15 Months Old!

I can hardly believe it. Landon turned 15 months on Sunday and you want to know what he FINALLY accepted on his 15 month birthday? MILK in a sippy cup!! Yes people, our little Landon has been completely bull-headed when it came to drinking milk out of a sippy cup. I remember this process with Adalyn. You want them off the bottle SO bad and when you first try a sippy cup of milk with them and they throw a screaming fit, it becomes very discouraging and quite frankly, super annoying and aggervating. Adalyn finally accepted milk in her sippy cup at 14 months old. Dr. Eastham wants babies off bottles by their 15 month check up so we were cutting it close! We spent about $30 or so on different cups. (That's annoying part # 2.) I have said this before I belive, but what works for your fist child will more than likely NOT work for your second. I just assumed (you know what they say when you assume...) the Nuby sippy cup that worked with Adalyn would work for him, too. Wrong. But, that doesn't matter anymore because something finally clicked with this stubborn little boy and it worked! This mama is VERY happy. The older Landon gets, the more and more he is picking up. It is so enjoyable and rewarding to watch him figure things out and to communicate with us. Here is a little info on our sweet 15 month old!
- 18 month shirts and pajamas are starting to get too small. 18 month jeans still fit fine.
- Still in size 4 diapers
- Size 6 shoe
- We weighed him the other day and he was just over 26 lbs
- He loves Adalyn very, very much! He loves playing with her, watching her, copying her, and fighting with her. Who knew siblings would fight so early in age?! Ahhh!
- Says "Dada" "MaMa" "Uh-oh"
- Can point to his eyes, ears, nose, belly, mouth, head, and hair when asked
- Sticks out his tongue when we ask "Where's your tongue?"
- Makes the animal sounds of a Cow, Chicken, Elephant, and Tiger
- Gives big, opened mouthed kisses
- Signs "All Done" "Sleep" "Giraffe" "More" "Please" "Dog" "Thank You"
- Loves flipping through books. He will pick up a book and walk backwards until he sits in your lap so you can read to him
- Loves to dance. He points at the computer and grunts until we pull up a music video. One of his favorites to dance to, Kip Moore- "Somethin' about a Truck"
- He learns so much just by watching and listening to Adalyn. Wilson, our Elf, is very popular in our house at the moment. Landon walks around with us every morning as we search for him. By watching Adalyn, he now points and screams with excitement when we find him. It's so cute.
- I will tell him to hold my hand and he grabs it and walks with me where ever I need to go. Ah, just precious.
- We call him our squealer. When he gets really excited/happy or really mad, he squeals (or yells) really loudly.
- He does not like to get his diaper changed.
- I'm pretty sure his favorite food is a Sausage and Biscuit. He will eat one any time of day.
- Has his first 3 molars. YAY! Teething bites! I'll be so glad when those pearly whites are in!
- He still has the whitest hair but it really is starting to grow. It looks like the hair behind his ears is starting to curl outward so he may have just have curly hair! Who knows! But I'm curious to find out.
- Landon is such a sweet, lovable, happy little boy. Happy 15 months big boy!

BLAH!!!!!

I was so glad when the kids were finally better from the stomach bug they had Sunday afternoon. Adam and I went back to work on Tuesday thinking since we were the parents, that we probably wouldn't get sick. I don't know what it is, but I remember as a child being sick and it seemed like no matter how much throw up my mom cleaned up or how much she held me, she never got sick. So, I honestly figured it might skip Adam and I. HA. Boy was I wrong and actually quite stupid for thinking we couldn't get it. That stomach virus was so strong and hit us so quick! I left work Tuesday afternoon at 3:15 and went straight to my bathroom floor. Adam got home, brought me a coke, and let me lay there in all my misery. Adalyn was loving the fact that she could play doctor on me. She was climbing all over me and I didn't even care. I so enjoyed wathcing her be so excited that I was her "sick patient". She covered me up since I was freezing, brought me pillows, wet a washcloth for me, and even got out our first aid kit. We play "Doctor" on a regular basis but me actually being sick made it much more fun for her I believe. At around 4:00, I finally started throwing up. I had felt it coming on for a few hours prior so I was glad I finally did. I was then able to crawl in bed and rest some. After a little while, Adam informed me that he was not feeling good. I felt like I was dying and could barely move so I went ahead and called my mom to see if they could get the kids. At one point while we were waiting on my parents to come, I was in the bed and Adam was in the kids bathroom. Adalyn and Landon were roaming the house. Adalyn is fine doing that, Landon on the other hand still needs to be watched some. Adam had started packing their bags and food for my parents house but I had to finish it up. I managed to walk, but looked like an old woman doing so b/c I was hunched over, I even crawled at times. Blah, I'm telling you I was miserable. We managed not to forget anything for the kids except a shoe for Landon. He made it there with one, just not the other. That's pretty good if I say so myself. So around 7:00, the kids were gone. I looked around and our house was an absolute wreck. I was so sick I didn't even care and that is NOT like me. If I had even an ounce of energy I would have started cleaning. Since Landon went unsupervised for only a short amount of time, I found Christmas ornaments all throughout the house. He knows he is not to take them off so since we weren't around to tell him no, he took it upon himself to take off a few and leave them in different rooms around the house. Before I go further, I need to say this was the very first night BOTH kids were away from us. Adam and I have been talking for weeks now that during Christmas break, the kids were gone! We need a little piece of our old life back, if only for a day. We need some alone time being together, cleaning, organizing, relaxing, watching what we want on TV, shopping, and just simply hanging out. We don't get much uninterrupted time and it will definitely be nice to have that. With all that being said, this was NOT how I planned for our first night to go having the kids away from us! We could barely talk to each other. We spent most of the evening in seperate bathrooms laying on the floor. At one point, we both managed to get in bed. At 11:00, we took phenergren and it knocked us out. We didn't get out of bed until 9:45 the next morning. I can SAFELY say that without a doubt we haven't slept that late in 3 years. BUT, we still felt like crap when we woke up. Not good. We spent the rest of the day watching TV and sleeping. Finally, that afternoon, we were somewhat better. We went to pick up the kids around 3:30. We still weren't anywhere near 100% so I was hoping the kids would be easy on us. Thankfully, things went pretty smooth. Both kids were very tired and were in bed at 7:30, Adam and I were in bed at 7:50. My alarm woke me up at 5:30 this morning and I was a brand new person! I would never wish that on anybody, ESPECIALLY if you have small children at home who require a ton of supervision, entertainment, and assistance! I am glad to say Adam and I are feeling MUCH better today!

What a long two days!!!!

For the past week, Adalyn has had an awful cough and nastiest runny nose I seriously think I have ever seen. Snot has been pouring from her nose and is a gross brown/green color... it has been screaming sinus infection! So, with that said, I now want to tell you all what Adam and I have been doing within the past day or so. Sunday afternoon once we got home from church, we put both kids down for their naps. BUT, before we could even put Adalyn down, she throws up! What?! Where did that come from? We figured it was all of that sinus drainage she had going on made her stomach upset. We cleaned everything up and layed her down. Adam left to check on the cows and I sat myself down in the recliner and watched TV. At 2:00, both kids woke up. They only slept for about an hour and a half and on a Sunday afternoon, that's a pretty short nap for them. Church wears them out so they normally get a solid 2-3 hours worth of sleep. Not long after Adalyn woke up, she threw up again. So I started thinking, well crap! Maybe this isn't sinus drainage afterall! UGH! Please not another stomach bug! I called Adam and asked him to come back home. I was trying to clean up the mess, put her in the bath, and try to keep Landon out of her throw up. All while trying not to throw up myself! Gag!! After about 10 minutes or so, Landon started acting really figidity. He would moan and kind of walk back and forth. He didn't really know what he wanted. Then don't ya know, he throws up too! It was around 2:30 or so by then. The rest of our afternoon consisted of Adalyn and Landon taking turns throwing up. Adalyn. Landon. Adalyn. Landon. At one point, I was holding Landon in my lap on the couch. He started making a gagging noise and I knew better than to move him. He started throwing up once again, but this time all over my lap. Keep in mind, I was wearing pajama pants which are very thin. I made the decision to let him finish his business on my lap as opposed to running him across the house to the bathroom or something. In the back of my mind I just REALLY did not want anymore throwup on my carpet! agh!! New carpet, throw up, and a neat freak mama do not mix very well. I yelled for Adam to come and get him so he could wipe him down. I sat on the couch, again trying not to barf myself, and just watched his throw up seep through my pajama pants. Oh My Goodness. Inside, I was without a doubt freaking out. Want to know what was even more disgusting? Pineapple chuncks sat perfectly still ontop of my pants while all the juice was slowing going thru. Yes, Landon ate some bites of pineapple before Church and that is one of the things we kept seeing. Not only was it soaking through my pants, it was on my shirt, somehow got on my bra, and of course on Landon too. Adam got me a trash bag to "step" into. There was no easy answer on how to clean it up. I stripped my clothes off and ran to the shower. Adalyn had also just thrown up as well so I had Adalyn and Landon both in the shower with me. We kept Adalyn in panties and Landon in a diaper the rest of the day. I really did lose count as to how many loads of laundry I washed. We even had to take my clothes and some towels out to our driveway to hose them down to get the food, chunks, and pineapple off everything. Just Sunday afternoon alone, I know we gave four baths plus the shower the kids had with me. They both were so thirsty all they wanted was water. Landon and Adalyn chugged their sippy cups. A little while later, they threw up what seemed like a gallon of water. Adalyn is real good about going to the toliet to do this but poor Landon just lets it fly wherever he is. Afterall, he is just a baby so I wouldn't expect anything else. BUT, the good about him throwing up a gallon of water? It was on our hardwood floor! No carpet that time. Our poor kids had thrown up so much they had absolutely nothing left to throw up but water. So we really cut back on their water the rest of the afternoon since they couldn't even keep that down. They both were real puny throughout the afternoon and evening. They would both get spurts of energy then Adalyn kept asking for a popcicle. It had been a few hours since she had last thrown up and we were just glad she was asking to "eat" something. Wouldn't you know... no popcicles in the freezer! Thankfully Carla had some so I got some from her. She ate a blue popcicle, a pink one, and a little bit of a Banana. The kids were wore out and by 8:00, they were asleep. Adam and I went to bed early too because I figured it would be a very long night for us. 10:45, our bedroom door opens. Adalyn runs to the toliet and starts throwing up. Remember, she has no more food to throw up so this time it's blue liquid from her popcicle. We put her in bed with us. She tossed and turned, we took her pj's off because she was hot, she finally fell asleep but was snoring because she was stopped up. It was after midnight by this point and I made Adam take her back to her bed. 30 minutes later she comes back in so I pull her back in the bed. She mentioned her ear was hurting but she went right to sleep so we didn't ask questions. I was finally able to fall asleep myself. Then, I hear Landon over the monitor at 4:15. I went in to get him. He immediately started pointing and grunting. I walked into the kitchen and he did everything in his power to let me know he wanted some milk since he can't talk. He was starving since he hadn't eaten anything since Sunday morning before Church so I went ahead and gave it to him knowing he would probably throw it up anyway. Well, he did. I cleaned him up and we played in his room for a bit. Adam and Adalyn were still asleep so I didn't want to wake them. I did give Landon a tiny bit of water to wash out his mouth. I remembered how thirsty I was after I threw up last year and I knew he was to. Even the tinest bit of water made him throw up again. So at about 4:30, I was giving Landon a bath. Adam and I both took off from work to be home with them. When Adalyn woke up, she continued to talk about her ear hurting when she would lay down or cough. We asked her every so often which ear just to see if she would point to the same one each time and sure enough, she did. I called the doctor and made an appt. for 10:00 to see Dr. Eastham. Adalyn has never had an ear infection before and I knew she was old enough to tell us when something was hurting her so I didn't want to take any chances. Aside from her ear, we could tell she was feeling a lot better. She even ate a biscuit. I got her ready (and myself) and we headed to Murfreesboro in the nastiest weather. I really don't like traveling when rain is coming down sideways. Adalyn fell asleep as soon as we got on the interstate. She woke up when I parked. I got her out and she layed on me the entire time we watied in the waiting room. They weighed her and she had lost 1 lb. since we were there for her 3 year check up a few weeks ago. She loves Dr. Eastham so she was her silly self while he was in there with us. He checked her out and sure enough, her very 1st ear infection! He said that the sinus issues she was battling a week ago (all the sneezing, coughing, runny nose, etc) caused it. Poor girl! We loaded back up and made our way home through the awful weather. She was pretty uncomfortable on the way back but managed to allow herself to doze off. We went to pick up some medicine and headed home. It was about 11:30 but this point and I was beyond tired. Around 12:30, Adam put Landon down for a nap and Adalyn and I got into bed for a nap ourselves. She slept a little over four hours! I ended up waking her up since it was almost 5:00. She felt a lot better after such a long nap. Still didn't eat too much for supper, but I could definitely tell she was getting back to herself. The rest of the evening went pretty smooth. Landon was eating and keeping things down just fine. He was asleep by 7:30 and I put Adalyn down at 8:30 since she had napped so long. They both slept great so I am hoping they are all better. But, as I have been typing this, I have decided I don't really feel all that good. Oh boy. I sure hope that stomach bug isn't going to come to me. We shall see! So, the above is just a little glimpse of mine and Adam's Sunday afternoon/evening and Monday. We had to miss the Christmas Musical at Church Sunday night which I was SO bummed about. I had been looking forward to hearing all the beautiful Christmas songs they sing each year. :( Then reading posts on Facebook about how amazing it was made me even more sad! But, atleast I was able to take care of my babies when they needed us! I would never wish that on any parent! Two kids throwing up one right after the other is not high on my wish list that's for sure!

Christmas Parade

Last Friday Adam and I took Adalyn to watch the Christmas parade. We asked my mom to come over to watch Landon since he still didn't feel 100% and had a bad cough and snotty nose.We met up with Hope, Ryan and Liam and Adalyn was so excited she was going to see Santa. We had to wait about 20 minutes or so and she asked over and over when the parade was going to start so she could see Santa. Thankfully, our waiting was up and we saw police cars and firetrucks to start the parade. She was in awe at everything she saw. Ryan gave Adalyn a bag for all the candy. Adam and I were obviously not thinking about bringing a bag for her. Oops. Once she realized people were throwing candy, she had a blast picking up all the pieces. When it was over, I bet we came home with more candy than we did for Halloween. We had a great time. We stunk to high heaven though once we got in the car and could smell ourselves. We smelled of nasty diesel, smoke, gas, and whatever else you can imagine that goes with being around vehicles that close. Landon was sound asleep when we got home, we changed Adalyn's clothes and put her to bed, too. It was a quick, but fun outing! Getting ready to leave for the parade. She is very animated, can't you tell?

Watching the floats pass by us

Putting candy in her bag

"Look Mama, CANDY!!"

These next two pictures will make you smile just by looking at the excitement on her face. It's Santa!

Adalyn's letter to Santa

While Nancy was here Thursday, she asked Adalyn what she wanted for Christmas and they wrote a letter to Santa. When I came home and read it, I couldn't help but to laugh. I have NO idea where she gets this stuff! Dear Santa, My name is Adalyn May Clark. I am 3 years old. Landon is 1. I have been a good girl. My mama needs kitchen towels and cooking stuff. Daddy has a bad wire on his 4-wheeler and needs some stuff to fix it. Landon needs a crocodile Dream Lite. I want: 1. a "Pop the Pig" game 2. A new bathroom so I don't have to share with my brother 3. A crayola Airbrush marker set 4. A Ladybug Dream Lite 5. A barbie doll with extra clothes 6. a tea set with real tea 7. New shoes- mine don't fit 8. A Trampoline. I that not the sweetest thing?! But first, let's set the story straight. I don't need new kitchen stuff. I have way more than I need anyway. It is true Adam needs to get the 4-wheeler fixed. I have no idea if they even make a Crocodile Dream Lite. I do not know what a "Pop the Pig" game is. I'm not real sure if I have ever seen a Crayola Airbrush marker set but it sounds legit. I'm pretty sure they make a Ladybug Dream Lite. She doesn't even have a Barbie doll, just the one's a Jerry and Nancy's house. They obviously have made a big impression to her. She has a tea set. Got it for her birthday. It pours "fake" tea so I guess that's why she wants a "real" set. And she got boots and tennis shoes for her birthday...and they do fit. And I can see why she wants a trampoline... they are tons of fun! I'm interested to see what her letter to Santa will sound like next year :)