No More High Chair

Updates on Clifton -
He is using the big boy potty all by himself!  So nice to be able to have him go upstairs and not need me to help with everything when he has to go potty.  He is getting so big!

Updates on McKay -
She is refusing to sit in her high chair.  She is at a stage where she wants to be independent and do things like a big kid.  Specially because she has her big brother's example.

So she sits at the table with the rest of us and does pretty well at sitting still and eating.

This week we had lots of fun taking walks enjoying the sunny or non rainy days and just being together.

We love playing together.

This week Clifton was having a hard time when Evan was going home so Alex made a deal one day that they would go play in the puddles after Evan went home.  Just the two of them.

That worked:)  Oh man did Clifton enjoying splashing in puddles and having Daddy time.  It amazes me how much giving your children a little extra attention/one on one time makes them feel so special!  They had a blast.  Clifton came back with so many stories to tell Mommy:)  Very cute!

This weekend we went bowling with some friends.

We had fun!  However it was difficult this time.  Because McKay is at the independent stage she really gets mad when she cannot do things all by herself.  So this made her upset.  Clifton loved using the ramp and knocking down pins.  All in all it was fun, we are just at a tough stage with McKay and her not wanting help.

Easter 2013

Updates on Clifton -
He is doing better at going on a big boy potty:)
He said something that really made me laugh this week.  When he was going potty he told me, "poop makes you go tinkle." True statement but still funny to hear:)

Updates on McKay -
New words this week - chocolate and dirty.  She is picking up words right and left.  She is going to be saying full sentences in no time.

The sunshine was out all week!  Oh and you know we took advantage of that and got outside!

We got our sunglasses out and played outside!  My perennial flowers are starting to come back up so the kids and I worked in the flower bed.  They are great helpers.  We also went over to our friends' house and played on their trampoline.

Sunshine also means taking walks and visiting our little park.  That happened everyday this week:)  Nothing better then kids playing together and the sun shining.

Easter was this week so we had three Easter Egg Hunts! The first was our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.

They both caught on quick to what they should be doing.

Then our ward had a little Easter egg hunt too.

That was really fun to get together with friends and celebrate and it was another beautiful day!

Sunday we got all dressed up nice for church.  I love to match so of course we matched that day:)

Then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's house.  Where we had a huge Easter egg hunt - 355 eggs hidden and I think found:/  It was a lot of fun!

 They looked so cute in their Easter outfits!

We had a wonderful Easter!

Clifton is THREE!

Clifton -

Well he is no longer my baby.  He lets me know that often:(  He is now my BIG boy!  He turned three!  He has been such a joy to have in our lives.  We have loved him so much from the first moment we met him and our love for him just keeps growing.  We love his silly ways and how he can always get us giggling.  He is such a wonderful spirit! 

We threw away his potty chair because he is now "too big" for it.  I hate potty chairs.  So I am happy to get rid of it.  He fights a little to go potty now but he will get over it soon, hopefully!  We got a toilet seat that has a potty seat built into it.

McKay-

She is continually adding more words into her vocabulary.  New words this week - grandma, sucker, tractor, one, two, and three.  She also makes tons of animal sounds.  She moos, meows, barks like a dog, quacks, caws like a crow, and baas.  It is super cute!  I love this stage.  They learn and grow so much and it is fun to watch.

Monday was Clifton's birthday.  He is at an age where he understands it is a special day so I really wanted to make it special.  So I decorated the downstairs with streamers and balloons.  And I made a birthday chair for him.

It was so cute to see his little face light up when he walked downstairs and it was all decorated. He was so happy and felt very special!

That day we went to Chuck E Cheese.  I have not been since I was a kid.  We had Clifton's friend Benson join in on the fun as well.

It was a fun morning.

Then after nap another friend invited Clifton over to jump on their trampoline.  Another great way to make Clifton's day.

Of course McKay had to join in on the fun:)  She is crazy!  She was out there jumping along with the big kids.  

Later that day Clifton choose McDonalds to go for his dinner (fancy, huh?) and we got some ice cream. It was a wonderful day celebrating my little/big man!

Later in the week we got shaving cream out to play in.  Always a big hit.

Great fun for hours.  McKay even got a little into it this time.

Then we had did some painting this week as well.  These kiddos love painting!

Love love love this picture!

Friday night we had Clifton's birthday party.  A long time ago I asked Clifton what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said superheroes. So we did that this year.  

Alex put the invites together and they turned out ridiculously cute!

It took me a couple tries but the cake turned out pretty cute!

I really liked how the cupcakes turned out:)

All dressed up like superheros!

We ate pizza, decorated capes, dressed up, put on tattoos, and best of all captured a bad guy (Alex).

Alex is such a good sport!  Clifton loved spraying the bad guy/Daddy.  It freaked a few kids out like McKay, but was really fun.  Clifton's party was a blast!

The Rain Came Down

Updates on Clifton -
I am trying to ween him from me.  I love my boy and love being there for him but he needs to start learning to do some things for himself.  Like get his jacket and shoes on and get dressed.  Things like that. It has been tough to get him to try and do it himself but I am going to keep pushing it.
We need to get him off of his potty chair but he hates the toilet and I really hate fighting him to sit on the toilet instead of his chair.  I can get him to go potty standing up but he refuses to sit and go poop. I would love any suggestions.  I hate the potty chair and would love to get rid of it!

Updates on McKay-
New words McKay says - car, chicken (she struggles with saying it right but she tries), and flower.
She is finally becoming less attached to me.  She will go see other people and is starting to be friendly.  Thats a big step for her, before she would just have me hold her all day long.  But now she actually gets down and plays and is not afraid of other people.  Most of the time!

For family night we had some friends come join us for dinner and FHE.  It was a little crowded but fun.
We talked about rainbows and I gave each color a meaning like love, service, happiness, etc...  So next time they see a rainbow they can remember the things they should be doing/acting.  And of course at the end of the rainbow my little leprechauns found some chocolate gold:)

Well it rained ALL week.  I guess that is what happens when you live in Washington.  So we could not go outside much so we brought the outside in this week.

We brought the slide in.

And the basketball hoop in one day.  Which was a big deal to my kids because we do allow balls in the house.  Sometimes you got to break the rules for a day to survive being indoors.  Clifton is silly and liked laying under the basket while Evan and McKay put balls in the hoop.  He laughed every time the ball hit him.  Weirdo!

Tents and tunnels.  I even let them eat in the tent.  Which of course they thought was awesome.

The boys made rainbows with fruit loops and then munched away on their rainbows.  A fun sorting activity.

Friday we had a break from rain and a little bit of sunshine so we hit up the park.

It was so windy so we did not stay as long as they wanted but still felt good to get out of the house for a little.

Alex and I went on a double date with our good friends and played racquetball.  Alex and I used to play all the time and I love playing.  I had a ton of fun.

And we looked good in our racquetball glasses, not!

Saturday I helped plan my friends surprise birthday party.  I made these cupcakes and think they turned out pretty cute.

It was a fun evening celebrating her 30th.

St. Patricks day...

Green pancakes and eggs for breakfast.  And us all dressed up and green for St. Patricks day.