Turning Two!!

Well, my baby is officially a big boy. *sigh* So bittersweet for me. Nate turned two on Sunday. He got to open his new big boy gifts. He got a t-ball set, a scooter and some other little trinkets. We sang Happy Birthday to him and he did not appreciate that at all! LOL He's getting to be such a big kid. He talks in complete sentences all the time now (minus a word or two occasionally). I have been trying to get him to take naps in his toddler bed for a few weeks now and he has wanted nothing to do with it. He would go over to his crib and say, "No, this my bed." But on Monday night, Daddy put him to bed and came downstairs and said that Nate was in his big boy bed. At first, I didn't believe him, but then 30 seconds later I hear tiny steps running down the hall saying, "Mommy!? A tiss (kiss) pwease." So, I went upstairs and gave him a few extra hugs and kisses and he fell right to sleep. No problems going to bed at all. I have to say that we are quite blessed with that. When it's time for bed, they go straight to bed with very little issues, if any.
Our next goal for our big boy is to get rid of his fluffy (pacifier). He only uses it at night, but it's time go. He's a big boy now!

ice cream

Friday night is family movie night at our house. We normally make a huge bowl of popcorn and watch a movie together. Tonight, I decided to get Blizzards, since they were in sale, in lieu of popcorn. At first, Bailey didn't want a blizzard, she wanted one plain dish of vanilla ice cream. Yes, that is normally what she wants. However, she did change her mind and get a blizzard. As soon as Nate heard me, all we heard from him was "Ice cream Mom. Ice cream Dad. Chocowate Mom." Lex didn't care what he wanted, just as long as it was chocolate.
Nate at his own ice cream on the couch. A bit messy, but not too bad. Didn't hear a peep out of Lex or Bailey until their cup was completely gone. So funny how a treat like this lights up their eyes.

bathtime chaos

Bathtime has become pure chaos at our house. I don't know what has happened lately, but as soon as Lex or Nate get their hair wet to be rinsed, they turn into screaming lunatics. I don't mean the "I don't want my hair washed" cry. It's the "OMG I am being beaten to death!" cry. Yep. It makes for an awesome time. Can you sense the sarcasm? This happened with Bailey right around this age, but Erik doesn't remember that. It's amazing what can be forgotten. I sure hope this can because their screams are deafening.
As it is, we have to bathe them separately now. Nate finds it absolutely hilarious to dump water on Lex's head which creates more screaming...both in general and at Nate. They joys of children...

Erik's birthday

Erik's birthday was this Saturday. April 17th. And it snowed. Yep. Snowed. Not too much and not enough to stick, but enough to say it snowed. At first, he kept saying, "I love living here!" Then, towards the end of the day, "Okay, I love winter, but this is enough. I'm ready for spring." LOL...that's what we get for living here I guess.
Well, Erik's favorite meal of the day is breakfast so we tried out a new hole in the wall place. It was really yummy and inexpensive. We have found our new breakfast place! Then, the whole family went garage saling...Erik's favorite thing to do, my worst. But, I went. We found nothing. Not much happening with the snow! So, we came back and home and everyone, except Bailey, laid down and we all slept for three hours! I made some homemade marina sauce and we had pasta for dinner...another favorite of Erik's. And, it was topped off with red velvet birthday cake. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

April 15, 2010

I've decided the kids are just plain weird. There's nothing else to it. Bailey will forever have stained clothes. Her latest favorite thing to do is slide down the baby slide outside, on her knees. No amount of scrubbing will get that grass out of her pants. And, for some reason, she has no fashion sense, but why would she? The boys don't either. It does not matter what she wears, she never, ever matches her socks to her outfit. Her shirts only match her pants because most of them are jeans. Oh well.
Today, Nate is wearing blue pants, a baseball shirt and two different sweatbands, one one arm, that he keeps calling his watches.
Lex is wearing red pants, a blue and white Bob the Builder shirt, Spiderman watch and a light blue winter hat.
Needless to say, we're not really into fashion here.

More randomness

I think I just need to start writing so I can get all of these memories out before I forget them. Let's see...
Our weather has been crazy here. We were in the 80s for almost two weeks and then it decided to snow again! Of course, the kids (well, Lex) still wanted to wear shorts, but we stayed in the house. Nate, still refuses to go out without a "tajet." Most of us call that a jacket. Tattling is still full force in this house. Nate has jumped on that bandwagon. Every time Lex so much as put his hands on Nate, he comes running to me with crocodile tears, "Lex pusheda me."
Um, Lex has been asking for a chore chart. Yep, he wants to clean, do dishes and do laundry. We had a little conversation about him going to school and I told him I wanted to teach him at home because I would be sad and he told me, "Mom, I'll come back home afterschool, okay? I need to go and do my lessons." He's growing up way to fast for me.
Bailey is working on making some more friends at school. I am encouraging her to invite some good kids over and we're working on her not being drawn to the not so nice kids. It's a hard process, she is definitely a follower and not a leader. I'm hoping to get her into karate next year and hope that will help her self esteem a bit.
All, in all, we're doing great and loving life. Weather is getting a bit better, cold but sunny. We've got love and that's what matters.

Sometimes I don't want to be the responsible one...

Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE my kids to death. I LOVE staying home with them. But, somedays, I just don't want to be in charge. When Lex comes in at five something in the morning, I do not want to get up. When I see messes on the floor, I want to walk right by them. Sure, I can, but it'll still be there when I walk back. *sigh* Such is life.
But, as I write this, my house is *mostly* clean and both boys are asleep and Bailey's in school. I am soooo not used this quietness.

Superman

Nate likes to climb on top of the recliner and sit (legs dangling on the front and back).Now, mind you, I don't like this, but some days, eh, whatever. Today was one of those days. I hear from behind me, "Hey Nate! Wanna play Superman?!" Lex was pushing on the seat part of the chair to try to flip off Nate. Of course, Nate was in full agreement of this new game and he is holding on by his legs for dear life while laughing hysterically. To make the story just a tad better...they are wearing matching Superman outfits today.

Tattling

Well, tattling has picked back up at the Leamon household. We had stopped it for a while, but I guess with three kids here it's inevitable, right? I've learned that when Nate randomly starts crying it could be a variety of things. He could have hurt himself, he could have been hurt, he could want a specific toy... You get the idea. I have also learned, that when I ask Lex what happened, he will say, "I didn't do anything" when he did and "I don't know" if he didn't.
Back up to earlier today. Silly me decided to take a few minutes to myself and head to the bathroom. That would have been my first mistake. I hear Nate crying and him and Lex come running to the bathroom door. "What happened?" I yell out. "I didn't do anything," says Lex. Hmmm....fishy. Lex instantly decides to leave the area and go play. Nate, on the other hand, is not letting it go. He busts through the door. "Wex pushed me." Hmm....he is now tattling. I wanted to laugh at this, but had to take it seriously. As I'm sitting there I have to listen to this whole story of how Nate pushed Lex and Lex pushed Nate. I tell him I need privacy, but I will take care of it. He runs out of the bathroom and proceeds to yell at Lex, "Wex! No pushing!"
Bailey has been home a total of 34 minutes from school. She has tattled four times already. *sigh*
Anyway, moral of the story....Kids tattle. Nothing new. Still cracks me up and irritates me at the same time. Gotta love it!

Lex and his butt

Lex has only thrown up one time his entire life and that was all over me. So, it makes total sense that the second time he throws up, it would be all over Erik. I was upstairs in the shower and Erik and Lex come busting through the door covered in vomit. Apparently, Lex went screaming downstairs yelling, "It hurts!" As soon as Erik asked him what hurt, the projectile came out. Twice. So, into the shower they go. Lex instantly felt better and as Erik and I were trying to figure out what he could have eaten that caused this, Lex shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. Maybe I have heartburn." Heartburn? I couldn't control myself. I busted out laughing.
Fast forward to the next morning. Lex is upstairs in the bathroom and he yells for me from the top of the stairs. "Mom! I just threw up out of my butt. It's okay though, I cleaned it up." Threw up from his butt?! Yep, diarrhea. But, he cleaned it up himself!!! What a boy!!
Poor baby has had some Pepto and feels better. Only "small throw ups" from his butt lately and no more from his mouth. Oh my....

My day with Nate

Erik and Lex took off yesterday late morning to head to airport to pick up Bailey. I was home with Nate all day. This is actually a very rare thing for us. I have realized that Nate is at the stage where I can get absolutely nothing done. Literally. If I sit on the couch and just watch him play, he is content. If I interact with him, he is content. If I move a muscle to do anything that I need and/or want to do, he is not content. So, the only things I got done during his nap, were the only things I got done at all that day. Oh well. I loved spending time with my little blonde man. He is growing up so much. We were able to actually "chit chat" about quite a bit. I can understand most of what he is saying now, which is awesome! He is so independent and always saying, "I do it." I love his perseverance and hope he keeps up with it. His latest thing to do is to bring the stool over to the sink and help wash some dishes. He's not the most gentle with them, but he does just fine with the plastic stuff. "I do it." I am amazed everyday how much he grows and learns. He watches everything and takes it all in. I love watching his personality come through and shine.
Have I mentioned that he randomly comes over and gives tons of hugs and kiss out of the blue! I love it!

Coloring eggs

The boys colored eggs today (Bailey is in Las Vegas). This was quite the sight. We started out nice and calm and not too messy. Well, that isn't exactly how it ended up. Lex's fingers are bit orange, but not too bad. Nate felt the need to dunk his entire hand into the water. So, his hands are completely blue. Completely blue. He also has some awesome colored streaks down his arms and pretty striped legs. Can't forget to tell you about the one purple toe and green foot. They had a fabulous time though, and that's what counts.

One less kid

Well, the time has finally come...we apparently have too many kids...according to Lex that is.
Last night, after a long, extremely awesome day outside, the boys were filthy so I threw them in the tub. Nate instantly finds it absolutely hilarious to splash the heck out of Lex. Lex, on the other hand, did not find this funny at all, in fact, it was the opposite. So, between Nate getting the entire floor soaked in under five minutes and Lex crying the entire time, it was an extremely fast bath. I get Lex out and dried off and he goes in to his room to get dressed. Nate, on the other hand, refused to get out. Splashing what little bit of water was left in the tub, getting out toys, screaming "no" and anything else. Lex comes out into the hallway and informs Erik and I that we "need to get rid of a kid." At first, I was in pure shock, then I wanted to laugh hysterically, but I kept my cool. I calmly asked him what he was talking about. "Nate," he says, "he has to go. He doesn't listen. You need to get rid of that kid." Erik asks him how many kids we should have and Lex tells him one. "Well, Bailey too, so two kids. But not Nate, he doesn't listen." Can you feel the love?