Just some pictures

Sorry for the delay in posts, but I have been trying to post a video and have been having a little trouble. For the time being, here are some pictures of our adventures lately!

Happy Halloween

We had a very nice time on Halloween night. The kids looked adorable and they had fun trick-or-treating.

Fall Party

Braden had his fall party at school today and Reese and I were able to join him. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids.

Pumpkins

I carved the pumpkins this year. The truth is I am much faster at it than Brian and I usually have to help him out. No worries, I LOVE pumpkin carving. The spider didn't turn out quite as good as I wanted.

These are just some extra pictures I took of Reese today while Braden was still sleeping. The funny thing about Reese is all she wants to do is read. You could have all kinds of toys in a room but if she found a book that is all she is interested in. Brian and I have to work together when reading her books because you will just drive yourself crazy reading the same one over and over again!

Here she is bringing me another book to read.

A wonderful sound

Yesterday morning a series of events led to a moment that was music to my ears. This sound was Braden peeing in the toilet! It all began with Reese telling me that she went 'poo-poo'. I looked to Braden and told him, sarcastically, that it could be possible that Reese would go potty on the toilet before he did. A few minutes later he told me he had to go. I asked him if he wanted to go on the toilet. He said no, that I need to change it, and then he laughed. He thought it was funny. My thoughts were, 'we'll see about that!'

I chased him around the house. He thought that was great and I put him on the toilet. He sat there and then, it happened. He was so excited and so was I. Reese was so wound up from our screaming that she went and gave him a hug!

So, from yesterday morning he has not had a wet diaper. He went 7, yes 7 times in the toilet yesterday. The reward, a piece of a brownie, was quite a motivator this time around. He woke up this morning dry and went right into the bathroom.

Fall is here

Well, Fall is finally here in MD! The last day of 80+ degrees is gone and it is finally cool. I took Braden and Reese to a local farm and we found some pumpkins, mums, cider and donuts! They had a really good time. Braden had a lot of fun riding on the tractor-bikes and on the hayride.

Braden is saying so many new things, but I keep forgetting to write about them. Braden is getting better at describing emotions. He now will say that he 'misses us' or that he is 'sad' or asks us if we are 'happy'. He also tells us about his 'favorite' things. Reese also says 'wawa' for water and 'poo-poo'. She is also coming out of her shell. We went to a baby shower yesterday and she barely stood by me. She went and made friends with everyone there!

Braden has learned to ride his tricycle all by himself. It is so cute to see those little legs moving so fast!

An Extra Picture

Lucy has come so far. She didn't care one bit when Braden laid on the couch with her.

some smiles.....

Update on the kiddos

Braden has been a little under the weather lately. He stayed home from preschool yesterday, but I think he will be able to go tomorrow. He has a small fever and has lost his appetite. That is how I know Braden is not feeling well, he pushes away cereal or a pb&j. Despite his recent virus, he is doing really well. He hasn't sat in time-out in a long time and is starting to open up to his teachers at school. He sings lots of songs and it getting better at identifying letters in the alphabet. Now that the weather is just beautiful here, we are outside all the time. Braden is getting better at riding his tricycle on his own and likes to play soccer and baseball! He is pretty good at kicking the ball around.

Reese has not caught whatever Braden has and she has been so patient with him. (He is a little cranky lately.) She is trying to sing the ABCs and count with us. It is really cute. She babbles to us ALL the time, but you can understand a few words like 'ball', 'down', 'no' and 'bumble bee'. (She is going to be a bumble bee for Halloween and Braden wants to be a cow.) She tries to do the 'itsy bitsy spider' with her fingers when I sing it and she blows kisses like a champ! Reese is also doing 100 times better when I drop her off at the gym daycare. She isn't crying anymore and has recently walked right in and started playing. No tears!


Well, thanks for checking in with us! I hope you enjoy the slide show I put together.

preschool

Braden has started preschool. He is in heaven. Unlike many of his classmates, he is happy to say good-bye. Because I worked until Braden was 18 months, we didn't have any separation anxiety.

He was so excited to go that he wore himself out before he even got there! He was so tired when he got home that he was not too sure about going back. When Thursday came for him to go again, he didn't hesitate. Everyday they sings lots of songs, play, read stories, play some more, go outside, have a snack, and sing a few more songs. He loves it!

Here are some pictures from his first day.

Summer is gone?

It is so hard for me to believe that labor day weekend has come and gone. We spent the weekend at Port Discovery (a children's museum), with friends and at the park visiting Mel. Though summer is over and the school year has begun, it is still hot and humid in Baltimore.


I haven't updated the blog in a while because I have spent so much time on the computer looking and applying for jobs that I just don't have the patience to wait for this site to upload my pictures. If you didn't already know, I am trying to re-enter the work force sometime soon. I have found that there is not a surplus of jobs (big surprise) and that there are a whole lot of applicants. Brian and I have also been spending a lot of time watching the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. More time has been spent on the DNC, but we tried to listen to 'the other side'. I wish I could have been in Denver, Julia I am still jealous, to listen to Barak Obama speak. If Barak Obama wins, Brian and I are determined to be in DC during the inauguration. We won't miss that!

On a side note, Braden starts preschool September 9th.

Here are some pictures and video from our weekend.

Port Discovery

Bath Time

Out with friends