Potty Party

The other day we realized we only had two diapers left for Ethan before we would run out. For the last several months we've talked to him about how nice it would be when he could use the potty and have no more diapers. We also told him if he hit certain milestones he would get certain rewards. We would remind him often about the potty and he would respond telling us about the toys and rewards he would get. We did our best to not give him any pressure about it. Recently he started to show lots of interest, but we didn't know exactly how to handle it. After getting lots of advice, we felt really good about going all out, so we did it. We threw Ethan a potty party on Friday to celebrate the end of diapers. He was so excited about it. We went to the store to pick out underwear and came home had brownies and ice cream and played some games. For one of the games, we played with some balloons. As you can see below, the kids loved it. They were probably the favorite part of the party.
Since then, we've been amazed at how well he has done. We tried a pull-up the first night, but he has since pleaded to only wear underwear. He has only had two accidents during the day, none while sleeping. He did great at church today and has no problem using any size of potty. We hope this post doesn't jinx us, but we have been pleasantly surprised at how smoothly and low stress it has been so far. It hasn't been very long yet, but we already feel that it has been successful and it already feels so great to only have to buy diapers for one kid!

When we were at Thanksgiving Point a few weeks ago, we took this panoramic picture of the waterfall down there and forgot to post it with our Thanksgiving Point post below, so here it is (click on it to see a larger version of the picture):

A Miracle at the Morrey's

Praise the heavens! Last night Ethan wanted to eat lettuce and he liked it. He's so particutlar about what he puts in his mouth. The only fruits he will eat are bananas, raisins, and applesauce (if you can even consider those last two fruits) and the only veggies he would eat before last night were peas, corn, broccoli, and french fries (he won't even touch mashed potatoes)! There have been a few times I've caught him picking and tasting something from the garden, but he never will allow us to put the same item on his plate later. I think this is the beginning of something beautiful. Maybe tonight he'll let me put a carrot shred in his salad.

Yeah, I know it's kind of sad that this is what makes my day.

UPDATE: Alas, he refused the carrot shred.

Storyteller

Last Tuesday, we met up with my mom, sister-in-law Heather, and her kids to Thanksgiving Point to take advantage of their August promotion to get in to events for only $2. (Even the fudge in the store near the gardens was only $2 for half a pound!) It was a very sunny day and the flowers were gorgeous. I wish my yard could look like the gardens there.

This ark was in the children's garden there. We wished we would have brought some swim trunks for Ethan. He wanted to get in the water really badly. We are definitely coming back again.

Ethan had a cute milk mustache the other night. We couldn't resist but snap a picture.

We had an eventful week. My mom came to stay with us for a few days while my dad was in Alaska fishing with some friends. We had a great time with her. We took her garage saling with us on Saturday and had a blast. It was one of the best garage sale days we've had all summer. We also had Kyle's family over on Sunday for the Temple dedication. His parents watched the kids so we could go to the dedication. It was so nice to get to go together and sit through a church meeting without wrestling the kids. The talks were so inspiring.

Brooklyn had her 9 month check-up this week. I was sad to find out what I had suspected to be true--that she wasn't gaining weight like she should be. She's always been tall, but only around the 25th to 30th percentile for weight. She is now in the 6th percentile (weighing in 15 lbs 11 oz) and the doctor wants me to supplement her with formula or give her more milk. This came as I was considering starting to cut back on the feedings (to prepare for weaning her completely around her birthday). I think part of the problem is because she is easily distracted when I feed her so she doesn't always get enough. Hopefully with a few changes we can fatten her up a bit. I was so looking forward to flipping her carseat forward when she turns one, but it looks like it might take a little longer to get her to weigh enough. :(

On a happier note, Brooklyn is now crawling on her hands and knees. She still does her army crawl often, but she seems to have figured out the real thing. Still no teeth, yet.

Ethan has started to tell us stories. He always starts "One day . . ." I've recorded a few of his stories so we can remember them down the road.

"One day, Grandma and Grandpa went on a hike."

"One day, Ethan, Brooklyn and Mommy got an owie."

"One day, the 4-wheeler (a toy he has) drove on the rocks and the road. Listened to music on the road."

"Tell a funny story. One day, Mater had some funny wheels."

So far, our favorite story was told last night after our Family Home Evening lesson.

"One day, Grandma and Grandpa went to the temple and saw Jesus. Mommy and Daddy and Brooklyn and Ethan were there too."

9 Months

Our sweet little Brooklyn is 9 months old now! She is growing up so fast. Here is what she is doing.

She...

• has started pulling herself up on her feet
• loves lots of fruits Ethan won't touch like grapes, watermelon, strawberries, prunes mixed with squash. She also really likes bananas grass, paper, and any cereal left behind by Ethan
• loves the TV remote, being outside, going on walks, socializing with other babies, clicking her tongue, hitting keys onf a;jdklfy keyboard
• a daddy's girl through and through ("dada" is her favorite word--she still won't say "mama.") If daddy comes into a room, she has to smile and look at him. She gets upset when he leaves. In her mind, seeing daddy is more important than eating.
  

No, her hair isn't on fire here. Kyle laughed when he saw this one, saying it was a Brooklyn candle.

A few weeks ago, Brooklyn had her first taste of watermelon. She really liked it, but wasn't used to having something so cold in her mouth.

Ethan loves to help pick things from the garden, and feed them to Brooklyn (since he won't eat them himself. He seems to have an issue with the textures of many fruits and veggies).

We were surprised though when he decided to taste each of the tomatoes he helped pick. For anyone who cares, the small orange tomato is a Sungold cherry tomato, the two top red ones are Akers West Virginia, the green one is a Green Zebra, and the dark one is a Black Russian. We love heirloom tomatoes and planted 12 varieties this year.

We found this train table at a garage sale for $10 last weekend, and Ethan LOVES it. Mom and Dad love it too because now his track is not spread out across the floor. The track actually stays together for more than five minutes so there are fewer meltdowns.

Last weekend we went to the Salt Lake Parade of Homes. This was the third year we've gone and by far the least inspiring. We'd like to continue the tradition, but they made some changes to the parade this year that ruined the show. In the past they had nearly 40 homes to see of many styles and prices. It was fun to go to get decorating ideas, but also to see the creativity and what is possible. This year they had 10 show homes to see for ticketholders plus some model homes and homes that builders are trying to sell (open to everyone). We could understand why they made some changes because of the economic turndown, but if they don't go back to the old way they had it, we probably won't continue going.

The kids were really good during our travels around the valley and through the homes. Despite the changes made, we had a really fun day out together.

We loved this playhouse built on the top level of one house.

Brooklyn was tuckered out by the end of the day.

Busy Summer Weekends

Two weekends ago, we headed up to Logan for the annual 24th of July camp out at Grandma Taylor's house. She had so many fun things for the kids to do. Unfortunately, we left our camera at Grandma Morrey's house, so we only got video of all of the fun water toys and slides Grandma Taylor had. We did get a few pictures with the trusty camera phone.

This first one is of Ethan taking his first joy-ride in Grandma Taylor's old Power Wheels Corvette (it's actually Emily's car, but Ethan doesn't know the difference). He loved it, and even still remembers that the white button in the car makes it go backwards. When we asked him what the yellow button (the gas pedal) does, he said, "Get stuck."

We asked Ethan if he would give Brooklyn a ride in the car, and he scooted over to give her room to sit. As soon as she got in the car, however, Ethan flipped out and decided her turn was done and insisted she get out. Such a nice brother.

After the 24th of July parade in Mendon, Ethan got to "drive" his Great Grandpa Taylor's old boat around the yard while being towed behind a four wheeler. He had a blast!We went up a day early to catch the North Logan parade with Grandma Morrey and to take advantage of family to go see the new Harry Potter movie. We loved it, by the way.
These pictures were taken of the kids at the parade.

Ethan hates anything that makes a loud noise. Therefore, the parade wasn't that fun for him. The firetrucks blared their sirens and he got upset. They came at the end though, so he did enjoy all the old cars and the candy being tossed beforehand. When he heard the firetrucks coming and got upset, Grandma Morrey took him in the back yard where he found this tricycle. It seemed to cheer him up.
Last Friday, we met up with Rob and Christin to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Kyle and I especially loved the movie they showed beforehand about the temple. We were surprised at how little carpet there was in the temple. It was a beautiful temple. Kyle kept teasing me for admiring the upholstery on the chairs. I especially liked the chairs in the celestial room. Fun textures!

Brooklyn was a perfect angel in the temple. Ethan was a little bit of a handful, though. He didn't like having to stay in line. We hand to constantly remind him to hold our hands. When he saw the baptismal font he wanted to get in. We were surprised it wasn't tied off. With Rob and Christin's help, we passed through without incident.
We took this picture afterward. It was a bit windy (if you can't tell by my hairstyle. Christin's hair, however, defies all forces of nature). We only got one picture because it took longer than we thought to get through the temple and Brooklyn was really hungry.
After the Temple, Rob and Christin treated us to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. They also stayed with us for the weekend. We had a good time together. The kids really loved having them here.

During their stay, we discovered that Ethan thinks a "hug" is walking up to someone and declaring, "Oh [insert name], I love you." Whenever he hurts Brooklyn and has to give her a hug and tell her that he is sorry, he walks over to her and says "Oh, Brooklyn, I love you." It's SOOOO cute! Have a look at the video here.