Keeping Up Kelton: August 2016

We're big on bottles and cups for Nolan, and have been ever since we switched him from the bottle. Nolan took right away to straw cups when he first transitioned, and we've stuck with it ever since. Even though he's well versed in using a regular cup, with no top or assistance, over the last several months, we still love to tote around convenient cups for when we're out running errands, having playdates, or playing soccer (our newest adventure)!

When Nuby sent us the Insulated Stainless Steel No-Spill Flip-It cup, I was well prepared for the same run-ins we've had before with other cups and bottles: Nolan leaves it on our couch, or in the car, or upstairs in our bed, and water or milk slowly streams out everywhere, leaving a mess to clean for this Mama who would much rather spend her time doing other things. To my surprise, it held up with hardly any leaks, and I love the "Clik-it" feature that guarantees the top closure by seeing and hearing it click shut.

The stainless steel keeps Nolan's water SO cold, which is 100% necessary for the Vegas summer heat, and it's so nice to have cool water (for up to 10 hours, what!?) to offer him while were are out running errands. I love that there is zero sweat running down the bottle and no worry of hauling along a cooler in the car, and as always, the bottle is BPA Free, which is something we look for in our products as a must.

I love the flexible silicone straw, and, although we haven't used it over a lengthy amount of time, yet, I can tell it will hold up better than other silicone straw cups we've used and had to replace due to Nolan biting through them. One of the best features is the flip-top cap that protects against unwanted germs and contamination when we're out running about (like laying the cup down in the grocery carts, because we all know that happens, yuck!). Nolan had a little bit of a tough time the first two or three initial times pressing the button himself and pushing the cap back down, but after a little practice, he's got it perfected and knows to replace the cap when he's done drinking, which saves me time and worry!

The 9 oz. Nuby Insulated Stainless Steel No-Spill Flip-It Cup is perfect for kiddos 12+ months, and is available at these retailers:

www.babiesrus.com

If you are in the market for a quality cup/bottle, be sure to give this one a try! The only complaint we have is that there isn't a bigger size available, since Nolan tends to gulp up his drinks so quickly in this thing!

Nuby sent these products to review, but did not compensate me to write this post. All opinions and thoughts are of my own.

You can find Nuby and all of their great products by following their social media sites here:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest

We started out the month checking out a new splash pad, Weston Hills, and it was completely empty and I was impressed at how nice the playground was! I loved that the splash pad and the playground are right next to each other, and that it's mostly gated in from the outside, too. Nolan actually warmed up to the splash pad and played in it for once (yay!) and Acelyn just hung out in the big girl seat of the stroller.

I had lady chats with Acelyn before she took a snooze in the Solly around the house. Nolan needed some selfie love as soon as she fell asleep, too.

We spent a fun morning at the M Pool for 4th of July weekend.

Harley was found taking a nap in the Dock-a-Tot, or as Jason liked to call it, the "Dach"-a-Tot.... Get it?!

We celebrated the 4th of July with photoshoots, flag cakes and fireworks!

Nolan decked his sister out in stickers, both during playtime on the playmat and during tummy time, right on her booty.

Acelyn turned 2 months old!

At her 2 month well-check, she gave me a little preview of her college days by sporting her first toga.

Nolan showed off his singing skills and sang a bunch of songs to me one morning. I figured I should probably record them because soon enough, he'll start saying all of his words correctly and his toddler talk and the way he sounds will be completely different!

We spent a morning at Babies R' Us where Acelyn napped and Nolan window shopped.

Nolan started a 4-week session intro to swim class at the rec center, and he really enjoyed it and talked about his class and what he learned for the rest of the week! He learned the proper way to enter the water, back floating, blowing bubbles, kicking, and "ice cream" scoops as a way to paddle through the water. It's more of a class to get him comfortable with the water rather than learning technique, and the age range is from little babies to 5 years old. We're just glad he enjoyed it and wasn't scared at all!

Another HUGE milestone was reached this month... Nolan is potty trained! He was well over being ready, and I had gone back and forth before Acelyn's arrival whether I should train him around March-April. I hated the idea of having to teach him twice if he regressed with Acelyn coming home, so I decided to hold off a few more months until we were in a comfortable "normal" state around here. July seemed to be the month, and one weekend I just decided, "Let's do it!" So, we said Bye, bye! to our diapers and hello to the undies world. We used a little revised 3-day method, and stayed at home for 3 days and finally ventured out on the fourth day, and through the entire process, Nolan did AH-MAY-ZING and only had a few accidents total! The times he did have accidents, it was simply because he was distracted (i.e.: eating at the table, playing outside, or when company came over), and once we were aware that's what was causing the accidents, we were more diligent at reminding him more often to use the potty during these distracted times.

As far as our method, we used a reward sticker chart, prizes, and (hilariously) a system that every time he went, he would get a penny to pick out of our change jar, and got to place it in his piggy bank. This was by far the smartest thing we could do because he LOVED it and we weren't constantly rewarding him with sweets or toys, which was nice. Pooping received a little extra incentive in the beginning, and he would get a fruit snack or two every time he pooped on the toilet, whereas pee was just a coin and a sticker to go on his chart. Once he reached the "Big Circles" on his potty chart, he could choose a prize from the treasure chest (which was really just dollar store goodies and Matchbox trucks). He wore his undies that he got to pick out (Thomas the Train and Disney/Pixar undies), and only wears pull-ups for naps and night.

We couldn't be more proud of how well he did and with such ease, and sure are glad to only have one in diapers now! Woohoo!

We took our first venture out during potty training to a trip to Grandma's house, but made a pit stop at 7-11 for Free Slurpee Day! I was surprised that Nolan drank his because normally, he's not a fan of cold things (like popsicles and ice cream). And don't worry, Acelyn's just holding mine for me. :)

Acelyn spent some time in her crib while I put laundry away, and I think she was wondering what on earth this thing was for... surely I won't be leaving her in there anytime soon, away from me!

After going through pictures of Nolan when he was the same age as Acelyn, I realized there are a bunch of things we haven't been doing with her that we did with him. So, we busted out the high chair and she joined us for lunch that day at the table! Nolan absolutely loves having her sit next to him, and she loves watching him closely (in whatever we're doing) and kicks her legs with excitement! She kicks so much, that I had to take the tray top off because she kept banging her knees on it!

Little lady had a quick mini photoshoot and made some funny faces for me!

Nolan fell asleep with all of his stuffed friends, and has started snuggling the heck out of them every night and nap now. It's a process to go through and talk and organize all of them before he settles down each time he goes to sleep.

Acelyn tried the Bumbo chair for the first time, and Nolan loved that he had a different angle to play with her.

The next day, we went out and bought a Sit-Me-Up, because we were told it works so much nicer than the Bumbo. We were pleasantly surprised and it gives Acelyn so much more support, plus I like that there is more of a barrier between her and big bro... since he's still not the most gentle!

We spent a morning with the Luks family downtown eating donuts and playing at Container Park! The donuts were so good and Nolan looked like a little goth-child after eating his Pokemon donut, which obviously had black icing on it. The bathroom was amazing, covered in Simpsons art, and Nolan thought it was hilarious and so cool since (watch out: bad parent alert) since we've been watching it lately during dinner. It was early, so we tried to beat the heat and took a walk over to Container Park for the kids to play, but it was just humid and we couldn't fight the sweat! The boys built a huge block wall and tagged up the chalk wall since the playground wasn't open yet, and then we got the heck out of there after a bit because it was just too hot!

We jetted over to Nolan's swim class right after our busy morning, and the next day, we spent more time with the Luks at Black Mountain pool. The only picture I got of the entire day at the pool was Acelyn, just napping away in the shade, naked and all.

We tried a Naturesutten pacifier that Jess let us borrow, since Acelyn isn't the biggest fan of pacifiers and I'll try as many as I can to find that unicorn one.... and she gave me this look as soon as we tried it out. That was a big fat nope, in case you couldn't tell.

Acelyn woke up with smiles and stretches one morning.

Our first baby and our last baby napped together on the couch.

Acelyn wore her hair different one day and styled some bangs!

And another day, tried out a top knot wrap. These aren't much her thing since her head is just SO small still, and they really just engulf her and don't stay on!

She looked adorable on her flamingo blanket that has easily become the new fav.

Another weekend came and we had another successful swim lesson.

Acelyn got a new bath lounger and absolutely loves it! (We couldn't find a pink one, and I was tired of shopping around). She loves to kick her feet in the water, and I feel comfortable that she is decently sturdy in it for when I attempt to give both her and Nolan a bath together. Unlike most babies who relax in the bath before their nightly routine... this chick gets crazy and excited in the tub! We've started doing baths consistently every other night and will probably move to every night in the near future.

We played around with Snapchat filters one afternoon and I died from the adorableness!

Acelyn looked super peaceful snuggled in for a nap while I cooked dinner.

We had another fun photoshoot and Acelyn gave me the sweetest smiles and giggles! Then she stripped off her clothes and I drooled over her baby chunk!

She wore her brother's camo shorties and I was shocked to see that they fit, since he wore them closer to when he was 4 months old.

Nolan and I built a pretty sweet fort and we played in it for 3 days in a row.

At the end of the month, we took a trip down to the Bellagio to visit the summer display of the Conservatory. This was probably one of my favorites that we've seen at the Conservatory, and I'm always in such awe of all the detail to every flower! When we first entered, Acelyn woke right up and showed us she wasn't that impressed with her "Not Impressed" face. The middle section had a walk through aquarium, plus a fun LCD display of an aquarium that was illuminated on the floor and ceiling, with moving fish that Nolan thought was hilarious. Once Acelyn was a little more awake, she was totally into checking everything out and stayed super content just watching everything around her, while Nolan wanted his picture taken with every.single.thing. After we spent some time there, we took the tram over to Monte Carlo and visited the Park area at the T-Mobile Arena and had lunch at Shake Shack, which never disappoints. We had a long morning and afternoon out, but both of the kids did amazing, and Nolan talked about riding the tram for days afterwards!