Backyard fun

Liz & Rob's backyard was just gorgous. The trees, the plants, it was all so nice - the weather was perfect too! It was just wonderful to be able to go outside and enjoy greenery - I'm so tree-starved in this new sub-division!!
Landon and Aunty Liz played red-light/green-light with Thomson. Thomson and Landon had fun taking all of the light covers off going up the stairs in the garden too :-/ But Landon managed to put them all back on.
The swing was a big hit too - both Landon and Arlan had a blast while dad pushed them. And Landon discovered a sandbox in the backyard too - which occupied him for several hours!! LOL

Arlan enjoyed climbing up and down the kids picnic table on the deck. He did spend hours doing just that - he'd climb in and out of the house, and up and down the picnic table, giggling and laughing and oh-so-proud of himself!! Made entertaining him real simple :-)

our arrival

As soon as we arrived, Isabel was in love with Arlan, and vice-versa. Arlan was hungry after our big travels, so Isabel fed him some yogurt!! The kids were so cute ... I love them all lined up on one side of the table - watching tv while they snack! In the pic with the kids on the couch - do you think they were a bit sleepy?? lol This was only the second day we were there - I don't know how they survived the whole trip :-) Actually, I think Isabel napped every day we were there, which helped her a lot. But Landon did not nap once while we were in Toronto - WAY too much to do!

On the way to TO

Two sleeping pics of Arlan for our trip to TO. The first is Arlan sleeping in his bed before we woke him up (at 6 am) to leave for our flight! I am so amazed at how easily he woke up that early, but I guess he's usually making some noise by then, even if most mornings he goes back to sleep again. Landon actually woke up quite easily too, as he was very excited to go see his cousins!!

And Arlan & John had a nap on the plane. I just thought they looked so sweet - and so much alike!! LOL Arlan actually slept right through descent and landing, he didn't wake up until we picked him up to get off the plane. John just put him down on the seat beside him (as John's neck got sore sleeping like this ... can't imagine why?), and the flight attendants were kind enough to not make John wake him up for landing (usually you have to hold your baby facing you during take off and landing).

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...

Toronto Trip

we had an absolute BLAST in Toronto!! It was SOO much fun - Landon and Arlan were in their glory playing with their cousins! And I really enjoyed a few relaxing days too!!

The flight there was pretty good - I am glad that there was both John & I for that first flight with both boys. It took Arlan quite awhile to give in and go to sleep, but once he did both he and John got a nap in. In fact, Arlan slept right through descent and landing and everything - so sweet! Before he caved and went to sleep we spent a fair bit of time letting him crawl up and down the aisle - much to both his and the other passengers delight! He was making friends everywhere! LOL
Landon was pretty good too - it was a bit boring for him, but he managed well enough. It would be a lot easier if he would enjoy some sedentary activities - like colouring! But we survived it :-) John and I traded off the kids, so neither of us had to deal with one kid the whole trip - and the change was good. From the "follow Arlan around, keep him happy" type of work, to the "answer 1,000,000 questions, or maybe the same question 1,000,000 times" kind of work with Landon!! LOL Ah well...

In Toronto we spent our days playing! Of course. The first thing Landon did when we arrived was head downstairs to play with trains! LOL Plus he LOVED all of Thomson's trucks (LOTS of construction vehicles!). And Landon & Izzy are two peas in a pod, they had so much fun running and squealing. We spent time at the park by Liz & Rob's, plus we went to two different parks to play - one with a Pirate ship, the other with a castle. Landon was in heaven!
Arlan loved the action and Izzy too! Well, Izzy was loving Arlan lots I think as well! When we arrived, Arlan was hungry so we strapped him into his 'high chair' (that attaches to the table) and were going to feed him some yogurt. Well, Izzy beat us to it - feeding Arlan yogurt herself! It was so precious!
One thing that continues to amaze me is just how much Thomson and Landon look alike. John did manage to get a pic of the two of them (Landon was posing for pics by the end of our visit as we were all taking so many!! LOL) - I'll post it when he gets home with the camera. It's crazy - they could be twins, just different ages! aiaiai

Anyways, so John stayed in Toronto to go golfing with his buddies (is there still), while I ventured home with both boys, by myself, on the plane, for 4 hours ... The plane was right packed full too (on the way there, there was an entire row with no one in it, so John and Arlan were all sprawled out napping together -- so cute, I have a pic of that too!). I was lucky enough to be seated by a Grandma who was oh-so-patient with me and the boys. And both boys were pretty well behaved too, which was a blessing. There were a few squawks and grumps, but for the most part we were ok. Arlan did less aisle-cruising, as it becomes much more cumbersome having Landon tag along for that game and he didn't want to stay in his seat by himself (I don't blame him, must've been a pretty big ordeal overall for him, and what if I didn't come back!??). But Landon did stay to play with Betty for awhile when I had to change Arlan (did you know that Landon has NEVER pooped while we've been travelling -- car or plane? He always waits till we get there ... not ARLAN!). And Betty was so kind as to read some stories to Landon and to play trucks with him, giving me a nice break to deal with only Arlan.

The excitement, as it were, actually came after landing. First of all, Arlan slept during the entire descent, and was completely konked out when were to get off the plane. To top that off, Landon fell asleep right after they turned the seat belt sign off at the GATE! So I have two boys fast asleep - which allowed me to get packed up, etc, but put me in a dilemma as to how to get them off the plane. Landon would NOT wake up (his eyes just rolled in his head and he lolled over further in his seat), and although Arlan was awake, I still needed to carry him. In the end, a flight attendant carried Arlan out and put him in his stroller while I carried the still very-sleepy-headed Landon out. *shaking head* He could've pulled that stunt about 2 hours earlier, would've been easier on everyone! LOL
Now Landon is SO TIRED at this point, and I'm hot and tired, and I just want to get our baggage and go. Landon wants to be carried and is pouting, loudly, because I won't carry him. But we get going through the airport and there's lots to see, and things are going pretty good. We get to the escalators to leave the secured area (the place where it says "Keep going. Do not stop, or alarm will sound") ... Landon's been begging to go on every escalator we see. He's pumped - he jumps right on the escalator, I stand beside him with the stroller on the escalator (I know I know, you're not supposed to do that, but I didn't want to spoil his fun). Then ... Landon gets scared and runs back up and off the escalator!! And there I am, still going down, with the stroller so there's no way I can go back up to grab him, no matter how much I wanted the stair-master-type exercise!! And Landon is hysterical at the top, and I'm yelling for him to just get on the escalator. At this point, I'm thinking I'll have to park the stroller at the bottom and run up the stairs to get Landon, setting off all the alarms, and we'll be detained and strip-searched and the whole nine yards ... YUCK! Then, a man, a nice man, comes walking up to the escalator. I call to him "Please, can you grab my son and put him on the escalator?" The poor guy looked around like he thought it was some sort of candid camera joke (or if there were perhaps another way down!! heh heh), but in the end scooped Landon up and brought him down for me. All without that stupid alarm going off (even though I had stopped at the bottom). Phew!
So Landon tells me every day (usually more than once) that he was REALLY scared of the escalator ... and we've a good story to cap off our trip! LOL

Oh yeah - and then of course we get to the luggage carousel, the luggage starts coming around, and Landon has to pee :-/ Figures. So we beetle off to the washroom and come back to just our two bags going around and around ... at least I didn't have to elbow my way up to the carousel!! LOL

So we made it home - and we're all happy to be here. The day we got home (Wed), Arlan ate, slept, ate and went to bed for the night! Landon and I were in bed pretty early too, and we all slept GREAT!

We're almost packed

And ready to go! A big airplane ride tomorrow to Thomson's house! and is Landon excited???? aiaiaiai Whenever you mention it he starts squealing like a school girl! LOL So we'll be up and out of here by 6:30 am (oh my GAWD!), flight at 8 am. It'll be a tough slog in the morning, but it means we'll be in TO by 2 pm (their time, noon ours) to get settled in nicely.

It's been a good week. Landon and Arlan still have a bit of a cough. I have a sore throat. Hope it doesn't get any worse while we travel though! We've really just been hanging out at home.

Landon had swim lessons last night - put the life jacket on for the first time there. He did really well - floating on his back without me holding him, and swimming for the instructor, and dropping like a rock (going all the way under!). He LOVES swim lessons, and he loves the hot tub afterwards even more. Then he usually has to pee and we go home. heh

So I will post again in about a week when we get back. Think healthy thoughts for us and safe travels thoughts and good sleeping while we're in TO thoughts ... Until next time...TK

it WAS a nice weekend

We had such nice weather the past two days - the boys and I spent tons of time outside. But today - snowy ground again!! Hopefully it won't last long ...

Arlan still has his cold a bit - quite a cough that poor little bugger. We can hear him coughing all night long. But he manages to sleep through it. And he's in better spirits these past two days, so hopefully he's feeling better. He slept so much all week - some days only being up for 1.5 or 2 hours at a time. But yesterday and today he's managed to get back to his usual routine. Of course, we'll throw that right out the window next weekend when we travel to Toronto :-/

We think Landon had a night terror last night. Looking back (and having read a bit about them last night), I'm thinking he may have had a couple others over the past weeks. But last night he woke up crying, and was sweating and shaking. I was able to hold him, but that didn't seem to register with him at all. He wouldn't respond to me or anything. Then all of a sudden it stopped (the shaking, the crying) and he just lay his head on my chest and was sound asleep again. He peed his diaper right full, so I changed him and he woke slightly at that, grumped at me, but went right back to sleep. The whole episode (crying, shaking) lasted maybe 2 minutes (thankfully - I read that some last as long as 30 minutes!).
I think he may have had at least one more recently too. At Aunty Yvonne's, he spent about 15 - 20 minutes in bed kicking me and pushing his head against the wall at the top of the bed. He wouldn't stop moving around. I thought he was just trying to get comfortable, and since he was kicking ME I was trying to rouse him to calm him down. It didn't work, he wouldn't respond to me, but just kept on rustling around. Then it stopped and he was back to sleep. I read last night that a night terror doesn't always involve screaming or crying, but can just be restlessness (like that) with the inability to be aroused.
Night terrors are typically caused by kids being overtired, especially if they have an abnormal sleep schedule. Well, Landon's been dropping his nap sporadically over the previous weeks, so his schedule is sporadic -- some days in bed sleeping at 8:30, others not asleep until 11 (when he's napped). Plus yesterday he was outside most of the day, didn't nap, so was likely very tired (or even overtired) when he went to bed. So we'll be watching him, and I sure hope this doesn't continue long. Of course, he has no recollection, and they say night terrors are not harmful to kids. But it's hard on a mom to have her 'baby' crying so hard and be inconsolable!!!

Other than that ... I'm off to buy curtains for the boys' rooms today (hopefully). We got new blinds for Arlan, but they don't block enough light so of course he's wide awake in the morning (at say, 6!). Maybe some curtains will help him sleep a bit longer? Maybe. He was pretty cute this morning, even if it was so early. He just played in his crib, babbling away "da-da! da-da!" Definitely says "da-da", but mama isn't quite so clear yet :-/ That's ok, Landon's got it down pat! urgh...

That's that. I will be negotiating snowy streets (crazy hey!), but I'm sure it'll be fine. Until next time...

A new Tooth!

Arlan got another new tooth today - on the bottom, to the left of his front teeth. I was starting to wonder when he'd get another one, it's been about 6 weeks.
And just like last time he got teeth, he's sick again :-( Poor kid. Runny nose, and today he has a bit of a cough too :-( He's back down for a nap already, after being up only 1.5 hours!! So hopefully he'll do a third nap today, or we'll be in for it. I feel so bad for him though, he's so miserable. And he has big black circles under his eyes - poor kid! So we'll let him sleep lots and hope that helps.

It's a nice(r) day out today, we're actually able to be in the yard. A rainshower just moved through, so everything's nice and clean and smells wonderful. The weekend's supposed to be great, so I'm looking forward to some yardwork -- and to having Landon play outside ALL day long!

I've found that Landon's naps are becoming the exception rather than the rule. He napped Monday on the way home, and yesterday, but not Tues or Wed. Likely won't today either. It's tough, because he really can't last until bedtime without that nap - so the end of our days are pretty grumpy on non-nap days (especially the second non-nap day in a row!). And he usually doesn't sleep as well on those nights either, as he's overtired. But when he naps, especially several days in a row, then he's up so bloody late! It's a catch-22. But I guess it won't last forever, and then I'll REALLY be missing the naps!

We went to Landon's first swimming lesson in over a year last night. He loved it!! It's a transitional lesson - meaning I'm in the water with him, but he does things with the teacher instead of me, and by the end of the classes, I shouldn't have to be in the water with him at all. He was very hesitant to go to the instructor, but we always made him, and he enjoyed everything she did with him. For an example, she'd just swish him back and forth in the water a couple of times, and spin around, then give him back. So it wasn't like he was with her for long. But he always enjoyed what she did, so hopefully he'll learn to trust her. He had such a blast though, especially jumping into the water! I'm hoping to take both boys next week (maybe Tues) and then Landon has Thursday lesson. I'll have to figure something out for the week that John's gone ... might have to have a sitter for an hour :-/ I hate for Landon to miss any more lessons, we already missed last week, and he loved it so much last night.

Anyways, that's the news from here for now ... hoping Arlan doesn't get any sicker (I hate coughs, they always worry me so much!), and I sure hope he can sleep at night! It'll be a gorgeous weekend, so we'll be sure to take him outside lots, that should help. Until next time...

Home Again, Home Again

Well, our visit with Uncle Greg and Aunty Yvonne was good ... Kyle was there too, and Grandma & Grandpa came up for supper (with KFC). We went to Kyle to see the 'new' house, and then hung out at the farm. Kyle got to take Landon out to show him the baby kitties, and the yard and whatnot. Arlan just hung out.
We had a bit of fun when going to bed though...Arlan had woken up just when I was going to put Landon to bed. He was ok, just hanging out in bed, until I went in the room to get Landon's stuff. Then he started howling -- wanting attention. Well, he quieted down a bit, I read Landon stories in the living room and went to take him to bed. We're all sleeping in the same room. Arlan starts howling as soon as we go in there - but Landon and I tried just laying quietly in bed. Landon was such a trooper - he hates Arlan's crying, but he just snuggled in with the blankets over his head. But Arlan was having none of it -- he just stood in that playpen yelling at us!! LOL I can chuckle now, it was frustrating then.
So I ended up taking Landon into Aunty Yvonne's bed, where he promptly went to sleep. Arlan kept up the crying for another half an hour or so ... cry for a few minutes, quiet, then cry, then quiet. Poor gaffer :-( Eventually he got himself back to sleep, and he wasn't disturbed at all when Landon and I came to bed in there later on. Landon didn't even come close to waking up when I moved him from Aunty's bed to ours ... he's finally at that stage that I've been wondering if he'd ever get to -- when he's out, he's OUT!
So the rest of the night was fine. Arlan was up at 6 am (like he was every morning we were back in SK). We got packed up and hit the road by 9 - it was a bit of a gongshow getting packed up, but with Aunty Yvonne's help we did it. The trip back was quite good - Arlan slept or dozed most of the way. Landon had a snoozers too, so I actually had about an hour of peace - it was glorious!! We stopped in Med Hat and had lunch at the Perkins ... both boys were relatively well-behaved in there, but we didn't stick around long. So we were home by 4 pm, and glad of it.

That night, all 3 of us slept like the dead -- even Arlan slept in until 9 am!!! He must've been tired, as was Landon and mommy too.

Good Visits so far...

We are having a blast back in Saskatchewan! We got to Grandma and Grandpa's on Tuesday night, and spent a few days helping Grandpa seed and Grandma helping Grandpa seed. Landon went for several truck rides, moving augers, loading peas and fertilizer, hauling water ... you name it. Arlan went for a few truck rides too, and really wondered what the heck all that action was!! LOL
what really impressed mom was how well both boys slept (of course!!). Landon and Mommy get to snuggle all night long, and Arlan adjusted so very well it's dreamy.
Saturday we came up to Swift Current (which is where we are now). We spent the day at Carla and Dave's, after having had a visit with Aunt Edith and Ivan. Landon's been playing with trucks trucks trucks since we got here, not really caring about the other kids much. I didn't realize how 'truck deprived' he was at the farm!! LOL Arlan loved checking out the animals this morning, really loving Lulu kitty (I would have to say his first official word was "Kitty!" this morning -- it's really the first time he's said something discernible in response to something specific). He also loves the ducks, and the chickens, and the llamas and donkeys and horses and ....etc etc

This afternoon we're going to Great Grandpa's for lunch, then to Great Grandma's grave for mother's day (and her birthday was yesterday too). Then out to Kyle for the day with Aunty Yvonne, Uncle Greg, and Kyle. Grandma and Grandpa are going to Kyle too. Should be fun!

Then tomorrow morning, we're headed home again. I don't look forward to the drive, but I think Arlan will do better on the way home for some reason. Maybe because he's spent that much more time in the car this past week. We'll see. I am looking forward to getting home again though, back to Landon in his own bed without kicking me all over the bed!! LOL

I will post again when I get home. I haven't taken many pictures this week, so don't know if I'll have any to post. But I'll post to tell the experiences of Kyle and the trip home :-)

Happy Mother's Day!!

Landon Landon, he's our MAN!

Landon sure enjoys taking pictures of himself, and he's getting a bit better at it. At least not every picture is of his nostrils...



While Landon doesn't usually like me taking his picture, the exception is when he feels I'm taking too many pictures of Arlan. Then he gets right in there, usually acting goofy!



Landon does not like anything to alter his image of himself. If he would've looked in the mirror with this mohawk, he would've flattened his hair down immediately, with a scowl on his face. But since he couldn't see himself in the mirror, we took advantage of the moment to get a pic of the classic 'bathtub mohawk'. yes, it was John who created this hair-masterpiece.



I thought Landon looked a lot like Batman's "Joker" after he 'drank' some blueberries out of a cup!! LOL Too funny :-)

Fun times...

Arlan absolutely LOVES to dig through the plastics drawer ... in fact, whenever he's pestering me while I'm trying to make a meal, I just open that drawer for him and all's good :-) He looks so cute here, with those little legs sticking out!



One of the only things that will distract Arlan from that plastics drawer is ...the camera. Here he is, coming to get it.



Arlan is learning to 'cruise' along the furniture. He's actually getting quite good at walking along the couch these days. Then Landon will come along, pick him up, carry back to the other end, and put him down again. I'm going to have fun with these two, I can see that!



Landon was trying to put some sunglasses on Arlan, who pretty much couldn't have cared less! LOL
And as you can see in the background, lego are one of Landon's absolute favourite things these days. We build many, many towns (and towers, and tracks, and rooms, and ......). Mom & dad are getting much better at not stepping on lego too - that's a lesson you don't want to take a long time to learn!!

For the first time in almost a year...

Landon got to go swimming today! He asks me about 3 or 4 times a week I think, and I just keep putting him off. But not today - we got ourselves ready to go and we went :-) And it was SO worth it!!
I guess I am used to dealing with Landon in the change room at Arlan's age, so I've really been avoiding this whole ordeal. But, you know, they're two different kids!! Arlan was quite patient in the change room - I used the playpen there to keep him contained while Landon and I got changed. The only time he was impatient was when I was actually changing him. But other than that, not a squawk!
And Landon is SO much easier now. We got him dressed, and he waited patiently for me to get Arlan ready. When we were done swimming, he showered while I got Arlan and myself changed, then peed in the toilet like a big boy (there was no way he was going to pee in the shower!), and we got him dressed to go. Of course, Landon was not anywhere NEAR ready to go (we swam for 1/2 an hour), but we got him convinced without too much trouble.

So it was quite successful. We stayed in the tot pool (it's only 9" deep or something like that). Landon had fun splashing around and jumping off the stairs and stuff. He did ask to go in the big pool - but I'm not up to that yet. I think once we get Landon into swim lessons again, where he's wearing a PFD, I might be brave enough to handle it, but not my first time!! lol

Arlan really was not sure of the situation for about 10 minutes. He screwed up his face to cry a few times, but I just held him close. I didn't get him in the water at all for about 10 minutes, and then only on the edge for 5 minutes or so. But by the end he was crawling all over the tot-pool, climbing up the stairs and trying to escape to explore some more!! Very cute.

So I am so happy to have that first experience with both boys in the water ... and am SO happy that it went smoothly. I think we may have to try swimming once a week or so. Landon will have weekly lessons starting next week, but maybe we'll go once a week the three of us too. Depends on how much more Landon wants to be in the big pool then :-)

That's the news here ... until next time...

Harder! Louder! Faster!

Landon's favourite refrains are to do whatever you just did "HARDER!" or "LOUDER!" or "FASTER!" Especially faster!! Everything from singing Row Row Row your Boat, to swinging, to chasing. It doesn't matter, it needs to be MORE!

Landon didn't wake me up in the night last night to pee. He wore a diaper to bed last night, maybe that was why (in his mind you can pee in a diaper, but not a pull-up?). I don't really care, I'm just glad my sleep wasn't interrupted :-)

And I gave Landon a truck as a reward for pooping on the toilet yesterday. I might've created a monster. He kept asking for another 'special' (I told him it was a special present, for pooping on the toilet). When I told him he would get one tomorrow (now today) when he pooped on the toilet again, I thought he would give himself hemorrhoids trying to poop again!! Poor kid LOL We were reading stories and everything, but all he could do was fart :-/ Reminds me of that saying you'd come across in bathrooms: Here I sit, Brokenhearted; Came to shit, but only farted. It might've been a disappointed 3-year-old wanting another 'special' who coined that little rhyme for the bathroom stall!! LOL

Another baby item out the door - the Jumperoo went this afternoon. Holy moly - we're cleaning stuff out and I like it! Just the bouncy chair & Bjorn left (that I've advertised), and the exersaucer will be advertised shortly too. I'll have to go on a shopping spree to fill the house up again ;-)

until next time..

Even BIGGER NEWS!

YAY for Landon -- what a day it's been. He POOPEd on the toilet, ALL BY HIMSELF! That's right - I wasn't even there for the momentous occassion! I was feeding Arlan supper and I hear from upstairs "Mom! I pooped already!" I went racing upstairs thinking "oh no! WHERE!" And to my pleasant surprise, he had pooped right where he should've :-) YAY

Let's hope this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship with the toilet (NEVER thought I'd say something like that!! LOL)

Landon's First Dentist visit

Landon went to the dentist for the very first time today. the appt was originally 3 weeks ago, but that was when we all had a cold so I moved it back. He did SO WELL!! We'd been preparing him for quite awhile, telling him he'd have to open his mouth wide for the dentist to look inside. I was so proud!! The dentist counted his teeth (he has TWENTY, don't you know!), and told Landon he has no 'bugs' in there. That's what I use with him when brushing his teeth ... I tell him I'm checking for bugs, so that he doesn't get silver bugs like mom has (those silver fillings are good for something after all). He was a bit shy, but powered right through it. We were well prepared though - he sat on my knee, we had a couple of trucks and puppy blanket to help us feel secure. And of course, a little bribery didn't hurt ... he got a 'treat' afterward, a Froster (we didn't tell the dentist that that was the reward mommy promised!! LOL).

And mostly I was so impressed with Landon's patience! We arrived a few minutes early, Landon was all excited to meet the Dentist. They called us in on time. And there we were, in the frickin' dentist chair, for 25 MINUTES! I mean, seriously!! With a 3-year-old?? What were they thinking!!?? I was NOT impressed at about the 20 minute mark, and to say that Landon was not so patient at that time would be an understatement. Much longer and I would've just walked out. But I was able to show him a fancy light, and he turned the dentist light on and off and few times, and well, just looked at pictures, and tried to find something blue, etc etc. When the dentist came in I did tell him that I'd much rather be waiting in the waiting room with a kid than in the chair - he was like 'I'll take that into consideration' ... you know, the PFO!! LOL ah well, at least I felt better for saying something ;-)

Other than that, it's finally warming up - Landon was playing outside this afternoon. After a half hour or so he came in because he was getting cold, but at least he could get out there. And Arlan was out for a few minutes too, enjoying his swing! They are both such outside kids - I think we will spend most of our summer in the backyard!

That's about it. Until next time...

another weekend gone

I hate it when weekends come to an end!! Ah well, c'est la vie. I'm just looking out the window, watching the snow fall. Yup - LOTS of it on the way I guess. 5-10 cm tonight, 10- 15 tomorrow, 5-10 for Tuesday. so we'll be building snowmen again this week I'm thinking. ugh ... I'd REALLY like spring to arrive.

We've had a good week. Arlan is pretty much sleeping through the night, waking between 6:30 and 7 for the day. It's alot easier for me to get up at that time when he hasn't woken me up all night long, that's for sure!!

And Landon is potty trained!! Well, for peeing anyways, Poops will be awhile yet I'm thinking. But the pee is there! He even tells me he has to pee when wearing a diaper (or a pull-up) and will then take that diaper or pull-up off to pee in the toilet. And if he's playing by himself, he'll just go without having to announce it to us (although he'll usually announce it after the fact, even 20 minutes later!! lol) I'm so proud.

Now he's not wanting to wear diapers overnight...so that's where the Pull-ups have come into play. They're easy for him to pull off (like gotchies) when he wakes and wants to pee in the toilet, but if he pees while sleeping that's ok too. Much better than Friday night when he woke up 3 times because he'd taken his diaper half off and had to pee (and didn't want to pee in the bed like he did earlier in the week when his diaper came half off). He even peed in the toilet at 2:30 am on Friday night /Saturday morning!!
So we put him in a pull-up last night, and it was dry this morning. He then took it off to pee in the toilet. So to me, that means he's officially potty trained! YAY

We had Julie here Friday night after her trip to Mexico. So now we're watching how we feel - hoping she didn't bring back swine flu :-/ Yikes - yuck. I sure hope not!! I really don't want the boys to get sick. But from what I've read, it's likely to hit me the hardest ... Not to be selfish or anything, but I sure don't want to be sick either!! We'll just have to wait and see.

That's the news from here. Until next time...

Sleeping ... with some crying too

Well, on Friday night we decided that we aren't going in to lay Arlan down at night time when he wakes up crying. It's become a habit with him, he wakes up, then practises standing up and cries for us to come lay him down again. Thursday night, after the umpteeth time going in there, I thought maybe he's actually hungry, and made him a bottle to see exactly how hungry. Well, he wasn't hungry at all!! So Friday night - cry if you need to, but you have to get yourself down and back to sleep.
It started Friday morning with his nap - he stood up, I let him figure out how to get down and go to sleep. It took about 20 minutes of really, REALLY mad howling, but he made it. Then the afternoon nap was fine. And guess what! Friday night ... he slept right through without a peep!! RIGHT THROUGH! Man that feels good!!

Saturday night he woke about 4:30 am (I should mention that the plan was/is to not respond until after 4 am, if he cries after 4 I go in and feed him). He ate and went back to sleep, oh such a good baby :-)

Then last night (Sunday) he woke up at 2:15 or so, and we left him to it. He cried, so MAD, but after about 15 minutes he was quiet. A few minutes later he cried again, but for a very short time. Then he slept through until 6:45 (when we got up for the day).

So we had 2 really good nights, some howling last night, but still a happy camper today. So we'll see what tonight brings as well ... It's SO hard to leave him in there, but when all he wants is to be laid down again, well, that's just TOO exhausting for this mama!! Wish us luck ... maybe he'll even give up that 4 or 5 am feed for good soon :-)

On another note - Landon continues to pee in the toilet. No poops yet, but consistent pees, without us needing to help him. He just gets up and does it, then comes to 'brag' about it. BIG BOY!

And a big Happy Birthday to Grandma today :-) Hope your day was wonderful...enjoy being 39!! Hey, how can you be only 5 years older than me, your youngest?????

Until next time...

Susan Boyle

If you haven't youtubed Susan Boyle yet, go and do it now. Amazing!

Picture catch-up!

Well, I played picture catch-up today ... lots of new pics on here. I have been so slack!! If it hasn't been me doing shows and everything I'm trying to learn for Nutrimetics, it's been travels or flu-bugs. But I waded through the pics today, and got plenty on here :-)

Julie was here last night -- she's off to Mexico today (I'm VERY jealous ... oh just think, a day of lazing around on the beach, in the sun, reading a book ... just a DAY would be incredible, she's there for a WEEK!). She'll be back next Thursday for a day or two, which is wonderful.

We are pretty much just hanging out. I'm not sure if Arlan's getting more teeth or what, but he sure hasn't been sleeping well. His appetite has increased tremendously ... I can barely get the kid fed! I did up a bunch of veggies today (no purees, just chunky now, so he can feed himself) so hopefully I can keep up! He insists on feeding himself, so I'm constantly trying to find things that cook up soft enough for him to do so. We are getting through a bunch of new foods, so I hope that isn't the problem with the sleeping (gassy???). And he's been biting biting, so I'm sure another tooth is on it's way soon enough. If it's not one thing, it's another!! LOL Ah well, good thing he's so cute. And he sure naps well whenever we get him outside, so I'm hoping that bodes well for the summer......

Landon's being really wonderful ... defying every single request made of him. He just stands there shaking his head 'no', no matter what the request may be. But on the upside, he's been using the toilet consistently the past few days (I better not have just jinxed it!). Poops still in the diaper, but pees all in the toilet. He's even going on his own ... he was playing downstairs last night when I heard the toilet flush -> I went down to check on him and he's all matter-of-fact "Oh, I just peed." Keep your fingers crossed!!!!!! He has to be potty-trained to go to the daycamps I signed him up for this summer ... I know he'll love camp, so I sure hope he's trained by then, as I'd hate for him to miss camp.

Anyways, that's it for now. I should check on Arlan the snoozer ... really late afternoon snooze today. And of course, Landon wants to play blocks (he didn't have a nap this afternoon, something that's happening more and more frequently ... 2 or 3 times a week usually).

until next time....enjoy the pics ;-)

Fun in the Park

Arlan thoroughly enjoyed his first real play time in the park. He went to the park several times last year, but was usually snoozing in the stroller :-) So today he go to PLAY! At first, he was quite content to watch Landon and check out the Grandpa that mom was visiting with ... so he sat on the bench with mom. But after a short while he wanted to get down and see what all the fuss was about. It was a very fun game to try to put rocks in our mouths and then laugh laugh laugh when mom batted them away and said "no". He laughed so hard ... would put his hand almost to his mouth and wait there for me to bat the rocks away. Too funny. Arlan also LOVED his first big swing ride. It took awhile though ... it seemed as though as soon as Landon got on the other swing Arlan realized it was all good and started giggling and laughing. Then Landon was swinging his legs back and forth, laughing that his swing was 'wiggly' ... so Arlan had to swing his legs back and forth while laughing even harder. Too CUTE! I loved it and am SO looking forward to many more trips to the park. Not to mention getting Arlan's little swing seat hooked up in the backyard ... that'll be great too!

Piano Man -- er, Men!

A favourite game for the boys is to play the piano. Arlan has just discovered this wonderfully noisy new toy!! LOL Whenever Landon starts banging away, Arlan stops dead, listens, then starts 'singing' while crawling full-speed to join Landon!! It's pretty funny. And if Landon nor I are available to play the piano, Arlan tries to do it himself. He gets SO frustrated when the lid is down, or when that darned piano bench gets in the way. But sometimes mom HAS to have it that way, or her ears might fall off of her head....

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...