Memorial Day & an extra Potty Training day

I conveniently chose the long holiday weekend to potty train to ensure that Brody got it. Which meant 1 more day of staying home - I was definitely needing a day out but we pushed on and stayed home.


Brody did so great and only had a slight accident outside which I couldn't quite understand but he told me and we were able to run inside to the potty. He is so proud of his big boy pants. I just can't believe that we have somewhat accomplished this huge step. I know we aren't 100% potty trained since we haven't been anywhere yet and are still in pull ups but I still think we have done pretty good and are very exicted that Brody has done so well.


When Jason got home from playing golf, Brody wanted to hit golf balls with daddy. Brody LOVES to play golf and is getting pretty good. He knows his 3 clubs - driver, iron and putter and takes turns hitting with daddy. It's the cutest thing to watch the 2 of them as they take turns. Here's a brief video of their golf afternoon.

Potty Training Day #3

Well, day 3 of the 3 Day Training Method came and I was totally exhausted and ready to get out of the house but I couldn't turn back now - we were 2/3 of the way done. Jason got ready and went to church so it was just me and Brody for the morning. Jason has been a huge help and very supportive through this whole process. I'm so thankful for a husband that is willing to help out.

Brody and I played all morning and watched Dora - yes for some reason he loves Dora but he does have Diego big boy pants. I caught myself singing the Dora songs a couple of times - thank goodness no one was home. When it was time for his nap, we went potty and when he got up after about 2 hours - he was DRY!!!! We were so excited. No accidents at all on Sunday. He even got to the point when he would tell us he had to potty. Jason told him one time that we were going to go outside so we needed to potty and he ran into the bathroom and got up on the potty by himself. WOW, my boy is growing up!!

Potty Training Day #2

Day 2 of potty training was pretty successful. We put Brody in pull ups overnight just because he isn't in a big boy bed yet and we didn't think it was fair for him. We are also in the process of limiting his drink at night. As soon as we heard him wake up Sat morning we got him up and on the potty - he actually said I go potty and I not wet big boy pants - even though he had. He was probably dilusional since he had heard us say not to wet your big boy pants about 1000 times Friday.

Of course it was big boy pants and a shirt all day - what a fancy wardrobe. We all stayed at home Saturday and constantly told Brody "Tell mommy or daddy if you need to go potty" or asked him if his big boy pants were wet. The 3 day method explains to not ask them if they need to go to the potty because of course they will tell you no. He really seem to get it. He only had 1 accident on Saturday and it was outside.

He is so proud of his big boy pants and doesn't want to get them wet. Needless to say mommy and daddy are VERY proud.

Potty Training - Day 1

Well, the weekend has come that I have been planning for about 2 months now - Potty Training Weekend - and it's only day 1. Brody is now about 2 1/2 years old and we tried the whole potty training thing when he was about 18 months - bought all the stuff - potty chairs ( I think I have 4 different types) and we now use the big potty with a seat on it. It went okay back then but we weren't dedicated to it - I gave up too easily. It just seemed easier to stick with the diapers then have accidents all the time.

A friend of mine told me about the 3 day potty training method that she used for her girl and said it really worked. I thought 3 days - I could at least try it. I sure didn't want this thing to drag out forever - I wanted it done and over with. Is that really too much to ask? I read the 30 page document and it's hard core - throw the diapers and pull ups away and put them in big boy pants. No leaving the house for 3 days - the focus is you and the child. You see why it took me 2 months to get prepared for this weekend. Well, we "kind of" threw the diapers away. Check out Brody throwing them in the garage (it was a brand new garbage bag so we could save them if needed).

He immediately used the potty and really liked his big boy pants - training pants (I disobeyed the method here as well - I thought I'd use the thick training pants the first day just to try and save carpet). He gets an M&M for using the potty and gets to place stickers on an Elmo chart. He absolutely loves the stickers - he ran to the potty just so he could place a sticker on the chart. Who knew he would love stickers so much.

Isn't this a fancy outfit?

Brody helping Jason try and unclog the ditch. Such a helper.

Well, the afternoon didn't go so great as the morning. We had about 4 accidents but there are towels laying all over the house to try and save the carpet. Brody at least knew he was going and really didn't like the feeling. Total for the day about 12 times making it to the potty and 4 accidents - not too bad for the first day.

Mother's Day 09

Mother's Day was a little different this year due to being so busy with my dad. The past couple of years, we (mostly Jason) has cooked ( I planned the meal) lunch for my mom and we then have Jason's mom out that afternoon. This year we woke up Sunday morning and thought what are we doing for lunch?? Well, thankfully dad had put a lasagna in the oven while we were at church so we all went over there. Nothing too fancy, but thankfully we were all together.

Brody brought home from Sunday School a begonia and a pot warmer with his hand print on it for me for Mother's Day. The hand print was supposed to be his hand dipped in paint but for some reason he didn't want his hand dirty - not even his papa could convince him so I got his hand traced. He was so excited about it when he gave it to me. He continues to go up to it and say "My hand, Papa traced it". It's the sweetest thing and hopefully many more to come in the future.

Later that afternoon we went to Tara's for dinner to see Jason's mom before she headed to work. It was a great Mother's Day!!

The Players

Last Wednesday, Jason and I took Brody to The Players golf tournament. This was the 2nd year but this year we thought he would understand it a little more. We had to get an early start in order to try and catch a glimpse of Tiger, who Brody says his name all the time. We saw Tiger on the 17th hole right when we got there. It was VERY hot, seeing that I'm 6 months pregnant so we only stayed there for a little while. Once we got on the back 9 and found shade, it felt much better.

Tiger and Jim Furyk on 17.

Brody loved running around and thank goodness you didn't have to be too quiet since it was a practice round. He doesn't quite get the idea to be quiet on a golf course. We were able to get several autographs and some of the players even talked to Brody a little.

Here's my favoritie player - Ian Poulter. It's probably because of his wild clothes he wears, even though he was pretty calm on Wednesday with his attire. He did end up 2nd in the Tournament.

Thank goodness Brody was able to sleep for about 1 1/2 hours. It was very nice weather in the shade with a nice breeze. One of the highlights of the trip was getting Jason and Brody's picture with Boo Weekley. Boo is a very country guy and extremely friendly. He took his time to give his autograph to anyone who wanted it. If you ask Brody who he got his picture with he'll tell you Boo. It was a great day and definitely an outing we will make each year.

Jason and Brody with Boo Weekley.

A "Wicked" Day

Tuesday, May 7 Jason and I had tickets for Wicked and I was so excited to go. We had wanted to see it in NY a couple of months ago but the tickets are so expensive up there. We also had reservations at The River Club downtown - my work gave me a gift certificate for Christmas. Jason wasn't too excited about going to eat there since we were pretty sure you needed to wear a jacket. Who knew all those plans would change by lunch time.

For lunch, my department took a lady at work out for her retirement lunch. I ALWAYS take my purse when I go out to lunch but since the company was paying I decided I'd just take my cell phone which was quite strange since I didn't even have a pocket to put it in. We had just ordered and my phone rang - it was Brody's babysitter. She said that an ambulance had just pulled up to my dad's house. Of course panic comes over me immediately not knowing what's going on. I finally got in touch with my mom at work and she said Dad had what they think was a stroke. WOW!! I was in total shock and of course floods of emotions and tears came over me. I then get a phone call from our new children's pastor explaining that the church had called dad to check on a visit that he had made the night before and they couldn't understand him at all so they called 911. Thankfully all of his vitals were great but his speech was slurred a lot. He said they were leaving for the ER. Thankfully I was right across the river and was able to meet the ambulance at the ER.

As I drove to the hospital I was in constant prayer not knowing what the outcome would be. I couldn't believe something like this could happen - he just recovered from having his prostate removed and was doing great. I arrived at the ER and wasn't sure how I was going to find him. Of course not thinking about the outbreak of Swine Flu around our country and me being pregnant walking around an ER - thankfully someone saw me and immediately asked if they could help me. They rushed me inside the ER to see if my dad had already been admitted but as they were checking I saw him being wheeled in on the stretcher. What a wierd feeling to see your dad on a stretcher. You definitely couldn't understand him which was heart breaking for me. The nurses and doctors were asking me all types of questions which I answered the best I could - just wishing my mom were there to assist. Thankfully Jason arrived shortly after and was able to listen to what the doctors said - since I don't pay attention to details much and mix things up - mom was thankful for this too since I get my lack of attention to detail from her.

They ran lots of tests on dad and determined that he had a minor stroke but it only affected the front left part of his brain which is his speech and trying to find the right words to say. They started him on blood thinner and we should see him getting better within the next 24 hours.

We constantly counted our blessings and still are for how God works and is in total control. Some people may call it a coincidence but we know who is in complete control of EVERYTHING. It's amazing to think how the church called at the RIGHT time to check on a visit that Dad had made at visitation the night before (he hasn't been to visitation in awhile). If it hadn't been for them, mom wouldn't have been home for another 4-5 hours - Isn't God good??

Well, we decided to cancel on The River Club (Jason wasn't too disappointed) but since dad was stable and just waiting on more tests and to be moved to a different room - we went ahead and went to see Wicked. Could you believe I actually had the tickets in my purse (that's so not me) - once again God was so in control. After 2 days a week of therapy for a month or 2 the doctors says he will have a full recovery. We are so thankful.

A shopping train trip

After my 25 week appointment, I of course had to stop by Towne Center to run some errands since Brody was at Nana's. Who can resist the Towne Center? When I got there I saw they were offering kid train rides around Towne Center so I thought I could win Mom of the Year if I had Brody. I passed on some of my errands just so I could rush out and pick up Brody and get him back to ride a train.

We made it back in time and he was so excited to ride the train. It really was a cool thing. The engineer let him pick out the car he wanted to sit in and of course mom had to ride. He absolutely loved it. I think I'm up for Mom of the Year with this one-jk!

25 week update

April 29 was my 25 week appointment and everything went great - still right on track. I can't believe I have only 15 weeks left. Of course, we haven't picked out any furniture and don't even have the nursery cleaned out. Yes, I'm starting to stress a little. I went to USA Baby the first week of April because they had the best furniture selection when we had Brody but when I got there there was a sign on the door that they went bankrupt. What a shock. Now where do we go??? I guess we'll find something - hopefully soon!

I am feeling great but of course it is getting HOT!!!! The baby is moving A LOT lately and it's so neat to see my belly move as well as blessing. Brody has actually felt the baby move which he thinks is so cool. I'm not so sure what he thinks of the whole thing and if he really understands. I think I'm beginning the nesting period because I feel that I can't organize and clean enough. We are still working on names but we can't agree on any boy names - sounds just like with Brody.

A SeaWorld weekend

Yes, I have been out of the blogging loop for a couple of weeks now - let's just say BUSY!!!!!


A couple of weeks ago, Jason and I took Brody to SeaWorld for the first time. We left Thursday after work. Brody did great on the 2 1/2 hour trip - thank goodness for a DVD player. We stayed at the Embassy Suites on I Drive and Brody's favorite thing was the elevator since you can see it go up and down from the inside of the hotel. We took the pack n play for him to sleep in and when we opened it we realized he is getting quite tall so this would definitely be the last time he slept in it. It wasn't the time to let him start sleeping in the bed with us - he's always slept in his crib.





We got up Friday morning and headed to SeaWorld. He loved his blue wagon that we rented. The first show we saw was the sea lion show - 10 minutes into it he was stating LOUDLY that we wanted to get out - to his defense the show was pretty boring. We then headed for the Shamu show since this is what he has been talking about for the past 2 weeks. He did great for the entire thing - our bag was stuffed with jelly beans and pretzels to keep him occupied as well.



We were a little nervous how he would be with the big characters, but he went right up to Shamu for his picture.





Feeding the sting rays.

Can you see Shamu in the background?







I think we could have stayed in the Kiddie section the entire time - he rode the merry go round and the swishy fishies (like tea cups). He would have ridden the Shamu roller coaster but we thought it was too big for him. He and Jason climbed all in the big playground - I was very thankful I was pregnant so I didn't have to climb up in all that. Brody was having a blast.



Look at that grin - he really enjoyed this. He must get this from his daddy because I can't stand these things.






Our plan was to go back to the hotel to let him take a nap but it got to be 2:30 and we thought it would be best to just get his stroller from the car and let him nap in the park - it would save us time. While he slept Jason was able to ride the roller coaster since I couldn't join him with my big belly. He slept for about 1 1/2 hours and woke up in a great mood. He loved the penguin encounter and the dolphin show. There was a pet show that had these rescued pets doing lots of tricks - it kept his attention for the most part. We left around 7:30 and headed to dinner.

So ready for a nap and really not wanting his picture taken.





Out like a light!!




Watching the penguins.







He was so tired that night and was extremely giddy. He sacked out and he didn't wake up on Sat until about 9:00 - so much for an early start but he needed his sleep. We headed back to the park to catch the few things he missed - turtles, manatees, penguins again. He was a little tired and getting cranky - he even fell out on the floor crying in the whale exhibit - of course I took a picture

We headed home around 3:00 and he passed out in the car within 10 minutes and slept until we were 30 minutes from home. He had a blast and of course talked about Shamu coming out of the water and reenacts the show with the Shamu animal we bought.