Potty Training Update.

Luke has been doing a great job with his potty training. Last week he decided he was ready. We didn't switch him over to underwear until this week because of all that happened last week. Monday he didn't really know quite what to do about the underwear and had an accident on the carpet, but yesterday and today he has kept his underwear dry all morning until nap time when I switch him to a pullup. He is very proud of himself.
He has also figured out all the fun stuff he can get as well. Daddy took him to get a new Disney Pixar Cars car last Friday after he went pee pee in the potty a few times for him during the day. Monday morning a good friend of ours, Ms. Sarah (not me), came over and went with us to Toys R Us to get a new Cars King play set that she and I had promised him way back in April. He was very excited to have Ms. Sarah come over.
That same day he got to go to Target with my mom and get a couple more Cars because she and my dad had told him they would take him to the store to get something if he pee peed in the potty at their house. So now he thinks he needs something every time he goes. We have narrowed it down to getting something if he keeps his underwear dry all week and then we will probably do something for number 2 in the toilet, as well. Then he will just have to learn that it's just something he needs to do.
I am just so happy that he decided to do this when he did. What a blessing it was for me last week. I do have a few pictures from the past month that I am hoping to get posted within the next few days.

PS. I am doing well and life is back to "Normal."

Joy in the Midst of Pain.

As some of you may know, Our little unborn baby died last week and we found out this week. Today I had surgery to remove the baby and all went well. It was a little hard to go through all the pre-op stuff as it was almost all the same things I went through for both c-sections. It also occurred to me that both c-sections were on Wednesdays and so was this surgery. Everyone has been so nice and I appreciate all your prayers and all your love.
It has been a very emotional week for us but life goes on when you have 3 boys needing your love and attention. So last night Lukey told me he needed to go potty and off we went to sit on the toilet and voila he DID IT!!!! I was so proud of him and we made a big deal about it and he got his Thomas and Friends Cranky. It has been sitting in a box in my room for a week and he knew he had to "pee pee in the potty" to get it. Last week he was still so stubborn about the whole thing. This week he has been at my moms 3 days in a row and she had him sitting on the toilet but nothing ever happened. I am so glad he did this for me last night. I still have him in pull-ups but plan to start the underwear again next week when I am feeling better. Luke has always been a very intuitive little boy something that is amazing for his age but really needed for his brothers. He has known that Mommy hasn't been having a good week and has added me to his prayers at night all by himself without prompting. As much trouble as he is, he is equally if not more such a joy. He had to give me kisses and hugs all afternoon and was really gentle with me. I love my Lukeypants and am really praying that this is the start of no more diapers!

From Mommy to Mom

Well, it has happened. Jonathan now calls me "Mom." Every once in a while when he gets hurt or really needs something of me he still calls me Mommy. But for the most part it is just Mom. This is a little sad for me. I love being Mommy and am not real thrilled to hear my 6 year old calling me Mom. The way he says it is quite funny. It's really long when he says it. I don't know when he discovered that he could just shorten my name but I guess it was eventually going to happen. I think the tough part is the fact that they never called me Mommy until they were almost 4. It was a dream come true and now only 3 years later one of them has stopped and I am sure the other 2 will pick up on it real soon.
The good news in all of this is come January I will have another little one that will call me "Mommy." So I know I have a few more years to hear one of my most favorite words.

Another story along the same lines. Luke overheard Eric call me "Bear" which Eric has called me since we got married. Luke got real upset by this and had to set Daddy straight. "Daddy." Luke said "She's not a bear she's a mommy." All weekend if Eric called me any term of endearment we have heard this same sentence. Luke is very determined to teach Daddy that I am Mommy. Isn't that sweet?

A Fear Come True!

Okay, so it's not as bad as the title makes it out to be, but I suppose it could be.

Most of you know that the twins have only been potty trained for less than a year. While I am still rejoicing in that fact there are still some hard things about it. One of them being their lack of a need for privacy. They just go in the bathroom and don't even bother with the door. I know most kids are this way but they do this at other people's houses and in public restrooms. I am usually with them and make sure they know they have to shut the door. The other issue is that they feel like they can just come out of any bathroom without putting their pants back on. Again, they do this at my parents house and have done it at other people's houses too. We are usually quick to catch them. I am usually with them in a public restroom so I am quick to make sure they don't leave the stall without pulling up their pants. Matthew has done pretty well with this but Jonathan just doesn't care. He is constantly walking around the house with his undies and short wrapped around his ankles. He thinks he needs help getting them back up but he CAN do it.
I am sure you know where this is going. Today my mom and I decided to take the boys to a local pizza place called Peter Piper Pizza (a smaller scale chuck e cheese). My mom and I were helping Matthew and Luke play some games while Jonathan was busy climbing in the tunnels and going down the slide. Somewhere along the way he must have decided to go potty. I am not sure which restroom he used, Men's or Women's, but he went in and went potty. Neither, my mom nor I was aware of this until, one of the young men working there came walking around the corner with Jonathan who, you guessed it, was walking around with his undies and shorts around his ankles. We explained to the worker that he was Autistic and he said he understood, but some people might not. I was mortified. I did get his pants up and tried to explain to him how he couldn't do that. I try and tell him this at home every time he does it. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't crowded because we were there after lunch and thankfully no one complained. I am not sure if anyone else saw him. I just don't want this happening again and I am not sure what I can do about it.

New foods.

I just thought I would update you on what the twins have started eating. I know I mentioned a couple months ago that Jonathan had eaten a hot dog for me and corn dogs. He now eats a corn dog or two almost everyday for lunch. I still have to de-corn the corn dog, but hey, I am just so happy he is eating them.
Matthew was a little slow with eating new foods and all of a sudden in the last month and week he has broadened his menu. It started with trying some carrots during Occupational Therapy. She has been working with feeding issues with them for about 3 months now. Then a couple weeks ago at a graduation party he decided he would like a bite of watermelon. He took a bite and didn't like it but he did finish what was in his mouth. Then this week he asked to make a ham sandwich because he wanted to eat it. I let him make half a sandwich because I didn't want it to go to waste. He ate it. The last 3 days he has eaten a ham sandwich for lunch. He also ate a bunch of grapes at VBS this week. I am just so happy that they are eating some new things.

Jonathan's Loss and Gain.

For the past couple of weeks Jonathan has had a very loose tooth but it just wouldn't come out. Last week it was really bothering him but no matter how much we wiggled it the tooth just wouldn't come out. It was a very tiny tooth and we couldn't get a good grip on it. We left it alone the past couple of days and this morning I just decided to ask him how it was doing. He opened his mouth and I noticed that a new tooth was already coming in. I stuck my finger in his mouth and pushed the baby tooth out. He complained for about 30 seconds and then was fine. So he lost his first tooth today and already has a new one coming in. Matthew, who lost his first tooth in February, still doesn't have his new tooth in yet. On an interesting twin note, When their first teeth came in the both got their front bottom tooth in but Matthew got his left one in first and Jonathan his right. They also lost those same teeth first. We have long suspected that they are mirror image twins from other things about them and this is just another to add to that.

I tried to get some pictures of the missing tooth but didn't have much success. Here they are anyway.

It's his front right tooth or your left. Yes, he has crowns in his mouth.

I don't know why he had to close his eyes when he opened his mouth. You can see the new tooth in this one.

He then decided he needed his picture taken with his Dinoco Helicopter. Luke wanted his picture taken too but was not happy that he didn't have the helicopter. Matthew is playing the piano for us in the background.

Schools Out, Now What?

I am back!

School has been officially out now for a week and a half and I am already ready for the twins to go back. I reinstated "quiet time" almost every afternoon. The boys can tell time on a regular clock now and they have one in their room. So I always let them know when they are allowed to come back downstairs. Most days they fall asleep. I do this because Luke still needs his nap most days and Mommy needs hers now too.
In case some of you don't know, child #4 is on it's way to the Crazy Rosenbarker house. I am pretty sure I am due towards the end of January. Let's just say this is going to be one of longest Summer's for me. Trying to take care of 3 crazy boys and fight first trimester yuckiness is not what I had planned for the Summer. I keep remembering I was pregnant with the twins during one of the hottest summers we have had. (Of course all our summers are HOT.) At least it was quiet and I could rest whenever I wanted. It should be interesting these next couple of months.

Next week the boys have VBS at my mom's church and other than that we don't have a whole lot planned this Summer since we took our big trip in March.

I just wanted to update you on what has been going on here and keeping me away from blogging. I will try and get on here more frequently and let you all know how things are going.