Tricking and Treating

Happy Halloween!!

By a miracle of all miracles, I was able to capture one shot of all three of my Trick-or-Treaters.....

I was out and about with Thomas the Tank Engine, a Butterfly, and a not-so-happy pumpkin.

She did alright with the costume....as long as she can move, she is happy! 

And all "Thomas" was worried about was getting the candy!! 

Bailey's eyes said it all..... 

.....seriously??? 

Off we go, bundled up and ready to collect! 

Avery started out the night like this..... 

....and about a block later, she looked like this: 

Landon did a great job going up to houses all by himself! 

Back at home he checked out the loot.... 

Avery checked out a piece too! 

Too bad I had to collect almost all Landon's candy since this is what his skin test showed just yesterday.........still VERY allergic to nuts!

(The top right corner is peanuts after less than 5 minutes....the test is supposed to go on for 15!) 

So while Landon wasn't looking, I let Avery try a sucker....clearly she is hooked! 

Yep, the glassy eyes say "Sugar high and ready to crash"! 



Avery.....8 months!

I think the 8 month age is my favorite of the baby-ness.

I just think personalities are developing, they are moving around, and they are just so darn cute!!

Here is my butterball at 8 months:

She has successfully figured out how to crawl now! 

She is so proud of herself for this accomplishment too! 

Look how big she is next to Landon now......catching up quick! 

Her other new favorite thing to do??

Dig in the Tupperware cabinet....especially now that she can crawl right over to it! 

Mom, this is so fun!! 

No worries, I like re-stacking the bowls every 5 minutes..... 

Miss Independent has also learned how to put food in her own mouth.  Puffs are a regular treat. 

And good morning!  I am now greeted this way..... 

....or like this!

The crib mattress has been lowered! 

We all went out to Boo at the Zoo....Avery's first trip to the zoo.

She is a butterfly for her first Halloween! 

Such a big girl!!  She loves to do everything her brother does! 

And he loves to "help" her out! 

The latest "adventure"??

She loves to pull up and try to stand on anything! 

I have a feeling she will walk before she is 12 months.....

Here are the stats:

Height:  27 inches

Weight:  18.5 pounds

And my absolute favorite part of this age???

She has started to "talk" and babble......

Her first word was "Mama".

Melts my heart!

Lessons from Daddy

You know how kids are sponges, right?

They just listen and absorb whatever you say and do, then, one day, out of the blue, they repeat or copy exactly what you have done.....good or bad!

Well, the other day, we were in Sears and we saw this suit for a little boy.

Adam said "Hey dude, this suit is big pimpin'!"

Next thing you know, Landon is running down the aisles of the store saying "I am big pimpin'!"

Seriously......"big pimpin'"!!!

So, then Landon has to go potty and Adam takes him to the men's room.

He comes back and tells me he peed in the potty standing up.

WooHooo, so exciting!

In the car, he told us again that he peed standing up.

This is the conversation that followed.....

Me:  Yay, Landon, you did such a good job going pee in the big potty!

Landon:  Daddy peed standing up too.

Me:  Yeah, you are a big boy, just like Daddy!

Landon:  I am big pimpin'!

Me:  Why are you big pimpin'?

Landon:  I have a big weiner!

*I have absolutely no idea where the "big weiner" comment came from....I can only assume it was discussed during the boy's trip to the bathroom.....*

I completely lost it!!!!

Which led to Landon saying "I am big pimpin' because I have a big weiner" the entire rest of the afternoon.

Priceless lessons from Daddy!

Boo at the Zoo

It was a beautiful day today!

Not typical of mid-October in Duluth!

So, we went out to the zoo for Boo at the Zoo, a fun family event where kids dress up and Trick-or-Treat through the zoo.

Landon was Thomas the Tank Engine.....of course.

Avery was a butterfly, but it was a bit chilly to be out of the carseat's warm cover.

So we just wore the hat.

She did wear a butterfly shirt though, just to keep with the theme.

It may look like he is upset, but he was telling me what a train says....."Choo Choo!!!!"

He got pretty good at walking up to the tables and saying "Trick-or-Treat!" 

He was soooo happy to see Mickey came too!   

A snack for the road..... 

....And a quick photo with Mom. 

Hey there, Simba! 

I was suprised that the animals that he was most looking forward to, and the ones he was most amazed by were the kangaroos!  Really....and they were just sitting in the grass! 

Landon actually did sit still long enough to get his face painted! 

He got a cute pumpkin put on his cheek..... 

....at least it WAS cute, until he stuck his finger in it before it was dry! 

Looks like everyone was happy at the end of the day!

The Power of Three

I was skeptical.

Everyone said to just wait until three.....everything changes at three.

Again, I was skeptical.

Even coming from the moms who had several boys and multiple children.

But I was wrong!

Three has a magical power......

What the heck am I talking about?????

Well, just 4 days after Landon turned three, that magical number, he looked at me and said...

"I want to pee in the potty"

I was floored!!!

But, I went along with it and let him sit on the potty.

And he peed!!!

Once, twice, three times!

The next day we put away the diapers and pulled out the big boy undies and never looked back!

Since then, Landon has told me when he has to go potty (and there is no getting him to go unless HE says he has to go!).

We have had a couple accidents, but in almost 2 weeks, that is really not bad!

And better yet.....

He poops in the potty too! 

He was a bit resistent at first, not wanting to actually go #2, so we had the "holding game" going on.

But once it happened, he hasn't had a problem!

So off we go to pick out a whole drawer full of brand new big boy "undee-wayer"!

Of course, he picked Thomas the Tank Engine and Cars! 

He wears them pretty well, too, if I do say so myself!



It is only October.....

Put it on record.....

October 10, 2012

It came.

Landon enjoyed it.

Me??  I am not ready until AT LEAST after Halloween!

You hear that Winter??

Not until I have had a decent length of Fall!

**I will let you know what Winter replies with.**

Until then, have a happy day!

He is THREE!!!!!

Three years ago, this happy, loud, busy, big boy was brand spankin' new.

But today, he is 3 years old!!!

To celebrate, we had a party....I mean, what else do you do?

For the monkey that he is, we made it a monkey theme. 

Not only has he always loved monkeys, but each part of the decor was only $0.97 at Wally World! 

I went all out for this part though....I made (yes, folks, M-A-D-E, made!) this totally cute monkey cake! 

We had all of Landon's favorite foods for snacks.

Meat, cheese, and buns

Strawberries

Chips

Juice

And, of course, the cake. 

Uncle Elzie and Aunt Phyllis came down from Silver Bay to come to the party.  Avery was a lot less wild, so they got to snuggle with her.

Nothing wrong with a little nap!

Then up and ready to ham it up with Uncle Kevin! 

But back to the Birthday Boy.....

It was present time!!

On gift #2 a trend started.....

Apparently word got out that Landon loves bulldozers and dump trucks......

Not only one, but 2 big trucks!

And some toys from Mimi.....

Then came truck #3!!

And some more games and toys....

Some clothes from Mommy that ended up on the floor.....

And trucks #4 and #5!!! 

Seriously, the kid didn't care what else there may be, he just wanted to get done and over to all those trucks!

But, one more gift from Mommy and Daddy.

A red wagon for outside!

He was moderately pleased with it, but really just wanted to get the trucks! 

He was willing to leave the trucks for a brief moment to cut his cake and sing Happy Birthday.

Blowing out the candles! 

He shoved a few bites in.....

.....then it was FINALLY truck time! 

We got them all out of the boxes and off he went! 

He and his friends just zoomed all over the house with the fleet of trucks! 

One short pause in the truck activity, though.

And for what, may you ask?? 

SNOW!!!  On Landon's birthday, October 5th, we got our first sprinkling of snow for the year. 

I guess this means fall is over.....

But just a few days before his party, Landon had pictures taken with our friend Jill.

We were outside in the beautiful colors of fall, enjoying a gorgeous day.

Just look at my little baby boy.....

I am so proud to say I am his Mama!