Independence Day and the Potty!

We have been attempting to train Eric for a while now. He showed very little interest in giving up his Pullups. We have used gummies and other various things to bribe him into going. I cringe every time I have to buy more Pullups. Finally yesterday he decided that using the potty wasn't a bad thing. He used it and he got lots of hugs and a sucker. What a great way to end our Independence Day! We have only had 2 pullup today and he has used the potty 3 times. I know this may not be a big, huge, world changing deal to some but to us it is the biggest thing since sliced bread and debit cards! I can't wait to officially buy our last package of Pullups and kiss that $9 price tag good bye :)

Update...

Ok so since my best friend Alyson updated her blog I was inspired to update ours. Here is what is new with us.


We survived the holidays and our move from Germany. We are settled in Colorado Springs now and loving it. Eric is growing and learning so much. He loves letters and is starting to write them out. Most of them I can see the letter but some are harder to understand. He loves to color and draw faces. He knows his emotions, shapes, colors, nunbers up to 30 and all of his letters. Elmer loves his job and is still working on organizing all of his stuff. The movers did a poor job packing. I am finishing up our apartment and exploring new outings for us to do. We have been to Garden of the Gods, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Denver and the Children's Museum and most importantly Chick Fil A! We love having a mall, Target and Walmart right by. We hope to go home in May so that we can celebrate Eric's 3rd birthday.

Homecoming Dinner

We had a great time at our homecoming dinner. It was held at the Schloss Hotel restaurant. The meal was great and it was nice to spend some time together. Eric also had a great time. He spent the evening with the Keahl family. They went to the pool, had dinner and he got to play and spend time with a family he loves! He had a blast!

Eric and Elmer

Eric found all kinds of good stuff when Elmer started to unpack. He loves trying to walk around in Daddy's boots. He is still in his hat phase and had a great time trying on Daddy's various hats. It has been an adjustment for them both but it is so great to see them happy and reconnecting.

Welcome Home Daddy!

On August 24th Elmer finally came home from Iraq! We somehow survived 12 months without him. It was crazy and so sad sometimes but we are so grateful that he is home safe. It is so good to be with him again!

Happy Anniversary! 6 Years and Counting...

I can't believe it was 6 years ago that we were sealed for time and all eternity. It is so wonderful looking back at all of the good times and see how much we have grown. I am so grateful for my husband and all that he does for us. He is a great husband, friend, father and provider. I can't imagine life without him. I look forward to celebrating when he gets back. I love you Mer!

Update...

before
after

It is that time again when I update what is going on in our lives. We are counting down the days until Daddy comes home. We are both tired of living without him. It seems like the days are longer and the months too. Eric is growing so fast. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine, Elmo, Blues Clues and Bear in the Big Blue House. He also loves Diego. Seriously he doesn't get to watch a lot of tv. I promise! He loves to play pretend and go to the park. He constantly asks me if we can go to the slide. He also loves to chase butterflies. He says "Bye" to every gate gard and loves to stop and pet dogs. He is speaking very clearly now and has picked up on several funny sayings including "Oh man!" and "That's Cool". He has four stuffed animals in his bed, two penguins, one bear and Daddy. Every time he gets up in the morning or from nap he has to give each one a hug and he has to give them to me to hug also. He is a wiz at his shape sorter, he is learning his colors he knows red, blue, yellow and green and he can count to ten while going down the stairs. He knows the names of most of the foods he eats and can even spot an elephant in his books and clothes. He loves his Blue's Clues book and his ABC picture book. He asks me to read Mama llama books all the time. They are his favorite. For thos of you wondering they are Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Llama Llama Misses Mama and Llama Llama Red Pajama. I recently got him on tape reading Slowly Slowly Slowly Said the Sloth. He just says "Slowly Slowly Slowly' as he turns the pages. It is really cute. He loves to pray at meals and sometimes we end up praying four or five times. He is an amazing little man and we couldn't imagine life without him. The pictures above are the before and after of his hair cut. What a difference!!!!