Brody's 3rd Birthday

On August 7th we celebrated Brody's 3rd birthday. He was so excited for it this year since he was a little more aware of what was happening. He would ask with a huge smile in his face, "my birtday comin' up?". And we would say, "Yes Brody, it is almost here!". It was so fun to see him so excited.

He woke in the morning very excited to see a gift waiting for him. We have recently changed the way we do birthdays since it was under debate between John and me and we now can open one gift in the morning and the rest at night when it is party time.

He loved his Big Rig that crashes and makes the car fly off. He is such a boy!We made cupcakes for our friends and meet them at the Beach Club where we spent the day.

Right now as I type this, Brody is telling me how all his friends sang him Happy Birthday at the beach and they all ate cupcakes. He was so was excited to spend the day with everyone. Piper loved it all too.

Brody playing in the water. He was out a bit too far, so I went out to bring him back in and take some pictures. He was having so much fun and loves the fact that he can touch the bottom because he is so tall.

Brody playing water guns with his friend Jack.

Later that night, we waited for John to come home and then let the Curious George party begin by opening the rest of his gifts. First, some BYU gear for the upcoming season from Grandma and Grandpa Pitta.

Mommy and the kids anticipating the opening of the "big present". It was a tee ball set and he loves it. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Pitta!

Curious George is his favorite character right now, so I attempted to make it in his likeness. I think it turned out pretty well and Brody loved it, so I guess that makes it all worth it. After I baked the cakes, Brody was pretty impatient and took some nice wholes out of the top. Nothing a little frosting can't take care of!

One excited kid!

He got to choose what ice cream he wanted with it and his choice was the "cows ice cream" This means Ben and Jerry's single serving ice creams. He loved the ice cream so much he forgot about the cake.

He still talks about how much fun his birthday was and thinks there is another one coming up soon. Happy Birthday Brody!

Adventures in Potty Training

We are officially potty trained!!! Woo hoo! I really still can't believe it. It all happened so fast and before we knew it we were out of diapers. Well, I guess it didn't happen that fast. We had been preparing for this time all year. Buying the potty, borrowing potty books and DVD's from friends, talking about it all the time, bought Pixar underwear and laid it all over the house as reminders, and any and all incentives. Nothing really seemed to work. Brody didn't care about sitting on the potty for more than a second and wouldn't do it without clothes on, and then eventually refused to go near it. I had no idea what to do next. Then my friend Lisa, my go-to gal for all things potty training and more, suggested I use Brody's new found love for pirates and put little treasures in a treasure chest. Brilliant! How did I not think of that before! So back in the beginning of June, I went to every store I could think of and found things he would love to get like stickers, balloons, dum dums, etc. I was so excited and was thinking this was definitely going to work. I put it all together, showed Brody, told him all that he had to do to get a treasure. He was excited, but not excited enough to go on the potty. Great. So I left it out for him to look at everyday on top of the tv.

A few weeks passed, and then he started asking about the treasure chest. I showed him what was inside and what he had to do to get one. And as more incentive, we told him that, if he was potty trained, then he could get any Thomas train set he wanted. He loves looking at the Thomas catalog and picking things out. I could see him getting more interested in it and then he started having a desire to sit on the potty. Yeah for improvement!

Then towards the end of June, I decided we were going to stop cold turkey and go from diapers to pull ups and underwear. He was excited and even used the potty and we celebrated with lots of singing and dancing. It seemed like it was working. But for the next few days, it was nothing but accident after accident with the occasional celebrations. This kid could care less if he was wet or not. Even if he had underwear on and had to go, he would just spread his legs and let it all fall to the ground. It was miserable! After our few days of all of this, my parents were coming into town soon and I still had a ton of diapers to get through, so we stopped it for a while. I needed a break. I had told Brody once the diapers were all gone (I had a huge Costco size box to get through) then we had no choice but to go in the potty. I think I reminded him of that everyday. I really wanted him to remember what was going to happen.

So, almost two weeks ago this coming Wednesday, the time had come and we ran out of diapers. That afternoon, we went immediately into underwear and he went successfully in the potty. I thought, "this is it, we are doing it!" He was excited and I was excited, Piper was excited! :) Then the accidents started to come, all the way through the next morning. It wasn't until he had his last accident around noon that I noticed something much different in him than before. He was actually dissapointed that he wet himself. It was like something clicked. And then from then on, he was dry, going in the little potty like a pro. He loved getting the treasures and the candy. I went a little overboard. There was a piece of candy if you sat on the potty (licorice, marshmallow, dum dum, or smarties), and then a treasure if you peed in the potty, and then if he pooped he got 2 treasures. This kid was going left and right and eating candy all day long! I couldn't have been happier. I was still in shock though too and waiting for it to all wear off. But it didn't.

Then, by the beginning of that next week, we moved on to the big potty. I repeatedly reminded him that, if he went on the big potty all the time, he could get any train set he wanted. I told him so many times, he would constanly repeat it back to me what his reward would be. I really think that was what did if for him. That and the dum dums. He loves those things. It only took a afternoon before he was officially going on the big potty. He even went at church this last Sunday and stayed dry throughout all the meetings. Amazing. Now we just need to get him to go while we are out in the store bathrooms. He still refuses to do that, and so I am forced to race home. We still have had a few accidents because of not getting home fast enough, but compared to what we were almost 2 weeks ago, I think we have done it!. This has definitely been the hardest part of motherhood for me yet. Hopefully Piper will be much easier :)

Bathtime!

Last week, I put the kids in the bath together for the first time. Brody had asked if Piper could come play with him in the bath. They had so much fun together. Piper is obsessed with splashing water. I happened to get some funny shots of the two of them. I think Brody was pretty amazed at her excitement because he was very mellow when he is usually a crazy kid in the bath.

Sweet PiperHere comes the splashing! Just getting started. . . .

And there she goes! She is one hardcore splasher. Love her facial expression!

Can't even contain her excitement.Brody flying his "Nemo boat".

S'more Fun

Last week, the kids and I went up one last time to John's parents house while the cousins were here. We wanted to see John's sister Meredith's family before they drove back home. The kids had so much fun. They especially loved playing with Papa's helicopter and taking turns flying it. Brody was so excited.

Since Brody is in love with the waterslide now, we put a life jacket on him so I didn't have to catch him the 100-plus times we went down. I thought the life jacket might impede his swimming progress, but it actually forced him to use his arms and learn to tread water. Once he took his off, he was still swimming like he had it on and not really swimming to well. With a little practice, he is now stronger and faster than before. I think it also gave him more confidence and less fear. Now he is a swimming machine!

Piper and Brooke

Exploring the water.

This little girl is obsessed with water! She LOVES splashing and getting it all over her face. You could hear her squealing with excitement.

We ended the night with a bonfire and s'mores. They were a hit. All the kids (Ethan, Adam, Brooke, Preston, Brody) and Papa waiting for s'mores to start and admire the fire.

Brody was very fascinated with the fire.

Since this was Brody's first s'more experience, he didn't understand the fun of roasting his marshmallows and was very impatient. After literally a second of cooking his "marmars", he was done and wanted his s'more. He enjoyed every minute of eating it though.

What a cute sticky face you have!Piper enjoying all the fun from her seat.

Thanks everyone for all the fun times! We had a great time with all the family here over the past month. Can't wait for our next Brown family reunion!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

John was given tickets from his work to take our whole family out to Saturday night's game of Dodgers vs Marlins two weekends ago. It was both Piper and Brody's first game, so we were really excited for them to go. The kids slept most of the way up there, so once we got to the game, they were happy and ready to play. We got there a little bit late, just as the game was starting, and sat down in our seats in the second section behind home plate. They were great seats and a perfect place for me to spot celebrities. The celebrity game was held earlier and some of those that played stayed for the game. I saw Rob Lowe, Larry King (who looked like he was on his death bed) with his boy, and Steve Sanders from 90210. They showed some other ones on the big screen, but I can't remember who. We also watched a guy propose to his girlfriend on the kiss cam. She had no idea and went crazy when he asked. It was really cute and the whole crowd "aww'd. Then they were all over each other the rest of the game.

Brody lasted about 5 minutes into the game before he was already bored of it and asking for his Dodger dog. We fed the kids pretty much the whole time and they were great. It really was a fun night.

Brody loved his ice cream and practically ate the whole thing by himself.

The kids got a little silly toward the end (probably the sugar rush). Piper was loving the music and chants they played and shaking her arms like crazy to the beat.

Manny Ramirez at the plate.He swings. . . . . . .

....foul ball

We left in the 8th inning when it was tied to beat bad traffic and listened to the rest on our way home. They ended up winning and it was a great ending to a good night. If Brody would tell you what his favorite part was, he would say "hotdogs, mommy's soda, and ice cream". He still tells us about it.

8 months old!

Piper turned 8 months old on July 24th. It is crazy how fast she is growing up! It almost makes me sad. I am loving this age and would love her to stay this way forever if I could! Oh well, not going to happen. I am just enjoying each day with her right now. She is such a fun, happy little girl, it is great!

Piper loves to wrestle with Brody. She just laughs at him like crazy.

"Ok, Brody a little too much." I always watch to see if he is being too rough, but she doesn't seem to mind at all.

Such a happy girl!

Piper is so close to crawling now. She will get on all fours and rock back and forth. Only recently has she been in push up stance and only touching the floor with both her hands and feet. She will get tired pretty quickly and then drop to the floor and lay there like she's going to sleep.

Also, ever since she turned 8 months, she has been the biggest chatter box. She says "Da da da", and "La la la", screams, grunts, and another weird sound that we can't describe. She loves to speak up too, in a room full of quiet people, just to put the attention on her. Here is a little video showing her latest moves.

They still love each other. So cute!

Piper has two bottom teeth now. She got her first tooth (right one) at age 6 1/2 months and her the left one at 7 1/2 months. This is the best picture I could get (she was sleeping at the time), because she will only flash them when she is crying. She loves to cover them up with her tongue if I try and show them off. She has been a great teether and I haven't noticed much of a difference yet in her mood.

Piper is also a great eater. She gobbles up her rice cereal and has been loving her vegetables. We have tried peas, green beans, yams, carrots, broccoli, and spinach so far. Soon, it will be time to move on to the fruits. She also has had bread and crackers and loves them and goes crazy for them when I pull them out. My only challenge now is to get her to drink a bottle!

She is a great sleeper. She will sleep 12 hours straight, only occasionally getting up once through the night to eat, then falls back asleep. She is great about sleeping anywhere and on anyone, usually when rocked (ex. church- Brody never did that). She usually only cat naps through the day when we are out, but will get in 2 to 3 hours occasionally at home in her crib. Since Brody doesn't nap anymore, it never bothers me. I still swaddle her and I am pretty sure that makes all the difference in keeping her asleep. She loves to sleep on her side and gets mad when she isn't comfortable. Such a funny girl! Tired or not, she is still a good girl and not really cranky. How did I get so lucky?!

She is definitely smaller than Brody was at this age. She is in 9 months clothes and some 12 months. Later this month when we go in for our 9 month appointment, I will post her stats then.

She LOVES the water and the pool.

She is already a TV junkie! Oh no! Whenever it is on, she is glued to it. I think her favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

We LOVE our little Piper! Happy 8 months!

Free Summer Movies and the Fountains

Two weeks ago, the kids and I went to our first free summer movie this year. We meet up with a few friends at the Spectrum and went to see 'Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium'. I popped my own popcorn and had high hopes that this would be a fun outing just like last year. Brody lasted about 20 minutes into it before he lost interest and found jumping off the stairs much more enjoyable. It wasn't too bad in the beginning because the theater was full of moms and their kids and he stuck to the aisle next to us. But when he started running round the theater and out of the door, I had enough. Luckily, Piper feel asleep so I could put her down in the stroller and could take care of him. I think he got a little bored since the movie wasn't animated and full of action. It was a really cute movie though and I would definitely recommend it.

After the movie, we went off to the fountains to meet up with some other friends. It seemed everyone who was in the theater had the same idea, so it was pretty crowded. That didn't stop Brody from having fun. This kid is obsessed with water!
We had one accident there that caused us to stop our fun. I was putting Piper in the stroller, when my friend Abby brought Brody over with a face full of blood. He had somehow fallen and scratched the side of his mouth and cut the inside of his mouth pretty good with his tooth. Once I cleaned him all up, this is what it looked like. Not too bad.
Poor guy! He had a tiring day and fell asleep in his stroller when I was shopping in Target. Yay for me! There is nothing more enjoyable then shopping in peace :)