Dry day!!

Max stayed dry all day!  When mommy picked him up at school Max shouted, "change my poopy!", but he had not gone. He saved it for the tub.

While Max's underwear stayed dry, Kira's shirt did just the opposite.  Just pretend the spit-up spots are extra hearts.  Kira's smile certainly warrants some extra love.

Max enjoyed Sesame Street while mommy worried about the couch getting wet.

"I need more goldfish!" demanded the potty prince from his throne.  Potty training SO fun.

Day one: no diapers

After Max stayed dry all morning, we decided to have him go diaper-less all day.  We were going to wait until the weekend, but he has done a great job of staying dry and using the potty, without any help, for the past two mornings, so best to keep the momentum moving.  Max went to school with his potty (and lots of extra underwear and pants), because who doesn't walk around town with their own smiley face-talking toilet?  Max did a fantastic job and went on the potty too many times to count.  He only had one accident at school and two at home in the afternoon.  Max happened to be standing (mid-temper tantrum) in daddy's shoes during one incident.  Mommy advised him to keep that fun fact a secret, but as soon as Max heard daddy come home he screamed out (with an enormous smile), "Daddy!  Your black dress shoes are soaking wet because I went pee pee in them!"  It should be noted that, "the black shoes are not my favorite," so perhaps that is why Max did the deed in them.  

As expected, potty training will fuel the fire of an always fragile bedtime routine.  Max waited until his overnight diaper was on to go number two; totally understandable (glad he got it out!). He also wanted to go on the potty an hour after lights out.  Good/bad/long nights continue.

Kira was hard at play on the playmat today.  She smiles and giggles at the birds as they circle around above her and she kicks the elephant.  Her legs are definitely getting strong and taking her places- all over her crib while completely swaddled!  

Who is wearing underwater?! "Me!"

Max helped give Kira a bath this morning and he noticed some differences...

"How is Kira going to use the potty if she doesn't have a penis?" asked an inquisitive big brother.  

Potty progress

Max scaled the big potty this morning all by himself.  The climb up and the pee pee were successful!  He also went on the little potty downstairs, but agreed to wear a diaper to school since he is not officially (fingers crossed) ditching the diapers for good until this weekend.  So far his absolute favorite thing is the grossest thing: dumping the pee from the little potty into the big potty.  He insists on carefully (so far) carrying, what equates to a "bedpan", to the potty himself.  That will be real fun when he goes number two.  "Do the potty dance!" he quickly says when he makes in the potty.  After school he took his diaper off for the rest of the day and kept his underwear dry.  At one point mommy went upstairs and left Max alone for 30 seconds.  "Look at this pee pee!" she heard, expecting to return to an accident.  But she was happily wrong!  Max was already en route to the big potty, bedpan in hand, to make a deposit.  As to not leave baby Kira out of all this potty talk, it should be noted that she has successfully kept all of her waste within the confines of her diaper.  That too, is an accomplishment.

Max ran into Kira's room this morning to hang these freshly completely letters he spied in the den.  Of course it was 6am and she was still asleep.  "I NEED these letters for MY room!" later cried the boy who has an entire [and more decorated] alphabet on his wall.  "But you have ALL the letters Max," said mommy.

Little sister is already wearing 6 month pjs!

"I want those brown [multigrain] waffles."

On Friday we went to Chick fil A and Max got a blue balloon.  On the car ride home, out of no where, all of the air fizzled out; Max has not stopped taking about it since.  Now he has a replacement and we can move on.  Maybe.

Musical Monday

Max loves to move his chair right as close to Kira as he can and play the guitar.  Poor girl needs a helmet, but she loves it just as much as he does.

Once again, Max woke up and wanted to  sit on the potty, but this time he actually went!  Yay!  After a celebratory song and dance, he said, "I want to poppy in my diaper."   Baby steps.  He was very excited to get his "little potty" after school, and he pee-peed in that, too!  Yay...until he poured the fruit juice of his labor all over the floor.  His pseudo-potty trained heart was in the right place.

The Virginian New York/Florida fan

Pinocchio

Max has been giving out a lot of love and a few lies.  He loves everyone and he tells them so, and he likes to give "one more hug" when he says goodbye for school.  "I love you SOO much," coming from the General is the greatest.  

He is also doing a better job of keeping his composure when mommy leaves him.  "I didn't cry for you!" he says with pride when mommy comes home.  

Max's tall tales are becoming quite colorful.  Today he told grandma that his finger was red because, "mommy cut it with the safety scissors".  At least they were the safety scissors.  No. Not true!  It was from his pink, strawberry bagel. 

Looking at the back of mommy's phone while she takes a million photos is exhausting!!

Kira is getting huge!  She is definitely bigger than Max at three months old, but with less hair.  She still looks similar to Max and she spits up like him, too.  The little lady soaks her clothes a few times a day, but it is okay because it gives her an excuse to wear more cute outfits everyday.  Most importantly, the spit-up does not bother her at all as she continues to be the an easy-going and happy baby girl.

Reenacting in Tot Shabbat 

Max was happy to help deposit money in Kira's new piggy bank.  He was also very quick to look for a way to get the money back out.  He found "all the money" (approximately $0.60 cents) on the basement floor and graciously gifted it to Kira.

Player

Morning story time selfie 

Why did mommy tell Max about cereal and milk? So she would have more to clean up, no doubt.  After wearing his Santa pjs last night, Max woke up saying, "ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas.  Come sit on my lap!"

Max put himself in time out after he hit Kira.  He said he hit her so he could go to time out.  

This jersery fits like a glove!

Friday night nuggets

Kira could not have been comfortable like this, but she was thrilled to be so close to Max.  

Giggles 

Max shoveled his chicken nuggets down in record speed so he could go in the play area.  Kira watched with delight/bewilderment as her brother flew around like a gigantic goofball.  

Wake up!

As usual, Max was the first one awake this morning.  He asked mommy, "can you please look up why do cats have tails,". By 7am we had researched feline anatomy and made Kira a new headband.  If was a very busy day.

"Wake up, Kira, wake up, wake up, wake up!!"

Max wanted to make Kira a headband out of a pipe cleaner...

But since that might hurt her, he made one of our felt instead. She liked it!

Hello, playground!

Max was in rare form this morning.  He wanted to shower with daddy and wear underwear.  After two long stints on the potty, he announced he was ready to go pee pee while it ran down his leg in the hallway.  He still wanted to wear underwear to school, but eventually settled for just bringing some.  He must have tried to carry them around because on the way home he kept saying/showing, "This is how I have to roll them up tight so I don't drop them".  He is really learning a lot at school!

It was a sunny 55 degrees this afternoon so we went to the playground!  Of course, Max should have been wearing a coat, but it is a miracle that he was not wearing shorts.  He also brought his underwear to the playground.  

Playground snuggles

"I want Ki-a to come sit next to me!!!!!"

Max is always talking to Kira, and she loves it.  She does not love sitting in the typical baby apparatuses (swing, bouncy seat, etc.) but if Max is in the room she will happily sit watch him.

Kira loves watching Max do...anything!

This play dough is Max (and mommy's) new favorite thing- it keeps him really busy and he is very creative.  He makes everything from cakes to snakes, and of course basketballs that he shoots into hoops (cups).

Nap-a-thon

Hi!

Despite the striking resemblance to CPR administration, Max was "gently" teaching Kira how to roll over.  Now someone just needs to teach Max how to do anything "gently".

They are both good at tummy time

Last night may have been Kira's most "energetic" night of her life (aka- she wanted to giggle and chat instead of sleep), but she most certainly made up for it with a four hour nap today.  She also had quite the post-nap glow.

Dessert time!  Max dipped his ice pop in duck sauce, his new favorite condiment.  Kira watched.

On the way home from school, Max announced, "Uncle said I could use his toothbrush".  The random remark was not forgotten and Max was eager to brush his teeth this evening.  Sleep, not so much.  "Falling asleep hurts my belly," he claimed tonight.

The boy who cried pee

Max was quite hilarious in the car this afternoon.  First, he confirmed that both he and Kira were in mommy's belly.  Then he said he wanted to go back in mommy's belly, but he couldn't find the door.  In other hilarity on the way home from school, Max saw a grey Nissian Altima, and asked if it was mommy's car.  Nope, we are in mommy's car.   But it was the same car.  He notices every. single. thing.

"I want to wear a shirt with a horse like daddy!" Luckily Max and Kira both had some Polo hand-me-downs from Ben and Hannah to appease the General's fashion whim. Kira was slightly less interested in the "horsey shirt".

Max woke up and immediately whined, "I want to go pee pee on the potty". He even claimed to have gone.  Not true.  The boy who cried pee is also into lying these days.  Last week he told Miss Miranda that he pooped on the potty with Grandma and Pa.  However, simply wearing boxers does not a poop on the potty make.