Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Fun in March

I'm backing up a bit in an effort to keep pictures in chronological order. So, here's what we did in March!
Grammy and Pop-pop came for a visit, and we checked out a park in Salisbury (Dan Nicholas park) with a train. Gunnar was SO excited to ride the choo-choo.
From Spring 2011

He was completely mesmerized. This was his expression for most of the ride.
From Spring 2011

They also had a wildlife exhibit and a huge playground that we got to check out.
From Spring 2011

From Spring 2011

From Spring 2011

From Spring 2011

From Spring 2011

Friday, April 8, 2011

"Hey Mom! Watch this!"

Erik's been traveling a lot lately, which has left me with some busy and eventful nights keeping up with the boys. Fortunately, moving Levi on to table foods this week has come with a bigtime bonus - he's FINALLY sleeping through the night! Four nights in a row so far... knock on wood! But getting everyone to bed at night has become something out of a sitcom lately. Last night, after I had given the boys their baths, I put Levi in the Johnny-Jump-Up (the bouncy chair that hangs from the doorframe) while I put Gunnar in his PJ's. Then I walked out of the room for a minute to collect some books. When I came back in, Gunnar announced, "Hey Mom! Watch this!" Just as I looked around the corner, I saw Levi slingshotting towards me from across the bathroom, banging into the walls and doors, as both boys erupted in laughter. So just how many trips to Lowe's and the ER will it take to raise 2 boys? I think I'm going to be finding out soon enough!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Updates and quotes

Levi has been thriving since receiving his ear tubes. He still got one ear infection recently, but it didn't seem to bother him, and we didn't have to deal with antibiotics this time (just ear drops)! He's even been teasing us with a couple of solid nights lately, which is a big change from the 12:30am and 3:30am feedings I've become so used to. Hopefully I didn't just curse myself. Daytime eating still keeps us guessing, as he almost always refuses his bottles at school. On average, he drinks about 2-3 ounces of milk at school each day. But fortunately he LOVES his food and is doing pretty well at eating soft finger foods. His favorites are the baby puffs and peas. Here are some of his new tricks of late:
- crawling on all 4's (and he has become super speedy with his GI Joe crawl)
- standing for a few seconds without holding on to anything
- giving kisses
- waving bye-bye (especially when reading Pat the Bunny)
- playing Pattycake on demand
- blubbering his lips
Levi's favorite thing to do is play with his brother, which includes chasing him around and stealing his toys. He lights up when Gunnar gives him kisses or just simply smiles at him.

Gunnar has been transforming from a toddler to a little boy way too quickly. He's been doing great with his potty training, and we are all excited that he is consistently "pumping out his snakes" into the potty. He stills loves playing outside, which is evident by the pockets full of mulch that he brings home everyday from school. He's become an expert at pedaling his tricycle, is getting the hang of riding his scooter, and is showing signs of gliding around on his Scoot bike soon. Trains, cement mixers, and bulldozers are still some of his favorite things. He's definitely showing his Lindhjem genes, threatening to eat us out of house and home, but I'm certainly not going to complain about that since he is one of the least picky kids I've ever met. Gunnar constantly cracks us up with his imagination and view of the world. Here are a few of his recent quotable quotes:

After pooping on the potty, with a huge grin on his face... "Mommy, are you so proud of me?"

After spending the day planting a garden, Erik asked Gunnar if he's going to become a horitculturist. Gunnar replied, "No, I'm Gunnar."

Mommy: "Gunnar, please don't throw your shoes like that. What are you supposed to do with them?"
Gunnar: "I'm sorry shoes."

While at a St. Patrick's Day festival, I had to explain to Gunnar that he wasn't a big enough boy yet to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl. Later that week, I told him that he did a great job putting on his shoes by himself and that he was a big boy. His response... "I'm a big boy now. I can ride the spinny thing."

Friday, March 4, 2011

Milestones: ear tubes and potty time

Levi got ear tubes this morning. Hooray! We went to the doctor Tuesday and had him diagnosed with 2 ear infections - his 4th round of infections (and antibiotics)!!! So we went for the ENT consult yesterday and quickly decided that ear tubes were going to make Levi's life a happier place to be (and hopefully a more restful life for Mom and Dad). Our options were to wait a month for the surgery... or slide into an opening this morning. All went well - the surgery lasted less than 10 minutes! - and Dr. D said that he gots lots of gunk out from behind Levi's eardrums. So now Levi can actually hear us better (lucky him!). Here are a couple of photos from when we were waiting for the doctor...
From Levi's ear tubes

From Levi's ear tubes

And a picture from Starbucks after...
From Levi's ear tubes

What a trooper!!

On another happy note, I arrived at school yesterday to pick up Gunnar and read on his report that he had pooped in the potty that day. Yes, he has done this before, but he has been on a boycott for the past couple of months, choosing to exercise his toddler powers and refuse to comply with our repeated requests to use the potty for pooping. So I asked him if he pooped that day. His eyes lit up with excitement, and he declared, "I pooped on the potty!" I cheered with delight, and then he proceeded to pump his arm back and forth and scream, "I pumped it out!" Way to go, buddy! Have we really made a break-through??? Stay tuned!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Family Togetherness

Gunnar saw me nursing Levi the other night and wanted his cuddle time with Mommy too. I'm not sure who fell asleep first, but right before Erik took this picture, I was sound asleep myself.
From February 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Primrose Family Dance-off!!

It's time to vote! We have entered the Primrose Dance-off competition this year as we fight against childhood obesity and try to win lots of money for our local children's hospital. (The winning family gets a cash prize too - and yes, that would go straight to the college funds!) Please visit this website to view Gunnar and Levi's adorable music video debut and vote!! You may vote 5 times EVERY DAY!!
http://danceoff.primroseschools.com/Gallery/Individual?videoId=20002411

Friday, February 11, 2011

Gunnar-isms

G: Mommy, can we go to the lemonade store?
M: Where?
G: The lemonade store… see the elephants.
M: Oh – you’re talking about the circus.
G: Yup. The circus.
I guess that $10 lemonade left a big impression on him!

M: Gunnar, what did you do at school today?
G: I held my flag.
M: What did you do with the flag?
G: I fledge allegiance to my flag.

M: Gunnar, what are you doing? (as he twirls a washcloth around in his training potty)
G: I’m playing my cd player.
M: Go wash your hands, please.

Gunnar singing:
G: la la la…unintelligible…the dairy farm…hi ho…unintelligible…la la la
M: Are you singing “The Farmer in the Dell?”
G: Yes.
I still have no idea how I figured that one out.