Top 10 Patience Testers

I was talking with my friend Angie the other day and sharing with her how I have really been struggling with patience lately. Ella Beth especially seems to push all of my buttons, and Landon has moments when he can push them, too. (Usually, he pushes the same buttons Ella Beth is pushing because he is "watching and learning" everything she does.)

Drum roll, please:

Top Ten Patience Testers

10. Ella Beth refusing to nap about 50% of the time now. I almost always need a break during the day, and I have relied on nap-time for this said break. When she won't nap (or won't just play quietly or read in her room)...Mama is at the end of her rope!

9. Landon and Ella Beth fighting over a toy or book in the backseat of the car. (Of course, neither wanted THAT toy until the other decided s/he did.)

8. Ella Beth refusing to "mind me" when I ask to do something (e.g. please put your jammies on, please put your shoes on, please STOP HITTING YOUR BROTHER...oh, sorry...my patience was waning.)

7. It never fails that when we are out to eat and I have [finally] started eating, Ella Beth needs to potty. I can't think of the last time I've eaten a hot meal at a restaurant. (Can anyone tell me why she NEVER needs to potty during breakfast/lunch/dinner at HOME???)

6. The noise level of having two very young children. If one makes a funny noise, the other copies even louder. Then the first one, not going to be out-done, responds even louder. Not to be under-done by the second...I can't even scream loud enough to get their attention. (Not that I've tried. Of course. Ahem.)

5. Ella Beth's sassy three-year-old attitude. Hands on her hips. Testing her limits in action and in word.

4. Landon not using his words. The boy can talk, but the boy likes to point and "uh, uh, uh." Oh My Word. Just tell me what you want b/c when I don't understand "uh, uh, uh" and don't do the right thing...I seriously have little patience to want to figure out what "uh, uh, uh" means after the FIFTH try!

3. The "I want Daddy" when I don't get my way from Mama. Give me a break!

2. The messes everywhere. I vacuum; they eat. I pick up toys; they drag everything out. I vacuum; they eat. I fold and put away laundry; Ella Beth goes through her entire wardrobe and leaves it on the bedroom floor. I vacuum; they eat.

1. They fight constantly. It just won't stop. Ella Beth takes something away from Landon; Landon screams. Ella Beth lays down to read a book; Landon tackles her and Ella Beth screams. Landon is playing on Ella Beth's bed; she pushes him off; Landon pulls her hair; lots of screaming. Landon says, "Uh oh" three times in a row; Ella Beth yells, "stop saying Uh oh!"; Landon says, "Uh oh."

(#1 is really never-ending. I do see how they love each other, and they can play well together when [Ella Beth] wants to. However, our current stage is play well together seldomly and fight OFTEN.)

Whew...I can feel my blood pressure rising just proofing this post!

My kiddos, they are a growin'

It's official :: My kiddos are growing! Of course, they are growing at their own rate...but they are growing nonetheless. :)

We took Ella Beth and Landon today for their 3 year and 18 month appointments. The kiddos did great, and we heard nothing but positive things about them and their health! This is a FIRST for us, and we went out for ice cream afterward to celebrate!!!

 

Ella Beth weighed in at 26 lbs even, and is 35 3/4 inches. "Touching" the chart for weight, and 8th percentile for height!!! She's touching the chart! Her little dot actually bumps up against the chart. We are so proud. :)

 

Landon weighed in at 21 lbs, 9 oz; he is 32 inches. He, too, is "touching" the chart! His little dot came up a lot since his 1 year appointment -- it's definitely from all that bread that the boy eats! He is somewhere between the 25-50 percentile for height. Mommy is thankful to hear that, and continues to pray that he will get height from the Castleberry side of the family. :)

It really was such a blessing to take both of our kiddos to the doctor for Well Visits. Together. We are so thankful that Ella Beth and Landon are doing well and are thriving. After such a scary start to this year, we can truly appreciate having our family healthy.

I sure do love these two!

Are they twins?

I can not tell you how many times in the last two weeks that I have been asked if Ella Beth and Landon are twins. In this picture, you can clearly see that Ella Beth is taller than Landon...but not by much any more. When our kids are in the stroller (as in today when I was asked 3 times while we were at the outlets) or last week when our kids were riding in the kart behind my bike, it is very hard to tell that they are not the same size.

Pretty soon, it's going to be impossible for us to convince people that they aren't twins because little Landon is catching up quickly to his "big" sister.

Love this picture in color, too. :)

Fun in the sun

Can I start off by saying that I really wish I was still on vacation?!?! Ella Beth does, too. When we were packing up to leave HHI yesterday, she started to cry and said, "I don't want to leave. I want to stay on vacation forever." Don't we all. ;)

We had an absolutely wonderful week. Scott's parents and my mom went with us...and let me just say that I don't foresee us doing any long vacationing without the grandparents in tow! It was a lot of work (back and forth to the beach...with all that STUFF), and it was an added blessing to have extra hands. Not to mention that Ella Beth and Landon love their Mimi, Nana, and Papa; they had lots of love showered on them non-stop for a full week.

Without any further ado, here are some (read: lots) of pictures. :)

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Our rides to the beach. Our condo was right off the beach, but with four little legs and tons of stuff to bring down, two bikes and two karts made our hike to the beach much easier.

 

Landon's favorite beach activity was playing with his bucket and shovel. He would carry them everywhere, dig, pour water, you name it!

 

The boy also loves bubbles!

 

Mama loves the boy's backside. (Yes, his shorts kept falling down...so we just rolled them, tag and all!)

 

Ella Beth and Landon playing together. Nicely. Made my day.

Love these shots

 

 

We found a few starfish; Ella Beth wasn't too sure about them, but Landon was fascinated.

 

Mommy got in a couple of photos.

 

 

Scott and Landon feeding the birds. Love how they are doing the same thing!

 

Ella Beth in her polka-dot bathing suit and ponytail.

 

 

Landon running to keep up. Don't forget your bucket!

 

We participated in a turtle race at the condo one afternoon. Both kiddos had a blast!

 

 

 

One (pretty) nice family shot.

 

And, my favorites from the week.

 

Now that may seem like too many a lot of pictures for one post, but I assure you that this is just a tiny sampling of the hundreds of photos that were taken. 

We are already talking about and looking forward to next year's vacation!

HHI bound

We are outta here! Hilton Head Island, SC - here we come!

 

This will be our home for the next 7 days. 3 swimming pools, the beach and ocean in our back yard, and all the fresh seafood we can eat.

See y'all when we get back!

Heaven help me!

I knew to expect sibling rivalry. I knew to expect it.

What I didn't know, was how annoying it was going to be. Geesh!

Yesterday, I was beyond exhausted; beyond feeling as if I had even a single moment of being a good mom. I can still hear myself chanting over, and over, and over...

"Don't push your brother."

"Don't pull her hair."

"No pinching."

"Don't yell at him."

"Don't hit your sister."

"No jumping off the bed."

"No pulling  your brother off the bed."

"Do not take things from him."

"Share."

OH MY WORD! I am sure the day started off with me using my manners and injecting a "please" in there. However, an hour into my day...and all manners were spent. Heaven help me if this is how my life is going to be. 

You see, I'm an only child. I understand nothing of sibling rivalry. I can specifically remember being at friends' houses and being completely shocked by how my friends fought with their brothers and sisters. Now, I am watching those horror scenes in my own house. AND MY KIDS ARE ONLY 3 AND 1.5!!!!!!!!

Seriously? Someone tell me there is a cure, and that you know what it is! Will this last forever?

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I know no post is complete without pictures. No, I don't have shots of my kids fighting; I am trying not to document this stage so that later I can pretend it never happened.

Believe me, BOTH of my kiddos are naughtier than they appear!

 Ella Beth swinging with Scott on my birthday swing.

 

Landon in his cute john johns by Lindsey with Sugar Britches Kids. (The same girl who made Ella Beth's b-day dress.)

 

Landon is getting to be such a big boy. (You know, big enough to fight with his sister.) I still want to snuggle with him like I did when he was 5 weeks old. He will always be my baby.

Urgent prayer requests

Hi, y'all. I have three prayer requests that I would like to share with you.

1) My sweet friend Ashly Tucker is scheduled for her induction on Wednesday. She goes to the doctor on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. for an amnio, and if everything looks good...she and her husband Denny will travel to the hospital that evening to start the induction. 

Please pray that the Lord will keep His hand on this precious baby (they don't know what they are having!). Please also pray for peace for Ashly and Denny as the time for Baby T's arrival is now only days away.

Ashly's story can be found here: http://www.onceuponatucker.blogspot.com/

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2) A co-worker, Bryan Apinis, and his wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on August 2. Samuel was diagnosed with a severe heart defect at their 20-week ultra sound.

Samuel has already had 2 surgeries...and he's just 13 days old.

You can keep up with them here: http://apinisfamily.blogspot.com/

They are posting regularly about what's going on, what the doctors are saying, and asking for specific prayer requests. I know most of you probably don't know Bryan, but I hope that won't keep you from praying for him, his wife Katheryn, their two older sons Joel and Caleb, and for their precious Samuel.

Their blog is new, so I encourage you to start from the "oldest post" to get updated with the situation. And, you'll see lots of pictures if you start from there anyway!!!

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3) My friend Christina is pregnant with her 3rd sweet boy, Luke. During an ultra sound around 26 weeks, the doctors found that baby Luke was not growing properly. She has been in for appointments, check-ups, and ultra sounds each week to monitor Luke's progress.

Unexplainable to medical science, Luke has been progressing much better than they ever hoped! I have no doubt that it is from the many prayers being lifted up for Christina and sweet Luke.

The doctors are still talking about Luke being born prematurely, but I ask you to pray that Luke will stay in his mommy's tummy as long as he needs to thrive.

You can follow Christina's story here: http://www.mycanvas.typepad.com/

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On a side note...A - for Ashly, B - for Bryan, C - for Christina. Maybe that will stick in your minds so that you won't forget to pray! A-B-C! :)