Day 227: From the kitchen window

Since we lived with Maile for a month and she is 6 months older than Charlotte, our two learned so many new things.  They both learned to talk better, and more importantly Maile seems to have nearly potty trained Charlotte!  Do you want to know how to make potty training easy?  Let a 3 year old do it for you! 

She would prompt Charlotte every time she went to the bathroom herself and tell her ‘Come Shawyotte, let’s go to da potty.  You just have to twy.’  Then she would cheer her on when she went and explain what comes next, ‘Ok, just a wittle papeh.  Now time to fush.  Ok wash your hands now.’  Both our two now ask to go to the potty several times a day and generally will go.  Once we are a little more settled and can focus on it, we will probably go full potty training mode.  They are growing up so fast!

Here’s Charlotte after going potty and washing her hands.  She still can’t reach the faucet even with her little stepping stool!

This is one of my favorite features in the house.  Being able to look out my kitchen window and see my children enjoying their new backyard.  It has been entirely too long since we’ve had a real yard and I didn’t realize how much I missed it.  Even our dog Scout is having the best time with all the space!

Day 226: Cabinet Space

We have so much cabinet space in our new kitchen, the kids get their own secret hiding spot.

Day 225: Missed another day

This whole moving to another state has really thrown a wrench into the photo a day challenge.  I was just too busy moving in to remember to pick up my camera.

Day 224: Moving Day

It was quite a day!  My  husband had to check every single item as it was moved into the house by the moving company.  He also had to coordinate having the air conditioner installed, DirecTV set up, internet set up, and several other things.  I took care of the kids, but brought him lunch and let the kids run and play.  Then after their nap at our friends’ house I packed up all our stuff from a month of living and moved to our new house.  Charlotte kept saying ‘New how!  Choo, choo bed!’.

Our friend brought us some flowers as a welcome home gift, and also brought over a few items I forgot.  Cooper kept trying to put the flowers in his mouth.

Day 223: Daddy the balance beam

Cooper thought Daddy would make a great balance beam.  I don’t think my husband enjoyed it all that much considering the girls also were climbing all over him!

Day 222: New Grill

As a big thank you to our friends for letting us live with them for a month we bought them a new grill.  They love grilling and do it year round.  My husband was kind of mean and told them it was our grill and made them help put it together.  It wasn’t until the next day that we surprised them by letting them know it was actually their grill.

Day 221: Lily Pad Pillows

Toddlers are so creative.  The kids put the pillows on the floor and jumped from ‘lily pad’ to ‘lily pad’.

Day 220: Kriss Kross

Charlotte is loving Maile’s Aquadoodle.  She also likes to ‘drink’ the water from the pen.

While Cooper is bringing back the Kriss Kross backwards look.

Day 219: Missed a day

No idea why.  Lazy?  Tired?  Unmotivated?  Uninspired?  Probably a little of everything.

Day 218: Pillow Pile

Cooper and Charlotte decided to bury Maile with pillows.  Then the girls tried to bury Cooper, but he thought it was more fun to kick the pillows off before they could put them on him.

Day 217: Three Little Mimics and a Towel Fight

My friend and husband started a little towel fight, which turned into a toddler towel fight.  That’s what happens when you have three little mimics around!

Day 216: Missed - Burnt out from travel

I thought about picking up my camera, but it was all I could do just to unpack and prepare for work the next day.  Quick business trips are hard, especially while still in temporary living conditions!

Day 215: My new purse

Only one week into the job and I had to go on a business trip.  I didn’t take my camera, so I snapped a quick picture of my new purse using my new blackberry.

 

Day 214: Farmer’s Market and Spray Fountain

My friend and I decided to go to the farmer’s market with the three kids and then to lunch after.  We didn’t do very well with our planning and took forever to get out of the house, forgot to bring towels (and cash to purchase anything at the farmer’s market).  At lunch time I forgot my wallet in the car and then when I went to get it Charlotte had a meltdown, stripped her little robe off (we forgot a change of clothes), and threw  a huge fit in Chick-fil-a.  Definitely not the most organized moms that day, but these pictures are some of favorite.  They make me smile every time I look at them.

They ran right in before we could put their suits on them.

Charlotte was a little unsure about the water getting in her eyes.

Finally we got suits on them and then I left to go buy towels and my friend took over taking photos with my camera.  She’s a Nikon user as well, but she has an older camera.  I love the photos she took…so great to see her perspective!  She’s a vertical photo shooter I noticed.  

 

While waiting on towels she taught them how to lay on the warm concrete to dry off and get warm.

Then it was snack time before lunch.

And finally I was back with sunglasses and towels.  BFFs.

Day 213: Tons of Toddler Flip-flops

I love seeing all the toddler shoes piled up from the day.  I especially love toddler flip flops.

Day 212: Shoe Garage

I thought it was really funny to come downstairs after putting the kids to bed and find my shoe full of cars.  I think it was probably Charlotte since she is really loving the concept of putting things ‘in’ and taking them ‘out’.  Of course it could have been Maile since she loves playing pretend.  I can totally see her using my shoe as a garage for her cars.  As for Cooper, he might have been involved in trying to fit as many cars as possible in the shoe, however I doubt he had a hand in this since if he did the cars would be scattered all over the floor rather than in the shoe.  He’s destructive like that and he knows it annoys the girls.