Playdates and Other Stuff

We've had playdates with Charlie (and Kelly) the last couple of days. Yesterday Rylan and I met them at Centennial Park again.

Rylan was obsessed with this slide. It was cool except for the fact that he was also obsessed with the deep rung arch ladder that I had to help him up every time so that he could get back to the slide. He kept going back to the ladder but luckily I noticed him on it every time before he could fall.


These two blondes are so similar in size and build - they are too cute together ...


After our playdate, I took Rylan on a run (more of a jog with the occasional walk break). I got in 10 miles though. Hurting my back set me back quite a bit but I'm still hoping to run the marathon at the end of April (though I no longer have any time goal - I just want to finish).

Today the boys and I met Kelly and Charlie at the zoo. I have never seen the zoo so crowded before. Our county doesn't have spring break for a couple more weeks but I guess the other surrounding counties must have it this week. Plus it was super warm again today (mid-80s).

Kelly got stuck in traffic so the boys and I played on the mats in the Jungle Gym until they got there. Carter had a blast jumping and having me take his picture ...



Then Carter worked on doing somersaults. He's never done one at gymnastics though they do several of them on inclined mats during every class. He always waits for a coach to come over and help him. Well, he finally mastered them today. He even was doing them tonight at home on the carpet. Yeah!

After playing at the playground we checked out the animals. Charlie took a ride with Rylan for awhile ...


Rylan fell asleep around 11:45 am in his stroller and Charlie could barely keep his eyes open so we headed out.

After naps and going to the grocery store, I went upstairs to discover that our air conditioning was again not working. We first started it up at the beginning of last week. I discovered on last Tuesday afternoon that the upstairs was hot - in the low 80s and that the vents were blowing air the same temperature as the intake. Our a/c is under warranty for a year so I called the company that installed it on Wednesday morning. A technician came out in the afternoon. He said that since the unit was installed in winter, it was never charged up. So he added freon and it appeared to be working.

However on Sunday afternoon, the upstairs was hot again. Luckily our big weekend project (other than watching basketball - Go Pack!) was installing 4 ceiling fans so the bedrooms were much cooler than on Tuesday. Another technician came out on Monday afternoon and this time found a leaking valve. He replaced it and recharged the unit with freon.

We thought all was good until the unit stopped producing cold air again this afternoon. I'll be calling again in the morning to get a technician out here again tomorrow. Hopefully they will solve it this time! Even with the ceiling fans, it's warm at night.

On the subject of sleeping, Carter is still doing great with the front of his crib off. I've heard him get out a couple of times to get a toy but get right back into bed. He's always in there when I get him in the morning or after nap. And Rylan will finally let me put a blanket on him when he goes to sleep (not that he needs it right now). He also always has to sleep with with his hands between his crib bumper and the mattress. He usually scoots all the way up in this crib so his head is jammed up against the bumper and he can reach both hands up over his head. Both boys have been sleeping great lately since they've been healthier. However Rylan has had a random cough and runny nose for 3 or 4 weeks now - I'm thinking it may be allergies?

Phillip's Toy Mart

Between gymnastics and speech, we went with Missy and a couple of other moms from gymnastics to Phillip's Toy Mart to see the bunnies they have for Easter.

Rylan got in a little nap on the way there. He looks so comfy with the one hand behind his head ...



The setup wasn't as good as we expected. Only older kids (that are like 10) can reach down to pet the bunnies. We had to hold the kids pretty much upside-down in the enclosed area so they could reach the bunnies.



We didn't get a picture of Rylan, but he really liked the bunnies too. He was more pinching though than petting.

Even though the toy store is set up for kids with train tables and dollhouses out to play with, the store employees did NOT want them to take anything off the shelves. So it was pretty difficult to keep all the kids wrangled.

They did have one neat elevated area where the kids could watch the model trains from ...


Speech is still going well. Last week Carter worked on "sp" as the initial sound and this week is "k" as the initial sound. Ms. Judy says every week that he is doing amazing. She usually says he accomplished in one week what often takes kids 3 to 4 weeks. One of Carter's preschool teachers even said she's noticing a difference in his speech. He's only had 4 sessions so I'm really impressed.

Self Portrait

Carter is starting to do more than just scribble when drawing. Here's a drawing he did of himself ...

Carter Says

I love talking with Carter. We have lots of funny conversations lately. I wish I could remember them all right now but here are a few of them ...

----------

Carter was wearing a pair of jeans that had a hole in the knee. He asked earlier in the day why there was a hole, and I told him they were getting old and worn out.

Later in the day, Carter says to me, "You're old and worn out."

Me: "What?!?!?"

Carter: "Are your jeans old and worn out?"

Good save.

----------

Me: "I want you to stay little forever!"

Carter: "No, I going to eat a lot so I get big and be a fireman!"

----------

For some reason I was saying something out loud to myself. Carter asked what I was doing and I told him I was talking to myself.

This conversation happens all the time now, especially in the car:

Carter: "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy."

Me: "What?"

Carter: "I just talking to myself."

----------

And we've reached the "Why?" phase.

I'll say some random statement.

Carter: "Why?"

I'll answer with some reason.

Carter: "Why?

Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc.

I'll usually give up first and just say "I don't know."

Then Carter says "why" 20 times in a row.

Scraped Knee

We spent the majority of the day outside again today because it was around 80F again! Today was Rylan's first time wearing shorts since he started walking. He tends to trip a lot and this is what our driveway did to his poor knee ...


He's okay though ...

Centennial Park

Rylan and I met Charlie and Kelly today for a playdate. We first went to the downtown library for storytime. Rylan was mesmerized by the puppets, juggling, and singing and Charlie paid attention some. He's not big for sitting still that long so we left after about 20 minutes. It was still fun!

We then headed over to Centennial Park, which is across from Vanderbilt. Today was the first time I've been to this park. It was really nice and the boys had a blast on the playground. I'm so glad that Rylan has a friend his own age!

This Weekend

We had wonderful weather all weekend so we spent a lot of time outside. We got out early on Saturday morning and worked on installing landscape and walkway lighting at the front of our house. It was a job that probably would of taken about 30 minutes had we waited until the boys were napping but ended up taking us about 2 1/2 hours!



One major time consumer was fishing out the toy rake that Rylan dropped in the sewer ...



We're still working on getting everything placed perfectly and adding some additional lights (and then we have to bury the cable under the pinestraw) but it's coming along!



Last night I picked up my few things that didn't sell at the second consignment sale I did. I sold a total of $132 worth of things and after the 30% commission and $12 fee, I made $80.40. I'm happy with what I made overall and will definitely be doing another sale in the fall.

Today we spent more time outside (including having a picnic on the screened porch). Over the last couple weeks, a few hundred trees have been planted in our neighborhood. They are planting them between the sidewalks and street as well in common areas. The drainage area across from our house that borders the road our neighbor is off of probably got 100 of those trees.


After watching this, Carter wanted to dig holes all weekend ...


Carter is great at riding his Radio Flyer tricycle. He constantly asks to go outside and ride his bike (he's slightly obsessed). I'm working on teaching Rylan to ride the smaller tricycle. He doesn't quite have it yet, but he's trying ...


I worked on getting the boys ready for the time change all last week and they are already adjusted. We put them to bed about 10 minutes earlier each night and I also moved up their afternoon naps. Unfortunately that meant they also woke up earlier last week but it was really nice having them in bed at 7:15 pm at the end of the week!

I finally ran today. I did 6 miles on the treadmill. I was hoping to do more but my back started hurting a lot and I didn't want to push it too much and not be able to walk later!

And, really, did NC State have to get announced LAST for the tournament teams?!?!?!

Discovery Center

While Carter was in school today, Rylan and I met Kelly and Charlie at the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. I love that we have a friend that is almost the exact same age as Rylan!

We were there about 2 1/2 hours and the boys had a blast!



Rylan spent most of the last hour playing with this. I think he would have played with it all day.

It rained all day but we've spent most of the week outside doing stuff like this (when we weren't at the zoo!) ...


When I picked up Carter today, he was excited to show me the painting that he and Sophie did together (everyone else did their own). He painted the orange and she did the yellow. Sophie was nice enough to let Carter bring it home.


They did lots of art today (probably because it was too wet to go outside) ...



Carter had fun at his second speech session on Monday. They worked on final d sounds (and how they are different than final t). We got lots of stuff to take home so that Carter could practice!


When looking at a picture, he says the words that end in d or t correctly. But then when I ask him if that word ended with the d or t sound, he ALWAYS says the wrong one. I'm working on figuring out a different approach.

The special education teacher has been visiting Carter's class on Thursdays. She always leaves a note in Carter's bag. It sounds like it's going well because she wrote, "Great Effort! Hard Worker! Wow!".

Zoo x3

We went to the zoo with Brian on Sunday. Then Rylan and I went yesterday with our new friends Kelly and Charlie (who is only one month younger than Rylan). And then we went again today with Missy, Heather, and Jen and their boys. We've had awesome weather the last 2 days and can't help but be outside as much as possible.

When we first got to the zoo, Carter kept standing on all the large rocks and asking me to take his picture ...


After playing on the Jungle Gym for awhile, the boys took a banana break.


Carter decided that his alligator was hungry ...


And Rylan had to copy him ...


Baby Luke (as Carter calls him) is getting so big! He's crawling everywhere and pulling up on things.


Carter wanted me to take his picture some more and got Will to join him ...



These guys really are great friends.

So my back is starting to feel better. It's spasming some now because I'm tired, but I'm finally able to lift the boys without feeling like I'm going to drop them because it hurts so much. It's still going to be a few days until I can go running, but at least it's improving!

Dangerous Stairs

When we built our house, we upgraded to hardwood steps. We've always had carpet before but had always wanted hardwood. When Carter is wearing his socks or footed pajamas, I always remind him to go slow and hold on when he's going downstairs so he doesn't slip. Too bad I didn't take the same advice!

Yesterday afternoon I was carrying Carter downstairs after his nap. I had him on my left hip (the same side as the railing). I was wearing socks and somehow, on the last step, my heal slipped off. I fell on my back hitting the front edges of the bottom two steps. Because I was holding Carter, I wasn't able to catch myself at all. I really thought I broke my back for a few minutes. It's gotten better but I'm still in a lot of pain and have a lot of trouble picking up the boys to put them in their carseats or in bed. Sleeping was extremely uncomfortable but I managed to sleep some last night. Unfortunately this is going to make training for the marathon pretty hard! Hopefully things will improve soon!