The Latest Happenings

The last few months, I have been taking a lot of pictures and haven't been keeping up with my blog as much as I would have liked to. So, I figured it would be a good idea to put a bunch of pictures together from the last few months to pull it all together! It's already super hot here on Amelia Island, so we have been spending a lot of time out front of the house with the sprinkler and baby pool and at the beach. During the day while Daddy is at work, we play at the park, have play dates, do arts and crafts, we go to the gym every day where Landon gets to run around and play with his buddies, Landon helps me in the garden and it seems like I never stop cleaning because Mr. Landon is right on my heals ready to make another mess again haha! We started going to Tumble Tots once a week in Georgia and meet Daddy for lunch! Landon is at a great stage in life where he is taking in so much and learning so much every day. He is communicating with us so well and I am a pro at the toddler's language. :) Sometimes when Paul gets home from work, I have to ask him to slow down because I am so used to listening to Landon talk, that I can't quite catch all that Paul is saying. Paul and I are enjoying every second we have with these 2 and love to watch them grow and develop into their unique personalities. With each picture that is posted below, I will try to add a fact about the kids...something new or something that they really like to do! Enjoy!

Mommy and Daughter

Fact: Elle is identical to her brother when he was her age! (I guess that's no secret haha.)

Such a happy girl! She has started to drool...teeth may be on their way soon!

Fact: Elle is a mover and a shaker! At night time, the way we lay her down in her crib is not the way we get her in the morning! She is almost ready to roll over!

I love our family!

Fact: Landon has learned how to drink out of a cup (not his sippy cup, but a normal cup)! And Elle is cooing more and more each day. You can actually have a "cooing" conversation with her!

The kids and I took a trip to the fudge shop! Landon was in awe of all of the chocolate and ice cream! We didn't leave empty handed that's for sure! :)

Fact: Landon is well aware of what the words 'treat' and 'cookie' mean. We cannot stay these words in our house anymore unless he is allowed to have one haha.

Hello world!

Fact: Landon is an awesome singer. He sings from the heart and boy is it a beautiful sound!

Elle is smiling so much more now! It's so much fun to see!

Fact: Elle has been sleeping 10-12 hours straight through the night now for about 4 weeks! Paul and I are super happy about that haha!

Out to eat at Peppers! One of our favorite mexican restaurants!

Fact: Landon knows the sounds of many animals. But, one of his favorite things to do is 'act' like a dog. He loves his pups, Beyah and Bohdi and learns a lot from them...at the dinner table, Landon will lick his plate without using his hands and thinks it's very funny...a habit that we hope doesn't carry in to the future haha! :)

It is a lot of fun to look at pictures of Elle lying on this play mat because it feels like it was yesterday when Landon was lying on this very same one!

Fact: Elle has started to grasp at things and hold on with all her might...such as, my hair, my skin, my ears, my nose haha...oh and her toys. :)

In the Bumbo chair! Such a big girl!!! Good exercise!!

Fact: Elle's first smile was towards her brother.

Landon has been having a lot of play dates lately and this is his friend Judah. They are having a 'cheers' with their blueberry muffins on our back porch!

Fact: Landon really enjoys playing with older friends because he can mimic and follow what they do. They are a little bit faster than him and he likes to chase them. This is Judah! Landon pronounces his name, Hoodah!! And when we were at the park, Landon would say, 'Hoodah, Come back!'. He really loves playing with his friends!

He loves this boogie board, as long as it's not in the water haha!

Fact: Landon is an excellent dancer. He really knows how to boogy. If we put music on, he will start twirling and he is an expert at the "Night at the Roxbury" head bob!

These 2 absolutely love each other. They are best friends already.

Fact: Landon likes to talk to Elle and tell her stories. Elle will actually follow him with her eyes and sit quietly listening to him.

Watching these two interact is the most precious time of my day. Elle loves the attention she gets from her brother and Landon ALWAYS wants to be a part of anything Elle is doing. He is very protective of her already!

Fact: Landon really likes to climb and make a mountain of pillows to run and jump on. Soon enough, we will be making forts!! Elle is SO close to rolling over and she loves to do tummy time!

More special moments...

Fact: When I was little my parents gave me a mohawk because I only really grew hair down the middle of my head. And Elle has the same hair that I did, so we love to give her mohawks too! Landon can count to 10 (1, 2, 8, 9, 10!) haha and he can almost sing the ABC's...when he is in the mood! :)

Airplane!!

Fact: Elle is starting to get the chunky little rolls that Landon didn't get until he turned about 5 months...I love rubber band rolls! :)

Pretty good Zoolander look if I say so myself! :)

Fact: Elle loves to be rocked and sung to...especially by her Daddy.

Landon snuggling on his new sleeping bag! It's got fish on it...he still loves fish! Maybe he'll be a marine biologist one day! :)

Fact: Landon is getting better and better at liking the big potty. He is taking his time with potty training, but we are seeing great improvement each week!

Elle is getting stronger every day! While Landon was playing in his pool, Elle and I caught a few rays!

Fact: Elle has started to laugh when you pull her arms above her head and say "So Big!".

Hanging out outside on the front porch in her swing! She loves the fresh air!

Fact: Elle loves bath time...when it's just her. When Paul was in Nicaragua on a surf trip with Uncle Hayes, I decided I would try to give the kids a bath at the same time to save some time. Well, lets just say I will not do that again, until Elle is able to sit up on her own. The very first thing Landon did when I put Elle in the tub was pour an entirely full cup of water right on Elle's face. Elle was a trooper...she made some funny faces and thankfully closed her mouth and nose while it happened and didn't even cry. But, she definitely did not like it! So, no more baths together until she gets a bit older. :)

It's been perfect weather for playing in the baby pool, so the 3 of us go out front and play! Elle enjoys watching her brother play in the water and I get to lie on a beach chaise! It's great for all of us!

Fact: Landon likes to help water the plants. The baby pool starts out full and by the end of the time we are out front, it is half full. Landon fills his buckets up and waters the plants for me! It's great! :) He once tried to water Elle, and we weren't having any of that! haha!

Paul and I have started a 60 day work out challenge called "Insanity". It is literally insane! We are 3 weeks into it and man alive it's tough! The workouts are really hard, but it's great to do it together. Landon is a big fan of the workouts himself and likes to crawl under us when we are in plank position or doing push ups haha! This is him and I doing a high five at the end of a work out!

Fact: Landon is actually very good at pull ups! As long as we hold him up, he can pull himself up on the bar! And he really likes to do planks with us! He's going to be an athlete!

Just hanging out with the kiddos after a long day.

Fact: Our favorite time of the day is cuddle time. I love to snuggle with my kiddos and in turn, they love it too.

A cuddle sesh in the morning. Landon has started a new morning routine. He used to run into our room and say "Hi Mommy!". And now he runs into our room and says, "Mommy get up!, Elle awake!". He is informing me of this so that I can get her out of her crib so that he can start his morning cuddle session with her. It's really too cute.

Fact: Landon is going through a naked phase...well all the way down to a diaper. It's been so hot here, so he would rather not where any clothes and just chill in his skivvies. :)

Paul loves Elle so much. She is already wrapped around his pinky finger!!

Fact: Elle's hair is finally getting long enough to wear some barrets. I'll sometimes put these head bands on her, but she looks super cute in barrets.

Bohdi and Beyah having a cuddle sesh themselves. :)

Fact: Bohdi and Beyah are EXCELLENT with both Landon and Elle. They are such a great part of our family!

Landon likes to sit on our back porch a lot and I caught him red handed one day. I couldn't find my drink and he snuck it out here and was drinking from both cups! When he knows he doing something he's not supposed to be doing, he gets all cute and says things like "Hi Mommy" or "I yuv u Mommy" in a really sweet voice with his head turned to the side while he's batting his eyelashes at me.

Fact: Landon can completely understand what you say. And he thinks we can completely understand what he says. However, that is not always the case. So, when he says things that we can't understand, I will try to say what I thought he said and if I'm wrong he'll say, "No Mommy" and repeat what he first said. It's really cute!

Landon still likes to think the Boppy pillow, Bumbo chair, and swing are all his...therefore, he must use them at the same time Elle is using them haha!

Fact: Landon is a really good sand castle maker! And Elle loves the beach too!

I love this picture. It really shows the sweet relationship they have with each other. Landon knows how to be gentle when he is loving on his sister and Elle just adores him.

Fact: Landon likes to take all of his 50+ books and put them in our room, then in Elles room, then back in his room. He really likes to make mountains with his books. And he LOVES to read (well have us read to him). However, many times I catch him on the monitor sitting in the glider in his room reading a book before nap time or bed time.

Go Terps! I put the kids in their Terps gear to support the Men and Women's Teams in the Final Four!!

Little Lady Terp!!

M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D... MARYLAND WILL WIN!!!

NEVER QUIT BEACH FEST

What a motivational weekend! The Never Quit Beach Fest was a really great event and something we hope to participate it for as long as we are in North Florida. The Never Quit mission is based off of 5 principles: Faith, Family, Healthy Living, Defending Our Constitution and Country, and Taking on a Never Quit Approach to Life! Paul competed in the Trident Challenge Solo Triathlon. I ran the 5K with the kiddos. We arrived in Jax Beach in the afternoon after a fun morning playing at our beach. Landon and Elle took a great nap on the way to the event and we got a great parking spot! Over 6000 people signed up for this event! Talk about motivation!!! So many people were working so hard to finish their race. There was a band and a lot of tents set up for people to get their blood pressure checked with free stuff and goodies! "Never Quit" was founded by a family who lost their father to high blood pressure. He was a Captain in the Navy and a very fit guy. He ate well and was very in shape, but one day had a stroke and brain bleed caused by high blood pressure and died about a year later after long stays in the hospital. His last words to his family were "Never Quit". He was an incredible man and we were so blessed to have participated in such a great event that raised so much awareness about this silent killer. And most importantly, we saw thousands of people have the "Never Quit Attitude" that this entire event was meant for! The Navy Seals did an awesome demonstration and at the end of my race, I received a beautiful sea turtle neclace by Naval Officers. :) The sea turtle represents something that never quits and fights hard to survive. Paul raced extremely well and completed the entire triathlon in about 44 minutes! It was a run, swim and surf paddle. A really fun and unique race! Landon, Elle and I were so proud of Daddy! He was a champ! It was a great day and we are really excited to do it again next year!


On the ferry, headed to Jax Beach!

These were our racing bibs. It was great to race for our family! (And the Never Quit on the bib are the actual copied last words written by Capt. Gerard Petroni.)


Landon playing in the sand before the races began. Of course, Brucey the shark had to come with us! (All sharks are called Brucey because of Finding Nemo haha).

This was the 'Battle For The Beach'! Teams of 6 had to complete a 50 meter low sand beach crawl, 1/2 mile ocean swim, a combined 1000 push-ups, 1000 sit ups, and 500 pull ups, and one last 50 meter low sand beach crawl. It was crazy!!!

Paul getting ready for his race! Kind of cool that he was number 100!

The Navy Seals did an ocean rescue demonstration. It was awesome!

Paul heading to put up his surfboard for the race! He was at a bit of a disadvantage because almost everyone competing had a 9 foot or longer board. He said that all they had to do was a few paddles, relax and paddle again to get going, whereas Paul had to paddle extra hard!! But he still did an AWESOME job! Go Paul!

Helicopter flyover! Landon was loving all of this!!

Getting ready for our race! This was Landon and Elle's first 5K!

I had to start at the back because of having a stroller, so Paul came back to wish us luck and take one quick pic! He started at the very front of the race! :)

6000 people!!!

The Navy Seal Leap Frogs parachute demonstration! So cool!!

They all landed right at the start/finish line...very impressive!

Landon loved watching them float down from the airplane!

Go America!!

Off we go!

I got a great picture of Paul on his way back to start the swim! I was running while holding our big camera and pushing the double jogging stroller...people were looking at me like I was crazy! haha...Anything for a good photo!!

Once I finished the 5K, I was searching for Paul...he was out paddling his board in for the last sprint to the finish line! Sadly, I missed him crossing the finish line, but that's ok!

Elle did great during the race! She enjoyed looking up at the clouds while we ran! And she was wearing her Navy shirt to represent for Daddy!

Once the competitors finished the surf paddle, they put their boards down for the last sprint to the finish line.

Family pic after the race! They presented the women who ran the 5K with Hawaiian leis and a beautiful Sea Turtle neclace worth $250! I know...WOW! And Landon got a free smoothie for being cute haha!

Daddy and Landon playing after the race! Landon was ready to run his own race after sitting in the stroller!

He insisted on carrying around the American Flag. It made for cute photos! :)

Started in the very back and finished in the middle of the pack! I was proud of myself! It was funny to actually be the one passing people during the race especially with the double jogging stroller...I'm not known for passing people while running haha! There were only about 8-10 strollers in the entire race and I was the only one with the double too! It really motivated me having complete strangers cheer for me!

After a really exciting day, relaxing in the car on the ferry headed home. The sunset was beautiful and Landon said "Hello Sun" when he saw the sun, then when it went under the horizon he said "Bye Sun".

I snapped these shots in the car while we were on the ferry...what a beautiful sweet boy!

Say Cheese!

It was a long and hot day, but Landon and Elle were troopers and we had a lot of fun together as a family!

Go Navy Beat Army!