24 hours

was all we had with Brynn's new chair (which she received for her bday) before Zoey (AKA PeeMaster) peed on it. I was sooooo freaking mad at that cat. Needless to say, we are still spraying it with Nature's Miracle hoping the smell will be gone soon. We're almost there. Ugh. It's not like she pisses all over stuff, so I was pretty irritated she picked the new chair.

Baylen is trying to smell his foot in this pic. haha gotta love boys!

Busy Weekend

Elsa, Brynna and Madigan

This past weekend was really busy. We went to see Wicked on Saturday night and we really enjoyed it. I still think the book is better, but they did a pretty good job of adapting it for a musical. The musical is much more family friendly than the book, which I guess, is probably a good thing.

On Sunday, Brynn had a birthday party to attend for two of her friends from daycare. Talk about double whammy. haha. Anyway, she had a fun time at the party and enjoyed seeing many of her pals. The girls had their party at the same place Brynn had hers a couple weeks earlier.

Baylen's teacher wanted to start trying to sit him on the potty and I told her to go for it. We don't do much of it with him at home yet, other than in the morning sometimes and before the bath. I guess they sat him on it today and he totally went potty in the toilet! haha I can't believe it! He also tried going again in the potty later in the day and ended up rainbow peeing all over his pants and one of the teachers. Oops. He's still so young and he'll figure it out when he's ready. I was definitely in more of a hurry to get Brynn trained after she turned 18 months old b/c I had 2 in diapers at the same time. Some if you will find out soon enough that's horribly expensive. But with Baylen, he's my little baby boy and so he can take his time yet, b/c he's still a little guy. Although, if his teacher really wants to help train him, I am all for it.

Brynn on the recorder

here is brynn's new favorite $2.50 instrument thanks to Target.

Brynna on the zipline

here's a quick vid of Brynn flying down the zipline at her bday party a couple weeks ago.

Movie #1

Here's Baylen panting like a dog. Hilarious. You ask him, 'What does a dog say?" and this is what he does:

This is What Happens When...Part 654

Your Sister wants to play dress up...

Well Baby Check-ups Today

The kids had their 18 month and 3 year well baby/child check-ups today. Dj took the kids as I had to teach, so I ran up there after school was out only to walk in right at the end as Baylen was crying his little eyes out. :(

Brynna is 35 inches tall (10%) and weighs 27 1/2 pounds (25%). Baylen is 28 1/2 pounds (70% percentile) and is 34 3/8 inches tall (95%).

Both had to get shots. Brynn just had to get the flu shot and she took it in the leg like a champ. Baylen had to get his Hep. shot and the flu shot. He did not take his like a champ. He cried and cried and cried for an hour afterwards holding his little leg saying, "owww, shot!!!" I gave him some Motrin when we got home, but he's still Mr. Whiney Pants. Poor guy! I hate shots.

Dr. D. was very impressed with Brynn's speech. He said she talks more like a 5-year-old vs. a 3-year-old....her inflection, her facial expressions, etc. Of course that made me quite proud when I heard that.

We had some questions for Dr. D. today. First of all, Brynn's big toenail on her right foot has been black and blue for weeks. Apparently, a kid at school ran over her toe with the bike. I wanted to know if it was going to fall off. Answer: it might.

Dr. D. said that he suggested we get the H1N1 vaccine when it is available in another month. He has 4 kids and said all of his kids were going to get it as well, so we'll probably do it. What are the rest of you who have kids who read this blog planning to do about the H1N1 vacc?

We also asked about Baylen's speech progression. He said we should not be concerned. He does say quite a few words, and has been saying new words almost every day. I guess it is hard not to compare him to his sister, but she was not the norm when it came to speech progression, as she spoke sentences very early on.

3 Years Old

My baby girl. My first born. My sweet little lady is three. At three years old, Brynna Eleanor, you are quite an amazing little girl. You know all of your letters of the alphabet and some sounds associated with some of the letters, such as T is for tah tah Target (LOL). You know your numbers 1-11. You can say several words in Spanish: hola, adios, hasta luego, hasta manana, rojo, cero, Domingo, Lunes, Martes, Miercoles, Jueves, Viernes and Sabado. You love singing "I'm a Little Teapot," "Boom Boom Pow," "My Life Would Suck Without You," "Sunday, Monday...," and "Here we go 'round the Mulberry Bush." You are still a good eater as far as trying new foods and eating a variety of things, but you definitely have your favorites. You usually request to eat at Red Robin or Applebee's when we ask you on the weekends. For your birthday, you asked to eat at the place "with the purple grapes" and we figured out you must have meant Olive Garden. :)

You are spunky, silly, and often cry when Baylen gets into your "stuff." You like to tattle on him and let me know when he's doing something he shouldn't be. Friends are very important to you--and enjoy them very much. Some of your favorite friends include: Madigan, Colby, Jacob and Elsa. You care about your brother very much and tend to "visit" him sometimes in his classroom or wave to/kiss him in the lunchroom. You say the most hilarious things and your memory is crazy good. You might hear a word once that you've never heard before and the next time you try and use it, it's in the correct context. You love to sing and dance, and you love your ballet and tap class. Every Friday you come home and show me all the new things you learned at dance.

You get frustrated easily. When you can fix something or get something to work, you throw it, freak out, cry, scream, etc.

You've been rockin' the potty goin. :) You love trying to watch TV when we let you. Some of your favorite things to watch include: Toy Story, Dora, The Lion King, Bob the Builder, & Mother Goose. You love to work out with your mommy (and you always ask me what level we are working out at and verify their names.) You pretended to lift weights using little toys until Cade gave you some real weights for your b-day and now you use those.

You love having your ears pierced and show everyone your earrings all the time. Your favorite toys include Baby Addie, your new TAG, puzzles, your Lite Brite, your Barbie and Barbie Dress, and your bath princess dolls. You also love when we find and listen to funny kid videos or kid songs on You Tube.

Lately, it seems we haven't had to put you in many time outs. You are doing better listening the first time or asking for help when you become frustrated, esp. when it involves your brother. Although, you have been talking back more. When I ask or tell you to do something, your newest responses are "That's not fair" or "Well, I don't want to." Sometimes you raise your voice and get angry b/c you'd rather play.

You enjoy helping mom cook in the kitchen. You also like helping set the table and clear out the dishwasher. Sweeping is another one of your favorite activities because you use your own broom.

Cammy is your favorite kitty and she enjoys when you pet her.

You enjoy wasting as much time as you can before bed. You are a night owl and would stay up late if we let you. You love to sit in bed and just chat and chat.

You talk for your brother and translate for him constantly. He's grateful for that most of the time, since your translating often means he gets something to eat or drink. :) I love hearing you talk sweet to him or try and show him how to do something.

You LOVED your birthday parties. I could just see the excitement in your eyes as we put your cake in front of you, and really just loved every minute. It was such a special memory for me to see you have that sparkle in your eye.

Nuts haha

sorry the vid. is not flipped "right side up" but you get the point.

Mister Mister sitting on the potty potty

Mister has been showing some interest in sitting on the potty and all things "pee pee" which he says constantly these days. So, we sit him on there. He never goes, but he gets it that he has to push his "parts" down in the toilet when he is sitting there. He is so funny and would rather pull all the toilet paper off the roll instead of try going potty. At daycare, his teacher is moving forward with some of the siblings in her room if they show interest in the potty. She gently trains if they want to go, and starts with changing them standing up for awhile first. Eventually, we may try some pull-ups in there to see, but I am not entirely sure he's emotionally ready yet. Although, I do know that siblings tend to potty train faster, and I'll take it, but I don't want to push him into something he's not ready for. If he decides he wants to go potty, then I'll cheer him on. Until then, he can sit on the potty for awhile and just get used to it if he likes.

Also, we are on night #2 of him going to bed without asking for a "mimi", which is his pacifier. This was not something we have been working on whatsoever...just kind of came about, so we're definitely paying attention to THIS window of opportunity and trying to rid him of that for good. :0 We are crossing our fingers it will work. :)

The real cake!

We saved Brynn's REAL birthday cake for this past weekend when my mom was here. A mom from our daycare makes cakes for "fun" and so I asked her if she could make us a Hello Kitty cake. It turned out sooooo great and she is very reasonably priced. Brynn just loved the cake. Dj has more pics of the cake up close, etc. but here are few good ones off of my mom's camera.

My Mom was here!!

My mom came to visit for a short weekend to help us celebrate Brynn's birthday. We were so happy she was able to make it and we had a lot of fun! I wish we were closer so these visits were not so far apart!

Getting the Ears Pierced

Brynn had her ears pierced today and it was one of her presents from her mommy and daddy for her birthday. She did such a good job. She was definitely on board, agreeing to get them pierced. We went to this cute little girl's boutique where they offer ear piercing, up-do's, manicures and pedi's for little girls, their friends, and even their moms. :) It was a cute little place. Anyway, she picked out her earrings right away, which was a little flower design with the colors of "diamond" and pink. Then, she sat in my lap and they marked her ears up with the marker and looked them over. Then, they brought out the guns and I had to hold her head straight b/c she kept moving. As soon as they brought the gun to her ears, I could feel her tensing up and holding her breath. Then they counted, "!, 2" and shot the guns into her ears. At first, she had no reaction. Then, a couple seconds later, she cried!!! I think she was a little shocked that it actually would hurt. haha But then after about 30-45 seconds of crying, the ladies offered her a sucker, and the tears disappeared. :) She claims her ears do not hurt and she has not messed with her earrings one bit. It's seems like she is feeling no pain right now. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. :) overall, it was a really fun but bittersweet experience...just another reminder that my baby girl is no longer a baby.

Sitting waiting...

Marking her Ears...

The Piercing...

And Some TEARS:

The Aftermath:

Cute cute cute video!

Here is Brynn "reading" The Very Hungry Caterpillar. :) This was shot back in April or May when she was 2 1/2. :) Sooo funny. Check out link below to watch it.

http://gallery.mac.com/erdmann#100208

my favorite parts are when she says, "oh oh I lost the page!" and then end when she holds the book out for dad to see. :)

And Guess Who Else had fun at Bee's party?!

I'll give you ONE guess...he's ALL BULL ALL the TIME:




Isn't this pic AWESOME? :) It just cracks me up to no end!

oh Bees you are now officially a 3-year-old

More pics from Bee's party

Here are Dj's pics from Brynn's party on Sunday.
Fun had by all! There are lots of indiv. pics of the kids doing things but too many to post here...

Dear "Eye" teeth,

Please, feel free to make an appearance ANY time...like RIGHT NOW would be best. Baylen, his mommy, and daddy (and probably his teachers at daycare) would REALLY appreciate it.

Thnx,
The management

Happy Birthday, Lil' Momma!

Miss Brynn, Brynnie, Brynna, Bee, Baby Girl, Brynna B, 'Lil Momma, Beezy, Bees, Sissy, Brynnalicious:

Happy 3rd Birthday today. You are growing up so fast on me. Sometimes I feel like you are 3 going on 16...You make your daddy and I laugh every day with all of the random comments that come out of your mouth--such a character. :) You are such a bright little girl, so aware of everything and everyone around you. You let your imagination run wild and you're not afraid to test the boundaries now and again, like the other day when you scaled Baylen's crib all by yourself unbeknownst to your parents so you could play with him at 5:30 in the morning one day b/f school. You have an ear for music that amazes me to no end. You love dancing.And lifting weights. You're a tough cookie and you definitely speak your mind. You have such a kind heart, which you wear on your sleeve.

I know you wanted a pony for your birthday, so I hope you are not too disappointed you did not get one. Unfortunately, mommy and daddy do not have room for a barn to keep him in, so that will have to wait.

We love you, Sweet Bee. :) Happy Happy Happy Birthday times three. :)

xo mom & dad

Brynnie's turning 3!

Today we hosted Brynn's 3rd Bday party for her friends. This is her first extended invitation party to friends in her daycare. Last year, we invited a three close friends to her 2nd bday and that was perfect. This year, we invited 13 kids and we had 12 altogether at her party (including her and Baylen). It was fun to see all of her friends at the party and I think all of them had fun. We decided to have it at a local "gym" similar to The Little Gym, except this one is privately owned. They were able to play with ribbon wands and shake them in different shapes to music, walk on the balance beam, jump on the long trampoline, swing on the zip line, swing on the bars, and swing on a rope. They even played a hula hoop/musical hoops game. The kids had fun and then after the activities, we went in and had juice, apple slices, strawberries, plain goldfish, cupcakes and Pirate's Booty. :) Brynn chose Hello Kitty as her theme.

Each child received a goody bag. The boys had a hackie sack ball (bball, football or soccer ball), sports stickers, sports tattoos inside their bags, along with some Nibs Dj and I put into candy bags. The girls received the Nibs as well, along with Hello Kitty tattoos, a hair bow (each received a different one that I made), and a little necklace. Everyone received a Hello Kitty ring, which they pulled off of their cupcake after we sang, "Happy Birthday" to Brynn.

I made the cupcakes (just from a box) and then took the frosting and used red food coloring to make the pink frosting. Then I used my new Pampered Chef frosting tools to make a cool spiral design with the frosting on top of the cupcakes. I sprinkled a little sugar on the cupcake and then stuck a cute Hello Kitty ring on top. :) They turned out cute.

Dj snapped a bunch of pics that hopefully are better than mine as I spent a lot of my time getting the back party room ready as well as chasing crazy Mister around!

School has started...

and here's proof. I used my Cricut to make all of my book crate titles. :)

Birthday Party!

Brynn's "Friend" Birthday Party is tomorrow! We have so much to do b/f we are ready. She is SO excited and is looking forward to a fun, friend-filled day. I am glad we are hosting the party off-site/not at our house b/c we have time to relax a bit today and watch the ISU/IA game as well as the Huskies later this afternoon. Almost 3 years old. Holy cats. I can't believe it.

Bee also started dance yesterday and loved it. The dance teacher loved her as well from what I was told and she was impressed with how well she listened. Brynn showed me all of the things they practiced at dance and it sounds like she is going to love dance. WE decided not to put her in the pre-school class this year as originally planned. For some reason, I thought it was a 3-year program, but it's only 2 years. She will probably not go to school until she is 6, so it makes sense that she would only do the pre-school for 2 years. She is getting a lot in her own class now and is far ahead of many kids in her class with knowing the letters, sounds of letters, numbers, and now some Spanish so I am not too worried. Yesterday she showed me how to write the letter C and told me they were working on it in class. Pretty cool for an almost 3. :) What a little smarty pants.

DOn't mind my pic...no makeup. Brynn looks so pretty in this pic and I had to post it.

Things heard amongst students today in class

FIRST DAY BACK AT SCHOOL TODAY!!!

First of all, here are some cool names from some of my students in my classes: Marady (pronounced Marty--a girl), Wyatt (a girl), Maksim (born in the Ukraine), Laina Serenity (pronounced Line-ah, named after her g’ma), DeLaney (a boy), Keylee, Tyree, Griselda, and Tori

It's always a hoot to listen to middle schoolers talk because they are all at different places in their maturity levels and lives. Here are some one liners I heard today from kids whispering to each other or talking to each other while in class today.

"Where did you get those shoes?"

"I want me some purple shoes"

"What? We can’t wear all red or all blue? But I have an all red sweatsuit. Mannn. I’ma talk to Mr. Ellis ‘bout that one. I do not agree."

"White people look so funny all tan."

"I want it to rain so I can wear my killer boots.

"Wow, look at him! You can tell he went through puberty over the summer"


And the kicker...we were playing that game in Honors class this afternoon where you tell kids to take a few M&M's but make sure everyone can have some. Then when everyone grabs some, you tell them they have to say one thing about themselves for every M&M they picked out of the cup. One kid decided to say a couple of "normal" things and then all of a sudden out of left field he says, "Oh and I can tell you that there are three similarities between a good cup of coffee and a good boyfriend: both are dark, rich, and keep you up all night!" The kids just lost it and were laughing so hard. I had to hold it in and calmly said to him, "Hmmm thanks, Jan Patrick, I must say that this is is the only time I have ever heard that when playing the M&M game..." the kids just thought that was hilarious.


I always have a hard time mentally preparing for school to start, but once it does, I remember all over again how much I love my job. Though it is A LOT of work having so many preps, keeping up with grading all of their homework and writing assignments, as well as individualizing instruction and meeting the Special Ed accommodations/needs of certain students, I truly have the best job on the planet. I get to teach kids, work with kids, coach kids, sometimes parent and counsel kids, and get to know them on so many different levels. But the best part is that I get to watch them grow as learners and as people.

I have a hunch this year's group is going to be a great bunch of kids. I am excited for the upcoming year.

Ponies at Daycare

So a couple weeks ago right after the kids started back into daycare, they had pony rides come to school. Only kids 3 and older could ride them, and Brynn was super excited. She got right on the horse and rode him around and took her picture and loved it. There were quite a few kids in B's class who did not want anything to do with the ponies, but Brynn stepped right up and rode one. Atta Girl! :)

The Greatest Show on Earth!

This afternoon, we went to the circus. It was a Ringling Bros. and BB Circus, so it was a good show. Brynn and Baylen both just loved the circus. Baylen was grinning ear-to-ear the first hour of the show and I have never seen him sit that long and be interested in something EVER. :) It was so fun to see him loving the animals and all the action in the rings. It has been a LONG time since I have seen a circus and I must say that this was a great show. It was about 2 hours long, and we saw clowns, elephants, tigers, horses, zebras, dogs, tight-rope walkers, girls shot out of a canon, singers, dancers, and so much more. Brynn just loved every minute of it and said her favorite PART was the horses, elephants, the dogs and zebras! haha

We arrived about 45 minutes before the show to see if we could meet some of the performers and see some animals up close. We did see a clown and a couple of performers, but Brynn and Cade did not want to talk to them, shake their hand or get their photo with any of them. Brynn did not like the clowns at all up close. I figured this would happen. :) Right after she saw the clown she said, "Mom, I want to go sit in my seat!" Yeah, I know honey, you don't like clowns. LOL Cade was on the same page as Brynn--getting to our seats as soon as possible. I was a little nervous watching the tigers perform b/c most of them looked like they were pretty angry and didn't want to be out in that ring doing anything. They had quite a few Bengal Tigers, both orange and white in color. The tigers were gorgeous. They had 11 elephants that came out and nearly the same amount of tigers. They had about 7 zebras and about 11 horses, including a beautiful black stallion. There were about 15 dogs that performed as well.

I would say the only part of the circus I was disappointed with was the expensivo items, such as a small box of popcorn for $5, cotton candy for $11, sno cones for $15, and lemonade for $9. All of the circus "toys" were like $15 and UP. We didn't plan on buying any circus paraphernalia, but for goodness sake...charging that much for food was quite ridic in my opinion. This was B&B's first time having cotton candy and Baylen liked it a lot, and Brynn ate some, but didn't keep asking for more. I thought for sure she would eat half a bag of it.

All in all, a great first trip to the circus. I think this was Dj's first circus as well and he liked it and the cotton candy too. While there, we noticed that Disney on Ice will be coming to the same venue in November. Brynn really wants to go and so do I, so we'll more than likely get tix for that too. :)






Baylen fell asleep about an hour after it started. HE LOVED the first hour to pieces!