Jam Packed July!!!

I have been wanting to blog now for what seems like...wait, maybe it has been...weeks! We have been SO super busy lately. If we aren't off enjoying the summer together, we are at home trying to rearrange the house to make room for the new baby! Here is a glimpse of our past few weeks of fun!

Our wonderful friends Lori and Darren invited us down for a few days while they had a shore house. This was our 3rd summer enjoying time together while they were on vacation in Sea Isle. Their son, Caden just turned 3. He and Landon are great friends (AKA brothers) and had a great time at the beach!

Daddy teaching Landon how to build a sand castle...

only to  be stomped on by the "destroyer" seconds later!!

The boys!

The daddies and their boys looking at the dolphins!

Loving the beach!

I just adore this picture!

So, he was a little scared on his first ride...

And, a little better on the 2nd ride!

And loving it by the third ride!!

So, on to the next ride- the catepillar roller coaster!!

And, look how he came off the ride!

Again, again!!! :-)

Other than coming down with a fever and sore throat while at the shore, we had a great time, and Landon got to enjoy some firsts!

Next up, 4TH OF JULY!!!

The Pitman Parade

I hid my tears behind my sunglasses while taking this picture...happy tears, of course!

Landon with Nana and his cousins watching the parade

After the parade, we joined our other wonderful friends, the DeVol's and the Minter's for a BBQ! Landon had a good time running around wtih the girls, playing in the pool, and "dancing" on the trampoline!!  Listen up, do you hear the "I dance, I dance" chant?!?!



After a fun day in the sun, we walked across the street for FIREWORKS! No one would have ever known it was Landon's first time- no tears, folks!

Today we had our second visit to friends' houses in one weekend where Landon got to spend time in the pool. I'd say he is getting comfortable! No more clinging to mommy like in June at Mom N Tots camp- we are jumping off the diving board all by ourselves!





In addition to being busy having fun, we have been busy preparing the baby's room!  We are working on getting the rest of the furniture put together, and hope to have pictures up by the end of the week. Afterall, with a due date of 7/27, we could get a call now any day! The very thought gets me nervous and excited. Of course, excited to meet our new son...yes, that's right, I said SON! (our agency called on Friday and had found out the gender. So, they asked if we wanted to know...YES!!) And, of course a little nervous- sleepless nights, unfinished room, etc. Okay, back to the happy thoughts! :) Another baby BOY! Landon will have a little brother!

AND, our friends George and Shannon (AKA my BRFF- best running friend forever) who are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia just got their referral call! 11 months to the date of sending their dossier over! He is an adorable 5 1/2 month little boy with the most beautiful big round brown eyes! We couldn't be happier for them, and are SO ecstatic that our boys will be so close in age! God is good!

Wow...a whole hour of blogging? I guess I should post more frequently!



Mom N Tots Camp!!!

One of the summer weeks I had been looking forward to for months had finally arrived...and is now past. Landon and I went to a Mom N Tots camp together! I couldn't wait to spend every, well, almost every, waking minute with my boy while NOT having to worry about the laundry, dishes, dinner, errands, etc. that I normally share my boy with. We just got back, and we both had a really nice time together! I feel like we caught up, and that we got to enjoy doing some fun...and yucky things together.

Pool time!

Fun at the park!

Sandbox!

Finding buggies together!

Where there is a ball...there's Landon!

Making Buggy hats

A giant slip n slide...laughs the whole way down! Landon loved this so much, he was up, and had run over to get back in line before I even got up!

Creek Stompin' for more bugs...or crayfish...eww! :)

And, last but not least, the tractor ride!

Poor guy! But, it wasn't so bad if he had a cookie too! :)

The week was everything that I had wanted it to be- spending good times with Landon (without the responsibility of home!) and some good R&R for me.

So, we are home from Mom N Tots, and unpacked...and repacked, and headed to the shore for a few days with friends- all 3 of us! :)  Onto another week I had been looking forward to for months!

Let the good times roll!

PS- This week marks 4 weeks until the due date of our next blessing...yikes! So much to do! We are so excited, and thankful for these summer plans that we can spend with Landon...BEFORE he becomes a big brother (side note here: he was SUPER in tune to every/any baby at camp, and kept saying "mommy, baby!" until he had my attention, and I was looking. I was holding a friend's infant at one point, and he was saying, "lap" and pointing to his own lap because he wanted to hold the baby too! We are going to have one big helper on our hands!! :)  )



Tons of Fun!!!

I have to say, this year's end of school year was like none other in previous years. Of course, I was sad to say goodbye to my students, but the trade off of getting to wake up everyday knowing that I get to spend all day with Landon is definitely a reason to be happy! We have had 3 full days off together so far, and I have LOVED every single one! Prior to school being out, we did get to enjoy some fun times like church softball games, Family night at the Phillies game with my Poppop!

Here are a few pictures!

The SERIOUS look- when watching YODA and JAR JAR from Star Wars...hmmm....Greg is really rubbing off on someone! :)

The other serious face- watching the Phillies! Notice the catcher's mitt. Everytime someone hits the ball, Landon throws it down, and runs across the room, like he's running to 1st base!

A favorite toy- someone discovered that going down the driveway is a way you can REALLY pick up speed!

Thanks to Aunt Faith, who caught some fun moments at Daddy's softball game! OH, the glove...Landon has a thing for gloves! Every game, he needs to wear batting gloves!

He watches so intently, learning, taking it all in, and WANTING to play with the  "guys" as he calls them!

And, I decided to save one of my favorite's for last!!!

During our fun Family Night at the Phillies, in response to me kissing Greg, Landon says, "No, Landon Daddy" Someone was a little jealous! :)



There have been some pretty significant leaps in Landon's speech lately! He is really starting to put words together now, and even prays all by himself! It is so adorable. I am working on getting it on video, so you can hear just how cute! I actually have a short video, but the sound isn't that great. His prayers (head bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded) sound something like this: "Daddy, Daddy, Mommy, Mommy, Amen" followed by us adding in each additional family member's name, one at a time, with Landon repeating each one! I LOVE it!!!

Okay, you get a sneak preview here- don't tell Greg! Here's one of his Father's Day gifts- just came in the mail!

Okay- I should be getting back to cleaning the office and basement to prepare for the new baby! I can't believe we are almost down to 1 month!!



Fun Weekend!

This weekend was just what we needed! A balance of catching up on the house and family time together. With Greg's shift schedule, and his working every other weekend, we don't get all that much "family" time. Since Landon had his "lil' boy" surgery on Thursday we had only made tentative weekend plans with friends. He has been doing wonderfully, and at times you'd never know he was only a few days post-op!

To start the Memorial Day weekend off right, we went to a little Custard Shack right up the road from our house. It dawned on me during dinner that night, that Landon had never had an ice cream cone! We just had to go! Check that off the list of firsts now!

Here you get to witness his "CHEESE" face!

We did manage to make it to a BBQ on Saturday and one on Sunday- both catching up with friends we haven't seen in a long time! Landon cracked us up yesterday playing hockey with a "me me" (short e sound there) on...notice the TYPE of helmit this is!

Yes, that's right a KNIGHT helmit! He cracks us up!

 

Then, today we finally got to go to the Philadelphia Zoo! We purchased a membership back in April, and we had really wanted to go there when I was on my Spring Vacation from school.  Since Landon had gotten sick that Easter weekend, we had to postpone our visit. There were so many times over the past month that Greg or I could have taken him with a friend, or our parents, or by ourselves, but we both wanted to be there for his 1st time-  to see his face as he got to see these animals up close, in real life! We read so many animal books, and he knows the names and sounds of a lot, so I just couldn't wait to show him that these weren't just pictures in a book!

I wish I had my camera out to catch the first thing we saw- We walked into the rear entrance of the zoo, and where they have camel rides. As soon as we got to the bottom of the entrance area, there was this huge camel with a child on it's back! Landon literally had his mouth open for what seemed like forever- not smiling, not afraid...just like- WHAT?  Priceless! Here are a few snapshots of our fun morning outing!

Looks to me like a staring contest between Landon and the cow

Not afraid at all! I guess having Dakota at home really doesn't seem all that different!

A pony ride!

Greg and I both forgot about the "no riding toys" restriction until he was already on! AH!

The pony went really slow, and he didn't move too much on it at all. whew!

You may be wondering at this point, "why all the 'from the back/over the shoulder' pictures?" To this I reply, "Check out what I get when I ask for someone to say CHEESE!

No! With a push of his hand! :(

So, I had to get creative!

I need to get better at that, because I always seem to cut part of the picture out when I'm trying too hard!

Oh yeah, did I mention, I also get this!?!

So, back to the "over the back" shots!

The otters were Landon's favorite! Everytime we tried to walk out of the otter area, he kept saying and signing for MORE!

Lately, Greg has been really brainwashing Landon...AKA teaching him how to be a Philly fan! Here are a few funny videos! 

 Sidenote: don't forget to turn the song off by hitting pause on the side before hitting play!

Yes, the holiday weekend is over, but there's only 10 more days of school left...who's NOT counting anyway? I am really looking forward to waking up everyday, and spending everyday with my boys! ...and preparing for a new baby! AH! :)

God Has Gone Way Past My Way Past!!!

Let me start by telling you what my "way past" would be: paying off our adoption loan early and returning to Russia, let's say, in about a year and a half, and bringing home a sibling for Landon.

Now that you know where my "way past" lies, let me take you back to last Monday, the day after Mother's Day. Wait...no, let's take it back to Mother's Day. I was sitting at my mom's dining room table surrounded by my family. Landon was playing with one of my sisters in the living room, and just having a great time. My grandmother commented on how amazed and happy she is that Landon is just thriving here in our family. He was having a blast, laughing hysterically with everyone! She even said at one point, "You know, Liz, God's not done with you guys yet. You are going to have more children." I laughed and said, "Yeah, yeah, everyone always says that- 'you'll adopt, then you'll get pregnant'. But, I don't want to get pregnant. I want to adopt again. I want to go back to Russia and bring home another one of those little faces that we left behind'"  And, my grandmom immediately replied, "But what about all the kids here, Liz?" And, I just sighed.

Fast forward to Monday morning. One of my friends at school had a rare change in her schedule which made it possible for us to have the same lunch time. So, we decided, impromptu, to enjoy lunch together in her classroom so we could catch up. Mid-way down to her room I realized I forgot my cell phone and really wanted to check in to see how Landon was doing so far that day. When I went back and I grabbed my phone, I realized I had missed a call from our social worker. Thinking it was a quick question about our pending 6 month post placement visit the next day, I quickly called her back. Side note here: we were in her quiet room, just the two of us, and not the crouded, loud teacher's lounge I am always in for lunch!  As the call went on, I just kept getting more and more wide eyed:

Her phone call was to ask us if we would consider thinking about and praying about adopting an infant whose birth mother is due end of this July!!! Without sharing anymore details, just know how crazy this sounded at first to me. It was like the jitters of our referral call all over again, but without the expectation of a call! I called Greg right away, and honestly, I thought he would dismiss the idea right away. So, I said, just think about it, and pray about it, and we'll share our thoughts on it together tonight when we get home. To my surprise, he had not dismissed the idea. We both had the same thoughts.

Our initial reactions went something like this: Are we crazy? We can't handle another child yet. What about Landon's adjustment? I barely have our new routine down now as it is! Could there be any less time for ourselves? But, once we got over the initial shock, and prayed about it more, we realized that all the reasons we could come up with for saying "no" were selfish reasons and temporary challenges. On the positive side, we thought- we have been so amazed at how well Landon has been attaching to us- maybe God was preparing him for this all along? Landon and his new baby brother or sister would be 2 1/2 years apart- what a great age difference! And, afterall, our verse from the start said that He had plans to prosper us! We just never expected SO SOON nor had we ever in our wildest dreams thought that we would be given an opportunity in such a way. If you knew all the other details, you would probably have the same response our family and friends seemed to all have: this must be God! Go for it!

After a week of lots of thinking and praying, we decided that we both felt that this was God's plan, and that, as my grandmother said to do, we were to just say, "Lord, here I am, use me." And just let go and see where this leads.

 I had a women's retreat this past weekend with our church ladies. One of the speakers was the daughter of one of my favorite speakers- Tony Evans. Her name is Priscilla Shirer. She spoke on Ephesians 3:20-21: "Now unto Him who is able to do EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY ABOVE all that we could EVER ask or even think, to Him be the glory and honor for ever and ever." Wow- what a perfect verse to sum up our week! God has, as she said, "gone WAY past MY way past!"

We are so excited to begin this journey, and to see how the pages of our lives continue to unfold. Please keep us in your prayers over these next two months as we prepare Landon, our home, and ourselves to welcome home a new baby. Yes, that's right, I said TWO MONTHS!

To end on a funny note, a moral of this story could be: Whenever someone who is "in tune" with God says that God is not done with you yet, and that you are going to have a baby...like the angel did to Sarah and Abraham, or like my grandmom did to me, DO NOT LAUGH!!!  For if you do, you are bound to be looking back, like I am, and like I am sure Sarah was and laughing even more. Thank you, Lord, for not making me wait until I am 99 !

Good News & Blessings Flow

I am so sorry for not blogging this sooner: Landon's bloodwork came back normal! Thank God! So, the week long fever that he had was an ear infection (so we found out), and not the result of some strange low neutrophil count. Whew! :)

Last weekend we dedicated our boy to the Lord. Afterall, He is who brought us together as a family. I couldn't think of a more important thing to do, no matter how old he is or how we came to be. Here are a few pictures of the service, and BBQ afterwards.

We had our friend, and Youth Pastor, George, dedicate Landon. For those of you who don't know, he and his wife Shannon, my BRFF (best running friend forever!) are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. Our adoptions started almost simultaneously after much talking/running and praying about things. What a special thing it has been to share in our journeys together!

Someone just wanted to get down and run around- we couldn't help but smile!

But, then he said, "Mama" and wanted me! Since I hardly ever get "chosen" over Greg, I am still smiling about this!!

Family shot next to the beautiful cake Shannon made

The wagon was a big hit! How many kids do you think can fit in at one time?

Love making my boy laugh!

My adorable boys!

Since everyone's always wanting to take his picture, he wants to start taking pictures too!

Comparing this picture to the one at the top, I can see how much Landon's changed! I am looking forward to spending my first Mother's Day with Landon tomorrow. Greg has to work, but we will be spending the day together, going to church and then to my parents. We are finsihing the day here at home- Greg is cooking us Filet Mignon on the grill! My mouth is watering already! :)