whobody is patting myself on the back?

Can I just tell you how glad I am that I started this blog???

There are so many 'parts' of my children that I have been able to 'capture' with different posts that a photo album just wouldn't do justice.  I mean really...if I had just put a picture of Nash holding a gallon of milk and a can of Bud Lite in a photo album...it wouldn't be near as funny...and wouldn't really do the moment justice at all.

Being able to post pictures and running commentary really brings
our life to life on here!

The reason I am reflecting on this is that I have been looking into different ways to actually print off my posts from 2011 into a bound book. (If anyone has any suggestions or experience with doing this let me know...a site called Blurb is what I am leaning towards)....  So...I'm looking back at previous posts and I am laughing and crying and totally AMAZED at the things that have already slipped my mind.

Kids grow SO fast *yet, weirdly enough...sometimes time seems to be moving so slow.... but they grow SO fast and change so much and there are those weird little things that they do that can be easily forgotten.  OBVIOUSLY the 2 and 3 year old ages are extremely entertaining and fun to read and write about... but it seems even Keaton (who was 5 when I started this blog) has been a part of some posts that will really help me remember what the 7 year old Keaton was like.

Let me say something that I think is VERY important here.... and this is the truth: EVEN IF no one EVER read this blog....even if there were only 4 hits instead of 70.... I would STILL keep it up.  I have to be honest here...my reasons for 'blogging' are 100% selfish.  I want...ahem....I need to be able to remember these things about each kiddo.  My only regret is that I didn't start when Keaton was born.  I tell you what: I am sure that Keaton was just as hilarious as Lola and Nash are/were at 2 and 3 years old...but there are only a few specific instances that I can actually remember. Now THAT makes me a little (okay a lot) sad.  I especially am not able to recall much about any of the older 3 being Cruz's age!  It just all blends together and flows into the past...

I LOVE that through this blog,

I can look back and read little excerpts out of our

'real life'....

THAT being said, if I were you, I would totally start a blog too....not for anyone other than yourself....you don't even have to make it public...just a sort of online journal/photo album.   I am NO WRITER... I just talk (using my keyboard)... I truly just type in what comes in my mind...and what I would say if I were sitting here on the couch telling Jason the story of what happened today while he was in the field.  I just know that 11 years from now when I am cleaning and getting ready for Keaton's graduation party (YIKESSSSSS) that I will be so glad that I have a bound book...that has these glimpses into his personality and his life as a kindergartner and a first grader....and hopefully I keep something like this up until then....

This wouldn't be complete without linking to some of my favorite posts from 2011.....enjoy!

Funny, I seriously don't even remember writing some of these!

whobody likes lolaisms (of course funny things from lola herself!)

whobody had a really good idea (Nash stuck in the stool)

whobody had been working really hard (yes, this includes Lola's pig drawing)

whobody had a fun party (Keaton's 6th birthday)

whobody is an excellent teacher (Keaton teaching Lola how to write her name)

whobody wants a ride (Nash...riding on everything)

whobody is an april fool (the kids birthday presents to me :)

whobody believes in Christmas Magic (our announcement of pregnancy #4)

whobody graduated from little preschool (Lola grad from preschool)

whobody needs help (the bike up the slide)

whobody wants a tour of keaton's room (self explanatory)

whobody is a perfectionist (keaton fixing his own paper)

whobody lives for the river (lola and the river)

whobody is growing up way too fast (lola and big preschool)

whobody made a list (list of naughty words)

whobody is the new baby of the family (Cruz's birth)

It just seems that so much of our life right now is just getting from nap time to nap time (or bedtime to bedtime). This blog has been a GREAT way for me to keep the BIG PICTURE in mind. 

As Dr. Suess so intelligently put it:
"Don't cry because its over...
smile because it happened."

whobody is potty trained?

Well...Nash is now a BIG BOY!!!

Over the last few weeks, Nash has been showing me the 'signs' he is ready to be out of diapers.  AND, I decided I am ready to be done changing stinky diapers on such a BIG KID.  Baby diapers, I don't mind at all...but when Nash is talking to me in sentences while I am changing his diaper...something seems a little off. :)

SO..Tuesday, we started.  I call it the Bare Butt Method (okay, I really don't call it anything, I just made that up...and I am sure there really is a name for it...but I don't know it....all I know is that it worked for ALL 3 of my kiddos who are now potty trained.....)

Back to Tuesday...when he woke up in the morning he asked for gum. (What's that? What do you mean it isn't normal for a 2 year old to do that? At least he wasn't asking for coffee....) I made a spur of the moment decision right then and there to try it.  So I replied "oh Nash, gum is for big boys...you can only have gum if you aren't wearing a diaper".... so he took his diaper off and I went and got him some gum.

He spent Tuesday morning like this....

 That is right...no pants at all...He did GREAT! I could tell in his diaper that he knew he was peeing (and, yes, pooping)....so I left his pants off so there was no mistaking it. He knew that there was nothing to catch it...so he better either get to the potty...or the GRASS (gotta love farmboys...).

 We made it through Tuesday with very few accidents....and Nash was SUPER proud.   (and SUPER full of M&M's.... one per time).  He did everything with no pants....which, by the way, I think is SUPER cute too....

By Wednesday, he had it all mastered, but we still did no pants in the morning... he must have thought it was chilly though because he went and got his snowboots on to play outside!!!

Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday he successfully wore pants AND stayed dry! So, today, for the first day...my little boy is wearing

BIG BOY UNDERWEAR

dinosaur ones

(in case you were wondering)

I can't tell you how proud I am....

he is pretty proud too.

There is really nothing cuter than big boy underwear on a little boy....not sure why. I think that is just the proud mother in me.  Funny how parenthood really does change everything!!!

whobody had a gymnastics recital?

Lola LOVES gymnastics! Last week she had her recital...she has worked really hard to get better and has made a lot of improvement this year! It is AMAZING to watch some of the older girls do their flips and stuff. Wow. 

Here is a Lola in the "pyramid" that they started the performance out with...

 Both Grandma's came to watch AND it was too wet to be in the field so Daddy was there too!

Can you tell it was like 100 degrees in there?

(isn't he a cutie pa tootie?)

Lola waiting patiently for her turn...

Lola doing her "wave" at the end!

Grandma, Keaton and Nash all had flowers for her at the end....

and Nash was SO proud...he just had to give her a hug.... 

whobody weighs 25 lbs?

Well....as long as I am on here...I  might as well throw these pictures out there too.

CRUZ is SOOO happy...he loves to smile and seems to have so many different facial expressions.  I don't know that we have ever had a 5 month old who had this much fun!

(I also don't know if we have ever had a

 five month old

who weighed

twenty-five pounds!)

whobody helped themself?

So...just now...I am sitting at the table catching up on bookwork....and Nash is playing nicely in his room (eating the bowl of pretzels I bribed him with)....

Suddenly, he runs from his room to the laundry room (with his empty sippy cup in hand)...opens the door to the garage...and goes out there.  I could tell he was on a mission...so I went to check it out. 

As I got to the laundry room, he bursts back in the door with this...

We keep our extra gallons of milk in the garage fridge...I guess he decided he needed a refill to go with his pretzels...so he grabbed an extra gallon of milk for me.  Notice, he also grabbed himself a Bud Lite too....I guess Jason isn't the only one who likes the combination of beer and pretzels. 

I did fill his sippy cup with milk,

but declined his request for the "pop" that he brought in for himself.

From the looks of things, I may just throw that "pop" in the fridge for later...I might need it.

(You just can't make this stuff up!)

whobody is a turkey?

So...we have had these 'turkey hats' since November (thanks Grandma Piano)

....and the  kids have barely touched them....until THIS week. 

Now, Nash has spent 2 different mornings playing with the turkey hat on his head...

all morning.

FUNNY GUY.

He looks so manly when he is playing 'bull-doh-shers, back-hoshe, and E-I-E-I-Os" in this hat.

It is very hard to take ANYONE seriously when they have a hat on like this....

Really, Nash has been SUPER enjoyable the last few weeks. He is really listening a lot better, starting to talk a ton, and is just very HAPPY all of the time.  He is even 'playing' by himself well.  He plays with his construction vehicles and farm stuff just like a little boy should! Love him.

(I would say that this 2 1/2 age is one of my favorites!)