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Yesterday was Adam's 33rd Birthday! We spent the weekend back home with our families. We ate chili and chicken noodle soup on Saturday night and then we went bowling. Harper even got to bowl! (My camera was dead so I didn't get any pictures) Thank goodness for bumpers! Sadly, she wasn't the only one who took advantage of the bumpers ;) On Sunday, Adam's mom made one of his favorite dinners: fried chicken.....it was delicious! We also spend some time with my parents and Harper took full advantage of the hot tub.

As you can see from the picture, I made Adam's birthday cake this year. If you can't tell, it's supposed to look like a putting green. Adam loves to golf, so this was right up his alley. I got him a new box of golf balls to go along with the cake. The cake itself is a "healthy" version of cake. I'll leave you all with the recipe, it's so easy!

Diet Soda Cake

• 1 box of cake mix (any flavor)
• 1 12 oz can of diet soda (any flavor)
• 1-2 egg whites (optional)

Directions: Mix cake mix with 1 can of diet soda. Pour into 9 x 13 greased pan. Bake 5 minutes less that directions state.

Makes 12 pieces. 4 weight watchers points +/slice

Notes: top with fat free cool whip instead of frosting.

Add egg whites to help hold the cake together so it's less crumbly

cake/soda combinations: chocolate cake/diet vanilla coke, white cake/diet 7-up, spice cake/diet Sunkist.......the combinations are endless.

Cannot taste the pop! The pop makes the cake very fluffy and moist!

Quiz

Here is a fun quiz that is 'Pinterest' inspired :) Harper is 28 months old.

Ask your child to recite her name: Harper

How old are you: She said one but held up two fingers

What is your favorite color: blue

Who is your Best Friend: Bubba (Adam's friend, who she often says is her boyfriend)

Favorite Animal: duckies

What do you want to be when you grow up: I asked her where she wanted to work when she got big and she said "in daddy's cop car"

Favorite Movie: Kevin (Home Alone)

Favorite Book: library ??????? then she said Caillou book

What makes you happy: she said "cheeeese"

What Makes you sad: tired

Favorite Food: yogurt

Favorite Song: Itsy Spider (Itsy Bitsy Spider)
Favorite Game: football

Funnies #6

This is a bathroom funny.......

Harper had to go #2 yesterday and she said to me, "I have to take a goose."

I was a bit confused until I realized that she meant to say, "I have to take a deuce."

The things she picks up from her FATHER!

Potty Training

I am WAY behind on this post because Harper has been potty trained for a little more than one month now!

I don't really have any stories to tell - good or bad. Harper was so easy to train. We were very fortunate.

Although it took almost a month of us asking her every.single.day if she wanted to pee on the big girl potty - she one day decided that it was finally the day. I strongly think it was because she was flipping through one of my textbooks and saw a toddler sitting on a potty chair, while reading a book. After seeing that picture she decided that she wanted to give it a try. So we sat Harper on the potty with a basket of books and the rest is history!

Harper already had two books about potty training that made noise and did all sorts of fun stuff. I think she needed to see a real person going potty, someone her age, which she saw in my textbook. So my advice is to find a book with real toddlers featured in it, not cartoons.

My other advice is to praise, praise, and praise! We cheered, danced, jumped, and sang for the longest time after Harper went potty. We also gave her a few M&M's. She was so happy and proud of herself after we celebrated her victory; this made her want to please us again. We also used an incentive chart. For every 5 times that she went potty, she earned a trip to the library. Because she caught on so quickly, the chart was filled in two days!

We didn't follow any specific potty training program. We started Harper out in pull-ups during the day and diapers at night. She only had a few accidents during the 1st week. After the 1st week we let her wear underwear during the day and diapers still at night. I think she had two accidents in her underwear. She did amazingly well! We are so proud of her!

We are trying to get rid of the diapers, so she still wears diapers at night, just in case. She wakes up dry 90% of the time. When her diapers are gone, she will wear pull-ups to bed. Harper even wipes herself and flushes the toilet by herself!

Overall, potty training was so easy for Harper (and us). We are very thankful, as we didn't think she would ever decide to give potty training a try. My pediatric textbook says that the average/optimal age for potty training is 27 months, which is how old Harper was...weird!! So don't panic if your child isn't potty trained yet - every child is different. So don't freak out, especially if they're not 27 months yet.

Bye Bye, Paci!

As I stated in our last blog, we took away Harper's pacifier on January 1st. It has been a long and trying 10 days!

Harper generally only had her pacifier when she took naps and went to bed. I knew that I had to do something drastic to stick our plan so I cut off the nipple part. She cried at first and wanted me to fix it. But she quickly realized that her paci was 'broken' and wanted to throw it away. The 1st day was going well until bedtime. She cried for it on and off for about 30 minutes and then woke up once in the middle of the night asking for it again.

Other than the 1st night, she hasn't asked for it again. I think she is still trying to soothe herself to sleep because our bedtime routine is in shambles. Harper comes up with every excuse in the book to avoid going to bed. And once in bed, she usually cries/SCREAMS for 20 minutes. We DREAD bedtime. Naps are no longer something that happens in our house anymore. Harper simply refuses any form of sleep now that she doesn't have her pacifier.

It is s.l.o.w.l.y. getting better each day. And when I say slowly, I heavily emphasize the meaning of the word slow! It truly depends on the day. Tonight she didn't make a peep when I layed her down, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

We are very proud of her efforts though. It brings us relief knowing that each day will get easier for us, and Harper. We knew it was only going to get harder the longer we waited to take it away. For our next child, we will be sure to take it away earlier - like on their 1st birthday!

Check back tomorrow for Harper's potty training update, which was MUCH more pleasant!

2012 Goals

Now that we're already 8 days into the new year, I suppose I better share our goals for 2012. The word resolution is too harsh and serious. It is much easier to work towards a goal.

Adam: Adam wants to become healthier. He made a great point when I said, "What?! You are skinny!" He reminded me that skinny is NOT healthy. Good point, Adam. His plan is to cut out junk good and hit the gym more. Pretty general goal, but still very important.

Adam also said he wants to be nicer, generally speaking. Okay?????? While he was at the gym the other day working on his 1st goal, he attempted to be friendlier to a Clarion resident that he doesn't really care for. He was so proud of himself. Good Job, Adam!

Brooke: My #1 goal is to get healthier as well. Whose isn't? Very stereotypical, but I am not a healthy person. I go through phases of eating healthy and exercising. It annoys Adam because I can never stick with a diet. I joined Weight Watchers when I was in college and I lost 25 lbs.....and I've put most of it back in the past 6 years. Which is why I'm joining Weight Watchers again tomorrow!!!!! I am very excited! I am not happy with the way I look and feel these days. I don't even like going out in public and I wear sweatpants almost everyday because my jeans don't fit like they used to. I finally decided that it is time to make a change and get healthy for myself and my family.

My other goal is to decorate our house. This summer will mark our 4th year of living in our house and it has NO style. It drives Adam nuts! I'm hoping to have a full-time nursing job by the end of the summer and I plan to use the extra cash to slowly decorate each room. I finally decided to join the 'pinterest' world and I am gathering some cute ideas.

Harper: My goal's for Harper for this year were to conquer potty-training and get rid of her pacifier. She is doing better than Adam and I because she has reached BOTH of her goals already! More on both of these later this week.

Funnies #5

We took a trip to the library today to return our old books and check out some new ones. We usually contain Harper to the 'children's' area, but today she took a little tour with mommy.

She was in amazement as she was exploring the 'new' parts of the library. At one point she was smiling ear to ear and threw her hands in the air and said "This is beautiful!"

She was like a kid in a candy store - she didn't know what to do with all of the books and different little nooks. She ran through every aisle in amazement. She reminded me of the little girl on Matilda.

We sure do love our little bookworm!

Good Bye 2011

Good Bye 2011 ~ you were so good to us!

Adam and I started out 2011 with an amazing trip to Mexico....just because we deserved it :)

Fast forward to April, which is when we finished our basement remodel. It feels good to have that done! Well, Adam actually still has some projects left to do like tile the laundry room and bathroom. But the main living space is finished and livable.

Our summer consisted of attending a few weddings, throwing a surprise anniversary party for my parents, and celebrating our own 5 year anniversary!

We also spent many, many days playing outside, taking trips to the park, and bike rides to the swimming pool.

The summer 0f 2011 was also unfortunately filled with sadness. The Nerlien family unexpectedly lost a few members of the family. RIP Lanny and Matt. We love you.

We took a trip to the zoo at the end of August.

Our sweet little girl turned TWO in September. Harper had a great birthday party!
I also started my 2nd and final year of nursing school in September.

In October, Adam, Harper and I were all in Abby and Aaron's wedding. It was such a beautiful day and we had so much fun!
Harper moved into her big girl bed in October.
Harper was a pumpkin for Halloween and enjoyed every minute of the holiday!

We got to spend a lot of time with our families in November and December while celebrating the holidays. Harper loves playing with everyone - young and old!
Harper especially enjoyed the Tree Farm this year!

As you can see, we have much to be thankful for in 2011.

We look forward to see what 2012 has in store for us - as we anticipate lots of {good} changes.
Brooke will finish nursing school in June and begin her career search.
Harper will attend 3-year-old preschool!!!!
And we hope to end 2012 as a family of 3.5, not 4, but 3.5. Do you catch my drift?! :)

We wish everyone a HAPPY and HEALTHY 2012!