Gordon Update!

So I realized after I posted that last post that I have tons of things that have changed since June.... so here goes.

Kohen is swimming... yes, swimming! He swims without floaties, and loves to swim underwater. He always has to have is "gobbles", (aka goggles), and refuses to put floaties on now...lol. His favorite thing to do is dive off the side of the pool and get toys off the bottom of the pool. It makes my day to see my 3 year old learning so much, and makes me realize how blessed I am to have him.

Landin Claire just turned 1 last week, such a sad but happy time... She loved her birthday party. She made it known to Kohen that the toys were hers and she didn't want to share them just yet...lol. She got 2 baby dolls, a book, a stroller for her baby, a riding toy, DVD player for the car, shoes, and a blanket (from Kohen). The blanket the one thing that he picked out especially for her. I tried to get him to pick a different one, but he would not give in...lol. I guess she will always look back on that blanket and say that her brother bought it for her.

Fayetteville, NC

I have been in NC for about 4 days now... just waiting on Eddie to get here! Kohen has been having a blast with some of our friends kids, and Landin Claire has been along for the ride like always. We spent the first couple of days with my friend Kate and her little boy Tyler (who Kohen got along famously with... he played better with him than he does Landi). Her husband and Eddie are coming home on the same flight in the next couple of days. Then today, we went to the pool on post with some more friends and Kohen swam like a fish! He loves to swim.

Anyway... now we are just playing the waiting game and hoping that Eddie doesn't get delayed anymore. But super duper excited about seeing him again. However, I do have to say that Kohen is right up there with me as far as excitement goes. He has talked nonstop about his daddy coming home and all the joys that he feels go along with that. For instance, watching a lot of T.V. (which mommy doesn't do), playing cars, swimming, etc. He is so funny and loves his daddy! Of course LandinClaire just gets excited about everything... especially if Kohen is excited about it. It makes her happy when he's happy... which is great except the fact that she is also sad when he's sad...lol. That doesn't make for a good situation out in public. I will update again once Eddie is here!

Vacation 2010

I love vacations! This year we stayed at the Shores of Panama again in Panama City. We always have so much fun. Kohen and Landin Claire both love the water. Kohen has been swimming with floaties on since last year, but learned while we were down here to swim under water... which actually means putting his face in the water with goggles on..lol. He loved digging in the sand, making sand castles, and even got brave enough to swim in the ocean. Landin Claire loved to flirt with the boys...lol. I was so suprised, because every little boy that came to play with Kohen she would smile at, talk to, and tuck her head in my shoulder when they would talk back. It is probably a sign of what is to come when they are teenagers, but I am going to let my husband handle that...lol.

My sister and her baby came with us too. Tate and LandinClaire are 4 months apart, so they love playing together... aka. stealing each others toys and everyone at the pool thought they were twins...lol. My sister and I got a big kick out of it because they look nothing alike. Tate has flaming red hair and Landi is bald. Not to mention that they do not resemble at all in the face, but.... the reason they thought it was because Tate and Landi are the same size. Landin Claire is so petite. Every part of her is small. She has the smallest hands and feet, and is barely in the clothes size appropriate for her age.

Spring Time

The kids and I have been having so much fun lately! I love spring time & so do my kids. Kohen can't wait to get home everyday and play on his swing set.. it is his favorite thing to do. And Landin Claire has one of those baby swings so she can swing right beside him. Their second favorite outside toy is the little red/yellow top car... I know everyone had one of these as a kid, because every kid needs one. Landin Claire loves that thing. She can sit and play in it without falling out & I think it makes her feel like she is hidden since she is so enclosed. Whenever I come around and sit down beside the car she laughs and gets so excited like she had the best hidding spot ever and someone just found her. Kohen of course lets her play in it for a little while before he decides that the two of them can both fit in the front seat and climbs in to play too. They love each other so much. Landin Claire is such comfort to him and he is to her too.... Another one of their favorite things is to go on walks... Kohen is always saying, "Go on walk Mommy?" Right now it is a struggle since I only have a single jogging stroller, but hopefully my double will be in soon & we can walk/run more often.
It is amazing to watch them grow & learn. Landi has just started crawling & cruising, and will be a 1 year old in three months. And looking back, Kohen has probably grown 6 inches and learned so much this past year. He knows all his colors, numbers (1-12), shapes (even the hard ones like octogon), & letters.. and can even identify everything when he see it. And most importantly to me, he loves going to church and learning about Jesus. I know everyone thinks their kids is the smartest, but if Kohen knew nothing else but about my wonderful savior Jesus Christ.. that would be enough for me!

A Stray No Longer....

So, the owners of the dog came and picked it up today. They were so excited to find her... which was nice since my husband didn't want me keeping it anyway...

"Charli... The Stray Dog"

So Friday afternoon, Kohen, Landi, and I get out of the car and find this cute little puppy playing in our yard. Didn't think much of it at the time, because we live in the middle of downtown Loretto & I just figured that kinda stuff comes with the territory. So the dog probably weighs 4 lbs and is chasing Kohen around the yard and they are having so much fun. So on my way out the door my neighbor comes by walking her dogs and the stray follows her home. I didn't think anything else about the mutt until the next day.... Nancy (my neighbor) rings my door bell and has the little stray dog at her feet. LOL She said that it had slept in her husbands shoes all night long & she caught it drinking out of her ponies trough (ponies in the middle of downtown Loretto = the reason I felt the stray came with the territory...lol). Anyway... she wanted to know if I wanted it... and of course after seeing Kohen with it... I said yes (like any good mother would...lol). So fast forward a couple of hours and I finally got around to bathing the thing (with the help of Areonna) and figured out it was a full blooded female poodle! Holy crap! And a sweet one at that! It didn't even flinch when I bathed it... crazy! Anyway... I asked around and no one seems to feel like it has an owner and another neighbor (the one that owns Loretto Hardware) said that is was the town stray... lol.
So, of course I asked Eddie if we could keep it....lol. Usually my husband says "yes" to whatever I want, but for some reason he just isn't feeling this dog. However, I laughed and told him that if I couldn't find it a home then I would just have to keep it... he smiled (like he always does). So... my sister and I have decided to dual parent this dog...lol. Best thing I've ever done! She is going to keep Charli during the week and I will have her on the weekend... lol. Maybe my husband will go for that!

Another baby?

I will start this blog off by saying that I am not pregnant, but definitely want more kids...lol. I was asking Kohen yesterday if he wanted a brother or sister... he said, "yes". So I said, "Which one... a baby brother or a baby sister?" He said "brover" (brother).... I could tell by the look on his face that he was dead set on not having another baby sister... Landin Claire has become a handful for him to manage. She is always wanting to play with his toys and do exactly what he is doing. Just the other day they were both playing with a puzzle and she had a piece that he needed to finish... so in the spirit of a two year old he decided that he would just take it from her and then push her out of the way. Needless to say, he didn't get very far because when he pushed, she pushed back! HaHaHa... Kids! Of course I made him apologize and give her a hug, but she still held her ground.

R&R

We are now 7 months into our family's 4th tour to Iraq, and Eddie is on R&R. We are totally loving Eddie being home right now and dread him going back. However, we know that he has to in order for him to come home for good! I say that with a smile =) However, I will have to say that I have gotten a little to use to the constant help, so I will have some adjusting to do once he is gone again.... but I will manage. He is Kohen's hero... and Kohen is contantly reminding me how much cooler Daddy is than Mommy. For instance, one morning as I was getting him in the car to go to the baby sitter's, he asked me where we were going. I responded... "I am going to work and you are going to play with your friends at Bennie Mae's". He quickly corrected me and said, "No, Mommy... I go to work too... I go with Daddy and I take my boom". For those you you who don't know what a boom is, it is a GUN. Apparently shooting guns all day is way more fun than balancing the books! And then there is Landin Claire... she is on the verge of crawling... and can't stop saying her daddy's name. I have tried to teach her Ma-Ma, but she always spits out some jibbery form of Da-Da and smiles at me from ear to ear. Both of my sweet babies are head over heals for my husband and I have to admit... so am I!