Before & After

We are still working on painting and have quite a long way to go, but here are some new pictures showing the before and after of what we have done.

Puzzles & Potty Training?

For the past two weeks Caleb has been wanting to go to Classy Castle every day. There are two reasons for this. One is that they got some new puzzles that Caleb loved to do. The second is his two new best friends - Cooper and Trey (twin brothers). They are new to Classy Castle and Caleb talks about them nonstop. The other morning when I dropped the boys off I found out why. They are into Thomas the train too and had even brought a movie in with them. Needless to say, Caleb can not go there every day. They only go once or twice a week.

So, yesterday we were in Shopko when we discovered a pack of 4 of the style of puzzles (25 piece with a border around them) that Caleb has been enjoying so much. Caleb was quite excited about this. When we were on our way home I got an idea (not like I haven't tried bribery in the area of potty training before), and told Caleb he couldn't have a puzzle until he went potty. He did this promptly when we got home and got his first puzzle. Once he completed that one he wanted the next one. I explained to him that if he wanted another puzzle he had to go potty again. He did and got the next puzzle. I told him he could have one puzzle at a time and that we would switch puzzles each time he went potty. We are doing this in combination with the Thomas underwear today. He has had one accident so far, but we are still making progress nonetheless. I hope it continues. We have been trying for some time without success so hopefully this time it will stick. He is taking a nap right now and I will see if he makes it through dry.

The Painting Has Begun!!

Yesterday afternoon, Dan began painting. He started with our office as it is the smallest room and was in great need of new paint. The color you see is called "sparkling sage". We were trying it here first because if we liked it, our plan is to use this color on the whole main floor of the house. We will do the trim white as you can see for the contrast. I think we are happy with the color and will gradually proceed as time allows. Dan got all the walls and some of the trim done in this room.

Elton has officially discovered the stairs from the main floor up to the bedrooms. I was folding some laundry yesterday when I discovered him 3/4 of the way up the stairs. He was pretty proud of himself. I am surprised , but relieved he made it that far without a tumble.

As of today, Bingo has mastered going in and out both dog doors. He is now weighing in at 3lbs 11 oz which means he has almost doubled in size in 4 weeks. Max had come around to him and they enjoy playing tug of war with their rope toys.

Caleb has learned how to do connect the dot in his coloring book and is counting up to 30 and then faking the rest, which he actually is pretty good at.

Helpful Big Brother

When we got home tonight, big brother took it upon himself to get Elton's dinner ready. He got a plate out for him while I was unloading the car, got out the box of Trix and put some on the plate and put it on the floor for Elton. Elton was quite happy along with Bingo. While I didn't neccessarily approve of the food choice and the floor, I didn't want to totally discourage the good deed he had done. We moved Elton to the highchair so Bingo couldn't interfere and I attempted to balance the Trix with bananna. It was food so Elton was quite happy and cleaned his plate and big brother was proud of himself.

Updates

Ok, I realize my pictures of our wall on my last post are a little boring! However, the good news is that all the ugly, dark, plaid wallpaper and watermelon border is down. The room is so much brighter and lighter. Next step will to be to gradually start painting the first floor of the house.

Bingo is 9 weeks old today and is fitting into the household very well. I think at this point he is loving the kids more than the kids love him. We have tried to explain to him that Elton is not a chew toy. He is probably only a little over 3 pounds, but his size does not deter him. He is doing well with going outside and is actually getting big enough to be able to get back up a step or two.

We had to make a trip to Boise today. After a cancelled trip in December due to weather, Caleb was quite excited as he hoped to get to Chuck E Cheese's. We made it and had a great time. Caleb behaved very well and there were no tantrums (he was warned about this ahead of time). His first experience with Chuck E Cheese's was last May when we were in Texas and it was not pretty to say the least when it was time to leave. I am so glad and relieved that our message got through to him as it made it such more fun for everyone. Elton was also excited today even though he couldn't enjoy the experience the same as Caleb.

The Wallpaper Is Coming Down

About a week ago, Dan went out and bought some Dif, a scorer, and a scraper and thus the process of taking the wallpaper down so we can paint has begun. I am very impressed with the progress he has made in just the 2 days he has been working on it. It is going to look so much lighter in here. That is what I wanted was light and this pattern can make you dizzy if you look at it long enough. This also means that the watermelon border will be next, and eventually our bedroom.

I am so lucky to have a husband that is so great at home projects!