More Pictures

All 4 Guier grandkids together (not an easy picture to take!)
I left the room for a few minutes and when I came back this is what I found! He actually did pee pee near the potty - but it shot out the top and landed on the floor. Oh well - at least he has the idea :)

Pictures from the weekend

Uncle Jason and Corry on Friday night
The girls giving Uncle Gary a pedicure with magic marker.
Ring around the Rosie, Pocket Full of Posies - like Drew's beautiful sandals? I swear the little guy has a major girls shoe fetish! Those are Calyn's new flowery sandals that he insisted on wearing. Corry and her special Aunt Deachi
Drewsky and his new buddy, BeeBee Max.

Where's the Zebra?

Aunt Marta (aka Auntie M) and Andrew got here late yesterday afternoon for a visit. Auntie M brought each of the girls a little elephant and brought the boys gorillas. She was getting them out of her purse and handing them to the kiddos. As soon as she had taken out the last gorilla, Calyn asked her "Where's the zebra?" She was so appreciative :) Aunt Marta said, "well, I didn't bring a zebra, just an elephant, but I'll look when I get back to Ponca and see if they have any zebras." That answer obviously wasn't good enough for Calyn because she kept asking her over and over again where the zebra was. She finally got off that obsession and kept telling Auntie M that she wanted to go to her house. She just doesn't understand that Auntie M's house is an 8 hour drive away!

We're excited for Uncle Gary to get here this evening - especially Calyn. As soon as Marta & Andrew walked in Calyn asked "Where is Andrew?" And we kept pointing to Andrew and saying "There he is." - she would said, "No, where is Andrew?" I guess she thought Uncle Gary's name is Andrew. Uncle Gary's always good for playing in the playroom with the kids - he also gave the girls manicures and pedicures when he was here for the wedding!

Well, that's about all I know. Corry & Drew are doing fine - I don't think there were any big stories from yesterday!

The maniac strikes again

Last summer I painted the whole house. The entry way has been driving me crazy ever since because when you stand upstairs the light comes in from the window above the front door and you can see tons of streaks from the roller. I've wanted to fix it all year, but never am able to make the time to do it. So this weekend I decided I would tackle it. It requires an extension ladder and our really tall step ladder to get the job done. While I was in the middle of painting I noticed there was an update to Allyson's journal, so as always, I rushed to the computer to read what the latest was. Drew took the opportunity to climb the step ladder and knock the tray of paint off the little shelf. Fortunately it landed on the tile and not the carpet. Unfortunately I had just filled up the tray, so there was a quite a bit of paint all over the wall, baseboards, and tile. It ended up being a fairly easy clean, and I'm pretty confident nobody would ever know it happened unless I pointed it out to them.

Needless to say, I didn't finish painting the entry way. One side got done, the other side still needs to be done, but now I'm not sure if I will have enough paint. One of these days I'll finish what I started a year ago! And next time I'll make sure Drew's nowhere around before I leave a tray of paint unattended!

Clothes on and hair brushed :)

Corry wanted me to take a picture of her back, so here it is - its a nice representation of how pretty her hair can be when she actually lets me fix it!
Handsome little Drewsky
Drew having a "fish" snack

Corry's hair just after it was blow dried. It is insanely long, but she still panics anytime we mention the word "trim"
A front view of Corry in her new Dora jammies she got for being a big girl - being potty trained!
Partners in crime - Max and Drewsky
Corry and her bunny have matching dresses - she had to take bunny to the grocery store with us. At least she has clothes on!
Sweet little princess.

Turning a New Leaf?

We've been unable to go to restaurants lately because Drew is so horrible. Jimmy decided we were going to break him of this by strapping him into his high chair or booster while we're at home and forcing him to sit at the table until everyone is finished. That way he can scream all he wants, we don't have to worry about him distracting other diners (except us), and he can learn that its not acceptable to get out of his seat while we're eating.

Saturday we were out running errands and he was off and on in the stores - sometimes good, sometimes a maniac. We decided to stop for lunch at Arby's. He sat in the booth next to me and was a perfect angel. We figured it was just a fluke.

Last night we decided to go to a Mexican place right by our house. He sat in a booster chair and again was a perfect angel the whole meal. He ate chips and queso, then started dipping his chips in green sauce too. He ate all his bean & cheese burrito, and then they brought them out ice cream cones. He ate most of his ice cream cone, then decided to start dipping his chips in ice cream as well.

When it was time to leave he threw a fit becuase he wanted Mama to carry him out to the car, but I was already escorting Corry out. So, all in all it was a pleasant surprise! Of course next time we take him out it could be a completely different story, but at least it gives us hope!

Pictures as promised

Grandpa Bob reading Mommy's 3 Little Pigs book to Corry & Calyn (that's one OLD book!)
Drew is watching Calyn throw a hissy fit, as were the rest of us - when Deachi said, you need to grab a camera! Corry and Drew were holding hands, swinging, and watching Calyn fling herself around in protest because she wanted Drew's swing instead of the one on the other side of Corry. Its so nice to think that these siblings might actually love each other as they get older! Yea!
Don't you even think about drinking my juice, Drewsky! When I served them their box juices Corry told me "you make the best apple juice snacks, Mommy."
Going for a piggie ride on Daddy/Uncle Jimmy's back. Drew started it and everyone else decided to join in the fun. Like their jammies? I think Calyn has on 3 pairs of jammies, and they are all Drews. Corry has on her jammies and a pair of Drew's jammies over it. Drew's the only one with only one pair of jammies.

And Drew's fashion statement from Sunday morning (see story in the "latest with the kiddos post")

The latest with the kiddos

Corry's potty trained!!!! Yea! I've been afraid to type it - thinking that if I put it down in writing she might regress or something. She's been completely out of diapers for about a week now and we've had only one pooping mishap and we're partially blaming it on Daddy. He closed the door to the bathroom and she couldn't get the door opened in time. Daddy had a mess to clean up just outside the bathroom door. She was devastated.....but today she pooped twice, both times in the potty and one time all by herself - I was downstairs and she was upstairs playing. She came to the top of the stairs totally naked. I assumed she had gone pee pee, so I went up there to check things out and there was poop in the potty too. She's so proud of herself. So, now that I have it in writing we'll see if I have to recant my statements tomorrow :) I can't believe how fast she did it. I guess its right what everyone says - wait until they are ready, otherwise it will take forever.

Drewsky's a little mess - I have the funniest picture of how he woke up the other morning, but I can't get the stupid pictures off the camera - I don't know if the camera has problems or if its the computer, or a combination of both. Anyway - Jimmy went to get him out of bed and he had no shorts, no diaper, and his head was out of his shirt with the neckhole on his back, but he couldn't get his arms out, so he just had sleeves on. It was the funniest thing ever. I'm guessing he did it when he woke up because there weren't any messes for us to clean up. He's such character. We've had to bungee cord our refrigerator & freezer doors together otherwise he's in there eating frozen waffles or whatever else strikes his fancy.

I may try the picture thing again tomorrow. I'm just so frustrated with it I haven't gotten back to it yet. We have lots of really cute pictures from the last month that I'm dying to share with everyone.

Feeling very sad today

I keep thinking about Michelle and how 9 years ago today she stood up at the alter with me as I exchanged vows with Jimmy. I wish so much that I could be with her today to support her as they begin to transition Ally to St. Judes. I really hope she knows how badly I want to be there for her, and even if I'm not there physically, I definitely am spiritually. I hope the trip to Memphis goes very smoothly and they have their little girl back on the road to recovery very soon.

Chatterbox

Drew has become quite the little chatterbox, but most of it is not in English. He has come a long way though and our family can understand a lot of what he says. His favorite game these day is to list off someone and say they are at work, even if they are sitting right in from of him. He thinks its so funny. You really can see his sense of humor starting to develop.

Corry's still a chatterbox, of course, but she has been since she was just over a year old. It is amazing how different 2 siblings can be! Corry went with me to pick out Deachi's birthday present over the weekend. We got her a necklace like mine from Brighton with the 2 charms with the birthstones of Calyn & Max. Then Corry chose the gift wrap - a bag with race cars, and the birthday card - a Diego card. She and Calyn were "helping" Aunt Deachi open presents. She opened ours first, but before she even got all the tissue paper out, Corry announced "There's a new necklace in there."

She's still doing great with her potty training.....and the last few times, even if she's had a diaper or pull up on, she announces that the pee pees are ready to come out, removes the diaper, and pee pees on the potty. I just keep waiting for her to relapse, but so far, so good! It will be nice not having to buy so many diapers! She wore her big girl panties with kittens on them all day yesterday, even to the restaurant....it feels so weird picking her up and not feel all the padding of a diaper! What a big girl!

The kids are going to Aunt Deachi's house today since Mom and Dad's cleaning ladies are coming and mine were just here yesterday. Mom's trying to keep my house clean for at least one day, which I appreciate the thought, but my 2 little tornados already made a pretty good dent in the upstairs last night! Oh well......that's what the play room is for - to play! So look out Aunt Deachi & baby Max! It won't be a quiet day of laundry and watching TV today! At least Grandma Chebs will be there to help out!

Oh - and Deachi, if you read this today - Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

More progress!

Corry's done so well today with using her potty - I just left it up to her on whether or not she needed to go and every time but one she's has pee peed in the potty. Then she really surprised me and pooped on the potty! Yea! We had to call Daddy up to look at the poop then she flushed it away. She got to put 3 stickers on the board. Later on she was talking to me about it and said "I pooped on the potty and it looked like a weenie." She's so funny!

I've done an overhaul of the upstairs - trying to weed through old toys and find some method of organization. I'm tired of the toys taking over every room in the house. I need to buy some shelves and baskets for the playroom.

I've been thinking about Michelle and her little girl Allyson all day. I just can't get them off my mind. I'm hoping everything turned out okay with the MRI and they can move forward with the surgery to remove the tumor this week. I haven't heard from Michelle yet - hopefully I will hear from someone soon.

Well - back to organizing....just needed to post about the big poop in the potty!

Hip Hip Hooray!

When I got home from bunko this evening I broke out the neon poster boards and stickers. I explained to Corry that every time she went pee pee in the potty she would get to put a sticker on the board. She ran right over to the potty, sat for a few minutes, and voila - pee pee in the potty. We got the Dora sticker on the board and she decided she wanted a Diego sticker. She ran back over to the potty and peed again. In about an hour's time she peed 7 times, so we have seven stickers on 5 neon posters taped to the wall in the entry way. What a big girl! She practiced pooping a little later, but we can't quite get that one yet. She told me "I'm really good at pee peeing, but I'm not so good at pooping." This from someone who just yesterday told me she wasn't so good at pee peeing. She's so funny!

I'm just so relieved that she knows how to make it happen now. I was all stressed that she'd never figure it out - I should have known better than to doubt my little lady bug's capabilities. I also got her a bunch of new big girl panties today - they are in the wash and will be dried and ready for her to wear tomorrow. We have a variety now!

So we'll see if the excitement is still there in the morning, or if we'll be back to square one....for now I'm just so proud of my big girl!

Potty Update

Corry wore her big girl panties all day yesterday - from about 8:30am until 5:00pm - and while she never once had a single accident all day, she also never went on the potty either - she held it all day. When Jimmy got home from work she started complaining that her tummy hurt. He put a diaper on her and she let loose. She really wants to be a big girl, she just doesn't know how to go in the potty, and I don't know how to help her. She keeps asking me how to make it come out. Hopefully we'll get there eventually.