Playing with books...

Landon loves to play with books. He often grabs John's book off the bedside table and drags it around. He's learning to be gentler, and doesn't rip books anymore, which is good.

yesterday he discovered a box of books up by the computer. That was good for about 40 minutes of play time!! He would take books out of the box, put them back in, and then crawled in the box as well! Made me laugh, and made him happy.

No more nursing...

Well, I think Landon may be fully and completely done nursing. He has only nursed Tuesday morning so far this week. The other mornings he might take my nipple, but then spits it out and smirks and then tries to crawl off my lap to go and play. So I think we are at the end of that beautiful road. I have very mixed feelings ... I am glad to get my entire body back, and to not be 'needed', but am also sad to no longer be 'needed' in that way. To think only a year ago Landon was latched on seemingly all day and all night!! lol I guess my little baby is getting bigger. And overall that's a good thing. But I'm still a little sad.

The weather's finally nicer here today, we went for a nice walk to mail some stuff (my speeding ticket from ND for one, almost forgot about that!!), and to pick up a few groceries. Now Landon's snoozing and I'm going to clean up the kitchen and get started on dinner.

I'm looking forward to this weekend - Carla's going to be in Airdrie playing hockey, so I'll get a chance to visit with her sans children!! That'll be a treat, for both of us. I am hoping to take Landon out to a hockey game too - I think he'd enjoy that, for about 5 minutes at least ;-)

That's the news. Landon is adorable, as usual. This afternoon he was playing in a box of books, pulling them out, leafing through them, crawling in the box, pulling the books back into the box, etc. Funny little duffer!! LOL Take care...until next time! TK

Running around!!

We have to admit it --- Landon is full-fledged running these days :-) All over the place. He runs when we 'chase' him, he runs to chase us, he runs to see what we're doing, he runs to climb the stairs anytime the gate's open. He just runs, runs, runs. *sigh* I'll be glad when the yard's fenced, then he can run, run, run outside!! Of course, a fence wouldn't have helped today, with the snow falling all day. It's a beautiful wintery-wonderland out there right now!! But I saw that it was already starting to melt this evening, so I'm sure it'll all be gone in the next 24 - 48 hours :-)

Today Landon's favourite toy was a water bottle with Cheerios inside that rattled every time he shook it. Pretty cute!! Then this evening he loved some old maps that John had found and put in the living room. He got them all spread out, then sat on them and played with another map -- making crinkly sounds and grabbing the edges etc. Funny little bugger!! I love watching him play with new things!

and he's a stair climber. No fear when it comes to climbing! Just goes right on up, whether we're there behind him or not! He's actually really good at it now, it's just that as soon as he gets to the landing he stands up and he's on the very edge of the top stair still. Gives me heart attacks! But when he gets to the very top of the stairs he crawls away before standing. I guess he's still anxious at the very top, but doesn't associate the landing with falling so isn't as insecure. In any case, we can't leave the gate open for even a second as he'll be climbing those stairs as soon as he sees a chance. LOL

Oh yeah, we went to aquasize this morning. I hadn't even gotten fully in the pool yet and Landon was trying to climb down out of my arms to get in the water! I thought he might be a bit tentative because it's been a couple of weeks. Nope! He wanted right in there. He was good for the whole class, but was very tired by the end as he's getting up about an hour earlier than he used to and the class cuts into naptime. So he had a good snooze when we got home.

Well that's the news from here today! Until next time...TK

Cute little bugger...

Even when not covered in mud, Landon is pretty darned cute. He has been enjoying his new 'toy' -- John bought a bike pump last week, and Landon has been carting that thing around since he discovered it. He can even pump it!! You can see by the outfit that that picture was taken before he went to play in the mud :-)

And this morning Landon was too cute for words, sitting on the floor playing with John's backpack. He chewed, chewed, chewed the straps! I took some pics, because he looked so adorable.

Now he's a snoozer-bug ... having quite a long nap for some reason. Hopefully he'll wake up soon. I've taken to enjoying eating eggs for lunch with Landon - and he LOVES eggs too, which is good :-)

Fun in the Mud!

Landon had some fun playing in the mud of Saturday. He ran down the 'hills' behind our house, falling on his face and rolling around. Then he splashed in the small puddles in our backyard. As you can see, he was wet and mucky head to toe :-) Then he pitched a fit (I've mentioned the temper thing right?) and we had to strip him down and wash him off. He was so mad, and he wanted to put his hand in his mouth, but it was covered with mud which would make him more mad, and aiaiaiaiai. But it was fun to watch him exploring in the mud, and I do look forward to warm summer muddy days when he can play and maybe not get so cold and mad :-)

Temper Temper

Well, Landon is definitely trying out this new 'temper' thing. *sigh* When he doesn't get his way, he gets frustrated and voices it, loudly. Stinker! He wanted to walk on the street ... aiaiaiai Then he was playing in the mud, something ticked him off (I think he was cold, as he was wet and muddy head to foot -- pictures will come when I get them loaded), he was yowling that I thought the neighbours would call the cops! *shaking head* I didn't think this 'stage' would arrive quite yet - I thought maybe in a few months ... not now :-/ Ah well. We just keep trying to distract him, and hopefully he'll find patience someday soon. It just seems like everytime we turn around he's squawking over something. And when we pick him up he jerks around ... aiaiaiaiai

We did have a pretty good day though. He walked down the sidewalk a ways, and we visited some neighbours hosing off their driveway. He played in the mud in the back -- head to toe. His favourite 'game' was running down the slope until he crashed. Many, many faceplants!! He laughed and laughed. I think we've got a daredevil on our hands....
We got cleaned up from those excursions, but he loves to go outside and always wants to go out. It's so beautiful, we had the patio door open all day. Luckily he doesn't try to go through the screen on his own (unlike Carla). We will have to install a gate on the stairs and let him play out there, at least until we get a fence built :-)

That's the news from here today ... until next time. TK

A Week of Learning...

Well Grandma and Grandpa must've been teaching Landon lots when he was there, because we've sure noticed some new things this week.
First off, they taught him that shaking his head actually means 'no', and so he's been shaking his head 'no' at us all week long ... whether he means no or not, it's still kind of cute. Sort of. I had been so careful to just have head shaking as a bit of a game "shake-your-head" without associating it to the word no ... but I guess I didn't tell G'ma and G'pa that :-/ Ah well ... it's cute.

Also, Landon has started to work on the things that require dexterity. Such as the fridge farm - before he just wanted to rip it off of the fridge and throw it on the floor (it made lots of noise). Now he's either forgotten how fun that is, or he's just realizing that working on getting the animals to stick to the barn is the point of the thing and it can be fun too because then Farmer Tad sings a song that Landon can dance to. So he works and works on getting the magnetic animals in there ... sometimes getting them in, but mostly trying to get them in there backwards or one on top of the other. He gets very frustrated too when it doesn't work for him ... it's hard to know when to leave him to figure it out on his own and when to step in to help him. He was more patient with it today than yesterday, so things are looking up.

Landon also is putting the shapes into his dumptruck now. Before he just pushed the buttons to make noises, now he wants to put the shapes in. So that's fun to watch, and I help him a bit there too. He doesn't get as frustrated with that toy, which is good.

And the best 'new' thing -- Landon loves to turn the tv off, then on, then off, then on, then off .... you get the picture! Little stinker. So we say "Landon, no" and he looks at us, shakes his head, and turns the tv off/on/off/on again. This is one trick that is so fun, we have to find distractions for him or he'd never quit! aiaiaiaiaiai

One more new thing too -- he has figured out how to move backwards ... crawling I mean. So he's been practising that too, getting down on all fours, and moving backwards. That's good, as it will help him to learn to go down stairs. He's figured out how to go up stairs ... thanks to lots of practising at Grandma and Grandpas house. Today he went all the way up our stairs on his own (with me right behind him just in case). Sometimes he stops to stand up and look around, he gets a bit wobbly, but then he gets right back to climbing. Coming down will take a bit more time -- he's still a bit unsure as he approaches the stairs, and usually won't even get close enough for me to pick him up if I'm sitting on the top stair. In fact, he won't even stand up when he reaches the top of the stairs - he crawls to his bedroom doorway and then stands. But he's a pretty big boy and we're very proud of him!!

So there's the update on Landon's new tricks. He's been very busy learning this past week or so! I am convinced more than even that Landon will be one of those kids that doesn't do it, doesn't do it, and then has it perfected the second time he tries it. Heaven help us!! LOL

Until next time...TK

Little naked helper...

Here are some cute pictures of Landon from that last couple of days.
in the first pic, I was unpacking my suitcase ... I turned around to discover Landon 'helping' me. He had crawled right on in and was playing with the phone charger cord. He spent quite a bit of time in there too ... first of all playing with the charger, and then he discovered the fun of just getting in and out.
Landon was having fun running around in his birthday suit too ... You just have to laugh at the picture of him scratching his butt! Wonder where he gets that from ? Heh heh
And just a cute picture of him too (yes, he's clothesless there too ... ).

Have baby, will travel....

Landon was an ANGEL for Grandma and Grandpa. Much to my relief!! He went to bed 8 - 8:30, slept until 8 am. Napped beautifully. What a kid. I got home, he went to sleep at 10 pm Sunday night!! *shaking head* But at least he adjusted very well to new sleeping arrangements (even the ringing of the fax at Grandma's house!). He liked the play pen at Grandma's, and didn't have any trouble sleeping in the new Pack-n-Play from Carla at Carla's house. I think it's partly because there's so much to do when we're visiting. He LOVES Ryder, and followed him around everywhere, trying to imitate whatever he was doing.

Now Dudley --- heh heh --- I think he wasn't sad to see Landon go! The first night Landon picked him up by the tail. After that they weren't friends. By Tuesday morning they had learned to co-exist. Landon didn't get too frustrated when Dudley ran away, and Dudley learned just how fast to run to not get caught. Lulu (at Carla's) was much less worried, as she's very used to kids playing with her. When she just stood there waiting to be petted (or whatever this kid was going to throw at her), Landon didn't know what to do. He just stood there flinging his hands, and when I grabbed his hand to pet her, he made a fist and wouldn't open it up. Monkey.

Landon certainly doesn't make strange either. We went to Grandma Masson's funeral on Thursday - I thought he may get overwhelmed. But nope. He went up to everyone with his arms out 'pick me up'. and he was even pretty good in the church - luckily I had toys, Aunty Vonnie beside me to help, and Uncle Slug entertaining Landon behind me. And the service was short (very nice, but short) which was good. At Carla's he just trucked around after the kids ... not too worried about anything except keeping up.
And when I was in Minot, he didn't fuss when I left, and was so-so in the excitement category upon my return. I was definitely more distraught than he was! Mom said Saturday morning he was a bit lost, kind of wandering around looking for me. But that was it. I guess he was confident that I'd be coming back.

It feels good to be home though. Sleeping in my own bed ... aaaahhhhh. I think Landon is glad to be home, but is somewhat bored. After running around to play with all of his toys last night and this morning, this afternoon he's kind of like 'what now' ... needing some action! lol Oh well ... it's nice NICE weather out so we'll spend lots of time outside all weekend.

Until next time....TK

Travelling....

Here are a couple of pics from my travels to Minot. I passed through Dog River on the way, had to stop to take a pic of the elevator and Corner Gas. the set is all boarded up though, so there's really not too much to see.

and I had never driven past Weyburn before, so the country south east was all new to me. The second picture is between Estevan and the border ... coal mined land. Mile after mile looked just like this. blech!

The rest of the trip to Minot was ok, except that silly cop about 15 miles out of Minot. aiaiaiai What point is there in an US$18 speeding ticket!?!?! But I made it safely and in one piece. The weekend was fun -- it was great to see everyone again! The volleyball was good - but the other teams were better so we got to drinking a bit earlier than most :-/ But we kept it pretty tame this year -- we must be getting older. I knew I was traveling alone on Sunday to head back home, and I didn't want to feel nearly as bad as I did the last time we were in Minot, so I tried to keep my vision all night. The trip back was LONG -- because I was a bit tired (and getting stiffer every mile I made), but mostly because I was so anxious to get back to Landon!! LOL

Travel pics....

Here are some pics from our recent travels. We saw Kyle and Mark at Grandma Masson's funeral, and they came to the farm for a visit afterwards as well. Landon was very happy to see both of them :-)

And Landon had lots of fun 'helping' Grandma sweep the floor. He likes the brooms that don't make noise I guess - he can't stand the Swiffer Sweep'n'Vac!! LOL Or maybe it's just that everything's better at Grandma's house :-)

Home Again!!

Just a quick post - we made it home safe and sound today. Landon was VERY excited to be home ... he was smiling when I pulled into the garage, and he ran around the house squealing for about an hour - playing with all of his toys!! Very cute!
I will post more on my weekend adventures tomorrow - tonight I'm off to shower in my own shower, and to bed :-) Landon konked out about an hour ago, as he missed his second nap today. More news soon...TK

It wasn't all running around...

Landon didn't spend the entire time in 'the prairie' running around ... he was very interested in grass and weeds and mud and rabbit turds too :-) He only got one rabbit turd to his mouth ... funny how everything else he didn't bother trying to taste, but those turds he zoned into and I kept having to redirect his attention!! Monkey!! He did taste a bit of mud too, but not much.

I'm thinking Landon is going to have a ton of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house -- think of all the running around outside he can do there! Hopefully the weather will be nice.

We're off to the farm tomorrow (Wed) ... hoping the roads will be recovered from this recent snowfall. The city was blanketed in white this morning - but it's all rapidly melting now. Forecast for Speedy Creek is rain and snow for tomorrow, so I hope the roads are travelable.

I won't post now until I get back sometime next week. Hope everyone has a fun St Patty's Day!! Until next time...TK

Outdoor Fun!!

Landon had a tone of fun exploring the open space behind our house on the weekend. At the beginning, he just bent over and picked grass without really moving. But once he got the hang of what he could do, he started doing it!! He just went and went and went ... As you can see he was thoroughly enjoying himself the entire time!

Weights and Measures...

I forgot to include Landon's new stats :-) He weighed in at 23 pounds, 14 ounces, and is 29 3/4" tall (which we already knew because Grandma had brought up the height chart she quilted for him, and we did his measurements the night of his birthday).

So he's kind of reversed himself now. He used to be 75th percentile for height, 50th for weight. Now he's 50th percentile for height, 65th for weight.

We got him down ~an hour earlier tonight than has been usual, so hopefully we won't suffer too much with the daylight savings tonight. One less hour of sleep :-( We'll be up at 8 tomorrow, which will by 9 with DST ...

That's the stats for today...TK

The days *after* a birthday...

Well, Landon's life has slowed down a bit since his birthday celebrations :-) But that's ok because he has soooo many new toys to play with!! Yesterday a new one arrived - another ride-on car from Aunty Tanya, Verral, Aunty Carla and Uncle Dave and boys, Aunty Tash and Savannah!! This one is based on Tater from the movie Cars, and Landon fell in love with it as soon as I pulled it out of the box. It has so many sounds and buttons to push - he's been bonkers for it!! LOL Little spoiled stinker-pants!! aiaiaiai Thanks for the gift guys!

Thursday we went swimming - Landon really enjoyed it. He practised putting his head under the water, even sometimes dipping his face in by himself. And he would sort of walk off the edge of the pool to me (my hands never left him, but he'd stand and then kind of lean in and lift one foot, and I'd pull him into the water - making a big deal like he'd jumped to me!). I can see that swimming will be a fun time for Landon ... and I enjoyed the hot tub afterwards!

Landon got his 12-month shots yesterday. First time for needles in his arms, and did he howl :-( Poor guy - even mom almost started crying because I hate needles that much too!! But he got over it pretty quickly because the nurse had a puppet that made noises for him. The side-effects are different for these needles though (MMR and chickenpox vaccines) ... they won't happen for the first 5 days, but then he could get a fever and a rash or chicken pox-like spots. Just in time for us to go to Grandmas .... my oh my!! Hopefully he's not a miserable monkey at the farm :-/

we've been easing Landon into the daylight savings that occurs tonight. This morning he was up at 8:30, and tomorrow will be 8 which will actually be 9 once we move the clocks ahead one hour. It hasn't been too bad, especially since John got up with him this morning and I got to sleep in. But I'll have to get my butt out of bed tomorrow too :-P

I'm thinking I might start weaning Landon soon. He nurses in the morning and at night now. But I think my nursing him at night actually kind of stimulates him. Whenever John puts him down (without nursing obviously), Landon seems to go to sleep easier and faster. So maybe we'll have to get rid of that nursing. He does still love the morning nursing, but not as much as before, and I think he may just stop that one on his own. Especially if I give him cereal and milk before nursing ... I think eventually that will just satisfy him. Hard to think of life without nursing after a year of it!! LOL But it's nice to think of life without nursing too .....

That's the news from here. It's another GORGEOUS day out ... we'll have to get outside this afternoon for awhile. I think the wind may even have died down a bit. That's the catch here -- the temperature is wonderful, but the wind is bad (due to the Chinooks). So it's usually very nice but very windy ... well so far anyways. Hopefully the summer won't be so windy (??).

Until next time....TK

Let them eat CAKE!

Need I really say more? Heh heh. Landon was a bit hesitant when he first got his birthday cake, but soon enough he tried some out. And well ... you can see the ultimate results!! LOL He loved his birthday cake (Grandma baked a pretty darned good cake, we all liked it!!), and he loved the ice cream he got with it too (it was pretty cold on his hands, but he got it all in his mouth quickly enough!!).

Landon was pretty wired up the rest of the night!! I think it was 11:30 or later before he finally gave in and went to sleep! Much different from Grandpa who had a good snooze on the couch before heading to bed by 10!! LOL

At the zoo...

Well, Landon didn't really know what to make of the zoo. He likes being pushed around, but was very impatient every time we stopped or slowed down :-) Mostly he liked the fences, he kept grabbing them (I guess making sure they were good and sturdy!!). He didn't really notice any animals that were far off or not moving. He liked the ducks (he and Grandpa 'chased' them), and he definitely noticed the elephants (that were out on display). We saw some nice animals though, and it was such a beautiful day just to go out for a walk. I look forward to many more trips to the zoo this summer.

Birthday gifts galore!

What a lucky stinker bug we have. He got so many nice presents!! Yesterday he opened the rest of his gifts from Grandma and Grandpa, and the BIG gift from Aunty Liz, Uncle Rob, Thomson and Isabel. You can see by these pictures just how happy he is with his new ride-on car!! He can't really ride without help yet, but he pushes it around a lot. He also 'fixes' it with the tools Grandma and Grandpa got him. He walks around the house with this screwdriver and his wrench, banging on anything he figures needs 'fixing' I guess!! And he posed oh-so-nicely with his new bubble-blowing tools here too, I had to post it.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!

Heeeeeere's the Birthday BOY!! Landon was all dressed up and showing off this morning already :-) This afternoon we are going to the zoo ... it's supposed to get to 12 above today, so we'll take advantage of the nice weather.
The chair -- a new favourite from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday. Landon played with the chair all last night, tipping it over, sitting on it, pushing it around. I think this may be the hit of his birthday!!

Grandma and Grandpa will be here soon!

Well, Grandma and Grandpa should be here anytime now, I'm just waiting. Landon's snoozing :-/ In addition to liking to go to sleep late these days, he's been fighting his naps too! I put him down and sometimes it's an hour later when he finally goes to sleep. I was going to wake him, but when I tried he just groaned, rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head! He reminded me so much of myself that I left him sleeping!! At least he'll be in a good mood for Grandma and Grandpa. Tomorrow morning we'll get up a bit earlier, so the nap is earlier (let's hope) so that we can get to the zoo!!

I'll be taking lotsa' pics over the next few days, so should have some to post maybe Thursday. Friday afternoon Landon gets his 1-year shots ... it's been so long since he's been stabbed with a needle ... I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully he doesn't react. It will be nice to get him weighed and stuff though - I'm curious how much he weighs now. And I've got tons of questions so it'll be good to see a doctor again!

Until next time....TK

Stairs are scary, and we like to sleep in

Well, Landon definitely is not too fond of stairs these days. At first we didn't think he was too traumatized, but I noticed today that he is very wary of the stairs if the gate is open. When the gate's closed he's better, but not totally. I put him down at the top of the stairs in the bonus room (where he tumbled from) today ... he scrunched up his face (his 'I'm scared' face) and wouldn't move, just put his arms out for me to pick him up. I went down the stairs on my bum, holding him, but he wasn't happy. So I stood up again. He also wasn't very sure of himself in the hallway leading to the bedrooms, even with the gate closed. So I guess the tumble has put some fear of stairs into him ... poor little bugger!!

We've been sleeping in a lot the past week or so ... aiaiai. So Landon can quite easily sleep until 10 am again, but of course doesn't want to go to sleep until 11 pm. *sigh* I've got to get my ass out of bed earlier so that Landon gets up earlier. *shaking head* Daylight savings next weekend too ... that'll be a jolt, an hour sleep lost Saturday night. I will likely do it over two nights for Landon, 30 minutes earlier Saturday morning, 30 minutes earlier Sunday morning. Then we'll be on the same time as Sask ... YAY

I baked Landon's birthday cake tonight, and it fell :-( So I may just have to make a fresh attempt tomorrow morning. Or maybe I'll just ice it flat *shrug* Depends on how the morning goes I guess. I don't have aquasize this week, so it'll be the first Tuesday morning at home for quite awhile. We'll see....maybe Grandma will want to bake the cake ...? They'll be here tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure both Grandma and Grandpa are excited to see Landon and all of his new tricks -- like walking!! And plenty of babbling too :-) Landon will be very excited to see them too, he loves to have a fresh audience to show off for!

until next time...TK

Favourite New Jacket

Landon was very lucky to get such a nice birthday present from Aunty Laura ... a new spring coat with pants. He loves the coat, playing with it like it's the best toy around! And today he got to wear the entire outfit for the first time ... and he looked pretty darned cute I think! We'll get lots of use out of this outfit, that I am very sure!!

Playing with Aunty Laura

Landon had lots of fun playing with Aunty Laura this weekend. They were dancing and playing 'gonna getcha' and everything! Landon was especially playful whenever Aunty Laura tried to take a picture ... he'd be all cuteness and smiles until he saw the camera, then he got a very serious face on. I'm sure Aunty Laura has several very serious faced pictures of Landon! Monkey.

Bibs are FUN

One of Landon's favourite things to do is play with clothes (or bibs, or towels). This night he was playing with the bibs I had out as I was folding laundry. He gathered them all up, then sat on the floor playing. He would put all the bibs between his legs (kind of like here), then he would pull them all out and throw them to the side. Then he would gather them all back up again.

He also drags towels around to no end. When it's not available from the laundry pile, he grabs the tea-towels off of the stove :-/ There are always towels turning up in various corners of the house!!

Birthday Music Table

We gave Landon his birthday present(s) early. The first gift was the push-toy, which he's had since the end of January. The second was this Leapfrog musical learning table. He LOVES this thing ... he plays with it all day long. It sings songs, plays music, counts to 10, does the alphabet, all by pushing various buttons. I find myself singing the songs when I go to bed at night :-/ Trouble though - today I changed to batteries and discovered just how LOUD this toy really is *sigh*

When you don't get fed fast enough...

Here's what happens with Mr Impatient when mom doesn't get the peas and potatoes to the table in time! Landon knocked the bowl off the cupboard, spilling peas and sweet potatoes everywhere. I put him down to go and get the broom - he just bent down and started eating! LOL He likely would've cleaned the entire floor up for me, had I let him!

I forgot!

I forgot some news! Yesterday we turned Landon's car seat around to face front. Plus he's in the middle of the backseat now too, so he can really see out. He wasn't sure about the whole situation though. In true Landon form, he maintained a very serious expression while staring intently at everything he could see!
But I wanted to get the seat turned around before our trip to the farm, to give him a chance to get used to it. Hopefully he's still able to sleep nicely in there. He did have a nice nap in the car on Saturday afternoon - but he was still facing backwards then.

Grandma and Grandpa will be here tomorrow YAY! I'm going to have to get a birthday cake baked I guess ... hopefully this afternoon. John's going out with friends who are in town from Montreal this evening, so I'll have to place to myself (with Landon of course) to get a cake baked.

That's the news ... not too much excitement I guess. The weather's nice - Landon and I just may have to make a trip out to the dollar store for some party supplies. He napped late today, so I'll have to get him tuckered out somehow.... Until next time...

Stairs, Swimming and Spring (coats)...

Busy weekend for us. Aunty Laura was here for the weekend (taking a course in reflexology ... John and I got to be guinea-pigs last night and it was GREAT!!). We had a very nice visit with her, and we look forward to her coming back in early May for session 2 of her course! And hopefully we'll get some more 'practise' foot rubs along the way :-P

Landon had a weekend up downs and ups. Friday night was a bit bumpy, as he took a tumble down the stairs :-O He went from the bonus room to the landing in two good bumps. We are soooo relieved that he was sitting at the bottom crying when it was done, and amazingly nothing was too hurt, aside from a bit of carpetburn on the forehead. Within about 15 minutes he was running around and playing again like nothing had happened. *shaking head* It definitely traumatized us more than Landon. I think we are lucky that the stairs are carpeted (or 'comfy' as Ryder would say).

On the upside, Landon passed his 'Starfish' swimming lessons Saturday morning :-) He's gone from being so scared he wouldn't let go of me to 'swimming' in the river (face down, drinking some water with his arms splashing and legs kicking), dunking his face in the water (sometimes on his own, sometimes with mom's help), and even letting mom help him float on his back (for a few seconds only!). He got a sticker and everything :-) The next level is Duck, and he can't take those lessons until he's 18 months, so we have a few months of swimming for 'fun' before he gets enrolled in lessons again.

Aunty Laura brought Landon his birthday gift this weekend too -- a spring coat and pants outfit -- Tigger racing team, and he loves it!! We had to exchange it today for a smaller size (we got an 18 month size, so hopefully he can wear it for quite awhile). Tonight I took the tags off and he sat on the floor playing with the coat for about 20 minutes (and these days Landon doing anything for 20 minutes, especially when it doesn't directly involve us, is unusual!). I took some pictures, it was pretty cute.

John's friend Matt was stranded in Calgary Friday night on his way to San Fransisco, so we had a chance for a quick visit with him. He did get going on his way Saturday late afternoon, and we haven't heard so are thinking he made it down there finally :-)

That's about it for news here. Landon continues to keep us quite busy, and fully entertained. He's been practising his glass-breaking screams, so that's joyous. And he's eating more and more of our food, which continues to make mealtimes easier (and messier). Bananas are still #1, and if we'd let Landon shove an entire banana in his mouth at once, he would. Lord knows he tries hard enough as it is!

Hope everyone is doing well. Will post soon, hopefully get some pics up! Take care...until next time! TK