I had to laugh when Judo asked me to take a picture of him and his monkeys. These guys keep him cozy at night and is it just me or does Jude bear a slight resemblance to his furry friends?!:)

Hay rides and measuring up to the scarecrow at Carver Farms!

This is most likely one of those pictures that Owen will want to hide from any and all future lady friends!! But it’s also stinkin’ cute, and is evidence of at least ONE of our boys using the potty! I will not bore you with all the potty training methods and excitement I’ve tried that have not worked with our almost 3 year old. This is the kid who couldn’t asleep on his own or sleep through the night until this spring, at 2 1/2 years old. He’ll decide to use the potty (hopefully some day soon!!) when he’s ready just as he all of a sudden decided he would be able to sleep on his own, despite any earlier attempts to coax him sooner. Owen however, is a potty pro. I’ve tried elimination communication with both my babies- a fancy way of saying I take them to the potty when I think they need to go to save on diapers and in theory, avoid the potty training battle altogether. Obviously this didn’t work out so well with Jude who refused to use the potty after he was one year old, although it was still worth it from how much I saved on laundering my cloth diapers up until then. But I am already noticing that Owen let’s me know when he has to go much more clearly than Jude ever did and will pee just about every time I put him on the potty seat. (While smiling- it’s really cute! And at this point most of you are thinking I’m a little loopy, but that’s quite alright!:) He hasn’t pooped in his diaper since he was 6 weeks old, not because I tried really hard to train him not to, but it just happened- and I’m still amazed! This is a common practice in Asia, Africa, and other places and one of my favorite things in China (and most amusing) is seeing little ones bundled up for the dead of winter with their little bums peeking out of their split crotch pants- for easy peeing access of course! It’s not uncommon to see a mom hold her baby out over the floor of a subway or street and let the babe have at it- no one bats an eye! Of course there are more sanitary ways to practice this but over all I think it’s sad how diaper companies are convincing more and more people world wide to use diapers instead of their traditional way of pottying their children. Don’t even get me started on formula companies.

Any one else heard of this method or tried it themselves? Think I’m crazy?:) Have any funny pictures their kids will be embarrassed by in the future?!:)

Side note on our little Owie Bear- we had his 6 month check up last week and he’s in the 80% for height and weight! (Down from 95th) He was so still and quiet while the doctor checked him over and gave lots of smiles, sweet bear.

I have so many memories of my Mum making play dough with various colors and scents for us and her classes at school. Last week I made some pumpkin spice play dough using the basic recipe below but adding pumpkin pie spice (my own blend- mostly cinnamon) and a little food coloring for a pumpkin orange color. Jude has had so much fun with it and it lasts for a lot longer than the store bought kind. The only thing is, it smells so good you just might want to eat it!!

*Basic play dough recipe (cooked version)

*Lots more creative play dough recipes (including some edible ones!)

Owie bear has sprouted 2 little teeth on the bottom, in front. They both popped through yesterday. I could tell he’s been in some pain this week, although he still smiles ALL the time! Definitely getting his teeth earlier than Judo did at about 9 months, and seems to seriously be checking out our food these days… we just might have to give him some in a month or so. I have a hunch that he will be happy to gobble down anything I give him. We’ll see!:)