Diapers are OUTTA HERE!!!!

Stats:

Name: Reese Makena

Age: 22 months

Recent accomplishment: POTTY TRAINED!!!

I used the same method for Reese that I used for Bria and I am happy to report it was successful. A lot of people think I'm crazy because I'm super strict and rigid about it, meaning we don't leave the house for 3 solid days (the potty trainee and myself). But it works so it's more than worth it.

If you want to use the same method, it's Lora Jensen's 3 day method and it is awesome. I can offer my words of wisdom as well but I pretty much follow her step by step and don't stray.

By the second half of the first day Reese understood to go on the toilet. She would start in her underwear, stop and say Poop (not sure why it's poop and not potty but it works), then finish on the toilet. 

By the second half of the second day she had got the hang of it and by the third day she was a champ. She stays dry during naps, but nighttime she is still wetting. So even though Lora says no to pull-ups, I'm doing them at night. I gave it the old college try, but we did the same with Bria and she didn't regress at all. Plus, she told us when she wanted to stop using them and hasn't looked back. 

First day and we were already stir crazy

Sister hugs. The 2T underwear is a little big on her :)

She didn't poop the first day and ended up pooping at night (fortunately it was solid so it wasn't that bad to clean up). But then pooped the next two days in the toilet. She is still very hesitant about pooping in the toilet and it takes her a few times of going back and forth to actually go, and it's been in the upstairs bathroom every single time. So I think that will be ongoing for a little while, trying to get her comfortable pooping in it. I knew we got lucky with Bria not having an issue at all, she was pooping in public restrooms right away!

Big girl!

We are incredibly proud of Reese and so thrilled to be done with diapers, wahoo!!

Social butterflies

As a SAHM I think it's important to keep my kids socialized with other kiddos. There is a huge amount of learning that goes along when they play with other kids and although it can be tiring to continually teach them how to share, it's worth it.

Bria loves playing with her friends, especially her best friends: Bennett and Weston (her words, not mine...I had no idea the whole best friend thing started so soon ;)
They get along so well that the amount of "teaching" is very minimal and they all do a great job of using their imagination which is so fun to watch.

Sweet little Kenzie (Bria took this picture and I love it!)

We took them to Turbo and they really enjoyed it :)

After the movie the sun was out and it finally got hot out so we did the only thing you can do in the summer heat...

Slip 'n slide!!!!

We sure love our kids, they play hard together and I love it!

The blondes

People always comment on how light the girls' hair is, especially Reese's. Both Brian and I now have dark hair but as babies it was blonde and Brian actually stayed blonde until almost middle school. And Bria's curls, they are a conversation starter for sure :)

 I have done my research on curls and how to take care of them because I have straight hair and had no idea what to do with curly hair. It's a good thing I read up on it for 2 reasons, 1. I was doing it all wrong 2. Reese is looking like she will have her sister's curls too.

First rule of curly hair, DO NOT brush when it is dry, only when wet. Second, it's pretty dry by nature so extra conditioner is a necessity. Also, don't wash everyday (except when she has swim lessons every day and then it's a must to wash out the chlorine).

And I learned on my own that long, curly hair is extremely hard to comb out so to avoid tantrums, just keep it short. Unfortunately Bria is convinced that she is Rapunzel and therefore will not allow me to do anything but get it trimmed (and even then she ends up in tears).
So Reese will be getting a cute little short bob haircut when the time comes...and before she can have an opinion on the matter :)

With 2 girls, hair is a large part of our lives and it's Brian's biggest stress when getting them ready by himself. However, he does show an interest in learning and I appreciate that. He has even done piggy tails in Bria's hair! Next: The braid ;)

Biker dude

JAX TURNED 1!!!!

One year ago this precious little boy entered the world and it took .2 seconds to fall madly in love with him. He steals the show when he is a room and we just love him to pieces.

The Tegner's once again outdid themselves and had an amazing party for him, complete with my step dad's motorcycle sitting out front.

Uncle Lance and Reese

Little Reese with her Aunt Kayla 

So let's talk about the gift. Heather found a steal of a deal on this handmade motorcycle rocker. She snatched it up even though she wasn't sure who to give it to. As soon as we saw it we knew it would be perfect for Jax.

Behold the glory of the bike rocker

About a week or two later we get Jax's invitation in the mail and guess what? It was a motorcycle themed party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Brian and I were stoked, we couldn't believe our luck. We brought the perfect gift to match the party :)

 Jax was in such a great mood, he never cried which is very rare for a one year old on their birthday. :)

Cool Grandpa Armstrong

Jax's grandma's are kind of wrapped around his finger ;)

How sweet is my sister? She had these for me and a gift from the whole family.

Cake time!

Jax's view of everyone ready for him to devour his cake...which he wasn't really in to :)

 It was a scorching day but Jenny thought of everything...

Kiddie Pool

Ice cream sandwiches!

Getting attitude from both my daughter and my Dad ;)

Bria has no problem soaking up some sunshine

Porter at the pinata

 And you know it's a good party when you end up looking like this halfway through:

 Aunt Jessa (Kyle's sister) and Auntie Drink Drink (Kyle's Aunt) decided if Jax wasn't going to eat his cake he could get messy with whip cream...

The party was more than successful. Fun was had by all!

Catfish 4

Bria started swim lessons yesterday, she is in catfish 4 and I think it's going to be a good fit. They worked on swimming on their backs, front stroke, and diving under water to get eggs. Bria had a blast and didn't want to leave. Fortunately we have it everyday for the next two weeks.

My Bria fish

 Last week we also attended the little track meet they have during July at the local stadium. Both girls ran hurdles and it was stinkin' adorable.

Family time!

Yay for participation ribbons!

Yay for piggy tails! :)

7 years of marriage...10 years of dating...12 years in each others lives

Brian and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary yesterday. Since Heather was out of town for work we planned to do a family picnic at the park, but he surprised me and had asked the Buells to watch the girls so we could go out. I love surprises!!
We went mattress shopping and got a new one, wahoo!! It's being delivered tonight and we cannot wait. Our mattress is one we bought back in college because it was cheap at Costco. It's horrible. I love Costco but I will not be buying a mattress from them again. Brian wakes up with lower back pain every morning and we know it's the mattress because aside from the obvious sagging of the mattress, when we were in Iowa his back felt fine. So we knew it was time for a splurge!
What better way to spend our anniversary than laying on a bunch of beds together? ;)
After that we went to PF Changs and then a little shopping at The Gap. Does he know me or what?

Still more

I'm wrapping up posting about our Iowa trip, at least I'm trying to. It was a long trip and I took a lot of pictures so it's hard not to have a million pictures and posts of it.

One of the days we went to Kent Park which Brian went to as a child and had fond memories. It was a little chilly the day we went but fortunately the water wasn't too cold. 

Does this girl have sass or what?!

After swimming it's mandatory to get ice cream, thanks for the special treat Grammy!

Finally July 4th came and we put on our patriotic gear and headed to downtown Williamsburg for the parade. Lots of fire trucks and Jon Deere tractors throwing out candy...the kids were in heaven.

It didn't take long for Reese to catch on so she raced for that candy as fast as her legs could carry that belly!

Cousin picture time!

We saw fireworks from Great Aunt Reba's house and the girls loved them. Not only were they pretty, but we didn't have to worry about the noise since we weren't too close. Our girls are super sensitive to loud noises. 

Have I mentioned I love wine?

This was the giant wine bottle outside the vineyard at the house we stayed at. I can't tell you how perfect it was for the Holcomb's to stay at a vineyard, we are winos!

The last night we were there I attempted a grand photo shoot with the kids. I wanted pictures of all of them to create gifts for Grammy and Grandpa's and Aunts. It was really smart of me to wait until the last night because that way I only got one shot and if something went wrong, too bad.
Well...

Bria was EXHAUSTED! She was homesick, tired, and just wanted to go to bed. 

But I'm mean and wanted pictures. So we kept trying.

And then I finally gave up and mentally smacked myself for being so stupid to wait until the last night to do this.

I know better, but I just kept thinking we had plenty of time and we were kind of busy actually. And I was tired, and, um, what other excuses can I come up with? Oh well, the pictures are pretty hilarious and they will be a wonderful memory all on their own.

I'm so glad we went on this trip. We are forever in Heather's debt for creating this unique opportunity for us all to be together in the place where they grew up. It was so neat to see this part of the country and the town Brian was raised. Seeing where he spent his childhood and experiencing a little taste of it. Brian and I are so grateful to Heather for all her hard work in making it happen, she is truly a rock star. Not to mention she spent her 40th birthday grocery shopping in Iowa so when we arrived the kitchen would be fully stocked. Talk about selfless! You are awesome Heather, we love you!