One Easter, Three Baskets, Endless Laughs

Landon's first Easter took place on the most beautiful weekend! We kicked off the holiday with a visit with my Aunt Bev (if you are counting, this is the first basket...which included "an orchid for Mommy" just like in the Peter Cottontail book)! Then Landon and I traveled down to Wilmington to kick off the festivities early and walked in the door to see the largest Easter basket ever viewed by a small child (already at two, and it's not even Easter yet).

The whole family, Phillip, Grandmother, Landon and I headed to Buena Vista for an Easter Egg Hunt with some old friends and some new friends...and especially Landon's bestie Baby J.

Saturday night Landon graced his Grandmother with one of his special kisses. He gets very serious and slowly moves his face close to your face, then opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue when he's just a few inches away! After giving you a good licking, he usually rears back his head for a good laugh...we have a very happy go-lucky little boy!

On Easter proper we had a quiet morning at home, then took Landon on a tour of downtown Wilmington's historic live oaks, azaleas, dogwoods, cherry trees and tulips...even a lake with some cypress trees. By his third basket, I was getting creative with the camera; luckily the little buddy didn't seem to mind..

Music to my ears...

Perhaps Landon will grow up to be a musician...

While I was sitting in the bonus room folding laundry and selecting clothes for our trip to Wilmington, Landon carefully rearranged his Dad's speakers, then started strumming the electric and the acoustic guitar. Normally I would intervene in a situation such as this, but the scene was so reminiscent of a rock band member checking his gear and getting ready for his first set that I wanted to let the scene play out! Thank goodness Landon was wearing denim overalls - some of his wardrobe would have ruined his whole vibe. And I would hate for him to feel obligated to play the jazz flute just because of his outfit...

P.S. In the Lewis household, when we say "jazz flute", we pronounce it "yazz flute"- so please re-read the last sentence if you did not pronounce it that way the first time!

Donut time!

Landon has a new pastime - donuts on the kitchen floor! When he first started crawling, I kept him on the carpet as our wood floors downstairs are slippery. Yesterday I let him crawl on the kitchen floor while I was cooking and as soon as I set him down on the floor he started using his hands to rotate his body in a circle! It's the baby version of a donut!

Today the kitchen donuts were just as fun for him - he did three in a row, then stopped; probably from dizziness! You should see the speed he has worked up - it's really adorable to see him spinning around. It was almost the highlight of the day....but that prize goes to Landon continually yelling his version of "Ay ya ya ya ya" in the Mexican restaurant at lunch today...

Four cousins

This weekend Landon's cousins visited him from Asheboro. One 4 month old, Landon, a 19th month old, and a 7 year old - and they all get along marvelously! The kids played together, went to the park, and out to dinner - by then end of the day we had some sleepy children! The littlest baby was sleeping with his Mommy on the park bench, and somehow we missed getting a picture of them :(

Also, Landon is very proud because he learned the "pincer grasp" and can now pick up food and feed himself! It is so cute to watch him eat now. He has a few distinct moves:

1. Drop something over the side of his chair, look down for it over the side of the chair while saying "oh", then getting distracted and licking the food that he has smudged on the arms of his chair earlier in the meal

2. Accidentally pushing food out of his reach, then standing up in his chair, reaching across the table, stuffing the food into his mouth, then sitting back down contentedly

3. After every few bites, using his right hand to lift his sippy cup as if it were a beer mug, then throwing back his head for a one-handed chug

And yes, in case you were wondering, I have plans to sign him up for cotillions!

Beach Babies

Thanks to Landon's Aunt Andy, he and his besties are going to be styling at the beach this summer! Andrea bought Landon, Baby J and Baby I the cutest swimsuits and sent them to us as a surprise! So that's the nice part of this posting...the funny part is the way Landon reacted when he saw them.

As I called Andrea to thank her for her super-generous gifts and card (which I had opened during Landon's nap), I walked back over to the package to look at the items again as I talked to Andrea. When I pulled out Baby J's super-stylish bikini, Landon burst out laughing! He thought that little bikini was the funniest thing that he had ever seen (or rather the funniest thing since the last time he watched me fold laundry). I certainly hope that he doesn't act that way the first time that Baby J wears it!!! Maybe it was the fun pattern, or maybe he was laughing because it was so small compared to his clothes, but I am slightly nervous about taking him to the beach for the first time now :)

I tried for such a hard time to find a picture of the bikini online, but rest assured that it is just about the cutest thing you have ever seen...pink and hot pink stripes with an oversize bow on the bottom in lime green cheetah! From HauteLook of course, since Andrea is the fashionista in the family :)

Spring!

Last weekend was an absolutely beautiful weekend. Phillip and I got inspired by the warm weather and sunny blue skies, and headed to our local nursery to buy some plants for the garden. We set up Landon in the front yard so that he could watch us and enjoy the day....and he had such a great time! During the week when he and I are home together we always go outside on nice days, but usually the other kids in the cul-de-sac are at school, so it's kind of quiet.

But last Saturday all of the Dads were out (gardening with beers in hand, which inspired Phillip!), and so were all of the children. Landon watched the kids zoom around on their bikes and razors (which is basically a skateboard with an upright handle) and smiled and laughed every time one of the kids rode up and down our driveway. Eventually his charms wore down a few of the younger girls and they came to hang out with him on his blanket. It's so nice to see him enjoy other children so much. He laughed and squealed with them, and loved it when they tried to pick him up. It was such a nice day, and a needed break from the long winter and days inside...

Playdate in the Park

Landon and I walked up to the park the other day so that he could "play" with some of his friends. He loves hanging out in the swing and "talking" to any children that come sit in the swing next to him. Don't you wonder what babies are saying when they get all worked up with their jabbering? I love it!

I have to explain one of the pictures; in the last picture he is giving the girl next to him a dirty look. She was a wee bit chubby and couldn't quite fit in the baby swing anymore, but kept trying anyway. Apparently, he didn't appreciate her perseverance. Look at his expression! That's the same expression that he gives other babies when he is calm and collected and they are crying...as if he would ever do that...ha!