Grandpa Denny's Visit

We made another trip to the EdVenture Museum except this time was more special - Grandpa Roemer came too! Chase was able to walk this time and his reaction to the enormous size child in the front of the museum was hysterical. Landon thought it was cool to see himself playing the drums on t.v. while only a green screen was behind him. They also had this pretty cool climbing wall that Landon attempted with no fear!

On a brighter note...

We discovered a cool little place over the weekend called Glencairn Gardens - although it was under construction, it was still very pretty. The boys found two turtles in the pond and lots of fish.

Our days...

I wake up every morning around 5 a.m. - not because I want to wake up at that time, but that is the time that Chase wants me to be up and he whines on and off until I stagger into his bedroom and find his cute little self all ready to go with his blankie and paci (only at 5 a.m. I am not thinking it is that cute). I have tried giving him a bottle at this time in hopes that he will go back to sleep, but that has not worked and since we are trying to get him off of the bottle... it's not even worth the attempt.

We go downstairs, I muster up some sort of breakfast for him and while I am still half asleep am fumbling to get my coffee made. Landon gets up about an hour later and that is when the WWF begins at my house. The moment Landon walks down the stairs, the boys are fighting - Chase won't get off Landon's beanbag... Chase is taking Landon's milk cup... Chase is kicking Landon... Landon pushes Chase, Chase is now crying, Landon is explaining himself... I am yelling... and we resolve that situation just to turn into another one as Chase antagonizes Landon ALL day long! And Landon teases Chase ALL day long! I have been trying to keep the boys VERY busy - getting out in the morning and again after their naps in the afternoon to avoid these situations.

Today we ventured out to the Schiele Museum/Planetarium - had never been but thought it could be interesting. Forty-five minutes later we are there and we walk up to the door only to find out the museum is closed... the AC unit is being replaced. "Could you have posted that on your website?" I asked. "That is my fault... I should have done that." she replied. Four free passes later we are back in the car and off to a park around the corner that they recommended since I had already driven the distance. We pull up and see a Greenway Trail sign along with a playground - seems like a nice enough place to have our picnic lunch.

We get out and as we walk up, I am noticing that it is not such a desirable place after all - it could have been the three adults sitting on a nearby bench reeking of alcohol, discussing how alcohol is a depressant... or the two people sucking face on another nearby bench - and really not coming up for a breath for a LONG while... or maybe it was the cigarette butts all embedded in the playground sand under the swings, and around the slide... or the random people walking on this one sidewalk circle that was no more than 10 yards all the way around... or the 40 oz. can of Natural Light left at the top of a climbing wall. And as we were walking back to our car, we noticed a man picking through a gigantic dumpster and Landon asking in his non-whisper voice, "What's that man doing, Mommy?", as the man kept pulling out cans, crushing them with his feet, and placing them in lines across the parking lot. I had no answer for him.

Nothing surprises me anymore...

Last night as I was about to brush my teeth I discovered the bristles on my toothbrush were a bit wet. I couldn't figure out if I had recently brushed, or if it was my child who has an obsession with the toilet, had been playing with it...

Weekend fun!

We had a busy weekend - Grandma Sandy came into town for Zach's second birthday and our town was also having their monthly concert in the park. The pics above: Chase cuddling with Grandma... Sasha and Landon - best buds... Landon and Sasha helping Zach decide the next gift to open... and Chase and Zach - sizing each other up!

River Hills 10k

Today was my first race since I have had Landon and Chase - the last race I did was when I was pregnant with Landon and had to drop out of the Virginia Beach half marathon with only 3 miles left. I was nervous about competing - not that I was competing to win... but just to prove that I could do it again with a reasonable time for myself.

It was hot and humid and I was grateful for the gigantic trees that provided shade for most of the course. It was also VERY hilly - it made the rolling hills of Tega Cay seem flat. I started off letting everyone pass me - everyone always starts off way to fast (it's the adrenaline thing) and then finally caught up with and passed the one female that was in front of me. That put me in first place (for the females) which pushed me to run even harder to maintain my position. After several steep hills and fighting back a few moments where I didn't think my banana would stay down... I totally redeemed myself - I was the first female to finish the 10k race and finished in 44 minutes, 14 seconds. My mile splits were 7:08 - beating the other female by only one second. Andy placed first in his age group and Mike (my neighbor) came in third in his age group. It felt great to get back out there again!

Too much... too soon.

I was reading books to Landon before his afternoon nap (he is taking naps once again, hurray!) and one of the books was about the life cycle of a frog (thanks to grandma!). He loves looking at all of the critters around the pond and we spend time (what sometimes feels like hours) on the correct name and pronunciation of each bird and reptile in the book. (He is no longer satisfied with my answer of "That's a bird." or "That's a bug." He needs specifics.)
There was a picture of the frog's long, sticky tongue attached to a cricket, and I was explaining that was how they got their food and he would soon be eating the cricket. "It's part of the food chain."
Landon looked at me for a long moment (trying to read my face to see if I was serious.) He soon realized I was serious and started shaking his head saying "No eat cricket, mommy. Oh.... poor buddy.... cricket..." I quickly retracted my statement and instead said that the frog was just tickling the cricket with his tongue. He seemed to like that explanation much better.

Fun in the sun!

It has been VERY hot down here (which is expected for the south), however, not 100 degree temps in June! So we have been trying to keep cool by hanging out at Heather's pool and boated out to a sandbar which Landon thought was great - he could actually touch the bottom in the middle of the lake - he thought that was amazing!

Landon's dancing video

Dancing Machine

Chase loves music and starts to wiggle as soon as he hears an upbeat song... I was able to catch a bit of it tonight.

H-O-T

Today is supposed to get up to 95 degrees! We have been altering our "schedule" to get outside first thing (which sometimes can be 6:30 a.m.) before we get suffocated by the air itself! I know this comes every year, but it takes a bit of time to get used to before I start to think that 85 degrees is not so bad.

We have been spending a ton of time at the pool in which has become so overcrowded with all of the new communities going in around here and no new pool to be built (at least in the plan right now). We were there over the weekend and at one point there were 20-30 kids in the kiddie pool. (As soon as the adult swim only whistle blows, "they" all sprint over to the baby pool) one of which launched a diving stick which hit Landon square in the eye - I was not a happy camper. Hopefully the crowd will wane as the novelty wears off... wishful thinking anyway.

Riverpark

We took a short hike on the trail that runs next to the Catawba River over the weekend. The boys had fun running on the trail and having a snack in the "rain forest". Landon even heard the sound of monkeys (which was really the trees rubbing together which made this really high pitch sound).

Time... What time?

I don't know really what has happened with all of my "spare" time... I really don't even have time to think outside of "what-am-I-going-to-do-to-occupy-them-next?" mode. My kids do not need to be entertained by me all-day-long but if I don't have at least some sort of plan, they end up fighting and the end result: Chase is in tears and Landon is standing close by with that I don't know what just happened kind of look.

Chase is really walking now... he loves walking... he walks and then stops and then sways a bit until he can regain his balance and then he walks a bit more and stops to pick up an item... slowly crouching down... and then back up again... all with a huge smile and a bit of drool. It really is amazing to see how much more confident he is... not really relying on crawling anymore.

Landon had his last day of preschool for the year... the bounce house pics are from his end of the year festival. He loved school this year... his teachers were so great with him.

I have decided to go back into teaching and took a job which begins in August. I am excited/anxious/nervous/excited and everything in between. I found a great person to watch the boys - she only takes on four kids at one time and she is really amazing with them. She does all sorts of crafts, has circle time every day, and even has them keep a daily journal. In fact, she has a 20 month old keeping a journal which she binds and sends home to the parents once a month... very impressive. We have had a few playdates already and the boys really like playing over there... Landon has even asked when we are going back... hopefully they will transition well.

Family walks

Family walks are not as easy as they once were... we went for one last night and much more thought goes into preparing for the walk than it ever had...

I tell the boys that we are going for a walk.
Landon is excited... asks for juice while he is riding.
I run into the house and fill his cup with 8/10 water, 2/10 juice...then realize Chase should have some too.
Run back in to fill Chase's sippy with the same combination.
Run back out to deliver the drinks and then realize that they need something to keep them entertained and cool...
I run back in, and fill their squirt bottles so when they do sit in the jogger they have something to do.
It's sunny so they need to be coated with sunblock. Hats too perhaps?
I run back in and grab the hats from the closet.
Neither one wants to wear the hats, so I stuff them in the back of the jogger knowing Landon will ask for his later.
Landon wants his sunglasses... where did I/he put those last?
Hmm....I run back in to look for the sunglasses as I hear Landon proclaiming that he found them in the garage.
I run back out... and remember they need snacks.
I run back in, go to the pantry scan the shelves for granola bars - grab one of each kind, and a pack of Einstein snacks.
I run back out and stuff those in the back of the jogger.
I finally get Chase buckled into the jogger and he is fussing...I hand him his squirt bottle, show him how to use it...he is content for a minute anyway.
Landon doesn't want to ride right away... he would rather walk.
And we are off...
Landon takes his time squirting every square on the sidewalk as we walk towards the lake park.
His legs finally get tired... he wants to ride.
We get there successfully and while playing...Chase's squirt bottle leaks all over Landon's seat.
Landon doesn't want to ride on the way back...his seat is wet. He wants to ride on top of the jogger.
So he does...and we push them all-the-way back up our half of a mile hill back towards home as they munch on their snacks and have their watered down juice.

Chase is walking!

Chase is starting to walk more now than wobble/stumble... I love this video because he is walking and hiccuping - a glimpse into his college years perhaps?

Landon's new boat

Landon was so excited about his new boat... I am sharing his first driving experience with you - he did a great job - only ran into the shore once.

Opening day at the pool!

It was opening day at our pool which did not necessarily mean that it was a warm, balmy day. Instead, it was in the high 60's when we ventured over. Landon and Chase had a blast despite their purple lips and chattering teeth. And in case you were wondering what that brown water is in the corner... they decided to turn on the fountain for the first time this year while we were in the pool. Whatever it was... the chlorine took care of it pretty quickly.

Nothing new...

Not much new to report... we had a busy weekend at the zoo and then testing out Landon's new boat in the lake - video to come. I think Andy had more fun that Landon! We were thinking if we had two, it could be even better - then the boats could race! Andy tackled the garage floor painting project and completed half of it and will do the other next weekend - it really turned out nice. I really appreciate having a husband who is very handy!

Landon continues to amaze me with things he says. Today I overheard him telling himself "Don't be frustrated" and his favorite thing to say out loud is, "That's weird!"

Chase is letting go of furniture to walk, will wobble to the center of a room and realize he can't make it all the way, and then slowly crouches to the ground - he just needs to gain some confidence.

LEAP picnic

Landon and Chase are part of our county's library program and today was the end of the year picnic - they had a blast!

Bored...

My days have become very tedious and yes... a bit boring. I am tied to the house twice a day for Chase's naps and my days begin at 6ish and end around 7:30 (that is with the kid part). Outside of trying to stimulate and teach my kids all day, there are also plenty of "chores" to do around the house - laundry (I seriously think I did four loads yesterday due to Landon wetting his bed), sweeping, vacuuming, feeding the boys, cleaning up after feeding the boys, emptying the dishwasher (which I did at 6:30 this morning), and just generally trying to keep the entire house free of clutter - not including the toys. Today I found myself vacuuming the cracks in my driveway as Landon was playing in the sandbox and Chase was sleeping. Yes, vacuuming. There was plenty to vacuum - those pesky little tree "droppings" that look like worms but crumble when you pick them up, were stuffed every which way in every L-O-N-G driveway crack. Although annoying to have them there, it was not really necessary. But it was an excellent time filler to give Landon his "independent play time" and to keep the boredom from creeping in on me.

I'm Back!

So since having Landon and Chase, it is a challenge to try to keep up with running. Most of the time I am pushing them in the jogger which is no easy feat (all weight combined is about 70 extra pounds!) but sometimes I make it to the gym so I can run all by myself - never thought that would become such a luxury! In my postbaby life, I have not signed up for any races - in fact, I haven't ran in a race since I was pregnant with Landon (and that was the VA Beach half marathon). And now, I finally have the urge to do another - I signed up for a local race. I am hoping that I will survive this little 10k (I am hearing it is quite a hilly course) and Andy has signed up with me as well. In fact, this is the first race ever that we had to hire a babysitter so we could both run!

Earth day festival

Our town had a small Earth day celebration - there was face painting, animals (even a cow you could milk!), and fun music. On the drive over, Landon kept saying, "my birthday party" (which was weeks ago) and I tried to explain several times it was an Earth day party but he was still disappointed when were leaving without having had any cake!

3 going on 30?

Chase and Landon were playing in the family room when Landon comes in and says, "Need to take a break... I playing too rough."

Check-ups

Both boys' had doctor appointments today - for their 3 and 1 year old check up. I am not sure what I was thinking when I booked them both for the same day - back to back slots and took them by myself. If doctors were always on schedule and we didn't have to wait before, during, and after the appointment, it could have gone okay. Instead this:

Arrive at the doctors at 10:22 - appts. are at 10:30 and 10:50. Wait 20 minutes in the waiting room trying to occupy them with crackers as I am reading a "no food or drink in the waiting room" sign. I have to go the bathroom - I go into the one that is just off the waiting room - with Landon and Chase. The toilet is one foot off the ground - Landon thinks it is cool, I am thinking more of a challenge. We made it out of there successfully only to wait another 5 minutes before getting called back. Both boys' have to strip down to their underwear/diaper. We wait another 15 minutes while Landon and Chase rip the paper off of the table and shred it into tiny little pieces, also have removed the books from the counter, and Landon washes his hands three times (he thinks the pedal on the floor is cool).

Finally doctor arrives to check them out. We chat about their yearly progress and before he actually examines them, has to step out to examine another patient's x-ray. So we wait another 5 minutes - both boys' are whining - I am almost out of crackers and drinks were left in the car.

Doctor finally comes back. Examines Landon - does a great job making it more play than work. Chase's turn - all is looking great. Chase needs his shots and they asked if Landon could leave a urine sample (a 3 year old thing). Urine sample? Uh... sure.

So while we wait for them to gather the shots, I take Landon to the bathroom, and am trying to hold the cup for him (which he thought was great) while trying to keep Chase out of the toilet as he is crawling on the not-so-clean bathroom floor. And just as I am getting the lid on the container, and before I could flush, Chase gets into the toilet and picks up the paper on the way bottom.

Back to the examining room just in time for Chase's two shots as Landon looks on. And we are finally off.

I am happy to report that after both check ups... they are doing quite well - they are growing like crazy and are as healthy as a horse!

Hotdog?

Landon was running around playing and he came over to me and said, "Eat me Mommy... I a hotdog."

Chase's first steps!

I am happy to report that Chase has been trying to stay on his feet... I tried to capture a few attempts along with his climbing infatuation!

ABC's

Landon singing the alphabet... not sure what happened to that last letter...

Caffeine Kick

Today I decided that I was going to try to cut down on my caffeine intake... which means that I only had one cup of coffee this morning. I am thinking that maybe I will spring out of bed much more energetic and less miserable if I wasn't so coffee dependent. So after savoring my ONE cup of coffee this morning I had a few things on my agenda: hang two shelves, mail our income taxes (yes, one day before the deadline), and return an item to Target - all with both boys in tow. Chase went down for his first nap and I decided to tackle the shelving project with my little apprentice under my toes the entire time. I made a template, measured, leveled, and taped before the screw hit the drywall. I think I did okay, but the shelf just wasn't sitting right (angling forward a bit) so what would any Mrs. fix it do? Stuff a rolled up tissue behind it... and it was just right. But once I set my vase on it and tried to get it "perfect", the vase fell off and broke. I gave that up for a minute to run to the Post Office (once Chase woke up of course) and as I was shooing Chase out of the garbage can, Landon pulled over the entire certified mail table - pens, papers, and a coffee mug came a-tumbling down. Off to Target for the next errand and as I hopped into my driver's seat, I felt something wet... Chase's bottle fell out of the diaper bag and emptied onto my seat - good thing I was on my way home. So home at last - figured that was the safest place to be at this point and finally made it up to my bathroom and actually had a look at myself in the mirror and found that my sweatshirt had been on backwards all day... back to full on coffee tomorrow!

You can lead a horse to water...

In this story, the horse is Chase and the leader is Landon but Chase actually WILL drink the water! Now that Chase is very mobile (still not walking yet, but a competitive crawler), Landon loves to walk over to things that he knows that neither he or Chase should be...and will just stand there and let Chase do his work. Some days it is the potted plant in the corner that (following Landon's lead) Chase will crawl over to and take a huge handful of dirt and put it in his mouth. Yesterday, Landon lead him under the deck to the not-so-inflated pool which had old, old, old, rainwater in and Chase was splashing around it as Landon watched over him. And just when I thought he couldn't be in time out one more time...Landon poured the bubble solution at the bottom of the drain spout (on the plastic thing that allows the rain to run off) and Chase was splashing around in that and then licking his fingers... always a fun day at the Roemer house!

Folly Beach

Spring Break - yeah! Landon was on his official spring break so we ventured out to the coast. We vacationed with another family in our neighborhood and stayed in a house just 20 yards from the beach just outside of Charleston. We all had such a great time - the kids were so great and besides the chilly weather everything was perfect. We made a stop at the aquarium and a visit to Patriots Point to tour a battleship. Chase ate a ton of sand and Landon (along with Andy) were brave enough to venture into the freezing water to catch a few fun waves. Our nights (after kids went to bed) were filled with playing the Wi (thanks to the Brongs!), hanging upstairs in the game room, and a card night! We all had a lot of laughs - thanks for the great vacation Brong family!