19 Months!!!

Landon is now 19 months old. He's such a big boy now. Often getting mistaken for being 2 years old now. We've been back from vacation for about 2 weeks now and Landon adjusted so easily compared to how he adjusted to the time change in Charlotte.

Latest Words: "Hug", "Door", "Window", "I see water", "green", "house", "mouse", "Moose", "MOMMY!", "outside", "inside", "baseball", "basketball", "basketball hoop", "giraffe", "hand", "hair", "bread", "carseat".

Favorite Things: Playing with the big boys (3-5 year olds) and copying everything they do. Reading with mom, Thomas the Tank Engine, putting the basketball in the basketball hoop.

Favorite Foods: Crunchies, mashed potatoes, pizza, taco soup, pretzels, string cheese, bread with butter on it, toast, quesadillas, chips, chocolate chip cookies, vanilla soft serve from McD's.

Dislikes: He has a hard time falling asleep in his carseat and gets restless when its late at night. Won't take milk out of a sippy cup. I've tried everything. HATES going to nursery because there are two kids that are kind of bullies in there, hopefully it will get better.

Accomplishments: He can walk up the stairs without holding onto the wall or the rail. He can swing on the big kid swings. He'll sit and watch a movie with me for at least 30 minutes. He LOVES to color with crayons and he's really good at staying on the paper.

Highs: Doing "Ready, Set, GO!" in which he races from one side of the room to the other. And his favorite is to do it with me or another kid where we start at opposite sides and see who can get to the other side the fastest. Going to the Concerts at the Park here in Auburn, where he can run around and dance to the music that is playing.

Lows: He got his first ear infection this month and he spiked a 103.8 temp. He hated the antibiotic at first, even though it tasted like bubblegum. He's still having a hard time in nursery.

Tender Moments: When we sit and watch a show before going to bed and he gives signs of being tired by turning and cuddling into me.

Here's Landon chillin' at the Concert at the park and he found a little chair that was his size (and of course it wasn't his)

He's getting so big and he can hold onto the big spinning toys by himself and isn't even scared. He's growing up way to fast. I am so grateful for cameras and their ability to capture tender moments. I love this kid sooooo much!

More Pictures of Kiawah

Here are the links to my facebook albums so that those of you who don't have FB can see them:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136724&id=193303664&l=1f0222cd16

and

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137438&id=193303664&l=6c9fcb8c38

Enjoy!

Kiawah Island, SC 2009

Sorry it has taken so long (a week) for me to post these. Landon's sippy cup leaked on my camera while we were on vacation so I was without a camera during almost our entire trip. Luckily I was able to dry it out and it works now. But I had to wait to have my mom make me a cd at Costco and send it to me... (and I appologize for the lack of pictures and the weird font, if you want to see more pictures, most of you are friends with me on Facebook and I have them all posted there)

Soooo, we took the redeye flight to Charlotte, NC to get there at 6am Thursday July 30th. Then on Saturday we drove to Kiawah Island. It took roughly 4 hours to drive there and Landon only napped for an hour and fifteen minutes of it. He was a pill for the rest of the ride. We had dinner with Rebecca and then drove off to the beach. The next day Emma and I decided to go on a bike ride with Landon while my parents golfed in the morning. Landon was in the childseat behind me and we decided to go through one of the tide pools. BIG MISTAKE! I was trying to look for a shallow one and mistakingly went through a deep on and couldn't pedal anymore cause the tires started to sink. Landon and I ended up falling over into the tide pool and Landon was fully clothed. It was so embarrassing cause there were tons of people on the beach and they totally saw the whole thing. It was pretty funny though, I kinda wish someone had taken a picture. I had and still have bruises all over my leg from the bike falling on me. Landon kind of started whining and I said "Its okay, we'll go home and shower and change you, okay." And Landon responded with a very cute, "K!"

We experienced a few really cool afternoon thunderstorms and Landon was always like, "Thundow, oooohhh, noooooo!" every time he heard anything that sounded anything like thunder. Then he would point out the window of the condo and say, "I see wawa!" because we had a view of the ocean. Then we went out for dinner with the guy who let us use his condo at the beach. He went to highschool with my dad all the way over in Australia. Landon was so good at dinner and it was a really nice change compared to how he had been acting the last few days.

The next day we slept in kind of late and finally got out to the beach around 11am. Landon had a lot of fun in the sand and in the waves. He doesn't like the saltwater too much though because it stings his eyes. He kept taking other kids' toys on the beach too because he thought every toy on the beach was his. We went to the grocery store and a torential downpour started while we were in there. It lasted almost three hours so we decided to watch a movie when we got home. Landon was in a really good mood when he woke up from his nap and was body slamming Papa Dirt and running around and laughing. And he sat and watched the movie with us...it was too cute!

Ben met us at the beach on Wednesday and we headed out to the beach, went surfing, and hung out. Rachel and Emma and I went boogy boarding. We were out there forever and got a lot of sun. We came back and made spinach artichoke dip and watched a movie while Landon napped. Then we went for a bike ride after eating a taco soup dinner, which was sooo good.

On Thursday we did pretty much the same thing and then in the late afternoon we took some photos that are hopefully Christmas card worthy. Landon was being a tyrant the entire time and just wouldn't cooperate. Guess that's what I get for being a pill growing up ;) Here's a few of the ones that are my favorites.

Friday we went surfing and went on a bike ride again and then we went out for dinner in downtown Charleston. Then we headed back to Charlotte on Saturday and went out for pizza when we got home because my parent's kitchen is being remodeled.

On Sunday we went to church with my parents and then had brunch after. Then we went swimming before Landon's nap and getting ready to go to the airport.

Cake #4

So my friend Shellee's birthday is this coming Sunday but last week I made her a cake because she is leaving on vacation tomorrow. I wasn't quite sure what design I wanted to do, but since we had gone to the midnight showing of Harry Potter the week before, I thought I'd make her a Harry Potter cake. Here's how it turned out....

Happy Birthday Shellee!!!

18 Months & Swimming Lessons

Landon is FINALLY 18 months old. I say FINALLY because now we are free for 2 hours at church because he can officially go to nursery. He actually started going to nursery when he was 16.5 months old and could stay as long as he cooperated and didn't throw a fit. But now he has to stay in there regardless...unless he needs a diaper change. He's definitely become a favorite in our house. He makes me laugh and smile everyday. Yes we have our rough days...like today he woke up from his nap and was fine and then 5 minutes later just threw a fit and was crying histerically. We finally checked his diaper and he was absolutely raw from swimming earlier...poor little guy. And then on Saturday we went to the pool and had fun and on the way home (literally 3-5 minutes away) he threw up in the car, all over the carseat, because I guess he took in too much water. Anyway, here are some updates on him. He is in the 25% in weight at 25 pounds and the 95% in height at 34 inches. The doctor says that his vocabulary is at the two year old level but that we need to get him drinking from a sippy cup rather than the bottle and he needs to be eating with a fork (which he doesn't do all the time cause I'd rather not have a mess so I feed him...I know, I need to get over it).

Latest Words: "swim", "pool", "poopoo" & "peepee" (which I'm super excited about!), "potty", "blue", "k" (he says it after I ask him a question and say "Okay?" and then he's like "k!" its the cutest!!!) "grandma", "water", "turtle", "snake", "please", and he does little short sentences like "bye bye truck" and "bye bye car" or "love you".

Favorite Things: His white teddy bear that my friend Sara from PwC gave him, swimming, still loves to play with anything that resembles a ball...even if its an apple, loves to ride his new radio flyer scooter. He loves copying everything that I do too. If he sees me doing something, he totally mymicks it. The "Elmo Loves You" video.

Favorite Foods: Italian Chicken is his FAVORITE! String Cheese, Crunchies, not a food but he loves ice cold water in his sippy cup. Taco Soup, pizza, mashed potatoes, pretzels, anything his friend Sutton is eating.


Dislikes: Still hates getting his diaper changed and now will run away and hide under a chair as soon as he sees me grab a new diaper or ask him if he needs his bumm changed. Does not like to sit in grocery carts anymore...I thought I would never be the mom to push one of those monster grocery carts with the toy car at the front, but it just might happen if his protesting starts getting out of hand.



Accomplishments: Swimming in the pool. Kicking his legs and "reach and pull" with his arms, holding onto the wall of the pool, swimming under water. I'm so proud of him! Can read the words "clap" and "duck".





Highs: Playing at the park. Chasing the big kids at Kidscare. Loves to swim! When he sees his friend Abby. Singing the Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree song (and he does all the hand motions...it's too cute!)




Lows: When he realizes that mommy is not in the nursery with him. And today when it took me 25 minutes to figure out that it was a severe bumm rash that was causing his histerical tantrum this afternoon. It was seriously soooo sad.


Tender Moments: The cute smile he gives me while lying in his crib in the morning. When he brings me his bottle after he's done drinking it and then says "day toe" (thank you) and runs off to play with his toys. And I love it when he lays with me and watches the Office on my iPod with me.


Sometimes I think, why do I need to bring more kids into this world when I've already got the BEST ONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD? But I still do want to expand our family someday.


Here are also some pictures from swimming lessons this year. He did so much better this year compared to last year. I honestly thought he was never going to like swimming cause last year we literally had to take his binky with us into the pool to calm him down. But this time it was like he was a pro. He was even better than some of the 2 & 3 year olds in his class.

And this has nothing to do with swimming lessons, but this is the last cake that I made for Landon's little friend Maya's first birthday party at a water park.

Happy 5th

Ben,

I just wanted to say Happy 5th Anniversary! I can't believe we're already at the 5 year mark. I love you very much and am so happy to be your wife. I'm thankful that I can count on you and that we work through the challenges that come our way. You are such a wonderful daddy to Landon and it always makes me smile at how good you are with him. He loves you so much. You are my best friend and I'm excited for many more adventures to come in our life together.

I love you more and more everyday!

Love your Feetheart!

Happy 4th of July!

We went to Ben's cousin Jordan's cabin on Bainbridge Island for the 4th of July. Landon loved the ferry ride and had fun running around Jordan's house and backyard. I decided to make another marshmallow fondant cake. This was my second time making one of these cakes and it didn't really turn out as great as I wanted it to. I can be such a perfectionist when it comes to crafts/projects that I create, it's actually kind of annoying. I guess the most important thing was that it tasted good. But anyway, here are a couple pictures of how it turned out. Hopefully I'll get better as I get more experienced.