Let the FUN begin!!

Yes, these are the makings of a beautiful swing set!! Shawn's parents bought our kids the coolest swing set on the block! I have never seen the kids so excited. They couldn't wait for the boys to get it together - little did they know it would take 11 hours to build...
Here's my cute hubby, hard at work!
"Look, Shawn, this is getting pretty complicated, we better read some directions." says Papa Settle
"No, seriously, Shawn, I just don't get this...let me read the directions one more time."
"Hmmmm, still not quite sure about this, Shawn, maybe we should take a break and have a beer."

For pete's sake dad! It's just a swing set!! No wonder it took 11 hours to put together!!

We still have some work to do, like get sand for the sandbox (which is right behind where the kids are sitting at the built in picnic table) and we need some wood chips, but we're close! LOVE the swing set! I see hours of fun in our future!! (and probably some bruises, too)

Besides building a cool swing set, Shawn and I also got to go on a date this weekend! Shawn had a big formal affair down at Bartle Hall downtown - Shawn had to wear a tux!!! YIPEE!! There were over 800 people there - it was the opening of their new grand ballroom which was an E&K project. (it was $250/plate!! wow!!) I have been wanting to get dressed up like that for years, haven't dressed up like that since prom I think, but I wasn't real excited to go prom dress shopping only 8 weeks after giving birth. Oh well, it was a night out and we had a blast. Here's photo - don't we look like a happy high school couple headed off to the senior prom?!?!And now I must head outside for dinner - we are having a picnic! Hope you all have a good week, and if you want to stop by, don't ring the doorbell, just head to the backyard - you know where we'll be!!

Hope you are having the time of your life!

ST

Finally some pics!

Just eating some ice cream with papa after work.

Here's ms. smiley pants! Gariella loves to smile now - Austin and Ashlyn are the best at getting her to laugh and smile - they must be telling her stories about her crazy parents...

Here are Gabriella's Godparents - my sister Kimberly and her fiance, Nick. Don't they look proud?!?!

Notice the hat on Gabriella's head - it is a special bonnet that her Godparents gave her. It is a bonnet for her baptism, then you pull the ribbon out and it becomes a hanky that she can hold with her on her wedding day. Isnt' that amazing?? I love it! Even if her dad won't let her marry until she's 40.
And here's bath time - Gabriella absolutely loves bath time. She just smiles and enjoys every second of it! Grandma Settle often times shows up to watch her get her bath because she's so happy and cute!
Here's some serious coloring time. No time for smiles - lots of work to do here.

And of course - my son learning the "real" way to get his business done. Whatever works...

Grandma and big girl Ashlyn!

The calm before the storm...

I know, I know...I have been neglecting all of my blogger fans out there. You are all wondering if my three kids have overtaken me, but alas I'm back! And I have one less child to diaper every day!! Yes, Austin now has almost 3 weeks under his belt at potty training and we have finally conquered the fear of pooping on the potty. Let me back up a bit - ever since we started the potty training Austin has done amazing. He was totally ready and pees like a champ. We have hardly had any accidents (peeing) and he even lets me know when he has to go now. You would think pooping would be no biggie, but let me tell you, the books are right. Kids have some crazy fear of pooping in the toilet. Why? Well, the research says they are "losing part of themselves". Whatever. I find it to be just plain gross and annoying. Luckily Austin has caught on fairly quickly and we have even pooped in the potty 3 times in a row!! And all three times he has TOLD me he needs to go!! (Now would be a good time to visualize Austin telling me he has to poop and then me dropping EVERYTHING instantly and grabbing him as I sprint like I am in the Olympics up to the potty while frantically throwing he clothes off on the way). Anyway, potty training is quite the experience, but hasn't been too bad. But, I've only got one down, I still have 2 more to go so things could get worse by the end. I will say it has been so fun to see how proud Austin is of himself. He thinks he is such a big boy now. It only took a week of "peeing like papa" before he would say to me "mom, I don't need you to sing me the song every time I pee." This comment hurt a bit and I had to hold back my tears as I have kind of taken a liking to the peeing in the potty song (if you would like copies of the lyrics I'll have to ask my friend, Kim, as she and her girls are the original song writers and I believe they have a patent on it.) Anyway, the potty training has gone well - for those of you wanting to start it up I would suggest LOTS of praise, never getting mad (which is the MOST difficult part as you clean poop up quite often) and just laughing a bit as you get through it all. Oh, and maybe a few bottles of wine...
Let's see, what else is going on? Well, we had Gabriella baptized over this past weekend which went very well. The proud Godparents are my sister Kimberly and her fiance Nick. We had such a great weekend with them despite the random snow storm that came on Friday night (to be followed up with 70 degree weather on Sunday). Gabriella had her 6 week checkup and she is growing like crazy! Jumped up to the 90th percentiles in everything - chunky little monkey. She is resembling a little old man now as she is balding on top but not on the sides. She sleeps awesome at night and finally my other two are too!! Austin has quit the stripping ever since we started potty training. Ashlyn is finally starting to really talk which is exciting and absolutely adorable.
I also had my 6 week check up and the doc said everything looks great! Of course he also said to me on the way out, "Stephanie, you and Shawn DO know where babies come from right??" Had to laugh at that one. Having three under three has definitely shown it's challenges, but I have to say I have the cutest three kids in the world! I am missing going out to run errands like I use to. I can't just go to Target or Costco - I have too many kids and they fill up the cart before I buy anything. A few days ago I decided I would try and go to Target - how bad could it be? I pulled in the parking lot, turned around and looked at my kids, took a deep breath and then drove home...I choked. Oh well, someday I'll get back out there! For now I'll just have to do the errands at night or on the weekends. Shawn and I have kind of an unspoken rule that if you go anywhere you have to at least take one kid with you - seems to work for now.
Bath time is about to begin so I better go get my rain gear on -

Hope you are having the time of your life!!
ST
ps - my camera is down at my parents house, but as soon as I get it back I will post some pics for you all -

Just plain bored...

Call me crazy, but the rumors are true...Austin is peeing in the big potty!! For the past two weeks he has been taking his diaper off and attempting to put a new one on himself (this is without proper supervision - and usually involves poop). So, I finally gave into him and slapped on some big boy unders! And I must say, he is doing awesome! Well, as good as you can do when you insist on standing up to pee and have HORRIBLE aim. There is pee all over my bathroom, but hey, that's a lot cheaper than all the diapers I have to buy! Seriously, though, he is doing great - it's a lot of work on my part since I have to constantly remind myself to take him to the bathroom, but if I remember to take him, he pees almost every time! And (this might be too much info for you if you haven't experienced potty training) he has pooped TWICE in the potty!! YIPEE!! I'm sure my mother is laughing her head off behind my back as she hears me singing fun songs about peeing and pooping in the potty, cheering endlessly about hitting the "water target" - I'm sure this is hilarious for her! This has also been a true test of patience. You can't get mad or discipline for having an accident, which is soooo hard when you see someone peeing on your new carpet. But he's got to learn and that is going to take time. Anyway, we are definitely keeping busy here at the Turner's with a newborn and a potty trainee...luckily Shawn's parents offered to keep Ashlyn for a few days since she was not handling the potty training well. She's not getting much attention since all the songs are directed at her brother. She has been trying to stand up at the potty and pee just like her big brother which is hysterical...and you'll see in the following photos that she even attempted to get IN the potty - just for some much needed attention. So, she is out at the farm getting spoiled while Austin hangs out in his new unders - isn't he the cutest!!

The other pics were of Austin and Ashlyn having the time of their life jumping off the couch onto a pile of pillows - this went on for almost an hour - nonstop fun around here!!

Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST