Tim's Birthday

In Tim's family, everyone's birthday somehow connects to someone else's birthday. They are either on the same day in different months, or same day same month. For example, Tim's brothers have the same exact birthday but 2 years apart. And, their wives have the same exact birthday. So, when I met Tim and we started dating, one of the first things Tim's mom asked me is when my birthday was. I thought it was kinda a weird question at the time, but when I answered, Tim said, "Oh no". His is May 30th and mine is June 30th, so we fit the crazy birthday corresponding....which apparently meant we were suppossed to get married. Anyway, Tim's birthday was Saturday so we got "Birthday Donuts" at Krispy Kreme in the morning and hung out. Then Tim and I went out while Courtney watched the kids for us! It was the first time we had been out for a few months. New babies really kill those date nights. Sunday we had Tim's family over for brownies and homemade ice cream! I have the easiest recipe which requires NO COOKING on the stove. Its:

2 cups milk

2 cups half & half

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tablespoon vanilla

4 cups whipping cream

It was good!

BOOOO Summer

About this time of year, I start to remember why Tim and I wanted to move away from AZ. It's already been well above 100 degrees, my SRP bill is doubling as we speak, and I now have a 2 year old begging to go outside and actually play in the yard that we did so much work on just in time for it to be "too hot to go outside". Anyway, Minnie is getting big. She is almost 4 months is changing. It's crazy how much faster time flys when you have a second kid to keep you busy.

Tim took Anderson and his cousins to his brother's Father and Sons campout. I was nervous because we are still perfecting the potty training thing but Tim said he did well. No accidents, a few false alarms on the way home, but other than that he didn't need the million pairs of undies I packed for him for one night. It was so nice to just have Minnie. I hung out with my sis in law which was so fun and went to my mom's without having to chase Anderson every 2 seconds.

Anderson loves animals. He chases them. Hopefully they will all be as nice as this one!

Anderson can grow a better goatie than Dad! This is him enjoying "Birthday cake" which we have discovered means only the frosting. He begged for more Birthday Cake the other day when the whole piece was still on his plate with the frosting eaten off. Luckily we have plenty of birthdays to celebrate with the million cousins in town.

So when we started Potty Training, Andy went #2 a couple times on the toilet and #1 has been so easy. Well, then he forgot how to do #2 on the toilet and didn't mind doing it in his undies. He had a pretty bad accident in Nursery and luckily we were prepared. Anyway, this week we have done much better. No accidents at all, and after a few "treat" bribes and a trip to Krispy Kreme today, he has gone #2 on the toilet with no problem! Thank Goodness! I am all for bribery! Whatever works...right?

Potty Time

So, we decided to take the plunge and potty train Anderson last weekend. I know he's still pretty young, but he had gone on the toilet a bunch of times, and was starting to tell us when he was going. I felt like if we stopped taking him or didn't listen when he told us, that he would just stop telling us all together. Plus, I am thrilled with the idea of not having to buy diapers for 2 kids anymore.

Anyway, Tim took Friday off to help me because since I'm nursing, it's hard to catch him in time at the beginning. The first few days actually went really well. We went through about 5 pairs of undies the first morning. After that, he seemed to catch on pretty well. Tim was really close to him all weekend so we could take him if he started going. We had to go to our parent's houses on Sunday, so we gave him a little distance, and he did tell us at my mom's. He did have an accident at Tim's parent's right when we got there. He hasn't had any accidents in his bed (during naps or the night), and has been telling us. It happens when he is playing with other kids and gets distracted. Overall, it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully it will just continue to get better! He LOVES his Cars and Elmo big boy undies though!

TV Time

I'm feeling a bit guilty lately about too much TV during the day. Since Anderson pretty much NEVER sits still, I use to dream of the day where he would actually watch something on TV. Now that the day has come, I may be taking advantage of his new found hobby. I usually have it on for background noise, but he pretty much asks to watch Mickey Mouse, Elmo, Cars, and Buzz all day. I used to tell myself, when Minnie starts sleeping through the night, then I'll worry about it. Well, that is pretty dang close. Oh boy, I'm in for it I think!

Cardiologist Visit

On Monday I took Minnie to the Cardiologist for a follow-up from her hospital visit when she was 2 weeks old. They did an ultrasound to look at her heart and said that the hole between the two sides (I think it's called a PFO) is actually an abnormal size right now (as opposed to a "normal" size). So, after a long explanation, which I sort of actually understood, he said that having this could affect her in 3 or 4 decades and her heart may start to have problems because of an increased volume on one side. If in time the hole is still an abnormal size, when she is 2 they can go in and close it. Or, when she is 4, 5 or 6 they can do a procedure which plugs the hole. He said she would be a much better candidate for that rather than the surgery. I have to take her back in 6 months and they'll look at it again to see what it's doing. I was honestly expecting them to say it was no big deal and never come back. But, this seems to be somewhat common and fixable so I'm not worried. It's not hurting her or affecting her growth so that is good. Her murmur is still there too but she should grow out of that. Anyway, we are happy it is nothing too serious and she is fine and happy! Who wouldn't be with those cheeks?

This girl could be on her tummy all day long! She loves it.

Minnie's Blessing

We blessed Minnie on Easter Sunday which was kind of neat. Tim did a great job. My sis in law wrote down most of the things he said in the blessing which I was so glad to get. It is so hard to remember, and I am clueless about Anderson's blessing. What a good idea.

After church we took some pictures outside. Thanks Erin for taking the big ones. They turned out great. As you can see we looked more Christmasy than Easter but I'm not a big Easter outfit person, plus these colors were ones we all had.

Don't mind the pacifer ring around her mouth. She was chomping that thing.

This is Anderson right before the big Easter Egg hunt at his Memere's house. He was so excited. This is his first Easter that he can actually walk so he was all over the place, as usual.

Thanks to everyone who came to support us for Minnie's blessing. It means a lot to us and we appreciate all of the love and support from family and friends.

Anderson is 2 years old!

We've officially entered the terrible twos (could have fooled me, I'm pretty sure it started when Minnie was born). We had my parents and Tim's parents over on his birthday for brownies and ice cream and opened presents.

The next day, we had his cousins and friends meet us at the park for cupcakes. Everytime I do anything outside, it is inevitably ruined by the wind. It all started with our wedding, and has cursed us ever since. It was crazy windy, but I think the kids had fun. Andy loves playing with other kids. He asks for "Friends?" everyday.

This is Mallory, Max, Cru, Andy, Kale, Carson, Grant, Leah, and Marley. Anderson had a blast...and took a four hour nap today because he was so wasted from playing. Happy Birthday Andy Vandy!