Christmas 2011

It's been a while. I don't even know where to begin with catching up. I guess I will start with a couple of Christmas pictures. The above picture is the gift that Landon made for me with some help from his Aunt Jenn. Christmas decorating was very simple this year. Most decorations were handmade. Landon was at the perfect age this year to really enjoy making Christmas decorations. I think Landon's favorite thing to do was to cover pinecones in glitter. We then hung those pinecones from the hallway entrance. His second favorite decoration was the ribbon that I put on the front door. I think it was his favorite because he enjoyed tearing it down day after day!

We made some cinnamon ornaments as well, which Landon also had a blast doing. I was a little paranoid because I was afraid of him rubbing cinnamon in his eyes, but we came out unscathed and had rather cute ornaments to show for it.

 We also did different arts and crafts throughtout the month of December as well. Out of all of the different little projects that Landon made I think these three were my favorites.

One of my favorite pictures of Landon from Christmas wasn't even on Christmas day. It was from Christmas Eve when we set out milk and cookies for Santa. Landon snuck a bite of Santas's cookie and I caught him doing so while taking a picture. His guilty smile is priceless!

All in all Christmas was great. Landon received everything that he had on his Christmas list. A few things have already broken or never worked from the beginning. We have a few exchanges to do yet at the North Pole, but Landon has been getting plenty of use out of his presents so far, especially his skateboard and his Hotwheels wall track.

Dino-mite Birthday!

This past weekend was super busy and loads of fun. Landon's birthday was on Friday followed by his party on Saturday. Our baby boy is now officially a three year old! 

Landon's first picture as a three year old!

His actual birthday was a great day. We continued our Toys R Us tradition. Last year Kevin and I took Landon to Toys R Us to pick out anything he wanted. We did the same thing again this year. It was extra fun this year because Aunt TT and Aunt Keyko came along as well. Landon had a mini shopping spree at Toys R Us courtesy of his Aunt Keyko. It sure is going to be hard telling Landon that his toys have to go back to the shelves to go "night night" upon leaving a store now. He was able to walk away with anything that his little heart desired on his birthday. He was definitely one spoiled little boy on his birthday. We all had a blast and Landon was smiles most of the day while shopping. After lunch and shopping we came back home to cake and more presents.

 Telling us that he is 3!

The following day was Landon's birthday party. I think it was the most laid back party to date. I didn't stress a single bit. I even held my composure when Landon's cake fell apart during set up. I shrugged it off and continued to enjoy the day. Landon had a lot of fun at his dinosaur party. He was blessed once again with a ton of presents. He has a toy for every occasion:

Outdoor activities

Indoor activities

Learning games

Landon's cake worked out in the end. The dinosaurs broke in half so we placed toy dinosaurs on top of it. The volcano smoke cloud then broke so my mom made it look like lava split it in half. It all worked out in the end and it tasted super yummy! I was even able to make his Dinosaur Train track fit around the cake stand for the finishing touch. 

 L

Landon loved opening up his presents. He would quickly tear one open, toss it aside, and then ask Daddy for "one more." He had so much fun opening his presents!

 

It really was a great birthday weekend. Happy 3rd Birthday Landon Love! We love you to the moon and back, lots much!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! We had a great Christmas this year. I took a relaxed approach to Christmas. I didn't even worry about pictures, which is very unlike me. I allowed Jenn to control the camera and whatever pictures were taken I went with it. I usually have so much control over pictures and want to capture everything. This year I just enjoyed Christmas. I enjoyed watching Landon open his presents and playing with him. I appreciated the moment rather than spending it worrying about capturing the perfect picture. I realized last night after Landon was already changed into his pajamas that I never got a picture in front of the tree. I think that was the only moment when I regretted not having full control over the picture taking. Jenn was a good sport and took our picture in front of my mom's tree so that I have one to share. Landon was over pictures by that time and was ready for bed. He refused to smile.

Christmas morning definitely didn't go as expected, but a good time was still had by all. I fully expected to see Landon get excited when he saw his presents under the tree. He could have cared less. When he ran out into the living room he just asked for milk and to watch Toy Story. He didn't even want to open up his presents. His stocking still has all of it's wrapped presents in it. We may try opening those this evening. It took almost an hour for Landon to open anything. He wanted me to open them and then hand him the toy. Landon didn't want to have to put any work into getting the toys! After a while he finally started to unwrap his presents. He tore through the last several presents in seconds. He didn't even take a second to see what the present was. It was one extreme to the other with Landon yesterday morning when it came to his gift unwrapping. I guess you never can predict how a two year old is going to react.

Landon does have a few clear favorite toys. Out of all of his presents I think he likes his simple Mr. Potato Head the best. He wouldn't put it down yesterday. He received some really nice toys and the Potato Head was what he got excited over...go figure!

Landon was an extra good boy this year. In return, Santa was extra good to Landon.

Here are a few pictures that were taken Christmas morning of Landon opening his presents:

Now the Christmas fun really begins- cleanup! I think I have to take the tree down today. I'm allergic to pine, but I am able to deal with my allergies. I take Benadryl to get through the day- no big deal. But Landon has been sneezing all night and morning. I was going to keep it up for a few more days, but I think I have to take it down today. I would hate to think that we will have to get a fake tree for now on, but it's looking that way. I just hate seeing Landon so miserable when his allergies are bothering him. I had to give him some Benadryl as well so him and I may just snuggle up and take a nap this afternoon. He's bound to be tired after all of the playing he's been doing all morning. I know I am!

Merry 3rd Christmas Landon Love! Mommy loves you!

Christmas Pics

Christmas has come and gone. I have finally gotten around to uploading Christmas pictures of Landon. I think I had been putting it off for so long because it was by far one of the worse Christmas' of my life. I'm just glad that Landon knew no difference between Christmas day and any other day. He did have a lot of fun opening up his gifts and I really strived to stay as positive as possible even when people were trying to ruin my day. The day was all about Landon and no matter what people were saying or doing, they were not going to ruin Christmas Day for my baby boy. I'm just glad that the last chapter of 2009 is coming to an end. I am looking forward to starting a new chapter of life come 2010. I am going to have a positive outlook and live life to the fullest for both Landon and my sake.

Landon opening up his first present

It is a Little People Farm. Landon even tried to feed the cow his cookie!

Landon working hard on unwrapping this present

It was worth the hard work- a Winnie the Pooh coloring book.

Taking a break from the gift opening to eat his cookie!

Landon got Scout! For all of you parents of a toddler, I highly recommend this toy. They have Scout for boys and Violet for girls. This toy can be customized for each child by downloading different sayings and songs off of the Leap Frog website. It even says your child's name.

Working hard to unwrap another one

It's a Winnie the Pooh book!

Landon took another break from the gift wrapping to read it.

And yet another break to play with his farm house. It took us all day long to unwrap his gifts because after one or two he would start to become overwhelmed.

Landon struggling to open this one and becoming frustrated.

Tinkie stepped in to help!

It was finally opened.

Riding on his new Power Wheels 4-wheeler. It actually only took Landon a matter of seconds to figure out how to operate it.

My very best gift of all- Landon kisses!

Landon's 1st Birthday Party!

This past Saturday was Landon's 1st Birthday party. We had it at a local park that Landon loves going to and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Landon had a good turn out at his party and he received lots of gifts. Thanks to everyone that came out to make Landon's day extra special. Landon really enjoyed himself. Especially with the cake. My mom made Landon the cutest cake. He made such a mess eating it, but had lots of fun doing it! The poor baby got a lot of icing up his nose and was sneezing it out all afternoon. He didn't actually eat the cake part, just the icing so there were no allergy concerns. I'm so glad that I allowed him to dig into his cake...it made for some really good pictures. Landon also enjoyed opening up all of his gifts and he currently has them all over the living room. He loves playing with everything.

Landon's cake

Family picture



I think he loved his cake!




Thanks Mom for Landon's cake!


Landon and his Grandparents




Landon with his Aunts and Uncles and Tinkie too!


Landon's birthday banner



Landon's centerpieces



Landon got a lot of presents!



Landon opening gifts



Landon just HAD to have this one open!


Sitting on his new toy while opening another one.