Where did these little people come from?!

 

We took them to the “real pool” the other day.  Up until  now, most of their time has been spent in those zero depth pools or in kiddie pools at friends’ houses.  In preparation, we bought some swim vests that morning at the dreaded Wal-mart.  We arrived at the pool and put the vests on and headed down the stairs into the water… and Riley turned around, went back up the stairs, and walked away shaking her head back and forth saying “no.”  When I was able to pull back on the laughter I got her back in the pool… and she did it again.  It was finally concluded that the dear child wanted to wear shoes in the pool – odd I know- but I allowed this one and put the foam shoes on her.  She enjoyed the water after that, especially the fact that her feet were now floating on top of the water.  She even laid down on her belly and kicked her arms and legs. Landon did pretty well, he also “swam” and played with the toys we brought.  I think they enjoyed it and we will be back, hopefully Riley will warm up to the water a bit faster the next time. :)

Working with daddy on the computers at the library.

They are doing so many fun things right now and their personalities are HUGE! Riley continues to be the instigator and loves to take toys from her brother to get him upset and then just calmly hands them back and he stops crying immediately.  Riley is a bit of the opposite, if he takes something from her, she won't even calm down when he gives it back.  They both love to laugh and run and giggle through the house together chasing the "doggies."  They have both become little helpers - bringing me things like diapers upon request.  Riley made me laugh the other day when I was vacuuming and she went as far as to pick up her chair and move it out of the way so I could vacuum underneath.  Sometimes she is a little too helpful though - like when she throws clean dishes into the sink with all of the dirty dishes.  I think it has been a few weeks since I have had to push a button in this house, they now even push all the buttons on the washer after I lift them up. 

Yep, she is the climber.

The word of the day in our house is "Thank you."  While I appreciate how polite my children have become, I averagely say "You're welcome" about 900 times a day.  We are still working on them saying please though as they don't seem as receptive to that one.  My other new favorite involves the Jake and the Neverland Pirates song.  You may know it well, but the best part comes when they say "Jake and the Neverland Pirates and me!"  My children, no matter where they are, come running in and say the "and me" part and Landon does so with this huge grin on his face.  Needless to say I now say it randomly throughout the day so that I can see the smile. :)

We have been fighting some allergies in our house. Seems like Riley has had a runny nose for months.  We also recently experienced the joy that is pink eye. My kids took it like a champ though and we're pros at the eye drops by the end of it. Riley was a little upset at first that Landon got the drops and she didn't but never fear... she started the next day. Overall they have been pretty healthy kids so no complaints here. The nightmares seem to have subsided for now with Riley and we are getting some consistent sleep again. They still take a nap during the day for at least 2 hours also so knock on wood that it sticks around for awhile.  

Our current favorite toys are those magna doodle things. They also love to play with balls.  Landon has a pretty good arm and we are encouraging his left handed throwing. :) They enjoy puzzles and the shape sorter as well. They have been taking books to bed at night and tend to be carrying books around during the day as well. I found a Thomas the train track on consignment and they both enjoy watching it move around the track. Magnetic letters are also a lot of fun apparently and speaking of that they now know most of their letters and are counting pretty well also. They are starting to really enjoy being outdoors... too bad it has been so hot. They love to play with the t-ball set and Landon is all about kicking the little soccer ball when he can. He even seems to know the difference and will kick the soccer ball and throw the other balls. 

They love to snack and I have tried to create some independence with snack time so I have a bin filled with options and they pick out what they want. They love drinking from straws and big kid cups but haven't mastered it without making a mess. They are getting better about eating most things. They still have their picky moments but it seems as if you add a condiment to the meal it becomes a while new food and they will eat every last bite. We are on vacation this week so meals have been more interesting, but they did not seem to be bothered by chocolate donuts and raisins foe breakfast today. Well I am literally finishing this one up from the car right now, so I am going to end it here and I will write more after the trip and their second birthday!