Allergist visit

Landon finally got in to see his allergist at Nemours the other day. The dr. did a skin scratch test on Landon. That was the one test that I didn't want preformed, but Landon was such a trooper and handled the whole process really well. He didn't even cry through the first 10 or 15 "scratches". For the next 15 or so scratches he cried a little bit, but I think they were more of annoyance tears rather than pain tears. The hardest part of it all was keeping Landon still for 20 minutes while we waited for the allergist to come back in to read the results. Landon wasn't able to touch his back at all so we sang "If You Are Happy and You Know It" over and over again. At least it kept his hands occupied. In the end, we received some good news. Landon has outgrown his wheat allergy! He is now able to eat bread, crackers, chicken nuggets, noodles, and all of the other daily staple foods that he has been missing out on. He does still have a mild egg allergy, but next week we are able to start introducing egg into his diet. We are to give him a scrambled egg one bite at a time. We are to wait 10-15 minutes in between each bite to make sure that there will be no reaction. The allergy is so mild that the allergist does not foresee egg being an issue for Landon. Landon does, however, still have a severe milk allergy. We were given an epi-pen to keep on hand in case Landon is accidentally exposed to milk. I don't see it being necessary since I am the one responsible for all of Landon's meals, but it does give us a peace of mind. Especially after he had such a bad reaction to yogurt. We just have to read all labels because I learned this morning that even certain breads contain milk. This morning I had made Landon some toast with jelly and then something told me to read the label on the bread. I am glad that I second guessed my choice because Sara Lee bread contains milk. All in all I am very happy with his allergy results. Landon now has so many more food choices that don't require us breaking the bank when we go grocery shopping. No more $8 loafs of brown rice bread! We return to the allergist every 6 months to re-test for the milk allergy in hopes that he will outgrown it as he gets older.

Love Bug

When Landon was first born, I started calling him "Monkey". It suited him at the time because he was such a chunky monkey as a baby. I still call him "Monkey" every now and then, but I almost always refer to Landon as "Love Bug" these days. As his personality grew, I saw how loveable, huggable, and kissable Landon has become. "Love Bug" is such a suiting nickname for Landon. Landon loves to hug everyone and everything (especially Tinkie and his Poohs).

While we were at the mall play area, Landon went over to a little girl and little boy that were playing together. They were about 3 and 6. Landon immediately hugged them once he walked up to them.

The two other little ones were so protective over Landon from that point on. They held Landon's hands as they walked him around the play area. They had refused to leave his side the whole time that we were there. It was the sweetest thing watching them interact amongst one another. At one point the little girl had fallen and Landon laid on top of her to give her a hug.

They laid like this for about 2 minutes until the little girl's mother walked over. She was making sure that her daughter wasn't holding Landon down and preventing him from getting up. I assured her that that wasn't the case and that Landon was just a big hugger. Landon will be quite the Prince Charming when he is older. I am sure that I will have my hands full chasing all of the girls away. I am wishfully thinking that the girls will forever keep their distance from him and that Landon will always remain "Mommy's Prince Charming".

Beach Bums

We were all a bunch of beach bums today. We went to the beach for the afternoon and stayed for several hours. It was the longest that we have ever stayed at the beach. I hate being in the heat so the beach is usually not my idea of a fun time, but I had so much fun watching Landon enjoy himself that time just flew by. Landon was scared of the waves so I had to hold him while walking along the shoreline. The last time that we went to the beach he loved going into the water, but this time he didn't want anything to do with it. He did, however, want everything to do with the sand! He loved playing with his sand buckets and shoveling the sand into his mouth! Apparently sand and sea shells are a new delicacy!

Eating the sand!

For some reason there were jelly fish everywhere. Alex and Kevin swam amongst the jellyfish. They were the only brave ones. The rest of us weren't daring enough to get into the water. Alex even caught some jellyfish in a bucket and brought them back to show to us.

We found a little "lake" that some kids must have dug earlier that day in the sand while we went for a walk along the beach. Landon had a blast playing in the water and then tearing down the sand castle that was there.

I saved a collection of leaves that Landon gave to me yesterday at the park for his scrapbook. Crazy, I know, but they were the first leaves that Landon ever collected into a pile. Since I saved his leaves, I had to save the seashells that he brought back to me today. Let's just hope that Landon never picks up a habit of bug collecting!

Landon picking up sea shells.

Landon bringing his sea shells back to me.

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.

15 months old!

Landon turned 15 months old this past Thursday! Landon is now 23 1/2 lbs and 32 inches tall. I can't believe how quickly he is growing. We can't keep up. He had a few weeks where he refused to eat any solids, but he has been making up for it this past week. He has put on some weight and is growing like crazy. Landon's feet have actually grown 2 whole sizes in 2 months! He now wears a size 6 extra wide (he has his Daddy's feet!). Thank goodness my mom loves buying his shoes, otherwise we would be in the poor house trying to keep up with his ever growing feet. Landon is also slowly outgrowing his 12 month clothing. Most 12 months clothes still fit with plenty of room, but some of his shirts are getting really short on him. Landon now has all of his molars in and was in quite a bit of pain from getting them all in at once, but he is now back to his normal self. I really love the age that Landon is at right now. He is such a ball of energy and loves to play. He is running around everywhere and loves to give out hugs and kisses. Landon can clap his hands and stomp his feet along to "If You Are Happy and You Know It". It is the cutest thing. I will upload the video that we got of him doing it one of these days when I have more time.

Landon's "sweet" face:

Landon has been around Tinkie too long!!

The things we say....

Writing the last post of all of the words that Landon can say has made me think of all of the crazy things that I have said to Landon. Kids Moms say the darnedest things! Throughout these past 14 months I have said some things to Landon that I could have never imagined saying such as:

• "I love you even though you pee on me!"- this was during one of those middle of the night diaper changes.

• "The dishwasher is not a chair or a stepping stool"


• "Are you peeing on the floor? I hear you peeing on the floor. Why are you peeing on the floor?! Tinkie doesn't even pee on the floor!"


• "Don't share your popsicle with Tinkie!"


• "We don't shove chicken up our nose!"


• "Your toothbrush is for your teeth. It is not a broom or a hairbrush."

• "Tinkie's water bowl is not a swimming pool!"

Kevin had a couple of saying that he wanted to add as well:

• "I love you like pigs love pies!" That is one of our favorite sayings around here. We refer to a lot of children's books these days!


• "Stop hitting Daddy" Landon treats Kevin like a punching bag.


• "Landon, shake your booty!" The boy loves to dance!