On the Potty Front

In case your wondering if we have had any success. I'm pleased to say we have CONQUERED our battle with potty training Garrett. It only took a few days of accidents and a jar full of treats and now Garrett is a pro. No more poopy diapers. What a relief! Garrett is a more confident little man and mom and dad have big smiles on their faces.

One crazy week!

Some weeks are easy, some are hard, others are just down right crazy! I will give you a peek at our week this week and let you decide. (Please note that I am writing this on the train home on Friday, so there is still a significant portion of the week that will still happen.)

Sunday evening Steph got a call from the mother of one of Tasha's school friends. Apparently there was a problem at the school so they were closing the school on Monday. We decided to investigate a little and pulled up the school website, isn't it funny that an elementary school has a website, and found out that not only would the school be closed on Monday, but for the whole week. Well, a free week for vacation isn't so bad so we settled in for some fun and Steph started planning some activities for the week.

We checked the school website again Monday night after the school board meeting and they said that the school was being closed for the rest of the year due to a mold problem in the school. They said none of it got into the air so there isn't a health problem, but they need to fix it before they let the kids back in. Remember, this is the temporary school that they set up while the regular school is being renovated. They also said that the kids would be relocated to another school for the rest of the school year. Tasha's third school this year! At least she gets to stay with her teacher and classmates.

So on Tuesday a building in Harlem partially collapsed right be the train tracks around 2:00 PM. That meant that there would be no trains from NYC to CT until it was safe. So, long story short, my train finally got moving around 7:30 and I got home around 8:30.

Later in the week Steph did Joy School while juggling three kids in the morning on Thursday and had a playdate in the afternoon.

If that isn't crazy enough for you our stake asked that we visit all the members in our ward this month, lots of extra work for the EQ president, and we are putting on a no-holds-barred pinewood derby on Saturday and I got to go out with the missionaries on Thursday night.

Well, I'm out of breath just from thinking about it all. Hope you guys are having more fun than you can handle as well.

Snow Day

On Friday it snowed a ton. When I say a ton, I mean between 6 and 8 inches overnight. Tasha was already out of school for Winter Break so there was no free snow day. The kids have been dying all winter to go out and make a snow man. We really haven't had any snow to speak of this year until now. So with Ty safely down for a nap, Steph headed out with the kids. It was great fluffy stuff, not the normal icy stuff that we have had. Now we know why Utah has the greatest snow on Earth.


Now everytime we go outside they have to step on the snow. They thought it was really cool that the van had snow on top, they called it a snow hat. I told them that when it got warm enough the snow hat would fly off while we were driving. So for the last two days they have been watching very closely for the snow hat to fall off. Today while we were driving home from stake conference it finally happened. We felt a big gust and the snow hat took flight. They were so excited.

How fun it is to be a kid!

Grandma Anderson's Visit

We got to have a lot of fun with Grandma Anderson. We were so excited to have her come and spend a week with us. She soaked up all the time she could with Tasha, Garrett and Ty. She even found time to put Rob on a new diet (gotta watch the pounds these days).

Ty hasn't been sleeping very well, we think his stomach is giving him problems. So Grandma let us know about Gripe Water. This stuff is great. He takes a dropper-full before he eats and he is good to go. No more gassy tummy.

We are so glad that we got to spend this time with Grandma Anderson.

Kids Say The Darnedest Things

Garrett said the funniest thing to Tasha today as I was trying to get them to pick the toys up in their room. Garrett grabbed the phone and said, "I'm calling the fire department to take away mom." Little does he know that some days Freecycle looks very appealing to mommy. Today I actually attempted potty training Garrett. Needless to say after four pairs of wet underwear and one poopy pair it didn't go so well. Now despite all the accidents he did have some success. Whenever he would ask for a treat (which seems to be constantly) my response would be, "If you go potty in the toilet then you can have a treat." Immediately he would run into the bathroom pull down his pants and would strain to push whatever would come out, each time it was a little tinkle. He would be so excited that he went to the bathroom but even more excited that he would get a piece of candy. Kids will do anything for a piece of candy. I'm pretty partial to treats myself. I'm hoping we can trick Garrett into getting potty trained. Hopefully his teeth won't fall out after we have accomplished this daunting task. I'm tired of changing big boy poopy diapers. Why does potty training have to be such a challenge?

Introducing...

Ty Colton Anderson. That's right, he made it today. We went in this morning so Steph could be induced. Delivering Garrett was fast and wild so we decided to schedule this one. Everyone did very well. We got started at the hospital at 8:30 AM. Tasha and Garrett stayed with Kristen Anderson, Laura Turley and Monica Cowan, thanks a ton! It took a while for things to really get going, but by 4:20 PM he made his grand entrance. We think he is a very handsome addition to this Anderson bunch. He weighs 7 lbs. 7 oz and is 19 in long. He has a thin patch of dark hair and some big eyes. Steph and Ty are resting at Stamford hospital while I wrangle the kids. Tasha was really excited for him to come, she even had Kristen call us immediately after school to see if he was here yet. Garrett was a little more discriminating, but quickly warmed up when he met Ty. He will be a great big brother, even if he didn't want to take a picture with him.

Nearly full bloom

Here is an up to date pregnancy picture. Without further ado, here she is in all her glory. What a beautiful flower.