8 Months old!!

Of course I needed a photo shoot to celebrate! My FAVORITE thing about my new camera is that, IT TAKES PICTURES RIGHT WHEN I PUSH THE BUTTON:) Oh taking pictures is so easy and quick. Also, I haven't had to recharge my battery since I put it in 6 days ago. I would be on my4th set of double A's right now. I was about 10 min early for an activity tonight so I just took Gracin out the front door and started snapping away. I love these pics. I think the green brings out the blue in his eyes... go figure. Enjoy:)


I was trying out manual mode for a while and I guess I had some white balance issues...maybe something else... I dont' really know. But I thought the colors in this pic look cool anyways:) Check out his eyes, handsome boy.

Black eye

Every Tuesday, is park day for our mothers group. It's always a little crazy with so many little kids running around having a blast. Well, Rhylan got her first black eye today. It really isn't that bad. I didn't even notice it until we got home. It was cause for some tears but she is fine now.

My morning buddies

(Eating yogurt!)

I love seeing my two little buddies in their PJ's. I love having my two little buddies eat breakfast with me every morning. I love seeing the happy expressions on their faces when I get them out of bed in the mornings. Heavenly Father has sent me these two little blessings to be my buddies forever and I love it!! Some days I really love being a mom. This doesn't mean Rhylan didn't go to time out today... or Gracin didn't randomly keep me up for 2.5 hrs straight last night.... But hey we were all happy at the breakfast table today:)

I had to go try it out

Okay here is my first attempt!! I've been shooting like crazy. My children are already sick of me...oh no! It is so fun. Now I know this may be boring to some of you, if so, check back later maybe I'll have another funny story but as for now, just pictures. (these are all edit free...I'll have to figure that out later)

I finally got it!!!

I have literally been saving money for MONTHS for this camera:) My Etsy shop helped speed things up! Most of my Christmas gifts from Riley were neat books on how to use this camera. Which I have studied a little but still feel helpless. Now you should see some improvement, but don't judge. Auto mode will be my friend for a while.

I just wanted to show you something I think is really awesome! This was the very first pic I took. I am not talking about my photography skills here, just the camera itself! Check out how close I cropped in on Gracin!!! It is still crystal clear.
Sorry about the boogies and dinner!! He just cries if I get him more clean than that, his nose is sore from being wiped for a week.

Potty train your child in 1 (ehhem 150) day!!!

Well Rhylan is finally potty trained. We started way back in the middle of November!! So if I were you, I would not take any of this as advice:)

I was pretty sure I waited until she was ready at 2.5 yrs. she showed most of the signs. She had a lot of interest. But after two + months of changing poopy panties, mad/mean mommy, and confused Rhylan we quit at the beginning of January. That week we quit, was wonderful!! We were all happy again. And, dirty diapers didn't seem as bad as dirty underwear, yikes!

Then we started again mid-February. Again, I was getting frustrated but not as bad as before (a lot of prayers helped me). We tried a new potty treat, and that seemed to work for a while. But she started to have poopy pants again. Then it turned into every day!!!! So drastic times call for drastic measures! We resorted to expensive gifts:0)

IT WORKED. Rhylan is pictured with her princess dress, two princess barbies, and Dora movie that saved us all. The sticker charts gradually got longer for each gift. And I am proud to say that we have stopped giving stickers for about a week now and for about 1.5 weeks we have only had one accident. (Last night) The only time I tell Rhylan to go potty is right before we leave the house and right before bed. She goes all by herself every other time!! She can even hold it for a little bit in emergency situations.

When I asked Rhylan where she had put her hat she pointed to the hook!
Me: "Did you put that up there?"
R: "Yeah"
Me: "HOW?"
R: "I climbed up my bed!"

Her monkey skills are getting better (worse!) every day:)

twins

I thought they looked cute in their pink shirts and gray shorts! Rhylan's favorite pic was the one where Gracin is coughing so she requested it make it to the blog! It is really hard to get Gracin to stay still for anything these days. Diaper change, getting dressed, wiping his face, taking a pic, etc. I put him down and he is gone!!

Oh by the way... check out their size comparison!!! He is HUGE!!! I think they could share clothes if the pants were just a little longer for Rhylan! She is 23 lbs and he is 22 lbs. They are 26 months apart in age?????!!!!

Roller blading

Saturday was the NICEST DAY!!! Oh the weather was beautiful, so we went to the park and tried out our roller blades. (I can count on one hand the number of times I have roller bladed!) But I was pushing a stroller so I looked like a pro. Its nice to know you can't fall:) We had fun but it sure wore us out. Riley said is was tricky to pull the wagon while skating. I can imagine. I 'm glad I got the stroller. It was a great family outing/exercise for us.

Some mile stones for Gracin

First ,I left him alone in his room while I helped Rhylan go to the bathroom (more about that to come!) When I came back to get him, I found him just happy as can be playing by himself!

Second, Riley taught Gracin how to crawl over the weekend! Here is a silent video of him crawling after the camera! It's just an army crawl right now, but he can sure move:)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Third, I cut his hair this morning. It was hanging about 1 in. over his ears. So I just trimmed it up around his ears. It ended up being quite a bit of hair. He has way more than Rhylan did at this age.

Two future optometrists

Riley loves to teach Rhylan how he uses all the stuff in her doctor kit! She is learning quick. She has a lot of fun being just like daddy. So I made her this little white coat to match her idol!

Using the "elmoscope" (in Rhylan terms.) Or as Riley calls it, an ophthalmoscope.

Okay once I loaded this picture up here, I noticed it looked a little funny. I made them post like this so you could see the back of their jackets. I made Rhylan's to match his.
She even had a pocket to put all her fun gadgets, again, just like daddy!

Rhylan is missing!

So the other day I went in Rhylan's room to check on her during nap time. This is what I find. It was kind of dark in her room so it took me a few seconds to actually find her. Look close can you see her?...
That's right she is not in that picture. I looked at the other end of the bed and see this! She was sleeping on a boppy pillow that had been tossed at the end of her bed and folded the blankets over herself. And later Zelda joined in! Yes she is a little sweaty. That is how she always is after nap time, even with little blankets.