More Steps! Almost Walking...

Today Scarlett went 8 steps! Yup EIGHT!

She can so do it...I'm trying to work up her confidence.


I'll take some pictures of her walking perhaps on Friday.
Eeeek, I'm getting excited for my future runner!

Getting Ready for Turning 1

Sooooooooooo....

I have New Grad Student Orientation next week, and a writing/research seminar in 3 weeks, then classes start the week after that....

A. YIKES (excited, yet anxious!)
B. I gotta get on party planning for my sweetheart's 1st birthday party!!

Here's a sneak peak of some of what I've accomplished thus far:

The lighting doesn't do these justice. I'm making these owls in tons of different colors.

Scarlett's no sew tutu I made. You better believe there will be a Mommy sized one!

I ordered this shirt for myself.

And this is the onsie Scarlett will be wearing with her tutu. Still looking for a smash outfit!

I can't wait! Just 6 weeks until she turns ONE, and 7 weeks until her party!!

Can't wait to see you all there (if you got the FB invite, ha...ha)!!!

Scraps for the Puppies

My children are vultures!

You would think they never get fed by these pictures!!

Welp, they do get fed, especially that little one!

She gets the most!!!

Here daddy was, making Dutch Babies...

The kids pulled up a stool, BOTH got on it,

and BEGGED for the berry topping!

A bajillion strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries later,

and of course they're not satisfied. :)

Ollie's Cute Faces

I just can't get good photos of Oliver's face!

He's still avoiding pictures. This started at 13 months! :(

So we nabbed some with Daddy yesterday!

Sneaky mommy!!!

KISSES! Best thing ever!

Out & About in Seattle

I have fewer reasons to come into downtown then I used to.

It felt good to be in the middle of the city in the middle of the day again!

This was about 10 minutes before Oliver fell asleep, right in time for nap time!

So wished we could fit in take the water tazi to Alki!

Riding the Choo Choo Train

Every day on the way to daycare/work we go up 518....right on the Light Rail's path...

Therefore...EVERY morning I hear, "I want to ride the train!"

(Same goes for the airplanes since we go under the flight path for Sea Tac every day, but that's another story)

Soooo, we finally found time in our beyond busy summer to take Oliver on it.

He has been on the Light Rail a few times before, he just doesn't remember!

Here are a few pictures of the ride:

I managed to snap a few face shots of my baby boy!!!

He is such an angel (about 45% of the time!) and has the most precious little cheeks!

5 Steps

Our little 'almost' walker took 5 whole steps last night.
and OF COURSE mommy was sleeping. :(

I also missed Oliver's first big chunk of steps while working.

Then Scarlett took 3 steps after the 5. She's finally gaining more confidence!


I'm realizing more and more how different these two kiddos are.
Oliver was fearless, independent, and didn't want help.
Scarlett is fearless, will try anything, but wants mommy or daddy right by her.

Scarlett is definitely more lovey dovey and wants her parents around for comfort.
That's our biggest obstacle to walking!


And here's my silly baby sleeping all squished in her bassinet:

The Joys of Sharing

I like this series of pictures. It somewhat illustrates our every day life!

Scarlett has one of Ollie's toys, as she is going to have far more interest in his toys then vice versa.

Oliver sees she has it, then takes it away!!

My Parenting Tip of the Day:

If one kid is gonna steal a toy the other one is playing with,

make that child at least trade a toy.

So if Oliver's little sticky fingers don't like that Scarlett is playing with his fire truck,

he HAS to give her another toy if he's gonna take back the truck.

It's not ideal! We're working on Oliver asking and saying please before he takes,

but really? He's TWO. I can only expect so much.

Fortunately for us the trade method works....for now.

And Oliver is getting better at at least saying PLEASE before he takes.

Potty Training Update - 5 Months Later

I can't believe its been a little over 5 months since Oliver has worn a diaper!!



I can't remember what the last update consisted of so I will just write what I remember.

These last few weeks have been amazing. Oliver comes back from daycare in the same pants he was dropped off in! Oliver was never having accidents, he was just unable to control his penis from spraying pee all over the place! He's finally at a place where its not a problem anymore! I'm so proud of him!

He hasn't had such a problem at Babcia and Dzia Dzia's house! For a long time he would have accidents over there all the time. It's like he was so distracted he didn't even remember he was potty trained. It was discouraging when he was doing fine at home/daycare/ and in public. Fortunately I don't have to worry when I go over there with no extra pants or undies anymore!!

We succumbed to Pull Ups for night time and long day trips. Night time, we'll work on later.....
If I'm going to the zoo or road tripping, I'd rather put the Pull Up on then deal with accidents. Oliver is really good at telling us when he needs to go in public but if we are at the zoo and the bathroom isn't a hop skip away, a Pull Up just in case, is not a bad thing!! It's a piece of mind really!

He is so potty trained that sometimes in public (when there's no toilet he knows of) he'll just drop trou and pee in the bushes, in a pool (hehe), etc... He really does not like the feeling of wetness and he will ONLY poop in the potty.

I am very lucky. Let's hope the next one trains so easily!!

Flirting...

This was so sweet to watch. My friend's son, Nicholas, was playing with Scar Scar's feet and all of a sudden she started holding his hand. This picture was sheer luck...look at them gazing into each other's eyes.

Such a tender moment. :)

Preparing To Be ONE!

My sweet lady is less than 2 months away from turning ONE!

I'm already preparing for her birthday party because I'm sooo excited!

We chose an owl theme and I think there are so many cute ways to deliver a fun party!

We did the rounds at a few craft stores today to start picking up supplies.

I'm doing this all so early partly because I'm that crazy and that excited,

and partly because I start school in 4 weeks and if I don't get on this now,

then I won't give my daughter the kind of party I feel she deserves!!

Oopsie Daisy!

Here is all that is left of a HUGE container of Vaseline.

I awoke this morning to Oliver singing in his room. Now usually we leave his door open so he can come and go as he pleases, but for the sake of NOT having to be up at 6 am on a Sunday, his door was closed.

BIG MISTAKE. Have I mentioned that was a big mistake?

As a disclaimer I must say Oliver doesn't usually do things like this. Lock any 2 year old in their room and naturally they will get bored enough....

Anyway...I opened his door and the first thing he said was "Mommy lotion! Lotion on my belly!" Now I had heard Oliver refer to Vaseline as lotion in the past, but boy did he take it literally. He had spread the whole container all over his body. In between his toes, his hair, his stomach, his jammies, his comforter, his books...

I cleaned a lot this morning....

Summer Fun

Here are some random pictures (because I took an ungodly amount) from my co-workers BBQ.

Here are the kids all hanging out after the pool.

And Mr. Oliver picked himself an apple and found himself a little friend. :)

Pink Polka Dot Bikini

Swimming, Swimming, All Day Long!

Oliver is stubborn.

Oliver has to do everything his way,

Or "all by myself!"

It took some getting use to the pool at my co-worker's house,

but Oliver proved he hasn't lost an ounce of the daredevil within him and was jumping mercilessly into the pool in no time. Daddy was there to help of course.

Funny story, he also pulled his trunks down and peed into the pool.

A pool filled with many people.

Oh well, can't be mad. He's so potty trained he NEVER pees himself.

Hahahahaha.

The water wings came in handy and he loved his swimmer's get-up so much, he even picked apples with it on!

Sweet Scarlett

Here's a few photos of my sweetheart. She is such a little spitfire but with the calmness of an angel.

As you can see she likes to climb everything!!!

And the fact that I can put a clippy in her hair with ease is enough to make me die a happy momma!