We've got a walker on our hands!!!

At 13 months old, Landon has finally taken his first steps. He thinks walking is pretty funny, as evidenced by this video. We all get a kick out of him learning this new trick!!

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I see London, I see France...

One of Landon's most favorite activities is to pull out all of our DVDs and videos and dump them in a pile on the floor. One night while he was doing this I noticed he was starting to lose his little pajama bottoms which made this usually annoying activity a bit more fun for me to watch...

"Hmmm, it seems to be getting a bit drafty in here"...

"This looks like a pretty good one"...

"The gangsta-look" (low-riding pants with a long shirt that barely covers the briefs underneath)...

"Whatcha lookin' at?"...

"Even with falling britches, I'm still pretty darn cute!"

Princess Parade

Our local Chick-Fil-A sponsored a "Princess Night" a few weeks back and we decided it would be something that Abby would love. I think Abby nearly fainted from seeing all of the different girls in their princess get-ups and her smile and happiness was worth the chaos that "reigned"supreme that night!!

Our little princess all ready to go...

Each girl was greeted at the door by "Prince Charming" and they were all given a flower as they entered...

Abby and her friend Lauren in pretty-princess fashion...

"Cinderella" even made an appearance and greeted all the little girls...

Cinderella and her "Princess Possy" (this group probably represented about a fourth of all the little girls that attended this event, not to mention their parents and families!!)...

Jason and I would have to really consider ever doing something like this again (it was truly chaotic), but certainly a lot of fun to do at least once!! These girls were just all so adorable in their little get-ups, especially one special little girl named Abigail. She repeatedly talks about going back to Chick-Fil-A, but I think she may be a tad disappointed that her visit won't always include Prince Charming, Cinderella and hundreds of other little Princesses too!!

Kissable little face...

Is it just me, or does anybody else get this overwhelming urge to kiss those fat little cheeks on this adorable little boy?!?!?!

Independence Day

July is just flying by for us, so before too much time passes, I wanted to post about our 4th of July activities.

The day started bright and early for us (5:30 a.m.) since we decided to participate in the "Mile-Long-Plus" yardsale that they have in Hagerstown. It's done in our neighborhood as well as all of the ones surrounding us and it is a HUGE deal around here. Basically thousands and thousands of people show up from all over (PA, WV, MD, VA, etc.) to attend each year. We were only shoppers last year since we didn't realize what a big deal it was, but this year we decided to try to get rid of some of our junk (uh, I mean "treasures") as well. We made nearly $300 in just a few hours which we were really happy about. It's a nice way to meet people, make money and clear out unwanted household items all at the same time!

Later that night we had Tasha, Jeff, Coldon and the Merrill family over for a BBQ, some outdoor games, and fun with the Wii. Afterwards we all headed down to Williamsport to watch their firework display (and do a few sparklers of our own too!)

Some of our group waiting for the fireworks to begin...

Sparkler fun...

(Abby was terrified of sparklers last year, but she managed to hold one this year without screaming in terror. I think it helped that all of the other kids were so anxious to have their turn that she figured they must be worthwile, right, right?!?!)

Having a little too much fun with fire...

We enjoyed the short but sweet firework display as well. Overall, a wonderful day and we had fun celebrating our freedom and country with great friends and family!!

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!!

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!!