A month's worth of stuff...

It has been quite a month! We got our call that we had a new house available to move into the week before Thanksgiving. So, now we are in a brand new 2 story, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house. It's pretty sweet so far. We have GRASS in our backyard, and a 2 car garage! We also have an awesome view of the mountains (which have snow on them right now!!). We're all settled in and really enjoying it while we are still here!!

Speaking of still being here... Brandon was accepted into the Space Systems Operations field!! We are now just waiting to hear when he has to report for class and we'll know when we are moving. His training will be at Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is in the Lompoc/Santa Maria area of central, coastal California. Depending on how long his training actually is will depend on if Landis and I can go with him. If the schooling is more than 4 months then we can go. If not, it will be like one last deployment. That's a pretty small price to pay since he's going into a field that does not deploy at all. I'm pretty relieved that he is staying in. Being a military dependent is the only thing I know, so I was really nervous about what we'd do about health care, especially, if he were to get out. But I'm most relieved to see how excited he is about being able to cross train into such a cool job. When he went into the military, he said he was just going to do his term and get out, never intending it to be a career. I was all prepared for that, and I understood how he felt. So his decision to possibly go career was kind of a surprise. Anyway, he's decided to re-enlist and get into the Space Ops program and see what else happens. If he gets the specific job he wants, working with the Pave Paws Radars, we will be moving to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Ootherwise it's more likely we'll be stationed in the Colorado Springs area.

We just had a fun visit from Tom and karen (Brandon's parents for those who don't know), and we had fun :o) We got to go to the zoo, and Landis fed a Giraffe! It's fun that he's so interested in the animals now. We went to Winterhaven as well. It's a Christmas light "festival". It's basically this huge neighborhood in which pretty much everyone decorates the outside of their house. I like it :o) You can walk around and have hot chocolate (although we were jipped in that department this year), there are hay rides through the neighborhood. We did a little bit of shopping while they were here, and we got Landis's new carseat. He's officially big enough to have a forward facing seat! I think he likes it so far. Landis had a LOT of fun playing with Gramma and Papa, and eating lots and lots of cookies and brownies.

I think it's safe to say landis is sleeping through the night now. All of a sudden he's sleeping in his own bed and going down very easily without having to being nursed. He's getting to be a big boy! I'm so proud!! I haven't gotten to enjoy all the extra sleep time though, since we are getting ready to make a last minute trip up to Colorado Springs for Brandon's best friend's wedding. We'll be back on the 23rd though, assuming we don't get snowed in or anything.

I think I've said enough!! Enjoy some pictures of the cutie and I'll try to get more posted pretty close to Christmas...

I'm not sure what he's pointing at, but don't you just love his Reindeer slippers?

He likes to get in and out of his Bumbo.

Our first book casualty.

He accomplished this in the 20 seconds it took me to walk from his room, to the livingroom, and back. I think he was proud of himself.

His version of "hands free" talking

The Kitchen in our new house (before we moved in of course)

The Greatroom and Livingroom

Looking from the livingroom to the kitchen and greatroom

Stairs and half bath from livingroom

The front view of our new house. They are in the process of putting up Solar Panels on all of the new houses.

Me being a dork.

He's really into just laying down in random areas and saying, "Nite nite", then pretending to sleep for a minute.

Videos Galore!

I'm catching up on my videos again!

Latest news on Brandon is that he got to turn in his application for re-training this morning, so now we just sit and wait to see if they give him a class date. This could take up to 2 months. Hopefully it WON'T but we're not waiting by the phone. This si the breaking point for him. if he doesn't get accepted to cross train for this career field he'll be getting out of the military.

Happy Thanksgi... oh wait...

We've had a pretty eventful first week of November! We have been down to a friends house to help her set up her Christmas stuff twice (it seems to be the fad this year... to skip Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas), we've taken down our Halloween stuff and put up our Fall decorations, and hit some sales to get more! We also got to go to our neighbor's birthday party, which always turns out to be fun! He had lots of fun playing at the park, and with all of Drake's new toys. I have washed all of his 12 month clothes in preparation for him to move up to that size. I always get kind of nostalgic when he moves up a clothing size. I kind of get emotionally attached to his outfits, so I feel like I'm being forced to move on with life when we have to start all over again with brand new clothes. Oh well. Poor little guy is having a rough time with two bottom molars coming in, so this week has also been one of much, much whining. So really... it seems like it's been two weeks.

I got a really cool idea as something to start as a Christmas tradition. We were watching a show last night where the family bakes cookies on Christmas Eve, hangs them on the tree, and they eat them on Christmas day. So, I didn't really like the way they looked on an already decorated big tree, so I was thinking of getting a 4 foot, artificial, prelit tree, and using it as our Christmas Cookie Tree! I really don't know where we will PUT it, but maybe I can rig something by the time it's really time to do that. Anyway... I thought it would be a fun tradition to start with our family, and anyone who will be around for the holidays.

Alrighty... well, enjoy the pictures of Landis!

Trying his first piece of Halloween candy.

It looks like that Hershey Kiss may have been a little too big, but he liked it!

I just thought this picture was adorable!

He's pretty much naked because he was about to get his hair cut. We gave him the chocolate and the little trimmer as a distraction. I think he shaved some of his belly hair with it :o)

His first cooking lesson. We made Shepherds Pie.

This kid could stir aaaaaaaall day long!!!

I'm going to frame this picture and hang it in my room. I love finding "evidence" that he's been somewhere in the house. And to think there was a time when it may not have been possible to experience these little blessings :o)

A VERY intense episode of LOST. I understand completely!

It's hard to see where you're going with your eyes closed, silly boy.

He looks like such a little boy in this picture!!

Playing at the park! Part of Drake's birthday party. There were a lot of very hyper children there.

He overcame the tube!!

He tried to slide down the ramp of the play equipment. He found it wasn't really very slidey at all.

Meghan (Drake's mom) let me bring Keona over to eat all the chips and cake off the floor (they just live across the street). All the babies liked watching her outside. It's Landis, Drake, and Armando.

Dino Invasion 2009!

This was Landis's first year doing real Trick or Treat! I was so excited that he had learned to walk soon enough to get good at it by the time Halloween came! He had a lot of fun just roaming around in his costume. He didn't much care for the candy, or know what to do at first, but we got him into it. Mostly, though... he just wanted to walk around. We went to our Base Exchange for the whole ordeal, for a couple of reasons. For one, it started earlier, and, not that Landis is on a strict evening schedule, it just always seems to work out that from dinner time on, he isn't good for much of anything outside of the house. And two, we wanted to finally be at home to hand out candy for the first time since we've lived out here. We decorated the house, so we wanted to make good use of it all. I did take Landis to one house on our street, but, since he just wanted to roam around, it took him 15 minutes to go two houses down and come back to the house. So, after that we just let him wander around the front yard until he got tired. It was fun, and now I'm excited for next year. Surely he'll have more focus by then and get the point a little better.

Good Morning, Halloween :o)

He needed a hair cut again!

His Halloween shirt! It's got a monster eating a chocolate bar and it says, "Chocolate Goooooooood!"

Walking with Daddy to the BX for Trick or Treating

I realize it looks kind of cruel that he only has that itty bitty bucket, but it's the only thing he could have carried all by himself.

"So, you're telling me that if I go say Trick or treat, some dude will give me candy?"

"Okay then! It worked!!"

He got a bigger bucket anyway

No, no, silly boy. You eat the CANDY, not the costume...

"Yo quiero Candy"

He had enough of the big bucket.

Pushing the girls in the buggy

We both weren't ready...

Better picture of him. Not so much of me.

The only actual house we went to after the BX.

Halloween Festivness (suuuure... it's a word.)

We really got into Halloween this year. We made sure we would be home to pass out candy since something had happened every other year we've lived here so that either we didn't get any Trick or Treaters, or we just weren't even home. We got decorations and carved pumpkins. It was pretty fun!

Brandon cutting the top off his pumpkin to start hollowing it out.

I figured I'd give the whole pattern thing a go.

So... many... holes!!!

It took almost as long to transfer the pattern as it did to cut it out!!!

It is so cute!!! I like it...

We both did pretty good!

Yay!

Landis really liked Daddy's pumpkin!

Apparently the pumpkin was hungry, so Landis fed him cheerios. He's such a good sharer :o)

Yes... he's eating lunch on the kitchen counter.

Then he vacuumed for Mommy! He was not pleased with using the attachment this time. he wanted the whole shabang!!

Our Wednesday morning playgroup got to wear costumes this week. Landis's very best friend, Kaden, was a Lion!!

You can tell they appreciate this :o)

Most of the group... I think we are missing one or two (they were there, but it was hard to get that many kids to sit still in one spot for very long!). Characters from left to right: University of Arizona Football Player, University of Arizona Cheerleader (they are brother and sister), Dinosaur, Buzz Lightyear, a Monkey, a Lion, and a Princess.

I know this isn't really a Halloween picture, but I had pretty flowers on my walkway :o)

The ghost moved back and forth across the chord! It was cool... but Landis was scared of him.

My front door

These guys were cute, but it's so darn windy here that they blew off three times. They finally just got put inside the house.

My side door (excuse the really dirty entry)