We Go Papa's House, Mama?

Lately this has been my favorite picture of Landon. His smile and eyes and cuteness are all captured here in this photo while he waits for me to pick him up... hahaha

April came over while Dad was visiting and I had to take a picture.



Landon is in love with Dad's hat. You would think he has never seen one before... which actually now that I think about it... no one in the house wears hats. But we have family that does. Or maybe it's just because he loves the attention from Grandpa when he takes it off and puts it on his own head. Who knows. But it's funny to see him interact with my dad. Even though his head is big, it's not big enough to fit and fill out dad's hat.... you've got another few years to go there kiddo! :)



But back on topic... I was riding the the car one day and I was stopped mid-song by Landon.
He asks me, "Mama, we go Papa's house?"
To which I respond... "No, sweetie... we aren't going to Papa's this weekend."
to which he says, "Mama, I love my Papa. He good guy."
Then I smile and laugh to myself.

You see he's been on this whole kick with wanting to be with his Papa... and good guys vs. bad guys. Everyone is either a good guy or bad guy. If we walk by a person in the supermarket he points to them and says, "Mama! He bad guy!" To which I blush and apologize and steer the cart as quickly as I can away from the guy while telling Landon that most people he sees are good guys, there are just a few who are bad.

But how do you really explain to a 2 1/2 year old that he can't go around calling people "bad guys?" Have any of your kids out there gone through this phase? Please give me input if you have found yourself in this situation and what you did and what the results were.

Anyways... back on track again... We went to Papa's house the other weekend to spend the night with them and enjoy their company. Dad and Ruth were working on Saturday when we came and so Landon hung out at their mailbox while I locked up the car and we walked across the park and down a few blocks to Ruth's work at the Water District in Othello. I learned that week that if you give a child something specific you want them to do that they are glad to do it instead of something general. So while I was unloading the car, I told Landon to hold onto my leg and then when it came time to head out I told him to keep his hand on the mailbox... he listened perfectly! I was so happy because usually he darts around on the sidewalk and sometimes oversteps into the street and I am scared to death of him darting out into the street one day when a car is coming. So this was a huge moment of newly found technique for me.



We made it to Ruth's work and Landon was immediately fascinated by a few things. First the water fountain! I'm not sure if this is just with him or with other kids, but any time he passes or gets a glimpse of a water fountain he seems to be magnetically drawn to it. Especially in church on Sunday or at Wal-Mart's check out/bathroom area.

Anyways... Focus Autumn Focus!

After I got his attention off of the drinking fountain it turned to the picture of the cranes. He knows birds when he sees them in the sky... his uncle may have even taught him how to use a duck call this last hunting season... I'm not totally sure. But you get the gist of it. Landon is totally into birds of any sort and so he LOVED the picture and stuffed crane in the entry way of Grandma's work. He kept making gun noises like he was going to shoot them!



Then he finally saw Grandma who treated him to some candy from the candy dispenser!
Plus he got 2 quarters while he was there.
Lucky duck!



On our way home from seeing Grandma at work, I told Landon he could play on the toys at the playground because we were still waiting for Dad to get home. There were a ton of softball tournaments going on and lots of kids around, but that didn't stop me from taking a million photos as always!





Then after the playing wore down and I started to get tired, we headed home.
On the way Landon picked up a stick... and I was amazed with that stick.
The stick became a whip at first, whipping the dandelions in the grass;
then a horse to gallop him around,
then a sword to cut up trees (and my leg),
then an crutch to help him walk,
then a baton to help lead the band,
then a gun to shoot the birds flying from tree to tree,
and lastly (I think) was it being a spear that he threw into the tough ground with a huge grunt.
The imagination of a little boy astounds me.



We got back and after a nap, Landon went to work helping Papa build the above ground plant beds. He helped screw the wood together, take tools to Papa, and inspecting the work. But during the process as Papa was hammering the wood to be level, Landon covered his ears... the sound was a little much on him. :)





When Landon got bored with Papa, he helped Grandma Ruth play in the dirt with cars and Transformer toys. But after a while he resorted to the rake and shovel... who knew! hahaha



The next day we came home, but not before going to see Ruth at her church. It was a long service for the fact that it was right at Landon's nap time and Landon wasn't having any of it. So I found myself out in the hallway a lot.... but that's ok... I think I'll stick to our sacrament meetings on Sundays. Then he was knocked out in the car before we even left town. Poor kid wore himself out.