Let's be real...

...this summer has been one of the most challenging summers that I've had.  Don't get me wrong, it has been great in many ways too - when I say challenging, I don't mean bad!  After talking with some of my mom friends, I've come to realize, partly why this summer has been so rough.

• The boys don't take their afternoon nap anymore
• A somewhat failed attempt at potty training in June, led to Ellis deciding on his own that he was ready to be potty trained in July.
• Their speech has picked up quite a bit - which has been a mixed blessing (I'll explain later)...

All in all, this is just one of those summers where there is a TON going on with them developmentally and with only one of me and two of them during the day, my head was spinning at times!

I always wondered what I'd do when I didn't get that 2-ish hour break in the middle of the day.  How will I get any of my own personal things done, or if anything else, just take a breather?  And aside from that, what will we do during that time so it doesn't turn in an "I'm fighting my nap and totally cranky right now" moment?  Well, the answer is - I really didn't get my own personal things done - except for things that I can do while they are (hopefully) playing nicely together.  Taking a breather?  Nope, didn't happen either.  And I decided to usually plan something fun during their normal nap time - trip to the park, library, an art activity, etc.  Something they really liked, which would give them less chances of fighting with each other.  This sometimes led to them falling asleep before we got to where we were going, but hey, thats fine too (and I just learned to pack a book with me in case they did fall asleep).  Did I mention that if I ended up coming home once they fell asleep, they would throw a fit when they woke up - wondering why we weren't at the location we were originally planning to go?  That's why I packed the book and just read in the parking lot until they woke up!

In June I was gung-ho at starting to potty train and after 5 days I gave up.  Every few days afterwards, Ellis would tell me he had to go pee pee and ran to the potty.  I think it was more or less because he wanted to use the iPad (that was their reward before for sitting on the potty).  After a few days of no luck, I decided to put the portable potties away - thinking I would just pull them out a few months later to see if either was interested.  The next morning, Ellis saw the potties in my bathroom (they were in my shower drying after I washed them the night before) and he said "pee pee mommy" so I let him go through the process again, making a note to myself to put them completely away later that morning.  Well, guess what?  He peed!  I was floored!  Once he peed, he didn't want a diaper on again and an hour later my naked boy yelled again "pee pee mommy!"  Yet again, another successful pee.  He did very good the rest of the day - a couple accidents, but dang, I was shocked.  I wanted to follow his lead because Mr. Stubborn doesn't like to be told anything, he has to call the shots.  So the next day, I asked if he wanted to wear underwear or a diaper and he said diaper.  I think that day he only peed once on the potty.  No desire the next day either.  Okay, so maybe it was a fluke.  

A couple days later, he started this all over again with saying he had to pee and actually went.  The few days that followed were hit or miss, but more hits, which made me think that maybe this was it.  This continued and he got better and better each day.  The day before our trip up north was his first day with no accidents at all.  Since then, he's had a few accidents - mainly because I've learned that I can not ask him if he has to go.  If he has to go, I have to let him tell me.  He resists me asking, and that has turned into a few "no mommy, no!" moments when I just know from his body language that he has to go, yet his legs go weak when I try to take him to the bathroom before he pees all over himself.  So, we had a few days where our schedule depended on when Ellis peed last, or how close a bathroom was to the place we were going, but we're getting there. Now we are just working on him going to the bathroom in places aside from at home, to prep him for going back to day care and preschool in a few weeks. Logan - well, thats another story.  He says "pee pee" every so often, so I take him to the potty hoping he will be like Ellis and just randomly go, but he hasn't.  Still a work in progress for him.  But hey, 1 out of 2 potty trained is better than I was thinking we'd have at the beginning of July. 

Their speech has definitely picked up a bit.  I wish I remember how much they were talking back in June, but I definitely understand a lot more of what they are saying.  They can tell me what they want to do, want to eat, what happened to make them cry - which is the good side of it.  The bad side of it is the "no mommy" that I hear pretty much daily.  I remember back, maybe 6 months to a year ago, when many of my mommy friends said to be careful what I wish for.  Of course I wanted them to talk more, but once they start forming an opinion on things, things got a little tricky.  Say for example we are taking a bike ride (them riding bikes, me running with Bella) and one wants to go one way and one wants to go a different way.  Hmm - what to do when both opinionated boys won't give in?  Deal with one screaming kid who won't ride his bike at all, and the other one who is flying down the street, excited to go his way - oh yeah, and don't forget the dog I have with me too!  Or, when we get into the car to go to the park and one is excited to go to the park and one wants to go to the library.  I assume that he will be fine once he sees the park, but no - he is screaming in the parking lot and doesn't want me to take him out of the car.  Or when one wants to go downstairs to play and one wants to go outside.  One wants to watch Thomas the Train and one wants to watch Peppa Pig.  Shall I go on?  Having two with the same mentality (versus two kids of different ages) has definitely pushed me to my limits with trying to figure out how to resolve the issue.  Now don't get me wrong, these things haven't been an issue every day, but when I finally sit down at night I definitely feel a bit more tired than I remember feeling last year.  

But as much as this summer has been a bit stressful at times (and there will always be some sort of stress at each different stage, right?!?), we've also had some awesome, awesome fun.  Lots of playdates where the boys actually play with the kids we are with - versus being in their own little world just playing around the other kids.  They are communicating with each other and us - saying the cutest damn things - I wish I could remember everything they have said.  They mimic practically everything they hear, and much of it has been with an English accent thanks dearly to Peppa Pig.  I don't know how many times my phone has rang and I hear one of the boys say "Hello, Daddy Pig here".  One morning I made pancakes for them and Logan busts out with "Mmm, delicious".  I did a double take, but then a few days later, realize that Peppa Pig says that when she is eating too.  Oy!  We took them to their first carnival and they saw fireworks for the first time, although Ellis isn't a fan of the loud noises!  We have gone to the zoo where they love watching the animals even more now that they really know more animals - and we plan to go to the Toledo Zoo next weekend as long as this stupid water issue is taken care of.  At the splash pad, they had a TON of fun too.  I didn't have to chase them around to make sure they didn't run away, or go in the water with them to get them acclimated to it.  Today, we took them to their first movie: Planes 2.  Since the movie has been out for a few weeks, the theater wasn't full at all, but I think everyone that was there could hear a repeated version of the movie from Logan.  He was so excited he literally repeated most of the first 5 minutes and giggled so much.  Troy was trying to get him to stop, but he wasn't going for it.  Troy even attempted "shhh"-ing him and Logan then looked at Troy and said "daddy, shh" over and over.  It was hilarious!  Luckily he stopped shortly after and only had a few more spurts of some random shout-outs.  The boys love painting, coloring, doing puzzles - man do they love doing puzzles.  We got them different 12 piece puzzles but they fly through those and have done a few 24 piece puzzles with a bit of assistance.  

So, what was the point of all my rambling?  I haven't blogged in a while so even though I've been home all summer, it hasn't exactly been easy to get away and update what we've been doing, and this has been why.  Plus, I gotta keep it real - I am not one to fake it and act like our summer has been perfect.  Just as they are learning and developing, so am I.  I always will be, as they move into a different stage of development.  I laughed the other day when Nicole told me that one day she told Morgan and Parker that she was going to have a time-out and since she is 36 years old, she has to sit for 36 minutes.  What an awesome idea (although Morgan didn't like it so much)!  I've had my share of moments where I've walked away from a situation to just breathe, get some water, take deep breaths!  But, as Steve Carrell quoted in one of his upcoming movies: "You gotta have the bad days so you can love the good days even more."  So true, and regardless of these occasional stressful moments, I'm still so lucky to have these boys in my life - how can I turn Ellis away when out of the blue, he says "hug mom" and gives me the biggest hug EVER!  Just love it!

And a blog post wouldn't be complete without some pics to wrap it all up:

A trip to Troy Nature Center

Rock climbing outside the Nature Center 

Splash Pad

No fear at all sticking their face right in the water!

A little bit of hopscotch fun!

Fun with magnets and paper clips

Who says a water table can't double as a pool?

Cousins all cozy, watching a movie at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Cute story: At my dad's birthday party last week Ellis said he wanted birthday cake.  Well, anyone that knows Ellis knows he doesn't eat cake, but my mom gave him a small piece.  After whining about wanting "BIRTHDAY cake" Morgan actually told us that she thinks he wants the candle that was in my dad's cake.  Gotcha!  So, I gave him a candle, and lit it and he sang Happy Birthday to himself and blew out the candle.  "Again, mom, again." -  about 5 more times!

Mr. Independent wants to try to blow bubbles himself.  Needless to say we lost a lot of bubble solution this week!  That's the only way they'll learn though, right?

Playing catch at the park.

I haven't uploaded any pictures from the past few days, but hopefully soon!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

A Great Day!

Wow, what a day!  Here is our blow by blow (no pun intended)

7am - Troy headed outside to blow snow.  Much to his dismay he didn't do much yesterday (aside from shoveling the deck) and instead wanted to just wait until it was all done snowing instead of going out their multiple times.  So, he paid the price this morning as he was out there for nearly 2.5 hours.  Luckily he wasn't working today either (nearly 20-22 inches in and around Flint)!  We got about 14-16 inches of new snow, but down by the end of the driveway, where the plow had been through a few times, it was really thick - then of course where snow was already drifting, that was as high as 18 inches.

8:15am - I took the kids to their new day care.  I know, I should've kept them home since I had a snow day, but I really wanted them to get adjusted to their new routine.  Plus, I figured that since a lot of people weren't working today (quite a few of the parents of the kids at this day care are teachers), it might be easier for them to get adjusted when there weren't a lot of kids there.  I normally won't be the one taking them (since I leave for work so early), so I wasn't very happy that I had to take them (I really didn't want to see them cry when I left, to be quite honest), but Troy was snow-blowing still, so I couldn't complain.

CRAZY tall mound of snow in the middle of the road near the day care.  Hopefully no one wanted to turn left here!

8:38am - I was on my way home from dropping them off.  There were lots of the workers all in one room with the kids (with maybe 8 kids so far), so I got them situated and Ellis ran off to find a bus to play with and Logan found a plane.  I gave them a kiss and told them to have a good day and that I'd see them later.  Logan started walking to the door, thinking he was leaving with me, but one of the workers distracted him and I took off.  I didn't hear any crying, nor did I see him run after me, so I figured all was good.

10am - Back at home I decided to take this extra day off to my advantage, and went for a run.  On the treadmill of course.  I'm trying to get my ass in shape so today was day 2 and what better way to do it than when the boys aren't home!

11am - Done running and showered.  I decided to call the day care to check in on the boys.  Their report:  They were doing very well.  They did an art project (which they weren't too fond off - no surprise to me) and then they did circle time (what?  we have to sit down and not play with toys?  What kind of place is this?) and of course snack time, which they loved.  LOL.  She said they seemed to be adjusting well, and they were off playing on their own, which is pretty typical of kids when they are new (instead of joining the group of kids when they were trying to do something structured, they were fine with doing their own thing).  She did say that Logan whined a little bit when I left, but he has been ultra-clingy to me lately, so that didn't surprise me either.  So far, so good.

12pm - Troy and I head out to Panera for a little date lunch.  On our way, I got another great phone call - school was cancelled tomorrow too - too cold!  WOO HOO!  So, we had lunch, stopped at Target for a few things, before heading home.

1:30pm - Back at home and after watching Bella try to find a place to pee, I decided to shovel out a little area out for her so she didn't have such a hard time going to the bathroom.

2pm - Finally I relax - watch an episode of House Hunters and then read part of a book I got for Christmas.

4pm - Go get the boys. Troy and I both went to see how the boys did for their first day.  They both got super good reports.  Ellis is really good at cleaning up (I guess we are doing something right at home!) and they both played really well.  Logan spent a good time chatting with Miss Meghan.  She was quite impressed with how they both did for their first day.  Sure, they had been at another day care before, but this is of course a new place to them and I wasn't sure how they'd feel being somewhere new right away.  But I'm really excited about the structure and activities that they will be doing here, versus the random schedule that was at our other daycare.  Even if they didn't get into it much today, within time they will benefit so much from it!  They even did a group art activity that we got to bring home.  HOW CUTE!!

One little boy, Caden, was watching as they were putting their coats on, and Miss Meghan said that the three boys were best buds today.  When we got in the car I asked the boys if they met any new friends and Logan said "Kay Kay".  I couldn't believe it!  Totally sounded like he was trying to say Caden!

Aside from this, lots of talking coming from Logan.  We've been reading a book where he likes to finish the sentences, pointing to lots of things and saying what they are, lots of repeating what we say (better put an end to the profanity around them), and his favorite is "I got you" which sounds more like "I gotchu".  Ellis is picking up quite a bit.  Of course his favorite animal is a horse, which sounds more like "horsch" with an English accent.  He likes the color "blue" and his favorite number he says is "2".  He is trying so hard lately.  In fact, we had a random FaceTime chat with Grandma and Grandpa Bush tonight and I seriously couldn't get a word in!  It was hilarious, well, until I really wanted to say something.

So, that's it for now.  Hopefully everyone stayed warm today and stays warm tomorrow.  Our outdoor thermometer has shown a drop of 7 degrees in the past hour, so I'm happy I'm not out in this frigid air!  Tomorrow I might be out a bit, but not much.  I made an eye appointment for myself (once I realized we didn't have school, I figured I should stop delaying this since it's been 3 years!) and might meet up with a friend that I haven't really gotten to chat with in a while.  Other than that, another run planned and more relaxing.  ENJOY!!

What a week (or two)

Because I want to go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, here is just a brief synopsis of our past two weeks (since I blogged last):

• Last Tuesday, I finally got to meet baby Dylan.  Kelly came home for a week and we were able to spend some time together - us girls - but also got to meet the cute little guy.  Keeping my fingers crossed that we can see them again soon!
• Work has kept me busy.  We had a great 3-day training last week, but that meant a really late Friday with getting my classroom ready for school Tuesday.
• Troy finally had a Friday off last week but wasn't able to accomplish much of anything.  Ever since Ellis got sick a few weeks ago, we've had an issue with some sort of bug between the two of them.  Logan came down with a fever Friday morning and was sent home, so Troy spent the day with the boys.
• We got to visit with Kelly and her family, again on Saturday, for a little BBQ.  
• Tuesday was the first day of school.  Sure it was a bit hectic but crazy how awesome this staff is that I work with.  A school that is opening for its 4th year, with adding the elementary and high school this year (we are all in the same building for this year also) is bound to have its issues at first, but I was pretty impressed with how the day went.  I was actually pretty excited when I left work, until...
• I talked to Troy on the way home from work and he told me that Seema (our day care provider) saw a rash on Logan's belly and thinks it could be measles or roseola.  Troy made an appointment with the doctor on Wednesday.  Sure as heck freaked me out.  They are all caught up on their immunizations so I really didn't know if measles was really an option, but who knows.  
• Luckily it wasn't measles.  Apparently it was an intestinal virus that was no longer contagious once the fever broke, which was Friday night.  Phew!  Unfortunately his appetite might be a little lower and he might have diarrhea for the next week or so while it works its way out of his little body, but so glad to hear that it isn't anything major.
• Huge high five to Ellis who was by himself at daycare (well, without Logan) while Troy took Logan to the doctor.  I wasn't sure how he would react to being dropped off and Troy taking Logan back with him, but he was really good!  A proud mama, once again.
• Tonight, it's a huge Big Brother night (yes, I'm addicted) and Troy is headed to a friend's house to head up north to go salmon fishing tomorrow so its just me and the boys (and Bella) for the next 36 hours.
• This weekend we are headed to the Adrian area for a birthday party for a special 1 year old!
• And as far as work goes, 3 days down, 177 more to go!  Okay, so that sounds like I'm already ready for next summer. It isn't that bad, but getting back in the swing of things is never easy I think.  Plus, this week we haven't jumped into the curriculum yet and our schedule is not like it will always be, so I'm looking forward to next week when we start the normal schedule and normal days.

I will end here with a few pictures and videos from the past two weeks:

Logan LOVES this construction hat at day care.  Literally wouldn't take it off for 2 whole days!

Ellis playing ball with a new friend.

A MUCH needed girls night.  Love these girls and wish that we had more nights like this!

After Troy took Logan to day care after his doctors appointment, he jumped right in and joined Ellis on the slide.

The boys got some hot wheels for their birthday (thank you Sheila and Luke!), and just recently Ellis has not been able to put them down.  He plays with them from the moment we get home to the minute we go to bed.  Yesterday he even used Troy's leg as a road/ramp.  It was so cute.  Looks like we'll have to get him some more hot wheels toys!

Here are two videos of the boys.  The first one is of them "playing drums" at day care.  It's not the best quality, but looks like we need to get them a drum set soon.  The second one is of them (mainly Logan) playing basketball.  They are actually getting pretty good!  =)





Alright, well, this mama has to get up earlier tomorrow than normal since I'm flying solo with the boys, so it's time for bed.  Hopefully everyone has a great Friday and an even better weekend!  And also lots of luck to Troy.  Hoping he has good luck fishing tomorrow!

Lovin' life

This past has been so much better than last week.  Last week I was in a bit of a funk, but I'm officially out of it and enjoying each minute I have with the boys before the dreaded day I go back to work.

Last week was the Big Rig Gig in Lake Orion that we checked out.  The boys LOVE trucks, so it just seemed perfect.  Unfortunately, with a lot of trucks comes a lot of horn honking, so aside from Logan covering his ears every so often, they seemed to enjoy it.  

Hard to tell, but he's "driving" a school bus

And Ellis' turn - which he was super excited about.  He just LOVES busses!

And nothing beats a little fun running (and apparently doing UFC moves) in the field that all the trucks were in.

Couldn't leave without checking out the smelly garbage truck.  

Troy, being the smart ass he is, wanted to pose in front of his favorite truck!

Cousins!

Over the weekend, we put a huge dent in the deck restoration.  We put all the railings on, on Saturday, and on Sunday, we did the railings for the steps and put a 2nd coat on everything that needed it.  Before and after pictures (once we stain the steps and the pergola this weekend) will be a post all on it's own.

On Monday we headed to the park and again fed the ducks.  Apparently its just mandatory now to visit and feed the ducks every time we go to the park.

On Tuesday we headed to the library story time.  The boys played at the library beforehand, and despite all the kids playing (I've never seen the kids section so full before!), probably because they all had the same idea of playing before story time, I was impressed at how well the kids played with the other kids around.  No grabbing/stealing toys, no whining, etc.

Yesterday we headed to see Nicole, Morgan and Parker.  After lots of playing inside, in the morning, we headed outside in the afternoon.

Bubble-chasing time

A little impromptu water fun.  No bathing suits = playing in diapers.  It's all good! 

I loved how Ellis stared so intently on what Morgan was doing (dipping her hair in the water then standing up to squeeze it out).  Logan's diaper got way too bloated, so he changed into a pair of underwear so he wouldn't be so uncomfortable.  It is wrong to think your child looks so cute wearing underwear?!?  

Today we met up with Sheila and Luke at the zoo.  We tried something new today - no stroller - and it was a very fun, successful trip.  Earlier in the summer, the boys get out of the stroller when we stop to see an animal and then get back in to travel to the next animal.  Well, the last time we were there, they barely wanted to go in the stroller at all, so when they did get a little out of my reach, it was near impossible to get them both together, and the stroller at the same time.  This mama only has 2 hands, ya know.  Today, we enjoyed ourselves and they did such a good job listening and holding my hand for quite a bit of the time (like they do when we walk around the block since we don't have sidewalks).

Tiger siting!

I was pretty surprised that Ellis let Luke hold his hand - too cute! 

Up close and personal with a gorilla.

At the polar bear/seal exhibit, there is an ice wall.  Usually the boys are in a hurry to get out of there that they never really touch the cold wall.  I asked Logan if the wall was cold and he said "cold".  I did a double-take and looked at Sheila and she heard it too.  Baby steps....

Seeing the polar bear from the outside.  It looks really far away in the picture but it really didn't seem that far away.

And you can't keep this kid off of the rocks, so we took a little break while the boys climbed on rocks and jumped off of them!

Whew!  Looking at that week, it's no surprise I'm a little tired.  Sure we've been a little busy, but the boys have loved every minute of it and I want to make the most of our last 2 weeks.  For tomorrow, we are going to hang low during the day because we are headed to the Chandlers for the evening.  Such fun days = little/no nap and I don't want to risk that tomorrow and have to come home to early from their place.  Hope everyone is enjoying their summer too!

What we've been up to

It's been a while since I've updated on anything more than my scrapbooking, so it's about time to let you all know what the boys have been up to.

First a little recap on our summer bucket list activities so far (activities we've done are highlighted):

• Have a picnic at a park - Just me and the boys having a picnic at a new-to-us park in Troy.

• Story time at the library
• Go to a parade
• Splash Pad
• Detroit Zoo (maybe Toledo Zoo, too?)
• Camping at the Pinery
• Go to a local beach
• Hit up the farmers market
• Go to a new park - Boulan Park in Troy - not too far, but one we haven't been to before

Why must I have boys that LOVE to try to climb on everything?!? Sure, that's what they are meant for, but it's not too easy for me to help both of them when they both want to climb different ones at the same time!

• Attend the Big Rig Gig - FRIDAY - Anyone interested?
• Ride the trains at Starr Jaycee Park - SATURDAY - Anyone interested?
• See fireworks (or at least play with sparklers) - Nope, this one didn't happen...
• Take a walk (sans stroller) on a local trail - Paint Creek Trail in downtown Rochester - connects right to the park we usually go to.

"Hey mom, are you coming?"  

So excited to have the freedom to walk on their own without having to hold my hand (like they have to when we walk around our neighborhood).  I seriously think that after this walk down the trail, Ellis would rather go for walks and explore, than play on the playground at the park!

• Feed the ducks at the park (without Ellis freaking out!) - At the same park that we play at, in downtown Rochester

Ellis was a bit more skeptical at first (which is why he is so far back), but luckily he could throw his bread far enough to make it to the ducks.

And here is a little video of them feeding the ducks.  In case you are curious, I keep saying "feed the ducky" because I swear Logan said it just before I started the video.  And sorry for the not-so-good footage.  It's not very easy to take video, give them some bread and make sure neither of them go too close to the water!

• Make homemade ice cream - soon, soon!

So, now that I look at our list of things to do for the summer, I feel like we still have a lot more to accomplish in these last few weeks.  Of course I'm not going to push it and force anything to happen, but it kind of reorganizes my thoughts and reminds me of what fun things I thought we could do.

There is quite a bit that we've done, also, that wasn't on the list.  

I'm so proud of Ellis for being willing to try some painting.  Arts and crafts is one thing he was NOT interested in, during the Parent/Tot class we've taken them to as part of their speech classes.  He has actually been much more interested in it than Logan lately!

A visit from Grandma last week.  It was a nice day for the pool so we spend the afternoon in the backyard playing.

These boys love the water (and showing off for Grandma, of course!)

Last week we went to the Bairds, and had a fun day playing in the water.  Cole was so kind to show the boys how to use a slip 'n slide.  Unfortunately for Cole though, once he showed them, they hogged it and wouldn't always give him a turn =( .  We are still working on sharing!  

Here's a little video of the slip 'n slide action.  I think Logan was more excited to sit in the mini "pool" at the end of it, but watching Ellis go down it cracks me up!

Last week we also visited Cari, an old friend from my CMU days, that I haven't seen in way too long.  She has 3 girls (which includes 1 set of twins) and the boys were just in heaven.  Logan just followed them around - hopefully not annoying them too much - and loved watching them play.  Towards the end of our visit the girls put on a show for us and Logan and Ellis got a kick out of joining them in the dance portion of it!  Hopefully we can meet up like that more often! 

Okay, so this picture might not be very appropriate, but I am trying to highlight the fact that Ellis' last two pacifiers are no longer in the house, hence the picture of our garbage.  He hasn't used them (or held them, as he did primarily for comfort after we cut holes in the tips) in quite a long time, so about a month ago, I took them out of his sight altogether to see if he would even notice that they were gone.  NOPE, he hasn't.  So, when I came across them when I was cleaning earlier in the week, I thought it was time to say goodbye.  Bittersweet moment for this mama!  

Aside from our normal pool fun, a lot of time has been spent outside playing on our playground.  The boys usually play on the slide the most, but this week they have been all about the swings.

And thankfully they seem to be done with the throwing sand phase of their life (hopefully).  They actually like to scoop it instead of see how much they can get in their hair!

And last but not least, this picture is a little older, but it cracks me up.  When reading about ways to help kids develop more speech, I read that sometimes kids need to build up their mouth muscles more.  One way to do that is to have them use a straw sippy cup instead of just the basic one.  I frankly never thought of that and never really got them to use a straw one because, well, let's be honest, who wants to clean out straws all the time?  Some of those cups have so many darn parts to them, it's ridiculous!  Well, anyways, I went to the store and bought some trainer straw sippy cups that help you teach a child how to drink from a straw (you push the bottom of the cup and liquid goes up the straw without them sucking - it teaches that they have to do some work to get the liquid up the straw - hence sucking from a straw).  Thankfully, they caught on really quick so I went out and bought some that aren't quite as easy to suck from, to get them used to using those muscles.  What made me laugh about the day I took this picture is that Ellis was having a hard time keeping the cup down so that he could actually suck up water.  They are so used to tipping the cup back to drink from it, but as we all know, if you do that with a straw cup, you won't get much of anything in there, so in this picture, he was trying so hard to keep the cup down so he could get some water to drink.  Too funny, Ellis.

Well, I think that's it for now.  It is way too late and I should be sleeping, but damn this Mt. Dew slurpee hasn't gotten out of my system yet.  

Tomorrow's agenda - continue working on the deck restoration (for as much as the weather will allow us) and have a BBQ with some friends at night.  Once the deck is done I will show before and after pictures, but with the progress we've made so far, I'm very excited to see the finished product.  Good night everyone!