stop..."potty time!"

i delayed myself from excitingly writing about this topic as soon as it happened for fear it was a fluke...but we are now 4.5 days into it and going strong...anthony is going pee-pee on the potty! he came home from "school" on thursday afternoon talking only about his friends nick and abby going pee-pee on the potty and singing and clapping about it. luckily, we have had a potty on hand for such an occasion, so i got it out. after attempting it before his tubby with no luck (but tony still clapping and dancing for himself), we headed into the tub only to have a soaking wet trek from the tubby to the potty when he screamed "pee-pee" during his bath...still nothing (but a soapy mess)...back into the tub. then after drying off, we attempted one more time...almost 5 minutes passed when suddenly he stopped talking to me and his face changed. he shook his hands in the air announcing "all done" and stood up. there it was...i couldn't believe it! he was so excited and was running in the hall in and out of his room, the bathroom, etc. this ritual continued over the weekend just sitting on it before diaper changes or whenever we passed the potty (waiting less each time for the end result)...then yesterday afternoon in the midst of play, he stood up and stared at me and shouted, "mama, pee-pee" and took off for the stairs. we got his shorts and diapee off in just enough time to sit him on the potty! he did it after recognizing that he was going to do it! he was soooo proud...and so were john and i! we had another good day today and miss michelle is right on board with us! keep your fingers crossed! oh - and i must say, the baby bjorn potty chair (pictured above) that we have is awesome! i read a ton of reviews on it before getting it as everyone says it's the "must have potty chair" if you have little boys! (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267519&cp=2255976.2256090&parentPage=family). it's definitely living up to the great things people have said about it so far! i would also recommend the dvd, "once upon a potty"(http://amazon.com/dp/B0000CBLBC/ref=s9_asin_image_1-1966_p/102-2506504-0498524?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0B60GATY3WP09HZQRE86&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240701&pf_rd_i=507846). it's very cute and is actually the first cartoon/movie, etc. that anthony has sat through for the entire thing (it's not very long)...there is a cute "potty song" that is sung after the story of the movie, and the words are included in the dvd package. there are two versions of the movie, one for a boy and one for a girl so make sure you take note of that before you buy it (if you're in the market for a potty movie that is!). where has my little pumpkin gone?


**update as of Wednesday 8/29/07 - anthony is still doing great! peeing on the potty every time he sits on it and getting better at telling us before hand. definitely learning some control. we're not totally there yet, but defnitely getting close! i'm just glad he's as into it as he is and that he's enjoying it as much as he is!

john's new toy

john's dream has finally come true...ok, the dream after meeting and falling in love with me and the dream after having a wonderful little boy who cracks us up at the drop of a hat...it's the dream where he purchases the truck of his dreams! john's truck was slowly entering it's last phase of it's life and we suddenly faced the reality that "out of warranty" was going to mean "[$] out of pocket" very soon. knowing that the truck was already way too small for our family now (it was not a pretty sight to see john, myself and anthony squished into the cab of the old truck), we just couldn't see putting any more money into it and began the arduous task of car shopping, financing and purchase! we stumbled onto this dream truck and were so lucky to have got such an incredible deal on it...really low miles, tons of warranty left on it and an unbelievable price. it was too good to be true, and likewise too good to pass up! it's way more loaded than any truck john would have purchased for work, but given that he doesn't do too much "dirty work" anymore, it will also serve as a larger family car for us too...not to mention, will pull our camper like it's towing a kite - no more worrying if the truck will make it to the campground and back! i'm sure we'll post more "personal" pictures of the truck later, but for now, enjoy the ones provided by the dealer.

when tony met harry

we spent a nice saturday evening at corinne and david's visiting with my new nephew harrison. it was also the first time since the hospital that john & anthony had got to see him. anthony was such a good boy and really reacted quite well to this new little bundle. we were a little nervous when we visited in the hospital as he really didn't like anyone other than corinne holding harrison. he had this nervousness going on, but saturday night none of that was evident. guess he figured, ok, he's here to stay, might as well enjoy...and enjoy he did. he was so eager to help me when i changed harrison's diaper (even sitting on a stool next to me while i was changing him, holding the new diaper), and to hold the bottle while i fed him. then he said, "mama, me hold howie". corinne obliged and we got some great pictures! anthony was patting harrison's belly and kissing his head - too cute! it was a fun evening and john and i talked on the drive home later about how quickly the past 21 months have gone by and how hard it is to imagine anthony 1 week old again. whew - too fast, but oh the fun!

welcome to the world!!!

harrison frederick brumbaugh has made an early arrival into the world (19 days early to be exact). harry was born at 9:15 p.m. today weighing a healthy (and not so scary) 7 lbs. 10 oz. and measuring 19 in. long. for those that aren't aware, corinne went to the dr. this morning for her weekly checkup and during the exam her water broke (after just being told that he was measuring to be about a 9 pound+ baby in the 97th percentile! - this is why i said his 7 lbs. wasn't so scary!)...that was at 9:15 a.m. - exactly 12 hours later - he made his grand entrance! i couldn't be a more proud aunt right now (albeit a tired one!)! i always knew my sister was an amazing woman, but she proved it today/tonight! she did her breathing and stayed calm even when most people would have lost it! she is doing remarkably well already in her new foray into motherhood and even accomplished the first nursing like a pro! harrison is "cute as a button", but don't take my word for it...see for yourself! i love you corinne and am so proud of you! congratulations corinne and david...and welcome to the world my little nephew harry! love, hugs & kisses, auntie kiki!

tony's new cozy coupe

after many a rough afternoon of dragging anthony away from miss michelle's house and her "c-a-a-rs"...we finally broke down and got him his very own car. he was such as good boy and i truly have never seen him so excited then when we were in toys 'r us in the "car" aisle and the lightbulb went on and he realized he was getting one of his very own. it was so cute. john and i knew we would need to put it together, but we never imagined it would be in as many pieces as it was for the size box we hauled home. anthony was soooo patient handing us pieces and tools and chanting, "my caar" while clapping his hands and marching/walking in place with a beaming smile from ear to ear. when we finally finished the assembly process (an hour and a half after starting) it was too dark to go "drive" outside, so we let him tool around the living room. we have hauled this car everywhere over the past week with us! i'll be curious to see just how long this is the "cool toy" for him to play with before we move on to something different. he still loves his kitchen (which i was was able to track down at a yard sale), so maybe this new hunk of plastic is here to stay as well! ugh - we're gonna need a bigger house! word of advice for all of you whose kids are really small, you don't have any at all (yet), or you have nieces, nephews, etc...if you see one of these cars at a yard sale and think (even for a second) you may have a child, grandchild, niece, nephew, cousin, etc. that would love it one day...grab it while you can. i've been looking for a used one of these for months and they are hard to come by...unless you sleep at the curb of a house with one until the sale starts in the a.m. or can talk the current owner into a "presale" deal! heck, i'm thinking of still keeping an eye out and grabbing one to resell at my own yard sale...they are a hot commodity! i'll make millions!!! ok, so it's just a thought!