Pumpkin Patch

Today, Landon and I went to the pumpkin patch with a couple of people in our ward. It must have been our lucky day, because despite the fact that it has been raining all week, today was dry and even fairly warm, so it was a nice day. Landon had fun running through the hay maze, riding on the tractor, and picking out a pumpkin! Oh, I made some cupcakes for one the mom's birthdays. Landon and Shane ate one for lunch, but Landon didn't know quite what to do with it. He tried picking it up, then put it back down, they he picked it back up again, then put it back down. You can see in the pictures what he finally decided to do! Click on the picture above to watch a slideshow of our fun day at the pumpkin patch!

Five Little Pumpkins

At long last, we have finally put up a new video of Landon on our website. This video is of Landon reciting the Five Little Pumpkins poem and answering some questions about himself. Now, to those of you who have seen the famous reciting by Jake of the Five Little Pumpkins/Fishies, don't get too high of expectations. Nonetheless, this is fun to watch. I'll just put the link here because I posted the video on our website: http://www.sjmalan.com/video.htm. Hope you enjoy the video!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

The rainy season has officially started in Portland. It seemed to start much later last year, but the forecast for this entire week is . . . rain. This afternoon, after Landon woke up from his nap, there was a break in the clouds and the sun poked through, so I thought Landon and I had better take advantage of it right away before the weather changed again. We put on Landon's rain boots and hat, a jacket, and headed out. Landon wanted to find some worms, but unfortunately we didn't find any. When an airplane flew overhead, Landon asked where it was going. I told him it was flying away into the clouds, but he said, "Mommy, airplane helping Landon find worms!" I guess he knew better than me! :)

We did find lots of other fun things. Landon found two old apples he wanted to carry around for awhile.

Despite the cooler fall weather, there were still plenty of flowers out! Landon found these orange ones that he wanted to stop and smell.

As soon as we saw the sidewalk covered with orange berries and bright red leaves, Landon dropped the apples and decided he wanted to stomp on the orange berries. I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but he is pretty into it!

We also found lots of other great things on our walk - some helicopter leaves, a kitty sleeping on a lawn, a squirrel "drinking chocolate milk" (that's what Landon said he was doing), and even the Eiffel Tower! Well, not really the Eiffel Tower, but a small lawn decoration that Landon said was a little Eiffel Tower. Hopefully we'll have a few more breaks in the clouds to go on some more walks this week.

I Love My Daddy!!!

Everyday that Shane is at work, I answer this question too many times to count:

"Mommy, where did Daddy go?"

As soon as he gets home, Landon is so excited, and he and Shane usually run around the house for awhile. Landon's favorite question for his dad is: "Daddy, what should we do?" Today, Shane took Landon to his first Munchkin Sports class. They played soccer, ran fast forwards and backwards, and kicked over cones and tipped them back up. Landon came home as excited as ever! Even when Shane tries to rest and have a little time for himself, his little bub climbs up by him and snuggles in close!

Quotable Quotes

1. When at the grocery store this week, Landon wanted to play with the buckle in the grocery cart seat. He kept closing it, but then needed my help to open it back up. After opening it back up for the upteenth time, he exclaimed, "Thanks Mommy. That's great!" When I told him you're welcome, he said, "Landon don't say you're welcome." I had just told him the day before that he doesn't have to say you're welcome when he says thank you.

2. Yesterday, Shane went and tickled Landon, to which Landon exclaimed, in a perfect imitation of my voice and intonation, "Sha-ane!"

3. Shane also went to tickle me yesterday. (Yes, now you know the true menace in our house). Landon looked at him and said, "Shane, don't tickle Mommy," in his most stern voice.

4. I heard Landon whisper something at the table this morning, then start laughing. When I asked him what was so funny, he said, "I'm singing the H in the Home Depot song." I guess that's a pretty funny song, but he wouldn't sing it for me again. He is actually frequently making up all sorts of songs these days.

Four is kind of a weird number, but that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure he'll say some more crazy things as soon as I publish this!

Going to Dama and Papa's

Landon and I just got back from our week in Ashland. Shane had to go to New York all week for a work trip, so Landon and I decided to go to Dama (da-ma, rhymes with grandma, imagine that) and Papa's house, as he says, for the week. Here are a few pictures of our trip:

Eating waffles with a balloon - As many of you know, a trip to the Morris household around breakfast time usually includes pancakes, waffles, french toast, or some other delicious breakfast. I guess Landon is well aware of this, because about 20 minutes before getting to Ashland, Landon suddenly told me, "Haffa go Dama's house. Dama make pancakes." About two minutes later, he changed his mind and said, "No, Dama make waffles." Crazy boy! Also, you probably notice the balloon he is holding. That is also something he always asks for at Grandma's, as she has a helium tank pretty much just for him.

Bath time - Landon loves all the fun buckets and toys grandma has for his bath.

Playing with the toys in Grandma's toy closet - This week, Landon's favorite toys were the classic Little People toys. Mom has the house, a ferris wheel, a parking garage, and a bucket full of all sorts of little people toys. Landon played with them all week. One day, he found this little table, pulled it out, and brought it to me saying "Haffa put food on the little table." So, here it is. We tried Cheerios first, but he finished those off before we could get a picture.

Bedtime stories with Grandma - One of Landon's favorite stories this week was The Pokey Little Puppy, a classic!

Watching football with Grandpa - Landon climbed up onto my dad's lap one night as he was watching some football highlights. He seemed pretty content to sit there and watch for awhile.

Going to Memory Lane Preschool - Here Landon is at Grandma's preschool. He loved this letter puzzle! He did great going with her in the morning.

Reading a Clifford book on tape a preschool.

What happened to my little baby??? He's so grown up now!!!

Making a mess - Landon most of the time just loved playing with all the toys and making a mess at Grandma's. For some reason, he liked to pull off all of the couch cushions. Here he is trying out his new blanket for his "big bed." Hidden beneath the blanket is a big pile of toys!

That was our week in Ashland! It was a fun break, and the only thing that would have made it better was if Shane were there with us. We were excited to have him home last night!

The Portland Saturday/Farmer's Market

After living here for over a year, I finally made it to the Portland Saturday markets. Before Saturday, I didn't know I needed to make that plural, yet after trying to meet my two friends Ashley and Heidi on Saturday at the Saturday market and ending up two completely different places in downtown Portland, I realized there were two. We first (once we all met up) went to the Saturday Market. This market is located under/next to the Burnside Bridge, right across the street from the riverfront. For you fellow Ashlanders, I felt right at home in this market. It was kind of like the Saturday market they have there, except a lot bigger. There were all sorts of items to buy, including some fairly cute yet expensive crafts and some wildly crazy items you wouldn't see anywhere else.

After wandering around for awhile and enjoying the excitement, we headed back up to Portland State University for the Portland Farmer's Market. Here I felt once again transported to another place I love . . . France. There was a large grass area full of small, local farmers selling their fruits and vegetables, plus a little cheese, honey, and even some bakeries. I loved it! I bought some strawberries to make jam, and some delicious green beans and corn we had for dinner last night. I also splurged a little as we were leaving and bought a baguette and an almond croissant at a small French bakery stand. Delicieux!

Me, Heidi, Landon, and Jackson at the Saturday market.

Me, Heidi, Ashley, Landon, and Jackson (back behind) at the Farmer's Market. Don't those tomatoes look delicious!