Easter 2011

Easter was a busy holiday, as all holidays are for us.  Here are a few shots of the day for us...

He just looks so handsome!  Like such a big boy!

Wearing her pretty brown dress and hot pink head band!

The most decent of the family pics.

He sees an egg!

Every time he tried to put an egg into the basket, he'd tip the basket and dump them all out.

Buckets filled with Easter goodies.  My mom painted the buckets to match the themes and colors for their rooms.

To Remember #3

The following have occurred in the last three weeks:

1. Landon has pooped & pee peed in his little potty!!!!  His reward is to call someone, a sticker, or an M&M. 
2. Landon attempted to turn on Josh's clock radio, which is usually tuned to a Christian station.  It wouldn't turn on this particular day and Landon decided to sing his own song, "Hooray God!  Hooray God!"  It was precious!
3. Jillian has started laughing and being ticklish. 
4. Jillian has rolled over three times from her tummy to her back.  The first time was while Gramma (Josh's mom who is also known as "Mimi"by Landon) was babysitting.
5. Landon told me he needed to check his email!
6. We converted Landon's crib into a toddler bed.  It's taking some time for him to adjust to it, as he is a "flopper" when he sleeps. 
7. Jillian LOVES the exesaucers and LOVES watching Landon.
8. We went to a play date where all the other toddlers are girls who are much smaller than Landon.  All day I was going over their names and the moms' names.  I would also mention that we needed to be gentle and share toys.  As we were pulling into the driveway I ran thru the names of everyone again.  He then added, "Be gentle."  He was listening!  :)
9. I sing a song to Landon (and now Jillian) that I made up in the hospital when Landon was born.  It goes something like this- "Jesus loves you, Mama loves you, Daddy loves you," etc.  Occasionally Landon will sing the song and he thinks it is HILARIOUS to sing "Cups love you." 

To Remember #2

1. On our way to Athens 2 weeks ago Landon stayed awake for the 2 hour drive.  He wanted to talk to us the whole way, but eventually ran out of things to say and was bored of all the songs I could think of to sing.  So he began to get very silly and would say random words and just crack up.  Josh and I started playing the game too.  So now Landon thinks "Scuba" & "Scooby dooby doo" are just the most HILARIOUS words on earth. 
2. Jilly smiles at Landon a lot. When he notices that she's smiling at him, he'll stop what he's doing and go sit in front of her and smile back.  It's so stinkin' cute!
3. Jilly has been showing some personality lately.  She makes her opinions and desires KNOWN.  As my mom said, "She lets you know that she wants something, and wants it NOW!"  She also complains when she's unhappy about what she's looking at, or what position you've set her in.  She fights sleep.
4. Jilly's first tooth is coming in.  It's on the side/back of her gums, not like the usual first tooth in the front of the mouth.  It showed up before she was 3 months old.
5. When discussing colors, Landon will sometimes say the wrong color on purpose just because you want him to say the right color.  When my dad wants him to show my mom how he swings on the rope swing at their house, Landon will refuse to do it just because my dad wants him to do it.  I'm seeing some interesting psychology games/efforts for us in the future, especially in the teenage years.
6. Landon has been using the word, "maybe" lately and putting his hand out, palm up, when he says it.  "Uh, maybe a cookie? Maybe?"  "Uh, a Landon show, maybe?" 
7. Landon helps me do the laundry.  He helps me drag the hampers to the laundry room. Take the clothes out of the hamper and put in the washing machine, then into the dryer, then out of the dryer, and then helps me carry the piles of folded clothes to be put away.  He usually likes to do it and is excited to help. 

Latest Pictures...Something is wrong with us.

There are several pictures from this photo op.  And THIS is the best one.  Geez.

He's saying, "Hi Jilly."  She's saying, "Is this safe?!"

Kissy Face!

He's trying to give her a kiss.  She's wondering if it's okay.

She actually smiles a lot bigger than this, but this is the best she'll do in front of the camera.

And this is his latest "best smile" in front of the camera.

Not sure why our latest pictures have us looking ridiculous and as if we don't know how to smile.  But, it's the latest in our lives so there you go!

Visit to Athens

We visited Grammy & Papa in Athens two weeks ago.  Landon had so much fun he talked about them the second he woke up Monday and Tuesday mornings.  Here's a few pics from the weekend.

Landon standing on the slack line.

A bit hard to see, but they're standing on the slack line.

Kristin holding the girls while we watch the guys slack-lining.

Esther Grace & Landon - the "Destruction Duo."

Not sure why, but all toddlers are fascinated with babies mouths and eyes.

Esther Grace found Papa's fireman's helmet and gave it a try. 

I'm betting this look gets her out of a lot of trouble with her Daddy!

I'm Annoyed! ... but Thankful

Recently Landon has been saying "Mommy" about every 5 seconds. Literally, every 5 seconds!  I truly am tired of hearing my "name" by lunch time.  It truly is tiring to hear "Mommy" so much.  He's asking me questions, calling my attention to look at stuff, needing help, wanting to play, and just about every sentence starts with "Mommy!"  There have been a few moments where I have complained and whined to myself about it -- "Geez!  Can he give me break for just 30 minutes?!"

But I catch myself at those moments of ungratefulness and complaining.  I'm reminded that some mothers never hear "Mommy" from their children.  There are children out there unable to utter a single word.  There are children in this world that don't call for their mother's attention, that don't ask questions, that are unable to interact with the world around them.  There are mothers that never hear their child's voice, some never hear "I love you" uttered from their child's lips.  I'm sure these mothers would pay anything and do anything to hear their child say "Mommy" just one time, nevermind have it said endlessly all day.

So, I'm trying to allow my honest feelings of annoyance to be felt, and then quickly turn them into feelings of thankfulness and appreciation.  Thankful that my child is developing normally.  Appreciating the path and steps of typcial child development.  Thankful that I am a "Mommy."

To Remember #1

I've decided that I will entitle the posts of the random things I want to remember "To Remember."
Here's the first of the series...

1. Landon puts his arms out and says "TA - DA" when he gets his shirts on.
2. My little extravert asks everyday if we're going to someone's house or if people are coming over. He's always disappointed when I tell him, "We're staying at the house." or "It's just you and me today buddy!"
3. While puking upstairs at the cabin, he heard Jillian crying downstairs. He said, "Oh! Jilly sad."  Such a good big brother. Even when he's horribly sick he's concerned about her.
4. He's doing really well with learning his colors.  He loves brown.
5. My little extravert says "Hi Kid!" whenever we see kids outside or on the playground.
6. We're already having disagreements about whether to watch a "Landon show" or a "Mama show."