Wow talk about exciting. We had a pretty amazing storm roll in last night. First came a huge electrical storm and then a while later came the rain and thunder. The lights would flicker a few times but the power remained. Mom and dad were prepared with flash lights. The monsoon season is fun.

Mom and dad have been working hard lately after we go to bed because they have had so many orders to fill from their website. On top of that, they have 2 shows back to back that they are having to plan for. It's going to be a busy month I think.

We all took a trip to the Cerretta candy factory a few days ago. We went there to pick out some candy because it was a very good day without any screaming or yelling. Mom was amazed. We have a hard time finding candy that Kaitlyn can eat but we did find some yummy taffy that she can nibble on under supervision. As for me, I liked my chocolate covered pretzel.

When we were at our Grandma's house the other day, Kaitlyn was giving me hugs and kisses. This was the first time she had really given out hugs. It was super cute. Now she chases me around the house trying to give me kisses. Mom and dad like to hold me down while she tortures me. She even likes to blow on my belly. It's hard being a big brother!

Halloween is fast approaching and yesterday we went out looking for costumes. Our first stop though wasn't too successful as we just didn't find what we were looking for. Speaking of Halloween, one of the craft stores here has a lot of Halloween stuff on display including scary monsters that even move and talk! I like to ask mom and dad to go to the store so we can see the scary stuff but then when we get there I sometimes am too scared to stick around. Kaitlyn loves to growl at the monsters. I don't know if she thinks it's all funny or scary like me.

Oh ya, Kaitlyn found the window in our bedroom the other day. Mom walked into the room recently and spotted her running back to the bed. She started pointing to the window and saying "Look it!". I wonder if the neighbors have spotted Kaitlyn peaking through the window blinds. I bet that would be funny to see.

Time to get back to work. I have been working lately on making craft pictures for people. I have mastered the art of glue and I use a popsicle stick now to apply it to my papers. Mom and dad are very proud of me. I can't wait until Kaitlyn can join in. Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Permalink | (0) comments

Permalink | (0) comments

Rylan's mom gave me a sneak peak of what Rylan has been doing today. He certainly looks focused and happy. I can't wait to get home to see what he made me.

Permalink | (0) comments

Permalink | (0) comments

Another week has come and gone. We headed out early on Saturday to go to another craft show. We almost had rain the day before but luckily didn't. There were still plenty of mosquitoes which caused our mom to have an allergic reaction. Dad took us all home and then went back to sell the hair bows. He ended up doing OK but the traffic was still light because of how hot it is outside. Dad came home dehydrated and in need of a nap.

As for the website, it's going pretty good. Dad is holding a few bow parties which I am told is similar to the old Tupperware parties. The first day of one of the parties, we sold a bunch of stuff. We celebrated by having dessert at Swensens. I got my own sundae! Kaitlyn was ordered 2 bananas. Those bananas were huge! She loves those things and would have eaten them all if she hadn't dropped one of them. They were probably the biggest bananas I have ever seen.

Yesterday, Dad called in sick and we went out to have some fun. We headed to Peter Piper for their lunch buffet. Boy was that place packed. It turns out that during the summer, that place turns into a social gathering for the kids. Dad wasn't too pleased. I got to play some games though and win some tickets. I liked when my Dad held me up to play the basketball game and it would hit the wall and bounce back at us. I couldn't stop cracking up.

Kaitlyn has just about mastered her running. She now has begun chasing me around the room. She also dances to music now including music from movies and our Mickey Mouse toaster. She is a cutey. She has learned a few new words including "yeah", "bottle" and "I luh luh" which is her way of saying I Love You. As for me, I have been successfully earning cookies and M&Ms by using the potty. If I knew how fun it would be to use the potty, I would have used it years ago. I think Kaitlyn wants to try it because she keeps pulling off her diaper. She'll be using it in no time I imagine.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Permalink | (0) comments

Permalink | (0) comments

We had a pretty fun week starting with Grandpa coming over for dad's great Red Beans and Quinoa meal. As expected, everyone gobbled it up. Dad sure knows how to cook really well. I like cooking with him sometimes too. Oh that reminds me, I have a tomato in the refrigerator that I need to eat. Yummy.

Grandma came over a few days ago as well which was a nice change. It's nice when she comes over to our house because there is so much more to do and so much fewer things to get in trouble with. We introduced her to one of our favorite burger shops, Lenny's. Good good stuff. We hung out through the evening and she ended up helping put us to sleep.

My dad has never really had sushi before except at a Chinese buffet which I'm told tasted terrible. For some reason, he has always wanted to try real sushi despite the fact that he doesn't really care for seafood. Crazy dads. My dad and I took a visit to a local place yesterday but I won't tell you what happened just yet. I will let him say next week.

Kaitlyn and I celebrated our Great Aunt Carmen's birthday by going out for dinner with her yesterday. It wasn't too busy so mom and dad were watching us as we did our thing around the tables. Kaitlyn sure is a fast walker. A huge storm rolled in and there was wind and lightning everywhere. No rain though which is good because we have another craft show tomorrow and we don't need the humidity & mosquitoes again. Mom and dad are working hard for this show because they have another full 6ft display of just Halloween related items. I think it's going to be a great show. Let's hope so.

Have a great weekend everyone

Permalink | (0) comments

When I first learned that Kaitlyn had food allergies, I went on a hunt for tasty recipes that would work around her. Something that she could eat and not feel like she was eating something else because of the allergies. As a family, we will need to adjust the things we eat to accommodate her allergies. While hunting, I came across the following recipe. It is both tasty and healthy. It is now one of our family favorites. Kaitlyn gobbles this up like nothing else. She can easily down an entire plate of it.

Ingredients:
cooking spray
1-14 oz package turkey kielbasa smoked sausage, cut diagonally in 1/4 inch slices
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper
1 clove minced garlic
2 (16 oz) cans dark red kidney beans, drained
1 (14.5 oz) can Italian style diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup water
1 cup uncooked rice quinoa

Directions:
Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray. Cook the sausage on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until it is heated through. Stir in the onion, green pepper and garlic and saute until the onion is tender. Add the beans, can of tomatoes and pepper. Cook until heated through. Add the water and rice quinoa and stir. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Permalink | (0) comments

Rylan has made huge improvements recently in how well he talks and the words that he knows. He is now using these new skills to advance his singing career. It started with Mary Poppins' "Lets go fly a kite" and now has spread on to other songs including the happy birthday song. When we put in the Mary Poppins record, he tries to sing to just about every song now. Don't think he is only a singer, he also dances. In fact, Kaitlyn and Rylan have learned from one another and they both show great dancing skills. Kaitlyn has mastered the butt shake and arms flap dance. Rylan loves to run around while singing. It's definitely a site to be seen. They know how to put a smile on anyone and they love every minute of it.

Permalink | (0) comments

Let me rewind to about a year ago when we were working with Rylan and seeing if he was ready to be potty trained. He showed all of the signs of being ready so we figured we would give it a try. After a bit of work, he rushed over to his potty all on his own and went. He was rewarded with M&Ms which are his favorite. Ever since then, he has been basically afraid of the potty. We let the training go and grabbed ourselves another years worth of diapers.

A few months ago when we were at a baby expo, we saw the My Wee Friend product. The idea is that you place a black sticker in the bottom of the potty and when warm water hits it, a smiling face looks back at you in congratulations. Great, we thought Rylan may like this idea so we snatched one up (we are kicking ourselves for not getting one for Kaitlyn). We placed it in his potty, showed it to him and evaluated the situation. Rylan just wasn't too interested.

Now fast forward to this past week. It became apparent that Rylan's fear for the potty seemed to have gone away. I encouraged him to sit on the potty when I noticed him possibly going 1 or 2. Each time, he sat down after he had already gone. No big deal, it's an improvement that he is actually wanting to sit. Now on Saturday he surprised us all, all by himself he asked to sit down on the potty. He asked us to buckle up(close) the door. After a short bit he ran out with the biggest smile and was saying "Piggy Piggy!". Sure enough, he had his piggy smiling back at him. He didn't want the fun to end and he sat back down on the potty for a good 20+ minutes and just kept peeing bits more. When he told me that he had a big pee, I was a bit surprised when he decided to go 2 instead. Are you kidding me? 1 and 2 in the same day with very little persuasion or training? Great.

We ended up treating Rylan to some M&Ms, cookies and that night we headed out to Peter Piper Pizza. It was definitely his day and he knew it. He repeated his potty usage on Sunday with the same results. The only problem now is that he doesn't want to come off the potty. I think we can live with that for now.

For those interested in some more information on the My Wee Friend, here is a promotional video.

Permalink | (0) comments

Welcome to our soggy week in review. It was raining like cats and dogs outside last night. Kaitlyn got to listen to the rain hit the window as she fell asleep but I was already out when the storm blew in.

Overall its been a pretty fun week. I have been teaching Kaitlyn some bad things lately including how to dump out her formula and even showing her how to climb over the safety gate. Formula first, one day I dumped the entire bottle over her head by turning it upside down. Now she has learned the same thing. I am in so much trouble. Kaitlyn has been watching me climb over the safety gates so now I am in trouble for that too now.

I was warned that this day may come. I have begun my phase of asking what everything is. It's like I don't remember anything because I say "whats this" to everything, even things I already know about like green beans, mash potatoes and chicken. Our dad was telling me photography after I kept bugging him with questions.

Oh Oh, I got busted big time this week. I have been working super hard on trying to use the potty. Mom and dad have treats for me all lined up and I am very very anxious to dig into them but unfortunately I just can't earn them just yet. With that in mind, I played sneaky the other day and told them I wanted to go to the potty. After I went in and closed the door, I began opening my bag of cookies and tried to sneak them. Mom caught me though. Can't a boy get a bit of privacy around here?

Kaitlyn will be treated to her favorite this weekend when my dad makes his famous red beans and rice meal. Instead of rice, he makes it with quinoa which is super healthy food, and mighty tasty. She gobbles up a lot of this meal. In fact, she eats as much as mom and dad do. She is definitely in for a treat.

Kaitlyn has also surprised us by now trying to run. She just learned how to walk, like a month ago. She has also started saying new words including "Hi" and "dog". She is one smart cookie. I wonder what she will learn next. Maybe she will say "Rylan".

That will do it for this week. We may be heading over to our local pottery place to paint some pottery. Last time, it was an experience that we hope not to duplicate. We'll see how it goes. Have a good weekend.

Permalink | (0) comments

It was only a matter of time. Rylan has now started asking to go to Disneyland. He does this all on his own now without the encouragement from his mother. We have a Disney Sing-A-Long DVD that has songs throughout the Disneyland Park and he now requests this all of the time.

He even goes into detail on what he wants to do at Disneyland including eating popcorn, going on the train and seeing Mickey and Goofy. He loves to describe things from our last visit even including how Kaitlyn slept a lot. We have pictures from our visits up on our wall and he enjoys looking at them and talking about it. He is hooked. Disney and my wife have made another Disney fan for life. Kaitlyn will soon follow.

Permalink | (0) comments

Well definitely the highlight of this week has been Kaitlyn moving into her own bed. She is doing super good staying in it at night and in the morning. The nights are still a bit tough because as mom and dad leave us there in the dark, we both cry a bit but then we head off to la la land. In the mornings, we stay on our beds and talk which amazes both mom and dad. Hey, we are good kids when we want to be.

Yesterday we headed over to my mom's Aunt's house to fix her computer. Dad said it was a whopper of an issue and we ended up staying there all night. We had some yummy pizza and Kaitlyn ate an entire apple. I got a gift which was super neat. I ended up making everyone laugh by running around their house naked. I don't know what got into me but it sure was funny.

While at the house last night, Kaitlyn and I enjoyed watching their dogs. They are 2 huge dogs. I came rushing back in the office to tell my dad that the dogs pooped. "Huge poop" is how I elegantly worded it. Kaitlyn learned the word dog however which was nice. She was a bit nervous seeing the dogs but she did pretty darn well.

Let's see what else has been going on lately.. Oh ya. I am learning how to count. My dad has been teaching me my numbers for a long time now but now I am counting. My dad reads a number book each night and I am really learning it nicely. It's pretty exciting stuff. Kaitlyn likes to watch me as well so maybe she will learn her numbers soon.

Kaitlyn and I have some fun to attend to. Have a good weekend.

Permalink | (0) comments