Birthday part 2

On Landon's actual birthday we let him choose where he wanted to eat which was "Old McDonald's." And then opened presents and ate cake. I think if I am going to keep insisting on making the kid's birthday cakes, a cake decorating class is a must! As wonky as it looked Landon loved his baseball cake so I'll call it a success:)

After blowing out his candle he said he wished he could turn five.

Thanks to all who sent Landon presents, he had a blast opening them.

Enjoy the birthday song video. Landon didn't crack a smile while we sang to him.

We love you, Buddy. You are getting so big. Watching you learn and grow is the best thing for a parent. You make us smile everyday and you can be a big help. Katelyn is your best friend and you both adore and terrorize her! Trains, cars, construction toys and sports are the joys of your life right now. Those big blue eyes and great big grin sometimes help get you out of trouble because a mom just can't resist giving into them:) Mom and Dad are so proud of the big boy you are becoming and can't wait to watch you grow even bigger. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Birthday Part 1--Atlanta

This year we did not throw Landon a birthday party, instead we took him to a Braves game which he said was even better than a party:)

The pictures are in reverse: On our way back from Atlanta we stopped at the Chattanooga Choo Choo train. The last time we were there Katelyn was just a baby.

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We stopped at the Atlanta Temple too. Both Landon and Katelyn thought the Angel Moroni was Jesus.
And here is the grand finale: Daddy and son at the Braves Game. Ben said Landon had an awesome time. He loved watching the practice warm ups and he got TWO, yes TWO ball players, one Brewer and one Brave to sign a ball!


And before the game Landon got to open his first birthday present: A baseball glove and ball. Now he and daddy get to play catch!

Easter

The kids seemed to understand that Easter is about Christ but they still think the Easter Bunny is pretty cool.

Easter Sunday hat. She called it her "Garden" hat.

All ready for church.

Thanks to the Easter Bunny and grandparents the kids got to find TWO baskets each. They were pretty excited and thought it was neat that the Easter Bunny left a letter for them telling them they had to be better at listening to their parents if they wanted candy next year. And the Easter Bunny told them to remember Jesus on this special day.

Trip to the park

On Saturday before General Conference started we took the kids to the park before shopping. There was a community event going on that we were not aware of but lucky for us they had a fire engine there. Landon and Katelyn got their own badge and fire hat. That sure was a hit.

A pregnant mommy with her two kiddos. Landon and Katelyn loved their hats but not so much the strap that went under the chin. They kept pulling at it and finally had their daddy hold the hats for them.

Here's a little taste of our adventure at the park:


And then we headed home to watch the first session of General Conference. I had printed off some photos of the First Presidency and Apostles on flowers, let the kids color them and put them on popsicle sticks to make their "General Conference Garden." It didn't entertain Katelyn as well as it did Landon who wanted to make a very colorful bouquet.

Katelyn's flowers (had a tiny bit of color on them, she was more into the tape)

And Landon's colorful garden.

When the Prophet and apostles speak Landon searches his flowers to find the speaker. He calls the prophet Thomas M. Monson--he doesn't get the S part :)

A picnic

After a really yucky stormy day on Friday I decided to take the kids to the park to get some of their wiggles out and have a picnic on Saturday while we waited for their dad to finish up some work. When we arrived at the park there was some event going on so all the parking spaces were full except for the small parking lot on the furthest end of the park. That meant a long walk to the play area (especially for a pregnant lady), but we made it. Katelyn had just climbed her very first slide when she said "Help. Help! I need to go pee pee!" Long story short, we had to walk all the way back to the car to change her only to realize I only had a pair of shorts for her and it would be too chilly to play outside in that so we had no choice but to go back home. Landon was bummed not to have a picnic at the park but daddy suggested he and Katelyn have their own picnic on the balcony--that sure made them happy. We sure love these two kiddos of ours!

Future photographers

A mother's love means posting pictures of yourself without makeup or your hair done because your kids are so proud of the pictures they took:) I told Landon I was updating the blog with our photos and he said he wanted to take a picture to show his grandparents--so here you go

Very successful photo by Landon

(I had to hold onto the camera when it was Katelyn's turn to keep it from shaking, but she pushed the button).

He got his choo choo back!

What puts a big old grin on this little boy?You guessed it. TRAIN TRACKS!
We had put a lot of the kids toys in bins trying to clean up some of their clutter a couple months ago and meant to get back to them to "match" up all the miscellaneous toys. Needless to say, we never did so Landon took it upon himself to dig out his own train tracks. He played with them for days. There have been lots of "choo choo" and "all aboards" coming from our home. Now to find the one or two remaining train engines still missing in the bins...