Our New Swingset!

Thanks to Pop and Bucky for helping Britt construct the new swing set last weekend! We are pleased with how it turned out, and Maddox loves it!

Maddox was a big helper!

Our backyard is not level, so a trench had to be dug to place part of the swing set in. Before I knew it, Maddox was covered in red mud with his nice outfit on! Such a boy!




I have visions of myself sitting on the porch holding Briley this summer while Maddox entertains himself on the swing set. We'll see how that goes!!

Potty Training Update

I thought there was no doubt that I would have Maddox potty trained by the time Briley arrived. Well, I was wrong. Now I'm thinking we will have two kids in diapers for a little while. Send diaper coupons!

The good news is, he does sit on the potty at school and occasionally at home. The bad news is, he doesn't actually use it. He just sits there! I think he actually holds it on purpose, then goes when you put the diaper or pull-up on him!

I found a Potty Chart on Chuck E. Cheese's website. I printed it off and told him he would get a sticker every time he sits on the potty and when he got 10 stickers we would go to Chuck E. Cheese. He seemed excited. So, I said "Let's go sit on the potty so you can get a sticker". He said "No"! I said, "Yes, so we can go to Chuck E. Cheese. It will be so fun!". He said, "I don't want to go to Chuck E. Cheese". Ok. So moving on to plan B...

If we are ever home all day for a few consecutive days, I plan to just put him in underwear and see what happens. The problem is, we are never home (except during nap time)! Well, we will be home a lot more after Briley is born. So, we may just wait until then.

Does anyone reading this have any advice? Has anyone potty trained a toddler while caring for a newborn?

Briley's Room

Here's what we have done so far in Briley's room. I think it turned out beautifully! My very handy hubby put up the chair rail and painted the walls. Bae had the valance made for us, which just added so much to the room. Thanks Bae! Aunt Katie is going to do some artwork for us. Thanks Aunt KK!




Yesterday, we had Carla's Sunday school baby shower at our house. Carla's husband Bucky works with Britt and we've become good friends the past year or so. Their little boy Colton will be about 6 weeks older than Briley.

Here we are showing off our bellies!

Me and my momma

Ok, I'm way behind on posting. This will be about 4 events rolled into one!

First of all, here I am 31 weeks pregnant. Everything is going great. I'm starting to slow down a little, but not too much. I'm still teaching. Getting up and down off the floor is getting a little harder, but I'm still dancing and jumping around with my preschoolers!
We're getting so excited about meeting Briley. Her room is just about ready, we just need some artwork for the walls and other decorations. We're thinking she's going to be a feisty little girl, because it seems like she's trying to bust out of my belly. I honestly feel like my belly is bruised on the inside! She puts on quite a show every evening for her daddy!

This was Maddox's first year to go to a Mardi Gras parade, and we went to two. He loves moon pies, as you can see below! At one point during the second parade, he started whining and said "They no throw me any moon pies!". I think he was tired of all the beads!



Here's Maddox dancing to Mardi Gras music! Don't know why it's sideways, but it sure is funny! It's definitely worth turning your head for a few seconds to watch it!



Lunch on Mardi Gras day consisted of corn dogs and funnel cakes. Yum!
We tried to to tour the Navy ship that was in port, but the wait was too long. Maddox was disappointed. Maybe next year!
Last weekend we celebrated Pops birthday on Friday night at San Miguel's.

And, we celebrated Bae's birthday on Saturday night at our house.



Maddox the Musician!
It has been so neat for me, as a music teacher, to watch Maddox learn how to sing. He didn't actually start singing until he was about 2. At first, his pitch was way off, but he would follow the correct melodic direction of a song. His pitch is much better now.

This song is one we sang in "This is Christmas" at church this past year.



Here he is showing off his piano and singing skills with a lovely rendition of "Close Your Eyes". This is the song I sing to him at bedtime every night!