Potty Training

Well, I guess the time has come. Jack is now two and a couple months old so potty training is due to begin. He has talked about it and known what he is doing for some time now, so today I just decided to go for it. I'm not going to be super crazy and tie myself to the house, but while we are at home he will be in his underwear. (Jason gets mad if I call them "panties..." What can I say, I was raised with all girls!)
After Jack peed through two pairs of underwear this morning, I decided that I needed re-enforcements so we headed to Target and got a bunch of potty-training supplies... mainly things filled with sugar. There's nothing like a good bribe. After coming home, Jack took a nap and when I went to get him, he had ripped off his diaper and put it on his bookshelf. I was looking for it in his blankets and he said..."I put it up there Mom..." Surprisingly, his bed was dry. Maybe that is a good sign??
We came downstairs and painted his "Potty Pail..." That's where the treats will go. After that, I told him that he could have a marshmallow if he went to the bathroom so he sat himself down on that potty for about 20 minutes until he went. During those 20 min, he talked to his plastic pumpkin we got for trick-or-treating and said..."Pumpkin, I am going potty on this seat so I can have a marshmallow." It was so cute, and I have to say that I love seeing his little tush run around the house in his underwear! Let's see what tomorrow brings...

Thankful...

Yesterday I went to a funeral for my friends 16 month little boy. He drowned last week in a small pond in their backyard. I had never been to a funeral for a child before, and it was probably the toughest thing I have been involved in recently. He was a perfect little boy and his parents are obviously heartbroken. It hit home with me a litte because his name was Jack and he looked an awful lot like my Jack. I just spent the whole time putting myself in my friends place... The service was beautiful and it left me feeling so thankful for eternal families and the promise that these sweet parents will be with their baby again. I am so thankful for my baby and my husband and our faith. I would be lost without them.

Girl Time

My good friend (and gym teacher) Kari talked me into running in a triatholon with her this last weekend. We were originally going to do Ogden Valley, but we decided to make a weekend of it and leave the hubbys at home with the kids. A bunch of our friends from the gym were running in the Kokopelli Tri in St. George and we thought that sounded perfect. My grams was a sweetie and let us crash with her for a few nights, so last Thursday we kissed our "mommyselves" goodbye and hit the road. That night we went and saw "Les Miz..." which was awesome. I forget how much I love the music in that show. Friday we spent sleeping in, biking, and eating a lot of carbs! Our race was on Saturday morning and so we headed out around 6am. Everything went very smoothly and before I knew it we were getting in the water. Kari is an old pro at these races, but I had never swam in open water before and let me tell you... I was just pleading with God to get me out of it alive. I'm serious... I started freaking out in the first few minutes and had to calm myself down... I was okay after about a third of the way through. Then my problem was sticking to the course... I strayed about three times and I am sure that the men in the boat were wondering what I was trying to do... I finally made it to the shore and onto the bike. The bike was great. I didn't know how much I would love road biking, having never done it before. I thought the run would be a piece of cake, but it was in the sand and I wished that I was dead. But, I finished and got my medal... I didn't do to bad and it will make a good baseline to compare with in the future. Kari did fabulous and placed FIRST in her age division!! In fact, most of the people we were with placed in their age groups. (Go 24hourfitness!)
The highlight of the weekend, however, was the precious girl time we were able to have. I don't think we stopped talking the entire trip. You forget, after having kids and a husband, what it is like just to be the girl you were before and it was great to be reminded. I recommend( at the very least)... two girl trips a year for all mommies. It was the perfect escape. Thanks to Kari for being a great friend! And thanks to Jason for holding down the fort while I was away!

Old Bones...

Halloween is coming and to get into the spirit, my mom bought Jack a scary Halloween book. The book has no point (in fact it is a little disturbing, but funny nonetheless) and scared Jack so bad that he wouldn't look at it for awhile, but after a bit he came around (I made him kiss all the monsters so that he knew they were nice). In the book, they say something about, "My old bones are creaking..." and then you pull a door open and there is a skeleton in the closet... so now the book is called "Old Bones." As well as all my Halloween decorations.... When I was out of town this weekend, Jason bought Jack Old Bones riding a bike. It is fun to see Jack get excited about holidays! (The other picture is such a cheeser face that I had to document it!)

Curious George and The Man in The Yellow Hat...

Jack loves Curious George. He loves him. I'm not talking about, "Oh Jack could watch George if there is nothing else on..." I'm talking L. O. V. E. !!!This boy could watch George for H.O.U.R.S.
He would rather watch George than do anything else and we often have to pry him away from the TV. His nightly ritual consists of a bath, a story, milk, prayers, and two episodes of Curious George. If you try to sneak and only show him one before bed, he freaks. If you show him two then he goes to bed without any problems. It is cute to see him develop this little personality with his own likes and dislikes. George is a pretty good show and Jack does learn a lot.

A few weekends ago, we saw in the paper that George was going to be at the KUED Health and Safety Fair at the U this weekend so, of course, we had to take Jack up to see it. We took him up this afternoon and he had a blast. He had his hand painted, got balloons, popcicles, fake tatoos and above all he got to meet his hero in person (all for free). George is much more popular than I gave him credit for and the line to see him was huge! I stood in line while Jack and Jason saw the sights and luckily for us, by the time I got to the front, a worker came out and said that I was going to be the last person allowed inside the tent for pictures with George. Talk about peeved... as in the people in the HUGE line behind me, as for me I was thrilled! I rushed over to get my boys and we took our magical pictures. It was such a fun day as a family. We will have to find stuff like this more often. (We found the sleeper at Costco and HELLO... is anything more perfect for him?)

On a side note, my sis went to London on Friday for a semester abroad. I am jealous and very sad to see her go. I won't see her until December 16th, so Lu, these pics are for you!

Best Friends!

It is so fun to watch Jack grow and develop everyday in everything, but I think the most fun thing in the world is watching him interact with other kids. He is really starting to have a lot of friends (from the gym, neighborhood and Mommy's friends kids), but his best and favorite friend is Coleman. I am good friends with Coleman's mom and he comes to the gym with Jack almost everyday. We have had a lot of fun with them this summer... swimming, Park City, the zoo, the park and picnics/jumping on the tramp at Coleman's house. A few weeks ago, we took the kids to Raging Waters for one last summer blowout. It was a lot of fun, although Jack is a bit too little for such a big park. His favorite part was jumping up and down on the tubes with Coleman.

Here's to many more years of friendship for these boys!