Catching up from our busy August!

I've started to use my small point-and-shoot camera again b/c it's just easier to catch a quick pic of a crawling baby...or a big bro/little bro "sharing" moment. So I plan on catching you all up on some fun things we did in August in one post...b/c I play with kids all day...so I'm tired.

As you all know, Summer was busy...and full of driving. So I was happy to finally be home, not living out of a suitcase, and ready to enjoy the rest of what was left of Summer doing fun things with our Georgia friends!

 First off, Braves game! We tried to sneak in a game with Bri's fam when they were down from NY, but couldn't find the time on a day when the weather was actually nice. So we were pumped when a couple of our friends invited us along to a week night game. Total bonus of living near a big city!

Look how excited Bri is to be baby-wearing B-rad. Summer in Georgia is hot, hot, hot. This evening was NO different. I remember telling my sister-in-law that holding Brady at the baseball game was like holding a sweaty, 20 pound sack of potatoes...that cries.

There is something about Turner Field...that is so NOT like Petco Park ;-) I can definitely appreciate a good baseball stadium after attending numerous games in SD. Turner Field doesn't quite add up. But who cares? It's hot dogs, beer, baseball, friends, kids...doesn't get much better!

B-rad was totally digging the game...

 A few pics I took at home...

One of the many things I love about my husband is that he dives right in as soon as he gets home from work. Still dressed in his work clothes he's on the floor letting the boys crawl all over him <3

Omg...he smiled for a picture. HE SMILED FOR A PICTURE! 

See the carpet in the background. That's the edge of our living room rug. He started out in the middle of the living room rug about 3 minutes prior to this picture. Mover and a shaker.

The dogs are messy...and hairy...and stinky...but the boys LOVE them. And the dogs love the boys. I just love this picture of B relaxing with his feet up on Abby. 

Boat Day!! Our friends invited us out on a pontoon boat last Sunday and we quickly said YES PLEASE! We knew that this was probably going to be the last nice-ish weekend of the Summer that we could all get together, so we packed up the coolers and the froggy potty and headed out on the water!

Ry and Griff ready to get movin'!

How perfect...a train passing by the bridge we were about to go under. Griffin and Wyatt could not have been more excited!

Wyatt & Griffin~ BFF's

I swear he is awake *most* of the day...

Daddy and G!

Um, pure cuteness :-)

Bri and G getting ready to go on the jet ski!

Bri came back about 3.5 minutes later and told me Griffin was NOT having fun on the jet ski. Lame. Of course he pitched a fit 3 hours later when it had to be returned to the rental place. Next time...

Our friends came prepared with their pack n play...B was obviously HATING the boat... :-)

Look at my handsome hubs <3

The boat will definitely be happening again next Spring/Summer...such a fun time!

More cuteness at home. B eats All. Day. Long. And he clearly loves his food!

A little brotherly play time to end the post....I've said it a million times before and I'll say it a million more times...these boys melt my heart!!!!!!!!!!

Potty Training

So...I officially ripped the band-aid off and decided to potty train the G-man. I had absolutely NO idea if he was ready for this or not. I had done a good amount of "research" on potty training. By research, I mean that I read over the various Mom blogs I pinned on Pinterest. I came across one in particular that seemed pretty appealing, titled: Potty Training In One Day. I obviously knew it wasn't going to be that simple, but I took these few ideas away from that particular blog"

- Stock up the fridge and pantry with CRAP. Obviously it wasn't worded quite like that. But that's essentially how I read it. Griffin gets very little juice and he NEVER gets candy. I will admit, I'm pretty strict about that kindof stuff. So I went and bought juice boxes, candy corn, twizzlers, m&m's, etc...

- Throw the diapers and pull-ups away. I clearly did not do this b/c I have a smaller child that will fit into Griffin's diapers in about a week (har, har). But I actually got this same tip from my pediatrician. She told me that since I stay home with him, that I should just do day and nighttime training all at once.

- Put them in a shirt and underwear. That's it.

- Set a timer. Put them on the potty every 15 minutes.

Here's how our day went...

Woohoo! So excited to be in big boy underwear...coming down the stairs first thing in the AM.

I was taking a picture for the fam to let them all know we were starting today, even though I'm pretty sure I had already told them and anyone else who would listen that we were starting to potty train...

And shortly after this picture, about 7 minutes after he woke up, he peed his pants. In fact, he peed his pants 3 times in the span of 30 minutes. By 10AM we were on our 6th pair of underwear, I had resorted to carrying the all-purpose cleaner and a roll of paper towels everywhere I went. Every time I bent down to clean up a puddle I was seriously wondering how any of us adults are potty trained. 

But eventually he peed on the potty for the very first time after wetting his underwear FOUR times. I cried. Like, real tears, I was so happy. That's when you've hit the jackpot of crazy, my friends...when you're crying over pee inside of a froggy potty. 

I kissed and hugged that little guy for as long as he'd let me and I think that's when it finally clicked for him. It wasn't the juice or the candy. He literally beamed at my reaction and the whole potty thing really started to set in. 

We went thru 8 pairs of underwear before nap time. It was EXHAUSTING! And of course, I thought he would wet his pants during nap time. Nope. Complete shock of my life.

We went thru a grand total of 10 pairs of underwear on Day 1. 

Day 2 we only went thru 3 pairs of underwear.

By Day 3 he was accident-free and TELLING me that he had to go potty. 

Thank you, Jesus. 

For those of you wondering how our set up was for the dreaded "First Day"...this was it. Griff on the froggy potty, Mommy on the little brown stool, Brady chillin' outside the bathroom door in his walker...takin' it all in. We had books, puzzles, coloring books, the Kindle. Everything helped. I'm telling you, besides nap time, we probably spent all but 2 hours inside of that tiny bathroom that day. My tush hurt so bad from sitting on that tiny step stool. If only the recliner fit...

Nighttime is a little different. I've done more research on nighttime potty training since that is what is the most difficult. We stop his liquid intake about an hour + before bed time and make him go potty twice before bed. Bri and I usually go to bed at different times. So I will go in before I go to bed and pick him up and set him on his froggy potty in his room. He mostly stays asleep. Then, Bri will do the same before he goes to bed. It seems to work the best b/c he rarely wakes up wet. 

Right now, we are officially 2 weeks into potty training. He now potty's on the big potty with a little potty seat insert. The froggy potty stays upstairs in his room for him to use before and after nap time and in the middle of the night. 

All in all, this whole potty training thing was MUCH easier than I had anticipated. I went into it with little to no expectations and I can't say it enough that I am so proud of Griffin for catching on so quickly....and I'm kindof also a little proud of myself for not losing my shit cool every time I was cleaning pee off the floor :-)

I wonder how soon I can get B-rad out of diapers...

Where Did Month 6 Go?!

Helloooooo Month 7! Nice to see you. Where the heck did August go? August may just be one of my LEAST favorite months of the year. Summer is just over and gone with and it's still all hot and muggy all day, everyday. Not to mention...football season starts THE very last day of August...it mine as well just be September. But hey....look at this little cutie...

B-rad turned 7 Months Old on August 23rd! He's weighing in at, just over, 20 pounds and is about 29 inches long. It's crazy to think he has grown almost 10 whole inches since he was a newbie! He was such a shrimp when he was born ;-)

I'm pretty sure that 99% of the female population would do backflips in their underwear for eyelashes like Brady...

This kid went from *barely* sitting up without going ass over tea kettle...to sitting up and crawling EVERYWHERE. And when I say crawling, I mean dusting my wood floors with his belly while he army crawls after me, Griffin, the dogs...or whoever else will let him follow them.

I am literally OBSESSED with taking pictures of the two of them. I think they really get each other.

Long-legged boys...they totally get that from me.

OMG...is it just me, or could ya'll die over Griff in this pic?? There's just so much going on...the look on his face, the crossed legs, the Lighting McQueen underwear. I get it now...these are the pics we break out the first time he brings a girl home.

I'm scared of what trouble those blue eyes will get them out of in the future.

Hey B...lemme get that sticker on your shirt... 

 There are no words in moments like this. As a Mom, you just snap as many pictures as you can get and then feel slightly silly when you took 27 pictures of the same thing.

One would think he was a smart 7 month old, already pondering the meaning of life, when in reality... he was reaching for something on the table next to him that he probably wasn't allowed to have.

We are still working with the same two teeth on the bottom. The ped told me yesterday that the top two should pop thru any day now. Then again, she told me that last month. So alas, the drool is just about everywhere. I actually had to take the case off of my phone the other day b/c of the amount of drool caught between the phone and the case. Another perk of having a Droid and NOT an iPhone (gasp!)...your kid can totally use your phone as a chew toy. Anything helps.

Now this guy... he's been busy...NOT peeing in his pants! Whoop! Whoop! Definitely doing a very brief potty training post in a bit. But here's a little love from our favorite 2 year old and LP (that would be the elephant).

B-rad's Baptism

Any time that we have our family and friends gather for a celebration for one of our children, I always feel so blessed. Brady's baptism was no different! His Godparent's drove all the way from New York to be a part of his special day...and we are so thankful!

It is tradition in our family for the Godparents to dress the baby in his gown. These 2 particular pictures make me smile from ear to ear. He loves his Aunt Reen and Unk.

Colleen is Brian's younger sister, who is actually 10 days older than me! She is, by far, the funniest person in their family. I got really lucky to have her as my sister-in-law. She asked me, back in 2004, to be the Godmother of her and Michael's 1st son, James. At that time, Brian and I were just beginning to date again and who knew where our relationship was going?? But she said that she didn't care if we made it as a couple, that she wanted me in her life regardless. There's a lot to be said for that. Like I said, I'm really lucky. 

Michael has been in the Army FOREVER...or so it seems :-) He is a Kiowa helicopter pilot and has made us all proud on numerous occasions. As I mentioned before, they live alllllllllllllllll the way in New York. I mean, it's practically Canada. We are hoping they get the opportunity, in the VERY near future, to move closer to us. I can't handle very many more teary good-byes.

 So back to B-rad's special day...

He did great during the baptism! The kid literally fusses over nothing! I thought, for sure, the smelly oil, the cold water, or even the stranger touching his forehead would get to him, but no. He's so easy going. It makes having a toddler rather bearable ;-)

Wait...whose toddler is this that's sitting here pretending to read quietly?? Not mine. 

Hey there buddy :-)

My love <3

I couldn't help but post a picture from G's baptism back in December 2011. Brady wore the same gown, last weekend, that Griffin wore a couple of years ago. Again, it's these moments that make me feel blessed beyond words. Thank you to everyone that helped us celebrate our little boy!

28th Annual Bouska Family Beach Week

I can't believe our annual beach week came and went SO fast. I gear up for that vacation at the start of Spring...so I suppose I only have myself to blame.

It was B's first trip to the beach. He really took it all in and made the most of it...

I had the fab idea to get a picture of Brady (who wasn't *quite* sitting up yet) from behind, sitting in the sand, looking out at the ocean...

I had really high hopes that it would turn out perfectly...

Yea....remember my previous post about our fun, yet completely safe, game we play called Timberrrr?

Turns out that sand is less forgiving when you face plant onto it.

Side Note: Even though this picture was, yet another, Pinterest fail...baby powder actually does help remove sand! So Pinterest...you redeemed yourself...for now.

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think Griffin would start swimming, sans the floatie, this summer. I was super bummed when the lady G took swim lessons with last year was booked until AFTER we got back from beach week. But after spending a week with all my family, taking turns swimming with him, and getting really excited for him, I think it was actually better than any swim lessons he could've had! I feel like sometimes when you have too much instruction, it can take some of the fun out of it. I grew up with a pool, so swimming was always second nature to me. There would be days my sisters and I would wake up, put on our suits, and we wouldn't take them off until we got into our jammies that night. So raising "water babies" is super important to me. I want them to love the feeling of summer, swimming, the ocean, getting sandy...all of it! 

These pictures bring me pure joy. Just being a little boy and loving life...

Beach week is just filled with lazy days in the sun...

Lots of much needed cousin time...

Enough Grandma and Grandpa snuggles to go around...

Much needed family time...

And this year we were spoiled to have a 4th floor oceanside room, where I woke up to this every morning. Yes, Please, and Thank You...

Until next year :-)