"Armpaint" and play time with Maddie Kate

Landon has fingerprinted a lot this weekend! This morning he started out fingerprinting then progressed to "handpainting" and for his grand finale "armpaint" That was a fun mess to clean up!




Maddie Kate is enjoying the exersaucer for short periods of time these days!



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Abracadabra!!

Today Jim spent the day home with the kiddos while I went to work. At some point during the day Landon found his Valentine bag from school and decided his Cars pencil should be a magic wand! He moved it in circles over his hand to make a rabbit appear! Daddy thought he needed a hat so he found one and Landon became quite good at making rabbits and lions appear! When I got home Landon greeted me wearing a t-shirt, no pants and his magic hat and he was carrying his wand! He showed me his new trick and I had to get it on video! He was much more excited about it off camera but I still had to share. His little imagination is taking shape and he is so much fun. We love it when he does things we didn't specifically teach him. I'm not sure where he learned to be "Landon the Great" but we think it's pretty awesome!!

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Dinner time conversations

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What a difference 4 days can make!

In the 4 days since I posted Maddie Kate's 4 month blog post she has officially cut her first tooth and tonight she rolled from her back to her tummy!! Her big brother didn't cut teeth until he was 8 months old an I'm pretty sure he didn't roll over until he was closer to 6 months! I've heard moms say before that with their second kiddo they were a little sad with each milestone because it meant they were growing up and after the first, when you anxiously await every milestone because everything is so new, you want your new baby to stay little. I didn't think I would feel this way but yep, I definitely do! Maybe it's because we really only want two kiddos and because I know that this will probably be our last time to watch a kiddo reach the milestones. MK is definitely growing up fast and we are enjoying her so much! Of course I wouldn't want her to "slow down" but it would be nice if she would stay a baby a little longer. At this rate she'll be in college tomorrow. Okay, yes, that's a stretch, I know, but it's happening so fast and I hope we can always cherish our sweet moments with our baby girl!
*Edited to add that I looked back through the blog and turns out Landon could roll over from back to tummy at 4 months and he also weighed almost a pound more than MK at 4 months. I was right about the teeth though! Glad I have the blog to reference since we all know that I can't be bothered with baby books!

Updated to add that MK has 2 teeth now and she's apparently not much a fan of the teething process. Poor girl!!


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Valentine's Day 2012 in Pictures

Chipmunk fun with the iPad!

Maddie Kate is 4 Months Old!

Maddie Kate turned 4 months old over a week ago!  At her 4 month checkup she got more shots and our favorite pediatrician looked her over and told us that she's developing right on track!  She weighs 13 pounds and 13 ounces and she's 25 inches long.  I can't find the sheet that shows the percentages but her length was around the 75th percentile and her weight was around the 50th.  I can't remember her head circumference but it was in the 35th percentile I think...I'll have to update this post when I find it.  Here are some fun facts about our growing girl:

She wears a size 2 diaper

She wears various sizes of clothes depending on the brand.  Some are 3-6 month while others are 6-9.

Her hair is still a little strawberry blonde and it's getting longer!

She has a very fair complexion to go with her reddish hair - we'll be investing in a lot of sunscreen this summer for sure!

We are still mixing rice cereal in her bottles and she takes 5 ounces every 4 hours.

She is sleeping better at night some nights - but some nights she still likes to eat in the middle of the night
We had her in her crib for a few nights but then she got a cold and we moved her back into our room in the cradle and nap nanny.  I'm having a hard time putting her in her crib for some reason...even though it's right across the hall.  I've been super paranoid ever since our hospital stay...which I just finished paying for last month.  Thank goodness for health insurance is all I have to say about that!  And thank goodness for Children's Hospital.  I'm grateful that we live so close...and we paid the ER another visit last weekend because she had so much drainage and a fever - I decided I could be up all night worried at home or we could go to the ER and be up there where they could reassure me she was okay or treat her if she wasn't.  Turns out she has an ear infection but she's doing much better now!  I imagine she'll need tubes eventually just like her big brother.  I sure won't stress about the decision to put tubes in her ears like I did our decision with Landon...they have been great for him!

She has the sweetest grin and giggle and she is quite smitten with her daddy and her Papa.  When she's at Nana and Papa's, Papa spoils her and they're big buddies.  It makes me happy.

She can grasp toys and she chews on everything...and the drool!  My goodness, the girl drools!  I'd think she was teething but I've not seen any signs of any popping through.  She's also a big fan of chewing on her toes.

We haven't started rice cereal with a spoon yet but our pediatrician said we can when we're ready so as soon as she's back to feeling 100% we'll start that.  I think she'll be ready!

She likes to talk and has the sweetest coos and gurgles.  Landon loves it when she talks to him.

She loves tummy time and even though she rolled from her tummy to her back super early she hasn't rolled the other way yet.

She is pretty close to be able to sit up!  She's so strong!!  When she lays on her back we can hold her hands and she'll pull herself up to a sitting position and has just recently starting pulling all the way up to standing.  She can bear weight on her legs for a short period of time.

She's pretty content to hang out in her swing or on the floor when we are home...but she definitely loves snuggle time too!

Here are some pictures of our favorite baby girl at 4 months.  We just love her so much and we're having the best time watching her grow and change!  She looks just like her daddy!

Landon turns 3!

Landon,

You are 3 years old and I'll say what I always say...where has the time gone!!?  The last 3 years have been filled with happiness, joy, challenges and even a little frustration.  You are growing up to be such a great little kid and we are blessed that God gave you to us.  You have really grown and changed in the last year!  You are wearing size 3 pants and size 3 or 4 shirts.  You currently wear a 9.5 shoe...but I'm overdue to take you in for a sizing and won't be shocked if you've outgrown them and are ready for a double digit shoe size!  You are officially potty trained!!!!  Just like with everything else...your mommy and daddy stressed about potty training way more than you did.  We kept you in a pull-up far too long...until one night we ran out.  I decided not to make a late night trip to the store for more and the next day I told you that you would be wearing big boy underwear!  You had a few accidents that day but had the hang of it in no time and we sent you to school the day after that in your new, big boy underwear!  You had one accident at school and you haven't had one that I can remember since.  You tinkled on a tree for the first time on your 3rd birthday and you thought that was "so cool!".  We were at the park and there was no bathroom in sight...we had no choice.  We don't let you do this at home...sorry dude.  You constantly amaze us with how easily you seem to catch on and transition...when you're ready of course.  I think your daddy and I learned a lesson...and that is that you're usually ready for the next step far before we're ready to let you get there.  Your vocabulary astounds us.  Just in the last two weeks you've told your daddy and I that you are "very disappointed at us" or that your "very aggravated at us"... cue in the 3 year old frustration on our part...and the amazement that your little self knows those words and how to use them!  Maybe you've heard them before?  Ha!  For now, your daddy still rocks you to sleep and even though we are trying to cut this part out of our nightly routine...for your sake...rest assured we will miss it.  You are a great big brother and you love your baby sister.  Now that she's older and starting to interact a little more you tell her she's cute and sometimes you look at her and say "Maddie, you such a sweet baby". You have a very nurturing soul.  You tell us that you "lub us so much" and when Maddie Kate cries you tell us, "in otay, sometimes babies cry".  It makes us laugh and it warms my soul.  You still like to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse most mornings while we all get ready for our day and your latest favorite "toy" is clearly your mommy's iPad.  You like to play Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Fruit Ninja and you like to watch You Tube videos...even though we've told you countless times that they're not allowed!  Again, cue in the mommy and daddy frustration!  You like school even though some days you have a hard time letting go and you especially love your time with Nana and Papa!  You love to visit Pocky and you love to go to the farm to visit Mimi and Papa and you can't wait to go fishing in Kansas when we go visit Great Mama and Papa!  You've already informed us that you will not be staying home and that you will be going in the boat!  Ha!  Your favorite food is cheese...you love, love, love cheese and you would eat it at every meal if we'd let you...and sometimes we do.  Your other favorites are mac and cheese, ravioli, chicken nuggets, strawberries and blueberries, lima beans, carrots and you even like chocolate!  There really isn't much you don't like but the foods you don't care for "make you sick".  You love all things Spiderman and Toy Story and you also really like Cars.  You like to read books and you have several favorites.  When we tell you no we are "mean" and you tell us "to be nice" and you've reminded us countless times that "you not like the word no!"  Sorry kid, you're going to hear it a lot...a really lot.  It's for your own good.  I promise.  You don't love to share but if we give you a pep talk before friends come over you do alright...but sometimes you don't.  You're learning.  You also don't seem to like to mind us and you've gotten a few spankings and you've spent a few hours (not all at once) in time out.  Sometimes your daddy and I forget just how smart you are until you repeat something we've said that we felt sure "you didn't hear or didn't understand".  You love to paint, you aren't big on coloring and you love to play the Wii.  You can work it almost all by yourself and you almost always beat your mommy at bowling...and the first time you and daddy played golf you won.  You sometimes call your friends at school "your peoples" and your best friends are Murphy and Luke.  You can make the sign of the cross and you've memorized the lunch time prayer at school.  When we say our prayers together you ask to "say the names" and you're very thoughtful.  You love for us to tell you stories and one of your favorites is the 3 little pigs.  

On your birthday I tried to get a few pictures to remember the day...I took hundreds and the following are the "best"

Not quite in focus...but still precious.

Also, not the best focus...3 year olds obviously can't sit still!

And then there's this one...in near perfect focus...of course.

I'm sure there are plenty of things I've missed here but...kiddo, we love you so much and we're so glad you had a happy birthday and that even with the challenges that come with your age that you are a pretty awesome kiddo. 

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Big Brother's Suggestion

Mommy: Maddie Kate sure is fussy tonight!
Landon: yeah, maybe you should put her back in your belly.

Nice




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A sneaky boy and his chockate

Today Miss Maddie and I went on a little trip to Target for diapers and formula and left the boys at home to watch the Razorbacks. When I got home Jim told me that Landon aka Mr Sneaky wanted a piece of the chocolate that his Mimi gave me for Valentine's Day. It was all tied up in a cute little bag. So, they shared a piece and then Daddy tied it back up. Landon wanted more but Daddy said no. A little while later Landon had disappeared and so had the chocolate. Jim hollered for him and got no response. He hollered again...nothing. So, he went back to Landon's room to find him sitting on his bed and when Jim came into the room Landon shoved something under the covers, looked up at Jim with his hands up and said, "I don't have anyfing in my hands". Jim looked under the covers and found the bag of chocolate! He asked Landon what he was doing and Landon said, "I wanted some chockate but it's all tied up with rope!". I'm pretty sure all daddy could do was laugh at his sneaky little boy! Haha!!!


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Busy Bees, Promotions and Mom Guilt

I'm so behind in blogland! I still need to blog about Landon's third birthday, MK's baptism celebration and Valentine's Day! Maybe I will have some time during our three day weekend. Jim and I are both off work for President's Day. We are looking forward to spending time at home with our favorite kiddos and we are going to have the Battreal's and Hankins' over for a belated birthday fish fry celebration...and on Monday we are having some friends over for a pre-fat Tuesday get together! Jim's excited to make some of his famous gumbo!

In other news...I got a promotion at work! I generally don't post much about our careers except as they pertain to our kiddos...but since this is sort of a family journal and I'm excited about it I thought it deserved to be mentioned. I was promoted to supervisor in the IT Service Management group! I wasn't really sure I wanted to be in management but I had a little time to kind of test drive the position and decided that I really liked it so when the supervisor position was posted of course I applied. I hadn't written a resume in more than 7 years! I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to say that actually. I'm so thankful that I have found a company and career that I enjoy so much that I honestly haven't ever considered looking for a different job. So, I had to write a resume and interview for the supervisor position and after twoish weeks...that felt like an eternity...I got the news that the job was mine! I'm really enjoying it so far and I'm excited about this new chapter! I'm also thankful that Jim has a career that he loves and is fulfilling to him. He loves geology and is really good at what he does! Of course there are days when we would both prefer to be home with our kiddos but as I've mentioned before we have lots of help from family and we appreciate our time together. I hope that we are able to instill healthy work habits in our kiddos and that they always know how much we love them even though our careers require us to be away from home during the day. I dislike the sagas that I read on the Internet about the difference between working and stay at home moms. It's an over discussed argument with no clear winner. I've avoided this topic on my blog since I don't particularly care to read about it on other blogs...but again, this is sort of our journal. My views are mine and ultimately I feel that each family has to do what they feel is right for them and make the absolute best of their individual situations. I don't like the talks of "mom guilt" and feel that it's not fair to assume that working moms or stay at home moms should feel guilty about their choices. Guilt is associated with wrongdoing. I don't think either decision is wrong...so, guilt shouldn't be a factor...and if it is, it's likely a change needs to take place. I have a good mix of working mom and stay at home mom friends and we all face challenges. It's how we face those challenges that really matters. There is no such thing as perfect or the perfect situation and I don't think either choice is "easy". Some days I would love a go at being a stay at home mom and some days I'm really glad I'm not...and I don't feel guilty either way.

...and Landon is such a good helper!




...and this little gal is sort of popular at our house.




PS...I only posted about this topic because I know only family and a handful of friends read my blog. I've read posts on other, popular blogs about this topic and some of the comments are shockingly mean and hateful! I just don't get it.
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Maddie Kate is 3 Months Old!

Maddie Kate is growing and changing every day.  She is becoming more aware of her surroundings and is developing the cutest little personality.  She is a daddy's girl - he can get her to smile so big and he can really get her talking - which is just about the cutest thing ever.  Landon is so sweet with his baby sister!  He thinks she's cute and like to give her hugs.

Sweet Maddie Kate

Have you ever seen a cuter baby girl? I know I'm a bit biased (and clearly behind on her 3 month post) but look at this face! Ha!










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Landon is 3!

Where does the time go? Where? How is it possible that our favorite little guy who is not so little anymore is 3 years old!? I will do an official 3 year blog complete with milestones and such later but wanted to go ahead and wish our dude a happy happy birthday in blog land. Daddy and I both took today off work to hang out with the birthday boy. Landon woke up right around the same time he was born 3 short years ago and asked if he was 3! We gave him his first present right away...a "basketball hoop"! He was so excited and we put it together immediately! He played with it a lot today! We took MK to Nana and Papa's and took Landon to lunch. He requested in this order...ketchup, french fries and chicken nuggets. So, off to Chick Fil A we went! He ate a good lunch and had fun playing in the play place. After that we went to the park to play with his favorite cousins and then we went to sonic for a happy birthday milkshake! When we got home he had some iPad play time and a "cheese tia" for dinner! We had a great day with our big 3 year old! Tomorrow is his party and we are looking forward to celebrating with all of his little friends!

Present time!


Shooting hoops!



He got a card from Mimi and Papa! He also got a card from Aunt Judy!


I attempted to get a fun picture of him with my phone...they were all about as bad as this one!



He ate french fries!


He enjoyed the slide at the park!


And he played with Hannah!


Happy Birthday Landon!

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Happy Birthday Dear Landon

Tonight I thought it would be fun to get a birthday eve video of Landon. It was cut short by his answer to my last question. Boys!!!

In case you missed it...Buzz Lightyear and PooPoo Man were on his cupcakes. Nice.

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Messy Monday

Landon finger painted today! He loves to finger paint and we don't do it often enough because mommy and daddy have an aversion to ginormous messes...but he loves it so maybe we will start doing it more.










Because really, spaghetti is messier and we still let him eat. Ha!!



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Landon's First Basketball Game!

Last night Jim took Landon to watch UALR play basketball. Jim's been wanting to take him for a while and we were a little nervous about whether or not Landon would sit still and behave. Almost 3 year olds aren't exactly known for doing either when you want them to, right? Ha! Landon was so excited but I think Jim was more excited to spend some quality time with his little boy. They had a great time!! Landon behaved and aside from being a little freaked out by the loud band music when they first got there he thought it was pretty cool! They shared nachos, popcorn and a sprite and Jim said at one point Landon leaned over and said, "Dada, I really like this!". Jim was one happy daddy! I took a picture of my boys on the way out the door and Jim sent me a few pictures from the game. I'm so happy that they had such a great time! Landon was excited to tell me all about it when he got home! MK an I enjoyed our girl time too! We ignored housework and laid in bed watching tv. A good night was had by all!


























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College or braces...but not both

So, in addition to saving for college it looks like we may need to start an orthodontics savings account. You know Landon has extra teeth and MK is a thumb sucker!! We are surely destined to drop some dollars for braces...or maybe MK will be as cool and I was and will "get" to wear a bionator. I'm not sure that's how it's spelled or if they even exist anymore...but that's sure what lots of years of thumb sucking got me! Can you use a 529 college savings fund for braces?

Kids...study hard cause you will need a scholarship else you will go to college with crooked teeth or an overbite or you'll pay for your own college with the money you'll make serving fast food and charming customers with your beautiful, "orthodontic enhanced" smiles. I kid. Sort of.



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"Nannon Taterhead"

Yesterday we got Landon's Mr. Potato Head...aka Taterhead out and Landon decided he wanted to be Taterhead! Silly boy!



I clearly don't have much time to blog these days since I'm back to work but once we settle into more of a routine I'm sure I will be back in full swing! Some things we are looking forward to are my birthday trip to the horse races, Landon's 3rd birthday and party at River City Gymnastics and Miss Maddie Kate's baptism (yes, she was baptized in the hospital...but Msgr will still perform a ceremony and of course our sweet girl needs a party!).


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Wooooo Pig Sooie!

MK helped call the hogs during the Cotton Bowl! I'm pretty sure that's why they won!




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Maddie Kate is 2 Months Old!

Okay, technically she's 10.5 weeks...but we've been a smidgen busy around here...and you know what they say about the second kid, right?  Yep, it's true.  Sorry MK.

Miss MK had her 2 month checkup on Tuesday.  She's doing great!!  She's developing right on schedule and already growing up so fast!  Here are her stats:

11 pounds 11 ounces (62%)
23 1/4 inches long (73%)
15cm head circumference (22%)
0-3 month clothes - but is starting to get a little long for some of these!
Size 1 diaper

Maddie is such a sweet baby.  She rarely fusses - but if she's hungry and you're not quick enough with the bottle LOOK OUT!  She's starting to show us a little bit of what we suspect will be a red headed temper.  When the girl is hungry she wants to eat...now!  She eats 3-4 ounces of formula with 2 tablespoons of cereal about every 3-4 hours during the day.  The longest she's slept at night is around 6 hours.  We are still getting up between 1-3am each night to feed her.  We aren't on a really strict daily schedule...we just kick of the feeding schedule when she wakes up in the morning.  She sleeps a lot during the day but is really starting to stay awake for longer stretches.  She's a talker...as if she had a choice, right?  She coos and gurgles and smiles and laughs and its warms my soul.  She is so strong and really seems to like tummy time!  She can also sit in her bumbo for short period of times.  Our girl is such a blessing and we love her so much!!  Even her big brother seems to like her okay for now...we'll see how that changes when she becomes mobile, has an opinion and wants to play with his toys.

The End of the World

The Mayan's predict it to be later this year...a week or so ago I was sure it was going to be today.

Today I started back to work. And the world didn't come to an end. It wasn't so bad...I didn't even cry. I dropped the kiddos off at Nana's and when I got to the office (with a giant Starbucks in tow) it almost felt like I had never left. After sorting through 3700+ emails, most of which were junk, I decided it's just not that bad. I like my job. I Iike the people I work with. MK gets to hang out with Nana and Papa instead of going to a daycare, Landon goes to school and even though I think I might enjoy staying home I know that it's not our reality and I'm thankful for a job I like and a family who is happy to help. I feel happy that Jim and I understand that quality time is more important than quantity and we definitely strive to make the most of our time together as a family...and I think we do a pretty good job most of the time!

Thank you to Nana for hanging out with our kiddos, to Jim who let me have a good night's sleep before my first day back and to all my friends who checked on
me today!

PS. I think the Mayan's are full of crapola.

PSS...I think we have a couple of cute kids...cute kids who will likely be scarred for life for things like not getting an easy bake oven or not getting to go see New Kid's on the Block in concert far more than having a working mother. Right Mimi? Ha!





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