Potty Training Mentors

We almost ran out of M&M's! Wait- did I really just use a 'food reward' with my children?! Yes. This dietitian confesses to the use of M&M's to get her 1-year-old potty trained. Were the M&M's only for Kylie? Nope. I think the biggest recipients of the candy were big brothers Evan and Jaden. They were fantastic mentors to the large task at hand: help Kylie learn to go potty on the little potty chair. What that meant for them: every time Evan and Jaden and Kylie went......Evan and Jaden got an M&M. Funny how those rules were changed to benefit them!

In the end- it was worth the M&M's. A big thanks to Ms. Brooke for her instigation of this whole potty training experience, her patience, and her clorox wipes for her kitchen floor:) After four days, Kylie had potty training mastered. We are now three weeks into it and Kylie continues to do great while trying to become more independent every day....keep in mind that this is not an independent activity when you are a toddler- ha!

Christmas in SD: Part 2

After our time in Watertown, we headed south to Brookings/Volga to spend time with Nathan's family. After the Christmas Eve service at church we took family photos and let the kids open their gifts. We then enjoyed the family tradition of eating cheese soup using Grandpa Chris' recipe & listening to Christmas music. 

Then, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Claus had left pajamas for everyone! The kids quickly got ready for bed, because Santa was on his way. 

 

Sweet Christmas dreams.

 Domino Rally Ultimate Adventure in action......

Evan's new transformer!

 Thanks to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law for letting us crash their Christmas Day celebration and having us over for a delicious dinner. We also got to see their renovations in the basement which included this very cool drop-down ceiling in their library with doors taken from the house my Great-Grandparents built! 

 Cousins!! Thanks for the fun!

Christmas in SD: Part 1

After weeks of counting down, we traveled to South Dakota for Christmas with our families! Decisions are the worst when you have breakfast at Auntie's house:)

The weather and roads (because you can't go to SD without talking about the weather!) were great, until we got to Brookings......another 50 minutes north turned into slick roads. Not wanting to drive those roads 3 more times as we had planned, our families were both very flexible to switch their plans last minute. 

This meant staying in Watertown and celebrating Christmas before returning south an hour to celebrate with Nathan's family. The kids loved playing in all the snow at the farm. This is definitely the way to go sledding!

Kylie's first time driving the tractor with Grandpa Al!

 Resting after climbing on the bales. 

 The boys found my old Snoopy Snow Cone machine in Grandma & Grandpa's basement. The back story; this was a gift I really wanted when I was 6. My Grandparents had just re-carpeted their house.....you can see where the story is going. The stain from my first red snow cone creation remained in the middle of their kitchen carpet. Needless to say, my kids got to make ice-flavored snow cones!! Of course they thought they were the best thing ever. 

 Great-Aunt Bont came to celebrate Christmas and play!

 The kiddos got 'just what they always wanted!' Kylie got a baby, that cries when you remove the bottle. It's funny how that bottle just disappears sometimes:) Evan got his transformer he had wished for and Jaden added more dominos to his collection.

Thanks, family, for the fun in Watertown!!