Easter presents!

A cool car that shoots bubbles out the back. A BIG hit with the boys!

a watering can

"Wanna see it closer?"

"What's in this box from Grammy and Grandpa?"

Andrew reading a new Easter book.

A new truck!

"Check out this cool grass stuff!"

We got some great Easter presents in the mail this past week from the Fleurys and from Grammy and Grandpa Ayotte! The boys loved everything and were so excited to open the boxes. Thanks for all the great stuff!

Dutch Kitchen

Sandra, Tiana, Jonathan and Tanisha

Dad, Sandra, Gina, Courtney, Dorothy, Al, and me

So, the morning after the pee-pee incident, we met the Nislys at the Dutch Kitchen for breakfast. Andrew had the camera and took some random pictures. This last picture of Jonathan is my favorite. It gives a little glimpse into his personality that is rarely caught on film!

potty training update...

Well, it would seem that my last post was a bit premature. The night I posted the potty training update, we were awakened at 4 am by Andrew, telling us that he had had pee-pee accident in his diaper. I sat right up because he wasn't wearing a diaper! and I knew there was a mess to clean up. We changed his sheets and his pjs and got him back to bed. Keith said it was all my fault because I posted a potty-training update. So I may not post anymore updates for a few years! HaHa

We got Andrew back to bed and then we couldn't get back to sleep. It would seem that all the commotion of changing sheets and clothes woke Jonathan, who then proceeded to serenade us for the next 30-45 minutes. "Mama. Dada. Uh-oh. Googoo. jibberish. Mama. Dada. Uh-oh. jibberish. and so on until he finally fell back asleep too.

Ahhh. Sleep. How I miss you!

Library Day and potty training update

We went to the library on Wednesday. We go about every two weeks and check out a huge number of new books. I LOVE library day because Andrew always sits so quietly looking through all the new books and then asks me to read them all. We have to set limits on how many we read on the first day. Andrew's reading one of the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems, our new favorite author. He also writes the Pigeon books, which we also love. Andrew loves them so much that he memorizes them after we read them one time. It's a little freaky to hear him reading to himself, but I love that he loves books!

On another note, potty training is going very WELL! About a month ago, I told Andrew that we were almost out of Pull-Ups and that I wasn't going to buy anymore because we had already spent half his college fund on them. He didn't really understand the economics of it, but it made me feel better. I also told him that we were going to start wearing underwear, only. So, we went shopping for new underwear. He was totally uninterested as I tried to have him help me pick out new undies. So, I picked what I thought would be acceptable, and we started wearing underwear exclusively. Some have been rejected from the Disney pack, such as certain Cars undies and Wall.E for some unknown reasons. He likes what he likes, and I'm not going to force the rejected undies if it causes accidents!


We have a little egg-timer that I would set to go off hourly as a reminder to try and go pee-pee. It started to work and after a week or so, I quit setting the timer and he started telling me when he had to go. And now he doesn't even tell me. I just hear him running and slamming the bathroom door and then locking it for "privacy." Like Jonathan and I might bust in on him. Whatever.

Poop was a little more difficult. He was still wearing pull-ups at night and so he would usually choose bedtime or early morning to do poopies. When I asked him why he wouldn't go in the toilet, he would answer, "Cause that's what boys do." How do you argue with that logic?


About a week or two ago, we stopped wearing Pull-Ups to bed because of Andrew's sensitive skin. He was starting to break out around the waist, where the Pull-Ups rubbed, so it was an easy excuse to stop wearing them. Plus he was always dry in the morning and I figured the worst that would happen is that I would do more laundry. Ha! Well, so far, no accidents at night and he now does poopies in the toilet! And he insists on wiping himself. This control-freak mama, does not handle that well, but I'm working on it and teaching him how to wipe properly. (Sorry if this blog is a little to graphic! But it's my life.)

Today we were at Dillons, and we had just paid for the groceries and were heading out to the car. We walked by the Restroom sign, which I think he can read, and he screams that he has to go pee-pee. So, I reluctantly parked my groceries outside the bathroom door, and hauled Jonathan into the bathroom. Andrew went pee-pee and when I tried to help pull his pants up, he announces that he had to do poopies. I didn't believe him. I thought he just wanted to hang out in the dirty public bathroom and watch me freak as my groceries were pilfered. But no, he really did have to go and my groceries were just fine. Progress!


Now, we just have to work on the back talk...

Happy Birthday, a little late...

Andrew helping Jonathan open his gift.

"How do I open this?"

"Cheese!"

"This is mine."

Sharing the blocks

These are the only two blocks that Jonathan was allowed to play with once Andrew got a hold of the blocks.

"Hey! Isn't that my gift?!"

Sondra and Chad sent Jonathan's birthday present (cute little wooden wagon with blocks. Gotta love IKEA!) home with Grandma and we finally got around to opening it. We had hid it and then forgot about it. *sigh* But it was worth the wait. The boys were so excited to open it. Notice I said the boys even though it was for Jonathan. We had to have a little talk about whose blocks they were. And while Andrew "gets it" he still has laid claim to the blocks and dictates which blocks Jonathan is allowed to play with. Thanks for the great blocks Sondra, Chad and Luke! We love them!

Brotherly Love

Last Sunday, Andrew asked me to take pictures of him holding Jonathan. This is NEVER requested, so of course I didn't say no! Jonathan tried to escape at first, but then gave in and let me take a couple of sweet pictures.

Some days I see great hope for how they will play together, you know, once Jonathan learns to follow orders. And other days, I fear that they will only interact by playing chase or throwing toys at each other. I guess it still constitutes playing, just not the kind I had in mind...

Chatty Cathy

Taking a brief talking break to listen.


Keith was on the cordless to help interpret.

Testing the stretchiness of the phone cord, and Jonathan following his cool big brother up the stairs.

A couple nights ago, Andrew decided he wanted to call Grammy. So, we let him because he rarely wants to talk on the phone to anyone. He was in a very chatty mood that night and talked to her for at least a half hour until we told him it was time for bed. He told her all about his day and went into great detail about everything that was going on around him and describing Jonathan's antics. He was so chatty. I have NO idea where he gets that from!