Time Flies!

I look at this picture and think: "How did I get here? Is this really my life? Who's THREE kids are these?" As cliche' as it sounds, it really does seem like yesterday that I was in college or working or pregnant at least. Time is literally flying by and though some days are loooong, the years are passing with a blink of an eye. The kids are growing and learning at warp speed. I can hardly believe my eyes!

I take a picture of the kiddos when we shop on base in the spaceship cart. Kinda fun to see them grow. These pics have about a year in between each of them.

 

 

After Christmas, I decided it was time to get rid of Gavin's beloved binkie. It was a sacrifice for both of us; Gavin would be absolutely quiet and fall asleep instantly with that thing. But as his 3rd birthday approached, it was time. Surprisingly, he handled it really well. There were a few days of whining at nap time but not the complete melt down I was expecting.
After that went so well and as a result of the following ridiculous pictures, I decided it was time to tackle the potty training. After the horrific experience with Ayden, I put this off to the last possible moment. I was waiting for the so called "signs of readiness" that Gavin never displayed or the phantom "interest in the potty" that was no where to be found. So, I picked a weekend and that was that. I found the key to potty training success is MY commitment. It really has nothing to do with the child. Gavin has been in a size 6 diaper (which is the biggest size they sell at the store) for like a year now. And as you can see, it was hanging on for dear life.

The comparison of the kids in diapers seemed so silly.

His diaper would hang so low, he would walk around with his legs apart with the diaper swinging in between!

When I saw this, I knew it was time.

And just like that, Gavin is potty trained!!!
Ok, maybe not just like that but, again, I was surprised with how easy it was to potty train him. I took the "all nakie" approach like with Ayden, and he responded really well. I put a jar of M&Ms on top of the toilet for motivation and he was all in. The first day, he was going about every 30 min, little bits at a time. The next day, it increased to every couple hours. By the third day, I put him in undies and no accidents! The first nap time and night I put him in a diaper and he woke up wet. But from the second day on, he was dry, so after a few nights, we fully committed to undies and haven't had an accident yet! He'll even call out in the middle of the night for potty sometimes. I'm absolutely amazed at how well he's done. Now he has a lot of false alarms, so we spend plenty of time in the bathroom but it sure beats diapers! He loves his new Thomas the Train and other movie themed undies. My toddler has officially turned into a big boy!

Lately, Gavin is really interested in letters and their sounds. He tries to sound out and read words wherever we go and has been successful with short words. He even made an S with his cheerios.

I was making dinner one night and Gavin climbed up and said "Look Mom, it's a hexagon!"

Ayden has made huge improvement in her reading this year. Both kids love to read and now Ayden can read books to Gavin. At her last teacher conference, Ayden's kindergarten teacher said she was reading at a second grade level.

Her writing and spelling has also taken off. She loves to write books and is constantly leaving notes around the house.

This was the first big snow of the season. The kids had fun playing knee deep in the powder...for like 10 minutes.

Luckily, the snow melts quickly here which makes for fantastic icicles.