Lessons Learned

You know how all of the toddler development books state that children love routine and structure? Well Phillip and I maintain a pretty good routine for Landon at home, but always wanted to integrate enough flexibility into our lives so that Landon could go with the flow when needed.

Last weekend we tried the ultimate "go with the flow" adventure - Landon's first plane trip. Let's just say there were some highs (about 40,000 feet in the air actually), and some lows (like the dirty floor in the airport, where Landon writhed around for quite a few temper tantrums). In between we had some great times, and some more tantrums. Guess who will be reading "Making the Terrible Two Terrific!" this week?

Really though we had a great weekend spent with some great friends. Landon was probably acting ornery because he knew that he would have to leave the kids wonderland that our friends in Bryn Mawr call home: historic stone home, huge fenced yard, front-yard creek with little fishies to feed, a front and back staircase for climbing, a pool, the world's sweetest dog, and an almost one year old boy who was happy to share his car toys. Really, heaven for Landon. Did I mention there was a dorm fridge stocked with all of Landon's favorite foods? That said "Welcome Steele and Landon"? Landon and his "big sis" Steele were pretty excited.

We had a good time catching up with old friends, lounging by the pool, playing a really fun board game called "Balderdash", and eating. There was a lot of eating - yuminess from the grill of course, as our friends own Firecraft.

We also had some struggles over naptime and more than our normal share of temper tantrums from Landon; it was the first time that he wasn't snuggly and cuddly with me, and I have to say that although I tried to stay tough, it hurt my feelings! After a rough trip back through the airport (security, lunch, and waiting to board), we had a very smooth flight, and an excellent night of sleep. Since Phillip stayed in Philly for business, I was a little worried about being home with Landon by myself today - imagine my surprise when Landon and I had the nicest day!

Landon has reveled in being at home and his daily routines, and has been so sweet to me today - he has given me about 40 hugs and kisses today. And when I was asking Landon about whether or not he wanted to go to a Food Truck Fiesta with his Dad and I, he said "okay, I buy!". When I asked him how he was going to pay, and whether he had any money, he said, "I can pay" and then ran off. How sweet is that?

Beach Bum

Last weekend we headed down to Wilmington to visit family and friends, and to attend Baby Cate's Sip-n-See! Being the beach bums that we are, Landon and I spent our fair amount of time at the beach. Landon LOVES the beach. When he first arrives, he slips his hands into the pockets of his board shorts, and surveys the waves. Then, he saunters on down to the firm sand to find the best spot to play.

At one point on our first day, Landon became very interested in the dunes. I wasn't sure if they were a protected area or not, so I didn't want him climbing around up there and tried to chase him down. He was pretty happy to wander along the edges and at one point nodded his head and said, "Hmmm, nice hill". That cracked me up - he said it so non-chalantly!

Of course, most of the time at the beach was a little more active - running through the water, playing ball with his friends, filling up buckets of water and carrying them back to the sand to fill up freshly-dug holes, and even being bitten or stung my some sort of sea creature (the doctor thinks it was a jellyfish). Little man didn't even react, so his accident didn't hold him back very much, but it did result in two doctor's visits this week...

The second day we went to the beach with our friends the Broadfoots, and joined them at the Yacht Club. Needless to say, the Yacht Club has kind of ruined Landon and I for any other type of beach experience! He loved running along the boardwalks, eating lunch in the screened-in pavilion, checking out the beach playground, and watching all the comings-and-goings.

He also loved the Wrightsville Beach playground, which we visited the next day. I'm always in awe (and sightly terrified) of how brave Landon is when it comes to playground equipment. I was scrambling around behind him, trying to give him some space to play with the big kids that he really wanted to play with, but eventually we had to leave because the older kids were running full speed and playing tag, so it was a little dangerous to have Landon running around in the middle of that. He was so disdainful of the toddler play area - he thinks that he is a big kid for sure!

We wrapped up our beach trip with some downtime at Grandma's and a peaceful drive up and down the beach to see the marshes and intracoastal waterway. I can't wait to take Landon kayaking there one day!

That's My Boy

There are millions of little things that I love about Landon. Sometimes the things that I love most about Landon are also the same things that have me pulling my hair out - for example, the way the little guy is in constant motion. He loves to run, dance, climb, skip, and jump...all good things. He also loves to squirm, hop up, or flail about in his crib, his car seat, and at the dinner table.

I have to say though - his latest addition to his "movement arsenal" is pretty endearing. When he asks me for something or is waiting for me to do something for him, he has started running in place! There is nothing cuter than seeing a toddler pumping his arms and running in place while you furiously stir Hershey's syrup into milk, or open a package of fruit snacks...pretty darn sweet in my opinion.

Raleighwood Doesn't Disappoint

We love living in Raleigh, and the older that Landon gets, we try more and more to take advantage of the great things that it has to offer. I love how every public park has it's own identity, and something different and special to offer. I love how there is always a special event, festival, or concert to attend - all free! And I love how the local business really embrace the community and residents, always challenging themselves to provide a unique experience. We can't wait to try the new Bull City Burger and Brewery - a farm to fork restaurant with a brewery and a kids kitchen and play area - fun for the whole family!

Last weekend we explored historic downtown Apex during the Peak Fest - named so because Apex is the "peak of good living"! On the Saturday that we visited, it really was. Live music, art galleries, baby and antique stores, fair food, and tons of people watching. Landon of course made a number of friends. As soon as we found a shady, grassy patch to eat our lunch, Landon grabbed a cheeseburger, walked over to another family with teenage girls, sat down, took a bite of his burger and began regaling them with a story. They were hooked, and by the time that they finished eating and had to leave, there were hugs all around.

We kicked off this weekend with an impromptu dance party with our besties, the Falcones. We were all rolling around laughing at Landon and Steele imitating Brandy as she demonstrated some 90s dance moves. Phillip commented that we missed our chance at being millionaires that night; if only we had our video camera rolling, we could have posted the baby version of "The Evolution of Dance" on YouTube (and that would have only been the start!). Anyway, next time you see Landon, ask him to show you the "shopping cart dance" or to "do the lawnmower" - priceless.

I thought that might be the highlight of our weekend, but Saturday didn't disappoint, as we headed out to a Raleigh favorite of ours: the North Hills Farmer's Market. Landon ran around the green playing with both old and new friends, dancing to the live music, and playing along with the other kids when the band did their version of "Simon Says". A local bee farm was out with all sort of bee-themed activities, and Landon loved looking at the bee hive they bought to try to find the queen bee. Of course we bought some more of our favorite Dixie salsa, plus some whipped honey, and some wildflowers. But the best part of all was watching Landon in his element; dancing, getting personal shout-outs from the band, hugging, chasing, and playing soccer with the other kids, and occasionally coming back to Phillip and I for a sip of his drink and some smiles.

Have Food, Will Talk

The last time that Phillip went out of town for a few weeks, I have to admit that I became frustrated that Landon wasn't doing very much talking. After all, it's hard to eat three meals a day with someone who won't talk back to you...

I told Phillip that I was tempted to "train" Landon to talk using M&M candies; I know that people have done that for potty training, and I know Landon loves some M&Ms, but ultimately we decided that probably wasn't a good idea. The thing is, he KNOWS how to say tons of words, he just doesn't want to use them. Aside - as I'm writing this, I realized that my previous sentence was ambiguous in it's subject, and then realized that the statement could apply to Landon OR Phillip (ha ha), so I left it!

So anyway, even though I knew that food is basically the only thing that can motivate Landon to do anything, I didn't want to force him to talk before he's ready, and I didn't want to create an unhealthy relationship with food for him. That brings us to this morning.

Landon and I sat down to breakfast, and he immediately began squirming in his chair. Of course, he fell off, and straight on his behind. Imagine my surprise when he hopped up, and clutching his backside yelled "Owwwwww, my butt!". First new word of the day.

Then, he decided to switch seats (a favorite pastime) so I moved over all of his things for him. As I was grabbing for his drinks (yes, he wanted two cups this morning) he yelled out "chocolate milk!", as if I was going to forgot it. Second new word of the day.

Finally, after playing with his food for awhile, and seemingly disinterested in eating, he said his third new phrase of the day. After I asked him whether he was done and he made some sort of head motion, but didn't really reply, I started to grab his plate from the table. Landon looked and me and with 100% seriousness said, "put it down".

Geez!!! I was so excited that he was talking this morning, that I was probably smiling too much as I told him "that is no way to talk to your Mom" and "you need to say please and use your table manners". I foresee that Landon may be the kid in school that steals the good things out of all the other kid's lunch boxes; here's hoping that's not the case!

Deep Talks

Landon and I had a very lazy day today, just sitting around and enjoying each others company. And some snacks. Today was one of those days when Landon was hungry ALL day. We sat down together and had some french toast and berries, and had a nice talk. Then we sat down again and had some bosc pears and sharp cheddar cheese, while we pushed one of his fire trucks back and forth across the table. Then we sat down for some pita chips and hummus, and had another talk, in which Landon said "yes" and nodded several times when I asked him if he ever planned on moving far away from me. To add insult to injury, he ate all of the yummy garlic out of the middle of the hummus...humph!

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, he ate all of these snacks before lunchtime! I'm guessing that tomorrow will be one of those days when he doesn't want to eat anything but fruit snacks.

Ole!

Last night we had a few friends over to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We had Enchiladas Barbacoas, chips and salsa, spanish rice, black beans, guacamole, quesadillas, and sopapilla cheesecake squares...with a few dos equis and blue agave with grapefruit and elderflower drinks mixed in...yummy!

Landon LOVED having 4 other kids to run around and play with during the evening. Phillip and I commented on how we were actually able to relax and enjoy our dinner with the adults, because Landon was safely occupied with his friends - who all are older than he is, and very good at watching after each other.

The kids laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more, sat down so nicely together and ate dinner, ran around outside, and enjoyed dessert in the yard. One of the children, Leo (remember him from the contemplative lake picture of he and Landon both staring out over the water?) was having so much fun that he didn't want to go home!

He told his parents "I want to stay at Candice's house (poor Phillip gets no credit - even though he pays for the house!). His parents thought that he would quickly change his mind when he realized that the rest of his family was leaving, so they said "Ok, you can stay here tonight". To which Leo unexpectedly ran over to Landon and excitedly said "I'm staying at your house tonight!!!"

At this point Landon hopped off the slide, ran over to the adults and started jumping up and down, talking a mile a minute - presumably planning activities for his first sleepover! Ashley (Leo's Mom) and I were almost tearing up over how sweet the two boys were and were heartbroken to tell Leo that he couldn't actually stay the night, being only 2 years old after all. They were so cute that I told Ashley, "he can stay the night...he can sleep in Landon's big boy bed". As it ended up though, after a few talks about how much the rest of Leo's family would miss him if he stayed at our house, he happily went home with his parents and older brother and sister...

So that was our Cinco de Mayo - love those holidays in the Lewis household! Of course, no self-respecting Cinco de Mayo party would be complete without moustaches (pronounced moos-tatchez) of course...

Sunny Skies

Last weekend we had gorgeous weather! We were due some sunny skies after several days of storms and tornado warnings, and out little family was eager to get outside and enjoy the return of one of our favorite pastimes: the North Hills Saturday Farmer's Market.

We love to stroll around, grab a coffee (or chocolate milk in Landon's case), people watch, chat with friends, let Landon play on the green, listen to the live music, and stock up on some yummy organic goodies! This week we bought our favorite salsa from Dixie (Senora Dixie's salsa - check it out - now available at Foster's and Southern Season)...she couldn't believe how much Landon had grown since last year's market, and we couldn't believe how much we missed her salsa! Then we bought some organic, locally made hotdogs and ground beef, and some homemade marinara sauce. We rarely make it early enough to get the fresh fruit and veggies - they go pretty fast - but maybe one day!

And we did make one more purchase: a girl scout potholder. We felt compelled to as Landon really wanted it. Although I think he wanted us to buy it just to extend our interaction with the girl scouts themselves. Our little man is incorrigible. He LOVES girls, and does quite a bit of strutting around to get their attention. His new strategy is to walk straight up to them, smile and start talking, then, begin jumping up and down!

Before we could leave the farmer's market he insisted on hugging EACH AND EVERY ONE of the girl scouts...and then he got a little teary-eyed when we had to leave!

The next day we headed to Cary's Lazy Dazes art festival at Bond Park. We walked around admiring the crafts and the beautiful park, stopping to let Landon explore the Children's area. It's a little daunting to go to something like that with Landon because it's so crowded that you have to basically run around and do everything that he does, all the while being just one step behind him. Lately he has learned that he has a "turbo" mode and Phillip and I are sad to admit that if he gets more than a 15-20 foot headstart on us, that we literally can't catch him! It is really funny to watch him running though. You think he's up to full speed, and then some stimulus (usually us yelling "come back" or one of us running after him) makes him go all "go-go-gadget" legs and he launches forward about 3 feet, leaving a blazing trail in his place.

Okay, that last part was an exaggeration, but man, that kid is fast.