Christmas #1

After William's birthday party & subsequent nap, the three of us headed down to Union Station to take in the decorations & festivities. They have a mini train for kids to ride on as well as a miniature train collection to check out. William loves trains, so he was super pumped to see all of this. After, we went for tacos for dinner. William ate 2.5 bowls of salsa while we waited for our food. Didn't snag a pic of that!

With my parents headed back to CA for Nellie's b'day, Christmas, & the rest of the Kansas cold months, we celebrated Christmas early with them.

William's 3 Year Old Interview

Birthday Interview

***William is 3 years old***

1. Who is your favorite person in the whole world? Daddy

2. What is your favorite color? Green

3. What is your favorite toy? light saber

4. What is your favorite shirt? new 3 year old shirt

5. What sport do you like best? kick the soccer ball

6. What song do you love? "Oh My Darlin'"

7. What is your favorite animal? horsey

8. Who is your best friend? Creighton

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? farmer

10. What is your favorite book? super hero books

11. What are you really good at? jumpy

12. Where do you wish you could go on vacation? my cousins

13. What is your best memory? (none)

14. What would you buy if you had $1,000? super heros

15. What vegetable do you hate the most? green beans

16. If you could have a wish, what would it be? candy

17. What is your favorite treat? suckers

18. Who is your biggest hero? SpiderMan

19. What do you like to do best with your friends? sleep (at daycare)
20. What is your favorite meal? donuts

21. What do you hope you get to do before your next birthday? eat more donuts

November 2018

We started November with a trip to Home Depot for their Kids' Workshops. They are free, once a month, and kids get to make a craft to take home with them. W is in love with using tools and helping dad fix things. He got an apron with his name on it and a pin with what he created that day. Each time he goes, he gets a pin to add to his apron. There was another kiddo there with 20 or so pins! At this workshop, he made a helicopter in honor of upcoming Veterans' Day.

We got our first snowfall of the fall/winter this month. W was in Heaven! He wanted his big coat and snow boots on immediately. It wasn't a lot of snow, but he loved stomping on the snow-laden grass.

Another big event this month was a car accident for me. I was driving straight across a packed intersection when another car came from my passenger side and hit me. There wasn't time for either of us to move or get out of the way. The damage was centrally located at W's car door. He didn't get upset, but just asked, "Why we not moving anymore, mama?" We were both fine except for a bruise on my knee. Insurance totaled my car so we are saving up/shopping around for another one in the coming months. I had that Honda from brand new in 2008 for 10 years & didn't even break 100,000 miles in it!

We had our wonderful California family visit for Thanksgiving! Megan and the girls came in for the whole week & Rob was able to join in for the second half of the week. Mila, Nellie, & William enjoyed hours and hours of cousin time. He's in love with impressing Mila and loved causing mischief with Nellie. I loved how much time they had together this visit!

painting ornaments!

Thanksgiving 2018:
So thankful for our little family and the blessings we have in our lives!

Halloween 2018

William had a new options for what to dress up as for Halloween. He settled on Darth Vader. I don't have the heart to tell him Darth is a "bad guy", although Bret says he's just misunderstood ;)

Potty Training - Summer Project

Late Summer 2018 is dedicated to POTTY TRAINING

We introduced William to potty training with a Paw Patrol training toilet and used sticker charts with prizes to get him motivated. We did the three-day potty training where he was naked for the first day, undies on for the next two days. Pretty much, we didn't go anywhere for the weekend. Each time he filled in a row on his sticker chart, he got to pick from the prize bag. But what he really wanted was the MnM's he received as reward as well. He took to it very well! Playing up the part of him being a big kid and not needing diapers anymore helped. We packed up all the leftover diapers and gave them to a friend of mine for their kiddo. He is excited to wear undies with his favorite characters on them as well.

Wearing pull-ups for nap and night sleep still :)

Couples' Trip to Nashville

Bret and I met Megan & Robert in Nashville, TN for a couples' vacation! It was a city none of them had been to & I hadn't been in ten years. We had fun exploring the area and visiting the bars & restaurants downtown. It was nice to get away for a bit and just be with Megan & the guys. I'm thinking we should do this more often!

plane rides are so relaxing without a toddler to entertain!

No way were Bret and I going to be in Nashville and NOT stop by Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Plaza & studio. It was a day Dave was out of the studio (of course!) so we didn't get to meet him, but we did get a tour of the facility and a free cookie & coffee cup for visiting. Bret and I wouldn't be where we are today financially or relationally without going through FPU. It literally changed our marriage.

We got to visit the Grand Ole Opry on our Nashville trip as well. It was so fun to see performers on such a famous stage!

LOVED having sister time!