Monster Jam!!!

Since our kids our obsessed with monster trucks (the are constantly watching the You Tube clips) of any kind, we thought they would LOVE to go and see Monster Jam...and we were right! Sam came along for the fun and baby Beau stayed home with a babysitter because we didn't think his little ears would enjoy all of the crazy loud monster trucks! 

  We didn't anticipate how loud the trucks really would be so, $40 later (an expensive mistake to say the least), the boys had monster truck ear protectors that they didn't want to wear because they were too tight...nice:)

 But, they loved to wear them and take silly pictures then hurry and take them off:)

 The boy's and pretty much all Monster Jam fans' favorite truck is Grave Digger!!!

 It was so exciting to see him especially because the announcers said he wasn't there, but then he came flying out while his theme song "Bad to the Bone" was blasting! We all LOVED it!!!

Metal Malisha was also the adult fave:)

 This is a bad picture, but one of the trucks lost a wheel. The crowd cheered with excitement whenever a truck got damaged.

The boys (Ben and Sam included) said, "it was the coolest thing they had ever seen!" Going to Monster Jam will definitely become a yearly tradition in our family! So fun!!!

Potty Party Time for Daners!

With much procrastination, due to Dane's complete disinterest, we finally decided that after the holidays would be the time to tackle potty training before he turns 3 in February. Many moms have told me that it is easier to wait until they are closer to 3 and I think they were right. Dane went from NEVER being willing to sit and try to fully going pee pee and poop in the potty! I think that having a Potty Party is also the trick! It makes going potty fun!

So, we decorated the bathroom with Toy Story toys, balloons, and streamers. Then we set up an array of drinks, treats, and prizes.

We also use the book, "Toilet Training in Less than a Day" as our guide, which worked wonders with Logan! According to the book, you start by having the child's favorite stuffed animal/baby learn how to go potty first.

Dane was amazed at Teddy's pottying skills and he had no idea I was squirting a peri bottle full of water with yellow food coloring in it behind Teddy making it look like he was really going pee pee! Then we celebrated and Teddy got bubbles and a treat for going pee pee and was able to drink any drink he wanted all day. Dane LOVED this and was so proud of his Teddy! He gave him a big "high 5"!

Now it was his turn, and following Teddy's good example, he went pee in the potty for the first time!!! It was so exciting and we all danced around and cheered for Daners! He got bubbles (his obsession in life) and a treat!

Now, pooping is another story, but after holding it for a whole day and a few accidents later, he went in the potty and earned a Spiderman helmet!  He felt like such a big boy!

He also wore a Potty Watch that played a song every 30 minutes as a reminder to go to the potty. At first the watch scared him...I don't know why, but now he likes it:) The Potty Party was a success and a great way to jump off his potty training! He  is great at going pee in the potty and wears underwear to nap in and a Pull-up to bed (mainly for our peace of mind, but we will start weaning from this soon). Pooping is still a bit tricky and we figured it would be with Dane since he has had pooping issues his whole little life, but we know he will get it soon. He is so excited to be big and to go to preschool next year!  He knows that the teacher won't let him go to school unless he is potty trained, which has been great motivation for him! Way to go Daners! We are so proud of you and love you so much!

10 Months Already!!!

I wish I could put the breaks on because this little guy is going to be 1 year before we know it!
 He truly is such a sweetheart and a blessing to our family:)
So, here's what's going on with our Beau bugs:

* He loves to play with his brothers even though Dane's lot in life is to torment him:)

* He has discovered how to clap and will do it on demand whenever we say, "yay"

* He is now waving (it is still an upside down little hand flap, but so cute)

* Can now give a high 5

* When he wakes up in the morning and is laying on the changing table, he loves to show off all of his new tricks: clapping, waving, and high 5ing all in a row. He is so proud of himself!

* He is now army crawling to get to his desired locations around the house and is now my little vacuum!

* Loves his new "Curious George Patty-a-Cake" book from Aunt Tamsin. His other favorites are: "Goodnight Moon" and "Pat the Bunny"

* LOVES all baby food especially rice cereal! Way more than his milk, which is becoming a problem:)

* Loves remotes and phones. He especially loves to suck on them and then throw them!

* Has been practicing on all fours and bouncing back and forth and can now go from army crawling to sitting with ease. 

* Loves to play airplane with mommy

* Sleeps from about 7pm to 7am and has been going without his 11pm "dream feed" since about 9 months. When he wakes up in the morning and after his bottle, he will go back to sleep until around 8:30am.

* Has had 3 ear infections already:( He might still have one right now. He has an ear check up next week, hopefully they are clear or we might be looking into getting tubes like Daners!

* He loves to play with his blocks and cars, and put everything in his mouth!

* He has 5 teeth and his 6th has almost fully emerged

* Loves to hear "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "You are My Sunshine"

* Flaps his arms like a little penguin with excitement whenever one of his family members walks in the door! He loves us all and we all ADORE our little guy!

* Likes Cheerios and other finger foods ok and thinks sippy cups are a cool toy to gnaw on:)

* He has the sweetest smile and twinkling eyes that melt our hearts! He is such a happy boy!

* 9 month stats: 19 lbs. (40%), 28 in. (22%), 18 in. head (51%)

He just had his first haircut (1/19/12)!

Before:

After:

 Yay! He likes it!

Just a little trim off the top, but it counts as his first:)