Over the last week or so, Audrey has taken an interest in potty training. Given that she's not yet two, we hadn't really thought about it. But when she started INSISTING on peeing ("PEE!!") on the potty at bath time, we said let's go for it! Today, she even 'dropped the Browns at the Super Bowl'. :)

Bring on the Pink Princess Pull Ups!!

There have been a couple of snafus, though. At first, Audrey thought she needed to lift the toilet seat and stand to pee. We nipped that. Then she thought she was supposed to put her hands down in the potty, for what we think, to "guide" her pee.

It was quite interesting explaining that she doesn't have the same equipment as Henry and that she needed to keep her hands out of the potty.

Now our issue is that she will pee and get down, but won't be "done." Up, two drops of pee, down, up, three drops, down, up, one drop, down-- it gets a little old after awhile.

But, if we're lucky, we'll be in Hello Kitty underwear before too long! She's already stealing Henry's!

The weather this April has been awesome, so we took a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo.

It wasn't a school field trip day (can't ever predict those), so it wasn't too busy/crowded. Thankfully I didn't have multiple heart attacks as I would on a visit the Children's Museum (on account of 'misplacing' one or both of the children).

We had a nice relaxing afternoon complete with a romp in the zoo's splash park. Obviously water play wasn't planned for during an April visit, but the 'packpack' (Henry-speak for backpack) was well equipped.

Here's the part of the blog post where I want to throw the computer out the window! Why can't it just read my mind and do what I want it to do!! Either our Internet is ridiculously, horrendously slow or I really just don't have a handle on this whole blogger thing!! Uploading/inserting pictures on these posts will be the bane of my existence!! (Yes, I know I can use photobucket...back to the Internet complaint).

Rant over. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post:


I put the rest of the pictures in one PSE pictures to not have to mess (certainly other words I could have inserted there) around with uploading them all.

ROW 1--
A: the polar bear would swimming in circles and say "hi" up at the window
B: Audrey really wanted a closer look at the chickens!
C: Henry was definitely over posing for pictures

ROW 2--
A: trying to feed the ducks
B: Audrey splashing
C: more duck feeding

ROW 3-- Henry splashing

ROW 4--
The White River Gardens are next to the zoo (admission is included with zoo membership). They have a butterfly exhibit going on now. Lots of butterflies flying around and a large observation case showing various stages of metamorphoses. At the very back of the flowers there is a series of fountains. More water play ensued.

While the zoo is fun and all, after about 4 hours of animal watching and child wrangling, I'm about done. As I was trying to get the children to leave, this bit of brotherly love occurred.
Apparently Henry was more ready to leave than Audrey. He decided to "help" me lure her along. And, instead of rescuing the cranky girl, I'm taking pictures! Fabu!

Lastly, from the 'they fell asleep how?' files. After arriving home, it's pretty obvious that the children are more than tired. I take a sleeping Audrey inside to put her to bed, but she wakes up. I leave her in the foyer and go back outside to get a sleeping Henry. When I get back to the car, I find this. In the few minutes of taking Audrey inside, Henry gets a little more comfortable in his car sleeping! (NOTE: the car was PARKED in the drive way. I wouldn't think of letting him sleep like this on the open road).

After carrying a sleeping Henry upstairs, I come back downstairs and find Audrey asleep like this:
Do my children know how to sleep or what???

Either I take entirely WAY TOO MANY pictures or I'm making these posts entirely WAY TOO LONG! Will work on the editing!!

Have a good rest of the weekend! More posts in the works!!

Having sort of abandoned the blog, it's kind of hard picking where to start from in terms of bringing it up to date. We've been taking advantage an unseasonable warm Spring with lots of playing outside and visits to the parks, playgrounds, and zoo. No need to bore you with the barrage of those pictures.

So, with that, here's the highlights of Henry's 4th birthday. (That reminds me--'the boy' and I need to get crackin' on his 'Thank You' cards!)

The big day, April 10, actually fell on a Saturday! A sunny and halfway warm Saturday at that! (In the three years prior, his birthday either fell just before Easter or it has been bitterly cold.)

Spongebob may have invited everyone to the Krusty Krab (of Mooresville), but guests partied it up in our backyard!

Once the big day arrived, Henry (and Audrey) had a blast. Mommy and Daddy can get pretty boring after a while, so it was a welcomed change to have a lots of friends and family to play with. The day included the usual eating, presents, and cake, but the big draw was the 4-wheeler! Even Grandma took a spin!

The big gift from Mommy & Daddy was a NEW CAR!! (D'oh! that's 'The Price is Right!'). What we really got him was a NEW BIKE!

Funny story about the bike....
To surprise him on his actual birthday, we waited until Friday night to put it together. Taking it out of the box at 8:30pm, we noted that the frame of the bike was bent and therefore not-put-together-able (what an awesome new word!). Toys R Us was closed and not opening on Saturday at 9am. Doing some online research, we learned that the store where we bought the bike was 'out of stock' on that model. We'd...err... Jesse would have to go to a store FARTHER away to exchange it. FABULOUS! So with the party prep in full roar at home, Jesse drives over 45 minutes to Toys R Us and assembles the bike in the store parking lot (to ward off any other part malfunctions!)

So much for highlights, eh? Now a final collage of birthday pics! Some winners; some not so much!


More posts to come....including (eventually) our mini-vacation to Patoka Lake, IN!

Just as I was starting to think that the time change would work in Jesse and my favor..... we were woken up at 6:10 am this morning to Henry's sobs of just vomiting. Jesse and I tag team the clean-up and then try to eek out a catnap before starting the day.

Not so much, Henry on the way to the bathroom, doesn't quite make it to the toilet. We get the boy and floor cleaned up again and Jesse doesn't even bother try to go back to sleep. Cartoons go on and showering begins.

Bonus, though, Audrey doesn't wake up until 9:15am...SCORE!!

While Audrey is eating her breakfast, Henry is acting himself and tolerated some saltines. I decide maybe it was just a fluke bug and that the sickness (fingers-crossed) is behind us. I go ahead and make an vet appointment for our dog, Nala. They have an opening today! Hooray!

Before the Vet appointment, I thought we could swing in and get Henry's hair cut real quick. The standard treat for good behavior during a haircut is a Dum Dum lollipop. I hope for no whammy's and let Henry pick one out. On to the Vet...

At the Vet, we're waiting to be seen (Huh, waiting even at the Vet???) and apparently nausea sets in....I promptly ask where the bathroom is...."Where's the bathroom??? Where's the bathroom??? Where's the bathroom????" Twenty feet from the bathroom, Henry doesn't make it again!! The concerned staff gets the mop while the dog, Audrey, Henry, & I head in to the bathroom. All cleaned up-- Henry again acts normal. "I'm fine, Mommy."

After another 20 minutes of waiting for the Vet, we're seen, appointment goes somewhat smoothly (aside from Audrey turning off the lights mid-exam) and we're on our way HOME!

At home, Henry acts hungry. It's 1pm at this point....definitely past lunch time. Soup and toast for everyone!! Henry eats ~1/2 of each and even says, "I like this soup!!!" Since we're laying low, I decide to throw on some Spongebob for the kiddos and try to work on a craft project (Henry's tie-tee shirt). I get the project to its final stages and have Henry try it on. He's cute, but doesn't want me to take his picture. I'm coaxing him for a snap, I then realize it's a little too quiet. What's Audrey up to???



Audrey has climbed on the dining room chair, found a green felt tip pen, and has now successfully colored her hands green. Fabulous!! We all go up stairs to try to get the green off. As I'm looking for some sort of solvent, Audrey gets a hold of the toilet paper. Cute, but seriously, what next???





Not able to leave well enough alone, my own stubbornness decides that we can quickly run out to get Henry's birthday invitations printed. In and out....easy peasy. We leave the copy place unscathed and I tempt fate once again....attempt groceries. Wal-mart goes just about as well as it can go these days. We get checked out and in to the car.

Both kiddos fall asleep on the way home! BONUS!!!

As I'm unloading the car, Henry wakes up. His innards decide they didn't like the chicken noodle soup after all. The back seat (and thankfully not Audrey) got to taste it too! Two words.... Fuh- Breeze!

The day started with laundry and now as I type the contents of both car seats/boosters are agitating in the washer, too!

Definitely a no-win kind of day...a "that's bloggable" kind of day.

That's Bloggable, Indeed!

I know this may not be riveting stuff for some of my "fans" (Wriggle Diggles!), but here goes...

Today the temps were in the 60s with the sun shining bright! Spring just might be on the way yet! With Winter wind chills in the negatives, we're more than excited about resuming our playground tour! Even just playing outside in the backyard, we've been making sure to soak up any warm (relative term) weather we can!

Long Time, No See, huh?

Yes, I know it's been a while...

The kiddos and I visited my Mom & Brother in Evansville this passed weekend so I've been trying to play catch up.

There are random thoughts a plenty, though (A lot them pertain to the aforementioned weekend down in southern Indiana)

This weekend,
*I packed 5 pairs of underwear......but only 1 bra?
*Henry fell asleep at the dinner table not once, but twice (Grandmas and Uncles sure do wear a guy out!)
*When we arrived, Henry was quick to comment that, "Mommy has a thing so that we don't get lost." (GPS)
*I may or may not have pulled a mess load of baby wipes from the toilet (Thanks Audrey)
*While at my brother's house, Henry, more than once, deadlifted a curl bar with ~65 lbs. HE-MAN!
*My mother wears hearing aids. Henry asked her if they were her earrings :)
*The kids and I shared a bedroom....they are LOUD sleepers!!
*Thank goodness for Grandma's that let Moms sleep in (see above)!!!
*The drive from Indianapolis to Evansville sure is a boring one!

NOW-
*Being gone for the weekend-- the number of blog posts in my Google Reader is out of control. I'm having a mini panic attack that there are close to 200 posts to catch up on!!
*I'm behind on sending out February pictures as well!! YIKES!
*I might have to throw my new alarm clock out the window....who cares if operator error is the culprit!
*Audrey now includes "MINE!" as a part of her daily vocabulary...FABULOUS!
*Henry is adamant that the wooden barn we were gifted from Jesse's Aunt is a house. Adamant!
*I really want to get my car washed...maybe we'll be done with snow for a while. Wishful thinking!
*Darn you "Young Money"-- Your "Bed Rock" song will not leave my head!!

There were more, but I guess that's it for now. Will work on that whole posting more often thing!!

~Erica~

~Ten on Tuesday~

1. As I was willing myself awake this morning, Henry was playing around on our bed. At one point he stood up and said, "I like myself." This is coming on the heels of Henry's declaration that he has 3 best friends, "Mommy, Daddy, & Audrey!" Maybe I'm/we're doing something right after all.

2. In the same morning romp, because I still hadn't gotten up, Audrey climbs up in our bed, too. She and I were cuddling and it was turning into quite the Hallmark moment. Just as the Hallmark Crown and soft music were about to appear, Audrey whacks me in the eye with a Happy Meal toy. Note: No glasses were harmed! I wasn't yet wearing my glasses.

3. Why is it that the most annoying Happy Meal toys have the longest staying power with my children?? Why can't the noisy ones be the ones that get lost and broken? When it was the talking Madagascar toys, I can't tell you how many times I heard, "I'm Alex, the Alex." Now we're on the Penguins of Madagascar and this one is even more annoying than Alex, the Alex. Skipper (Rico, as Henry calls him) has some motion sensor that makes some incessant "wee-oh, wee-oh" noise. It's these menacing toys that even Audrey sleeps with!

4. Jesse and I watched a good, but quite frankly, kind of disturbing movie this weekend-- "Phoebe in Wonderland." After viewing, I wish it had Lisa Kudrow and Smelly Cat, but it was about a little girl (Dakota Fanning's sister....Elle seems to be the better actress) and her fantasy with "Alice in Wonderland." http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809912209/info
Throughout the movie, it shows the girl with OCD-like behavior and some problematic outbursts. Having a daughter, Jesse and I could help but comment, "this is scary." No parent wishes their child to have a mental illness. Not to give it away, but there is a half-way decent resolution at the end.

5. Last night as I was checking my email, Audrey noticed I was not in the living room. It only took her about a minute to realize I wasn't there before she was barreling through the kitchen and at my feet, "UP". She sat on my lap for a bit, then turned around to be held. Five minutes later, she was OUT like a light. Awwww!

6. As we were brushing our teeth, Jesse noticed that I was about 2/3 of the way into the book I was reading. He commented, "whoa, you've been reading! When do you read??" I thought to myself, "Exactly!" (The book is, "True Colors" by Kristin Hannah....trying a different author and haven't quite decided if I like her...she may use too many words for my taste.)

In the arctic tundra that is our backyard-- the tire tracks and foot prints have been covered by even more new snow. Guess it's time for some more sledding! As the snow continued to fall yesterday-- I, on my own volition, decided to try to plow the driveway. (Our 4-wheeler has a plow attachment). Passersby must have been shaking their heads, "what is that chick trying to do....clear the snow or make more of a mess!?!?" The quality of my work may have been questionable, but I did clear somewhat of path for our cars before my fingers were frozen.

(PS- the answer to the riddle: somewhere in the wide expanse is a tan sand box).

10. I was thinking these things up this morning and was sure that I had 10, but now I can't think of the last one. So, I guess #10 is an homage to my failing memory. There are things that locked away like a steal trap, but others just fly right through; from one ear to the other! My mother says, "I take pills for that!" I just might have to start!

Happy Tuesday!

Ten on Tuesday....next time I'll add pictures (I promise!!)

1- Henry was referred to a Pediatric Dentist for not one, not two, not three, but four whopping cavities. I was pretty distraught about as it sort of reflects poorly on our parenting. The pediatric dentist said the cavities are related to how the teeth developed and that, in essence, it wasn't my/our fault. To get them repaired is a different (& costly) story....

2- Hooray, Audrey is now keeping barrettes in her hair longer and longer. I may even try a ponytail soon!

3- Speaking of Audrey....Yesterday while playing another rousing game of "look Ma, I'm runnin', come chase me, " I snatched her up only to get kicked straight in the glasses. Apparently, Audrey's foot made contact with the most fragile part of my 6-week old frames. Off to Lens Crafters we went. Because they didn't have replacement frames, I had to choose new frames! Picking frames is stressful enough...and to do it with two children. No more purple frames....now a brushed bronze!

4- At the start of the year, I decided to start watching what I eat and make better food choices. I don't really log what I eat, but I've cut back calorie-wise and have lost ~10 pounds. Still have a long way to go to meet my (first) goal, but I'm getting there!

5-Sunday, after the kids and I had breakfast with my visiting-from-out-of-town Cousins, we came home to find the toys picked up and the floors vacuumed. Talk about WOW! I love these kinds of surprises-- especially the kinds with me NOT cleaning. Henry and Audrey, of course, made sure to see that change in record time!

6- Our twin niece and nephew are having their 5th birthday party at the Skate Palace. Truth be told, I'm a little excited about it. 1- Because I think it will be cute to see Henners in a tiny pair of skates. (Note to self: please remember to ask about tightening the wheels) 2- Because I used to LOVE roller skating as a child. BC (before children), I used to roller blade all the time and loved it.

7- This cold weather can go away any time now. I won't be sad when Spring finally arrives! I'm definitely a warm weather girl!

8- Why is it that laundry never ends?!?! Our washer was empty for a little over a day last week and I about did a happy dance. There always seems to be a load to wash and 3 or 4 to put away! You'd think our collective wardrobes would be a bit more full given the amount of laundry I do.

9- Anyone know where I can find a good deal on a two-wheeler bike for a certain little boy's 4th birthday in April? In test-driving at the store, looks like he's ready for an 18", but will certainly will need training wheels!

whew! this is hard.....
and finally,

10- hmmmmm...Henry is all about the jumping these days. He's always loved jumping, but lately, it seems he's jumping all.the.time. He jumps over anything he can and down from just about anything he can. Just yesterday, he jumped from the top bunk of his bunk beds over the bottom bunk (they're shaped in an "L") and cleared it by a good foot! Jesse and I were kind of dumbfounded, but were quick to ask him to (carefully) try it again!