Saturday, September 26, 2009

Fun Filled Days

We have pretty much been homebodies for the last couple of weeks.  I really haven't felt like socializing for some reason, but we were also potty training so that's been my excuse.  Here are some pictures from the last week or so.  This gives you a tiny glimpse of what my day is like.

For the most part John is always like this...

and Gus is either like this...


or this...
It only takes a split second to go from happy to very upset.

John probably thought last week was the best week ever since he got lots of treats and some new toys as rewards for going potty.  When he was fully trained he got to make ice cream with Daddy.

We've been trying to give Gus different baby foods to see if anything sparks his interest.  While Gus seems uninterested, John is very interested.


Gus seems to feel as though his personal space is being violated.

This next group of pictures will only fully be understood if you realize they were taken seconds apart from each other.   Hans and I have decided that Gus will get a pass the first few times he hits John.

 
 

Now, try picturing yourself handling situations like this about 100 times a day!  John just loves his brother too much and Gus laughs through most of it until he gets hurt and then cries.  I now know why my mom and dad always yelled at my brother and me when we were laughing too hard...someone always gets hurt.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Yay for John

Now that I sit here and look at dates, I find this whole blog entry pretty amusing.  I wrote in an entry on 9/13 that my big frustration with John at this time was potty training.  As I said in that entry it was all a battle of wills and while I have a strong will, I wasn't going to win that battle.  I think John sensed my defeat because the next morning he woke up and wanted to start using the potty.  It took John three of four days and only a couple of accidents to figure it all out.

 
 Having a house with all hardwood floors isn't so bad when you're potty training.

Only on the first day could you lay on the bathroom floor.  I'm thinking it will take a gallon of bleach to get the lovely pee smell out of our bathroom.

Now that John is potty trained he can go to school.  Three days a week I work at a Lutheran preschool and today I took John with me for his first day!  I was very nervous...very, very nervous.  I couldn't guarantee that John would come out of the bathroom with his pants on, or put his toys away without a fit or even sit in circle time and listen, but he did pretty well.  He made some new friends, had a blast playing, ate his whole lunch and didn't want to leave when it was time to go; I even got a good two hour nap out of him when we got home.  Isn't it funny how fast things change?

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A Visit from Grandma

Solveig came to see us this past weekend and we all had a wonderful time. On Saturday we drove to Idaho Springs and ate at Beau Jo's which serves mountain pizza.  In order to keep John entertained while waiting for our pizza, we all put Thomas stickers on our foreheads.
 

Gus even decided to participate.

 

For John's birthday Grandma and Grandpa Fiene sent four Disney movies.  John just loves Peter Pan, so he sat and watched it with Grandma.


Gus enjoyed playing with his new toy during the movie.

 

Solveig bought John a soccer ball and a cool guitar. Now John just needs some soccer lessons from Uncle Christian.
 

Grandma read lots of books...when John would sit still


John just loved having so much attention.

 

Grandma and her boys.


This is John's new thing...we try to make faces so Gus will smile and John decides he needs to make the faces too. I wonder if I'll ever get a great picture of the two of them again.
 

Another perfect example of John's new camera face...Gus is not impressed.
 The weekend was just great and ended too soon.  Solveig and I even got to go out to dinner on Saturday night while Hans watched the boys.  Thank you for visiting us Grandma!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

The Joy of 3's

Since John has turned 3 we've been to the doctor for his yearly check-up and to the dentist.  John is still in the 10th percentile for his height and the 60th percentile for weight.  My boy has always been short and solid, if he keeps going like this he should make an awesome linebacker.
The doctors visit was pretty normal.  John loves to have the doctor listen to his heart and take his blood pressure; he even anticipates the doctor's next move by opening his mouth, tilting his head back so the doctor can look up his nose and turning his head so the doctor can check in each ear.  I was expecting some shots for John, but he didn't need any.  The doctor did tell me that he will be getting four next year, so that will be fun.  For now, John loves going to the doctor.  Anytime Hans, Gus or I have to go he wants to go with us.  I'm not sure why he likes it so much, but I'm not asking too many questions.  We'll see how much he likes going after his 4 year check-up.

A few days ago I had a dentist appointment and called to see if John could come with me.  The last visit I had I asked when John needed to come in and they explained that they like having the child come for a parent's cleaning as their first visit, they call this a "happy visit".  John was very excited to be going to the dentist and we talked about what a dentist does the whole way there.  I told him they were going to clean my teeth and then they would count his teeth.  When we got there a wonderful hygienist let him sit in a chair and take rides up and down.  She then gave him bright green sunglasses to put on so he could lean back and look up at the light.  So, he puts on the glasses, leans back in the chair with his hands behind his head and then says, "So, are you going to count my teeth?"  The hygienist got a big kick out of John and then got the dentist so she could count his teeth.  He did so great!  He opened wide and let her put her hands in his mouth.  He also seems to have great teeth.  The dentist told me if I keep producing children with teeth like mine I will put her out of business.  Too bad I will probably keep the orthodontist living like a king.

John is still a bundle of energy and always seems to have his own agenda.  I once heard someone say that 3's were worse than 2's and I thought they were joking...sadly is some ways 3's are worse.  My latest battle is potty training, John is being very stubborn so now Hans and I have to act like we don't car which is SO hard for us.  John knows that he can start going to school when he is out of diapers and a couple of weeks ago he found a stash of trains I had bought for Christmas and we told him he could pick one when he went potty, but for now as much as he wants those two things he just won't give in.  STUBBORN!!!

While every week seems to bring on a new battle he still makes us laugh everyday and I love when out of nowhere he gives me a hug and kiss and tells me he loves me.  He is a sweet little boy and we love him so much.


John is hiding from his dad in this picture, but he just can't seem to take his eyes off of the football game.