Too Smart for 2

Today I turned around to find Landon spitting and sputtering and saying "Ugh, Dirt."  He had dirt all over his chin.  I then glanced at his hand and saw a toy wrench that he had dug in the dirt with.  It was apparent that he had put the wrench in his mouth and had gotten a mouth full of dirt.

I said, "There's dirt on your wrench buddy!  That's why we don't put things in our mouths.  That's icky.  Dirt is icky."  I then wiped off his chin but didn't offer water in hopes that the memory of gritty dirt in his mouth with help deter future mouthings of dirty toys. 

I then turned to go out the door and I hear him behind me singing, "Yummy yummy in my tummy."  When I turned around to look at him, he was smiling with a gleam in his eye, thinking himself to be hilarious and clever. 

I said, "It is not yummy!" 

And he proudly said, "Yes Mommy. Dirt yummy." 

And giggled. 

He's too smart for 2.

What a turkey.

Pops' Birthday

For my dad's birthday we took a walk through my parents' property and to the creek in the waaaaayyyyyyy back.  Then grilled and had a dinner.  It was a great family event!

 Sporting my ERGO carrier again.  I LOVE that thing.

 Landon really needed a nap.  Aunt Erin was trying to cheer him up, but wasn't budging on the bad mood.  Check out the pout in the next pic!

 Josh sporting the ERGO.  We both love that thing!

Jillian was in an excellent mood.  I think it was the ERGO. 

We all love the ERGO!

 My brother.  What a stud.

 And finally, the birthday boy.  Grilling his own birthday dinner in the only picture taken of him the whole day.

Oh, and this..... This is a shed in the woods behind my parents' house.

Not on my parents' property mind you.

It's one of those creepy places you stumble upon in the woods, and wonder who lives adjacent to your property.

Here's a close up of some of the stuff in the first pic.  Uhm, two busts with faces, and one whose face is yet to be determined.  C.R.E.E.P.Y

Grass Wars

When we bought our house it was a foreclosure and the bank had hired a company to maintain the yard.  That company scalped our yard.  The grass was cut so low that it died from the intense drought in Georgia that year.  That's when the weeds moved in.

That year, where we spent all our extra money on maternity bills and baby stuff, we weren't able to spend much money on the yard.  And thus, the weeds flourished.

Last summer we attempted to do some stuff on the yard, but apparently not enough, because this is what our yard looks like this year....

See the weeds?  See the bare spots....the sandy-colored spots? 

See the grass?......no? 

Oh that's right, you don't see it because it's NOT THERE!

This summer, the first yard project Josh did was to plant some very baby trees and create some pine islands around them.  And a few weeks later, we noticed some green blades poking through the pine straw.  We said to each other, what could that be?  After all, grass doesn't grow in our yard, so what kind of weed is it? 

Then, a week after that, green blades were popping up ALL throughout the pine islands.  Josh pulled back the pine straw (and please note I didn't say "raked back" because we don't own a rake, so he did it by hand)

And, after pulling the pine straw back, he found this......

Lush, green GRASS. 

GRASS was covering the ground under the pine straw.  

Really?!  Really?!  The ONE place grass grows in our yard, is the ONE place we don't want it to grow?!

So, we will continue to battle the war on weeds so the grass can fill the yard, and continue the war on the grass so the pine islands can look like pine islands.

Things to Remember #5

1. Before he goes to sleep, Landon and I play a "Secrets" game.  I whisper things in his ear, such as "I love you," or "You're my favorite Landon," or "You're a good boy," or "You're a giant."  And after each thing I say, he says, "No 'I love you.'  Psssst."  And finally I will say, "Pssst." He then says, "Oh thank you!" because in his mind, when you tell a secret, it is simply "Psssst!"
2. I ask Landon, "You're so big!  How'd you get so big?!"  And he says, "I grow up my daddy."  Which I think means, "I grow up like my daddy." 
3. The first time we went to the lake this summer Landon went out on the boat with Josh and some friends.  When people were getting into the water to ski Landon was VERY concerned.  He kept saying things like, "Kristin in boat!!! No Kristin! In boat!!!"  He became so nervous and upset they had to leave Josh and Landon in a cove to swim while they finished the skiing.  He is a bit of dare-devil himself, but when it comes to other people he's very cautious and protective!
4. Landon has recently become aware that everyone has nipples.  But he calls them "SSSnipples." 
5. Jillian is sitting very well by herself and can roll and scoot all over the floor.  She is attempting to crawl and gets very excited when she actually is able to get up on all fours and rock.
6. Jillian has gotten quite the reputation of being a "Mama's Girl."  She has to warm up to new environments and new people before feeling secure so often cries when handed to someone else.  However, it appears that if she is held facing out, she doesn't know who's holding her and doesn't cry as easily since she appears to assume it's me.
7. Landon and Jillian are already having disagreements about who gets what toy, being touched by one another, and who gets to talk.  And yes, Jillian objects & complains almost as much as Landon in these situations, and yes, she's only 6 months old.
8. Landon is not even a full 26 months old yet and he's wearing 3T and 4T clothes.  He truly is a giant.
9. Landon LOVES emptying the dishwasher with me, helping to put laundry away, "helping" to dust, "helping" to sweep, "helping" wash dishes, and helping to vacuum.  While I don't expect the enthusiasm to last as he gets older, I do hope he finds these chores to be a normal part of life since he's participating in them at such a young age.
10. Landon gets M&Ms when he has a successful potty time!!  His favorite color to receive is brown, followed by blue.

These Make Me Giggle

Can you tell she has a tendency to be a bit....dramatic?

This one reminds me of an owl.

Uncle Jared gave him a Drum Set for his birthday, so Landon played the drums while Uncle Jared rocked out on the guitar.  Landon also thought Uncle Jared's work boots were pretty cool.

Papa and Grammy got him a set of Power Tools for his birthday, complete with Safety Goggles.   

She is was bored with the juvenile baby toys and teething toys.  The book was apparently more to her maturity and interest level.

Things to Remember #4

1. "Old McDonald" is Landon's favorite song.  He makes up lyrics all the time -- for instance -- My mom gave Landon a toy gun to take on their walk down the street.  He sang, "Old McDonald had a Gun, with a Pow Pow here, and a Pow Pow there."
2. Landon was very curious as to what the inside of the oven looked like.  I opened it so he could check it out.  A few "piles" of burnt black sweet potato sit at the bottom of the oven.  Landon said, "Oh! Poop mommy!  Eww, poop mommy!"  Guess it's time to clean the oven.
3. Jillian is now sitting up.  She can scoot across the floor on her back but hasn't figured out how to scoot on her tummy yet.
4. Jillian LOVES food.  And already prefers rice cereal mixed with fruit rather than having it plain. 
5. Jillian can hold her own bottle with some supervision, at less than 6 months of age.  Landon refused to hold his bottle until we made him at almost a year old!
6. Jillian has figured out how to stick out her tongue and thinks it is quite funny.
7. When Landon says "Jillian" he pronounces it "Jill-li-lan."  And is starting to get a bit jealous when she gets attention and isn't excited about her playing with toys that he assumes are his.
8. Landon gets rewarded with M&M's when he uses the toilet.  His favorite color M&M is brown.
9. The latest nicknames for Jillian include -- Ladybug, Chunk-a-Roo, Chub-a-licious

Swimming 101

I started teaching swim lessons when I was 12 years old.  I passed the life guarding test at the age of 13, although I had to wait until I was 15 to be a certified guard.  I was certified to be a Swim Instructor at the age of 18.  I worked with summer league swim teams for several summers.  Over the course of 10 years I worked with close to 1000 kids ranging in age from 15 months to 18 years old, and even taught a few adults. 

I LOVE TO SWIM!!!!!  But I HATE going to public pools in the summer.  With all my years of working with kids in the water I am too nervous when going to a public pool.  I see so many parents and babysitters being negligent or......well.....plain stupid. 

So I thought I'd share with you some of my "expertise."  I also found this article that everyone who uses a public pool should read.  EVERY statement in this article is true and is NOT exhaggerated. 
http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/stories/14-things-your-lifeguard-might-not-tell-you

TIP #1 - The arm floaties, "water wings," whatever you call them are WORTHLESS.  I cannot tell you how often I've seen kids slip out of these things.  Plus, they hold kids upright in the water.  You can only efficiently swim horizontal in the water.  Kids will get tired WAY faster in the arm floaties than in a body-suit floatie. 

TIP #2 - Most children are physically capable of swimming by the age of 6 or 7 (many by age 5).  Swim lessons should start around age 4 (or earlier if you're around a pool often).  If you're child is not swimming by the age of 6, find a new swim instructor!

TIP #3 - Some kids are freaked out by water getting in their face, nevermind fully submerging their face.  It is INCREDIBLY difficult to learn to swim if you're scared to get your face wet.  Help your kids get over this fear by getting their face wet in the bathtub starting at age 1!  Jillian is only 5 months old and I've already started letting water drip down her face when I pour it on top of her head.  Do it gently and slowly, and eventually your 2 year old should have no problems going under! 

TIP #4 - If your child cannot swim independently, you should be in the pool with them or sitting on the edge of the pool near them.  Sometimes big kids (and even adults) don't pay attention to littler kids in the pool.  I've seen kids get knocked off the stairs by floats and other people.  They go under and flounder, right at the stairs.  And, if you're near your kid, chances are you can get to them faster than a life guard can if they get into trouble in the water.

TIP #5 - If you child can't swim, or isn't a very strong swimmer, they should not be in water that is deeper than where YOU can stand unless they have a body-suit floatie that is strapped on.  It is NOT easy to rescue a person in deep water, especially when that person is flailing and panicking. 

TIP #6 - If you, as an adult, can "swim" but get nervous going under or holding your breath, then you CANNOT "swim" nevermind save a drowning child.  If you can't swim well, get some dang swim lessons or make sure your kid stays in water less than 4 feet deep.  How tragic it would be that a child dies because the adults at the pool can't swim well.

TIP #7 - Older kids sometimes like to jump from the side of the pool onto floats and boogie boards.  I'll admit this is a cool trick and a fun game.  But slipping off and having the board fly into another swimmer's head or dunk a little kid in a floatie is not cool.  Slipping off the board or float too close the wall and hitting your head on the side of the wall isn't cool either.  Please don't do this trick in a crowded pool or a narrow pool.

TIP #8 - Put the sunscreen on BEFORE you get to the pool.  It needs at least 15 minutes to soak into the skin before it works.  It needs at least 15 minutes to soak into the skin or it will just wash off in the water.  Ever looked at the water of a crowded public pool around lunch time?  There is a film of oil sitting on the top of it from all the newly-applied-sun-lotion that has just washed off the kids.

TIP #9 - If you've been at the pool for 2 hours or more, and your kid hasn't asked to go to the bathroom, chances are they've gone in the pool or are dehydrated.  Parents should be helping their kids remember to go to the bathroom and to drink fluids. 

TIP #10 - If you're holding an infant or toddler in the pool, make sure you're aware of how close their face is to the water.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen parents get caught up in conversation with other people or caught up watching their older kids and the kid they're holding is gulping for air because the parent isn't paying attention to where the kid's face is in relation the water/waves.  This tips sounds like a no-brainer, but I promise you, it happens all the time.