Lately...

I am actually still alive over here!  We got really busy running around doing fun summer stuff and then suddenly, Brent started a shutdown and is currently working 7 12 hour shifts a week for a month or so.  My favorite.  Thank goodness for help from family or we wouldn't be able to get by.  

I have had to bring down my expectations for our weeknight dinners from a good, healthy home-cooked meal every night to whatever is the fastest and easiest.  PB&J's, lunch meat, and lots of fruit all around! ;)  Also, all of the summer plans I had have pretty much went out the window because I am not about to drag my kids on a trip to the zoo (2-3 hours one way) on my own or take them to a busy water park at these ages entirely by myself! 

We have pushed back bedtime just a bit lately to accommodate Brent a little bit of time with them at night.  It's usually only about 15 to 30 minutes, but it's better than nothing I guess!  We are all on the countdown to our beach vacation next month.  Having their daddy back is going to make it all the more special.

Anyways, to pass the time while daddy is away, we have been making lots of trips to the grandparent's houses, swimming, and playing out in the yard.  The water/sand table and the kid's Rzr have been great investments...along with the swingset.  

Going to do a quick little update on both kids real quick, starting with Carter man.  Not a lot new going on with him.  He is obviously picking up on new things everyday, learning-wise.  Brent and I sat down with his babysitter this past week and we were all very proud of where he is right now.   He has finally gotten over the hump of the roughest part of the three's and has become mostly enjoyable to be around.  When he gets really tired or hungry, that stuff starts coming back out, but he is getting easier and easier to reason with unless he is just too far gone.  

He still loves to be outside and doesn't seem to be bothered that it is practically 100 degrees and humid as can be!  He can play and play for hours out there, especially if there is a mud puddle involved.  He has also amazed me this summer at the pool.  We now just put on the puddle jumper and he is off to do as he pleases.  He doesn't even need me to get in with him at all anymore!  He is still scared to jump in or slide, but I have a feeling that he will have that down by the end of summer.  And if not, who cares!? 

He knows most of the words to several country songs that play regularly.  He loves 'Somewhere on a Beach' and still 'Buy me a Boat'.  He still loves for me to read to him before bed...I don't see that changing anytime soon!  Now if I can just get him to change it up a bit.  I feel like we read the same books over and over several days in a row before we get to go on to some different ones.  Oh, and speaking of bed, he has all but dropped his nap.  He still takes one about 50% of the time at the babysitter's and occasionally at home if he needs it and I force it, but typically I just let him "play quietly" in his room while Landry naps.  It seems to make him fall asleep so much faster at night and be ready for bed early like his sister.  Plus, he and I get a little bit of much-needed alone time!

And now on to my sweet little miss Landry Kate, who will be 18 months old this week!  The summer has been so good to her hair...turning it more and more blond by the day.  I just love her little ponytails!! :)  I'm finding that she is just as dirty and adventurous as her brother, so all of the cute little dresses and monogrammed things I am buying her rarely get worn because I know that the first chance she gets to ruin them, she will!  

She has quite the vocabulary when she wants to name animals in a book or something, but when she needs something, the words she knows go completely out the window and she grunts and points and cries.  So that's fun!  She definitely has the head nodding and shaking down, though, so as long as you can ask her yes/no questions you can usually figure out what the problem is.  She has such a sweet and loving personality, but when she gets angry, she is ANGRY and DO NOT MESS WITH HER!  She can fend for herself around bigger kids, no doubt.  She has started with some hair pulling and hitting when I get on to her, so we definitely have our work cut out for us.  Please don't let the terrible two's come early....we just finished all that with Carter so we could use just a little break! :)

She loves to eat any kind of fruit she is served, so don't let her see it sitting around or she will have to have it!  Kind of like the fake bowl of apples my mom has in her dining room that she would not stop whining for when she noticed them (right in the middle of supper when she had a full plate of food in front of her!). Really, there isn't much she won't eat...besides the cereal part of Lucky Charms.  She will pick every last marshmallow out to eat and leave the rest to eat only if it is her only option.   

She is still a big momma's girl and is super shy when around new people.  It takes her quite a while to warm up to new people.  She has no stranger danger with animals, though.  They are her absolute favorite thing right now.  She can look at a picture book of different animals for forever and be perfectly content!  She loves to be outside, especially swinging and sliding, but she gets really hot pretty easily and her cheeks will be red and you can tell she just needs to go inside.  She loves to be read to...I love how she will hand me a book, then turn around and back up so she can sit in my lap while we read!   She also loves shoes (a true girl!) and pulling every last item out of my purse or the diaper bag.  She still loves babies, especially real ones, but of course has no idea how to be careful around one, so that's fun!  

A little glimpse into our summer so far via my iPhone...I haven't pulled out my new, big-girl camera lately.  But these are still fun pictures that I don't want to die with my phone!  

I obviously haven't been doing good at updates on here, and not even on Instagram like I used to, but there's almost always something fun to share on snapchat!  My username is whitnsmith if you want to follow along with our summer fun (or bored selfies with the fun filters!) ;)