My Little Barfer

That's what we call Nolan.
So I guess he is finally owning it...

 He started telling me one day he needed to barf.  He then proceeded to go into the bathroom, lift the lid, and stick his head in.

 He then told me to get out and not take his picture.  He was trying to act mad.  

 But that didn't last too long and pretty sure by that point he wasn't really sick.

Just wanted to check out the toilet up close and personal.  How else do you do it without Mom telling you to get out...DUH...act like you are going to barf!

What a crazy kid!

Potty Training Update

By the looks of this picture one might guess that we are not doing well....

 still not sure where to put the underwear????

 Or is it just a little boy that likes to be goofy!

Day one was disastrous as previously noted.  Days 2 and 3 were better but still not encouraging.  I still wanted to quit.  With HK we could just stay home for the most part.  This time we have to take HK to school and pick her up...at least two car trips per day.  Then Thursday we had story hour.  He told me he had to go.  I was in such a hurry to get him there that we literally wiped out with another four year old boy.  I am not joking when I say we were all laying on the floor.  I am just thankful no one was hurt...especially for a false alarm.  Then five minutes later he said it again.  That's the part that stinks about potty training...you can't ignore it.  So we went to the bathroom again.....and he went!!!!  I was sooooo excited.  I will have to say that was the turning point.  By the weekend, he was just going to the bathroom himself and going when he had to go (not self initiated everytime, but often). He did not even use the Elmo potty seat.  He wanted to do it by himself like a big boy.  I'm still a little bewildered by it all!  Since starting (we are on week 3), he has pooped in the potty every time too.  I'm sure tomorrow (since I said this) he probably won't.  We  have gone to the bathroom at Kroger twice now.  I think he just likes going there because when you flush the toilet it sounds like it's going to suck us all down!  I still put on special Cars underwear (a.k.a. pull up with Cars on it) when we go in the car for very long.  9 times out of 10 it's dry when we get home or we go potty out in public...ugh!  He is usually dry through nap time as well!

So Nolan....way to go big guy!  I am very proud of your "Do it myself, big boy attitude"!

Booty Bath

Poor Liam's booty has gotten so bad that I finally resorted to soaking his booty in a baking soda bath in the kitchen sink!

A week straight of diarrhea will make your booty scream back at you!  I think finally it's starting to heal!

Helper Boy

Nolan always wants to help!  It doesn't really matter what it is. 

He especially likes helping his Grampy and Daddy with jobs.  

We are in the process of having one of our bathrooms remodeled.

Nolan always wants to "watch the guys".  Then he thinks he needs to follow them when they go outside.  This morning when it was 58 degrees he followed them outside wearing his shirt, underwear, and rainboots.  When he came back in I asked him if he was cold.  He answered....no, only his knees were cold.

Today they pulled up the molding around the bottom of the playroom floor to begin pulling up the floor in anticipation of laying the new one.  

This is how Nolan sat and watched intently....

At one point his head was hanging lower than his body.  My answer to his question, "Can I watch the guys?" is...."Yes, BUT DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!"

Creative Buzz

Give a Kid a Box....

 and you will get Buzz Lightyear....or whatever avenue their imagination takes that day.

 There was an amazon box by the trash can and HK snatched it up as soon as she came home from school one day the other week.  She started making Nolan a Buzz outfit.  I only offered a couple ideas and helped where she asked.  

 We ended up cutting arm holes instead of taping it to his body.

 He did not want to pose for a picture for me!

 She even made the thing on his arm for him to talk in to.

There goes Bullseye galloping off after Buzz!

Needless to say if there is an empty box of any shape or size laying around...HK has an idea for it!

Cheerleading 101

Cheerleading 101...

HK had her first cheerleading experience this month.  The Eagle Cheerleaders had their fall cheer clinic a couple of weeks ago.  HK was very excited to go.  She went three days after school for an hour and a half.  Then they performed three cheers and a dance at halftime that Friday night.  

 It's kind of like playing where's Waldo...except...Where's HK?  Hint...right smack in the middle.

She had a great time!  We'll see if she wants to do the basketball cheer clinic too?

Hummingbird Hunter

After taking HK to school this morning, the boys and I went back home.  I got Nolan our first.  As I turned around with Liam, Nolan reached his hand out to say, "What's dis Mom?"

I couldn't really see with my sunglasses on so I grabbed it thinking it was some kind of flower/seed pod.  Upon taking it I felt warmth, softness, and movement.  I screamed and dropped it having no idea what he had.  When I looked to the ground it was this poor little hummingbird!  Nolan had brought me a hummingbird.  Then before I could exlpain what it was, he stepped on it.
I screamed again.  Then I told him what it was and that now the bird was sad because he hurt him.  

So the drama went on for quite awhile as the poor little bird limped down our sidewalk.  Then my tender heart felt bad because he hurt the bird.  

A wasp....then a hummingbird....what is this boy going to proudly bring me next?

Potty Training Underway

Potty Training Has Begun...

 Looks like we are taking it real serious, huh!

 Wrong end Big Guy!

 Or hang them on the toilet paper holder...that works.  

To say Day One was a disaster would be an understatement.  I wanted to quit or desperately hire someone to potty train him!  On the positive side, each day has gotten a little better.  Today was day 4...results....

He told me he had to go potty at story time at the library...didn't go.  Went back to the room (after we literally wiped a kid out in the mad dash to the bathroom).  Three minutes later he told me again.  This time he went a few seconds after getting on the toilet.  Party in the bathroom stall!

Went at home before nap time.  Dry after nap (that's been 3/4 days).  Then we met Aunt Terrah to walk on the bike path.  HK went in the library to go the bathroom.  So guess who else said he needed to go, but in the trenches of potty training you can't ignore.  Low and behold he did go there again.  Party in the bathroom stall...again!  Unfortunately we were downtown for a couple of hours at T&C Days.  Upon arriving home we didn't make it to the bathroom in time even though he did say it.  

We are far from the end result, but we have seen some big progress this week!!!!
It's even bigger progress from his potty aversion prior to this week.

For two weeks I talked about how he was going to wear underwear and start using the potty in X amount of days.  He didn't fight me on it come time. I think he is just trying to figure out how to get to the toilet in time.  

Will let you know how we are doing this time next week!

Work in Progress

We are working on a Christmas present for grandparents and great-grandparents.

We attempted a photo shoot of all 6 Oldham grandchildren and then added all 6 parents.  Aunt Heather made the boys' tie shirts and flowers for the girls' shirts.

WOW....what a crazy circus!  Add the awful heat to it, and it was insanity!  I really don't even know how to begin to describe it!  I just wish someone had been videoing it.  Then at Christmas we could have watched and laughed! 

The kids range from HK being the oldest at 5 down to Chaim just being about 12 weeks old.  

At one point all 6 were crying...6 kids that is.  Although the adults may not have been too far behind!  

We now have a list of things to remember for the next time we attempt to do this.    However, that could be a ways off for now!  

Here's a sneak peak of raw footage....

Saving all others for a surprise!

My Trash Can

All I can say is "Go Liam"!

Talk about a fast transition to table food!  His top two teeth are in quite well now so I have started giving him more table food.  All I can say is that he has inhaled everything I have given him the past two days!  Liam definitely wins the fastest transition to table food award in our family!  

 The day before when I cut up his banana he would get mad because it was slippery and he couldn't pick it up.  So I gave it to him whole today...LOVED it!  Can't you tell by his chipmunk cheeks!  Also love that he gave me his signature eyebrow raise!

 Pancakes for breakfast was a for sure hit!

Blueberries, strawberries, cheese, turkey meat, bread, yogurt, pasta salad, biscuits, eggs...

He is also fully transitioned to milk.  I also think we didn't use a bottle at all for the first time today.

He is now a little mooch crawling up to your chair and bouncing and begging for what you have!

I think he is excited to see what each new day will bring!

I think it's farewell to baby food (unless for convenience purposes) and bottles.

I cannot believe we are already to this point.  

Deep breath...having a moment of a happy kind of sadness! 

I know time must go on...

Guess Who?

Guess who has been here?

Of course as you may have guessed Liam is in the "get-in-and-open-everything-i- can-touch-that-i-am-not suppose-to" stage.  So in the kitchen I let him get in the drawers with the kids' cups, plates, and silverware.  However, right to the left is the door with the Christmas dishes.  He LOVES these drawers!  He is content to play with silverware, cups, and plates.  He puts them in the wrong drawers, all over the floor, and sometimes house if I am not paying attention. Now he likes to get the Christmas glasses out and put them in his area.  I have found them in his drawer.  Today I found two cups stacked like this before I realized what he was doing.  He is making me crazy with this!  Unfortunately, last week he  broke one before I could get to him!  

Family Park Fun

What to do on a day off from school and work?

But of course play!

 HK gave the boys a wagon ride to the park.  We have to go up a fairly decent hill to get there.  She couldn't quite make it up.  

 As you can tell, the boys plus the wagon is not an easy load for a five year old! But she was determined.  

 On the way back she wanted to pull them again.  She wanted to take over from Daddy as soon as we crossed the highway.  We tried to get her to wait and let Daddy go down the hill a bit first.  She wouldn't have it...so we let her learn on her own why Daddy was wanting to help her.  It didn't take long at all before the wagon gained momentum going down hill.  It basically almost ran her over... literally.  It clipped her heels several times almost wiping her out.  She started running to try and keep ahead.  This made the wagon go faster.  Nate starts running after them.  HK finally lets go in full exasperation and desperation.  I had to stop because I was laughing so hard.  Quite a sight to see on Old Broughton Road on a Monday morning.  As you can guess, she did not like that I was laughing.  BUT seriously...anyone that had seen that would have done nothing but that.  I quickly got myself together.   

 I can't stand this tall slide.  I don't mind HK climbing it.  It's Nolan that makes me so nervous.  I probably shouldn't worry so much because he is so slow and deliberate with everything he does.  However, he also stops to smell the roses and look at everyone and everything.  

 Not only did HK and Nolan love being at the park, but so did Liam!

 He would climb up and around to the slide and then just take off head first!

 Sissy would catch him every time!

 He did it again... and again...

 and she LOVED catching him again and again.  She would squeal in delight..."Liam your such a big boy"...very high pitched little girl delighted squeal!

 Then he would rear himself up on his knees with his hands and flop himself forward.  This is his new favorite thing to do!  He goes up on his knees with hands as high as they will go and then bam!  If he catches you off guard it can hurt.  He is going to bust his face one of these times. He also loves to come up behind Nolan while he is on the floor getting his diaper changed and do this to him (another motivation to use the toilet)!

Nothing better than snuggling with Daddy after waking up from a nap on a beautiful almost fall day!

Oh yeah...and we did get some labor in after all!