Ashley Potty Training and Trevor Camping

As we mentioned before Ashley has been taking dance at Centerstage and finally (third time is the charm) she is LOVING her new studio.  Every day she asks to go to dance.  One proud Mama here :)

After dance we headed to Target so that she could pick out big girl underwear.  Ashley has to be potty trained to attend La Casa which starts at the end of August so we knew we had to start soon!  And with trips and weekend plans there was no time better than the weekend of June 12!  That puts her just a month over being 2.5 so it seemed about right.  Trevor potty trained at 2.75 and got it in 1.5 days so we had high hopes for her.  She seemed interested and ready after reading 'Diapers are not forever' for the past week.  So many choices!

The winners!

So on Friday morning she woke up to a big celebration complete with a potty sticker chart, cinnamon rolls, balloons, you name it!  We make potty training a big deal for our big girl!

We gathered all of her diapers and she threw them away herself out in the big garbage.  'Bye Diapers'

Then she came back inside and chose which underwear would be her lucky first pair!

Minnie won!

We weren't sure how this was going to go with brother home but turns out he is a super big help!  Encouraging her to go on the potty, sits and reads to her when she's on the potty!  What a lucky girl!

We made a really big deal out of her first pee pee in the potty!  Clapping, singing, dancing and then she put her sticker on the chart and got to choose a piece of candy!

We followed the same 3 day potty training bootcamp that worked well with Trevor so there is a lot of waiting around and saying 'remember to tell Mommy/Daddy/brother when you need to use the potty' (therefore putting the onus on them to learn the feeling of when they need to go) instead of asking 'do you need to use the potty'.  So we broke out Nana's homemade play dough...

And got some new moon sand...

And just like her brother, when standing on the step stool to frost the cinnamon rolls she had her first accident.  While she was going Mommy took her to her potty chair and said 'uh oh, remember this is where you go potty' and she finished there.  Unlike her brother who cried and cried after his first accident she said 'okay Mommy' and that was that.  Not an accident after that.  Even kept her pull-up dry at nap.  After nap Mommy was anxious to see if she would remember what to do and yep she sure did.  We played for a bit on the floor before Mommy surprised herself and said we could go over to the Feather's and swim.  Usually you don't leave the house for 3 days but she seemed to be doing fine so off we went!

On Saturday the boys left for camping but not before Daddy spent some time playing with his little peanut and reminding her to use the potty.  That morning she had one accident where she did both #1 and a little #2 in her undies but then went back to going on the potty...even pooping on the potty!!!  So Mommy decided we could go to her friend Abby's birthday party at her house and prayed for the best.  Seriously, now we see how the 2nd child gets away with things.  Mommy would have never strayed from the 3 day potty training bootcamp rules with Trevor!!  But our little princess did just fine at Abby's...even telling Mommy 3 times she had to use the potty in the 2.5 hours we were there and using Abby's potty like an old pro.  Such a smart girl!

So that afternoon after nap we had the Feather girls over to play and pizza since their boys were camping with our boys.  Ashley did great with the potty with them over too.  Instead of telling Mommy she needed to use the potty she just went and used it and called to have Mommy help pull up her bloomers.  Wow! 

On Sunday Ashley and Mommy stuck around the house in the morning just to make sure there were no whammy's and nope, none!!  Runs to the potty for both #1 and #2 so the girl earned a lot of candy and little toys for doing so.  Mommy is still amazed at how easy both kids potty trained.  Trevor took a bit longer pooping in the potty and using a strange potty at a store but Ashley seems ready to go after just 2 little accidents.  Knock on wood!

So what were the boys up to during all this potty training fun?  They were having their own fun up at Lynx Lake with their buddies the Feather boys.  Here is Trevor and Jack's cool pose!  LOL

They did some hiking!

Some sight seeing!

Lots of father/son bonding!

Canoeing!

Eagle watching!

Canoe racing!

More canoe racing!  Great pic with the eagle in the background!

And rock hunting.  Trevor found this heart shaped one and brought it home for Mommy.  What a sweet boy!  It's so nice for Brian and Trevor to have this boy time together and with friends.  So glad this is become a twice a year tradition!

Ashley's First Movie

We ventured out for the Harkins Summer $1 special and Ashley got to see her 1st movie!  Rio2!  She did great!  She loved the popcorn and fruit snacks in her own holder.  When the treats ran out she got a little antsy so we moved where you walk in/out and she quietly ran to the door and back while brother got to finish the movie.  Creating memories one thing at a time!

Summer Fun

Summer continues to keep us busy!  We had Gracie's 2nd birthday themed 'Tea for Two' and boy were the little girls so so cute!

It was impossible to get the kids looking and smiling but you get the idea!

These two are so cute together!  Ashley was so excited to wear her party dress that she and Daddy got together!

We've continued the tradition of s'mores after grilling on the charcoal grill.  It might be Ashley's favorite thing to do lately!

Trevor is becoming quite the master builder.  He is determined to do it himself and he follows the instructions and voila he does it!

Mommy and Daddy got to a Diamondbacks game courtesy of Petsmart!  Can't go wrong with baseball and hot dogs!  

We also enjoy spending time with our buds the Yangs.  Pool time!

Trevor just loves being the big guy to these two cuties!

Before it gets too hot we've been trying to take a quick walk after dinner.  We've been able to catch some great sunsets!

The marketplace by our house has Princess and Pirate Tuesdays so we checked the first one out quick.  Ashley was thrilled to see some friends there plus see a princess!  She is quite the girly-girl!

Our Little Dancer

Ashley has been doing dance with Twinkle Toes at Primrose from January - May but now that she is done at Primrose we needed to find her a new studio.  We have a few friends that go to a place in Scottsdale and since Ashley would dance with them it made sense to go there.  And how could you not love Miss Jenni's (the owner) enthusiasm? 

We weren't sure what to expect given that Ashley is 2 and transitions are hard and we were right.  For the first half of the class Ashley didn't do much of anything.  

But boy did she look cute in her tutu!

Where she perked up in class is when they brought out the tumbling stuff!  She did Tumble Tots once a week at Primrose as well and it shows!

She rocked the forward rolls and enjoyed the rest of the class!

We know it will take a few classes for her to feel completely comfortable there but we are off to an okay start!  Such a big girl!

Flaherty Wedding Weekend

As mentioned in the previous post, Brian worked from Owatonna the week after Memorial Day so that he could attend the annual Kelly BBQ and not have to fly back and forth to also attend our friend Andrew's wedding.  So Thursday after lunch we headed up to the Cities.  We got a fabulous rate at the W downtown thanks to our friend and neighbor Lisa who works at Starwood.  She says she had nothing to do with the champagne and cookies we were greeted with, so thanks W!

Brian spent the afternoon working and Sara bopped around downtown hitting all of her favorite stores.  Around 5:45 pm Sara and Jeff met for happy hour while waiting for Brian and Dawn to arrive probably 20 minutes later.  It was so fun to chat with them.  It's been many many years since the four of us have gone out together and it was really nice to do so!

They had dinner reservations so we visited the News Room where we had our rehearsal dinner 10+ years ago.  Of course we snuck a pic in the actual room it was held.  We went to the bar to get a drink and were pleasantly surprised to see our friend Gina still bartending there!  It was great to catch up with her and she even comped our drinks!

From there we went back to change for our highly anticipated dinner at Manny's Steakhouse.  We have both been craving there since we moved away so we were excited to be able to go!

We ordered and devoured the 'bludgeon of beef' -- it was everything we remembered!  

And of course we had to find the bull for Brian to take the famous picture LOL

On Friday we slept in a little, Brian worked a little and then we hit the road to find a lunch spot.  We landed on Matt's Bar for juicy lucy's!  YUM!

Then we drove up to Nisswa where Andrew and Laura rented a beautiful cabin on a lake for their nuptials.  Everyone who was invited to the wedding stayed there except for their parents who stayed at the property next door.

About 25 people attended including Laura's brother Todd and his wife who celebrated a big anniversary so they were surprised with a quick vow renewal ceremony.  It was cute!

 It was peaceful and chilly and boy were the sunsets amazing!

Of course we were going to take a quick pic!

You can almost hear the loons calling in this picture.  

On Saturday morning we had free time so we had booked massages at a nearby resort's spa.  We took this picture after the most amazing massages.  Brian's said his was the best he ever had and Sara's ranked right up there!  It was so relaxing too!

We grabbed a bite for lunch.  It was so nice to eat outside and not sweat to death like we are in AZ!

We walked down to the beach to check things out.  The water is so peaceful!

We made it back in time to quickly get ready and hang out before it was ceremony time!  They did pictures with the crew prior to the ceremony.  It was requested that we wear black or white!  Love Laura's dress!

And love these guys!!

The weather was just perfect for their wedding!  Maybe a bit chilly if anything but nothing too bad!

Here comes the bride and family!

Their friend officiated the ceremony and Laura and Andrew said their own vows that were so sweet and memorable.  Everything was perfect!

And another beautiful sunset.  Andrew was telling us what to do for poses LOL but they turned out cute!

Awwwwww.....

Turns out Andrew could moonlight as a photographer!  

Arizona might have beautiful sunsets too but nothing can beat a sunset over water!

That night we had fun in the basement area with drinks and lots of games.  Brian showed off his mad pool skills and met a new friend called McCracken LOL  

It was so nice to witness Andrew and Laura's wedding and be a part of their special weekend.  We also enjoyed the time together the two of us.  Thanks again Mom and Dad Roslansky for watching the kiddos.  We very much appreciated you doing that!  XOXOXOXO