A Blue Belt For William

Our little guy has been doing karate for a while now and recently tested for his blue belt. Not only was there a new belt, but he moved up to an all black uniform as well. This has been so exciting for William and he has worked very hard to get to where he is. He is home schooled now and we have a whole fitness routine set up for each day of the week. Doing push-ups, jumping jacks, and a variety of strengthening exercises have helped improve his karate skills tremendously. 

One very special thing about his karate instructor is that Mr. Mike also taught his big sisters, all the way to their black belts. Karate has been such a good sport for William and he has gotten to love it. Right now he goes once a week, but we plan to start him 3-5 times a week as soon as his classes are done for the school year. And speaking of school year, he is averaging a 97% overall. His favorite subjects are Math, Social Studies and Science. It's good seeing him love school and learning. He is the happiest kid!

William and his karate instructor, Mr. Mike Genova of Genova Family Karate.

A Milestone with a Twist

My little one has been asking me since kindergarten when I think he will lose a tooth. All of his friends have already lost a few and he was getting impatient. He went for a dental cleaning and check up at the beginning of the school year and the dentist told him he had two loose teeth. That shocked us since his teeth seemed extremely rooted and did not budge if we attempted to wiggle them. About a week ago, I noticed he had two tiny teeth emerging from the bottom (the same ones the dentist said he would lose soon). I got so nervous because neither teeth were loose. I went ahead and jiggled and wiggled with a bit of force-- It was either that or call the dentist's office. That did the trick and within a few days, he finally lost his first tooth! He was super happy that the Tooth Fairy left him a dollar under his pillow. 

By the way, in case you didn't know, the string on the tooth attached to the door trick really works. My husband was determined to get the tooth out since it looked like it was hanging by a string. Sadly, I did not get to experience what William looks like with his first tooth missing. The new tooth is halfway in already. We are working on the second one and hope to have it out in the next week.

Have you ever had the experience of your child losing a tooth after the adult tooth started growing in?

Wordless Wednesday First day of kindergarten

Smart tips to get your little one prepped for kindergarten

Tomorrow marks the first day of August and this means back-to-school month for many of us. Being a stay-at-home mom to a rising kindergarten student means getting my little one ready for a whole new world. Since William has never attended pre-school or been enrolled in any programs that are in a group setting, it will be a big adjustment phase for him (and me). It also dawned on me that there are plenty of things he is not used to besides being around other kids. I have been trying to remember the kindergarten days when the girls were in it. One thing that really stuck out to me was the use of hand sanitizer. Being at home most of the time, there has been no need for it. I purchased a bottle and have been teaching William why he will have to use it in school. Of course, I have had to be harder on him with potty practices. He still has never been into a public restroom on his own so I am still VERY a bit nervous about that one. 

Another important thing is his sleep schedule. We started putting him to bed at 8:00 each night and wake him up about 6:45. He had such a tough time getting up this morning so I think we will move his bedtime starting next week to 7:30. A lot of kids don't get enough sleep at night so we want to make sure to not interrupt his sleep schedule as much as we can, even on weekends. Once he wakes up in the morning, we go through the full morning routine of washing, brushing, breakfast and getting dressed. So far so good. 

I recall when the girls were in kindergarten, that they had lunch as early as 10:30 AM. What I do is prepare Will's lunch early in the morning between getting him fed and dressed. I pack his lunchbox as I would for school so he can get in the habit of opening it, eating/drinking and packing up in a short time. When they are that young it can take longer to get situated and they have a very limited time to eat. It's funny, I make him line up like they would at school and he calls me "teacher". It has been going very well and I feel confident that he will make it through lunchtime with ease.

Each morning I have specific practice worksheets, coloring pages and other things that are kindergarten-based to get his mind focused on academics. I even teach him how to raise his hand and not speak until I acknowledge him. It has been really good having his big sisters at home to help out with training him for school.  I have him enrolled in "kinderbee" camp from August 6-8 for him to be screened for placement as well as for him to get a chance to preview what big boy school is like.

He officially starts kindergarten on August 21st. William is so enthusiastic about school and we are all so excited for him.

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I tell myself that each day :)

Wordless Wednesday | Prom 2013

My oldest daughter went to her senior prom a couple weeks ago. She looked like a princess!

Wordless Wednesday

Someone has gotten very tall...

It's never too early to start looking for prom dresses {Promgirl.net dress review}

It's still so hard to believe that this is my oldest daughter's senior year of high school. There are so many things going on all the time that range from studying and college applications, to sporting events and social gatherings. In the next few months my daughter will be going to her high school prom. We have discussed it over the years but now it is officially creeping up on us! My daughter is one of the hardest people I know to shop for when it comes to dresses. I received the Clarisse Short Dress 9031 to review from Promgirl.net. I wasn't sure what to expect since it was being ordered online. Is it going to look like it does in the photo? What is the quality going to be like?

When the dress arrived, it came packaged in a large box. When I opened it up, the dress was hanging on a hanger in a plastic garment bag and neatly folded. When I took the first look at it I was instantly all smiles. It was a lot sturdier and fuller than I was expecting. When my daughter got home she completely freaked out and fell in love with it. She loved everything about it, especially the color. The one thing that photographs don't pick up well is the sparkle that is throughout the skirt part of the dress. It has multiple layers of tulle so it had a fuller appearance. When my daughter tried it on I thought I was going to cry. It was the perfect color and length on her. Her little brother said it best when he screamed out, "Oh wow, you are a princess!". 

It is a well made dress and it has optional straps. My daughter will wear it with the straps and we will have to get it taken in slightly in the bust area since she is really tiny. I will note that she got a size 0 and it was still a little loose in the bust which means if you have a little more on top, this might work well for you. We really love the sparkle of this dress and the bow on the back jazzes it up a little more. I think with this dress, she will not need to many accessories. I think some chunky bracelets, sparkly shoes and dramatic hair and make-up will be perfect.

This is the photo of the Clarisse Short Dress 9031 in gold. It also comes in blue and is available in sizes 0-10. 

I highly recommend checking out the amazing selection of dresses on Promgirl.net. There are so many colors, lengths, price ranges and styles to choose from. As a matter of fact, they have more than just dresses for prom. They offer dresses for many occasions like Homecoming, Military ball, Graduation, Sweet Sixteen, cocktail, formal and more! I feel like ordering a dress online gives a less likely chance of seeing another girl wearing "your dress". I will definitely be going back to Promgirl.net for my younger daughter in the next two years. I forgot to mention, they ship very fast. If you have a teenage daughter in need of a dress, I urge you to check them out!

A priceless moment in a girl's life

This past Friday, our daughter Chardonnay was crowned the 2012 Richland Northeast High School Homecoming Queen. It was such an exciting night for our family and certainly will be treasured forever! Check out the super short video clip (start at 9:54). There were lots of tears and smiles!

Waiting to be called down to get in place to walk out onto the field at half-time. 

Patiently waiting with her Papo. He looks like security! 

The introduction of the girls that were running for Homecoming Queen and their dad/escort. 

The crowning. She was in tears! Even her little sister cried.  

Me and my girl! 

William is 4!

Our little guy just had a birthday and he is officially 4 years old! William has hit many milestones in the last year and we are so proud of him.

Some facts about William:

• He has gotten over his shyness and loves to be around other people! This is great since we are trying to get him prepped for kindergarten next year.  
• He is a very compassionate boy. If he senses you are in pain he will ask you if you are okay and offer to rub you or kiss it to make it all better. Sweet boy.
• William shows great discipline. I have to credit having a strong father for that one. It is amazing how well he will listen and pay attention. 
• I get told all the time what a mature little boy I have. Most people are amazed that he is his age and behaves the way he does. That makes me proud.
• William wakes up full of joy. He greets you with "good morning" and a lot of times starts the day singing the "good morning song" that his daddy taught him. 
• William shows how much he retains what you teach him. If you are caught doing something wrong he will be the first one to let you know "That's not a good choice". Trust me, I get told about my bad choices all the time!
• He loves animals, trucks, robots, all things Disney, fishing, playing outdoors and hanging out with his daddy. Daddy is his favorite person. I have becomes alright with that. Sort of.
• He is showing so much more independence and I have been working hard on letting him do things for himself. Operation un-spoil the child is progressing well so far. It turns out that he really likes doing things for himself! Again, I credit his father for that. He helps so much with the boy child. 
• William has become very talkative and asks a lot of questions. I love it! I love helping him learn and understand things. He asks some really good questions too! 
• William is into Scooby Doo, Phineas & Ferb and programs on Animal Planet/ NatGeo Wild. It is amazing how he really gets into some of these shows. He loves to go down to the man room and watch with his dad. The part I don't like... he puts his hand in the front of his pants like most men do. Gross. Of course his daddy is proud of that! 

Overall William is a vibrant and loving little boy. We are so excited to see all the new things he learns over the next year. We are so proud of him!

My Very Happy Birthday Review & Giveaway

Today is our little William's 4th birthday. Although he does not fully understand birthdays, it has not dulled his excitement! He is at such a fun and curious age. We were so thrilled to receive a personalized board book from I See Me! in the "My Very Happy Birthday" version... right in time for his birthday! William recognizes his name and squealed in excitement when he saw a book that was made just for him.

This sweet book has cute pictures and personal details throughout. The ordering process is so simple. You can take a virtual tour here. William really enjoyed listening to the whole birthday adventure that was all about himself. I love that he can have this sturdy book for many years as a keepsake that he can show his own children. This is such a neat gift idea for your own children, grandkids, family or friends and also for the kid who has everything. Right now you can sign up for the Refer-a-friend program to get $5 off for each customer you refer. There is no limit to how many people you can refer!

I am so thrilled that my friends at I See Me! are offering one lucky Momfiles reader a chance to win a personalized birthday book. Enter below...

*Mandatory- Let us know who you plan to give this book to if you are selected as the winner. What other I See Me! titles do you like? 

For extra entries please leave a separate comment per entry method:

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This contest is open to US Residents only and will end on April 1, 2012 at 12:00 AM EST. Please leave your email address in your comment if you do not have a Blogger profile. One winner will be chosen at random. Failure to follow the rules will disqualify your entries. Momfiles is not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes. Good luck!

I received a book for review purposes. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Some nights aren't always dry ones

Little William has been fully potty trained for a few months now and it has been going really well. He has graduated to underwear and will gladly show them to little babies since he knows they wear diapers. Funny kid. There is still one issue...nighttime. Some mornings he will wake up wet. I got so tired of washing bed sheets and blankets every day so I had to figure out what to do. I was using Huggies Pull-ups but they seemed to leak. I decided to see how GoodNites underwear made for nighttime would work out. It was a smart move. He has an overnight accident maybe a few times a week and thankfully there have been no leaks at all. We ask him each morning if he is wet or dry and he always says "dry". I am thinking the absorption level is higher than a diaper or trainer since they are designed for older kids. Hopefully he will grow out of this stage but for now I will keep a pack of GoodNites on hand for nighttime.

This is an unsponsored post and I am simply just sharing my thoughts on a product that worked well for us. 

Finally!

We have been working diligently with William to get him potty trained. It has been a trying task to say the least. I can't even begin to say how ashamed I have been that I have a 3 1/2 year old boy walking around in training pants. Every time I turn around I see one of my Facebook friends posting about their 2 year old being fully potty trained or even worse an 18 month old trying to get into it. I am wondering where I have gone wrong. I have every potty seat, underwear, disposable underwear, books, toys, bribery tools...all of it. What do I get? Nothing. Just a hard-headed boy pooping in his pants and me having to clean it all up. Fed up, irritated, powerless. That is how I felt. Well 2 days ago something changed. I saw William in a distance getting ready to hide so he can do his business in his trainers. I quickly snatched him up and asked him if he needed to go poopoo. He had "the look" that I know very well and he tells me "NO!" I calmly walked him into the bathroom and told him to try to go anyway. He sits on the potty and I close the door partially and told him I would let him have his privacy. I can hear him talking to himself. He then calls me in and tells me to look. Of course, as usual...nothing. I told him to try again. He then sits and says to me "and don't get up until you go poopoo". I smiled and agreed with him. About 45 seconds later he calls me back in and once again tells me to look. This time (for the first time) was different. There it was... He did it! He actually went poopoo in the potty!! I immediately high-fived him and praised him for doing a great thing. He didn't look all that happy but after he got cleaned up and washed his hands, he very proudly yelled through the house to the rest of the family that he poopooed in the potty like a big boy. Everyone was so happy and excited for him but we were still wondering if this was a one-time thing.

Well, the following day he voluntarily told me when he needed to go poopoo in the potty.  As a matter of fact, he went 3 times! I know TMI! We are so thrilled that he has met this milestone. I was beginning to think it would never happen! I guess all the rumors about boys being harder to potty train were very true. Patience and persistence were what was needed. I guess things happen when they are meant to happen. Go William! Another important step to becoming more independent. Now if only I would stop catering to him :)

Big Boys pee standing up. Yep.

If you are a regular reader you would know that I have been trying hard with my boy to get him potty trained. It has been hell quite a journey to say the least. We are not fully there but we are making progress. It seems like out of the blue William has figured out when he has to go to the potty. Dwayne has been working with him standing up to pee like a "big boy".

Apparently this has worked in helping him to want to go voluntarily. He is very fascinated by seeing and hearing what is going on when he goes to the big toilet. Now he says that he wants to go to the white potty and not the frog potty. Hearing the words "I need to pee pee" makes me a very happy mom! Now if only we can get him to do the rest of his business in the potty we will be straight!

Go Brie!

We attended Briahnna's middle school athletic banquet last week to recognize all students that participated in the sports programs. For each sport the coach gave out 3 plaques to the athletes they thought were most deserving for a specific area. Briahnna was given the 'Coach's Award'. Her coach was pleased with Brie's readiness to work hard, perform well and be a team player. We are so proud of Brie and she certainly deserves this great honor. What a nice way to close out her middle school volleyball career. Next stop high school!

No naps allowed!

I never thought the day would come that I would be so happy that my little guy stopped taking a nap. This has been going on for about 2 months and it has made my life so much easier. William is not grumpy at all without a daytime nap. He goes to bed at 8:00 pm and I have to wake him up the next morning at about 7:30. I find that if he takes any part of a nap he won't go to bed until after 10:00 and that does not work for me! I really like his new schedule and he seems to like it too.

At what age did your little one stop taking a nap?

Beware of the "Repeater"

I am sure many of you are very familiar with the stage that your little ones went through with repeating everything they hear. I listen to William have imaginary telephone conversations and he starts of with hello and you hear him say numerous times "alright and okay". His most commonly used phrases are "oh gosh", "put on shoes and go to Walmop", "take off jacket", "mommy cook food", "mmm, yummy food". Recently we all went on a family car trip and we were having discussion about music and entertainment. Somehow we started talking about the Chris Brown song called Deuces and then about Gucci Mane. First Brie says "Deuces!" and Dwayne follows up by saying "Gucci!" and little Will decides to say "Guccis!" We all tried so hard not to laugh but we all broke down. We realized from that moment that Will is indeed listening to everything we say and we better watch out! We do not want to corrupt him. I have made it a point to only listen to NPR or one of his cd's in the car while we wait in the carpool line or drive around town.

What is the most outrageous or funniest thing your little one has said from overhearing someone in your family?

Our big boy

Our little guy is really growing up. He will be 3 in March and has come a long way since he turned two. Gone are the days of the terrible two's ~thank goodness! He is now a very independent and intelligent little guy. He is saying "please" and "thank you" without being prompted. He helps to prepare things for meal time and bath time as well as clean up after himself (most times). We are very pleased with his extensive vocabulary and his usage of Spanish words. The boy loves Dora and Diego. He also shows compassion for others and loves to initiate hugs. It's really sweet and makes me happy that he has a kind heart. Will is also learning responsibility with taking care of our dog Milo. He feeds him, gives him treats, plays with him and also loves to let him outside throughout the day. He is pretty well behaved and listens a lot better these days. We are really proud of him.

Surprised to see what is in his hand?

Will has this new evening ritual where he gets bathed and dressed for bed and tells me "I go bed". He then pulls down the covers on MY bed and lays back. Then he asks me to "Put the light" (turn off the light). Once I turn it off he tells me "Thanks". He thinks he's a man. I always have to tell him "Excuse me boy, I already have a husband". From there he watches a little Nick Jr and he is out for the next 11-12 hours. Daddy carries him to his own bed and puts him down for the night. I think often how happy I am that I no longer sweat the small stuff because before long all of our kids will grow up. We are fully enjoying every minute of every day :)

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do

There comes a time that we all have to accept the fact that our children are growing up and as parents we must make all the changes to accommodate this growth. We are finally getting rid of all the last "baby" things. The crib is down and his bed is in place. All of the stuff I have been hanging onto (car seat, playpen, etc) will have a new home. I have a friend who is expecting a baby and she is very happy to take these items off my hands.
I guess the only way to do it is to just do it. I am just so thankful that this fella decided to ditch the terrible twos early and he is showing us what a big boy he is.

Brie's new look and my 700th post!

Here is a new photo of Briahnna without her glasses. At first I did not like it. I have been used to seeing her in glasses for over 5 years. It was too much change so fast. It has been over a week now and it has grown on me. I think the fact that she looks so much more grown up makes me a little sad *sniff*. Funny thing is every so often you see her pushing her "glasses" up higher. Of course there are no glasses to push up! It's out of habit. One thing she has been enjoying is wearing her cute new sunglasses when we go out :)

Someone is getting contacts

We finally decided to let our Briahnna get contacts. I had to take one last photo with her glasses to remember her this way. I know that once the glasses come off she will look more grown up and quite frankly, I am not ready for it. I know that it will be so much better for her with playing volleyball and other sports. I will post photos of the new Brie when she is ready.