Where did my little boy go?

Landon has hit a stage where he wants to make all the decisions and do everything by himself from the shoes I wear to pouring his own milk. We left to church yesterday with Landon screaming because I was wearing my brown church sandals instead of the black ones he wanted me to wear. Today we were going to go to the park and he insisted on going down the elevator all by himself. Since I wouldn't let him he threw a tantrum and we ended up back in the house. If he needs a drink he has to get his own cup and then get his own water, which is fine, but if I mess up and forget that he wants to be the one to do it then he starts crying. We have definitely hit the terrible twos. I know some people who read books on how to raise an independent child. Where are the books on raising dependent children? LOL

Little Artist

Lately, I have been making some home-made paints for Landon and we are discovering that he can be quite the artist when he's in the right mood. I really like this painting that he did with corn syrup and food coloring. Here's how he made it:

1. Put corn syrup in little cups and add food coloring to make your paints
2. Landon dumps all of the paint onto his paper
3. Landon swirls the paint around on the paper
4. There is way too much paint on the paper so mom gets strips of paper and trys to soak some of it up.
5. Landon pulls the pieces of paper off and underneath lies a masterpiece.

Landon enjoys painting with the corn syrup because it is sticky, makes fun designs and it dries shiny.


WARNING: Is very sticky even when it dries. I had to put this one in a sheet protector so we could keep it.

FINALLY!

I bought new running shoes 2 months ago and I finally found the motivation this morning to put them on, put the boys in the stroller, and go for a run. Since I was told to take it easy when I was pregnant, my exercise has consisted of walking to the park (that is right outside my door) and watching Landon play. This has to stop! Honestly, after a while I liked being able to say, "I can't exercise". But now that I don't have a good excuse, I just feel lazy and my body is really hurting. After only 3-4 minutes of jogging I started huffing and puffing and I could feel the side-ache coming. I ended up doing intervals of jogging 2 minutes and then walking for 2 minutes. After about 20 minutes of this my legs felt a little wobbly so I gave in to Landon's requests to play at the park. Now that I know how out of shape I am, I'm really going to feel guilty if I don't get out and exercise. Breastfeeding is great for losing weight (I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight). Too bad it doesn't build muscle and give your body the oxygen it needs.

UTAH FUN!

We have returned from a fun-filled trip to Utah. We are so glad that we were able to see so much family and a few friends in the week we were there. There is never enough time with each of you, but we really do try to visit with as many as possible. Thanks to all of you who took time out of your busy lives to visit with us. We love you all!

It was the perfect day to hike to Battle Creek Falls.

We went on a hike with Ryan's grade-school friend, Ryan Peck. Ryan was glad Peck offered to carry Landon.

Ryan and Landon with Aunt Joyce and Grandma Liston.

We went on a walk with Bruce and Nancy and April.

Dan is my favorite horse

I can't believe how big my baby brother is!

I loved visiting with two of my best friends from highschool, Shauna and Rachelle. You both are beautiful!

The wonderful, crazy, fun, frustrating moments of life as a mom!

Hello! The month of March seemed to disappear and how is it the 17th of April already? The past little while has been full of fun, tiring, exciting, and frustrating moments. It's a good thing the fun and exciting times out number the not-so-pleasant ones.

Last week I tried to do the 3 day Potty Training by Lora Jenson with Landon. According to the book, 22 months is the ideal age to potty train. I was skeptical, but had to try it to see if Landon really was ready. It was the most exhausting 5 (not 3) days of my life! Not once did Landon tell me he needed to go potty before he was actually going and I followed the book exactly. I must have read it 20 times to make sure I was doing everything right. At the end of day 5 I gave up and put Landon back in diapers. Each day Landon did improve a little bit, but I'm certain it would have been at least a couple more weeks of constant watch and training before he would be telling me that he needed to go potty. One thing he did amazing at was staying dry at night. I guess me telling him a hundred times a day to, "Tell mommy when he needed to go potty" really stuck in his head because the 4 nights we were potty training he woke up dry. I like the method and I think there's a good chance it will work when he's a little older. For now, I'm glad I have my sanity back.

We purchased season passes to the Great America/Gilroy Gardens Theme Parks. Landon went to Great America for the first time on Tuesday. I don't think he's ever been so stimulated. The two mornings following our adventure I would go to get Landon from his crib and he would tell me all about riding the cars that go round and round. He must have dreamed about it.

Zachary has begun to smile a lot and has started to squeal. He's really good most of the time, but does have his times during the day that he doesn't want to be put down. Every morning when he wakes up I bring him to my bed and he is so happy. He'll lay in bed smiling, kicking, and squealing for at least an hour.
We had Janice (Ryan's Mom) take our family picture a couple weeks ago when we went to visit. Boy is it difficult to get my boys to look at the camera at the same time.

Little Chef!

Landon loves to help me in the kitchen. The other day we decided to make some cookies and Landon did really well and helping mix all the ingredients together until we got to the chocolate chips. He tried to eat as many as possible before they were put into the dough and then once they were in the dough he kept trying to pick them out. Funny Boy! He ended up being a mess as well as the counter, but he had fun. I really need to find him a good stool to stand on.

Landon 21 months, Zachary 1 month

Well, I made it through the first month with 2 kids 20 months apart and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Actually, it was pretty fun. Landon has adjusted well to having a little brother. I do have to watch closely to make sure Zac is safe from flying toys and fingers going into his eyes, but Landon has been very good about letting me take care of Zachary's needs without getting upset. He seems to play better by himself now than before the baby. Zachary is doing really well. He has gained a pound a week the last few weeks making him weigh 9 pounds now. He is a very content little guy and has been really fun to take care of.