The Loves of my Life

More Summer Pics!

2011-10-11T10:36:00.004-04:00

Rileigh was given this on her one year birthday but she was too little for it. I put the stroller away and got it out yesterday. She and Landon are fighting over who gets to wheel the babies around! This was yesterday morning. I was off school but Landon wasn't so she got to play with it all by herself!

Landon loves to take the cushions off the couch. Sometimes he makes a fort, sometimes a walkway so the sharks can't bite his feet and sometimes they just lay on them!

This was taken this weekend enjoying the sand box!

There are rare moments of sibling love. Landon is jealous of Rileigh as she still isn't as independent as he is. He does love her though and will occasionally show it!

Goofy boy crafting!

Ri likes to draw too, on everything so she has to sit in her high chair to draw!

"Elton Joe"

So, Ri still sleeps with me, gasp! I enjoy snuggling with her. Landon sleeps with Rob. We have an arrangement that works for us. Though I am trying to get into her crib which is attached to my bed. Here she's half in the crib and half in my bed. Progress, I say!

Landon's been doing speech therapy for almost a year now. We recently switched to a new therapist and she's amazing. He is really making strides in his speech. He brings his tongue between his teeth and has trouble with "ca" sounds. He's really improving!

My kids love the bounce house!

I took this video with my phone. I'm not sure it will work but it's Landon riding his bike.

Finally....

2011-10-09T22:58:00.003-04:00

These are just some of my favorite summer pics. If you're on Facebook, you've seen them all before. But for family who isn't here ya go! I'm going to try to make updating this blog a priority! It's hard working full time, training and being a mom to two toddlers but I'll try!

Landon's first day of school! Pre-k at preschool this year!

Rileigh is saying new words everyday. Today was feesh (fish!). She has the best little accent like her brother. And she has a flair for the dramatic too. She loves being outside and really liked this cow at the Gettysburg Mini Horse Farm.

New update coming soon!

2011-03-21T11:03:00.002-04:00

I promise, I'm working on a new update. I've been busy and when I do have time I could update I find other ways to use it, like napping with my baby girl! Here's a picture to hold you over....

Random Videos

2011-01-26T19:39:00.002-05:00

I took Landon to a bouncy place in the mall.
He always has so much fun there!

My little girl is walking!

Landon got a Zuzu pet for Christmas. Ri loves it.
She knows how to turn it on and off and loves to get
it moving and then chase after it!

My musical genius!

Random pics

2011-01-26T19:36:00.002-05:00

I love how Rileigh puts her butt up in the air to sleep!

My big boy at the dentist. He looks so tiny in that chair!

Whistling?

Sleeping sweeties.

Two Funny Ri Videos

2011-01-26T19:33:00.001-05:00

Family Visits

2011-01-26T19:28:00.003-05:00

Landon, Rileigh and cousins Sami and Kaiden

Ri and Uncle Joe. She really, really likes Uncle Joe!

Hanging with Papa!

Playing ball with Papa!

Chilling with the Big Cheese!

Snow!

2011-01-22T23:57:00.002-05:00

We got about 14 inches of snow starting Christmas Day evening. Landon had great fun outside! As you can see I stayed inside!

Landon's Christmas Program

2011-01-22T23:48:00.001-05:00

Coming on stage.

Landon's Class Christmas Party

2011-01-22T23:08:00.002-05:00

I'm a full time working mom. I miss lots of Landon's fun things at school. But I didn't miss the class party! Landon's preschool follows the public school calendar. I teach at a private school. I was already off for Christmas break so I was able to go! One of the mom's brought in snow in a can. She added water and voila! Landon had so much fun with it.

This is Mrs. Hendrickson, Landon's teacher. He adores her.

Landon is giving his gifts to Mrs. Hendrickson and her assistant, Mrs. Hare.

I signed up for clean up duty. Landon helped me vacuum! Such a good boy!

Maw Maw's visit

2011-01-22T23:04:00.001-05:00

I went to Chicago for a band conference and Maw Maw came down to watch the kiddos while I was gone.

Maw Maw likes to make bubbles and let them play! Great fun!

Watching a little tv.

Christmas Videos

2011-01-22T22:35:00.002-05:00

Christmas Day!

2011-01-22T22:26:00.006-05:00

Ho Ho, as Landon calls him, brought lots of fun things.

Rileigh was a lot of fun this year! She didn't open any of the gifts but she liked the ones Ho Ho brought! Landon had fun opening her things for her!

Mommy and Daddy gave Landon two new playdoh sets which he loves.

Ho Ho brought Landon a sticky ball. He had so much fun with it until it got so dirty it wouldn't stick anymore!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-22T22:22:00.002-05:00

After church waiting to get ready for bed for Ho Ho to come!

We actually got the snow on Dec. 25.

I know...

2011-01-19T16:28:00.002-05:00

It's been far too long. I have an update coming soon. I have several problems, you see. I have an iphone which I use to take most of my pictures now. I can't update blogger from my phone. I rarely bring the laptop home anymore. And... I am training for a half marathon. I run in my spare time! My day goes something like this: get up at 6am. Shower and dress. Get Rileigh up and dressed. Rob gets Landon going, occasionally we switch kids. Suck down some coffee and head out the door to work. Once at work I set up for my 5th grade general music class. Teach those little boogers, then write some lesson plans, practice flute and guitar, organize, sort, plan, research, study scores, whatever else I can do in 50 minutes. Then I proctor a study hall where I haul whatever I'm working on to the study hall room. Today it was middle school grades. Then I rehearse my high school band, then snarf some lunch followed by one of the three depending on the day, flute choir, clarinet choir and brass choir. Next up is 6th grade band followed by 7th grade band. Then depending on the day I either hang out doing work until it's time to leave for Wind Symphony rehearsal, go to a guitar lesson, run, teach a trombone lesson then begin jazz band rehearsal at 6:00 or I just go straight to my mother in laws to pick the kiddos up. Once home the kiddos watch one episode of Wow Wow Wubbzy while I make dinner. Then we clean up and play until Daddy comes home. Then I run. Last it was nine miles. Then I go to bed. There isn't much time for updating my blog! HOWEVER, I will work on updating at least twice a month.

The kids are growing and changing so fast. Rileigh is walking, Landon is as talkative and smart as ever. I have lots of pictures and videos to post and I promise I will have you all up to date by Sunday afternoon!

So sorry!

2010-12-14T10:25:00.001-05:00

It's been almost a month since I've updated. I have tons of pictures to put on but just need to find the time to do so. We have our house decorated for Christmas and the kids have sat on Ho Ho's lap. Landon suddenly became shy and only told him he wanted a dump truck and Rileigh screamed like a banshee! Landon has a list a mile long of what he wants Ho Ho to bring. Hopefully, Ho Ho will get enough of it that he's happy!

Landon has his first speech therapy appointment yesterday. He brings his tongue between his teeth on almost all sounds. His therapist told me he's atypical. Figures, my kid would be!! He does so on "k" and "g" sounds which she said she hasn't seen before. We go back on Dec. 22 for his first treatment session. He will be working with Cristin without me because he got so silly with me in the room with him! This is a very good thing for him and hopefully he will catch on quickly and it will be a somewhat "easy" fix.

Rileigh is growing like a weed, she's still not walking on her own but pulls up on everything and walks holding onto this. She stands alone for longer periods of time before crashing to the floor. She is just so good natured and sweet. She's not into the "I'm going to say NO" phase yet! She repeats words and can consistently say Mama, Dada, Landon, Tickle, Tickle, Hi and hiiii yaaaa! She's a doll.

I will try to post pictures when I get back from Chicago on Sat.

Chuck E. Cheese

2010-11-21T21:45:00.002-05:00

Rob was out of town all this week. So Nana kept Rileigh over night on Friday so that Landon and I could have some special time together, just the two of us. He said he wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese so that's what we did. He "won" 53 tickets. He turned them in for bugs, yep, bugs. 3 praying mantis', one grasshopper, and the lady gave him a frog for free! He had so much fun!

He looks so serious but he was having a good time.

Ask Landon what his favorite food is and he'll say pizza! I got him a pepperoni and black olive pizza for dinner. He enjoyed it! It was so nice to have some just us time. We went to the Dollar Store and Target afterwards to look at Christmas stuff. He pointed out all of the trucks that he didn't have that he would like to have! I told him we'd have to make a list for Santa, or Ho Ho as Landon calls him!

City Park

2010-11-21T21:34:00.002-05:00

Isn't my girl just gorgeous? She loved the swing!

Landon has a blast at the park. Coupled with no nap and lots of outside running around he went to bed early this night!

We walked over to the little pond to see the geese. I didn't bring the double stroller since it is really hard to get in and out of Rob's car trunk so Landon just climbed into the basket on the bottom! He's done this before and finds it quite comfy!

Random pics

2010-11-21T21:25:00.002-05:00

I love this picture even though it's a little blurry. I took it with my phone. Landon was sitting on the pillows in front of the couch when Rileigh crawled over and snuggled into him and put her hand on his arm. They stayed like that for about 10 minutes watching Wow Wow Wubbzey!

Landon decided one day last week he had to eat his snack in the pantry!

My little girl is getting so big!

The weekend of her birthday party Ri decided the dishwasher looked like a comfy place to sit!

Future photographer??

2010-11-08T15:56:00.002-05:00

Landon loves to take pictures with my camera. These are some recent ones! Ri, pondering great things with her eyes closed!

From the kitchen floor, the stove and high chair!

Couch with pillow and one wiener dog!

Wiener dog #2, Mac

Part of wiener dog #1, Buddy!

Birthday cake!

2010-11-08T15:50:00.003-05:00

I lit the candle for Ri's cake and was about to put it on when Landon blew it out! Once I finally got it on and put the cake in front of her, Landon blew it out again. It was ok, as Ri doesn't know how to blow yet. She immediately grabbed her cake and started eating! Red icing is a bit bitter and her facial expression for that first bit was hysterical, too bad no one got a picture! She ate almost all of the ladybug topper. Rob, Landon and I helped her eat her cake and we still have some left for tonight's dessert! However.....

...all of that icing and cake didn't induce a sugar high. She was in bed early and slept like a log!

More 1st Birthday Party!

2010-11-08T15:46:00.003-05:00

Cousin Sarah plunked a headband on Ri's head. We were surprised that she left it on. Hats come off immediately unless they are tied on!

Big brother, Landon, helping open a toy.

Ri received lots of very pretty clothes for her birthday!

She was far more interested in the tissue paper, ribbons, and bows than she was the actual gifts!

1st Birthday Party!

2010-11-08T15:39:00.003-05:00

Party chair for the birthday girl!

Her theme was ladybugs. I had so much fun decorating with red and black crepe paper, red and black balloons with little ladybugs on the ribbons and her happy birthday sign. I bought a helium tank and went to town with the balloons. Landon had fun helping me fill them with helium! We put them all over including on the mailbox!

Birthday cake!

Rileigh's smash cake

Birthday Party!

2010-11-08T09:30:00.002-05:00

We held Rileigh's 1st birthday party this weekend! I will get pictures up tonight. Her PaPa and Daddy are big time hunters and this was the only weekend that worked for them to celebrate! Poor girl will probably never have her Daddy around for her birthday. Rob goes off for an entire week to hunt the woods, sleeping on the ground in tents, crazy man! Anyway, I left her decorations up so Landon and I will throw another little party for her on the 18th!

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T21:22:00.003-04:00

The eye-rolling dinosaur! I took lots of pics but these are the best! Landon and Rileigh got a nice stash but our street is "crunchy." They got a lot of trail mix bars, whole wheat peanut butter crackers, and healthy 100 calorie snack packs. For real? No Butterfingers at all. Between Rob and Landon the peanut butter cups are already gone. Guess it's for the best, I don't need to eat his candy anyway!

I think Landon's favorite part was ringing the doorbells!

This witch was freaky. Landon stayed far away from her. When the lady came to the door the witch started talking and eventually lifted her head off of her shoulders. Hopefully, Landon doesn't have any bad dreams tonight!

My little dinosaur and giraffe!

Hayride to the pumpkin patch

2010-10-25T22:27:00.003-04:00

Landon meets Scarlett. Yes, the cow with the horns is a she. We got lesson on why she has horns. It's not that interesting so I'll spare you the details. She did keep licking the tractor driver's butt and that was funny, especially with the amount of snot she left on the driver's butt! Totally gross!

Landon wasn't about to pick up a big, fat pumpkin, he went for the little gourds! Whatever makes hims happy but I picked out a pumpkin for him and Rob picked out one for Ri. We are going to carve them tomorrow night.

So here in the South, forget bouncy tents, we have cotton jumps! Too funny!

2010-10-25T22:22:00.001-04:00

Holding her sippy.

Fun with rings! The pics are blurry because I took them with my phone. She's playing peek a boo through the blue one in the last picture.

Holding her own bottle! She's getting too big far too fast.

Randon pictures

2010-10-25T22:06:00.002-04:00

Landon was hunting deer with his toilet paper scope and sword. He also killed a dinosaur in my bedroom.

Ri is pulling up on everything. She'll be walking by her first birthday in a few weeks.

I am weaning her and tried using a paci at night instead of nursing. She only used one for a few weeks when she was a few weeks old until she found her thumb. She clearly doesn't remember how to use it!

Ok, I know...

2010-10-20T11:50:00.002-04:00

... You'd think I'd be better about keeping up with the blog but life is BUSY! I work full time as a band director and there are so many extras that come with that, parades, football games, Homecoming bon fires, district/regional band auditions and on and on. I am also training for a half marathon and trying to run lots of races to prepare myself. Just did a 10K last Sat. It's great fun and good for my mind but time consuming. I've also started guitar lessons but I may be ending those. There's only so much one can do in a day. Which brings me to my kids, the busiest but most satisfying part of my day!

Rileigh Melissa turned 11 months on Monday. She is wearing 18 months clothes. She is long and lean. She has wonderfully long arms and legs. I was really saddened when I went to buy her winter clothes and I discovered she's out of the infant section and into the toddler section.

She eats... a lot. She'll down an entire bowl of noodles, some applesauce and an entire thing of yogurt and be looking for more! One of my joys and something I've been proud of is she has been almost completely breastfed. We had some supply issues in the beginning and she had formula for a week solid and then was supplemented for a couple weeks but since her 3rd month she's been on total breast milk. It's been a battle, I have to take several supplements several times a day to maintain my supply. I pump 2-3 times during the day in the uniform room at school. I take a medicine called domperidone. It's not actually FDA approved in the US so I have to buy it from New Zealand. As she is approaching one year I didn't buy more when knew I would run out. I have two more days left. As I wean off of it, my milk is slowing drying up. It's kind of bittersweet. It's the best food for my daughter. I've enjoyed our breastfeeding relationship but at the same time I'm ready to be done. I need that time at school to plan. I need her to sleep through the night without expecting to nurse 3-7 times a night. I haven't had a night of unbroken sleep since she was born. If she sleeps through the night I still have to pump. I'm really tired! Last night she only work at 12am and at 5am to nurse. Holy cow, 4 hours of straight sleep was amazing! I have a frozen stash of milk to which I am no longer adding. We mix the breastmilk with whole milk hopefully making the transition easier on her belly. Any milk I pump during the day, which is becoming less and less, I feed her that evening in addition to nursing. In about three weeks she'll get straight whole milk and whatever she's able to get straight from the tap. She's much more efficient at "milking" than the pump is! I will have made it to my goal of one year!!

She is mobile too. She acquired her first black eye one evening when I wasn't home. Her daddy let her play in the dog water (ICK!) and she slipped on the wet floor and hit just below her right eye on the edge of a dog bowl. She likes to bang open and shut the tv stand cabinet doors and likes to stick her hand in the vcr. We tell her very sternly no and she giggles at us. She also likes to go for whatever Landon is playing with. Sometimes he shares but most often not which is a recipe for two crying children! She is just starting to try and pull herself up to standing. Heaven help me when she's walking and even faster!

Landon Joe has started preschool and LOVES it! His teacher is Mrs. Hendrickson and she used to watch him in the nursery at church. Her loves her and her assistant, Mrs. Hare. He is making all kinds of crafts that decorate our fridge and sculptures to decorate the bookshelves. He is working on writing numbers and letters. He can count to 18 and sings his ABC's. He is really a smart little boy. He still brings his tongue between his teeth when he talks so he is hard to understand. Sometimes when I have no idea what he is saying he gets very frustrated with me and ends up crying and saying never mind. Breaks my heart when that happens. We are working with him and hope to see an improvement soon. His teachers are also working with him. He is a little myna bird, repeating everything we say. He was saying something one morning that wasn't nice. I told him he was being rude. I was disciplining him later and he told me I was being rude! If I do something he doesn't like he tells me to go sit my butt down on the couch and not to get up until he tells me! He's certainly wild and I will be very grateful when the "terrible threes" pass! He can be so sweet. I was having a hard time getting Rileigh's medicine into her one morning and he patted my arm and told me, "It's ok, Mommy, she'll eat it."

I have lots of pictures and videos on my iphone. I rarely use the camera anymore. I need to sync the phone to my laptop and get some new pics on here. We are hoping to take the kids on a hay ride on Saturday so I will wait until then. But that's the kiddo update in words for now!

Fair videos

2010-09-21T15:33:00.002-04:00

Rides!

2010-09-21T15:26:00.003-04:00

Landon rode this a couple of times. It goes in an oval but on the ends whips you right around. He laughed the entire time he was on it!

In this fishing game he had to hook three sharks to win a prize. He got to pick his out of several tubs. There were different stuffed animals and he chose a neon orange platapus! His name is Ralph.

Ri was so good, she just hung out in the stroller and kicked her feet! She didn't snooze but watched people. She liked the lemonade. We had a fun time until Landon got ugly because it was nap time. He enjoyed a sour popsicle before we left though. The weather was perfect, warm but not hot. Dusty though, as we really need rain. We also had a nice time in the petting zoo!

Tractors!!

2010-09-21T15:24:00.001-04:00

IOW Fair

2010-09-21T15:19:00.003-04:00

Landon insisted on pushing Ri but kept veering towards the ditch. Not sure if it was intentional or just him not paying attention!

This year Landon rode the ponies! Last year he was on one for about 10 seconds and wanted off. He enjoyed it this year and kept telling Rob to pet the pony!

Ice Cream!

2010-09-09T09:05:00.002-04:00

Landon likes to stop by McDonald's and get hot fudge sundaes sometimes. Well, Ri has decided she likes them too!

In this video we had eaten our ice cream and had moved onto
turkey and veggies. She's one happy baby, that's for sure.

Bath time!!!

2010-09-09T08:58:00.004-04:00

Landon likes the color blue and he likes blue bath water. So I bought more color tabs and since we haven't had them in awhile he got a little excited. He grabbed the first one he saw which was yellow and chucked it in. Then grabbed a blue one but didn't understand why the water was green and not blue. We had a small meltdown over this green water but eventually he got over it and enjoyed his bath. Rileigh didn't care, just as long as she was in the water she was happy!

So watch this little clip, very carefully, until the end. This is what Landon did to Rileigh, poor girl. She never cried just sputtered and wanted to go back into the tub after I dried her face off. Landon however, was removed from the tub. You must be nice to your sister to enjoy your bath!

First day of school

2010-09-07T09:25:00.002-04:00

So today was Landon's first day of preschool. I hope daddy took lots of pictures since I couldn't take him. He goes from 9-12 Monday-Thursday. Some days he can pack a lunch and stay to eat until 1:30. I think we'll let him do that each month. He seemed excited to go to "Good church school." After our unpleasant day care experience which we called school I wasn't sure how he'd be but he put his bunny and blanket along with his snake into his backpack and didn't even fuss about going to school. Can't wait to hear the report when I pick him up from Nana's today.

Rileigh Pictures

2010-09-07T09:19:00.003-04:00

I took Rileigh to have pictures taken for her 9th month. These are the best ones. She wasn't overly cooperative with the smiles which was odd as she is always smiling. She showed some stranger anxiety with the photographer which was new for her. She was passed around at the football game on Friday night so I don't know why she chose picture day to be shy. However, the ones we have turned out well and I can't wait to get the real pictures. I had to screen shot these from the portrait website and then resave them as jpegs. She did scratch her cheek on the way to the studio and I'd even trimmed her nails that morning. Oh well! She's still marvelously cute!

This is my favorite one.

Preschool Visit

2010-09-02T21:29:00.003-04:00

Today was Meet and Greet at Landon's new preschool. Daddy, Nana, and Rileigh all got to go meet Landon's teachers. I know Mrs. Hendrickson, she used to be one of the nursery caregivers at church. She's his main teacher and her assistant is Mrs. Hare. I don't know her. I was bummed I couldn't go too but it was from 11-12 and I'm teaching class then. Daddy said Landon was a little shy at first but warmed up quickly. He knows the room as he's been in there during church. The preschool is operated out of our church.

Here Landon is shaking Mrs. Hendrickson's hand goodbye!

You'll see all of Landon's classroom in this video plus his teachers. Mrs. Hendrickson is dressed in a flowery skirt and a white shirt. She's a really tiny person with brown hair. Mrs. Hare is dressed in a red shirt with blond hair. You'll also see Nana and Rileigh just hanging out.

videos

2010-08-30T22:30:00.003-04:00

More summer fun

2010-08-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

Busch Gardens!

2010-08-30T22:16:00.002-04:00

Landon got this light saber for being a really good boy at the park. No potty accidents and he listened pretty well! We had fun. No more pics though as it's hard to hang onto a baby and take pics of the toddler. He rode the Big Bird roller coaster, the swings, played in the Land of the Dragons, rode the airplanes, the boats, the lady bugs, and the horses. He also rode the log flume with Daddy which he really wasn't too keen on! He also played in the water park in Sesame Street Land.

Summer Time!

2010-08-30T22:11:00.002-04:00

Landon and Mac. Notice his snake tattoo! He likes snakes so I brought these tattoos to him from FL and he really has enjoyed them!

Ri is on all table food now. She doesn't want to eat baby food. I don't actually give her whole bagels to gnaw but this was cute. She likes to eat Ritz crackers and puffs by herself!

I love tomatoes and so does Landon. We grew a lot in our garden and liked to eat them right off of the vine!

Playing in his pool! What a sweet face!

More Vacation

2010-08-30T22:07:00.003-04:00

Cutie girl at the Mote Aquarium. We had fun there but I'll spare you all of the fish pictures!

This is one of my all time favorite Rileigh pictures..

Ri also got to go along to the Tampa Bay Ray's baseball game!

Beach Vacation

2010-08-30T22:01:00.002-04:00

Sharky's in Venice, FL has THE. BEST. MIXED. DRINKS. EVER! The Bushwhacker was delightful. I nursed Ri, then drank one!

These pictures are at Caspernen Beach south of Venice. The best place to find sharks teeth and since that's what Rob wanted/liked to do, we spent a lot of time on this beach!

Ok, it's been forever...

2010-08-30T21:48:00.004-04:00

...I know. I finally synced my iphone and got the 300 some pictures off of my phone. My camera has been somewhat obsolete with the phone. Why carry two appliances when you can carry just one? So there's lots of updating to be done.

Since returning from our trip north, we've done lots of fun things. Landon stayed at home with Maw Maw while Daddy, Ri and I went to FL. We weren't originally going to take Ri but Rob decided it would be easier to take the nursing baby than have to drag the pump all over to pump every three hours. And it was easier. Though at times it would have been nice to be child-free, especially those afternoons when we wanted to be on the beach but it was too hot for Ri. But I am very glad she got to come along.

We've played, gone for ice cream, spent the day at Busch Gardens and other fun stuff. Now for the pictures! Enjoy!

This was on the way home with Maw Maw in tow. We stopped at a rest area so I could nurse Rileigh. Maw Maw and Landon had fun with foilage!

I suppose Landon will kill me one day for this picture but it was too funny to resist. We've been potty training for about a year now! He said he had to potty so out came the potty and he went!

More summer visits

2010-07-28T00:12:00.003-04:00

This is Ri with my wonderful cousin Shirley. She's a really important lady in my life. I was finally able to make it to visit with her this summer and she got to meet Rileigh in person for the first time. Rileigh loved her!!

Ri with Emily and Jess, her cousins! My dad had his family reunion recently. We had lots of fun and enjoyed catching up with everyone.

Bray and Landon showing a little cousinly love.

Landon and I with our cousin Brandon.

Our cousin Jen showed Landon all about Daddy Long Legs. He was fascinated by them and enjoyed letting them crawl all over his arms and hands. I don't mind picking them up by their legs but I draw the line at letting them crawl on me *shiver*.

Summer visits

2010-07-28T00:09:00.003-04:00

The cousins: in order of age:
Landon, Brayden, Sami, Anna, Rileigh

The girls are looking at the boys being goofy.

Anna and Rileigh. Poor Anna fell on the bricks out by the pool, thus a boo boo on her cheek.

Ice cream floats! Yummy!

Snoozing in Maw Maw's lap.

Kite

2010-07-19T23:41:00.003-04:00

Nana bought Landon this kite. No offense, Nana but it's a piece of junk! It was really windy today (and really hot but what else is new) so we went to the park in the neighborhood beside ours since they have a ball field and tried to fly this thing. It has two stings so you can do acrobatics with it but the stings just get tangled and all it wanted to do was acrobat on our heads. I tried until the sweat was rolling off of me to get this thing in the air. Landon gave up and went to play on the playground. Rileigh continued her snooze in the air conditioned Yukon! I finally gave up and told Landon we'd buy a real kite this week. I plan to stop by Toys R Us on Weds. and see what they have. I had the best Garfield kite when I was little. I still have it, packed away somewhere. I have no idea where that sucker is or we'd have pulled it out and flown that. I do know where the kite string is though so when I buy the new one we'll just have to attach it to the string!

Bike!

2010-07-19T23:25:00.004-04:00

So, I saw this cute little bike in Walmart and have been eyeing it for awhile now. I read reviews on it and people liked it but one comment I saw over and over was to not have the store assemble the bike. So, I went to Wally World and asked for someone to check if there were any unassembled ones in the back. There was one left so the lady says. I pay $37.99 for Landon's new bike and head home. It ended up sitting in the garage for almost a week and then Rob and Landon put it together. When they opened the box, they saw two of everything, yep, two bikes. It even says on the box, 2 - bikes! I obviously never read the box. One bike was put together and one bike left in the box to be returned on Weds. Rob wanted to keep it but I know karma would bite him in the butt someday. Besides, that's dishonest! There wasn't too much to assemble and before long it was ready for Landon. He still doesn't get that his feet must push in continuous circles. He goes around once and pushes back putting the brakes on. We'll keep trying though. If only it wasn't so darn hot outside.

Miss Rileigh just sat on the couch and watched and played. She's such a sweetheart.

Bath time!

2010-07-14T22:27:00.003-04:00

Rileigh is wondering why her brother does the things he does. No one knows why, Ri.

Peek a boo and watermelon

2010-07-14T22:22:00.004-04:00

Rileigh enjoyed eating watermelon in the mesh feeder. She made such a mess though that I found it to be easier just to feed it to her with a spoon!

Bouncing baby girl

2010-07-10T22:02:00.005-04:00

Rain

2010-07-10T22:02:00.002-04:00

Randon pictures

2010-07-05T15:49:00.002-04:00

Enjoying the swing with Maw Maw.

Landon wanted Papa to take him for a ride on the tractor. Papa has long legs so Landon had to sit all funny to fit but he didn't mind! They drove all over the yard!

This was taken on July Fourth! My little handyman. He had most of his tools in the belt and got so mad when he had to take them out to get his carseat buckled!

Funland!

2010-07-05T15:46:00.000-04:00

We went to Funland one afternoon. It was only three dollars for Landon to play as long as he wanted too. We were there a few hours though we also had some ice cream! He loved the two ball pits the best!

The lake playground

2010-07-05T15:44:00.001-04:00

Lake Heritage, the development I grew up in and where Maw Maw and Papa still live got a new playground! It gets a good vote from Landon and Rileigh.

Fireman's Carnival

2010-07-05T15:38:00.005-04:00

Catoctin Zoo

2010-07-05T15:30:00.003-04:00

The Catoctin Zoo is a little zoo in Maryland not too far from Gettysburg. Maw Maw wanted to take Landon and Ri so one day we went. It was lots of fun.

Landon had a blast feeding the deer and goats. He also feed an alpaca with really bad teeth, it was so funny. It had a severe under bite and fur hanging down in its eyes. It would grab peoples cups and shake the food into its mouth. Funny creature. Landon wasn't afraid of the deer or goats at all. They were cute, most of the little girl goats were so very pregnant.

These were some cute and funny monkey's. The babies were chasing and playing while the adults just hung out.

By lunch time, little Rileigh was tuckered out.

This is a lemur. They are gross little creatures. I shall leave the details out but the grossness delighted Landon!

Pool Time

2010-07-05T15:23:00.002-04:00

Landon, Rileigh, and I recently spent a week with Maw Maw and Papa. We had a good time in their swimming pool. Rileigh LOVES the water. Landon likes it only on the steps!

I'm raising a nudist! Landon, at home, is usually only in a shirt because he will use the potty if he isn't wearing a pull up. So in the pool, he liked to be buck naked! Whatever, at least he'd get out of the pool and pee in the yard! He only let me carry him out into the water one time and he cried the whole time. He preferred to play on the steps. He did slip off of the bottom step and he can't touch so he dipped under water. It didn't deter him too much. We got out, dried off and he got back in on the steps!

Rileigh and Landon in the tub!

2010-06-16T15:47:00.002-04:00

Life got in the way...

2010-06-16T15:04:00.002-04:00

...of updating the blog! Wow, with two kids life is busy! Landon goes to bed about 8:30-9:00 p.m. and Rileigh is pretty consistent too at 9:00. As I nurse her to sleep, I'm ready for bed too and rarely get back up! Nursing is going very well now. She hasn't had any formula for four months and is growing so well. She started solids at 4.5 months. I watched for cues that she was ready. She would stare at me while I ate and watched the fork go from my plate to my mouth. She loves her baby food and eats threes "meals" a day in addition to nursing about 6-8 times a day. She also likes avacado, roasted carrots and mashed up bananas! I'm starting to give her more and more "real" food!

Rileigh also popped her first tooth out about two weeks ago. It's the bottom right one and is so cute! She is working on the one next to it and is a serious slobber monster. Everything goes into her mouth to chew on, including my fingers. The one little tooth hurts! Fortunately, she doesn't bite when she nurses.

She is also just starting to roll over. About a month ago she would roll from tummy to back but it was by sheer gravity, not because she really wanted to. She likes to kick those little legs and her big head would just follow suit. Today she rolled purposely from her back to her tummy and back again. She will be 7 months on Friday. She sleeps with me and I bought a bed rail and installed it on my bed so she wouldn't roll off! She loves to pick up her toys and whatever else she can get her hands on! She also holds her arms up for you to pick her up and will give you some serious open mouth, wet kisses!

Landon Joe is diligently working on potty training. Ok who am I kidding?? I am diligently working on getting him potty trained. We are trying the commando route, i.e., no pants! That has worked well and he'll do both businesses in the potty and occasionally outside but at least it's not on my floor! Yesterday we started wearing big boy pants while at home. He did a good job and had no accidents. He would take his pants off to potty and I'd help him put them back on. Today he peed in his cookie monster underpants and on the carpet. I had him help me clean it up which he didn't like at all. We wear pull ups if we're going out and about. There's slow progress being made and it will happen as he starts preschool in Sept. and must be potty trained!

Landon got a new swing set recently. It was given to us by one of Rob's friends and is in excellent condition. It has a twisty slide and big boy swings. He loves to climb on it. He, as usual, spends a good portion of his day outside if it's not raining. We fenced in the backyard for the dogs and for him. He gets annoyed that he can't go back and forth from the garage but we bring all of his dump trucks and toys back and forth each day. He can go outside as he pleases as he now can reach the door knob. I feel better knowing he's safe inside the fence.

I can say that threes are worse than twos! He can be a very sweet boy when he wants but also a total terror. He tests us and our limits and we just have to stay consistent. I know he will grow out it and be back to a full time sweetheart! He does love Rileigh and likes to bring her toys though sometimes he will take them too! He let her play with his tools yesterday and that was a big deal!

We've started a sticker chart. He gets stickers everyday for going potty, being polite, sharing, eating healthy food, and picking up his books and toys. Every Saturday he gets a prize if he has stickers for each day. Last week he earned a bug net which he LOVES! It works much better than the crab net we were using!

I have many more pictures to add but they are on my new iphone. I need to figure out how to sync the phone to my computer. I have lots of cute, short videos as well. I will get these on here tomorrow during nap time! I promise I won't let so much time go by before updating again!

Landon

2010-06-16T14:54:00.005-04:00

Landon's sticker chart before we started. Some of his prizes are around it. It's working pretty well!

Landon put my headband on!

This is Landon's new playset. Can you find him??

Landon and I went to a local park one day while Nana watched Rileigh. It was a cloudy day and not too hot so we had a good time!

Landon was able to go to the beach with Maw Maw and Papa this May. He had a great time with Brayden!

Sometimes I let Landon tell me what he wants for dinner. This night it was corn on the cob and marshmallows!

Rileigh

2010-06-16T14:52:00.002-04:00

Playing with Landon's tools!

Trying to kiss herself or latch on, I'm not sure which!!

Rileigh LOVES bath time! She doesn't mind water running over her face and loves to kick and splash. Sometimes I put her in the bumbo in the tub with Landon and they have a good time splashing each other. However, don't splash Landon in the face, he hates water on his face!!

My little diva in her sunglasses!

Miss Rileigh loves her jumperoo. She will sometimes spend an hour in there just jumping and squealing. Sometimes Landon asks me to take her out because he can't hear Wow Wow Wubbzy for the noise of the jumperoo!

Blue lollipops and pool!

2010-06-16T14:44:00.003-04:00

Getting ready to go for a walk.

Our purple kiddie pool acquired a hole so we had to by a new one! One hot Saturday afternoon we all got into the pool and had a blast!

Jumping

2010-05-09T22:15:00.002-04:00

Bubbles

2010-05-09T22:05:00.002-04:00

I bought Landon an automatic bubble gun for his birthday, hold the trigger and it just keeps making bubbles. The kid loves bubbles. So we were outside doing that when I remembered special bubbles I bought in Chicago that are thick and touchable. These pictures are with the touchable bubbles. Notice how they stick in his hair!

Random pictures!

2010-05-09T21:56:00.002-04:00

Rileigh and I like to take walks. She loves to just look at things, trees, cars passing by, birds. She's an observant little girl.

Last Sunday I had to play my flute at the 8am service. Since Ri goes to anyone and doesn't mind being left in the nursery I took her with me. Doesn't she look cute? And how about that handsome little man?

I can finally put my hair up in a pony tail to run but there's short hairs in the back that bug me. I bought these tight warp around headbands to keep the hair off of my neck. Landon was making sure they were ok for me to wear.

Carrots

2010-05-02T13:02:00.001-04:00

This is what happened when Mommy tried to feed Rileigh carrots while she was in her jumperoo!

Peek a boo!

2010-05-01T17:24:00.002-04:00

Both of my kids LOVED to be scared. Watch Ri jump in this video and then laugh!

Videos

2010-05-01T10:13:00.005-04:00

Rileigh enjoying her food!

Landon blowing his birthday candles out!

Rileigh rolling from back to front for the first time.
She still hasn't rolled from back to front but she's close!

Jumperoo!!

Blowing bubbles!

Little Miss Rileigh

2010-04-26T21:48:00.001-04:00

Mmmmmm, peas! Daddy fed her without a bib.

Presents Galore!

2010-04-26T20:39:00.004-04:00

We all like to play with his new remote controlled car!

The doctor kit from Maw Maw & Papa.

He's giving me a shot in my knee.

Taking his own blood pressure.

Opening a Geo Trax from Nana.

Landon wanted Uncle Eddie to help him open his gifts!

A Wow Wow Wubbzy video!

His very own digital camera.

One of his favorite gifts was the $3 Nerf gun!

Landon had a blast with these paddles from Maw Maw & Papa!

Wow, wow birthday party

2010-04-26T20:34:00.002-04:00

Landon LOVES Wow Wow Wubbzy so I decided to make him a Wow Wow party.

Birthday Decorations

2010-04-26T20:29:00.003-04:00

My handsome boy turned THREE on April 25!!

We had Wow Wow Wubbzy balloons too. They just didn't make it into the pictures!

Landon decorated his kitchen!

Silliness and A Picnic!

2010-04-26T20:25:00.003-04:00

Maw Maw came to watch Landon and Rileigh while I was in Chicago. After I got home we went for a picnic dinner at the park. Maw Maw and Landon fed the squirrels pringles!

More Random Pictures

2010-04-13T09:42:00.009-04:00

Landon is jealous of Rileigh using "his" highchair. So he had to have dinner in it this weekend! Silly boy!

Rileigh with cousins Susan and Cait. Cait goes to college at Hollins over in Roanoke and had a LAX game at Virginia Weslyan so they stopped by on their way home. They are the first of the extended family to meet Rileigh.

Landon put a bunch of his cars on the tray for Rileigh to play with!

Random Pictures

2010-04-13T09:38:00.005-04:00

This is our new stove! Yippy!

Mmmmm, that new oven sure cooks good pizza!

This little toy is from Uncle Vincent. He gave it to Landon who never paid it any mind but Rileigh LOVES it! She can grasp it easily and get it into her mouth!

Feet and Firetrucks

2010-04-12T22:24:00.003-04:00

So Miss Rileigh has found her feet. She's doing that super cute baby thing, curling her feet as close to her face as possible turning that cute booty for all to see. She has yet to put a foot in her mouth but she's getting close. She's laying in bed beside me cooing and blowing bubbles. She needs a bucket under her chin. She's like a fire hose when she really gets her bubble machine working. Speaking of fire hoses...

...On Saturday I took Landon to the fire station to see the fire trucks. I wasn't sure any of the firemen would be there but there were three outside chatting when we walked up. The older man agreed to show Landon the firehouse and the trucks. Landon got to sit in each truck. One of the other firemen turned all of Engine 52's lights on for him. He was most impressed with the spinning three light one on the front of the truck. We walked all around and looked in depth at the ladders, the outriggers, the tires, the hoses, and the boots and helmets. He had so much fun and fireman Mike was so kind to give us a tour.

After our tour we went for ice cream. Landon chose sherbert and insisted I try some of his. After I tasted it, he asked me if I liked it, "Good? Mommy, good?" He is so so so sweet and I love him so incredibly much.

Rileigh has stopped blowing bubbles now and is just wiggling. The t.v. is off as well as the lights. She's winding down to go to sleep. She doesn't suck her thumb but the first two fingers of her left hand! She's eating cereal everyday now and just tried pears and liked them. She's amazing and I love her so incredibly much too. I am really going to miss her when I go to Chicago on Weds. I'll be gone for four full days. I'm taking my pump and pumping every three hours to, hopefully, keep my supply up. The goal is to pick right up with breastfeeding where we left off and it's been going well!

Tree Trimmer

2010-04-09T20:40:00.003-04:00

I have the cutest child ever!

Cleaning his goggles off on his shirt as he's watched Rob do before he weed whacks!

Random Pictures

2010-04-09T20:30:00.004-04:00

Two days ago Landon & I played outside amid the pollen particles. We were covered in so much pollen I had to strip him in the garage & take right up for a bath when it was time to come in.

Last night we went for a walk and Landon insisted on sitting in Rileigh's seat in the double stroller. She looks uncomfortable but she is looking down at something. She smiled, cooed, and kicked her feet as we walked.

Blogger is being a pain and won't upload any of my videos. Annoying but nothing I do works so I will try again tomorrow.

Cereal!

2010-04-07T09:40:00.007-04:00

Rileigh had oatmeal cereal for the first time last night! I decided she was ready as she would intently watch me eat and always has her hands in her mouth. I made up one tablespoon of cereal with breast milk and she gobbled it right up! Of course, a lot of it made its way back out of her mouth but I scrapped it up again with the spoon and back in it went. She didn't keep her hands out of her mouth so, of course, it was everywhere too. She really enjoyed it and at times I wasn't getting it in her mouth fast enough!

I have several more pictures and two cute videos but I'm at school and I can't get anymore to load. Don't worry, I'm pumping... not shirking any of my school duties! There's only so much I can do while pumping in the uniform room! The a.c wiring went bad so there's a whole bunch of class rooms without a.c. and mine of one of them. It's 80 degrees in my room at 9am and will only get hotter when all my band kids come in. Phew! Too pollen-y to open the doors and windows. I'll update again with the rest tonight!

Rileigh

2010-04-05T22:04:00.003-04:00

Rileigh and her new Cabbage Patch Kid, Angeline Anastasia.

Landon's Pictures

2010-04-05T21:59:00.002-04:00

Check out my leg. All that running is starting to pay off!

Rileigh on Easter

2010-04-04T15:12:00.002-04:00

Egg Hunt

2010-04-04T14:38:00.003-04:00

Easter Baskets!

2010-04-04T14:35:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T14:19:00.004-04:00

Saturday, what to do?

2010-04-03T08:27:00.005-04:00

It's Saturday morning at 8:30. Rileigh just finished her morning nursing session and is laying beside me smiling and kicking! I ought to shower before Landon wakes up but I can do so while he watches Wow Wow Wubbzy and eats his morning banana if I must! He LOVES Wubbzy so I've decided to make his birthday party theme Wow Wow Wubbzy. Rob has a client who is a baker and is making a Wubbzy cake too!

Landon and I had some mother/son time yesterday while Nana watched Ri. We went to Dairy Queen for a chocolate cone and a Reese's blizzard. He ate both but fed me spoonfuls of blizzard and if I tried to refuse a bite, he emphatically said, "You eat!"

We then went to Portsmouth's City Park. It has two playgrounds and lots of open land along the water. We played and walked and looked at the water. We discussed why some people are bad for throwing trash into the water. We stopped at the drive thrus of McDonald's and Taco Bell for lunch on the way home. He got a cheeseburger, cinnamon twists and soda. He rarely gets to drink soda and we rarely go to Taco Bell so it's a big treat for him. He was so excited to get soda! Then we went back to Nana's to get Rileigh.

When we got home, he took a nap while Ri and I planted onions and lettuce seeds, and cilantro and basil plants in the garden. Daddy and Grandad came then with a load of quickcrete for the fence and they put up two sections of the new fence to see how it would go in. They are going to work some more on it today. Rob is anxious to get it in as the dogs have taken to wandering into the neighbor's yards when he lets them out. I mostly leash them still. I have no desire to chase after them, especially Mac!

So this post has been interrupted about 6 times! We are all showered and dressed now. Ri is sitting in her bouncy chair and Landon is playing in the sand box looking for more worms. I'm going to a friend's baby shower at noon while Rob and the kids will hang out. Rob went into work for a few hours this morning. The sun is coming out and it's warming up. It's going to be another beautiful day. I'm going to stop by Smithfield Garden's on my way home and see what veggies they have. The only other things I'm doing by seeds are green beans, everything else I'll buy the plants. I was just summoned to the back door to look at his two newfound worms and Daddy is home! I will end this post on that note and will have lots of update on tonight, I'm sure!

Easter Egg Video

2010-04-02T22:25:00.002-04:00

Easter Eggs

2010-04-02T22:22:00.002-04:00

Shaving

2010-04-02T22:19:00.002-04:00

Jumperoo Part Two

2010-04-02T22:10:00.003-04:00

Why, yes, I like my jumperoo!

It's also great for gnawing on to help these teeth poke through!

Jumperoo!

2010-03-28T22:16:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update

2010-03-28T09:02:00.002-04:00

No new pictures today. I need to find where I put the battery charger for safe keeping. Landon is sick again, from school, I think. He has coughed on Rileigh and I enough now that we woke up in the middle of the night to nurse sick too. I didn't go see the school musical last night because Rob wanted to go to party. I figured I could go this afternoon but now I don't know if I will. My head just might explode and I feel I need to be able to nurse Rileigh. Unless I can pump enough this morning for a bottle I won't go. Sad, I hear it is simply fabulous.

We have been laying kind of low the last couple of days. We did go to the park on the way home from Nana's on Thursday. It was gorgeous. Landon had a blast running between the two playgrounds and swinging on the swings. He also enjoyed piling super large pine cones in my lap. I was covered in dirt but had about 20 on my lap. Whatever, clothes can be washed and he was enjoying himself! Rileigh just looked about and cooed in her car seat. She's so sweet.

She's been clingy the last few days, I think feeling a cold come on. Yesterday she went with me to buy a few things for a friends upcoming baby shower and the "Easter bunny" needed to pick up a little something for her Easter basket. I always take her with me so I can feed her so she doesn't get formula. I enjoy her company too, such a sweet little thing. Landon is too wild right now to enjoy taking shopping. He wants to walk and then takes off when he sees something "cool." I can handle him when I don't have Rileigh!! Anyway, she snoozed a bit in the car and that was it. We got home at 2:30 and she didn't go to sleep until about 9:40! We sat on the couch while Landon showed Rileigh his cars and trucks. He brought each one over for her to touch. He was so sweet. He has a lot of cars and trucks so it took about 30 minutes! It was really chilly yesterday so I didn't take them outside after Landon's nap.

Daddy and Landon went to McDonald's for lunch and some ice cream while Ri and I were out and about. They went to True Value and bought a new finch feeder and more birdseed. Landon helped Daddy set it all up and put feed in it. It looks nice. It will soon be time to get the hummingbird feeders all set up to. I didn't plant a lot of flowers in pots on my deck last year but I think I will this year. Today Landon is going to help me start zinna and cosmo plants in plastic dixie cups. I want to fill my mailbox garden with zinna's and cosmos. It will look so nice! Hopefully, I can find the charger to take pictures. Last weekend we transplanted Landon's grass into a bigger pot. It's growing rather well on the deck and he waters it every few days.

We are being hard core about potty training now. We set a kitchen timer for every hour and he sits on the potty. Sometimes he "tee tee's" and sometimes not but he always tries. He gets a piece of candy or a couple of jelly beans when he puts enough in the potty for the music to go off. Although, this morning he didn't ask for the candy after he went! I am not above bribing him to learn to potty. He has to be trained by the time he goes to preschool this fall and I'm worried it's not going to happen!

We're glad it's staying lighter later. Landon can play in his sandbox when we get home when it's warm. He loves that sandbox. Best $50 I ever spent. One of Rob's friends has this killer wooden swing set/slide he is just giving us. It's quite awesome and I can't wait to get it and set it up for Landon. It has real swings on it too. I'll never get him inside then, he'll want to sleep in it!

Pretty dress

2010-03-22T09:27:00.008-04:00

Aakash and Anuja, two of Mommy's students, gave me this dress and sweater. Don't I look adorable?

Kisses from Mac!

Pants on the head!

2010-03-22T09:18:00.002-04:00

Sandbox and worms

2010-03-20T22:44:00.003-04:00

Landon likes worms. He finds a lot of them in his sandbox. He usually names them "Estes Joe Estes," which cracks me up but today he had a new name! You have to watch the video to find out the new name.