This One's for You, Katie!

My dear, sweet, wonderful husband painted our kitchen cabinets white while Landon and I were in Iowa.

And, I absolutely love them!!!

And, I started getting visions of how my kitchen would look with bright color on the walls, funky new cabinet hardware, and new ceramic flooring to replace the cheap, worn vinyl. My friend, Katie, is going through similar things at her house and has been documenting it on her blog.

I knew that I wanted to paint the walls some shade of green, but wasn't sure if I wanted celery, apple, or sage. I decided to take a visit to Fat Quarter Quilting, which was also recommended on Katie's blog to pick out fabric for the valances.

Fat Quarter's did not disappoint! I walked around the store about three times, eyeing all the different fabrics. I found this one, which I immediately got excited about, but wasn't quite sure how Alan would feel about the retro-chic look and the fun colors.


But, then I found this apron and it pretty much sealed the deal!

Seriously, how cute is this an apron?!? The halter-neck, the pink accent fabric, the towel holder on the side - I couldn't resist! I have visions of it hanging from one of the hooks on this shelf against a green wall, with my yet-to-purchase-or-receive-as-a-gift pink Kitchen Aid mixer .

A kitchen like that would make cooking/baking so much fun! And, then maybe I would be inspired to create cute little cupcake hamburgers like these, made by none other than - Katie!!!

75+

The title of this post is in reference to how many words Landon can say. I know this because I felt really unprepared at Landon's 15 month doctor appointment when his physician asked, "How many words does Landon know?" and I kind of guessed, "A dozen." After that appointment, I went home and put a sheet of paper on the fridge for me and Alan to add to every time we heard Landon say a new word. I think the doctor was highly impressed at Landon's 18 month appointment when I whipped out my list when he asked, "How many words does Landon know?"

Here are some snippets of how Landon is using his verbal skills:

Although Landon has been saying "hi" for quite some time, he has now figured out that when you say "hi" to someone it warrants a response. Here at camp, Landon sees lots and lots of people on a daily basis and he will say "hi" to each and every one. If you are walking past us and questioning to yourself, "Is that little curly haired kid talking to me?" and keep on walking without responding - yes, Landon is talking to you. He will continue to say "hi" until you say "hi" back. Landon's very social like that.

At Grandma's cabin, she has a step-stool for Landon to use while brushing his teeth. If he sees that I am brushing my teeth and wants to brush his, he will grab his stool and come right up behind me and say, "Beep, beep." Perhaps I should say "Excuse me" more often to Landon instead of "beep, beep" when I would like for him to move...

Landon also knows how to say "Giddy up." I don't know when he picked this up or in what context. He doesn't have any books that reference the aforementioned term; nor does he have a rocking horse that we have him sit on and prod him to say "Giddy up!" We first heard this when he grabbed Bentley's tail and gave it a little shake - similar to what one would do with the reins of a horse. "Giddy up," he said. I'm pretty sure I went and grabbed the Q-tips to clean out my ears to make sure I had heard him correctly. Recently, he has said it while carrying him in the Kelty backpack, but do you think he's said it while on the 4 pony rides he's been on while here at camp? Nope!

Isn't language acquisition fun?!? I definitely think so! Each and every day I am amazed at what Landon is learning to say - a definite testimony to reading to your kids early in their young lives and often.

Tear

The other night my mom was in charge of putting Landon to bed and I was assigned to snack duty for the campers. (For those of you that don't know - Landon and I have been in Iowa for the past three weeks visiting my mom and volunteering at Village Creek Bible Camp).

I had some free time so I ran up to my mom's cabin to help with bedtime. Upon arriving, I saw that mom had Landon in his jammies and had started an Elmo's World DVD on the computer.

After chatting with my mom for a bit, I turned to Landon.

"Landon, I have to go back to work. Grandma's going to put you to bed tonight. Can you come say 'Good night' and give me a kiss?" Landon looked at me and then back to the computer and exclaimed, "Elmo!"

I looked to my mom for assistance. "Landon, I'm going to pause Elmo so you can say 'Good night' to Mommy," she said.

Landon pondered this for a moment. When he saw that Elmo was sufficiently paused, he turned to me and said, "Night night. Bye, bye. Elmo! Elmo! Bye, bye," and promptly turned back to the computer.

As I turned to go out the door, with a tear in my eye, mom tried to make me feel better by saying Landon was "well adjusted."

I wasn't buying that. At that moment in time, Landon chose Elmo over me.