Two by Two

The reason why we haven't been sleeping at night is because both of our children are teething. It looks like Taylor's molars are finally making their way down. And Landon's two, upper front teeth are breaking the skin too. So our kids have both been up multiple times every night. Hank and I are almost getting physically ill due to lack of sleep.

And what's the deal with insomnia? It's like a plague from the devil. Even when I have the chance to sleep, I can't because my mind is racing. Do any of you suffer from insomnia? It really is a horrible, debilitating thing.

Life could be worse. I am thankful for the happy moments throughout the day. Like today, Landon kept on giving me kisses and was giggling. Taylor walked up to me just to give me a kiss...not something she typically does without persuasion. Thank you God for the little reminders that encourage me to be the best mom I can be to Taylor and Landon. One day soon my kids will be off to school. And then they will be married and having children of their own. Those are happy times to look forward to, but oh how I wish I can put life on pause (even with sleepless nights) so that I could always have my babies with me.

Another "First"

This afternoon we finally felt Landon was "old enough" to ride in the bicycle carrier with Taylor. Bike rides have become a favorite pastime for Taylor, so we thought Landon would really like it too! The weather was beautiful this afternoon, and I really wanted to get a jog in. So as I was running next to Hank as he pulled the kids, Taylor kept yelling at me trying to get my attention. I almost gave up jogging at one point because she didn't like that I was ignoring her as I was trying to get into my "zone". I finally gave up on listening to my iPod so I could yell back and forth to Taylor.

Well after 7 minutes into my run, Landon decided enough was enough. He didn't like being strapped into the carrier and pretty much demanded that I carry him home. He's been really fussy the past 24 hours because he literally has 3 teeth coming in at the same time. So my jog was put on hold and yes, I carried this 20+ pound baby home. We were almost home and I had to switch places with Hank (who was still riding Taylor around) because my arms were killing me.

Since I'm such a pushover, when Taylor demanded out of the bike carrier so she could walk, I let her out and hoped and prayed that she would walk next to me as I pushed the bike the rest of the way home. Taylor was literally saying, "I wanna walk." We were floored at her communication level.

It wasn't such a great first experience for Hank and I, but the kids really had a good time.

Gone Baby Gone

My little girl is growing up. And today confirmed that fact even more. It makes me so happy to see her growing and changing but kind of sad too. My precious first-born daughter is no longer a baby but a sweet little girl.

Today my mom (Oma) and Grandpa Lou met up with us for Taylor's haircut. I told the stylist I was thinking of a bob cut, but still wanted the option of putting Taylor's hair in a pony tail. So that's what we got....

BEFORE


AFTER




Another mark of Taylor's maturity is that she went poopy on the potty today. Although it was one little nugget (too much information), she did it! Not to mention that she went pee on the tile and pooped again (or the remainder) outside, I think we are moving in the right direction. And she really enjoyed the Snicker's candybar leftover from Halloween for her reward. So besides reminding her to pee and letting her run around naked but watching her closely, I don't know what else to do. We have the potty by our backdoor next to all of her toys so leaving the "fun" isn't the issue. There is so much "information" out there, so I think we will just practice until we get it and not stress about the process.



Landon
On the way to the haircut place, I heard Taylor saying "Baby! Baby!" Landon looked at her and they giggled back and forth for several minutes. My heart melted again. I am so blessed to have these little ones under my care.

Caught Red-Handed!

I caught Taylor red-handed today...or should I say orange-handed. See today was the first time Taylor ever had Cheetos and she loved them. She devoured the ones I put on her plate next to her sandwich. Of course she ate those first and then refused to eat her sandwich. Her whining kicked into high gear, and I was firm about making her eat turkey, orange or avocado first before getting more Cheetos.

So next thing I know, a friend calls and I turn my back on the kids for a second. When I turned around, this is what I saw.




The little sneak climbed up on the table and snuck more in her mouth like a little chipmunk. She's teaching her brother bad habits. Now Landon sits with us in his highchair at mealtime. It's so fun to look around the table and see their sweet little faces. I am a mom in love!

Taylor later redeemed herself by being daddy's little helper. She is showing herself to be a tom-girl who loves dirt, rocks and the outdoors. She did recently let me paint her toe nails though.



So Taylor's new favorite word is "owie". She likes to have me kiss her owies several times throughout the day. Well tonight after I gave them a bath, she noticed mommy has an owie on her foot. I counted three times that I found her crouching over to kiss me clean feet. Isn't she sweet!

And Landon is still so yummy to me. I love him to pieces and thank God he gave me a boy to raise. I was telling Hank tonight that I was afraid to raise a boy for many reasons, but God knew that a son could teach me so many things.

Special Blessings

This weekend has been full of blessings. I am so thankful for the little things. Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most. Here are some blessings from this weekend that I am thankful for:

1) My husband watching the kids for several hours so that I could have time away to be with friends.
2) My friend taking our family photo for us for free.
3) A new friend gave us a fabulous gift and I just met her today! (I will explain more about this.)
4) Hearing guest speaker and author Mark Cahill and being totally encouraged.
5) Spending time with neighbors and old friends all day Sunday.
6) Eating yummy food that our friend/chef Harrison created.
7) Watching my kids love each other through laughter and affection.
8) Coming home to a house that provides shelter from the wind and rain.
9) Sleeping in and letting Hank take care of the kids. Awesome!
10) Hearing the quiet whisper of God speaking to me.

So more about this fabulous gift that was given to us. Well we spent the afternoon at a couple who I barely know. In fact, I just met the wife today. Kelli was showing me all of the "old" toys she was getting rid of in this coming weekend's community garage sale. Guess what was neatly tucked away with all the toys? A beautiful bright, shiny cozy coupe. Remember the plastic kid's car I posted a few weeks back?

I told Kelli that I would buy it from her and she turned me down. She said, "Nope, it's yours to keep!" I was so excited. I couldn't believe we found one and that it was free. It's in pretty good shape. While Taylor was taking a late nap, I cleaned it off and had it all ready for her when she woke up. Let's just say should would probably sleep in that thing if she could. Anyway, I feel so blessed and just wanted to share. Here are some fun pictures from our weekend.