Take a stand

Saturday night we went to a Halloween party (see pictures below) and Sunday (today) we pretty much just hung out around the house. As most of you are well aware, we are still trying to potty (poop) train Mariano. Like most kids he holds his pee in until the very last second when he is wincing in pain and can no longer hold it. I've found it to be more convenient and less messy just to keep his little potty in the living room.

He never poops in it, but at least he can get to it before uncontrolled pee goes everywhere. So today he takes off his underwear to pee just like any other day and walks over to his potty. Only instead of sitting down, he turns towards it, stands up and pees! I couldn't believe my eyes at first because I've never seen him do that. Not only did he continue doing that all day, but he also started going into the bathroom, lifting the seat (both) and peeing into the real toilet. We are so proud of him. We've given him lots of praise and just hope that he'll conquer pooping soon too!

Happy Halloween!

Tyrone the crackhead has kids? Who knew!Ariel~ The little mermaid
Who else but Spongebob
Ariel and Little Giant
Our friends~Dog & Beth Chapman
AKA Lance & Angie Rice (with their little fugitive Kanyon)

2 months old

VTB had his 2 month check up today. He now weighs 13 pounds and is 23 inches long. I took this picture of him today and thought he looked just like a little baby doll. He's been a little fussy today because of the shots he had to get.
Mya is having her 1st sleepover tomorrow for her friends Birthday Bonanza Bash. Needless to say, Rob and I are nervous for her. She is so excited! She's probably not even sleeping right now because of it. I'll let you know how it goes.

My first smile

I finally captured one of Valentino's beautiful smiles on camera. Talk about lighting up a room with just a smile...he can sure do it! He is growing like a weed. He is getting lots of meat on his bones now. We call him "gordito". He is always smiling and cooing. We all just love him so much. I can't believe it's already been another month since I've blogged. He will be 2 months old on the 23rd. Time really flies when you're being pecked to death by chickens having fun!! Yeah, thats it. Life is still pretty hectic these days. Having 3 kids is no joke. Last night was really crazy. As I was trying to cook dinner, Mariano was pitching a fit over something, Mya was calling my name repeatedly and Valentino was in his swing screaming. I did somehow manage to get dinner done and I even got to scarf some down before Valentino wanted to eat again. Ahh, I think I need to double up on my prozac :)
As most of you know, Mya is sporting a new "do" these days. We all love it. I'm especially excited because her hair won't reach her mouth so she can't eat it anymore. I miss being able to tease her with "just eat your hair" when she asks for a snack though. Oh well, she always hated that anyway. Today when she got home from school she looked at Valentino and said "you are so cute today....Mom did you make him cuter?" How adorable is that? She recently just completed level 1 swimming lessons and has begun level 2 now. She is really enjoying it. My poor baby is 6 years old and just now learning how to swim because she has an overprotective mommy who is paranoid beyond belief. Even her swimming instructor can tell that I'm on the edge of my seat as Mya dives down below to pick up a ring. She looks at me and smiles a knowing smile as if saying "relax mom- I've got her". I would love to get Mariano into lessons too, but I don't know if he is ready yet. He isn't too fond of the water. But that could just be another side affect of mommy paranoia. Guess I got that from my mom. She's always been afraid of the water. Makes me wonder how I ever learned to swim. I haven't a clue.
Mariano started PreSchool this week. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 until 2:00. He loves it! On Tuesday when I went to pick him up he was napping on his cot and I had to wake him up. He told me that he wasn't ready to go that he wanted to "finish taking a nap at daycare". Knowing that we only had a few minutes until we had to be at swim lessons, I practically had to bribe him to get him to leave. I guess that's a good sign. I knew he'd enjoy being there because he's very social and loves other kids, I just didn't realize how difficult it'd be to get him to leave. Today is Thursday and daddy took him to school this morning. When Rob got back home I asked him how Mariano had done and he told me that when he got into the classroom he announced "hi everyone, I'm back." What a funny little guy he is! I love these crazy kids!