Daddy time

The kids love love love their daddy! Any chance they get to snuggle with dad they take!

Potty Training!

So this is my 2nd attempt to potty train Ryan. I thought I'd get serious this time and buy a new baby potty, but I also bought another pack of size 5 diapers at the same time. What does that say about my confidence to potty train? Yeah, not high. I also bought some toy trucks as bribery. Ryan cried for a while about just sitting on the potty with his clothes on. Finally 2 hours later, he sat on it. Then later that night he sat on it naked. Today he wore underwear for an hour. So basically I have 2 more trucks left and have yet to see any pee. I think someone is training me to give him toys. Smart kid! We'll see how it goes over the next few days of fun! Any advice?

Vacation to Maryland and Washington DC

Last week we went to visit Chad and Bren. We had a great time! We went to the National Aquarium of Baltimore and the Washington DC Zoo. Chad and Bren rolled out the red carpet and were great hosts! Here's some (I mean loads) of pictures from our trip.

Cale, Megan, Ethan, Ireland, Bren, Addy, and Aden--waiting for the Dolphin show

Ryan, Ethan, Ireland (nice glasses! Fashion first!), Bren and Aden. I think they were looking at a beaver.

Da Boys at the Aquarium! That big boy is hot!

Ireland and Ethan at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

Me and Ethan. He's a mama's boy! Yeah for me!

Here's a few of the sites we saw...

Washington DC temple from the freeway. I was not driving--no worries. I can see how people could crash when they see this. Is is so beautiful, you forget you are driving and want to stare at it. If you haven't seen it from the freeway, it appears all the sudden and takes your breath away.

A lion at the zoo. He was hiding behind the bush, but I got a pic as soon as he popped up.

Ethan loved seeing a tiger close up.

A sharks mouth at the aquarium. Mighty big.

A lioness on the prowl.

And back to some more pictures of the family...

Scott and Cale. Handsome fella's!

Ryan and Caleb both had to be held by Scott at all times. We knew Ryan was a Daddy's boy, looks like we've got another one!

Bren and Aden outside of the Baltimore Aquarium. We couldn't get Aden to look at the camera to save our lives! 3 year olds!

We dragged Bren around with us everywhere. We apparently wore Addy out.

Ryan insisted on pushing Aden in the stroller.

Aden and Ryan had a blast together! I think Aden was in serious need of someone his size to wrestle with. They were so cute together!

Luckily Ireland has girl cousins. She was in heaven playing with Addy. Addy was such a great baby! She smiled everytime you said her name and was sooo good! I could just take her home with me!

Tagged--Six Strange Habits...

So I've been tagged to tell six strange habits I have...I had to ask Scott what strange things I do, because of course they seem normal to me. Here they are...

1. I use deodorant more than the average person (according to Scott). I put deodorant on before I work out (doesn't everybody?) and of course after I shower before I get dressed for the day and if I change shirts anytime during the day or evening, I reapply. Strange? I don't think so.
2. I drink milk with sweet foods and water with salty foods. If you name any food I can tell you instantly if it goes with milk or with water. For instance, pancakes...milk, tacos...water, pizza...water, peanut butter sandwich...milk. Is this strange? Apparently Scott thinks so.
3. I have to have the house clean before I go to bed. This doesn't seem all that strange, but I also need all the closet doors shut and blinds or curtains drawn. If I don't get to putting the clean sheets on the bed until 11:00 at night, I have to completely make the bed before we get in it. That's a little crazy, I'll give you that one.
4. I hate public bathrooms. I will hold it until I am uncomfortable just to avoid using a public bathroom. I've had a hard time having my kids go in them too, but they aren't willing to hold it. I about dry heave when they sit down on the toilet in a Target.
5. I wear shoes all day in the house. I just like to have shoes on. I think it's because my mom and dad were always telling us to pick up our shoes so I just never took them off, then I didn't always have to pick them up.
6. I love to organize. I love to go through papers, files,boxes, clothing etc.. and throw out or organize them. Strange? I don't think so--I know Lorenne is with me on this one.

There you have it. I tag Steph and Bren.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

This handsome boy is 3 today!! Everyone thinks he is older because he is so tall--(in the 98%). He's going to melt some hearts some day!

Love you Ryan!

I know, I should enter a cake decorating contest! At least it tasted good!

The family in sepia...

As promised, lots of pictures. I accidently discovered the color feature on my camera--thought I'd see how we all look in sepia...

Ethan took this one of me...almost got it!

There's the hunk of burning love after a hard days work...

Here's how the party went down...

Caleb was wondering if all those cupcakes were for him.

He thinks they are!

Elated that he doesn't have to wear a bib and that it's looking like mom and dad are going to let him dig in!

Dazed by the chocolate overload.

Happy Birthday Caleb!!

Caleb is 1 year old today! I love how he smiles with his whole face.

So sweet! How did I get so lucky to be his mom?


Caleb at 6 months old. I just want to squeeze those cheeks!



Caleb at 4 months old.

Ireland and Ethan with new baby Caleb.

We can't believe Caleb is one today!! Time has gone by so fast! Too fast! I hate to see him get bigger! I love each stage of growth but I will miss the baby phase! Happy Birthday! We love you Cale!

Just a few random thoughts...

Don’t you hate it when you check someone’s blog regularly and find no new entries for weeks on end. Guilty, I know! So this post may be boring, but not as boring as seeing the same dang entry over and over. I am about to go on post overload here in a week or so since both Ryan and Caleb have birthdays and we are going on vacation next week. So hold on and don’t give up on me and my blog hiatus…

Here are some of my random thoughts…

Blogging…I love that you can see a glimpse into other people’s lives…it’s very fascinating. I love all the cute families and great moms with beautiful children. It is heartwarming to see how much families love each other. Thanks to those who let others read their blogs.

Going green…why is this all the sudden so popular? I’m a little worried about driving my big Armada around for fear that I’m going to get tomatoes thrown at my SUV. I feel like I’m wearing a fur coat to a PETA meeting. I just keep thinking I’d rather be driving a big SUV then a Toyota Prius if someone crashed into me or if I crashed into someone. Plus, I have 4 kids! I need a big car. Don’t get me wrong, going green is great. I’m just wondering what caused all the recent hype over going green??

Babies…why does Caleb love the toilet? I have to keep the bathroom door shut constantly so that he doesn’t crawl in there and swish his hands around in toilet water! He just wants to touch the toilet seat, lid, flusher, any part of it so badly! I know other babies do this too. I think all of my other kids did this. What is the attraction?

Diet Pepsi Max…I have never tried it (not a fan of soda), but I love the commercial for Diet Pepsi Max…Wake up People…so funny!! Here it is…

That’s all for now…pictures to come soon…