Pumpkin Patch

What a FUN morning we had at the pumpkin patch with our good friends the Searcy's!

We didn't get to take Landon last year and I had major guilt about this (feeling like I had already ruined his childhood :)

...so I was really excited to take him this year!

We went to a really small, local farm. It was fun to support such a small farm and Landon had a lot of fun.

He was a little unsure of all the festivities and wouldn't leave our side at the beginning, but he warmed up to the place and we had to drag him out when we left.

The farm had some animals you could feed, tractors to sit on, a hayride (which mesmerized Landon), yummy honey straws and of course a pick your own pumpkin patch!

Posing with Annie and Trey

(we are bound and determined to make sure Landon and Trey are BF's and they are cooperating nicely with our plan!)

Hanging with daddy

(they were looking into the sun which accounts for the stink faces!)

My favorite picture of the day...he is getting so big!

Playing with pumpkins for the first time!

Exploring the farm

The best part of it all...SLIDES!

It was a really nice morning full of great weather, a great atmosphere and great friends!

Update, Cousins and Vegas!!!

Blogging has been foreign to me lately but I've decided it's time to get back into the swing of things. As a quick update, we finally found a house after 4 1/2 months of living with Jared's grandma. We were very excited to move into our own home again and have been happily settled for almost 2 months now! Landon is 18 months old, busy, stubborn, joyful, funny, and a ball of energy! H seems to love his new home as much as we do. I'm planning on putting up pictures eventually (I just have to get around to actually taking some)!!!

At the end of August we went to Southern Oregon to visit my family and I got to see my nephew for the first time!

He is just a ball of cuteness! Landon and I couldn't get enough of him!

Landon wanted to kiss him and kiss him and kiss him every chance he got!

He also tried to constantly "sneak" his pacifier!

I just can't imagine how much fun these two boys are going to have as they get older!

(not to mention all the trouble they will get into)

At the beginning of the year Jared entered an employee transformation contest at work to get more fit and healthy. He committed to 12 weeks of intense workouts and strict diets and it completely paid off! He took 2nd place out of 75 employees who entered the contest. His second place finish won us a trip to VEGAS!!!

We went this last weekend, it was my first time and it completely wore me out! Unfortunately our hotel wasn't on the strip and so we walked and walked and walked until I thought my feet were going to either fall off or start bleeding.

It was really fun though to see all the sights.

We went to a Cirque De Soleil show "O", ate at some great restaurants, went through the different casinos, saw the attractions and walked a lot!

We also went to the Mr. Olympia competition and an after party at 'XS' a club in Encore (Jared's company is a big sponsor). It was crazy to see how muscular those guys are...a completely different lifestyle for sure!

Overall, we both had a lot of fun but to be honest I'm not dying to go back anytime soon...I think our next vacation needs to be somewhere on a beach where we can just relax and walk as little as possible!!!

We're Alive

Seems unreal that it has been almost 2 months since my last post. There is so much I have to catch up on! The reason for my absence is that our last month and a half has been a little hectic, crazy and full of change. To make it brief I will just give the "Reader's Digest" version...in September of last year we decided to try and sell our house to take advantage of getting into something bigger while prices are low and interest rates are good. We accepted an offer in the middle of March (after 2 offers that fell through) and the buyer asked if we could close quickly. We agreed and so we had 2 weeks to pack and move out of our house. I packed one weekend, we put all of our stuff in storage the next weekend and moved in with Jared's grandma. The plan was to not be at his grandma's house long...but here we are a month later still as house guests. We put an offer on a house at the beginning of April and during the home inspection water started leaking from the upstairs bathroom into the living room/kitchen downstairs. It was a bank owned property and the bank didn't fix it to the standard we had hoped for so we backed out of the house (we had both felt a lack of peace about the house off and on, so I feel as if the Lord gave a way to get out of it). The next day we were going to make an offer on another house we loved in a neighborhood we loved and Jared's Aunt (our realtor) called us that morning to let us know the house had just accepted a different offer. Needless to say we were VERY bummed and are now back to square one. This has been an overwhelming experience and one that has definitely not been as smooth as we had hoped for. Jared's grandma has been very gracious and we are so thankful for her hospitality. We are praying that the Lord will lead us to the right house quickly so that we can settle into our own home again!

Landon has been a real trooper throughout this entire experience and hasn't seemed to mind on bit all the change and new surroundings. I wanted to update on him (both for my family as well as myself as this blog has become his "baby book"):

* You are a fabulous sleeper and about a month ago you stopped wanting to be rocked to sleep and now we just lay you in your crib for naps or bedtime and you put yourself to sleep.

* You are still taking two naps a day, although this weekend you only did one each day and I think you might be ready to make that transition (right now you nap at 10:00 and 3:00)

* You are a great eater and will try anything I give you (I recently learned it takes our brains 10 times to try something new before we can really determine whether or not we like it...so I've decided I'm going to introduce you to all sorts of food to hopefully give you a broad spectrum of likes!)

* You still drink 4 bottles a day, this is how you like to wake up

* You started walking the weekend before your first birthday (February 27th was the day you took your first real steps). You are now toddling, cruisin' and practically running everywhere...you only crawl about 5-10% of the time

* You love to say "da" and so far that is what you label everything. You are very vocal but have very few real words (I can't get you to say 'mama' for the life of me!)

* You know a lot of what people are saying and can get items that are names (spoon, cup, bottle, ball, shoe, duck, car, etc.)

* You love music and rock, clap and sway to all sorts of beats. You also like learning the hand motions to songs and will start songs on your own by doing the motions.

* You still have the happiest, most joyful personality and make us laugh daily. You also think your mom and dad are pretty funny right now and I take full advantage of all the laughs I can get!

* You are obsessed with Addie and she graciously puts up with your climbing, tackling, attempts to ride her, kisses and face smooshes

* You have learned how to go up and downstairs since we have been at Jared's grandma's house and think you are hot stuff

* You like being outside BUT hate the grass on your bare feet!

* You really like to put toys in things and take toys out of things. You like balls and anything else small you can throw. You also love playing in water both at bath time and in your water cup when eating.

* You can drink straight from a cup but need help to help with the water flow. You are also becoming more independent with a spoon and fork (along with self feeding all sorts of table food)

* You rough house, try to climb on things, love playing hide-n-seek, chase, wrestling and tickling. To me you are all boy and the rougher the better! You are also quite the daredevil and rarely get scared of anything.

* You are in size 4 diapers and 18 month clothes (although there are still some 12 month that fit you)

* At your 12 month appointment you weighed 21lb 14 oz and were 31 inches long (I think)

I know I am missing some details about all you can do and all that you enjoy but those are the highlights I can think of right now. You are definitely a toddler and no longer a little baby :( It has been such a fun adventure though watching you change and grow more and more into your own self and identity!

You also had your first Easter egg hunt and did really well "finding" the eggs and putting them in your basket (and then taking them out again!)

A Year Ago

A year ago we were counting down the hours to when we would welcome our little one into our lives

A year ago we only imagined what it would be like to be a "mom" and a "dad"

A year ago we were anxious, nervous, excited, and overwhelmed at the thought of it all

A year ago we could sleep in as late as we wanted

A year ago we could leave the house within minutes of getting ready or on a whim's notice

A year ago we didn't have nap times or bed times to schedule around

A year ago we stayed out as late as we wanted without evening noticing what time it was

A year ago there was no need to get a babysitter if we wanted a "date night"

BUT...

A year ago we had no idea what it truly meant to love someone unconditionally

A year ago we didn't realize how empty our lives were

A year ago we didn't understand that our little family wasn't quite complete

A year ago we had no idea the joy that could come from our son

A year ago we didn't realize how fulfilling it would be to care for a child of our own

A year ago we didn't know all that we were missing or how quiet our house was

A year ago we had no idea how amazing it would be to watch a baby grow and develop from a helpless being into a walking toddler

A year ago we couldn't have imagined that the Lord would bless us so abundantly with a healthy, sweet, loving, funny, joyful, smart, cute, charming, perfect fit for our family kind of baby

Happy Birthday sweet Landon

We love you more than you know and are so thankful you came into our lives a year ago

Cousins

A couple of Sundays ago Jared's family got together to celebrate some family birthdays. His cousin and wife from Texas were in town with their little one so it was the perfect opportunity for pictures.

There were 3 boys added to the family in 2010: March, November and December.

The next generation...only one girl so far

(I can't believe Landon is already this big compared to the other babies)

I think it is so fun that Landon will have such great cousins to grow up with!

He already adores our niece and is just mesmerized by everything she does!

Good Friends

Last night we had the Searcy's over for dinner. We always have a ton of fun when we get together with them and it is even more fun now that we both have little boys! It was cute watching Trey and Landon "play" together. I know we will have many memories with those two boys. At Annie's baby shower I noticed that Trey got a sweater that we had for Landon so we planned then and there to take pictures with them in the sweaters when they were both old enough to wear them...

Some of the out takes:

The photo shoot end in an impromptu wrestling match!

So thankful for little boys and good friends!

11 Months Old

Days and weeks seem to fly by and I realize that my little guy is yet another month older. It is crazy to think that last year at this time we were counting down the days until he was born making sure that all the details were in place and now we are counting down the days until he turns 1 year old. There are so many days that I think, "I should post that" and then the day is gone and all I want to do is relax with Jared once Landon is down. He is quite the mover these days, full of energy, joy and a personality all his own:

* I'm almost afraid to post about your sleeping habits because I feel like I jinx myself every time I do. You are sleeping really well and really consistently. About 11 hours at night and then two 1-2 hour naps during the day.

* You prefer to wake up between 7 and 7:30...which I love on days I work because I get to see you before I leave, on my days off and weekends it feels a little early to be up!

* You still let me rock you to sleep and it is one of my favorite things to do with you.

* You are a picky eater at times and a good eater at times. You went through a really picky stage for a couple of weeks when you realized you could spit out anything that went into your mouth! You definitely have preferences when it comes to food, but overall I think you do pretty good.

* You still nurse or take a bottle 4 times a day

* You are almost walking and can cruise along furniture, walk behind a dinosaur walker or walk when holding one of our hands

* You can stand anywhere from 10-30 seconds without holding onto anything (it is so cute because all your little muscles are working so hard), you feel very proud of yourself when this happens!

* You love to throw things and so far your hand of choice to throw with is lefty. You do a lot with your right hand but throwing is always done with your left. Your favorite toy seems to be balls of any kind.

* You absolutely LOVE Addie right now. You love to kiss her, hug her, crawl over her and pat her...she is soooo patient with you (much more so than I thought she would be). You also like to feed Addie your food from your highchair, you think it is pretty funny and she doesn't seem to mind either!

* You continue to be a dare devil and love to rough house. We are trying to teach you that you shouldn't dive off couches and beds head first but to slide down feet first!

* You enjoy helping in the kitchen or bathroom. You empty cupboards amazingly fast, enjoy playing on the dishwasher and recently have figured out how fun it is to pull things out of the kitchen trash :(

* You seem to figure something new out almost everyday...whether it be discovering something new to play with or figuring out how to work one of you toys on your own (you have recently started putting the circle and square in the shape sorter all by yourself).

* You are getting so tall and can reach things fairly high which has opened a whole new world to you!

* You love to do "patty cake", other fun songs or rhymes and read books.

* You are becoming quite independent at times and can throw amazing tantrums when something doesn't go your way or if your feelings get hurt when someone tells you "no"

* You love bath time and basically water of any sort (including Addie's water bowl...which you get in trouble for). I'm excited for you to go swimming this summer!

* You are still babbling up a storm, screaming and giggling. I love when something really tickles you...your laugh is very contagious!

* You respond to your name, no and some other simple words.

* You like to shake your head "no" and will sometimes wave "bye-bye"

* You got your first haircut by your Auntie when we were visiting in Portland.

* You have 8 teeth, 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom

* You are in size 12 month clothes (some 18 month for pants because of you long legs) and size 3 diapers.

* You weigh 21 lbs. 6 oz. and have transitioned to a bigger car seat

It's pretty incredible to watch you grow and develop, thinking back to how little you were almost a year ago! We continue to pray for you daily that you will grow up loving the Lord!

Movin' and Cruisin'

Here is proof just how mobile Landon is these days...he is always on the move and finding new and exciting things to explore (and get into!)

Crawling to mom...take #1 (exerting his own will)

Crawling to mom...take #2

He has started cruisin' and thinks he is pretty hot stuff

In other news...Landon had one of his first "major" injuries :(

He put his hand on Grandma's fireplace and got a little burn on the side of his palm

(This picture shows me just how many germs and dirt they get on their hands from crawling on the floor...every bandage is black by the end of the day when we have to change it!)

Most of it was first degree with one area being second degree

This was a picture the second night (can't really see the burn very well)

He has taken in like a trooper though and despite the initial reaction it hasn't slowed him down a bit...he is still crawling, grabbing and as active as ever.

We have to clean, apply cream and bandage it for about a week

I know this won't be the last of his injuries as he is:

1. a boy

2. way too curious and into everything

3. a bit of a daredevil!

I will feel extremely lucky if this is the worst we face in the injury department!

Christmas in Oregon/Year End Wrap-Up

We got to spend a week in Oregon for Christmas this year with my side of the family. My brother and sister-in-law were there the entire week also. It was so much fun to have a break from normal life and get to spend such great time with my family! Unfortunately Landon caught a little bug on the plane ride over, so nights were not so fun, but Grandpa and Nana were prepared to take him at 6:45 in the morning, so mom and dad could get a couple more hours of sleep! The other truly special part was that all of my grandparents were at my parents house for Christmas this year! It was really nice to get to spend some quality time with them and for them to get to spend so much time around Landon.

Landon definitely didn't grasp the concept of Christmas, gifts and opening presents. Somehow that didn't stop him from getting completely spoiled!

Checking out the stocking goodies

Opening up presents with a little help

This one definitely passed the test as it made it to the mouth!

We actually had to borrow a suitcase from my parents to get all of our goodies back to Idaho

My sis-in-law is pregnant and expecting our niece or nephew in June!!!

We can't wait until next Christmas when there will be another baby around!

Great Grandpa and Grandma Lamson

Great Grandpa Davies

Great Grandpa and Grandma Shaffer

The best part of Christmas this year was that we all decided to start a new family tradition and wear matching Christmas pajamas on Christmas morning!

We went with the plaid theme this year!

Grandpa and Nana

We always have a great time in Oregon and feel lucky that we have gotten to go back 3 times since Landon was born. Hopefully he will grow up feeling like he knows all the family there, even if he isn't around them all the time (thank goodness for Skype!)

On our trip back we had quite the exciting time at the airport (a very small airport), where Landon's milk was checked along with Landon's hands and Jared's hands. Landon's hands set off a security risk so they had to pat down Jared. Some of Jared's clothes set off a security risk so they had to pat down Jared in a back room behind closed doors and have me hold Landon in a standing position (arms and legs spread) so they could pat down him! It was comical to me that they were patting down a 9 month old...but all in the name of safety!

When we got back to Idaho we celebrated Christmas with Jared's side of the family. Once again, Landon got completely spoiled! Apparently we weren't in a picture taking mood that day because we don't have any pictures :(

We still had a great time with round 2 of Christmas!

May as well wrap up our year by blogging about our New Year's Eve. We were in in bed asleep by 11:00! Party pooper's for sure, but Landon couldn't be convinced to sleep in later the next day and we weren't in the mood to be tired all day!

What an eventful, life changing year it has been for us!

We feel so blessed by all the Lord has done in our lives and look forward to 2011!