Fridays

When Landon started private speech therapy back when he was 2 and Emerson was a baby my dad would come over after leaving work early to watch Emerson so I would not have to wake her up from her nap and lug her to a germ infested clinic for one hour each week (during the summer we went twice a week). I was so fortunate and thankful! Over the years our days/times changed due to different therapists, clinics, and school schedules but my dad still made the time to help out. When it was on Fridays my dad would take a 1/2 day off of work and come to our house just in time to greet Landon as he got off of the school bus when he was in PPCD, eat lunch and play with the kids, and then watch Emerson while I took Landon to therapy. Our therapy schedule eventually changed to Wednesday, but my dad still made Fridays his day with the kids. He then began to come before the school bus so that he and Emerson had some one-on-one time together which is why I think they are so close and she adores him. I know he is so glad that he did it as he got a chance to bond with her which is hard when there is more than one grandkid. My dad still did this during the summer too and the kids always knew what Friday meant. Well, this school year the kids go to school MWF instead of T/Th and Landon no longer goes to PPCD but the kids still have their Fridays. I don't think many Fridays have been missed unless there is a holiday or my parents are out of town. Now that we have moved and that my mom is retired both my mom and dad pick the kids up from school on Friday instead and take them to the park by our house (depending on the weather) to play and then bring them back home. It works out great as it gives me some extra time to get my errands done or things done around the house....and in silence!! I'm so thankful for my Fridays and the kids love it and will always have fond memories. The kids will be 10 years old and still asking if Grandpa is coming over on Friday. :) Next year they can walk over together to get Landon from kindergarten at 3:50.

Here are some pictures that my dad took on Friday from their weekly excursion:

My Wild Child

Emerson sure has been a handful lately. She has always had the wild, outgoing personality and has always kept me on my toes but lately the terrible 2's have kicked into high gear. Sleep has always been a challenge for her where it is not for Landon. Landon doesn't take naps anymore and hasn't for about a year or more (unless he is sick or VERY tired) but gives us no problems at night and never really has. He's awesome! Not so much for Emerson. It got worse once we took the paci away last summer and she started having a difficult time falling asleep so she would play instead or just get naked. She is back to her old tricks...undressing, playing, disassembling things in her bed, talking, singing, screaming for hours refusing to fall asleep, avoidance tactics by asking for various things, and her latest of undressing when she has a full diaper. And finding you know what ALL over the place. Fun! Some nights it will take her 2-3 hours to fall asleep and most days she won't take naps. Crying it out worked great for Landon, but Emerson is so stubborn she will cry for hours and never give in until we do as we are about to go crazy and she is bothering Landon. Most nights we have to go through various routines to avoid a whole night of screaming....reading a book, being rocked by both of us, knuckles, high fives, honking her nose and her honking our nose, kissing us and us kissing her, tickling under the chin, etc. Then she needs a drink and wants the same particular 5 or more items in her bed. It's absolutely ridiculous!! Then there are the times she drops or throws something out of her bed or realizes she needs something. We let her cry for quite some time but it always results in us having to go up there as she will never stop. Crazy girl! This is why we are waiting until as long as possible to keep her in a crib otherwise she would never stay in her bed. This is why I can never get much done until after the kids are in bed and late at night. You would think I would be loosing weight as many times as I have to go up and down the stairs. As I'm typing this she has been whining/crying the whole time refusing to take a nap. You will see in the pictures below her "rat's nest" in her hair from all of the rolling around in her bed. That is what it looks like after she really fights her sleep. Her teachers are seeing the same issues at school too since Christmas, so it's not just us. Her teacher reminded me that it's the 1/2 years when the bad behaviors begin and it all started around the time she was 2 1/2.

On top of the sleep issues she is a typical 2 year old. Tantrums are in full force and the talking back and asking a million questions has begun thanks to learning from her big brother. She throws a lot of tantrums, but they are pretty short lived and she gets over it pretty fast. She does hit and pinch us sometimes but fortunately the biting has subsided. She does it softly and says "I'm going to hit you" while looking at you to see what you are going to do. Popping her hand works well for her as she gets easily upset and gets those big crocodile tears and pathetic look on her face with her lip sticking out. Then she will cry for the opposite parent. It's pretty humorous. She also likes to run away from us when trying to get her dressed, in parking lots, and public places....we almost got kicked out of Hobby Lobby after Christmas for her running all over the store and then bending the hands on a clock. She was out of control. She is loud and already has the girl attitude to go with it, hence the nickname Miss Priss. In the car she is the same way as she is when trying to sleep as she asks for multiple things and whines the whole ride. It's quite stressful. Recently she has been destructive of course with the encouragement of big bro. She has pulled the curtain rod out of the wall, bent another one, messed up the new blinds, colored on the couches, been caught on the train table, coffee table, and jumping off of the bar stool onto the couch. She throws toys, rips books, and is like a Texas tornado. She will not hesitate to tell older kids, especially boys how it is and what to do. She can definitely hold her own ground. She is a rough and tough tomboy but still a girly girl. She loves her baby dolls and taking care of and dressing them, carrying around 8-10 purses at a time, and strutting her stuff in bows and dresses swinging that arm with attitude. She is very compassionate, loves to cuddle, loves to kiss and hug anyone and everyone over and over again, and still LOVES babies. She is so gentle and loving with them whether she knows them or not. She will approach any baby with no fear even running across the restaurant to check them out. I know she is going to be an amazing mom.

With all of this being said, she is a spectacular daughter whom we love dearly and is such a blessing. It's a joy to watch her grow, learn, and change. All we can do is love her and try to teach her right from wrong and hope she will spread her wings and fly one day. I am trying to remind myself each day that they are only little once and to enjoy each phase as there is always another one on the horizon. I would much rather deal with tantrums and sleep issues than the issues we will see in high school!! Yikes!


She loves wearing her sunglasses in the car and does so backwards. She knows this but likes it that way.

Tantrum time!


Showing off her "rat's nest". Combing it out is no fun!


Carrying around all of her purses. She does this all day and is pretty good at carrying them all and multi-tasking. Preparing to be a mom one day!

My Little Architect

Landon still loves to build anything and everything with various types of blocks and even objects like books. It's his hobby and passion. He obviously takes after Jason as Jason loved building too when he was a kid and still does. Landon creates all of these masterpieces on his own from neighborhoods, streets, castles, buildings, to train tracks, race tracks, and more. He then plays with it by pretending with various objects and he will do so for hours. It's quite entertaining to watch and amazing to see how imaginative he is with the ideas he comes up with. I need to remember to take more pictures on a daily basis. My mom took these pictures below when he spent the night last Friday. She said he did all of them on his own and was entertained for quite some time as he took his time and planned it all out. I really feel like he will grow up to be an architect or engineer of some type, following in his daddy's foot steps (and grandpa too)! I remember when Landon was a baby we always made the comment that he was a future architect as he would always stare, point at, and analyze all of the architecture details in all of the buildings we were in. He is still that way to this day and will ask a million questions about it. For example, he wants to know how everything is made, how tall all of the freeway overpasses are, how long the roads are, and wants to know how everything mechanical works. It's so funny and he has got to be the most curious kid I have ever met. However, as you can imagine it can get VERY overwhelming and aggravating as he is inquisitive 24/7, especially in the car. But, he should grow up to be a genius as we will have answered all of his questions! :)

Although Landon can be a difficult kid he is so sweet, smart, and such a joy to watch. He really does try to please us and make people happy. I love watching the look on his face and amazement in his eyes as he learns, builds things, and asks questions. You can literally see the wheels turning in his brain. I can't wait to see what kind of young man he grows up to be. His strong-willed personality is tough for us to deal with now, but will help him be very successful as he is so persistent. All we can do is foster that and show him unconditional love. And say some prayers for patience too! :)

Unexpected Blog Break

I took an unexpected blog break as things have been so crazy around here. I feel like we are on the go non-stop in addition to the kids acting terrible lately, like little monsters. Each week on Monday and Wednesday I drop the kids off at school, head (or I should say rush like crazy) to work, and then leave work and go straight to pick the kids up. It's been difficult since we live 10-12 min. further away, I get stuck in traffic now (no back roads), and Landon's car rider line at school has been ridiculously long lately. So our mornings are very crazy now. On Tuesdays my mom meets me in the parking lot of the school I teach at since it's close to their house and she takes Emerson to gymnastics and watches the kids until she meets me back in the parking lot around 1:30. On Thursdays we typically stay around the house as that's my one day to clean, do laundry, make phone calls, and go absolutely crazy as the kids tear the house apart (it takes me 8 hours to do something that should typically take 2!). On Fridays while the kids are at school I run errands all day and run my 3 miles (I have to get up to 6.2 miles by the Feb. 27th Rodeo Run downtown). My parents then pick them up at school as they continue their Friday tradition (more about that in a later post). I feel like we are non-stop on the go and never get a break. We typically have the kids in bed by 7 or 7:30pm at night just to enjoy some silence and get things done (which is why some nights I stay up until 1 or 2am) as Landon refuses to rest or take a nap during the day and Emerson is back to her old tricks of fighting her sleep. When and if she does fall asleep Landon ends up waking her up as he is so loud. So, those days of enjoying 2-3 hours of silence and getting things done is LONG over, especially since I am at work now when they are at school. On a side note I LOVE my job. The kids are great, the teachers I work with are great, and I'm just really enjoying it. Sure I would like to be at home getting stuff done or running errands but the money is great and so is the job. Couldn't ask for more! Then on the weekends we always have something going on or have friends over, church, and getting things done around the house whether it's cleaning, organizing, adding things, decorating, etc. It's never ending for us perfectionists! Jason has been working his tail off doing stuff around the house and outside....adding more mulch, flower beds, a new side walk, organizing the storage building, painting the garages, building a built-in in the garage, etc. One of these days we might be caught up. We are LOVING living out here! It's so peaceful and quiet and great for kids. It's almost like living out in the country. We like all of our neighbors and will hopefully get some good ones soon next door and across the street. Landon and Emerson enjoy playing with the 8 year old girl across the street and she is great with the kids. She pulls them around in the wagon and chases Landon. Lots of laughter can be heard! The kids also enjoy taking long walks and bike rides around the 2 lakes, checking out the ducks, and playing at several of the parks. There are also TONS of places to run and walk and I have really enjoyed that compared to our old neighborhood where I had to run in the unsafe street.

Guys Weekend

Jason left Friday after lunch for a guys hunting weekend in Pearsall, Texas (near San Antonio)and they returned this afternoon. They had an awesome time and can't wait to go back again next season. However, there was an incident that happened late Friday night where an older man that was on the trip with them (Jason and his group didn't really know him) fell into the smoldering fire pit and was found several minutes later. Luckily my brother-in-law was on the trip and was still awake with the guys playing pool and shuffle board when someone found him outside and he went into EMT/fire fighter action. The man was burned badly and is in the burn unit ICU in San Antonio. I don't know that many details but it was pretty bad and gruesome. I couldn't stop thinking about it yesterday as it's scary and like something out of a movie. What a bad way to start a weekend trip. But, they went on the best they could and still had a good weekend. Jason shot his first buck, an 8 pointer. He finally got it around 10am this morning as he was determined to come back with one. It will be mounted and seen in our study in 7-9 months! :)


Not sure if they are really shooting or are just posing for pictures! I laughed when I saw these.

Jason's good friend, Dustin. Jason shot his buck with his rifle


These pictures were taken right in front of the lodge.

The transportation for the weekend.







The 22 point breeder buck, "Easy Money". One lucky buck as he will never be shot! Jason said he was friendly and enjoyed eating out of their hands. We are going to try to go back over the summer to bottle feed all the upcoming new babies.




The Lodge


The inside of The Lodge. The guys were definitely not roughing it! They had home cooked food all weekend long from the cook. This place also had a shooting range, fitness center, gift shop, etc.



Jason's first buck, an 8 pointer. Yes, it will be mounted....and in our study in 7-9 months. :)



Easy Money and some more breeder bucks and does





The gruesome part, sorry. We will have some nice meat though stocked in our fridge.