Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

I feel exhausted at the end of the day – both physically and mentally – from keeping up with them all day.  I feel like I need to stay a step or two ahead always, sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail.  Riley has now had her second emergency dental visit in less than 2 years.  She and Landon were jumping around in the living room and I was in the bedroom getting dressed for the gym when I heard the thump and scream.  I met her halfway and scooped her up only to discover us both drenched in blood.  Details are sketchy, but the forensic evidence indicates that she nailed her face on the coffee table.  She tore open her top gum and ripped the frenum.  On the plus side, she no longer has a lip tie. ;)

 

Carnival time with daddy while mommy worked

This being the holiday season, I also feel a little bit extra exhaustion trying to do “all the things.”  It seems there is a constant option out there for an activity and we are doing SOME of them, but honestly doing “all the things” is just not an option.  We have gone to a few parades, a couple of tree lightings, saw the lights at the Speedway, Huntersville Christmas carnival, drove through McAdenville (where they yelled Merry Christmas to everyone that we drove by), Winter Wonderland at Holy Angels, saw Santa at the CMOM event, and have done various crafts and activities at home and the library.  I also joined a local play group and we have been meeting up often for some play time for the kids and some adult interaction for the parents.  It has been great for them to be around other kids and develop social skills and they love making friends.  I also have joined the Gaston YMCA and the kids and I go several times a week.  They have a large playroom with a slide as well as a weekly Fit Tot class that has become a favorite.  

I have noticed some growth in Landon over the last few months.  He is much more fearless than he used to be.  We recently went to an open gym time at a gymnastics studio and he was jumping right off the trampoline into the foam pit.  He still introduces himself to everyone we meet and makes sure they know that he is 4 years old.  He has become more active in story time and answers the questions enthusiastically.  Several weeks I took Landon out to run some errands and the Hubby spent some time with Riley.  It really is an amazing difference to have only one of them at a time.  Landon and I ended up at the mall.  He held my hand the entire time and talked my ear off about everything he saw.  We had a lot of fun together and I hope that we can make it a habit of hanging out with them individually. Landon is also making strides into his “BOY” status as his new favorite words seem to be “butt” and we discuss “poop” pretty frequently. (In his defense, his father and I have daily conversations about his sister’s bathroom habits, so it was only a matter of time.)  He does like to make me laugh though and it is hard not to laugh at a 4 year old that is giggling and saying the word “butt.”  He had me rolling on the ground laughing with tears streaming down my face when we found him playing in the bath tub, naked other than his left sock.  He was honestly surprised when we pointed it out to him.  Sometimes when we watch a movie together, I look over and catch him smiling.  He loves to sit in my lap and snuggle – when his sister allows it.  He loves to play and hold conversations with his toys and animals.  He is constantly asking questions to see how things work and being able to watch the process of our house being built has been amazing for him.  His most requested food item is still a “jelly sandwich” (aka PBJ), but he has now branched into asking for chocolate milk.  His favorite toys are his Matchbox cars and he has loved his daily Matchbox advent calendar that my dad picked out for him.  He also got the honor of naming our Scout Elf (Treenuts) and has been the first one to tell me every day about the Elf’s shenanigans.  He is very excited for Christmas and has asked for a “snow toy” (which took this mom plus family members, google and several toy stores to figure out it is an Arctic RescueBot) and a “garbage truck that will pick up his toys” (much easier to find). 

Painting pottery for Jack and Will's birthday

Riley loves her daily morning snuggle under the red blanket.  As soon as I roll out of bed, make my coffee, and have a seat on the couch she comes running up with the blanket and crawls in my lap.  She makes it hard for me to want to get moving and out the door in the morning.  She has been asking for “mommy time” a lot more often lately and we have done crafts and coloring together.  She has taken on some of the shyness from her brother and now hides behind me when we are talking to new people, but to a certain extent I think she is just being silly.   She constantly is running, jumping, spinning, dancing, and talking.  I have no idea where she finds all of her energy and most days I wish I had a quarter of it.  Her current favorite companion is the small Saint Bernard puppy that our Elf brought – she cuddles it all day and night in her effort to increase the Christmas spirit (you have to read the book).  She is also very excited for Christmas, but I think she really just is waiting for Snuggles to be under the tree.  She loves to play with her animals and that is what she asked Santa for this Christmas – Snuggles the Dream Puppy.  She also asked for a “petey doll” which appears to be any plastic Barbie type doll. (No, she is not able to explain to me why she calls it a petey doll.)   Her most requested food item is a bagel and she now wants to climb up on her chair and help me with spreading the cream cheese.  She also climbs up to “help” with the dishes.  We have a very tiny kitchen in the apartment and it gets pretty crowded when you add both of the kids and their chairs. She still LOVES Curious George and asks to watch him on the daily.  We chose to not have cable in the apartment, so she has developed an affinity for some of the other PBS shows, but her heart will always belong to George. (I acknowledge that most of the pictures below are of Landon, but most of my pictures of Riley are pretty blurry - ha ha). 

Birkdale tree lighting 

Belmont Christmas Parade

 

Testing track skills

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Papa Time

Huntersville Christmas

McAdenville lights.

Sunshine in my pocket

 

I love Fall! It is my favorite time of year with the leaves changing and PUMPKIN EVERYTHING.  The best part of this fall – I am not responsible for raking any leaves.  We have been keeping busy with festivals and outdoor activities and running (for mommy).  I think we have clearly made up for not having a very eventful summer.

Mommy did do something for herself recently and ran a half marathon.  Honestly, the hardest part was finding the time to train.  The plan I had in place involved running 4 times a week for 10 weeks.  It honestly did not happen every week – most weeks I only got in three runs with a long run on the weekend.  I am proud of the progress I made and that a 3 mile run now seems like “no big deal.”  As for the actual half marathon, it went really well.  The course was flat and beautiful and the weather was great! They predicted it would be hot, so I was prepared and drank water and Gatorade whenever offered.  I tried to keep an even pace and picked out a few people that seemed to be running at my speed and ironically, I did end the race with a few of them!  One woman and I hit it off for the last mile and we pushed each other through it and crossed the line together.  I set a goal of 2 hours and 45 minutes and I completed the race in 2 hours and 39 minutes.  I set several personal records for time and I would guess that I ran for 10-11 of the miles.  I may do another one in the future, but it won’t be anytime soon.  I am nursing a sore foot, most likely it is tendonitis, so I am going to take a little time off from running.  Enough about me…

Riley keeps me on my toes.  She has a wild spirit and doesn’t like to walk, so I feel like I am constantly 10 steps behind her- both literally and figuratively.  She does still like to snuggle though and will run up to me with a blanket in her hand asking to “snuggle cuddle” and how would someone say no to that one?!  She has developed an interest in drawing and coloring over the last few weeks and no piece of paper is safe.  She is getting really good at stick figure people and showing a lot of improvement with staying in the lines!  I have been doing some homeschool activities with them and have discovered the key to success with her is apparently a dry erase book and different colored markers.  I found this great Pre-Kindergarten wipe clean work book that includes letters and numbers- she will even get the book out on her own.  She gets frustrated with herself very easily and it becomes a test of my patients to help her with a puzzle or a task. She wants it done right quickly and the first time – this may be some more of my personality.  She is strong and independent and wants to do more each day.  She declares that she is “big enough” and will pull up a chair to help me wash dishes or make dinner.  She is constantly singing a Daniel Tiger song and if there isn’t one that is situationally appropriate, she will make one up herself.  She loves to have someone read to her and will then “read” the book to herself.  She likes to read about animals and Princesses.  She dressed up as Belle for Halloween, which came out of nowhere as she has never even seen the movie.  She picked out a very glittery dress and we left a trail of glitter everywhere we went.  She loves any kind of animal and Jasper is her best friend, whether he likes it or not.  Curious George is still her favorite show and she asks to watch it daily.  She will eat just about anything, especially if it involves cheese.  She is still struggling some with her stomach and using the potty correctly.  We will be seeing a pediatric GI specialist in the next few weeks to see if there is a culprit or if it is simply her stubbornness.  Personally, I think it is a little bit of both. 

Landon loves to learn and explore.  He wants everyone to be his friend and struggles with understanding why not everyone wants to play with him.  He is very kind hearted and gets his feeling hurt easily.  Luckily, his sister is always by his side to play when I take them out.  They may not always get along and there are daily battles at home over toys and games, mostly because they are both just as stubborn as I am. (I admit it.)  He asks me to play with him all the time, but then he gets so involved in his imagination that he forgets I am there.  He also loves to have books read to him and can be founding “reading” the books back to himself.  He still likes to play with his Rescue Bots and Paw Patrol as well as anything with wheels.  He likes to watch Daniel Tiger, Super Wings, and Blaze and the Monster Machines.  He asked to dress up as AJ (Blaze’s driver) and to “wear Blaze” for Halloween.  He never wavered from that idea, so I was able to make his costume and he loved it – until he could not reach the doorbell with the box around him.  Also, he was pretty upset that most of the people were either sitting in their driveways or on their porch so he didn’t have to ring many doorbells anyway.  He loves to take things apart and put them back together and explain the process to me as he does it.  He likes to do crafts and activities and will do some coloring, but he doesn’t like to color as much as Riley.  He prefers to use the scissors and glue.  He likes to build race tracks and train tracks and follow maps.  He does well with puzzles and games and craves the one on one attention.  He LOVES to listen to music and dance. His current favorite song is the “Trolls Song” and he has an elaborate dance that he has developed for the song. 

We are still living in the apartment and should be here for several more months.  They are making progress on building the house though and the kids are enjoying watching the work happen! We have been busy this month with the traditional fall activities (pumpkin picking, trick or treat, and fall festivals) and I am excited to transition into the Christmas activities! It is the most wonderful time of the year. 😊 

Pumpkin patch adventures 

Library Time

Building sand castles at Daddy's volleyball

Experiment time... 

Trick or Treat! 

Following the map to the treats

Belmont Boo-Fest 

Movie night at the WWC

Dancing Machines

We have one month of apartment living under our belts and I think we are making the most of it.  We have visited the pool several times a week and the playgrounds have been put to use as well.  I have even ventured out on the greenway for a few runs and just tonight we walked to Harris Teeter for dinner.  I think both the Hubby and I feel more relaxed – and not having to worry about yard work is a big plus! I would have to say the biggest thing I miss is the fenced in yard and the ability to just open up the door and let Jasper out – he has this uncanny ability to want to go out at he most inconvenient times.  I really shouldn’t complain though, he has done great with living in the apartment and with his (apparently) new role as Riley’s best friend.  She is all over him, all day long, and to his credit he just takes all the “love.” 

Watching parade

Riley continues to be a bit of a challenge at times.  She has thrown down a few temper tantrums lately that have caused me to step away and regain my composure.  She will lay down on her belly kicking her legs and throwing her arms.  Honestly they don’t last long, but it is the fact they seem to happen out of nowhere that frustrate me.  The psychology major in me knows how I SHOULD handle them and even the “why” the tantrum is happening, but the overtired and burnt out mom in me has other ideas.  Luckily, the positive and fun moments outweigh the bad and then she just looks so darn cute when she is apologizing to me that I can’t stay frustrated for long.  She is good.  When she knows I am the most frustrated, she will take my hand and hold it up next to her cheek and look up at me with huge eyes. She knows what she is doing… she is going to go far in life. 😉 She loves to color and draw, but she does get frustrated with herself as she has high expectations of how she wants it to look.  Her current favorite thing to write is a list for Santa.  She is still switching back and forth from her left to her right hand at times, so I am not sure which she is more comfortable with over all.  She loves to dance and sing and makes up her own “Daniel Tiger” ish songs about dealing with things (You know what I mean, “If you have to go potty, stop and go right away. Flush, and wash, and be on your way.)  She likes to curl up in my lap and be read to – currently favorite books are about unicorns, puppies, and Shimmer and Shine.  She is showing huge improvement at putting puzzles together and we keep practicing.  She loves to play with her Barbie dolls and will get them involved in whatever her brother is playing.  She still has a soft spot in her heart for dogs and anytime we encounter a dog in public we have to ask if she can pet it.  Her favorite foods remain cheese (all kinds, including cottage cheese), orange juice, applesauce.  She continues to love Curious George.  Her current favorite color is pink and her favorite thing to wear is a dress and sparkly shoes or a pink tutu.  At this moment she wants to dress up as Shine from Shimmer and Shine for Halloween.  She does not have a singular favorite toy, but usually it is a stuffed animal. 

Cousin Love! 

Landon has been expressing himself through dance! I was in a wedding last month and he did not leave the dance floor AT ALL! He loves to dance and sing – and to watch himself on video dancing and singing.  He isn’t nearly as dramatic as his sister, but he does get his feelings hurt easily.  They have been struggling with playing together lately because they each want to be in charge of the “plot” and when they disagree a fight will ensue.  I tend to let them figure it out, but I do have to intervene at times when they start to get aggressive and Landon ultimately gets his feelings hurt.  Landon loves to put puzzles together and build his train tracks and Matchbox cars track.  He still loves the Rescue Bots and creates story lines with them on a daily basis.  His favorite food is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and milk.  He prefers to watch Super Wings or Blaze and the Monster Machines – or people playing with toys on YouTube.  His favorite color is green.  He doesn’t really care what he is wearing, but he would prefer to have socks on 24/7.  He currently wants to dress up as AJ from Blaze for Halloween, but has also requested that we make him a Blaze that he can wear over his costume.  He doesn’t have a particular favorite toy at the moment as it changes on a minute to minute basis, but it is usually Jet from Superwings or Batman.  He usually carries three toys with him at a time and has been carrying a backpack to make that easier.  He does have a certain set of stuffed animals that need to be in his bed at night – a firetruck pillow, a T-Rex, and a turtle.

The last two weeks we have been working on learning how to spell our names and write some of the letters.  Riley doesn’t sit still well, so I have to break down her lessons into parts.  Landon will sit with me for an extended time and loves to practice and receive praise.  He has mastered the spelling and recognition of his name and Riley is doing very well with it.  Neither of them are super interested in writing yet, but I will continue to work with them on that one.  I am in the process of looking into preschool and daycare programs, but I don’t want to start them in a program here and then move, so there is a delay on that one.  I do need to find them an activity to get started – like maybe dance?

Our big adventure this last month was traveling back to Illinois for Riley and I to be in a wedding! She was pretty excited to wear a fancy dress, but she did not throw her petals.  Her brother did manage to steal the show a bit as he stood at the end of the aisle yelling “Wilee, you need to throw them” and then loudly asking me when I was going to throw my flowers as I walked by.  They went to their first parade while we were there and quickly learned that if they looked cute and waved they would get candy thrown at them.  We also managed to catch the annual Stearman fly-in and they both loved seeing all the planes coming and going.  We even picked some apples with Memaw and Papa.  

Feeding the goats

Pony Ride

Watching the plane come in... 

Candy!

Parade Time!