Tia Allred Blog

Landon has phased out of naps, despite my best efforts to keep them in his daily routine.  It's bittersweet.  Mostly bitter.

But today I was tending to Vivienne and putting her down for a nap, and then quickly trying to do the lunch dishes, when I realized how quiet it was.  When I peeked around the corner, this is what I saw.
 It was a miracle!  Not only does this boy not nap anymore, he rarely falls asleep anywhere except in his bed or on the occasional late-afternoon drive in his carseat.  He slept like that for over 2 solid hours and it perfectly overlapped with Vivienne's nap.  It was more than I ever could have dreamed.

A nice quiet afternoon where I could spend some time with my "Friends" re-runs and my peanut M&Ms.

This sweet little Landon turned 3!  I can hardly believe it!

He has become increasingly particular about clothing and his style, and since it was his birthday, I let him wear whatever the heck he wanted to--no trying to compromise or change his mind or trying to convince him things don't match.  Happy Birthday, Son.  Only once a year will I give you that sweet gift, haha!
He wore his homemade birthday hat and we took our photos (both fun little birthday traditions we have started for the kids).  We invited his cousins and aunts and uncles over to have dinner (hamburgers and hot dogs, with some sides and IBC Rootbeer) and build-your-own ice cream sundaes for dessert.  He had a great time with them!
Unfortunately, he started throwing up later that night.  But I'm glad he still seemed to enjoy his festivities during the day.  Love that adorable little man.

And I think it goes without saying, that Vivienne also really enjoyed the festivities as well...

After church, the kids want to scramble out the door to find the beetles that are crawling all over the sidewalk.  They unknowingly probably crunch a few on their way to a spot to hunker down and look, and probably sit down on a few more (there are lots) once they pick out the place to observe.  And even though I am way past the point of being amused by any living creepy crawly or insect--it's pretty darling to see how excited and interested they are about them.

It isn't news to anyone that I am not a morning person.  So some mornings when the children wake up, I let them crawl into bed with me.  And sometimes I let them even have a pre-breakfast snack, like a little scoop of Cheerios.

Vivienne was sharing with me and I couldn't help but take a quick "burst" of photos.  Her little face concentrating and smiling all at once--makes my mama heart all happy.

These toddlers are becoming:

opinionated
stubborn
cuter
louder
smarter

The list could go on.  But what it really does is make grocery shopping a big pain.  And some of my grocery shopping trips are big "stocking-up" ones.  And it's hard fitting two toddlers, and a bunch of groceries all in one cart, not to mention keeping the toddlers happy and the noise at a minimum.

The toddlers have also gotten smatter--and really insist on getting out of the cart the whole shopping trip.  This shopping trip, I was desperate, for them to stop asking and for space in my cart--and so I told them they were only allowed to get out if they held on to the cart the WHOLE time.  And I was actually surprised at how well they did.  But it took us forever to finish, since Vivienne's short little legs can't take very big steps.  We essentially shuffled around the rest of the store.

But hey, for happy kids, I'll spend a few extra minutes shuffling around!