Potty Training Update

We gave potty training a very serious try for four days.  It didn't start well, Jake just treated underpants like a diaper.  We were going through too many underpants so I decided to let him be naked for a couple days.  We just kept him in the kitchen with his potty nearby.  That worked really well, he didn't have any accidents.  We then tried putting the underpants back on, that didn't go very well at all.  Either he is not ready or I am not ready, either way, we are taking a break from potty training and will try again after the holidays.

Birthdays, Thanksgiving and Potty Training, OH MY!

We have been busy!  In the last few days we have celebrated birthdays, had Thanksgiving and decided to give potty training a very serious try.   I'll talk about birthdays first.  Since we are living somewhere new I thought it would be fun to have a big party and get to know some of Grace's friends, but I did NOT want to host it.  We decided on a Jump Yard birthday party, which includes 15 kids, over an hour of bouncing and running around, pizza, drinks and a birthday host to do all the work.  It's a little pricey, but I justified it because it was for both kids and we didn't get them any other presents.  Instead we went to the free Science and Nature center and saw a planetarium show.   The kids loved the nature center, especially the turtles.  It was a fun, easy and quick outing to pass time until the party.  The party was fun, everyone seemed to have a good time and all we had to do was show up with the cake!

We opened the presents at home because it seemed a little chaotic to open them at the party.  There were LOTS of presents.  We even saved some for the next morning.  When you have two kids birthdays back to back and a big party (Grace's biggest yet) you basically have a Christmas morning scenario:  too many presents, a huge mess and spoiled kids.  This wouldn't be so bad if it was summer, but the actual Christmas morning is only a month away, ugh!  They got soooo much stuff I'm not sure if they really appreciate any of it.  I hope somehow we can remind them how lucky they are to have great family and friends.  

Here are some pics from the nature center, party and present opening.

Halloween

In Strongsville Halloween came on November 4th!  I think Grace would say it was worth the wait.

Jake didn't want to put on his costume, but he did it for a popsicle and candy.  Jake trick or treated to about 6 houses and then was ready to go home.  Jake went back home with Mommy to hand out candy while Daddy and Grace stayed out.

Some Fall Pictures

Just some pictures of what the kids have been up to this fall.


Mowing the grass, one of Jake's favorite things to do:

Having playdates with new friends and driving the car:

Touring the Strongsville fire station with a mom's group (Jake loved it of course!):

Taking the kids to a high school football game just for fun:

Moving Jake out of his crib and having him sleep on his mattress on the floor (unless he sneaks out and falls asleep at the top of the stairs)

Jake being sick and sleeping on Daddy (giving Daddy an excuse to just watch football)

 Buying Grace a new coat (that didn't seem quite so bright in the store):

Family Picture

Here's our attempt at a family picture in Richmond

Wedding Weekend, Richmond, VA

Last weekend we went to my cousins wedding in Richmond.  It's an 8.5 hour drive, pretty long with two kids, but doable and much cheaper than four plane tickets.  My cousin arranged a great babysitter for Friday and Saturday night so we were able to relax and have a good time at the rehearsal dinner and reception.  Jake even slept in for us (7:30 both mornings!)  The Starbucks downstairs in the hotel was pretty nice too.

Grace got to swim in the hotel pool and Jake got to jump on the beds.  We also took them both to a really fun playground.  On the second day Jake happily declared "this is our new house."

The kids did really good with the babysitter.  They got to visit cousin Zachary down the hall, walk around the hotel, watch movies and eat junk food.

Overall a pretty good weekend.  The weather was great and we got to see lots of family.  The drive home was long, but there was only screaming for the last 45 minutes.