Update (Potty and Otherwise)

Somehow the first week of the new year got away from us without a blog post or update. So here's an update on how we spent our week:

The first part of the week was a quiet one spent as a family as Daddy enjoyed his last off from work for the holidays. Tuesday was Kira's two month birthday. She celebrated by sitting in Ari's high chair for the first time. She seems to love sitting there, as it gives her a good view of what's going on and lets her feel like she's involved in whatever is going on at the moment:We got back into the swing of things on Thursday with a visit to Ari and Alex's school so that Mommy could have a conference with the teacher to prepare for their first "independent" days starting this week. Tomorrow Alex and Ari will go to school on their own for the first time for just an hour to help transition them into going on their own full time.

Friday we had a playdate with neighbor and friend Andrew in Andrew's new playroom. Now every time we go outside or drive by his house, Ari and Alex shout "Andrew! Andrew!" We are looking forward to many more playdates with Andrew and to the kids all growing up together as friends and neighbors.

This weekend we spent a lot of time with family. Sunday we had a stream of visitors- first Nana and Poppy along with Aunt Lori and Ozzie, followed by Miri and Opa. Miri and Opa took us all out to a yummy dinner- we are happy to report that Alex and Ari sat nicely the entire time and ate all of their dinner (chicken nuggets and fries) and Kira was happy and smiling throughout the entire meal, as well. We were touched and humbled when our waitress told Daddy that he has a "beautiful family" and when someone sitting nearby said that our kids were so cute she wanted to take one home with her (sorry, we informed her, we think we'll keep all three).

Ozzie gives Alex a kiss (he's actually trying to eat the cookie out of Alex's mouth...)

Poppy Jack comes to visit

Alex and Ari play nicely...until Alex knocked down Ari's tower a second after this picture was taken!

Alex loves his little sister

Kira is getting so big!

As for the potty front, it appears that after Ari's first potty experience she is a little hesitant to try again on the "big potty," however she has agreed to sit on the small potty given to us by Nana and Poppy's friends Mike and Lynn. Yesterday she even made a pee-pee on the little potty, and was rewarded with stickers. She proudly showed off her stickers to her visitors, telling them how she earned them. Alex must have been impressed by her "prize" because this morning he sat on the little potty and made not only a poop but a pee-pee as well! So Alex is wearing his sticker prize today and Mommy is hoping that the sticker enticement will work to get both kids going on the potty more frequently. In the meantime, we spend a LOT of time just sitting with both kids (usually Ari) in the bathroom as they sit on the potty and read a book, play with toys and otherwise make us wonder if they are actually ever going to do their business.
This week we get back into our busy schedule with gym class, school, playgroup and, new this year, Spanish class! We also have lots of birthdays to celebrate this week and next- Aunt Debbie, Miri, Nana and Uncle Sam just to name a few. Looks like it's going to be a busy month!