Diaper Free?

For the first time in five and a half years, minus a few days here and there, a diaper was not changed in our house!  Kate took on a monumental task today, as she put on underwear as soon as she woke up.  We set a timer, visited the restroom regularly, and had a pretty good day!  She had a couple accidents in the morning but stayed dry all afternoon and evening.  Her big sister was a great help today, as she read to Kate while she was on her potty chair and spoke in an encouraging voice all day long.

We'll have our ups and downs, but we were all pretty proud of how well Kate did today!   Here are a few funny pics of our two crazy girls today.  Not all are good quality, but they made me laugh.

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Dad,

      Happy Father's Day!  We hope you had a wonderful day.  You got to work on your tractor for over two hours today, so we know that made your day. :)  We also got to all go swimming together, which was a ton of fun.  Ending the day with some chips and salsa was perfect!

       We know we bring love-filled chaos to your formerly organized life, and we appreciate all you do for us.  Kate says she loves doing puzzles with you the best, and Audrey says she loves riding with you on your tractor.  You are the best dad we could have ever hoped for, and we LOVE you!

   

                                                                                       Love,

                                                                                       Audrey and Kate

P.S.  We wish you the best of luck with us this week as you are on your own for three days with us! :)

Our Flounder

For Audrey's first official experience of independent swimming lessons, we decided to go through a college to have semi-private lessons.  It is guaranteed to only have three students in a class, so we knew she would get the attention she needed.  Jeremy and I both commented how our only hope was that she would walk away from us, go with her teacher, and get into the water.  By the end of the two weeks, we were very pleased with how she had done!  She grew considerably and was very confident each day going with her teacher.  She floated, kicked, jumped, and went all the way under the water!  She passed all the qualifications for the first level, Bobber, and was labeled a Flounder to end.  We will now spend the rest of the summer helping her confidence grow and swimming on our own.  Yeah, Audrey!

Fishing

To allow for Jeremy and me to have a weekend away, the girls went up to stay with Geeka and Grandma over the weekend.  One of the many highlights for the girls was their first fishing experience.  Audrey was so excited to go and wouldn't let the chance to fish slip out of her mind, even though the hot and wet weather wasn't very cooperative.  Finally, early Sunday afternoon, things cooperated, and Audrey and Kate loved fishing!  Even though the fishermen were assured the pond was stocked twice a week, no fish were caught.  Not catching any fish just gives Audrey more motivation to try it again.

Thank you for buying a fishing license and a small new pole just for Audrey, Geeka!  She had a great time.

Cement Pouring

Another big step in the garage process was halfway completed today!  Half of the cement for Jeremy's garage was poured, and it was a fun process for the girls to watch.  Once the truck's noisiest jobs were done, Audrey felt confident to go outside and help Duh supervise.  From the comfort of their chairs, they watched (and directed :) as Dad, Uncle Jason, and Grandpa Tom worked hard.  It made for a cute little picture!  Now, the work on the other side will begin...

Even some sprinkles didn't stop the supervisors from doing their work!  It did make Jeremy panic, though. 

Kate had just ventured out to watch (in her pajamas) when the rained started.
That was enough to make her run for the garage!

Our Brave(ish) Girl

Over the past couple months, we have noticed a slow change in Audrey.  She will speak more to unfamiliar people, interact more with unfamiliar children, and show more confidence in her abilities.  She is still our timid girl much of the time, but we see glimpses of a more grown-up girl.  During the last week of school, one of her training wheels on her bike fell off.  She was able to ride it for that day at Dana's with one training wheel, and that gave her a boost of confidence!  For fun, we tried a couple laps around the driveway without training wheels.  She is still very far from being able to do it on her own, but Jeremy and I were both so proud of her for trying!

One cute Audrey-ism from this week:

She's been asking Jeremy over and over to hook up the bike cart to go for a ride.  Yesterday, she tried this line, "Dad, would you be honored to give me a ride in the cart?" :)

I LOVE this picture of sweet Kate, with her blonde ponytail, following behind.  She works so hard to keep up with her sister!

Kate-isms

This little sweetheart sure exhibits a bit more spunk in what she's saying lately!  I am so excited to get to listen to her talk over the next couple months.  Here are a couple of my favorites from this weekend:

Kate to Dad: "Dad....I have hair.  You don't."  (Poor Jeremy!)

Kate (while sitting in the car with just me):  "I wuv you."
Me: "Oh, I love you too, Kate."
Kate: "Oh, me not talkin' to you, Mama.  Me talkin' to Anna (while holding a Frozen sticker in her hand)."