Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Things I can be Thankful for…

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  • A daughter who has a sense of humor and mad modeling skills!

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  • A husband who has the patience to untangle the Christmas lights.

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  • A nine year old boy who makes the weirdest faces.

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  • A baby who is happy to sit and watch all the craziness around him.

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

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Although I’m not in any of the tree decorating pictures, I really did help. It’s just that no one besides me ever thinks to take pictures. I did make sure to get one of myself and Harper though:

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A Bunch of Turkeys

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This is probably the most important picture from the day, and I forgot to post it! It’s proof that not only did we all live through the 5K, but we’re smiling so we must have enjoyed ourselves…right?!

Turkey Trot/Poult Bolt

This past Saturday our family participated in a 5K run/walk to benefit Toys for Tots. It was a first for all of us, and I think everyone did a really great job!

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Before the 5K began, they had a short run for kids 8 and under called the Poult Bolt. Because Landon’s 9 I didn’t sign him up for the bolt, but when we got there they told us it was fine if he too wanted to run…so he did!

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He came in third place, and man was he pooped! It’s funny because when we first got there he was having a bit of a fit because we told him he couldn’t run the 5K and he’d have to walk with us. He was going on and on about how unfair it was that Zoe got to run it and then after his short sprint around the field he was telling me he thought he was going to throw up! He also had absolutely no idea how long 3.2 miles was and barely made it walking!

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Zoe did end up running almost the entire thing and she finished in about 25 minutes. It took the rest of us about an hour and 10 minutes to finish, but we were pushing the stroller through grass most of the way and that was no easy task! Tony even ended up carrying Harper the last leg because he was being jostled around so much in his stroller!

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

End of Season Soccer Party

Tonight was Landon’s end of soccer season party. At the end of every season the coach’s have us all meet up for pizza where they then give out the kids trophies.

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Like I said before, Landon had a great season this year and his confidence level went up tremendously. He learned a lot of skills last year that he was able to demonstrate successfully this season. His coach had a lot of really nice things to say about him, and I was so proud! HIs coach said that Landon was a great all around player and that even though Landon got on his team late, he was lucky to have had him. He also said that he could count on Landon to get the ball where it needed to be and that Landon had and used some fancy foot skills. I sure hope Landon was paying attention to all that praise from his coach because he certainly deserved it!

Since we had the soccer party tonight, Landon ended up missing his first basketball practice…so, beginning Thursday night we’ll be hitting the courts for the first time. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play basketball!

Don’t Be Cruel

One video today just didn’t seem like enough, so here’s another much older video.

Don’t ask me why we’re listening to Elvis, or why I decide to turn the camera sideways at the end of the video…just enjoy watching these two crazy kids “dance”. I love the part when Zoe looks really closely in to the camera, lol! And, I love how young Landon looks!!

This video is from 2009, but it seems like ages ago!

Baby Dreams

Yesterday when I was looking for that video of Harper giggling, I came across a few other cute video’s like this one of Harper sleeping in his car seat. We had just gotten back from a walk and he started making these funny sounds…the video is wobbly because the whole time I’m recording this I’m dying laughing but trying not to make any noise so that I can hear him!

Monday, November 15, 2010

First Giggles

Ok, before you watch the video, let me apologize for being so annoying, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get those baby giggles!

I think it’s so sweet that Landon is sitting with me the whole time holding Harper’s hand…he said he couldn’t go anywhere because Harper was hanging on to him!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Last Game

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Yesterday was Landon’s final soccer match for the season. This season was soooo much better than last fall! I think Landon was more confident this year and it helped that he had a coach that recognized his skills and put them to use, he even scored the only goal for his team yesterday, and I’m sure that boosted his confidence even further.

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It wasn’t easy being out on the field with Harper, but we felt that it was important to be out there to cheer Landon on, so we all went, and I’m glad we did!

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Saturday, November 13, 2010

Rookie Driver

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Today was a big day for Zoe. We got up bright and early and headed to the MVA so that she could take the Learners Permit test. She was a bit nervous, but she passed with flying colors! She was so tickled that she was able to pass the test after only taking it once. (She read somewhere that 51% of the people who take that test fail the first time, so she was freaking out a little!)

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Once we got home I took her out for her first little drive around our neighborhood, and she did really well. There were a few slight cases of whiplash, but once she learned how touchy the brakes are on Tony’s car, she got better. She also hit a few curbs and kept turning on the windshield wipers when she’d panic a little, but all in all she was pretty successful. I’m just glad that there are so many driving hours required before she’ll actually get her license because she’s going to need them!

3 Months

Guess who turned 3 months old yesterday?

If you guessed this guy:

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Then you would be right!

Things sure have changed since his 2 month milestone!

This little guy is very curious about everything going on around him. He likes being carried around in his front carrier so that he can check everything out as we go. He’s also beginning to drool a bit more than usual, but we don’t see any signs of teeth just yet. Bath time is still a favorite, but sucking on a washcloth the entire time he’s in there is a new favorite. He also likes it when I prop him up on his Boppy pillow in my lap and give him a little toy he can hold in his hands. He’s still learning how to grasp a toy and get it to his mouth without doing too much damage to the rest of his face. Also, when he’s lying on his back, he is beginning to push himself to the side, which I know will soon turn into a full roll over.

He’s strictly bottle feeding now which breaks my heart a little, but breast feeding just wasn’t in the cards for me this time. He’s eating about 6 ounces each feeding, every 4 hours or so.

His sleeping habits really haven’t changed much except instead of 5 hour stretches it’s about 4 hour stretches…which isn’t great, but I’m working on finding a loose schedule that will work for us. I’ve decided to try to implement a nighttime routine; bottle, play, bath, bed, but it’s going to take some time for that to work. Hopefully I’ll be able to make that happen and the sleep will come with it.

Keep your fingers crossed, everyone!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Dad, you’ll love these!

Since it’s Thursday and I have absolutely nothing to say and no new pictures to share, I thought I’d post a couple funny video’s.

I’ve been watching Ellen almost every day and she has us all dying laughing with some of her antics.

Here are a few of our favorites:

And my favorite:

Hope you laughed! I sure did!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

London Coach

Life sure has been busy around here these past few days. Actually, life has been quite busy for the past several months, but even more these past couple of weeks. I keep meaning to sit down to blog, but it seems like every time I have a few minutes to myself I end up cleaning a bathroom, or folding a load of laundry, or making a list of a thousand other things I should be doing.

But, this past weekend Tony and I did get a big project crossed off our list. We (mostly Tony) painted the dining room! I ended up going with a gray color called London Coach for the top and plain white from the chair rail down.

I absolutely love the results! Thanks again, Mom!

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Friday, November 5, 2010

84 Days

This little boy is growing like crazy.

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He is totally aware of what’s going on around him and more alert than ever. He’s still happiest in the mornings, but he tends to be pretty happy in general; unless we don’t get him his bottle quick enough!

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Just within the past two days he’s discovered his hands, and it’s funny to catch him looking at them with such disbelief. He kind of looks at his hands with a look on his face like he can’t figure out where they came from, and then tries to get them to his mouth before they vanish again; sometimes with success other times he whacks himself in the cheek or eye instead. 

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He loves when we stop what we’re doing to talk to him. He’ll be completely still for a second and then he’ll start kicking those little chubby legs like crazy. He coo’s back when talked to, and sometimes lets out some high pitched screeches. He’s also very ticklish on his tummy and under his chin, and is very close to letting out a belly laugh which I cannot wait to hear!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Lighting Up

Remember this light?

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Well, I finally had enough of it’s plastic brassiness and bought myself something a little more my taste:

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Ahhh, much better! But, I also thought that since this was my “formal” dining area, we could jazz it up a bit more. So, I got a medallion for the ceiling, and W-O-W, what a difference!

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My goal is to have this room ready to use by Thanksgiving. I still have a lot of work to do, but it’s getting there!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Not so Itsy Bitsy

My poor baby is being attacked by a gigantic spider.

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He doesn’t seem to mind though. As a matter of fact, he thinks it’s pretty funny.

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Until he notices the red beady eyes staring at him.

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The End.

Halloween Favorites

I took quite a few pictures last night, but most of them didn’t turn out. Most of them were blurry because I just didn’t have time to actually stop and take the picture…it was run, run, run the whole night.

I did get a few that I’m happy with though, and now I’ll make you look at them so you can see that not every picture I take is a blurry mess.

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The first one makes me love Halloween and autumn even more than I already do. I love the twinkly lights and the crazy group of kids at the door. I love that there are a bunch of gourds on the stoop and leaves in the grass. I love that Zoe is out walking with us even though she felt too old to trick-or-treat; a decision she made on her own, not one I enforced. I love that Landon has a bag full of candy that he knows he can’t eat because they have peanuts in them, but that he doesn’t care and can’t wait to get to the next house to see if they’ll have something he can eat. He never lets it bother him that he can’t have peanut M&M’s or Reece’s Cups…he just lets me or Zoe eat them all while he hoards the Skittles and Sweet Tarts.

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I love this because one of Zoe’s best features is her eyes, and her eyelashes curl perfectly up under the eye holes of her mask. I also love that Travis is making this mask totally unique with the sunglasses and that signature “guy” pose. I also love that neither of them balked at walking around the neighborhood with a bunch of younger kids and 3 adults.

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I love this photo of Landon walking down the sidewalk because he hadn’t yet gotten bored of trick-or-treating. We had only stopped at about 5 houses at this point, but still. He really isn’t much into the whole walking around the neighborhood asking for candy thing. He’d rather stay home and scare the crap out of people. But, in this photo, he is running ahead of everyone else in our group, eager to get to the next house…I think he actually got caught up in the excitement of trick-or-treating for once, and enjoyed himself.

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This one I love because of Lauren’s blue wig. She must have put four thousand bobby pins in her hair, yet by the end of the night, her wig was kind of sliding off her head.

I also love that while walking around our neighborhood Lauren saw her friend who was dressed up as Cindy Loo Who, and they let me get a picture of them together:

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Just look at her hair!

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So cute!

All Dressed Up

Landon’s costume didn’t require makeup this year, but because it’s Halloween, we figured why not? When it came time to apply the makeup, Tony and I were busy doing 4 thousand other things so it became Zoe’s job.

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Here’s the finished product:

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He wore his hood and mask while he trick-or-treated, so no one even saw his painted face, but I think Zoe enjoyed painting it nonetheless! Before it got too dark I was able to get one picture of Tony, Landon and Harper, and its still blurry!

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And, if your wondering why Zoe isn’t in the picture it’s because she didn’t decide until about 2 minutes before we left that she was going to walk with us. She ended up throwing on the mask she wore last year…and then struck a pose or two:

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Tony’s brother and his family came over to walk the neighborhood with us. Here are a few pictures of them all dressed up and ready to trick or treat:

Kitty Cat

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Thing 2, The Masked Girl and Boy

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The Masked Ones

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The Itsy-Bitsy Spider

It’s tough dressing a baby for Halloween. There are so many cute idea’s out there yet I only have one baby to dress up! I wanted to make sure to get him something that I was sure would keep him warm as well as easy to put on.

I didn’t accomplish either, but he was the cutest little spider I’ve ever seen!

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Devilish

Tony couldn’t stand the thought of going without dressing up this Halloween, and at the last second threw together a creepy scene on the front porch and hit the Halloween store for a mask.

This years pick: The Devil.

Here's a little photo progression:

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He gets better and better with the make up every year. I have to say though, that he started putting on his make up around 3 o’clock yesterday and was dressed and ready before any of the kids were!

And, since he was ready so early, he had plenty of time to play one of his computer games:

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Now that’s not something you see every day, right?

April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...