Ewan
Friday, September 28, 2012
Flashback Friday - September 2009
The boys recently rediscovered this alligator push toy in the garage and are storming around with it again!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Potty Training
We are now on day 10 of potty training Sean and it is going pretty well. Yesterday was completely accident free (assuming you do not count when his aim is bad and he gets is shorts wet anyway)! He likes being a big boy and using the potty. He is still a little unreliable telling us if he needs to go or not.
The biggest challenge is going to the gym or out and about. Since he is young he is still a little small for a full size toilet. That makes it a little challenging to go out and get him to use the bathroom elsewhere. We have been to the gym twice this week though and not had any accidents there!! YEAH! No accidents at nap time either.
We are more old school compared to most people these days who potty train. We do no believe in pull ups. Either you are training in underwear or not at all. I know far too many children who take a long time to grasp the concept of potty training because they wear pull ups. Now he does wear a diaper at night, but only because he is still young. The studies I have read suggest wearing a diaper at night for about 3 months when they train around age two. We did this with Jack and Ewan and it worked well. Again, I know many children who are still in pull ups until age four or even five.
This is what works for us. Obviously it does not work for everyone else. It takes commitment and patience (we all know I have NO PATIENCE)! In the end, however, I find that it works the best. Besides, I was already able to get rid of all Sean's cloth diapers....which meant taking one of his dressers out of his room and putting it in my closet!! Plus, now I can sell the cloth diapers.
Congrats to my big boy!!
The biggest challenge is going to the gym or out and about. Since he is young he is still a little small for a full size toilet. That makes it a little challenging to go out and get him to use the bathroom elsewhere. We have been to the gym twice this week though and not had any accidents there!! YEAH! No accidents at nap time either.
We are more old school compared to most people these days who potty train. We do no believe in pull ups. Either you are training in underwear or not at all. I know far too many children who take a long time to grasp the concept of potty training because they wear pull ups. Now he does wear a diaper at night, but only because he is still young. The studies I have read suggest wearing a diaper at night for about 3 months when they train around age two. We did this with Jack and Ewan and it worked well. Again, I know many children who are still in pull ups until age four or even five.
This is what works for us. Obviously it does not work for everyone else. It takes commitment and patience (we all know I have NO PATIENCE)! In the end, however, I find that it works the best. Besides, I was already able to get rid of all Sean's cloth diapers....which meant taking one of his dressers out of his room and putting it in my closet!! Plus, now I can sell the cloth diapers.
Congrats to my big boy!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Sean's Birthday Party
Saturday was Sean's second birthday, and he felt the need to celebrate all day by getting up just after 5:30 in the morning!! It was a LONG day of partying and the boys were all exhausted. He began by having breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, a first for all of us. Needless to say the three boys loved that!
Sean's party was a hit and lots of fun. The boys all played with their friends, ate and partied hard. I got too busy and forgot to get some good pictures, especially of the animal cupcakes and cookies and other food. Oh well, we had fun and it was all great!! We gave out environmentally friendly reusable snack bags with tattoos instead of the traditional party favors. The boys love their snack bags and I prefer to reduce our environmental impact instead of giving toys that get trashed quickly.
Enjoy the pictures!
Sean's party was a hit and lots of fun. The boys all played with their friends, ate and partied hard. I got too busy and forgot to get some good pictures, especially of the animal cupcakes and cookies and other food. Oh well, we had fun and it was all great!! We gave out environmentally friendly reusable snack bags with tattoos instead of the traditional party favors. The boys love their snack bags and I prefer to reduce our environmental impact instead of giving toys that get trashed quickly.
Enjoy the pictures!
The day started early opening presents from Mommy, Daddy, Jack and Ewan
Big brothers clearly liked helping open!
Playing with balloons
The birthday boy enjoying himself after opening presents
Sean playing with his pal!
My biggest boy playing with the kids!!
Chow time for my piggies
He blew out the candles one at a time
Trying to shove the cupcake and ice cream in his mouth all at once!
Discovering the fork works better
Animal cupcakes and cutout cookies
Playing pin the tail on the elephant
The birthday boy finally rests after the party!!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Busy Week
It is another crazy busy week here at the Dalrymple house. Sean started potty training Monday. It is going pretty well. He prefers to sit on the potty in the bathroom by himself with the door shut! More on that to come.
I have had a nasty cold. That makes it extra "fun" to potty train and keep the gang out of trouble. I am absolutely exhausted, long before the end of the day!!
The boys keep learning new things. Sean can now climb up the ladder to the top bunk bed. He can't get down by himself though. Jack continues to climb the counters and anything else to find food or treats. I need a vault for all the food and gum! Jack and Ewan are both loving school.
Yesterday my friend Jens arrived from Germany. The boys had a blast entertaining him and his girlfriend. The boys were quite upset to find out they would be spending the night at Oma's; they really wanted to play some more!!
And of course the party planning. Sean's birthday party is Saturday. That means I am busy cleaning, cooking and baking. A birthday for us isn't like most....no store bought cake and pizza for us. It is all homemade food and definitely a homemade cake, or this year animal cupcakes. Lots more work, but so worth it. And somehow I need to find time to wrap the little guy's presents too!!!
That sums up our life this week, will work on blogging more when I find the time.
I have had a nasty cold. That makes it extra "fun" to potty train and keep the gang out of trouble. I am absolutely exhausted, long before the end of the day!!
The boys keep learning new things. Sean can now climb up the ladder to the top bunk bed. He can't get down by himself though. Jack continues to climb the counters and anything else to find food or treats. I need a vault for all the food and gum! Jack and Ewan are both loving school.
Yesterday my friend Jens arrived from Germany. The boys had a blast entertaining him and his girlfriend. The boys were quite upset to find out they would be spending the night at Oma's; they really wanted to play some more!!
And of course the party planning. Sean's birthday party is Saturday. That means I am busy cleaning, cooking and baking. A birthday for us isn't like most....no store bought cake and pizza for us. It is all homemade food and definitely a homemade cake, or this year animal cupcakes. Lots more work, but so worth it. And somehow I need to find time to wrap the little guy's presents too!!!
That sums up our life this week, will work on blogging more when I find the time.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Birthday Mountain Fun
Friday we headed up to the mountains for some fun and to celebrate Josh's birthday. We arrived and headed to Big Mike's right after unloading the car, a tradition the boys will never let us skip!!
Saturday we went to the market, bakery and Franklin Park. Then it was off to Asheville for some shopping and a yummy Thai lunch. We ate at Basil Pot which is in the Grove Arcade area. I can't believe we never went to this part of town before, but we will definitely head there again soon. They had lots of yummy looking restaurants and cute shops.
After getting home from Asheville the troops still had lots of energy so we changed and headed out for a hike. We found a new trail, Andy's Cove. Somehow we have not hiked that one before, but it is perfect for the kids. It is only .7 miles and easy. Basically up and down in a long oval. They have nature signs and things for the kids to learn. We also went across a suspension bridge which made Jack slightly nervous, though not until after he finished! Since that hike was pretty easy we headed out on the exercise trail too. In total it was probably 1.5+ miles we hiked on both trails...and Sean hiked it all by himself except for the last 100 yards! We have another hiker among us!!
Saturday we cooked out some pork chops and veggies we got at the market. It was a quiet evening at home. The boys went to bed easily since they were worn out from their hike.
Sunday we cleaned up a little and then headed out for a hike before we had to leave town. As we drove it began to rain. By the time we got to the trail head it was just misty and stopped precipitating quickly. We hike Hooker Falls trail, another new one for us. Somehow we never hiked this trail before either. It is great for the kids, easy, mostly flat and the falls are perfect for playing in the water. This will be the perfect place in the hot summer months to cool off!!!
We headed to the house, had lunch, cleaned, packed up and headed back to Columbia for a birthday party and then home. A busy and fun weekend!
Saturday we went to the market, bakery and Franklin Park. Then it was off to Asheville for some shopping and a yummy Thai lunch. We ate at Basil Pot which is in the Grove Arcade area. I can't believe we never went to this part of town before, but we will definitely head there again soon. They had lots of yummy looking restaurants and cute shops.
After getting home from Asheville the troops still had lots of energy so we changed and headed out for a hike. We found a new trail, Andy's Cove. Somehow we have not hiked that one before, but it is perfect for the kids. It is only .7 miles and easy. Basically up and down in a long oval. They have nature signs and things for the kids to learn. We also went across a suspension bridge which made Jack slightly nervous, though not until after he finished! Since that hike was pretty easy we headed out on the exercise trail too. In total it was probably 1.5+ miles we hiked on both trails...and Sean hiked it all by himself except for the last 100 yards! We have another hiker among us!!
Sean hiking all by himself and loving it
The creek we crossed twice
Chasing squirrels
Jack climbing up the dirt
Saturday we cooked out some pork chops and veggies we got at the market. It was a quiet evening at home. The boys went to bed easily since they were worn out from their hike.
Sunday we cleaned up a little and then headed out for a hike before we had to leave town. As we drove it began to rain. By the time we got to the trail head it was just misty and stopped precipitating quickly. We hike Hooker Falls trail, another new one for us. Somehow we never hiked this trail before either. It is great for the kids, easy, mostly flat and the falls are perfect for playing in the water. This will be the perfect place in the hot summer months to cool off!!!
The gang ready to go!
Goofball Jack right before he put his feet in the water
Jack and Ewan wanted to walk into the water so shorts came off
Admiring the waterfall
Sean finally decided he had to follow his brothers and get his feet wet too!
Ewan LOVES getting wet!
Sean venturing out on his own
Jack wanted to walk up to the actual waterfall
BRRRR!! That is some cold water!
The big boys climbing the rock wall
Jack had to dunk his head, not quit ready to put his whole body in!
Copycat Ewan
Fun swinging with Daddy
Ewan swinging upside down and splashing
Sean's turn
And of course admiring the nature!!
We headed to the house, had lunch, cleaned, packed up and headed back to Columbia for a birthday party and then home. A busy and fun weekend!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Labor Day Weekend
To say it has been crazy hectic here lately is putting it mildly!! Friday morning (as in nearly 3:30 AM) Josh hit a deer on his way to work...almost there and wham, a deer. My phone died a horrible death last weekend in the mountains. So between school starting, shuffling cars/repairs and surviving on one phone it has been insane. More updates later....
Friday the boys and I went to the mountains with Oma and Opa. We headed up late Friday morning and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the way up. Usually he head up around nap time and then shortly after we arrive it is time to go to dinner. So when we arrived around 3 Jack declared he could smell Big Mike's pizza as soon as we pulled into town!! They were all disappointed to find out it was not dinner time yet!! We did go to Big Mike's later and of course dinner was fabulous.
Saturday we went to the market. Sean was thrilled about this. He kept saying "market" all morning until we got there. Then he was thrilled to get corn on the cob there. They also got some yummy treats too. And then it was off to Franklin Park, best park ever! The troops all had a blast there. It also gave me an idea for a future Flashback Friday post, pictures of them on the train there over the years!
Then Saturday afternoon we went to Asheville. We went to the mall first for a stop at Eddie Bauer (do not have one in Columbia anymore) where I got some new jeans. We browsed around Biltmore Village for a short while and then went to the Biltmore. It was our usual routine of playing at the farm, dinner at Cedric's Pub, ice cream in the courtyard and running around for fun. And FUN was indeed had by all.
Sunday morning it was off to Franklin Park again. We can never spend enough time there!! After lunch it was off to the Apple Festival in Hendersonville. I can't provide any great pictures of this lovely event because we got DRENCHED!!! Shortly after we parked it started to sprinkle. By the time we got the the festival it was raining, quite heavily. So we found a drop spot to stand, but Ewan announced he had to go to the bathroom.
And then the real fun began. We all walked a little further in the rain. Oma, Opa and Sean found a somewhat dry but crowded place to stand and I was off with the big boys to find the bathroom. It seemed like forever, but in reality it was about 2 blocks. It POURED BUCKETS!!! Every single part of our bodies were wet. We came out of the bathroom and Jack insisted we stop to watch the dancers (as in GIRLS) perform. We watched two dances and went to get the rest of the family. By now it was just drizzling so we all watched another performance (all the boys were thrilled about this). Then it POURED again. Determined to get something apple before we left we stopped at the first tent we saw. We got an apple pie and some caramels and walked to the car (what is the point in running if you are already soaked).
The boys all had a change of clothes in the car so they were lucky enough to get somewhat dry. The grown ups had to sit in our wet clothes for the thirty minute ride home!!! I was cold to the bone and warmed up in some dry clothes when we got home. After some hot tea and a slice of apple pie things got better. We cooked a lovely dinner and it was "quiet" the rest of the day. This was the day my phone died (it was sitting in a puddle of water in the backpack). Luckily I saved the camera and Nook (they were in better compartments of the backpack, closer to the body).
Monday it rained all morning so we headed home somewhat early. We arrived home and Josh made quite a bit of progress on the garage. He had several friends helping and they raised the walls. Will post pictures of that later too.
That was our fun and crazy holiday weekend!!
Friday the boys and I went to the mountains with Oma and Opa. We headed up late Friday morning and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the way up. Usually he head up around nap time and then shortly after we arrive it is time to go to dinner. So when we arrived around 3 Jack declared he could smell Big Mike's pizza as soon as we pulled into town!! They were all disappointed to find out it was not dinner time yet!! We did go to Big Mike's later and of course dinner was fabulous.
Saturday we went to the market. Sean was thrilled about this. He kept saying "market" all morning until we got there. Then he was thrilled to get corn on the cob there. They also got some yummy treats too. And then it was off to Franklin Park, best park ever! The troops all had a blast there. It also gave me an idea for a future Flashback Friday post, pictures of them on the train there over the years!
Then Saturday afternoon we went to Asheville. We went to the mall first for a stop at Eddie Bauer (do not have one in Columbia anymore) where I got some new jeans. We browsed around Biltmore Village for a short while and then went to the Biltmore. It was our usual routine of playing at the farm, dinner at Cedric's Pub, ice cream in the courtyard and running around for fun. And FUN was indeed had by all.
Sunday morning it was off to Franklin Park again. We can never spend enough time there!! After lunch it was off to the Apple Festival in Hendersonville. I can't provide any great pictures of this lovely event because we got DRENCHED!!! Shortly after we parked it started to sprinkle. By the time we got the the festival it was raining, quite heavily. So we found a drop spot to stand, but Ewan announced he had to go to the bathroom.
And then the real fun began. We all walked a little further in the rain. Oma, Opa and Sean found a somewhat dry but crowded place to stand and I was off with the big boys to find the bathroom. It seemed like forever, but in reality it was about 2 blocks. It POURED BUCKETS!!! Every single part of our bodies were wet. We came out of the bathroom and Jack insisted we stop to watch the dancers (as in GIRLS) perform. We watched two dances and went to get the rest of the family. By now it was just drizzling so we all watched another performance (all the boys were thrilled about this). Then it POURED again. Determined to get something apple before we left we stopped at the first tent we saw. We got an apple pie and some caramels and walked to the car (what is the point in running if you are already soaked).
The boys all had a change of clothes in the car so they were lucky enough to get somewhat dry. The grown ups had to sit in our wet clothes for the thirty minute ride home!!! I was cold to the bone and warmed up in some dry clothes when we got home. After some hot tea and a slice of apple pie things got better. We cooked a lovely dinner and it was "quiet" the rest of the day. This was the day my phone died (it was sitting in a puddle of water in the backpack). Luckily I saved the camera and Nook (they were in better compartments of the backpack, closer to the body).
Monday it rained all morning so we headed home somewhat early. We arrived home and Josh made quite a bit of progress on the garage. He had several friends helping and they raised the walls. Will post pictures of that later too.
That was our fun and crazy holiday weekend!!
Jack relaxing in the swing at Franklin Park
Sean testing out the money bars
Jack on the money bars...he almost made it all the way across!!
My little guy is getting so big!
A Franklin Park must...picture at the train
Jack hangs all over now!
Ewan striking a post
Jack checking out the sunflowers at the Biltmore
Ewan and Sean running wild!
As usual Sean LOVED the goats!!
More goats...
Jack and the goat
Opa, Jack and Sean checking out Chester the horse.
Ewan hanging on the stable door
Sean getting dizzy pole dancing!
Running and jumping on the benches around the campfire pit
Sean in the courtyard before dinner
The sky was beautiful after dinner.
Some wet people in the car!!!! Wet and unhappy!
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