Landon's Bike Skills

For only having his bike for a few days, Landon is doing really well. Each day he does a little better. And since we are now riding our bike multiple times a day, he's getting plenty of practice. Devin's speeding around watching out for his little brother, and Landon's sauntering along telling himself he's speed. I love the joy on his face when he's riding, and I love seeing him master a new skill. I also enjoy how tired he is at bedtime due to all the practicing.

Course all the practicing is a little difficult when he gets distracted by all the roly-poly bugs and worms on the sidewalk. Loved this encounter: He found the bug. Examined the bug. Then lost the bug down his shirt sleeve. Don't worry. The bug was discovered and put back on the grass.

Landon Birthday Questionnaire

How old are you? This many (showing me three fingers)

What makes you happy? Cute Little Dog

What is your favorite animal? Dogs

What is your favorite thing to eat? Peanut butter sandwich

What is your least favorite thing to eat? I don't know

What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Cute Little Dog

What is your favorite TV show? Wild Kratts and Octonauts

What are you really good at? Playing games

What is your favorite movie? RescueBots

What is your favorite color? Pink/Red

What is your favorite song? "Child of God"

Who is your best friend? Cute Little Dog

What do you and your mom do together? Play games

What do you and your dad do together? Puzzles

What is your favorite sport? Soccer

Where is your favorite place to go? To the duck pond

What is your favorite book? Transformers

What do you want to be when you grow up? Help somebody

Landon was really not interested in answering these questions. But he was adorable. As usual.

Baby Number 3

We're excited that we'll be adding another little human to the family in October.

We told the boys last night and they were mostly unconcerned. Devin did tell Rich later that it was so exciting we were going to have a new baby, and Landon mostly talked about eating the baby, etc. They will both be great big brothers and we are looking forward to this new little one!

Landon's 3rd Birthday

Landon is 3! Can't believe how grown up this little man has become in just the past 2 months. He's such a sweet, adorable, fun part of our family. He's such a lucky boy because this year he got to have two birthday parties! Due to grandparent schedules we needed to have our main party on Saturday night, then he was lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Downing in town to celebrate on Sunday for his actual birthday.

So, on Saturday we had Landon's requested dinner of "french fries." Seriously, when asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner he only asked for french fries. And cake. So, I convinced him we should probably also have hot dogs, which he agreed to. We got him some McDonald's french fries and he was happy. This boy LOVES french fries.

After hot dogs and french fries it was present time! He was super adorable with each present--announcing, "It's a box!" or "It's something!" He was kind and let Devin help him and didn't get upset when Devin took over. He was a lucky boy and got Duplo blocks, books, and Imaginext toys from the grandparents. His main present was a bike, which he was super excited about. Especially since it has a star that looks like Captain America's. Of course we had to go out and try out the new ride before cake.

I decided for him that he would have a puppy dog cake, which he willingly went along with. I was glad, because trying to make Spiderman's face or something to do with Transformers did not appeal to me! I told him it would look like his Cute Little Dog, and I think I was at least in the same ballpark. After getting it all iced I asked Landon how it looked; his response, "It looks delicious!" Devin's response was more critical: "It doesn't look exactly like Cute Little Dog. And what are those dots? And why is his mouth like that? And there are no sprinkles on his real dog."  If you want the specifics, you go to Devin! The cake was actually really easy to make. I borrowed two heart pans from Lindsey to make the dog, then she gave me the great idea to make cupcakes with "dog bones" on top. Turned out really fun!

I'm just pleased that Landon was happy with his cake, loved the attention of being sung to, and he and Devin promptly began to eat their dessert like dogs.

Birthday guests:

Landon's second party was on his real birthday. We were glad that Grandma and Grandpa Downing got into town to celebrate with us. For dinner this night we had a make-your-own-pizza-bar, which the boys think is the best way to make and eat pizza. And pizza is a close second to french fries in Landon's book, so it was a good choice.

After dinner Landon got more presents, which he couldn't even wait for because he was so excited. Grandma and Grandpa Downing got Landon a ferry boat bath toy, which Landon thought was "pretty cool." We'd also saved SuSu and Val's gift, which was perfect because they'd also sent something for Devin. He was happy to get a little something at the end of two-day party for Landon.



After dinner Landon showed off his bike skills to Grandma and Grandpa, then we had cake and candles part two. This time we actually got to cut into the doggie cake, which was a highly anticipated event.

This child is a joy, and we are so lucky to have him in our family. Happy Birthday Landon!

House: Wood Floor, Almost Done

The floor has been a humongous project, and one that Rich will never, ever want to repeat. First he started by taking out some of the boards from the existing floor so we could lace into it and not have it look like a pieced job. Devin got to, once again, do his beloved job of pulling out staples.

 

 

Then we started laying out the wood. I got to be the puzzle-maker and Rich nailed everything in. The boys even got in on the fun! Brad and Jo were amazing during this and offered to take the boys one night for a movie night, which was a giant help. Things definitely went faster with both of us working together. I felt helpful for once!

 

 

 

 

 

Once the floor was in, Rich and Ryan started sanding everything down and getting it to look right. They then spent a whole afternoon putting down the stain, but unfortunately it didn't look right. And since Rich just couldn't handle another go at the floor (I can't blame him, that whole week he got 5 hours or less of sleep each night), we are having some professionals come to sand the floor perfectly and then re-stain it so it looks the way we want it.