Lyla’s Potty Training!

Last Saturday my mom was here with us and she found Lyla in the bathroom pointing at the potty saying, “I wanna pee-pee”, so mom stripped her down, sat her on the potty, and SHE DID IT!! I was so surprised because Rylan didn’t show any interest in potty training until after he was 2. I figured if she’s interested, let’s embrace it…the faster I can get her out of diapers the better! I’ll be so rich when I no longer have to buy diapers that I won’t know what to do with all my new found wealth! :) We’ve been trying to let her potty when Rylan does and she’s starting to work on it at school too. Last night before bath time, I put Lyla on the big potty and Rylan started being, well, Rylan, so I was turned around fussing at him and I guess Lyla reached for the toilet paper and she FELL OFF THE POTTY! Immediately a large goose egg popped out on her forehead. Of course, I freak out and call the after hours emergency line at the Doctor’s office. They told me all the signs of a concussion and what to watch for. Fortunately she didn’t exhibit any of the signs and seems to be just fine…with the exception of the extremely large knot on her forehead! Today’s the first day we’re trying to go diaperless, unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to get her any big girl panties yet, so…she’s wearing Rylan’s old ones for now. Hopefully she’ll be a quick learner and I’ll get to bid adios to diapers!!

 

Goose egg close up…it’s really worse than it looks!

Goose egg shot number two

Lyla with her first pony tail and her brother’s Thomas the Train underwear

She wanted me to see Thomas

On her throne…we’re sticking with the little potty for the next few months!

Love little feet!

Greenville Drive Game Aug. 7, 2010

Rylan’s really into sports and so we decide to take him (and Lyla) to the Greenville Drive game on Saturday. Our church group was going and we decided at the last minute to go too, which meant we didn’t have tickets, but we decided to try our luck and hope we could get some at the gate. We met up with the church group and walked to the stadium with them. When we went to to the ticket office a man came up to us and handed us an envelope, “What’s this?” Jesup said. “4 tickets” he replied. “How much do we owe you?” asked Jesup. “Nothing” replied the man. Isn’t God good! Rylan was so excited! He made sure he wore his baseball hat and kept saying “yes!” as we walked into the stadium. The fireworks that exploded when the Drive hit a homerun scared Rylan a little, but he had a great time! He really loved watching the dance off between “Reedy”, the mascot, and the bat boy! He also enjoyed the ice cream in the plastic baseball cap that Miss Wendy bought him! After the 5th inning Lyla got a little restless, so we left. We had a great time and Rylan can’t wait to go to another game!

Lyla enjoying her ice cream with daddy

Rylan enjoying his with Miss Wendy

So happy!

Family shot!

MMA Ultimate Cage Fighting Aug. 6, 2010

Many of you know my father-in-law is president, and Jesup vice-president of Boy Dog Promotions. Bog Dog Promotions puts on what was previously called “Friday Night Fights” at the Anderson Civic Center. The name has now been changed to “MMA Ultimate Cage Fighting”. Our last event was last Friday, Aug. 6 and it was the best one yet!! I would guess there were at least 1500 people in attendance and the fight card was the best we’ve had so far! At this event we had the pleasure of meeting Omega Dave and his wife, Kat. They are awesome, as is their business, Omega Attire. Check it out at www.omegaattire.com   They graciously gave us two pint-sized Omega t-shirts for our future cage fighters…take a look.  I may be biased, but I think they’re the cutest models I’ve ever seen!

Lyla modeling the front of the Omega t-shirt

And again…she loves the camera!

Lyla’s belly…I mean the front of the shirt

My two little cage fighters!

Rylan modeling the back of the shirt

Lyla trying to copy her brother

Lyla’s Growing Up

Lyla’s no longer sleeping in her pack n’ play for naptime at daycare…she’s now sleeping on a matt like a big girl!

Family Reunion July 31, 2010

We loaded up the mini-van full on Saturday, July 31 to attend the annual “Hall Family Reunion” in Bethune, SC. Pack in the mini were my dad, Tracey, Rylan, Lyla, Andrew, Beaty, and myself. It was a tight fit!! We were stuck in traffic for an hour on the way there! The rain caused quite a few accidents on I-26. We had to stop in Columbia to get a bite to eat. My kids can’t go long without food. We ate at Crackerbarrel and the kids sure did enjoy it!

We had a great time seeing family and friends at my Great Aunt Evelyn’s house. The rain made things a little unpleasant, but we still had fun! The ride home was less eventful than the ride there and we all got home in one piece! A great, but tiring day!

Lyla eating a lemon dipped in ketchup…yum!

He’s so cute!

She’s pretty cute too!

A Few Random Things...

So it's been awhile since I've posted...I'm already doing what I said I wouldn't! I'm gonna get better I promise! A few, notable, random things that have happened since my last post:

• everyone recovered from the stomach bug, and I never got it!!


• Rylan learned how to say "see you tomorrow" correctly...when he first started talking he'd say "ah monner" which progressed to "see you in the monner" and when we were leaving church 2 Wednesdays ago, he told Jordan, clear as a bell, "see you tomorrow". He's growing up so fast and it's really making me sad!


• Rylan also learned to say "Jordan" correctly. At first we called Jordan Aunt Danger (because the kids always seemed to get hurt around her :) so he called her Danju, then Jewan and now he says "Jordan" just as plain as day. I've gotta say I like how he used to talk better!


• Lyla's favorite word is "No!" which has caused numerous time out sessions and this week she finally learned to say "Yes" which is a refreshing change!


• Lyla's also in the process of giving up her pappie (paci). She really only uses it when she wakes up in the middle of the night or in the middle of her nap. She doesn't use it during the day or to go to sleep. I'm using the "cry it out" method, but with Rylan sharing the room with her he gets woken up too, so I've resorted to letting him sleep with us (only once he's been woken up) until she realizes she doesn't need it. Tonight will be night number 4 and she's getting better, so hopefully it's coming to an end!


• I'm attaching 2 amusing videos of Ry-Ry. The first one came after he read " The 3 Little Pigs" at school when he informed me he didn't like the big, bad wolf! The second is us playing on the fact that he leaves the "r" out of the word "britches"...I know, I know, it's bad, but you have to admit it's pretty funny!

• One more notable thing...Jesup's decided to go back to school!! I'm really proud of him and excited about this new direction in his life. His plan is to pursue a Criminal Justice degree starting out at Tri-County Tech and moving on to the ACCEL (adult) program at Anderson University. We've submitted the FAFSA and application for Tri-County so hopefully, as long as everything continues to come together, he'll begin classes in August!

Stomach Bug

So, the main event in our household right now is this stomach virus that's making it's way through our family. First it hit Lyla last Saturday night. After the 3rd time she threw up I remembered the medicine the doc prescribed to stop vomiting for the last stomach virus we had. After that she didn't throw up any more, just a little diarrhea the next day, but that's it. She's been fine every since. Yesterday the kids and I were driving up to my dad's house in Marietta SC and twice on the way Rylan told me he didn't feel good and that his stomach hurt. Ten miles before we get there, Rylan throws up twice. He drank some ginger ale and ate some crackers at my Dad's and then threw up 2 more times on the way home. I gave him some of the same medicine I gave Lyla when we got home and put him straight to bed. Then I proceeded to clean out my car...yuck! He hasn't thrown up or had diarrhea today, he's just been a little whiny and wimpy. Jesup also caught it and was up last night and stayed home from work today. I'm praying I don't get it because I have to go in to work tomorrow to plan for summer school and summer school starts next week. Here's hoping!

Poor, poor pitiful Ry-Ry

Of course, Lyla can't resist a photo opportunity

Poor, poor pitiful Jesup