the "Most Favorite Scrapbook Page Ever" goes to....

Pottie goes in the pot!

We are finally trying the whole potty training thing. I'm giving it until Monday, and we'll see from there. We did the whole talk thing, we have rewards, we have cool panties. (Sorry Ethan, they've always been panties to me, girl or boy. You can keep your "underwears" at your house!) We've quizzed Wayne on the "where does your potty go... in your panties or in the pot?" and he dutifully replies, "In the pot!" We've told him that if he learns to go potty in the pot, then he can go catch fishes with Grandpa. Of course, then he had to call Grandpa and tell him, "Go fishing!" We go to the bathroom every 45 minutes, and I didn't ever realize how much he pee'd before! Anyhow. We had one accident tonight, but in all fairness we had only been in panties for a few hours, and I missed the regular potty run because I was dealing with Weston. Mental note. Throw Weston in solitary confinement (aka the pack n play) and make a run for it when the timer goes off! He did go #2 in the toilet, so I guess that's good, right? We dance and cheer and have a whoop-hollerin' good time when he does it right. We'll keep you posted!

More scrapbook pages done using PSE (photoshop elements)

So I figured this was the easiest way to show those of you who've been asking. Mindy, my "trick-tricky" on this first page was that I had to change the colors of the "Have a very Merry Christmas" to match the red in the paper (they were pink before.)

Love this page of the DeGroot's... and it took 3 minutes to do! Amanda, please note the "standard" format! This one was a little wild, but then again so was hunting for a tree with two little kids! :-) Such fun memories, I get nostalgic over it, and it was less than a month ago. What is going to happen when I finally get Weston's book started?

BIG news at the Silves house...

Weston has taken his first steps! We were at Mom's on Sunday, and he was standing and leaning on a dining room chair. She clapped for him, and reach out her arms. He turned towards her, let go, and took 3 steps all on his own to get to her. Tyler and I were right there, and just sat with our mouths hanging open. Go Weston! 10 days before your first birthday... your first steps! Between that and the engagement, it was one exciting weekend.

I am loving the whole digital scrapbook thing. I have Photoshop Elements, and have been downloading kits off of my favorite new site....http://digiscrapdepot.com. Too much fun! I whipped out 4 pages today... I have Wayne's scrapbook through December 21, 2008. I will probably go back and redo some of his previous Shutterfly pages that I did. The cool thing is that once I scrap using Elements, I can upload the page to Shutterfly, and eventually order the entire book. How freakin' cool is that??? I know, I know... I'm obsessed!

In other news... Have I told you all how darn cute Weston-Peston is lately? He is. Darn cute, that is. Just a peanut, but so stinkin' loveable and snuggle-able, it's not even funny. He even likes to be snuggled now! This turning one thing has been good for him! He is quite the Momma's boy too now, which I LOVE. He also doesn't let Wayne snuggle me all alone anymore, he has to climb up and get a piece of the action. Love that kid!

Wayne is getting big... Too big. He is talking a ton, which can be good, and not so good! His favorite new words are dinosaur, chocolate, and "corn" (we're working on the pop part.) Oh, and "Mommy snuggle!"

My first DIGITALLY SCRAPBOOKED page EVER!

I'm OBSESSED with this whole digital scrapbooking thing... Tyler's going to KILL me if I don't use all the supplies filling up an entire closet, but this on-screen scrapbooking is just too cool... If you're tempted to try, give me a call and I'll drag you over to the dark side with me. The options are endless... and its FREE!

*what* was she thinking?

She said yes! Tyson's once girlfriend, now fiancee, said yes!!!! Tyson proposed to Breanne on Friday night, and I've been under a gag order from blogging it ever since! (Unbelievable, haven't these people heard of free speech?!?) Oh well, I guess since she is going to be my new sister, it was good that I followed their wishes. Tyson got down on one knee near the place they first became official, New Year's Day 2008. Breanne said yes, although her sisters can't believe Tyson wants to marry her, and Tara and I can't imagine she wants to marry Tyson, so I guess it's a good thing we all didn't have a vote! :-) We love, love Breanne, and are so excited to make her presence permanent in our family. Those two are down right giddy over this whole engagement thing, I caught Tyson positioning her hand so the ring would sparkle today at Mom and Dad's (major eye roll from me folks!) They are now working on setting and finalizing the big questions of WHEN, WHERE, FLOWERS, PHOTOGRAPHY, and FOOD. So far, it's looking like it's going to be an a*MAY*zing day! (my corny way of saying, we're going to a wedding in May!)

Woo-hoo! Welcome to the family Breanne!

Happy New Year!!!

While the jury is still out on whether olli-bolin (however that's spelled!) is a New Year's Eve or a New Year's Day tradition, the fact remains that it is GOOOOOD!!! So good. This year's was especially exceptional, if I do say so myself. Papa and Nana in the kitchen, slaving over a pot of oil is a memory that I have going back years and years. Never just Nana, or just Papa, it's the two of them in there together. Quite the pair! All the fixin's. Mystery batter, and lots of hot oil.

Wayne eating his first one, of many. We could tell the next day too, for those of you present who were wondering! :-)I babysat Tana and Jeremy, starting from when I was 9 years old. Jeremy is engaged now, and Tana is off at college/internship in California, so it was kind of special to have them and Weston together for a photo shoot. Lookin' good guys, you've come along way from the early years!

Tana used to pray every night for a baby sister.... For 10 years! Her parents always said they were done having kids (at least that's what I remember) but God is good and convinced them to have one more, and answered Tana's prayers! Here's Kenna... she is so good with Wayne and Weston, and always finds toys for them to play with.

More of the crew... Grandpa and Weston.

Today we went to Grandma Groen's for pizza and goodies. It is one of my favorite parties because it is sooo laid back and relaxed and easy. It's just a wonderful time of hanging out with the family. Unfortunately, we had to leave early because Tyler got a migraine. He's taking a long nap in a dark room, and hopefully will wake up feeling better! The boys and I are hanging out, playing trains and lots of noisy toys. Happy New Year!