Incentive

This is Owens incentive to go potty.  It doesn't look like much, but it is working!!  For the girls it was a sticker chart.  I bought a lot of stickers and put them in a bag and every time they went, they were excited to add a new sticker to their piece of paper hanging in the bathroom.  

But for Owen, stickers are not the way to go.  I laminated this gum ball machine and used it originally for the girls when they clean their room or finish their homework . . . and the reward for filling it up . . . CHUCK E. CHEESE!  Owen was on board for the original use of this, and so I figured it was worth a try to use it for potty-training.

This is how he's doing so far.  I don't tell him this, but every time he has an accident, I take one off {to kind of prolong the reward}.  

I don't have any more diapers, and I refuse to buy more.  So we'll see how much more of this potty training I can handle.  So far so good!

Owen

Owen is now the BIG 3!  It's crazy how fast he is growing up!  He cracks me up ALL the time.  Jason says that I'm a 'softy' when it comes to Owen.  If he asks me for anything in the cute little polite voice of his . . . he's most likely to get it.  I just LOVE it when he says things like "I want to go to YOURS house" . . . "you coming to OURS house" . . . and "Cow-ie" for Kali, and "Hewo" for Hello.  He just melts me!  And he's such a BOY too!  I LOVE IT!! Of course he's my first boy, and I'm bias, but I swear he's gonna be all sports!  He's good at anything he tries . . . and I love that he looks like a little surfer boy!  

Gull Rock

Last week some friends and I went on a 10 mile RT backpacking trip.  We drove to Hope and hiked along the inlet to camp at Gull Rock.  Gull Rock is almost directly across Turnagain Arm from Anchorage.  About a half hour into the hike we spotted a black bear up in a tree just 10 feet off the trail.  He was only about 15 ft up the tree just staring at us.  It was pretty cool!

I was so excited to go on this trip so much that I didn't care that I was 6 months pregnant, I just REALLY wanted to use our backpacking gear that we got last year at REI's $.83 sale!!  I had EVERYTHING I needed in my 25 lb pack, except a stove.  I carried a two-man tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, extra pair of clothes, rain coat, Mountain House meals, water purifier, water, leatherman, a gun, and some misc things in the top pouch.  Surprisingly the strap around my waste was very comfy and supported my protruding belly.  I didn't get any braxton hicks till we got back to the car the next day.  On our way home we ate at the yummy Coast Pizza place in Girdwood, and saw Mountain Goats off the Seward Hwy.  I told Jason that I want to go again somewhere before I get really uncomfortable in the next coming months!

Me, Julie, Kia, Julie

Our black bear friend

This is our view from our tents looking straight at Anchorage

Half way to Gull Rock (almost looks like an island)

Our new 2-man tent!  LOVED IT!!!!