Potty Training

Thought I would post a picture first...

I think this one is funny. Plus its a good tummy shot for those of you who havent seen me in a while!

Luke and I spent the better part of this week at home potty training. I think I gave up at least once a day and then quickly decided to stick it out and keep at it! We started on Tuesday using what I like to call the "Jump Right In" method. I had been telling him for days that he was going to stop using diapers and only wear big boy underwear which meant he would need to go on the potty like other big boys. He seemed pretty excited about this. So thats what we did and he went through 8 pair of underwear that first day and only used the potty once! I did put a diaper on him at nap time which he kept dry, so there was some hope!

On Wednesday morning he woke up dry and I think he only went through 3 pair of underwear and used the potty twice. A little improvement. Thursday was a great day! He used one pair of underwear all day and only had 2 accidents. Friday was about the same and he actually looked down with surprise twice when he needed to go but before he actually did go so that I knew to take him. So far today we have had no accidents and he is napping right now. Though I know we have a ways to go before I can feel really comfortable with him, Im very proud of the progress he has made. He seems proud of himself too. Every once in a while he gets upset and doesnt want to go sit on the potty and one day he was so fed up he kept asking me to put a diaper on him! But when he does go he gets very excited, especially when he gets some M&Ms afterward!

We leave tomorrow for our last family trip for a while. We are going to a lake cabin with the other side of Will's family until Thursday. It should be fun and relaxing. After that Luke is going home with Will's parents for about a week. Im looking forward to all the free time I will have to myself and I have lots of plans for getting things ready for Cole. Im a little nervous about being away from him for that long though. I know I will be missing him like crazy! He of course, will have a great time with Mammie and Jagen and probably wont even want to come home:-)

Oh Boy!

Well, can you guess from the title what we are going to have? That's right another Boy! I'll admit I was sort of hoping for a girl but the thought of Luke having a little brother to play with is pretty exciting and I just can't wait to meet this little guy!

I think he looks a lot like Luke. In fact she showed us this picture before we knew it was a boy and I said to my mom "It looks like a boy to me".

We have decided on the name Cole Vincent. Cole we just like and Vincent is my dad's name and actually has been passed down for several generations.

The doctor said everything looks good. Im now 24 1/2 weeks but she said that Cole is actually measuring more like 27 weeks. She thinks he may end up being bigger than Luke was. Since Luke was 8 lbs 12 oz (right on time) Im hoping not too much bigger!

Busy Busy

Well, I knew this month would be busy with all of our traveling but I think it has turned out to be even more so than I thought. Though, I have to say that our trips have all gone smoothly and have been very relaxing and fun. And the fun is not over yet!
After being home from San Francisco for about a week we left for Waltonia where we stay in some cabins with Will's family down on the Guadalupe River. On the way, we stopped in at his cousin Alex's Eagle Scout ceremony which Will had a part in and turned out very nice. Luke and I spent Sunday through Friday at Waltonia while Will went home on Thursday. We did lots of visiting and eating but Luke's favorite parts were the swimming in the river and playing with all the animals they have there. On the property were donkeys, chickens, 2 baby pigs, and a mama goat with 3 baby goats that just wander around by all the cabins. Luke and his cousin Layne had so much fun with them.
When we went swimming Luke wore his water wings and decided that he was very independent in the water then. He got very annoyed if anyone tried to help him or hold on to him! He would climb the ladder of the floating dock all by himself and then jump in with everything he had, many times going under and coming back up saying "again!"
On Friday we hitched a ride with Aunt Ye-ya and Layne to San Angelo. From there my sister Kara and her boyfriend Michael picked us up and brought us to my parents house to spend the week with them. That is where we are now and we are having a great time with NaNa and Grandpa. We are planning to be home Friday or Saturday and then leave again the next Sunday for Inks Lake with more of Will's family.
Oh, and some great news... I find out what this baby is on Monday the 23rd, when we get back!! Expect a post!

Still Alive

I know its been a while but I promise Im still alive! I have been waiting until I could post some pictures along with this but for various reasons that is not working out so they will have to come later. We got back in town on Friday evening after a long but exciting week away. Last Saturday we met Will's parents in Dallas to hand Luke off to them. They took him home to San Angelo with them. Then, Will and I flew out Sunday morning for San Francisco. Will needed to go for work and decided it would be a nice surprise to take me along as well for our anniversary. He had saved up frequent flyer miles and hotel points so we didnt have to pay a lot extra for me to come. It was only 10:30 am when we got there(they are 2 hours behind us here) so we had lots of time that day for exploring the downtown area where our hotel was. We went to Fisherman's Wharf and walked along all the touristy piers. We could see Alcatraz from there. There was one pier where all these sea lions come and sleep on the docks and just pile on top of each other making all kinds of noise! We were so tired that night from all the walking we did that we just ordered pizza in our hotel room.

On Monday, we got up early after going to bed at 8:00 the night before (which really felt like 10 to us), and headed to Muir Woods National Monument. Its part of the Redwood Forrest. We roamed around there for probably 2 1/2 hours and took lots of pictures. It was very pretty. Then we drove up the coast and got out at one of the beaches to walk around. I took my shoes off and walked in the water-it was freezing. That afternoon we went for several rides around town on the cable cars and historic street cars which are electric. We also went to the Cable Car Museum which was probably Will's favorite thing. They let you see the big wheels that run the cables that are underground all over downtown. This is what the cable cars grab onto to carry them around.

On Tuesday we drove down the coastal highway to Monterrey. The highway runs right along the coastline and was really beautiful. We saw a couple lighthouses and some people surfing (in wet suits of course). We went to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium which was probably my favorite thing. They had huge tanks with severaly kinds of sharks, and other kinds of big fish. I never knew tuna fish were like 200-250 lbs.

On Wednesday Will dropped me off at the airport and I flew back to Dallas by myself with a lay-over in Denver. Will had to stay to get his work done. My sister had driven with Luke to my Grandma's house in Bedford so I met them there. I was so excited to see Luke and he seemed at least semi-happy to see me. He had a great time with Mammie and Jagen and playing with his cousin Layne! We went to a small water park on Thursday that we all really enjoyed and then picked Will up at the airport on Friday and headed home.
Whew, what a long week (and post, sorry) but it was lots of fun.