He-Man or Luke Skywalker?

I told Ian that if he could go potty for a week like a big boy (not in a diaper), then he got to pick out a toy of his choice. I should have known it would be a sword. We had to have a long talk about not hitting people on the way home from the store.
Ian is for real potty trained. Even as I write this I am still surprised. We were down to like three diapers and I didn't want to buy more, yet. (Sometimes I feel like I go to the store to pick one thing up everyday). So, I made him wear undies and I constantly asked him if he had to go potty, plus we played outside alot and I didn't care what he did out there. Yeah, in the first two days we went through about nine pairs of undies. But, I didn't care. Then, it got easier and easier and now Ian wears one pair of undies a day! So, he got a light saber:)
Sometimes I don't think he is always listening or understanding what I'm saying to him. While Aaron was taking swim lessons, Ian was jealous and wanted lessons too. I explained to him that he couldn't until he was potty trained. About three days after he was wearing only one pair of undies a day, he reminded me that he could take swim lessons now. And so he is for the next two weeks.

WWW

Wonderful World of Walking
Lani has officially joined the world of walkers. She stumbles and tumbles, but gets back up.

Five Stars

Gateway Plaza Fountain

Five stars because it's free, besides outrageously overpriced parking, fun, and easy to sit and watch your children. You can also bring your own food for a picnic lunch on the grassy area nearby. About every half hour they play music and the water "dances" to the music. It's great. Be careful, you may be tempted to get wet.

One More Time

Our poor little Ian. He has another ear infection. He's had clear ears for about a year now so I guess we were due. He's such a bruiser, it got pretty bad before we knew it was there. Finally, it kept him up all night last night. But besides that, even today, he was fine and I would ask how he felt and he says, "I feel pretty good mommy."

"Day of Rest"

Yes, on Sundays we get bored. So this is what we do for fun.

Independence Day Weekend

Okay, so we started the madness Friday morning with our Stake Fun Run. It's like 2.5 miles and I wanted to go, but it was at 8am so I kind of suckered Brad into going. I told him I would beat him. Those of you who know Brad know he does not wake up at 8am. Seriously, he is never on time anywhere, but especially early stuff. So, the challenge forced him awake. I kind of cheated because I told him he was in charge of Ian on his bike. But I had to watch out for Aaron on his bike and push Lani. I still won. Ian really is a handicap:) But honestly, I trash talk a little too much because Aaron would not slow down for me and stayed about a block ahead of me the whole time (that's cuz I told him I'd beat him too). I couldn't stop for fear he'd get run over, not that my slow self could've done anything about it. So we had breakfast and the stake had a bunch of booths for the kids to win prizes and stuff and it was all in all pretty fun. We went home for some rest at about lunch time, then headed out again by dinner. We picked up some pizzas and headed to the West Jordan Park where the boys had a good time on the bouncie things and played at the playground. Three hours later we found our friends we'd been looking for all night and hung out with them for some spectacular fireworks. Complaint to West Jordan City: Do not start fireworks at 11pm ever again! That is so late. Poor Lani slept straight through it despite the noise and people almost stepping on her. We rolled into our driveway after midnight. We were zombies for most of Saturday. Then, we felt anti-social as we sat on our deck overlooking the big party at our neighbors yard. So, we went over and yep, it was what I expected. The highlight was the fight that broke out between both sets of our neighbors' in-laws over the game of horse shoes. It was so great. Again, not in bed until midnight. No wonder my kids are sick. Sunday was really a day of rest. Tonight we have Marli's birthday party, then tomorrow Brad's work provides us with dinner and a night at the zoo. Yeah! I think we'll take a break after that.

Pool Days

Swimsuits, sunscreen, swimmer diapers, floaties (all 5 of them), change of diapers, wipes, clothes, towels, snacks....the list goes on. Yesterday, I took all three kids to the pool by myself. It took us about 30 min to get ready, 5 minutes to get there, we stayed for about two hours, then went home where it took me 30 min to unload and get Lani to sleep. I'm really not sure about the benefits of pool trips. My kids have tons of fun, sure, but they fight while I try to get everything ready becuase I can't step in to resolve minor conflicts, then they are tired and cranky by the time dinner rolls around. Aaron had major tantrums last night. He was so tired he was crying over using a yellow cup at dinner time and it was too much trouble for him to get it himself, but he couldn't wait for me to do it either. This seems to be the case anytime we take the time to do something fun like go to the Childrens Museum or Wheeler Farm or anything we have to prepare more for. For some reason I do it anyway. Despite my complaining and wondering if it's worth it, I hope they look back and remember me taking them places and having fun together.

Doctor Visits

Today, Lani and Ian had their 1 yr and 3 yr checkups. I had a quick review of what they should be doing and what I should be doing at this time in their lives. I have to say, I really like my doctor. She knows my kids so well now and remembers what's happening in our lives. Brad says good thing I pay to have such good friends. So, Lani is on the right track for everything-in about the 50th percentile for head, weight and even height. Now, we just have to work on this odd sleep pattern she is developing (bad example from her brothers).
Ian is doing well, too. He is also in the 50th percentile for everything. He's really thinning out, but still very strong and just muscular. In his packet it talks about how his curiosity should be peaking about now and he will probably start asking "why..." a lot. It was like the day after he turned 3, all he could say is "Why mommy?" All day long. Such a curious kid. No hopes for total potty training, yet. We have short term (automatic) treats and long term (1 week) rewards, that have not been achieved yet, but still no go unless he really wants a skittle at that moment. Oh well, I guess this is what a normal kid is like. Everything seems to be passing so quickly (especially the nighttime). My kids are getting so old!

Happy Birthday Lani!

Okay, if anyone was interested, not a good idea to have kids' birthdays one week apart. Poor planning on our part. Just the thought of planning a big huge party made me tired so I broke tradition and decided Lani can have a big party when she's old enough to remember it. The one year mark was celebrated at home with cake, a few presents, and our friends, the Iloilos. They have a little girl who is one next week (I tell Lani to play with her best friend Marli, but she just looks at her and takes her toys away from her). So, Lani got a baby with stroller. She's so cute when she kisses it. Of course, they boys like to steal her away and "take care" of her. No really, they want her baby doll-they put it to bed and pretend to feed it and everything. She also got a little pink phone (thank you grandma) so that now she can be the pink power ranger. Ian and Aaron are the red and blue rangers with corresponding phones. And she got a book and some clothes. She was dainty with her cake so unfortuneately, we didn't get any chocolate all over the face pictures. Yet, somehow she knows what belongs to her and already gets very upset when it's taken away from her by an older brother.