Squirrel!

You've gotta love the attention span of three year olds. Landon was riding his bike today and stopped once he saw a squirrel. He got off of his bike to chase the squirrel. He kept doing this every single time he saw a squirrel. This occurred numerous times since we were at a park with a number of trees. All I could do was laugh. It reminded me of that clip from the movie "Up" where the dog would stop mid sentence when he saw a squirrel.

Three Year Photos

I recently had the privilege of meeting with a local photographer for Landon's three year photos. Every year we have Landon's pictures taken in a studio. We have always walked away with good shots, but the process is always rather stressful. This time around we were able to have candid shots taken at one of Landon's favorite parks. I am so excited over the end results. We wound up with a number of amazing shots. Here is the link to Landon's photo shoot:

http://britperkins.smugmug.com/Children/landon/17132673_VCJ9jd#1298323935_dh3b935

If you are in need of a photography in the Jacksonville area, then please contact Brittany Perkins at bajperkins@gmail.com. She did an amazing job with Landon. She was so pleasant to be around and Landon really warmed up to her.

Milk Allergy Update

Today was Landon's annual allergist appointment. It was as expected- Landon is still allergic to milk. Somehow he is more allergic to milk now than he was previously. His allergist reassured me that there is still a chance of Landon outgrowing his milk allergy in the next couple of years. She has seen increased allergy levels in children two to three years of age before and by four to five they slowly drop back down. His increased milk allergy levels are not unheard of, but it's definitely not the news that we were wanting to hear. Landon was a handful during the skin test. He started screaming and protesting as soon as the nurse wiped an alcohol swab on his back. He kept saying "ouch" and "hurts" over and over again just from her wiping the alcohol swab on him. Landon then proceeded to say that the marks the nurse drew on his back with a marker hurt and started crying. He's one dramatic boy! The real fun began once they pricked his back. Thankfully it was only three pricks today. Daddy colored with Landon as Mommy made his boo boos go away by blowing on his back. I think the slight wind made the itching/burning go away. After a few he was back playing with his Toy Story toys to pass the time. Half way through the test we knew it wasn't good news. The spot was huge. Larger than previous tests. The nurse came in at the half way point to check on him and said that it was definitely positive and quite a reaction for only being 7 minutes in to it. Landon was a trooper and after 15 long minutes we were able to wipe his back off and apply some Benadryl cream. We then spent a good portion of the afternoon at Landon Park. We love that park. Not only does it share our Landon's name, but it is right on the water. Landon has also been asking to go to the beach. Every time we get into the car Landon tells me to drive to the beach. I may just have to make that happen this week since he was such a good boy today.

Mimicry

I took Landon to the park yesterday and realized just how much he is NOT a baby anymore. He wanted to swing on the swings, but all of the baby swings were being used. He had to wait his turn and instead of having a complete meltdown like the other boy that was waiting for a turn as well, Landon walked up to the baby that was in the swing and started pushing him back and forth. It was by far one of the sweetest things that I have seen Landon do for another person. That moment made me realize just how far Landon has come from the baby stage. He is no longer the little tiny baby who just lays still in the boppy because he is immobile. He is very much so mobile and he has his own mind and is becoming increasingly independent. I can't wait to see the young man that Landon becomes. I just know that he is going to blossom into such a caring and considerate young man. He even takes breaks while he is playing to run up to me with his arms outstretch just to kiss my knee or arm, which ever he comes into contact with first. A second later he will go back to playing, but every so often he will take a break just to run up to me and give me a kiss. It amazes me daily of how sweet he is.

When Landon is not running and jumping all over the place he is mimicking my every move. He is like my shadow these days. If we go for a walk and I sit down on the steps outside then he stops what he is doing and sits right along side me. Today while playing at the park I sat down on the sidewalk while Landon was sliding down the slide. Once he slid down the slide he saw that I was sitting on the curb and immediately ran over to me to sit next to me. He wouldn't get up until I did.

Landon sliding down the big slide

Sitting just like Mommy

This picture doesn't look like too much, but Landon finally figured out how to rock himself back and forth on this triceratops thing.

While Landon's mimicking ways are cute at times, they can also be quite troubling. I can't seem to be able to discipline Landon these days without laughing. The other day I placed Landon on time out and while I was explaining to him why he was on time out I must have been frowning and had my arms crossed. Landon took one look at me, crossed his arms and frowned. It was the funniest thing and I couldn't help but laugh. Needless to say, that was the end of Landon's time out because we were both laughing. If I laugh, then Landon laughs. Most of the time he doesn't even know why he is laughing. He is just laughing because I am. That moment the two of us could not stop laughing and time out came to a quick halt.

Toddler Tantrums

Landon is able to throw a tantrum with the best of them. So how do I handle his tantrums? I take pictures of them of course! Landon didn't want to put his pants on so he threw himself to the ground and then proceeded to try to walk up me by pulling on my shirt and climbing his way up my legs. I just happened to have the camera in my hands because I was putting it away. Since there is no way of stopping his tantrums I figured I'd take pictures of the craziness that is my life!

After a few minutes my legs and arms couldn't take any more of his attempts to climb up me so I bribed him with a trip outside. The moment he saw me reach for Tinkerbell's leash his tantrum was over. He immediately grabbed her leash from me and carried it over to Tink. He then lifted his legs up to me to motion that he was ready for his pants and sat down for me to put his shoes on. Once I opened up the front door he was off and running!

He made a bee line for the slides where he quickly forgot that he was mad and was all smiles from that point on!

Landon has been working so hard the last couple of weeks to be able to climb up these poles. He is way too small to be able to climb up them, but he doesn't allow that to stop him. The boy has no fear and loves to give me a heart attack. He is finally able to climb up them all by himself.

The afternoon ended with a game of "Follow the Leader"!

Muddy Park Days

Landon loves to go outside and play, but he hates to get dirty. We had a lot of rain lately so it has been really muddy outside. Landon fell down at the park and he was not a happy camper. He kept trying to stand up without having his hands touch the ground. He was so upset that his outfit and shoes were dirty. He kept trying to clean off his shoes and was getting so angry that the dirt wasn't coming off.Landon was saying, "Mommy put the camera down and come clean my shoes!" He then fell down again and was over the top angry that his hands and shirt were dirty.

I eventually stopped snapping pictures and helped Landon get cleaned up. He was so grateful that I helped him. He even picked me "flowers" to show his gratitude!

A happy Landon going down the slide (before the mud).

This was right before the dirt meltdown. He was playing with his Pooh cars.

A day in St. Augustine

Our vacation plans didn't go as planned so we have decided to do several day trips this week. Today we made a trip down to St. Augustine. We go to St. Augustine a lot, but we always stroll along the Saint George St. and never venture into other areas. Today we hit the antique shops just before the old town. We stopped at a nearby park so that Landon could run off some energy and we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Landon is at the age now where the park is a ton of fun. He is able to slide down the slide by himself, climb on the playground equipment, and just run amok.

Landon and Uncle Alex on the teeter-totter

Landon sliding down the slide

He's so confident that he slides down backwards...

...and head first!

My mom and I took Landon on his first carousel ride at the park and he loved it. He was so excited when he saw the carousel and was smiling from ear to ear when I sat him on top of the carousel horse.

Unfortunately, the carousel ride didn't get off to a good start. There was another little boy about the same age as Landon who was looking at the carousel. Landon walked up next to him to say "Hi" and to look at the carousel as well and the little boy pushed Landon away. I couldn't believe it. Landon was scared and ran off and tripped into a pile of dirt and ants. Here is the result of the fall (if you click on the picture you'll be able to see just how dirty his face got from the fall).

Luckily, Landon wasn't hurt (of course I got bit up by ants) and the rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch. It was nice seeing different stores and of course we ended the day strolling along the old town streets.

A family picture by the fort

Landon enjoying a rice cake by the water

Landon chilling in his stroller

Playing with random bubbles blowing onto the street

We had a really nice afternoon and we are looking forward to a relaxing day at the beach tomorrow and a fun trip to the zoo on Monday.

Park and Beach Fun

On Saturday we took Landon to the park to kill off some energy before hitting the grocery store. Landon has a lot more fun at the park now that he is able to run around. He particularly loved crawling through a tunnel that they had there.

On Sunday we spent the morning at the beach. We left bright and early so that we could beat the afternoon heat. Landon had a lot of fun. He hated the beach the last time that we took him so I was a little concerned about how he would react. Last time Landon would cry whenever his feet touched the water. We couldn't keep him out of the water this time around. Now that Landon is walking he is so much more outgoing and willing to try new things. Tinkerbell also went into the water for the first time. She's always ran away from the waves before, but now that her Landon was in the water she had to go in too to keep an eye on him!