When Carson has poop, he will go to the bathroom without telling us, and usually in less than one minute (seriously), he’s done. We think part of the reason for his speed is that he holds it (usually throughout the school day) until the very last moment.

He signifies that he’s done by saying in a monotone voice, “will … you … wipe … my … butt?” Sometimes we don’t hear him (e.g. we’re in the basement and he’s upstairs), so he really has to yell.

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For Braden’s birthday party this year, we rented out a gym, per his request, so that he and his friends could play football and basketball. Brian refereed the games.

In the football games, the kids were more organized than in the basketball games, which saw almost zero passing and kids arguing with Brian on every call.

It’s obvious Braden really, really likes playing sports. He also received two more footballs as gifts.

Journal birthday, potty training

Carson promised us that once he turned four years old, he would stop using diapers. True to his word, he’s finally done with them forever. Hooray!

Our first celebration was at preschool, two days before his actual birthday. On Saturday, we had pizza and cake with Kristin’s parents, Marcie, Parker and Josh at our house (which took place after Braden’s basketball game). Afterward, the four of us went to Lake Geneva for a weekend escape. It was a surprisingly busy travel weekend, as most hotels in a 1.5-hour radius were booked or had limited selection.

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In January, we bought Carson a real bed that he helped pick out at Steinhafel’s. It’s a very tall single bed, and Carson has some difficulty climbing into it. We also got a mattress protector in case of accidents.

We still need to get him a nightstand.

Journal birthday

We realized we’ve never posted our annual holiday card, which is always some kind of spoof. Here’s this year’s card:

Pictures holidays

Well, no sooner did we show excitement when Carson used the potty unprompted that he’s now refusing to use the potty anymore (yep, back to diapers). And Carson will hate us later for saying this, but he wets the bed every so often, while Braden almost never did.

At least Carson is starting to dress himself. He will pick out his own outfit and get dressed, though sometimes his shirt, pants and/or underwear are backward. He also has been putting on his own socks and shoes, so it’s starting to make Brian’s mornings a little easier.

The next step is for Carson to buckle himself into the carseat, as Braden has been doing for a while. Carson can do the top clasp, but the buckle is proving too hard (it’s even hard for us!).

Speaking of mornings, Braden is often making his own breakfast, which entails putting a frozen waffle in the toaster. (Both kids still frequently help themselves to snacks in the pantry.)

Finally, we’re happy Braden has finally learned how to tie his shoes. He just doesn’t tie them tightly enough, so he frequently is walking/running around with his laces untied.

Journal new skills, potty training

On Monday, after we put the kids to bed, we went downstairs to watch TV. We heard some footsteps upstairs, and we assumed Carson was hanging out in the hallway as he often does when he can’t fall asleep. Instead, we found him without pants or underwear. Apparently, Carson had to poop, and for the first time, he went to the toilet without prompting from us (he didn’t flush, and he still needed our help with wiping).

As Carson typically hates using the toilet since we gave up diapers a few weeks ago, this was a major accomplishment!

Journal potty training

On some Tuesdays at school, Braden has tacos (Taco Tuesday). We’ve also made homemade tacos, coincidentally on Tuesdays as well. Today (Sunday), we made breakfast tacos, and when Braden found out, he said incredulously, “it’s not Tuesday!” We had a good laugh at that one.

Journal eating

We were in New Hampshire last week on vacation. This was just Carson’s second flight (first was when he was 10 months old), and he did fairly well, although he was restless from time to time. Braden was flying for the fourth time, and he kept himself occupied quite well.

After landing in Manchester, we had a two-hour drive to our resort in Bartlett. The resort itself (part of our timeshare) had an indoor and an outdoor pool, tennis courts, a small arcade, a restaurant/bar (we never ate there) and workout room, all in a wooded area near mountains.

Our room was quite strange: you open the door and head right up the stairs into the living room/kitchen with a Murphy bed. Behind that room was the bathroom and a windy staircase to a loft where another bed and a couch were (the kids had this room).

Highlights:

• We went to Storyland, a Disneyland-type place meant for kids 10 and under. Braden loved the rides in which he got soaked from all the water.
• Kristin drove us to the top of Mt. Washington, which was super scary since there were no guard rails. We had to drive in first gear the entire seven miles (about 30 minutes up). The temp at the top of the mountain was about 40 degrees cooler than the surface (85 degrees), so we wore pants and brought jackets.
• We checked out a waterfall and then went to a man-made lake in which Brian had the kids help him find treasure (the kids saved a lot of rocks).
• The kids swam every day, sometimes twice.
• Unlike other vacations, the kids played a bit while eating cereal upon awakening, so that we could sleep in a little (past 7!).
• There was a small amusement park across the street (in the winter it’s a ski resort). Both kids liked the rollercoasters that were built into the mountain side.

Journal vacation

We went to the Heidel House Resort for Memorial Day weekend. It was interesting to learn that Green Lake is the deepest lake in Wisconsin. When we went boating on Saturday, the depth finder showed how quickly the bottom drops off, and that scared Braden a bit.

Braden and Brian went fishing on a rainy Sunday morning, but they didn’t catch anything, unfortunately. We also did a boat tour of the lake and found out that gangsters used to own some of the houses.

Brian golfed one afternoon, and Kristin participated in a bike race one morning. Other than that, we did the usual: go out to eat, shop and swim in the pool.

Journal vacation

Unfortunately, with Braden in the Verona School District and Carson’s pre-school in the Madison School District, spring break was on different weeks for the boys. Still, they shared a Friday and Monday off, so we went down to Chicago for a four-day weekend.

The hotel room, by the way, was really hot. Despite the so-called air-conditioning, the room was always 80 degrees. Meanwhile, the tiny pool was never heated and was almost too cold to swim in.

The kids rode a taxi (and Uber) for the first time; Carson fell asleep in one of the rides. We got a babysitter on Saturday night so that we could watch the Badgers beat Kentucky at a Badger-friendly restaurant/bar called Prost.

We waited in line almost an hour to get into Shedd Aquarium, and the kids enjoyed seeing all of the underwater creatures (especially sharks). We also went to Navy Pier again; it’s been about two years since the last time. All of us rode the giant Ferris wheel together.

Brian played Frank Sinatra’s song “Chicago,” and it’s cute that Carson has been singing the lyrics “Chicago, Chicago” from time to time.

On our final night, we were amazed to learn our dinner waiter’s name was Jie (same as Braden’s Chinese name), and that he was from Baraboo.

Journal vacation

Some of Braden’s friends in his after-school program collect football cards, so naturally Braden has been collecting them, too (an easy gift idea for him). Unfortunately, Braden’s friends have been taking advantage of him during trades, as Braden gives up good cards for so-so cards. Brian had to teach Braden not to be taken advantage of and how to conduct fair trades. In one instance, we asked Braden to reverse a bad trade that happened, and to our surprise, Braden did so successfully.

Braden also follows his friends’ lead in rooting for any team other than the Packers. Braden says he likes the Patriots (to Brian’s dismay) and the Bears and Lions (to Kristin’s dismay). At least through the football cards he’s starting to learn teams and players, though he still can’t watch an entire football game (e.g. he watched around 10 min. of the Super Bowl).

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For Braden’s birthday party this year, we went bowling at Ten Pin Alley. This was the first year we let Braden really choose the invitees (vs. just inviting the entire class). He picked friends from his class, his after-school program and his old preschool class (both of whom are in Carson’s class now).

It was really cute to see all the kids huddled in front of each lane. They also all wolfed down their pizza, cake and soda. Most of Braden’s gifts were either football related or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles related.

Journal birthday