Other July Photos

What else did we do in July?

We played the piano with dad.

Inherited a ginormous amount of Lincoln Logs and built loads of amazing creations with them.

Were too cute to resist taking more photos of.

Isaac "read" to Elise.

More irresistible cuteness.

Snuggled up and watched a movie together.

Hung out with Daddy.

 Proudly earned our awards (new books!) through the Library's Summer Reading Program.  Caleb earned his award too - I just don't have a photo of that.

I got to go out on the town with some of my girl friends for dinner and some shopping.  A rare treat.

 Isaac practiced his sight words with mom.

The kids experienced their very first bubble bath.  According to Isaac there were 289 bubbles.  Elise said "lots and lots!"

Caleb practiced sitting up.

And we survived the entire month while owning only ONE car.  We also survived the heat and drought of a VERY hot Missouri July!  Good times.

The Potty Princess

I had no intentions of potty training this girl before she turned 3.  None.  Isaac was so easy to potty train at age 3 (and I had heard of people having such a rough go of it when they tried to potty train their kids at a younger age), that I just figured we would spare ourselves a lot of pain and suffering and wait until Elise was older too.  

But then several things started happening - first, Luke was potty trained, and then some of her friends were potty trained, and then she was interested, and then she wore pull-ups and would occasionally pee in the toilet.  Then she started consistently telling me when she needed to poop - and going in the toilet.  Then the stars and circumstances fully aligned - and I decided that we might as well just go for it and potty train her.  And I am SO glad that we did.  It has gone SO well!!!!  Seriously, what a breeze.  She was ready and excited - and I knew what to expect and wasn't stressed about it at all.  It has been wonderful!!

(Sidenote: The stars and circumstances fully aligned because we are in the LONG process of trying to buy a car.  Which means that we are sharing one car.  Which means that Jeremy has to often take that car to work.  Which leaves me and the kiddos home a LOT.  So, one Wednesday morning I thought to myself, as long as we are going to be stuck at home a lot for a while - why not just potty train Elise and get it over with?  So we did.) 

Here's the story.  One Wednesday morning I spontaneously declared that Elise was getting a surprise.  I whipped out a package of Minni Mouse underwear that I had stashed away and she was excited to put them on an show them off!  Next, I pulled out some fun drinks - a capri sun and a juice box.  Then we cleared out some extra space in the kitchen and pulled out the blocks (that has been hidden away in the basement for the last 2 months) and some other toys to play with in there (so that we wouldn't have potty accidents on the carpet).  Isaac particularly loved the blocks that day.  It was awesome.

When she went potty we cheered and jumped for joy!  We called Daddy.  We called Aunt Michelle.  We called Grandma and Papa.  We celebrated!!!  When she had her ONE accident that day - we just cleaned it up and continued on.  When she went poo in the toilet - she got a sucker.  It was a fun day!  And that was that.  At one point when she didn't want to get up from what she was playing to go potty - I just put a crown on her head and declared her the potty princess - and she then excitedly and willingly came to sit on her "throne".  :)  

** Update: Over the next couple of days she earned a cute little doll for going potty in the toilet a certain number of times.  She also got Dora fruit snacks when she pooped in the toilet.  And she had a couple more accidents (in the first 2 weeks she has had a TOTAL of 4 accidents - 3 potty and 1 poop).  But really - no big deal at all.  She still wears a pull-up during naptime and bedtime.  And I usually put her in a pull-up when we go out - because I am not sure that I can handle an emergency trip to the toilet with 3 kids in tow.  But her pull-ups are usually dry when we get home anyway.  She is just ROCKING this potty training ordeal.  We bought her a pack of Dora underwear and she is loving being potty trained.  She is so proud of herself and we are so proud of her too!!  Way to go Elisey-Lou!!!**

Dates

Today we took the kids out on special one-on-one dates.  Jeremy and Isaac went to McDonalds and had a great time eating ice cream cones and playing in the play place.

Later that evening Elise and I went out on a little "girl party" to the craft store and then to Lemontree for frozen yogurt.  I loved talking with her and hearing her share her thoughts.  I loved holding her little hand and just hanging out together.

We all had such precious wonderful experiences! 

Miss Independent

This little Miss has become quite independent.  

"Do it myself!" is her mantra.

Today she dressed herself ALL BY HERSELF for the first time.  She went up to her room.  Picked out her clothes.  And put them on.  Doesn't she look proud?

Triple Threat

This is how it usually starts.  

One cute little kiddo lying on the floor.

and BAM!

Everyone is there. :)  

Caleb is like a magnet - Isaac and Elise love to be near to him - as near to him as possible! 

 And I love it (most of the time).

Poppy Rod's Visit: MVP Softball

Jeremy and Brent played on their firm's softball league this summer and their final game - a double header - happened to be while Rod was in town.  So the whole family went out to support them and cheer them on.  It was HOT outside, but we still had a great time.  It was the kids and I first firm event to attend so it was nice to meet a lot of the people that I had been hearing about.  There was a playground next to the softball field and the firm supplied hot dogs, chips, cookies, and drinks... so we were in good shape.  We found a shady spot and cheered the boys on.  It was fun!

Go MVP Sluggers!

Poppy Rod's Visit: Saturday Extravaganza

The Saturday that Poppy Rod and his family were in town we decided to have some fun.

It was crazy hot outside so we started off the day with a big old family trip to the bowling alley.

It was Isaac and Elise's first time to bowl and they both loved it!  Elise loved the shoes and the family and dancing and the big pink balls.  Isaac got into the game and really wanted to win!

They both did great and (with a little help from bumpers and the bowling ramp) - they both beat me on both games.  I bowled TERRIBLY (I even busted out the granny style bowling and it didn't help much - I am WAY out of practice).  But I had a great time none the less.  And Jeremy represented the family well (even with his size 17 CLOWN shoes).  It was a blast.  We will DEFINITELY be going bowling again soon.

Saturday evening we continued the fun with a BBQ at Brent and Michelle's house.  The kids were entertained by the hot weather oasis  we set up in the backyard.  We put a sprinkler under the trampoline, set up the slip-n-slide, filled up the baby pool and put a slide into it, and got out the water table and water toys.  HOURS of fun were had.  Later in the evening we roasted s'mores and starbursts over the fire pit.  And then the sticky little goobers were thrown into a bath.  Elise and Luke splashed and played (and Isaac eventually joined them as well).  Fun family times!

 

Poppy Rod's Visit: Celebrating Chick-fil-A Day

Poppy Rod and Grandma Cindy's visit happened to coincide with National Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day!  So... on Friday we talked Jerrod, Jonathan, and Joseph into dressing up as cows with us crazy Missouri Johnstons and the whole "herd" of us headed to Chick-fil-A to get a FREE meal.  Yes... we did all of that for a FREE meal for each of us.  And it was totally worth it. 

We spent the day finding black and white attire, cutting and gluing on spots, creating ears, braiding and pinning on tails, and fashioning signs out of poster board.  Finally, as the clock struck 5 and Jeremy and Brent arrived home from work - we were ready!!!

Here's a few photos of the cutest little cow:

Our little family:

Driving over to Chick-fil-A we got a few interesting looks from nearby drivers... I can't imagine why?

Once we were at the restaurant... we were all loving life!  There was no line, we got two tables together, and we EACH got to pick out our own meal and eat YUMMY food.  What's not to like about that?  We even got to see Chick-fil-A's mascot "the cow" (as we call him) and play briefly at the play place. 

After dinner we shed our spots, ears, and tails and headed to Penguin Park and had a blast.  Caleb even got to swing for the very first time.   He's getting so big!

The evening ended with an epic drive home.

To make a long story short...   Caleb screamed ALL THE WAY home and Jonathan puked all over the back of our van.  Ah the memories...