It's about time!!!

With Christmas Eve being tomorrow, I thought I had better get my Thanksgiving pictures posted before we take a whole bunch more this weekend. Sorry to our family about the blogging drought. New Year's Resolution: blog at least once a week! (Brad is fixing our laptop which will make this more doable. Trying to get much done in the office while Landon is awake usually feels like a comedic act. So the mobility of a laptop will help.) I haven't been so good with the record keeping this past year (or ever), so I'm thinking about doing more blogging this next year and then having it made into a book. If any of you have done this, I'd love for you to pass on any pointers about how to make it simple and easy and cute.

Anyway, we had a lovely Thanksgiving in Indiana. Brad's cousin, Maren, was kind enough to invite us to spend Thanksgiving with her family. We were able to get away to stay with them for a couple of days. It turned out to be a really nice Thanksgiving. The food was fantastic! We had a really nice visit with Lance and Maren and their sweet little kiddos. It was fun getting to know them all better. We felt right at home. Landon loved all the new toys and having buddies to play with. We did notice that he growled more for a little while after our trip:) It's a blessing to have family only a few hours away. We hope to spend more time with them while we are living in the midwest. Here are some pictures from the holiday that occurred a month ago. I know, I know. Better late than never, right?! Oh, and I regret to say that we didn't get many pictures including the Madsen family. We'll do better next year:)

 Just getting comfortable with the new territory

 So many nooks and crannys...so much space! 

 Drinking from a play-doh cup is the best!

 Competing for toys! Okay Landon doesn't get that yet, but I'm sure it's around the corner...

 This is as much of a smile as you're getting today with so much to look at!

 You can see that Landon had some good entertainment while we were there:) 

 Attempting to get casual family pictures

 This was the winner out of the family pictures, I'd say. Good job, Maren!

Don't make me walk, Dad!

 Freedom!

 Just too cute

 This is the life!

 Sorry, Spencer. Got you beat!

Here is some video of how he was walking a month ago. Now he is able to take quite a few steps in a row by himself. It seems like it just clicked the last couple of weeks. We'll be sure to get some footage of his cute little toddling right away. And post it pronto!

What we're up to...

Fun and trouble!

 "Just got done cleaning out Mom's purse for her...You're welcome, Mom!"

 He was standing there with barely a hand on the table, but the second he saw the camera he was down and coming at me!

 "Gotcha Mom! Now give me that camera...pleeease!"

Matchy matchy for church

Don't worry, Landon. I love refolding all of your laundry. Enjoy!

Landon is making progress with his walking, slowly but surely. He loves pushing this little firetruck around, especially if I pull the siren. He tries to imitate the sound of it:) So cute! Sometimes he pushes it with just one hand. Don't mind the boxes in the corner. It's all the decorations that I haven't gotten around to yet. I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do much decorating since we will only be in this house through the spring. 

We're continuing to get settled here. Brad is really enjoying his job. He likes how the company runs and is feeling really good about being hired on. He likes the types of projects that he is assigned and is enjoying using his engineering skills. I really can't explain very well what he does, so I'll have to leave that to him:) We feel really blessed that it has turned out to be such a good fit for him. It's also nice to know that his chosen field of study was a good choice for him. He works second shift so he has been able to spend a lot more time with Landon since we've been here. I've enjoyed having him be able to get more involved in the various aspects of Landon's life. 

With Brad being home more during the day, I've been able to find a part time job. I got hired about 8 weeks ago at a small gym called Absolute Fitness 2-3 days per week as a personal trainer. They specialize in a specific type of strength training called Super Slow. I was skeptical at first, but I'm becoming a believer in this type of exercise. I'll have to explain it more some other time. Basically it's a very efficient way to stay fit. Anyway, I'll probably average about 10-12 hours per week (which is plenty for me! On the days that I work, I only get about an hour with Brad and that is spent eating a late lunch and packing his dinner. A couple of weeks while I was getting trained I was there 16 hours a week plus doing some reading for it at home and getting ready for a project I was in charge of for Super Saturday at church and it was just too much. I think part of the frustration was that the training I was receiving was not very efficient or effective. Lots of stories along with tidbits about future business plans, but not a lot of practical info for me to work with. I've learned more from just taking clients through the workouts. Anyway...). This is my first job working as a personal trainer. It's quite different than the other job I was training for back in Twin Falls that fell through. It was very intimidating to me at first, but each week I'm gaining confidence in my abilities. I still come home and pick apart my every mistake, but I'm working on that:) So far the clients have been very nice and patient and understanding. I've met some very interesting people and had some good conversations. It's definitely stretching me. Brad and I get to use the equipment at our convenience which is a nice perk (everyone else has to pay a premium price per session and have trainers take them through, except for the handful of other trainers and one sweet little old lady and her daughter:)). One down side to it being such a small gym is that there is no daycare, so we haven't worked out together yet. I'm taking over Brad's workouts this week. My boss has been taking him through for a bit to help him get his settings figured out on the machines (which is really nice of him). I'm sure eventually Brad will do it on his own, but I think he might need a cheerleader for a little while longer:) We might just bring Landon along in his stroller...we'll see how that goes. Anyway, I'm hoping that as I get better at this I will learn to enjoy it. I know that it could be a really great outlet for me and help us save up for a house next spring. So I'm just trying to push through this tough phase so that I can get to that good part. I know, I know, I'm supposed to enjoy the journey. But can I just get to the part where I feel like I'm a great personal trainer and I come home feeling energized and ready to tackle any task at hand rather than coming home and feeling completely spent? I'm hoping that it will come with time and practice. 

Anyway, we are keeping busy. Never a second to get bored. I guess that's good. We are fully recovered from the recent bouts of colds and pink eye, and the teething pain has eased up for a bit (on Sunday afternoon and evening Landon just wanted to be held for several hours, all I can come up with is teething pain). I can't believe the holidays are right around the corner. Looking forward to some good company and some good food!

Halloween 2011

I had fun dressing Landon up for Halloween. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Call who sent us the cute dinosaur costume! I loved it on him, especially when he would crawl and his little tail would wag:) Landon had fun playing at the playgroup Halloween party on Friday morning. Then the two of us went to the ward trunk or treat Friday night. Brad was at work:(. Brad talked me into to wearing his old football jersey to the trunk or treat. It suits me, right?! Then, tonight Landon helped me pass out candy. We had quite a few trick or treaters. He seemed to be enjoying all the visitors and made lots of cute sounds and faces for them:)

 We had to get a pic with one of the several dinosaurs at the activity:)

 Landon was so curious about what was going on with all of the trick or treaters outside

 Evidence of the cold he picked up last Friday at playgroup:( A sick little kid was hauling his sippy cup everywhere and of course Landon got his hands on it and took a sip. I guess it's part of being a kid, but I'm a little annoyed that this could have been avoided. Oh well, hopefully he sleeps better tonight. 

 "Okay, that's enough fun for one night"

"All done!" (okay he didn't really say that, but I'm just guessing that's what he was thinking:))

This video is kind of long, but I wanted to post it for the grandparents of course:) He does wag his tail pretty cute in that costume. Just ignore my commentary, maybe just turn down the volume cause I sound kind of ridiculous:) 

My attempt at taking pictures of our zany boy

Last week I decided it was really time to take some more pictures of our sweet little boy. Well it's not so easy anymore. He'd be right where I wanted him so I'd snap a shot and by the time the picture actually was taken, he'd be half way across the room. Okay that's an exaggeration, but that's what it felt like. I'm not used to him being so fast! He really wanted the camera. Unfortunately for him, he did not get his way:) Maybe I'll have to get him a pretend one. 

He is crawling like a champ! He loves cruising around using furniture for support, but he's not all that interested in walking yet. Whenever we try to practice with him he just collapses his legs. But he did stand up by himself for a second yesterday. I loved the look on his face! I could tell that it was a strange feeling for him. Slowly but surely he is making progress. Don't worry, it doesn't stop him from getting into everything! Last week Brad babyproofed the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen by putting those latch things on them. Landon was throwing fits for a couple of days when he realized he couldn't open them because he had loved opening the drawers and cupboards and emptying them out. We are mean parents, aren't we?! 

We thought he was ready to switch over to one nap a day, but after trying it for five days, we decided he's not quite ready. He was so sleepy by lunch and dinner that he would hardly eat. He would just fuss and rub his eyes. And he wasn't sleeping as soundly at night. So back to two naps a day. 

We just love this little boy to pieces. It tugs at my heart when he waves and says "Daaad" (I'm trying to teach him mom, but I think it's adorable the way he says dad:)).  I can't believe he's getting into the toddler stage. Everyday I just think about how I need to capture these moments because they move to the next stage so quickly. I love when he reaches his little hands up to my face pulls me to look at him. It reminds me to be in the moment and enjoy the present. Kids are so good at that. I am learning from him all the time.

Family Pictures August 2011

Back in the middle of August we had some family pictures taken. With the move and everything I got too busy to post them. Well I'm finally getting around to it, but I must warn you...I'm posting lots of pictures! Narrowing things down was never my forte. So lots and lots of pictures for your viewing pleasure:) These  pictures were taken by my friend Bethany Cook, back in Twin Falls. Her business is called Set in Time Photography. I've always been very happy with her work. She does a great job!