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! :)



1st Easter

Well, not everything always turns out the way you plan. We started Easter weekend having Aunt Sarah cut our hair on Friday night. After Landon's hair cut, he went to bed, and we were onto my hair. Around 11:30 I heard Landon cry out on the monitor "Mama" with a whiny moan. I knew by the way he started crying something wasn't right. I went in to get him, and he was shivering, and his body was on fire. Yep, a fever. After Tylenol, and lots of TLC in the rocking chair, Landon finally went back to bed at 1 AM. The next morning, he slept until 10:30! ...thank God, because I needed to sleep too! After waking up and seeing he was feeling better, we went to Greg's parents house to dye eggs and have an early Easter dinner. He had a great time! Here are a few pictures of our Saturday (minus the egg hunt at church that got postponed until next weekend due to rain...AGAIN)

Uncle Chris (Greg's brother for those of you who don't know) showed Landon how to do the first one

After one egg, he starts bossing Uncle Chris around like he knows better!

And using his sign language to signal, "MORE!"

And, he gets to do LOTS more as you can see in the bowl!

After dying eggs, Landon got his 1st Easter Basket- from Mommom & Poppop!

Complete with bunny ears!

After a yummy dinner at Mommom and Poppop's, we went home so Landon could get a good night sleep- hoping the fever would NOT return!

When Greg got home at 7:15, both of us hid the eggs we dyed yesterday so Landon could find them. Well, 2 1/2 hours later, when he woke up, Dakota had already been well aware of where all the eggs were. Please excuse Greg in the video- the poor guy slept for 2 hours, then woke up just to watch Landon find the eggs, only to go back to sleep to work 7P-7A again tonight...

Did anyone notice the irony- he had his Christmas jammies on for easter? :)

After the egg hunt, Daddy went back to bed, and Landon and I started to get ready for church. We were all set, and ready to head out the door when I grabbed my lil' man's hand, and it felt HOT! After seeing these two pictures below, you will see why I was shocked to find out just how high his fever was: 101! :(

The smile I got right after he said "Happy Easter!"

So, we had a change of plans, and decided to just hang in at home (without waking Daddy!). After about 2 hours of playing in the sunroom and basement, and finding that the Tylenol had once again done a great job, we ventured out to my parents house.  Here are some pictures and 1 more video of our fun afternoon!

Landon got his 3rd Easter basket from Aunt "Lala" (Laura) and Uncle Dave

Then, after lunch, Landon got to go outside at Nana & Grandpop's for another Egg Hunt! He LOVED it!

Nana and Grandpop revealed a secret- there is chocolate in these eggs!!

 Sidenote here: Landon kept signing for "more" after he found all the eggs, so they were re-hidden and re-found at least 2 more times! Might I also add here the gross detail that a bunny was found dead under their back porch? Luckily Landon didn't see that, and we all chuckled at the irony of a dead bunny on Easter. :(

And, perhaps my favorite moment of the day! Watching Landon and my granddad playing bubbles together, and laughing SO hard! How sweet life is! We are so blessed to have Landon in our lives!

A Phun Day in the Philles Ballpark!!

Last Sunday was a day we were anticipating for about two months- Landon's first Phillies game! Greg and I have always loved going to Phillies games together...now that I am thinking of it, that's where we had our first kiss...wow, 14 years ago! AH! So, anyway, we bought tickets for the Phanatic's birthday a few months ago, excited to share these fun times as a family. We knew he would love seeing all the other mascots running around on the field, and they would be a help to keeping him entertained throughout the game. He has been saying "ballpark" for a while now, and "phanatic" too- well, that sounds more like "natti."

Other than a 2nd-4th inning walk around the ballpark to get the ants out of our 2 year old's pants, he did it- he lasted the entire game! There were a few funny memories- one was after the Phanatic and the other mascots danced on top of the dugout, Landon repeatedly said, "Landon" while pointing down to where they were. No, hunny, we can't let you jump down to the field level. :) I wonder if he will like the Phanatic when he gets closer and sees how big he really is- I am predicting- NO.

Here are a few photos!

Attempted self taken family picture

We brought his glove, even though foul balls never reach the 400 level

Love when he looks back at me like this!

...even though it is usually right before he is doing something he shouldn't!

Yummy....popcorn!

After the game we asked a kind lady to take our picture :)

We are already looking forward to our next trip to the ballpark! But, before that, we have a fun weekend about to start (well, all but Landon's bloodwork which is tomorrow morning)! Dying Easter Eggs, 2 family dinners, church...in an outfit I am dying to see my handsome boy in, and hopefully an Easter Egg hunt if it doesn't get rained out!

Happy Easter everyone!