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Auntie Christine and Lil man on his favorite see-saw ride. After a long day, we could not stand to be inside anymore and finally hit the park. A little kid joined us later and kept Gio entertained. When it came to the swings Gio does not like to go on the baby ones, he wants the regular ones now. Luan taught him to hold on, and I hold my breath bc it freaks me out. He asked to get on the swing and when I pushed him very gently he let out a loud Wheee! Yeah!!! Wow!!!! We all started laughing and a mom nearby said yep that's how we should all sound like when we get on the swing!!! It was so cute!! Gio also learned what happens when he doesn't tell mommy he has to go potty, thankfully I had a change of clothes and back to playing we went! A great afternoon!

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Omg! Tanya Nguyen get it together? So yesterday I was not feeling well in the morning, Gio wouldn't potty before Gymboree, so I slapped on a diaper, rushed into some clothes for myself and Gio.....rushed out the door to class late again!!! Most of the moms in class are stay at home and outfits vary from fabulous, sporty, cute-put-together-comfy and then me slob-kabob! I wore a pair of old, old, old black light sweats and a college t-shirt, Paul frank socks and sandals. Did I just say sandals? Yes, sure did because u have to wear socks in class and I was running late to slip on my closed shoes, so sandals on top of socks. We made it to class and Gio ran free to do as he wished. I later realized my craziness and decided a change must be made ASAP! I have said this before but seriously something must change before this becomes everyday routine. Ok let's be honest this has become daily routine and I need to get out of this rut....overweight...laziness...laziness....comfy sweats...and scrubs due to work and school. On top of everything else some moms, that I occasionally talk to when kids r playing in proximity to each other, invited us to lunch at mcds so the kids can continue to play. Mcds is not my first choice, but why not, I really needed to socialize outside of my daily routine. Did I mention that I am also in a social butterfly rut, I can't seem to continue simple conversation with a stranger or attempt to meet new people outside of our daily routine. I have literally cut myself off from the world and have surrounded myself with my boys, my mom, sister in law and occassionally very small group of girlfriends. Why? Idk? But I am working on it. This particular mcds, had a playground geared to toddlers... Gio had fun with his classmates and I had a relaxing conversation with my fellow moms. I was so humbled to hear we shared many of the same experiences. We decided to do it again next Wednesday and then I remembered next week I go back to FT school, boo!!! Oh well hopefully I can meet up with them on a day off.
Once we got home, Gio was ready for naptime and I took advantage of the time to organize. When he woke up we enjoyed the nice weather on our patio, while making a bunny craft and reading. Christine and I were going to the movies and I was out the door, when Luan said are you not changing? I was still wearing my outfit from this morning...wake up call I need to change!
Now I am all for comfort and love my sweats, but for myself, I can make my outfit cuter, accessorize, maybe some makeup, when i dress nice...I feel good. Yep it is a work in progress and I am on it.
Next day, had to go to school, but my hair was nice, makeup was cute and I felt great!!!! I also went to zumba with Christine....yea!

I asked christine to take a pic of us out on the patio, then I saw myself and thought OMG! I absolutely love Gio in this pic and hate myself for letting myself get here again, but I am on it!!! Yuck, pic to remind me to get it together, hey I post pics of gio, time for my own medicine.

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Oh sweet child of mine! someone fell asleep in mommy's arm and she is loving it! So rare these days! Sweet dreams!

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Silly faces! while mommy was cleaning, I found lil man posing in the mirror...lol where does he get that from?

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First day out of the house potty...with daddy...sorry for the pic folks, but we are proud parents.

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Look who came to play with Gio! Thanks Ba Noi for covering Gio's parents, who both had to work on the weekend. She continued out successful potty training.

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Rainbow Hats for good luck! Saw a friend make this with her son and inspired us to make our own. So cute and very easy craft project with Gio!

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hey sunshine! love that smile!

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Potty training Day 2, we went to the park and made a caterpillar.

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1st day of potty, look at someone in his big boy undies! We colored and decorated doors in the house with an underworld theme.

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Art Class! Gio made two friends a wild, colorful bird and a bunny puppet.

Potty Training Day 3

I am such a proud mommy today, my heart is so full of joy because we had NO ACCIDENTS!!! I think we finally made a connection with not going in our big boy undies and going into the potty. We woke up and went straight to the potty and throughout the day. He would look at me when he peed for my reaction, which of course was hooray, clapping, singing, full of hugs and high fives (even though i was trying so hard not to cry from happiness...my eyes had tears trying not to escape). Once he saw my reaction, a big cheese would follow and clapping. We even filled up our potty chart and got a new hot wheels. What a great accomplishment, to think I was about to turn in the towel. After cleaning up his accidents, which were not much from what I have heard others complain about, I was very frustrated. We also made headway in our nap training, down to 20 min of fighting...he has to resist, so that I do not win...whatever kid...you wake up so rested. I made dinner and then we headed out to the park. We now walk to the park and play for an hour. Gio made a new friend, Miss Sylvia she is 6. She was very nice and patient to play with Gio. He idolized her while they played and was not happy when they had to leave. We finally made it home and enjoyed a nice dinner with Daddy.

I had to let my son grow a little, midway in this process, I wanted to put him back in diapers, because everyday is a sad reminder that little man is not my little baby anymore, he is so active and lil man like. My mother and Luan give him his own space and let him walk next to them or in front of them. I was not ready, he always has to hold my hand while we walk, safety first. But I allowed Gio to walk next to me free as a little bird and go up and down the big slides by himself. Overprotective much? I know, i know, but I am growing as a mommy too. The whole purpose of this blog was to keep our family and friends in touch with us, even though they are far away...but it has now turned into an online journal of our lives, just for you Giovanni. One day, you might not appreciate every gory detail, or be embarrassed that I shared so much, but I do want you to know how proud of you I am. To share our life with you and the experience of being your mother, is one thing I cannot thank God enough for.

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Dinner out with my boys and Auntie Christine!!! We had a lovely Italian meal and dessert.

Potty Day 2

We woke up and went straight to the potty and Gio peed in his potty!!!! Aaaaaaammmmmmaaaazing!!!! I almost started crying....yes I am crazy we should all know that by now. Luan and I made a huge ordeal, Gio got a treat and then went about his business. I laid waterproof pads around the house and told Gio it was great to sit on them...for fun...yea mommy tricks. Well he was fine then hopped off and peed on the carpet. I raced him to the potty, he thought I was crazy. I know his poop face but cannot tell his pee mannerisms.....just yet. So I followed him around again...probably annoyed him with "please tell mommy when you have to go potty, because you are a big boy now!" I did find out that no matter the liquids, Gio can hold his pee for 2-3 hours, good right? We painted a egg carton like a caterpillar, we read and played. We had a fight around nap time, he refused, I won and he slept 2.5 hours. My mother joined us and made a big deal about Gio being a big boy and how he had all these nice big boy items. Gio refused to go potty after his nap, the potty became his enemy. One more accident later, Gio running around the house and staring out the windows, it was time to get out. Yes I put him in a cloth diaper and we headed to the park. Fresh air and 2 hrs later we finally made it home with a dry diaper woohoo!!! Luan took him straight to the potty and then we went out to dinner, where Luan had to deal with a blowout,lol. Oh well I have had my share, Gio was so happy to be out, we ate outdoors and then back home for nite, nite. Tomorrow is the day, we are going to get this and master the potty....! Giovanni The Nguyen We Can Do This!!!!!!

Plastic House

In the 80's, movies featured homes with furniture covered in plastic...well I am on the verge of doing that myself....=/ What a brilliant idea, those people were probably potty training and then got past the training and kept it. Genius! Today, Gio and I have embarked on a new journey of transitioning to Big Boy Underpants. I regrettably bought a whole new box of diapers and then convinced to do potty training... How was I convinced..well I was conversing with my students about our kids and I told them how proud I was that Gio told me he did no 2 and needed a diaper change. Slowly I have noticed the signs, but I figured that we would wait till after our trip in September to initiate potty training....yikes did I just admit that, yep sure did. Who wants to go to a foreign place and look for RR? The majority of my students work for daycares and in the 2-3 yo age and had assumed I had started already. Nope, they suggested this is the best time especially since you have spring break...so here I am potty training Gio using the 3 day method. And as expected we are accident happy! Gio woke up and found tons of new items just for him in the house: a truck potty, potty chart, potty books, big boy undies and a bag full of treats if he uses the potty appropriately. We had breakfast and I explained what we were going to do. We lounged around for a bit and then it was time to say goodbye to his diaper and hello to his big boy underwear! He was excited, but didn't care for sitting on his potty. I stuck by him all day and everyte I turned away for a sec accident happy. I really thought he would be grossed out about being wet since he is such a neat freak, but he was not. Being in a diaper for 2 years has really desensitized him, so we r workin in that. I keep reminding him over and over since he is a big boy now he has to tell mommy that he has to go potty. I think he is annoyed by me now. We spent the day reading, playing, watching his new obsession blues clues and coloring on crayolas mess free page stickers. Didn't realize how much time I didn't spend with Gio, because I was busy cleaning, cooking or catching up with things around the house. Now I do spend time with him but now that my every minute is spent with him, it just surprises me...but things have to be done....anywhoo little one is enjoying his time. I was debating whether to put a pull-up at nite or just continue with what we were doing. Right before bed, gio broke down and had a really bad accident, we cleaned it up, he wouldn't calm down and just resolved to put him in his cloth diaper. Oh well tomorrow is another day and we are on our road to Big Boy Status!!!

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Yikes I have forgotten to take pics and update but here is a cute one from two weeks ago. Yogurt anyone?

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Hugs are the best, but where is mommy???

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Camera shy Nguyens.

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Peek a boo!

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Girl's Nite with Angelica. We went to go see Enrique Iglesias at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He is still a heartthrob!

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Back to the grind and we had to make sure our boats were in a row!

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I am in love with Greune, TX. So many years living nearby and we never drove through. It is a must if you are in the New Braunfels/San Marcos/Hill country area. B&B's galore, the oldest dance hall, wonderful restaurants and antique shopping.
My little man has such an old spirit he loves to read his books, newspaper and have his snacks nearby. Lol

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Mini vacay to New Braunfels, TX. I'll post more of trip later, but before we got started we made a pitstop for breakfast. Gio enjoyed his cup of joe...:)

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I can read all by myself. I love that Gio will pick up a book and flip through it, now he points out parts and reads what he can point out or tell us that we live in certain houses in the story. It's so cute! Yesterday Luan read Mouse Soup and all day we heard mouse, mouse, soup!

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Dinner time! We ordered Chinese take-out and we all sat around the dinner table. Gio wanted to sit in the big chair to enjoy his dinner. We all had a lovely and entertaining conversation. Love family time!

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Gio spent the day with auntie while mommy had to go to work. They did awesome paintings for everyone and then we went to Monkey Joe's for jumping fun. Well I climbed in with Gio and he instantly hated it. I tried everything but he was not interested. We were next to the arcade and he spotted two cars and that was it. He spent the rest of the time jumping in and out of the two stationary cars. Aye!!!