Potty, Potty, Potty!

Landon turned 3 on March 29th. THREE!

I had high hopes of potty training much earlier however he had NO interest. He still had no interest going into his very first Spring Break from daycare but I took the opportunity to implement what I'd like to call Potty Training Bootcamp. 

Nothing glamorous about it. Underwear.All.Week. 

I was off for most of the week with the exception of two days for a few hours so starting on Mon April 1st we went straight to underwear. I'd tried this before but never for more than over a weekend.

• Day 1: LOTS of accidents. Nothing in potty.
• Day 2: One morning accident. Nothing in potty. I think he held it after the first accident until he napped cause he woke up wet. Then he held it again from then until he took a bath.
• Day 3: One pee accident right after breakfast. He sat on the potty before nap for literally 35 min watching Netflix on my phone and nothing. I even gave him more liquids this day. I even ran to the grocery store and totally forgot that he was in underwear... he held it! Thank goodness!
• Day 4: He spent the night at my mom's and wouldn't go all day. 
• Day 5: I woke up SO.FREAKING.SICK. - we laid in bed all morning watching movies. Mid-morning I finally put him in a pair of underwear and what does the little stinker do? Of course he pee's in my bed as we're watching TV. So I strip him and let him play naked while I stripped the bed. Next thing I know his little potty in the bathroom is singing away?! 

What?!??! Then I hear him. "Momma, I peed!"

How that little child had anymore pee in him after wetting my bed is beyond me but OMG - we just had our first pee on the potty!!! After that we had SIX more pee's on the potty that night.

Saturday and Sunday were equally as well - with peeing anyway?! We even went out to dinner on Sunday and he went in a PUBLIC potty! It's a start and I'll take it! I think we are finally on our way to being potty trained! 

Yay!!!

Here We Go Again...

Literally...

We are so excited to announce that our little family of 3 is on it's way to 4! Landon is getting SO big! We just celebrated his 3rd birthday party this last weekend and announced to our family that come fall of this year (Halloween is actually my due date!) he will be a big brother! 

I'm REALLY nervous about posting this... I announced with Landon at something like 6 weeks?! If I knew then what I know now. Sheesh. But we're almost 10 weeks and I've seen that little heart beat plugging along at 150 beats per minute so I hope all continues to go well. My next ultrasound (our NT scan) is April 19th and I'll have my next appointment with our new midwife Dr. J the week after that.

I've (yet again) been a bad blogger but I got really into updating while I was pregnant with Landon so I hope I can get back into updating again. How many times have I said that? 

Anyway. Stay tuned for pregnancy updates, Landon updates, meal plans and hopefully updates on building our forever home! Here's a little sneak peek into that:

Stay tuned!!!

I Will Always Remember...

Wow... what a struggle bedtime has become.

I know it's mostly because Landon doesn't have his own room right now. If I haven't mentioned it, we all share a room. 
He is still in his crib but can easily climb right out so most nights we don't really care where he starts off as long as he falls asleep. Then when I go to bed I move him to his crib if he isn't already there. 

We do the same routine every.single.night. 

But without a doubt the struggle begins after we've bathed. After we've had some milk and gotten into jammies. After we've brushed his teeth and read a story. We "tuck tuck" him in with his blanket (naney) and his George. And said goodnight. 

I barely make it downstairs before he's up and I hear his little feet running across the ceiling from below. 

**sigh**

So up I go, then down, and up... then back down. Then I wait at the top of the stairs. Nothing will keep this kid in bed. 

He goes in his bed, he jumps down. I put him in our bed, he jumps down. I threaten, he laughs. I give him a choice... what's the point, he'll just get out anyway and pick the other thing. =/ It's SO frustrating. 

And don't even get me started if Adam wants to go to bed before Landon has settled on where he's going to lay down... go ahead and add another hour to the struggle since my hubs falls asleep in 2.2 seconds and acrobatics from Landon doesn't phase him once he's out. 

We need separate bedrooms. 

Eventually, he settles and then he's out. Bliss...

One of my tactics is laying with him - at least then I can remind him to lay down if he's getting antsy instead of repeatedly going up and down the stairs. I don't mind snuggling with him but I do like my "alone" time after he's in bed so sometimes I get frustrated if he continues the antics. 

Last night I got a little reminder that it's just a phase... it'll pass... and sometimes you'll never want to forget these times cause no matter how frustrating it is - he's growing up SO fast. 
We were laying there snuggling. I had my hand on his tummy and he was finally starting to zonk out. 
I kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "G'night Landon, I love you."

He whispers back, "I love you too momma."

And then he's asleep. Where did my little baby go??? I'm not sure but this little boy he's becoming melts my heart! 

And that's one thing I will always remember. 

heat wave and a picture splosion!

It was HOT today... we were in the pool all.freaking.day.

Seriously.

Anyway, Landon loves the pool. Landon loves being outside. That pretty much sums up his loves these days. :) 

Updates!

Wow... is it time to slow down yet? I feel like I've been going non-stop since the beginning of March. Oh wait, I have been?!


I haven't blogged about it yet but I went back to work part-time. I'm working at my dad's bar - not behind the counter or serving or anything like that but I'm working on the books. I'm loving it... honestly I didn't think I would but getting out of the house and learning something new has actually been really good for me. Landon as well! It helps that we found an awesome lady to babysit him! I'm finally getting the hang of things down at the bar - even though I still feel really clueless - and thing are actually starting to turn around down there though, I have no real explanation as to why?! Other than I'm actually depositing the money instead of it being pocketed somehow?! Just sayin'.


Right after I started working our ENTIRE family got sick. I mean everyone! Mom and dad, Adam and  Landon, myself, my sister?! Sick. Sucked...
It started as just a fun old head cold but then over the course of about three weeks migrated from your chest to your sinus' and then down to your throat with a nasty cough. In Landon and my mom's case it turned into a sinus infection because they were so congested. Landon's finally cleared up and then I appeared to get it again... for a total of about a month and a half. Landon seemed to get another cough but it never amounted to anything, thank goodness!


I spent a whole week planning Landon's 2nd birthday party and I thought I had everything planned out for it to go smoothly and OH Boy! was I wrong! There were about 10 kids under 5 years of age and that will never.... ever... go smoothly. Chaos describes it at best. Our main attraction was to be our banana split bar and I even forgot to get everything out! Cupcakes it was?! Oiy. 
Landon had fun regardless that he had no nap and was a bear. He got TONS of awesome gifts and slept fabulous that night :) 

He had his 24 month well "baby" checkup on Wednesday and little {big} man is 30lbs and 30 inches tall! So funny cause he is in the 25th percentile for his height but 75th percentile for his weight. I'm hoping that he's in the process of a growth spurt and he'll even out a little bit! :) She said he's perfectly normal in his speech which I was kind of concerned about since he's still speaking in single syllables. Also, his coordination and athleticism is off the charts! All good news! 
Let me tell you though the instant he turned two we've discovered the terrible two's!!! I think they are stemming from the fact that he was around a ton of older kids the last week from his party and company that we had staying with us that he's picking up on their habits or wants to do things that he can't communicate to me. But, it could also be teething or lord knows what?! Or... maybe he's just a two year old and it's all normal?! :)


After his party, mom ended up getting sick... again! What the hey! Luckily come Easter she was feeling much better and HOPEFULLY this sickness if gone from our household! We dyed eggs on Saturday night which was interesting :) Landon is still too young to know "gentle" but we got a few eggs without cracks so I guess that's a success!
Sunday morning he got to see his baskets which he LOVED! I filled his with Cars stuff and the Cars 2 movie {cause we've seen the original a bagillion times!} - Landon loved it!
Easter Sunday was so much fun! Adam made us an Easter breakfast before he headed out fishing and then Ash and I started the day with a few Mimosa's :) During Landon's nap Adam and I hid his eggs... so fun since last year he was too little to get it. Easter will always be special to us since that's the day that we got to bring him home from the hospital :) 
We had an awesome dinner and Landon played outside ALL.DAY! Literally. He did take a break though to notice a few eggs hidden and we coaxed him to find ALL of them! 

Wow... it's been a while so that was quite the update! I hope I remembered everything...  :)

Happy 2012!

The year of NO resolutions! Ok, maybe just one...

Over the last year, this blog has quickly become a meal plan blog. Oops. It's supposed to be about us and our no-so-newlywed adventures. SO my one resolution is to blog more about personal stuff instead of just having it be a place to document and follow through with my meal plans.

Yes, there will be meal plans but I'll try to update more about what's going on with us. :) Deal? Deal.

So a little update on us... we are nicely settled in over on the west side again... kind of. Back to our roots. We hoped that we could find a place of our own within a few months but are unfortunately not there yet. It's been 7 months. Fortunately, we have very generous parents who charge cheap rent :) So it's only a little sacrifice for us and hopefully not to cumbersome for my empty nester parents to now have a full nest again. Once we got over here we decided that we were going to save a little longer so that we can invest in a piece of property. We'll start by building a detached garage with a mother in law apartment in the back. I really like this floor plan...

Then we can slowly build our forever home. I haven't even looked at floorplans for that... it's just so far off. :(

Landon is now 21 month old {plus a few days!} I need to schedule his 24 month check up - I can't wait to see how big he's gotten. I swear he's getting taller and heavier every single day. I'm really excited for his second birthday party we are planning! Curious George theme... or "Dooooorge" as Landon refers to him as, complete with Adam agreeing to dress up as The Man with the yellow hat. I can't wait to see his face! Landon, not Adam. Haha.
Landon was SO much fun at Christmas this year - he was actually interested in his presents and had such a blast with all our family around! We really did get spoiled this year too and it was so great not to have to rush everywhere and be back in Spokane on the 27th.
Landon's vocabulary is finally picking up and he's learning new words every day. I was a little afraid he was behind on his speech but he's getting there. I just can't wait to fully understand what he's trying to say.
Next, we on to potty training... I'm not sure when I want to tackle that. He loves his potty... he tells me when he poops {after of course} so I think he's getting there but he has no interest in sitting on his potty with a bare butt. So I guess we'll see.

A little update on our furry family is pretty sad but we lost our poor Fosters on the 29th. He disappeared around noon and hasn't been seen since :( I feel horrible cause I let him out last so naturally I feel like it's my fault but he's a roamer and I let him out just like I would have any other day. I've got my eye on the Humane Society's website but I can't imagine someone would bring him all the way in from out here. And I also have signs that Adam will put up on this way to work tomorrow. We are bummed but he had a really good life and hopefully he's somewhere better. We think he was about 12... so maybe it was just his time?! Or maybe he found a new home in a nice new family?! I guess we'll never know unless he turns up but I'm not expecting it. I think poor Joey is depressed about it cause she's acting all funny - he was her buddy.
Before we realized Fosters was missing we tried to find a new home for our little Baby because we found a really nice family with a little girl who really wanted him but as it turns out I think he's our forever dog too. We got him back after two days because he nipped at the kids so I think they are going to find a puppy who can grow up with them instead of trying to introduce an older dog.
And then there were four :( The cat's still kickin...

Happy New Year everyone!

Discovery Village - Review?! or Rave?!

Today I took Landon to Discovery Village in Gig Harbor!

Despite the whopping $8.50 addmission fee {plus $2.11 apple juice because he saw some other kid with the apple shaped goodness} we had a pretty good time! We moved over here almost four months ago now and I'm just making it here despite people constantly telling me it was the place to take your toddler. Honestly, it's because I'm anti-social... mostly because other people's children really give me anxiety. No joke. But I owe it to Landon since we are so fortunate to stay home together.

Anyway.

This is the “sand and surf” zone… Landon spent a lot of time here. Think mildly wet sand. Messy. But that’s just the OCD in me – at least it’s not my house to clean up right? He loved it.

I didn't take very many pictures because there were so many other kids there that I didn't want to snap anyone else's kid in the background out of respect. But some other "zones" included:

The Pacific Northwest play area - think soft floor, soft climing toys, soft slide bridge, a boat, a car and big ol' soft climb through tree! Soft. No shoes allowed. Play area for all ages. My favorite area by far... Landon of course only spent like 10 minutes running around here.

The Market - a grocery store equipped with shopping carts and all, a flower shop, a pet store, a doctors office with dress up items, a train station, and even a little art station with crayons and markers. Landon kept trying to eat the crayons and markers. Ugh - or screaming when I tried to take them away.

The Geo Zone - Rocks, a little trickle of water. Landon LOVED this zone. He loves rocks. But there were no step stools like in the sand zone for him to be tall enough to really enjoy this one. And I could only hold him up for so long :)

They also have a full cafe and offer what looked like fun classes or activity/pre-school groups {for an additional fee!}.

One thing I do really want to highlight is the staff - oh.my.gah. were they nice. And oh so good with the little kiddies. Not only did they welcome us and give us a whole tour but they checked on us the entire time we were there and I just watched them constantly pick up after the kids so that all of the toys didn't look like they were thrown all over the place! {I kind of got a glimpse of what I must look like cleaning up after Landon all day?!!? Again... OCD.}
And also, the best staff member of the day {I wish I would have gotten her name} is the girl in the parking lot who was just coming on her shift as I was attempting failing to get Landon into his carseat as we were leaving. He was throwing the biggest tantrum I've ever heard {the kind where he straightens out like a board... yeah fun} and this girl came over to say hi and distract him... I'm thinking this must happen often. LOL.

My only gripe - which would probably be my gripe at any place of the sorts is the parents. Seriously. Watch your kids - interact with your kids. If you want to drop them off at daycare or the babysitter to go have a girls chat or an afternoon away then do so. This is not the place. Its fun interacting with other parents who are actually playing with their kids and helping them learn but the ones gossiping at the tables while your kid is grabbing toys from Landon's hands annoy the heck out of me.

::stepping off my soapbox:: :)

We'll definitely go back here again as Landon obviously had a blast although at $8.50 a pop when he's only good for a few hours before needing a nap or at the very least a stimulation break, the visits won't be all that often!

16 Months!

My little man is growing up waaaaay too fast!

Last week we had what should have been his 15 month check up but since we were preoccupied with the move it took me a bit to find a pediatrician that we liked. I settled on Harbor Pediatrics - they are wonderful for anyone looking for a new doctor.

Landon toddled all over the exam room while I filled out all the paperwork and chatted with the nurse. Little man is now 25 1/2 lbs and 31 1/2 inches! He's grown almost an inch already since we moved two months ago!
There are about 5 pediatricians in the practice and we saw Dr. Drummand - she's very nice and I think we'll like our visits with her. She went over Landon's development over the last 16 months and basically just got to know us and our family history. He's right on track for everything developmentally and she thinks he's doing just perfect. {We knew that though right???} :)

So in other news, I came home from my photography class tonight to find Landon still awake - which is really weird cause it's almost 9pm usually by the time I get home. Well, turns out, Adam laid him down like normal around 8pm but that little guy escaped from his crib!!! He made it all the way downstairs {safely thank goodness} before he was discovered. He apparently thought it was histerical?!
Great. I'm hoping it was a fluke... because I'm so not ready for a toddler bed yet!

Oh, he also put his shoes on all by himself today! Correct feet and everything! :)

My big boy!

Goodbye July?!

Where the heck did July go???
In one short week we'll be traveling over to Eastern Washington to watch two of our very best friends, Justin & Marah, get married and of course celebrate our own anniversary. And there went July!

We've been so busy though. It seems Adam is loving his new job over here {minus the drive of course - 80 miles per day?!}, he's taken up an old hobby of his - golfing! So he's been doing that once a week or so. Also, he's found a different sort of fishing love... I guess you can consider it fishing - for crabs?! :) So that's adding a little variety to our dinners!

As for me, I started my photography class early in the month and am enjoying that - I've learned a lot already! I've also been trying to have either lunch or drinks with my sister at least once a week. I've been horrible at planning meals this month but things should get back on track next week as we're headed out tonight for a "big" grocery trip. I've also found a new love - since my parents have a treadmill - running jogging :) I call it jogging because I can't seem to go any faster than 5mph lol. But I'm up to 3 miles - not consistently but I can reach that on most days. I haven't lost any weight but I'm feeling better and I guess that's all that matters right? {I just keep telling myself that.}

And then there's my little busy Landon... and by busy, I mean everywhere. Seriously. He's got his 15 month 16 month {oops} appt next week so we'll see just how much he's grown! And we get to meet his new pediatrician as well. He's got 6 teeth now - the last two popped in and we didn't even notice! I think they took literally like a couple of hours each, it's kind of crazy. He's still sleeping great. We desperately need to find a replacement "blankie" for his prescious green one that grandma got him. He threw it in the toilet the other day and about had a meltdown when I went to wash it - thank god it wasn't right before naptime! Which brought us to the toilet lock. What a PITA! for Adam and I... but, it's doing it's purpose for Landon's sake so we just have to deal. He's still only saying one word... Ball. And everything - I mean everything - is a ball. It's amazing though, he points at birds and planes and everything in the sky. He loves things that fly. He's still eating everything in sight too - and still hates oranges :)

Hopefully I've updated well enough - it seems to have been a while since I posted a real update on us. I'll do better {don't I always say that?}

I almost forgot! :) Here's a little love from our 4th of July! Hope everyone had a happy one!

Adam getting ready for the "big" show!

Our visitors for the weekend! Pepper & Chase :)

Break Time!

Hey all!

Moving day is almost upon us and I'm going to be taking a break from blogging and meal planning so I probably won't be updating much. Hopefully once we get settled I'll be able to pick back up with this because I really enjoy creating my meal plans - especially when I follow through and things turn out yummy!

One little announcement before I'm off for a while - I think I've finally decided what I want to do with myself {at least as a slightly profitable hobby?!} And if it works out to be more than that, well then that's wonderful. So far, I'm enjoying myself :)
Introducing... Katrina Schultz Photography!!! What do you think?? Obviously it's still in the working stages but I'm having so much fun! Anyway, along the way {mostly just so I can say I picked up my camera every day} I started a 365 Blog - a picture a day basically.

A little Landon update: We officially got tooth number 3 yesterday! I've been wondering when it would make an appearance because he's been quite the grumpster for a solid week now. We've also learned tempur tantrums, hitting and throwing. All fun things... did we skip one and go straight to the terrible two's??? Hrm...

Anyway, I'll leave you with a little Landon love :) Till next time!

During one of our happier moments of the week :)

Busy May!

Happy May Day everyone!

I thought maybe I'd give a little update on how our last month in Spokane is progressing :) We're definitely keeping ourselves busy!!!

This last weekend we spent the fishing opener at Fish Lake in Tonasket, WA with our good friends Justin & Marah. Let me preface this by saying I am the WORST.CAMPER.EVER. no joke. EVER. 
This trip actually set in stone that our first big purchase after getting settled again is going to be a trailer. I'm never tent camping again. EVER. 

We had a good time though. It was much needed that we get the heck out of town for a few days and relax. The first night we stayed in town at Marah's parents place and got to see all the plans for their wedding in July - cannot wait! :) Then we headed up to Fish Lake for the day to spend what was supposed to be the rest of the weekend camping... yeah, that was all hunky dory until about 9pm when all the belligerents came out to play :) Landon and I ended up sleeping in the car and vowed to leave in the morning. Oiy. All turned out ok though - only a few more minor hiccups and we make it home safe and sound today - overall, a good weekend :)

Ok... the rest of the month seems equally as busy and I'm so excited for it! Between packing I've scheduled every doctor's appointment known to man so that once we get across the state I won't have to look for new doctors right away. I'm really dreading that because I think I might be a little bit in love with Dr. C. At Landon's 12 month check up I asked her for any recommendations she might have over there but she didn't really have any so I guess I'm on my own.

So... annual exam, eye exam, and dentist appt (complete with cavity fill that I didn't take care of 6 months ago). Also, Landon had his 12 month check up so he's good until 18 months. Adam is also going the rounds because his ankle has been bothering him. X-rays to ensue tomorrow to make sure his screws are staying put and to see if they can't help him with the pain. He also got his eye exam and new glasses.

On Wednesday I start a four week photography course that I WILL make it to each week. I'm really excited. While I think this course is going to be very basic, it's going to be good for me. Essentially starting at the very bottom to make sure I'm grasping the concepts. It'll be a good refresher if anything and hopefully I'll come out of it with something learned. 

Next weekend (weather permitting) I will be snapping some pictures of Justin & Marah for their engagement pictures - we've been trying to do this for weeks now but it's really coming down to the wire as they are getting married on July 30th! 

On May 15th - also weather permitting I'm going to be snapping shots of another good friend Jessica and her fiance Jamie for their engagement pics! 

I'm so excited for all this experience and hopefully I'll capture something that makes both couples very pleased! 

Other things on my to-do list:

• Pay off bankruptcy
• Buy bridesmade dress for Marah's wedding
• Finalize loan modification with the devil Bank of America
• Continue the search for somewhere to live

What else? Oh yeah... PACKING. Cheers all!

Happy Easter!

The Schultz Family celebrated Easter today by cleaning out all the garbage in our garage, back yard, green house & shed (a whole truck full). We also mowed, raked and fertilized the lawn. Wohoo us!

Happy Easter everyone! :) 

Eh, it was a pretty busy day! Actually, all our days are pretty busy preparing for this move - it seems like I go from closet to closet and room to room just organizing and consolidating. I've made two trips to the Goodwill so far :) Anyway, here's a little Landon love to celebrate the day:

1 Year Checkup!

April 15th, Landon had his 1 year check up!

Little man... well, continues to be little! :) He's gained 2 pounds and 1 inch since his 9 month check up and Dr. C said - as he bounced around the exam room - that he's quite the curious little guy! We knew that. =/ 

Here's a little re-cap of the last year:

AGE	WEIGHT	HEIGHT	HEAD
Birth:	6lbs 14oz	18.5in	13.5in
9 Days:	7lbs 1oz	19.8in	13.8in
18 Days:	7lbs 7oz	20.5in	14in
1 Month 3 Weeks:	9lbs 4oz	22in
2 Months 2 Weeks		22in
4 Months 2 Weeks:	15lbs 1oz	25in	16.8in
5 Months 2 Weeks:	16lbs 8oz
6 Months 2 Weeks:	18lbs	27in	17.5in
9 Months 1 Week:	20lbs 1oz	28in	18in
11 Months	21lbs 5oz
11 Months 4 Weeks:	22lbs
1 Year:	22lbs 1oz	29in	18.3in

The only question I had for Dr. C was to see if you can over feed a 1 year old?! The kid eats... like NON-stop. Seriously. Last night, he ate more than I did at dinner?! Is that normal???? She said that as long as he's self feeding (like off his own tray, not from a jar or bottle) then he'll stop when he's done. Honestly, I haven't seen him stop yet?! He does the occasional hand over the edge to feed the dog, but then the next bite goes right in the mouth?! Crazy kid. But I guess we'll just continue on as we have been cause she said he's healthy and looks great!

He got 3 pricks in his thighs and one blood draw and we were done! Happy boy! Did you know though, when Dr. C was telling me about the Chicken Pox vaccine that we were about to get - after a child gets the vaccine, actual Chicken Pox can be passed through their dirty diapers for the next few days?!?! Good thing Adam and I have both had it! And also that Landon has a very very small chance of developing a very very mild case of it in the next week or so?! Ugh, the thought of that makes my skin itch... actually, it has been since she told me that. Yuck. I had the Chicken Pox twice... just FYI =/

And then I got to tell Dr. C that we were moving and this was probably the last time that we'll be in to see her ::insert sad face here:: I'm bummed! When you find a doctor that you love it's so hard to leave and even more dreadful to have to find someone new. 

Side note: I don't think I've mentioned moving before now... detailed blog post soon to come :) If you know me you probably know some details but eh, yeah, they're plentiful - the details that is.