Potty Piggy Bank

We started potty training Greyson at 20 months. I know that's a little young to start, but he was showing an interest so we went for it. We tried the sticker chart thing, but that was only exciting the first 6 times. I decided to can the whole idea and start again when he was really ready.

Fast forward two weeks. That's when we fell upon the "potty piggy bank"...by mistake of course. I was at Target and came across a cute piggy bank. I figured he would enjoy filling up his bank with coins and possibly even learn the names and amounts of the different coins in the process. When I brought it home and showed him how it worked, his only goal was to "get money". After he cleaned out my wallet and Chad's pocket, he hit up Ta Ta and auntie Whitney. That's when the little bright bulb appeared over my head, "I bet we could bribe him with money to go potty!" I pulled down a huge cup of change that Chad had on top of the closet and I showed it to Greyson. "Greyson, when you go pee pee in your big boy potty you can pick 1 coin out of this cup to put into your piggy bank."

Believe it or not, from that point on Greyson consistently began peeing in the potty! Now I must tell you, it wasn't "Mommy, I have to go potty!", it was "Mommy, I gotta get money!" I was entirely ok with the fact that money was his motive. Afterall, it was getting the job done and I figured he wasn't always going to ask for money to go potty. I mean really, my 16 year-old son, "Hey mom, can I borrow the car? Oh, and I just went pee so can I get a quarter?!"

Now the poop thing is an entirely different story, we're working on it.



This is how he does it... just like daddy! Well, kind of.


Sportin' his BIG BOY underwear.


My little Calvin Klein underwear model.

Greyson Showing off His Geography Skills to Tata

Greyson is quite the little scholar. I hung a map of the United States in his playroom and he has been learning a state a day. At 19 months (when this video was taken) he knew the western half of the U.S. At 21 months he now knows all 50 states! I have to admit that I was learning right along with him...geography has never been my strong point!

It's A...!!

Here we are sitting in the exact same booth we sat in when we found out Greyson was a boy...what a coincidence. We managed to order our food and eat our salads before we had Eric (the waiter) open the envelope. I was willing to wait until after dinner, but Chad was eager and wanted to discuss names during dinner. Not having to twist my arm, we handed the envelope to Eric and watched him open it. "Congratulations, it's a boy!" he said. Needing to see some proof, I reached for the ultrasound picture and took a peek...there it was clear as day, a penis! The picture is kind of grainy and small, but trust me, it's there! We are so very excited that Greyson is going to have a little brother...now we just have to agree on a name!

Bor or Girl?!?!

I am 18 weeks pregnant and am anxiously waiting to find out the sex of my second baby! The results are sealed in an envelope which Chad and I will have our waiter open at dinner this evening. Morton's is our favorite restaurant and we always celebrate special occasions there. We did the same thing when we found out Greyson was going to be a boy. It kind of adds a little extra excitement to finding out and also makes it a little more memorable. After dinner we will go out and purchase an outfit for the baby, but not before we have dessert at Coldstone!

My order:
Extra Snickers and Butterfinger mixed into sweet cream ice cream placed inside a waffle cone (the cup kind)... and I wonder why the pounds keep adding on.

Pregnant with Baby #2!!!

Little did I know that what I thought was PMS was actually pregnancy symptoms. Surprise, I'm pregnant! (And I mean SURPRISE!) My pregnancy with Greyson was anything but pleasant and all I have been able to think about for 2 years is, "I can't believe I have to do this again!" Well, the time is here and I currently have 16 weeks under my belt...which means 24 long weeks to go. I can't help but wonder if my pregnancy is harder on me or harder on Chad??? I am happy to say that I am no longer sick and finally have a little energy back. On the flip side, I am extremely irritable, getting fatter by the hour, and looking anything but sexy in my support hose. Despite the blah part, Chad and I can't get over the fact that Greyson is going to be a big brother...crazy! The last week or so when I have gone in to get him out of his crib in the morning, the first thing he says to me is, "Baby in mommy's tummy...I want to see it." Try explaining that whole concept to a 19-month-old!!!

Greyson's First Sentence

Greyson is 15 months and saying tons of words now, but today he said his first complete sentence! This morning Greyson was having much more fun playing in my bedroom than in his playroom. I decided to move from the playroom floor and crawl back into my bed since the opportunity presented itself. Greyson apparently didn't see me do this so when he walked into the playroom to find me, I wasn't there. That's when I heard Greyson say, "Mama, where ARRRRE you?" It was precious...I couldn't jump out of bed and swoop him up quick enough! I planted a big kiss on his cheek and said, "Mama is right here!"

Wedding Anniversary

I can honestly say that the BEST day of my life, aside from Greyson's birth, was the day I married Chad. Chad is an amazing husband and father. He is my soulmate and my best friend. I cannot imagine my life without him. Today we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. Because Chad had to be in Las Vegas for business we decided to turn it into an anniversary getaway. We ate dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant which overlooks the entire city. From the view, we were able to see the water show in front of the Bellagio Hotel. It was absolutely breath taking. While awaiting dinner, we made a list of our 10 best memories together...

1. The Proposal http://www.mywedding.com/chadandbrannanforever/stories.html



2. Wedding/Honeymoon



3. Greyson's Birth


4. Breckenridge Snowboarding Trip


5. Moving into Our New House


6. Summer Boating Days


7. First trip to Disneyland


8. New Year's Eve 2005


9. Flagstaff/Snow Bowl/Lowell Observatory


10. Our First Family Vacation


Just before leaving, Chad reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out two 4x6 photo cards and began reading aloud the words that were printed on them. I quickly realized he was reading his wedding vows to me. It wasn't the words that I heard that made me realize this, rather the lack of words and tears in his eyes that gave it away. He was just as choked up as he was on our wedding day. My eyes welled up with tears as I listened to the words he struggled to speak. He managed to get through them, but says he is certain that even 50 years from now he will have just as hard of a time.

Wedding Video Montage
(For the record, we were not nearly as red as this video makes us look!)