Our poor dog!

Last night was crazy. While we were getting Robert to bed (after he peed in the potty twice YAY!) I had to call Animal Emergency because Jackson suddenly became ill yesterday afternoon. It started with diarrhea and was soon followed by vomiting. He got so bad last night that he couldn't even keep water down. mark had gone outside with his earlier because he was worried that something outside made him ill and found 3 bones--like pork chop bones--with some meat still on them. Jackson was throwing up pieces of bone along with everything else in his stomach. So I called Animal Emergency.

Because of the bones and because he was throwing up so much and had diarrhea at the same time, Mark had to bring him in. Thankfully, it looks like he is going to be fine. The X-Rays came back completely clean and there are no signs of any lasting damage.

We have no idea who threw the bones into our yard or how they got there. Hopefully it was just someone trying to do a nice thing for Jackson who didn't know any better.

3-Day Potty Training Program-Day 1

We started potty training this morning. When we woke up, Mark brought Robert downstairs, took off his diaper, put underwear on him, and explained to him that he is a big boy now and will no longer be wearing diapers. Then he gave Robert a few of his clean diapers and had him throw them out.

We followed the program as best we could but Robert was often quicker than we were. There were many, many accidents, and it was really draining, but before bed tonight Robert finally peed in the potty! He did so twice before going to sleep. YAY!

We now have hope that maybe, just maybe, this can work after all.

Alessa can climb any mountain!

Well, maybe not yet, but she tackled the stairs on her own for the first time tonight! We were going upstairs for baths and bed and Robert started calling down to Alessa from the top of the stairs, "Come on, Sister! You can do it!" She was sitting on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. He called down to her like that over and over and she started climbing UP! Mark found the camera and got it going when she was about halfway up. The video is dark because the lighting in our hall wasn't very good.

Thomas the Tank Engine!

We went to the Colorado Railroad Museum today with Rabecca and Donny, Paula and Dustin, and the kids. The kids got to meet and ride on Thomas the Tank Engine! Robert was so excited. Thomas is one of his favorite characters in books and video.

It was a gorgeous day and we all had a great time.
Boarding and getting ready to go!
Donny, Donny, and Rabecca:



We made 3 circuits around the museum grounds. The train ride was about 20 minutes long.


Paula, Dustin, Isaac and Nathaniel:


Robert had so much fun!


Mini Train yard complete with a mini Thomas!

Robert didn't want to wait in line long enough to climb on the fire truck. I guess he's been there done that after all the trips to the Children's Museum.
Robert was so proud of his temporary Thomas tattoo!
So he had to go get three more (Thomas, James, Percy and Harold):

Alessa had fun too!

Here comes Thomas! We were waiting for him to get our pictures taken with him.


Waving at Thomas (he couldn't resist looking at his tattoos some more!):

Sleepy and getting ready to leave:

Later that evening at home - tired but happy about the day we had!

Alessa's first word Part II

It took me all day and more than 10 videos but I finally got it! Alessa was always more interested in the camera so wouldn't cooperate. heh But I finally caught her for a second when she didn't care so much about what I was doing:

Alessa's first word...

...is "Hi!" She started saying it the middle of last week but I wasn't sure if she was really saying it or just making a noise that sounded like it. Now there's no question. She says it almost every time I go to get her from her crib or walk into a room. And she often waves when she says it. She says it in this adorable breathy voice. It's so cute and you can't help but smile when you hear it.

She has also started using it for "Bye" as well recently. It's really hard to get her to do things when you want her to so getting it on video is proving difficult, but I'll post it if I can get it!

Big day for Robert!

Today was my friend Rabecca's birthday (happy birthday!), so we went to lunch with her and Paula and their children. Rabecca's son, Donny, is the same age as Robert. Paula's son, Nathaniel, is 3 months older than Robert and Donnie, and her son, Isaac, is the same age as Alessa.

We had Mexican for lunch and then went to the playground for a while to let the boys run off their excess energy. Nathaniel and Isaac fell asleep on the way so Paula took them home.

Robert had a big day! He's always been a bit timid on the playground. He loves the slides but would only go on the smaller ones and needed one of us to hold his hand. Today he went down the slide for the first time completely on his own! He not only went down the small slide on his own, he also went down the big ones too! I'm so proud of him. I love that he's getting more adventurous and feeling more confident in himself lately.

I really wish I remembered to bring my camera today. I'll have to make a point to bring it next time! Here are a few random pics from after we got home just because: