TWO new teeth...

Yup - two new teeth in Arlan's mouth. Both on top - upper right first molar, and upper left of his front teeth. So now he has four front teeth, top and bottom, plus the first molar on the right side, top and bottom, for a total of 10 teeth. Actually, I think the molar may have been in there for a day or so, it's quite visible, but he won't let us near his mouth -- we really have to fight with him to get a peek!! But the other front one on top is just barely squeaking through, we've been watching it for the past week or so, I sure hope it makes a full breakthrough tonight!

Good day today - some retail therapy out at "Mallzac" ... that's the nickname of the big Cross Iron Mills mall at Balzac. It was Monday morning, so nice and quiet = happy shopping experience + several employees asking if I needed help! WOW Bought new 'stuff' for the boys bathroom. Landon picked out the shower curtain and rings (with only a minor amount of influencing), and the bathmats (I gave him the choice of colours). We also bought new garbage can/tumbler/soap dish and new towels, so it's all decked out and looks GREAT!

Much better than the old curtain - which I loved, but just didn't work in that little bathroom. Mom and dad get the old curtain (with rings) + soap dish/garbage can/tumbler, so I can still enjoy it when I go to their house :-D

Other than that - poor Arlan's been crying on and off tonight, so I hope that means more teeth and NOT a cold! I also have him in a warm sleeper and a sleep blanket, so he may be warmer than he's used to. But he's always cold in the morning, so I thought we'd best dress him better at night.

oh yeah, and Landon is sleeping for the first night without his bed rails on. We'll see how it goes. But he was SO pumped today to turn his bed into a "true" big boys bed ... by removing the rails and (finally) sleeping with the Thomas quilt Grandma made for him!! YAY He thought that was just the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen today, more excited now than when he originally got it. Better late than never I guess, hey? So hopefully he doesn't fall out ... *sigh*

That's it from here for now, until next time...

Sask Travels

We had such a great trip back to Saskatchewan. Both boys travel very well, and they even behaved (for the most part) in the restaurants!! lol
We made it to Grandma & Grandpa's on the 27. Landon gave Grandpa puppy-dog eyes and got a ride in the grain truck that night (Grandpa was worried the neighbours would think him nuts, driving the grain truck through the fields, etc!!LOL).

Then Sunday we headed to Frontier Days in Swift Current. Well, Arlan and Grandma stayed at the farm - too hot for wee ones, and he would need to be home for bed early anyways, so they spent some quality time together.
We weren't sure if Landon would like the rides, so we bought coupons (not the wristband). Well ... he LOVED the rides. After about 4 rides we were going to buy MORE coupons (of course), Landon pulling me along, saying "I LIKE this place!!!!" So we did some more rides, introduced Landon to corn dogs, avoided the games like the plague, mom ate a caramel apple (YUM!), and a few more rides. Then to Carla and Dave's (well, Jackson and Ryders house according to Landon) for the night. We did make it back to the fair to watch the fireworks with Grandpa though. I wish you could've seen his face (read: I wish I could've captured his expression on film). His eyes were so big, and he was sooooo excited. I think Grandpa had fun watching the fireworks with Landon too!
We spend the night at Carla and Dave's after watching fireworks. Landon outlasted all the other kids ... and many adults too. Our little rockstar! *sigh* but we all had a ton of fun.

Monday was a quiet day - we had lunch at Carla's with Mark and Tanya (so good to see them), then out to the farm where we were all quite sleepy (save Landon of course, who napped on the ride out...). Aunty Yvonne came out to the farm as well, it was good to visit with her too!!
Tuesday we went to Moose Jaw to check out Grandma and Grandpa's house - looking pretty darned good. Then a lunch, and a trip to the spray park which Landon loved again. He sure loves water!! he didn't go in the kiddie pool, but had a blast in the park, especially loving the excavator. Some ice cream on the way out of town, and Landon was fast asleep again. So much so that he didn't wake up when we got home so I put him on the couch thinking Arlan would wake him. Nope - so after another hour on the couch I put him to bed thinking maybe he'd be out all night. He didn't so much as flinch when I put him to bed ... but woke up 30 minutes later full of energy for the night (of course!!). Gotta love that kid! Arlan on the other hand went to bed by 7 (give or take 30 minutes) every night, no matter what had happened during the day. So very different those two!

Then Wed we came home again - it was sure nice to be home again!! I did make a trip back to the Hat Thursday for a funeral Friday morning though. That was a tough day. Thankfully the boys travel well, and they were quite well behaved at Julie's too (sorry about the footstool again ... send us the bill!). Jenay watched the boys Friday morning while I was at the funeral service, and we came back to Calgary. Now there's no travel plans for several weeks, and I'm thankful for it!!

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!

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...

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...

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...

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!

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

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...

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.

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!!

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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

Arlan's Christmas

Arlan had a darned good first Christmas - he was almost as spoiled as his brother (although I think Landon may have been the most spoiled kid in Canada!!).
It is nice that Arlan wakes earlier than Landon (and we let Landon sleep in a bit too), so he got to experience his first presents without Landon rip-roaring around. Mostly Arlan wanted to chew on the paper. But he seemed pretty happy with the toys he found in the paper too.


Doesn't this face just say it all?

I love this look of concentration. He was trying to figure out how to get the most paper in his mouth at one time I'm sure!!

Arlan successfully opened his very first present from Santa Claus. Although this wasn't the big 'hit' ... that came from our neighbours Trevor and Wendy who gave him a Little Einsteins octoplush -- now THAT toy is getting lots of chew-time :-)

So Arlan had a good Christmas. He was a smiley-happy baby (like usual). At first he made a bit of strange with all those people in the house, but by the end of Christmas day (when everyone had been here for a full day) he was doing much better and would go to most people, if only for a few minutes. Thankfully he slept well (although I will be glad to see those sleeping-through-the-nights nights that I hope are coming sooner rather than later), and he even 'slept in' yesterday and today (until 8:30) -- giving mom and dad some much needed extra sleep in the mornings.

Everyone left this morning, and unlike Landon was two years ago (sitting at the front door, looking out as if to say "where did they go? are they coming back?") he seems quite content to have the house back to himself (so to speak). Not that it really changed his life too much, but he did get more playtime on the floor, and with Arlan he really does enjoy being left alone to play by himself at times (I'm still trying to get used to that!!). Also, he got to play in the exersaucer while I was on the computer today - and he was VERY excited to be in there after a few days hiatus :-)

oh baby it's COLD outside!

Welcome to the deep freeze ... aiaiai We're spending our days indoors, and are even more thankful for the basement to play in!!! We spend time down there every day, I'm hoping Landon gets so used to it that he'll be confident enough to play down there by himself soon. Right now if we go upstairs even for a moment he is running up those stairs with us. Which isn't that bad - running stairs should tire him out, right? Heh heh But I'm enjoying having all of the toys in the basement, that's for sure. And Landon loves having his own play space. His favourites right now are drawing with chalk (thanks again Aunty Yvonne for the easel & chalk), trains (of course) and doing yoga with mommy (he rolled out paper yesterday to play yoga too! LOL). Oh yeah, and running around and around and around....

Landon has also fallen in love with playing outside. We were outside Thursday for over an hour, and he cried when I made him come inside. He was having WAY too much fun to want to come in the house! We shoveled off the deck (John found Landon his very own shovel, just his size, which he loves), and he pulled his sled around the backyard. Then he swung for awhile (yup - we're using that swing, even in the snow!). But the most fun of all was when I'd throw a shovel-full of snow in the air and it would fall down on him - he thought that was the bestest!! We also learned through this game why it is so good to do our jacket right up (snow down the front - or back- of the jacket is COLD!). He also continued his mitten experiment, taking them off about 12 times, only to realize that snow is still cold -- so he'd cry to get them put on. Thankfully I'm getting MUCH better at getting his mitts on him, so they stay on a lot better, and probably feel better too (we are getting lots of practise getting our thumbs in the thumbslots!).

Arlan is a cutie-pie, even if he wakes me up at 6:30 am! Silly kid! But he is cute as a button, with those chubby chubby cheeks and big smiles all of the time. I've been trying to give him some foods other than cereals the past week or so - but he's having none of it. While he showed mild dislike for sweet potatoes, he downright grimaced for the apples. I thought ' what kid doesn't like applesauce?' ... the answer: Arlan. LOL So I'm just going to stick with cereals for a few more weeks and maybe try some other stuff after Christmas. He's still happy with the cereals anyways, only eating between 6 and 10 Tbsp a day (between 2 or 3 feedings), so I'm not feeling that we need to introduce anything else yet anyways. He is, after all, not quite 6 months yet. And while I say that he likes cereals ... he likes cereals mixed with breastmilk -- not formula, not water, just breastmilk. So it looks like I'll be pumping until at least the New Year, which isn't too bad as long as I can keep providing enough milk for his cereal needs.

And we have our tree up, and presents under the tree. I'm wondering how long til Landon rips them open!! LOL Last night I wrapped presents with Landon playing (in the basement, of course!), so he saw what was inside and what was going on. So we put those under the tree. Should he open them, he'll find 'boring' gifts - -the stuff for Aunty Yvonne, Uncle Greg, Grandma and Grandpa -- so maybe he'll be disinclined to open any other gifts. *shrug* We'll see ... it's worth a try. The worst thing he could do is open them all, then I'd have to rewrap ... not exactly the end of the world. His gifts (and Arlan's too, as Landon LOVES Arlan's toys almost as much as his own) will not go under the tree until Christmas Eve ... that's too much temptation (even if we didn't tell them they are for him). Also - should he rip open gifts and find stuff for himself, that he likes, he would want to rip open all gifts, all the time. So we'll just leave them.

I made a 'Christmas calendar' for Landon last night in the basement ... just on a big piece of paper with markers. So that we can 'count down' to Christmas ... see how excited I can really get him ... heh heh.

Oh yeah, and we got Santa pics done on Friday. Arlan was like 'whatever', just sitting on Santa no problem. Landon, however, wanted nothing to do with Santa!! LOL He wanted to open the presents, and pet the penguins, but not sit on Santa's knee. At least last year I got him propped on Santa's knee for the pic. Not this year -- you can see my hands in the picture trying to push Landon away from me!! LOL Poor kid. But he's in there, and he's looking at the camera. And he managed to tell Santa that he wants a garbage truck for Christmas, so maybe Santa will bring him one :-)

That's the news from here .... just staying inside where it's a bit warmer! aiaiai The fireplace AND the furnace are running very frequently in this house ... the north winds come across the prairie behind us and lambast us, so I only feel warm in the sauna these days! Maybe I am a little glad John insisted on that thing ... but don't tell him that!! LOL

Until next time...

Home Again, home Again

We had a fabulous trip back to Sask on the weekend. We managed to get up and leave on Fri morn at a decent time (just after 9). We stopped in the Hat for lunch, and then made it all the way to the farm without stopping again. Arlan was on the verge of a meltdown, but Landon entertained him in the back and all was good.
Both boys had so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa's. Landon got to go for a ride in the grain truck, all the way to the elevator! Plus he checked out the kitties in the barn, watched the birdies eating out the window (from Grandma's bird feeder), and inspected bins with Grandpa (he got to feel durum and peas, but didn't like the chaff on his mittens). Arlan was his usual smiling, talking self ... revelling in the attention from everyone.
We came home yesterday, again managing to leave at a relatively decent time. Both boys were SO good in the car both on the way down and back again. We stopped in Med Hat for lunch again, and made one more stop in Bassano to feed Arlan briefly and to stretch our legs. No meltdowns this time (that extra stop was a good thing).
Plus, John & I enjoyed a night out together, going to Natasha and Shane's wedding while the boys stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. SO nice ... we even spent the night in Swift at Carla and Dave's (thanks again guys). Both boys were so good for Grandma. Landon wasn't even upset when we left - he gave me a big kiss and gave me a quick wave good-by before returning his attention to much more important things (like playing). Arlan took awhile to fall asleep for Grandma, but she was able to just lay with him on the bed, and he eventually fell asleep stroking her face (he's so cute!!). He only woke once to eat too, which is just wonderful. Landon enjoyed some time with Grandpa in bed before heading back to his Thomas bed for the night. So both kids were well behaved, went to sleep and slept well, and were VERY happy to see John and I in the morning too.
I was very relieved that Arlan napped with me on Sunday for about 3 hours!! I can't remember the last time he and I hung out in bed for that long!!! He'd wake up, I'd nurse him a bit, we'd both go back to sleep. It was so nice :-) And Grandma managed to keep Landon entertained so both John and I got some recuperative sleep on Sunday (as we didn't get much sleep Sat night ... heh heh).

So we're home again ... I'm wondering what to do first, laundry, cleaning, blah! ah well ... it's now December and the countdown to Christmas is on! So I'll be doing lots of cleaning in upcoming weeks :-) Thankfully I'm almost completely done Xmas shopping... AND all my Xmas cards are mailed out already -- PHEW! Much better than last year, when I didn't even get my cards until 3 days before Xmas or some thing like that LOL

Anyways, that's the quick post for today - will get some pics uploaded hopefully soon ... until next time....