Sprout

I spoke earlier about the Sprout Channel.

I basically love this channel. 

It really is an amazing channel. I know that there is a general rule of thumb that too much television is a bad thing, but honestly I don't really care. 

I love that Landon hears the music to the Wiggles and he must immediately run into the living room so he can watch. 

Tonight during dinner he heard the music {Hot Potato, Hot Potato} while he was eating dinner and HAD to go watch. He got down {with help, let's not get ahead of ourselves}, ran in the living room to dance a bit, and came back to the table to finish dinner.

That's not bad, right?

I was raised on Laverne and Shirley and Days of our Lives. Stefano had died 5 times before I was 12. 

I think I turned out ok {no comments necessary}.

You can go to www.sproutonline.com to get more information and also get some great craft ideas.

Grandma Dollars = Gravity Stick

Grandma Dollars are the best!

Do you know what grandma dollars are?

They are dollars that you get in the mail just because Grandma loves you and wants you to pick out something fun for yourself!

My mom sent Landon some dollars last week so while we were out and about I let him go ahead and spend his money.

He choose a "Gravity Stick".

I have to admit I think it is pretty cool too.

Weekend Wrap-Up

The weather was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L this weekend!

I couldn't get enough sunshine! {Please note I am writing this while it is horribly dark outside, rainy, and tornado warnings!}

SATURDAY:

In my "Journey to 30" post I mentioned that I wanted to start up a business. I have finally come up with a concept and I am surging ahead with a plan. With that said I needed to go out and get a few last minute supplies so Landon and I headed out in the morning for some shopping {I love the alone time with him}. Saturday's agenda was Michaels, Wal-Mart, and Lunch!

He had so much fun! I think he is really starting to understand that shopping can be a good time if you go to the right stores. He ate up all the attention from the other customers {saying hi and bye to them all} and grabbed everything within his reach! I must admit I had a lot of fun watching him too.

I know I have mentioned this before but Landon is a super duper helper! Last weekend he helped us clean the house {seriously} and this weekend at the store he loaded and unloaded everything from the cart. My son is amazing! He also gave the cashier our coupons and paid {what a gentleman}!

I choose Arby's for lunch because it was closest to the house and we were nearing nap time so I wanted a quick get away if needed.

Boy was I shocked at his behavior. He sat the WHOLE time in his chair and didn't whine once to get out!

He only ate his fries {99% sure he is vegan} but he ate ALL of them! He was killing me {with laughter} because he dipped EVERY single bite in his ketchup. I know most everyone does that, but he did it so carefully. It was really funny.

We were there for over an hour eating fries.


SUNDAY:

Personally I woke up with a mission to get the house clean and I managed to get most of what I wanted to complete.

Adam was gracious enough to take Landon with him while Savannah got blood drawn {she had abnormal blood work the first go around but the this batch came up clean - yes!} so I could get the house back in order. When Adam reported back after his trip he told me:

{1} Landon LOVED running buck wild in petsmart - not shocked.

{2} When they took Savannah back to draw her blood Landon stood their arms stretched out to her and crying - a little shocked!

{3} "I weighed him on the dog scale and he still weighs 21.8 pounds" - good to know, thanks Babe!


We capped the afternoon off with a visit to park {I will write up more on this in a separate post}.

In all, a fantastic weekend for our family!

I am already looking forward to the next one.

{Ginger}

What a difference...

... a day makes!


And having a healthy kid! I am as sympathetic as the next person but the last two weeks have been trying {aka I was ready to run out like my house was on fire} with Landon not feeling well. It is heartbreaking seeing him struggle with a runny nose and a cough. I just want my mommy hugs and kisses to heal everything! But unfortunately they don't.

After two weeks of wiping noses and late night hack attacks we are back to our usual happy go lucky selves!

IT IS AWESOME!

I have a few short stories prepared for you today.

Enjoy!

{1} Landon has been doing this number for a while now but I keep on forgetting to post it on the blog. Adam and I try to offer Landon a variety of foods but the kid really knows what he likes and what he doesn't. If he doesn't want to eat something he is not afraid to say so. He has "Yes" and "No" down to a 'T' when it comes to his food choices. The funniest thing {which is the actually story I wanted to tell in the first place} is that he knows when we try to hide a "No" food on the same bite with a "Yes" food. He will either (a) reject the whole bite entirely or (b) take the whole bite and spit out the rejects. Clever little monkey!

{2} We have a nightly routine as most families do. We have dinner and a little bit of play time and around 7:00 we start getting ready bed {bath, teeth brushed, ears cleaned, etc...}. A few weeks ago I went in to grab Landon's pajamas and a diaper so we could go up and give him a bath {he LOVES bath time}. I took his pjs out of the drawer and handed them over to him and he just waited in his room. I grabbed a diaper and he comes up and snatches it and walks out of his room. When I caught up to him he was halfway upstairs. I guess he was ready for some fun in the tub!

{3} Along with our bath routine we also watch a little Sprout in the evenings. We all have our favorite shows. I personally like Caillou, Adam likes the Pajanimals, and Landon likes Thomas. Star and Nina introduce each show with "Let's see what friend is coming to visit next. Hi ___________". Landon is so cute because he waves and says hello to each friend when their show starts. I will definitely try and get a video to show you. It is so adorable.

Something new occurs every day so look out for more little nuggets like this in the future. I want to have a record of every cute little thing Landon does!

{Ginger}

Black & White Friday Night

It's been short {4 days of work} slash long week. I am glad that we have made it to the weekend. Everyone is our house is healthy again and that makes for one happy momma.

Tonight the Walls Family took it easy and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening at home with the usual suspects.

I am looking forward to a fun and productive Saturday.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

I am still trying to figure out my new camera.

I have decided that the black and white shots work best in the evening in our house. I am desperately trying not to use the flash and since we live in a dungeon after 6:00 it is virtually impossible not to. I can't tell you how many books I have read that said "Don't use your flash - you are ruining your photos."

I will eventually figure this camera out!

I am actually in the middle of a blog post about my new camera adventures that I will post at some point in my life.

{Ginger}

Cheddar Cheese Chips

Landon LOVES potato chips, honestly who doesn't?

He would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if we let him.

But Landon - what is that on my couch? And don't tell me it wasn't you because the evidence is all over your face and in your hands.

You may need to enlarge the photo to see the cheesy residue he left behind.

But how can I even get mad when he is this happy?

King for the Day

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King's horses, and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again

This little rhyme inspired the adorable little crown that Landon is wearing. He has ripped it at least 5 times and almost all the little jewels have fallen off but Landon was King for the day.

Vocabulary Lesson: De aka Ready

I feel like Landon's speech is finally starting to make sense to me. I am finally able to really start associating the baby babble to real words. It is very exciting! The little grunts are slowly disappearing and being replaced with actual words of the English language!

Another Example:

Last night during his bath we were playing with his toy boat and splashing it around. Each time that I would get ready to splash it in the tub I would ask him if he was "Ready". He replied "De".

I now believe that in some situations "De" means "Ready".

Go Landon! Another word in your vocabulary!

I hope you don't mind but I have a feeling vocabulary lessons will be popping up all over the blog. From what I have been reading the next few months he should really start talking a lot more.

If he is anything like me, he will probably never shut up either.

Happy Valentine's Day and Half-Birthday

To our Little Cupid!

You stole our hearts with a single shot!

  Love You 

Mom and Dad

And thank you to Ms. K for helping Landon make an adorable Valentine for us. I will cherish it always!



Pre-Valentine's Day Weekend

I had big ideas for valentine's day this year.

I was going to be a crafting goddess!

I had the cutest idea for homemade gifts for all of Landon's friends. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling like myself, let alone a craft goddess this weekend therefore we settled for a last minute trip to the grocery store for Valentine cards. I am sure Disney made their cards with as much love as our homemade ones would of had in them. Right?

Even though I wasn't feeling well we managed to have a fun weekend together.

Friday night Adam and I watched the movie "Catfish". I was already leery of the internet weirdos and yahoos that are out there but now my paranoia has tripled.

Saturday consisted of Bubs getting his haircut, a quick trip to Ikea, hanging out with the Swaneys, and Wal-Mart.

Sunday we were up early and off to Target as soon as they opened. It is fun to go to the stores early when they aren't as crowded so that Landon can run around. I love watching him waddle around the store. I have a few videos of him in Ikea that I will post later.

The weekend is never long enough for me. I always have more on my to do list then there is time in the day. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to but at least I can say that I had a a lot of fun with the people I love.

Vocabulary Lesson: Diggie

More commonly known in the English language as "Doggie".

Used in a sentence - "Here Diggie, Diggie"

Lynchburg Trip

Last weekend I drove down to Lynchburg to visit my sister and her family. I only stayed one night but it was worth the drive to see my little nieces.

The drive down was really pleasant. Three hours of peace and quiet all to myself. It was heaven! I was already planning my next trip down for some antique shopping in my head. I passed by so many cute stores that were calling out my name. I will have to make a special trip just for that. For those of you who don't know I am a lover of all things old (i.e. my husband - BAZINGA!).

Back to my girls - unfortunately Jennifer had a little accident and wasn't feeling well to boot so she wanted to snuggle a lot with mommy which meant I was able to spend a lot of time with Samantha. Mom even let me take care of her for the night. She was such a dream! It kind of makes me want to have another one. Major emphasis on kind of.

In all, it was a great visit and I can't wait to see my lovlies again!

Here are a few of my favorite photos. I was hoping to get more of Sam but with everything going on we just ran out of time. There is always the next visit!



No blog post is complete without Bunny!



Me and my G-Ma Walls

Say it isn't so! Boyd's Bears is going out of business?

My mother-in-law informed me of this information last weekend and I am a little upset by this. I was hoping to make it up to the factory with Landon in the spring.

Oh well - never fear! Grandma has tons of cute and adorable bears for Landon to play with at her house. Maybe the next time we come over we will get her to put out ALL of her bears and we will pretend to be at the factory.






Grandpa was there too but he was doing "man" things with daddy.

Short Stories

Landon - if we could have a word I have a few questions.

1. When did you get so freaking funny?

2. When did you get so freaking smart?

I have a few short stories to tell you and hopefully they will explain why I have the questions above.

What do you want to hear first? Smart? Or Funny?

Funny, just as I thought.

Let me see how do I give you a good visual of this? We were getting you ready for bed and you were running around naked (a new night time event as of late) and your dad asked you to come over to put your diaper on. The diaper was laying down on the ground waiting for you little behind to sit on it. You however had other plans. You proceeded to back your butt into your dad's face and bend down like you were a center in a football game.

If that isn't funny enough it got better! You are now in your diaper saving us all from a possible bathroom accident, thank goodness. You walk out into the hallway, we are in your room pj's in hand, and back up into the wall and wait there. I called out to you to come in and put your pajamas on and you just stood there. Then I heard it - a giant fart! Followed by laughter and you running back into your room with us. Hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing.

Side note - thank you for excusing yourself from the room. That is a very gentleman thing to do. Your dad and I could learn a lot from you.

Now onto the smart/helpful/unbelievably proud portion of this blog.

Every day you amaze me with your ability to grasp and remember where things are and how to do things. (1) If you hear Savannah tap her water bowl you bring it to me to fill it up with water. (2) You have mastered the foot pedal on the trash can and find a unique joy in throwing things away. I must admit I am a little worried about this one. I am hoping that actual trash is the only thing that ends up in there. (3) You also put away all your laundry with little direction. I think you actually liked doing it too. Mainly because you continued to put your dirty socks away in your sock drawer. It's the thought that counts. (4) I believe I have mentioned this before but you are also very helpful in the kitchen. You particularly like stirring and adding ingredients. Today you even helped daddy make your waffles. (5) When it is time to your brush your teeth YOU have to get the toothpaste and toothbrush out of the cabinet yourself. Then you have to put your brush under the faucet before we brush your teeth. Of course you put the toothpaste and toothbrush back as well.

Are you sure you are only 1 and a 1/2?

You are very interested in how things work and once you learn how to do something new you want to do it every time.

Every door is closed by you and every light is turned off and on by you, followed by a high five to reward the awesomeness.

Now for my proudest mommy moment -

You know that "the Situation" means to lift up your shirt and show off your belly.

!!! Quick Blog Update !!!

I wanted to let everyone know to keep an eye on the links at the top of our blog and also in the side columns. I am working on updating each tab and adding a lot of cool features to the site. The Internet really has an endless amount of opportunities! My head has been spinning the last few days with idea.

I am really excited about what is going on with our family and I am looking forward to sharing it with all of you very soon! A change is gonna come!

In the mean time check out the tab labeled "Our Story" and check back later tonight for more funny Landon stories and photos. He was a riot last night - I have to write about what he did.


- Ginger

P.S. We love comments, just saying.

Daddy's Helper

I have found that getting Landon involved in what we are doing is much easier than trying to get him to play with his own toys while me and the hubs get things done around the house. In most scenarios he is actually kind of helpful.



Now to the reason for this post. I forgot I took pictures of Landon helping out his dad with our new bookshelf and I thought I would share them with you. I think Landon ended up getting in the way a little but if he thought he was helping and he felt good about it then I am happy with that.

The pictures aren't the greatest but it's the moment that counts.

Practicing for the NBA

Landon received a basketball hoop for Christmas and in the past few weeks he has really been getting a hang of it. A few weekends ago I grabbed the camera and took a few clips of Adam and him playing. I am thinking of sending them off to some college scouts. It's never to early to start getting some interest.





High Five and Fist Pound

Landon has totally mastered the High-Five. Every time he does something awesome - which is every day - we give him a high-five. For example closing a door, turning the lights off/on, helping with dinner, etc...

What I didn't realize is that at school him and his gal pal Reese high-five each other every day when they arrive in the morning. That is just the cutest thing I have EVER heard!

We are slowly getting the hang of the fist pound as well. We can do the pound part now we are just working on the "blowing up" part.

I will try to get photos soon if it is possible.

Pretty soon the Walls family will have their own super secret handshake. Yeah - we are cool like that.

C is for Cookie!

Landon did SUPER at dinner tonight! We all sat down at the table together and it was sooooooo enjoyable. I was beside myself. He ate almost everything on his plate. It was AMAZING! I was so proud of him. We decided that since he did so well we let him a little dessert. We happened to have oreos (actually "tuxedos" - fancy) on hand so here we go. I will let you judge but I think he liked it.

No one is safe anymore

Not even Mr. Reindeer!

Mr. Reindeer didn't have a chance. Landon ran him over with his dump truck last week. He is currently being nursed back to health by Savannah. We are expecting a full recovery but please keep him in your prayers. He is a very close friend of the family and if he doesn't make it he will be sorely missed.