Welcome to Potty Training -- NOT!

I thought some might find this as amusing as my mother did..... so for today's laugh...

i decided to start potty training today. We have been talking about the potty and sitting on the potty chair and the seat on mommy's potty, so this morning I decided to throw a pullup on them and start this process. This morning went well... no has done anything on the potty, but they seem excited about the process, but I figured I would get someone for the after-nap pee. I brought them down from naps, put them back in pullups and shirts and went to get the potties set up. No one seemed very interested so I started to clean my kitchen. About 5 minutes in they were laughing and running around and I thought I;d try the potty again when my son tried to climb into my lap and I left the wetness......the runs! I will leave it at a big mess and quick tub visit, then I saw my daughter and bingo! same thing. Now I think that I have traumatized my children. What could have caused this???? How badly did I botch this??? Then I started prepping for dinner and looked into the fridge and noticed the blueberries were missing. Hmmmmm... I have a whole pint left! Hmmmm nothing on the floor. Then I recalled our failed pullup incident. Apparently they decided to eat an entire pint of blueberries after lunch and before naps. Blueberries + pullups = BIG MESS + TUBBIES!

Maddie sunshine

The local fire company had Santa pay a visit to the neighborhood. And Maddie was so excited. Just watch our little ray of sunshine. See was so excited.

Happy Birthday Paityn!

Today was Paityn;s 4th birthday. We all went over to Tarri and Jim's for the party. They had a Dora pinata and everything! It was lots of fun and there were tons of presents. Happy 4th Birthday Paityn!!!!!

Lots of pics can be viewed using the link on the right.

Halloween -- delayed posting

We had a little camera drama with Halloween. It decided not to work properly and not one single picture came out. As such, we will be waiting for big brother Christian to come next week and try again. More to come .....

Township Fall Festival

In our new township, they held a Fall Festival today. There were pony rides, moon bounces, face painting and an area to make scarecrows. One of our favorite neighbors, Shane, was working with the scarecrows! All three kids took solo pony rides -- and the white one was a horse... a big one! Christian and Daddy had a great time with Shane making the scarecrows while Ben tried to help and Maddie wanted to play in the little stream that Mommy had not allowed her to see prior to today. Cousin Paityn and Aunt Tarri were there -- of course! And we all had fun eating popcorn and dancing to the kiddie band that was there too. It was such fun!

Our Little Carnivores!

The kids have been avoiding all meats as of late. They will only eat hot dogs, and not much of that. So Chris and I made these lousy steaks the other night and gave the kids a few chunks on their plates, which, of course, they ignored. Well when we proceeded to start to eat our steaks, they suddenly seemed concerned that we had something they did not. They had it on their plates, but it was all cut up. Maddie started this mess by pulling my plate over to her and then snatching the steak right off it. I was not upset since I had not intention of eating that particular piece of perfectly prepared shoe leather, so I let her have her fun. Turns out the kids like cheap steak!

Sidewalk Chalk

After naptime we all went outside to play with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. We drew lines on the driveway and the kids actually stayed in the designated area! Very very exciting!! More pics on the photos link to the right.

A Team Party!

We were so excited to have all our neighbors from the old house over last month. We had such a great time!! The kids got to play with everyone for a couple hours and then Mommy and Daddy got to play after the kids went to bed. It was such a wonderful time, we wish we could have done it every weekend! Above are some pics of the kids getting horsey rides from Uncle Joe and Uncle Steve! Additional pics are located in the link to the right.

Baby Kelleher is Here!

Momma Bridget was scheduled for induction today at 8am. I went to the hospital to visit her at noon today to help pass the time. Well, she actually naturally went into labor at 3am and was 3cm when I arrived. I hung out with her until her mom came around 3:30-3:45ish. By the time I came home, I saw the post that Baby Kelleher was born at 4:11 today. She does not have her name yet, but she was 5 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long and has amazing blonde hair. I guess she was waiting for me to leave to come into the world! Bashful little Bah! Well, I went back tonight to see her, Mommy and Daddy...and well, smell that new baby smell. She is beyond gorgeous! and so so sweet. Here are some pics of the new Daddy and hit little Bah!

The Birthday Celebration!

On Saturday, we had all the family over to celebrate not one, not two, but three birthdays!! Christian is now 13... a teenager...WOW! He will turn 13 on the 12th and Ben and Maddie will be 2 on the 17th. We wanted to celebrate all the birthdays this weekend since we will all be together as a family.... with our family. It was such fun to have everyone over to the new house and get both the Yeingsts and the Forests (and Aunt Michele - an honorary Forest)together again. As I type this I realize it has not been since the babies' baptism that we were all in the same place. The weather was perfect as all the kids enjoyed playing outside in the yard with the older cousins doing all the baby-wrangling. (Thank you SO much ladies!) Everyone had such a good time that Chris and I are thinking of having another family gathering soon.

Christian was so happy to have a party and blow out his birthday candles with family. We were overwhelmed with all the wonderful presents! After the unwrapping Christian could not wait to go put together his new Lego set. This morning the RC motorcycle got some attention and some battery charging. Since today is a day for indoor activities (thunderstorms) we will be forgoing the trip to the park with the new bike, but we can certainly put all the cool accessories on it!

Ben and Maddie we so excited by their presents too. They had fun tearing into the wrapping and discovering each new toy. I think the unwrapping part (bedlam!!!) was their favorite part, well, maybe that and the cake massacre!

Thank you to all who came and helped make the kids' birthdays so special and so much fun. It was truly a special day for all.

Additional photos can be viewed using the link to the right.

A special thanks to all for your help with the cleanup at the end. After everyone left I started looking around to pick up and realized that everyone brought everything in and there was so little mess I almost cried!

Happy Memorial Day

This past Sunday, we had a little BBQ with all the grandparents and cousin Emily! Here are some pictures of that beautiful day and all the fun we had...

(more photos on the link to the right....)

Mommy's Little Helper

Ben did the cutest thing today. Maddie got her finger stuck in the dishwasher door. (Mommy did not see her there and tried to shut it. Bad Mommy!!!) She was howling! I took her over to a chair and tried to sit with her and an ice pack, but she would have none of it. Ben -- no prompting! - went over to the freezer and started taking out different frozen packs and brought them to me. First was a teething ring which Maddie held onto for about a second and started crying again. Then he brought over Boo-Boo Bunny and the Eagles ice pack. By the time he was done he had picked out all the boo-boo things in the freezer and brought them to me.

I started worrying how I was going to get the freezer shut before everything defrosted and wouldn't you know it! Ben went over and closed the door, wiped his hands together (as if to say... my work is done here) and came over to see how his sister was doing. He had never done this before and never shown much interest in the freezer before. What a great little boy! I just stunned.

The big move!

Well, last Monday we moved into our new home. It was a very busy time and it went so much smoother thanks to our family. Grammy Ruth graciously came to stay for almost a week and watched the kids. It helps to have a "pro" around! Jim and Tarri came in on Sunday like knights in shining armour to help with the painting. To put it into perspective, I spent the entire day on Saturday painting one coat in the babies' room and 1 1/2 coats on the trim. Jim and Tarri were here for about 4 hours and they finished the babies' room and got two coats on the other two bedrooms. I was just lost, and they (along with Dad!) really came to my rescue.

Tarri was a big star during the week with helping me get packed, organized, moved, painted.... is there anything this woman can't do? Hmmmm I don't think she takes out the trash. But I bet she could do it if she wanted to! So the move is almost done, just a few odds and ends in the old house and a handful of boxes here in the new one.

I also wanted to take the time to thank all the people who helped us out during this frantic time.
Grammy Ruth - we could not have gotten much done without you here to take care of the kids. It was so nice not to have to worry about them because they were in the hands of a pro!
Tarri -- can I even say more? You were my guardian angel!
Jim - Painter extraordinaire!! and a great referral service!
Dad -- for everything, painting and the movers!
Mom - for helping not lose it! You are my rock!
Ken - For the great furniture. Only you could have provided a kitchenette set as well as bedroom furniture. And you were right. It is a vanity!!
My new neighbors - for making sure we moved into a home with a mowed lawn! And putting together that climber without any instructions. I am so excited to have such great new neighbors!
The movers - who pointed out the overflowing gutter so we could take care of it!
And I can not forget all our prior neighbors: Patty, Jaci, Joe, Steve, Julie, Rodney and Cathy. Thank you so much for the coming to Patty's party to send us off on such a high note. I am so sad to leave, but happy to be able to host many A-team parties in the future.

Thank you to everyone, and those I have forgotten to list (the brain is mush!) for such a great move. We love our new house and can not wait for the first of many gatherings of friends and family!

Paityn's Bike-a-thon

Cousin Paityn participated in a bike-a-thon today for St Jude's Hospital. She did a great job! They had set up two circles for the kids to ride around in two groups. Well, our Paityn rode around both circles with each lap! She did great making perfect loops and riding like the wind. Ben and Maddie really wanted to join her, but Daddy had them buckled into their stroller to keep them out of the flow of traffic. Great job Paityn!!!

A trip to the Park

Paityn, Ben and Maddie went to the park and had such fun on a warm day... no coats needed. Bring on spring!

Check out the photos link on the right for more pics of the park as well as the Raloo Rocket and a walk around the neighborhood.

The Easter Bunny visits Thornbury Farm

Today there was an egg hunt at the Thornbury Farm. The Easter Bunny made a stop to hide eggs and play with all the kids. It started at 1, the kids' nap time, but Ben and Maddie ran all over the place for over an hour! Ben loved the Easter Bunny! He was following him around and even gave him fives! Maddie loved looking at all the animals and climbing up the steps. Mom-mom and Pop-pop were on hand to keep track of the little runners. We all had a wonderful time. A special thanks to the Spackmans/Malloys for such a wonderful day!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter this year. The kids all had great Easter baskets waiting for them Sunday morning. No one really seemed interested in eating candy at first (not even Christian!) but that changed when we got to Mom-mom and Pop-pop's house. Ben was the first to dump his basket, but Maddie really seemed to love the jelly beans. She kept eating them and eating them, and eating them! She had a whole mouthful of them at one point.

After this we all went outside to hunt for eggs. We had good ones for Christian, and then others with jelly beans for the babies. Again... Maddie was eating the jelly beans. Christian really seemed to love hunting for eggs. He was not too interested in the contents, but loved looking for the well hidden eggs. Ben and Maddie's eggs were not well hidden, but they still lost interest in lieu of the climber and swing set until it was time to go back inside.

So lunchtime comes, and alas, Maddie had enough of her jelly beans, those in the eggs and those in her belly. Now anyone with kids probably knows where this is going, but alas, their own mother was clueless. You will notice in some of the pictures (see link to the right) that she had a wardrobe change.

Overall, everyone had a great time and was sad when the time came everyone to go home.... well everyone except maybe Mom-mom and Pop-pop. I think they were grad for the peace and quiet!

A vision of the the future

I had to share this Easter Day Picture. Maddie & Ben are both fascinated by the phone. I was just lucky to catch Maddie with her toy phone with the camera.

Created by Chris

The Easter Bunny

Well, let's just say that the kids were not the fans of EB as we expected them to be. A few weeks ago, Tarri, Paityn and I took them to see EB when he first came on the scene. We actually did not know he would be there and were not dressed for photographs. So, they walked up to him and took a present and seemed very happy. Well today we got them all dressed up, went to the mall for the EB picture. Mom-mom and Pop-pop were there along with Tarri and Paityn. Everything was great until they had to hop into EB's lap. Not a pleasant time. I guess the picture speaks for itself, but Maddie wanted out of his lap and Ben just screamed. Gee, I can't wait until the next holiday!

The New House

Well we are set to settle on the new house on April 24th. We may start the move as soon as April 27th. Here is a picture of the new house. Additional photos can be found on the link to the right. (the link says "Photos of Ben and Maddie".)

What a difference 20 minutes can make

Chris was laughing about how our living room is a perfect example of the fact that we need more space. I had not really given it much thought (the mess that is!) until after dinner I walked back into the living room and thought ... how did that happen??? Chris took some pics of the mess and than I took a shot of the same room just twenty minutes later. Its amazing what a difference twenty minutes can make!

The upside of being sick

Well, Ben is working on his fourth ear infection. This time it is a double ear infection with some gunk in his chest so we are sporting the inhaler too. What I find most amazing is how tolerant he is of being sick. I called the doctor because he had a fever for 48 hours, but no signs of ear problems. When I took him in to the doctor, he was very unhappy with the ear inspecton and then he just toddled off around the room checking everything out. He never really cries or shows signs that something is going on. He is such a little trooper! Well, he got up especially early this morning - 7 AM! By the time 11 rolled around he curled up in Daddy's lap and fell asleep. This is the first time since they were newborns that either one of them has done this. I had to take a picture and share. It was too too cute. Ben seems to have the same effect of Daddy as he did when he was first born. Put him out like a light! It was a great napping day and now we are off to watch the Super Bowl (commercials!).

Can Lunch be a Hat?

Well, we had some lovely sandwiches of cream cheese and jelly. Alas, we can not have peanut butter until we are three, so we used cream cheese instead. Well I was finishing a clean up and when I turned around it seems that Miss Maddie was confused with what to do with her sandwich. Apparently it resembed a hat and thus she used it as one. She seemed somewhat shocked when I shoved her head under the faucet after lunch and scrubbed it out. I guess she wanted to wear her "hat" all day.

The Doll Stroller

Aunt Bridget came by shortly after Christmas with some wonderful presents. Ben and Maddie went crazy for the doll stroller. As soon as I got it together, they were off. Here is a video taken within the sstroller's first five minutes of life. It was joined by another stroller the next day as it became a fast favorite. (Who knew I'd ever need two?!?!?!)

Just an aside: Chris frequently uses his phone to capture videos and I never realize he is doing it.

Christmas Dinner

We all had a great dinner at Aunt Tarri and Uncle Jim's house. Mommy was running late and missed most of it, but not to worry! Great-Aunt Ginny was there to take the over the feeding. Ben and Maddie had a wonderful time with Aunt Ginny. She made sure everyone was well fed and well behaved too! Thank you Aunt Ginny!

Rub-a-dub-dub Three Kiddies in the Tub!

After dinner at Aunt Tarri's house, the twins were in desperate need of a bath. So off they all went to the tubby! Paityn, Ben and Maddie had a lot of fun splashing around in the tub with no shower doors! Afterwards they all dressed in their matching Santa sleepers. (Still looking for a pic of that one!)

Two Christmas Pics

I actually found two pics from Chrstmas. The one of Ben was taken by his budding photographer brother Christian and the other is of Ben and Mom-mom at Aunt Tarri's house. Soon to come...I found some video Chris shot!

Christmas

Well, we were so excited for Christmas that I guess we all forgot to take an pictures! We spent Christmas Eve with Mom-Mom Pat and Pop-Pop John. Jim, Tarri and Paityn were there too and the kids all got dressed into their Santa pjs. It was very cute (who forgot the camera!!!) The kids got a lot of nice presents from everyone, but the best present was probably the surprise guest, Aunt Ginny! The babies have not seen their great aunt in about a year. (this time Ben did NOT headbutt his aunt!)

Christmas morning Mom-mom Pat and Aunt Ginny came over for present and breakfast. Everyone was still in their jammies too! The babies opened all their presents from Mommy, Daddy and Grammy. The blocks and the puzzles with the sound were a BIG hit! From there we went to pickup Christian and head over to Jimmy's house for dinner. Christian was wonderful with his brother and sister and everyone ate a great dinner with all the Forests and Leaches too. Geep (Tarri's mom) got the babies wonderful presents too! We had a great time.