Potty Training

After pushing this off for quite awhile, I decided to tackle potty training with Aiden...on Thanksgiving weekend. I feel like I was talked into it by: (1) Erica, who believed I was waiting too long and he would be too old and "untrainable" if I waited any longer and (2) my mom, who was conveniently going to be out of town that weekend. The first 2 days were the worst I have ever been through as a parent. Saying I hated it is an understatement, it was pure hell. But, I realized it was because I made it that way. I was a freak of nature about the possibility of my kid peeing his pants??!! Who cares, clean it up and move on! Since the day we stopped using diapers, the poor guy has had only 3 accidents. He loves to pee and poop in the potty! That's not to say that he isn't addicted to Dora, Diego and/or a "special surprise" each time he goes to the potty!

Ellie turns 1

I can't believe it's here...where has this year gone? My youngest baby is a toddler, how could this have happened so soon? We had a nice little celebration for her but I don't know if I'm happy about this milestone. My babies are growing up...

Happy Halloween!

We have been loving the amazing fall weather here in Indiana. Matt and I enjoyed Halloween weekend in Bloomington trying to relive our college days. The football game was brutal but Mimi and Aunt Mary found Herman B Wells on campus and became "giddy". We were miserable on Halloween, but we put on a brave face for the kids! We had Superman and a princess in our house. Aiden loved it this year which was so fun for us. Bring on the holidays...

Clarke Family Update

The Clarke's are coming off a busy summer and headed straight into a busy fall/winter. So I, decided to be the guest blog updater for the month of October...just to "help a sister out."

Jenni, Matt and the kids spent the summer traveling, hosting fabulous parties/reunions and hanging out by the lake. Here is a little photo update of the summer and fall.

In August, Matt and the boys headed into the Rockies for a 4 day backpacking trip to kick off Jeb's wedding weekend in Crested Butte.

Jeb & Sam's wedding weekend...



Cousin Charlie visits Indiana and Aiden goes tubing for the first time...



We celebrated the Watts Family Reunion in Cicero, IN...



Jenni and Matt cruise along with the Zac Brown Band...



And finally, these beautiful Clarke kids enjoying the Fall on the Pumpkin Train...


Kiddo Update:
Aiden is going to school 2 full days, which means naps on a cot. He seems to be doing really well, with the exception of the day he threw the baby against the filing cabinet. No big deal...teacher thinks it was his 2 year molars breaking (um, he already has those???). He has also made the transition to a "big boy bed." And after a few early mornings and turning the door around, he has made that switch really well!

Ellie is officially walking. She had been attempting to walk since ~8 months, but finally started full time over the past few weeks. Walking has caused a few accidents, hence the black eye in the pumpkin picture. But I am pretty sure, Ellie is going to be a bruiser. She'll be beating up Aiden in the near future so she handled it like the tough little girl that she is!

I miss the kids but the holiday's aren't far off...

Much Love,
Erica

Charlie David Waelty

Charlie has arrived! He was born Friday May 28 at 1:46 am. He is super cute (like his aunt) and he can't wait to meet me. I have to say, his mom is a rockstar. She went through great pains to get him here! Great job Erica. You had a great cheerleader in Nick and your amazing nurse. Welcome to the world Charlie!

Daylight Savings

Ellie's Baptism was a few weeks ago and I feel like such a horrible parent because I didn't take one picture! I might have picked up my camera had I not been up until 2 in the morning (3 with daylight savings time) the night before celebrating Baby Waelty! Erica and Nick were here to support Ellie as her Godparents and so we had a party for them. It was so great to have them here but the weather was really bad so all we really did was eat and drink too much.

Easter

Aiden had so much fun waking up to an egg hunt on Easter morning. His eyes were so big when he saw all his baskets filled with presents. As he collected eggs, he would open each one and either eat the "em m ems" or toss the "beams". His favorite part of the day was probably the baby that was "supposed" to be for sissy. Now it is his and he likes to feed it and put it to sleep and my favorite, talk about where it poops. I'm sure this is just a phase but I can see Matt get a little nervous everytime Aiden picks up that doll. Oh, the joys of parenting!

NYC

Matt and I headed out to New York City for his birthday a few weeks ago. We had both never been so it was hard to catch everything we wanted to see in only a long weekend. It was hard being away from the kids but we had a blast. My favorite was definitely the Statue of Liberty but I learned a lot that I didn't know about the city. I'm intrigued and would love to go back to explore a little more one day.

Florida Part 2

We survived our trip to Florida! We had the best weather the last week and a half and it ended up being a really great trip. Now that Im home I wish we were back, this weather is killing us. Aiden not only loved swimming but just to be able to run FREE outside was so great for him. I feel like he learned so much while we were there. He's like a little sponge, taking everything in. Ellie learned how to sleep through the night while we were down there. This make me sooo HAPPY. Now that we are back in the "real world", Aiden has started school and I am back to work. Life is back to normal. We just hope Mimi still wants to come visit...

Florida Part 1

So we have been in Florida since Christmas Eve. The first 3 weeks were freezing cold. Aiden was able to go swimming one day. Some days we couldn't even go outside. Whose idea was this to go to Florida for 5 weeks with 2 kids and no husband?? Things have gotten much better in the last week. Aiden has been swimming everyday and I must say he is a little fish in the water. He loves it! He also loves the beach which is a big change from our trip down here last year. We have been to the zoo where he fed the Flamingos and "Mimi" is his new best friend. Well, she has always been his best friend but this has gone to a whole new level. I don't know what we are going to do in a week when we are home and Mimi is not there every morning when he gets up. Ellie is doing great. She is chunky as ever and almost sleeping through the night. I can't wait!!