He Pooped In The Potty!!

So very interesting story but Friday Monks pooped in the big boy potty! Devin said he was rocking Pippa and heard Aikman making some noise behind the side of the couch. He asked if he was pooping and he said yes. Devin told him to take off his diaper and go sit on his potty. He did. Devin then got up and put Pippa in her bed and then said he could smell poop from down the hall. When he got in the bathroom he saw Aikman’s diaper on the floor and a piece of poop. Monks said he was finished so stood up and Devin said there was poop smashed all on the edge of the seat. Long story short, Aikman had already gone a little in his diaper and when he took it off he picked the poop up out of his diaper and went to throw it in the potty since that is where it belongs. He didn’t quite make it in all the way so when he went to sit down to go, it smashed on the edge. Some did get in there from where he went and some was on the side. At least it was close. He was so proud of himself and after a deep scrubbing of the hand he was given high fives all day by everyone who heard his story. J Sweet boy-picking it up by hand to put it in the potty. We were so excited for him. He is getting there! He sat on the potty all weekend every hour but never produced anything. In time!

Goals for 2012 (for Monks)

I have a few goals I have set for Aikman to accomplish this year.

1.       Be potty trained! I can’t stress this one enough lol. He will be almost 3 and a half come the end of December 2012 and I think that is more than enough time for him to accomplish this huge milestone. We are working on it and he likes his Cars potty and sits on it and flushes the handle to make the car revving sound but never goes in it. I know he is such a smart boy so it will just take some time and patience and praise. At least he is trying! This is a huge work in progress and Devin and I are going to stop being lazy and take on this task full force. I know he can do it and will be so proud of himself.

2.       Learn his alphabet and recognize each letter. He says his alphabet very well but has those few letters he mumbles together. He has foam letters and numbers he plays with in the bath and our goal is to focus on 3 letters a week and get him familiar with the letter and recognizing it. This will happen each night in the tub and we will go over them maybe 3 or 4 times while in there. His memory is amazing so I know he can do this in no time at all.

3.       Learn his colors. He can say all the colors but when you point to something it is hit or miss. I can point at a blue ball and he will say green? Purple? Pink? Yellow? Orange? And just go through every color until you make him stop. At times he does get them right but it is purely a coincidence. I have flash cards with shapes and colors so we need to put them to use! I also saw online where you can buy bath tablets from Crayola’s website that makes your water colored! We will definitely be trying those!

Those are my goals for my sweet boy. He is such a smart little guy and loves to learn. I am so excited to get to utilize all my learning crafts and projects I have been saving up since before he was born! Lol. And thanks to Pinterest, I have a billion new ideas to use!

Goals for 2012 (for myself)

I know I am late on this but along with the New Year comes resolutions. They are mainly goals I want to set for myself and my family.  I don’t have too many but Andrew (that’s Tio’s real name, bet you never heard it here lol) did them on his blog and I want to post them here so I can be held accountable!

Goals for Me:

1.       No more cokes. More Water. I love Cokes. Cokes of all kinds. When I was pregnant each time, I cut out all caffeine except for a glass of sweet tea before the sonogram where we found out the sex so they would be active. I drank so much water being pregnant and then it was like after I had them, I stopped drinking it. My last coke was New Year’s Eve and I have been drinking a lot of water at work. I have been proud of myself.

2.       Wash my face before bed EVERY night. I never do this. Ever. In my defense, I only wear eye liner and mascara and like three times a month I will put on eye shadow. I also only use chapstick. Guess I am just naturally beautiful. J I have never been a big makeup person so I don’t feel like it’s horrible, but I want to start a skincare routine. My skin is not bad by any means but I will be 30 this year and feel it is time. I want to be sure I have nice skin like my mom. She was 52 and everyone thought she was younger than she actually was. She was just perfect in every way though.

3.       Cook more. I have been on Pinterest for a while and found so many great recipes and I even love to cook dinner now. I want to be sure the kids grow up eating home cooked meals and remember me as that mom who cooked and not grabbed something several times a week. I want them eating healthy, full course meals. I felt like I was slacking if I didn’t do this but I think a lot of that just comes with mommy guilt. Either way, I have been cooking so much more and everyone seems to love it. I am proud of myself so far!

4.       Make date night a priority and be a better wife. I have to admit I have a great husband who loves me dearly and always makes me feel special and beautiful no matter what. I need to appreciate him more. 2011 was such a busy year with so many life changing events and I can’t remember the last time we went to the movies together or to dinner by ourselves. We have been together a little over 12 years and married for almost 7. We still are very much in love and always will be but I want to work on showing him more. I am not what you would call super romantic. Flowers and chick flicks gross me out. My idea of romance is beer and good food and an action/horror movie. Not very typical. I want to do little things for Devin so he knows how much I still adore him and love him.

5.      This one may seem dumb and is very personal but figure out a way to deal with the losses of last year. There I said it. I don’t know how to so if it means talking to someone thru counseling or expressing my feelings more with my family so be it. I need to deal so I can be the mother, wife, sister and daughter everyone is proud to have.

Those are my five goals I set for myself. I am working on each of them so I will keep you updated as to any progress! Happy 2012!

Compassionate and Sweet!

The other night we were watching Remember the Titans and it was at the part where Bertierre gets in his car accident. After he was hit Aikman looked at me and said “that’s terrible Momma!” My little compassionate boy.

I am at work and Devin texted me that Aikman asked where I was so Devin told him I was at work and then Aikman said “Oh I love Momma” and Devin said you do? And he said “I miss her!” Preciousness! I love you more monkey!

Misses Grandpa, But Not Extra Terrestrials

The other morning when Aikman woke up he was laying on the couch and I was getting him dressed. He told me something out of the blue that made my heart burst with happiness and sadness at the same time and then I could not help but laugh.

Me: Did you sleep well?
Monks: Yes momma.
Me: Like a big dog or a little pup?
Monks: A little pup. I wanna see Grandpa.
Me: Well monkey, he is not here. Where is he?
Monks: In heaven.
Me: Yes, in heaven. So we can't see him now, but one day you will see him again.
Monks: Oh. I miss him. I miss Grandpa.
Me: I know sweetheart, me too.
I got a little teary eyed and then he said
Monks: Grandpa talked to me.
Me: He did?
Monks: Mm hmm. Grandpa talked to me. But E.T. not talk to me!

Yes, E.T. as in the extra terrestrial. This child is obsessed with him and never even seen the movie. He saw a preview that I skipped through at the beginning of Lion King for E.T. and now mentions him all the time. Crazy I tell you!

Monkey Tales

When we get in the car, Aikman always asks so what we doing? I tell him going to the store, or going to Mrs. Larissa’s or whatever we are doing. He will say okay! Like, well, alright, I approve! Lol. After running our errands we will be heading home and he will say um, so what we doing now? He gets a little disappointed when we tell him home ha ha. This kid loves being out.

Pete and Phil were over one night and Pippa was laying on a blanket on the floor and Pete was by her. He then picked up the corners of the blanket and lifted her up. I said “you better not drop her” and then I told Aikman “look at your sister monks.” He then ran over and said “be careful Pete! That’s my sister!” We died laughing at how serious he was but thought it was the sweetest thing we had ever heard.

Six Months Already!

Pippa turned 6 months old on Sunday! I can’t believe how fast 6 months flew by! She goes next week for her check up so I can update then with a current weight and height. She also rolled over for the first time on Sunday! I laid her down for her nap on her tummy and when she woke up two hours later, she was on her back! I was so excited for her! She is always smiling and is such a joy to have. No one loves her like Aikman does and she already searches the room for him when she is awake. He can be talking to her, spinning in a circle or running around and she will just laugh and laugh. I am so glad they have a great relationship already and Aikman is always ready to help with her and keep her entertained. When she cries he will rub her head and tell her it’s okay and try to make her laugh. They are so cute together. She is getting better about sitting up on her own and by next month I bet she will be able to. She is a great eater and loves her baby food. She can’t suck it down fast enough. She likes everything we have ever given her and loves her veggies as much as she does the fruits. Her favorite right now I think would have to be the pear and cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast and the vegetable medley for dinner which is a mix of spinach, carrots and peas. She only has the bottom two teeth still but those top two are waiting to break out any day. They have been right at the surface for a few weeks and they bother her at times. I sure do love her grin though! She has very good eye hand coordination. She sees something and reaches right for it. She holds her spoon after she is done eating and sucks on it. Holding her bottle is still hit or miss at times but slowly but surely she is getting better at it. I get compliments all the time on what a gorgeous baby she is and I have to agree. J She is my precious baby girl! I adore her so much more than I ever thought possible. We don’t have too many nicknames for her. I felt like Aikman had so many names we called him in the first few months. She randomly is called Pips, Pippas, Sweet Girl, Toots, Pipsqueak and Devin calls her Chunk. Whatever her names may be, she sure is adored and loved by us all! Happy Half Birthday my Pips! Now to start planning for her 1^st!



She was trying to grab my phone



Look at this pose. Crazy girl.

Park Time!

Saturday was a gorgeous day with a high in the 70’s and so we decided it would be great to head to the park. We took Aikman’s bike from Santa and he rode it up and down the trail around the park and in front of the little lake. He liked seeing all the ducks and dogs that were out playing. When he was tired of riding his bike we went to the playground so he could play. He had so much fun and as soon as we entered the gate, he just walked right in and started climbing and went down a tunnel slide all by himself! Devin and I were shocked. Usually he wants you to go with him and he has never been too big on the tunnel ones. Apparently he has grown up a lot since the last time we were there lol because he was so independent. He would ask Devin to get ready to catch him and he would go down. He loves to swing and swings like a big boy now and he goes really high and doesn’t get scared. He also closes his eyes a lot on the swing and likes how it tickles his tummy. I then left Devin with Pippa and I went to play with him. We climbed everything and went down the slides. There were several older kids there (like 14 and up) playing and running around so I told Devin let’s go to another park. We went to another park and played about 30 minutes and then people started showing up for a birthday party so we called it a day. We then went home and that’s when both kids passed out in the car. Poor babies were worn out! Aikman slept from 4:15 until 7 when we woke him up so he could eat. Pips woke up when we got her out of the car and fell asleep about 6:15 and slept until 8:15 the next morning! Talk about tired! It was such a fun day.



Before the Park



Swinging!



On the Way Home



Passed out



My Crazy Guy

Aikman is becoming quite the comedian. He says the silliest things all the time. When I ask him questions he responds with of course momma or um, kind of. He also shrugs his little shoulders when he talks at times. It is the cutest thing. He has a great memory and can point out somewhere we went once and tell you what we did there. He has had two of the strawberries and cream drinks from Starbucks and every time we pass it he says oh I want my drink from there momma. It’s like he is a regular Starbucks drinker. Lol. He also was playing with a cup in the bath the other night and it was a Taco Casa cup. I can’t even remember the last time we ate there to be honest. He told me oh I love the beetoes from there momma. I said you do? And he said mm hmm.

He built a house out of his legos the other day and told Devin to come and look at it. Devin told him it was so nice and big and asked who lived in the house. He told him that bees lived there and when Devin asked if they ever stung him he said no, Pooh Bear is there too. Lol.

He told me he had a dream last night about spiders again and that they were pink and that they wanted to go to the store to buy sausage and they shared it with him and it was really yummy. I thought that was the cutest dream I had ever heard. J

Zoo Trip Part 2

 Monday, on top of celebrating Grandpa’s birthday, we went to the zoo again! Tio and Tia and Adrian did not get to come the first time so we had to make the trip again. It was still just as fun. Aikman was so excited when I asked if he wanted to go again. He said “the zoo? Again? Yes Momma!” Lol. It was even nicer out, although a little windy, but it was high 60’s. Perfect day for a zoo trip.  





In the train!



How precious!



A prairie dog!



These yucky fish we fed. Can you see their mouths? Eww.



Look at his smile! Lol.



On some zookeeper's cart.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Sunday, the 15^th was Grandpa’s birthday! He would have been 56 this year. Aikman knew him of course but Pippa and Adrian never got the chance to so every year when his and Gigi’s birthdays roll around, I want to celebrate with their favorite cake and favorite food or something that reminds us of them. We will have a small party in their honor. We will take balloons out to the cemetery and everyone will let them go. I thought the kids might enjoy it and look forward to it and we all share a special memory of them for the kids to hear. We celebrated his birthday Monday since that was the time everyone could be together. We headed out to the cemetery and then after naps to Tio and Tia’s to eat. What else screams “dad/grandpa” more than grilling! We had hamburgers, sausage, potato salad, beans, chips, salsa, guacamole and jalapeno popper dip. Of course we had to toast with a corona. It was all amazing. We also made his favorite carrot cake! It was a nice evening with all of us together. Happy Birthday Dad!

Lazy Sunday

Sunday we just relaxed and slept in. Devin had to work the night before so he was going to be sleeping half the day. The kids and I just played around the house, picked up some, but played more. J Around nap time, Devin woke up and said he could not sleep for some reason and so we just played with Pippa in her room. She didn’t want to nap either I guess. After Monks was up, we headed over to Tio and Tia’s so we could watch some football. I was so glad the Ravens won. I love me some Ray Lewis. Tia and I then took Adrian and Aikman to the grocery store with us and Devin stayed with Pippa. We had to buy stuff for our birthday/memory celebration the next day!   



Now this laundry never gets old!



Watching football





Someone loves the camera!



Zoo Trip Part 1

Saturday was very nice so we loaded up to go to the zoo! Devin’s schedule changed recently so we don’t have all weekend together like we did, only Saturday during the day so we were going to make the most of it. Pete and Phil came along and we had lots of fun. After a couple of hours there, we left for lunch at Mr. Gatti’s. It was then back home for naps! In the evening, we just hung out at home and watched Beauty and the Beast. Aikman loves this movie now and told me during dinner Momma, I wanna go to the Beast’s house. I laughed and asked why and he said because he loves him and wants to give him a kiss. Um, okay. Very sweet yet very random.



Phil and Monks rode train with strangers lol



That monkey is sitting like a man! Lol.



I look tore up but Pips looks sweet :)



Gotta Love Em

When I went home for lunch today Aikman was all dressed, including his shoes. I said have you been playing outside? Devin shook his head no. I said why are his shoes on and Devin said after he got him dressed this morning, Aikman asked where's my shoes and Devin said I guess in your room and he went in there and grabbed his shoes and brought them to Devin and said he wanted them on. Lol. Too cute, he loves his new shoes! Devin made his day by letting him wear them. My Pips looked precious too in her pink corduroy pants and little shirt. She was all smiles the whole time. I took these pics right before I left. How cute are they together??



Little man!



New Shoes!

Last night we went to Academy and looked for some new shoes for Monks. He only has one pair that fits him now. We looked at several shoes and finally decided on some. He was just marching up and down the aisle to try them out. We decided on some Sketchers and they light up! He noticed it somewhat but what really got his attention was when we were walking through the parking lot to Chili’s for dinner. It was dark out and he noticed and said look momma! My shoes got lights! I said I know sweet boy and he would walk so weird to get them to light up and after seeing him walk like a newborn calf for a while, I finally explained to him that he could walk normal and they would still light up so he tried it and voila! Lights! We met Tia and Adrian there (Tio was working) and had dinner. Aikman wanted a corn dog with broccoli. He ate it all! I was so proud of him. He always leaves some of his crust from the corn dog but that’s okay. J We then headed home to all hang out.



See the shoes? Like his Ranger antlers? Lol.



He said he was a pirate and then yelled "Ahoy Matey's!"



Two sweet men :)



At home in new jammies