Accident Free Zone

The Tyler household has been
an accident free zone for:
1 day!

Yes, we are on the "potty train" again (2nd times a charm?!), but this time we are going to make it to our final destination! We had been talking to Eli about wearing "big boy underwear" after he turned 3 and when we found out his friend Isaiah started the process, we jumped on the train hoping to use the enthusiasm and keep it going. And so far, so good. It has officially been 4.5 days with minimal accidents, but the best part is, he tells us every time that he needs to go (both pee and poo, sorry if that's too many details for some!). Hooray!!!!!! We've even ventured out of the house a few times and we're getting braver by the day. Costco, Target, Winco, Old Navy....the world is our oyster (as long as it has restrooms!). And because our bathroom has become a candy store/cheering section...a picture of our official "potty station":

It's Official!

We have a 3 year old! We've been celebrating Eli's birthday now for about a week but I think it's finally over. We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese, at home, at McDonald's and at Nana and Papa's house. This year, Eli was definitely excited about his big day! He even made a birthday wish list a few weeks prior to his birthday with all the Disney Cars characters and Thomas characters he didn't already have. He also recited this list to us, almost on a daily basis, until his birthday arrived! He's a kid who knows what he wants! Here a few pictures that highlight our festivities:


Mr. Speed Racer himself

Ski Ball Champs!

Isaiah and Eli braving the "roller coaster"

My birthday boy


Eli chose McDonald's for lunch on his actual birthday...

and invited his friend Haylie to join us! They had a blast!

Sunshine, Tulips and Snakes!

Grandma is visiting and we lucked out with beautiful weather while she's been here! Much better than the chilly temps in England at the moment! We've been trying to soak up as much sun as possible this week so Eli and Grandma have gone to the park, we went to the zoo and this morning Eli and Grandma had a field trip to Fairytale Town while Grant and I got to go on a date! Double Bonus!!!

Here are a few photos from the zoo. Eli was excited about seeing the animals but got sidetracked by the train the second we went through the gate. After our train tour, his first choice was the reptile house (probably my least favorite part of the zoo). We also saw "snack time" for the Chimps which was very amusing and kept Eli (and me) entertained for quite a while! They also had an amazing planter filled with Tulips and I couldn't stop taking photos!






Just a little extra story....the zoo is not the only place that snakes have been lately. I was putting Eli to bed on Monday evening while Grant went to pick up his Mum. I walked into the kitchen to get Eli some milk and didn't turn the light on. I noticed a shape in the center of the kitchen floor and assumed it was something of Eli's. Thankfully I paused long enough to realize that it was not a toy, but in fact, a snake!!!!!! My heart jumped into my chest and I caught my breath!
I carefully walked around the snake to get Eli's milk and then decided that I was a big girl and could get it out myself. I tried using a big stick to get it wrapped on so I could fling it out the door but that didn't work and the snake started wiggling a bit so I moved on to option two. I put a Tupperware over it and called Grant to warn him that he'd have to remove a snake from the kitchen when he got home! Now that I think of it, I should have taken a picture to include in this blog, but I was a bit too preoccupied to think that far ahead!