i sat down and opened my laptop and told malloy i needed to figure out what time the library opens. she climbs up on the couch with her magna doodle and said "i need to figure out what time it opens, too. i think it's 29 10." she drew a few lines and said "oh, it's 35 10."

we had a busy day today getting things ready for the trip! we went to michael's quick and then the mall quickly (i was looking for clearance sandals with no luck). the kids were good - both were walking with me. i bribed them with a treat to be good in dsw. it worked at they did great. it was getting too close to lunch and nap time so we went home. rex went right to sleep at naptime (WOOHOO!) and so did malloy. after nap, we went to tops to buy some last minute things for the trip.then it was dinner and time for me to head out - i'm the room parent in rex's class this year and needed to go to a meeting about it. neal did bath and bedtime - superdaddy! sounds like it wasn't too bad - they were both sleeping by the time i got home.

just playing with a snowman hat on

today, we went to the gym and that was it. we stayed home and played a lot! well, the kids played, i cleaned and packed. it was a pretty low key day - rex pooped on the potty 3 times! (once in his underwear, but it's progress!)
after dinner, we went to the kids' school mixer at the playground. they got to meet other kids in their classes and malloy got to meet her teacher - which is nice since we'll be missing meet the teacher next week. the kids had a great time running and climbing all over the place. (rex wore underwear to the park and stayed dry!!) then it was back home for bedtime! you'd think they'd go right to sleep but nope, they spent a little time causing trouble, trying to rip the curtains open so they can keep playing. stinkers!

breakfast and a story with dad

my little nut

packing for the beach!

notes from the teacher came! 

we went to the gym and then the library this morning. i love that the library is such a fun treat to them!!! we got a bunch of halloween books and a few new dvds. after nap, malloy got to watch a little of her movie, rex woke up and played on his own and watched one of his movies while malloy and i packed for vacation! she was so cute and "helpful" pulling EVERYTHING out of the drawers!  so the kids are packed, my clothes are packed - is it friday yet??!!

what a day! we went to the gym and then wegmans. then it was off to the museum!! we didn't end up going until noon. we had a quick trip - spent mostly on the mini-playground inside grossology. rex finally worked up the nerve to go down the slide and through the tunnel and then LOVED it! he got so wrapped up in it that he peed a tiny bit in his underwear. he's started to control himself, so that's good news! we went to the museum later because rex had a dr. appt at 2:30 and there was no way that they would get a nap in before then. then it was off to the doctor! 

rex did amazing, especially since he was tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired! he was very cooperative and did everything the doctor asked him. he was 35lbs and 37 inches :) when he got his finger pricked (which took a LONG time to fill that little vile - apparently rex doesn't bleed!) he sat like such a good boy on my lap - he didn't make a peep, just watched the nurse squeezing his bleeding finger. then we put on a special cars bandaid. next was his shot. he only needed one - he watched the nurse plunge the needle in and whimpered a bit  and that was it. he got another cars bandaid, got to pick out a toy from the toy bucket in the office and i gave him smarties for doing such a great job! malloy also go smarties for being so well behaved during rex's appointment. 

when we got home, each kid claimed a couch and they laid down, ate some popcorn and watched a movie. they were both exhausted but still being really good. 

then it was dinner time - meltdown central!!! malloy didn't like the chicken, she wanted a different kind, rex wanted a banana instead of his dinner, one had to go potty, then the other one...there was a LOT of crying! i had to gather up all of my reserved patience to get through dinner!  then i had to start threatening and counting to three to get teeth brush, THEN daddy came home!!! he handled malloy while i took care of rex and it was pretty smooth sailing after that. we said goodnight and shut the door at 6:30! rex came out once but that was it. i had to remind them that if i came in again, the nightlight was going to be removed from their room. seemed to do the trick - haven't heard anything in over an hour. 

last night, i think malloy stayed awake, just laying in bed staring at the nightlight for a good 2 hours. it was 9:30 and she was still awake.being very quiet, just laying in bed. she was waiting for the fairies to come and wanted desperately to see them. i explained to her this morning that fairies don't come if you're awake, you have to be sleeping first because they don't want you to see them. she woke up at least twice last night. i went in once and she said "i'm going back to sleep" (after she was calling for me on the verge of tears!) pulled her blankets on herself and laid down. the second time she just wanted to tell me she loved me. which is nice and all but not so nice when it's 4am! i told her to save up all her 'i love yous' and give them to me in the morning!! 

playing at the museum

rex: "take a picture of rexy and malloy"

playing nicely waiting for the doctor to come in

quiet time

"take a picture of me!" 

malloy LOVES to play with her buttons. she puts them out in her own intricate pattern very slowly and methodically, and then puts them all away - one by one. 

my project of the day -  i think malloy has enough hair accessories!  

the kids spent the morning with neal while i got some alone time at target and then cleaned the house. the played on the deck and then when uncle paddy came to visit, they went to the park. then it was lunch and naptime! before nap rex went poop on the potty TWICE and then went right to sleep - no getting up and runnung around. no funny business!! hooray!!! then he slept for nearly 4 hours! he must have been super tired out from the park! when he woke up, his pull-up was dry!! this kid's having a great day :)
after nap, the kids made a "fort" in the living room. this just means that they brought every single blanket, pillow, and stuffed animal out of their room and brought it into the living room - voila! a fort!
we ate dinner out on the deck and then the kids played with neal while i cleaned up.
i bought malloy a nightlight today - it's a little mushroom. last night, we put a nightlight on after she went to sleep and she was quiet the entire night. no yelling out 3 or 4 times! i told her that fairies love mushrooms and  now she thinks the fairies are going to come into her room - which she's excited about. we talked to them before bed about staying in their beds so that they can keep the nightlight. so far it's been pretty quiet, malloy called out once. i went in and she told me "i love you so much!" it was cute - but she needs to go to bed!!! rex was is his bed at the time. we shall see!

/'atching some morning cartoons with all of his pals

mid-morning snack on the deck

 this morning, we went to the gym and then to the farmer's market. malloy was thrilled that the kid's tent was open today and they got to do a craft! they put cheerios on a pipe cleaner and made it into a shape - VOILA! a bird feeder! we got some cookies to munch on and headed back home for lunch. the kids ate in the "bed" they made on the couch for lunch - it should not have happened. it took forever to get them to eat. naptime went well for malloy - she slept in our bed and went right to sleep. rex was in his room and was walking all over the place, read books, played with animals, etc. such a stinker! he went to sleep after about an hour and a half/ two hours. i had to wake him up from nap so we could  go to a picnic at the park.

making bird feeders at the farmer's market

the kids had a great time at the picnic. who doesn't love an afternoon at the playground!?!right when we got home, rex asked "what can i have for snack?" apparently he didn't eat enough at the picnic! also, he wore underwear at the picnic instead of pull-ups. he stayed dry the entire time - we took a few potty breaks. he did have to poop and started to go, but we got it in the potty! phew!
 you would think playing for 3 hours would tire you out and make you want to sleep! it still took them forever to get to sleep. rex was up out of his bed and then malloy was crying that she was scared. i have no idea if she's really scared or if she just wants attention! hopefully it doesn't continue or worsen!!

watching the geese

this morning, rex came over to me holding a cup from his play kitchen. he said "let me see your boo-boo." at first, i had no idea what he meant, i didn't have any boo-boos! then i made up a boo-boo and pointed to my arm - "oh here it is!" he said "oh ok!" and put the open end of the cup over my pretend boo-boo and said "ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuup - all better". he had fixed my boo-boo! i can't believe he's pretending like this already!!!

in other rex news, we're having a potty breakthrough day! before work, neal told rex "poop in the potty, not in your underwear!" rex replied "no i poop on the floor!"  he had a teeny-tiny poop in his underwear this morning. i grabbed him and said, 'we poop on the potty!" he replied "NO! i wanna poop on the floor!" then while we were at safina and emery's house playing, he told me "poopoo!" we hurried into the bathroom and he had already started going, but the poop got in the potty! when it went in the toilet it made a noise - he looked up at me, very surprised, and said "ploink!" it gave me a good laugh! he went poop on the potty before nap as well, this time he did it all on the potty - no underwear business! when it fell in the toilet, he exlaimed "PLOINK!" and laughed. he's such a boy! when he got up from nap, (his pull-up was wet) he peed on the potty and when i told him he was done, he looked up questioningly and asked "no ploink?" i love this kid!!

malloy was pretty cranky this morning, she even sat in time out at the gym! i had a talk with her before we went to safina's and told her that if she was cranky we would leave. that seemed to do the trick!

after dinner, we went to anderson's to celebrate rex's poop in the potty! after bath, i found rex in his room in the corner pooping in his underwear! booo! baby steps...

the kids had a rough time going to bed but neal was in charge of them and their antics so mommy could go to bed early!!!

making the bed nice and cozy

just wanted to document malloy's wall peeling

as soon as malloy and rex got up this morning, they started role playing! malloy asked rex "do you want to play house?" rex agreed and she asked him what he wanted to be. he immediately dropped to his knees and said "a cat! meow. meow. meow." while crawling on the floor! 

today, we went to the gym and then made our first trip to the library! malloy was beyond excited when i mentioned the library!! she kept asking over and over if we were leaving yet and then on the way, she was asking about each building we passed - "is that it? is that it? is that it?" they both waited patiently while i got my card all set up and then we went and read some books! malloy wanted to read every single book in the place! rex was more interesting in checking out the entire building. plus i think he had to poop and was looking for an unoccupied corner ;) we made it home with a dry pull-up! there were no pee accidents today, but a bunch of poop in the underwear - BOO! i'm not sure how to convince him to poop on the potty instead of his underwear. 

i read a few of the new books to the kids while they ate lunch and then it was naptime. i put rex down first, read malloy a few stories, and then put her down. that worked out great! 

this afternoon, our friends safina and emery came over to swim, play, and picnic! it was a fun last minute playdate! when they left, we had to run to wegmans quickly. the kids brought one of their library books and read it in their car while i steered them around. while we were headed to check out, they were giggling uncontrollably. i looked down and saw that they were licking each other's faces and tongues. they thought it was the funniest thing in the world! i found it quite gross! 

when we got back it was bedtime, but we had a quick snack and watched a little bit of one of the movies malloy picked out at the library. 

loving their books!

rex showing emery his new spiderman sneakers

this morning, i got up at 5 to go to the gym early. as i was getting up, i hear little feet on the stairs. malloy and rex were both coming upstairs - in the dark! i told them it was still bedtime and put them back to bed. i don't think they went to sleep - neal said they got up at 6.

we changed it up and went to a playdate at a new park today! the kids had a great time!! rex stayed dry at the park and asked to go pee twice. i had the travel potty set up right next to the blanket so that he could go whenever he needed - it worked out great!

goobers. this is how they were waiting for me when i came up onto the deck :)

both kids took close to 3 hour naps today! malloy slept in our bed and rex slept in his bed - they both went to sleep no issue! after nap, we had some popcorn and then headed out to the mall. it was time to get new shoes for school! malloy was very excited to get her feet measured and pick out her own shoes! she picked out a pair of cinderella light up shoes. (these are the shoes i predicted she would pick when i looked at them online - they light up and there's "turquoise" on them!) rex got a pair of spiderman shoes with light up eyes. they were so cute stomping around the store watching their feet. rex stayed dry at the mall, too! 

for dinner, we had chicken nuggets and salad. both kids LOVE salad! i never would have thought that they would eat it, but they prefer it over a lot of other cooked veggies! 

neal worked late tonight, so i did the feeding, bathing, clothing, brushing, reading, singing, and putting to bed! phew! the kids were pretty good about being cooperative for me. it was fairly quiet after i put them down, but they were still up when neal got home. he went in to say goodnight and then i went in to check rex's diaper to find that malloy had peeled MORE paint off of the wall by her bed. there's a huge white spot where the paint used to be. i have no idea how to stop it or why she's doing it! we'll have to come up with something quickly!!

stickers from stride rite

malloy loves salad! 

rex loves salad, too! 

our new kicks from stride rite! 

malloy's fake laugh

rex did awesome today with potty training! we went to the gym this morning and he stayed dry (in a pull-up), peed before we left and stayed dry through the grocery store! he had a tiny poop in his underwear while i was showering and peed a few drops in his  underwear while i was doing dishes and he was in the playroom. overall, a pretty good potty training day! 

 but NOT a good nap day :( now that rex is in a bed and not a crib, he's ALL over the place! he just wants to play play play! i separated them, putting malloy in our bed. rex may have slept for a few minutes, i can't be sure, but he came out of the room with poop in his pull-up! malloy didn't sleep at all - she sang for an hour really loudly. when i let her come down, she told rex "i made up a really nice song upstairs!" little stinkers!! 

we played outside for a bit today - played in the tent, played with sand, painted nails, then it was dinner time. malloy requested breakfast for dinner - she really loves it! neither kid needs any reminders to keep eating when it's breakfast for dinner night! after dinner, we let the kids play/read books in their room for a half hour or so on their own. when it was time to go to bed, it was silent. i think they're asleep!! 

whatcha doin, malloy?

"decorating" her toenails 

so pretty ;)

once he settled down, rex slept very well in his bed! he woke up once at around 5:15am just calling out "mama". i went in and put his blanket on him and he went back to sleep until 8am!! he never sleeps this late!!! potty training is tiring! speaking of which, he did AMAZING today! the only accident he had was when he pooped in his underwear - i was cleaning the house and when i walked in their bedroom, he was crouched on the toy box with a lump in his underwear! woops! BUT, he didn't pee in his underwear at all and is starting to tell me when he had to pee! it's really happening!! even when he was in his room for 2 hours  for nap (which he didn't take) his pull-up was dry!

today, we had our friends over to play since we were staying close to the potty! safina and emery, gianna and kenadee, and brooke and ben all came over to play! the kids had a great time destroying the place :) at once point, brooke told malloy that she didn't want to play with her at the moment and it made malloy very sad! she was actually crying because her feeling were hurt!! for some reason, brooke effects malloy emotionally unlike any of her other friends. when they're playing nice, they actually do play really nice! while malloy was sad, gianna was being such a good friend and saying "do you want to play with me malloy? i'll play with you." she was so sweet!

after our friends left, it was naptime! yesterday, the kids pulled the blackout shade down, so i left it down. i figured they would be fine and fall asleep. NOPE! they had the curtains open and were running around, reading books, playing game. they stayed in their room for 2 hours, so i still got some quiet time, but never slept! when they came out, they watched a little bit of lorax (their favorite and mine at the moment!) and then went out to wegmans for a few things. malloy was thrilled to go to wkids for a few minutes and rex hugged his stuffed lorax while sitting in the cart very nicely. when we got in the van, both kids went pee in the travel potty (rex was dry!)

before bedtime, i tacked the blackout shade to the window with thumbtacks. bedtime was a bit of a struggle because the kids were not happy that they couldn't open the curtain and see. i heard malloy yell - "yeah! you did it rex!" i went in and he was kneeling on the toy box, under the curtains and blinds and had popped a thumbtack out! i yelled at him and he cried. a lot. i had told them both not to touch the curtain before i said goodnight! i know they're still little and these things are going to happen, but their determination still surprises me!!

we got a 5:40am wake up call from rex with a poop diaper! so by 5:45 the whole house was up! 

haven't lined up our entire squinkie collection in a while! 

being crazy

malloy's hair is getting so long! 

she loves hanging out with daddy, even if it's just sitting on his lap  while he does his work

trying out the big boy bed (he will get a bed, this is just temporary)

malloy was having a great time playing bedtime with rex. she was calling him her daughter. i asked her if he could be her son, because he's a boy. she asked rex, "do you want to be my son?" he replied "yeah. your sunshine!" with a big smile :)

rex put neal's shoes on his hands and said "i'm swimmin'!" then he "swam" over to his cup and tried to pick it up with the two shoes.

potty training went pretty well today! he had 4 accidents in the morning - the first one was because he didn't go that much when he woke up, the second and third were on neal's watch while i was at the gym, and the fourth one was because i got distracted and forgot to put him on the potty right at the 20 minute mark - woops! but after that he did great and was dry the rest of the day!! he even went poop on his own twice! hopefully that means no early morning wake up call tomorrow! 

we put rex's crib mattress on the floor tonight to see how he does with it. he did fine at grandma val and grandpa don's on his air mattress, so he should be ok. so far i've been in there three times - once because malloy and rex actually opened the door and were coming out, the second time because i could hear a lot of running around, and the third immediately after i had just shut the door because rex was already out of bed! they both had a stern talking to and it's been quiet since them. we'll see how it goes! 

random stories: rex had his turtle float on today and malloy had her monkey float on (who knows - they like to wear them around the house). he went over to malloy and said "they're best buddies" meaning the turtle and the monkey. he cracks me up! 

"hi hoooooooooooooo"

playing bedtime. rex said "i wanna tell pablo a secret" then whispered "i love you" in his ear. it was SO cute! so i had him do it again so i could have it on video :)