Friday Photos

One day last week Chandler and I ran some errands. She was wearing her big girl underpants and I was hoping she would keep them dry and not have to pee while we were out. We were in Walmart looking at glasses when she told me she had to pee. So off we rushed to the potty. I held her on it and she went! I was so proud of her. That was her first time using a public potty. So when we checked out I let her pick out a treat. She picked a push lollipop. So proud of herself.

Yummy!


One night before bed she wanted me to take some pictures of her with her teddy bars.

And then her babies.

We All Scream For Ice Cream

Last weekend we went back to our new favorite ice cream place for dinner. On the way there we kept asking Chandler what she was going to eat for dinner and she kept replying ice cream!! Yep, she must be my child. After her dinner of burger and fries she FINALLY got her ice cream cone!!

She was so happy that she didn't have to share with mommy or daddy. In this photo she is eating the eyes they put on the cone.


Yummy!

Ice cream makes me happy!

I got a ice cream cone too and had to share it with Jeremy because it was huge. It was also cheap, only $2.16. My kind of place, yummy and cheap!

Wordless Wednesday

Cha Chi Pictures

Pictures from the week

Making her funny face at CEC's.

Taking a Mickey balloon and lollipop to a birthday boy.


Just finished a race on her horse.

Relaxing with a movie on our new Ipad before bedtime.

Goodnight!

Am I Big Kid Now?

I am happy to say that Chandler is officially potty trained! So look what she got to wear for the very first time on Tuesday!!
She was so excited to go to her dresser and pick out the pair she wanted. After she goes potty she will turn to us and ask "Am I a big kid now?" We always tell her yes and she smiles so big. We are so proud of our big girl!

The Winds of Change

This is Chandler playing in the backyard last Thursday.

Trying to pop bubbles by stepping on them!

Catch those bubbles Cha Chi!

This is Chandler 2 days later.

The temperature went from 78* on Thursday to mid 40*'s 2 days later! All I can say is, crazy!!

Yummy Ice Cream

On Saturday evening we went out to eat Mexican food with Michelle and Maryn's family. Chandler was so happy as she adores Maryn. After dinner we decided to go for some ice cream. This was big treat for Chandler as we don't ever do this. I tired to get a picture of us but Chandler refused to stop eating her cone.

This is how the kids cones come. Pretty cute!

Big cone for a big girl!


Maryn loving her cone.

Before we left we tried to get a cute picture of the girls. This was the best we could get. They are making "funny faces".

Sweet Potato French Fries

French fries are a common side dish in this house. We try to be a little healthier and eat the sweet potato kind. We use to eat the frozen kind. But the other day we had 2 sweet potatoes that were about to go bad and so Jeremy made them into french fries. They were so yummy and easy to make, I thought I would share!

For our family of 3 we use 2 regular sized sweet potatoes or 1 large one. Wash them well and dry them. Cut them long ways into long strips. (Make sure you leave the skin on--that is where the most nutrients are). Try to keep them about the same width as it helps them all to cook evenly. Place all the strips in a large ziploc. Add some salt, pepper and enough olive oil to coat all of them. When you zip the bag closed, leave some air in it. Shake the bag until all the fries are evenly coated with the oil. Then place on a cookie sheet and bake @425 for 25-30 minutes, flipping them over halfway through. Serve immediately.

I promise they will be enjoyed by all! Chandler LOVES them and requests them with almost every meal. They are simple, cheap and healthy!

Bed Head

We all know how beautiful Chandler's hair is. But when she wakes up, her hair is a different story. She has the craziest bed head I have ever seen!



I think it is funny that the back is all nice and neat and the front looks like a tornado hit it!

Jeremy decided to try to spike the front of it. It just stayed up with no help from hair spray.

Luckily Chandler is a very patient little girl. Whenever it is time to brush it, I turn on NickJr and she watches tv while I take forever to comb out her hair.

Bye Bye Pappi's

We decided that it was time for Chandler to say goodbye to her pappi's for good. For the past few months we had told her that the Easter bunny was going to take her pappi's and give them to the baby bunnies. So the night before Easter she rounded up all her pappi's to tell them goodbye.

Bye Bye pappi's!


In exchange for her pappi's the Easter bunny left her some goodies. She was happy to find the microphone from Target that she had been wanting.

"Hello Mommy!"

All her goodies.

On the first night she fell asleep no problem. The next few nights she took about 30 minutes to fall asleep. The downside is that as soon as her eyes open in the morning she is up and wants to get out of her crib. No more sleeping until 8 or 8:30. Now she is up at 6:30--6:45am. Naps have been a different story. For the first week she took them for about an hour. Last week and this week she has not taken them at all. I am hoping it is just a phase and she will start again. Regardless I have been making her stay in her crib for a t least 1.5 hrs each day. She can read her play but she needs to be quiet and rest. Mommy needs her quiet time too.

Adventures In Potty Land

After a rough day of attempting to potty train Chandler back in January, we decided to stop and re-evaluate our method. My friend Julianne swore by a book called "Toilet Training in less than a Day." Julianne claims that her 26 month old daughter was potty trained using this book and it only took 6 hours. Since then she had only had 2 accidents, and now she is 3. I figured I had nothing to lose and bought the book. I read it last week, bought all the supplies I needed and we began our intense training Friday morning.


The day was very stressful to me and I thought that Chandler would never catch on. But 11 hours and 7 accidents later, she finally got it! According to the book she was now potty trained. She went all weekend with NO accidents!! We have not left the house since Thursday morning. We have been in our training pants all weekend.


The weather was beautiful yesterday and today and so we spent the afternoons outside. We made things easy and just kept her semi-naked from the waist down. We are still working on pulling down on pants and then the underwear.

Chandler had her first mini-test this afternoon. It was so warm and sunny that we took her to the neighborhood park (which is 1 block away). When we were halfway there she tells us she has to pee pee. Jeremy said let's go back home. I asked Chandler if she could hold it for a few minutes. She thought about it and then said yes. We continued to the park. She played for over 20 minutes. Jeremy and I kept waiting to see if she would have an accident. But she didn't. We returned home where she promptly peed in the potty. She is so proud of herself. She walks around telling us she is a big kid now. She certainly is.

Hopscotch

Our next door neighbor taught Chandler how to do hopscotch last week. Here are 2 cute videos of Chandler doing it. You need to have your volume up. There is a lot background noise in the video and that is the wind. Kind of annoying but just shows you how crazy the wind is here. Click on these links to see the 2 videos. Link and Link

Let's Hear it for Our Boy

Jeremy has been working very hard at his new job. It has been quite stressful. He has to travel a lot and his work load is immense. When he comes home at night I know all he wants to do is unwind. Many nights that doesn't happen and he has to work on his computer catching up on e-mails and presentations. I know he is under a lot of stress. I want to take a moment and thank him publicly for all he does for our family. I am so thankful that his hard work allows me to be at home with Chandler. So let's hear it for our boy. Thank you baby for all that you do for Chandler and I. It is very much noticed and appreciated!

Chandler/Daddy Kiss

You are a king and deserve unlimited milkshakes!


In Chicago.

First family photo since Christmas, yikes!

Thank you Jeremy for all you do for us!! We love you more!

Wordless Wednesday

Welcome Home!

Jeremy's mom, a.k.a. Sparky, returned to the USA after a 7 week volunteer stint in Ethiopia with her daughter Morgan. Sparky had a connecting flight through Chicago on Sunday. So we made the 2.5 hr drive to meet her at the airport during her layover. The night before, Chandler decorated a gift bag for her and filled it with lots of yummies.

We had to take a tram to the terminal and it was Chandler's first time on the train. She couldn't stop staring out the window.

Welcome home Sparky!!


Riding the escalator, one of her favorite things to do.

Time to say goodbye.

We only had a short 45 minutes together and then Sparky had to leave to catch her connecting flight! But the time together was wonderful. Since we were in Chicago we made a day of it and took Chandler to the aquarium. She had fun but it was a bit overwhelming as it was very crowded. We are so proud of Sparky and so happy she is home and is now just a phone call away!!