Visit to the Falls

On Friday, Landon and I packed up for the day and headed to the Falls to see some friends. Our first stop was to see my friend Amy--we taught together and her sweet son, Ryan, was in my class when he was in kindergarten. I'm so glad that we were able to stop and visit with Amy--her mother is under the care of Hospice and is only expected to live a few more days. I hope that we were able to provide her with a little distraction from all the worry and sadness that she is going through. After leaving Amy's we picked my friend Cari up for lunch. Cari and I made our first communions together in second grade and have been friends ever since. Landon absolutely loves Cari and she is so wonderful with him. She is going to be a wonderful mother one day!! I always enjoy visits with Cari because she always has interesting stories to share and she is just a joy to be around. Landon was quite the entertainer during lunch--he used his crayon to pick up cheerios and then he would put them in his mouth!!Using his crayon to pick up his cheerio.

Putting the cheerio in his mouth and proudly looking at Cari. I think this picture is so cute--you can see how proud he is!! How did I get so lucky to be this little boys momma?!?!

After lunch Cari had to get back to work, so Landon and I went to visit my dear friend Mary Sue. I absolutely love Mary Sue!! She has a heart made of gold and is one of the sweetest people I know. She was my mentor my first year of teaching and if it weren't for her I probably wouldn't have made it through my first year. Landon got to play with her grandson, Carter, and then we went to pick Carter's brother, Dalton, from day camp. I wish we could have stayed longer, but Landon was getting grumpy from not getting a nap so we headed back home. It was a great day catching up with old friends!!

Sea World, Snake Farm, Schlitterbahn...oh my!!

We have spent the past few days visiting my parents in NB and we had a great time!! Landon got spoiled with love and attention--he loves his grandparents and aunts!! We took Landon to Sea World while we there, we went during spring break and he LOVED it, so we decided to go again...good choice--we had a great time!! We really wanted to feed the dolphins this time, so we did it first thing when we got there!!

Landon and Dad feeding the dolphins. Landon was in awe...so were mommy and daddy.

This sweet little dolphin was waiting patiently for me to feed him. We were instructed to pet them first, then feed them. The dolphins were so sweet and peaceful.

This is the sweet baby dolphin, he is still nursing, so he didn't eat any of the fish. We had to wait for over an hour to feed the dolphins...it was hot and muggy, but it was well worth the wait!!

In an effort to beat the heat we enjoyed some Lemon CHILLS!!

While in NB Aunt Char suggested that we visit a nearby Snake Farm...YIKES!! Snakes are not on my top favorites of things, but I thought it might be a good learning experience for Landon, so we went!! There were hundreds of snakes (in cages of course!). Not only were there snakes, but there was a small petting area out back.

This is one of the peacocks that was freely roaming around. Landon so badly wanted to touch him!

As we approached the petting area I spotted a llama and thought to myself, "no way am I going in there if there is a llama in there". However, I saw toddlers and several children in there, so I decided to go in. It wasn't bad at all...Landon and I even got our picture taken with the llama.There was a sweet little goat that loved us for some reason, we didn't even have food like some of the other people did. He chewed on our clothes and he loved Landon's backpack. It was so funny!Despite the fact that the goat kept trying to eat our belongings, Landon wanted to kiss him. When Landon sees something soft and furry his reaction is to kiss it, fortunately he was never able to plant one on the little creature! Ha!!

Aunt Char petting our little friend! Thanks Aunt Char for taking us to the snake farm!!

We also spent part of one of our days in NB at Schlitterbahn with Aunt Char, Aunt Britt and Matt (Aunt Britt's Boyfriend) . It was definitely a happenin' place. I didn't take my camera to Schlitterbahn, so no pics of that excursion, but we did have a good time! Landon thoroughly enjoyed the kiddie water slides. He had so much fun going down the slides--there is nothing better than watching a kid have such a wonderful time. It was pure bliss for him!!

Needless to say, Landon was one sleepy boy after our trip!! We had a great time!!

The Throne

Today Landon and I got out and bought him a potty...seriously, is it really close to that time?!!?! Of all the milestones and transitions that we have gone through during the past year and a half, potty training is the one that scares me the most!! I have been reading online and asking friends for advice on this next big transition that we will soon go through. It probably will go much smoother than I am anticipating as Landon is such an easy-going child, but I still worry. My sister-in-law, Jennifer, has 5 children and she suggested that I let Landon get familiar with the potty before "training" him. So, today he played with his new potty for a very long time--he sat on it, he opened and closed the lid, and we "talked" about it. Sometime within the next few months we will start "training"...until then Landon will continue to get familiar with his new potty and I will keep praying for a painless transition!! :)Now on to some pictures of my little guy...

Landon loves to do flips!!


Landon not only loves to clean, but he started "fixing" things too!! My little handy man!!

Proud To Be An American

We had a wonderful 4th! We began the day by going to a parade--I loved seeing the sea of red, white and blue. The parade was very small, but just perfect for us. Landon enjoyed watching everyone go by and he sat so content in his stroller. It was very hot, luckily we found a nice spot in the shade.Landon convinced Dad to get him a sucker from the candy that was being thrown from the floats...yummy!!After the parade people gathered at the park for a festival complete with a band, hot dogs, sno-cones, watermelon, a dunking booth, and tons of other fun activities! A lady from the town sang "God Bless America" and as she finished the song doves were released out of a basket...so neat!
This is our friend, Ryan, dancing to the music. He is one of our neighbors and is a year and half older than Landon. It is cute when him and Landon play together, because he is so gentle with Landon.
After the parade and festival we were HOT!! So, we cooled off by going to the pool and hanging out with some friends. Landon is becoming very daring in the pool which makes me a tad nervous. He loves to play on the steps in the pool and free fall into the water--he thinks it is so funny--me not so much. He is completely fearless when it comes to going under the water. After the pool we came home to rest before the annual cul-de-sac cook-out and fireworks show. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the house during the evening, but I did take a picture of the dessert that I made. It is such an easy thing to make and it is so refreshing to eat during hot weather! It is red jell-o topped with whipped cream, then you top it with strawberries and blueberries...yum, yum!!

Landon actually stayed awake for the fireworks show this year...last year he was in bed sleeping, so this was his first time seeing them. He liked them as long as he was sitting in my lap, which I was completely happy with...there is nothing better than watching fireworks with someone you love! Hope that you all had a great 4th too!!

Happy 4th of July

Morning everyone, Landon here straight from my crib! I just wanted to say Happy Independence Day and I hope that everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July. Mommy said that when I am finished with my breakfast we are going to a parade...I can't wait! She also said something about going to the pool and a big cook-out tonight...looks like we have a super fun and busy day!

Grandpa H., mommy told me about your finger...I hope that you are not in too much pain this morning and that you got lots of rest last night. Grandma can take good care of you until I get there on Saturday, then you and I can play...how about some ring around the rosy?!?

Love,

Landon

This is so my child...

New Laptop and Summer Fun

YEAH!! I finally broke down and got a new laptop. We have had so many problems with our old one lately and it finally drove me crazy enough to go get a new one!! So maybe I'll be posting more consistently...hopefully! So what have we been up to the past week?? We have been thoroughly enjoying summer...going to the pool, playing, reading, shopping (just looking), and just enjoying each other. Landon is enjoying it too! He is just the silliest little guy, he cracks David and I up everyday with the new things he does. He loves phones, and yesterday he was cupping his hand over his ear and pretending that he was on the phone, it was too cute! We also taught him how to play "ring around the rosy" and I think he likes to play just to watch David and I fall to the floor because HE doesn't fall, he just looks at us like we are crazy and then wants to play again. Next time we see you, we can let you play "ring around the rosy" with Landon, because I know in your mind that you are thinking Landon is right for looking at us like we are crazy!! Trust me, you will have a hard time saying no to his sweet little face. Ha!

Landon can get on the couch by himself now, and this morning while I was making his breakfast he crawled up there and watched t.v. until his breakfast was ready. I know that is not a huge deal, but it seems like such a "big kid" thing. Where has my baby gone!?! Sniff, sniff...

My happy little guy.
These are cars from when David was a little boy, he got them out of the attic the other day and just couldn't wait to play with them with Landon.
Landon makes the cutest little car noises and you can see in the picture above that he is making some noises.
Landon recently started puckering up when he gives kisses and he loves to give kisses to his daddy. It takes a great deal of work on my part to get a kiss from Landon, but daddy can get one effortlessly. What's up with that? Anyway, isn't this just the cutest little picture, I just wish that it wasn't blurry...it is still one of my favs.