HoHo is coming!!!!

Over the past 9 months I have realized just how special Tyler is (not that Ava is any less special but this blog is about him).  I often forget that he is not yet 2 1/2 years old because he acts like such a "big boy"...whether it's wanting to help mom cook.....or loving his sister to death (literally).....

or my new set of "eyes in the back of my head" always letting me know when Ava is doing a "big time no no"!!!!

(Okay so I couldn't help it....I know this is suppose to be about Tyler but she is just so cute....)












Yesterday when we woke up it was snowing outside....just a little flurry barely enough to cover the ground but you would have thought we had 3 feet of snow the way Tyler reacted.....he came out of his room and walked down the stairs...before he was even really awake he saw the snow out the window and yelled "it's snowing mom, it's snowing mom.....Ho Ho is gonna be coming, Ho Ho is coming."  Talk about a great start to my morning....he finds a way to bring a smile to my face no matter what mood I'm in.....I can't wait to see what kind of person he grows up to be.....

Tyler waiting for "Ho Ho"

'Tis the Season.....

 It's official....Ava is fully mobile and her brother is in big trouble (and so is her mother)!!!

and she is into everything!! She likes her new found independence so much she has trouble stopping...in fact I found her the other day asleep sitting up in her crib....and if  you look int he background of this picture you can see why I call her the "godzilla" of Tyler's train table....she leaves a path of destruction behind her!!

It's so nice to see my kids already enjoying being together and playing with each other...not to mention their "older cousins" at my nephews Christening this past weekend.  This is a picture of Tyler, Ava, Maya and Sophia (for all of my family who haven't me these two cutie pies the girls are the daughters of Joe's cousin Erin who luckily for us lives close by.)

I have a feeling this won't be the last we see of this crew!!!   As we start to deck the halls I hope that our christmas tree doesn't fall over.....

that Tyler doesn't break any more ornaments....

and that our family stays happy and healthy through this holiday season.....can't believe Christmas is only 2 weeks away....

How I'd like to remember it.....

Today was Tyler's first time at "munchkin soccer".....last night I decided we had to get out and do something and this seemed like just the thing.  This picture is how I'd like to remember today.....

but lets face it.....a two year old doing something he's never done before......it wasn't all smiles.  It started great....he ran onto the indoor field and was kicking around another ball with a couple of the kids and having fun.....then Teacher Tanya started the class.....in my head I was thinking "they are between the ages of 2-5 isn't running around for 45 minutes and occassionally kicking a ball enough?".  And that's when Tyler turned into Mr. Shy guy and wouldn't leave my side......of course this is precisely when Ava gets hungry.....so I play the "just ignore him" game and tell him to just sit and watch the other kids and maybe he will feel like joining in.  After Teacher Tanya finishes some rigorous stretching.....again I'm thinking "do they really need to stretch at this age??"......she does something that catches Tyler's eye. She takes out some cones and makes a "Pirate ship", after much positive reinforcement and some observing from a distance Tyler finally sees his chance and goes running in to join the game.  As soon as he gets close enough he gets run over by the biggest kid in the class......crying follows......Mom on the field.......Ava clapping her hands in the stroller.  After calming down he drinks some juice and Ava and I sit on the sidelines to build up his courage to try again. 

Side Note: this turned into a playdate for Ava as she crawled after her first boyfriend Casey, a one year old little nugget!!! Too bad my hands were full and I don't have any pictures.....take my word for it they were cute.  The class continued with putting a ball on top of a cone and kicking it as hard as possible....Tyler was all over that.....and Ava was all over the place.....and did I mention this indoor field has that artificial grass that sticks to everything .....and Ava was wearing an all fleece onsie and tyler was wearing fleece pants.....put it this way, my kids, my car, my stroller, and my house are now all florescent green!!! 



 Like I said in the beginning....this is how I'd like to remember Tyler's first day at Munchkin Soccer...

All I want for Christmas...

For those of you who don't know, Mariah Carey's "All I want for christmas is You" is possibly my favorite christmas song.....today, I have a cold.....a two year old who is acting two.....but suddenly on the radio my favorite song is playing, and for those of you who can play videos, turn the volume up on your computer for this one....because it appears my daughter loves this song too.  If you're having a bad day I'm sure this will bring a smile to your face.  Finally, someone else in this family who agrees with my taste in music!!

Potty Training Blues

So about 3 weeks ago I gave it the "old college try" with potty training Tyler.....emphasis on the "try".  I had started with him sitting on the potty at night before his tubby and did the whole sticker chart rewards...he was loving it and doing a good job so I decided to try some big boy underwear during the day and see how he did.  I told myself I was going to give it a week and then make a decision as to whether I thought he was ready or not.....lets put it this way, I'm still buying diapers.
Tyler is one of those kids who will not stop playing to go to the potty......I've never wiped up so much pee off the floor.  I remember thinking "thank goodness Ava is not crawling yet".....I tried everything.  Started with pullups but those things absorb just as much as regular diapers and he didn't mind being wet.  Then I tried big boy undies.....he would sit on the potty when I asked him and say "I just did a little dribble Mom." I would praise him and tell him how proud I was.....even did the whole M&M reward thing......no sooner would I help him pull up his undies, he would start playing with his trains and I would hear the pee hitting the floor.  I even tried putting the big boy undies under the diaper so he'd feel wet and I wouldn't be cleaning up pee all the time.....nothing seemed to work.

At the end of the week I decided he's just not ready.....I'm building up my strength to try again.....I'm getting the idea he's getting closer to being ready as he insists I leave the room when he has to poop.....sometimes when I walk in he'll say "I'm alright in here mom you don't come in!" Oh and I'll leave you with this....after he does number two he also like to tell me if it's a big one or a little one......and if it's a big one, while I'm wiping his bum he'll say "wow Mom, what did I eat?".....if Grandpa Rathbone ever heard him say that I think he would pee his pants!!

Five....Four....Three.....Two.....One

So I have finally decided I would try to enter the world of blogging.....my hope is to save some of these precious moments that happen in my day to day life now that I have two kids and in the process share some laugh, tears, and I'm sure the occassional frustration with anyone who wants to follow.  I figured my first entry should get you up to speed on some of the important numbers in my life....

Five.....the number of years I've been married to my wonderful husband!!

Four....the number of grandkids in our family. Tyler Gregory, Ava Marie, Logan Marie and Bentley Christopher.....who will be next??

Three..the number of brother-in-laws I now have





Two...the number of beautiful children living under our roof

One...the number of children my husband would love to add to this family.......which is a discussion I'm sure we will talk more about!!!