Happy Birthday Grandma!

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a "surprise" birthday dinner for Grandma last weekend. Grandpa knew what we'd be eating but Grandma didn't and it was a pleasant surprise to have lobster and steaks and scallops. I also baked a flower cake that turned out really yummy!

After we had lunder the boys played outside on their scooters.

Their goal was to ride down the path, across the driveway and then fall once they reached the grass. No bushes were damaged during this fun, though some mulch had to be swept back in place.

It was a fun afternoon and the kids had a blast playing outside! Oh, and so did mommy and daddy, we took a few turns on Roo's scooter!

Happy 29th Grandma!

Transformers in a Museum?

For Veteran's Day we decided to take the kids to the Air & Space Museum at Dulles. The kids were super excited and told their friends that they were going to see airplanes and helicopters. We got there right when it opened and the museum was great. It was our first time at that location as well and it is really well laid out. After entering the museum and walking down the long ramp we took a potty break. Bug had a dry pull up and actually stayed dry the entire day!

The first display we looked at was the Space Shuttle Enterprise. It was really big. I was surprised it wasn't a little bigger but still, looking at it, it's amazing that it can make it into space, especially with all of the tiles on the outside.

After that we stopped at the SR-71 Blackbird, my favorite. The kids loved that it was part of the Transformers movie in addition to the Transformers display. It's really neat that they can learn about different airplanes through these sorts of toys. Looking at the display and seeing the Optimus Prime that I had as a kid is now in the Smithsonian is pretty cool too!

We looked at the fighter planes and helicopters as well. Roo loved the helicopters.

The kids were great about staying by us and Bug even let us push him in the stroller for a portion of the time. The displays have very short railings around them to keep people from touching them, I imagine they can't possibly get rid of all the jet fuel, and Bug went under the rail by the shuttle. We only had to tell him one time and he didn't do it again, which was great because it would have made for a very long day!

The last thing we did was go up into the control tower. You could see Dulles and way beyond from there. It's really high up! And it was a windy day so it was really disconcerting for me. The boys loved the view and watching the planes fly by as they landed. It was really cool to see the entire surrounding area including the mountains.

We had lunch at the McDonald's in the museum and then headed home. Since the boys were so awesome the entire day, we got them each a new Transformer.

We really enjoyed the museum and it will definitely be a place we take the kids again and again!

Swaddle Me

Recently Bug has been asking me to carry him like a baby. Not only that, he likes to lay his blankey out on the floor or bed and make it perfectly flat and then lay it in. He puts his legs straight out and arms on his tummy and then my job is to swaddle him in his blankey and carry him like a baby. To be honest, I love it! He's out little baby and they grow up so fast, so if he wants extra baby cuddle time, we'll take it while it lasts! Only problem we're running into is that tall Roo who is also much heavier than Bug also wants to be carried like a baby! Gotta love these kids!

Happy Birthday Party...A Sideways Picture Posting

We celebrated Bug's birthday on Saturday with family and a few of the kids friends. We lucked out and had great weather. The party was a bit smaller than we've had at previous birthday parties but it was the perfect size the boys had a blast. Bug's best friend L that he's known since they were born was there in addition to L's sister K who is Roo's best friend. Connor was also there and all of the kids had a blast playing together.

Before everyone arrived the boys had a riot of a good time driving their vehicles around in the back yard and crashing into each other and if you're Bug, into trees!

Once all the boys friends got there they played outside.

Eventually we had the kids eat dinner and then it was birthday cake time. Bug loved his blue airplane cake!

After the kids finished their cake it was present time. Bug loved all the Transformers he got and Roo was amazed every time Bug got another Transformer. Aunt Linda and Daddy spent a lot of time transforming! And Bug figured out the best technique for opening gift bags!

Bug also got other great gifts, like the InnoTab from Grandma and Grandpa, the space station from Grammy and Pop Pop, the very cool talking dinos from Uncle Matt and the balance bicycle and helmet from Mommy and Daddy.

But I think his favorite gift of all was the scooter he got from the Bloobs. He spent the rest of the evening riding his scooter around with his helmet on, only to take breaks to make sure nobody played with his new toys!

And how cute are Bug and L playing under the desk!

Oh, and did you notice that he wore his new Transformers pajamas the entire day!

Don't Blow Out My Candles!

Last night we celebrated Bug's 3rd birthday. I made cupcakes for him to take to school and made a mini cake with the extra batter. When we got home from school I asked Bug if he wanted spaghetti night or cake for dinner. Cake was it, shocker I know!

We all sang happy birthday and Roo blew out the candles. Bug was not a happy camper. So we sang happy birthday again and Bug blew out his candles.

Roo wanted to give him his gift on his birthday, so he opened his gift from Roo and was delighted that it was a big Optimus Prime. Mommy and Daddy gave him Transformers pajamas and he wore them the rest of the night.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Love Bug!

Happy 3rd Birthday Love Bug!

Wow, it's hard to believe that our sweet little Love Bug is 3 today! Happy 3rd Birthday Bug, we love you!

Ear Tubes

This morning Bug had a new set of ear tubes put in. His first set lasted well over a year and made a huge difference so after his second ear infection in his right ear, which seems to be the problematic ear, we decided on a second set of tubes. When I was asking our pediatrician whether or not she recommended them, she didn't even let me finish the sentence and said definitely yes unless we want to see here once a month this winter.

We got up early and got ready and got Bug up and headed to the surgery center. We got there and they took us back almost immediately. We had several different nurses come in and review what was going to happen, confirm who he was and confirm his various allergies. The doc arrived a few minutes late, this time as expected since he was late last time too, and they took him back for surgery. Fifteen minutes later he was back and a few minutes later they went over the discharge papers and we headed home.

I think we left the house at 630 and were back by 830!

They said everything went smoothly and that he definitely fought them when they were trying to put him under. That's our Bug!

When he came out of surgery and back to us he was really calm and wanted his balloon the nurse made for him, so they had to go back and get that. After that we headed home.

He's napping now and has been for about 3 hours. When he wakes up we'll have to do something fun before Roo and Daddy get back home!

It's always good to get surgery over with, no matter how short it is, it's still disconcerting when your child is having anesthesia.

Adventures in Potty Training....

Bug is starting to get more interested in the potty. When he was at the sitters we discussed having him start potty training and I was going to send pull ups for him but as soon as we decided to send him to school we decided to hold off. We knew that potty training was a big part of what the kids would learn in the 2's room. After his first week he started coming home with lots of stamps on his hands. Turns out Bug is very motivated by stamps and was doing great going pee in the potty. He started to occassionally want to pee in the potty at home too, which was great. I went and got him a pack of Buzz Lightyear underwear, to which he responded "I wear diapers." Hmm.....so he's continuing to do great peeing in the potty, waking up from most naps dry and showing even more interest at home. The school asked that I bring in pull ups for him since he was doing so well. I pulled a few out of the pack to save for at home. Doesn't look like he's used any from the pack at school or home and we're still getting the same "I wear diapers answer."

Peeing in the potty is great but getting him to poop in the potty, now that would be awesome! I've been asking him for a while now to poop in the potty and over the weekend he tried a few times but relented that "it's so hard," to poop in the potty.

On Sunday the kids were brushing their teeth and getting dressed and Bug proudly walked in with a towel in his hand. What was that I was looking at, was that what I really thought that was? Yes indeed, Bug was so relaxed brushing his teeth on their red stool that he pooped on the stool while brushing his teeth! Too cute and he was so proud. We told him that he was doing great and to try to get it in the potty the next time.

Yesterday morning while we were getting ready for work, the kids were in the bathroom brushing their teeth. I noticed that Bug was hiding behind the shower curtain and asked him to try to poop in the potty if he needed to go poop. He took off his diaper and I helped him on the potty and he pooped on the potty! We were all very proud of him, even bubba Roo.

It's funny, Bug insisted on wiping himself, though I made sure he was clean after his effort as opposed to Roo who for the longest time insisted that we wipe him. It'll be nice to have 2 potty trained kids in the house, but we're not rushing Bug into underwear or pull ups, he'll eventually tackle that part when he's ready.