Potty Time...Excellent!!!

Potty training. What more can a parent say? People always tell you how hard the first few weeks of parenthood are. Have these people forgotten about potty training?

We have attempted this feat several times before.

Several.

Like...a lot of times.

It always went like this,

"Landry, let's wear underwear today and learn how to go potty on the toilet."

"No. I don't want to."

"C'mon. Lets sit on the potty and try."

Cue the tears. Massive crocodile tears. Lots of tears.

I read every tip I could find.

We tried candy treats, toy treats, going to the store to buy the underwear, standing, sitting, sinking Cheerios, everything.

I continued to search Pinterest. One day I came across this link and it just seemed to click. I read it and thought, "This is it. This is totally Landry!"

So, when we bought our last box of diapers at Costco we told Landry, "This is it. This is the last box of diapers. Once we run out...it is underwear time!" I was really hoping the box would get us to Spring Break...but it didn't.

Friday morning we pulled out the last diaper!

That was it...the last one.

We told Landry that Friday was the lst day for diapers.

Saturday would be potty day!

Saturday morning Landry got up and off came the diaper...on went the underwear! I followed the advice from the link and the first thing we did was make a list of everyone we know that wears underwear!

Making the list cracked Chad and I up! He thought of all the names on his own. His name was first, then Chad, me, and so on.

Then I showed him the "Potty Treats" on the shelf in the bathroom. He would get some treats every time he was able to keep his underwear dry and use the potty.

Within the first 10 minutes or so we had our first accident. But that was ok. Pretty soon...and after one more accident...and 9,867 "false alarm" dashes to the bathroom...we had this!

So proud of himself! Time for his treats!

I have to add in here...this morning he decided...and told me,

"I just tay here. Den when I actuawy go pee...I get M&Ms!"

The child cracks me up...and he did sit on the potty for at least 45 minutes...waiting! :)

We are so proud of him...and he is SOOOOO proud of himself!

I know that we are only 2 days in...and the true test is tomorrow at daycare...but so far, so good! I am skeptically optimistic since it has been quite easy so far.

Fingers crossed...we can keep this going!

Have I mentioned how much I love this little cheeseball?

LOVE HIM!!!!!

Super Bowl 2013

Are you ready for some football? Well, if you answered, "yes"...you're out of luck...because the season is over! :)

We have adopted the tradition of hosting Super Bowl...and I LOVE it! This year was a little extra special because Chad...and pretty much all of our friends...are HUGE Niners fans. So, I had no choice but to go all out for my man. :)

Here's the invite...not to be confused with an actual Super Bowl ticket...

Our guests were welcomed with this on the door...

of course you have to have a banner...

and it isn't a party without some balloons and food!

 

Most of you know that I have a very abnormal love for naming my party food. Really. It is a bit abnormal. It really brings me almost as much fun as the actual party. And yes, I do crack myself up with my names...ask my hubby...I think I'm pretty clever sometimes! :)

So, here starts that parade of food pictures...

I told myself that these were for the kiddos...honestly, I used it as an excuse to buy some for me. I also have a secret love affair with these tiny pockets of pb&j!

Of course there were the "usuals"...Chain Gang Chili Dip, Super Bowl Salsa, Grid Iron Guacamole, Coin Toss Cream Cheese and Chili Sauce...and new this year...

A build your own hot dog bar...

I made a list of some NFL inspired hot dog recipes...and here were all of the fixings!

I also had some toys and activities for the kids...even though they never touched them! Ha!!!

Even the "big kids" had their own game!

Cue the good ol' Super Bowl Squares! Do you see a little mister in the mix in the picture above? Yup...he was all about the squares and even bought a few of his own!

 

Unfortunately our team didn't win...but we still had tons of fun!

Crafty Christmas Wrap

On Saturday I decided to get crafty with Landry. I saw an idea on Pinterest that I used as my inspiration. The idea was to take painter's tape, put it on a canvas in the shape of letters, words, or a design. Then you let a toddler paint all over the canvas, take the tape away, and you are left with a really neat design.

So, I took the idea and tweaked it a bit. Instead of canvases I used plain white gift bags. I wanted Landry to make a bag for each of our family members for a special gift. I put the first initial of each family's last name on each bag.

Then I handed them over to my darling, naked artist!

He has a smile on his face now...but it took some warming up to the idea of being "naked."

(notice there is NO paint on the paper towel under his bag...he has a bit of his mom's type a personality. :) )

Since he was decorating Christmas bags I gave him red and green paint to work with. It was coincidental that the two brushes I happened to grab were red and green...and it worked out beautiful! He did a better job of keeping the gren in the green and the red in the red than most of my second graders do. :)

A budding young artist!

His enthusiasm started to dwindle at the end. I had him do eight bags...and the amount of paint that was used on each one decreased drastically from the first to the last bag. When he was all finished he was so proud of his work...and definitely ready to get cleaned up. He is not a fan of being messy. I had to tell him that it was okay to get paint on himself...and I promised that we would wash it off with soap and water. :)

After all of the paint dried, I pulled off the tape, and wrote each family's name inside the letter.

Look at how cute they turned out!

I love that they are all coordinating and yet each one is a little different. I also think that it is special to have the spirit of a small child on each present. Next time I think I will use narrower tape...but all in all it was a success!

After Christmas I will share with you what is inside each bag. :)

CBA: Day 2: Christmas Tree!

Today was day 2 of the Christmas Book Advent. Landry woke up and remembered the elf from last night! He also remembered his bucket of books and wanted to open one.

Today's book...

During his nap I decorated the house and set-up the Christmas tree. When he woke up I told him I had a surprise for him in the living room. He ran out and said, "Whoa...is a Chismas tee, Mommy!" Since the story of the day was about a Christmas tree...what better way to connect the story than to decorate the tree?!?

Here's my eager helper!

I showed him how to hold the hook and hang it on a branch...he caught on quickly and couldn't get enough ornaments!

The type A, OCD me really wanted to tell him where to put his ornaments...but fortunately the mommy in me kicked in, sat back, and watched him put all of his ornaments wherever he wanted! He has his own method...the method of "how many ornaments can I get on one branch?" :)

He even hung ornaments on ornaments!

When we were all done he wanted to read the book again!

He turned each page telling us what was happening...

and pointing out his favorite parts. :)

When he was drinking his milk and getting ready for bed he told me, "Mommy, dat Chismas tee is pitty. We get more nornaments tomorrow. We has to go to Tarbucks and get more." When I asked him why we needed to get more ornaments his answer was, "Because I yike dem...cause we need more!" Boy oh boy...you are a child after my own heart! :)

Christmas Book Advent {CBA} Day 1: Elf on the Shelf

So, I have to start with a confession...I'm a bit "Christmas Crazy" this year. Yup. It is true. I like to blame it on my child. Really...it is his fault. I am sooooooooooo excited to experience what I am calling "Landry's First Christmas." I say this because let's be real, his 1st Christmas he was only 7 months old. He had no idea what was going on. Last year...not much better. But this year, oh this year is so much different. We're only 2 days into December and it is already AH-MAZ-ING!

Back to the purpose of this post. Another reason for my craziness...PINTEREST! Seriously. It is all because of my darling child...and Pinterest. Enough pointing fingers...back to the topic...Christmas Book Advent calendar. I saw the idea on Pinterest and LOVED it! The 1st/2nd grade teacher in me loved the fact that I would be sharing a new story with my little one each day. Then the "crazy" kicked in...and as I started to collect books...I started to plan some activities to go with them. Yup. It. Is. True. I was able to hold back a little and only planned activities for the books that Landry would open on a weekend. Unfortantely the weekdays are just too crazy.

Last night, after we got home from Christmas Tree Lane, I had his basket of books waiting for him on the fireplace hearth.

Silly boy! He was so excited about his basket of books and immediately wanted to open them. I told him he could open one of them. Side note...no, he isn't blinking...this is his new smile...a scrunched up face. :)

He knew exactly what to do!

What was inside? Elf on the Shelf!!!!! He surprised me by being rather excited about the book and elf. I was a little worried that he might be scared of the elf...but he loves him! We read the story and talked about how he can't touch him...only Mommy and Daddy...or he will lose his magic. We told him that the elf would tell Santa if he had been good or not. If he is good, then Santa will bring him toys. He quickly said, "Santa has vacuums???" Yes sweet thing, Santa has vacuums! :)

We asked him what he wanted to name his elf and he said, "ABCs"...so, as of now he remains nameless...but he might be named "ABCs" because when we asked him about it today...he gave the same answer in a matter of fact, don't you remember, kinda way. :)

So, here he is...ABCs!

Monster Bash!

Last night we hosted a "Spooktacular Halloween Monster Bash" at our house. Now you know that I love to plan a good party...it's true...I love creating a theme, the decor, the food...all of it. I have never really done a lot of decorating for Halloween in the past. This year I had a blast decorating...and thanks to the "Dollar Spot" at Target, Dollar Tree, and Michael's I was able to find lots of fun, glittery, festive decor items!

Scary and Boo signs came from the "Dollar Spot" at Target...the adorable black cat was from Dollar Tree...the glittery pumpkins and boa came from Michael's

The dining room table...

The mantle...



Tulle wrapped pumpkins...inspired by Pinterest

Bam Bam wanted to get in on the pictures, too!



By now you know that I love to come up with clever little names for yummy snacks and food...

Graveyard Guacamole

Zombie Hearts...aka cream cheese and chili sauce

Mummy Cupcakes...another Pinterest inspiration

Frankenstein Fruit...yup, thanks Pinterest



Mummy Dogs

Skeleton Bones...yet again...Pinterest to the rescue :o)

Pretzels with mini marshmallows covered in candy coating...DELICIOUS!

And it isn't fall without caramel apples!

Create your own caramel apple bar...caramel, apples, nuts, marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate chips...yummy! I forgot to get a picture of the entire set-up...it was pretty cute. :o)

As you can see...the cupcakes were a hit!

 

Happy Halloween...from "The Rubbles!"