Snapshots

A week ago, my good friend and next door neighbor, Nicole, was kind enough to take some pictures of my kids.  She is trying to build up her photography portfolio, and potentially start a business out of it, so I was happy to let my kids be some test subjects!

I love the pictures we got, but learned a few lessons...

1. Don't expect a 19 month old to sit still for anything.
2. Especially when you are at a park with a lake.
3. Don't be surprised when it is near impossible to get a picture of said 19 month old and a 4 year old together.
4. Don't bring a favorite toy to try to use to get them to look at the camera.  Instead, they will want to hold toy in 95% of the pictures.

Overall though, we definitely got some cute pictures (and there is definitely picture overload in this post)!

(Second) First Day of Preschool

Today was Miley's second first day of preschool!

We are so excited to get a schedule going again.  She loves going to school, and while I love my daughter more than anything, it is nice to have a little time with just Landon and I, where I know she is in a wonderful learning environment

Last year, Miley went to school on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  This year, she is going in the mornings and is three days a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  From just this first day, I have to say I think I will like the morning schedule.

She was thrilled to go back.  She has the same teachers, some of the same kids, and just knows the routine at this school.  I am so excited to see what kinds of fun things she learns this year!

And because I had to jump on the bandwagon, and do the Pinterest-inspired cliche first day of school picture with a little sign, here is Miley on the first day of preschool, 2012.

Why am I not surprised she said she wants to be a princess when she grows up?  :)

18 Months Old!

Little Landon is 18 months old (OK...so he is actually closer to 19 months now, but since I am trying to get caught up on here, I am counting him as 18 months...cool?)!

Where has the last year and a half gone?  It seems like it is such a short time (and really, it is) but it is hard to even remember what life was like without him.  He definitely keeps us on our toes.  Here is a little bit about what Landon has been up to lately...

• He is down to one nap.  He is, and really has always been, a great sleeper.  He takes a nap at about 12:30-3:00, then we put him down for the night around 7:00 pm.  He will usually wake up between 6:30 and 7:00 am, but it is hard to tell if he is awake because he usually just hangs out in his crib quite content.  It's awesome.  He never fights us going to sleep either.  I don't think he has ever cried when we put him down, since he has been on an actual schedule.
• He still uses a pacifier, and I am trying to work up the courage to take it away soon.  I am hesitant because of his awesome sleeping habits.  I don't really want to mess with it.  He has a blanket that he is attached to now as well, and I feel like that is just as important as the pacifier at this point.
• He is a great eater.  He will pretty much eat just whatever we give him.  Within the last couple of months, he has become very insistent on feeding himself.  It makes for a bigger mess, but it sure is nice to have the freedom of not feeding him everything.  

• He is all boy, and his toys of choice right now are cars, trains, and balls.  I love it.  It is so fun to have kids that are into completely different things.  Even though he loves all that boy stuff, he still will pick up the occasional princess or My Little Pony to play with as well.
• He LOVES to be outside.  Pretty much first thing in the morning, he will run to get his Crocs and wears them around, hoping that we will go outside.  He loves to play with little golf clubs, run around, and follow his sister.
• Speaking of following his sister, that pretty much happens anywhere.  He thinks she is the coolest, and will try to do what she is doing.  They are so fun to watch together.  They occasionally get into little arguments, but for the most part they just love playing together.

• He loves books.  He could sit for hours and listen to books.  He will often grab a book, have ones of us read it to him, then go back to his room and grab another over and over and over until we finally decide to quit.  His favorite books are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Dear Zoo, anything by Sandra Boynton, and anything with the ABC's in it.
• Landon is the biggest cuddle bug.  He loves to snuggle right up, especially when he is tired.
• Calling him a Daddy's Boy is an understatement.  He wants nothing to do with anyone else if Cameron is around.  I am OK with this.  :)  It gives me a nice break when Cameron gets home from work in the evenings, and on the weekends!
• He has super blonde hair, and greenish-brownish eyes.

• Within the last couple of months he has gotten 6 more teeth, doubling his number from before!  He got all 4 molars, and two more on his bottom.  We are still waiting on all 4 canines.
• He is into EVERYTHING.  He likes to climb our kitchen stools, pull everything out of kitchen cabinets and the pantry, pull everything out of bathroom drawers, etc.  Like I said, keeps us on our toes.

• He knows where his eyes, nose, mouth, feet, and belly button are, although he doesn't always perform for you when you want him to. 
• He doesn't talk a whole lot...in fact, he mostly grunts and points.  So much so that we call him our caveman.  But he has said a few words...they are:  Mama, Dad (Da), Thank you (day day), GO!, Help (hap), Please (peas), Uh oh, Ow, Look (ook), Belly button (ba ba).

I had his 18-month well child visit this last week (see, I really am behind on this 18-month stuff).  His stats are:

Height:  32 3/4 inches - 60.63 %

Weight:  22 pounds - 5.99 %

Head Circumference:  19 inches - 62.32 %

He is still a decently tall, skinny thing.  My doctor told me to let him have seconds, thirds, snacks and dessert.  OK, doc!  :)  I truly love this age so much.  Landon is still so sweet (most of the time!), and he us learning and changing so much and really becoming like a little kid and less like a baby.  Although that is kind of sad, it really is a fun age.  Can't believe my baby is already well on his way to 2!

A Few Random Pics...

Just a couple of random pictures from the past few weeks....

Cute little buddies...

Just bumming around!

A Sunday photo shoot (Landon's pictures from said shoot in his 18-month post).

Just Keep Swimming...

Earlier in the summer, we put Miley in her first ever swimming lessons through our gym.  We had her take them once a week for two months, and while she had a lot of fun, I think in the future we will need something more continuous to see some real improvement.

Either way, she loved doing them, and she got comfortable floating on her back, putting her face in the water, and jumping in.  It was great to have something special for just her and I to go do.  Hopefully we can get her in some more lessons soon, because she would have stayed in that pool all day if we would have let her!

It's A Zoo Out There!

With Cameron's awesome summer half-day Fridays quickly coming to an end, we figured we better take advantage of one and do something fun as a family.  We decided to go to Como Zoo...one of the best things in Minnesota.  It's free!  I mean, how can you beat a free zoo??

The kids were in heaven seeing giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers, monkeys, etc.  We spent a couple hours there (again, one of the perks of a free zoo...you don't feel obligated to spend the whole day there after spending who-knows-how-much on admission!), and on our way out we were able to catch the sea lion show, which the kids loved.  A perfect way to spend a nice, summer day.

We have loved having Cameron home for a little extra time in the summer, but now that it is September, it's time to get back to regular hours!  Boo!

Twins Game With the Whole Clan

A few weeks ago, Cameron was able to get some tickets from someone at work for a Twin's game.  He got four tickets, so we decided to bring the kiddos since everyone would have their own seat (a first for us!).  We figured it would be worth a shot anyway, since the tickets were in the Legends Club area, where there is an indoor area with air conditioning, soft chairs, etc.

We all got decked out in our Twins gear and went down to Target Field.  Our kids thought it was great, but then we immediately had to start pulling out the snacks to keep them somewhat in their spots...

Poor Cameron kept taking one kid or the other up to walk around inside, and finally after about 5 innings we decided to throw in the towel and head home.  It was fun (and I guess at least we got some cute pictures, right??), but we have decided that we won't be bringing the kids to baseball games anytime in the near future!