Big Boy Bed

Lots of firsts happening at our house for our youngest.  First potty training, then going through a complete exam and cleaning at the dentist, and finally a new big boy bed.  It wasn't long ago that we converted his crib into a toddler bed and he was loving sleeping in that.  But when we heard my sister was getting rid of a twin sized bed, we jumped at the chance to get it and the mattress for Tate.  

It looked so great in their room - just the perfect color!  It's amazing how close the wood colors were - even though the boys have separate bed styles, they still looked great together.

Not too long after that, we decided they needed some coordinated bedding (I saw we, but really it was I that determined that, Jeremiah was just fine with it the way it was, but went along with it anyway).  Zach's bedspread was at least 8 years old and although it has served us well, had many repaired rips in it.  We have been holding out until we got Tate a new bed to get them some matching bedspreads.  It sure does look good in there now and they both love the new bed and bedding.

We definitely have a sports themed boys room!  Good thing because our two boys sure do love sports, just like their Dad!

Best Buddies

Toward the end of May, we traveled up to Idaho Falls to see my nephew be blessed.  Because of the distance and the fact that church started early on Sunday, we ended up staying in a hotel the night before.  Kylie, Jedd, Libby, and Seton ended up in the room right next to ours and it was fun to have them so close.  While Kylie and Jedd were finishing getting themselves and Seton ready Sunday morning, we had Libby over for a few minutes.  She and Hailey are such good buddies and ironically, had coordinating outfits that day.  They were so cute, we had to grab a few pictures of them.  

Tate of course had to be in one too!  He loves Libby and had to be apart of the fun!

We had a fun time that day going to the blessing and playing with all of the cousins!

A True Sign of Summer

You can always tell summer is upon on when the popsicles come out!

Nothing better than a popsicle on a hot summer day!

Love these three!

I like to Move the Lawn in the Backyark!

Tate has decided that his favorite thing to do is mow the lawn in the backyard or as he likes to say "move the lawn in the backyark."  He loves to watch his dad and brother mow the lawn and can often be found out back mowing the lawn with his little lawnmower.

And he has to use the trimmer too!

Finally, after much begging, his dad finally let him help out with the big lawnmower.

Back and forth they went across the lawn that day.

Talk about a patient dad, Jeremiah was great letting him do as much as he wanted to.

He really had the form down and was doing much of the guiding on his own.

He was all smiles and I could tell he was having a great time!

While the little one was off mowing the lawn, his sister was busy creating piles of grass.

I'm not exactly sure what the big fascination was, but she sure was into it!

Ah the joys of mowing the lawn.  Never a dull moment at our house it seems!

A Visit to the Dentist

Who could imagine a trip to the dentist would end like this?  Well, it turns out that at our dental office, if you go within a week or two of your birthday, they give you balloons and candy!  That's in addition to the prize and stickers you get for being a good patient. 

Of course, these balloons were instrumental in getting him to take a full mouth x-ray.  He's done really good, but that was the last thing we needed to persuade him to do.  Luckily, the balloons worked like a charm and he did great!  I sure am proud of my little man, he's getting so big!

It's Potty Time!

As Tate's 3rd birthday approached, we realized we were getting close to the dreaded task of potty training.  I originally planned to wait until September, when the kids got back to school and we weren't going everywhere during the summer.  

But one day Tate started saying he had to go potty and rather than have a bad experience like we did when we waited too long to potty train Zach, we decided to change our plans and potty train earlier than planned.

So we ran to the store and he picked out the underwear he wanted.  Boy was he excited and kept bothering me about them every 5 minutes until the day we decided to get started.  Note to self - don't buy new underwear more than a day before the start of potty training unless you want to hear about them a thousand times!

When the day arrived, we draped blankets all over the front room and got on the special "big boy" underwear.  He was very excited and although it was a normal rough first day, we did have success.

This time I put the big boy potty where he could sit and watch TV, something I haven't done with the last two and I have to say brilliant.  He was in no rush to get off and it helped him have a lot of success.

The rest of the time he spent lounging on the blankets watching some TV.  He looked so cute laying there with his hands behind his head!

Whatever the reason, whether the potty location, all of the blankets, or just making sure to do it when he was good and ready, we had tremendous success.  The first day was a little rough and frustrating, but he had it down by midway through the second day.  And even woke up dry for his nap that second day and the morning of the third day.  He hasn't looked back and hasn't had hardly any accidents since.  We sure are proud of our big boy!  The only thing that we regret is that we didn't do it sooner!

Ride 'Em Jammie Cowboy!

Gotta love those spontaneous moments that just make you smile!  Here;'s our little monkey one night after bath time when he decided it was time to wear the cowboy hat and ride the rocking horse.  His Papa made this rocking horse when Zach was little and now Tate has claimed it as his own.  It's just the perfect size for our little cowboy!

This kid is so funny, he just makes me smile!  Gotta love the football jammies!