ONLY 4?!?

Lately I've been questioning the actual age of my sweet little 4 year old. It just seems unreal to me that he can be so young and so incredibly smart and quick witted. Especially when it comes to matching wits with adults.
Example #1: When he was just 2 Zach's family was visiting for Christmas/Blayne's birth. There were treats galore and Xander definitely had plenty of people around willing to give him a treat with just one puppy dog look from his sweet big eyes. After handfuls had been consumed the mommy in me decided to step in and put the treats up on the kitchen counter. A few minutes went by and Xander made his way over to his Popa and asked him to hold him. He then proceeded to give Popa the biggest, sweetest, longest hug I had ever seen him give anyone. Then I heard a crinkle sound and realized that my little sweetheart was secretly sneaking more treats while hugging Popa. Brilliant.
Example #2: While in the car with my mother, at the end of a wonderful visit, she stopped at an ATM to get some cash. While there she asked if I needed any cash for the plane ride home to get some food/treats. I said that I was fine and thanked her for the thought. Suddenly from the back seat we heard this: "Nana... I need some moneys. Dollars." Wow.

Yesterday was no exception. As many of you know (especially if you read the last post) we are currently in the process of trying to potty train this little nugget:


It is going fabulously and without any difficulties whatsoever. He loves it and wants out of his diapers ASAP!! (*insert large amounts of sarcasm, and an exasperated sigh, here*) Okay, so maybe it's going so horribly that I've actually reverted to bribing him with "candy drops". **For those who are wondering what "candy drops" are... read the last post.**

The only problem with giving him "candy drops" was that Xander became upset and even told me I had hurt his feelings because he wasn't getting any. I explained to him the reasons why and he seemed to accept it, but when talking with my mom about it later she gave a great suggestion. "Why not give Xander some "candy drops"? He could be your teaching assistant and help show Blayne how to go potty on the toilet. Maybe seeing Xander do it, and get a reward would help encourage Blayne to do it as well. Besides, it would be an inexpensive solution." With that I began the next day with......

A POTTY TRAINING ASSISTANT!!!!

Xander was great! He was the perfect model of how to use the potty. He went #1, got 1 candy drop, and Blayne... absolutely refused. So we got into the tub and had a bath. While in the tub Xander asked me for "more candy drops please". I then explained to him that he only got "candy drops" when he was being my potty assistant and only 1 for going #1 and 2 for going #2. He said "Okay, understand.".
When we got out of the tub I asked Blayne if he would like to try going pee pee on the potty. I'm sure you can guess what his answer was. Xander then said "I'll go! Watch Blayne!" He did a tiny tinkle and was rewarded. I went on drying Blayne and explaining to him how he could get his own "candy drops". Then I heard another tinkle and a "See Blayne, it's easy!" he was rewarded once again. This happened one more time where there was a small tinkle followed by a reward and I began thinking to myself "Goodness, I need to cut back on Xander's drink consumption." Blayne did decide he would like to sit on the toilet but after 25 minutes of reading 4 stories, singing songs, and being his own personal cheering squad... he informed us he was done and proceeded to poop in his pull-ups only minutes later.
When nap time came around I again gave Blayne the opportunity to try to go pee pee on the potty, he "politely" refused and Xander quickly stepped up to the plate. It was after the second tiny tinkle that it finally dawned on me.......

I WAS BEING HUSTLED BY MY 4 YEAR OLD!!!!
I had informed him that going pee pee on the potty only gave him one "candy drop" and he had found a way to get numerous "candy drops" by just going #1 in little spurts at a time. I was so distracted and oblivious that it took me a few times to even catch on! I could hardly believe that he could be so smart and so manipulative when it occurred to me that he is "Mini Zach". I'm sure this is exactly the type of thing Zach would have done when he was Xander's age, especially if it meant getting more candy. It appears as though this "inexpensive solution" could actually end up bitting me in the behind one "candy drop" at a time.

The "Blayne" of my existence.

Don't let this adorably, sweet face fool you.
He is out to get me.
Yes, my 2 year old is out to destroy me and all the energy and patience I have stored in this body.
You would think that something so little and so cute wouldn't have the power or knowledge to destroy a grown woman, but he does.
How does he do it?
In the form of..... POTTY TRAINING.
(*See picture above, and notice that he is not wearing pants*)

When this sweetheart turned 20 months I decided I would do what I did with Xander and start doing things to help him get more comfortable and acquainted with the potty. For Xander, it worked like a charm. His interest in the potty grew, and by the time he was 2 and we began potty training he was trained both day and night in a week. I'm not going to give myself a lot of credit in this achievement because, honestly, the kid basically trained himself. Even as a baby he never even peed in his diaper while sleeping through the night.

Blayne however... has been the total opposite.

Maybe he just wants to be different from his brother, maybe he wants attention, or maybe he just really loves seeing the look of bewilderment and torture come across my face. Whatever it is.... he is currently winning.
It amazes me how long the kid can hold any #1 or #2 while sitting on the toilet (at intervals of 30 min.) only to let everything go seconds after I place a pull-up on the child. That is of course if I can even get the child to put on a pull-up. More often than not just the idea of getting a pull-up on causes cries of "NO! NO! Not my diaper! Need diaper!"
Today was by far, his crowning moment.....
He has been showing large interest in wearing underwear, especially Xander's Go Diego underwear. My sister came up with the great idea to let him wear a pair but place a pull-up on top. This way, he gets to wear the underwear and get used to them, while also getting used to the feeling of what happens when he relieves himself in them. The pull-up on top keeps me from having to clean up nasty accidents off of the floor and carpets. BRILLIANT!!
So today we decided to give it a try!
We had already made a handful of bathroom trips without any success, but also without any accidents. While talking on the phone with my parents and discussing the latest "plan of potty action" I mistakingly made this comment out loud...
"Things are going well so far but just watch him go poop in the underwear and not even notice or care. That will be so fun for me, especially the clean up."
My ever intelligent mom responded with "Count on it."
*I mean really?!?! Will I never learn?!? Saying things like that aloud is basically a DOUBLE DARE to young children to do that exact thing.*
I ended my conversation with my parents with this statement "Well, I'd better go. It's been almost 30 min. and I want to keep this no accidents thing going." *Ugh... such a moron.*
As I approached Blayne and said it was potty time again he pulled his hand free, hid himself under a chair, and started making a face that I know all too well. I frantically grabbed his little legs, pulled him out from under the chair, and made a run for the bathroom.
You can guess what awaited me...
Yep, a nice big smudge of #2 all over poor Diego. I still stripped him and made him finish the business on the potty. After a good 10 min. wait to make sure everything was all out... he was cleaned, the pull-up was placed back on, and he was rewarded with a "candy drop" ( an M&M for those who don't speak Blayne) for "going poo poo on the potty". Yes, that was a bribe. I know.
The chaos didn't end there however because sweet little Xander then came up to me with tears in his eyes informing me that I had hurt his feelings because he didn't get a "candy drop". The next 5 min. was spent not only explaining to Xander why Blayne was getting "candy drops" but also trying not to gag while I washed Diego out in the toilet.

*For those concerned with the well being of my little Xander you'll be happy to know that he too was given a "candy drop"*

*Really... could you say no to this face? I didn't think so.*

I placed Diego in the washer, scrubbed my hands clean 3 times and turned around to see a faded picture on the front of Blayne's pull-up. Yep, after sitting on the toilet for a good 10 min. my child had peed in the pull-up only seconds after getting them placed on his body.
GRRR... ARGGG!!! I do not want two children in diapers!!!
I know I still have a few months with this pregnancy, but at this point I can see Blayne putting me through YEARS of Potty Training "Bliss". Such a tease. I will still continue on with this seemingly pointless crusade, but to be honest..... the white flag is looking really good, and is within arms reach.

GIRL?
OR BOY?

I DECIDED TO WEAR THIS TIE TODAY!

Birthdays, Christmas, and 2011!!

Our little nuggets are two years apart and while they're still young we have decided to do a combined birthday party while we still can. This year we decided to cross our fingers, hold our breath, and hope for the best as we took the kids to...

~ the movie Tangled, and.....

~ duhn...duhn...duhn.... CHUCK E. CHEESE.

The movie was cute, but Blayne was having none of it. Zach and I took turns taking him down the stairs and letting him run up and down the walkway off to the side so we could still see the movie. Xander did pretty well, he was contented with eating gobs of popcorn (that I had accidentally doused with too much seasoning salt -bleh!) and downing the large Sprite we had gotten to share.
Then it was off to the place I was dreading.... the place of germs and unsupervised, rowdy children.....
CHUCK E. CHEESE.
To my surprise... it actually wasn't that bad. It helped that this Chuck E. Cheese was brand new, and that there really weren't many other families there. The boys loved it and really enjoyed all the games and rides. I was just glad there weren't many creepy malfunctioning robots on stage.
We then headed home for cake and presents!
One of Zach's employees was sweet enough to make the boys a cute little train cake, they loved it! For those who don't know... the boys are obsessed with trains lately especially the Polar Express train.



I won't bore you with countless birthday videos, but this one is a definite must see.
This is the video of the first presents the boys opened, they were presents from my parents and Zach's reaction is priceless. Please disregard my horrid cackle-laugh, one of my New Year's resolutions is to get rid of it. Without further ado....

The video:




In my mom's defense... she claims that she didn't know the monkey screamed and howled because in the store it didn't make a sound. Zach's still suspicious that this is just a parent's way of getting back at us for what we did to them while we were children. I know that that can't be true because I was an angel.

Speaking of angels.... the kids were actually quite the angels the entire drive to Zach's parents house in Texas for Christmas. We only got to be there for a day and a half but it was nice to spend time with family. Thanks to Santa's little helper (LOVE YOU LINDS!!) Xander got exactly what he asked for.... Chocolate chip cookies. And they were FABULOUS!! In fact, the first thing Xander did when we went into the present room was grab a cookie and then promptly leave. Apparently he was serious when he said that all he wanted was a chocolate chip cookie. He got his cookie and he was set.



We did get him back into the room where he and Blayne proceeded to go to town on the rest of their presents. The biggest hits have been the train set my parents gave them, the cameras Zach's parents gave them, and the movie Despicable Me that Santa gave them. We had a great Christmas and apologize to any friends or family members who felt gypped this year. Zach and I made a promise to each other that this year we were going to stay on a budget, and not go overboard. We're trying to be more responsible with our money and we also decided to be selfish and get each other a really expensive gift.
We're really excited about it, and can't wait to play with it in June......



Yep, looks like the New Year is bringing a new addition to the Beck family. I am officially 18 weeks and almost 1/2 way through. We'll find out in about 2 weeks if we need to be thinking of little girl or little boy names. As far as Xander is concerned if we wanted a baby we just needed to make Blayne a baby again. I'm sure my body would've been just fine with that, the sickness I've had with this baby has been horrible. Oh the joys of pregnancy. Oh well, it's worth it in the end.

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, and hope that your New Year brings only the best of tidings your way!!
Love, The Becks