Fun at Chuck E. Cheese

Last night, Chris and I took Pearce to Chuck E. Cheese for a fun night out!  Pearce was sooo excited!  The whole way there, Pearce kept asking "Are we there yet?"  Daddy got lots of tokens for Pearce, we ordered our pizza, and then we started playing the games.  We  had so much fun watching Pearce play the games.  Our pizza came and Pearce chowed down!  He has been going through a picky eating phase, so I couldn't believe he ate 2 whole pieces plus half of a third piece!  Then he saw the big mechanical Chuck E. Cheese on the stage and wanted to go see him.  He talked and talked to him and gave him lots of hugs :)  Pearce finished using the rest of his tokens and then we took him to get his prizes....Laffy Taffy, Sweet Tarts, and a plastic frog...and he couldn't have been happier, hahah!

  

Cookie

Mom and Dad had the SWEETEST dog ever named Cookie.  They had to put her to sleep about a year and a half ago ago.  It was so sad for all of us because she was so great with the kids.  Pearce loved climbing all over her and she would  just lay there and let him.  Well, I have a picture of Mama and Papa and Cookie and Pearce likes to look at it a lot and always tell me that's "Tookie and Mama and Papa."  The other day, we were driving and out of the blue Pearce started talking about Cookie and asking me about her.  This is how the conversation went (I'm going to write it how Pearce talks because I want to remember this exactly how it happened):

P:  Mama Papa hab Tookie?
Me:  Oh yes, Cookie was Mama and Papa's doggie.
P:  Where that doggie doh?
Me:  Cookie lives in Heaven now.
P:  I want Tookie!
Me:  I know you loved Cookie.  She was so sweet, but she lives in Heaven now.
P:  I want Tookie heah! 
Me:  Oh, I know you loved Cookie, but she was sick so Jesus took her to Heaven to live with Him now.
               *Pearce is now getting upset with his little mouth turned down and tears in his eyes*
P:  I don't yike Jesus!
Me:  Oh Pearce, Jesus is nice.  He made Cookie all better and now she gets to play in Heaven. 
P:  I don't yike Jesus!  I want Tookie wif me!
Me:  I know you want Cookie to be here with you, but she lives in Heaven now.  Jesus is good.  Jesus made her all better.  I know you miss Cookie.  She was a good girl.
                  *And then Pearce was quiet and moved on to talking about something else*

I want to remember this story for several reasons.  I love that Pearce brought up Cookie just out of the blue.  I love that he still remembers Cookie on some level whether it's from actual memories or just from looking at her picture.  I love how innocent his feelings are on how the world works.  Of course we talk about Jesus and say the blessing and he learns about Jesus at school, but in that moment all he knew was that Cookie wasn't with us because he was with Jesus and he wanted Cookie here and at 2.5 years old...he wants what he wants and he wants it now!  Kids...they say the darndest things!  Here's one of my favorite pictures of Pearce and Cookie.  Such a good girl!!  We love you Cookie!!



                                         

Funnies about Pearce

 Pearce is such a talker!  He has been saying something new every single day and I decided I had to start writing these things down or else I will forget!  He has such a fun, sweet, stubborn, silly personality!  So here are a few of my favorite phrases at 2.5 years old:

*What you talking about Mommy?
*Are you tidding (kidding) me?
*Eh-body hab fun? 
*Just be tareful!
*Smile to me Mommy:  I especially love it when he says this.  He only says it when he gets in trouble and I'm mad or frustrated.  For example, the other day, he was playing with my Willow Tree Angels and I told him to be very careful with them.  Well, the boy in him made the angels start wrestling and one of their hands broke.  He could tell I was not happy so he said "Mommy smile to me."  How can I stay mad and not smile at him :)  He's pretty smart that way!
*Mommy I not pay wif you!:  And he says this when he is mad at me :)
*Maybe yater.:  He says this just about every morning when it's time to get dressed :)
*My name Pearce.  I live wif Daddy.:  He said this when we were at the park the other day and playing with another family we just met.  The dad asked what Pearce's name was and he said this!  I said, "You live with Mommy, too!"
*Put your hands up!...as he pretends to shoot us :)
*Is Baskin Robbins open?
*Just one more and that's it?:  He usually says this after he has a special treat like an ice cream sandwich :)
*Yes, I hab seet deems.:  Each time he wakes up, I always ask if he had sweet dreams and he tells me yes, then I ask him what he dreamed about and he always looks around his room and makes something up :)

Here are some random pics from my phone.  Mama and Papa sent Pearce a Caillou doll which he LOVES!!!  He loves watching Caillou on TV, so now he has the "real" deal!  Also, I let Pearce color with my smelly markers which always leaves him with a marked up nose because he likes to smell them!  We had a fun morning with his future wife, Claire...he loves Claire and was so sad to leave her house after we dropped her off!

                                                    
 

 

Pearce and "Memaw"

A couple weeks ago, we were in Dallas and got to see Grandma.  Pearce still calls her "Memaw" which we all think is so funny!  Grandma is always a good sport and doesn't mind one bit.  Pearce was so sweet to Grandma and gave her lots of loving.  They both had fun acting silly together!  Pearce would tickle Grandma and Grandma would play along and tickle Pearce...it was so cute and fun to watch :)  Pearce loves to visit Grandma because he also gets to see the big bird cage full of birdies in the front lobby.  Always a fun time at Grandma's....I mean Memaw's :)

First Day of School 2014

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014, Pearce started school in the 2.5 year old class at Bethany United Methodist Church.  This year he is going on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Tuesday, it's from 9:00-1:00 and Thursday, it's from 9:00-12:00.  I was a little worried about how he would do on Tuesday because we did not get to meet his teacher before school started.  We missed Meet the Teacher because we were in Little Rock.  I just kept talking to him about Ms. Dawn and how nice she is and how much fun he will have at school.  On Tuesday morning, I got Pearce up at 7:45 and he watched a show for a little bit while I got his breakfast and lunch fixed.  Then, he totally shocked me and got dressed with no protests at all, went outside with me so I could take a picture, and then got in the car with absolutely no protests, either...totally unlike him!!!  He talked all the way about Ms. Dawn and asked me to drive faster :)  He kept saying "We there yet?"  We got to school and he walked like such a big boy until we reached the front doors and then he asked me to carry him.  I put BB in his backpack and told him we needed to keep BB in there to keep him safe.  As soon as we got to his classroom, he said he needed BB :)  I gave him BB and then Ms. Dawn greeted us with a big sweet smile.  She talked to us for a while and then Pearce walked in...with his little mouth turned down, but no tears!  When I picked him up at 1:00, he was so excited to see me and Ms. Dawn said he did great!  Pearce told Ms. Dawn bye and Pearce talked and talked the WHOLE way home.  He talked about school and Ms. Dawn and a lot of other random stuff.  I could tell he had a great day!  On Thursday, again, there were no tears at all and BB stayed in Pearce's backpack the whole day.  Ms. Dawn said there were a couple times during the day that Pearce asked for BB, so Ms. Dawn would get it out and let Pearce love on it for a bit and then she would put it back in his backpack :)  Since school gets out early on Thursdays and they don't eat lunch there, I've decided that we will stop at the park and have a lunch picnic on Thursdays.  We met Elizabeth and Brice there and the boys had so much fun playing together and Pearce was definitely worn out by the time we got home.  I'm so thankful Pearce is able to go to Bethany!  It's such a great little school and Pearce has loved since starting last year!

First Day:  2 years, 7 months old

Second Day

Our Little Rock Visit

Pops and Mimi invited us to fly to Little Rock last week, so of course we said yes!  I was excited to see how Pearce would do on the plane this time with him being a little older and much more opinionated now :)  He did really great!  This was the first time I didn't bring his car seat OR stroller.  I just kept telling  him he had to stay right by me because there are lots of people at the airport.  He was so good!  I brought all kinds of snacks, toys, and the iPad for the airport/plane ride and ended up not using hardly any of those things!  On the flight from Austin to Dallas, he just sat in his seat and looked out the window and talked and talked :).  On the flight from Dallas to Little Rock, he slept :)  We also had great luck finding other moms with toddler at the airports and Pearce and those kids had fun playing together.  At one point, he was playing with a one year old little boy...just playing peek-a-boo with him and showing him his toys...but then Pearce got out his stickers I had brought and started putting the stickers all over the baby!!  The baby loved it and thankfully, the mommy did too! Oh, Pearce even got to meet the pilot and push tons of buttons in the cockpit when we got to Little Rock!  Pearce was so excited when he got to see Pops and Mimi!  We had fun going to Chuck E Cheese, Altitude (which is a trampoline play area), playing in the hose in the back yard, watching movies, and playing in Pops' office.  It really was funny how much Pearce loved going up to and playing in Pops' office...he loved playing with some animal figurines, going through his desk and finding all kinds of goodies, and jumping on the couch up there :)  Oh, Pearce would also tell Pops to give him a book to look at and Pearce would pretend to read it...so funny!  On Thursday night, we met GG and my friend Chrissie and her little girl, Sydney, at All Aboard to have dinner and watch the trains chug along overhead.  Pearce had so much fun with everyone and was very excited to see GG!  After dinner, we walked to Baskin Robbins and got ice cream.  Pearce and Sydney played and played together outside.  I got to spend some time with just Chrissie on Friday night.  It was so great to be able to catch up with her and I'm so happy she lives in LR now because I will get to see her a lot more often!  On Saturday morning, we went with GG to the Discovery Museum.  Pearce had so much fun just walking around and exploring everything.  GG and I loved exploring, too!  This is someplace Pearce will love going to each time we visit!  GG got Pearce a fun set of robot blocks that he can stack and hang and do lots of fun things with.  He has loved playing with those.  On Sunday, we went to church with Pops and Mimi and I know they loved showing Pearce off to their friends.  Pearce did not cry at all when we dropped him off at his class, which I was so happy about.  We left Sunday afternoon and once again, Pearce did great on the plane.  He was asleep in my lap before we even took off!  Can't wait to visit Little Rock again!!

 

Potty Training

 **UPDATE (9-5-14):  After Pearce stood in front of me and went tee-tee right on the floor, I decided that's it, no more, I give up, throwing in the towel!  So, I found an extra diaper, put it on Pearce, went to Target and got a big box of diapers, and man, I feel so relieved!  I was so confident, but Pearce is just not into it yet.  I know he CAN do it, he just doesn't WANT to do it now.  And that is totally fine with me.  He'll get there when he's ready.  It's just not worth the battle or frustration that we were both feeling.  We will still practice casually when we're at home, but it will definitely be several more months until we really tackle potty training again .  I'm going to leave the following post on because I do want to remember our first try at it :)
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I started the adventure of potty training Pearce on August 23 at 2.5 years old.  I decided to follow the 3 Day method.  I felt like Pearce has been showing signs of readiness for several months, but just never had a big block of time to devote to the training.  We finally dove in on Aug. 23!  I got several new pairs of undies, lots of juice and special drinks for Pearce, a few inexpensive toys for special rewards, and M&M's for potty rewards.  I was ready!  The method I followed was all about having the child learn what it feels like to have to go potty...which meant having lots of accidents at first.  That first morning, I told Pearce that he is not a baby anymore and that diapers are only for babies so we needed to pack up all of his diapers.  He helped me put all of his diapers in a big bag and I told him we were going to give them to a baby that needed them.  Then I told him that he is a big boy and big boys wear undies.  I let him choose between two pairs and we took off his diaper and put them on.  Then I told him that when he needs to go tee-tee he needs to tell me so that he can go in the potty.  Every few minutes I would remind him to tell me when he needed to go potty and I would check his undies and if they were clean and dry, I would give lots of praise!  I had to stick by him every second and try to catch him while having an accident and then I would rush him to the potty.   
Every time he went potty he got an "m" and a sticker on the sticker chart.  When he filled up his sticker chart, he got a new toy.  I gave him lots of juice, water, capri sun's....lots of liquids and drinks he doesn't get to normally have so that we had lots of practice.  The first day, we had lots of accidents, but several successes, too!  The second day was more of the same...I was starting to feel a little discouraged by that night.  The third day, he only had once accident and TONS of successes!  By that evening, I was dying to get out of the house for a while, so we ventured to Barnes and Noble to play with the trains.  I kept telling Pearce to tell me when he had to go potty.  He actually told me and we went to the potty there and he did it!  Tuesday, I decided to just go for it and put his undies on him and we went to Gymboree.  I kept telling to tell me when he had to go....and at the end of class, he had an accident :(  The hard part now is getting him to stop what he's doing and go potty.  He does really well at home, but when we are out and about, that's when he has accidents.  I know it's just going to take lots and lots of practice (and patience), but I feel like the hard part is over.  He totally gets it....it's just that he now has to STOP and go when we are out of the house.  Work in progress!!

We did lots of playing, drinking, watching shows, drinking, and more drinking :)