just a few recent pics of mr. miles

he is getting a lot harder to get pictures of now that he is mobile :) i'm having to introduce the use of props such as the ever-interesting cell phone and tv remote.

a REALLY useful engine

potty training - take two!

so i was reading some reviews of some of the thomas the train toys the other day while i was picking out gifts for miles birthday (and really just because i want more train stuff for us) and a dad commented that he used thomas engines for potty training rewards. well now, what a great idea! obviously our m&m's just weren't cool enough for ethan.

lance and i had decided that this weekend would be attempt number two, so on friday i went out to the little bookstore we have in town to see what trains i could pick up. we decided that we would get two to start off with. i was wishing they would have had emily, who is currently ethan's favorite, but they just have a small and somewhat random assortment so i had to take what i could get. so sir handle and hector were the best i could come up with on short notice.

i started ethan this morning in his undies and he had two small accidents, but ended up on the potty after each. we did a wal-mart trip accident free and when we got home i noticed him hiding off in the corner. time to bring on the trains. after some whining and crying, i decided to let him hold the train in the package, but only if he were sitting on the potty. and trains are only for #2 since that is where our problem is, he is fine with peeing. so he sat in the hallway by our laundry room with the train package for about 20 minutes. i checked in on him to make sure he wasn't opening the package or anything, but you know you basically need a saw to open toys, so that wasn't a problem. i ended up having to put miles down for his nap while ethan was still on the potty. suddenly ethan comes into the room and says "mama, i need sir handle, come on!!" so he drags me over to the potty and what a miracle, it worked and yes, he got to open sir handle.

now i didn't think it would actually work that quickly and i haven't really thought about how it would work after, but i guess we'll just see if the excitement of that train can keep him excited about potty training for a little longer.

success!!

some things are just better when shared

i was getting the boys ready to go their babysitter for the afternoon and i came back in to the dining room to find them sharing some puffs together under the table - i don't normally feed them food on the floor :) my guess is that ethan (a puff addict) found some in the pantry and thought it would be fun to share with miles. miles, of course, couldn't turn any down! i am sure there will be plenty more of this to come in the future.

happy father's day!

happy father's day to all the dads out there!! hope it was a wonderful day for you!

to lance, you are a wonderful dad to ethan and miles! just seeing you play with them, i know how excited you are to be a father of two boys! i know they love you too; ethan's eye's always light up as soon as he hears your truck pull into the driveway and miles' gets so excited whenever he hears your voice. i have enjoyed seeing you as a dad and seeing how much love you have for our boys. thanks for all of the things you do for your family...we all appreciate it so much!

to my dad, thank you for being there whenever i needed you growing up and now. you are always a phone call (or email :) ) away and you know i use that a lot! thank you for being the best grampies and always there with a stroller in hand to take someone out for a walk when things get crazy. thanks for taking care of your family. i wish that we lived closer because i know that they boys both thoroughly enjoy their visits with you and miss you when you are not around. i couldn't have asked for a better father and i am so proud to be your daughter.

to my father-in-law, lynn. i am ever so grateful that the boys have such a wonderful grandfather who loves to spend time with them as much as he can. thank you for all that you do for us!

Wedding photo by Sir Harrison Photography

trains, trains, trains

we had some time this afternoon after i picked up the boys and i decided to take ethan down to the train depot to see if we could catch some real trains. we were in luck as there were LOTS of trains parked right there and ethan had a blast walking up and down and naming all the trains and their colors.

father and son

in honor of father's day, i have found recent favorites of lance and his boys.

new pants

thanks to a link from cindy for the site rookiemoms, i made these super cute pants for miles out of some extra fabric i had around the house. i love how they turned out! they are soft and comfy and perfect for lounging around. i have enough to make ethan a pair too. the tutorial calls for a t-shirt, but i am not ready to raid lance's drawer, he might not be as happy with the pants as i would be. i do have to work a bit on my pattern, they need to just be a bit more roomy around the belly and bottom area of my chunky guy.

my model - how cute is he?!?