Post #200!

I started this blog when I found out that I was pregnant with Kyler. My goal was to keep our family and friends updated with our daily life and to be able to watch as Kyler grew up! Well, now all of you can watch as we raise our second child! Yes...I'M PREGNANT! I am overwhelmed with emotion! I can't wait to watch as Josh grows as a parent and Kyler as the big brother!

Potty Training 101

Last week we decided to start potty training Kyler. He has shown a few of the signs, plus this was one of my goals for the summertime. We started by heading to Target. I let Kyler pick out the "undies" that he wanted and some stickers as rewards - he chose Elmo undies and Toy Story stickers (two of his favorites). Then I decided to just let him wear the undies around the house. The first two days were very difficult...he would shout, "Potty Mommy" as he watched the pee drip down his leg. But I think that was the start of him realizing when he was going and what it felt like. He has gotten a lot better and now has only 1-2 accidents a day. Hopefully he will be fully potty trained soon!

We Love The Hill!

Kyler and I decided to go on vacation by ourselves this summer. Unfortunately, Josh had to stay home because he has been diligently working towards a master's degree. Watch out New York here we come! My sister-in-law, Courtney and my two nieces, Jillian and Madi were planning on driving from Colorado to New York and they invited Kyler and I along for the fun! 32 hours in the car with 3 kids 3 years old and under...who could pass that up? Mema's house or BUST!

Courtney made a believer out of me! She had planned to do the trip in two days...I didn't think it could be done with three kids. We left on July 12 at 5:00 am and arrived in Jefferson, NY on July 13 at 11:23 pm. Eight states in two days! It really wasn't that bad considering the circumstances. For lunch and dinner we stopped at McDonald's Playplaces or parks so that the kids could blow off some steam. We watched, "Two Guys and Two Horsies" (Jillian's inventive title for "Spirit") about 5 times and listened to lots of kid tunes! The kids all seemed to be on different schedules. There were only 30 minutes out of the entire trip that they were all asleep at the same time...it was the most relaxing 30 minutes of the trip!
When we finally got to Mema's house we had tons of fun! We went on "hikes" around the property. We saw lots of wildlife including, but not limited to: salamanders, snakes, frogs, fireflies, a skunk, deer, and a badger.
We created our own little swimming pool. My mom called it, "The Hill Swimming Pool"!
We had Poison Ivy scares and bee stings. We had fun relaxing...Ahhh!
We had tons of fun playing on Papa John's "Toys"!The lawn tractorThe four-wheeler (aka the "motorcycle tractor")The 1948 Jeep Willys
Even though we missed Josh terribly, we had lots of fun! Hopefully next summer there will be a tree house for the kids to play in!