All Aboard The Birthday Train!

Our sweet Olive turned 3 and we had to have a train themed celebration!  She could not have been more excited!

 We found an amazing little train that the kids could ride on! If you know of anyone in need of a train, contact the Okie Dokie Express! I love Olive's reaction when she saw it coming down the street!

 She could not wait to climb aboard!

 When her friends started to arrive, she began selling "tickets" to get on.  Sweet Caden loved his hat and wore it most of the party!

 All Aboard for the first ride of the day!

 Olive rode every single time for an hour!  She would half get off and say "I want to do it again!"

 Ryder preferred the "non-moving" train!

 And Liam enjoyed watching from the grass!

 After the train rides, they all tumbled into the bounce house for a few minutes before cupcakes!

 Sweet girl was so excited to have 3 candles!

 She has such thoughtful friends and received lots of great gifts that she can't play with enough!

 Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate our sweet Olive! 

 Olive and Honey

 Olive and Pop

 After we got inside, she switched to Rapunzel for her picture with Auntie Mica and Uncle Isaac!

Happy Birthday Party Day, Olive!

A Quick July Recap

Where in the world did the month of July go?  I blinked and it was gone!  

Here are a few highlights from my phone. 

We had a super fun trip to the zoo with Heather, Audrey and Griffin!

 Uncle Chris and Uncle Shawn came to town and we went to the Mid Summer Night's Fair!  We had so much fun celebrating Uncle Shawn's birthday! 

 Mommy got to take a girl's trip with some of my favorite friends to Dallas!

 And this happened...

 Olive began channeling her inner Fancy Nancy...

 And splatter painted at the museum.

Daddy gave her a tour of the stadium and they decided they would just sit and wait for football season to begin!

 She got to hang out with her sweet friend Ryder!

 And got a "big girl" haircut!

 And poor Wrigley was forced to play princesses!

July was a great month and August has been wonderful so far too!

Potty Training...Now That Is An Adventure!

A few weeks ago we took on the hardest thing about parenting so far...potty training.  Holy moly.  I thought temper tantrums and not staying in her bed was hard, nope this took the cake.  I was emotionally and physically exhausted for the first week, but eventually all was well! For Olive to go to her 3 year old class in August, she must be potty trained.  I read all about it and knew that she was showing signs that she was ready.  So, I followed my sweet friend Carma's advice and looked in the Farmer's Almanac for the best days and we put it on the schedule!  We had a potty chart, potty stickers, potty prizes, potty books and soon to find out, a child with a BLADDER OF STEEL. 

 After her first success, she got this cute little book with "baby engines" and a play mat.  We thought hitting her with a great prize initially would inspire her.  Good theory. 

 By day 2, this is how we both felt. 

 I think I became a prisoner in my bathroom.  Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with my sweet one, however sitting on the tile floor for HOURS at a time trying to be calm, loving and patient is not the bonding I would prefer. 

 But after about a week, she got it well enough that we could leave our house not in a pull up!  Hooray!  And after 3 weeks of practice, and a full sticker chart, we decided to claim her prize!  The potty fairy left her a note making sure she knows how proud she was and that her little potty had been taken away to another little girl who needed it. 

 She was so proud that her chart was full!

 We headed out to the "Elmo Store" also known as Toys R Us!  No trip there is complete without a little ride in the Elmo car!

 She has been dying for a "Round house" for her trains for awhile now, so that was the prize she chose to work toward.  Mommy and Daddy were especially excited that it was on sale this weekend!  God was smiling down on all of us that day!

Olive and Daddy making sure all of the pieces were there. 

 Daniel the Toys R Us Associate was very proud of her as well and gave her a big high five. 

 You can imagine how she spent the rest of the afternoon!

 Even the engines were proud of her big accomplishment, look how happy they look!

We are so proud of our sweet Olive for reaching this milestone!  Nice work little lady!