Tommy is Three!

Two weeks ago we celebrated Tommy's 3rd birthday.  We didn't do anything crazy. In fact, we didn't leave the house except to venture to the backyard.  Still, I think he had a fantastic day, thanks to lots of visitors, and even more spoiling.  I am also celebrating - the end of Tommy's terrible two's.  Three's HAVE to be better with this one.  Tommy tests every boundary possible.  He climbs furniture, hides things, throws tantrums, throws toys,  eats walls and toys, and overall has the attention span of a squirrel.  He is my most snuggly, cuddly kid though, famous for his torpedo hugs that come out of nowhere (like when I am doing dishes).  He still sucks his thumb while curled up with his Boopy blanket when he watches T.V. or is tired.  Each night he insists on getting a forklift kiss.  I am the forklift, and he is getting rather heavy.

In our household, three is an important rite of passage marked by the receiving of one's very own golf clubs.  Patrick got his at 3, and now Tommy will be able to accompany Tom and Patrick to the course (in theory). 

Besides the clubs, Tommy received a Mighty Machines DVD (from his brother), a set of the Mr. Happy series of books (from his sister), and trucks and Playmobil vehicles from other family members.  But his very favorite gift came from the Poison Control Center.  Back in October, we visited a fall festival at a local park, and Tommy picked a Mr. Yuck keychain from the Pittsburgh Poison Control Center booth.  He carried it everywhere.  He also promptly lost it about a week later.  He has asked, "Where is my Mr. Yuck keychain?", nearly everyday since.  I found out I could order a keychain online, and I put it in a small box.  I wish I had his reaction on video.  He has been carrying it around nonstop.  I have two back-ups when he loses this one. 

His big brother helped make some birthday cupcakes-

Looks delicious, huh?

We are riding on the "just turned three" excitement and using this as a chance to start potty training.  We went through 4 pairs of pants yesterday, but today we actually had an outing to the playground and made it home successfully with no accidents.  He used the bathroom once before we left the house, ands once before we headed home.  He is having a lot of anxiety about pooping on the potty, so I suspect he really isn't ready yet, but we'll see what happens (Update since I drafted this two weeks ago: potty training was a huge fail.  Back to diapers).

At his 3-year well check, Tommy weighed in at 39" tall (89th %), and weighed in at 28 lbs (12th %).  That means that Tommy is nearly the same height as Patrick at age 4. 

Kaya 9 Months

Poor baby, with all the business of spring, Easter, and birthday parties, Kaya has been neglected in the development documentation area. 

She turned 9-months-old today.  Just this past week she has started pulling up on things (like her toy bin or her brother) and able to get up the two steps to our addition hallway.  She is still not crawling with her belly off the ground, but I suspect that is close at hand.

Still NO teeth.  Not one.  She sleeps awesome. Morning nap is usually 9:30 to 11:00, and bed is around 7:00 p.m. with a 6:30 a.m. wake-up.

She is finally moving out of the phase where she spit up multiple times all over my carpet after each bottle.  Alleluia! Now I can get the carpet cleaned.

She says "mom" occasionally, and "dada" all the time ( since about the beginning of April). She always smiles if you deliver a good rendition of Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Just like Tommy, she won't ever sit still on a lap.  She constantly tries to wiggle herself free.  She is a handful at church, but thank goodness for the forgiving nature of the cry room.  She is fine in the car, which is a huge blessing since it seems we are always going somewhere.  She also learned to like (not love) her pacifier, and takes one for naps or bed.  

Two important points:

1. She seems to enjoy the mall.

2. She loves shoes (eating them, not wearing them)

I have yet to schedule her 9 month we'll check (oops), but measurements will be coming soon!

Art Room-After

Do you remember these pictures? Well, here are the after pictures of my Art Room makeover:

 

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

I hated this room before.  It was bare and un-inviting.  I had a cheap budget, so I hit Target, Ikea and Lowes. I found the burgundy poof at Target on clearance for $15, and it matched the rug we already had perfectly.  I spent $65 at Ikea for the two pairs of curtains ($20/pair), $12 for this cute bladeless paper cutter-

 (It came in natural wood, so I bought bright yellow glossy spray paint to spruce it up. That took the cost up to $15), and $14 for this rod and two buckets that are acting as storage for all our chalk-

I found this personalized Fine Art Gallery vinyl wall art from VinylExpress on Etsy for $14.50 including shipping:

The chalkboard paint was $10 at Lowes, plus I purchased about $10 in foam roller supplies to put it on.  All art compliments of Patrick.  Tommy won't let me hang his up.  He likes to carry them around too much.  Now this is one of my favorite rooms.  That's all for under $120.00.  The kids and I love, love the chalkboards, but I will say this.  DO NOT put a chalkboard wall in your kitchen or a bedroom.  I bought "dustless" chalk and the chalk dust is still EVERYWHERE.

There are still a few small things I want to add, but we are done for now.  I want to host an "Art Camp" this summer for some of the boy's friends to break-in the space.


***My blog has been giving me a weird error message, and for some reason it is repeating words and changing the font color.  Sorry for the disruption...

OCC Easter Egg Hunt

The warm weather has arrived, and the boys and I have been busy bees outside.  All weekend we have been chopping, pruning, digging, raking, and cleaning up the mess that is our yard.  Our front landscaping needs a lot of work, including areas where we will have to completely re-seed. In the meantime, it has become the boys' construction site.  They even built a house of sticks. Boy, are they going to be crushed when the new grass seed goes down.

 We are nowhere near being done, but we don't mind more of that work.  We did take a break to go the OCC Easter Party/Egg Hunt.  If you are looking for cute pictures of the boys with the Easter Bunny, you can stop reading.  They wouldn't get within 50 feet.  Kaya also cried at first, but then seemed unsure whether she should actually be amused rather than afraid.

 This kiddo was the only one of the three brave enough to go into the pen with all the baby animals.  She loved them, of course.

I love this photo because it shows each child's personality.  Patrick doting on Kaya, Kaya wiggling and not sitting still, and Tommy off to the side doing his own thing.

This lovely family joined us.  Tom and Dave went to high school together, and he has two kids, a 15-month old little girl and a 3-year-old boy. 

Weight Watchers Week 7

This should really read: 

Stomach Bug, Week 1,Weigh In

As much as I am thrilled to see these numbers, it is only the result of eating absolutely nothing but broth and a cup if rice over 3 days. I caught the bug right after Patrick, and it is the sickest I think I have ever been in my life. Glad to be feeling better. I would say this 5 lb loss is well deserved, but fleeting, now that my appetite has returned.

Rolling with the Punches

Sometimes, when I am coming off a week straight of cleaning up after one kid with the GI bug, I get behind on things. Like dishes, and shaving my legs. 

I will spare you the photo of my legs. You are welcome.

Weight Watchers Weeks 5 & 6

I didn't get around to posting last week because I had no change in weight, but for week 6, I say hello to...

That's nine pounds gone to date. Going to celebrate when I see the 140's.  Still exercising.