The McGinnis Family

This week is potty training week! So far CJ is off to a great start. In fact, he just called me to say he's pottied again. We're very proud. It's a lot of work for him (and us). The first day he looked so tired by the end of the day, but at dinner that night he said very loudly "Oh no! I am going potty!" Luckily, he wasn't yet and he made it on time. We thought the candy reward would be the best part, but he seems to like pouring and flushing best. He says, "good-bye pee!" as it goes down. The second day we hit the potty more times than we missed and today we've only had one accident so far. We are really, really proud of him. I have to say though that he seems really relieved when he gets to put his diaper on for bed. He hasn't been asking for one during the day though. I think he likes the feeling of not having one on even if its hard to remember to go. He's a bit sad about being a big boy too, I think. He's been asking to be held a...

Okay so it's been a long time since I updated the blog. I really have no excuse since I'm no longer in school. I came back from KC sick and of course, made CJ sick. The poor little guy had a stomach bug that lasted fro a week. He's so skinny now. He really lost a lot of weight, but he's back to being active! Christmas was wonderful. We tried to make sure we got a chance to see everyone, but as always ran out of time. The days were filled with adventures such as riding on the train at Union Station and visiting Crown Center. CJ loves going back to his Pop Pop's house at the end of a long day, but enjoys hitting Grandma's in the afternoon to play with the kitty cats and eat snacks. The picture is actually of Christmas in Newark. Everything here is fine. We are enjoying a quiet break before Casey heads back to classes in February.

Well, Santa officially visited the McGinnis household and rewarded CJ for being such a great kid in a tough year. CJ was delighted by his new kitchen and loved his Tonka dump truck. He has spent hours playing cars on his new full service car garage and ramp. He can already kick his new soccer ball like a champ! Overall, we'd say he had a wonderful Christmas. He wasn't much interested in Mama's spa present, but Daddy's new drum is really exciting. CJ made sure Santa had cookies and then strangely insisted we put them on a plate in the tree to make sure Santa didn't miss them. The picture shows CJ with his beloved sprinkles making the cookies Christmasy. He even managed to sing a rousing Jingle Bells for Mama as he worked. Right now we're at the hotel in Philly ready to get on the plane in the morning and fly to Kansas City. CJ is excited about the trip and can't wait to see his Pop Pop, Nana, Grandma, and all his aunts and uncles. Mama and Daddy are ready fo...

Well, we survived. CJ survived. We made it. Casey finished his last final on Tuesday night in American History. I submitted my final paper on Wednesday! I think Casey is more excited than I am. He has been such an amazing support over the last four years as I struggled to get through. Speaking of support...we can't forget our number one trooper, CJ. Yesterday I was so tired I could barely see straight. CJ told me to go night night and kept saying shh...mama sleep. What a great kid. We're always amazed at how truly smart he is becoming. Casey was driving me to work on Tuesday and CJ says from the back seat, Hey, Mama. Today is Tuesday. Then yesterday after I finished at the law school, he sighed, laughed, and said Mama's last year of school! I definitely think he's a listener. The picture is from a few weeks ago when we had our first snow. That is one thing CJ loves! Snow and snowmen. He cannot wait until there is enough snow to build the best snowman ever. He immediatl...

We just want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We are holding up. We dn't really have words for you all right now, but we're going to be okay. This weekend we ran away to Lancaster to try to distract CJ. It must have worked a bit because he's still asking to go back to the hotel. This kid is such a traveler. We took him to the Strausberg Railroad to ride on an old steam engine train. He had a wonderful time. Here are a few pics of him in his conductor hat. He also has some very cute conductor overalls that we will feature in a photo later on.

Here is CJ at Halloween with his second cousins Dakota and Cheyenne. He had a great time trick-or-treating with them. He came home dumped out his candy and was ready for another round. He enjoyed his trip to Kansas City and loves his Superman outfit. He was supposed to be Curious George, but the store Mama ordered it from sent the wrong size so Grandma (Edie) and Daddy ran out to save the day.

We had a wonderful time in Chicago. We met up with Christy who showed us around the city. CJ was especially impressed with the Lincoln Park Zoo and Navy Pier. She was a great tour guide. We took a water taxi down to the Sear's Tower, but decided not to go up since CJ was passed out cold. He really loved looking at all the buildings and people. On Friday night when we were walking back from dinner, a very impressive looking Marine came over to us. He was young maybe early twenties, but extremely decorated. He asked us if he could give CJ his old Lieutenant bars. He pinned them on CJ and saluted him. It was a pretty neat moment. We thanked him and he said, "No, thank you for being the best parents you can be." What a neat experience. The pictures are of CJ at Navy Pier.