This Is The Life

Today Landon and I spent the day with Nana and Papaw, and we all had such a good time. We started out the day playing with Landon in his little shade pool.

He loved it so much that I could not wait to put him in his little pool at home. He splashed around, rolled all over the pool, and played with all of his water toys. After he spent some time in the pool, Papaw took Landon for a ride on the four wheeler.

Landon was so cute all kicked back riding around the yard with Papaw. We all had such a good day together, and we are all blessed to have one another. Landon is especially blessed to be loved by so many wonderful people.

More Sweet Things You Do 7 to 10 Months

• You love to "sort" laundry



• You love to dance by bouncing up and down on your bottom



• You nod your head up and down REALLY big for "yes"



• You have started giving hugs and kisses (this is really sweet and my favorite)



• You love to make Indian sounds



• You have started sleeping with you butt up in the air

Growing So Fast

Landon is 9 months old now,

and he has been crawling for about 3 weeks now. He is so excited to be able to get to where he wants to go. Whenever he takes off crawling he looks around to see if you are watching. Sometimes he will even stop and take time to clap for himself. It is hilarious. He loves to explore and see what all he can get into. Now that he has mastered crawling he has also learned to climb the stairs, but he never let him do this alone, and there is always a baby gate up. He has also started pulling up, and he is so brave. Once he pulls up on the couch, chair, ottoman (you know whatever is close by), he will steady himself and then throw his hands in the air.

He has also learned how to dance while standing. He has always loved music, and now he has a new way to show it. He has also learned how to clap the correct way now. He has clapped up and down for sometime (his Nana taught him that), but now he has finally mastered the true Pat-a Cake style of clapping.

He is so playful, and he seems to be laughing all the time. Well, that is except for when I have to change is diaper or he is sleepy, but other than that he is in the best humor right now. I just can't get enough of my little guy.

Easter

We had a really good Easter. We went to church, and then we went to eat with my family. Landon not only received an Easter basket from the Easter bunny,



but he also got one from Nana and Papaw, Aunt Geri, Aunt Kim, and Mamaw and Grandpa. Everyone was so excited to celebrate Landon's first Easter with him.


We all enjoyed spending this time with Landon and doing the Easter basket thing, but once he gets a little older we will be sure that he knows what Easter is REALLY about, God's love for us, and that God loved us so much that he gave his only son. Amen!!

Yoga: Landon Style

Landon wants to crawl soooo bad. It is hilarious to watch him work at it. He will roll over onto his belly,

get on all fours, and then rock back and forth.

When he sees that this process is getting him no where, he will then start sticking his butt up in the air as far as he can get it.

He looks just like he is doing some type of yoga pose. Many times I have thought that he was just going to flip right over, but thankfully he hasn't done that yet. Once he finally gives up, he will start to roll to his desired destination. Bless his little heart. It won't be long before he is crawling though, and I will be missing the days of him just playing peacefully in the floor.

Half Way to 1

Landon had his 6 month pictures taken, and he did such a good job. He was so happy and smiling the whole time. He really hammed it up for the camera. He is sitting up so good, and rolling all over the place. He really made this an easy photo session for Aaron.

ICE STORM JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009

On Monday, January 26, 2008 the teachers and students were buzzing with excitement about the possibility of being out of school because of the predicted ICE STORM for our area. Although the news was clearly stating that this storm was going to be huge, we were not expecting or prepared for what was to come. When Paul and I went to bed Monday night we thought we would wake up to a little snow and ice, and if we were lucky get a couple of days off from school. However, when we woke up Tuesday morning we were shocked at what we both saw and heard. Everything was COVERED in ice, like over an inch thick of nothing but ice. All of the trees were bent completely over and many were already down. When you walked outside you could hear the crashing, crumpling sound of even more trees falling.

We could not believe what we were seeing. Shortly after we woke up and saw the destruction, we lost power (little did we know that we would be without power for a week and a half, and that over 600,000 homes in Kentucky lost power due to this horrific ICE STORM). Since we had never been through anything like this we had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that we had a precious, six month old baby to take care of, it was bitter cold, we had no power, and the roads were hazardous.

And to make matters worse more freezing rain was predicted for Tuesday night. Panic was about to set in. Thank goodness we had a fireplace in the basement, so Monday night we stayed in the basement warm and cozy. But, it was dark and our supplies were limited. Landon was running out of clean bottles, our hot water was about gone, we had to begin rationing our gas for the fireplace, and it wasn't looking like we were anywhere near getting our power turned back on. So we bundled Landon up, packed up his dirty bottles and walked to the neighbor's (the Davis') to visit.

They had a generator running, so we were able to have light, heat, and hot water. What a luxury and blessing!!! After visiting with the neighbors for quiet some time we decide to head back home and get ready to bed down for the night. Landon had been such a trooper. He never fussed, and he seemed to be unaffected by all of the craziness, but after spending 2 days and nights in the dark, we knew we had to do something different. So, Thursday morning I got in touch with my mom and she, Paul, Landon, and I decided to brave the treacherous roads and make our way to Franklin to stay with my sister. When we arrived in Franklin, it was like we had entered another world, it was warmer, and not a flake of snow or crystal of ice could be found anywhere. Franklin felt like the tropics compared to Muhlenberg County. Geri was so glad to have us. The first thing on the agenda was to bathe. Landon got the first bath, then Paul, then Mom, and then me. We felt so much better and more relaxed after getting our showers, but mom and I were both getting sick. We were running low grade fevers and had an array of cold symptoms. I hated that we were sick and that Landon was going to be stuck with us and our germs, but there was no other options. So, I prayed and prayed that the Lord would keep my baby boy healthy (and He did!!! Landon never got what we had! Amen!) That night my mom and Geri slept together, and Landon and I slept on an air mattress on the living room floor, (Paul left and went back home to keep a watch on the house) but we were all thrilled because we were warm, clean, had hot water, Landon's bottles were clean, and we had light. All the little things that we take for granted each day had become a luxury.

Friday morning, after Geri went to work, Mom, Landon and I went to the local laundry mat to get caught up on our laundry. Then we went grocery shopping and picked up some necessities for Landon like, diapers, wipes, formula, and baby food. We didn't know how long we would be staying in Franklin, but we knew we would be there at least through the weekend. By Friday, January 30th, Landon had just about had his fill of the ICE STORM. He was used to being rocked to sleep, and he was really starting to miss his rocking chair. He was also becoming restless without his toys to entertain him, so Mom gave me her credit card and sent me to Wal-Mart to get him some toys and a jumperoo. He was so excited to see the jumperoo, and this really seemed to satisfy him. (Thank you MOM!) The next day, my dad came to Franklin to get my mom and they began their search for a generator. After looking many, many places they finally found one, and they also stocked up on other survival necessities, like extension cords, gas cans, food, bottled water, etc. Mom and Dad got their generator up and going on Sunday, February 1st. Landon and I spent a couple more days with Geri, enjoying our time together. We made a couple more trips to the laundry mat and Wal-Mart, but we were beginning to get restless, and I was starting to get homesick. So, on Tuesday, February 3rd Paul came to get us, and we stayed at my mom and dad's for the next two nights. Then Paul and I finally got a generator, and on Thursday we got to go home. Although we were still living on limited supplies, it was good to be home, and by Saturday February 7th we got our power back on.

It truly is times like this that wakes us up, and makes us see that we should never take the little things for granted. Many times it is the little things that get us through our day to day lives. This was the most destructive natural disaster that me or anyone in my family has ever been through, and I hope that we don't have to go through anything like that again anytime soon.