Mother's Day to Father's Day - With a potty update in between - Catch up!

I am baaaack! Sorry for the delay. It has just ben so hard to get on here and post - especially with bad news to share. Dan's dad passed away 2 months ago. We all miss Papa Bob and I just have not felt like blogging since. However, we are busy and it is true that life goes on. However, we are always thinking of him. Almost every time Shane cries because he is over tired or having a fit, he tells me it is because he is sad about or misses Papa Bob. It has been really hard to explain death to a 3 year old. We told him Papa Bob is in his heart now and that he was in heaven. During the wake, Shane did not go anywhere near the casket. On the day of the funeral, when we all gathered for a prayer, Shane saw Papa Bob for the first time and said, "Are we in heaven?" It was both sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. Anyways, Papa Bob will live on in our memories and thoughts and through stories we will share with Shane and Maddie. My heart aches for Dan and for my amazing mother in law! They are amazing and strong. Papa Bob would be so proud of them! It is true that time does not stop and that life continues to move on & with a 3 year old and almost 11 month old, life has continued to be very busy. While I have not felt much like blogging, I have not stopped taking pictures. Don't worry, I will not share all 2500 with you! Yes, I have taken over 2500 pictures on my new camera since it was given to me for Mother's Day! It took 2 days to sort through them all and narrow it down to 600 - don't worry, not all 600 will make it either! I am also dividing the catch up into 2 posts. So let's start with Mother's Day! I was given my new camera & immediately took a few pictures. Maddie was my first subject!

I was late for Maddie's 8 month pictures since I had no camera, so here they are - we changed her and took them before everyone arrived for Mother's Day.

Maddie and Shane were looking cute and after putting Maddie back in her jumper, we took a few pictures outside.

My parents, Dan's parents & Jorie & Jason came over. We hung out outside because it was a beautiful day. I can hardly believe how green everything was - the hot summer draught has killed our grass. Here are a few pictures of everyone relaxing.

After dinner, it was time for presents. The grandma's got homemade picture frames - Shane painted them and then we added his and Maddie's hand prints to each. He was so proud of them that he helped everyone open them up! We also got each mom some clothes. Shane made Aunt Jorie a beaded necklace as well. Here are the present opening pictures.

After presents it was time to pose for some more family pictures. I am so glad we did these as the last picture I have of Dan's dad is in this group of photos.

After everyone left, we went outside for a few more pictures. Can you tell how much I love my new camera? I have an amazing husband!

Here is a cute picture of the kids cuddling before bed! I love how much they love each other!

Cathy & I bought tickets for Shane & Alex to see Beauty & the Beast at Lewis University. The show was done by a theater company,, not students. We had been reading them the story ahead of time & the boys were excited. When we got there, I had to change Maddie so Cathy took the boys up to our seats. By the time I got there, the show had begun. I had to ask Cathy if we were in the right theater because there was a giant dog on stage. Apparently this was an original take on Beauty & the Beast heavily focused on a dog... It was not for me, but the boys were happy enough with it. Cathy and I just shook our heads in confusion. Maddie was also really good during the short play! There were no pictures allowed during the show so we took one after & then the actors posed with the kids (which was very nice.)

May gave us a chance to get outside and play & gave Maddie a chance to look even more beautiful!

May also was Dan's transplant anniversary - 9 YEARS - May 17th to be exact. I still think it is so cool that it is on his half birthday! We celebrated with a cake and I got him & Shane matching sweaters (sorry Maddie, they had nothing to match for you. We will get you and me something to match for a picture sometime soon.) Here are the pictures from the big celebration. Note the candles on the cake, I just assumed I had enough... You know what happens when one assumes! I had a 2 and then 7 individual candles that all added up to 9...

Debbie came over for a visit & did some puzzles with Shane!When I left to walk Debbie out, Shane got into the fudge! He loves "Aunt Debbie's Chocolate!" I got back as he was going for his second picture & snapped a few pictures!

Here are some random pictures from May. My little Maddie looking adorable, Maddie and her daddy, & Shane & Maddie. I love the one of their linked hands!

In other HUGE May news, Shane USED THE POTTY!!!!! I am surprised I did not rent a billboard to declare my happiness to the world. He was very anti potty and had NEVER used it. We had the infamous potty present sitting out in the bathroom FOREVER, just waiting for him to pee so he could have it. I even told him what it was and showed him a picture of it in hopes that he would want to try it. Finally, I stripped him from the waist down & on May 22nd he did it, he peed in the potty. Was the motivation the present (a pottery barn mixer for his kitchen)? No, it was the stickers I ordered him. They are the same stickers my doctor gives out & I ordered Sesame Street ones. He could not wait to get one so he peed in the potty, many times! Yes, I have documented everything, including the pee in the potty! This is a huge milestone for my little man!

Yes, the stickers work great, so you must be thinking that a full 2 plus months later, my Shane is potty trained, right? Nope. Of course not, my little guy does not like to make things easy for us. He was pooping on the potty a week after his initial pee, but only when naked. In fact, the only time he uses the potty is if we strip him. The second we put on underwear, he pees in it. So either we need to join a nudist colony where Shane would be potty trained, or we need to wait until he is ready. Physically, he can be potty trained, but mentally - he is not there. OK, back to spring. Shane loved planting a garden & loved watering it even more!

We went to a Kane County Cougars game with Connor on Memorial Day. Shane had a blast! Shane & Connor are such great friends & they had so much fun playing together!

One thing we have been doing a lot of this summer is using our Zoku Pop Maker! We just puree some fresh fruit up & it makes instant popsicles! Watermelon is our favorite!

We celebrated Jorie's birthday at my parents house this year. Shane & Maddie love their Aunt Jorie!

Madison's 9 month pictures are here!

Danny graduated from high school this year - amazing - where does the time go? Shane & Maddie loved hanging out with their cousins at the party!Here Shane is with Tommy & Megan & here Maddie is with Dan's cousin Kathy.

June meant t-ball time for Shane. Daddy wanted to practice a bit before the season began! While Shane & Dan practiced - Maddie hung with our neighbor Mike.

I was so excited for Shane's first t-ball game - I dressed him in his adorable baseball shortalls and kept his head protected with an adorable floppy hat! I was so proud. Dan was appalled that he wore the overalls and the floppy hat (not a baseball hat.) Dan felt he should be ready to play, not cute. I guess Dan was proved right when Shane's shortalls unsnapped and looked like a dress. Dan had to go out there & snap them up!It was funny! Shane is in a t-ball league with about 60 kids. The kids are all coached by All Star Sports Instruction, not parents. They are in about 50 park districts in Chicago and they are fabulous! Shane loves his coaches and could not be happier with them all. OK, here are a few shots from day one! Shane was with Coach Brett, who he loves.

Dan was sad that his dad would not be able to watch Shane play t-ball as Dan's dad always coached his boys in baseball. Dan's mom has made sure to be at every Monday game & she was at the first one. Here Shane & Maddie posed with her after the game.

Summer is not only full of t-ball, but also soccer. Shane has t-ball on Monday & Wednesday evening and soccer class on Wednesday mornings. His friend Ryan is in soccer with him. Here are some pictures from the first soccer class.

After soccer it was time for some park play!

That night, we were back at t-ball! One issue we have is that Shane seems to be a lefty and we could not find a glove for a lefty so we got a right handed one & he puts it on his right hand (where a lefty glove should go)... not correct, but Shane is a stubborn boy. We finally got a lefty glove mid season! Madison has been Shane's cheerleader!

It is hard to believe that Dan was still in school with all of this going on! On his last day he brought Shane & Shane loved playing with the other teacher's kids, especially a 4 year old boy named Parker.

Father's Day was bittersweet for Dan this year. It was his first with Maddie, but also his first without his dad. I tear up just writing about it, so I know it was so hard for him. We usually do a big bbq for Father's Day, but Dan was not up to it this year. Instead we went to my parents in the morning & Dan's brother John's in the afternoon so he could be with his brother and mom. Shane and Maddie loved swimming in the pool at John's and the day was really nice. Shane is all about spending as much time as he can with his cousins - he loves Liam, Julia, Charlotte & of course Jack & Danny! The sweetest part was that Dan's mom found his dad's baseball glove and gave it to Dan for Father's Day from his dad. She also gave John a necklace that was his dad's. Shane was really excited for the day as we made Dan some home made presents - a trophy for being the best dad, a hot plate with the kids handprints and a shamrock tray. We made my dad a plate with Shane's hand print & Madison's foot print! Shane could not wait to give it to him. We also painted Dan's mom a little cross. .

OK, millions more to update on, but that will be part 2! I promise to get that done by next week! Happy May birthday to Jorie, Happy June birthday to Aunt Joan & Happy July birthday to our nieces Colleen & Megan & to our cousins Shauna & Charlie! End of June & July update will follow!