Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Kevin!

Landon put a little list together of what he loves most about his daddy:

• He plays Legos with me
• He gives me hugs and kisses
• He makes me breakfast
• He helps me paint
• He holds Petey so I can pet him
• He is strong
• He helps me learn to ride my bike
• He colors with me
• He is funny

We love you Kevin and hope you have a great day! 

It's Not Fair!

It's not fair is a common phrase heard around here lately. Landon turned 6 and now all of a sudden he thinks he's grown and knows what's best for him. His neighborhood friends are able to walk all over the neighborhood with no supervision. Landon is not allowed to do so. He has to stay in the front yard at all times. Six years old is far too young to be running all around the neighborhood unsupervised. When Landon's friends leave our front yard to go play elsewhere Landon refuses to come in. Instead he'll come tell me "it's not fair" and then walk down to the bottom of the driveway, sit down, and pout. I hate to break it to you Landon, but you're going to utter that phrase countless times throughout your life. You won't be getting a smart phone while in elementary school. Heck, you won't even be getting one in high school. We'll hear "it's not fair" from you when we deny you a new car when you turn 16. We'll hear it time and time again from you over the next 12 years and it won't phase Mommy and Daddy one bit. It just reiterates that we're doing our job well. We love you Landon and that's why we're perfectly ok with hearing you say "it's not fair." 

Landon's 6th Birthday!

Our Landon Love is now 6 years old. Where did the time go?! Landon enjoyed a fun filled birthday as well as a great party. Jingles (our Christmas elf) came back for one day to help Landon celebrate his birthday. Landon awoke to Jingles in his balloon filled room. We filled his room with 150 plus balloons for him to have a surprise on his birthday morning. To say it was a hit would be an understatement. We set the alarm for half an hour early so we could wake Landon and record his reaction. However, Landon beat our alarm and we awoke to him shrieking, "You guys are the best parents EVER!"

After school we took Landon out to eat at one of his favorite bbq restaurants and then we ran off to soccer practice. We had a small family party for him at the house after practice where he enjoyed a Raphael cake and present opening.

We got Landon a new bike for his birthday. The ninja turtle helmet completed the look!

 

 Landon requested a Raphael cake so that's what he got!

 Our amazing 6 year old! 

Landon had another successful birthday party this year. His current obsession is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so a ninja turtle party is what he got. We spent many long nights the week prior party prepping, but it was all worth it in the end. We even made nunchucks for all of the kids so every child was able to be transformed into a ninja turtle. 

 

The weather was perfect the day of his party. There was even a slight breeze, which made taking pics of the props hard, but we were very thankful for a break from not only the Florida heat, but the rain as well. 

 The birthday boy with his cake. 

 Landon requested a blue cake with a city skyline and a zip line. My mom made sure to include all of his requests. Thanks Mommom for his cake! 

Pull string pinatas are not nearly as much fun as the old fashioned kind, but a ninja turtle pinata is almost harder to track down than a ninja turtle bounce house! 

 We've come to find out, no matter the type of pinata the end result is always the same- a mad dash for candy!

 Going through my camera at the end of the night I came across a few pics of my brother and his girlfriend being silly. I have blackmail! 

Ninja Turtles in training!

Happy 6th Birthday Landon Love! Mommy and Daddy love you so much! We are so proud of the boy that you are becoming. You are thoughtful, kind, gracious, loving and full of such life and joy. We couldn't imagine our lives with you. You have made our last 6 years so much more enjoyable. We love you like pigs love pies! 

Meet Pete

I swore off having another dog in the home. I told myself that I couldn't put Landon through another heartbreak, but in reality I was the one that didn't want to get attached to another dog only to eventually lose it. Landon has been asking for a dog for quite some time now. Kevin and I have been talking about getting him a dog, but always had a reason as to why it wasn't the right time. I came across a dog on an adoptable pet website and the next morning we called the shelter to see if he was still available. To our surprise he was and we made the drive to go get him. 

Meet Pete.

He's a two year old, four legged terrier mix terror. He has endless energy and escapes from every fence and open door he comes across. He's non stop and definitely nothing like our Tinkerbell was. We're not used to having such a misbehaved dog. He's a lot of work, but is growing on us. He's playful and much larger than Tinkerbell (which were the two requirements I had for Landon's new dog). Petey is a very friendly dog, but has a nipping and scratching problem when he's playing. It makes playing with him very difficult and Landon is scared of him at times due to that. Hopefully with some much needed training and love he'll become a great family dog. 

Jingles

We added a new member to our family throughout the month of December, Jingles the Elf. Jingles arrived at the beginning of December and stayed with us until Christmas Eve. Every night he reported back to Santa as to whether Landon was good or bad. When Jingles came back he always got himself into trouble. Here are a few highlights of his antics:

 Jingles trapped Landon in his room and Landon was not amused. 

 Jingles took the car for a joy ride and parked it across the neighbor's yard! 

 Jingles shaved half of Daddy's face!

 Jingles tp'd the Christmas tree! 

 Another naughty Jingles moment. 

 Jingles was caught for his naughty ways. 

 Jingles made a snowman. 

 

Jingles put bows all over Landon's room! 

Jingles left Landon a goodbye letter upon his departure. This hit Landon hard. We were not expecting his reaction. He actually cried about losing his "friend". Ever since we lost our Tinkerbell, Landon has not handled goodbyes very well and for some reason this fact did not register with us when we decided to bring Jingles into our home. I quickly decided to make a photo album of Jingles for Landon and surprised him with it on Christmas morning. We told him that Jingles left it for him and included all of the photos from Jingles' nightly adventures. 

The photo album helped a lot, but Landon still keeps the goodbye letter on his dresser and still talks about Jingles. I'm starting to think that losing Tinkerbell is not something he will ever get over and this scar will forever be with him. Jingles may just have to be a permanent elf on our shelf next year.