Potty Talk

As I mentioned in Maggie's 9 Month post, she is OBSESSED with the bathroom and more specifically the potty. She loves to pull up and splash her hand around. While this is pretty yucky, I do have the cleanest bathrooms ITP because I have a three year old with bad aim, so I clean the bathroom daily and sometime more!

I set up Maggie's new water table in the living room this afternoon to give her a chance to splash. It did hold her interest for a while, but the toilet definitely has the added bonus of rebellion for her! :)

Happy Saturday!

Home Party

We decided to have a small family party for Tuttle since no one really saw him during his actual party at Leapin' Lizards (He was running around and jumping the entire time!), and Aunt Peach had a wedding that caused her to miss the party on Saturday.

Both sets of grandparents and Aunt Peach came over for spaghetti and cake. Although rush hour traffic was almost unbearable for Gram and Grumps, the dinner was a huge success, and we plan to have a small family party every year from now on.

Tuttle helped me mix the cake. It was not fancy at all! It was a boxed cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles.

Tuttle was showered with more presents, including a fire station/police station playhouse and a Spiderman playset and superhero car. Grandmommy and Grandaddy gave Tuttle the bunk beds and bedding earlier, but he was very eager to show off his big boy sleeping arrangement to everyone in the family.

We are so lucky to have such loving and supportive grandparents and aunt for our babies!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Tuttle!

Happy Nine Months, Maggie Ruth!

Margaret Ruth Thorne has been a part of our family for nine months now.

At nine months, Maggie

• is (weight check May 10)
• is (height check May 10)
• eats 5-6 times a day through a combination of formula (6 ounce bottles), baby food, and some table food (Cheerios, steamed mixed vegetables, bread, chicken, banana). She is still primarily eating baby food. She is successfully "chewing" table food, but she does not seem to like to actually swallow it.
• absolutely LOVES yogurt! If all else fails, she will always eat a container down to the last spoonful.
• wears 6-9m and 6-12m clothes
• goes to bed between 7:00-7:30 and wakes once for a bottle between 12-4. If she wakes up again before 7am, I will give her another bottle and grab a little more sleep myself!
• now sleeps with several lovies and a blanket to snuggle
• still takes Prevacid for acid reflux, but I am reducing it half a pill every other day with no problems
• takes a morning nap on the go (carseat or stroller) and takes an afternoon nap in her crib for about an hour to two hours. She is not fighting the afternoon nap and will play/stand up/cruise around the crib until she falls asleep. She takes a bottle to nap with her.
• is completely on the move! Maggie crawls wherever she wants to go, pulls herself up, and cruises around furniture
• has a favorite room in the house: the bathroom. She thinks she has hit the jackpot if the lid is open on the potty, and she can splash her hand!
• takes a shower with Mommy every morning since she loves splashing in water so much!
• still plays well independently. Although she is mobile, she still stays nearby and does not get into things she is not supposed to. :)
• has developed seperation anxiety from her mommy, especially if Mommy is in the same room.
• prefers Tuttle's toys over any baby toys
• has zero interest in the television or books. She does not have time to sit still for such nonsense! :)
• is the most content outside in the sunshine 

We love you so much, Maggie Moo Bear!

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Maggie has discovered how to climb. Earlier today she enjoyed climbing onto brother's mattress when I placed it on the floor to change the sheets. After lunch I was helping Tuttle readjust his sandwich (since a three year old gets so upset when the ham and cheese are not perfectly lined up!), and I walk back to the sink the clean up lunch dishes and find this:

She definitely keeps me on my toes!

Boys and Their Toys

Jay has been researching cars for a while now, and he finally got his heart set on an old Jeep Wagoneer. Since one of our Jeeps was in need of some costly repairs anyway, we decided to sell it and let Jay find his dream car. After hours and hours of searching, he found it! He picked it up it up this past weekend and is excited to get started fixing it up. I think it fits his personality perfectly!

Congratulations, Hubby!!

Tuttle's 3rd Birthday Party

We celebrated Tuttle's 3rd birthday with a party at Leapin' Lizards on Saturday. Since most of Tuttle's friends are the same age as Tuttle, we have attended a birthday party almost every weekend for the past two months. Tuttle really understands what it means to have a birthday this year, so he was ready for the extra attention and fun at his own party! :)

 

 

Tuttle currently LOVES the show Rescue Bots. It stars four robot transformers that are sent by Optimus Prime to live among humans and learn about them. They are rescue vehicles (firetruck, police car, bulldozer, and helicopter) and help save people in their town. I used the show as inspiration for the small amount of decorating I did. Luckily Leapin' Lizards took care of the room setup and cleanup.

Tuttle has reminded me again and again that he wanted the Transformer cake for his party. We did not disappoint him.

 

 

I made snack bags that were labeled "Nuts and Bolts- Robot Snack Mix" for Tuttle's treat for his friends. I thought they turned out really cute, and several parents commented that they were happy to take home a healthy snack for their kids!

 

 

Tuttle was so busy during the party running around and jumping that I literally barely saw him! Jay snapped some pictures of the action, but it is extremely difficult to get a clear picture of the kids playing. The blurry pictures on my camera are a perfect representation of the fun!

 

 

 

Tuttle was such a lucky boy to have so many friends celebrate his birthday. Almost his entire preschool class came as well as neighborhood friends and extended family. 

 

 

Happy Birthday to You!

 

 

Tuttle decided to sit by Paul after blowing out the candles. :)

We attempted a group shot! Haha

 

 

I cannot express how much we love our big boy. The last three years have been the best! Tuttle always keeps us smiling and laughing. He is such an easy child to parent.

Happy Birthday, Tuttle!

Baseball and Bicycles

Wednesday Jay and Tuttle packed in such a fun day! Jay took the day off work to take Tuttle to a Braves game at Turner Field. They left very early (about 8:30am) to ride Marta (also a HUGE highlight of the day) and be at the game before it started to really enjoy all that Turner Field has to offer. 

They both enjoyed traditional baseball snacks with Tuttle eating popcorn and ice cream while Jay enjoyed peanuts and beer. The seats were right behind home plate, and they stayed for the entire game. Although the Braves ended their winning streak, the boys had a perfect day!

Today was the Trike-a-Thon at Tuttle's preschool to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hosptial. The kids learned about bicycle safety on Tuesday, and each child brought a riding toy and a helmet to ride for the cause today.

Maggie was ready to cheer on her big brother!

Tuttle looked so cute cruising around on his Cars motorcycle. Even though he did get a real bike for Christmas, he has not mastered balancing and turning without tipping over, so I kept it at home. He did not notice at all and had a blast with his classmates.

After the fundraising event, Tuttle shared mini cupcakes with his class to celebrate his birthday this weekend. Most of his school friends are coming to his party, so they get to celebrate twice.

We are gearing up for a big weekend with our THREE year old!

Bunk Beds

In honor of Tuttle turning three this upcoming weekend, we decided to upgrade his bedroom with bunk beds. These are not any bunk beds, though. These are the same bunk beds that Tuttle's Daddy used when he was a little boy! We are so excited that Tuttle can enjoy them, too.

Please Note: I realize the madras bedding and madras pants are a little overkill! :)

Grandmommy and Grandaddy had been using them in their bonus room, but they were eager to pass them down to Tuttle. They even bought the bedding as Tuttle's birthday gift. 

Thank you, Grandmommy and Grandaddy!

Tuttle could not be more thrilled about his new sleeping arrangement. He loves to tell his friends and even strangers about his new bunk beds. Luckily he wanted to sleep on the bottom, so we did not have to battle that issue! Tuttle has definitely been getting his exercise climbing up and down the ladder, and he requests his firefighter hat when he is playing on his bunk beds since firefighters use a ladder. :)

He looks so big in his new bed. I think once a child turns three that a lot of the "baby" disappears. This makes me so sad, but Jay and I are enjoying Tuttle's new independence, as well. 

We are looking forward to officially celebrating Tuttle's birthday this weekend!

Brawn and Burgers

The babies and I went to Will and Sarah Bate's 2nd birthday party this morning at Catch Air in Sandy Springs. We had never been before, and I was very impressed with all the different and unique areas for the kids to play. Tuttle found an exercise section that he was OBSESSED with and spent most of his time working on his muscles. It was cracking me up!

We had such a great time at the party! Happy Birthday, Will and Sarah Bates.

Jay had to go to Madison to pick up bunk beds for Tuttle, so Kristen invited the babies and me over for a cookout this afternoon after naps. Tuttle had been talking about Jack's house and his toys since our playdate on Wednesday. I am extremely lucky to have Kristen, Jack, and Lily so close. 

We love our sweet friends!