Let the fun begin...

Mondays are zoo days. I go to the zoo with friends every Monday. Today, there were 4 mommies and 6 kids. Did I mention that 4 of those kids are under the age of 1? Here we are, ready for a day of fun:


So, today we decided to go to lunch afterward.


As we were leaving, a woman came up to my friend Holly--here is their conversation:

Random lady: Do y'all come out every Monday?
Holly: We try to get together every Monday.
Random lady: Y'all are entertaining to watch.

Hmmm....wonder what she meant by that.

(here is a little bit of the aftermath...and this is after we cleaned up....)

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It's official, he's got it...

Actually, he has had it for a few months now….he has “the force.” You know, the uncanny ability to somehow get his hands on anything that he shouldn’t within an 8, no, 10 foot radius. Nope, the Big L still isn’t crawling…but he can still cause trouble just the same. A few nights ago, we went with a friend out for dinner. We laughed because there we were--3 adults with 1 baby but the baby had 40% of the table! When we got there, I cleared everything but his food from his reach. I got rid of anything potentially disasterous that he could touch--the utensil rollups, the menus, the daily special announcement thingy, our drinks….everything was swept out of his reach….or so I thought. Enter THE FORCE. He managed to get his hands on the daily special announcement thingy, on a utensil rollup, a fork, and a stack of 4 plates which almost went crashing to the floor (but, mommy saved the day on that one and grabbed the plates before they crashed. Am I bragging or telling you ask? HMMMM) It's almost as if he can just concentrate on the object and get it to come to him. Obviously, David Copperfield had better watch his back—he’s got quite a rival.

Bathtime!

Don't worry--it's rated G...

MMMM...Snacks

Yeah, so tonight I was trying to make dinner. It had to be decent because we were having some company. However, Landon was being VERY high maintenance and just wanted me to hold him. I tried several things...all to no avail. So, I did the only thing that I can do when I need to buy a few minutes--give him food. I try not to resort to that very often but it was necessary tonight. Come on--a mommy's got to do what a mommy's got to do. He's in his happy place when he has some snacks. Tonight, a huge thing occurred....the Animal Crackers trumped the Gerber Puffs! Normally, Landon's favorite is a Gerber Puff but apparently, he's got a new favorite. Our little boy is growing up!

Here's a picture from a few nights ago--his 1st taste of Ravioli. Obviously, he had a good time (and he even got quite a bit in his mouth too!)

So perfect

We are so blessed to have Landon in our lives; we thank God for him every day! He is such a miracle--from his little hands to his delicate ears!

"I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well."
--Psalm 139:14

Here's a little montage of some of Landon's 9 month pictures....

Mean Mommy

Landon is getting more and more interested in trying to get the toys that he wants. So, I decided to videotape it! I had to be mean and put the toys just far enough away though to frustrate (and to motivate!) him! You can see him scootch on here just a little bit to get the toy. He's getting close to crawling! Do you think that I would miss putting a video on here of him crawling when the big day finally comes?! STAY TUNED!!!

Crabby pants

Landon hasn’t been feeling well the last couple of days and to top it all off, he is cutting another tooth. So, he has been Crabby. Yes, that is crabby with a CAPITAL C. The poor baby doesn’t like any of his teething rings, Orajel, or frozen washcloths to chew on. So other than a little Tylenol, I’m at a bit of a loss. Today, someone suggested giving him a frozen waffle. So I thought I would give it a shot. I figured it would be a a win-win to combine the soothing coldness of the waffle with his LOVE of food. Guess not. Landon just decided that it was a dirty trick and threw the waffle. (I do have to hand it to him though—he’s got a good arm for a 9 month old).

Here’s a picture of Mr. Crabby from Monday. (His Aunt Liz, an Ohio State fan, gave him his cute onesie. I agree with the statement on it but I think the onesie should be green and white for MSU. But, that’s beside the point). Anyway, this is what it is like at our house lately…

Best job ever

I love my “job.” It’s the best. I do have a pretty demanding boss but I love every minute of it. (Although, there are days that he is full of s*&#). He is so entertaining and lately has some new “tricks”. Check ‘em out….

How cute is that? I mean, seriously. I do wish that my starting time was a bit later than 6:30 a.m. though. That aside, where else would I get to kiss my boss and have it NOT be creepy? Yep, my job rocks.

The Perfect Mother's Day

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the “9 month old” stage. Landon is expressive, personable, and is SO fun to play with. However, one thing that I do not like is the “dropsy game.” Unfortunately, this is one of Landon’s FAVORITE games. Well, tonight Landon and I went for a walk. I handed him a Slinky and a few seconds later, he threw it over the edge of the stroller. So, I handed it to him again—same fate. Later, I handed him a “Who Loves Baby?” book and AGAIN, seconds later it was flung over the edge. He did the same thing with the infamous .99¢ tape measure. So, I finally got smart and pulled the tape measure part out & wrapped it around one of his stroller toys that straps to the stroller. “NICELY DONE, sneaky mommy”, I thought to myself.

It’s hard because I have 2 opposing views on this: “teacher mommy” and “tired mommy.” Now, “teacher mommy” is very patient and thinks “well, how else is he going to learn? He is just learning cause and effect. Even though this is a tiring game, he is just learning what happens, what noise it makes, etc.” And yeah, I’ll be honest, “tired mommy” sometimes doesn’t care about “teacher mommy.” “Tired mommy” sometimes would like to smack “teacher mommy.”

So, I got to day dreaming about what a perfect Mother’s Day would be (20 or so years from now)

The characters: Landon and me(Aaron is in the bathroom drawing a bubble bath for me : )
The scene: I’m at home on the couch. I have my feet up and I’m sipping a Sugar Free Vanilla Latte. : )
The Plot: I have a basket of “stuff” next to me that I just drop on the floor and Landon has to pick up. Now, OF COURSE I don’t just drop it next to the couch….I occasionally launch something across the room, behind me, under the couch…you get the picture. Oh, I forgot to mention that Landon is fixing me dinner during all of this and doing the laundry. He’s also cleaning up from lunch, unloading the dishwasher, & setting up an appointment on the phone.

That’s it—that’s the whole plot. So, I snapped back to reality and realized that I had to thank my mom for playing the dropsy game with me. (So, THANKS MOM! ) I know that Landon will grow up quickly & soon I’ll (almost) be wishing for the “days of the dropsy game.”

Just too sweet

Landon’s reaction when Aaron comes home is so sweet—he gets SO excited! So, I decided to try to get it on video & I think you can kind of see his reaction. What you can’t see is that I have the same reaction behind the camera. (Aw)

OUR BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!! : )

So, I thought those (few!) who read this blog should be the FIRST TO KNOW….we are proud to announce that Landon has a new tooth! Yep, he has been working hard on cutting one of his top teeth and it finally came through. Now he likes to grind the top & bottom teeth together.

What did you think the big announcement was?

I just live here folks...

Okay, this video cracks me up. It's weird, I get that...but so cute at the same time. I have NOOOO idea how Aaron came up with this "game" but it works for him. Obviously, mommy isn't nearly as cool as daddy...(Oh yeah, disclaimer....I was either going to pick up the living room or take the video. Guess which I chose?!)

Issues

Okay, so I have a few issues. Yeah, I know what you are thinkin’….but be careful you who live in a glass house. Anyway, my friend, Jennifer, and I decided to take her 2 boys and Landon to the zoo yesterday. Here was a conversation we had:
Jennifer: “Oh yeah, we could even do a picnic if you would like.”
Me: “Um, nope….I can’t eat in a zoo.”
Jennifer: “What?!”
Me: “Um, I have a thing…I can’t eat with all of the animals around.”
Jennifer: “What?! Well, we wouldn’t be right by the animals.”
Me: “Yeah, I still can’t. I can’t eat anywhere in or around the zoo—it grosses me out.”

And, it does. I understand that may seem bizarre to you but I was talking to another woman at the zoo and discovered she has the same issue! So, I’m not the only weirdo, people. I did make a baby step in that I did drink some bottled water while at the zoo. I couldn’t do that before (of course, I never was at a zoo in Texas in the SUMMER before either). Don’t worry…I won’t pass my issue on to Landon. I gave him some snacks and let him eat in the zoo. It COMPLETELY grossed me out to do that …but I did. Don’t worry, I don’t think that anything will ever come between Landon and his snacks (not even me!! )

Cheap Thrills

Landon & I were standing in a rather long line at Hobby Lobby. It was moving pretty slowly & people were crabby. Landon was playing the “dropsy” game with my car keys but I wasn’t having as much fun with that as he was. So, I started looking around for something else to keep him occupied….and THEN I saw it--a 99¢ tape measure. (To be fair, my friend, Angie, had mentioned what a wonderful thing it was and I had forgotten about it. Next time she makes a recommendation I will run right out to buy it!!) I picked it up & pulled out the tape measure part of it & then hit the button for it to rewind. Landon started laughing hysterically! So, OBVIOUSLY, I did it again (and again, and again)….same reaction! Everybody around us turned to look & they all started to smile & laugh also! It’s impossible not to smile when a baby is laughing! One lady even turned around as she was leaving & told us “that made her day!” So go ahead, next time you are crabby, play the video of Landon laughing (see previous post) & see if that doesn’t cheer you up. If you have children, “git yerself to Hobby Lobby & git you a 99¢ tape measure” (said in my best Texas accent).

Is there any sweeter sound?

Enough said--just listen....

Overrated

Landon isn’t crawling yet. He’s just not interested. I try to coax him with tempting toys, the telephone, and even the ultimate temptation—the remote control. No ,wait….the ULTIMATE temptation for Landon is food, specifically “Gerber Puffs.” As they say in Texas “Landon loves him some Gerber Puffs.”(Don’t get me started on “Texan talk”) I’ve tried dangling those in front of him too if he would just crawl or scoot or SOMETHING to them but all I got was a whiny baby who decided that it was time to eat…AGAIN. Yes, he wants all those things….just not if he has to work to get them. It’s kind of like when he is playing and he throws a toy and then looks at it because he wants back. If it is too far, he won’t even attempt to get it. He looks at it for a moment and then just looks at what he can reach and decides to play with that. This laid-back approach worked for him in the nursery on Sunday. I was told that he was watching this little girl who was crawling around (oh yeah, he’s already into the ladies!). She crawled over to him and kissed him on the nose! So, who needs to crawl when the ladies just come to you? Crawling, it seems, is overrated.