I got a phone call from the school this morning while I was working.  I often get nervous getting calls from school since they were usually to report an illness or fall.  The call was from Logan’s teacher; she told me that Logan had something to tell me, and handed the phone to Logan.  Logan said to me “I pooped in the toilet”, then he left to go back to play.  The teacher told me that Logan was so excited to tell me in person.  When I picked him up from school, I heard how it all happened.  Logan was told to sit and try in the morning, but he did not want to.  So the teacher had him at least just stand there, then after a little bit, it was happening and Logan was trying to stop it with his hand.  The teacher then helped him sat back down and finished the job.  We have been trying to bribe him with ice cream the past few days.  So to reward Logan, we had popsicles after dinner.  He was excited initially with the idea, but after a few licks, he decided he did not want it.  We ended up giving him half a Costco chocolate chip cookie which he enjoyed greatly.  Logan only had the morning poop today instead of twice daily, so now we will have to wait until tomorrow to see if this is a new trend.

Logan started summer camp last week at school (the beginning of July) and it will last until the end of August.  They have a packed schedule for the entire 2 months.  Almost every morning they are having water play, so we have been putting Logan in his swim gear.  Every Thursday is their bike day which means we have to bring in his bike and helmet.  The school also has a weekly school-wide performance that usually schedules on Fridays.  After the first day of summer camp, Logan told us that the teacher was getting him wet with the water hose and he did not like getting wet.  Since then I don’t think Logan has been getting that wet as his towel appeared dry.  But for a couple of days the teacher mentioned that Logan had fun brushing water on the playground structure as if he was painting.  For the first bike day last week, the teacher took a picture to prove that Logan actually wore his helmet and got on the bike.  He played with the bike in the closed-off parking lot for 20minutes according to the teacher.  He was not peddling himself but had fun being pushed by the teacher.  However Logan did not want to get on the bike at all today.  Last Friday, the performance was done by a comedian who sang, danced and juggled.  I was told that everyone had a blast watching him, including Logan.  I finally got to see the pictures at school today; I saw Logan laughing on multiple pictures.  Let’s see how much fun he will have at the tomorrow’s performance.

After 3 weeks of wearing pull-ups, the teacher suggested that it was time to switch Logan to underwear.  Yesterday was the first day of Logan wearing underwear.  He was not too expressive with this change even though we were appraising him for being such a big boy.  Logan is still not telling the teachers or us if he needs to go, but he is definitely holding it until the next time we ask him to do so.  So far, Logan has been doing quite well and has no No.1 accidents.  However we are still not able to get Logan to go No.2 in the potty.  The weekend before, we were encouraging Logan to sit and go No.2.  He just kept wanting to leave, and as soon as we put the pull-up back on, he did his business.  Today the teachers also had Logan sit on the potty multiple times, but he still did it in the underwear instead. They told me that it is not uncommon for boys to take a lot longer to potty training on No.2.  A few of his classmates are still having trouble with this as well.  I guess I am going to have many dirty underwear’s to clean  in my near future.

     We hosted our boys birthday party on Sunday.  To start this weekend off, the grandparents drove up to visit and attend the party.  Logan warmed up to grandparents quickly this time and was showing much affection to them too.  I saw him asking to play and throwing himself to them for hugs which were quite surprising, yet encouraging, to see.  Connor on the other hand was more reserved.  He did not want to go to the grandparents, but would happily wave and smile to them from a distance.  However, if Stuart and I were out of sight, Connor would then be quite content being carried by Grandma.  They both had some great bonding time especially on Saturday while Stuart and I did some more party preparation. 

     Finally the big day arrived.  The Grandparents came to the house early in the morning to get started.  Stuart and Grandpa loaded up their SUVs to deliver all the supplies to the park and to set up the picnic area.  Grandma stayed at the house to play with the boys while I finished preparing the foods.  Then we took off to pick up more items from Whole Foods.  We were able to have Connor taking his morning nap during the drive as we had planned, and as a bonus, Logan also took a powernap to freshen up before the party.  We finally arrived at the park at 10:40am, a little late.  There were still a lot of setting up to do, ie. placing the table covers, tying down the balloons and setting up the food tables.  Fortunately, we had the early comers, the Tsaos and Kathy/kids, help us out tremendously.  Then more people arrived and helped set up the games that we had bought for the kids.  The Grandparents were very helpful and watched the kids which freed us up during the set up in addition the entire party as well. 

     The party had a great turn out.  Many of our good friends were able to attend to help us celebrate our boys’ birthdays and I believe we were able to meet up and talk with most of our guests.  We brought many different park toys to entertain the kids, and I think they did serve that purpose.  The kids, including Logan, appeared having a great time running around and playing with everything.  The big hit ones were the stomp rocket, the Trac ball and the Styrofoam airplanes.  Connor was very happy watching all the commotion too.  My job for the party was to have adequate foods for everyone, and Stuart’s was to ensure the kids were well entertained. 

  After a few hours of fun in the sun and the cakes had been served, the party finally adjourned so everyone could go home to catch a nap.  Thanks to our good friends helping us clean up the picnic area and re-loading our cars with all the presents. 

     Logan is very excited to open all the wonderful presents he received.  So far, he has been opening 2-3 presents a day.  Their birthday celebration will probably continue for another week and a half with this gift opening rate.  This was a great birthday party weekend, and we now have many wonderful photos to cherish (photos).

     The boys enjoyed our 3 day weekend, and both Logan and Connor got to try something new.  On Saturday, we went to Hailey and Ashley’s 7th birthday party at their neighborhood pool.  It was a beautiful pool and the weather was perfect for the party.  This was the first time for Connor in a swimming pool.  He did not appear scared and he immediately started splashing the water as we entered.  He was very content while we were floating around.  Logan was having a great time too as long as either Stuart and I held him close.  He became scared easily if we let him float on the inflatable.  After an intermission for snacks, we got back in the water to play again.  Connor finally looked very tired even though he did not mind continuing in the water, so I decided that it was time for he and I to get cleaned up.  Logan and Stuart followed us shortly after.  We continued to have a great time hanging out in the shade while watching all the activities.  After hours of fun and eating the birthday cake, it was time for us to leave the party to get home. 

     We did not have any plans besides running errands on Sunday.  So in the afternoon, we took a walk with the strollers to the neighborhood frozen yogurt store.  Logan was so excited to go eat ice cream.  He took a tiny bite at a time and kept telling us how yummy it was.  After finishing my bowl with me, he then moved on to Daddy’s bowl.  We let Connor had a lick too, and he immediately shuddered.  It was a funny reaction.  He did not want another bite after that.  I am sure we will be coming back for more soon.

     On July 4th, we went up to San Ramon to visit my relatives and to watch the fireworks.  They had a tremendous view of the fireworks from their backyard.  We got there in the late afternoon, spent some time catching up with everyone and had a great meal.  After dinner, Logan also got to enjoy a popsicle for the first time.  He loved it so much that he could not stop smiling while eating it.  We just hung out there waiting for the show; we were prepared to keep the boys up past their bedtime.  There were a lot of kids for Logan to watch and interact with, and Connor got in some practice crawling upstairs.  Logan did well even after his bedtime while Connor was just a bit more antsy.  We bathed them and put them in their pajamas before the show started.  The fireworks finally began at 9:30.  This was the first time Logan watched the fireworks and he was very excited.  He was amazed with the different colors.  He had fun calling out the colors and counting the number of explosions.  However after half of the show, Logan’s attention ended and he just wanted to return to the house to watch TV.  Right after the fireworks ended, we said our goodbyes to head home.  Connor immediately fell asleep while Logan actually stayed awake the entire drive.  This was probably one of the latest nights we had stayed out for a long time.