Sweet Siblings!!
Derek and Rylie LOVE hugging one another. It is the sweetest thing. Derek takes his big brother role seriously. He is such a loving and protecting brother and Rylie looks up to him so much. It melts my heart. 

Rylie 14 months old

We LOVE our sweet Rylie girl and can't believe how fast she is growing up! She is determined, smart, watches and learns from big brother, likes to do things herself. Rylie LOVES her big brother and LOVES to do whatever he is doing. Derek is so loving to her and gives her hugs all the time. When Rylie runs off Derek runs after her and says, "Mommy, I've got Rylie." Its adorable to watch. I love that he is watching out for her, protecting her. Rylie watches everything that goes on. Its amazing how much she learns by observation. This month Rylie got her 1 year old molars. She has begun to nap later and longer in the afternoon (timing her nap with Derek's nap and giving Mommy a 2 hour break!). Rylie continues to learn new words daily and its hard to keep up with all of them. She LOVES to say, "A bite!" She repeats it over and over again anytime she sees food until we give her a bite. She has also started saying "Thank you" whenever she is given something. Rylie LOVES her Daddy. Some of her favorite phrases include "Bye-bye Dada," "Night Night Dada," "Hi Dada," and " Gooo Dada (cheering him on while she is clapping)." Its adorable to hear! Rylie points to herself, points to me and says "Mama" or points to daddy and say "Dada!" Rylie LOVES her babies. She wants to hug them, push them around in the shopping cart or Cozy Coupe, and carry them with her. Its is adorable to watch. She also makes sure they are in her crib for nap time and night time. Rylie is really good at using a spoon. She LOVES to eat and does not need assistance anymore with the spoon. It is so nice to let her feed herself. Dinner time is so much more enjoyable. Rylie LOVES to jump and climb. She jumps on the trampoline, jumps off the couch, climbs onto tricycle (crazy girl)! Its hard to keep her still. She is very adventurous. Rylie LOVES her crocs. She likes to pull off her shoes and try to put them on. She will sit for quite some time entertained by trying to put her shoes on. Rylie LOVES to sing and she sings along with us and dances whenever we have music on. She sings the first four letters of "ABC" and some words here and there from other songs. Rylie LOVES to read and be read to. I love watching her on our webcam sit in her crib and read books!

Shark Tank, Sprinkler & Scooter
Here are a few things that happened around here during the month of April. We ate dinner at a restaurant with a giant tank full of sharks. Derek said it was the "Best dinner EVER!" The kids were entertained the entire meal. It was really neat.

On the drive home as we passed Luke Air Force Base we spotted 2 fighter planes. We pulled over and watched them fly in formation, then circle around and land. It was incredible! Derek LOVED it. 

What a wonderful ending to a fantastic family evening!

 Playing in the sprinkler in our back yard! LOVE Rylie's face here. :)

 Riding on Daddy's scooter and trying on Daddy's helmet for his "new" scooter from Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Daddy!
Thanks for your love, dedication, hard work, leadership, and drive for life. We LOVE you and are so blessed to have you as husband and Daddy.

morning snuggles after breakfast

Helping put candles on the cake.

 Helping Daddy open presents

 Derek helped Mommy make Daddy a carrot cake!

Potty Training Success!

We waited to potty train Derek until he was just about 3 years old. With all the things I had read about boys and the advice experienced moms of boys had given me, I decided to wait until Derek was closer to 3. We did the 3 day "boot camp" style of potty training. Matt was able to work from home to help out. The night before we began potty training, Derek and I went on a special shopping trip to buy special snacks, drinks, treats, and prizes. Saturday morning when Derek woke up we began potty training. We encouraged Derek to drinks of all sorts of fluids. Derek had 3 accidents that first morning and things were quite stressful around the house. He didn't seem to quite understand the concept of going pee pee on the potty to earn a sticker. He thought that he should get a sticker by just sitting on the potty instead of going pee pee. I was beginning to think that it was going to be a long day, but after his nap things changed. Derek woke up from his nap and seemed to get it! He told us that "the pee pee was coming out of his penis into the diaper" and we knew that he understood what was going on. We started using those same words to encourage him to go pee pee on the potty and it worked!! He was so proud! That afternoon he earned 5 stickers and his first prize, a jet! It was so wonderful to see him so proud of himself. Sunday morning Derek had 1 more accident and has been accident free ever since!!!! Sunday we even stopped asking him if he had to go potty and just let him tell us when he has to go. He earned 2 monster trucks on Sunday (5 stickers each) and 1 more monster truck and Finn McMissile car on Monday. All the M&M's I bought were not motivating for him he wanted to earn stickers towards his monster trucks. Monday we went to the park and resumed our normal activities. At swim lessons on Wednesday, Derek even told his swim teacher he had to go pee pee and got out of the pool to use the potty!! :) I am so thankful that potty training happened the way I had envisioned it, a fun and memorable weekend of hanging out as a family in between trips to the potty. So now life begins with a potty trained BIG BOY!! It feels so great to be diaper free during the daytime! Matt and I are still amazed at how easy it was to potty train Derek. We are so glad we waited and watched Derek for what was best for him. Derek we are so proud of you!

Rylie wanted to be involved in the potty training.

 She LOVED to pull Derek's underwear off the clothes line!!