Landon Cole @ 2 1/2

Landon goes to bed with ease and sleeps in most of the time. On occasion we do find him at the entrance of our bedroom lying on the floor though. He has a sweet tooth, like his mom. He doesn’t like too many vegetables, like his mom. He loves most fruit, like his dad. He enjoys brushing his teeth like a big boy, but is pretty terrible at it. He says hi to anyone, unless he just woke up from a nap. He wakes up from naps in a grumpy mood about 40% of the time. He likes to get in the pool, but doesn’t want you to splash him or spray him with water. His eyes are still a beautiful grayish blue. He’s starting to get several freckles across his nose and upper cheeks. He secretly loves “the claw.” He loves to sing his ABCs. He can count to 20. He learned to pretend about 2 months ago. He still prefers to be around adults rather than kids. He’s cautious, quiet, and a little timid. He gets frustrated very easily, like his mom. When he’s corrected or knows people are watching & listening to him, he shuts down, like his mom did. He thinks “farting” is funny. He likes to wear daddy’s “smell-good.” He can name 4 country songs within the first few seconds of them playing. He has a tricycle that he loves, but can’t reach the peddles, so he uses the Fred Flintstone method. His favorite cereal is Lucky Charms. He loves our 2 dogs, Jax & Deuce, and my parents’ dog, Sadie. He yells “hush” when dogs bark. He doesn’t like for his hands to be dirty. Things have to be lined up just perfectly. If you lined up 10 cars parallel to one another and one was at a slight angle, he would find it and straighten it up. He hates spider webs and won’t touch anything that’s been in a spider web. He loves to be barefoot. “I want Momma do it” – he always wants me to do everything. He loves his big boy “Fire Truck” bed. He loves the Lake (and the Boat). He doesn’t like it when we go looking for his “spankin”. He loves to pee on mom’s plants. His favorite song is “Free As You’ll Ever Be” (Free – Zac Brown Band). He loves to “Flip”. He loves “Wightnin Queen” (Lightning McQueen). He loves watching “Handy Manny” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” while eating breakfast. He loves to help us mow the yard. He likes to ride on Papa’s tractors. He likes to play Danpa’s drums. His favorite saying seems to be “I don’t want to!” He doesn’t like when you “bite his ear off” or “get his nose”. He loves to watch the Trash Truck. He loves “Rowy Powies” (Rollie Pollies). He is a great traveler. He’s a little manipulative (ex. Landon don’t touch that. . .so he touches it with his head). He loves to be tickled and says “Uncle” to make you stop. Landon likes to go golfing with Daddy & his friends. Landon says please, thank you, & you’re welcome better than most adults. He always wants to wear his cowboy boots, but they’re too big for him right now. He calls me “Mom.” He yells at his toys when they don’t do as he instructs. He loves to water the flowers with the garden hose, like his mom. He runs funny, which drives mom and dad crazy. His favorite bedtime book is “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” His hugs are sweet and his kisses are the best. He is loved more than he’ll ever know.

A $15 Investment

We officially upgraded from the $10 plastic pool to the $15 blow-up pool. No, that's not impressive at all, but Landon sure thinks it is! He's pretty proud of his new swimming pool. My parents have the same one at their house (they gave me the idea). We will officially have a back-yard paradise once we finish the new fence, build the arbor, add 2 new flower beds, get new patio furniture, and add an outdoor sound system! Whew, now let's get to work!

Father's Day 2009

Father's Day weekend was wonderful! Bo's been a DAD for 2 1/2 years and I'd say he has the job totally mastered. He's such an all-around great dad. He's fun-fun-fun, sweet, loving, compassionate, playful, helpful, and of course, knows how to lay down the law too! Landon's testing that job a little more these days.
After lounging by the pool for a few hours on Saturday, we took my parents to dinner to celebrate my dad's day. Dad and I even shared a margarita....it was my first ever! Quite tasty, I must say. My brother was in town too, so we had the whole crew. Matt ordered a Lynchburg Lemonade. I immediately looked up and thought, "Oh my goodness, what are you doing?!! You're not even 21!!" It only took a few seconds to realize my brother is 21 and perfectly legal. My, my, how did 21 years come and go? Anyway, dinner, dessert, and drinks were delightful. My dad, too, is a great dad....and a great "Danpa". He put up with a daughter whose teenager years were treacherous and emotions were a roller coaster. We made it through to the other side though, and now it's my turn to raise a child and experience the joys and challenges of parenthood. Kudos to my father for raising a daughter and still maintaining his sanity.
Sunday was our lake day. We truly love having our boat and spending time on the lake. And we're overjoyed to see that Landon has the same love for the lake and outdoors. We took Bo's parents to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I adore any time spent with Bo and his 2 brothers. The 3 of them always have us rolling with laughter. Plus, Bo's mom and dad have endless stories of their boys' childhood. Dinner with them is entertaining to say the least. Before we left Cracker Barrel, we bought Landon a package of Nik 'L Nips. Remember those? It's the wax bottle filled with fruit-flavored juice. Oh the power of nostalgia....I know I loved those things as a kid. Bo, Steven, Boonie and I all bit the top off of our bottles and sucked down the pure liquid sugar disguised with food coloring. Boonie and I looked at each other with crinkled faces and were like, "You've got to be kidding! These things are beyond disgusting!" Landon loved them though. I guess it's something you enjoy as a child, and the memories somehow convince you that this stuff is going to be great when you're 31 too. WRONG! Next time I get the hankering for some Big League Chew, candy cigarettes, or Wak-O-Wax Wax Lips, I'll just settle for the fond childhood memories.

Landon's Laugh

I've always loved Landon's laugh. He had been laughing so hard, and we just caught the tail-end of this episode. I just thought I'd post this one...it always puts a smile on my face.

Tubing on Lake Ray Roberts

The Boat is Back!

Our boat hasn't seen any action since the summer of 2005. We hit a stump that summer and the stump won. Since it was the end of boating season, we put it up and decided that repairs could wait. Well, we certainly didn't intend to postpone repairs this long! When we were in Tennessee over Memorial Day weekend, we took Landon out on the boat and he really seemed to enjoy it. This was our motivation! Bo and his dad did all the repairs themselves. Besides my dad and my father-in-law, Bo is the best handy-man I know. I love that he can fix just about anything. He just needs a little shove every now and then! Anyway, I turned down plans and left Sunday wide open, just knowing we would be on the lake. And, we were!!! The boat ran great and we stayed afloat! Landon loved the boat and even tubed with me. Our friends, Jordan and Starla, brought their precious 5-month old, Jett. It was Jett's first time on a boat and he was such a trooper. He even managed to squeeze in a little nap! Steven brought his boat out too. Ours was the "family" boat and his was the "party" boat. Anyway, we had a blast and can't wait to do it again. A day on the lake is always a good day....unless you hit a stump.

A Memorial Day to Remember

Memorial Day was spent in Tennessee again this year. The entire family ventured in for my grandmother's 75th birthday 2 years ago. This year we all did the same for her sister's 75th birthday. Landon is a spectacular traveler. He entertains himself in the back seat with books, cars, his own radio, and a swig of juice every now and then. Landon even managed to tell us every time he needed to go potty! Unfortunately, sometimes that meant an emergency stop 5 minutes after we filled up at a gas station, or stopping at the scariest, and most gut wrenching gas station in the heart of Memphis. We were so proud of our big boy! Upon arrival, Landon was the center of attention. He didn't quite know what to think of all those people ooing & awing over him, but he warmed up quickly once showered with gifts from his GG, cousin Babs, and Aunt Stephanie. The weekend was filled with activities like redneck horseshoes, eating, chalk art, watermelon seed spitting, biking, eating, hiking, boating, tubing, eating, dancing, gaming, talking, eating, a performance by Grandmother's & Aunt Bettye's Hillbilly Band, volleyball, witnessing a streaker (Bo), and even a Halloween party! Aunt Bettye's favorite thing is their annual Halloween costume party, so we surprised her with one in May. It was hilarious, and even attracted the attention of a few park rangers. I'm sure they thought alcohol had to be involved, but nope! I have to talk about the food for a moment. Seriously, you haven't had great food until you've had it cooked by these folks. There's nothing like it! Breakfast is always my personal favorite, but it was rivaled by Joe's fish fry. The desserts were oh-so yummy too. We must have gained 10 lbs, terrible for me, but a perk for Bo. I know all that cooking is hard work, but it was truly a delight to eat such scrumptious food! Thank you, thank you, thank you! It was really a memorable Memorial Day weekend. Landon was so sad to leave. I asked him if he was ready to go back to Texas, and he kept saying, "No, I want to stay in Tennessee." It broke my heart. I truly think I have the very best (maybe the silliest too!) family in the world. They know how to have a good time, and did I mention they know how to cook? Landon doesn't know what kind of family he's inherited, but I'm hoping all these great pictures will give him an idea. Speaking of pictures, after we combined cameras we had well over 900 pictures! So, it was an insanely difficult task picking out a few for this blog.