Sea World for Father's Day

Jeremy was a great sport and said we could go to Sea World for Father's Day.  His mom is here and we all have season passes.  We are trying to get in as many trips as we can before the kiddos turn three and are no longer free...  We had a great day and it was not as crowded as I thought it would be and not even as hot as I thought it would be.  Jack was pretty upset when he realized we were not taking the stroller with us.  Last time, he did not want to get out of the stroller and you have to get out in order to see any of the shows.  This time, we just went without the stroller, so he did not have the choice to sit in it.  After his initial frustrations about the stroller, he did just fine.  He even peed in the potty a few times and we had 0 accidents - yay!

My favorite show is Azul with the divers and Beluga whales.  Annabelle loves to pretend to dance with Beluga whales at our house, so I think  it is one of her favorites too.  We also say a new Pet's Ahoy show which had dogs, cats, a pig, and other animals.  It was air conditioned, so that was a plus.  We tried to feed the dolphins, but they are no longer doing that program.  It was still really fun to be so close to them in their tank.  They were swimming in circles and jumping right in front of us.  Annabelle got splashed, which was super fun.

The kids had a blast at the splash pad, which is huge.  It took Jack a while to get used to it and he and I started with the baby splash pad.  But, after a while, he was running with Annabelle and Jeremy on the big one.  We also did more sesame street stuff this time then in the past.  We saw Elmo Rocks and at the end of the show, the kids get to go down front and dance. Annabelle and Granjan went down and Jack decided he wanted to go to.  It was great!  Afterwards, we took a picture with all of them and Jack became buddies with Elmo and "pet" him.  Annabelle was afraid at first, but later warmed up to them.  We got some cute pictures!

At the end of the day, Jack and Jeremy went back to the car.  While we waited for our pictures, Annabelle and I rode the Shamu Express, which was so fun.  Annabelle's first roller coaster ride - I think I need to document it for the baby book!

Overall, a great day with tired out kids!  Happy father's day Jeremy - the best father and husband I could ask for!

Potty Training

Well, I think we are almost there!  We started potty training with Jack last weekend, Saturday, June 1st.  He needs to be potty trained for his school in the fall and he just seemed ready.  Multiple times, he took off his diaper at nap - clearly a sign he was ready to be done with diapers.  One positive of autism (there are not many, so I like to highlight one if it ever occurs), the therapists did most of the potty training!  And, it was not fun.  Rebecca was here Saturday and Sunday, along with another therapist for each shift.  And then, the therapists continued to work on it during the week.  On Wednesday, I was starting to get nervous.  Jack did not really have many accidents, but he could hold his pee for a long time.  He was scared to pee on the potty and one time literally sat on the potty for 3 hours!  He would cry whenever he was on the potty and actually needed to pee because he was scared.  It was so sad for me to watch and listen to, but I knew we had to push through.  I was also worried he was going to spend the entire summer sitting on the potty.  But luckily, he must have sensed my concern, and on Thursday we turned a huge corner.  He figured out it is not that scary to pee on the potty.  In fact, he likes to watch himself do it and is very proud afterwards.  He also likes to flush and say "bye bye tee tee".  And since then, he sits on the potty and goes within a minute (much better than the 3 hour stand off).  He is not quite initiating that he needs to go, but he will say yes when asked and he will pee when he sits on the potty!  Yahoo!!!  We still need to work on pooping in the potty, but that will come and I am not too worried.  This is one of those things that takes a huge unconscious weight off my shoulders.  When he was initially diagnosed, one of my first questions was would he ever be potty trained?  I have worked with families with big kids who are still in diapers and that was really something I was hoping to avoid.  So, now that he is successfully peeing in the potty, I feel even more confident that he is going to be okay.  And the more confident I am that he will be okay, the more likely it is that I will be okay.

Today I smile again and again

because...

We got into the pool!  It wasn't quite as clean as I would like and it was a little chilly, but we got in!
Christy, Dom, Ever, and Maebe came over to swim and eat dinner - I love them!
Jeremy made grilled pineapple - possibly my favorite thing in the world.
We listened to Hey Lollies and Jack actually watched and seemed interested - yahoo!
I had a delicious iced mocha - another top 10 item on my list.
Annabelle, Jack, and I played ring around the rosie and both kids laughed and giggled.

Today I smile again

because...

Annabelle told me I am her "favorite pillow in the whole wide world"
Jack and I got to play at the park just the two of us - he went down the super fast slide all by himself
Annabelle was so proud to show her brother off to her friends at school
Jack ate his weight in zucchini for dinner
Rebecca said Jack is doing great!
I got to go to central market by myself - and I picked out lemon bars and cherries for myself

Today I smile

Today I smile...

Because I have sunflowers from Mother's Day smiling at me from my coffee table
Because Annabelle and I got to visit our friends the Farrells (Andrea, Anson, Reagan, and Madilyn)
Because I go to go to an awards ceremony for my lacrosse girls
Because Jack ate almost everything on his plate
Because Annabelle asked for "more snuggles please"
Because Jack sat in my lap and let me read a story
Because Annabelle and I got to visit Samaya and Devni and their mama

Funny things

We are saying funny things in this house and I wanted to make sure I write a few down before I forget.

This morning, as Annabelle and I were on a "rocket ship ride", she said, "I'm driving this rocket ship mommy.  Sit back and relax and chill out.  I got it."  It was pretty funny!

Swimming season has arrived!

For Mother's Day, I wanted to get in the pool with the babies.  They have been in their baby pool and seemed to do just fine.  Except, as soon as they figured out they could lean out and reach the grass, the race was on.  Both of them in opposite directions, trying to eat whatever may lie outside the pool.  I love the pool and plan to spend a lot of time in it, if the babies will allow it.  So, yesterday, the three of us got in.  It was a little chilly, but Jack enjoyed splashing and Annabelle enjoyed twirling around in her floaty.  Overall, it was sucessful and I am hoping we will have many more pool days in the future. continue.  It is already 95 degrees - I can only imagine what August will bring.