2 Years, 9 Months, 1 Week, and 5 Days

Ruby & Charlotte are 2 years, 9 months, 1 week, and 5 days old today. We started potty training a bit over 2 weeks ago, and they seem to have gotten it down rather well already. We've taken them on outings without issue. Ruby has used a public restroom twice, while Charlotte refuses to at this point and just waits until we get home. Grandma Doreen is here for a visit until Thursday. Enjoy the photos!

Outside with their new "Rainbow Maker" squirt bottles (they really do work):

Grandma Doreen squirts Charlotte:

On a walk with Grandma Doreen after finding big sticks:

Grandma Doreen reads them a story:

Last week the tornado sirens went off one evening while I was at work, so Bob had to wake them up and take cover in the downstairs bathroom until the threat passed:

Playing with Magnatiles when Ava came over:

All 3 of them looked at this book and took turns nicely:

2 Years, 9 Months, and 5 Days

Ruby & Charlotte are 2 years, 9 months, and 5 days old today. The first 4 days of potty training were quite rough, but since then they've caught on and will not be going to high school in diapers. The fun new sayings that they have adopted are "I'm happy at you" and "Are you happy at me?" since they have heard "I'm mad at you". It makes sense to use that wording, though it is not proper. It really shows us how strange the English language is when we have to teach it to them. Enjoy the photos!

Outside for the first time since beginning potty training (as before when we were not leaving the house so we were always close to a toilet those first few days):

Ruby helps Bob open one of his Father's Day gifts:

Charlotte helps Bob open one of his Father's Day gifts:

Inspecting all the new flowers blooming next to our porch:

Running about in the grass:

In front of our home:

Charlotte peered at Ruby through the branches, and it made Ruby giggle:

Looking at the corn stalks growing in the field next to us (they are huge fans of sweet corn on the cob, especially Charlotte, who can eat 1 1/2 of them):

33 Months Old!

Ruby at 33 months old:

Charlotte at 33 months old:

2 Years, 8 Months, 4 Weeks, and 1 Day

Charlotte & Ruby are 2 years, 8 months, 4 weeks, and 1 day old today. Potty training began last Saturday, and so far, it is not easy or fun. At all. But we are dedicated to the cause, and I think that they will soon show progress. Ruby went all day yesterday until dinner without one accident. Charlotte, on the other hand, has a few small pee accidents each day, but is able to stop once she realizes what she is doing and hold the rest until she gets to the bathroom. As of right now, I am better trained than they are, meaning I know to get them to the toilet every 30 minutes or have to wash another pair of underwear. On a handful of occasions they have shown initiative and said they need to go and then do, but not reliably yet. Enjoy the photos!

Looking through a current favorite book, "Where's The Poop?", since almost everything we do these days revolves around such matters:

Charlotte in her training underwear:

Ruby in her training underwear:

When we started this adventure, I had bought a bunch of stickers for them as rewards to put on poster boards:

As it turns out, they perform better when food treats are involved as the bribes:

Melissa reads a book to them while Jacob watches:

Since Clifford became a favorite in our home, Charlotte likes to take a gravity stick and pretend it is a dog bone:

Ruby can happily push the trains around the track for quite awhile:

I found the original Thomas the Tank Engine show on DVD, with Ringo Starr narrating the stories, and those are now well-loved along with a few toys that they use to re-enact some story lines:

Potty Training!

Charlotte & Ruby are 2 years, 8 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days old today. Potty training has begun. We are using training underwear during the day, and will continue to put them in a diaper at night for bed time until they are able to wake up dry each morning.

They get to choose a sticker to put on their own poster board for every successful attempt:

2 Years, 8 Months, 3 Weeks, and 1 Day

Charlotte & Ruby are 2 years, 8 months, 3 weeks, and 1 day old today. We signed them up for an Intro to Preschool class at a local park district. It is once a week and goes from September to May. They miss the age cutoff for a standard preschool class in Illinois by about 2 weeks, which is why they are going to an Intro to Preschool class. We are down to our last few daytime diapers, and potty training will commence this coming weekend. We are putting them in underwear Saturday when they wake up and crossing our fingers that it goes well from there. Enjoy the photos!

Looking out at the reserve before we start a walk:

They found a small butterfly to watch along the nature path:

Running ahead:

They both stopped to smell a flower:

Charlotte is behind on the way to the gazebo:

At the gazebo having a picnic snack of blueberries:

Ruby is behind on the walk home:

Ruby drew 2 monsters on the chalkboard:

After we came back from signing them up for the preschool class, they helped Bob take Siouxsie on a short walk:

We went for another walk the day Melissa brought Ava & Jacob over to play:

Charlotte and Ava looked like twins with how they were dressed:

Running around and laughing at the park area where the gazebo is located:


They watched a caterpillar make it's way across the path on the walk home:

Ruby held Ava's hand as we got close to our house: