Grady's 3

Grady’s Birthday fell on a Saturday. We had his birthday party the same day as his actual birthday. For every birthday so far we have had donuts in the morning and we normally go to our favorite donut place but it is currently about 25 minutes away. I had all intentions on getting up super early right as they opened (5am) to go get donuts but my alarm didn’t go off so we settled on just normal donuts from daylight donuts

I mentioned in the previous post that instead of toys we asked people to gift Grady with memories this year. To hold true to our request we purchased Grady some Paw Patrol Live tickets for the next day. He didn’t really understand the concept of it the day of but was sooo excited on Sunday when we went.

After his birthday party he took a LONG nap and then we were just going to chill and put the Christmas tree up but instead Grady wanted to go to the Christmas parade so we grabbed a pizza on the way out of town and headed to the Christmas parade. We stopped at my parents house on the way home to take bathes and get ready for bed because any parent knows that once you wake a baby up to take a bath or change into PJs they are up forever and won’t go back to sleep. Good thing we did this because Audrey’s was smooth out by time we got home. Grady needed a little comforting.

On Sunday we decided not to go to Church and have a chill morning. My mom came over to watch Audrey while we were at Paw Patrol. Grady absolutely loves my mom so I was really worried that he wouldn’t want to go and want to stay home with his Nina. However as soon as it was time to leave he told my mom “bye, I go see Paw patrol” and out the door he went. Grady had an amazing time and the smile on his face was everything definitely worth every penny. The show started at noon and it was about an hour and 15 minutes long. On the way home Grady passed out from all the excitement.

Sunday night we put the Christmas tree up and had some left-over party food for dinner. It was a good weekend!

Truck on over, Grady is 3!

The day of Grady’s birthday fell on Saturday which was also the day that we had his birthday party. I went with a vintage truck theme and wanted a vintage gas station feel to it. He is in love with trucks and cars right now so it was perfect. We are also going to decorate his room with trucks so the decorations that we used for his birthday party will be perfect for his new room.

Since we are living in a rental right now we knew we didn’t want the birthday party at our house so I called around different places but nothing really felt right. I was talking about it with my in-laws and my mother in-law mentioned doing the party at the fire station where my father in-law volunteers at. I quickly said yes even though it was site unseen (can’t turn down free!).

I searched pinterest high and low for ideas and ended up finding a license plate sign that I loved. I tried searching the internet and spent way too much time than I really would like to admit trying to find someone that could make me this sign. I ended up going to a print shop and having them custom make it, do not know why I make things harder than they need to be. I found a tutorial on You-tube on how to make a balloon garland. I bought way too many balloons at Hobby Lobby, Dollar Tree, and Amazon but love the way it turned out.

I found little blue trucks in the Target dollar spot and got the last 2 that they had and picked up the “Route 66” sign from Hobby Lobby when it was 50% off. One day that I was off work I went into a vintage shop and picked up a gas can and tool box for under $10. And found printable motor fuel and oil can labels online that I just printed and cut and taped on left over cans from Audrey’s birthday. I was so worried that it wasn’t enough but it was perfect.

The temperature said it was 55 degree but it was a cool 55 so we borrowed a bounce house from my co-worker moved one of the fire trucks outside and put the bounce house inside.

This year for his birthday instead of presents we asked people if they insisted on getting Grady anything to get a gift card or something similar to an outing of some sort. We got a ton of great ideas from going to see a Movie, Christmas lights, Fishing, Baseball game, etc. I absolutely loved this idea and we might be doing it every year.

We had the party at 10:30 which I love having parties with in the morning or in the evenings. I tried to stick with the gas station theme and do gas station styled foods, so we served pretzels, corndogs, popcorn (kettle corn), and crispitos.

The birthday party was a success and Grady had a blast!

Sources:
Table Cloth - Amazon
License Plate Sign - Local Print shop
Route 66 Sign - Hobby Lobby
Blue Truck - Target Dollar Spot
Fuel and Oil can printable
Invitation - Etsy
Grady's Shirt - Etsy
Cookies  - My Blooming Bakery
Party Favors - Tattoo & Chocolate Truck
Balloons - Amazon
Vintage Gas Can & tool Box - Local Vintage shop
Pretzels - Walmart
Corndogs - Sams club
Popcorn - The Corn Popper
Crispitos - Gas Station
Cake - Local

August Recap

August was an exciting and BUSY month for us! I mentioned in the last post that on August 1^st we closed on our home. This was such an emotional day for me. I got way more sentimental that I thought I would but as soon as we finished the paperwork and I saw the new owner and how excited she was I felt complete easement over everything. We closed on a Wednesday and had a contract on a rental house but wasn’t able to move in until that weekend so we lived out of suitcases and moved in with my parents for a week. I have never felt more disorganized and scattered but also so very grateful for this new journey God has lead us on. Our stuff was and still is all over the place being stored at different people’s houses. As we are getting settled in we are gradually gathering our stuff and storing it in our little rental.

Right before we moved out of our house we moved Grady to a “big boy bed” AKA a mattress on the floor. In the midst of the move and in the spirit of making things as normal as possible for our babies Chad built Grady a “big boy” bed for when we moved into the rental home. He loves his new bed, I’m not going to decorate our rental house since we don’t plan on staying long but Grady’s excitement over his room was icing on the cake. Also, in the hustle and bustle of everything going on I completely forgot about Karl’s birthday (August 5^th) and on that day I hurried and ordered a cake from Amazon and we celebrated a few days later, completely felt like an awful doggy mom.

Before we closed on our house we had a pretty good idea about what our next steps were going to be. Well our plans got SH*T on and we were back to square 1. We prayed so hard for God to lead us the way we needed to go. On August 14^th Chad got on the internet and found a piece of land that had been posted just an hour before. After we picked the kids up we drove by the land and made an offer just 3 hours after it was posted. The next day we heard back from the seller and they accepted our offer! It was truly a blessing that we got on when we did cause when we spoke with the agent they had sold all parcels within 36 hours. I will go into more detail in later posts but we could not be more excited to not only have a piece of property but to actually have a permanent place to go!

August 16^th marked Chad’s official last day at his job and his first day of nursing school. I could not be prouder of his ambition and determination. He has never given up on his dream and that is something I truly admire about him. If this week wasn’t busy enough Chad and I worked on Audrey’s birthday present and at the last moment we finally got it finished and it is what dreams are made of.

We purchase an Ikea kitchen back in March when we went to Kansas City. We had some left over grey paint that we used and I purchased so gold spray paint and marble looking adhesive. It turned out way better than I expected and we finished right on time. Actually while Chad was putting the finished touches on the kitchen I was blowing up the balloons for her birthday. Since her actual birthday fall on a Saturday and we had her party that night we used the morning to celebrate her as a family. She woke up about 6:30 (normal Audrey time) and after her bottle we brought her into the living room to her birthday present. She loved every moment and sure does love being the center of attention. As soon as bubba woke up we loaded up in the car and headed to our favorite donut shop for birthday tradition donuts. Daddy got to hang out the rest of the morning while I went to go set up for the party.

The rest of the month was pretty low key. We stayed home on the weekends and got settled into our new normal. Chad and I did sneak out for a date night to celebrate all the wonderful things going on in our lives.

We could not be more grateful for this opportunity and this beautiful thing called life. We have really learned to trust in our Lord and boy it is truly amazing to just sit back and look at his amazing work.

Potty Training

Changing 2 sets of diapers got old real quick so whenever Grady started showing the littlest signs of wanting to be potty trained we took full advantage of this opportunity. I didn’t feel well prepared at all and had very low expectations. I heard 2 different suggestions and we ran with both of those. The first one being the farmer’s almanac. As crazy as it sounds, you simply start potty training on a day that it suggests (just google potty training by farmer’s almanac). With me and Chad’s work schedules we knew we could start on the last day that it recommended. I don’t know if there is complete truth in it but since it just recommends a day for you to start we decided why not.

We followed the 3-day potty training method. It was really the first and only method I read and we just went with it. I took off on Thursday and Chad took off on Friday and then we used the weekend as well just to get him used to it. Let me just say the first day was by far the worst day.

Supplies:

Undies – We knew we were going to start potty training soon so for Christmas and Easter he got some undies. As much as the character undies aren’t as cute as say the plain briefs. They will like the undies with puppies, trucks, their favorite character on them, etc. on them. Grady was really into puppy dogs so we bought paw patrol undies but H&M has the cutest boxer briefs for little boys and they are adorable on him. You will need at least 2 packs on undies(don’t underestimate how much you will need).

//Potty seat//

We purchased the ones sit on the toilet. I just was not a fan of having to clean pee or poo out of a toddler potty seat but it’s completely up to you.

//Timer//

You can use your phone but we just had a kitchen timer in the bathroom

//Toys//

The dollar tree will be your favorite store. I had to make 3 different stops for candy, toys, snacks, etc.

//Activities//

You will be spending A LOT of time in the bathroom so I would advise books, ipad, etc.

//OxiClean//

It is guaranteed that you will have at least 1 poopy pair of undies and you can either throw them away or soak in oxiclean (gloves might be a good idea too)

//Wine/Beer//

Completely optional but it will help with the patience that is required

I am not an expert on potty training but we knew Grady was ready because he suddenly would HATE having his diaper changed and would even start to take it off randomly. He also started to become very interested in the toilet and would sit on it a few times. But I also knew that as soon as we switched I wasn’t going back so we made sure he and we were completely ready. (He was 2 years and 4 months old)

Day -2/-1: 

A few days before you start potty training start having conversations with you little one about what’s about to happen. Show them their undies and have them get excited about wearing them. Grady would want to try them on and wear them around the house and by golly we would let him as much as he wanted to. He would wear them over his diaper and thought they were the coolest things in the world.

Day 1: 

Fill up your coffee mug and put it on repeat!! We didn’t immediately start as soon as he woke up. Grady is not a morning person so this would not have been a good idea. He woke up and watched his morning cartoons for a little bit and as soon as he was awake enough I talked to him about today being the day for potty training. I explained what we were going to do and then lead him into the bathroom and put him on the toilet. I showed him the basket of toys and said that if he went in the potty he could have a toy. We set the timer for every 15 minutes and would start it after he got off the potty. We let him run around with just his undies and a shirt and it didn’t phase him in the morning but towards the afternoon he really started to resent the every 15 minutes and momma’s patience was running thin. We had a few accidents but overall was getting the hang of it. He also got very upset when he didn’t get a toy and even though he just got off the potty he would go back in there and try again just for another toy. Towards the end of the day I moved the time to 30 minutes since he was starting to get the hang of it but we still were having a few accidents. At bed time we put his undies on and then a pull up. We never wanted him to wear a pull up straight due to the feel of it vs his undies. The best advice I can give for day 1 is to make it fun for them and when they do go in the potty make it a BIG deal. And if they don’t go in the potty it’s ok, this day is just getting them used to the idea of it. You will get tired of bleaching your floors but try not make this “new” experience dreaded for them

Make sure they drink plenty of water throughout the day.. more water = more bathroom breaks!

Day 2: 

I do not like it when people say they work to get a break from their kids but that’s how I felt on Day 2, I haven’t been that excited about work in a long time. I heard that kids regress so Chad began the day with every 15 minutes again. He had about 1 accident and then after a few times of that we moved it to 30 minutes and then an hour by the afternoon. By day 2 Grady was doing great, we also didn’t give him a toy every time he went potty but every time he went without us telling him to go.

Day 3: 

This is supposed to be the magic day. We played it by ear and didn’t set a timer but when it got to be a while without going potty we would take him in there. He had a poopy accident but no pee accident (one happy momma). Since he was still have a little problem with pooping in the potty we told him that he could have a toy when he pooped.

Day 4: 

We skipped church, ummm it was basically like having a newborn we were scared to death what going out in public was going to give us. We didn’t have a single accident and I was so so proud. Both Chad and I were so tired of being cooped inside the house though by day 4 but too scared to go out in public that we took turns just to get out of the house. We did take Grady to go get ice cream in the evening to get him out of the house as well.

Day 5: 

I felt like we could have used another day at home but we sent Grady off to daycare. We are fortunate to go to a daycare that listens to us and works with us. We told her everything and again had low expectation but when she opened the day at the end of the day and he had the same clothes on from the morning I could not have been prouder.

We were a little hesitant going places in public with a freshly potty trained toddler but we took it a step at a time. I am pleased that it only took a few days and yes we are still using a pull-up at night but he doesn’t need it, he is doing great.

May Recap

Boy was May a fun month but also a busy one. We are entering a busy time in our lives, are plates are overflowing but we are also trying to stay grounded and focused.

As I mentioned we are putting our house on the market so we spent the better half of May getting our house ready. Our house officially went on the market in the middle of May and we have been staying busy keeping it clean. It never fails though that we have a showing of the day we leave a few dishes out, etc. We also had 2 open houses back to back Sunday’s so that was a lot of fun (NOT)

Cinco de Mayo is probably one of my favorite holidays lol. We have had people over the best few years and I believe it will be an ongoing tradition. I made one of my fav meals (the burrito bowls I mentioned in the weekly meal plan last week). As well as some flautas, and churros. It was probably one of the best dinners we have had in a while which amazing food and great company.

May was extremely hot but we got in all the outdoor play time we could normally in the early morning hours before it got too outside. We also got our pool out for the first time and sister LOVES it! While we were playing in the pool one day Grady needed to go potty and since I was a little lazy and didn’t want to track water in the house I told him to go outside in the grass. For about a week that is the only place he would go. He would say “pee grass” and then when we were outside he would just strip down. It must be a boy thing to love being naked. And as far as our neighbors, pretty sure they are glad we are moving. Lol

There is a neighbor in our neighborhood that owns horses and during a walk one day we went to go see them. We went back later that evening and the sweet owner let us feed the horses with a treat. Grady was in heaven.

We got to dedicate Audrey on Mother’s Day and you can read about that here. Also I started to wean Audrey from breastfeeding. My goal was May 1^st and to be done before we left on Vacation but like I mentioned before I just couldn’t give it up so I was pumping while in Mexico which wasn’t too bad if I say so myself. We are so fortunate to go on vacations and to have grandparents who are more than willing to watch our babies while we are gone.

Grady got to swim in a big pool for the first time this season. I have had major anxiety about pool and water that this was a HUGE baby step for me.

We ended the month with Memorial day weekend which was pretty low key and exactly what we needed. We are so ready to move on and to get our house sold. We love and adore our house but it is time to share it with another family.

It's PAWTY time

Kids birthday parties are my jam! I literally think about them all year long. This year for Grady’s birthday we had a puppy party and boy did he LOVE it. I must admit though this was not my first pick. With Audrey only going to be a few months old I wanted something low key so I was set on a pancakes and PJ party. I discussed it with Chad and of course he wouldn’t have cared either way but he just wasn’t that into the idea. As we hit the 6 months to party time (I plan early) I started to lose interest in the theme as well and went back to the drawing board and boy am I glad I did so. Grady is obsessed with puppies and after remembering reading about a puppy party on a blog I began my quest. I knew I wanted it to be low key and not very many decorations. We settled on balloons doing the majority of the decorations for us and of course had food for our guests. As the day arrived we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. We borrowed the bounce house from my coworker and we had guests inside/outside.

Chad and I discussed the menu a few weeks ahead of time and I mentioned that I would be getting chicken nuggets catered again through chick-fil-a. Well Chad wanted to do something a little cheaper so he purchased frozen nuggets at the store and boy were they GROSS. Sorry honey but I’ll be getting those catered instead from now on. I called a local donut shop the week of the party and told them I wanted puppy donuts and to my surprise they were actually able to make them on short notice. We also had pigs in the blanket, quiches, a fruit tray, pinwheels, and sausage tarlets. The sausage tarlets were such a hit that I didn’t even get one! Everything was so easy and came together great.

Of course we ordered a cake from our favorite bakery, Ann’s in Tulsa. And they sure did not disappoint. The cookies are also from my next door neighbor. I love it when I can send ideas to people and they create exactly what I envisioned.

Cookies

For party favors we did an “adopt a puppy” My parents kept all our beanie babies from when I was a kid just in case we were to make millions off of them. So, I went through my box and also ordered some online so everyone was able to take home a puppy.

We had an absolute blast celebrating his birthday. We had the balloons up in the house for over a week just to remember how special this day was.