Bear's Birthday Part 1

Bear got to celebrate his birthday for 2 whole days this year.  He woke up Sunday morning and saw this new kitchen for him.  He just kind of looked at it for a while not exactly sure what was going on.

 He started playing with it soon though and really has been having a blast with it.

This was the best picture I got of him and his head is cut off :(

He got a new Scout dog too.

Berrie, Max, Liv, and Jeff bought him some really cute toys too!

I spent the whole day making this monkey cake.  Definitely not my expertise but Bear was really happy with it.

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday.

When he blew the first candle out, he got so close it almost burned him.  I thought it did burn him, but he didn't cry or anything, so I guess it didn't.

Ethan and I held him back a little for the 2nd candle!

My Amazing 2 Year Old

It's not, "he's 20 months" or "almost 2" or "he'll be 2 in a few weeks," my baby is 2 years old.  *wipes tear*

Barrett

• can count to 12 (and can usually identify those numbers when he sees them as well)
• knows his colors and shapes
• recognizes many letters (and knows the sounds they make and what they stand for, i.e. M for Mommy,  the M says mmmmm, etc)
• loves going to the gym and his gymnastics class
• loves to jump
• knows lots of animals and the sounds they make (including the fox, thanks to his cousins who love to sing that song)
• is normally very polite; he says please, excuse me, and bless you (he use to say thank you, but he's recently decided to go back to signing it instead)
• has been very happy to sit forward facing in the car finally
• frequently speaks in 3-4 word sentences
• is an excellent helper 
• is generally a very good listener
• LOVES babies (that might be an understatement)
• loves watching his Baby Einstein and Letter Factory shows while Mommy gets ready in the morning
• is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on
• is the best thing that has ever happened to me

Lola's Birthday Party

Yesterday Lola turned 3!  Bear and I got to go over for a few minutes before we had to go home for bedtime.  

Bear was so happy to get to play with "the boys"

Other pictures from the last few days...
Bear loves eating just the frosting off of cupcakes and cookies.  I don't know where he gets that from ;)

Since LaLa is pretty much couch-bound with her broken foot, Bear often sneaks up on her lap to get her iPad.  I don't think she minds too much!

Taylor, Brittany, and Bowie came up this week.

And I had a great girls night out with these lovely ladies!

Broken Foot

Wednesday morning, I was getting ready to go to the gym and my mom called the house trying to get a hold of my dad.  He had already gone to work so I asked what she needed.  Well... She had gone running up on the trail and rolled her ankle on a rock, heard a pop and was afraid it was broken.  I told her me and Bear would come get her, but she didn't think I'd know where to go to get her (probably true).  Since she was alone, she had to hop her way back to the car, which was almost a mile away and then drive herself home!

Shelley came and got her and took her to McKay Dee Hospital to see Dr. Richter (he's the amazing doc that fixed my dad when he broke his femur and shoulder).  They took an X Ray and she had broken a metatarsal.  He said they could put a cast on it or just put it in a boot and she chose the boot. Her other doctor said that if it had been only a centimeter higher, they would've had to do surgery, so that's lucky!

We are very grateful it wasn't worse and hoping that it heals quickly!! She does not sit still very well!

The Zoo

We went to the Zoo last weekend with Pops, Lala, Berrie, Jeff, Max, and Liv.  

The animals were all being super active and fun to watch!  The biggest elephant kept throwing leaves and dirt at us with his trunk!

The gorillas and orangutans were also awesome. One of the gorillas came right up to Bear at the window. It scared Bear pretty bad  for a second, but then he wanted to play with him and watch him forever!

random

Bear is really getting to know some numbers and letters.  He can pick out certain ones if you ask him to find them.

He went out to dinner with Pops and LaLa last weekend to Sill's Cafe.  My mom sent me this picture of him looking over the menu.

We've been lucky to get some nice enough days to still play outside!

Shelley and her kids slept over last weekend just for fun.  The next morning, Bear was walking with his sippy cup in his mouth and he tripped over a pillow and cut his top and bottom lip and his gums.  He got to have a popsicle with his breakfast to help his mouth feel better.

He was so excited to see these guys when he woke up!

We went to dinner at Papa and Grandma's on Sunday and Barrett got to run around in the gym with his cousins!

Bear and Rocket love to match!

This is Barrett Face Timing with Daddy.  He was making funny faces at him and then just laughing at himself!  What would we do without the internet!?

We got to have a little play date at Nicole and Eli's new house!  Our pictures have gotten so chaotic!

Bear wanted to hold Mya the whole time.  He was very soft and sweet with her!  He always plays really cute with the babies at the gym too- he just loves babies!

Unexpected Potty Training

I have had no interest in potty training Barrett.  I'm not looking forward to it at all; I find diapers pretty dang convenient and I don't mind changing them.  Bear has started to get interested in the potty though, so I guess we're heading that direction whether I'm ready or not!

For the last couple of months, Bear has really liked sitting on the potty.  We never told him he needed to or anything, he just wanted to try I guess.  He'd sit on it and say "peep" and then want to get off, put toilet paper in the toilet, and flush it.

On Thursday, November 7th, he pooped in the potty for the first time.  Just like always, he just wanted to sit on it before we put him in the tub and he actually pooped!  Then he did it again on Friday, Saturday, and today too!  He still wears a diaper all the time and I haven't started teaching him to hold it in until he gets to the potty yet. 

China

My parents recently went to China for a dental trip.

Here they are in Shanghai.

My dad was a huge deal there and he was doing presentations and big dinners with the mayor and everything!  This is the clinic they worked at while they were there.

They brought home some darling things for the kids.  You saw Bear's halloween costume already that they brought home.  The little girls got these cute nightgowns.

The boys got a tie.

And the girls got silk scarves.

Shelley made some awesome cookies that night that we had fun decorating.  I thought this picture was really funny because my face is funny but also because Bear and I are in basically the same pose!