Family Pictures and the Latest Happenings Around Here.

Getting family pictures each year is like pulling teeth, but after they're done I'm always so thankful we went through all the effort and hassle to make it happen.

Little things I don't want to forget about life at this point...

Involving Landon:
Landon wakes up at four in the morning and now, instead of just crying he shouts, "Mommy, where are you?" He has also realized he can turn on his light. After we tuck him in, turn out the light, and close the door, he jumps out of bed, flips on the light and plays for 30 minutes before crawling back to bed and falling asleep. (With the light still on, of course.) He usually sleeps from about 8 - 4. I feel like I've tried everything, but nothing works to get him to sleep longer. Any suggestions are welcome!

Landon's curiosity and eagerness to learn. He's always asking me, "Wazzat?" (What's that?) when he doesn't know the name for something. He can count to 20 perfectly (seven and seventeen were being skipped for quite a while), and recognizes about two thirds of the alphabet letters. One of his favorite games involves sitting at the computer with Word open. Scott will type a letter or number and Landon will name it. He doesn't sign anymore but he talks in full sentences, and communicates so well.

Landon is very polite. He usually starts a sentence with "Oh! Excuse me..." He even tends to say, "You're welcome." to me before I've thanked him for something.

Landon's sense of direction is amazing. He recognizes locations when we are driving and can tell me what's near, even before it's in sight. (Library, Pizza Pie Cafe, Target, etc...)

Landon loves to sing! It's probably one of the most adorable things he does. He most often sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," which sounds like this: "Twinkle twinkle little star, how are you? ee eee aaaahh. Up up so high, like a diamond in the sky, twinkle twinkle little star, how are you agaaaaaain." He also sings, "Ring around the Rosie," "The ABC Song," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "If You're Happy and You Know It." and "The Clean Up Song"

Some other things Landon loves to do is help me cook, wash dishes, (AKA turn the kitchen into a swimming pool), play dough, mega blocks, play the piano or drums, and have friends over. I watch a one-year-old once a week and Landon just loves when he's here. Trevor will let out squeals of excitement in the morning and Landon will go over to him and say, "Trev, shhhhh. Daddy's sleeping." He's also getting much better at sharing.

I take for granted the fact that Landon really doesn't get into things. When his best friends come over (two year old twins, that live downstairs) I'm reminded of just how much of my child Landon is. If I'm not keeping a constant eye on them, the girls rummage through my jewelry box, color in books, etc... Things I know Landon would never do when he's playing on his own. I've even caught him after the girls dump a bunch of toys out, following after, cleaning up. :)

Landon loves the moon. Whenever we are outside and it's dark the first thing he says is "Find moon." He always says hello, goodbye, and how are you to the moon. And he usually tries to reach out and grab it, only to end up saying, "Uh uh uh, hmmm... too reach." (too far to reach)

He has moved on to watching other movies besides Cars 1 and 2! Although we still watch those and Mater's Tall Tales often, he also loves Up, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, A Bug's Life, Ratatouille, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Thomas & Friends, and Sesame Street. I'd say he's ready for a trip to Disneyland. :)

Landon definitely has his "terrible twos" moments, and I'd be lying if I didn't mention that at times, between tantrums, lack of sleep, and everything else that always seem to build in those moments of trouble, I'm concerned I'll have a nervous breakdown. Even so, I love him to pieces and being his mom is one of the greatest blessings in the whole wide world.

Involving Scott:
Right now, Scott has moved more toward writing music than filming. It's always a difficult question to answer when people ask him, "What do you do?" His current answer is, "I'm a YouTube Rapper." (And he's a darn good one, if I don't say so myself.) Scott started a YouTube channel as a joke, with a video of kittens flying in slow motion to a song him and a friend wrote. It went viral in a few weeks, and people loved the song. He just released a second video, a slip n' slide that launches people into kiddie pools, also put to a song him and Brenden wrote. This video hit half a million views in two days. Between making those videos, they've been busy writing music for a big YouTuber's channel. It's been great exposure for their music (Scott & Brendo is their band name) and their fan base is growing rapidly all across the world. It's always been Scott's dream to do music as a career but it's even more risky than photography or film. The fact that it's happening is surreal.

Here are some links to check out Scott's work:
Cute Kitten Fly in Slow Motion to Hip Hop Dubstep
Slip n' Slide Launches People into Kiddie Pools (1000 fps)
Scott & Brendo songs on iTunes
Scott & Brendo Facebook page (Regular updates on new songs, videos they are featured in etc... Go like it!)
Devin Super Tramp YouTube Channel (This is who Scott and Brenden have been writing music for. Their music is on "The Blob," "Dogs in Slow Motion," "Paramotor Sky Races" and "Unicycle Freestyle."

On the side, Scott is the video guy for The Color Run. (The first and most successful of all the color runs going on right now.) He was just in San Diego this weekend shooting two back to back 5K runs for them. Scott ends up going to CA at least once a month for some film related project.

We honestly don't know what's in store for us in the next year, let alone five or ten. Scott's line of work is unpredictable and ever-changing. I used to be scared by not knowing, but now we look at it as a big adventure. It's exciting to think the possibilities are endless and there are surprises and new opportunities around every corner.

Involving Me:
Why is it so easy to write updates about Landon and Scott, but then when I get to myself, I have no idea what to jot down? Life is mostly the same I suppose. I do the mommy thing, running of the household thing, wifey thing, and once in a blue moon, squeeze in the me time thing. The days pass by, the seasons change, and we keep plugging along.

I just finished reading Palace of Stone, the Sequel to Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Great book. I always feel a touch better, and less stressed, after finishing a good book. I've also been designing a few things; Thanksgiving decorations to replace the Halloween, the new blog layout (figured it would be incentive to start posting regularly again). This week, Scott's even going to babysit so a friend and I can get pedicures. Can you believe I've NEVER had a pedicure before?! I can't wait.

I just love this time of year, with holidays back to back. Landon and I like to hit up Tai Pan Trading at the mall, and look at all the Christmas decorations. (Of course we also have to go in Landon's two favorite stores, The Disney Store and Yankee Candle. He is obsessed with smelling candles. All the ladies that work there know and love him.)

Things are good. I love the stage of life we're in, love our apartment, neighbors, and Utah in general. Looking forward to snow, Christmas music, hot cider, and visiting family!