Swimming

It finally warmed up enough to go swimming and we have been loving it. Ryan was home sick with a nasty earache most of the week so when Zachary would go down for his nap Landon and I went out to enjoy the pool. Landon did good at staying on the steps or at least close to the steps with his tube on so I was able to do some laps, which felt wonderful. I wish I could do that everyday, but as I found out today, it's not possible when I take Zachary. Ryan wasn't home today, but with it reaching 80 degrees we just couldn't resist so we all went to the pool. Zachary didn't like being in the water much so I spent most of my time chasing him around while trying to keep an eye on Landon doing laps back and forth in his tube.
Landon started swim lessons this week and he loved it. He was smiling and laughing the whole time. His teacher was really good. He even got him to float on his back without much fuss which is amazing because he never lets me lean him back. Even when we wash his hair he has to hold his head forward. I thought maybe we had reached a new phase so I tried to help him float on his back like the teacher did, but he refused. I guess I don't have the right touch. He's signed up for the next 3 months so it will be fun to see what else he learns and hopefully he'll start to use the skills he learns in our own pool.

Happy 3rd Birthday Landon

Now that I have a couple pictures I'll back up to Landon's birthday on May 7th. He was extremely excited to have a party. Almost everyday he would talk about the balloons, cake, friends, and presents that would be at his party. About a month before his party I let him go to the party store and pick out a theme. He chose to go with Diego. The day of his birthday he woke up and wanted to have his party immediately. It was really hard for him to wait until the evening. However, we did get him some helium balloons that him and Zachary had a lot of fun with.
Because our house is a little too small for a bunch of guests we chose to do the party at a park. The kids had fun throwing rocks in the river, hitting the pinata, and playing together. Thank You to all those who came to celebrate with us. It's been a couple weeks now and Landon still talks about his party. He also knows the sequence of our families birthdays so he keeps saying, " it's daddy's turn next, then Zachary's, then Mommy's and then mine".

Success!

Landon is doing extremely well with the whole potty training thing. He's only had one accident since we started and it was on the first day so that's to be expected. We are at the close of day 3 and he has been going by himself without any help for the past day and a half. We even went to the store and to the park today. When we came out of the store he shouted, "Hooray! I didn't pee in the store, Mom!" We were both very happy about that. Hopefully, he'll keep it up.

Potty Training

I've been telling Landon for the last month that after he turns 3 I'm going to teach him how to use the potty and we're going to throw away his diapers. He hasn't liked this idea very much and has insisted that we throw away his underwear instead, but his birthday was Friday so I stuck to my word and we started potty training today. If any of you remember, I tried to potty train him one other time when he was 20 months, because of a book I read that said that was the ideal age, but it ended up being a nightmare and we've been scared to do it ever since. I was thinking today that I totally skipped age 2 when most people try to potty train which is a little weird, but I just never found a good time and Landon kept insisting on wearing diapers so I didn't push it. Diapers are too easy. Anyway, we started by taking off his last diaper and trying to put on underwear, but he didn't want anything to do with the undies so we put clothes on without anything. Half way through the day he decided he didn't want clothes on either because "it was too hard to go potty" so he ran around naked until bedtime. We made it through the day without any messes, but the first two times he needed to go he said he wanted to take a bath before he went so he ended up going in the tub. I thought we were going to go the whole day without making it in the potty until tonight when I heard the magic words, "mommy I need to go potty" and he went to the toilet and went. Not even a dribble. He was so happy. He kept saying, "I'm doing it mom!" Now we'll have to see how the night goes. The book I read says to do night time training at the same time, but I wasn't sure I was up to it so I bought some "night-time underwear", but he insists on NOT wearing it or any pajamas. BUT at least I talked him into putting on some underwear to sleep in. I'm confident he'll get it soon. This has been a much more pleasant experience than the first time. I don't think I'll ever try at 20 months again.

Sick mom with sick kids

Just when I thought we would make it through the winter without getting the flu...we go it! It's been a horrible week of throw-up, crying, and sleepless nights. I hate feeling totally drained. Especially, when I have kids that want extra love and care because their not feeling well. Zachary wanted me to stand up and hold him non-stop most of the week, but while I was sick I only had the energy to hold him lying down. Because this is not how he wanted to be held he would cry and wouldn't give up until he was tired enough to take another nap. Poor Landon ended up watching way to many Dora shows. I'll probably have to have a week of weaning him off T.V. now. Today the boys and I are feeling better. They are still a little more tired than usual and have a bad cough, but none of the other stuff. However, now dad is not feeling well so I'm afraid we may have a few more days of this. I'm really sick of having a sick family, but it does make me even more grateful for good health. We can't wait to be able to get out and be around people again.

6th Anniversary

Thanks to my sister, Ryan and I were able to leave the kids and enjoy some time together as we celebrated our 6th anniversary. We started the night off by going out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse where we enjoyed eating without the constant struggle of keeping kids seated and quiet. Then we headed to San Francisco to stay the night. When we first arrived we thought we must have gotten one of the best rooms that looked down into the streets of some of best places to shop, but it didn't take long to realize that we would have traded for an inside room away from the street noise. The windows of the old San Francisco buildings are so thin it sounds like you have the windows open and so we were awakened throughout the night with people yelling and cars honking. It reminded us of when we went to Italy for our second Anniversary. Despite the noise and lousy sleep we still were excited the next morning to go to Angel Island. We went to Tiburon to catch the ferry and had a wonderful time biking around the island and enjoying the views of the city and Golden Gate Bridge. Afterwards, we had to rush back home for Ryan put out a little business "fire". Then we went to the mall and had way too much fun shopping without kids.

Mess Makers

I wish I knew how to arrange my pictures. They don't seem to move where I want them to go. Oh well! To the right is Landon showing me his sad or tired face. Sometimes when I say, "show me your happy face, " he gives me a sad face. Silly boy. Also, to the right is Landon with Grandma Bowen. We were lucky to have her come stay for a few days. It had been awhile since we've been to Utah so we're glad she came to see us. And Below are the MESS MAKERS. Ryan always sings the song, "Mess makers, mess makers, make me a mess". It's working because they sure are good at making messes together. Here, they found the ovaltine container and spilled it all over the floor. They had fun making the mess for the few minutes I stepped out of the room, but didn't have so much fun when I locked them in their room so I could get it cleaned up. The smell was horrible. I should give Landon a little credit for trying to clean it up though. He ran into to tell me he had made a mess. I told him like I usually do that he better clean it up or he'll be put in time out (not knowing what kind of a mess he made). When I went to check if he was cleaning it up he was on his hands and knees with a towel swishing it back and forth. He probably was trying to wipe it up, but in reality was just spreading it all over the floor and into the cracks of the hardwood.