Loving the mirror, and the stairs...

Arlan has rediscovered the baby in the mirror, and has fun playing with that baby, and even giving kisses!! LOL Little stinker.

Arlan's favourite trick right now is the stairs -- he climbs up 3 or 4 stairs, and then backs down them again. Today he went from upstairs to the landing pretty much by himself. I had to show him how to back up to the stairs at the top, but then he maneuvred himself down (with the possible exception of the last stair, where thankfully mom was there to ensure no bumps and bruises). So we have put up the last gate in the house at the very bottom of the stairs -- mom did that about 14 seconds after she discovered Arlan on his knees on the fourth stair up, and Landon going "No ARLAN!" (worried he's get his trucks that Landon 'stores' on the landing of the stairs, out of harms (read: Arlan's) reach).

And the pic with Arlan in the foreground, John in the back. That's Arlan being a very helpful helper ... John was putting our new garbage can in under the sink, and Arlan was making sure all the measurements were exact. I think we have a picture of Landon at this exact age helping John under the sink, putting the garburetor in :-)

Oh that face...

If that pic with him sitting up isn't a trouble-maker face, I just don't know what is!!
And another naked baby pic - he's getting ready for a bath here. He's taken to crawling full-speed around before bathtime ... where he used to be SO ready for bath because it meant bed, now it's not so much. He is still so tired, and so ready for bed at bedtime, but isn't nearly as keen on the bath. Especially since we have to keep sitting him back down "bathtubs are for sitting, Arlan." That usually ends the bath pretty quickly.

Arlan LOVES to feed himself!

As you can tell, some of my favourite moments are when Arlan's feeding himself. He's just so DARNED CUTE!! LOL He loves bananas, spinach, Mum-Mum crackers, Cheerios, and his most recent favourite is whole wheat toast with butter. He can't get enough of that. But I just love watching him concentrate SO hard to get that food into his chubby little cheeks ...

Picture Catch-up - Landon

Here are a few pics of Landon. The ones at the park are from this afternoon. He was having fun filling his pockets with rocks!! Of course Arlan was having fun filling his mouth with rocks!! LOL But they are starting to play together a bit more, which is always nice to see. Landon does tend to panic whenever Arlan gets within 14 feet of his toys, but it's getting better. This summer will be fun - I can see that already!

Easter

I think the real reason behind Easter is to remind us all why we DON'T feed our children chocolate for breakfast!
Thankfully, Landon is now done all of his chocolate.

Happy Easter!

We had a nice weekend - hung out at home and it was GREAT!
I bought Arlan a new carseat (thank you Uncle Bob & Aunty Rosemary) on Saturday. Now he fits :-) Of course, on the ride home from buying the seat, he fell asleep -- so he had his last nap in the bucket car seat :-( Another sad time for mom as I realize he's growing SO fast!!!!! But I took the opportunity to clean the car out - vacuumed, windows, the whole shebang and it looks great (until the very next car trip with the kids I'm sure!!). Ah well.....

Today I actually managed to go outside for a run, yup, I said RUN! It wasn't all running, but I did about a mile of running, a mile of walking, so that's ok for a start. I'm hoping to get back into it (after a 5 year hiatus!), and maybe even do a 10K this fall. We'll see....but I do need to do something to get back into shape, and I don't seem to find the time to get to the gym, so maybe this will be it.

Landon really enjoyed his Easter Egg hunt this morning. It took him awhile to catch on to the 'hunting' part, if in fact he ever really did. He basically went about his day and then you'd hear "An EGG!!!". I had some chocolates, graham crackers, and play-doh in the eggs, so he was excited to open them (and REALLY excited when it was chocolate inside!!). He also enjoyed his Easter present from the Easter bunny (a chocolate egg, of course, and the Thomas & Friends V-Tech game). We've played a bit of his new game today, he's liking his V-tech more and more.

We have also been taking several walks because it's so nice out. I love spring!! Arlan is enjoying facing forward in the stroller, although he won't go to sleep in there anymore. Maybe if we went for longer walks, but he hasn't thus far. It won't surprise me if he doesn't nap in the stroller anymore, and who can blame him - there's just so much to see!

Arlan is a piggy-pig these days...we can hardly fill him up. It seems like all he does is eat and sleep - I'm thinking growth spurt??!! We've introduced an additional bowl of cereal before bathtime (before bed), plus he eats constantly all day. This morning I think he ate breakfast for an hour ... we just kept giving him Cheerios and bananas. He eats a SLICE of bread at each meal, plus all the usual stuff. aiaiaiai But he hasn't been nursing quite as much. He really likes that bottle --> who could blame him, the milk squirts right out of there as fast as he can drink it with no effort on his part; he's so different from Landon who loved to nurse just to nurse, Arlan just wants to EAT, NOW! But I'll keep chugging away at it.

Arlan has been waking at night a bit more ... since this cold. But last night I just laid him back down with the soother instead of feeding him (I had to do this twice, I think, can't really remember if it was once or twice), then he woke at 7 for the day. So that's not too bad. Now if he could just learn to get down when he stands up in the crib, I wouldn't have to go in there at all!! LOL Poor kid - I get in there and he's hanging on for dear life, wailing away ... "MOM, I need HELP!" lol I lay him down and plug that soother in and he's out immediately. Ah well, someday I'll sleep all night long again, I'm sure of it.

Landon has been giving us many challenges too. He doesn't like to nap, and is so miserable by the early evening when he doesn't. grrrr Then he still fights going to sleep (I don't know how). Then last night, he went to sleep all right, but woke at midnight hungry!! lol Poor guy. But I got him some Yop and he went back to sleep for the night. Today he napped though, so he's still up ... we'll put him to bed soon, where I'm sure he'll play until 11 or 11:30 :-/ He loves to look out of his window (which his bed is right under) ... and he has completely wrecked his blinds - breaking a couple of the slats, and then BITING the rest!! yup - there's teeth marks on EVERY slat that he can reach. What a bozo ... but I didn't like those cheapo blinds anyways and look forward to getting some new ones.

Anyways, that's the ramble for today ... see - I did better, not such a long time between posts. Things are looking up :-D

Finally - nice weather!

We finally have some nice weather, where we can go outside and hang out and not worry about cold winds in our ears & things like that. Arlan was loving sitting with dad on the deck watching Landon play. And Landon is LOVING being about to play outside. Our biggest challenge is getting him to put pants on to go outside!! LOL

Arlan has been loving his mobility, crawling all over and exploring the house. One 'toy' he enjoys is the mirror. I caught him having fun with the baby in the mirror the other day ... too sweet!

We are recovering from colds in our house :-/ Last weekend was VERY rough. Arlan had his first really bad cold, with a completely stuffed nose :-( He woke up Fri and Sat nights every 1.5 to 2 hours ... it was like having a newborn again. Fri night was the worst, as he would wake up and it would take an hour or two to get him back to sleep again. He was so tired, but he'd want to suck the soother and then couldn't breath through his nose, so he'd cry again which made his nose worse ... what a long night. Sat was better only in that he could get back to sleep quicker, he was still up lots!!
Then Landon got the cold too this past week, but he's weathered it like the pro he is. He's still got the runny nose and a slight cough, oh yeah -- he had the fever the first day too, fever child! -- but it hasn't disrupted his sleep too badly.

I've the cold too, I think I brought it home in the first place. It's still lingering, but not nearly as bad. Thankfully - it's been over a week and a half with this one already. But from what I hear, it may hand on another couple of weeks yet.

Carla, Dave & the boys were here last night for a visit. Did we ever have a great time. Landon & Ryder stayed up until 1:30 am!!! I thought they'd give in and fall asleep, but no way! Finally we had to put them to bed, I think they'd have been up until 4 otherwise :-/ Today was a long one though - our 'alarm clock' (Arlan) had me up at 7:30, as usual, so we were sleepy! I'm looking forward to going to bed right away here.

And that's about it. Landon's first dental appt was supposed to be on Wed, but since he woke up with the cold (and fever) on Tues I changed it to later in the month. We've been talking about going for a few weeks, but he must've forgotten about it b/c he hasn't asked. We'll have to get him pumped up for it now again, but c'est la vie.

Oh yeah - Arlan got his top 2 front teeth as well!! Both came in the same day (last Fri)...the day he got his cold. Now when he bites mommy, it REALLY hurts!! Hopefully that won't last....

So that's the news from here. I really should get on here more frequently, and will try harder :-P Promise...

Man the Days Fly by!!

So here it's been a week since I last posted --- again! aiaiai

Arlan continues to insist on feeding himself. Mealtimes are at least 30 minutes, with clean-up almost as long. I guess I'll have to start stripping him down to eat so that the laundry doesn't get too ridiculous! And I'm going to have to start making more meals for us that he can eat, as he really isn't interested in boring things like cereal anymore. Tonight for supper he had roasted butternut squash (not pureed), canned pears, Yum-Yum cookie, pureed broccoli and a meat puree. He wasn't interested in the purees, just the pears and squash!! So I think the purees are almost at an end. We'll be eating more meals with potatoes, as he loves potatoes. He also loves avocados, and has eaten a bit of bread too. Oh yeah, and hard-boiled eggs. All those things that Landon refused to eat!! lol
Arlan is also working at getting his 2 top teeth through. They are oh so close. I think tomorrow they should be there. His poor gum was almost to the point of bleeding today - he's working them so hard. So hopefully tomorrow they'll be through and he'll be happier.

Landon continues to be a stinker. Still missing a nap about once, sometimes twice, a week. His personality is really coming through - and I'm really enjoying him (most of the time). He is quite the character though, hard to believe he's three!!

That's about it from here. I'll get some pics up soon (I hope!). Until next time...

that Arlan :-)

Now Arlan insists on feeding himself at mealtimes. It's a WHOLE lot messier, and about three times as long! LOL I started out giving him squished bananas, but within two days he's graduated up to chunks of banana (he bites pieces off), baked potatoes, avocado, and just about anything else he can actually grab. He gets mad when I put cereal on the tray for him -- he can't grab it! So I juggle getting spoonfuls of mush into his face while he's focusing on getting chunks to his mouth. He's so cute - he concentrates so hard, mouth open waiting, waiting, waiting for those fingers to hold something long enough to make it there! I've some pics, I'll hopefully upload shortly.

Landon has been good. He is back to more regular napping. He was skipping a day about every three days for awhile, but seems to be napping a bit better now. We do like the days he skips the nap though - nice, early bed time! But he tends to hurt himself more because he's tired and clumsy, but he insists on being even more rambunctious through the evening (because, I think, if he sat still he'd fall asleep). So I'm glad I stuck to my guns and kept insisting that he nap (or at least spend an hour of quiet time in his room).

We are slowly clearing out the baby gear :-( SO SAD! I have to not think about it, and just get it done! We sold the bassinet, swing, breastfeeding pillow, and playmat. I will advertise the Bumbo, baby bathtub, Bjorn, and re-list the crib toy and bouncy chair. SO many things. But it is nice to clear some of it out. It's just sad ... I have SO enjoyed Arlan's baby-hood, and he's growing up WAY too quickly. I have to more on, or I'll cry.......

Other than that - it's winter again, with a vengeance. I'll be glad when spring finally arrives. Landon needs to play outside! lol I've been looking at getting Landon into some summer 'camps' ... he'll go 9 am - noon every day for a week. We'll see how he takes it. I'm going to sign him up for 2 weeks worth - one in July, one in August. It'll be nice if he adjusts well, then just me and Arlan for a few hours in the morning :-) I'm also going to put him into Sat am swim lessons -- either John or I can take him without having to worry about Arlan at the day care. Landon will LOVE being in the pool again I'm sure (so will I to be honest).

And that's about it. Life is ticking along, busy busy busy, and fun too. Just looking forward to spring!

Another week's gone by!

Time really is flying! my oh my

John and the boys survived their weekend together. I don't think there was too much trouble ... the weather was great so they spent time outside. John and Landon built a snowman - a big one, not like the piddly little ones that I built with Landon!! And Landon was excited to tell me all about his weekend with dad :-D

Arlan did quite a few double-takes when he saw it was me nursing him instead of dad with the bottle too - pretty cute. I think my milk supply was down a bit when I got home, but now Arlan is actually nursing better than he has for several weeks, so maybe the break was good. I was worried he was weaning himself. The only feed that isn't me now is right before bed - he wasn't nursing at all :-( He only takes 3 or 4 ounces of milk, but that's 3 or 4 ounces more than he was getting from me. So we'll see...

And of course Arlan started all-out crawling the morning that I left!! Thankfully John got some video of the little stinker! lol So now he's motoring around the house, mostly pestering Landon as much as possible. He's getting pretty quick too.

Arlan is most proud when he gets himself up on his knees. He's able to pull himself up to his knees on the couch, the stool, and in his crib. What a proud little smiler when he gets that figured out. Then he just waits for me to come and get him! So we moved the crib mattress down to the lowest setting today, just to be safe(r).

Arlan took his first tumble down the stairs last night. The door to the basement got left open (!!) and away he went. Thankfully he's crawling only, so he mostly rolled down the stairs. There were no injuries that I can see (no bruises even), just scared the bejeesus out of him (not to mention out of mommy). So, I guess the first big fall is behind us :-/

Uncle Bob & Aunty Rosemary were visiting this weekend. It was a great visit, like always. They enjoyed the boys, especially Arlan as they hadn't seen him since October. Aunty R and I went shopping yesterday -- for some material for Aunty R ... somehow I bought a new winter coat and she came home empty-handed :-/ Go figure!! LOL But the coat is from Grandpa Leisle and mom & dad for my b'day (thanks guys!!), so I'm pleased.

That's the news from here. Will get some pics posted soon...Until then...

I think the warm weather is on it's way

And none to soon for John as he will have both boys on the weekend ... I'm off to Minot for a v'ball tourny with the Tremendons and am VERY excited for it!! So the boyz will be baching it ... hope it goes smoothly.

This week has been uneventful. Just waiting for warmer weather so that Landon doesn't go insane with cabin fever! The last couple of days they've been moving snow behind our house, so Landon's had lots of fun watching the bobcat loaders, bulldozer, HUGE loader and backhoe working away.

Yesterday the boys had their check-ups -- Landon's 3 year and Arlan's 9 month. Here are their stats:

Landon: 34 lbs, 2 oz; 39" tall
Arlan: 19 lbs, 8 oz; 28.6" tall

So they're growing. Arlan has dipped a bit on the growth chart for weight ... likely because he's just started moving around. The doc wasn't at all concerned for either of them as they are healthy and happy (well, Arlan wasn't too happy at the doc, he was TIRED, it was nap time!!).

So that's the bit of news from here.....will post next week when I'm back from a weekend away :-D until then...

Landon is THREE!

It was a paper-flinging extravaganza for Landon on Saturday!! He was soooo lucky to get sooo many nice presents!! In usual kid style, he was asking for more presents on Sunday :-/ But he LOVES his new CARS toybox from Aunty Yvonne & Uncle Greg and Kyle; and his Mack, Lightning, and Mater Mega Bloks from Grandma and Grandpa!! Mostly the Mack and Lightning - which is what he'd been asking for since Christmas :-) He got lots of great presents, hopefully it'll hold him over for awhile! lol

We had a bit of a birthday party for Landon. The neighbours came over with their girls -- and Landon got SPOILED by them as well! Thomson will be so happy to know that Landon now has mini hockey sticks along with nets so that they can play hockey when he gets here!! Landon also really liked his Wall-E cake. He'd known all along it was coming, and was so happy to finally be able to eat it :-D He blew the candle out before I even got the cake on the table LOL

So today we are re-grouping and relaxing a bit. Hopefully Landon will catch up on some sleep. Such a big weekend, plus the timechange. But he managed to get out of bed at 9 am this morning (which is 8 am in his pre-timechange world). He didn't nap Friday or Sunday, and Saturday's was horribly inadequate given the level of excitement he had all weekend. So this week will be recovery week...

Arlan's Weekend!

Arlan had a busy weekend, and he handled it very well!! When Grandma and Grandpa first arrived on Friday, he sure checked them out. But within a very short time he figured out they were ok, and then he was all smiles!! He played with Grandpa on the floor, and told him many stories!! He is SO close to crawling ... well I guess you could say that he is crawling, as he can really motor around the house in an inch-worm fashion!! He has one knee figured out, and pushes off with the toes of his other leg, then lays on his tummy and stretches him arms out again. Repeat. He gets around pretty well - and has explored most of the main floor fully. This morning when Grandma and Grandpa left, he inched his way to the front door with Landon to see them off. And when we put him down upstairs, he goes straight for the gate - there is no getting away with not closing that gate, that's for sure!!

Arlan also handled Landon's birthday party well. He enjoyed watching all the kids playing :-) Smiling for everyone, as usual. He also adjusted to the time change like a champ!

Now I think we are going to be seeing at least one, if not two, new teeth on the top in the next week or so. He got his second tooth late last week, but he's still chewing chewing!! We'll see. At least his eczema is cleared right up :-D

Another Tooth!

Arlan popped through another tooth yesterday - finally!! The second one on the bottom in the front. He's still chew-chewing, so maybe the top ones are working their way in now too, but for now his bum (eczema) has cleared up a bit which is nice.
He's busy pulling himself all over the place now - so adorable. Hard to believe my littlest boy is almost crawling. Tonight at supper he started out by my chair, and made his way to the tv, to the piano, and then settled in to watch Landon rip around. Very sweet (and mobile!! my gosh!).

Landon's super pumped b/c Grandma and Grandpa are here - arrived this afternoon. He is WAY more excited about them being here than for his birthday. But he is even MORE excited to have (and eat) his Wall-E cake. I got it finished up just a bit ago - much better planning this year than last when I was up until 2 am decorating Thomas!!

So hopefully tomorrow goes well. Will post some pics when I next get a chance (likely Sunday, or later). Until then...

What you get when...

Landon is beautifully displaying what happens when you suck on mom's 'bell' (known to the rest of the world as a candle-snuffer!). Nice mustache Landon!!

And Arlan has finally figured out that jolly-jumper thing is actually kind of fun! Smiles all around as he bounces a bit, although he isn't nearly as 'jumpy' as Landon was in that thing!!

Arlan still isn't crawling! He is moving himself around very well though, so maybe he'll just do this arm-pull thing for awhile? Fine with me, he gets around enough to explore and be occupied, without moving fast enough to get into too much trouble! LOL

And who'da thunk ... Arlan's favourite food thus far (since we've had more trouble getting him to accept foods than we ever did with Landon, this one is a real shocker for me) -- SPINACH!! That's right, the kid loves boiled spinach! LOL Easy enough...

Oh yeah, and it looks like there's another tooth just about ready to pop through on the bottom. Just a little white line there. We'll see if he pops a tooth for his bro's birthday ...

That's a quick post for tonight, until next time...

oopsie!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted !! OOPS!

I do think the title of this post should really be "don't bite the gland that feeds you!" Damned kid! Drew blood too, if you can believe it!!! I sure hope there's not much more of that in the future.

I do wonder if Arlan's getting some teeth - I keep checking and there's nothing in there. He has had eczema bum since ~Feb 10 or so, and if that's supposed to be related to teething, well where are the TEETH?? I have been putting Nutri-Rich Oil (stuff I sell) and Burt's Bees diaper creme on his bum and that is keeping it from going crazy - but it's still there. My Lunar Eclipse diaper creme went rancid -- gotta' love the natural stuff, there's $20 down the drain :-/ So I went with Burt's Bees this time, and so far so good.

Arlan is still on the verge of crawling. He is up on hands and knees, rocking back and forth. He can pick toys up and chew them from this position (a three-point stand I guess). But no forward movement while keeping his belly off the floor. Belly on the floor --> LOTS Of forward movement. He uses his hands to pull himself soldier-style, and is starting to use one foot to help propel himself, but that other leg stays straight and he just drags it along. Pretty cute though. His eyes are sparkling, he's so curious and SO wants to get all those fun-looking toys that Landon keeps taking away from him!! LOL Maybe by Landon's birthday he'll be crawling - steal the show from his older brother (that might be exactly what he's planning!! LOL

Other than that - Landon's busy as always. He's finally starting to go in the basement by himself ... only to get toys at this point, but it's getting better. Tonight he played down there on his own a bit before John went down - it was on the stairs, but better than nothing. Hopefully soon he'll be comfortable to play down there. And I'm so glad John bought a locking door knob for the furnace room for when that day comes LOL

I can hardly believe Landon will be three on Saturday!! We're having a Wall-E birthday party - he's so excited for a Wall-E cake!! I'm looking forward to it too - I'm starting to understand why people get excited for their kids birthdays, in spite of all the work they are!! Grandma and Grandpa will be up here too - I'm sure Landon will be bouncing off the walls when they arrive he's been asking to see them for weeks. Should be a very fun weekend (if a busy week preparing!!).

Well, that's that for now. I will try to post more frequently. This new 'job' has me busy :-) But I like that. And I'll get some pics up soon too - Arlan has finally learned what that jolly-jumper thing is for !! LOL until then...

8 MONTHS!!

My little Arlan is ALREADY 8 months old! So hard to believe!!

Here are some pics I took tonight. I love the cocked eyebrow picture - too funny! Can't believe I caught that expression so well :-)
Landon and Arlan play together sometimes. Mostly it's Arlan trying to maneuvre over to Landon, and watching Landon's antics (I am SO in for it!!). But every now and again Landon will play back ... tonight he was "tickling" Arlan's tummy saying "snuggly baby!". The tickling can get pretty rough, so I do have to watch, but so far Arlan just absolutely loves it!! LOL

So I just kept snapping photos as Arlan skootled himself around the bedroom tonight. We will be putting gates up very shortly as he is SO close to crawling. you can see that knee is getting under him, and he can get up on all 4's for brief periods already. Soon (too soon!!) he will figure it all out, and then ... *sigh* makes me want to cry :-( My little baby is growing too quickly ... Of course, maybe all this growing will have him sleeping through the night sometime soon - and I guess I am looking forward to THAT development!!

Some pics of the cuties!!

A few pics of the boys, and even me with them!

On Feb 4, Landon and I made some cookies with my new heart-shaped cookie cutter. I enjoyed it, but I think Landon loved it even more!! He was SUCH a good helper, dipping the cookie cutter in flour for me, then helping me to press down to cut the cookies. Of course, it made for some great moments together, and I loved his 'look'!

And Arlan is getting better at eating ... not quite so fussy. I have recently discovered that he will eat peas when mixed with carrots, so I can finally get some 'greens' into him!! LOL Little stinker!

Busy Busy days!

We have had several busy days, and are quite happy to be at home for Family Day!!
Sherry came in from Winnipeg on Thursday morning and spent Thursday and Friday with us. We hung out at home for the most part ... although we did pick up Landon's Wall-E cake pan for his birthday cake. Landon LOVES Sherry ... he wanted Sherry to read him his stories at nap time and bed time and everything!!
Friday was a nice day - John and Sherry made a yummy steak supper and cleaned up too, the best birthday present ever!! We played some cards, yapped our faces off, and drank too much wine.

Saturday we were up and on the road to Lethbridge for a wedding. We stayed at Paulette's house - I hadn't seen Paulette in about 10 years, so it was great to have a chance to catch up. Landon and Arlan stayed with Paulette while John & I went to the wedding, and I think they were fairly well behaved. Landon had missed his nap so was pretty wired all night, thankfully Amy got him convinced to finally go to bed (he said he couldn't go to sleep until mommy & daddy got home - she told him mommy & daddy were like Santa Claus that night, and couldn't come home until he went to sleep!). Landon did break one candle ... but overall was good. Arlan was an angel of course - going to sleep well and everything. The only frustration came when we got home -- Arlan was up to eat, and spent the next hour gooing and playing in the playpen while I tried to go to sleep beside him. Then he was awake for the day at 6 am!! aiaiaiaiai

But we got up and came back home yesterday - it was nice to come home and get unpacked and settled again. I enjoyed a LOT more sleep last night, and we are just hanging out all day. I think Arlan will maybe be getting another tooth shortly as his cheeks are red and he has dry skin patches on his bum again. I've been putting Nutri-Rich Oil on them to see if that works (as opposed to prescription cream). We'll watch that mouth of his.

Arlan is on the verge of crawling too ... today for the first time he was up on all fours ... so it's gotta come soon!! Now when he's on the floor, he's all over the place exploring!! we will be needing to dig the gates out of the basement in the next few days for SURE!!

Anyways, that's the quick post for now ... I'll keep you posted on the crawling and toothing developments...

We're on the mend...

Landon is pretty much fully recovered from his cold, and Arlan is getting there slowly but surely. He's still plenty stuffy, but is able to sleep which is a blessing to the entire household!! LOL He hasn't been nursing well the past few days, I'm thinking because it's hard for him to breathe when nursing - esp late in the day. Couple that with all the excitement Landon creates just by being Landon (and distracting Arlan), and well, not so much nursing. But I keep trying - hopefully he'll get back some interest soon :-/

Marc was here last night for a nice visit - it's always nice to see him. That and he brought us yummy Montreal bagels ... can never go wrong with that!! LOL

And that's really about it. Sherry will be here tomorrow for a couple of days ... I'm hoping this cold that's trying to catch me doesn't take hold so that I can fully enjoy visiting with Sherry and then have fun at Kristi's wedding in Lethbridge on the weekend.

It's funny - we've had such a slow January, but now things are most definitely picking up!! Next weekend (20-22) I'm hosting 2 Nutrimetics workshops here, plus Carla, Dave and the boys might come up, plus Juli, Bernie and Lilja will be in town. The following weekend I have 2 workshops again ... then it's Landon's b'day, then off to Minot! Wow - we're busy for the next month!! I love it :-D

Until next time...

Last night was better...

Poor Arlan sure didn't want to go to sleep last night. I think it took him almost 2 hours to finally get to sleep. He would cry so hard, but when I would pick him up he'd be fine :-/ So I ended up having to let him cry himself to sleep. That is SO hard to do, especially when he's not feeling well to begin with. But I'm afraid he'd never have gone to sleep if I hadn't left him alone!
And then once he got to sleep (~8:45 or so), he slept until 6 am. So he definitely needed that sleep!!

This morning he's better - still a bit stuffy, but not as bad as yesterday I don't think. The new cool mist humidifier was going in his room all night, and again now for his nap, so hopefully that's helping (might also have been why he had such trouble going to sleep?). He did just wake up and squawked for a few minutes, but when I went in to get him he was sound asleep again. So he's definitely catching up on sleep today - poor kid.

Landon's still Landon ... his nose is running even less, and he's full of energy, so he's definitely on the outward swing of this bug.

Hopefully John & I can avoid it - we both feel the beginnings of a cold, but we've been sauna-ing in hopes of killing it before it gets ahold of us :-/

Busy week coming up - Marc will be here for a night from Montreal, then Sherry's here for a few days, and then we're off to Lethbridge for a wedding! So hopefully whatever bugs we have will be completely gone for all the fun!!

Safe travel wishes to Grandma and Grandpa who are off to Vegas this week!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY :-)

My poor boys :-(

Landon's had a bit of a runny nose all week ... he had a rough night a few back, waking several times. But he seems to be taking it in stride these days - still runny, but sleeping better and full of piss & vinegar again!
But poor Arlan. His first really runny/stuffy nose. He gets SO mad when he's trying to sleep and his nose is stuffed. He is hard to console because he just bellers, and of course he can't nurse for comfort because he can't breathe through his nose, and his nose is even more snotty because he's crying so hard. Poor little stinker! We had a rough night last night, a couple of hour-long stints in the middle of the night until he cleared out enough to fall asleep. I hope that was the worst night! I bought a second cool mist humidifier today (Landon has one is his room too) so hopefully that helps. I used the warm mist humidifier last night in Arlan's room, but his room was a bit too ... um ... tropical! heh So we'll see if that helps.

I spent the day running around doing all the errands I avoid doing when I've got the boys. I did take Landon with me shopping for a friends wedding gift -- remind me never to take a 2 / 3 year old shopping in the fine dinnerware section of any store!! aiaiai I thought we'd be buying a lot of Denby 'pieces', literally! But we escaped unscathed, thankfully.

Other than that - just trying to take it as easy as possible this weekend. We have company for a good part of next week and then off to Kristi's wedding in Lethbridge. So tomorrow I don't think I'll leave the house beyond a walk with Landon.

until next time...

All better :-)

We had dr appt this morning for Arlan - his spot on his bum is all gone and he's cute as a button (the doc keeps threatening to keep him!! LOL).
And I had the doc check Landon's throat ... the tonsils are still a bit swollen but no sign of infection in his tonsils or ears. So he got over it all all by himself. When I praised him for fighting the bugs off by himself, he was very proud :-) And he was very good for the doctor, let him check his ears, and opened his mouth up wide. Made me happy - I really didn't want to have to fight with him.

So we're off to bake some cookies ... got a heart-shaped cookie cutter as a prize at Kristi's bridal shower, so Landon and I will try it out.

Until next time...

Tonsils!

Poor Landon - his tonsils are all swollen. Not that you can really tell by how he's acting. Yesterday he woke with a fever. We gave him Motrin & Tylenol during the day, but he still played like normal and whatever. Then last night his fever spiked up and I was getting worried. He had trouble going to sleep (which was likely as much due to the b'day party in the afternoon and the lack of nap), and woke once at ~12:30 crying with a sore throat. But I gave him more Motrin, and he slept the rest of the night and hasn't had a fever today.
But his poor tonsils are inflamed, which makes me feel for him because I know how bloody much mine hurt 'til I got them out (at 22!). They don't seem to be bugging him too much - he's still eating and drinking and playing. We went to the neighbours to watch Superbowl (although I was upstairs with the women and didn't watch any of the game! LOL), and he played with the kids all day / evening (he and John are still there in fact, I came home at 7 to put Arlan to bed).
So he's not too bothered. Healthlink said it's just a viral thing likely, not to worry unless he still has a fever in several days. *Shrug* I hope he sleeps well tonight. No nap again today as we went to the neighbours, so I hope John brings him home soon to go to bed!! LOL But it sure has been peaceful over here with Arlan in bed and just me in the house ... I kind of like it :-D

Other than that ... Arlan's been good. He went to bed late tonight (7:30), we'll see how that impacts him tomorrow morning. He was pretty happy over at Candace's, thankfully ... even when it did get late. All smiley and cute :-) I love that kid!! LOL

Well, will post again to update Landon's poor throat condition. Oh yeah, Arlan's bum is cleared up. Oh yeah - and I have mastitis again, but went to the doc right away Friday when I realized what it was, so I've been on antibiotics since Friday afternoon and feel pretty good. Thankfully. Hopefully it's my last bout with mastitis ... ugh.

Until next time...

Can you see it?

Not really ... but it's there. That first tooth :-) Maybe if you click the picture, it'll come up bigger ... heh heh But it's really there, I could feel it every time he bit me today! lol

Arlan's FIRST TOOTH!

Yup - it was poking through this morning! Just a little bit of it, you have to feel for it (or be lucky enough to catch a glimpse ... but I think he knows we're looking in there because he keeps his tongue over his tooth all the time!), but it's there. Phew! The first one. Hopefully he'll be a sleeping dream again now :-)

Other than that - things are pretty slow. Took the boys to the library today - Landon is excited to go there now and read books. Of course, that means I read a page or two and then he grabs more books from the shelves (the poor people having to reshelve them all!) and then he just jumps around the kids' area :-/ I did manage to keep his destruction to a minimum, only left about 3 books out at the end of it all. Arlan was wonderful, hanging out in the stroller, smiling and cooing and ah-gooing, and taking in the whole thing!

Ummm ... got our furnace cleaned (hence the trip to the library ... WAY too noisy, even Arlan was howling and Landon had his hands plastered over his ears!). Ummmm.......yeah, so that's about it. I'll try to get some pics up here .. maybe try to do that tonight. Until next time...

Poor bum :-(

I took Arlan to the doctor today. He has a red spot on his bum - it's just a dry-skin area right now, but it's been there for over 10 days (since the 16, day after he got his 6 month shots), so I figured I'd better get it checked out. It's on his buttock up the back, so I usually forget about it all day until I give him a bath, as I don't even see it when changing his diaper. He got a cream to put on there, and we will go back to the doc next week. Hopefully it'll be gone. Doc figures it might be a localized reaction to his shots, or maybe not - so we have to put cream on at bedtime and see how it goes from there. It doesn't seem to itch or anything, thank goodness.
Arlan was not impressed at the doc's office though. Apparently he doesn't like to have his diaper stripped off and "strangers" examine his buttocks!! LOL He howled like only Arlan can! poor kid

I had a good afternoon today though. Arlan and Landon actually napped at the same time (knock on wood!!), and I managed to get a little nap in with Landon. So wonderful - I love when that works out :-)

so that's the quick update for today .... until next time...

it's definitely teething time in our house...

Arlan hasn't popped a tooth through - yet - but he's working on it. There's a definite bump on the bottom gum now, so all I can do is HOPE he gets it through soon so the fussies can disappear! We just aren't used to dealing with a fussy Arlan, so we are like newbies at it all over again! LOL Last evening he was sooo fussy. That plus he isn't napping as well through the day (45 mins to an hour usually), so he's plenty tired.
On the upside, he slept last night from 6:30 or so until 7 am this morning. Which was a blessing, as I was very sleepy from my previous evenings activities (Kristi's shower and stagette). So I got a good sleep too (10 - 7 ... likely the longest sleep I've had in a year or more!).

Landon's been doing better on the sleep front too. He goes to bed much better when I'm either already in bed (like 2 days last week when I went to bed at 8 pm!), or go to bed right after tucking him in (letting John turn off his light a few minutes later and making sure I don't get up to see him again at all!). So that means he's waking up at 8:30 a lot easier too, which is great.

So that's really the only news here. I got my passport photo done this morning, so will fill that app out and go to send it off tomorrow. *shrug* Don't know what else is new ... nothing really. Will post more when I know more ;-) Until then ...

Still not the best sleep...

Arlan is still waking about 1 or 2 am to nurse, and then again 6:30 (when he's up for the day!!). I think I can see a little white spot starting to show on the bottom gums, but I can't always see it so I don't know if it's wishful thinking or what? There isn't a bump yet, that's for sure, so if it is teething, he's several days away from much 'action' anyways. But I'll keep watching.

It's been cold again here (like the rest of the country), but that doesn't stop Landon from wanting to go outside. Such a nice change from winters past! We get bundled up and he's happy as a clam to trundle around outside!! His cheeks get so rosy, but he never wants to come in. Must be a sign that he's got warm enough clothing!! LOL He really enjoyed helping me shovel the driveway yesterday. There was only ~1" of snow, so he had no trouble pushing it with his little shovel. He had well over 1/4 of the driveway 'cleared' by himself (by cleared, I mean the snow was moved elsewhere ... sometimes off to the side on the snowbank, sometimes over to my side of the driveway, sometimes just on his shovel...). Then he showed me a 'trick' (his favourite new way to get you to come with him) by walking on the hard snow ... pretty FUN!!

So the pics -- Landon actually almost smiled nice for the camera, so thought I'd post it. He was enjoying a pancake, one of his favourite things these days (and mine too, since I 'sneak' sweet potato in there so he gets some VEGGIES!! LOL).

And Arlan - despite waking me up more often, he's still as smiley as ever!! Especially when he's working on being mobile. He's rolling all over to explore, and yesterday he was pushing himself backwards while on his tummy with his knees sort of up under him. Soon soon he'll get that crawling thing figured out I'm sure!!

I'm off to a bridal shower this afternoon, stagette tonight. I'm looking forward to going out with some friends, not looking forward to a hangover (so hopefully I'll be successful at containing myself tonight!! LOL). Won't post tomorrow though, that I'm sure of. Until next time...

Is it teeth?

Poor Arlan. He's been sleeping SO well, but the past several nights he's been waking about 2 am ... I've been feeding him, he goes back to sleep. I'm not liking the 'extra' feed overnight, but last night when I just ignored him (for only 10 minutes or so) he just cried harder and harder so I fed him.
Now tonight he woke up at 10!! He hasn't woken in the evening hours for SO long! He was asleep ~6:30, but that's not unusually early for him. I tried just giving him a soother, but he really cried HARD! When I did go and pick him up he was so sad :-( He nursed, and I put him down, and I think he's back to sleep (haven't heard anything for about 15 minutes or so).

Now he is nursing when he wakes, but I think it's more soothing than anything. I'm almost wondering if his teething is starting to kick in? He's 7 months with no sign of teeth popping through yet, but this is the exact time when Landon REALLY fussed (Grandm and Grandpa will remember it well....) and about 2 weeks later his first tooth came out. So maybe that's what coming up with Arlan?
Either that or maybe an illness? He was crying so hard tonight, he was hiccupping and trying to nurse :-( He's such a sweetheart ...I hate to see him cry so hard. Hopefully these additional wakings will not continue though ... we'll have to see.

Arlan's starting to explore...

Arlan is fulling exploring his world these days -- well, he's exploring the living room floor anyways. It's so cute to watch. Before he'd by on his tummy, playing with and noticing the toys that were within reach (i.e. right beside him). But now he rolls onto his tummy and is noticing the toys that are on other side of the room. Now mostly, these toys are Landon's, so they are VERY interesting!! LOL
So I have been trying to teach Landon how to know if Arlan can have a toy or not, by using the toilet paper tube trick. Landon thinks that's quite fun, although I'm not sure he really 'gets' what I'm telling him. But for the most part I just tell him that Arlan can't have his trucks, and he's happy with that. We'll see how it goes once Arlan starts to crawl.
And Landon is still flipping out when Arlan squawks, I'm curious to see his reaction when Arlan starts to crawl. Because I'm pretty sure Arlan will be crawling straight for Landon once he gets it all figured out!
Every time Landon comes into view, Arlan follows his every move and has a big smiler on his face. He has started to try to talk to Landon too. Of course, Landon jabbers a mile a minute, but if he's ever quiet, Arlan looks at him "Ah Goo!" as if to say "Hey, why so quiet? You're entertaining me!"

So I'm getting ready to put the gates up and do a full-fledged housecleaning top to bottom in the upcoming days. I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm afraid it's coming sooner than later. Maybe, just maybe, the rolling thing will occupy Arlan's learning curve for awhile, and he'll hold off on crawling for a month or two? Of course with rolling I'll still have to get some cleaning done, but it'll take him longer to fully explore the house I'm thinking (hoping).

And it's supposed to get cold here again for the next few days. Our run of wonderful weather is coming to a halt. It's been so nice - take the boys outside after lunch, no ski pants, some days just a sweatshirt for Landon, Arlan all happy hanging out in the car seat. Mommy muttering and swearing while she chips ice off the sidewalk (how bloody thick can it actually get!!).
Oh well, with the colder weather, maybe I'll get more organized in the house? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ok, until next time...

Arlan is SEVEN months old!

And look at the trouble we're in for!! He's been working so hard at crawling ... He rolls around all the time when playing -- to his tummy to reach a toy, to his back to play with it, back to his tummy, spin to reach another toy, over to his back again. He is maneuvering enough to get himself in some tight spots every now and again -- against the leg of the swing, up against the wall.

When I think back, Landon rolled from back to tummy for the first time when he was almost 8 months ... Arlan's likely to be crawling by then. But Arlan doesn't jump anywhere near as much as Landon did. I think he's more of the curious one (he'll rip the stuff out of the cupboards for SURE), where Landon was more of the 'doer'. Landon crawled, or walked, or jump, for the sheer "Look what I can do!" factor. Arlan I think will be more of the "Look what I just figured out!" type.

And he's determined ... if he wants something, he WANTS it. Don't try to take it away, or keep it from him! Little stinker bug. And I can't believe he's wearing the same clothes Landon wore at a year! LOL He's got longer legs relative to Landon's that's for sure! Landon was always a size behind in pants it seemed, where with Arlan pants are too short on him altogether too quickly.

This look on his face says it all "I'm gonna be a TROUBLE-MAKER!" aiaiaiai And worse, he'll get away with it because he's SO FRICKIN' CUTE!!!!!

And heeeere's our fashion plate :-)

Can you believe this kid!! I went to buy groceries, leaving John at home with the kids. This is what I see when I pull into the driveway!! LOL His pj top (still), a diaper, and rubber boots (on the wrong feet no less!). It was very difficult not to laugh at him!!

.

But he had a blast splashing through the puddles. There's no shortage of them on our street, that's for sure. And when he was done splashing he took off his boots and walked barefoot through the mud (our flower-bed), then smeared mud all over the front door and steps!! Gotta love it - I remember loving mud as a kid too!! And luckily I was at Wendy's for a few minutes to dad got to clean it all up (and even luckier Landon couldn't get the front door open to get in the house himself like he was trying to do!).

Yup - the snowy-slushy mess is our street - YUCK! We have to blast out of our driveway and back up about 2 houses to where they've snow-blowered the street a bit, then take a big run forward to get past the mess in front of our house!! Both John and I have been stuck once out there :-/ But it's supposed to be up in the mid-teens again tomorrow, so maybe some of it will finally disappear?

Yes, it was about +15 or something when Landon was out like this...gotta love chinooks in January!! Even Arlan was hanging out outside - without a coat (but still a blanket!).

Why were we all outside? John was painting the trim and doors for the basement -- he sprayed them in the garage, and was cleaning up.

and yes, that's my FILTHY car ... will have to get it washed one of these days obviously :-) Mucky, yucky mess!!

We did actually have the neighbours daughter to babysit for about an hour this afternoon. John went to wash his car, I went to buy groceries. Arlan had a snooze while she was here, so she just had to play with Landon. And John was back from his errands quickly, so he was basically just in the garage. But we did want to have Briana watch the boys as a bit of a 'practise run' ... hoping this works out and we can employ her much more frequently. It's nice as she's right next door, so if there's questions or problems, her mom is close too. And with John's band practises starting up again in Feb we'll be needing a sitter on Monday nights ... so she'll get about 7 weeks out of Feb / Mar -- some good income for her :-) So hopefully it all works out well -- it's a win-win situation (well, win-win-win as Landon already was asking to play with Briana this evening!! LOL)

Landon didn't want to nap today with all this fun outside. So we didn't make him. By about 4:30 he was so sleepy. I put on CARS (surprise surprise) and he laid on the couch. I said "Landon are you sleepy?" He said "Mom, I'm SO sleepy!" LOL Then he went to sleep on the couch and was konked out for about 45 minutes until we had to get him up to go drop John's car off. He wasn't impressed when we got him up - but he snapped out of it once we got him in the car. Then he was all talk "Mom, look at that BIG WHITE TRUCK! Do you think we'll see a semi truck pulling a TRAILER!???"

oh my ...

Arlan is getting closer to crawling! Tonight while we had playtime before bathtime (we do this every night -- spend some time with Arlan naked playing on the floor in his room with mom. He really likes it, I think because Landon's usually not around!) ... anyways ... tonight while we had playtime in his room, Arlan was rolling all over and grabbing toys and grabbing for me and what have you. So he's on his tummy reaching for me (all the while, that big gummy grin!). I pulled his upper body up off the floor, and ZIP! Those little legs just went right underneath him and he was pushing down with his knees (does that make sense ? He was pushing with his knees to propel himself forward). As soon as I'd put his weight back on his hands he's lay down flat again, but he's getting the idea, that's for sure.

Of course, with all this learning going on, Arlan is not very interested in going to sleep at night. That's new for him! Last night I don't think he went to sleep until 9 (he went to bed at 7, but I heard him cooing and ah-gooing intermittently until almost 9). Tonight he cried for about 15 minutes before going to sleep at 8:30! And we were kind of used to him going to bed at 6:30 or 7!! But tonight is our fault too - we had to drop John's car off to get fixed, so we had a long car-ride late in the day and Arlan had a quick catnap at 6 pm (only about 10 minutes, but enough to cause some troubles I think).
So hopefully Arlan drops this crying at night thing (even this laying the crib thing). I like the "goes to sleep without a problem" Arlan much better. We'll see how it goes. I do have to admit, the whole 13 hours in bed thing does seem a bit long for me - so if he spends only 11 or 12 in bed, but sleeping straight through, I'll be fine with that :-)

Anyways, I have some pics to upload, and so will do that and hopefully post still tonight and can then tell more stories about the pics :-D Until next time...

Arlan Pictures

Arlan LOVES to play on his tummy. He can now get himself maneuvred around to get the more interesting toys, and is quite good at rolling to his back and to his tummy as he wants. Unless he's tired, then he wants help!! I noticed yesterday he's also starting to pull his knees up under him a bit, especially when trying to reach a toy that's out of reach in front of him (he used to just stick his legs straight out the back!), so I'm thinking crawling will be on order soon....

Here's Arlan asleep in the sled again. It was much colder this day, and snowing slightly. He didn't care - he still nodded off!! LOL So sweet :-D

And here's our little smiler. The sun shines in to the computer room (bonus room) so nicely in the morning, and he loves to play in here (which works for mom to check her email too!!). He is just too cute. And his hair -- like, what do you do with that!! It looks like the wind's blowing it off to one side!! LOL And those curls are always off like that! In some pictures he reminds me of a mad scientist or something with this wild hair all over the place! heh

Poor Landon :-(

Landon got himself a nice fat lip today :-( He was splashing through the water (yes, it's about +10' here, so it's all slushy and stuff) and slipped on the ice that's still underneath and his hands slipped when he tried to catch himself, so he smashed his face into the sidewalk. Even his nose is scratched up. He sure cried! Good thing we had some nice cold snow to put on his mouth right away ... although it didn't stop all the swelling as you can see. He wouldn't let me lift his lip up, so I'm not sure how much damage has been done on the inside. I'll have to see when he wakes from his nap - maybe it won't be quite so tender.
Then on his way upstairs to have a nap (sooooo sleepy after a big cry like that) he bonked his head on the handrail. MORE tears ... it's been a REALLY tough afternoon for Landon.


Here's a pic from last week ... Landon is at the stage where he organizes everything. His favourite activity is to line his trucks up ... here he managed to get them all balanced on the back of the couch. And as you can see, he was quite proud of this accomplishment. He also enjoys lining them up when he plays in the basement, or on the table, or wherever else.
His second favourite passtime is loading his trucks and loaders up with play-doh -- play-doh is dirt, or coal (if he's been watching Thomas), or whatever else is in his imagination that day. I LOVE play-doh (although I am already tired of sweeping up dried bits of it already ... but I am realizing I have about 6 more years of that ahead of me...)

You'll notice we haven't been talking about potty training -- that's because it's at a complete stand-still right now. ABSOLUTELY no action on that front for well over a month :-( But he did ask to wear gotchies yesterday, for a few minutes anyways. He's also not wanting to wear a diaper much ... preferring to run around naked (of course) and getting a diaper only to pee or poop. I ask every day if he wants to use the pot, but don't push him. Hopefully soon we'll see some potty action ... but I think if he doesn't train shortly, he will in the summer time. I'm hoping anyways...

Weights and Measures...

I took Arlan in for his 6 month shots this morning. He was SUCH a trooper - not even a squawk for the first needle, and only about 15 seconds of tears with the second. I opted out of the flu shot for him, for a few reasons: he would need a booster in 1 month to be fully protected, and by then we are less than 6 weeks away from the 'end' of flu season; plus the rest of us are vaccinated already so we are less likely to bring it home to him; and since I'm still breastfeeding he still gets protection from me as well. So only 2 needles for him today, and no more until he's 1 YAY!

How does Arlan measure up? He's 18 pounds, 10 ounces (gained 1 lb, 3 oz in past 4 weeks -- that's almost 5 oz a week!) and 27" tall (same as last month). That puts him at 75th percentile for height, 50th for weight. He's a chunky monkey, but would be even moreso if he wasn't so 'tall' :-) The solids are serving him well I guess.

All other areas he's fine. Head shape is fine, she couldn't check his hips (like the doc couldn't) as he kept pushing back on her. There's no sleeping issues, no feeding issues, all's well with the little smiler -- just what I like.

Haven't done much this week...

Well, this week has past, and we didn't do too much :-/ I guess we did some running around, dropping John's car off to be fixed and picking it up again. We did discover through these journeys that Arlan no longer screams when it gets dark out and he's in the car. That's a VERY good thing ;-) Both boys were amazingly patient with the whole process, which was almost 2 hours in the car on Friday afternoon when we dropped John off to pick his up (yup - rush hour ... gotta love it!! NOT!).

Arlan's still working on getting some sort of mobility - when he's on his tummy he can quite easily spin himself around to get toys he wants (and even toys he shouldn't have). So we put him down facing one way, and aren't sure which way he'll be facing when we next look. And he can move himself a bit to the sides, but not too far yet. He's really working on getting forward momentum. If I put a toy he wants just out of reach in front of him, he works sooooo hard to get it ... and is learning that he needs to have his arms out in front of him (not back by his sides like he's flying like Superman!!), and is starting to push up on his hands while moving and squiggling his legs. I think one of these days he'll move himself forward a bit, and then ... *sigh* I'm waiting for it, but not anxiously!! LOL I like the non-moving Arlan for right now :-)

Landon's been watching CARS movie ALL the time ... he gets up in the morning and that's all he wants to do. We haven't even gotten him to watch the new Thomas DVD's from Aunty Yvonne and Uncle Greg! It's all CARS, all the time. I've started to set the timer when he gets up, and when the timer goes off so does the TV. It has worked well, although I haven't done it this weekend as we've been busy enough the tv hasn't stayed on. But I think I will keep that up to try and minimize the television viewing.
I'm just hoping that soon Landon will not be so scared of the basement and will be confident enough to play down there by himself. It's not that I mind going down there, but my being down there does not get laundry done, dinner made, dishes put away, etc ... (yes, I do some of those things every day!!). But I am trying hard to stay patient with him to help him get comfortable, and I'm doing little 'tests' every day -- like going upstairs for a glass of water while he waits for me on the stairs instead of coming right up with me; or waiting for him on the stairs while he runs to the basement to get a favourite toy. It's a slower process than I'd like, but the pay-off will be huge when we get him used to it.

Other than that - not too much news. Had my cousin and her family for lunch yesterday - it was nice to have a bit of a visit. Her little guy sure is cute - 19 months and full of energy. Reminded me of what we're in for in about a year :-/ I love Arlan just the size he is now .... but I guess we all have to grow!

That's the bit of news from here. Will try to get some pics posted soon - until next time...

Arlan rolls over!

Arlan rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time today. We were downstairs cleaning up toys (so that you could walk without stepping on something ... and I mean that LITERALLY!!! aiaiaiai). Arlan was on his back having fun ... but he loves to play on his tummy SO much that he just rolled on over by himself. Then he kept right on playing.
He LOVES to play on his tummy - preferring that to his back for the most part, unless he's quite tired. His favourite right now is to be on his tummy on the play-blanket Grandma made, batting balls around with his hands (the play-blanket is perfect as it has a 'stuffed edge' so the balls are less likely to roll away -- by 'stuffed' I mean there's quilting sown into the edge of the blanket, making it about 1.5" high).

We've also been able to feed Arlan more 'stuff' lately. He likes sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. Today he even ate some apples, although he wasn't particularly excited about the oatmeal at that time (first time he ever wasn't gung-ho for oatmeal). He has been sleeping funny all day too ... hope it's not teeth bugging him, although I keep waiting for that day when they do start to come in. I'm very curious (anxious) to see how he reacts. Landon was bad for the first one, and for the week he got 6 at once, but other than that teething wasn't too big a deal for him. I wonder what Arlan will react like?
Anyways, he's having a 3rd nap right now, as he had short naps earlier in the day. Likely means a bit later of a night for him, but really ... 7 or 7:30 still isn't THAT late!! LOL This kid amazes me every day with his going to bed at night - it's a lesson everyone else in this house sure could learn ;-)

Fun in the snow

We went outside to have some fun in the snow yesterday. Here are some pictures of Landon having a blast. He kept requesting "Mommy, take picture of ME!!!!" So I obliged, and got some cute shots.

Our walk home from the park took quite awhile, as Landon had to stop every 4 steps or so to have a 'drink'. yup - he loves to eat snow. I tried to get him to stop when he first started, but he just keeps doing it. So I guess he'll get his pound of dirt early this year ... ugh! LOL I just don't think it's the same as eating snow on the farm where there's just no vehicles driving by all the time making it 'dirty' - but whatever ... *shrug*

Our walk home took so long that Arlan decided to start his snooze in the sled!! Yup - he's konked right out here :-) So we walked home and I put him to bed and he kept right on sleeping (SO unlike Landon who would've woken up at that point thinking he'd had enough nap and wouldn't have gone back to sleep at all). So I guess Arlan doesn't mind that sled after all ...

Random Pics

Here's a shot of John playing on NYE -- unfortunately I don't have a pic of the two of us together that night :-/ I'll have to see if I can get one from someone else who had a camera there that night. you know how it is - you never have pics of yourself .... *sigh*

Here's Landon on New Years Day - watching CARS!! Yes ... that was a god-send that morning as neither John nor I had much energy. I am glad I didn't drink too much the night before, by noon I was back to myself.

And here's Arlan's last picture of 08 -- I took it before going out on NYE so that I could show him off :-P Such a cute little stinker-pants!

We've had a good few days, haven't been doing much. We're all pretty much used to sleeping in these days - it's gonna' be tough for John to get up for work. And I'm pretty sure him getting up will have Arlan up earlier too (he's been sleeping in until 8:30 since Christmas ... except his usual one time up at 6:30 event). I think Arlan wakes when the garage door opens *shrug* Ah well ...

And back to V'ball tomorrow- I'm looking forward to that. Get some exercise, maybe work off some turkey. Ah, who am I kidding, it's not the turkey that was the problem!! it was the cookies, and the brownies, and the tarts, and the chips, and the pie ... you get the picture ;-) I did do yoga today though - so it's a start!

I've also been testing out all of my Xmas gifts. The robe is wonderful, I tested that out on Boxing Day. The Deceptively Delicious cookbook -- well .... deceptive would be accurate. I shouldn't knock it too much yet, I've only tried a couple of recipes. Instead what I'm doing is putting veggie purees into my own recipes, and that's worked out all right so far. Like cauliflower in scrambled eggs, sweet potato in pancakes ... I'll keep experimenting. Mostly I'm loving my new wok, used for the first time tonight, and my new big-ass fry-pan which is getting a TON of use. So I'm a happy cooker these days ;-)

So that's our relatively boring update for the first few days of the year. We've been laying low and keeping quiet. Until next time...

Happy New Year!!

Well, we had a good time last night ringing in the New Year. John played for a party downtown at the Westin, and since I managed to not be sick this year I was able to go. The lead singer from the band's daughter babysat for us, and it sounds like things went all right on the home front too.
It was quite nice to go out - everyone was dressed right up, which is always wonderful to do on New Years Eve. We had a nice dinner, and I really enjoyed finally getting to see the band perform live. They're better than I thought they'd be!! LOL We got home about 1:30, so not too late, but I'm still tired today. Must've been all that DANCING I did last night ... yup, had to be the dancing :-D

So we've had a slow day today - I've been pureeing veggies, both for Arlan and to try recipes from the Jessica Seinfeld recipe book Deceptively Delicious (gift from John for Xmas). I'm trying my first recipe out for supper tonight (which I see I'd better get at! )

So HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!! I'll try to get some NYE pics on here in the next couple of days. Until next time...