January 28 - 30

We have spent most of the week at home again not due to illness just due to horribly cold weather and 50 mile per hour windgusts. Usually this much time home alone with the kids would drive me batty but lately I have such a sense of peace it's scary. I think it is partly because Mike and I have for sure determined that our family is complete and I just keep reflecting on wanting to cherish these precious moments with my babies. My very wise Aunt Linnie once told me, "The time you spend at home when you have little kids will be composed of the longest days and the fastest years." I also think it's due to my renewed discpline in prayer and that always gets me centered again. Good stuff going on in my spirit these days...

Anyway, my main goal right now (since we seemed to have aced potty training) is to get Tyler into a decent preschool so I am touring schools this week and next. And if you can believe it, I have to set my alarm and wake up at midnight Monday morning to try and get him enrolled at the school that is our first choice. It's crazy how competitive the preschool enrollment process is and I am behind the eight ball because of the Arizona trip. Did I mention that this is for preschool that starts in the fall? You have to apply for preschool earlier in the year than you have to apply for college. I am trying to keep it in perspective. He is only three but when you talk to all the other panicked mommies you, it's hard to not get caught up in the madness.

Mia has started to eat Gerber fruit puffs (these are little rice puffs that dissolve in babies' mouths even easier than a cheerio). This has opened up a whole new world of interaction between Tyler and Mia. Tyler thinks it is wonderful that he can now feed Mia and Mia loves to eat so as long as Tyler keeps shoveling them in her mouth (under supervision of course) she will keep opening her mouth like a little baby bird. Tyler would not be good in charge of feeding a goldfish, he would overfeed it to death.

Got to love Tyler's outfit - a pirate costume complete with Spiderman underwear.


Tyler feeding Mia (and himself) Gerber fruit puffs.

January 26 - 27

SUCCESS!!

It this the look of success of what?! Today (Sunday) is day 5 of potty training and I have to say that Mike and I are amazed at how easy this has been. I cringe even writing those words because I know everything could fall apart at anytime but so far, Tyler has had two accidents in the last five days and both times immediately caught his mistake and ran to the potty and finished going. We went out yesterday to buy big boy underwear and after a very thorough analysis of all the choices, Tyler chose Cars and Diego underwear. He made it through the entire trip to Target and a furniture store with no accidents and woke up dry from nap time today. For those of you who have recently been potty training a child, you know these are HUGE steps. He is very enthusiastic and just goes to the bathroom now by himself whenever he needs to. So, this week the plan is to start leaving our cocoon a little bit at a time and see how things go. If anyone if embarking on potty training, I cannot stress how important the right potty seat is especially for boys. I highly recommend the Baby Bjorn potty chair. We have one upstairs and I just ordered another one for downstairs. We have tried other potties and just ended up with a mess on our hands.

We didn't do too much this weekend. Everyone needed a little downtime from the last 2 months of non-stop activity and it is still bitterly cold. Mike and I sat down and plotted our plan for getting stuff done in the house over the next couple of months, Tyler ran around the house in miscellaneous clothing items and Mia ate and slept - by far her favorite past times.

(I didn't know I was going to be in this picture)

In case you are wondering, I think Mia's nose is turning orange because she eats so such sweet potatoes, carrots and squash. (Sarah, remember when that happened to your Tyler?)

January 23 - 25

On Wednesday morning, Tyler woke up and decided he didn't feel like wearing a diaper. I was like, "ok but you have to go on the potty if you aren't going to wear a diaper." And that was that. Tyler has been going on the potty for three straight days - no accidents, no bribing, no bargaining. I really don't know why and I don't know if it is going to stick but he just decided it was time. He tells me when he has to go and we hurry to the potty. He is so proud of himself. On Wednesday we had a potty party for him when daddy got home and called everyone so he could report on his success. In case you are wondering, a potty party consisted of a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and two candles that were blown out twice. I have read that this is the biggest milestone a child will accomplish and everyday I am just waiting to see if this is going to be the day he is going to say he wants to go back to his diaper but so far he is willing. We left the house for the first time today and he made it through with no accidents so we may actually venture out this afternoon to get underwear. I wasn't planning to do this this week so I have no big boy underwear so right now he is going "commando".

Mia is also going to hit one of her milestones any day now - CRAWLING!! This crazy strong baby can actually support all of her weight on her front arms. She is going to be a gymnast or something. She will put all her weight on her arms and hold her one leg completely off the ground. She seriously looks like she is about to do a somersault. She is also able to walk across the room if you hold her hands. She just takes little steps and will then stand up holding onto to the couch. She is not even six months yet. It's so odd to me but like the potty training I really have no say in the matter.

January 17th - 21st

Daddy is here!

Mike arrived in Arizona today leaving subzero temperatures in Chicago and landing mid-day in sunny warm Phoenix. First thing Tyler did was take Mike to one of the many parks we have visiting. It was a long two weeks without daddy and Tyler is pretty much stuck to Mike like glue.

Friday, Mike and I left the kids with my parents and went down to Tucson for a night away. I highly recommend Loews Ventana Canyon if you are ever visiting Tucson. We had wonderful massages and the best dinner we have ever had at the Ventana Room. My parents didn't have quite the same amount of relaxation time. Little Mia bawled for about 4 hours straight that evening and my mom is like the baby whisperer so I now believe Mike that she really is inconsolable without me at night. Tyler kept my parents busy and is enamored with Grammy's cell phone that plays clips of Dora and Diego and will spend countless hours playing with it.

On Sunday, we took Tyler to Rawhide, an old western town at one of the resorts. He got to ride another train and go to a petting zoo - nirvana for Tyler...

January 15th

Today we went to an indoor play area with our friends Sarah, Tyler and Emma. We had a lovely time until the very end of our playdate. It was such a nice setup with tons for the kids to do and a cafe for the parents but there was an unlocked door that of course, my son had to try out. After setting off the alarm and running towards the highway he received the scolding of his life. A good lesson learned for him though. He is now obediently holding my hand when we go out and will tell you, "Hold mommy's hand so no one takes me and I don't get hit by a car." Here are some pictures of our crew.

January 12th and 13th

While Tyler has been visiting every playground in a 5 mile radius, swimming, eating junk food, watching too many Dora and Diego dvds, Miss Mia has been getting closer to crawling, shopping with mommy and grammy and eating my parents out of house and home. She has yet to encounter a baby food she doesn't like. avocados, peas, beans, sweet potatoes, squash, pears, apples, mangos, blueberries, carrots, bananas, plums, peaches. She has tried it all and likes it all. Today she went on the swing at the playground for the first time and she just giggled and laughed and then almost feel asleep. She is a papa's girl as you can see in these pictures and I think she might have a crush on Tom Brady because she we couldn't tear her away from the Patriots game until 8pm last night.

January 10th and 11th

It's been a busy week of enjoying the warm temperatures and sunshine in Arizona. We spent one afternoon with my friend Sarah and her kids, Tyler and Emma and I forgot my camera! I wish I had it because her Tyler and my Tyler are the same age and perfect playmates for each other. They both love trains, football, baseball and pretty much every outdoor activity that involves chasing, climbing, running, jumping, falling and tackling. Sarah and I agree that if we lived closer we would just let them loose together everyday and they could tire each other out and we could sit on the porch drinking mojitos...

Here is Tyler trying on one of my mom's wigs. He is always checking Grammy's hair to see if she has one on.

My dad, Tyler and I went to the Phoenix Zoo on Friday while Grammy stayed home and watched Mia. This zoo is awesome for kids. There are trails everywhere and Tyler saw every animal he was looking for AND got to ride the carousel. His favorite - the giraffes. You can get so close to them you feel like you are on a safari.

January 4th and 5th

We are in Arizona and settling in nicely. Mia is still getting up at 5 am thinking it is time to start the day but otherwise the kids are right at home. Tyler is enjoying spending every moment outside despite showers the last couple of days. He is "helping" Papa with every imaginable chore outside and there are multiple parks we can walk to from my parents' house. Every morning we make our way over to the park and Tyler gets to expel some of his excess energy from being cooped up inside for the last 2 months.

We went a nearby park with Grammy and rode on a real train and carousel horse. This was Tyler's first time on a train and he was so excited. The conductor had everyone shout, "All aboard" and Tyler followed that with several "Choo Choos."

Tyler is finally coordinated enough to throw the frisbee for Tasha, my parents' german shepard. This is Tyler talking to Tasha, "Tasha, drop it. Tasha, please drop it. Release Tasha." This goes on for about 5 minutes and she finally drops it and then knocks him over trying to get it out of his hands because he throws it too slowly for her liking.

Tyler found a picture of him and Mike from when Tyler was about 3 months old and Mike took him swimming in our pool. Tyler is carrying this picture around with him everywhere, he even puts it in his crib when he goes to take a nap. He keeps saying, "Daddy is going to be so happy to see me."

There was a funny incident right before we left for AZ. Tyler had just gone to bed and my mom was getting ready for bed in the jack and jill bathroom next to Tyler's room and all of a sudden over the monitor, Mike and I hear, "Hey! What are you doing? Excuse me, what are you doing in there Grammy. I am trying to sleep. Please turn that light out." It was so funny. He sounded so exasperated, how dare someone turn the light on next to his room when he was trying to nap.

January 3

Pretty much the day after Christmas I switched gears and started packing and logistically trying to prepare for spending 3 weeks in Phoenix and pack for a toddler and baby for 3 weeks. And of course I got sick in the middle of it just to add to the chaos.





My parents arrived on December 29th and as their car pulled into the driveway I handed them the kids and said, "Here are the kids. I have to run errands and shop for the next two days. Good Luck." It didn't go exactly like that but they had lots of bonding time with their grandchildren.





We flew out on the 2nd of January leaving negative degree weather in Chicago. It was an absolute mob-scene at the airport but the kids were angels. I couldn't have asked for it to go any smoother. I think it was Tyler's 14th flight so he is an old pro at navigating the airport. He was so excited to ride on the airplane but wanted to be sure that Grammy held his hand while the plane took off. After we were airborne, we popped in a Diego DVD in the portable player and some Cheetos in his mouth and that was that. Mia spent the 3 hour flight nursing and sleeping and of course she also had a small nuclear explosion in her diaper. Thankfully we have done this enough that we know an extra pair of clothes for each child is a carry-on necessity. We arrived in sunny Phoenix to 80 degree temperatures and were practically stripping off our clothes when we walked outside.





Santa visited Grammy and Papa's house that night so we awoke on January 3rd to a third and final Christmas. We are celebrating Christmas Hanukkah-style this year. Every night when I put Tyler to bed now he says to me, "Merry Christmas Mom." and he keeps checking under the tree just in case Santa decides to make another surprise appearance. Mia still is content to sit back and watch Tyler open her gifts which is he is very happy to assist with. He keeps saying, "See Mimi. See how this works. Oh wow!"

Christmas Day

We were pretty sure that on Christmas morning Tyler was going to wake up at the crack of dawn so Mike woke up at 5:45 to make the coffee, shower and get the video camera operating. Mike is not much of a morning person so the shower and coffee were the critical components. However , as usual, it is fruitless to try to predict what your kids are going to do. Tyler complete forgot Santa was coming and ended up sleeping until 7:30 am and Mike had to remind him to go check under the tree but from that moment on Tyler was just in toy heaven. By far, his favorite gift was a Geotrax train system designed especially for the two-year old set so it is easy to put together and the train has a remote control. This was the gift Mike picked out because "he knows what kind of toys boys like" but I think this might have really been the gift Mike wanted when he was two because he went out the day after Christmas and added on to the set below and we now have a train set that takes up an entire room and I don't even imagine what it is going to look like by the time we return from Phoenix.

Mia is a little young to care much about Christmas and she was exhausted from the past two days so it was 3 in the afternoon before she got around to opening her gifts. I should say, Tyler opened her gifts and she sat on Daddy's lap watching intently. She is fascinated with the Sing Along Stage and the flashing lights. She also got a Hello Kitty Boombox and Mike said it was truly the moment that it dawned him that he has a little girl. Doesn't get much girlier than Hello Kitty does it?

This a picture of the cinnamon roll explosion. It was supposed to be our special Christmas breakfast but when Mike came downstairs in the morning it has exploded all over the kitchen island. Thank goodness Mike's mom had given us the world's best chocolate coffee cake on Christmas Eve.

We were supposed to go to Mike's sister's house for a Christmas Day pajama party but Tyler really wanted to play with his toys so that is what we did. It was a wonderful wonderful Christmas Day.