We're Back!

Whew! What a week it has been! We're home and the laundry is almost all folded and put away...

Last week we spent Tuesday through Friday accompanying Phillip on a business trip to Washington, DC - what a great time! I can't say that Landon is a huge fan of sleeping in a pack-n-play, but other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing for us. We explored a number of Smithsonian museums, played on the mall in front of the Capital and the Washington Monument, took a behind the scenes self-guided tour of the Whitehouse (thanks to a friend of a friend that works there as part of Obama's staff), explored Georgetown, traipsed on the parkway outside the city for some awe-inspiring leafs and views, and ate in the oldest restaurant in town (also a first- ordering a milk in the bar while we waited - we felt like the family from Sweet Home Alabama - you have a baby in a bar?)!

Landon's favorite activity was definitely looking out of our hotel window and watching all the activity down below; I think that he, like Eloise, could really get used to hotel life. He loved running around in the marble and crystal lobby (we stayed at the JW Marriott), making frequent stops in the lobby Starbucks for organic milk and snacks, and greeting guests coming off and on the elevators.

He also enjoyed the world's most-popular and most-visited museum, the Air and Space museum. Although to be honest, he liked eating lunch at the space-age McDonald's in there the most. But the planes were life size and hanging from the ceiling so that he could easily see them and repeatedly point and say "(pl)ane".

We were both mesmerized by the Sculpture museum and the surrounding gardens and fountains; it was breath-takingly beautiful. Oddly enough, the newspaper museum, Newseum, was displaying my hometown, Wilmington, NC's Star News as its daily pick for NC - each state is represented by the cover of a newspaper from one of its cities, which changes daily.

In between stops at museums and historical sights, Landon happily rode in his stroller, making power calls on his calculator phone. Yes, he is in love with one of my old Deloitte calculators, and loves holding it up to his ear, talking and laughing away.

I did learn that Washingtonians love two things above all else: honking their horns, and Starbucks. This is followed closely by wearing drab colors and ignoring my beautiful baby while he waved from his stroller - as if they have more important things to do, like run the country or achieve world peace?

I will say that the honking thing is infectious; by my last day there I was honking and cutting off taxis in the traffic circles along with the rest of them, all the while laughing merrily in my dark-colored cardigan!

Thank God I'm A Country Boy!

Phillip had the day off from work on Friday, so the whole family headed to nearby Youngsville to visit Hill Ridge Farms. Landon had a great time at the pumpkin patch down the road from our house last year, but we thought he would really appreciate being able to run wild out in the country. Hill Ridge has pumpkins, hayrides, farm animals, a hay jump barn, a giant slide, kids mazes and antique farm equipment to tour...to say that Landon loved running around would be an understatement!

I think we really missed an opportunity to get some great video though - our pictures just don't capture his excitement at seeing his first bunny rabbit, grunting with exertion as he picked up and tested out a number of pumpkins, watching the farmers on the tractors, sliding down the giant slide (he started walking up the hill to ride down again as soon as he finished), and especially touring the farm on his very first hayride.

Perhaps the funniest part of our whole family outing occurred after we left the farm. Phillip won a gift certificate to Texas Road House in a golf tournament, and since we don't have one in Raleigh, it was a nice surprise to run across a Wake Forest location on our way home. We thought it would be the perfect "country" ending to our pumpkin adventure...what's better than peanuts and cold beer (or milk, in Landon's case) after an afternoon traipsing around the farm?

Turns out that our little man loves country music! He started bobbing a little bit when Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line" came on in the restaurant, but when he heard "Cotton-Eyed Joe" he really started dancing! Maybe this will help us decide on his Halloween costume...I see a cowboy in his future...

Play by Play

Landon is just babbling away like crazy now, giving us a play-by-play of everything he sees, does, or wants to do! I am going to pull out the video camera this week because I know that before we get used to this new phase that the next one will be upon us...and that will be full out toddler speak!

I baked homemade chocolate chip cookies this week, and one day as a special treat I gave one to Landon for an afternoon snack. I asked him if he wanted a cookie and he said "Cookie?!? Good!", then ran over to his high chair and tried to climb in. When I put on his bib and handed over the cookie, he looked up at me adoringly and said in his little baby voice "Tank oooo".

In the yard, he chases after acorn-hunting squirrels and excitedly points and say "squirs".

In the parked car when I let him sit in my lap and pretend to drive, he steers the wheel and says "I go".

And any time he accomplishes a task that he is intent on he says "I did it!". This one is particularly funny to me because Landon's two year-old cousin said that as well; wonder if nature or the environment contributed to that one?

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This last week has been so nice and sunny - we have enjoyed the outdoors every day! Here are some pictures of our adventures: Landon at the playground, dancing to the bluegrass music on the green at North Hills Farmer's Market, seeding the sidewalk, and following Phillip with his toy car as Phillip seeded the lawn.

This Posting is Not Yet Rated...

Evidently Landon has a new "thing". And that new "thing" is going up to girls and holding their hands.

This morning at little gym, Landon went up to the new girl in class (whom he has never met) and began holding her hand. She walked away, and I jokingly apologized to her Mom that he was going through a hand-holding phase. She said not to worry, that her daughter was going through a hugging phase.

I think the little girl heard her Mom and became inspired because she walked back over to Landon and threw her arms around his neck. Our little casanova leaned into the hug, put his arms around her and they kind of swayed around hugging. So cute right?

Well, that was just the introduction, the G-rated part.

The little girl then decided to kiss Landon. Which probably would have stayed in the cute zone if it was just a little peck...which it wasn't. Landon, who has never been kissed like that before, "responded favorably to her advances".

The other Mom and I kind of stood their in disbelief, along with some other Moms, until all of a sudden, the situation escalated. I'm not sure if Landon tried to pull-away, or the little girl pushed him down, or the two toddlers lost their balance, but for whatever reason Landon ended up on his back with the girl on top of him, still kissing away. At this point (and this all happened within the space of about 60 seconds), the other Mom and I simultaneously got in there and broke it up.

Soooo embarrassing. I felt like I had been called to the principal's office to pick up my kid for inappropriate behavior. As the crowd dispersed, one of the other Moms said, "Wow, that girl is a lover and a fighter!".

So, to conclude, this is Landon's official statement (as crafted by his publicist, aka Mom): he was teething, the pressure on his teeth felt good, and he thought that this method of homeopathic pain-relief was better than taking tylenol!

Fall is in the Air!

Today Landon and I took advantage of the cool weather, playing outside for almost 3 hours! We took a walk together around our circle; it took us about 45 minutes to do a 1/4 mile, but we had nowhere to be, so we enjoyed ourselves.

If anyone had a bird's eye view of our walk, our path would look like a crazy, loopy, twisty roller coaster!

For the most part it was just Landon and I (plus the multitude of squirrels that call our yard home), but we did talk to our neighbors for awhile. Landon went up to his best friend in the cul-de-sac (who happens to be a very pretty 3rd-grader), grabbed her hand and said, "I like you".

How sweet, huh? Don't think this one will have a hard time asking a date to prom!

Here are some pictures from our afternoon: Landon suspiciously watching the UPS man drop off something at our house - not the usual guy, Landon knows and waves to him every day; Landon waving bye to a neighbor; and Landon putting the top down on the convertible)...

You Understand Me!

Landon is the sweetest, cuddliest, funniest little boy. But he is also a 13 and a half month old boy...need I say more? Right now we are going through a transition period, where Phillip and I are finding ourselves in a disciplinarian role more often than we would like. This is particularly frustrating because sometimes we are unsure if Landon understands what we are saying.

Or, rather I should say, we were unsure if Landon understood...but now we know 100% that he does!

This weekend as we were preparing to leave for tailgate, I realized I forgot something and ran back upstairs. Landon was playing with Phillip and his friend Josh, but when he saw me coming back downstairs, he began climbing up the outside edges of the stairs, outside of the railing. As I walked down I said, "Landon Lewis, what has your mother told you about climbing?".

Without pausing Landon responded, "Get down", and continued to climb.

Uh oh sweet boy...you revealed that not only do you understand when I speak to you, but you process and retain my warnings for your safety! Score one for Mom. I now have an edge in the game!

And just for the record little man, I usually say "Please get down before you hurt yourself"...but you got the gist of it for sure!

Carolina State of Mind

Today was a great day in Chapel Hill - Landon's first tailgate, and Carolina's first home win this season! Anyone that knows me knows that I am Raleigh's unofficial and unpaid biggest fan, and today is an example of why: sunny, Carolina blue skies, 72 degrees, and beautiful fall leaves falling everywhere.

The whole family, plus some good friends, spent the day tailgating. Landon loved the Bojangles biscuits (he stole mine right off my plate), the cornhole games, and the girls walking around in cocktail dresses and cowboy boots! Not sure which he liked best, but it was definitely his type of day...meeting new people, exploring a new place, and playing with his friends.

Phillip and the guys headed into the game in the late afternoon, and we headed home so Landon could get a little nap. When he woke up we visited nearby Homewood Nursery to explore the park-like setting and take advantage of their customer appreciation day. There were tons of other toddlers there around Landon's age, and we had a good time. I can't wait to visit again - definitely my type of place.

To round off a nice day, Landon and I had a date night at Moe's! Again, there were kids everywhere and he made quick friends with several nearby children. The two little boys at the table next two us both had cell phones and were playing video games in the booth while their parents ordered for the family. Landon was amazed by the noises coming from their phones and started talking to them; before you know it the younger boy was pretending to take pictures of Landon with his cell phone and telling Landon to "say cheese!", which he did willingly.

The boy asked if Landon had a phone, then went on to say "seriously, what six year old has a cell phone!". Umm, yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing!