Happy Hump Day

Braelyn and Gwendolyn are doing their best to get over the hump as well!

Playground Paradise

Braelyn & Gwendolyn joined their cousins over the weekend and took advantage of our warm winter. Together, they went to a local park and toiled on the playground until they were all spent.

Gwendolyn set quite a precedent for herself on the day. It was one of her first times out and about in her walker. It was great to see her walking around the park and realizing that she was doing what so many other boys and girls were. She continually would stop and just look around with big smile on her face as she made her way from the car down to the dock to feed the ducks and then joined everyone else on the playground. While there, she crawled up the climbing wall (with some help from Mom) before going down the slide.

Speaking of the slide, Braelyn wore a hole in it because she went down it so much. She kept running up the steps and sliding down, then repetitively started it all over again. Each time, she'd finish sliding with a hearty giggle before sprinting to the steps so she could do it all over again.

They are both getting so big. To that end, they are each continuing to challenge limits. So much so that Braelyn often goes over the line and inevitably puts herself in the corner as a punishment… So, maybe that whole “timeout” thing isn’t quite a concept she can understand just yet.

Oh well... We'll take the self-discipline for now.

A Late V-Day Recap

Unfortunately, we're a little behind on updating everyone in regards to our week that was.

However, we do have a good excuse for our tardiness. You see, Braelyn had a stomach virus that systematically made its way through the entire Castellano clan... and unfortunately it zapped us all at one point of the week or the other.

Still, it looks like we've made it to week's end no worse for the wear.

As for Valentine's Day, Cupid got the girls snow globes. Braelyn choose the Mickey Mouse version while Gwendolyn received Tweety Bird. Unfortunately, one of the globes was soon thereafter dropped and cracked. So, we're back to having just one globe between the two girls... And as you can imagine, that doesn't go too well when they both decide they want to play with it at the same time.

The girls have also been taking full advantage of shaking their bugs by getting outside and playing in the driveway. As you can see in the photo leading off this entry, there's always a fair share of hugs and kisses that are on display.

Enjoy your weekend all.

What a Snow Day

We haven't even hit lunchtime yet but Mom's first snow day of the year has been interesting to say the least.

First our heater broke... Then we sprung a leak underneath the sink in the kitchen... And now Braelyn has gone from constipated the a serious case of the runs thanks to what we think is a stomach virus.

Sometimes snow days aren't all they are cracked up to be!!!

In fact, the barrage of maintenance men at the door and sprints to the potty by Mom this morning almost makes one long for the quite moments in life. 

Stay warm out there.

Happiness is...

... Being the grandmother in the middle of a Braelyn & Gwendolyn sandwich!!!

(More) Tales from the Potty

Hopefully you didn't think we'd give you all that potty talk on Friday and forget about it post-Super Bowl... Nope, not us.

We found a weapon in the fight against using diapers that previously had eluded us... Cowgirl boots!

Okay, that's not really true. The one key thing we never could figure out when trying to potty train Braelyn was her "carrot." You know, what's the prize at the end of the rainbow that motivates her to stay dry?

Turns out is wasn't as superficial as a gift or stickers (sorry Dad but apparently Braelyn hasn't received ALL of your bad traits). Instead it all went back to what we discussed on Friday... Namely keeping whatever character is depicted on her panties dry (be it Dora or Minnie Mouse). Apparently, the thought of letting one of them down was just too much guilt to handle for Braelyn. So much so that she not only has been doing fabulously while awake but had a bone-dry pullup after her naps yesterday and again when she awoke this morning.

Of course, the real tip of the cap needs to go to Ms. Tracy. If it weren't for her starting this process at daycare during the preceding week, this past weekend wouldn't have been nearly as dry of an affair around these parts.

As for Gwendolyn, Mom and Dad have been working on massaging her feet and legs (yeah, tough life that one has). We've been told that this is a prime time to try and stimulate the nerves in her feet. So, we've taken to rubbing them down at night. She seems very appreciative of our efforts too!

(No really... She is!) This weekend, Mom even noticed that Gwendolyn kept flexing her toes while she was watching television on the couch with us (as is typically the case, we didn't want to point it out to Gwendolyn because that's a sure way to get her to not do something).

So, while it could just be coincidence, Gwendolyn has assured that the leg rubdowns will continue in the short term.

We suppose that's it for now... Talk to you later!!!

Rocking the Potty (or trying to at least)

Braelyn's on again, off again relationship with potty training is back on... For now.

Of course, that doesn't mean that she is always successful in her training practice. This morning, wearing the nice Minnie Mouse panties that Nana purchased for her, we kept asking if she was keeping Minnie dry and did she need to go on the potty. Each time she reassured us that Minnie was in fact dry and that she did not have to go potty.

Then, in an instant, she looked at Mom and casually said "potty." A nanosecond later the living room floor looked like a damn had broken in our house.

All Braelyn could say in disgust is "Mini wet!"

Thankfully, potty training mistakes are easier with laminate floors and after she got over the angst of wetting her beloved Mini Mouse, Braelyn was back on track.

To her credit, Gwendolyn continues to use her training potty several times a day. And, we are proud to report (hopefully without jinxing ourselves), that she still hasn't had a U.T.I. in the year since we started having her use it. Of course, from time to time Gwendolyn likes to show off for her sister because she is so good as using the potty. Recently, she even decided to wear her princess shoes on the potty so Braelyn could see just how stylish one can be while pottying.

Well, have a "super" weekend everyone... Hopefully it will be a dry one for the Castellanos.