We've been busy..

Sorry for so few posts - we've been busy, doing summery things.
Uncle Neville and Aunt Mary were here for a few days (July 9 - 12), we had a great visit. I even got to golf with John and Uncle Neville while Aunt Mary watched the boys ... what a TREAT! Thank you AGAIN Aunt Mary - we truly appreciate it.
And we've been getting a project done -- putting rock beside the house. We are helping our neighbour out quite a bit with this project, too ... Which means it's a LOT bigger than it needed to be. But we worked up the dead grass, moved some soil around to level things out, put landscaping fabric down, and John's moving rock as I type (I put a couple of shifts in earlier today). He will get plenty close to done tonight - will likely be able to finish up tomorrow. I'm so HAPPY! That's been a big project that we've just been putting off, it'll be nice to be done. And it'll look good too!!

Other than that - just getting prepped for Aunty Liz, Uncle Rob, Thomson and Isabel's arrival this Friday! THAT is going to be AWESOME!! The weather promises to be gorgous, and the kids will have an absolute BLAST! YAY!! Spray pools, here we come...

Anyways, I'll sign off now - will try to get a few more pics posted a bit more frequently ... will definitely have some next week, after the visit from the cousins. until then...

Our week...

Since we've been home we've been busy in the backyard. Landon is happy to be in the sandbox for the entire day (the tv is barely on anymore, I love it!), and Arlan LOVES to be outside. He enjoys exploring the deck (we're going to have to get something out there for him to play with), but he loves to swing the most. I can just put him in the swing and keep him going with a push every few minutes, and get my yardwork all done! He's happy as a clam. And Landon will even oblige me to push Arlan (sometimes even nicely) every now and again too!

Today we turned sprinklers on to water our grass (which has been fertilized and cut since we came home). Landon only liked the 'little sprinkler', when the big one went on, both he and Arlan were crying! So I had to move the sprinkler around the yard to get everything watered, but it worked :-)
We also bought some plants today - a few annuals (they're pretty picked over), and several perennials ... so now I must create a bed for the hostas in the back, and get the side of the house prepared for the others and for rock too. Hoping to get some rock ordered this week so that we can get that area done finally! No more cutting grass over there!!! Yippee!!!

Anyways, I'd better get me to bed ... I had a busy, and productive, day, and hope to have another tomorrow...Until next time...

No sleep for this mama

Arlan definitely has Landon's cold, and he's grumpy as can be with his sniffly nose :-( Poor guy. He was up most of last night. He woke by 9:30, we steamed him and set up the humidifier in our room. He slept from ~10:30 until maybe 1, then off and on til 3, then he was pretty much up til 6 :-( I did catch about 2 hours in little snippets between 6 and 10, as I gave Arlan to John around 8!!

He's been doing ok throughout the day though as we've had him napping in the swing. But tonight ... different story. He was so tired, with red watery eyes, but as soon as I'd try to put him down he'd be screaming full volume. So I put him in the swing. He's sleeping in there now, but I don't know how long that will last. I shut the swing off, so he's just sleeping sitting up, which is probably more comfortable for that stuffy nose. We'll just have to see. Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight :-/

Landon's still pretty sniffly, but his energy level has completely returned. So he's just a cold ... no more fever or anything to worry about. And he's been loving playing outside as we've had some warmer temps. This week looks to be warm too - which is great news because .... Landon got a 'new' swingset today!!

John and I have been having this discussion for the past year or so ... I say we need a swingset, he's adamant we're not getting one. Well, the neighbour came over today while we were all in the backyard and said his swingset could either go in our backyard or out to the dump. John couldn't really say no as I was standing right there (he did admit that if I hadn't been outside he probably would've let the swingset go to the dump!!). So we brought the swingset over and Landon's super excited to have his very own swings! Can't say as I blame him :-) So we'll get rid of the little slide/swing thing that we have in the spring and the boys can have fun swinging swinging swinging all next summer :-D And I'll like it because I won't have to go to the park for 'finging' time (that's how Landon says swinging).

Well, think good sleepy-time thoughts for me. I hope I can fall asleep ... I'm in that 'just waiting for baby to wake up' mode :-/ *sigh* Hopefully these colds will pass quickly and we'll get back to some nice sleepy nights.

New Sandbox for Landon

Landon is overjoyed with his new sandbox. He was very busy helping John to build it, pulling back sod, filling in holes John just made, etc. And then the best part -- "Marker" was here last night to help fill it with sand. That was an instant hit :-) With mom too, as I hope Landon will find HOURS of fun in that sandbox!! LOL

A few minutes for a quick post...

Maybe, just maybe, a few minutes for a post while Arlan snoozes in the bouncy chair.

Arlan is turning out to be a very different baby than Landon was. From the first day, when he peed and pooped before he even got his first diaper on (Landon waited 2 full days for this much-anticipated event), and he nursed nursed nursed his first 24 hours (while Landon couldn't have cared less at that time). He continues to show us how different he is - by sleeping wherever we put him; by sleeping through the 'startles' (where his arms fly out); by nursing a bit more frequently (esp overnight) and definitely with more appetite than Landon; by not screaming his way through his second bath (Landon screamed for many, many baths); and by falling asleep in the car or his stroller when we go out (which means we can go out without screaming-meemie baby!). Overall he is much easier than Landon was at this age - partly due to my increased confidence -> and overall acceptance at having a baby. With Landon it was such a life-style shocker, with Arlan it's just what's gotta be done. I don't find it as hard to nurse (except maybe that third time overnight ... that's a tough one!), even when it's quite frequent, and the crying and stuff isn't as bothersome.
And thank goodness he's a bit easier than Landon. I can't imagine moms who have the 'easy' one first, then get a more demanding baby when they already have an older one to take care of too! Landon has been very good - he's quite accepting that Arlan is part of his family. When we all are together (or even when it's just Landon mom and dad) he will repeat "Landon, mommy, daddy, and Arlan" ... he usually includes Arlan. Except when it's just "Landon and mommy" which I'm sure he'd like to see happen more often than it does these days! lol But he's been pretty patient, and with John's help I can usually get some time to spend with just Landon throughout the day, and we always have at least 10 - 15 minutes at night before he goes to sleep.

What have we been doing? Well, mostly I've been hanging out at home with Arlan. I've ventured a couple of walks, to the park, to the mailbox, around the block, but nothing too spectacular. I did some maternity clothes shopping last week - nice light jammies for these hot days. Tomorrow I'm going to see a lactation consultant, just to make sure the soreness I'm experiencing is normal, and if it's not then find a way to get it fixed. Arlan will get weighed while we're there too - so we'll get an update. I'm sure he's getting lots to eat though - he certainly dines often enough - and he feels heavier (mind you, that could be lack of sleep making me weaker! LOL).

We also managed to check out some fireworks for Canada Day. Landon was quite enthralled with the whole show. It was a late night, but luckily he's good at late nights LOL We went to Airdrie, as I didn't want to contend with downtown Calgary and I didn't know where else there would be fireworks in Calgary (if anywhere). There was a park there that Landon played at (with the 40,000 other kids) for about an hour while waiting for fireworks. Of course Arlan got hungry just before the fireworks display, but I just plunked my butt on the grass with a view of the show and fed him (gotta' love breastfeeding!). Other than that Arlan slept the entire time - in his stroller -- gotta' love that too!
All the way home, Landon was asking for more fireworks ... by the time we got home he had his head wrapped around the idea that "fireworks aaallll done."

John's been working on the basement - hoping to be ready for inspection in a week or so. It's looking pretty good. And we're thinking through some stuff for the backyard ... like a sandbox. Now that we have 2 boys, I think a sandbox is a must have! lol So we'll see if we can get that built, and maybe get the garden shed up too. I'm not holding my breath, but as Arlan gets older and even easier, and as long as John will let Landon 'help' him, we just might get both of those projects done before John goes back to work. We'll see...

Anyways, I don't want to push my luck, so here's the long post of what we've been up to. Hopefully I'll get another chance soon, and maybe with some more pics....

Landon LOVED the backyard activities

Landon loved that we were all in the backyard today ... he was very busy running around, moving the wagon to strategic locations, and rearranging the dirt piles using his loader, bulldozer and back-hoe trucks! Then he had a quick shower and good long snooze!!

At least he's gone from calling Brian 'visitor' to saying 'Brian' now :-) He's had a busy, but a very fun day.

and yes, those are his 'bee boots' with his shorts. He loves those boots!!

That's a BIG pile o' dirt!

With Brian's help (a considerable amount of it actually), we got our trees planted in the backyard today. These boys moved a LOT of dirt around, let me tell you!! But the trees look fabulous! Here are the 5 aspens, as well as the double-flowering plum and 'sensation' lilac (they look so small now that they're planted!!).

Now let's just hope and pray the trees survive -- we certainly don't want to go through this again! yes - that's a pick-ax in Brian's hand - the clay soil was like concrete, we had to use a pick-ax to get any lower than ~8" or so. I don't know if John will let me plan on planting any more trees ever again! LOL

And once these guys were done in the yard, they moved onto the basement. John and Brian moved over half of the drywall into the basement (via the side window) before supper yet. They most definitely earned their HUGE steaks (thanks again Brian) for supper, and the nice cold beers too (made me really want a beer today...)