still short one

Elliott and I had a blast, just the two of us, but Jason came home on Saturday (I'm a little behind) and it's so nice to have him back. Elliott loves having his Daddy home. We are still missing Ethan, but he will be home soon.

Those of you who don't follow my jewelry blog may not know that Jaymee has let us borrow her "old" camera. Jason has been wanting to try a more sophisticated (complicated) camera, and I wanted to get a better camera for shooting my jewelry. Jaymee has a camera that isn't good enough for her, even though it makes our camera look like a toy. It's been fun getting used to it, and trying new things.

Elliott and I saved Jason's Father's Day gift, and cards from Ethan and Dominik, until he got home. 

He was pretty dang excited! I love being able to get him something he wants and needs, and still have it be a total surprise. He loves his new electric razor, and shaves everyday now, even if he doesn't really need to.

Jason was trying to get a picture of Elliott and I said "say cheese". Haha

Jason took the camera to the park, and was shooting like crazy. I love that he got this.

Elliott definitely misses his big brother, but he loves talking to him on Skype. They sing songs, and laugh, it's so fun.

Elliott learned how to spray the hose. He couldn't push the handle on the sprayer, so I took it off.......

.....and he figured it out quick. He had a blast spraying himself and everything else.

Potty training is going so good. He rarely has accidents, and knows to go to the bathroom when he needs to go. I can't believe how easy it really was. We are trying to get him to talk more, and encourage using please and our names more often, rather than a grunt and pointing. He's catching on. Hopefully by the time he goes to school he uses real words. Haha.

Ethan comes home in a week. We can't wait. We are going to miss him for the holiday, but I know he is having a blast. They have had a cowboy day, spent countless hours in the pool, went to Chuck-E-Cheese, rode bikes, built a bike ramp, read books, colored, opened new games on the Wii, and just the other day, they had Indian day. Looks like fun, huh?

We sure miss you baby boy! Hope you are having a great time. See you soon.

Elliott at the Reef

E-2

lovin my baby

Elliott has changed so much the past couple weeks. He is not as wild (well not all the time), and has become somewhat helpful, and super cuddly. He is still getting into everything, but has learned (believe it or not) some limits. He can open the fridge now, so that is a new challenge, but for the most part, he is really growing up. Usually when I shower, I shut him in the bathroom with me (the kid eats dish soap, so I have to contain him) and he brushes his teeth. Lately, he has been really good, and I came out of the shower to this today. He hadn't messed with a single thing, he was just sitting and reading his book. I was shocked!

He has started repeating a few words when he is asked, and even tries some harder ones. He doesn't talk on his own yet, he still just points and makes sounds. He will shake his head "no" or nod "yes" and say "Uh-Huh" if he does want something and you guess right. It can be frustrating.

Considering his lack of speech, he has done amazingly well with Potty Training Boot Camp. Today, he went all day with no accidents! We even ventured out of the house and he made it until we were home again. I took him to the park tonight, and decided to go without a diaper. He made it, dry the whole time, and when we got home he was dinking (cause that's what he does) and he wet his pants. I was disappointed in myself. I knew I should get him to the bathroom faster, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry. Oh well. One accident, that was kind of my fault, on day 4 is so good! We didn't use the timer today, instead I just asked him if he needed to go and he would nod and say "Uh-Huh" and run to the bathroom. I am so proud of him.

Enough "potty" talk. Sadly though, that is the excitement in my life right now. :)

Have a great end of your week!

everything is fine........for us

Father's Day wasn't very much celebrating for us. Jason is still in Helena, Ethan is still in Arizona, and Elliott and I were focused on potty training. However, yesterday evening was exciting for Billings. I'm sure you have heard that we had a wicked storm. The clouds rolled in fast, and the rain poured! The streets were flooded, and we even had some hail. You can see the water up over the curb and into the lawn and driveway.

The tornado siren at the park across the street was going off, and Elliott and I were watching the rain come down. I never thought for one second that there was actually a tornado in Billings. Wow! Luckily, it wasn't near our house, and even better, no one was killed. It did some incredible damage to the heights though. I still can't believe it even happened. Maybe next time I will take the siren a little more serious.

Crazy huh?

Today was more potty training, and I am happy to say, it's going really well. Elliott is like Pavlov's Dog. When the timer goes off, he gets excited and runs for the bathroom. Maybe it's the Skittles? I'm proud of him, whatever his reason.

Have a great week!

gettin' my "Martha" on

I am really enjoying being home with Elliott, all by ourselves. Last night, after Elliott's bath, I had a brilliant idea to let him do some finger painting. He had a great time, and had paint everywhere, including on me. He was really angry when we were done, and even this morning wanted to do more.  :) While finger painting is fun, I did have a second reason for wanting to do it. Erica has been using Carson's "art" and cutting it to fit on a card, and using them for greeting cards. What a great idea, so I stole it. Don't worry, I'm sure she won't mind. Didn't they turn out great?

Today, we bought Elliott some training pants, some Skittles and some M&M's. I am determined to make Potty Training Boot Camp a success. He started saying a few new words, and repeating what I ask him to, more often. I'm hoping that "potty" is added to his vocabulary in the next few days. *fingers crossed*

I also bought strawberries at Costco today. Elliott eats fruit all day long, and lots of it. I got the brilliant idea to make a strawberry pie. Easy right? WRONG! Apparently you need a food processor for the crust (which I don't have) and then you have to "cut" it, and chill it, put weights in it and blah blah blah! Grrr. I just wanted some pie! So that "Martha" attempt may have to wait till tomorrow, when I have more patience, or the time to go to the store and buy a crust. The filling part looks incredibly simple.

I also had an idea in my head for a very long time that I brought to life today. Go here to see it.

Have a great weekend!

counting my chickens...........

I probably should wait until I have at least one vegetable, but I was so excited to come home to this!

The garden is growing like crazy! Yay!