Landon and Lights

Landon is obsessed with lights right now. I know all kids like turning on and off the light switch and enjoy flashlights, but he is really really obsessed. Lights to Landon are like Pumpkins are to Ethan. 

He has to find and turn on and off the light switches anytime we go to someone's house. We keep a baby gate on our bedroom door to keep Landon away from our lamps (he keeps unscrewing the knobs on the switch) and we have had to remove the lamp in his bedroom because he won't stop climbing to reach it. One day he ran out of his room holding his lamp in his hands (until he ran out of slack in the cord)

We also can no longer let him play with real flashlights because he keeps taking them apart! The kid one we have isn't as much fun but whenever we try again to let him use our flashlights he tinkers with them and does more than just unscrew the back. He bites off the rubber knobs and on one flashlight he got it down to the circuit board and LED light and was trying to puzzle out how it works. (it was a cool light with different flashing modes)

It's not just the lit-up lights that he wants either. He also asks us for light bulbs. He went nuts in the light bulb section of the store and kept reaching for a flood light bulb saying "I have it? I have it??". And I caught him trying to get a burnt out bulb from the trash. 

He also loves to pretend to turn the lights off in his book illustrations! He especially loves the lamp in "Good Night Moon". He pretends to turn the light off each time that illustration comes up.

Anyone have any recommendations for a fun, 2 year old proof light? 

At the Playground

Landon loves walking in the woods. Sometimes he prefers the woods to the playground. He likes exploring all the bugs, shadows, logs, etc. And running. And looking over the bridge down at the "icky water" and looking for "Gruffalos" in the woods.

Landon happily spent 90 % of his playground time going down the biggest slide.

Ethan made it his goal to climb the twisty ladder.

And he conquered it!

Drive-In Movie

Yesterday we went to a friend's house for a "Drive-in Movie" themed playdate. The kids enjoyed decorating their box "cars", watching "Tangled",eating popcorn and of course playing.

Then I looked up and saw these two. I can't believe they able to fit in the box together!

And not only did the two of them fit. But there were also half a dozen dolls/stuffed animals in the car as well.

Cute Box Buddies.

And were was Landon?

Found him turning off the lights in the playroom. Oops!

Ethan: 5 Years old!

Ethan, 

At 5 years old you:

- Weigh 39 lbs and are 43 inches tall.(you've grown 3/4 of an inch in the past 3 months!)

- Wear size 5T pants, 4/5T shirts, and size 10 shoes.

You are imaginative, inquisitive, not afraid to use big words, and very talkative. You love to be wherever I am and you miss Landon when he is taking a nap (though you do enjoy doing messy crafts and things when he is asleep). You love to snuggle with Mama and you love pretending to be a baby. You think and feel deeply and are easily frustrated and get hurt feelings easily. However, you also have a big heart. You love to win and you struggle when things don't work the way that you feel they should. 

When you turned 4 I asked you a few questions. I asked you the same questions again today and I got the following answers:

• What brings you the most happiness? BALLOONS!!!!

• When do you feel the most loved? When Landon is awake and screaming and we are running with balloons.

• What are you afraid of? Rats and more rats. And Asteroids

• If you had one wish, what would you wish for? A double-decker couch 

• What makes you mad? When Landon explodes our whole house and everything is ruined. (A little dramatic)

• What is the meaning of love? That you love someone!

I also asked:

- What is your name? TNT (lately he's been asking us to call him TNT instead of Ethan)
- What is your favorite toy? All of my toys I got! And my balloons. My name is TNT.
- What is your favorite drink? Probably water
- What is your favorite food? Green pancakes (zucchini fritters) and biscuits
- What is your favorite thing to do outside? Bubbles
- What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Play together
- What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Minecraft
- What is your favorite animal? All of them
- What is your favorite song? Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
- What is your favorite number? Five
- What do you want to be when you grow up? A movie maker and I want to go to work with Daddy to help him.
- Best friend: Gabi, and Lucy. 
- Favorite color: Purple
- Favorite cartoon: Lego Star Wars
- Favorite holiday: Halloween!

Funny Quotes:

• "I'm a fun child having a fun childhood"

• "I'm so glad to be back home because I have a happy home"

• "I can lift milk because I have a strong squishy heart that pumps something that helps me carry it."

• Don't remember the exact words, but one day he was upset because pixie sticks weren't the same as pixie dust and he couldn't fly.

• "Landon is splashing in the leaves!" (Landon running through the leaves)

• "Mommy, I need to earn my own money so I can buy my own food. Like gummy worms and Oreos, and all the other foods that I like to eat. But how am I going to get a job? I also need my own keys so that I can put them on my Clifford key-chain, and unlock the door without you having to help me."

• Me "Did you have fun playing with Caleb and AT?" Ethan "Yeah, I love burning things. Daddy says I can't burn things but he was actually unusually letting me!"

Playing with playfood and making dinner and coffee for Woody to eat. You were also playing with a plastic scorpion and dipping his tail into the cups and plates to make the food spicy.

You were playing with a little cat figure, a dinosaur, and a super hero. I walked in as the cat was walking near the super hero and  I heard you say "Careful, watch out for that super hero, you don't want him to poke your eyes out!".

Playing a game you devised called "Moon Jelly Zerg" with plastic astronauts, aliens, and moon sand.

Right now your pretend play, art, stories, etc are pretty dramatic. Lots of volcanoes, tornadoes, poisonous gas, etc. Leaves blowing across the ground in gusts of wind are called "Electrified Razor Leaf Storms". Bubbles are volcanic ash, and smoke of any kind is poisonous gas.

Watercolor plus salt painting of a dangerous purple tornado coning at a field if dancing girls. The girl beat the tornado by throwing all the other color tonadoes at it. The orange is the bravest. They made it go through the whole into another world

Happy 5th Birthday, Ethan! The "Pre-School" years were fun but I know that having a "Kid" will be just as much fun! We have a lot of adventures ahead of us and we look forward to seeing you grow!