I know how a month can go by so fast - we've been SO busy! I have LOADS of pics on the camera, hoping to get them up here Monday!
What has the past month brought? I was gone to Pennsylvania Aug 8 - 12, so the boys had fun everyday with Chantelle (our neighbours daughter who babysat for us). There was no problems that I heard about, and both kids liked to eat crackers all day! aiaiai
Then home for a week - Landon went to daycamp again, and this time there were no illnesses contracted which was great. He sure enjoyed himself, and didn't complain too much when I dropped him off. I have to admit, those afternoons with Landon at camp and Arlan napping were dreamy!
Aug 20 we flew to Toronto - stayed a week and came home Aug 28. Liz & Rob kept the boys while John and I traveled on to Montreal for a wedding (which was actually 1.5 hours north of Montreal). The wedding was a LOT of fun, and it was so great to get out and see John's friends without the kidlets.
Then back to TO for the week. We had a lot of fun - swimming several times, we drove to Niagara Falls one day, we went to the Canadian National Exhibition and the kids went on rides ALL day -- so much FUN! It really was a great week. (except when Landon got bit by a yellowjacket ... that wasn't fun for him, right under his nose poor kid!)
Then home again to all the stuff I hadn't been getting to this past month, and here we are Sept long weekend already! It's been an incredible summer - so many great memories and visits! But I'm glad to stay home for a couple of weeks as well :-)
Watch for some pics to come...
PS - John took Landon's training wheels off of his bike today, and he zooms along the back path like nobody's business! How did he get so big??
PPS - And Arlan climbs out of his crib like a pro too ... started the week before Toronto. He actually dive-bombs out of it into the lazy-boy recliner sitting beside the crib. This morning I woke up to patting on my head "Mommy, I up now!" at 6:50 am :-/ Big boy bed coming right up ...
Showing posts with label playing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label playing. Show all posts
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Friday, August 06, 2010
final beach pictures
Landon's belly flop that ended the "Landon tossing" fun!
And look at that sandy face ... too funny!
These ducks came by the beach late in the day as the sun bathers packed up. They knew what they were doing! Someone had dumped some cheesies on the beach (and chosen not to clean them up), so we fed them to the ducks (I know - don't feed the wildlife!! They were going to get the cheesies anyway, we just participated in the fun).
Then Arlan would "shoo" the ducks, which we have a video of because it was priceless! I'll see if I can get that loaded up on here as well :-)
More beach
We spent a couple of days on Juniper Beach in Kalamalka Provincial Park. The water was glorious, the beach smaller, and the water got deeper much quicker which meant we could really throw Landon high in the air (like dad's doing here). Landon thought that was fabulous, until he did a belly flop with mom!! lol
At first Landon only wanted to swim with "floaties" or water wings on (like in this pic with dad). But on the second day (which you see here in this smoky picture) he discovered that swimming with his life jacket was even better. He would even lay on his back "floating" ... told me he was sleeping there!
Despite the smoke, this picture is pretty nice and is making me miss the beach :-(
You can sort of see here the beautiful colour of the water through the trees. This was taken on the path walking to the beach and is of Jade Bay (the side of the point where boaters pull up, we didn't swim there due to that, preferring Juniper Bay as it's buoyed off for swimming).
Some beach pictures
Arlan playing in the sand. We were SO happy to have the happy HEALTHY Arlan back!
Two busy boys -- making holes and filling them up. We only had one pail (silly silly parents), but luckily someone left behind their broken sand pail which we scavenged and the boys loved all week!! One person's garbage is another's treasure...The view on the beach at 7 pm - how lovely! We would head to the beach in the morning, go back for Arlan's afternoon nap, and return to the beach between 5 and 6 for another hour or 2. Gotta love that!
Davison Orchards - Vernon, BC
Hanging out with the trucks in the play area. All the fun stuff to see & this is where he wanted to spend his time (surprise surprise)
heading out on the orchard tour - the tractor pulled about 7 cars behind it ... plenty bumpy and dusty, but a pretty cool tour 9in my opinion, Landon wasn't as impressed)"driving" the old truck in the play area. It was so hot he didn't last long ... see his red cheeks??
the "market" ... full of yummy things like homemade bread, pies, ice cream, real apple juice, plus the produce of the orchards. Not to mention the toys (yes, Landon and Arlan each got a toy, even though Arlan wasn't with us as he was still sick at home with dad ... I'm so weak).
A cute sign leading in to the petting zoo. I can attest that it was the parents and grandparents that had fun ... the kids were all like 'meh'
misc holiday pics
Reading stories to the boys before bed. Landon slept in the top bunk almost every night (some nights he was so sleepy after stories that he'd stay on the bottom to go to sleep, we'd lift him up top after). Either John or I would sleep in the bottom bunk, then other in the 'master bedroom' with Arlan. Why? The master bed wasn't as comfy as the bunk bed, but the bunk bed was too hot for both of us to sleep. oh yeah, and John was snoring every night!
The boys playing piano together. Arlan loved the "demo" song on here, Landon would cover his ears. But they both enjoyed making noise ...er I mean music on it!
Mom and Arlan - as you can see here, he was fully recovered from his illness and being a stinker again!
Landon had fun spraying dad with the water gun. The weather was so gorgeous, even into the evening, that we didn't mind getting sprayed with water at all!
The view from the balcony of the house we stayed at on Friday July 23 in Fairmont. On the beautiful Fairmont golf course. Saturday morning I was awoken by a golf ball hitting the wall right beside the bedroom window!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Full-fledged stinkerdom
Yup - both boys are fully back! We've had a couple of days at the beach, having a blast. I'll have lots of pictures of wet boys dumping pails of water when I get home and upload them :-)
We've tried to convince Arlan to nap at the beach, but that doesn't pan out. So we spend a few hours and then come back for nap time (which is fine because usually John and I steal a few winks in there too). Then when Arlan gets up we head back to the beach. It's so beautiful, even until past 7 pm. The sun is "setting", sparkling waters, and happy boys make for a nice evening.
Landon's exhausted himself fully - he's still sleeping (at 11 am)! Which is fine with us - it's a long day when you fight any possibility of napping! lol
Today is a bit cloudier (hence my patience with sleeping in Landon ... that and the fact that I slept in until 10 am too :-D), but we will still hit the beach for awhile. In fact, Arlan's been up for 3.5 hours and is getting antsy to get going lol
Speaking of antsy - my only real pet peeve with this place is the ants - YUCK! I HATE ANTS! We placed some traps today, so hopefully that'll clean some of the little buggers up.
That's it for now - just wanted to let everyone know that both kids are just fine now, wouldn't even know they were puking-pooping-monsters last weekend. Until next time ... (I'm off to Davison Orchards today for corn on the cob too YUM!)
We've tried to convince Arlan to nap at the beach, but that doesn't pan out. So we spend a few hours and then come back for nap time (which is fine because usually John and I steal a few winks in there too). Then when Arlan gets up we head back to the beach. It's so beautiful, even until past 7 pm. The sun is "setting", sparkling waters, and happy boys make for a nice evening.
Landon's exhausted himself fully - he's still sleeping (at 11 am)! Which is fine with us - it's a long day when you fight any possibility of napping! lol
Today is a bit cloudier (hence my patience with sleeping in Landon ... that and the fact that I slept in until 10 am too :-D), but we will still hit the beach for awhile. In fact, Arlan's been up for 3.5 hours and is getting antsy to get going lol
Speaking of antsy - my only real pet peeve with this place is the ants - YUCK! I HATE ANTS! We placed some traps today, so hopefully that'll clean some of the little buggers up.
That's it for now - just wanted to let everyone know that both kids are just fine now, wouldn't even know they were puking-pooping-monsters last weekend. Until next time ... (I'm off to Davison Orchards today for corn on the cob too YUM!)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
THAT's BETTER
Well, the boys are back to talking non-stop, picking on each other, fighting, and general other boy-ish type things (like marveling over bugs, picking their butts, and throwing things). So I guess I'd have to say..."theeeeey're baaaaack!"
I did take Arlan to the dr on Wed, as he was still having trouble keeping stuff down. The doc was good - let us know that Arlan was very well hydrated (we'd done a good job there), and telling us to keep it up, plus give him a Gravol suppository. I think Arlan was at the turn-around point already, or perhaps Gravol really is that incredible, but he only needed one. Since yesterday afternoon he's been on a big improvement. Today we spent most of the day at the beach, and Arlan had a blast. Mostly he enjoyed digging holes and dumping water into them. But he also "swam" and jumped, and played on the dock with mom - looking at ducks and fish (and lots of teen-agers!). So we are VERY happy to have him back!
Landon has been 'recovered' for a couple of days, and is LOVING the beach! He puts his water wings on and has a BLAST! The water is great because he can go for quite a ways and still touch. Plus with his water wings he does very well. He splashes, and pushes John around in the "boat" (one of those floatie thingies, whatever they're called). He even helps Arlan dump water in holes (otherwise known as castles). His favourite thing today was being tossed into the air (I remember Uncle Murray tossing me in the air as a kid - that WAS FUN!).
So we're so thrilled to have the kids back - amazing how little time it takes to start rolling your eyes at the incesant questions in the car, and scolding when they fight. Ahhhh ... normalcy! lol
Until next time...
I did take Arlan to the dr on Wed, as he was still having trouble keeping stuff down. The doc was good - let us know that Arlan was very well hydrated (we'd done a good job there), and telling us to keep it up, plus give him a Gravol suppository. I think Arlan was at the turn-around point already, or perhaps Gravol really is that incredible, but he only needed one. Since yesterday afternoon he's been on a big improvement. Today we spent most of the day at the beach, and Arlan had a blast. Mostly he enjoyed digging holes and dumping water into them. But he also "swam" and jumped, and played on the dock with mom - looking at ducks and fish (and lots of teen-agers!). So we are VERY happy to have him back!
Landon has been 'recovered' for a couple of days, and is LOVING the beach! He puts his water wings on and has a BLAST! The water is great because he can go for quite a ways and still touch. Plus with his water wings he does very well. He splashes, and pushes John around in the "boat" (one of those floatie thingies, whatever they're called). He even helps Arlan dump water in holes (otherwise known as castles). His favourite thing today was being tossed into the air (I remember Uncle Murray tossing me in the air as a kid - that WAS FUN!).
So we're so thrilled to have the kids back - amazing how little time it takes to start rolling your eyes at the incesant questions in the car, and scolding when they fight. Ahhhh ... normalcy! lol
Until next time...
Monday, July 19, 2010
Weekend photos
GOLF! Oh how I love to golf!Here's a shot of my incredible form on follow-thru - HA! My score would not reflect that statement. Although I did have my first ever "pitch-in" from about 50 yards out :-D
John and I had to take a picture to commemorate, it's so seldom we get to golf together. In fact, only when Uncle Neville and Aunt Mary come it seems...
When we got back from golfing, we "discovered" Aunt Mary buying treats for Landon and Arlan from the ice cream truck. I guess Landon heard the truck a
nd said "there's the ice cream truck." I don't think he realized you can BUY ice cream from it (until now!), because when Aunt Mary said "Yes! Let's go get you some ice cream!", he looked at her like she was nuts. He did not look at her that way after getting a treat - that's for sure! Lucky kid...To top it off, Landon was looking ultra stylish in John's shirt and his rubber boots ... nice.
Pics of us together. Uncle Neville and the boys had SO much FUN! Like Arlan's underwear? He asked for undies, so we put them on over his diaper! Silly kid. He also has one of Landon's runners on, and one of his sandals (on the wrong foot). He's quite the character.
On Sunday we had a BBQ as some friends from John's high school were in town (Doug and Melissa on the right). So it was a mini-reunion with them and Brian & Patricia (who live in Calgary and John reconnected with when we moved here, after 15 years or so....). It was a fun house, with 6 kids and 6 adults (the kids were all older than our two, ranging from 10 - 14, so they entertained Landon and Arlan nicely). It was such a fun day - in fact an incredible weekend that will live in my memory for a long time just because it was so great!
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Recent pics
Here's Landon and Camryn walking over here today ... they spent the entire afternoon playing together. They were so cute, walking down the path, holding hands, like teen-agers in love or something!
Landon and Arlan crashed on our drive home from Invermere on Sunday. We stopped in Radium on the way home for some swimming, which was really nice! Then a quick lunch (our only restaurant meal all weekend!) and on the road. Poor John had to drive through the rainy day while the rest of us snored! lol
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Gettin' Ready...
We are getting ready to head out tomorrow for the long weekend. I just checked the forecast - 20 all weekend. So not super hot, which will likely be a blessing! I'm sure the boys will still have a blast at the beach :-) I'm not looking forward to packing - which will be all that I do tomorrow morning since I haven't even started yet.
We had a great day today though. I met a great gal at Coffee n Scream for a visit while the boys played. Then we met Mike & Kathleen (I used to work with Mike) and their kids at the zoo. It had been much longer than I realized since we were last at the zoo. Arlan was already sleepy when we got there, so he just hung out in the stroller. Landon whined because he was tired from Coffee N Scream and wanted to ride too (and I brought only the umbrella stroller!). But it all worked out, we wandered about, had some lunch, played, and then came home.
On the way home, I managed to catch the 'ground-breaking' for the new Coventry Hills Middle School - slated to open Sept 2012. This will be the school the boys attend for Grades 5 - 8. I hadn't been at one of these ceremonies before, so that was kind of neat.
Then we came home. Arlan had a good nap while Landon and I washed off the driveway and side of the house, and watered the flowers. I hooked up the new sprinkler I bought for the boys, which broke within 3 seconds (cheap Superstore junk!). Then Landon had a fit when Arlan woke up and was sent to his room where he promptly crashed. So he's still awake, of course! His schedule's definitely off-kilter for the past 10 days or so ... won't likely improve while we're gone. Maybe not all summer since he doesn't have to get up for preschool until Sept! Maybe I'll have to break down and be waking him up in the mornings ... he's been sleeping later and later ... he's so much like his mother!
Anyway, that's the news from here. Tomorrow will be rushing around and packing - we'll hopefully be on the road by 2. See you next month :-) Until next time...
We had a great day today though. I met a great gal at Coffee n Scream for a visit while the boys played. Then we met Mike & Kathleen (I used to work with Mike) and their kids at the zoo. It had been much longer than I realized since we were last at the zoo. Arlan was already sleepy when we got there, so he just hung out in the stroller. Landon whined because he was tired from Coffee N Scream and wanted to ride too (and I brought only the umbrella stroller!). But it all worked out, we wandered about, had some lunch, played, and then came home.
On the way home, I managed to catch the 'ground-breaking' for the new Coventry Hills Middle School - slated to open Sept 2012. This will be the school the boys attend for Grades 5 - 8. I hadn't been at one of these ceremonies before, so that was kind of neat.
Then we came home. Arlan had a good nap while Landon and I washed off the driveway and side of the house, and watered the flowers. I hooked up the new sprinkler I bought for the boys, which broke within 3 seconds (cheap Superstore junk!). Then Landon had a fit when Arlan woke up and was sent to his room where he promptly crashed. So he's still awake, of course! His schedule's definitely off-kilter for the past 10 days or so ... won't likely improve while we're gone. Maybe not all summer since he doesn't have to get up for preschool until Sept! Maybe I'll have to break down and be waking him up in the mornings ... he's been sleeping later and later ... he's so much like his mother!
Anyway, that's the news from here. Tomorrow will be rushing around and packing - we'll hopefully be on the road by 2. See you next month :-) Until next time...
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Time goes by...
Not much happening here. We had a nice relaxing weekend. The Easter bunny brought chocolate for the boys, which they devoured. It was pretty cute to see Arlan running for the cupboard, arms stretched out, "choholah!!"
Landon's still riding his bike - has worn the rubber off the training wheels!! lol It's been really windy though, too windy for anyone to want to be outside. But the boys do spend some time in the backyard most days ... swinging and throwing sand around. I don't know if we'll have grass back there this year, or a beach.
Arlan had a fever tonight, pretty miserable. Sure hope he's not getting sick :-( We gave him some Motrin and put him to bed ... will have to see what the morning brings. I am worried that it's maybe his ears as we went swimming today and he seemed fine, then he slept for 3 hours when we came home, and woke up slightly fevered and VERY grumpy. He got worse as the evening progressed, refused to eat or have his bottle. So I think it's either his 2-year molars, or his ears. And if it's his ears, then to the doc we'll go tomorrow :-( Poor little stinker-pants.
Anyway, that's the news ... until next time. ...
Landon's still riding his bike - has worn the rubber off the training wheels!! lol It's been really windy though, too windy for anyone to want to be outside. But the boys do spend some time in the backyard most days ... swinging and throwing sand around. I don't know if we'll have grass back there this year, or a beach.
Arlan had a fever tonight, pretty miserable. Sure hope he's not getting sick :-( We gave him some Motrin and put him to bed ... will have to see what the morning brings. I am worried that it's maybe his ears as we went swimming today and he seemed fine, then he slept for 3 hours when we came home, and woke up slightly fevered and VERY grumpy. He got worse as the evening progressed, refused to eat or have his bottle. So I think it's either his 2-year molars, or his ears. And if it's his ears, then to the doc we'll go tomorrow :-( Poor little stinker-pants.
Anyway, that's the news ... until next time. ...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Finally - PLAYING OUTSIDE!
I love when the boys can play outside. And not only outside, but in the backyard too! The sun is shining on more ground back there every day, so the snow is finally disappearing :-D Even Arlan was out there today ... although he fell on the icy parts and hurt his bottom, poor kid.
Landon actually spent the entire afternoon playing with Camryn from down the street. Firstly they played out front of our house for a bit, then at Camryn's, then back to our house and Caitlin came over too, then in the backyard. It was so nice to see him having so much fun with his friends. And of course Arlan loved every minute that he was awake for...
We also learned today that Landon's friend from preschool lives on our street too :-) So that should add to the play-time fun on the block! YAY
We haven't been doing too much besides playing with the kids. I've been busy with some Mia Bella fun. I'm just so glad the weather's getting nicer, my house is a bit muddier, but it's quieter for a good chunk of the day and that's good.
until next time...
Landon actually spent the entire afternoon playing with Camryn from down the street. Firstly they played out front of our house for a bit, then at Camryn's, then back to our house and Caitlin came over too, then in the backyard. It was so nice to see him having so much fun with his friends. And of course Arlan loved every minute that he was awake for...
We also learned today that Landon's friend from preschool lives on our street too :-) So that should add to the play-time fun on the block! YAY
We haven't been doing too much besides playing with the kids. I've been busy with some Mia Bella fun. I'm just so glad the weather's getting nicer, my house is a bit muddier, but it's quieter for a good chunk of the day and that's good.
until next time...
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Success - and Landon's FOUR
Landon's birthday party (and the entire weekend) was very successful! We had a great party - with no meltdowns or fights or anything (phew!). Landon had a blast with friends here and presents. He definitely has the idea of presents now - it's all he wanted to do was to open presents! LOL His favourite was his new two-wheeler (with training wheels), which he took to immediately. He can even leave "blackies" when he stops! I can hardly wait for warmer weather, he'll be riding his bike all the time I'm sure.
Present fave #2 was his first HotWheels set -- some monster truck slammin' jammin' fire shootin' thing a ma hooey. He plays with it non-stop.
We've also started a "chores" list for Landon. He gets stamps when he does his chores, and when he gets enough stamps he can have money and can buy what he wants (which fluctuates between more monster trucks, Frosters from Mac's - which he refers to as treats - and today he was going to buy a movie). He's quite proud when he gets to put stamps on the chart, as I haven't let him use my stamps before. And the chart is up high, we have to help him up there, so it's a big deal.
Arlan loved the weekend too. Grandma and Grandpa were here. He kept pointing to Grandpa and saying "Look! Grandpaaaaa!" with big grin on his face. He is talking more and more, now it's just to figure out what he's saying. "rhoni" means macaroni, got that one figured out tonight. He loved the toys and people and everything on the weekend as well. He didn't even make it through the party - he went to nap right after lunch and missed the present opening and everything! lol Last night both boys were snoozing early - Arlan didn't even want to hear all of his "tory".
Arlan LOVES stories at bedtime. All you have to do is mention story-time and he's burning up the stairs. I didn't know where he went the other night, I went upstairs and there's Arlan laying in the middle of Landon's bed, looking at me with bright eyes, "Tory!" Too funny! Landon quite tolerant of Arlan sharing story-time with him, thankfully. Although the past 2 nights he's taken to reading his own stories in mom's bed ... Dad changed that one up tonight though. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I have the camera and all the wonderful pictures sitting here. I have to upload and go through them and hope to be able to do that tomorrow night. The kids are much less tolerant of mommy on the computer these days - I really don't get much chance at all before they're in bed. And I certainly don't get blocks of time to get anything major, like pictures, accomplished throughout the day. So hopefully tomorrow evening...
Oh yeah - and Landon had his 4-year check up on Monday morning. He's just a smidgen under 40 pounds, and is 40.5" tall. 75th percentile for both height and weight, as he's always been. Everything else is great. He was a big boy too. I asked him to sit nicely beside mommy and show Arlan how a good boy waits patiently for the doctor. And he did it! For only about 45 seconds, but he did it!! lol Now to get that patience stretched out a bit further...
until next time...
Present fave #2 was his first HotWheels set -- some monster truck slammin' jammin' fire shootin' thing a ma hooey. He plays with it non-stop.
We've also started a "chores" list for Landon. He gets stamps when he does his chores, and when he gets enough stamps he can have money and can buy what he wants (which fluctuates between more monster trucks, Frosters from Mac's - which he refers to as treats - and today he was going to buy a movie). He's quite proud when he gets to put stamps on the chart, as I haven't let him use my stamps before. And the chart is up high, we have to help him up there, so it's a big deal.
Arlan loved the weekend too. Grandma and Grandpa were here. He kept pointing to Grandpa and saying "Look! Grandpaaaaa!" with big grin on his face. He is talking more and more, now it's just to figure out what he's saying. "rhoni" means macaroni, got that one figured out tonight. He loved the toys and people and everything on the weekend as well. He didn't even make it through the party - he went to nap right after lunch and missed the present opening and everything! lol Last night both boys were snoozing early - Arlan didn't even want to hear all of his "tory".
Arlan LOVES stories at bedtime. All you have to do is mention story-time and he's burning up the stairs. I didn't know where he went the other night, I went upstairs and there's Arlan laying in the middle of Landon's bed, looking at me with bright eyes, "Tory!" Too funny! Landon quite tolerant of Arlan sharing story-time with him, thankfully. Although the past 2 nights he's taken to reading his own stories in mom's bed ... Dad changed that one up tonight though. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I have the camera and all the wonderful pictures sitting here. I have to upload and go through them and hope to be able to do that tomorrow night. The kids are much less tolerant of mommy on the computer these days - I really don't get much chance at all before they're in bed. And I certainly don't get blocks of time to get anything major, like pictures, accomplished throughout the day. So hopefully tomorrow evening...
Oh yeah - and Landon had his 4-year check up on Monday morning. He's just a smidgen under 40 pounds, and is 40.5" tall. 75th percentile for both height and weight, as he's always been. Everything else is great. He was a big boy too. I asked him to sit nicely beside mommy and show Arlan how a good boy waits patiently for the doctor. And he did it! For only about 45 seconds, but he did it!! lol Now to get that patience stretched out a bit further...
until next time...
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Not out of the woods yet, but I think I can see daylight...
Arlan isn't back to his old self quite yet, but he's on the mend by all appearances. His naps are still disrupted by coughing fits, but at night he's able to sleep through. And he's not quite as miserable as he has been - but there's still lots of cuddling required. The amount of snot coming out of his nose would choke an elephant - I can't blame him for being pissy!!
Landon's playing with him a bit nicer today too. Likely because I did the "toy swap". Brought the tote in from the garage and swapped toys out. So Landon feels like he's got all new toys today. I still hear wailing from Arlan every 5 minutes or so, but it's usually curtailed as Landon has finally learned that he doesn't get what he wants if Arlan's crying, so he's usually trying to give Arlan something to placate him. But not always, I just heard "You can cry ALL YOU WANT!" from Landon. Yes, the boys are in the basement playing -- it's nicer that way.
But I do think it's time to see what's what. Trying to get out to the mall for a quick shopping excursion this afternoon, and if we don't get going right smartly, we won't be going at all. Until next time...
Landon's playing with him a bit nicer today too. Likely because I did the "toy swap". Brought the tote in from the garage and swapped toys out. So Landon feels like he's got all new toys today. I still hear wailing from Arlan every 5 minutes or so, but it's usually curtailed as Landon has finally learned that he doesn't get what he wants if Arlan's crying, so he's usually trying to give Arlan something to placate him. But not always, I just heard "You can cry ALL YOU WANT!" from Landon. Yes, the boys are in the basement playing -- it's nicer that way.
But I do think it's time to see what's what. Trying to get out to the mall for a quick shopping excursion this afternoon, and if we don't get going right smartly, we won't be going at all. Until next time...
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Hi again
Well, it hasn't been a month ... yet (Yvonne!), but it sure has been a long time. I want to get to bed, but I'll post a brief update.
Arlan is such a funny duck I can't get over it. He's learning how to jump now, and gets so excited he ends up spinning in circles and falling down more than he ever actually lands a jump. Come to think of it, I really should try to video tape that move - it's SO funny. He also imitates pretty much everything we say ... or at least the intonation. He continues with "noooooo" as an answer to every question, but now his favourite thing is to say "NOOOOW!" to Landon, particularly when I've just said something to Landon in a certain tone of voice meaning that I want him to actually do something. So Arlan walks around saying "NOOOW!" most of the day...
Landon is a stinker - I can't believe how big he's getting. He can officially get his own cereal in the mornings ... cheerios and milk :-) Which is nice, if a tad messy at times. He wants to do everything himself (I thought kids went through this at age 2, not almost 4!), including pouring milk from a full 4L container, stirring macaroni that's boiling, you know -- the fun stuff :-/ But he's still alive and not horribly scarred, so I consider it good thus far!
Landon's still enjoying preschool, and we signed him up for 3 days a week this fall. I like the "break", although I usually have something planned for those days. Right now Arlan is taking swim lessons Thursday mornings when Landon's at preschool. Arlan loves the water MORE than Landon, if that is humanly possible! He jumps jumps jumps. In his class, he's supposed to sit on the edge of the pool and it's a big advancement if he lets himself fall into the water without me holding his hands. Well, today Arlan was standing on the edge of the pool, half jumping (see earlier in this post), half falling into the pool - whether I was ready for it or not. He just loves it! So much so that when it was time for playing other games in the water he cried for the next 20 minutes! Wanting to jump in, then slide (which he actually yelled out "SLIIIII!!!"), and finally to go in the hot tub (which I complied with ... we skipped out a bit early).
Other than that - well, the kids are just busy. Landon's getting over a cold or flu; he had a fever for the 2 days we were in Swift Current, broke it last night when we got home (of course). Still has a cough, poor little bugger.
I am really noticing that the boys play together a lot more now. When Arlan is napping, Landon can just about drive me batty, but as soon as Arlan wakes up they are running around, destroying the house, and playing (of a sort). Arlan certainly holds his own now, and has learned to walk up and smack Landon as hard as Landon used to smack him. Now to teach Arlan that that isn't acceptable .... Landon is such a good big brother (at times), and is certainly enjoying having a little brother that can play (as opposed to just eat and sleep like baby brothers do).
So I'm off to bed. I'll try to post more frequently, and to get more photos up :-/ Just haven't been taking pictures. Although Landon has taken about 14, 167 with his camera cousin Kyle got the kids for Christmas. I won't bother posting them ... trust me on this one. G'nite! Until next time...
Arlan is such a funny duck I can't get over it. He's learning how to jump now, and gets so excited he ends up spinning in circles and falling down more than he ever actually lands a jump. Come to think of it, I really should try to video tape that move - it's SO funny. He also imitates pretty much everything we say ... or at least the intonation. He continues with "noooooo" as an answer to every question, but now his favourite thing is to say "NOOOOW!" to Landon, particularly when I've just said something to Landon in a certain tone of voice meaning that I want him to actually do something. So Arlan walks around saying "NOOOW!" most of the day...
Landon is a stinker - I can't believe how big he's getting. He can officially get his own cereal in the mornings ... cheerios and milk :-) Which is nice, if a tad messy at times. He wants to do everything himself (I thought kids went through this at age 2, not almost 4!), including pouring milk from a full 4L container, stirring macaroni that's boiling, you know -- the fun stuff :-/ But he's still alive and not horribly scarred, so I consider it good thus far!
Landon's still enjoying preschool, and we signed him up for 3 days a week this fall. I like the "break", although I usually have something planned for those days. Right now Arlan is taking swim lessons Thursday mornings when Landon's at preschool. Arlan loves the water MORE than Landon, if that is humanly possible! He jumps jumps jumps. In his class, he's supposed to sit on the edge of the pool and it's a big advancement if he lets himself fall into the water without me holding his hands. Well, today Arlan was standing on the edge of the pool, half jumping (see earlier in this post), half falling into the pool - whether I was ready for it or not. He just loves it! So much so that when it was time for playing other games in the water he cried for the next 20 minutes! Wanting to jump in, then slide (which he actually yelled out "SLIIIII!!!"), and finally to go in the hot tub (which I complied with ... we skipped out a bit early).
Other than that - well, the kids are just busy. Landon's getting over a cold or flu; he had a fever for the 2 days we were in Swift Current, broke it last night when we got home (of course). Still has a cough, poor little bugger.
I am really noticing that the boys play together a lot more now. When Arlan is napping, Landon can just about drive me batty, but as soon as Arlan wakes up they are running around, destroying the house, and playing (of a sort). Arlan certainly holds his own now, and has learned to walk up and smack Landon as hard as Landon used to smack him. Now to teach Arlan that that isn't acceptable .... Landon is such a good big brother (at times), and is certainly enjoying having a little brother that can play (as opposed to just eat and sleep like baby brothers do).
So I'm off to bed. I'll try to post more frequently, and to get more photos up :-/ Just haven't been taking pictures. Although Landon has taken about 14, 167 with his camera cousin Kyle got the kids for Christmas. I won't bother posting them ... trust me on this one. G'nite! Until next time...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Party Time!
Landon and Arlan had so much fun yesterday! We hosted a 'block' Christmas get-together with the other parents (aka other adults yearning for adult interaction!). So Landon got to play with Caitlin and Katelyn, Braden, Camryn, and the twins Dera and Evan, and his future wife Lexi (she's 8 months old, but Landon loves her. Well, he loves Lexi's older sister Camryn too, so there could be trouble there...*sigh*). Arlan thought it was pretty fun too - especially as Landon let him come into his bedroom to play along with all the kids (Arlan's eyes light right up every time he catches a glimpse of Landon's bedroom ... all those trains and tracks!).
We had a nice time too - it was pot-luck eat-all-you-can! So much food - but made it nice and relaxing for everyone. Hopefully we'll do more block get-togethers coming up ... we've been talking that we should just alternate hosts and do it monthly (wishful thinking - every 3 months would be more likely!!). But it was definitely nice, and all of the kids played SO WELL together it was awesome!
So now we're into the final stretch leading up to Xmas. We'll be assembling gifts and wrapping and packing for SK this week. Landon's so excited for Santa it's almost ridiculous. Arlan has no clue what's coming, but I'm sure he'll love the excitement of it all. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and visiting :-) Plus spending the time at Grandma and Grandpa's new house will be exciting!!
No preschool this week, not until Jan 12 :-/ How will Landon survive? He's loving it - making crafts (my first homemade Xmas ornament ... popsicle stick Rudolph :-D). Plus we've got Landon in skating lessons in January (new skates for Xmas from mom & dad), and Arlan in swim lessons (on one of the days Landon's in preschool, works out nicely). I really enjoy having that time one-on-one with Arlan, since I've never really had it up until now (except the day camp days in the summer, which Landon keeps asking to go to even now!).
Ok, so I'm a teensy bit excited for Christmas too. It is my favourite time of year! Until next time...
RIP Grandma Martha -- we miss you and I sure wish the boys could meet you! I know you're enjoying them from wherever you watch over us from.
We had a nice time too - it was pot-luck eat-all-you-can! So much food - but made it nice and relaxing for everyone. Hopefully we'll do more block get-togethers coming up ... we've been talking that we should just alternate hosts and do it monthly (wishful thinking - every 3 months would be more likely!!). But it was definitely nice, and all of the kids played SO WELL together it was awesome!
So now we're into the final stretch leading up to Xmas. We'll be assembling gifts and wrapping and packing for SK this week. Landon's so excited for Santa it's almost ridiculous. Arlan has no clue what's coming, but I'm sure he'll love the excitement of it all. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and visiting :-) Plus spending the time at Grandma and Grandpa's new house will be exciting!!
No preschool this week, not until Jan 12 :-/ How will Landon survive? He's loving it - making crafts (my first homemade Xmas ornament ... popsicle stick Rudolph :-D). Plus we've got Landon in skating lessons in January (new skates for Xmas from mom & dad), and Arlan in swim lessons (on one of the days Landon's in preschool, works out nicely). I really enjoy having that time one-on-one with Arlan, since I've never really had it up until now (except the day camp days in the summer, which Landon keeps asking to go to even now!).
Ok, so I'm a teensy bit excited for Christmas too. It is my favourite time of year! Until next time...
RIP Grandma Martha -- we miss you and I sure wish the boys could meet you! I know you're enjoying them from wherever you watch over us from.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Oh aiaiaiaiai
Poor Landon - he has been in bed, so sleepy, since 7 pm. But he can't fall asleep because he has that annoying, dry, hacking cough. Poor kid! We gave him Triaminic at 7 to clear his stuffiness which I hoped would help alleviate the cough, but obviously it didn't :-( So I thought I'd try my kids Buckley's...here's where my rant begins:
I don't want to give my kids two different meds unless I KNOW that they don't contain the same medicinal ingredients. Only sensible, right? Well, the names of the ingredients weren't the same, but I wanted to speak to someone to be sure. Here's my 1st mistake. So I call Health Link (otherwise known as "we will only repeat what you can easily read on your product label; we provide no additional knowledge or help"). And I made my second mistake - I told them Landon's true age. They won't even speak about the products (or ingredients) because Health Canada recommends against giving kids under 6 cough and cold meds. So she reviews the non-med things I can do (which I've already done, this isn't his first cold with a cough), and gives me another number to call.
So I call it, and being a slow learner, I again provide Landon's real age. This dude goes off on me, making me feel like a drug-addicted slut of a mother -- how could I possibly even consider giving my 'under-6' kid cough meds? Well, because he's not going to fall asleep otherwise, he's been hacking for well over 3 hours already (which gets me to thinking that if I can repeat the Triaminic dose in 4 hours, then I can give him the Buckley's at 4 hours without worry about double-dosing ... blah blah blah). BUT I stay on the line with this dude, who asks me what non-drug stuff I've done, which I tell him. He proceeds to question it ("Where in the room did you place the humidifier?" "On the floor" ... it deteriorates...).
The real kicker -- this dude recommends against the cough meds (which I anticipated), and suggests LOZENGES!! Well, seriously. Landon has a very tough time not chomping down his candy canes in 2 seconds flat, when he's fully awake, seated upright, and I'm watching him. It's doubtful he's going to suck on a lozenge. BUT ... let's say he does, he figures it out. Now, he's laying down, hacking and coughing, half-asleep. I'm WAY more worried about choking than about giving him 'kids' Buckleys. Like seriously.
So I'm not impressed with this whole system. I'm doing my due diligence to ensure that I'm NOT double-dosing my kid (which is what got the cough and cold meds on the hot seat in the first place), and I get treated like I'm some sort of abusive parent? Then get told to give him a f#*%&@#*$g choking hazard instead????? *shaking head* Gimme a bloody break is about all I can say about that!
[END RANT]
Onto good stuff: it's warmer here, so we got to play outside today. Landon loves pulling Arlan in the sled, so we went down to the park for awhile. I can't believe Landon sticks with it that long, it's gotta be tough to pull that sled through some of that snow! The snow is only up just past my ankles or maybe mid-shin in some places, but that's knee-deep for Landon! Arlan was "meh" about the sled, but quickly recognized the benefits over trying to walk (or more like waddle) all geared up for winter. lol
Other than that, Landon's loving preschool. He always says he doesn't want to go in the mornings, but then once I start asking him which toys he's going to play with, he's gung-ho! It's helping us out too as he's less reluctant to help clean up toys (which has become part of our pre-bedtime routine), and he's much more self-sufficient in dressing and undressing his winter clothes (he's been well practised in undressing his inside clothes for months and months!!). He's definitely gaining more independence, and we hear "I don't want your help" much more often than we were even 2 months ago. I really noticed it at the mall yesterday: we had lunch and when we got to the table Landon got his burger and fries out and all set up all by himself while I was corralling Arlan. I looked up and he's happily munching away ... my big boy!
Arlan is adorable. He's getting more words, but still isn't nearly as vocal as Landon was (if I remember correctly). But he'll tell you a cow says "Meeeeoooooo", and a puppy dog says "ooof", and a chicken says "baak baak". He also says "Bauble" for bottle, and "cackers" for crackers, and "jus" for juice. He's getting better at asking for what he wants -- came up to me yesterday and said "bauble" so I knew to give him one. Now, I'd like him to get off the bottle, but he's loving that thing! He loves his milk in a bottle (will take juice in a sippy cup), and it must be warm (none of that COLD stuff, thank you very much). Hopefully I won't be sending him to preschool with the bloody thing!
Anyway, I should get to bed. Just thought I'd better post. I have about 4,000 pics on the camera I'll upload soon, promise. Oh yeah, and I have Santa pic to scan too. Can't believe neither of them cried! Neither look particularly happy in the pic, but no one cried. And Landon was actually SO excited (but by the 3rd pic it was harder to see on his face) -- he gave Santa a long list of toys he wants, and got a candy cane, and coughed in Santa's face (Santa assured me he's taking his cold F/X, good thing!). Arlan was like "whatever". too cute :-)
G'nite
I don't want to give my kids two different meds unless I KNOW that they don't contain the same medicinal ingredients. Only sensible, right? Well, the names of the ingredients weren't the same, but I wanted to speak to someone to be sure. Here's my 1st mistake. So I call Health Link (otherwise known as "we will only repeat what you can easily read on your product label; we provide no additional knowledge or help"). And I made my second mistake - I told them Landon's true age. They won't even speak about the products (or ingredients) because Health Canada recommends against giving kids under 6 cough and cold meds. So she reviews the non-med things I can do (which I've already done, this isn't his first cold with a cough), and gives me another number to call.
So I call it, and being a slow learner, I again provide Landon's real age. This dude goes off on me, making me feel like a drug-addicted slut of a mother -- how could I possibly even consider giving my 'under-6' kid cough meds? Well, because he's not going to fall asleep otherwise, he's been hacking for well over 3 hours already (which gets me to thinking that if I can repeat the Triaminic dose in 4 hours, then I can give him the Buckley's at 4 hours without worry about double-dosing ... blah blah blah). BUT I stay on the line with this dude, who asks me what non-drug stuff I've done, which I tell him. He proceeds to question it ("Where in the room did you place the humidifier?" "On the floor" ... it deteriorates...).
The real kicker -- this dude recommends against the cough meds (which I anticipated), and suggests LOZENGES!! Well, seriously. Landon has a very tough time not chomping down his candy canes in 2 seconds flat, when he's fully awake, seated upright, and I'm watching him. It's doubtful he's going to suck on a lozenge. BUT ... let's say he does, he figures it out. Now, he's laying down, hacking and coughing, half-asleep. I'm WAY more worried about choking than about giving him 'kids' Buckleys. Like seriously.
So I'm not impressed with this whole system. I'm doing my due diligence to ensure that I'm NOT double-dosing my kid (which is what got the cough and cold meds on the hot seat in the first place), and I get treated like I'm some sort of abusive parent? Then get told to give him a f#*%&@#*$g choking hazard instead????? *shaking head* Gimme a bloody break is about all I can say about that!
[END RANT]
Onto good stuff: it's warmer here, so we got to play outside today. Landon loves pulling Arlan in the sled, so we went down to the park for awhile. I can't believe Landon sticks with it that long, it's gotta be tough to pull that sled through some of that snow! The snow is only up just past my ankles or maybe mid-shin in some places, but that's knee-deep for Landon! Arlan was "meh" about the sled, but quickly recognized the benefits over trying to walk (or more like waddle) all geared up for winter. lol
Other than that, Landon's loving preschool. He always says he doesn't want to go in the mornings, but then once I start asking him which toys he's going to play with, he's gung-ho! It's helping us out too as he's less reluctant to help clean up toys (which has become part of our pre-bedtime routine), and he's much more self-sufficient in dressing and undressing his winter clothes (he's been well practised in undressing his inside clothes for months and months!!). He's definitely gaining more independence, and we hear "I don't want your help" much more often than we were even 2 months ago. I really noticed it at the mall yesterday: we had lunch and when we got to the table Landon got his burger and fries out and all set up all by himself while I was corralling Arlan. I looked up and he's happily munching away ... my big boy!
Arlan is adorable. He's getting more words, but still isn't nearly as vocal as Landon was (if I remember correctly). But he'll tell you a cow says "Meeeeoooooo", and a puppy dog says "ooof", and a chicken says "baak baak". He also says "Bauble" for bottle, and "cackers" for crackers, and "jus" for juice. He's getting better at asking for what he wants -- came up to me yesterday and said "bauble" so I knew to give him one. Now, I'd like him to get off the bottle, but he's loving that thing! He loves his milk in a bottle (will take juice in a sippy cup), and it must be warm (none of that COLD stuff, thank you very much). Hopefully I won't be sending him to preschool with the bloody thing!
Anyway, I should get to bed. Just thought I'd better post. I have about 4,000 pics on the camera I'll upload soon, promise. Oh yeah, and I have Santa pic to scan too. Can't believe neither of them cried! Neither look particularly happy in the pic, but no one cried. And Landon was actually SO excited (but by the 3rd pic it was harder to see on his face) -- he gave Santa a long list of toys he wants, and got a candy cane, and coughed in Santa's face (Santa assured me he's taking his cold F/X, good thing!). Arlan was like "whatever". too cute :-)
G'nite
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
All right already, I'll post!
We haven't been doing too much, or maybe it's just been so much that time is flying by and I'm not posting often enough (as I'm being reminded).
Hmmmm, let's see. Arlan has some new words. He says "Dank Youuuuuu" when he hands us something, or when we give him something. He always says "miiiiiine!" a LOT. And his fave new thing is to squeal VERY loudly when he wants something Landon won't let him have, then he cries like the world is ending and looks to mom and dad for sympathy. Pretty funny to witness actually. He hasn't done it too much because we aren't giving in to the ploy, but it is comical to watch.
Landon is turning into such a good big brother. He makes sure Arlan doesn't play with anything dangerous, well actually he makes sure Arlan doesn't play with anything at all usually!! But he does make sure to take away non-toy items and such, and puts them on the cupboard. He really does watch out for Arlan. That is heart-warming to see.
We went to Medicine Hat last weekend, stayed with Julie. It was a good visit, and the boys were well behaved (read: Landon didn't break anything this time). Both boys slept on the way down there, so the ride was HEAVENLY! Landon did pee while he slept though, so was pretty grumpy when he woke up to a wet carseat (and a pants change on 3rd Street downtown Medicine Hat!!). It also meant Landon was up until midnight, but he was very well behaved, so Julie and I visited and Landon went to bed with me. He got to play "camp-out", sleeping on a foam mattress on the floor in his sleeping bag. Now he wants to play 'camp-out' at home and sleep in a tent in the basement. We haven't ventured there yet, but maybe we'll have to let him try one night. One of us can always sleep in the bed down there in case he wakes scared or whatever.
Other than that, just been busy with candles, which is fun. Had a Xmas Faire last weekend. The boys came and spent some time at the child-minding area which was really cool. They had to sign in or whatever, and both of them stayed right there. Landon was loving the cars and playmat of course, and I think Arlan stayed because Landon was there. When I asked Landon at the end of the day what he did all day (because he did spend most of it at home with dad), he said "we played sharing!" and meant at the child-minding. So cute
Oh yeah, the boys did get their H1N1 shots, last Tuesday. Poor Landon - didn't know what was coming until they were swabbing his arm. We drove home from Medicine Hat and when we got to the city I asked him if we should go get vaccines. He was quite excited by that idea, so we went! No line-ups, which was fantastic. Both boys cried, but we had no reactions whatsoever, which is quite nice.
Well, Arlan's babbling away in bed, I'd best go get him. Sorry no pics ... will try to remember to take some soon. We need a new camera for Xmas Grandma *hint hint*
Until next time...
Hmmmm, let's see. Arlan has some new words. He says "Dank Youuuuuu" when he hands us something, or when we give him something. He always says "miiiiiine!" a LOT. And his fave new thing is to squeal VERY loudly when he wants something Landon won't let him have, then he cries like the world is ending and looks to mom and dad for sympathy. Pretty funny to witness actually. He hasn't done it too much because we aren't giving in to the ploy, but it is comical to watch.
Landon is turning into such a good big brother. He makes sure Arlan doesn't play with anything dangerous, well actually he makes sure Arlan doesn't play with anything at all usually!! But he does make sure to take away non-toy items and such, and puts them on the cupboard. He really does watch out for Arlan. That is heart-warming to see.
We went to Medicine Hat last weekend, stayed with Julie. It was a good visit, and the boys were well behaved (read: Landon didn't break anything this time). Both boys slept on the way down there, so the ride was HEAVENLY! Landon did pee while he slept though, so was pretty grumpy when he woke up to a wet carseat (and a pants change on 3rd Street downtown Medicine Hat!!). It also meant Landon was up until midnight, but he was very well behaved, so Julie and I visited and Landon went to bed with me. He got to play "camp-out", sleeping on a foam mattress on the floor in his sleeping bag. Now he wants to play 'camp-out' at home and sleep in a tent in the basement. We haven't ventured there yet, but maybe we'll have to let him try one night. One of us can always sleep in the bed down there in case he wakes scared or whatever.
Other than that, just been busy with candles, which is fun. Had a Xmas Faire last weekend. The boys came and spent some time at the child-minding area which was really cool. They had to sign in or whatever, and both of them stayed right there. Landon was loving the cars and playmat of course, and I think Arlan stayed because Landon was there. When I asked Landon at the end of the day what he did all day (because he did spend most of it at home with dad), he said "we played sharing!" and meant at the child-minding. So cute
Oh yeah, the boys did get their H1N1 shots, last Tuesday. Poor Landon - didn't know what was coming until they were swabbing his arm. We drove home from Medicine Hat and when we got to the city I asked him if we should go get vaccines. He was quite excited by that idea, so we went! No line-ups, which was fantastic. Both boys cried, but we had no reactions whatsoever, which is quite nice.
Well, Arlan's babbling away in bed, I'd best go get him. Sorry no pics ... will try to remember to take some soon. We need a new camera for Xmas Grandma *hint hint*
Until next time...
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Playing playing playing
The boys are starting to enjoy bathing together. Well, Arlan usually hates baths, until he sees Landon in there!! Splashing and making as big a mess as possible....
Landon's absolute fave is to play in the shale pile in the field behind our house. Arlan gets a kick out of trying to climb it, Landon is busy moving as much of it around as he possibly can!! Every day "Let's go play in the dirt pile!" I only wish it was closer to the house so we could go out while Arlan naps, but c'est la vie.
And Arlan is getting pretty good at running. Especially for meal-times! Ask him if he wants to sit in his chair and eat, and he drops whatever he's doing to run to his highchair. He'll then stand with his back to his chair, sticking his butt out, like "ok, put me in. I'm ready!"
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