I'm a Big Boy Now!!

Beckett is potty trained!! He has actually been potty trained for about 6 weeks now and hasn't had an accident in probably 3 weeks. I really despise this chore and I dread for a good year before even starting. However, Beckett did great. He was very easy and I was VERY relaxed about it. He was immediately "night trained." He hasn't had even one nighttime accident. My first two wore pull-ups to bed until they were 4 so it has been really nice. The #2 training took a week or two but as soon as I started offering him candy for every time he pooped on the potty he got it really quickly. I have to admit that I am a little sad that I never have to buy diapers again and that I now have no reason to hit the baby aisle at Walmart.

SAWYER!!!!!!!!

So...Sawyer had an awesome week last week! His car came in 1st place in the Pinewood Derby. Last year he came in 2nd. Kyle was convinced before the race that his car wasn't as fast as last years. We prepped him that there was a very good chance that he wouldn't place. Well...we were wrong and he got FIRST!! He received a medal, ribbon and certificate. He painted his car royal blue and white...it was an Indianapolis Colts car. It was decorated with a #18 after his favorite player...Peyton Manning... and had the team logo on it. He even wore his Colts jersey under his scouts shirt. It was an exciting evening and I am thankful that he is having positive experiences in scouting.

Second....Sawyer earned TWO trophies at a chess tournament last weekend. Sawyer really enjoys chess. At the end of December we started him in private chess lessons. He also attends chess club after school one day a week. Chess is huge here in town. Our town(s) have the largest amount of chess players in the state of Illinois. Since he enjoys chess and wasn't doing so well at the tournaments we decided to put him into the private lessons. I hated to do this but for him to be competitive and get him to the next level we needed to. So...back to the trophies. He earned the first one for "biggest upset." Sawyer is a 200 level player and he beat a 900 level. I almost cried when Kyle texted to tell me. He ended up winning 3 matches that day which earned him a 3rd place trophy for 4th graders. His school also got 2nd place overall. Chess meets last from about 8 am-3 pm. It is a long day and someone has to be at the meet with him the whole time. Kyle went this time and it was at a school out of town. When Kyle said he was pretty sure Sawyer would earn a trophy, the girls (and Bex) drove out to see it happen. One never knows if it will ever happen again :) Sawyer's chess ranking will go up now which is both good...and bad. He will continue to play higher ranked kids now.

Two things I never thought a son of mine would do....be a boyscout and a chess player. Both have been great experiences and something Sawyer really enjoys. I am thankful. I am thankful my kids go to great schools that offer activities for every type of kid. Sawyer is also playing basketball right now but that is for another post. We are very proud of him!!!

BECKETT IS 3!!!!!!

My baby is THREE! He is definitely the little "Prince" of our family. His brother and sisters all indulge him like crazy and he is spoiled rotten. If I even attempt to discipline him the other kids say I am being mean and run to his defense. Beckett has been a handful these last three years but we are seeing signs of improvement in that area. For instance...when I took him in for 2 year pictures we were barely able to get ONE shot of him that was pleasant. That has all changed...I just took him to Sear's last week and he posed for every picture and did every single thing the lady told him to. I sat in a chair and watched (that is the way I like it). Beckett is now able to make it through the first hour of church without being taken out and now enjoys going to nursery and pre-school. His vocabulary took off late in the summer and has not slowed down. He is a motor mouth...like his brother and mother. He is now able to ask questions and tattle on his siblings. He also now plays with his toys and even does some make-believe. He really has never played with toys...he has only been interested in climbing all over and on top of things. Beckett loves to play with Eden. He will do pretty much whatever she asks him to. He still REALLY enjoys his T.V. programs, which provides me with some peace during the day :) Beckett is going through a huge independent stage right now. He can count to 15 and sing some songs. He knows most of his shapes and all of his colors (thank you Blue's Clue's and Dora). He is still a big mamas boy. He follows me all over the house and is very affectionate. Eden and Sawyer are playing basketball right now and we can actually take him to the games and he will stay close to us...this wouldn't have happened a few months ago. The biggest news about Bex is that he is 95% potty trained. He has been such a big boy about going on the potty. We are still working on #2 but are getting closer. He has been dry at night for almost two weeks and hasn't had an accident during the day for over a week now. I am happy and sad all at the same time about him growing up. He is definitely a huge joy and blessing to our family. We would be so bored without him!
We celebrated his 3rd birthday at Chuck E Cheese!! We did the organized party with just us and the grandparents. He had so much fun and did every single thing he was supposed to. He loved it! He even went into the "Ticket Blaster" with Faith...this is where you go in and they blow tickets around and you have 30 seconds to collect all the tickets you can. For his 3rd birthday he received a big wheels, Bigfoot Robot, stuffed animals and Hexibugs. Someone said to me the other day that Beckett is so fun to watch because he has "so much personality"...that is an understatement. We LOVE YOU BECKETT!!!I had to add this random picture of Beckett when he was just a few months old.

Room Re-Do's

Within the last couple of months we have been doing some painting! The lovely FLAT paint that builders use just does not cut it. Our whole house (except the basement) actually needs repainting. We had promised the kids (almost 3 years ago) that they could pick their own room color and we would paint them ASAP. It took us a little longer than planned to get to them but they are finally done...well except for Beckett's...but his is next. We also painted and bought new furniture for our front room. I am really happy with how all the rooms turned out. My favorite color is BEIGE (and every shade of brown) so letting the kids pick bright colors for their rooms really freaked me out. All I can think of is RESALE, RESALE, RESALE...and if we ever do have to move then they will have to be repainted. Just for the record, in almost 14 years of marriage we have lived at eight different addresses. Here are the final products.

St. Louis Trip

We decided to do a little overnight getaway the week between Christmas and New Year. We went to St. Louis, visited some friends, stayed in a hotel and went to Magic House. Magic House is a HUGE children's museum. It has way too many cool things to try and mention all of them. I also took way too many photos so I am going to try and scale them back. It was PACKED but still very, very fun!! My kids really enjoyed sitting in the Oval Office, at the President's desk, and sitting as a judge in the Supreme Court room. Beckett was even a very good boy and loved it all. He and Eden most enjoyed the grocery store. The kids also enjoyed swimming at the hotel.

More cute photos from Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010

Since I am way behind on my blogging (as usual) I am just going to post pics. of the kids at Christmas with their favorite gift. We had a wonderful Christmas. It is the first Christmas in at least three years that Sawyer hasn't been disappointed in his gifts. It was a Christmas miracle!! I loved having the kids home from school. It is so relaxing and I am a way nicer mom without all the homework and activities going on. Kyle was off for a week and we love that too! We had both sets of parents over for our Christmas feast. My mother-in-law always prepares meat for fondue. We all really enjoy the fondue. We had a blessed year!!

Faith's big gift was a sewing machine. This was a complete surprise to her and I think overall she is happy with it. She started sewing lessons about three weeks ago and it is going really well and she has made some cute things. I will write about that in a future post.

Sawyer got a NFL jersey. A player named "Peppers" from the Bears. Kyle got a matching one too. I don't care about NFL football but now that Sawyer is obsessed I now know more than I ever thought possible.

Eden got her 3rd American Girl doll. She wanted "Julie". Three is a little overboard but she does play with them all the time and I would rather get her something nice than a bunch of crap.

Beckett received some drums and cymbals from my parents that he loves. We also got him a Fisher Price Flashlight/Lantern that he really likes. At night he lifts up the blinds, points it out the window and looks for Santa...still.

Kyle treats me very well for every holiday and this one was no exception. I think I received my 2nd favorite gift ever this year which is a new cell phone. He got me a Droid. I am obsessed with it. I play on it way too much. I don't even like electronics but for some reason I LOVE cell phones. I had a Blackberry before that I thought I liked but it doesn't even compare to this phone. He also got me a bunch of other stuff and I made the comment that it was "too much"....to which Faith replied..."that is what I thought." She was a tiny bit jealous of my phone. :)

My in-laws got us Rockband 3. We love Rockband more than words can say. If one ever wonders what our family is doing at home in our free time....we are playing Rockband.