Ben pooped on the BIG potty tonight (twice) for the 1st time

I'm so proud and happy and excited! I can't believe he did it and it was all his own idea and everything. Here's how it went..
I was busy preparing dinner and so he told John he wanted to take off his pants and use the potty. So John help him get undressed and helped he set up the big potty with the insert/adapter/trainer thing and set him up on there. John came out and left him alone and a few minutes later, we hear "Mommy! Daddy! come see what I made in the big potty!" It was so cute! He was so proud of himself! Anyway, I got him cleaned up and we washed hands and the whole time he keeps saying "That was nice of me to poop on the potty" So then I called Gramme of course to share the great news and she said he deserved a cookie. All I had in the house was a box of the 100 calorie packs so I gave him one and when he was done he wanted another package. So Daddy said tomorrow if you go poop on the potty again you can have some more. So he comes out to me and says "I want to take my pants off and go poopie on the potty". So I say ok thinking he already went so he won't actually go more. Silly me! He went back in there and did it again!! Not quite so much as the first but still! So he had to have another package of cookies! We are finally I think officially on the way to getting potty trained! (He has also gone pee on the little potty chair three times in the last week) Whoohoo! But in a way it is bittersweet! My little baby is truly turning into a big boy! I'm so proud of him! Unfortunately he has also started a cold today and went to bed early but has been up crying once already. It will be a long night but I'm still so excited about his potty training progress that it's all good!

I've got to run for now. I just had to record this momentous occasion before I forgot! I just wanted to remember the moment and date so I had to write it down! Hopefully I'll get back into posting again real soon. I've also got lots of photos to share.

Sneak Peak for Mary

Photo shoot with George, Megan and Ansley Cairns

Original


Altered


Black & White


I hope you like them Mary!

Meet Milo

We picked him up at the Humane Society on Saturday afternoon (the 8th of Nov.) for a one week trial. Milo is a stray that was brought in after someone witnessed him being dumped. So we don't know much about him. We had gone to visit him several times and we were back and forth and back and forth about adopting him. Then I asked about an at home trial which obviously they do so we brought him home. Things are going ok. On the plus side he is very good with Ben and he is about 95% house broken. On the negative side he is very high energy (more so than a normal dog that's 9-12 months I think) and he doesn't have much manners (he pulls hard on leash, jumps up when excited and bites/chews on your arm (or other part of your body) when he wants to play/attention.) alot of which is typical of a dog his age. Unfortunately we are very spoiled after 14.5 years with Peter and now 1.5 with no dog. On the plus side, he seems very smart, he seems willing to learn and he's definitely a people dog, loves to be with you every minute. But he will require some formal obedience training and lots of time and work. Is it worth it? I'm still debating. He thinks our bed is his already and he really is a nice dog most of the time. So I just thought I'd share some photos while we are in the deliberation phase. Let us know what you think and we'll let you know what we decide.

Happy Veterans Day

To all the men and women who are serving, have served and will serve our country, a big big thank you from the Seeley Family.

Thank you for your sacrifices to protect our country.

Thank you for providing us the freedom we enjoy everyday and thank you for continuing to protect those freedoms.

We appreciate you, we appreciate what you do for our country.

Thank you.

Major Milestone

Tonight for the very first time Ben peed ON THE POTTY!! He has been spending a little time lately sitting on the potty but all he has ever done has passed gas (well one night I caught him pooping in the tub and swung him over to the big toliet and a little bit made it in the toliet but I don't really count that time). Tonight he wanted to sit on the little potty chair before he got in the bath and he spent alot of time there but nothing came of it. Then after bath he asked to sit on the potty again and a few minutes later he got up and said to me "I did it Mom" I thought he meant passed gas again. I look down and there is PEE IN THE POTTY! I am so proud! We are finally making a little progress in the long process of potty training. WOOO HOO! I'm so excited and proud of him! Anyway, I just couldn't wait to post about it. Had to make sure I remembered the exact date and time and circumstances. And just because, here are some cute photos from bath the night before last. John took these because he thought the mohawk I gave Ben while washing his hair was really cute.

Riding with Krysta

Well, I did it! 6 posts for the month of Sept. I had hoped to make it seven by posting on Monday or Tuesday but I didn't quite make it. But now I can aim for 7 in October!

Anyway, back on Sept. 20th Ben and I drove up to New Haven to watch Krysta ride in a gymkhana. For the first time, Ben was very into riding with Krysta and I got some great photos. Here they are!

Krysta & Eric watching the events
This would be a great photo if the fence wasn't in the way! These next two were taken during the Simon Says class.
Ben is telling Krysta he wants to go ride in the "shop" (the indoor riding ring).

This one is my favorite!
He even rode a little while all by himself! Krysta led Abby and I walked next to him holding onto the back of his pants (just in case!)
All that riding makes a boy hungry for some "hambbaburger"!

We got to watch Krysta ride in Simon Says (she got 2nd place) and Keyhole (another 2nd place finish) and also Sit a Buck (no place in that one). Ben had a great time and it was fun to see Krysta ride at such a fun and relaxed event. So Krysta is talking about Leadline class for next summer! So I guess we'll see! That afternoon we also drove down to Castleton to watch the women's soccer team play. I don't have any photos because Katie wasn't playing. Her foot is still sore but we got to see her after the game. I also got to watch a little bit of the game (it's hard to watch with Ben running around everywhere) and they won 6-0. It was a fun day and beautiful weather. But Ben was very tired from all that activity and no nap.

Next time I'll have to post about Avery's 2nd birthday party and our August trip to Echo with Gramme. Til then...

That's my boy!

A couple of things to add, very late at night, because I just don't want to forget.

First, Ben has figured out that he can take his tiny little A&W mug and push the water dispenser on the refrig and fill it up. So now I'm just wanting for when he figures out how to push the ice dispenser and dispenses ice all over the floor! (I'll be sure to keep the camera handy the next couple of days!)

Second, Ben opened the refrig all by himself tonight. He took out his quart of 2% milk, unscrewed the cap and proceeded to lift it up to his mouth and drink out of it ALL BY HIMSELF. IT WAS HILARIOUS! John and I couldn't stop laughing! (Unfortunately no picture, I was in the middle of doing dinner stuff with messy hands and the camera was not close by. Bummer!) This provides certain proof that this pure male trait is not learned but ingrained in their genes! All smiles aside though, I think I'm gonna have to find a lock for the refrig door!

Third, we affectionately call our cat Nerwin "Tard" (short for r*t*rd) because he really is lacking in the brain department. Anyway, John, Ben and I were outside this afternoon playing ball together. Nerwin was hanging around us looking for loving while we were running around after the ball, throwing and kicking it. Out of the blue, Ben picks up the ball, aims for Nerwin and says "throw to Tard". It took him saying it 3 times for us to understand exactly what he was staying and then John and I just burst out laughing. Like roll on the ground, laughing out loud! He really hears and picks up on EVERYTHING we say! It was just hysterical!

I wish I had a video of us playing together this afternoon. It was such a priceless half an hour spent together. Ben would run so fast and laugh so hard while I pretended to chase him that he could barely breathe. It was just such a great time together. I just never want to forget it!

Never a dull moment when Ben's around! Oh and that's just stuff that happened today!