Spelling

Here is some video of the kids spelling their names. They are pretty good at it, only needing a few reminders. I tried to get Xander to say the little rhyme "Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe" in the middle of the video. It's really cute how he says it and skips some parts, but he was acting silly that day and just fell on the floor for laughs. Sorry for that. Hope you enjoy, anyway! I'll try to get a detailed post up sometime in the next few days.

Grace's room

This is Gracie's new bedroom. We took a risk with the dark brown wall color, but I love how it has turned out. It really isn't that dark, either (which is what we were worried about). It has a lot of natural light and the light furniture and decor really breaks up the brown. Her furniture is Young America made by Stanley, it's good quality. She shelves are what were in the nursery before. Everything else pretty much came from Target. I think her bedroom could be a commercial for Target. Some of the decorations on the dresser I got at Hobby Lobby, but that's all. Gotta love Target! It is so easy to find girls room decorations, I've had to control myself about what I buy. Her room has a lot of floor space, so they tend to play in her room a lot. She doesn't really mind, although she is a little possessive about them sitting on her bed. A lot of people have been asking me how she is doing sleeping by herself in a separate room, and the answer is, no problems at all. She just crawls in to bed and falls alseep almost immediately (no one is around to keep her awake!) and she doesn't cry or get scared at all. Miss independent!

Will and Xander's bedroom

So here is the boys' room. I think it has turned out pretty cute, so far. It is still a work in progress. The walls are, I admit, a little bare still. Unless you like sports or machinery, the decor for a boys' room is limited. I'll just take my time until I find the best things. Their furniture is all from Young America made by Stanley, it really is nice quality. I hope it will last a while. They are bunk beds, we just will not bunk them for some time. Will's bed (on the right) is the top bunk, so we used the rails that came with it. Xander's bed has double rails we bought at Target. They are working quite well, he's not that crazy of a sleeper. One side does fold down, but I leave it up so it doesn't scratch the bed. The guidelines say you shouldn't bunk kids until they're six, so it will be a while until we put them that way. The quilts and shams came from Pottery Barn Kids (a splurge, I know!) but they are also great quality and can stick around a while. Ellen made the curtains for me, which I appreciate.

You can see that we have the changing table thing on their dresser. We still use it every once in a while for that really gross accidents and nighttime diapers, etc. So, that will stay temporarily. You can also see we've moved some toys into their room. A lot of toys have made it out of the living room (moved into bedrooms or basement toy room.) I am reclaiming my living room! The newly cleaned (and I must say, fantastic looking) carpet has inspired me. I've started putting some decorations (only some) and lamps back. Even my fancy side table made a return from storage. The living room hasn't looked this clean (and good) in a long time, so I've decided it's no longer a playroom but my pretty living room. They have been playing in their rooms more and they can go downstairs for short amounts of time without me. Toys seem to creep around the basement, though. And I caught them playing with the computer today and fighting over the spinning office chair. So, short periods of time in the basement unsupervised is all they can handle, yet.

Another Happy update!

Pictures:

Top: What I found in the living room one afternoon. Like father like son.

Middle right: Xander enjoying a book in his new bed.

Middle left: Everyone enjoying Grace's new bed the first time they saw it.
Bottom: Grace reading on her bed later that day.

So, they're bedrooms and done and put together, as you can see. They have been in them for about two weeks for the boys and since Friday for Grace. I'll post about that later, along with more detailed pictures if their rooms for you to see.

The happy update part is about potty training and how we're moving right along! After a VERY rough start, something just clicked for Xander on Thursday last week and now he is doing brilliantly. He stays dry most days, with only an occasional wet accident. He is still pooping in various places (the floor yesterday and his underwear this morning), but I think he'll figure it out soon. He tells me a lot he has to go to the bathroom (i've been calling him the boy who cried "pee!") but only goes about half those times. I think he does it because he likes the M&M's. And, he's figured out if he goes to the bathroom anywhere else but in our hall bathroom in his little potty he won't get M&M's. So, he's started refusing to go potty anywhere else. I did get him to potty at the zoo yesterday, but I told him he's get candy when we got home (which I forgot and so did he). He won't even go in the basement bathroom, we have to trek upstairs. One smart (and maniuplative) cookie!

Grace is still great. No problems, and only one accident in the last week. Hurray! She looks so skinny now that she doesn't have a bulky diaper or cover on under her pants. Even some of her pants have been falling off. She walks around holding them up announcing "my pants are falling off, Help me!" Will is still holding steady, still absolutely the same as last week. I think at times he's going longer without pottying, so he may be developing better muscle control. I sure hope so. It gets tiring having to always remember to send him so he doesn't have an accident.

Because they're doing so well, we've started to get out a little bit. We went to the zoo yesterday, with lots more planned this week. It's nice to be able to get out some and not constantly worry about changing accidents in public. That's about all for today. Have a great week everyone!

Last But Not Least!

(Like the pink purse?)

So, here we are. #3 finally gets his underwear. It's is daunting to have to think of going through the beginning stages of potty training for a THIRD time, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am pushing forward, hoping the day we are accident free is close! So far, Xander has only had a little success, and that success has ended up on my bathroom floor a couple of times. However, I am not dismayed. The other two were like this also, and now they are doing fine. So, we'll stay the course, as we have before, and I think he'll catch on in no time.

A quick update on the other two. I think Grace is pretty much trained. She has gone several days with no accidents at all. We haven't been putting her in a plastic cover and we haven't regretted that! I haven't even really been sending her to the potty, she'll just tell me she has to go, and then does. The best part is that she tells me when she has to poop, and then does it. That is great! She is waking up dry after naps, and sometimes dry in the mornings. A bladder of steel, I think!

Will is doing better. He has FINALLY started pooping in the potty, but only if I catch him about to do it in his underwear. Only once on Tuesday did he sit on his potty for a while and try (and he was successful, it just took a long time). So, we're on the right track. He still won't tell us he has to pee, but he'll go everytime we ask him to. So, we'll just keep sending him and hope that he eventually follows in Grace's footsteps.

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for a later post this week. We are knee deep in Phase 3 these two weeks. Grace's room is painted, the boys' furniture is assembled and currently being used. The final step is tomorrow, where we are getting the carpet in the living room and Grace's room cleaned. (This is the part I'm most excited about. The kids have trashed our carpets.) Once her carpet is cleaned, we can assemble her furniture and move her into her room. I'll post pictures of the rooms once they are finished with decorations and everything is moved in.

As the title states, we have been busy this week. In addition to the project, we've been all around town doing various things: watching the football game, having birthday dinner for Kara and Wes, running errands, having the van fixed, play dates, and lots of other things. The last night of my class was last night, so I had several assignments due as finals and to top it all off, we started Xander in underwear on Monday. So, this week, we are trying to stick close to home for his learning. (More on his progress coming in a later post.)

Some funny things they've been saying/doing lately.....

Xander has decided that some inatimate objects are hiding from him. If he can't find something, he'll look at me and say "It's probably hiding". He said this morning that his pee hiding from him, too. Grace has started making every command she gives me into a question. "I'll flush the potty, OK?" "I want to do it, OK?" "Get up, OK?" This is a little much, but funny to hear in her little voice. Will has been enjoying dancing lately. Every time there's music on, he'll dance.

The pictures are of the kids watercoloring one day last week. It was a day when it was raining, we were without transportation, and the kids had a cold. We stayed home all day that day! It was a long day! That's about all for now. I'll post about potty training a little later and stay tuned for pictures of their rooms.

A trip

http://picasaweb.google.com/bniebuhr2/TripToNebraskaCity#

Click on this link to see the pictures from our trip to Nebraska City.

So, we took our first trip to a hotel on Saturday. The Fiedler's (Ellen's family) gathered at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City for a night. Brian and I decided to take the kids early in the day and do something with them before the family gathering. So, we got to NE City around 10 on Saturday morning. We went to the Arbor Day Farm Tree Adventure. It was neat, there was a nature trail to walk with activities along the way. An outdoor classroom, 50 ft high treehouse, and other things. We took lots of pictures, as you can see. After lunch, we went to an apple orchard and picked a couple of bags of apples. The kids had fun doing that. We checked into the hotel around 1:30 and gave them a nap. Brian and I took naps too, that was nice! If any of you are wondering, they slept on air mattresses on the hotel room floor. Will found it the most uncomfortable, tossing and turning most of the night. We were in a room with two queen beds, so I ended up putting him in the other bed surrounded by things so he didn't roll out. They're not great at staying in beds and those beds were really high up.

So, after nap, the family met at a park for some playing and pizza. It was nice to see everyone we don't see very often. After dinner, we went swimming at the hotel pool, the kids had a ball. We got them into bed around 8:30, and it wasn't a moment too soon. They were really tired! Will didn't sleep well, as I mentioned earlier. It didn't help that he was getting a small cold and coughing a lot (I didn't have any medicine with us!) and it was raining and thundering. So, because Will didn't sleep well, none of the rest of us did, either. We had brunch on Sunday morning, then headed straight for home. Xander and Grace fell asleep on the ride home, then they took a huge nap on Sunday. This morning, Will has a super stuffy nose, which means he's drooling like a fountain since he has to breathe through his mouth. Xander is also getting a runny nose, which means we're passing germs around.

They did well with their potty training all weekend. We stuck close to a bathroom, and didn't go longer than an hour without a trip to the bathroom. Grace has pretty much mastered staying dry all day, with only the occasional accident. She is even pooping pretty regularly in the potty, which we're very happy about. Will is still about the same as last week. It will be Xander's turn here, soon!

That's about all for now. Here's hoping the colds are mild and don't last long! Cheers!

A weekend of fun and firsts!

We had a great labor day weekend. I hope you enjoy the slide show of pictures.

We drove to Superior on Saturday morning. The kids rode with my mom and dad and watched DVD's all the way there. They did stop once to potty and luckily Will and Grace both made it to Superior with NO accidents. They both did great pottying for the rest of the weekend, only one accident for Grace the whole time we were there. We played a little at my grandma and grandpa's house after lunch, then the kids took a nap. They slept on their air mattresses/sleeping bag combo on the floor in the basement. It was a little tempting to play, but they eventually fell asleep. The wedding we went to started at 6, and the kids stayed behind with grandpa and great-grandpa and ate dinner, then we picked them up for the reception. They sat at the table and nibbled on our dinner while we ate, then they ate a piece of cake (they would tell you it was the best part of the "party"). Then the music started. I thought they might be a little freaked out, but they went out and played with the other kids that were there. They also did a lot of dancing with us. Brian and Grace danced a lot and every time Brian would stop she would say "Don't stop, I want more dancing, Daddy!" We finally left about 9:45. It was dark, of course, when we left and it occurred to me that the kids aren't out in the dark very often, they're usually in bed. The whole time home they talked about the dark and stars and moon they saw. They were still talking about it today. We came home Sunday morning after breakfast. They made it home with no potty accidents, too!

Funny story. They were asleep on their air mattresses and in the middle of the night we heard "Daddy! Daddy!" Brian went over (we were sleeping on the pull out couch across the room) and knelt by Will's bed. Will said "Daddy where's my bed?" But, his voice wasn't coming from his bed, it was coming from behind the bed a few feet away. Brian picked him and started to put him back into his bed, but there was something in there. It turned out to be Xander. We think Xander fell out of bed in the middle of the night and crawled back into a bed, but it was Will's bed. We don't know if Xander crawling in made Will fall out, or if he had already fallen out. So, Brian put Xander back in the right bed and put Will back to bed. Then all was well.

We spent the rest of the weekend working! We have completed phase 2 of the project. Phase 2, if you remember, was putting the office in the basement, which we have done. It's a little weird having the computer in the basement, but I think we'll get used to it. Monday began phase 3. We got the boys' new bedroom (the old office) painted. As soon as we get the garage sale over with this week, it will be cleaned out and ready for furniture. We will paint Grace's room sometime in the next week. All their new furniture comes the 11th, so we will be ready! I will be glad to get all these projects over with!!!

Just a quick update on Grace's potty training, to add to what I wrote before. She is much different than Will to potty train. She's been having moments of sheer brilliance (like in Superior) and moments of complete rebellion and frustration (like Monday when she had 5 accidents in 3 hours). So, it's very hot and cold with her. Today has been good, though. So, hopefully she can continue that and keep going up. That's all for now. Another weekend of firsts coming up (their first stay in a hotel room) so I'm sure I'll be full of stories and pictures next week.