Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Potty training and teething....piece of cake!

In the last two weeks since I have posted, there have been lots of happenings going on in the Ersler house!

To start, about two weeks before I went back to school, Max decided he was ready to start potty training and wearing big boy underwear!  I had wanted to do this all summer, but he never seemed interested.  So of course, I got nervous and was worried that this was such bad timing with him going back to Mimi's house (our sitter) and how me going back to work was going to affect any progress we would make in the next two weeks.  Well little did I know he was going to surprise us all!

We started on a Friday and by Monday Max was telling me every time he had to go pee on the potty!  Going #2 was still a work in progress, but I never expected it to be as easy as it was.  The first three days were a little brutal.  Accidents and just struggling to get him to sit and try to go after naps was not fun.  Day four you could tell it had just "clicked" with him.  I was so relieved!  We made a big deal out of every time he went and his reward for going was mini M&M's.  We tried a sticker chart and he didn't really care much for the stickers.  M&M's work like a charm!

After finally seeing that there was no turning back, I went ahead and ordered him some new big boy underwear with all of his favorite characters: Mickey, Jake, and Toy Story.  He already had Thomas ones from Nana that he got for his second birthday.  We surprised Max with the underwear one night after Daddy got home from work.  Here are some pictures during our potty training adventure.



Typical boy...mowing the grass in his underwear and fireman boots!

This day we told Max if he did #2 on the potty he would get a sucker!
So upon my return to work, Max has continued to do well with the potty, even at Mimi's house!  He is, I think, 4 for 4 going #2 at her house and is getting better at doing it at home.  We are still working on getting him to pull down/up his own shorts and underwear but I can imagine that is a work in progress with most kids this age.  Max even told Daddy at Target the other night that he had to go pee!  Daddy had to pick Max up and run all the way across the store to get to the potty in time!  Don't worry, they made it and Max did what he was suppose to do!  

The next exciting milestone that has hit our house is that Finley has her first tooth!  I had no idea, other than some drooling and that she is always putting things in her mouth, but what baby doesn't do that!?!?  So I picked her up from Mimi's house last week and she told me how Finley was really fussy and that she felt her gums and low and behold felt a tooth!  I had literally just felt her gums the night before because I knew that any day now she would be getting some teeth, and I felt nothing!  I have only been able to get a very quick glimpse of it, so I don't have any pictures of her tooth.  

Next week Finley turns the big six months old and we will start some new foods!  I just made up a batch of sweet potatoes tonight.  Those will be her first taste of "real" food.  I can't wait to see her reaction!

Here are some recent pictures of my "pretty girl" as we call her!







She is going to be crawling before we know it!  She is already rolling from front to back and back to front with no problems!  She can push her arms straight up while on her belly and will move all around the floor already.  Max isn't going to know what to do once sister is crawling and getting into all of his things!

Until next time.....



Tuesday, August 13, 2013

What did you say!?!?!


Max has developed quite the sense of humor in his (almost) 3 years of life and yes, I will credit Bill's genes for that trait! But lately, he has been saying the most random, funniest things and at the times when you would least expect it!  I have been trying to remember them or note them in my phone so I had a list when I was ready to write this entry.  I am sure there are some that I am missing, but I figured I had enough to start.  This post has been in the works for awhile now.  I just needed some time to collect my "material."  So here it goes.

Top 10 funniest things Max has said recently: (in no particular order)

1.  We are all about teaching manners.  The usual, please, thank you, and you're welcome.  But it caught me off guard one day as I said, "thank you" to Max for something his response was, "anytime!"

2.  We are in the process of potty training Max.  Currently we have a pvc pipe fort built in the sunroom.  The frame just has a sheet draped over top to form the tent, so you can still see legs and feet of little people inside it.  I looked out and saw that Max was in the tent.  Knowing he likes to hide when he is going #2, I said, "Max are you pooping in the tent?"  He replied, "Mom, this is not a poop tent!"

3.  Max likes to help daddy pick up the dog poop in the yard.  Max's job is to tell Bill where it is in the yard.  He is very good at remembering to tell Bill when he gets home from work that it needs picked up, too!  This particular night I was observing from inside.  Max would tell Bill where the poop was.  Bill would pick it up and then Max was already on his way to the next pile. Upon arrival, he would yell, "Dad, over here, chop, chop!"

4.  Laying in bed one night after just reading Max a book.  We are saying our good-nights, talking about our day and Max says, "Mommy, you're a genius!"

5.  Max LOVES to be outside.  The kid would eat, sleep and do it all outside if you would let him.  So usually in the morning when he first goes out everything is still wet from dew or rain.  This particular morning I don't remember if it had rained but there was a lot of water on all of the outdoor toys, specifically the picnic table.  Ace was outside with us and he loves water.  Being a dog and all, you wouldn't expect anything less of him than to start drinking the water off the picnic table.  I was actually on the phone with my mom while this one happened so I wasn't paying 100% attention and I look over and see Max standing on the seat of the table, bent over and licking the water off the table just like Ace!  I actually made him stay for a picture.  I admit, I was laughing at this one for awhile!

6.  This one isn't quite as funny, but there are just some responses you don't expect to get from a three year old!  I had told Max to put his milk away in the refrigerator.  Usually, I would just get an "ok" or he would just walk over and do it.  This time I received the response, "of course!"

7.  I don't recall when or where this next one happen.  The only thing I remember is that we were outside and Max had pointed something out to me.  Max-"Mommy, look at (can't remember)" Me-(don't remember my response) Max-"That's amazin'"  And he said it just like that!

8.  My sister recently visited us for an afternoon and before she left she treated us to some Baskin Robbins ice cream.  Max doesn't usually eat many sweets.  The occasional cookie, sucker, etc... but he has yet to eat his own birthday cake/cupcakes, or has never shown interest in ice cream.  Well, Emily insisted that I just get him a small kids dish of ice cream and some sprinkles.  THIS was not the funny part, however, the funny part is that my child INSISTED on wearing his snow pants to get ice cream!  We tried everything to get him to not wear them.  He is so strong willed and determined that we just had to let him do it!  We got some pretty weird looks, but he actually took two bites of ice cream before he said he was done!  


 9.  Just this morning I decided to treat Max to some Dunkin Donuts Munchkins.  Being it is my last week of summer vacation home with him and Finley, I thought it was a nice treat that we don't often have.  I actually don't even think we have ever had the Munchkins with him around before.  Again, he is not really a sweets type which is so odd to me, but hey, it just leaves more for me!  I really didn't expect him to eat any.  It took him awhile but he warmed up and wanted to try a chocolate one.  He picked it out, put it on his plate and then took a bite.  He was chewing it up and said, "Mmmm, donut-y!"  Mind you, I don't even think he has had a donut before!  Then he followed that up with an, "Mmmm, chocolate-y!"  

10.  This one just happened tonight at dinner.  I was sitting at the table feeding Finley.  Bill was making Max's mac and cheese on the other side of the counter and Max was waiting in his seat.  I was just complaining about how I was so tired and there was so much that still needed to be done tonight.  It was already 7:30 and none of us had eaten yet, blah, blah, blah.  When Max interrupts us with a, "Guys, first things first!"  Bill could hardly stop from laughing.  I looked at Bill like "what did he just say?" and then back at Max and laughed myself.  Max then realized that it was funny and decided he would give a big belly laugh and even cover his mouth while laughing hysterically!

I hope you enjoyed my Top 10 list and maybe even laughed a little!  This kid is quite the comedian, much like his father.  I am sure that if I keep collecting the funny things that he says I would someday soon be able to write a book!  He definitely keeps us on our toes and laughing, that's for sure!


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Where did the time go!?!?!

Today this sweet little thing is FIVE months old!!!!!!!

She is developing quite the personality, too!  She is always happy, unless she is tired or hungry or gassy!  So most of the time you find her laughing, smiling and talking.  She can roll over from her back to her tummy.  She only stays there a short while before she lets you know that she has had enough.  She hasn't figured out how to roll back to her back yet!  Her brother adores her, as you can see here.

He was telling her goodnight and giving her a kiss on her forehead.  He is always so happy to see her when she wakes up from naps.  He will say, "Mom, who is that in your hands?"  Lately, Finley has started to cry when I leave the room, so I have Max sit and sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star to her.  He now does it when she starts crying anytime, even if I am there.  It's so cute!  

Finley has also started to eat cereal.
She loves it!

Last week at the park, Finley went in the swing for the first time!


You can't tell by the look on her face, but she did enjoy herself!  

And finally, she is starting to hold herself up in the sitting position for just a few seconds.  Long enough to get a picture or two and then she will topple over.

I did not get a chance to take her five month sticker pictures today, but when I do, I will make sure to post one of them.  Or heck, better yet, I will post all five months of them so you can see them compared to each other!  

Well, I can't believe that in just a few, short, seven months she will be ONE already!  If you saw my post on Facebook, I wasn't kidding when I said her party is already planned!  The theme is picked out, I have a vision in my head of what she will wear including the hair piece I will make, and all the rest of the details will follow!  But until then, I am going to enjoy these months, soaking up every ounce of her cuteness and the new things she does everyday.  Soon she will be walking and talking.  Then I will REALLY wonder where the time went.