Momma/Daddy Vacation--Fredericksburg 2013

Seth and I were able to get away again this fall to Fredericksburg, TX. As best as our memories can tell, that's 4 years in a row! We went alone instead of with friends this time and Kim once again came and stayed at our house to watch the boys and Georgia. We are truly blessed to be able to get that time away from all our commitments and the stress and constant-ness of the boys. (Whom we LOVE, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know!?)

We ate all our meals by ourselves, didn't change a single diaper all weekend, slept in, and were generally able to lazy. It was lovely. It was the perfect mix of activity and downtime, perfect for us to just get away and reconnect. Because of the nature of the vacation, I couldn't get myself to take many pictures, but here are some highlights.

Guess who got pulled over on the way down!?
If ANYONE can get pulled over, my husband can.
This time it was for license plate lights that were burnt out. ! Thankfully, the officer didn't give us a ticket for that. OR for the expired registration and inspection. Yes, BOTH were expired. 

This burger won some Best of Texas Burger award and Seth finished the entire thing.

 And it's a seriously in-the-middle-of-nowhere-place.

Being out in the country reunites me with sunsets and I love it.
I loved how the sun was streaking across the sky!

 I wanted to go to a winery. Not so much for the tasting as I don't care much for wine, but for the tour.

Seth enjoyed the tasting more than I did.

 I could write a whole post about the crazy spa we went to. This was hanging on the wall in the massage room. Um, geishas!? really?

And then we had to get our German fix. That's not root beer.

This sunset picture was taken right outside our B&B. 

We park outside this public restroom every time we hit the strip to shop. 

We stop here for lunch on the way home. It was a smidge too warm to enjoy our outside seats, but the view was great as usual. 

This time we decided to check out the Blue Bonnet Cafe for dessert after lunch. I wish I had taken a picture of my lemon meringue pie. The meringue was 5 inches tall, I'm not kidding.

One of the best candles I have ever owned. This smells like heaven to me.

Cute Pic Post -- August 2013

The biggest thing from this month is that Austin started potty training. We did 3 Day Potty Training and it's worked pretty darn well. I'm happy with how well he's doing.

Here are a few pictures from the month:

Austin started eating cereal with milk on it. He does pretty well most days!

And Graham is a champ with his cereal eating too!

Those sweet boys of mine... Austin asked me to put Graham on his lap and take this picture.

He's not walking, but he's thinking about it.

Austin had A BLAST at Cousin Carrie's pool. We have no idea whose goggles these are, but he swore they were his. They're not. But they make for a great picture!

It's a dark picture, but I like how you can see the dimple on his left cheek.

I'm always finding him in funny positions with that silly giraffe of his. He's sound asleep directly on top of it.

We have both baseball teams represented here--Rangers and Brewers!
(Though I'm not loyal to Brewers like I am Packers.)

These carts are AWESOME. At one point, Austin leaned over, put his arm around Graham and said "I love you, Graham, I love you." ! I melted right there in the store a la "Amelie".

These boys and their beds. Always falling asleep in weird positions.

First day in our new stroller! Graham looks like he wasn't too sure about it. But he was great the whole time I met with the doctor about Austin's cough.

They're putting on a concert for me.

I almost wish I could tell you this was staged. It wasn't. It still has me laughing!

A handmedown/cute lipped smile picture.

That hat was totally worth the 50 cents I paid for it!

I can't identify why, but I find it endearing and hysterical when Graham sits on his legs like this. I don't remember Austin doing that very much if at all.

I was merely trying to take a PG picture of him in the tub, and I got what looks like an advertisement for Johnson's soap! lol

The happiest jailbird you've ever met.

This was one sick little man the week we had The Virus That Practically Killed This Momma.
(Even though I never got sick.)

This kids knows how to rock some serious bedhead!

And how to rock some amazing shades!

Yup, that's a Little Brother inside that hamper.

And since Graham had his picture taken in it, Austin didn't want to be left out!

I was taking pictures of this in order to post to a Facebook group in an attempt to sell it. Austin wanted to show how much stuff can fit inside. lol

It was his idea to wear his seersucker newsboy hat all day and he was begging to ride this ride.

This boy loves his giraffe!

Another picture (of what will probably be tons) documenting a Big Brother "prank." Poor Graham... his face reminds me of E.T. in this picture!

Austin got into my rubber bands and insisted on having a ponytail like Momma.
I decided to go overboard. ;-)

Future Doctor?

Or Musician? 

There's nothing cuter than a little boy in underpants.

Can you spot the baby in all that mess?

He's so slouched it cracks me up.
Somewhere there's a picture of Austin doing basically the same thing--looking totally and completely bored.

3 Day Potty Training

We decided that it was finally time to try to start potty training Austin (something I had dreaded since about the moment he was born). We cancelled all plans for a weekend in late August so that days 1 and 2 of the 3 Day Potty Training method could occur with both parents on deck. The way this method works is that you camp out at home for three days, with the kid only wearing underpants and a shirt. You remind them to tell you when they need to pee, feed lots of salty foods and liquids and wait for the inevitable. When they start to have an accident, you whisk them to the toilet and explain that going in underpants is yucky, we need to learn to use the toilet. And you do that for 3 days. (hence the need for both parents). The process has had its ups and downs, but it's generally gone a lot better than I expected it to, and I'm glad to only be buying one set of diapers now!

 We started off the day by baking some cookies to use as rewards.

And we had a stock-pile of goodies for the times when he'd actually tell us enough in advance to make it to the toilet completely in time. We let him just choose which thing he wanted. It's funny, but he wanted those shoes SO bad. They became a reward for his first #2. He loves his "Big Orange" shoes!

 Everything we might need, just waiting for us...

 And a large selection of cutie patootie underpants.

 His first prize, he chose McQueen, of course!

 Dusty was next.

And then came the Big Oranges!