Bakugan

Saturday when we came home from our errands Landon had a package waiting for him at the door! He was stoked and I couldn't get it opened fast enough. It was from Grandpa Rick and Grandma Alma. And this is what he got:

Bakugans! He was so excited and was yelling, "Bakugan, Drago, Bakugan, Drago!" Drago is the red dragon bakugan. He's been eyeing that one every time we go down the toy aisle. I didn't know Landon would be in to these kinds of things till he got one in a Happy Meal at McDonald's a few months back. He's been hooked ever since. Greg records the cartoon for him and they watch it together. I think Greg was just as excited when the package arrived and saw what it was. If you don't know they are these little balls and you throw them on the ground and they pop open into different things. (I know I am butchering this, sorry) It's a game that you play with other's and you toss them at each others. Sounds weird, I know, it's a boy thing. And Landon likes it.

Thank-you Grandpa Rick and Grandma Alma for my Bakugan's, I love them!

It's begining to feel....

A lot like Christmas! We were super busy yesterday. Greg was busy on the outside of the house, and i was busy on the inside. Greg was super excited this year to hang lights. We had three brand new boxes of icicle lights from who knows when. So Greg went out after he got off work and got busy.

We only have a small ladder. And for Greg to get on the roof he got to the top of the ladder and I had to give him a boost with my hand. Kinda like when you do when you're a kid. We were laughing but it worked. And when Greg got down he got down on the fence. The guy across the street came over and said he liked our inflatable firetruck and asked if we would like to borrow a ladder! Sure!!!! So he brought us a huge ladder to use. Whew, it was a life saver. No more boosts with my hands! haha. It made me so nervous with Greg on the roof. I was inside doing the tree and I could hear him banging around and the staple gun!

Greg was outside most of the morning. We all showered and went and got some lunch and more lights and extension cords. Then we came home and Greg was back on the roof. Poor guy. He said his legs were sore when we was done. Meanwhile Landon was helping me decorate the tree. He really really really enjoyed it. His idea of decorating the tree is to hang the decoration on the light, see...

So funny. It also seems every time I turn around he has a candy cane in his mouth. As I walk around the house I keep finding tiny plastic wrappers on the floor. Here is the section where Landon decorated, I thought it was soo cute. All in one spot. He did a great job though.

That's the house above. Looks nice we think. We want to add some more. We still have strings of small lights. Not sure what we want to do yet. I am going to wait to see if anything goes on sale. And below is the entry way. I hung a garland and put some poinsettias in the corner and when we were at Lowe's they had fresh poinsettias for $1.98 so I grabbed one. I should have got two, but oh well.

Greg's back to work today. It's cold and gloomy out and I really hope it rains. Landon and I are going to clean since we have visitors coming during the week. Landon is excited for Poppa Bob and Grammie to come visit. We also have to hit the Commissary for some things. Have you guys put your Christmas tree and decorations up yet? When do you usually do it?

Best Cousins

I asked Landon if Ava was his best friend on Thanksgiving and he said, "no Ava is my cousin!" I said "Oh, she isn't your best friend?" And Landon said, "No my best cousin!" It was so cute. As soon as they saw each other they were off and playing. They didn't stop the entire day. Well, for juice they stopped but that was it. They always seem to have the best time together. They are about 2 1/2 years apart in age, but it doesn't matter. When we first moved back from Germany we stayed with Alex, Jennifer and Ava. Ava was so excited to see Landon, Landon was about 11 months old. Ava just didn't understand why Landon wouldn't talk to her. She would get upset and cry and say, "Why won't he TALK to me?" It was so funny. Now her big question is, "Why doesn't he share?" I had to explain to her that he is still learning, and I tried to get Landon to take turns. That boy is as stubborn as an ox I tell ya. But they had a blast.

It was so nice out on Thanksgiving. They were in the back playing in the sandbox for a while. And since they are older now we left the back door opened and stayed inside and listened to them play. Greg's parents live on like 6 acres and it's fenced in. We know they are safe. Every now and then it would get quiet and we'd have to go out there and see what they were up to. Many times they were off running and chasing butterfly's just giggling away! At one point Ava hurt hurt finger because she was trying to move a stone. She came in and Landon made sure to kiss her boo boo for her.

And since it recently rained in Dripping Springs there was a small wet weather creek on the property. We took a walk to it. They loved it.

Landon enjoyed sticking his finger in it and kept repeating how cold it was. Ava jumped back and forth over the creek and Landon laughed at her. We walked to the top of the property to the 'waterfall' and they said we were in a Forrest, a rain Forrest to be exact.

After walking around it was time for a break. They of course didn't want to stop, we had to bribe them to get them to come inside.

The bribe of course was a juice break to to tell Oma that we saw a waterfall!

They have the best time together and get upset when either has to leave. Landon cried so hard because he wasn't ready to go home. He adores Ava, she is such a good older Best Cousin to him! We can't wait to see Ava again, Landon is still talking about her!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving 2009! I hope everyone had a wonderful day. Ours was busy, but very nice. It started early. I had to pick Greg up from work at 7am and then we were on the road to his parents house in Dripping Springs. Landon was very excited to go, as were we, we were just dreading the long drive. It was very chilly yesterday morning, only 27 outside. We battled with the heater the entire car ride. I was always cold, Greg hot. I was drinking a cold drink, Greg was drinking coffee. Maybe that's why. Maybe because Greg was still in his BDU's and combat boots? Landon happily watched Max and Ruby Christmas the entire way.

We arrived around 1030am. Stopping twice for potty breaks. At one point we had to stop on the side of the road and let Landon pee in the grass. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Ava was THRILLED to see Landon, they were instantly off and playing. They stayed outside most of the morning. It was very nice weather in Dripping Springs. They went for walks on the property, played in the sandbox, played on the swing set, argued, and came in and out for juice breaks. Those two are so cute together and have the best time. Opa and Alex were at a Turkey trot when we arrived and Oma was cooking. The house smelled soooooo good. My tummy was instantly hungry. But we still had about 4 hours :)

Oma with the turkey above and Opa cutting the Turkey below. It sure was good. Nice and juicy.

We had Turkey, Sweet Potato casserole, green bean casserole, peas, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls and gravy. For dessert Oma made a pumpkin pie cheesecake, a no bake cheesecake and a pecan pie. I ate so much I couldn't move.

Alex and Jen above. Doesn't Jen look pretty? And then Greg and I below. Man, I sure do look chubby and need to loose some weight. Greg of course has a grin, or whatever you want to call it. ugh, why do men do that?

There's Oma and Opa. The kids weren't hungry since we ate around 3pm. They were too busy playing to stop and eat. When everyone was done everyone wanted a nap. Opa layed on the couch and told Landon and Ava a story. We were sitting back laughing because it made no sense. But the kids really enjoyed it.

We relaxed and let Landon play. Watched the Cowboys win then decided it was time to head home. Landon and Ava took a bath, we all got in our PJ's and hit the road around 7pm. The drive isn't too bad, there is just a ton of wildlife. Deer, raccoons and all kinds of things at night. You have to be very careful when you drive. We had to stop for Gas about 20min into our drive in Johnson city. Check out Greg's sweet duck pants. I was giggling so hard at him while he pumped gas. I HAD to snap a picture.

Landon of course fell asleep about 5 min into the drive. He likes to sleep in the car. But he constantly wakes up and just screams. I think he gets uncomfortable, or something falls asleep. It sure does make for a long drive. Constantly having to calm him down. Which is NOT easy.

We got home around 1045. We were tired. Landon went straight to bed, even though he slept the entire time. Well, he of course woke up screaming a number of times. But you know what I mean.

The BX was having some really good deals on TVs. We need a small TV for our room. So we set our alarms for 0330. I got up got dressed and got Landon ready and then Greg got up. We headed to base. There wasn't too many people there. We headed back to electronics where you would get your TV right? Well come to find out there was ONE lady, with tickets for the TVs. No one knew where this lady was. We got to the BX at 410am. The TVs should not have been gone already. We were told to wait in the customer service line. But then I heard the workers saying they didn't have tickets, a lady was walking around with them. That lady finally shows up. None of the TVs we want are left. Now what kinda of freaking system is that? That lady needed to be in ONE spot. Not meandering through the BX. I was fuming. F-U-M-I-N-G! I paid for the gift I had and we left. It was still early. 440am so we headed to Target which opened at 5am. We get there and the line is forever long. FOREVER long. Kid you not. It was insane. We got out and tried to find the end. Forget about it. I wanted to leave. WE decided to drive over to Walmart, there wasn't a single parking spot! We just drove right by. We went and got donuts and headed home. Complete failure. I LOVE going shopping on Black Friday and always have so much fun and get a good bargain. Not today. I guess since Abilene is the biggest city around here all the people come from those Podunk towns to shop. And since we only have one Target, and Two WalMarts, it gets busy.

We got the tree out before Greg had to get ready for work. Then Landon and I took Greg to work since his car got left over night. I decided to go to Kohls, and I was glad I did. It wasn't too packed, but I got lots of good deals and didn't spend too much money and had a 15% off entire purchase coupon. Worked out great. Landon and I put a few ornaments on the tree. He loved doing that but insisted on laying underneath and hanging them. We will finish tomorrow when Greg is home. We both took really good naps. We were exhausted today. So now we are hanging out and we are going to have dinner with Greg and the Fire Station in a little bit. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I am so Thankful to have such a wonderful life and so many wonderful people in my life!

My two favorite things

There are two items I bought last night that I am VERY happy about. We had an hour wait for Landon's prescription so we wandered about Walmart for that hour. Lots of things ended up in the cart that we didn't need. I looked at the recepit today, and realized I'd spent wayyyyy to much money on a few items. Landon is still in pull ups at night. I buy the night time ones. He just goes pee so much. Anywho, I grabbed a pack that I thought was $8.87. When I looked at the receipt today, they were a whopping $15.87! CRAP!! I'd already opened them. Too late. I guess I grabbed the bigger pack, but gee!

I needed to get Landon some juice boxes. Mainly for the road trip tomorrow. I usually always buy him Motts for Tots or Juicy Juice. I saw another juice that had veggies in it. Since Landon's turned 3 I guess he decided he NO LONGER likes veggies. So I checked out the label and the sugar content was wayyy lower then both of those other juices! (the calories and everything was lower as well) So I went ahead and bought them.

When Landon woke up from his nap today he asked me if he could have his special new juice. I wanted to see if he liked them. And of course he did! SCORE! I think we found a new juice!!

Another thing I got last night was this:

Oh my word! It is heaven in a box. I made a pumpkin pie with this last year and it was fantastic. I found it again and grabbed a bunch of boxes. You can make a Triple Layer Pumpkin Spice Pie with this. It tastes just like pumpkin pie, and wayyyyyyy less calories and sugar. Oh, heaven in a box I tell ya. Here is the recipe.

2 Cups Cold milk

2pkg Pumpkin spice pudding

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tub (8oz) cool whip

1 Honey Maid Graham pie crust

Beat milk and dry pudding mixes and cinnamon with wire whisk until well blended. Spread 1 1/2 cups on to bottom of crust. Then add 1 1/2 cups of the cool whip to the remaining mixture. Stir gently. Spoon over the layer on the crust. Top with remaining cool whip. Refrigerate for 1 hour then enjoy a little slice of heaven!

Hope ya'll have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Catching up

I just CAN'T seem to catch up. On anything! I tried to blog last night but it wouldn't let me upload pictures. Go figure. I've got piles of laundry already, even though I just did loads and loads of laundry on Sunday. Any how.

I have a few old but new pictures from the past week and a half. On Landon's birthday we went to the fire station for dinner.

After we were done eating we had to go and walk/run around in the stalls. Greg got Landon to put his helmet on. It actually fit Landon. It was funny because it was heavy and Landon was showing it!

Landon of course moved to Preschool, so he had to leave his teachers behind. I wanted to get them a little something to say thank-you for taking such wonderful care of Landon. Landon truly loved being in their class. He always, and still does, talks about Miss Heike and Miss Judy. So I made them each a little basket to say 'thanks.'

Landon is doing wonderful in preschool, or so they say. He loves it from what I've seen. And he has come home with some new sayings and attitudes. Last night he told me, "Mommy, that is unacceptabbbble." And today he told Greg after he fell down, "I hurt my tush." Hm, it's funny I think. We did Landon's hair on Sunday, we made a Mohawk, he said, "I a sharkkkk mommy!"

We took Landon to the Dr's today because he's been waking up A LOT at night lately. I was worried it was his ears or something. I've also noticed since the temperatures have dropped that his eczema is back. It's really bad on his back and the front of his legs. I have lots of cream from the past, but when I went to put it on I noticed it was expired. The DR prescribed a new cream. I hope it works well. I guess I have to go back to the unscented body wash and lathering him up with Eucerin and Aquaphor. He hates that stuff! The DR checked his ears and everything. Everything looked well. He did have ulcers in his throat. The DR said because he had the cold and had been coughing and stuff it flared up his throat and made it sore. Makes sense why he really hasn't been eating, and randomly cries at night. He said Benadryl and Malox. Malox? Yeah I know. Weird. But we will try anything to get a good nights sleep!

So what are your plans for Thanksgiving? We are leaving for Austin on Thursday morning when Greg gets off work. We have to drive home that night, Greg has to work Friday at 0730. I am just Thankful Greg is home and we get to spend the day with family!!!

Birthday Party Recap

Last weekend on Saturday November 14th, 2009 we celebrated Landon's 3rd Brithday. We had a Finding Nemo themed party. We had about 30 friends and family come to help celebrate. Landon had been talking about his party for months, and when the day finally came he was so elated. I've never seen him so excited and happy!!

I wanted to do a fish theme. I had lots of different chips and dips, fruits and veggies, little smokies and all the sweets you could want. (it wasn't all out for these pictures) I did a orange, green, red color scheme.

I dipped marshmellows in Vanilla chocolate to make little pops. I put them on a fish plate i picked up at Kohls in the summer time.

I got his Nemo and Dorie cake at the Commissary. It tasted really good. Behind the cake are the favor bags for the kids to take home. Inside was play dough, a silly straw, bag of Goldfish and lollipops.

I rented a bouncy castle and got an amazing deal. The kids had a BLAST and we didn't have to entertain, that's my kind of party!!! On the left side of the castle you could bounce and there was a basketball hoop, then towards the right there was a stairway that lead up to the slide. That slide was steep!!

The weather was perfect, and so it was nice to sit outside.

After snacks and bouncing it was time for the pinata. Now, I put a lot of candy in it, but it still didn't feel full......

But those kids picked up candy for like 10 min, NO KIDDING! That thing had so much candy in it. The next day when I went to throw it away there was STILL candy inside of it!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday. Landon was so happy. It was a nice and loud Happy Birthday with all the people here.

Then it was on to the gifts. Landon got a ton of stuff. He had lots of little helpers to help him out.

He got this McDonalds kitchen from Grammie and Poppa Bob, he LOVES it!

His party turned out to be a blast. Landon had the best time ever and afterwards kept telling me, "I love all my new presents!" Landon didn't stop the entire day. He was so sweaty and didn't even use the bathroom till everyone left! I had so much fun planning it and getting everything ready. I love doing that stuff. I can't wait till next year. I wonder what the theme is going to be?

And I am going to jot down a few notes here.

Landon Cooper, you are 3 years old, what are you up to these days?

• You wear size 3T clothes, some 2T's still fit though
• You are fully potty trained, well except for night time!
• You loved to read books especially the critter ones.
• You still love everything sea life. Sharks, whales, fish, dolphins, pretty much anything. You are very smart about it as well, you can tell us what they eat and where they live.
• You HATE having your hair washed, and scream every night when we wash it.
• You love your bath, and always, "swim like a whale."
• You've become a VERY pickey eater, we have a hard time getting you to eat some days, you favorite things seems to be fruit, rice, yogurt and Mac n Cheese.
• You love to cuddle, you will cuddle with us anytime of the day and always ask us to rub your feet!!!

We can't wait to see what the next year is going to bring!!!