Visitors from Wisconsin!

Last weekend, we had the good fortune of seeing G-ma & G-pa!  They came for a long weekend over Father's Day.  They were with us when we were first looking at buying this house, so it was fun to show them the house again with all of our things inside.  Our place sure is coming along!

When they came, Anora & Eleanor were finishing up their last day together of nanny share.  They have been together nearly everyday for the last 2 years, so it was a bitter sweet day.  I'm not sure they totally understood what was happening.  They will still see each other, just not as frequently. 

 G-ma & G-pa spend about 2 days working out in our yard!  They cleared out a bunch of weeds a laid down wood chips.  The yard is looking so lovely :)

I love these pictures of Anora - she looks so happy <3

  

On Father's Day, Anora & Papa got matching sunglasses that they wore to the Sunday market together.  Anora liked petting all the dogs, and dancing to the street performers down at the market.

We made a stop at Starbucks so Papa could get a coffee and Anora could demand a pouch :D

Stealing my Lara bars!

 Of course any celebration of Ben would not be complete without an oreo DQ ice cream cake.  We celebrated with ice cream after a nice grilled meal of steaks & corn.  Yum! 

A Few Father's Day Gifts fom Anora!












It was a fun few days!  Thanks for visiting, G-ma & G-pa :)  Glad we got to spend some time together.

Big Girl Bed!

Well folks, we've hit another milestone here at the Egan residence.  Anora has officially transitioned into a toddler bed.  We totally lucked out and got one for free from a neighbor.  She was very invested in the process and got more and more excited along the way. 
She came with to pick it up and load it in the car.  Then, she helped Papa put it together by helping with the screws.  Once it was together, we realized we needed sheets!  So she came with me to Target and picked out her own new set of big girl sheets.  There were many options to choose from, but she selected the ice cream cone sheets (even over Frozen!).  We came home and (after washing them) put them on her bed.  She was in heaven.  She has been doing great sleeping and staying in her new bed.  We are so proud of our BIG girl :)

Oh Crap! Potty Training

At the beginning of the month we decided to embark on the potty training journey.  Anora had been going pee in the potty periodically, but was getting to the point where she would only go if she wanted a treat!  She's too smart for our methods.  We decided to go a bit more hardcore and follow the book "Oh Crap! Potty Training" in order to get the job done.  She took to it right away!

You spend the first couple days totally naked around the house with the potty nearby.  She had zero accidents!  She definitely already knew how to hold her pee and was doing so for long periods of time at first.  Then we moved on to going commando.  She had a couple accidents when she was distracted - like at church - but after about two days, she was doing great.  The pooping in the potty is still an art form, but she is figuring out that she needs to stay on the potty longer and will even go and get her little leap pad computer and sit there for a bit so she can relax. 

I have been so proud and impressed at how quickly she has moved from going to the bathroom in her diaper, so going in the potty.  She is so quick to pick up on things, and so willing to try new things.  While we still have a diaper on her overnight, once we move her to a big girl bed, we will do away with it.  Most days she wakes up with a dry diaper.  What a smart cookie we have!

Happy Easter !

Hope you all had a nice Easter weekend. Anora got to spend some time with the Easter bunny.  She liked the bunny, and one even got a really nice hug!  Now, who wouldn't be jealous of that nice warm embrace!?

 Earlier in the week, we dyed some eggs.  Anora mostly like mixing the egg around in the dye, spilling the liquid everywhere...but her eggs did turn out pretty!  She liked eating the eggs like an apple too - straight up.  Ben's favorite part?  The invisible crayon!

 Saturday morning we went up the block to the park where they hosted a neighborhood easter egg hunt!  We arranged by age, then went off to collect eggs.  Anora did a nice job filling her basket full of eggs and treats.  We were amazed by all the kids in our area!  Wow!

   

 Easter morning was a delight, with hidden Easter eggs and a hidden basket.  The Easter bunny brought her lots of Frozen items like stickers, crocs, and socks!  Anora was also spoiled by both Grandparents with even more Frozen goodies.  It was like a second Christmas.  Her favorite part was certainly shaking, and opening all the plastic eggs to discover what was inside. 

 

Goodies from Gammy & Grandpa

 Showing off her new headband!  All dressed and ready to go to church.  Too bad it was raining :(
We had such a lovely Easter together.  Hope you all did too!

Anora is going to be a BIG SISTER!

Anora is excited to announce she is going to have a little brother coming in September!  We are all excited to welcome a new little baby this year.  Anora doesn't really comprehend what's coming yet, but she does sweetly kiss my belly from time to time.  She will be a really great big sister, but the splitting of attention is going to be a challenge I expect.  Can't wait to meet this little man!

2 Year Stats - Anora

Anora is still our little peanut!  The doctor said she is looking great and still on her growth curve, so all is well.  She did a great job at this appointment and didn't freak out like she has the past couple times.  She even got to weigh herself on the big girl scale!  As a special treat for doing so well, the doctor gave her a Frozen sticker :)  She was pretty proud of herself.  She's growing into such a big girl.

Height: 32.5" / 23.15%

Weight: 22lbs 9.6ozs / 5.23%

HC: 46cm / 14.55%

Anora turns 2!

Happy Birthday, Anora!  The past two years have flown by.  It's amazing to see you now and how far you've come.  You are certainly finding your own sense of self these days which means some tantrums for us....but more often than not, you are sweet, silly, and fun.  Being that your a Pisces, you have always loved water.  So what better way to celebrate than a water park!?  We went back to Great Wolf Lodge again this year to celebrate.

You could not wait to dig into your birthday cake!  Mommy made a special chiffon cake with strawberries and cream.  You were so excited to blow out the candles and then dig in with a spoon!  You really went to town on that thing.  I'm glad you liked it.  Last year you wanted nothing to do with your cake.

 

 

You did a second round of candles and cake for the cake we brought to share. You wanted to dig into that one too!  Then you opened a couple presents.  Godmother Heidi & family got you an Anna dress up gown along with a few other dress up clothes!  You will be all set to go.  Momma and Papa got you a trampoline for all that jumping you like to do. 

 One of your favorite parts about Great Wolf Lodge was all the animals.  You gave the lady wolf a high five and a hug.  You weren't so sure about the fox, but you did give him a hug too!

 The arcade was a big hit!  You didn't need or want any of the games to move, you just liked pushing the buttons, or pretending you were driving the ice cream truck or the motorcycle.  All the lights and kids got you very excited.  We don't have pictures from the water park, but you went in the wave pool this year for a little while and watched Papa go under the waterfall.  Your favorite was doing the water slide and sitting on the banana boat.  You liked seeing all the buckets of water dump out and guessing which one would dump next.  Since it was your birthday, you got a wrist band for free ice cream, wolf ears with a birthday hat, and a special wolf birthday wish at check in.  SOOoo special!

We did get a fairly early start in the morning walking around the lodge and grabbing more pictures with the scenery.  We even caught story time where the trees and animals talked and sang.  We had a buffet breakfast and got some swimming time in before check out.  You played with Shayli and Aliyah one last time in the arcade before we headed back home.  It was a wonderful way to get out and celebrate you!  We love you, Anora!  Happy Birthday!