Happy Easter!

With Easter comes the fun Easter egg hunts, lots of treats before the day even arrives, and a great understanding of the true meaning of Easter... Landon says, "Jesus is alive". Landon had a little preschool party and also joined in a neighborhood Easter egg hunt - Chase had no clue - he was just looking for anything to chew on - and the eggs suited him just fine!

On another note, Landon is potty trained! Yipppeeee! It took a good week to get the hang of it...he insisted on peeing on trees and once he decided to do the number two on a backyard tree... we had a chat about how the "outdoor" bathroom is reserved only for emergencies. We drove to the zoo today and he announced he had to go - we found the closest McDonalds (Andy was contemplating the side of the highway) - and he made it saying "ah...this feels good!"

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Kevin with two right hands? We have some missing faces...

Better...but still some missing. Penny, Becky


Hubby, Me

Penny, Tracy, Becky
James, Debbie, Andy, Mike
Kevin, Bob, Jason, and Jan
The green boa makes an appearance!

Yipppeeee! Andy and I were able to celebrate St. Patty's day college-style at a local pub (followed by Town Tavern, and a visit to Stir Crazy!) with friends from the neighborhood - we had a great time! I never could find a green boa...but at least someone from the group had one!

Challenges

I really do believe that when you have your own children, it makes you wiser - I don't mean necessary more intelligent - but definitely wiser. Today I was thinking about challenges and as human beings, we crave opportunities to be challenged - whether we realize it or not. In the working world...employees will take on huge challenges to a. test themselves... and b. prove themselves - and I mean in the way as prove yourself to your own self - not because you are trying to impress your boss but because you want to impress yourself. I do this while I run... I am going to run 2 miles at a 6 minute pace...I am going to sprint the last 50 yards...etc. A challenge. Male gorillas in the wild will challenge another male gorilla for territory...isn't every part of the jungle all the same? Chase today was trying to get himself onto the train table - not because he was told to but he had never done it before, and wanted to prove that he could. I was hesitating on helping him because I think he wanted to do it...he struggled...one leg...his body...the other leg...and he was successful. Where would our world be without opportunities for challenge?

Clean

I am realizing that the older I get, the more I learn about myself...well maybe not learning as much as finally admitting to the things that I have been denying until now. Like my mild case of obsessive compulsive...it is not extreme...I just like things in order...no clutter...not a mess...clean and in order. Well, with Landon and Chase around now it is quite impossible. And so I try to be realistic - clean after they finish an activity (puzzles, etc.), wait until they nap before I clean up the kitchen, pick up outdoor toys after they go to bed - reasonable. Or so I thought until Landon decided that the hand soap in the bathroom needs to be put away - under the cabinet.

What's new?

So...I am having trouble with posting pics...more zoo pics to come...

Things here are just busy...not sure what we do all-day-long, but we are just busy.
What's new?... Landon is going through this I don't want to go anywhere without mom phase and I have had to drag him (well carry him) kicking and screaming to his preschool (which he has been completely fine with going all year) and same with the Y. It is very hard on him and equally as stressful on me - I left him last week with tears streaming down his face and almost mine wondering if it was even worth it. But by the time I came back, he was having the best time. Today was a better day...I am hoping it just gets better from here.

Today, after four poop diapers and a sore bottom, Landon declared that he did not want to wear a diaper anymore (YAY!) But after three accidents (two outside and one at the dinner table) the diaper went back on.

Chase is still training on how to walk...he is almost there - hopefully by his birthday which is in just a few weeks!

Andy and I are finally going out to celebrate St. Patty's day (with the entire neighborhood) on Saturday! We are very excited about that! I am still in search of a green boa - we may get a little c-r-a-z-y!

Zoo pics

Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens

We decided after being housebound all day Saturday (due to high winds), to drive down to Columbia, SC to visit the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens. It is the closest zoo to us which takes us "about" an hour and 14 minutes to drive. Landon loved every second of it - and luck seemed to be on our side today as we got to see the sea lions being fed, as well as the penguins, and the gorillas. And as we all watched in amazement, a zoo worker would give the audience a short narrative on the animals. We found that gorillas really prefer grapes for a treat rather than (very commonly thought) bananas. And to our surprise as we were eating grapes tonight at dinner, Landon proclaimed that he, himself was a gorilla - I was impressed that he was paying that close attention!

Chase also enjoyed the zoo - especially the fountains. He would shriek with joy as we approached each one - and there were many at the botanical gardens! He was a bit wary on the carousel but at the end was jumping up and down on his horse as if he was truly riding!

Not moving, then painting!

We have been living in our current house three years to this day (well yesterday - today is Leap day) and it is a record for the Roemers. We lived in northern Virginia for 7 years and moved 4 times and then finally moved down to South Carolina. I love change...in fact, I crave it. I love rearranging furniture, love to buy new things for the house, and my most favorite - changing a paint color - it really can redefine an entire living space. I have taken on a huge painting project - the kitchen/living area and am going from a golden brown color to an icy blue/green. It has really changed the feel of our entire downstairs. And speaking of feeling, Landon backed right into the freshly painted wall last night and had paint all over his hand and back of his pajamas...no need for scolding...he was crying before we even knew what was happening.

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall...

Well, this time not 99 bottles... and not on the wall... instead three bottles sitting on the pantry floor. They were there because we emptied out the cooler from our bbq on Saturday and Chase with his "what can I get into that I am not supposed to" radar found the bottles. And as he is sitting in the pantry, winging around a bottle, Landon runs in and decides to take over my role and take it away from him and as they are playing tug of war, Chase decides that Landon can just have it and there goes Landon with the bottle flying into the tile floor and the bottle breaks and there are my two little boys, sitting in a puddle of beer and broken glass at seven o'clock in the morning. Thankfully, neither one was hurt... and Landon learned a valuable lesson: never spill beer on yourself because it smells bad and you will have to take a bath right away!

Chase

Chase is coming up on 11 months and I feel like I have not dedicated one entry that has been all about Chase. Chase is an amazing little man and is so completely different from Landon. He is much more outgoing, seems to be more patient (Landon tests this daily), and he is not as complacent - he likes things to be happening around him all of the time. And if there is nothing going on, he whines at my feet until I pick him up. And when I do, he snuggles his precious little face into my shoulder and melts my heart - is it too early to say "ladies man"?

At this age, he loves playing peek-a-boo, loves when I stack blocks so he can knock them over, loves walking around the living room table but won't even attempt to walk on his own, and is obsessed with the outdoors. If he is ever overly fussy, I just take him outside - it really is a cure for him. He loves playing "chase" with Landon - Landon will push around a toy and they both crawl to get it...and however and whatever they do to get there, they both end up laughing hysterically. And just yesterday, Chase actually was teasing Landon for the first time - offering up his cup of juice and just as Landon would grab it, he would snatch it back...I can only guess who taught him that. He loves music and loves to dance...he wiggles his whole body when he listens to music - in fact, I think his moves are better than Andy's!

And the most amazing thing about Chase is to see how so completely different he is from Landon, Andy, and myself...but yet is so much the same. And hopefully he will be walking soon...so we can ALL get around the same!

Just busy...

I have not been very diligent about writing lately...there has been so much going on down here. Andy was in London last week and my parents came into town to help me. Thank you both so much for your much needed help and visit - the boys miss you - playing playdough is just not the same without you both! And I really miss your dinners, dad! On top of all of that, I am really making a huge effort at trying to get Landon potty trained...not such an easy task I am finding. The amount of time I spend hanging out in the bathroom (which I am trying to get him to relax by talking, singing, reading) waiting for one eensy trickle of pee or one tiny poop to come out makes me wonder if Landon is even ready. It really is ridiculous. But he did poop today - and he worked hard for those "poop treats" - which he opted for M&M's - he informed me that the candy hearts are "too sour" - not sure he fully understands the meaning of that word! I am attaching random pictures of the past few weeks...Chase is finally pushing around his walker! It won't be long before he will be walking all by himself!

Braaaaake!

I was driving home from my sister's last night with both boys in the car...it was dark...and rainy...and I was looking for my exit (I am not familiar with her area) when all of a sudden...RED LIGHT! So of course I slammed on the brakes as something like "Oh Sh*t!" fell out of my mouth and we skidded to a halt. We all sat in silence for a millisecond as we watched the cars proceed through their green light, thanking my lucky heavens that we weren't in the middle of that intersection and then I asked if everyone was okay. And Landon's little voice from the back says..."I'm okay, mommy." More silence... and then "Heh, heh, that was funny, mommy! Car-slipped-on water....that was funny!" And then as if to remind me..."Red means stop...green means go, mommy."

Spring

Spring has arrived in the south... and I love everything about it... the feel of the bright sun on my face... the bold green color of lawns and trees making a come back... the sound of the birds chirping... and just spending hours and hours outside playing while losing track of time.

Landon and I spent the majority of the afternoon outside yesterday while Chase napped - I catching up on the outdoor "chores", and Landon playing around me. And while I worked, I was listening to Landon's play and found it pretty amusing... he found the power washer and began pushing it around (it's on wheels and probably weighs about as much as Landon) and he pushed that thing all around and was talking to inanimate objects and explaining that he was going to take their picture so "Say Cheese!" ...he took pictures of his Tonka truck, the bounce house, the car, trees... it really went on for a good half hour. It's amazing how their little mind works... and amazing how much our imagination fades over the years...

Doh!

The weather down here has finally warmed up and of course taking advantage of it, we were outside using playdough early this morning. I ran inside to get Landon a cup of juice and in my 30 second absence, Chase decided that the playdough would suffice for his lunch...I spent the rest of the time scraping playdough from the roof of his mouth with my fingernail - I didn't realize playdough could be so "doughy".

Charleston Trip

Finally, pics from our trip last weekend. We packed everything...minus the kitchen sink...but I realized as we were halfway there, we forgot the camera! So we picked up a disposable camera for the trip. We walked down to the River Park on the first day, visited Fort Moultrie, the beach, and the aquarium on day two, and ventured over to tour a plantation on our way home. It was a great trip - Charleston is an amazing city!

Sick boys...

I am finding that when one gets a cold (or whatever other sickness that decides to attack their immune system), the other is destined to get it. We went for a mini-vacation to Charleston (pics and stories to follow) and Landon started with this deep, raspy cough like he had been smoking packs of unfiltered cigarettes for years. And since we were all packed "snuggly" into one hotel suite, not one of us had great sleep for the two nights we were there. Landon took the prize for the "best and most frequent" cough on the first night, Chase pretty much matched him on the second night. And we were able to get one nap to overlap - Landon in the living room, Chase in the bedroom, and the parents...locked in the bathroom drinking beers and "relaxing".

Toddler Talk

Landon talks so much now...really nonstop from the moment I walk into his room in the morning (even sooner as he calls for me or Andy through the monitor to come and get him) until the moment his little head hits his pillow at night. Funny though how once kids begin speaking, they focus on the main words of their thought or sentence and will leave out the prepositions and pronouns in between. Landon loves to "help me" discipline Chase...here are a few things that Landon says throughout a day along with the translation next to it:
"Know better, Chase" - You should know better, Chase
"Me alone" - Leave me alone
"No Chase, unnerstand?" - No Chase, do you understand?
And my personal favorite: he loves to put the words "so bad" at the end of everything he says..."Need drink mommy...so bad." "Want to go outside...so bad." "Need pajamas on...so bad."
And if you dare ask aloud, "Who has poop?" His immediate reply, "Not me...Chase does!"