Countdown to Christmas

Looking back at these photos it seems like so long ago....maybe because so much has happened since then. I am not sure which part of the holiday season I enjoy the most but it just might be the days leading up to Christmas itself. This year we enjoyed making sugar cookies that we then iced, as well as candy cane cookies that I then took to a cookie exchange. Next year we will not be traveling for the holidays so I plan on baking a lot more and trying some new recipes.
Since moving to the Salt Lake Valley back in '98 Steve and I have been alternating the location of where we spend the holidays. So one year we spend Thanksgiving at home and Christmas in Wyoming where all of my family lives and then the next year we spend Thanksgiving in Wyoming and Christmas in Utah. We decided that this was the last year that we would be spending Christmas in Wyoming due to many factors. The boys are old enough now that they just want to be at home when Santa comes plus it is so hard transporting packages to and fro. We decided it was time to stay home and start our own family traditions. We are always open for visitors and hope that family members will be willing to make the trek out our way at least every other year. Consider this your official invitation. :)Before heading off to Wyoming this year we got to celebrate Christmas a little early with Grandma and Papa McCormack as well as all of our friends. Landon was old enough this year that he needed very little prompting when it came to opening his presents. He and Lucas both loved the the Batman Cave and the Castle from Grandma & Papa as well as the books and clothing from Aunt Erin. When we headed home that evening I began questioning some of the purchases I had made for the boys because they had already received a lot more than some children get at all. It really made me stop and think about how blessed we are. Some cute pics of the boys being sweet........

Our Christmas tree before packing up and heading to Wyoming.

Kissing Cousins

This last weekend we had a very nice visit with Aunt Cathy and Cousin Madeline who were in town visiting from Chicago. At first I was a little worried how Landon would be with Madeline since she is about 6 months younger than him and he is used to being the youngest. There were a couple of times when he pushed her for no apparent reason but for the most part he was pretty good. He would walk beside her and kind of push on her back and say "Come on" when he wanted her to play. They also enjoyed taking their baths together and splashing the moms or at least until Landon pooped in the tub and Aunt Cathy started gagging. ;)

Lucas enjoyed playing with his Aunt's and Uncle at grandma's all weekend and even snuck in a few cartoons that our rabbit ear t.v.'s don't pick up. Saturday night Lucas got to play with his friend Cassidy and then both the boys stayed the night with grandma and papa while mom and dad went to a Christmas party. One of the nights we left Mommy White Dog at grandma's house and Lucas laid by the front door waiting for Papa to drop her off. I think that was the longest 1/2 hour of his life. ;)

Christmas with Aunt Cathy produced lots of smiles and even though this cool game said 3 and up all the kids were entertained for quit a while......His golfing career started with Gator Golf......Madeline and her beautiful blue eyes.....

All Grown Up

So I finally broke down and took Landon to get his first hair cut. I really wanted to wait until his second birthday but it had gotten to the point that it was not even cute anymore. I considered going with a longer style like the shag but then opted for short so there would be no mistaking him for a girl. :)

He did pretty good for the most part and really only fussed when the stylist was shaving his neck and around his ears. He did keep saying "Ouch" as she was cutting his hair but we both made it out of there alive.

After his hair cut we went shopping at Kohl's and any time Landon saw a mirror he would stop and just stare at himself. I think we both love that his hair is now so easy to wash and style. Lucas said he likes his brother now that he has short hair and now wants me to spike his hair like Landon's.

It has been about 5 days since his haircut and I am still trying to get used to it. I know it is probably just my imagination but I think he acts older.... he definitely looks older.

Thanksgiving & More

Ok so I know I am a little obsessed with the wet wipes but I did not know how bad I was until Landon started using them on everything!! He has a little toy shopping cart that anytime he plays with it he has to go and get a wet wipe to put on the handle - just like his mom does at the stores. I don't know how any of us could ever get a virus or pick up germs; with as many wet wipes as we use throughout the day and with all the hand sanitizer (I recently bought a bottle just to keep in the truck) and washing our hands with soap and water. Then again Landon will occasionally be cleaning some filthy surface like the bottom of his shoes and then turn around and use the same wet wipe to wash his face and hands. ;)'

We recently had some friends of ours over who have a 7 month old girl named Danee who Landon enjoyed bullying. He is used to being the littlest one out of my group of friends with kids and also has his older brother to learn from. Landon initially shared his toys with Danee but would then all of a sudden just yank it out of her hand. At one point when she was sitting up playing he walked behind her and sort of kneed her in the back. I don't think he was trying to hurt her - just reminding her who was in charge. By the end of the night I found myself hoping that my kid does not end up being the class bully. Somehow the little kids fell asleep on the coach like this but when Danee woke up and saw Landon she started crying. I can't blame her! ;)

Lucas just sort of kept his distance.....


Thanksgiving Morning
At one point before Thanksgiving I thought about buying the boys each a nice outfit for Thanksgiving Day and then decided against it. Good thing I did because Lucas ended up wearing his Captain America costume for most of the day including turkey dinner at Grandma and Papa's.Landon on the other hand ran around the house half of the night without his shirt on. Had I bought those fancy outfits, I might have been a little bugged....


Lucas and Landon sure enjoyed having Brandon and Sammi at Grandma and Papa's house for Thanksgiving this year. She was especially cute with Landon and quickly assumed the role of taking care of him which he loved the extra attention.

Uncle Chris loves to goof around....

As soon as Lucas woke up on Friday morning he wanted to play with Sam. We had her, Aunt Erin and Brandon over at lunch and spent the afternoon playing. That night we met them up at Gorgoza Park for some nighttime tubing. At first I was a little hesitant to go tubing at night but found it to be really enjoyable. The well lit hill featured a lift that pulled you up on your tube so there was no hiking involved.
Lucas enjoyed the ride up the hill on the tube but as soon as we started going down the hill he got this terrified look on his face and started crying. Needless to say he only went the one time and spent the rest of the evening playing and tubing on the small hill. At first I thought we were just going to have to head home but he loved the kiddie hill and enjoyed being pulled around on the tube. They told us Landon was too small to go tubing so when his brother did not want to go anymore we decided to take Landon down instead. We think he enjoyed it but the expression on his face never changed and he never made a peep. It didn't matter how many of us went down with him, how loud we screamed or how fast we were going - his expression remained the same. He ended up going down the hill a handful of times.