It's That Time Again...

 (yep, there's the special toilet. and you can thank me for cropping the poop out of the picture. he's supposed to be looking at the camera and saying cheese...close...)

we are potty training in our house again. not because i wanted to do it. don't get me wrong, i would love to be done changing any and all diapers. but thinking about how it was for Micah (my posts about our trials can be found here, here, and here if you really want a look back), i didn't really want to do it (or at least start it) around the holidays. or maybe at all...it was that bad at times...
but judah's been talking about it for a looooong time (not since this time when i wrote about him, but he's so cute there!), and we have been half-hearted about it with him. he would talk about going or needing to go and we would maybe put him on the toilet (sometimes dressed, sometimes undressed) or maybe we would just ignore him. I don't think we really thought he knew what he was saying.
until we started putting him on the toilet when he would talk about it and he would actually pee! although even then we often thought it was a fluke.
but he kept talking about it. he's watched micah for so long and he really seemed like he was getting the timing right a lot when he would pee and poop. So, one day last week while i was at work, matt went for it. put the big boy underoos on and waited.
one accident. he told on himself, got cleaned up, and started over. NO MORE accidents for the rest of the day!! what an amazing day 1!!! he doesn't drink as much as micah, so he doesn't pee as much, but micah had 13 (THIRTEEN!!!) accidents his first day!!
we had talked about having a "potty party" like we did for micah, maybe making it an Elmo theme since he loves him so much...but since it was done on the "fly" we just went with it. he got M&Ms.
we were SO excited every time he made it in the toilet but he was very nonchalant. like, "this is what i'm supposed to do guys, so why are you making a big deal about it?" but he welcomed the M&Ms.
it was day 2 before he has his first poop in the toilet, and he has since gotten all the poop (except 1 accident) in the toilet!! OH MY!
How did this happen?!?
I think he has had 3 accidents total (including the poop) in the 6 days we've been going. I think micah had that many in the first hour we tried with him...oh, they are SO different!!
I was worried to write, or even talk about it, for fear things would mess up. isn't that how it always happens? you talk about how great things are and then it all goes to the sewer. no pun intended. well, maybe...
so, tomorrow i will be ready to clean up lots of messes, since i am talking about it now...
but for now, i will fully enjoy my moment as one VERY proud mamma!! my boy judah (21 months) has virtually potty trained himself! 2 kids out of diapers is awesome!

Milestones

Micah just turned 3! Hard to believe. But we can see changes, in a good way, already. He is very conversational, he is getting better at sharing, and he adores his brothers!
Judah is doing better at wanting to be potty trained than we are at following through with it. We are slow with it now, but will kick it into high gear in the new year. He has peed a few times in the toilet, has pooped a teeny bit once, and definitely likes wearing "big boy" underwear but does NOT like having accidents in them. I think this is good so he will want to use the toilet more and hopefully learn quickly! He also recently moved into the toddler bed, and he is doing great!
Isaiah moved into the crib when Judah transitioned and this has been great. He has also started to roll from front to back.
Crazy how fast they all grow up!

Christmas Spirit

It's December. Time to fully engage in the spirit of the season. This means talking a lot to our boys about Jesus (so they learn very early on it is not about them, or gifts, or Santa, etc), listening to Christmas music a lot, decorating, baking, making Christmas crafts, etc, etc...
The only Christmas clothes we really have for the boys are some pj's. Here is Isaiah sporting his a little early, also with one of his hats...what a cutie pie!

I think I enjoy having the house decorated, but not so much the decorating process. I like for it to happen, along with drinking eggnog and listening to music while doing it...and although I didn't intentionally not help this year, about 99% of the decorating was done by Matt. Thank you husband!! My favorite decoration so far is one he created this year for one of our rooms. He found the idea, went outside, and got to work...and this is what I came home to one day. LOVE!!

New Beginnings

I'm a bit overwhelmed that it's been almost 3 months since I've written. 3 months with kids so young means SO many changes...instead of trying to catch up on everything that's happened, I will give a quick update on where we are now and hope to get more consistent in writing again.....only time will tell...

Micah is active. He is sensitive. He talks great (for his age, I've heard, but all I know is he talks great!). He is learning to be more social. He loves to run around the house. His favorite movie is Cars. He is smart, but sometimes acts younger, probably to get attention. He sleeps in a twin bed. He is fairly well potty trained. He is not cuddly, so it is very sweet and special when he does want to.

Judah is hilarious. He is learning to talk so fast and so good. He is doing everything he can to keep up with Micah. He bites in self-defense. He will be tougher than Micah. He is messy. And sometimes gross. He is slowly learning to use the potty. He is hard to discipline because he is too cute sometimes. He is very social when he wants to be. He is mischievous and a leader. He is snugly and I love this time with him.

Isaiah Joseph! Born September 7, 2011. He was my biggest @ 7 lbs 3 oz. He sleeps on his stomach. He is my most expressive so far. He smiles and has laughed. He still gets up during the night to eat, but falls back asleep quickly and sleeps well between feedings. He does great with his brothers touching/prodding/poking/loving on him all the time. He does well with chaos and noise. He has the lightest eyes and I hope they will stay blue. I cherish my time with him and love that God blessed us with him!

Conspiracy Theory

Reason #1 why to not trust a toddler when he gets quiet: mischief, otherwise known as curiosity.
Reason #1 why not to trust two toddler boys, together, quiet, in the other room: double the mischief, or double the curiosity, and therefore double the cleanup....

Thankful that I could scrub it clean!

First Day of School...

Oh NO!
It is WAY too early for that...but whether these boys know what school is or not, they sure do get excited to wear backpacks!

And maybe even more exciting than that, it's watching the trash truck drive by our house! It's a big fascination around here. Not sure if it is because they are boys, but they hear the truck from inside and run like they are running for the ice cream truck (if they knew what an ice cream truck even was!).

Contained...

If only...
If only "containing" my 1 and 2 yr old boys were really this easy...

Please know that this is by choice.
By THEIR choice.

Transitions...

I'm not sure if kids this age (1 and 2) are good with change (when talked to a bit about it first) or if it is just that our boys seem to be good with it, but I am very thankful!
Micah did great about this time a year ago when we transition him into a toddler bed as Judah was ready for the crib. He was excited about the "new" and the freedom, and it went fairly well. Not that I have another kid to compare him to, but in my mind it went well.
He LOVED his new bed, and he wanted EVERYTHING in his room in his new bed with him...HAHA!!

Well, it is time for some more transitions as we get ready for baby boy #3...
The changes we knew needed to happen: Micah moving from a toddler bed to a twin bed, Micah moving into Judah's room so they can share and the new baby can have his own room for a while, and Judah moving from a crib into a toddler bed so baby #3 can have the crib.
We decided we would do both of Micah's changes at the same time: new bed in a new room. And at least with Judah still in the crib, only one of them can be "free" in their room together right now...
micah LOVES sharing a room with Judah and LOVES his "big boy bed."

 (Micah pretending to sleep on his first night in his new bed)

One of Micah's "struggles" recently has been wanting to act more like Judah, acting and talking like a baby at times. We don't like it and don't allow it, and the threat of having to go back to his little bed in his old room by himself has been a great incentive!
Overall, he is really doing great! He gets tempted a little to stay up and play or talk with Judah, but I think it is more because he is a follower and Judah draws him in...
And, as if these changes weren't enough, we decided that it was time for Micah to be done with using a pacifier. We weren't sure how he would react and we had some plans of attack we had heard from others, but I went with my first plan first. One evening before bed (about a week after being in his new bed) I told Micah that since he is in a "big boy bed" now and big boys don't use pacifiers, then he shouldn't need a pacifier if he is sleeping in his new bed...He said okay. Literally, that was it. "Okay." And then we went to bed. And he didn't ask for it. And he didn't cry. And he wasn't upset that Judah still had one. And, just like that, we were done with Micah using a pacifier! Was I EVER grateful!!
Next up: Judah moving into a toddler bed...duh, duh, duh....

Outdoor Boys

We've got some boys that love the outdoors, and if it wasn't so hot and humid right now, we would probably spend a lot more time outside. Looking forward to camping with 3 boys in the future. I think they'll love it.
For now, a glimpse into the world of outdoor boys during the summer of 2011...

Judah @ 15 months

Micah @ 2.5 years

Micah and Judah playing "together" in the sand. Judah with a pacifier so he won't eat the sand...anymore...

Micah driving the bulldozer at Dutch Wonderland in PA.

Judah relaxing on the bulldozer at Dutch Wonderland in PA.

Running in the grass, in the front yard, in a diaper. Perfect summer activity.

Micah playing a combination of golf, baseball, and something else that involves a giant inflated ball. And yes, he is likely a lefty, though he is still quite coordinated with his right.

Judah saying "baby" as he pats Micah's head. Getting ready for baby Carroll #3.

Micah on an inflatable slide at a friend's birthday party. He loves the water.

Judah playing in a pool at a friend's house, but wanting the water to be deeper..."get me out, mommy."

When there is not time for a slide or a visit to the pool, there is always the hose right outside...

Micah and Judah on a tire swing while visiting with Pappy in PA.

Judah, "what?"

Judah and Daddy on the lake for July 4th. He would rather be in the water or running around freely than on the boat and in a life jacket...

Micah and Mommy posing for the camera on the boat for July 4th. Nice that we can both share the sunglasses...

Judah tubing, but wanting to be IN the water.

Micah and his "swimmies" that have helped him with his independence in the water this year.

Micah and Judah on the hammock at the lake after a long day...

I think I can...

 It's hard to keep up...not with my boys so much as on here! Almost 2 months!
It's not because I am SO busy, because I find time to do things I enjoy.
It's not because I don't think it is worth it, because I love looking  back and reminiscing.
It's more because I get into lulls, get out of the habit, get distracted, and then it's been so long that I get overwhelmed thinking of where to start...
Talking about the changes and activities and lives of two boys so young over a two-month period is insane...things happen and change so quickly around here!
There is one thing that hasn't change...these boys adore each other! If it has changed at all, it has grown!

Judah Spring 2011

Judah is 15 months!

His personality is blossoming and so obvious so much of the time. He loves to say Hi to people, even if they are so far away they have no idea what is going on. He is outgoing and full of himself.
He is also my snuggler of the two boys. So cuddly!
He also has a buzzed head as noted in the picture.  After buzzing the boys, we realized we like it better on both of them and it is good for the hot weather too, so it will probably be like this for a while. Thankful Matt does it and we don't pay to have it done!
Judah has not gotten any more teeth in recently. Still two on bottom and four on top. I think Micah may have had a mouth-full at this point, but the good thing is that Judah is a very good eater with the 6 teeth that he does have, so there is nothing we would be feeding him if he had more teeth than what we are already feeding him now (pretty much anything). He is also pretty adamant about feeding himself now, which makes things a little easier during mealtimes, but a little messier too.

It is so easy to make Judah smile and laugh. He finds many things to be humorous. He is very ticklish. He is just a pretty happy, easy-going kid (most of the time).
Judah is walking and even running so good. I know he learned earlier on how to withstand little pushes because of his brother, but this has helped him greatly. We can even tell the difference in the baby pool of how well he can catch himself from falling when he gets a little off balance.
He spends time chasing micah everywhere, but when Micah is napping, he also plays quite well on his own. We are pretty sure that Judah may be bigger/tougher/stronger than Micah one day, so it's a good thing they love each other!

Judah has just recently started talking, and he is trying to say everything we tell him to. His biggest, cutest word right now is umbrella. He is also learning some signs so he can talk to us, but it seems they don't always mean what they should mean. "More" often just means food/eat or more of something or get me something. But he is trying and learning.
He loves being outside. He is always going to the front door and getting his shoes and bringing them to us so that we will know he wants them on and wants to go outside. And he gets upset if we don't oblige. He is pretty adventurous inside and outside, and he is pretty comfortable in his abilities to try new things, i.e. going down slides and playing in the water at the pool.

He loves his pacifier and I think it is going to be harder to "break" him of this than it was for Micah. For Micah, we just started when he was 1 leaving it up in his bed and only using it for sleeping...and he was totally fine with that. Hasn't been as easy with Judah...
He sleeps well in the car, but I may change this after we take a trip to the beach and see how he does on a longer trip since we don't try them often.

Micah Spring 2011

 (Micah got stuck trying to reach through and get the new toy.)

Micah will be 2 1/2 in just a couple of weeks.
He talks great. He really tries to say things correctly if we are helping him, and I can understand almost anything he tries to say. He is also getting much better at putting his own thoughts together, as opposed to simply repeating things that we say.
He is very quick to learn things. Whether it is going to Putt Putt, learning a new word, learning a new sign, learning how to do puzzles, learning the words to a song...he is good. For this reason, I have spent a good bit of time recently trying to learn for myself how to be more intentional about the things I am teaching him. There is a lot of information out there about "tot school" and it is all very interesting. I think he is willing and ready to learn lots of new things, and I definitely think it would help him a bit to have some more structure in his day...I am hoping to start a "program" for him around mid-June.
Micah is doing fairly well with potty training. He does wear diapers at night, but otherwise stays in underwear. He has good days and bad, good weeks and bad, but overall, we are pleased to have 1 kid mostly out of diapers. We are doing our best to encourage him when he does good and when he has accidents, all the while trying to figure out what triggers the accidents. Stubborn? Control? Focus? Over-tired?

Micah has had his head shaved for a while now and we really like it. It is great for the summer, great for the shape of his head, and great to hide the cowlicks a bit.
Micah's personality still seems a bit tentative and cautious, but Judah is helping him to be more adventurous. He likes to have choices so that he feels he is in control of decisions. He is pretty independent, and can often be found playing by himself even when in a group of kids his age.
He kicks balls with his right foot, but in everything else that he does he favors his left, including writing, eating, throwing, batting, golfing, etc.
Some of Micah's favorite things right now:
He has two green pacifiers (that he sleeps with) but particularly favors one of them.
He has a favorite blanket, his monkey blanket.
His favorite snacks that he asks for are either fruit snacks or animal crackers with cranberries.
He likes to say "That would be great." I think this is his new phrase when he realized we didn't think it was cute for him to answer "oh yeah" to every question we asked.

He loves Judah!
He loves to help with anything around the house that he can.
Micah is a sweet boy and I am excited to see how he responds to having another younger brother around now that he is a bit older.

Yet another month...

has flown by!
unbelievable!
We have good moments and tough moments, good days and tough days...but life is good.
We are having our third child in September and just recently found out it's a boy!!
3 boys!
We are very excited!! They will all be close in age and we hope they become and remain great friends! And we are thrilled that we can continue handing down clothes and other boy things. Boy #3 is growing at the proper rate, and is the most active out of the 3! It's possible I will have my hands full, but it is also possible that he will be the most chill one yet:)
So, how has a month so easily gone by without me doing what I want to keep up with so that I have some solid memories? Trying to balance work, 2 toddlers, pregnancy, working out, housework, wife work (haha), having a yard sale, etc. Oh yeah, and sometimes there is just laziness. And sometimes there is just no brain power left at the end of the day...and sometimes, sometimes I just can't remember all the things I've been meaning to do...
All that being said, I think I will end here and use other blogs to update on how boys #1 and 2 are progressing.

Over a month!!

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted. That is nuts. I blame it on busyness/lazyness. There are many times when I think about what I should be writing and updating about, and then I just don't. My thoughts don't turn into anything...
And at this age, with a 1 year old and a 2 year old, SO much happens in a month!

This is before Micah got his head buzzed too. They both look SO cute with buzzed heads! Now if they would just keep their hats on when we are playing outside...
They both LOVE the outdoors and it is so nice playing in the yard, going for walks, and going to playgrounds. They also both sleep great, they love any toy that a boy should love (i.e. trucks and trains and balls, etc), they love their grandma, they enjoy kissing each other a great deal but also wrestling with each other too. They both enjoy times of snuggling and are dependent on physical touch to know their love. They play well together (though they do fight too) but they also both do well playing by themselves.

Judah is a ham.

His personality is so obvious, and so different from Micah's, it's great! It's the worst when we are trying to say "no" and discipline him and he looks at us, shaking his head in the "no" position, and smiles or laughs! So hard to keep a "discipline" face on when he does that!
He is also walking quite well, beginning to say a few words by speaking and also using signs, he has become proficient at quickly and quietly climbing the stairs, and he has learned how to get down off the couch by himself. He is very courageous (as noted by the red mark on his forehead) but also seems to be getting much smarter about climbing/falls/heights/etc.
He has not added anymore teeth, but he has added a few pounds...And he is very ticklish!

Micah is still "potty training" in that we still have some good days and some bad.

 For the most part, he wants to wear underwear and wants to go in the toilet, but every once in a while, we have a day where he frequently chooses the floor over the toilet that is usually within arm's reach. Actually, as I write this, he just chose the floor...For the most part, he has dry naps. And he still wears a diaper at night.
He speaks very well. This is an added bonus in teaching Judah how to speak, both with his mouth and with his hands.
He is fairly cautious, but his little brother has helped him take some new risks, like jumping off of things. He likes/needs choices. We can't always just say, "let's put your clothes on" but instead often have to take the route of choices. Like, "do you want to put your shorts on first or your shirt on first?" Then it gives him the choice, the "lead" if you will.
Hopefully I will get better at posting more frequently, and shorter...