For the past few weeks, Dawson has really tried our patience. I'm not sure if he's having a hard time adjusting to dad not being at home as much or if he is making up for the terrible twos that he never really went through....but we've had an exhausting time. The biggest thing is he LOVES pouring stuff out....whether its the peanut butter that was smeared on the walls and in his hair or the jelly that was painted onto his cars or the conditioner that he poured into the bathtub so he could have bubbles or the shampoo that was wasted in the sink because he thought it smelled good.....you get the idea. So where was the responsible adult who was suppose to be watching him. I was asleep. Yep, he's been getting up in the middle of the night to do all these wonderful things and returns to bed after the deed gas been done. But does he go back to his bed? nope. Our bed? nope. He slips into bed next to sister. I have no idea why. We have spent quite a few early mornings in the tub and the corner. Maybe I need a new punishment....


On another note, Ellie has this weird thing with her legs. I wish I had taken a good picture of them but she can actually turn her feet inward to the point that they point backwards. Its pretty gross looking. The doc was trying to check her hips last week when she was there but since she was so sick and very upset I made the choice to wait till we go back this week to have it checked out. Last week she had bronchits, two ear infections and a bad diaper rash. Poor baby but she's a lot better. I've been so worried about her feet though. Can't wait till Tuesday to have it checked out! Hopefully she won't have to have braces.

still going strong!

So we had an accident the first night with Dawson sleeping in underwear and one later on the next morning but since then we have been dry! He even got up in the middle of the night to potty! So no wet sheets this morning and I had let him sleep in a little bit. We're ready for another great day! This is a lot easier than I thought.....

Dawson has been saying lots of funny things lately. The other day he took a pillow off our bed and was pushing it around the floor. I caught him and told him thanks for adding to the laundry pile for the day. His response.....no problem mom! He also makes up conversations for everyone who can't speak for themselves (sister, the dogs, scoop the tractor) each morning Dawson helps me feed and water the dogs and he'll use this "deep" voice and say "mommy give me my food, hurry mommy" I guess that's what Duke and Leo are thinking when we feed them. Silly boy!

I just wanted to let James know I was proud that he passed the initiation to the car club. He was voted into the No Limits club this week. I wasn't to excited about the club at first but after meeting everyone and seeing all the wonderful things they do to help the community, I had a change of heart. They definetly aren't your run of the mill car club.....at least from the ones I saw in Huntsville. Congrats baby! I also want to say what a wonderful husband I have. He has been working from 6-9 almost everyday for the past few weeks so we can have a great Christmas and get completely out of debt. He works really hard during the day and still comes home and plays with the kids and spends time with me. I don't know how he manages all of it but I am so proud of him! Thank you sweetheart!!!!!

Day one.....

So before Ellie was born we started potty training with Dawson and he did really well. I thought this would be so easy and we'd be done in no time. He caught on fast......then we hit a major road block......sister was born. From the day we brougt her home, Dawson has refused to go to the potty. Oh he'll occansionally go, if he's naked or if he thinks he can go with Dad in the store. I even threatened to not let him turn 3 (I kinda feel bad about telling him that) if he didn't start using the bathroom. He CAN do it, he just doesn't want to do it. I heard from a friend at church that she just quit letting her son wear diapers and within a week he was popping and peeing in the toliet. So I ran out of pull ups Sunday night and decided that was it. No more diapers, period. He wore one of Ellie's to bed (yes, he's little enough in the waist to wear her size 2 diaper. He can actually wear a 1 but its somewhat short in the behind ) and this morning we took it off and have been diaper free all day. We went to the store for a few hours, played outside the majority of the day and had a nap without ANY accidents. Not one!!!! He is even in bed with his underwear and told me he wouldn't pee on Bob the Builder tonight. (I'm glad I got him those sheets last week! Extra motivation!) Why didn't we do this sooner?! I know he will mess up sometime but I am so proud of him. I kept telling him every hour or so that I was really happy and proud he was still dry. He gave me huge high fives and hugs. Hopefully the rest of this week goes as well as today. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Dawson

This is a little late but........

Dawson has turned 3!! I can't believe our little boy is 3 years old. It seems like yesterday we were rushing to the hospital to have him. So here's a little bit about Dawson and a few things you might not know about him.....

Dawson was born on Nov 3, 2005 at 846 in the morning. He was in a huge hurry to get here because we almost didn't make it to the hospital. My water broke at the house and when we got to the hospital you could already see his head. But everything turned out just fine and we even made it home in time for the Alabama game that Saturday.

His first year was great. He slept through the night by six weeks and it seemed like he never cried. Cousin Savannah taught him how to crawl at 8 months while we were visiting my sister in WA. A month later he was walking all over the place and hasn't slowed down yet!

We had no big injuries during his first year but as soon as he turned two he stuck his finger in a door and broke it. A few weeks later he fell in the bathtub and chipped his front tooth. I have yet to find a dentist who will fix it without putting a silver cap on it. It won't hurt him so we haven't put a cap on it since its his front tooth. Now bruises and cuts are a daily thing.

Dawson has grown into his nickname hot rod. Everywhere he goes he acts like a car. Seriously, he will stand in one spot and "rev" his engine up then take off while shifting gears. He can sound just like a car shifting. He even gets the number gears right. It's quite funny to watch! Needless to say, he loves any kind of car. He loves Thomas the train, Diego, Bob the builder and anything having to do with Lightening McQueen. He loves to play footballs and soccer. And dawson loves to run!!!! He also loves to help dad fix anything he can. He has his own set of tools that he uses to work on his toy cars.

Dawson thinks his daddy rules the world. He is his daddy's shadow. He even asks dad to move the sun if it gets in his eyes. How cute! Dawson is also a spitting image of James. Anyone who has seen James when he was little can atest to this. Anywhere or anything dad does Dawson wants to do too.

Some of Dawson's favorite things to say....
What's that for?
Let's take the truck daddy! (notice mommy and sister are not invited to ride in the truck)
I can't find the word!( this is when he gets tongue tied)
Ship!! (yes, he's trying to say a different word, not a good word but we won't blame dad for teaching it to him!)
That makes me nervous!(he got that one from me...I say it all the time)
I can't believe this! (usually he says this when he gets in trouble or has to ride in the shopping cart)

Some of Dawson's favorite foods......chicken and french fries(he will only eat these when we go out to eat. Good luck getting him to eat something else!)
Strawberries especially at Pa-pa's house
Hot dogs
Any fruit really
Green beans but only because of Grammy......thanks mom!

We had orginally planned to have him a birthday party at mom's the following weekend but we had an unexpected event happen so we'll have to reschedule. James and I did take hime out to the Mercedes museum which he LOVED and out to dinner at Ryan's. Dawson gave the waiters an evil look when they sang him happy birthday!!! We also took him to Toy's R Us to pick out a gift. Later that night we gave him a few more presents and had a birthday cake for him. Since he's been getting presents all week long from various family members, he thinks it's still his birthday! Thank you again!

We love you Dawson! You are wonderful big brother and the best son we could ask for. Happy 3rd birthday Dawson!!!!!!