A Dive-In Date

Yesterday was so warm that when the boys woke up from their naps, we went to Grandma's to go to her pool. At first the boys weren't sure, but then they both warmed up to it. Caleb sat on the top step and splashed away. Joshua at one point decided to dive in and went under water until Grandma grabbed him (he was right next to us, of course). Praise God it didn't do anything but scare him (and me!!!). He was sad that Grandma had plans that night because he wanted to stay in the pool. "More water!!!"So, this morning she invited us back over. We started by stopping at my favorite clothing store (where we didn't buy a thing!), and then we changed for the pool since the overcast skies turned to sunshine. This time, Joshua wouldn't get in, but he loved kicking the water with his feet and sitting right next to the pool. Caleb was a regular ol' fish kicking when Grandma held him on his belly in the water. He loved to splash and really enjoys the water. We had a fun morning!We went back to her house for grilled cheese sandwiches and fresh fruit, and Joshua begged to play in her basement where all the toys are. So, we did for a little while before it was time to come home for naps. Tonight Daddy & I are going on a date with our life group friends. We asked the neighbor gal to watch our kids, and I'm so nervous about it I didn't sleep last night. When Joshua came in our room at 4:30 am, I tucked him back in bed, but after tossing and turning a little more, I was up shortly after 5 and did my devotions, prayed about their evening, did my exercise DVD (thanks, Daddy!), and did the normal morning routine of showering, etc. By then Caleb was awake and ready to be dressed and fed. Now I'm sleepy and contemplating a short power nap while the boys are down. If you think of it, please say a prayer that tonight goes well for us, for the babysitter and especially for our boys!

Finally, Sunshine!!!!

This week has been the first really nice week. I feel like all we've seen is rain and darkness, which is depressing. But, finally this week turned beautiful. Hallelujah! I can't remember the last time I posted on our happeings, but I think it's been awhile. Thursday night, I had a girls night out with my friends from MOPS. Only two gals could make it (in addition to me) but we still had a great time. While I absolutely adore my family and can't imagine life without them, it is nice to get out once in awhile and remember that I'm someone other than just a wife or mommy.

Friday night, since it wasn't pouring, we took the boys to look at three open houses since the Parade of Homes was this past week. It's always fun to see how "the other half" lives in these upscale, impeccably decorated brand new houses. Three was definitely the limit (we were going to just do two, but then three were back-to-back-to-back). Afterward, Shawn treated us to Little Caesar's Pizza. I remember eating it when we were little, and a new shop opened in Lititz. I couldn't believe how cheap it was, and pizzas are ready there for pick-up (you don't have to call ahead and wait). So, we enjoyed dinner as a family that night and after the boys went to bed, we relaxed and watched a new episode of Kings, my favorite TV show on NBC about the life of David (from the Bible).

Saturday, Mom knew how much we had wanted to tour the Parade of Homes, so she volunteered to come over as soon as it started (noon) and watch the boys for us. We finished touring the rest of them in Manheim Township, starting with the one in the millions and working our way down (I would recommend going the other way, if you don't want to feel let down...haaa!). It was a really fun time of being out just me & my hubby (thanks, Mom!). Both boys were down for their naps by the time we got back, and Shawn was exhausted, so I offered to get lunch while he rested. The boys slept past the time we would have needed to leave for church, but Shawn said maybe that was a sign since we've heard of lots of sickness going around in the area, including new cases of Swine Flu as close as Hershey Milton School. Why chance it? We went to Walmart as a family and Joshua insisted on us buying him Flipside crackers, which I did since he was such a good boy while we were there. After we got the boys to bed, we watched the latest episode of Kings (since the night before had been on our TiVo). This one was a little scary, I must admit.

Sunday was Father's Day, and it poured all morning. I asked Shawn what he wanted to do for his special day. He said "NAP!" So, we all did. Afterward he mowed the yard since the rain finally let up for a little while. While he was out there, we caught our neighbors and talked to their daughter about the possibility of babysitting for us and showed her around our house, telling her where things were that she would need and introducing her to the boys. She seems a little shy to me, so I'm not sure how it will work out. But, we love her parents and know that they're good Christian folks who would be right next door if she needed anything.

After she left, Shawn chose to go to Infinito's Pizza Buffet for his special day, which amused me since when we first met he didn't really like pizza. But, they have special pizzas like BBQ Bacon Chicken n' Ranch or something like that that he enjoys, not to mention the chocolate chip pizza. The boys feasted on breadsticks and peas from the salad bar, etc. After we came back, we took Joshua up to the slides for doing well on the potty, and we met another gal there who was really interacting with younger kids and was outgoing enough to talk to us. She was right on top of the kids as they were playing, telling them to be careful and watching where they went, etc. She's starting high school this year, the kids were her siblings, and she babysits and could walk to our house. Sooo, I took her phone number, too. Hopefully one of these gals will work out. Again, we LOVE our kids, but it would be nice to have the opportunity to go on a date here or there with someone reliable watching our children.

On Monday it didn't rain, but it was overcast the whole day. I still took the boys for a nice long walk - we needed the fresh air! I put a pork roast in the crock pot and we ate a delicious dinner at home as a family that night. Tuesday morning, I met my friend Becca and her daughters Alayna & Kyla at Roots. There I bought strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, canteloupe, grapes and apples (and I already had peaches, bananas and an orange at home!). That night while Shawn was pseudo-playing with the boys in the yard (and listening to our neighbor chat with him) I cut up all the fruit, and it has been delicious!!! Shawn polished off the watermelon, I've devoured canteloupe, the boys have gone crazy over the grapes, Caleb has eaten all the blueberries, and we had strawberry shortcake, etc. It's been awesome! I also found another pair of sunglasses (or I should say that Becca spotted them for me - thanks!) since I had broken mine. Roots was PACKED, so we left after we bought all our goodies, and they came back to our house where we enjoyed lunch. Joshua fell apart shortly thereafter, so they headed home and the kids took much-needed naps. I had a headache, so I took advil and simply rested and studied the Bible while the kids napped and waited to work out until last night after the kids were in bed. That night, I made spaghetti for dinner, which Joshua enjoyed but Caleb wasn't so fond about since it's hard to pick up. It was a nice day all-in-all.

Yesterday morning we went to a playdate with our MOPS friends. Renee opened her home once again (she has two kids - Nate who's 3-going-on-4 soon and Lila who will turn 2 a few days before Caleb turns one). Melissa (with Lucas - age 3 - and Owen - almost 2 months) and Becca (with Alayna & Kyla) came. We had a really nice time! I took blueberries & strawberries to share, and Becca brought donuts and Renee baked cookies. We drank coffee and talked while the kids enjoyed playing. Afterward we went for a nice walk in the sunshine. When we got back to her house, I packed the kids in the car and we came home. Last night I made mini-cheddar meatloaves for dinner and afterward we went shopping and to the playground. It was nice. After the boys were in bed, Shawn went out for a few things we needed like milk. When he got home, he had a movie in hand, but since it was already after 10 pm, I asked if we could wait to watch it since I could barely keep my eyes open.

This morning I called my sister Jen and met her & the kids at her house and we walked from there to Stoner Park. The Bean especially had a lot of fun. I let him run with the big kids part of the way there and back, and he was thrilled! Emma took his hand and they had a blast together. Daniel's also now in the action, and it won't be long until Caleb can join in. My youngest cruised from stroller to stroller to the park bench where us moms sat and back again. It was a beautiful day! When it got so warm that the slides were hot to the touch, we went for a walk around the park and then back home for lunch and naps. Tonight we're going to do steaks on the grill, and I'm looking forward to spending time with my hubby and kiddos in the sunshine! :)

Funny Bean!

Today I was asking Joshua, "What's your name?" since we got our 33-month questionnaire from Early Intervention and one of the questions is does your child answer with both first and last ame when asked. He responded "Joshua Good." I asked him his brother's name, and he said "Caleb Good." Then I asked, what's my name? He replied, "Mama Good." Haaa!!! Sooo funny! He'll say Daddy's name is Shawn Good but my name is Mama and nothing else. He cracks me up!

Today was also the first day that Joshua got undressed by himself and mostly dressed by himself. I put his shirt on over his head, and he put his arms in like usual. He can get the shirt off his head, but I haven't really pressed him on putting it on. But, today he put both feet into his shorts by himself, stood up and pulled them the whole way up. I, of course, buttoned them then, but I was highly impressed. Most days Joshua dramatically tells us "YOU do it!" when we ask him to get undressed or re-dressed, but today he was in the mood to try. We've also had great success with the potty again today, and I actually went for a walk with big boy undies and no pull-up and he stayed dry and went immediately when we got home. Great job, Bean!

Joshua also has an incredible sense of direction for his age, I think (I say this because I have no directional abilities!). He knows how to turn to get home to our house from any given area nearby (which frustrates him to no end if we're near the house but don't go right home). He also will tell us which way to turn to go to his favorite slides, to go to Aunt Jen's house, how to get to Mamaw's (old house, that is), etc. I think it's pretty impressive for a two-year-old to know his way around town!

I'm also trying to teach Joshua the difference between boys and girls. I ask him, "are you a boy or a girl?" His response? "Skies!" and because Daddy laughed at the silly response, that's his answer, on cue, every time.

Update on za' boys

First, Joshua is doing AMAZINGLY well with the potty!!! We didn't have a single accident yesterday. He stayed dry during his nap and every time we left the house to go for a drive or do some Walmart shopping. We put a pull-up on overtop his big boy undies when we were out, but it was dry and so was he! Today he's stayed dressed the entire day, with his big boy undies underneath (and a pull-up just in case). We ask him about every hour if he's ready to sit on the potty. Many times he tells us no, but when he has to go, he gives in and goes to the little potty. He also has a difficult time relaxing to do #2 in the potty, but he was successful again today with Daddy's gentle coaxing. So, as a reward, we took him to the slides behind our house. We'll have some transition to get him to go in the big potty (our potty) and we have to work on him telling us he has to go instead of us asking him all the time. But, he doesn't have to sit on a long time anymore - he knows when he has to go and goes immediately. We are sooo excited for him! I don't give him 'choc-o-let' anymore (or very rarely when he specifically asks for it) ... the praise has been more than enough for him. He's so excited about his big boy undies, he tells everyone who calls our house that he's wearing them. He also tells us that we do a good job when we go to the potty, and when he's finished he'll proudly tell Caleb "I did a great job on the potty!" I'm so thankful that this has gone much better than I could have anticipated. Pray that it continues to go well!As Joshua is potty training, Caleb is learning to walk. Caleb has taken as many as six steps in a row. Shawn and I have been sitting across the floor from one another and encouraging him to walk to the other one with a toy, etc. The problem is getting him stable after he stands up. Then he tends to dive for whichever one of us he's after, but I think he's making progress. He also took about three steps into Joshua's room after his brother and then did his six steps in a row in the Bean's room (Daddy snapped a picture in motion below). I think soon he will take off! I also realize that most of our walker toys are outside, whereas with Joshua we had them all indoors. Joshua also wants the attention of walking from one parent to another, so it is somewhat difficult to focus on Caleb when both are so adorable.Caleb is also working on tooth #9. I can see the white pressing on his swollen gum, but it hasn't broken through yet. He loves to stick his tongue out and keep it there...something Shawn thinks is adorable and momma always tells him to put it back. He giggles then, so I think it's become a game. He is ALL personality these days. My little easygoing Caleb Luke has somehow gotten the 'tude of his brother. He throws himself down in fits to bang his head, just like his older brother used to do. I've noticed it's mostly when he's hungry or tired, but it drives me bananas! On the other hand, he also loves to squeel with delight and show his preferences, and it's so neat to see his personality take form. He says "mama" clear as day, and he'll occasionally say "hi!" which sounds more like "Haaaa!" He loves to play with shapes and actually has the patience to get some of them in the shape holder. He also loves to try and get the computer, which has started him getting his first spanks. When he looks at me with those devilish eyes, grins and then turns away until I look away and then heads right back for it, I know that he is defiantly disobeying since he knows better. For the most part, though, I think he's easier than the Bean was at this age, but I'm starting to realize that Joshua was an amazing kid...it was just a hard transition into parenthood for me. So, now that I'm 'broken in' with the first one, I can take things in stride a little easier.Caleb also had milk for the first time this week. He is really slowing down with nursing and only does it first thing in the morning and before bed. So, for lunch & supper, I started giving him milk since he's only a couple weeks away from turning one. He's doing really well with a sippy cup and with his eating. He loves peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, bread in general, waffles and peas (although, not all together, of course). He's not as fond of Cheerios as he once was, which is sad to me. But, maybe he'll aquire a taste for them again. Here's Caleb in the nursery, pulling down his beloved blankey to play peekaboo with Daddy.Another place he loves to play peekaboo is in our master bathroom shower. He loves to hang out in there for some reason. I actually don't mind that because it's helpful to have him close by when I'm getting ready. But, it does crack us up that he likes the cleaning thing-a-majig and will play peekaboo with the shower curtain and hide out in there. He's sooo funny!Finally, a funny Caleb story to end with... Daddy bought a lock for our one cabinet in the kitchen. Whereas we never bought locks but simply taught Joshua his boundaries, we realized that if we're going to entertain more, it's nicer for other parents if our house is a little more childproof. So, we have one lower kitchen cabinet with our dish detergent in, and we decided to buy a lock for that one with the type where you don't have to drill into the cabinets. Unfortunately, when we got home from Walmart, we discovered it was just under a quarter of an inch too small to fit the knobs. So, Shawn stuck it on another cabinet since we had already opened the package. He gave me a quick lesson on how to use it, and I thought to myself "I'll never be able to get into my mixer again." But, within seconds, Caleb went over, played with the lock, got it off the cabinet, threw it on the floor and open the cabinet doors proudly. That Caleb Luke! He's sneaky! I cracked up and told Daddy that cabinet locks are idiot-proof, not necessary baby-proof. We're also looking for a bigger gate that can extend across the entire first floor where the stairs are...they didn't sell any at Walmart like that, but we thought we might find a good deal at Amazon.com. It wasn't ever a problem for Joshua, but again, sometimes it's inconvenient for other parents, so we'll see what we can find!I know I said that was it, but I must end this post with a cute Bean story. Joshua has been saying "Happy Father's Day!" all day. At dinner tonight, he said "Happy Father's Day, Caleb!" Haaaa!!! I love my boys!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my amazing husband Shawn. He is an awesome Dad to our sons...he plays with them, gives them attention, shows them love, and most importantly spends quality time with them. He selflessly gives of his own time to show them their importance to him. So even after a long day at work, he will take Joshua and play with him in the garage or work with Caleb on walking, etc. He'll lay down on the ground and let both boys tackle him. Six o'clock in our house during the week is a time you will hear happy shrieking from all of us...DADDY'S HOME!!!
Both boys - even Caleb - really adore Shawn. He has a gentle, loving spirit that draws children to him. He is so patient and so giving. I love that he loves our kids and desires to spend time with them. And they love it too!
Remember these guys? Shawn is the best Dad, hands down! Caleb wore the same shirt Joshua has on in the photo below yesterday!We also want to wish our fathers a Happy Father's Day! It's your upbringing that helped make us the people we are today...thank you!Hope all you dads out there enjoy your special day! And, I hope the rain ends (and the forecast of rain) so that Shawn can use his new golf clubs the boys bought him for this special day. We love you, Dad-da!

Golly G - look who's 33!

Today Joshua turns 33 months old. He 'posed' for this picture in his brand new big boy underpants. He picked out the orange ones himself this morning. And, as of yet, he still likes to just have the undies on and nothing else.Today has been a pretty successful day, I'd say. He stayed dry all morning and even through naptime. At one point while we were playing in the office, I noticed that he was starting to look a little wet, so we went to the potty and he immediately filled it. At one point, he even asked me to go. So, I'd say we're on our way! He hasn't pooped in three days, and I don't know if that's because he hasn't had a diaper on or if he hasn't eaten enough calories. In the picture above, he's reading the card he gave me for my birthday. When I told him 'happy birthday' this morning, he went and got the card and has been saying "happy birthday." He also sang it this morning, which never happened on my actual birthday. Silliness!There are so many things we appreciate about Joshua. We love that he is learning and growing. I love to see how gentle he is with other children and us. I also love that he doesn't really get into a lot. I'm also seeing growth in him obeying us as parents. I see less frustration overall as he's able to communicate more and more. I love when he gets excited about something - it's so cool to see the world through a child's eyes. And, it's even cooler when you think that child is amazing.I can appreciate how big Joshua is getting when I see things that he can now do that he couldn't before. I remember wondering, 'will he ever walk or know how to use silverware or be okay at a restaurant?' And he does well with all three! He also pretends now - which is sooo cute - and reads books (or tells us what he remembers in them). The other morning, Caleb dug out "The Cross-Centered Life" from my nightstand. Joshua said it was his book and carried it around all day. I loved it! How I hope it will be true of him!Joshua finally had success "doing his business" in the potty since I started this post. I'm amazed at how well he's doing. I think he's really grasping the concept. Yeaaaahhh!!!Finally, since both boys are up, I'll finish this post with more silly potato head pictures. Joshua loves playing with them right now, among other things.Happy 33-month birthday, pumpkin pie!

Silliness

First of all, I have to say that I love Joshua in these spiderman jammies. He looks so adorable! One of his favorite new interests is Mr. Potato Head. He loves picking out the ears and noses, etc. He calls them "matos" for "Tomatoes" and we're working on calling the 'PO-tatoes.' He gets it right until he gets excited. We're having fun with them. The funniest thing to me is that he calls the smallest one "dada." Haaa!!!

Joshua calls everything Momma's. He likes to ride in Momma's car, he asks to go to Momma's house, he wants to sleep in Momma's bed (although he does like to sleep on Daddy's pillow)... you get the idea. Shawn was feeling a little left out, until they were playing on the back porch with the outdoor toys and recycling. He called one of the chairs "Dada's chair." Shawn said "Hey, thanks! Momma gets the nice house and I get the crappy chair on the stinky back porch." Hee hee! It does make us laugh.

I was giving Caleb & Joshua snacks the other night while Daddy was at Guys Night Out with our small group. Us gals had gotten together for pizza at Lisa's house (so fun!) but the boys didn't really eat much when there were all these little friends to play with. When we got home, the Bean said he was hungry and Caleb also ate well. Caleb kept asking for "more! more! more!" Pretty soon, Joshua had finished his crackers and asked for some moles. I didn't understand at first....what??? Moles??? Then I heard that Caleb's "more" sounds like "mole" and Joshua thought his younger brother was asking for moles, which looked good to him. I gave the Bean some of Caleb's snack and he said "Yummy! Moles!" Haaa!!! Silly boys!!!

Finally, yesterday we did full-blown potty training. I put on big boy undies and explained that the Bean was going to have to tell me when he had to go potty. Then I tried putting him on his little potty (which he now prefers the little stand alone black potty to the big potty with the little potty seat...it switches back and forth) about every hour or so. He told me that he didn't want to wear a shirt with his undies. At first I was going to force the issue of getting dressed, and then I decided I should pick my battles. Did it matter that he just wanted undies? Not really. So, when we went outside to play, he had undies and Crocs on. It was quite the sight in our backyard! He went through about four pairs of undies throughout the day, but he knew immediately when he started going and often went more in the potty after sitting down. He actually told me before his nap that he had to go and we made it to the potty in time! After he napped (during which time he wore and peed in his diaper), I sat him back on and we had more success! The day before he had poo-pooed on the potty, too. It was a great day of training. He is by no means there yet, but I think we both felt relaxed about the trying. That boy was excited about his undies, excited about his potty and excited for chocolate (which he still says really cutely - "choc-O-let"). I think that the prayers have worked!

Today we went to the park, so I stuck a diaper back on him and we didn't do much with potty training since after we got home it was time for naps. But, tomorrow is another day for trying! My prayer is that he's fully potty trained by 3!While today was another day that the entire MOPS group was invited to go to the park, very few of us showed up. Again it was overcast, though, and really chilly. In fact, I put a hoodie on me and a zippy on Caleb (Joshua said no thank you, but he was still in long pants. And it's June!). The cloudy skies and cooler weather was nicer for this park, though, since the rubber flooring gets really hot otherwise. It allowed Caleb more freedom to crawl and play. And climb! He kept me busy all morning!My friend Becca and her two daughters were there, which was nice. Alayna says "Caleb" so cute, and she and the Bean get along really well. In the picture below they were taking a ride on a train that we had to muscle and crank. You'll also notice in these pictures that Joshua got his much-needed full-blown haircut last night and Caleb got a little trim around his ears and in the back.We hung out at Becca's house this past Friday for a playdate, then we saw them at Lisa's on Saturday since the guys went out and had fun together. Then LifeGroup was at their house on Sunday with a picnic and playtime in their backyard and nearby park. Hopefully they're not sick of us Good's! I'm so glad we've gotten to know them and the other folks in our life group. It's neat to watch the kids interact and get along as parents.The kids had a great time, even though several times they gave me a near heart attack. The picture below shows Joshua climbing this big-kid ladder-esque thing. He actually fell once, but it didn't seem to hurt him - it just scared him (and me!).Caleb also climbed up the stairs and the slide to be with the big kids. I think he'll be playing on this type equipment long before the Bean ever did, but he's still not quite old enough yet. He's still taking a step here or there, but he hasn't put them all together yet. I'm hoping before his first birthday he can walk!

Lastly, which you can't see in any of these pictures, the boys were wearing identical shirts today. And I mean identical, right down to the size. Joshua is officially back in 18-month clothing. My skinny boy! And while Caleb normally wears 12-month clothing (although the jeans he wore today are 6-9 months), the 18-month shirt fit him as well. I've found that I didn't have a lot of 24-month shorts for Joshua, and 3T were way too big - although we do have one pair from Grandma & Grandpa Ginder that had an adjustable waist that we can really cinch in. Anyway, I bought a pair of 24-month shorts at Walmart, and they fell right off the Bean's waist. So, I dug out some 18-month shorts from Caleb's armoire and low and behold they fit Joshua perfectly. In some ways that's good because I don't need to buy anything for my Bean; on the other hand, I do worry that he's not eating enough and gaining enough weight to be healthy. Oh, my silly boys!!!