Friday, December 31, 2010

New Years Eve Day and Night - Toy Story Marathon

  • We do not let our kids watch very much TV, but today was an exception. Mica asked his usual, "Can I watch Toy Story 3?"
  • I answered, "Not right now Mica. Because today we're going to have a Toy Story marathon!"
  • He didn't know what marathon meant, so I had to explain.
  • We watched Toy Story 1 in the morning, Toy Story 2 after the boy's nap and Toy Story 3 during supper and before bed. We hardly ever let them eat and watch TV at the same time!
  • Mica enjoyed the marathon. Isaak likes Toy Story, but isn't a huge TV kid. He could take it or leave it.
  • Mica did something that surprised both Daddy and I!
  • He got up off the love seat and moved over to the chair. Not a big deal, right? We asked him why he moved? He said, "Because I don't want to be in your way Daddy!" 
  • Mica usually thinks of himself mainly. We told him how proud we were of him to think of Daddy! 
  • Mica's the type of kid that if he hurts another kid, he'll say, "Sorry" really fast and run off. We've seen a lot of growth with Mica in this last year!

Daring - No Diaper

  • Isaak's been going on this diaper strike. He'll turn 3 years the middle of May. 
  • I've been setting him on the toilet since he turned 1. 
  • I never treated it like a do or die thing. 
  • He's been standing to go. He wants to do everything himself!
  • He's gone back and forth this whole time.
  • He sometimes doesn't want to stop playing to go potty. I have found new tactics to get him to go. Like I say, "Hey Isaak do you want to go look in the mirror?",  "Isaak do you want to go make bubbles in the toilet?", "Lets go look at some pictures in the hallway." Anything to get him in the bathroom.
  • There are a few things in my mind that get in the way of potty training:
  1. Cutting teeth. Both of our kids cut teeth on the later side.
  2. Getting sick.
  3. Pull-Up's.
  4. Lack of consistency.
  • Isaak would do great with training; then he'd get sick, or cut a tooth. Downhill he'd go, and we'd have to help him back up. Much like how they eat well for a week, and then go through a time where they just don't eat much because they aren't growing.
  • Pull-Up's are wonderful because the other people that watch him have carpet. Many errands are run throughout the day where Isaak is in a car seat. At home he wears underwear. We have wood floors. Pull-Up's are horrible because toddlers feel like they are wearing a diaper; they pee in them. There lacks the consistency.
  • Well Isaak's told us that he doesn't want to wear a diaper anymore {even at night}. We're being super daring, and we're giving him what he wants {no diaper}. 
  • He has a toddler bed, so it's a plastic covered mattress. I put down a pee pad, crib sheet, pee pad, crib sheet. That way when he has an accident in the middle of the night I can hopefully remove the top two layers instead of make a bed. 
  • This is something new, so we will see how the no diaper thing goes. Last night I went in at 4 am, and he was wet and cold. He didn't wake up after peeing his pants. It may take awhile, and lots of laundry.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Telemarketers and Other Pesky Callers

  • I realized tonight that one way to deal with telemarketers and other pesky callers is to hand the phone over to Isaak. 
  • He was begging to talk on the phone anyhow! Why not give the phone over to someone who really wants to talk to them?
  • Isaak {who is 2 1/2 years old} kept saying for 3 or so minutes, "No I Isaak Jaxon Apel!" to the pesky caller over and over again. 
  • I couldn't control my laughter!

A Few Gifts We Got

  • We got a juicer and a scale for Christmas. 
  • I just wrote up reviews on them. You can read about the juicer here, and the scale here
  • Isaak loved the juice that we made for him yesterday! ;)
Please take some time to visit CSN | Stores! They do have such a great selection.
 
Disclaimer:
The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out.
If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com
 

    It's Nice Outside!

    • It's 59 degrees outside! Not December weather for Omaha, Nebraska that's for sure!
    • I just went fast walking around the school. I got all the way around this time; five laps. The last week or so I've been unable to go out, or it was snowy on the backside of the building.
    • Last year it seemed as though snow and ice were everywhere. Grandma Spiehs got her ankle fused and I broke my foot. It was a horrible winter.!
    • Snow will be traveling in soon enough I'm sure.

    We ROCK 2!

    • I'm so addicted to playing with putting our faces in JibJab video's! 
    • It's just so funny to see a little kids face rocking out! 
    • The best one I did was so not appropriate. It was a Chippendales one. They didn't strip. It was so wrong, yet so funny! Daddy and I were laughing the whole time it was playing. We did not show the kids that one.


    Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

    Wednesday, December 29, 2010

    We ROCK!


    Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

    Painting

    • The boy's wanted to paint today.
    • Daddy set up paper on both side of their new easel; painting is what they did.
    • Both boys said that they were painting me. 

    Flecklebox

    • I won two of the cutest books for Isaak. 
    • He got them for Christmas.
    • The first one was from frecklebox.

    • frecklebox has all kinds of products that you can personalize. You type in the name, so you don't have to worry about your child's name not being in their database. 
    • After just a short time of reading this book My Name is Isaak, and singing Isaak's name in the song Bingo he now knows how to spell his name!
    • The other cool book is The Cheerios Play Book.
    • This book has spots to fill in the missing Cheerios! 
    • It builds hand eye coordination and he gets to eat a snack while reading it.

    Wordless Wednesday - Jessie, Woody and The Apel Boy's


    Sunday, December 26, 2010

    Big Box Full of Toy's

    • Great Aunt Sam headed this game up. 
    • This giant box was full of toys. 
    • The kids had to answer an easy Christmas question. Some of the questions were like, "Where does Santa live? What color is Rudolph's nose? What are Frosty the Snowman's eye's made out of?" We had to help answer the youngest kid's questions.
    • Then they got to put a string to get a small toy. Some of the toy's were: Crayons, pencil bag, plastic dinosaur, cards, and a tiny puzzle.


    Christmas Games

    • We had a rule at our extended family Christmas party. No uploading video's on YouTube. I broke the rule.
    • We played crazy games, and the video's I uploaded only include Mica and I making asses of ourselves.
    • The first game was where you put Vaseline on your nose. Then you have a time limit to get seven cotton balls from one plate to another using your nose.
    • The first person that did not have enough Vaseline. I loaded my nose up. The cotton would not come off my nose! 
    • I look like a chicken pecking. LOL
    • Another game we played involved Oreo's. 
    • We decided to let the kid's play. 
    • They had to get an Oreo from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands. 
    • Here's Mica playing the game.

    A Few Favorites From Santa

    • Isaak likes his last minute Santa gifts:
    • His Magna Doodle. He likes to fill the whole screen with black.
    • Another favorite is the last minute Santa gift, the easel that Santa brought for both the boy's to share. We have to watch Isaak with this one. I opened the trash to throw something away, and a lot of his chalk was in the trash. He said he threw it in there because they were broken.


    • What does Mica like? 
    • He likes Pork Chop from Toy Story 3.
    • Mommy thinks it's a little odd that any kid would want a flying pig for Christmas! But Mica loves it. 
    • He also likes his yellow submarine that Santa found on clearance in the fall. He loves the Beatles, so naturally he'd want a yellow submarine.


    Jessie and Woody

    • Mica got Jessie and Isaak got Woody. 
    • They have been loved.
    • I have to remind the boy's to be gentle with their pull strings.

    Recycle

    • Isaak was the king of recycling on Christmas morning. 
    • He'd rip one little piece of paper off his gift, throw it in the recycle bag, rip another little piece of paper off, recycle it, forget he was opening a gift and start playing with another one.
    • Needless to say, it took awhile for Isaak to open his gifts!
    • Mica on the other hand was a speed opener. We had to remind him to throw his paper in the recycle bag.

    Christmas Morning

    • 6 AM rolled around, no boy's were awake. 7 AM rolled around, no boy's were awake. 7:45 AM they woke up. I was wondering if they would ever wake up! I was excited like a little kid!
    • We gave Mica his bedroom door back on Christmas Eve day. It was an early Christmas present. He lost it a long time ago because he kept slamming his door. After many warnings, it happened, he slammed Isaak's fingers in the door. Off his door went; off it stayed until now. He slept better then usual with his door mostly shut. I was making all kinds of noise in the kitchen, and Mica didn't budge. Usually it's like clockwork; the boy's wake up earlier then 7 AM. 
    • Santa left an easel, practical things in their stockings and wrapped gifts. Santa uses Santa paper. Paper with only Santa's on it.
    • We left carrot sugar cookies for Santa and his reindeer to enjoy. Reindeer's like carrots and Santa likes cookies. We merge the two.
      • Santa has done something for the past two years. Mica remembered! Santa left our wood stove open. He doesn't know how to shut it.
      • Silly Santa!

      Helping Great Grandma Kent Unwrap Presents

      • Something different happened this year; Great Grandma Kent forgot how to unwrap presents. 
      • Mica was called over to help her. 
      • He began talking her through it. He said something like, "Ok Grandma, see this spot right here. Put your fingers in there and rip it". He was doing a great job explaining how to unwrap a package! Most five year old's would just rip it open for her.
      • Then it happened; Isaak went over to Great Grandma Kent, and started ripping her package open.
      • A two year old isn't quite as informative as a five year old.

      The First Stocking of the Night

      Cousin's

      Cousin Kaily A.K.A. Our Baby Sitter {my only niece} with the boy's.

      All the Cousin's on my side. Aunt Terra please have another girl! I'm sick of buying boy toys. LOL Really we just want a healthy baby!

      Christmas Eve Feast

      • We have two big feasts! One is on Christmas Eve and the other on Christmas day.
      • On Christmas Eve these are the people that get together: Great Grandma and Grandpa Kent, Grandma and Grandpa Spiehs, Great Aunt Becky, Aunt Angela, Uncle Eric, cousins Kailey and Ethan, Aunt Terra, Uncle Eric, cousins Elijah and Evan and our own family of four.
      • It used to be always held at Grandma and Grandpa Spiehs' house. Now it's always at Aunt Terra and Uncle Tyson's house. We just have too many people, and too many gifts to unwrap. 
      This is our main meal:
      1. 3 Choices of Soups {Chili, Cheesy Potato Soup and Chicken Florentine Soup}
      2. Cheese and Crackers
      3. Veggie Tray
      4. Shrimp
      5. Holiday Grapes
      6. and more...
      • The kid's table was behind the adults.
      • Gotta love cousin Kailey's face at her brother {in the bottom photo}!

      • Christmas day was spent with extended family on Grandma Spiehs' side. 
      • More food!

      Pouting at Church

      • They called up all the kids during the Christmas Eve church service. 
      • Let's just say that Mica wasn't too happy with his Great Aunt Becky who pushed him up there. 
      • He had his lower lip out pouting the whole time.
      • I thought for sure he'd be mad at her for awhile afterward. They made up pretty much right away. 
      • Isaak ran right back to me. He wouldn't stay up there at all.
      *Note how all the other kids are paying attention except for Mica. 

      Grandma Spiehs' Gift - A Night Out Seeing Mannheim Steamroller

      • I wish I could of gotten a shot with me in it as well. 
      • I really wish I could of gotten a shot with us in the actual Orpheum Theatre! No camera's aloud. Not even before or after the show. Bummer!
      • Grandma Spiehs {my mom} is on the left, Aunt Angela in the middle {oldest of my sisters} and Aunt Terra on the right {youngest of my sisters}.

      Disclaimer

      The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.

      I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

      If you have any questions about this blog, or want to get in contact with me please email me at: anapeladay@gmail.com