They are almost 3!

Most days I feel like I am riding an emotional roller coaster – and frankly I want off.  Admittedly, the kids are a TON of fun right now.  As an example, Riley spent the day wearing a cape and running around the house with a fist in the air saying “Super Riley to the rescue” BUT when they are “off” they are “OFF.”  It can be exhausting.  Riley is going to be an amazing soccer player, she has the flop down like it is her job.  Landon can be 3 feet away and she will yell out that he pushed her and fall to the ground crying.  In Landon’s case, if you say anything using the words “no, don’t, stop” or if your voice takes on a tone he will break down in tears.  If he can’t open his snack, he will cry.  If she can’t find the toy that is right in front of her, she will cry.  There are a lot of tears in our house on a daily basis – and some days they aren’t all from the kids. (true story) 

Again, I am behind in writing this one… like really late this time.  It feels like I should be writing the next one already.  I just feel too brain dead to write most of the time.  The kids ask a lot of questions during the day and I answer (almost) all of them.  It is exhausting trying to be one step ahead of them at all times.  I went to the bathroom the other day and when I came back Riley had eaten the foil top off a Greek yogurt and was slurping it through the top.  I don’t feel like I ever get to rest – unless I am at work- which is the exact opposite of rest as I am moving the whole time.  My only other excuse for my tardiness is that we were traveling… and I did some solo parenting… I have been consumed with my thoughts and worry lately about Rocky… well, it seems like I have a lot of excuses lately. Enough though, let’s talk about the kids. 

Riley is finally getting some of those two year old molars! Of course, they started on our trip and we had a few rough days as she dealt with the pain, but we survived.  If I had to pick her future career right now – she will be a veterinarian.  She is obsessed with animals! We stayed with my grandma and Riley followed her little dog everywhere wanting to give her hugs and kisses. We went to the children’s museum and they had a pretend and play area for animal boarding/vet clinic and she spent the whole time there.  She is always wanting to know where Rocky and Jasper are in the house and asking me to take her to see “the animals” or “the fishy.”  She has a stuffed dog that she is carrying everywhere right now that she gives a bath and medicine.  One of her current favorite toys is the Little People farm.  She likes to play with all of the animals and move them around to talk to each other.  She is a very busy girl and wants to help me to do everything around the house – even if it means dipping the broom in the dog water and rubbing it around on the floor to help.  She loves to eat cheese and yogurt and has no issue getting them out of the fridge herself.  She eats fruit, spaghetti, mac n cheese, grilled cheese… she typically does not have an issue eating at all.  She weighs just about 30 pounds right now, 2-3 more than Landon depending on the day.  She is also a little bit taller.  She demands to dress “like a princess” most days which means she wants to wear a skirt so she can twirl around.  She hates to have her hair up though and that is a battle several times a day as she takes it back down.  She may want to be a princess, but she still loves to get dirty.  She is the first to reach in the pile of dirt or play in the sandbox.  She loves to swing and play outside and make messes in general.  She is clearly a “tomboy” and keeps me on my toes.  We stayed at a hotel recently and took the kids down to the pool.  Riley wasted no time in getting in the water and didn’t want either of us to help her swim either.  She got the hang of it pretty quick with the help of her puddle jumper floatation thing.  

Landon is still the overall quiet and observant one.  He wants to be next to me or on me all the time and there was one day I informed him that he was “driving me crazy” and now that has become his new phrase as he will tell me that I am driving him crazy.  We have had a couple different scenarios at the park lately where he has needed to walk on sand and he has refused – so that will make for an interesting beach trip.  If I were to pick his future career based on his current interests, Landon will be a fire fighter.  He has several different fire truck toys and he can spot a fire truck or a fire fighter from a mile away.  When my mom was here recently she bought him a bigger truck and he can be found extending the ladder and rescuing different toys from the top of the table. He is usually using his Marshall dog from Paw Patrol and recreating parts from the show.  Curious George and Paw Patrol are their favorite TV shows to watch and the current favorite movie is Cars.  He got a Mack hauler for Christmas and that toy is by his side constantly as he also will recreate scenes from the movie as well with Riley “driving” Lightning McQueen around and chasing after Mack.  Landon is more of a picky eater, in fact lately about the only thing he will eat is peanut butter jelly, chips, and milk as that is his requested meal ALL meals of the day.  He was sick this past weekend and would not eat anything – had me a little worried, but it only lasted about 48 hours and then he was back to normal.  He was super lethargic for those days and that is not like him at all.  Lately he is running and jumping all the time and will catch me off guard jumping on me – we have had several ineffective talks lately about being careful and not hurting others.  

  

They did well on the trip back to Illinois.  They travel surprisingly well in the car for a 14 hour car ride.  They watch movies, sleep, and play games on their Leapfrog Epics.  They loved the time playing with Payton and would ask for him in the morning.  The Hubby and I got the chance to go out to eat and celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary while we were there – time has flown by.  We had the opportunity to see a lot of family while there and they did pretty good with it overall.  They take some time to warm up, but I think that is true of most kids their age.  My entire family got together to celebrate my sister graduating from college and they loved seeing everyone and playing.  They gave lots of hugs and kisses, which was greatly appreciated as they don’t get to see everyone very often.  Riley even took a much needed little nap on my aunt who did not hate it. Our next trip is the beach in just two weeks! I am pretty excited and have already started packing… I hope they love the ocean as much as I do.