Los Warshaks: Ian, Denisse, and Emma

We LOVE this cat! It may seem strange to some of you, but she truly is a member of our family. I have had her since she was a kitten and I was in college. She turned 8 today. How many years is that is cat years? Hopefully not too many. We want to have her around for a long, long time.

Emma loves her just as much, if not more, than we do. Even as a baby, any time Emma had a fall or needed some comforting, we were sure Lacey could do the trick. She could be screaming in pain after a fall… and one look at Lacey would bring a smile to her face. It was Lacey who motivated her to reach, crawl, and eventually walk. Lacey and Emma have been best friends for quite a while.

So, today we did what any family would do for the birthday of a member. We baked Lacey a cake and bought her some presents. We even sang Happy Birthday and got her a candle (which Emma helped her blow out.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POOH!

Thanks to Aunt Linda and Uncle Roger for Emma’s new beanbag! She had wanted one since she saw one at our friends Aaron and Tiffany’s house a few weekends ago. This has quickly become her favorite hangout. It is HUGE and she absolutely LOVES it! It’s big enough to share with a friend!!!

I am pleased to report that Emma had her first day of potty training today and she did GREAT! I had been putting it off for so long. I mean, diapers really are easier to deal with than taking her to the bathroom. And the accidents… I have been dreading those for months. But, now that we have started, I am soo sooo glad we did.

We started trying today after lunchtime. We went to HEB and got some special treats. She picked out some mini ice cream sandwiches and some real fruit popsicles. When we were done eating she asked for one, but I explained that those were treats for going pee pee in the potty. She asked to try, so we went to the bathroom and she sat. I’ve done potty training with my kids at school before, so I have a pretty good plan in mind. I wanted her to sit for 5 minutes. We had plenty of books for the long wait. Eventually she would HAVE to go pee pee.

Three minutes into it, I called for Ian to bring me some warm water. I asked her to put her hand in it, and within 30 seconds, she was going pee pee!!! She was so excited, and I was, too! That has been the beginning of going potty all afternoon to get ice cream treats. So far, she has only tried 3 times and has been successful all three. The first 2 were pee pee and this last time (about 20 minutes ago) was poo poo!!!

We took a TON of pictures and video. Not all of them are appropriate for me to share. This is one that I thought was pretty safe. Ian is not dealing well with disinfecting her little potty, and I myself almost threw up after cleaning it up after the poo poo. I think we are moving to the real toilet tomorrow.

Wish us luck! We are starting the day in real panties and saying goodbye to diapers!!!

its funny to see how becoming a dad has changed ian. back in college he spent his time playing. playing with his computer, his guitar, any toy that was the coolest at the time. these days he’s still into toys. like his iphone… the coolest toy he says has EVER been made. i have to agree with him. it is pretty neat. another toy… his PS3. any evening you might find him playing a game of NBA2K8 after Emma’s gone to bed. (sometimes he sneaks breaks from working during the day to play, too) anyway, i can ramble, but here’s my point. here is ian’s new toy.

Yes, its a gun. And, yes, it says Hot Wheels on it. ‘What is it?’ you may be asking yourself. let me explain. it is a radar gun. ian has decided that people drive way too fast down our street. so fast that we might need to have some speed bumps put in. so, ian decided to do some research on his own. he ordered this baby online for $30 so he could figure out just how fast cars are going. its funny to see him out there pointing the radar gun at cars, and then seeing the drivers stare back at him wondering what the heck he is doing. the next step is getting a real deal officer out here to take some data and determine if we can get those speed bumps put in. ian has the application for that ready, too. we need the signatures of 10 families on our street who agree with us.

who would have thought that he’d be such a concerned citizen? i guess that’s what having a kid does to you. i love it…

a few months ago, ian decided we needed a PS3. i’m not a fan of video games, and we already have a wii which i think is pretty fun. but… after his newest purchase, i have to say… i LOVE RockBand! you can live out your dreams of being a singer, a drummer, or a guitar player. it comes with a totally sweet drum set, a guitar (similar to Guitar Hero), and a real deal microphone. everything you need to start your own band! we quickly figured out a cheat code so we can play all the songs without having to unlock them, and we have already bought a bunch more from the playstation store online.

i used to think i was a pretty good singer in high school until i had an unfortunate experience with the star spangled banner at a friday night football game (another story.) but RockBand doesn’t care. it tells me how good i am and makes me feel like i am a real rock star. i even enjoy playing drums, and i have to say that i respect drummers a LOT more now. it is NOT EASY to play a bunch of drums with different rhythms… not to mention throwing your foot in the mix, too. but it IS totally FUN!!

there have been some things in life that i would have loved to do. things that would have been cool, but just not doable for me. like being a bartender. it would have been amazing to create fun drinks and twirl bottles around. the closest thing i did to that was working at a coffee shop in college and making coffee drinks. the other thing that would have been fun would definitely be to be a rock star. The closest thing to that??? Playing Rock Band!!

These days, we can’t wait to get Emma in bed so we can get our Rock Band on. We are thinking about teaching Emma how to play, too. She would probably catch on quick and be unbeatable!!

he is on the front page of the business section!!! yay!!

here is the business section. click on ‘feature story.’

here is the article.

i always wanted to wait to take emma to the zoo until i thought she could really enjoy it. well, the time came! we went a few weeks ago, when her grandparents were here for easter. it was soooo much fun! even now she talks about the animals like it was just yesterday. i’ve been such a slacker and just put the photos on our computer. here they are…

the three muskateers.

petting a statue lizard with tito.

brushing a goat with tita.

checking out kangaroos with papo.

just the girls.