crazy horse

It's official. Ethan will not be the first kid to graduate high school in pull-ups. He has now pooped in the potty two days in a row!!

It's still not easy, mind you. After much frustration of cleaning poopy underwear for a few months, I started reading online tips and tricks on how to get a stubborn kid to poop in the potty. I realized I was about six months late - we had already messed up. Apparently you are supposed to get your boy to master the poo before allowing them to stand up and pee. "Only girls sit down on the potty!!" was the response every time I tried to get him to sit down. If he never sits down, how in the world will he ever poop??

So here's the trick that did it: Story time on the potty! We wait for the tell-tale "duster" (as Grandpa Stoffle would've called it) and then off we go to the potty for an engaging story about a loud mouse and a parade and half of a froggy book. And then... plop!! Very exciting in our world! Ethan will even tell you how long it takes to go potty: "a book and a half!"

He's got a chart and three more stickers get him whatever toy he wants. What is that special toy, you ask? Well he wants a "crazy horse", but he'll admit that he's never seen one in a store or even in real life. So a few more poos and we'll be on a mission to find something resembling a crazy horse. Yee-haw little cowboy, yee-haw.

that was good, i'll have another!

The much anticipated Redneck Luau III has already come and gone. Here are a few of the highlights...




This guy was pretty friendly.

Mom with her new tattoos and Martin in his old overalls with some strategically placed duct tape!

My brother Terry playing all the lastest hillbilly hits...

This is the toughest I've ever seen Cousin Jack look. I think it's a good look for him. Ethan kept saying "Jack is Dangerous"! Ethan adores Jack; he wouldn't let him out of his sight the entire night. I think it's cute how they unintentionally dressed alike.

Me and my little redneck:

the smart kids

We recently had our annual "Meet at McDonalds Playland Reunion" with the Gwilliams (Becky, Chad, Cole, Emily, Addy), the Mabreys (Mitch, Julie, Trig, and Gwen) and the Kilgos (Katie, Kale, Lizzie, and Callie). Here's a shot of all our kiddos. I'm pretty sure they'll rule the world someday. But for now, it's an accomplishment to get them to sit still for a picture.
Callie, Cole, Addy, Emily, Gwen, Ethan, Lizzie, and Trig! We created quite a brood!

Becky also informed me that she actually reads this thing, so I'll work harder on posting. Becky and gang live in Utah, so it was great to be able to see them all!