Mountain Biking and a Trail Hike/Run

Thomas really wanted to go mountain biking again and Elin, William and I tried to weasel our way into the trip.  Thankfully the boys let us tag along and we got a good hike/run in as well.  It was fun to watch Thomas concentrate so hard to go over the bumps and down the hills.

Elin loved the trail running and did a great job keeping up with the boys when we went the same direction.  For a bit of their ride we headed the other direction, went to swing and then ran up and down a bridge…a lot.  It was a fun “fall” morning!

Thomas and Elin Go to the Dentist

Thomas had his second and Elin her first dentist appointments today.  We prepped them both by talking about the dentist and reading the Bernstein Bears go to the Dentist. 

Thomas was first up and readily hopped up into the chair for his x-rays.  After the first two the back ones “pinched a little” and then I could see his eyes start to well up a bit as he got increasingly nervous.  It was over in 2 more x-rays and he then hopped down and was excited to get his baseball pencil.

It was then time to get into the dentist’s chair for the exam and teeth cleaning and he was not ready politely saying “no thanks I’ll pass.”  Ha!  I asked if it was ok if Elin went first and then that is what happened.  After he saw that Elin got to watch a movie and wear fancy sunglasses without anything hurting her he was ready for his turn. 

Both kiddos had their teeth cleaned and polished and had a fluoride treatment.  Then it was time to talk to the dentist as Thomas has a “supernumerary tooth” or an extra tooth that she said will need to be surgically removed about 6 months after his bottom 2 teeth fall out.  So somewhere she guessed between 5 and 6, boo! In the picture you can see the two top teeth with the big flat bottoms and in the middle the extra tooth is pointed up  and is in the middle of the two.  Thomas is pretty excited about this and couldn’t wait to tell Dad the “good news that he had an extra tooth!”  Glad someone was excited!

He also had one little cavity that needs to be filled before it gets bigger.   Elin had a clean bill of health and no cavities.  She also suggested that because T had a cavity and Elin has deep grooves that we switch them to an adult toothpaste to help them fight the cavities a little more.  Good thing they loved our toothpaste and have been doing adult paste off and on the whole time. 

Both kiddos had a very positive experience at this dentist and I will say it was a lot different than the pediatric dentists of my day.  There were toys, video games, movies in the ceilings, tokens for a prize at the end and the goody bag of toothpaste and tooth brushes. 

Thomas is in his Big Boy Bed

Thomas is now in his own room sleeping and just like a real big kid, when he needs Mike or I he comes into our bedroom at night.  The transition when Thomas was ready to go to his own room was pretty seamless.  If you’ve been tagging along with us you will know that he has had his own big boy bed since 2….so it has been a long and slow transition.  We wanted to do it as he was ready and without him being afraid.  We made a reward chart let him pick out 3 motivating things to earn and went for it. 

He picked out a couple new rescue bot toys, a new rescue bot DVD and then a rescue bot station.  To earn the littler toys he had to sleep in his room 3 nights…that meant he just needed to fall asleep in his room.  He did it the first 2 nights and was pretty pumped that he was so close.  On the third night he wanted to fall asleep in our room, but then go in his after.  When he earned his 1st toy it seemed to seal the deal for him.  From then on he has slept in his own room excitedly.  Stell doesn’t mind sharing her bed and keeping watch either.  When Mike traveled he slept in our room a few nights but now (since I am writing this so late) he is totally in his room and we don’t ever have a Thomas in our bed.  Sometimes early in the morning we get a little big guy sneaking in to snuggle…not going to say either Mike or I mind that!

Another thing that has changed is that now most nights he goes to sleep with Daddy.  Here and there he will ask for me to snuggle with, but for the most part I help him get ready and then kiss him goodnight.  He then reads with Mike watches a few mountain bike videos and then goes to bed. 

Painting Bird Houses

Target dollar section had little bird houses that the kids picked out and wanted to paint.  We finally got around to it and they had a great time.  Thomas was very detailed and delicate in his painting.  It was one of the first times that he did not get paint all over his entire body! 

Elin on the other hand started off great and by the end was covered.  The bird house master pieces are now sitting on display in our dining room. 

Musical Beds

A tale of the musical beds in the Laschen house…

Ever since Elin started to sleep in her own bed, then Thomas followed and now it is a tale of the musical beds…sometimes in their room, sometimes in ours…

This was one of the last naps the kiddos took together at our house.  I don’t know how I knew it would be the once of the last naps, but something told me to savor it, snuggle in and when I crawled out I snapped this picture. I am sure that there will be naps together from now and then, but it won’t be like this ever again, where it was a consistent thing.  It is a transition for sure and so bittersweet as they are both growing, gaining their independence and spreading their wings.  I am also loving this time as it gives me some alone time with each kiddo.  Elin typically falls asleep very quickly for her nap and then I can go and read books to Thomas for his quiet time.  If Thomas then naps he usually doesn’t wake up until after Elin so I then get some alone snuggle and book time with her.   If everything lines up and they are both napping at the same time, then I can get some of my own time to get my work or cleaning done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a bunch of pictures I have snapped of my beautiful sleeping babes!  So far the trend continues, if they are napping they are almost always in their own rooms, E has had a couple “Daddy Room” naps, but mostly she chooses “Elin’s bedroom.”  Thomas has even started to fall asleep on his own in his bedroom as I am laying with Elin to get her to sleep.  If he doesn’t fall asleep then I crawl in and read books then he will snuggle away and fall asleep too.  If it is a no nap day he has some quiet alone time with books and then we are able to do an activity or play together until Elin wakes up. 

Thomas’ “NEW” Big Boy Room and Sleeping in his Bed Again

Thomas has been very into dressing himself lately.  He no longer wants us to pick out his clothes, or clotheses as he calls them, and often times we would find him in long sleeve shirts on 80+ degree days and didn’t know what was up.  When I asked him and watched I realized that this was the only shirts he could independently take down off the tops shelf in his closet.  So we asked if he would like to have as second bar to be more Thomas height and he happily agreed.  On Mother’s day we worked on cleaning out his closet and Mike built him the lower bar.  Thomas was so excited and very proud of his new closet and independence. 

Later that week while Mike was away and during one of Elin’s afternoon naps, Thomas and I went crazy on his room.  We moved around a few of his toys and the biggest change was we moved his bed.  I thought if we moved it and made his bed it might help him get excited about his room again.  Up until this point he has liked his room, but told us it was “too dangerous” to even consider sleeping in there.  We talked a lot about how exciting it was going to be to surprise Daddy when he got home and how cool this new arrangement was.  We also talked about sleeping in there and how just because he sleeps in there doesn’t mean he can’t ever sleep in our room again.  We also talked about how Elin sleeps in both her and our room still and that we are just a room away.  That night low and behold he went to sleep in his room with Daddy.  He woke up about 2:30 screaming for us and Mike said he hasn’t seen this pregnant Mama move so quick in a long time. 

The next morning he was a little upset about the fact that we had “left him in there” once he fell asleep.  I was a little skeptical about if we could get him back in there, but I thought napping in there was our best shot.  So that afternoon after Elin fell asleep I snuggled up next to him in his bed and he fell asleep.  That night with the promise that Mike and I would take him to bed with us when we went to bed he again fell asleep in his room.  This is such a huge step for our big guy and Mike and I couldn’t be more proud of him! 

Pat and Lara’s Wedding in Kansas City

We headed to Kansas City on Thursday to celebrate Mike’s brother Pat and his fiancé Lara’s wedding.  The road trip up was fantastic and took us a little over 9 hours with a few potty stops, and a stop for lunch and playing at the park.  We left after loading up in the morning and drove until lunchtime with the kiddos watching their movies, coloring and reading books.  After grabbing lunch we pulled up at this amazing park and played for a bit before heading out again.  Then both of the kiddos napped and Mike and I got some “date time” in.  He worked on his best man speech and we enjoyed the scenery and conversation.  The kiddos ended up sleeping until we were about 30 minutes out from the hotel so we made the final push.  It was again a great travel day.   Once at the hotel we grabbed dinner and then Thomas started complaining about not feeling well…boo!  After a little recharge we met a few people and Mike’s family in the hotel lobby/bar area.  After a bit of mingling we headed back up to the room to get the kiddos to sleep and all was well until it wasn't and T was up throwing up in the middle of the night.  When your tummy isn’t feeling the best and you haven’t had much to eat…pounding Shirley Temples and maraschino cherries might make anyone hurl!  Thankfully for him it was quick and once everything was out he was able to go back to sleep and never had any further episodes.

On Friday morning Thomas was up and eating so after some morning time at the hotel we got out and went to explore Union Station.  The entire building is a must see if your in KC.  The architecture and building were absolutely breathtaking.  The building housed many things to do/see, restaurants, and connecting tunnels to other buildings in the downtown area.  We decided to explore Science City before meeting Mike’s parents and Grandparents for lunch.  We had a great time exploring the science area and the kiddos were able to burn off some energy.  Then it was naptime and getting ready for rehearsal and Groom’s dinner.

The boys headed over to practice their roles in the wedding, while Elin was still asleep.  Thankfully our shy guy really enjoys being a “big helper” and a “big brother” and did great walking down the isle after a little coaching from Daddy.  Phew, Mike and I had talked about the possibility of his nerves getting him, but knew if we could get him in a good place he would be successful, after his practice success, we were fairly certain the wedding day would work out too…

After rehearsal we got ourselves ready and then it was time to head to the dinner portion of the night.  It was held at a brewery where we had some very yummy BBQ and were able to kick off the wedding weekend.  That night we lugged the kiddos to a bar so we could continue hanging out with the family and also meet up with some of our Denver friends who had come in for the wedding.  The kiddos both fell asleep while we were there and after about an hour we headed back to the hotel for bedtime.  Our kiddos were troopers and we were so thankful that they could hang so we could still be out and about enjoying a little “adult” time. 

Saturday morning came early and we were again back at it.  We thought the kiddos would need to burn some energy so we went to Union Station again to see some more things, but we were wrong, they were exhausted.  For lunch Thomas and Mike joined Pat and the other groomsmen for a pre wedding lunch while Elin and I met a friend and then met up for naps.  By the time I got to the hotel, Thomas was already sound asleep and Elin was close behind.  Mike was ready and off to help get Pat ready and take the wedding pictures and while the kiddos slept I relaxed and then got myself ready.  They both got great naps in and woke up with just enough time to get them ready and get us out the door in time for family pictures.  The wedding went off without a hitch and Thomas did a great job walking down the isle.   His mama did everything in her power to resist the urge to take her own pictures and instead waited on the professional photographers pictures which you can see here.  After the ceremony he also ran back to escort his flower girl back down the isle and Elin did a pretty good job of staying quiet during the ceremony too.  Then it was time for mingling and the cocktail hour.  Thomas and Elin were both hungry and ready for their much awaited “fizzy drinks.”   After dinner and the speeches it was time for the dance and the kiddos were ready to rock and roll.   After lots of “fizzy drinks,” dancing and catching up with family and friends the kiddos crashed and Mike and I rested our feet before heading back to the hotel. On Sunday morning after some rest we had breakfast with the family and then loaded up and were on the road home again.  We planned to do things about the same and stop in Tulsa (1/2 way) for a late lunch/play date but we were rained out.  We stopped for lunch and got some wiggles out and then continued on the road.  The kiddos were both exhausted so this worked and they slept, watched movies, and chilled until our dinner stop and more in the car wiggles to get out.  Rain on a road trip is a real bummer.  It was another road trip without any hiccups…so wonderful and glad that the kiddos are are flexible with travel as they are.   What a great wedding weekend with the Laschen family and congratulations again to Pat and Lara!