Ahoy! Potty Talk

** disclaimer **

consider yourself warned . . . if potty talk bothers you, this post is not for you!! stop reading!

We did it! We are a diaperless household after 4 years of diaper duty!

My 2 boys were tough potty trainers and after some trail and error, research and asking lots of mamas who had already done it, I found what works for us. I use a method called 3 Day Potty Training by Lora Jensen.

Evan would not even have the potty talk with me. He shut it down immediatley everytime I tried to bring it up. I finally decided he was 3 and I just had to jump in and do it.

 I had the bathroom door decorated when he came down the stairs that morning . . . . and he screamed!! I thought, "oh, this is going to be just horrible!!!"



We went with a pirate theme bc he loves a pirate potty book we have. He got a chocolate gold coin and a paper gold coin each time he went potty IN the potty!

  

                           

Then, I pulled out his favorite red Koolaid Burst drinks and told him he could drink as many as he wanted when he had on his big boy underwear . . . . he smiled and said "ok!"  and put on his crocodile big boys.
I was shocked! He proceded to drink 4 drinks and pee pee in the potty 13 times before lunch!

 Evan posing in his new "big boys"

 

Evan is ready to "make the grandest pee and poo in all the seven seas!"

"Arrrrrgh, Maties! "

 "Yo Ho! Yo Hee! I've got to make Pee Pee!"

A big smile after his first poo poo in the potty!!

(I know that is completely disgusting to talk about, but it is possiblely one of the the hugest milestones EVER, so it must be captured in pictures and words by this mama!!)

Happy Sailing from these Scurvy Pirates! Its all dry on deck aound here! ~j

Monster Bash

Evan had a birthday party at school last week. I asked him what kind of cupcakes he wanted and he said monster cupcakes! So, here is what I came up with . . .

His little school friends sang happy birthday to him and then we had a party!

The cupcakes were a hit with these little monsters!  ~j

Sweet Evan is Three!

My sweet boy, my youngest child, turned 3 yesterday! He added something special to my life the day he arrived - pure joy! After Bryce was so tiny, I dreamed and prayed and wished for a chubby little baby and when I saw him for the first time, I could not believe how beautifully God answered my prayers! His little baby face could not have been any rounder! My eyes first noticed his chubby, soft cheeks. Then my eyes moved to his cute double chin. My eyes finally rested on his forehead where he had a V of dark hair - a widow's peak - just like my mama's. I believe she kissed him right in the middle of his of his forehead before she sent him down from heaven to me.






His dark, thick, shaggy bangs now covers that remembrance of my mama . . .  but it is still there . . .  just like she will always be.

When it comes to life . . . . Evan is all in. He lives it up. He is sweet and cuddly and absolutely hilarious. He keeps the Whitaker household laughing. He is also, shall we say, "spirited"  and passionate as he expresses his wide range of emotions.

Happy Birthday E! Mama loves you! Just thinking of you warms my heart. You are a true blessing of pure joy that I will be forever grateful for.

~j

Happy Mother's Monday

I was planning to blog Sunday night something sweet and heartfelt about being a mama on mothers day. But, honestly, everyone was was quite grouchy and I was not feeling the happy mama warm fuzzies that night. I was kinda thinking "so much for sweet notions of mother's day" as the boys and I went outside to play in the sprinkler on Monday afternoon. Then, there it was, that happiness of motherhood washed over me as I watched my boys play in the sunshine and sprinkling water. Their brother bond is precious, their little conversations are hilarious, their faces sometimes angelic and sometimes filled with mischief!  I enjoy these days. I love being a mama!

They are great play mates, best friends, sweet brothers . . . . . and you can be sure they are plotting a plan!

Watching them play, their personalities are so clear. Bryce is content being the controller of the water. Evan is IN the water soaked from head to toe with in seconds. They are both screaming and laughing! They balance each other so well.

This is how wet Bryce got.

This is how wet Evan got!

 . . .  and this is why!

Bryce took his job as water controller very serious!

My friend Emily will probably laugh when she sees that this moment gave me the warm fuzzies bc she called about 30 minutes into the water fun and things were starting to fall apart! They were squirting each other, fussing over who would hold the squirting part, squirting the cat, squirting the front porch and then it was all tears and screams when I turned the water off! So, it all comes full circle, but I love to hang on the those precious moments of mamahood and soaked them up for all they are worth!

Happy Mother's Monday to Me!

Hope all of you had some sweet moments to remember forever on your Mother's Day! ~j

Five on Friday

Here are Five Reasons I am Loving my Boys this week!

1. We took the boys to see Rio in 3D. It was there first movie theater experience, and it was so fun! They loved it and could not have looked any cuter kicked back in mine and John's laps with their little 3D glasses on their little faces and a big bag of popcorn settled between them. They both love movies, so this was a treat and they were completely entertained through the whole thing!

                  

Evan modeling his 3D glasses - what can I say - he just cracks me up!

2. The Easter Bunny found these little boys and filled up their baskets with goodies like colored bubbles , side walk chalk, jump ropes, bible story books, bouncy balls, piggy banks, bathing suits, and candy! They had a ball following the egg trail the EB left for them down the stairs and into the den to where their baskets were. Bryce found Percy the train in his basket. He was impressed that the Easter Bunny was able to fulfil his VERY SPECIFIC request! Evan found a Buzz Lightyear rocket in his basket . . . and Buzz just makes that little boy happy as can be!



3. It has been day after day of beautiful weather (until Thursday, of coarse). These are the kind of days that I think maybe there is some outside girl in me bc I find myself enjoying the warmth of the sunshine as I watch the boys run barefoot around the yard from my perch on the porch swing. I even go so far has pulling weeds from the beds and begin wondering if one day I could possible be one of those true southern ladies who spends the whole day in her yard making sure the flowers are beautiful and the tomatoes are plump, red, and delicious. But then late May hits, reality sets in, and it is soooo hot . . . . and i am done with the sweat and the bugs and the dirt and decide I will just be one of those true southern ladies for our brief southern springs! So, I plan to enjoy our short but sweet spring with lots of outside time. It is time for sidewalk chalk,  bubble mowers, wagon rides, barefoot races, sipping lemonade, and just plain old digging in the dirt!

bubble lawn mower races

 

homemade lemonade is E's favorite!

playing ball in rain boots

sidewalk chalk among brothers

                                                                     

4.Bryce tried out hopscotch. I must say, I was pretty impressed!

                                                                   

YAY!

5. It does not get much cuter than these 2 little boys anxiously awaiting their daddy's arrival home from work! This day, John actually snuck in the back door and scared them. They started off with screams and dissolved into a fit of giggles Music to my ears!

Mamie waits for her daddy too - cute girl!

Reflecting on our week helps me to relish the memories that we are making each day.

These are lessons I am learning from my most favorite blog, Enjoying the Small Things by Kelle Hampton. Please, check it out. It is beautiful and inspiring and I look forward to seeing how she weaves stories and pictures together each week! Have a wonderful weekend full of memory making moments!

 i have a horrible time getting evan to look at me when I take a picture, but with 
his mess of dark lashes I don't mind too much!

handsome boy

Going to join my boys on the porch! It is another beautiful day! ~j

Finally Back . . .

After a wonderful hubby and wife vacation and then preparing for the boys' birthday shin dig, I am back with a double dose of Five on Friday!

So, Here Are Five Reasons I Am Loving My Boys This Week - X2!!

1. The boys LOVED their custom bday cakes by Mema! Mema always does an amazing job capturing exactly what each boy wants! And ofcoarse, they are very yummy bc they are made with an extra scoop of Mema's love! For Evan it was all about Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story 3. For Bryce is was all about Lightening McQueen from Cars. It must be mentioned that Mema makes them a cake for theie "real" bday day and their party day. We are quite spoiled around here! Thank you, Mema! Your cakes are a special part of our celebrations!

2. Bryce hopped in the car and buckled his own car seat 5 point harness the other day. What a big 4 year old!

3. Bryce counted to five in Spanish while we were playing this week. He says "place" for "tres". It is super cute!

4. Gran, Mema, Mama, and Daddy have been hard at work assembling the boys new play set they got for their birthdays. They have been very patient in that the so called "8 - 10 hour" project (as stated in the directions) has taken more like "8 - 10 days" Gran has done most of the work with Mema closely directing and I fear they are both probably cussing me in their sleep because it has truly been a task!! But, I think it was all worth it because the boys are thrilled! They love it! The first thing Bryce wanted to do when he woke up Thursday morning was go swing . . .  and we did . . pjs and all. . . i must say it was a great way to start the day! BIG, BIG THANK YOUS to Mema and Gran! That thing would still be lying in a million little pieces all over our yard if it was not for ya'll (or it would have been firewood by now -  as gran suggested at one point ;)

5. Just in time for the completion of the new play set, Bryce learned to pump his legs and swing all by himself! We had worked on it, but one night it just clicked and he swung away for 20 minutes straight! I still find mysef in awe of each new little milestone!

6. Evan has been our preacher man this week. Between his daily tantrums,  he has been working on the spiritual side of our lives! I was upstairs and heard Evan tell his daddy and brother as they were eating that they forgot to say the blessing. Everyone stopped and Evan sang "God our Father, God our Father, We thank you, we thank you, for our many blessings for our many blessings. Amen! Amen!" The next day he told me he wanted to sing me a song and broke into "Jesus Loves Me" in his cute little almost 3 year old voice! I have been getting him to sing it for anyone who will listen because it is just sweet as can be!

7. Evan has also embraced his county boy this week. Out of nowhere, he has developed an exaggerated southern accent that only applies to certain words like "down" which now has 2 syllables instead of one "day - yon" and "out" which sounds like "ow - yut." I can always count on that little fella for a laugh!

8. Any evening is always made better with a ride on daddy's lawnmower (this is what John was doing while he was suppose to be helping Gran with the playset - the blade was not even down - just joy riding!)

9. Celebreating Daddy's 33rd Birthday was the hightlight of our week. We started with a birthday breakfast and presents. Then the boys made a special delivery before lunch to John's office to give him some pottery they painted for  him to put on his desk. We went to chick fil a for lunch and some play time. Then John headed out to his "farm" with papa to play for a little bit. We grilled hamburgers and put candles in John's fav brownie dessert to finish up our day of celebration! Celebrating with the boys make birthdays that much sweeter! A fun day was had by all!

10. Evan can not get enough of his Daddy these days. He is a major Daddy's boy and John is definitley enjoying and soaking up every second of it. Evan wakes up in the morning, I hear his door squeak open and his little fat feet padding down the hall way. Then, he sticks his head up over my side of the bed and his first words EVERY day are "where's daddy?" I then answer that question about 50 more times throughout the day! It is a precious bond!

I thought it would be hard to find 10 things to jot down, but once I got writing there were tons of little moments I wanted to save in words. My words never seem to do the actual memory quite the justice it deserves, but I can look back on the words and spark that memory in my mind and that makes me happy!

Happy Good Friday! Have a wonderful Easter weekend! ~j