Potty Progress

For Samuel's sake, I wanted to share with the grandparents and everyone else that he is COMPLETELY going pee on the toilet now. He hasn't had an accident in over a week. Whether it was the fact that his one year old brother was going more than he was on the toilet or not, I don't know. But, whatever the case, he is now more motivated than ever. What a difference a week makes. Go, Sam, go!

Sam's Army Men

Last week I went to buy some more diapers from a woman who was selling them on Craigslist so I went to where she was going to be that day and it turned out to be a Christian homeschooling co-op trunk sale. We had a fabulous time looking through every one's stuff and got some awesome deals, mostly free. We even saw several friends there and a week old baby goat. It was so fun. Some of the women had toys for sale as well and I got a big bag of army men for Samuel. He doesn't realize they have guns and thinks they are toothbrushes and cameras. It's too precious. The trip was extra fun since we didn't even realize what was even going on before we got there.

Here's a video of him after we got home playing in the sandbox with them and talking about how much him and Daddy will enjoy playing with them together.

Don't mind Joseph, he's probably just choking on some sand in the background :)



We had company last Thursday so I missed our Thankful Thursday post, but we had lots to be thankful for. Gigi came down for Aunt Julie's 23rd birthday and surprised her with a fabulous dinner for us and her and her friends. It was so yummy and so great to see her.

With the weather being so gorgeous it's hard to stay in. We've got taxes and our loan application to complete. Looking forward to both of those being finished! How are your taxes coming?

Joseph Walking

We finally got a decent video of Joseph walking. I know the grandparents will be thrilled :)

Kid's Play Kitchen

We are so in love with this kitchen set. It's pretty pricey, but compared to the other kitchen sets out there, it is a STEAL. It's very good quality and is not the typical pink and purple plastic kind like most other sets. So if you're looking for a kitchen set for your little ones, I would highly recommend this one!

Thankful Friday

We've had a great week. Things we are thankful for:

~Had a great visit with Nana! Lots of fun was had!!!

~Andy and I had TWO dates while she was here. It was heavenly.
~I FINALLY kicked my Mom's butt in scrabble. (Here's the proof in case she tries to dispute it).


Love you Mom! Maybe you should practice and we'll have a rematch in May! :)

~The inspection on our house went wonderful and our closing date is June 2. Now all the fun paperwork begins. Here it is!!!


~We got some awesome deals at the Lollipop Shop here in Charlottesville. We got some clothes, books, and toys galore.
~Had some great fellowship with friends this week. We are so blessed by such awesome friends.
~The boys got a kitchen set that is the greatest thing on earth. I thought I had taken a picture of them, but I guess not.
~Joe Joe is doing great on the potty. Sam, not so much, but Joe Joe is a potty champ! (Notice the truck in hand. He's obsessed with trucks. He pushes them all around the house making a vroom vroom noise all day. It's too cute).

~And last but not least, girls bunko party tonight at our house, woohoo!

We hope you have lots to be thankful for too this week! Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Day!

Not only do we have our 5 year anniversary of getting engaged to celebrate today, but our offer on a house just got accepted today too!

Once Nana gets here we can start the party!!!

Thankful Thursday

We have had a fun filled week, nothing major going on, just some good quality time together. It sure helps that the weather was so nice earlier in the week.

Things we are thankful for this week:

~We had a great visit with the pediatrician for Joseph's one year check up and he's doing fabulous.

~Joseph is taking more and more steps every day.
~We think we might have found 'the house'.
~Nana is coming to visit tomorrow!!!
~Samuel has almost mastered his ABC's.

~Joseph's favorite game is hide and seek. He will run away laughing and go and hide somewhere and then squeals so we will come and find him. He is really creative in his hiding too. As soon as we get close he starts getting all excited and squealing and laughing. There's nothing quite as precious as a baby's laugh.

Joe's First Steps

I knew he was ready for several days, but just kept forgetting to encourage him while Andy was home. (I didn't want Andy to miss his first steps). So, on Saturday we worked with him a few minutes on it together and he did it, with everyone present.

Neither one of us was willing to leave and go get the camera, so we don't have any footage yet, but we will soon!

Now, the REAL fun begins!

Joe's Birthday (Thankful Thursday)

We are most thankful this week for our Joseph and the chance we had to celebrate his life. We had a week full of celebrating. We had Gigi and GranRan and Aunt Julie here to celebrate and it was a wonderful time.

Happy first birthday, sweet Joseph. You have blessed our lives beyond measure.

We had a banana/frog theme to his birthday celebration.



Banana pancakes for breakfast made by Sam.


We had pizza for dinner and banana muffins for dessert.





Andy made Joseph an axe for his birthday. The chair is still being made, but isn't done, so he made the axe so he would have something to open. He is obsessed with it. Now all is right in the Eckert household because all the 'men' have axes.

This outfit is the one that Samuel wore on his first birthday. I just had to continue the trend.


Driving around in his new car. He is quite the big boy riding around in it.

Slow down boy, I can hardly keep up!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've had several requests for our homemade laundry detergent recipe.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

For light load, use 1 tablespoon.
For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons.

Here is where I found the recipe. There are a few others to try as well on that site. Happy savings!!!