we went to bed that night with no accidents. Matt asked if Day 2 of potty training was going to be like week 2 on the Biggest Loser. I laughed and said yes, I was positive it was. You see, if you're a biggest loser fan you know that week 1, the contestants lose tons of weight and do awesome. Week 2 they usually don't lose much weight at all and are really disappointed with the results. I knew that day 2 would not be like day 1. While day 1 was actually really easy, I knew day 2 would bring on the REAL training. I expected him to start having the accidents one after another and we'd go through lots of underwear. And actually, I was hoping for that. Because I learned with Brody that until they reach the point of learning what it feels like to need to go and having accidents to learn how to hold it, they don't really learn what to do. And the process is prolonged. Coming up....day 2 :)

Here We Go...

Tomorrow is the BIG day..Day 1 of potty training Carson. He has been waiting for this day for a while now. He's been asking us when he can wear underwear, he's teetee'd on the potty numerous times, and knows exactly what its all about.

But its never been the right timing. When he was "ready" to start training, Brooks was born. I was not about to start potty training with a newborn. So we kept telling him "after Christmas, you get to start going on the potty!" Matt at one point told him that after we take down the Christmas tree, he could start going on the potty. Well Christmas came, and went. We traveled New Years weekend, as well as the weekend after to wrap up all of the Christmas celebrations.  And the tree stayed up. Because we knew he would remember. Once, a couple of weeks ago he even said "We're gonna knock that Christmas tree down to the floor and then I can tee tee on the potty!" So you see, this boy is BEYOND ready!

Then last Monday was my birthday..and potty training didn't sound like a very fun birthday gift to myself. So I was going to start Thursday...and then remembered that Brody had physical therapy that morning and I had errands that HAD to be completed on Thursday. Soo...it got pushed back again. Finally, yesterday, we took down the Christmas tree. I had taken the ornaments and lights off New Years week. But left the tree up until we were ready. And seriously, like clockwork almost, Carson was ready. We didn't start today, but Carson kinda did on his own. Matt changed his diaper when he got him up this morning. When I undressed him to give him a bath before church, the diaper was dry and he ran to the potty to go before he got in the bath. Then after the bath, while he was still diaper-less, he said "I need to tee-tee!!" And ran to the bathroom. His diaper remained completely dry all through church. During a meeting we had after church, he told Andrea he needed to go, as if he'd been doing it for years. She took him, he went, and was still dry when we put him down for his nap. He woke up dry as well.

Sooo...I'm not sure of my expectations for tomorrow. I feel like this could be a piece of cake. Or he could change his mind and it could be harder than I'm thinking. But he's showing ALL signs of readiness and eagerness. We do the 3 day method which is intense but very worth it in the end. The only thing I did different with Brody, and will probably do different with Carson, is her "no pull-up rule." The first attempt to potty train Brody failed utterly (his CMT probably played a part in that) but still..it was a disaster and we all were miserable. And what stressed me out the most was the wetting during nap and bedtime. He wasn't getting good naps, it was a huge mess, and at that point in life, I couldn't take it haha. I  feel like I probably could do better with it this time. So I'll probably start him out like she says and not put a pull up on at nap and bedtimes. But if it goes too long with accidents during those times, I'm not opposed to changing things up a bit. Sleep is very valuable around here :)

If I can remember, and have time, I'll try to post at the end of each day how things are going. And hopefully I'll remember to take pics. Matt is gone to lowes right now to get a couple of things and is going to pick up some drop cloths for the living room. This should be interesting....

b & c: the little years

I always have high hopes for this blog. I always say that I'm going to be better about blogging regularly in order to document our life. But then our life takes over (which is fine because real life is better than blogging anyway) and I never blog and I look up and its been weeks since I've posted anything. And although ultimately this blog serves no purpose other than for me to have a record of special things that happen in our life, that alone is enough to make me want to kick it up a notch. I don't care if another person ever reads a single post, I want to make sure I use this as a place to store all the precious times we share as a family.

Our boys are growing FAST and we already don't take enough pictures or write down all the hilarious things they say. So I'm trying to commit to being better at this. Not for anyone else, but for myself. I'm never going to be famous mom blogger for my witty posts or killer DIY crafts and projects. You can't even find our blog on google because we don't want weirdos reading it. I plan to post about crafts, refurb projects, decorating our home, and toddler activities, and I hope that our family and friends do enjoy reading those and even get ideas from them. But ultimately its for me because let's face it, in 2 weeks or less I will have 3 boys. My memory..well, let's just say I do good some days to remember if the kids ate breakfast. (ok, maybe that's a little exaggeration..don't call CPS!) So I know that without some place to document these precious times in our life, they will fly by and I'll be so busy I won't take the time to slow down and reflect on them. So..all of that being said, let's talk about Brody and Carson!!

These 2 are stinking hilarious these days. I plan to make a memory box to write down all the funny things they say because it is non-stop around here. I find myself laughing at them multiple times a day and they have no idea what they've done or said that is so funny. Here's just one short story (see, I only took the time to write down 1..sad)

B (to Matt): I want a puppy and name it Jack.
C: I want elephant.
B: No, That's too big for our house.
C: I want elephant.
B: It will use its trunk and spray water all over us.
C: Oh, well I want a big puppy.

Only Brody could reason with Carson like that. We could have tried to explain to him all day why we can't have an elephant but Brody knew just what to say to nip that in the bud real quick.

The boys had their first trip to the dentist this week. (Yes, Brody had his first dental exam at 3..don't judge me.) On the way back to the room, Brody started telling the hygienist how to brush his teeth. "You need to brush the fronts and the backs and make sure you get all the dirty spots." I'm sure she appreciated his input. Apparently he knew what he was talking about because both boys got a great report. They had healthy, clean teeth. (I'm not gonna lie, I was a little surprised)

We started videoing them again and have taken more pictures that I need to dump on the computer and edit. Plus, we'll have lots of new posts when Baby Brooks comes! So until then, enjoy some more  bath time fun! And if you're wondering why there are no solo shots of Brody, ask him. He wouldn't cooperate for those.