Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Pierce is potty trained!
I'm a little late posting this. He's actually been completely potty trained for 3+ weeks now! When we got home from Branson BJ and I decided to do a new push for big boy underpants and potty training after taking a break for a bit. They both were fine with wearing underpants which was progress in itself. Both boys were great at staying dry, but Blaine just has not figured out the poop thing. After cleaning poop out of underwear for a couple days I put him back in a diaper, but Pierce never looked back! For the first few days I was vigilant about asking him, but after a short time he was telling me or just going when I asked him and he's done great! The only problem is that he'll sometimes wet himself at night 1-2x times a week. We're trying to crack down on night liquids and maybe should do pull ups to be safe, but he's pretty over diapers and quite proud at what a big boy he is. I can't believe how easy it was. He was holding out on us and just needed to be told it was time! Fairly typical Pierce. :) Now if we could just get Blaine there. Homeboy is completely unmotivated and has even gone back to peeing in his diaper most days. I guess 1/2 before baby sister's arrival isn't bad...
Update September 2014
I've been keeping a random list of everything I want to remember lately. There's quite a bit!
- I am constantly amazed at the boys' language and conversation. They both have little catch phrases that they'll use all the time for awhile and then move on to something new. For a long time Pierce's was "Seeeee?" when he got upset about something. He'd just keep saying it over and over until he could figure out what he wanted to say next. The funny thing was that Blaine then later adopted and now occasionally uses it when he's upset. Blaine is still constantly cracking me up with his phrases, intonation, and facial expressions. One of his more recent catch phrases is "Ummmm, well...." Or "actually...". He talks like a little adult half the time. Blaine also had a brief Popeye looks going for awhile. He's squint one eye while talking and thinking. BJ caught it on camera perfectly once.
- Both boys have really become great helpers. They like to bend for me so I don't have to and will often run to another floor to grab something for me. It's so cute and much appreciated at this point in pregnancy! Blaine also really likes helping in the kitchen. He finds such satisfaction and purpose in helping. It's such a sweet side of his personality. I'm hoping this will continue through baby sister's arrival.
- I've come to notice that Pierce is usually more of the rule follower and Blaine pushes the envelope. This most manifests itself when we're all walking somewhere together. Blaine will often dart ahead in a store and not follow along and Pierce gets really upset and often grabs his hand or shirt to stop him or get him to come. It's really cute. They switch roles though when it comes to opening a door they're not supposed to. They're both very good about waiting to open a garage or front door until a grown up is there and Blaine is always very concerned and vocal that Pierce is not going to wait. I appreciate the built-in checks and balances system we seem to have going here.
- They have become even closer best friends and playmates. I'm telling you I've never been more grateful for the blessing of twins. What do singleton kids do all day? Lately they have been quite harmonious and will go off for up to an hour at a time and play trains or race cars in the basement. They still play with their train table quite a bit and create scenarios involving day and night with the overhead light and family relationships with Molly as the mommy and James as the daddy, etc. I love just listening in on their play time. They also oddly enough love playing on my bed. The unmade bed is a playscape of snow and the pillows are caves and sheds. Very creative! We've also broken away from trains a bit lately with a new show they both like, "Chuck the Truck". The great thing is it's brought forth a new love of dump trucks and cars that they play in the basement. Pierce has even wanted to be called Chuck the Truck and named BJ and I Porter and Haulie respectively (Chuck's parents of course). And I think it helped nail down his Halloween costume too which was great because I could not get him to commit to a single train. He kept coming up with the most obscure Thomas characters he wanted to be and I have known this is not the year for me to think about creating a random train character from a cardboard box!
- Both boys are pretty excited to be big brothers and seem pretty anxious for Sis to be here. We've talked a lot about it and prepped with a lot of scenarios and explanations. I really think they get it and will be pretty ready. I think they're both going to do really well!
- Pierce has become somewhat of the better eater between the two. A few weeks ago I made a push for trying no thank you bites of everything on their plates. BJ also discovered the trick of setting a dessert incentive out for them to see and that really increased the motivation. Pierce did really well, but Blaine will often wait to the last possible moment and often sits there without eating much. He is also known for taking large bites, chewing for a long time, and then spitting it out in the end. Baby steps, I guess. I need to toughen up about it again. I'm still not sure they'll ever eat normally. I haven't been stressing about it as much, but I think that's mainly because my efforts have decreased some.
- They are still doing great in their new room and bunk beds. But when we left them for a quick overnight with Aunt Rah Rah, I realized how set we are in their bedtime routine. Typically we get jammies on downstairs and watch a bit of a show to wind down. Then we head up to brush teeth and read a story in Blaine's bottom bunk. From there we do a prayer and a song and then they lay down to be covered up. This is where the oddity is. When they were in their cribs, Pierce used to always tell me he was scared and then I would say one more quick prayer for him. Somehow in their new room it has become three of those prayers in a row. I feel like we're saying a rosary or something! It's just a short prayer that I pray three times in a row and hold my fingers up each time so they can see. It usually goes "Dear God, Please help ______ to fall right to sleep and not be afraid. Amen". And sure enough, that usually does the trick. Funny what develops over time. Blaine is definitely our bedtime staller and has been known to call us back in for random reasons or say he needs to go poop right before. Right.
- I can't remember if I've documented Blaine's new ornery face. Anytime he's feeling kind of naughty and he's talking he scrunches up his nose. It's so cute and is a telltale sign that he has not-so-good of intentions.
- The boys and I have really settled into a routine of errand running. I've been taking them out since they were born and they do so well now. I'm nervous about what adding a newborn will do to our footloose and fancy free schedule- especially now that they're not napping. They can climb right into and out of the car alone (And still have to take turns with the coveted seat behind the passenger's seat. We're still not sure what this is about) and we have some of the best, sweetest chats while driving. They're good about riding in carts and are overall quite patient while I shop. I've come to really enjoy those times and will miss them when Sis is here. We've been buying milk at Costco the past few months and one of our favorite things to do is a Costco lunch date. They just sit right across from me at the picnic table and we just eat and chat. It's a fun special treat.
- Just in the last couple of weeks Pierce has shown quite the musical knack. He started bringing his little, plastic train whistle in the car (and now leaves it there so it's ready for him) and quietly whistles along with the beat of his "jams" (current favorite Raffi album). You'd think it would be annoying, but he whistles very quietly and intentionally. It's the cutest thing. Sometimes I can get him to listen to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" (Blaine's and my current favorite) and he'll whistle and shake his hand at the same time. Precious! He really does keep a pretty good beat and recognizes the different tempos. The other day he also wanted to bring up the drum set from the basement. At first I was lamenting over the fact of being a "basement toy", but he wore me down and I melted after I saw him haul it on the sofa and play along with the Peg+Cat song that was on. He seems to be a musical kid and I'm curious where it will take him.
- The other cute thing they do speech-wise is adding "es" on to anything plural. It's so cute. So they like to eat "snackses" and play "gameses", etc. Love it!
- They both currently wipe off BJ's kisses, but don't mind mine. They better not ever do that to me!
- I am constantly amazed at the boys' language and conversation. They both have little catch phrases that they'll use all the time for awhile and then move on to something new. For a long time Pierce's was "Seeeee?" when he got upset about something. He'd just keep saying it over and over until he could figure out what he wanted to say next. The funny thing was that Blaine then later adopted and now occasionally uses it when he's upset. Blaine is still constantly cracking me up with his phrases, intonation, and facial expressions. One of his more recent catch phrases is "Ummmm, well...." Or "actually...". He talks like a little adult half the time. Blaine also had a brief Popeye looks going for awhile. He's squint one eye while talking and thinking. BJ caught it on camera perfectly once.
- Both boys have really become great helpers. They like to bend for me so I don't have to and will often run to another floor to grab something for me. It's so cute and much appreciated at this point in pregnancy! Blaine also really likes helping in the kitchen. He finds such satisfaction and purpose in helping. It's such a sweet side of his personality. I'm hoping this will continue through baby sister's arrival.
- I've come to notice that Pierce is usually more of the rule follower and Blaine pushes the envelope. This most manifests itself when we're all walking somewhere together. Blaine will often dart ahead in a store and not follow along and Pierce gets really upset and often grabs his hand or shirt to stop him or get him to come. It's really cute. They switch roles though when it comes to opening a door they're not supposed to. They're both very good about waiting to open a garage or front door until a grown up is there and Blaine is always very concerned and vocal that Pierce is not going to wait. I appreciate the built-in checks and balances system we seem to have going here.
- They have become even closer best friends and playmates. I'm telling you I've never been more grateful for the blessing of twins. What do singleton kids do all day? Lately they have been quite harmonious and will go off for up to an hour at a time and play trains or race cars in the basement. They still play with their train table quite a bit and create scenarios involving day and night with the overhead light and family relationships with Molly as the mommy and James as the daddy, etc. I love just listening in on their play time. They also oddly enough love playing on my bed. The unmade bed is a playscape of snow and the pillows are caves and sheds. Very creative! We've also broken away from trains a bit lately with a new show they both like, "Chuck the Truck". The great thing is it's brought forth a new love of dump trucks and cars that they play in the basement. Pierce has even wanted to be called Chuck the Truck and named BJ and I Porter and Haulie respectively (Chuck's parents of course). And I think it helped nail down his Halloween costume too which was great because I could not get him to commit to a single train. He kept coming up with the most obscure Thomas characters he wanted to be and I have known this is not the year for me to think about creating a random train character from a cardboard box!
- Both boys are pretty excited to be big brothers and seem pretty anxious for Sis to be here. We've talked a lot about it and prepped with a lot of scenarios and explanations. I really think they get it and will be pretty ready. I think they're both going to do really well!
- Pierce has become somewhat of the better eater between the two. A few weeks ago I made a push for trying no thank you bites of everything on their plates. BJ also discovered the trick of setting a dessert incentive out for them to see and that really increased the motivation. Pierce did really well, but Blaine will often wait to the last possible moment and often sits there without eating much. He is also known for taking large bites, chewing for a long time, and then spitting it out in the end. Baby steps, I guess. I need to toughen up about it again. I'm still not sure they'll ever eat normally. I haven't been stressing about it as much, but I think that's mainly because my efforts have decreased some.
- They are still doing great in their new room and bunk beds. But when we left them for a quick overnight with Aunt Rah Rah, I realized how set we are in their bedtime routine. Typically we get jammies on downstairs and watch a bit of a show to wind down. Then we head up to brush teeth and read a story in Blaine's bottom bunk. From there we do a prayer and a song and then they lay down to be covered up. This is where the oddity is. When they were in their cribs, Pierce used to always tell me he was scared and then I would say one more quick prayer for him. Somehow in their new room it has become three of those prayers in a row. I feel like we're saying a rosary or something! It's just a short prayer that I pray three times in a row and hold my fingers up each time so they can see. It usually goes "Dear God, Please help ______ to fall right to sleep and not be afraid. Amen". And sure enough, that usually does the trick. Funny what develops over time. Blaine is definitely our bedtime staller and has been known to call us back in for random reasons or say he needs to go poop right before. Right.
- I can't remember if I've documented Blaine's new ornery face. Anytime he's feeling kind of naughty and he's talking he scrunches up his nose. It's so cute and is a telltale sign that he has not-so-good of intentions.
- The boys and I have really settled into a routine of errand running. I've been taking them out since they were born and they do so well now. I'm nervous about what adding a newborn will do to our footloose and fancy free schedule- especially now that they're not napping. They can climb right into and out of the car alone (And still have to take turns with the coveted seat behind the passenger's seat. We're still not sure what this is about) and we have some of the best, sweetest chats while driving. They're good about riding in carts and are overall quite patient while I shop. I've come to really enjoy those times and will miss them when Sis is here. We've been buying milk at Costco the past few months and one of our favorite things to do is a Costco lunch date. They just sit right across from me at the picnic table and we just eat and chat. It's a fun special treat.
- Just in the last couple of weeks Pierce has shown quite the musical knack. He started bringing his little, plastic train whistle in the car (and now leaves it there so it's ready for him) and quietly whistles along with the beat of his "jams" (current favorite Raffi album). You'd think it would be annoying, but he whistles very quietly and intentionally. It's the cutest thing. Sometimes I can get him to listen to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" (Blaine's and my current favorite) and he'll whistle and shake his hand at the same time. Precious! He really does keep a pretty good beat and recognizes the different tempos. The other day he also wanted to bring up the drum set from the basement. At first I was lamenting over the fact of being a "basement toy", but he wore me down and I melted after I saw him haul it on the sofa and play along with the Peg+Cat song that was on. He seems to be a musical kid and I'm curious where it will take him.
- The other cute thing they do speech-wise is adding "es" on to anything plural. It's so cute. So they like to eat "snackses" and play "gameses", etc. Love it!
- They both currently wipe off BJ's kisses, but don't mind mine. They better not ever do that to me!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Dunweil Branson Trip 2014
Another Branson trip as come and gone. We headed down the same week in August when everyone went back to school and it worked out great again. But was it hot! I knew that I probably wasn't going to have quite the same blast as usual. I'd been so looking forward to it all year, but by the time it arrived I was definitely in a third trimester state. The week or two before I'd begun feeling hormonal, hot, and cranky and I was a little nervous about living with friends in my current state. But I think I was pretty well behaved. I told BJ to give me some sort of signal if I started acting too mean or cranky. :)
The boys did really well on the drive there. This year we were staying at the Branson Yacht Club and Abbey had warned us that it wouldn't be quite as swank as the previous year. But it actually worked out well. The only problem was a not great AC in our room and a super firm bed. But both were remedied by me sleeping on the living room couch and a maintenance guy finally doing something that made a slight difference in our room. It was weird being on vacation with my family but not sleeping with them, but a pregnant woman's gotta do what a pregnant woman's gotta do. I really did think the lame AC for the first 12 hours was going to be a show stopper though. After that was settled it really was a good accommodation. We had a beautiful lake view and the living area turned out to be plenty large enough for all of us. We boated most days and experimented with more local Branson eateries based on more TripAdvisor finds. The first night we tried Arandas Taco Shop which was really good. Not at all Branson-y, but still delicious! This was followed by a flat tire we discovered in the Wal Mart parking lot. We quickly drove to the Super Wal Mart on the other side of town and got it repaired even after they were closed. Phew!
We also tried Mel's Hard Luck Diner with singing waiters. This was not a great night for the Weil family as Pierce woke up from the boys' usual drive to dinner nap saying his stomach hurt and holding on to it. It seemed pretty legit. I ate most of my dinner, but just wanted to get out of there is case he was about to lose it. We walked around the cute little shopping area and he went in and out of pain. Finally we headed back and put him to bed and he was fine. Another crisis averted. I had visions of being stuck in a little condo room with a sick boy and wondering if we'd all go down like flies. I was very relieved we dodged that bullet.
Most of our days were spent on the beautiful lake. It was so hot that we got in every chance we got, but still so fun. The boys did great and are little lake rats. They loved swimming and each tubed once. Alice hung in there the first couple of days, but hit her limit shortly after. Aaaron and BJ took the boat out a couple of afternoons to "trash each other" on the tube and get some good skiing in. We hit downtown Branson (the boys loved the free trolley rides) complete with trips to the candy store and sweet little fudge shop where the boys got to lick a fudge bowl, The Landing, and drove the strip every day. We had lots of fun late night conversations and even came away with a great new "inside prank" involving a creepy bunny craft Ava made and hiding spots in an attempt to scare each other that has continued since we've come home!
The boys had known we were going to "Banson" and were so excited. I think they thought our condo was "Banson" because every time we went into town the first couple of days they whined that they didn't want to leave. :) They also began referring to our home as our "old house" which cracked us up. They weren't excited to come home initially, but once we got there they ran around and commented on all of our "new" things. I guess a week is a long time to be away!
The boys did really well on the drive there. This year we were staying at the Branson Yacht Club and Abbey had warned us that it wouldn't be quite as swank as the previous year. But it actually worked out well. The only problem was a not great AC in our room and a super firm bed. But both were remedied by me sleeping on the living room couch and a maintenance guy finally doing something that made a slight difference in our room. It was weird being on vacation with my family but not sleeping with them, but a pregnant woman's gotta do what a pregnant woman's gotta do. I really did think the lame AC for the first 12 hours was going to be a show stopper though. After that was settled it really was a good accommodation. We had a beautiful lake view and the living area turned out to be plenty large enough for all of us. We boated most days and experimented with more local Branson eateries based on more TripAdvisor finds. The first night we tried Arandas Taco Shop which was really good. Not at all Branson-y, but still delicious! This was followed by a flat tire we discovered in the Wal Mart parking lot. We quickly drove to the Super Wal Mart on the other side of town and got it repaired even after they were closed. Phew!
We also tried Mel's Hard Luck Diner with singing waiters. This was not a great night for the Weil family as Pierce woke up from the boys' usual drive to dinner nap saying his stomach hurt and holding on to it. It seemed pretty legit. I ate most of my dinner, but just wanted to get out of there is case he was about to lose it. We walked around the cute little shopping area and he went in and out of pain. Finally we headed back and put him to bed and he was fine. Another crisis averted. I had visions of being stuck in a little condo room with a sick boy and wondering if we'd all go down like flies. I was very relieved we dodged that bullet.
Most of our days were spent on the beautiful lake. It was so hot that we got in every chance we got, but still so fun. The boys did great and are little lake rats. They loved swimming and each tubed once. Alice hung in there the first couple of days, but hit her limit shortly after. Aaaron and BJ took the boat out a couple of afternoons to "trash each other" on the tube and get some good skiing in. We hit downtown Branson (the boys loved the free trolley rides) complete with trips to the candy store and sweet little fudge shop where the boys got to lick a fudge bowl, The Landing, and drove the strip every day. We had lots of fun late night conversations and even came away with a great new "inside prank" involving a creepy bunny craft Ava made and hiding spots in an attempt to scare each other that has continued since we've come home!
The boys had known we were going to "Banson" and were so excited. I think they thought our condo was "Banson" because every time we went into town the first couple of days they whined that they didn't want to leave. :) They also began referring to our home as our "old house" which cracked us up. They weren't excited to come home initially, but once we got there they ran around and commented on all of our "new" things. I guess a week is a long time to be away!
Abbey's Craft Time
Christmas Village outside Mel's Diner
Downtown Branson Candy Shop and Trolley Rides
Movie and Popcorn night
Horrifying Bunny craft
Farmhouse Restaurant complete with Blackberry cobbler
My personal favorite Ava picture that horrifies Abbey every time I bring it up :)
Licking the fudge bowl at the Fudge Shop
The New Train Room
We finally got the boys transitioned over to their new room. This was a critical step in baby prep since we will take over the nursery. We sat down to look at the calendar and realized that we really should get them in before our Branson trip the second half of August so we'd have time to get her room done. Pressure! BJ spent a lot of time and energy to carry out my creative vision. I'd pinned a several furniture ideas involving pallets and he remembered seeing some by the dumpsters at Mahaffie! It turns out pallet projects aren't quite as simple as they seem since the nails could hold up against the apocalypse, but as usual he persevered and everything turned out great! We'd bought the perfect navy bunk bed off Craigslist (consequently meeting the sweetest family with triplet boys and a younger boy!) and I began to try to gather train paraphernalia and posters to decorate. It all kind of came together in phases, but I am so happy with it. It still needs a few little decor touches, but I can do that over time.
The boys handled the transition quite a bit better than I had thought they might. They were pretty excited about the idea of a bunk bed. We still weren't sure if we could handle Pierce being on the top bunk. I had been the one saying I thought it was doable, but I have to admit that once I saw how tall it was I had second thoughts! We let them practice climbing up and down and went over our big rules...
1. Ask one of us first before climbing up
2. No bouncing of standing on the top
3. No playing with the ceiling fan
4. No rough house at the top
The great thing about those two is that if we set pretty firm and serious expectations, they usually do really well with following through. So we thought we'd give it a whirl. To unbunk the beds would have meant taking out furniture and it just looked so great and functional with the beds bunked. We told them that if they needed anything in the middle of the night or when they were ready to get up to just call us instead of getting out of bed. And it's worked! I love it! I dreaded the day when I was scared out of my mind in the middle of the night with a tiny person at the side of my bed, but they've been great. They are such good sleepers and either whine or call for us when they're up. Pretty great transition I'd say. It's another bittersweet phase as I'm having to accept yet another level of their big boyhood.
The boys handled the transition quite a bit better than I had thought they might. They were pretty excited about the idea of a bunk bed. We still weren't sure if we could handle Pierce being on the top bunk. I had been the one saying I thought it was doable, but I have to admit that once I saw how tall it was I had second thoughts! We let them practice climbing up and down and went over our big rules...
1. Ask one of us first before climbing up
2. No bouncing of standing on the top
3. No playing with the ceiling fan
4. No rough house at the top
The great thing about those two is that if we set pretty firm and serious expectations, they usually do really well with following through. So we thought we'd give it a whirl. To unbunk the beds would have meant taking out furniture and it just looked so great and functional with the beds bunked. We told them that if they needed anything in the middle of the night or when they were ready to get up to just call us instead of getting out of bed. And it's worked! I love it! I dreaded the day when I was scared out of my mind in the middle of the night with a tiny person at the side of my bed, but they've been great. They are such good sleepers and either whine or call for us when they're up. Pretty great transition I'd say. It's another bittersweet phase as I'm having to accept yet another level of their big boyhood.
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