Weekend Getaway

We did a short roadtrip to the St. Louis suburbs on Friday and Saturday to pick up a new car for me.  It was a quick, but fun getaway.  Will did a great job on the drive Friday and was super excited about getting to swim at the hotel pool once we arrived.  After swimming, we got dressed and walked across the parking lot to a restaurant for dinner at a place called Brick House Tavern.  They had a very tasty deviled egg appetizer that had jalapeno and bacon as part of the filling.  After dinner, we all crashed for a mostly restful night.  As expected, Will wanted me to sleep with him.  He really needs to learn to sleep with his feet toward the bottom of the bed instead of sleeping sideways across the pillows, so I can get more sleep! 

Will finally had a reason besides a day trip to Mommy's office to pack up his Thomas suitcase!  The picture doesn't do justice to how adorable he was rolling it through the hotel.

Father's Day Fun

We had a fantastic Father's Day Family Fun Day. 

Will and I slept in while Jason went for an early round of golf.  Around noon we loaded up on our bikes with Will in the bike trailer to check out the newly completed trail linking our neighborhood to our city's downtown.

The halfway point is a park, so we stopped to rest (me) and swing really fast and really high (Will).  In the middle of our playtime Will told me he needed to use the bathroom.  Uh oh.  He hasn't had a single accident since we did our potty training weekend and he's been wearing underwear ever since.  Luckily the park is in a (somewhat) wooded area, so he got to go behind a tree for the first time!

After an hour at the park, we rode the rest of the way downtown and locked up our bikes near the Riverwalk.  We watched the ducks and ducklings then got lunch.   Thanks to a diverse kid's menu, we all got what we wanted:  beer battered fish tacos; grilled fish tacos; and mac and cheese.  I'll let you decide who ordered what!

The ride home was tough in the heat of the day (by now it was 2 p.m.) but we made it home.  I shouldn't exaggerate our efforts - it's only 3 1/2 miles from downtown to driveway - but it was hot!   My friend has been talking up a storefront downtown that sells egg-free (i.e. edible!) raw cookie dough, so that's got to be our next downtown bike designation!

Father's Day

This picture is everything that's right with the world - or at least my life.   Our little family of three enjoyed a lovely evening on the patio on Friday night.   After Jason finished mowing, he set up his iPad so he and his mini could watch golf.   I just love how Will (in his Thomas undies) moved my chair while I was inside cleaning up dinner so he could put his next to his daddy's.   I sure do love my two boys - and I love how much they love each other! 

And I want to wish my dad a very Happy Father's Day!  I'm lucky to have such a great dad!  And for the past 11 years, I've had a great father in law, too!  It's been so much fun to see these two guys with Will!

My Office

In case you're wondering where I spend my days, here it is!  Most of our U.S. offices have similar layouts and furnishings once they have been through a "rebuild" or "remodel" thanks to a national real estate team in charge of such things.   The Kansas City office was done before I left, but the DC office is just being completed.  I took this picture yesterday to send to my friends in DC so they would know what to expect of their new (smaller) offices!   It's cozy, but it's laid out well.  I highly recommend Mom Art to liven up the space!

Fun in the Sun

We had a very relaxing weekend.  Saturday included a trip to the farmer's market, planting a hanging basket, watching TV (Curious George) snuggled on the couch, and then hosting Ryan for a cookout.  This picture of us heading into the Farmer's Market isn't a great shot, but look how big Will is getting!

Our neighbor also got our shared garden planted on Friday and Saturday.  She got well developed plants since she was getting such a late start on the planting, so we already enjoyed basil in two recipes over the weekend and should have a few other things soon!

Sunday was our day to sleep in and then PLAY!  I got Will slathered in sunscreen and then put him in his swimming clothes and turned him out into the yard.  He and Ryan played for hours with the water hose, baby pool, and sandbox.  After a late lunch outside, I hosed the sand off of Will and he spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch watching George (again) and napping.    Ryan was gracious enough to watch Will (and George) while Jason and I ran a few errands.

We wrapped up the weekend with chips and salsa on the patio while we grilled a late dinner.  No one got to bed early, so no one got up on time today.   The big excitement for this next week is going to be transitioning Will from his Cars potty to the real toilet now that Jason installed the new seat last night.  Will has done a fantastic job with using the toilet:  no diapers (except at night - and they stay dry) and no accidents all week.  But, I think we're over cleaning out the little potty.

Children's Museum - Take Three

This was our third trip to the Children's Museum since we bought our pass in May.  It really is a fantastic place  (Will asks to go "to the museum" every other day), and it is only a five minute drive from our house.  He always wants to "build," but there are so many fun activities that we didn't even make it to the building blocks today!

Rain, Rain, Fun to Play

We had a nice, slow, steady rain on Thursday, so Will wanted to get his new birthday umbrella from Uncle Ryan out after school to play in it.  It was also a pretty chilly, so we didn't stay out long.  I forgot to put him in his green rain boots, or this really would have been a great look!

Potty Training Weekend

We found out that Will can't move to the preschool room without being potty trained.  There were definitely some mixed messages involved in this communication, so we're not sure if it is the current teachers, the center, or - the excuse we were given - that it would be too hard for him to go in diapers on their field trips this summer.   There are three kids (including Will) ready to move:  the girl is already trained and will move; Will will not until he is potty trained; and the second boy is leaving daycare for the summer since his mom is a teacher. 

Since we know that Will knows all of the terminology around potty-training, we decided he just lacked motivation.  Enter Thomas and Friends.  Jason had bought up a half dozen individual trains at some great sale after Christmas, so we dug them out of the closet and put them in a fancy bag.  Will has been HIGHLY motivated by the trains.   I have learned he doesn't "go" that often (every 3-4 hours) so he gets one train for each successful pee or poop in the toilet.   I should clarify that it's his Cars potty chair.  We've had poor luck (until tonight) finding a seat that fits our elongated toilets. 

I'm happy to report that after the first "miss" on Saturday morning, he successfully peed in his potty three times AND pooped once.   No diapers during the day, but he did have giant night time diapers, so I think he was saving up some.  We'll have to work on that.  I have to admit I was THRILLED about that bowel movement!  Ah, the tenor of this blog has certainly changed in the past few years! 

The plan is to send him to school in underwear tomorrow.  We went on several errands this weekend - and a trip to the Children's Museum - in underwear and stayed dry, so fingers crossed.  I packed three extra outfits just in case!

Three Year Stats

Will got a good report (and was on good behavior) for his 3 year check-up this afternoon.   He's tracking right at the 50th percentile. 

• Height:  3 feet, 1/2 inch
• Weight:  31 pounds

They measured him standing up, so it says he's not any taller than six months ago, but I don't buy it.  I think he's gotten so tall these past few months!  No vaccinations were required this round.  The only "procedure" was the finger prick for an iron check.  He was just above their baseline, so no supplements were recommended.