Monday, June 22, 2009

Father's Day Feet

We have a Father's Day tradition of taking "foot pictures" each year with each of the kids. This is Jason's fourth Father's Day and it has been fun to see the progression of pictures throughout the years...from the tiny little toes of newborn feet to the bigger toddler/preschool (usually wiggling) feet as the kids grow each year.
Father's Day 2006
Father's Day 2007
Father's Day 2008
Father's Day 2009
Abby's First Father's Day...
And now...
Landon's First Father's Day...
And now...
Obviously Jason's feet stay about the same size so it will be fun to do this in the years to come and watch how each of our children begin to catch up to his foot size (or perhaps even surpass it!)
We love you Jason and hope you had a wonderful Father's Day!!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tagged

I was tagged by Andrea, my cousin-in-law (is there such a thing?!?!) I'm supposed to list 6 unimportant things that make me happy so here goes...

1. LISTS: I am such a list person! When I have a ton of stuff that I need to get done (or even just a few things) I feel so much better after I have written everything down and and can begin crossing them off. I admit that sometimes I even write things down that I have already accomplished just so that I can have that elated feeling that I get when I cross another thing off my list!!!


2. MUSIC WHILE RUNNING: I could put running down here, but I think it's pretty darn important in my life. However, my music playlist makes those hard days of running so much more enjoyable. It's amazing how much faster and farther I can go when I'm able to tune in to some great running beats.


3. DINNER MADE BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN MYSELF: I really don't like to cook. My least favorite part of the day is figuring out something to make for dinner. I always get a little giddy when either Jason, a friend or even Wendy's makes my dinner for me.


4. BROWNIES: Definitely my all-time favorite desert. I'm not a big fan of cake, but I could probably down a whole pan of brownies if given the chance. I found a way to make these as a missionary in Brazil and they were awesome!! (I tried making them with the same recipe once I was back in the States, but they didn't taste as good as on the mission. I guess when you have Betty Crocker, you don't have to settle for less than the best!!)


5. DIRT DEVIL CORDLESS STICK VACUUM: While I do not enjoy cooking, I really enjoy cleaning and organizing. One of the hardest things about having young kids on the loose are all the crumbs that get everywhere!! This little gadget has been my sanity saver. It allows me to quickly suck up any crumb, anywhere and allows my home to be just a little cleaner. A lovely little invention in my opinion.

(I love it so much, I even included a picture!!)

6. TREES/PLANTS: Last but not least, I had to include one of the things that I love about Maryland (I actually loved the greeness of Houston too, but it came at a cost...lots and lots of humidity!!) I love our green grass, the green trees in the older neighborhoods around town, the green "mountains" that surround us and right now I'm loving the green cornfields growing right behind our house. Phoenix was hard for me because it was so non-green, but Maryland suits me just fine!!

I won't tag anybody individually, but if you'd like to make a list of your own, it was pretty fun!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Landon's Birthday -- Take 2

We had Landon's party on Saturday, June 6th and invited some friends over along with my sister Tasha and her family. We played a few games, watched Landon's First Year video that I had put together, and then had fun visiting and eating BBQ-style.


A few decorations...


Baseball-Licorice cupcakes...


My first attempt at decorating a cake. (I'm not nearly as talented as my sister-in-law Jennifer, but at least it somewhat resembles a baseball, right?!?!?)



All this fuss for one little man...


Landon playing balloons with his slightly older cousin Coldon...



Landon was not a fan of the cake when he first saw it...


Then he tried a bit...



Tried to forget how many calories he was consuming...



And then dug right in!!!



He would only eat the frosting (note the eager eyes of a little someone else in this picture)...



Note the finger of that little someone snatching some frosting on the sly...



The demolished cake look...



We had to snatch the cake away before he made himself too sick!



The cake-eating aftermath (a frosting explosion)...



We had a great time celebrating Landon's first birthday and he had a great time consuming more sugar in ten minutes than he had yet to eat during his entire lifetime.


Happy Birthday Little Man...we love you!!!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Landon's Birthday -- Take 1

Landon's Birthday started off kind of rough for the little guy. He had his one year check-up which included three shots! He cried for about three seconds and then was back to his jolly little self. He weighed in at 22 lbs (50th percentile) and 32 inches (95th percentile). He still isn't walking (hallelujah!!) but he cruises like crazy and of course this means he can get into everything and make lots of messes!!
After Jason came home, we opened up all of his presents from grandparents, aunts and uncles and of course from us. I think Abby was the one who was most excited about all of Landon's presents and she ended up doing most of the unwrapping herself. (She claims she was merely "helping.") Good thing Landon was more interested in the wrapping paper anyway.
Woah, Dude, look at my loot!!
This card is just sooooo sweet!!
The Birthday Boy!!
His big gift was this ballpit. Both him and Abby have had a great time playing together in this little contraption...
After dinner and ice cream at Friendly's, we came home and Landon got his very first haircut. It was getting pretty shaggy and mullet-like, so we decided the time had come.
Before...
During...
And after...
Awww, what a cute little fellow!!

Next up...the Birthday Bash!!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

One Year Ago Today...

At exactly this moment one year ago, our lives were forever changed by the birth of our little Landon. He is such a joy and brings so much laughter and happiness to our little family. We cannot imagine life without him and we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for allowing him to be sent to our home. We love you little man!

From this...

To this...


From this...
To this...

From this...

To this...



From this...

To this...


HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

Monday, June 1, 2009

100th Post!!!

In honor of our 100th post, I'll share a few pictures from our "Zany Sunday" yesterday. Sunday isn't exactly a "Day of Rest" around our house. When you combine meetings, church, calling responsibilities, home/visiting teaching etc. with "nap-less" children, this is what usually results...


STEP 1: Start pulling your hair out...
STEP 2: Pull it even harder...
STEP 3: Keep pulling...



STEP 4: Then laugh about the zaniness of it all!!!

We do have some really sweet moments of family love displayed now and then too...



And just for fun, here are some pictures of our "cutie-patootie-about-to-turn-one-year-old" little fella...