What have we been up to?

Whew! Days are going by in a blur and quite frankly, getting on the computer usually is put on the back burner. In my effort to keep our blog updated, here's a little taste of the past few days.

Landon's friend, Brody celebrated his birthday with the most substantial petting zoo I've experienced. The amount and types of animals drew a crowd within the park and admission should have been charged. I absolutely fell in love with a tiny, baby pig. Scot and Landon vetoed that as our new pet!

Landon is eye-ing the petting zoo, like it's a snake pit!


He wasn't too thrilled with all the animals. That would be a llama leg he is poking!


Trains are more Landon's style. Forget the petting zoo, he could ride the train all day!


My boys!

Our recent efforts have been to look for cooler, indoor activities from our afternoons of sweltering heat. We braved the home-made play dough craft, which looked like vomit, but tasted quite delicious!

I took Landon to get his first library card. The library was a great activity for him....he loved roaming the rows and picking out books for Mom to lug around. He, of course, had to try sitting in each chair and table, before finding a comfy spot on the floor to flip through some book pages. Good thing libraries don't require "library voices", because explaining that to my 16 month old would be challenging!!

The the temperature being a few degrees cooler today, we ventured to the park....

Such a boy!! Landon loves to carry around sticks he finds to poke at things and if it's big enough, he'll use it as his "walking stick".

Tomorrow's agenda.....play date!!!!

Livin' Life in the Sunshine, with a Beautiful Skye!

Playdate, playdate, playdate.....Landon's social calendar keeps us busy. Landon and his sweet, friend Skye met this afternoon at the park for some social time. Sure, for the beginning half of our park trip these two ran in the opposite directions, trying to see everything they could. Eventually their little legs needed some R&R and Skye's mom, Amelia, and I were able to keep them within viewing distance. Throw some snacks, bubbles, and cell phones in the mix, and Landon and Skye were content with each other and learning to "trade". I absolutely love this time, watching Landon learn to play and interact with other kids his age. You can see they have their own set of toddler rules and communication.
I don't think these two could be any cuter!!!!

I wonder what they are talking about!?


Learning the rules to "trading".


We're outta here!!

Easter Saturday

An Easter Saturday filled to the brim with goodies, presents, and...birthday cake?

Poor Z family, Mom has to work on Easter Sunday, so Saturday was packed full of fun!! The Easter bunny did us a favor and delivered Landon's basket early for him to enjoy and hid the eggs for him to find. Just what he wanted, golf clubs, a book, and his favorite candy, jelly beans.


"Frantically searching for the eggs."


"Found it."

The rain didn't hold Landon back from being a party animal at his friend, Cash's 1st birthday party. Cowboy hats, pony rides, and enough playtime with kids to fill a month....Landon had a ball!!


"Gorgeous cowboy!"


"Amazing we could snatch him up for 5 seconds to snap a photo."


"Sky box seat to watch Cash blow out his candle."

Wishing you joy and peace at Easter and always!
I'll leave you with this video.....

Monkey See, Monkey Do....

"Monkey see, monkey do" or should I say "toddler see, toddler do". The mommy motto of our play date today with Miss Mandy and Isabel. Lil Isabel and Landon are near the same age and boy-oh-boy it shows.....these two are quite compatible (or show her mommy and I think so). Quick reader's digest version of our day: Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy. Boy more interested in sand, sticks, and dirt, than pretty girl (wheww! So not ready for the day when Landon finds another woman to take my place). Needless to say, our play date was a BLAST!!! These two played until their hearts were content and their little legs were exhausted. Train and carousel riding, sand playing, blowing the train whistle, and play ground tromping. But what was the most intriguing? Picking up sticks, chasing birds, toddling to the pay phone, investigating the fire hydrant, and poking at the electrical box!! Kids! Everything else is so much more interesting than what we want them to play with.

We had such a awesome afternoon with sweet Isabel and her mom! Can't wait to venture out again!

The Magic of Pretend Play

Every so often my mind is forced, without prompting, to take a step back and look at my son. Wow, how amazing it is to be Landon's mom! Each moment he gets bigger and brighter and I get to experience it all with him.

For our mommy-son day outing today, we ventured back to the Children's Art Museum. He was at a better age than our last visit, so I was hoping he would take a lot more out of it.....boy, did I underestimate that. Thankful I had worn my running shoes, I took a deep cleansing breath, prepared in my runners stance, and the gun went off, or should I say, Landon took off on his 2 fast feet. He bolted, zig-zagged, ran, pushed, and shoved through each exhibit he was interested in seeing. Anything that looked like a "baby" toy or "not real", he wanted nothing to do with. If it wasn't nailed down, he would just push it out of his way or toss it behind him. The areas that appeared to be "real", such as the grocery store and kitchens, he was completely enthralled. He instantly found a shopping cart (or should I admit, he stole it for another kid) and chose his grocery items, dropping them in his cart, and then darted for the checkout, obviously, quite familiar with the shopping routine. I am quite certain I am raising a little chef. His overwhelming interest in the kitchen and what mom is cooking is apparent in our house. Landon had no problem walking right over to "pretend" kitchen and stove and start preparing a meal. Without prompting he reached for a skillet, utensil, then opens the refrigerator to see what to make. Smart boy!!!

With that said, what did I ever do before him? My days alone were never this exciting, fulfilling, and full of love. Landon has added so much to our family and our lives. As I buckled him in his car seat to leave, he gave me a big kiss, as if to say "Thanks mom! I love you" (or that's what I think in my head).

Yummy Day!

The afternoon was spent at the West of the Western Culinary Festival at the Phoenix Art Museum. Personally, I think it should have been named the Best of the Best. The food vendors today were by invitation only and needless to say we ate our way through the day. Landon, Scot, and I were fortunate to have VIP passes for the day (compliments to bro Anthony) and enjoyed every second of the festival. Those of you who know Scot's and my fond appreciation of food and dining out, know this is a little piece of our heaven and we are definitely introducing Landon into the fine art of foods. His favorite, agave pomegrante limeade.....I think he would substitute apple juice for this tasty treat any day!

"Lets eat!"


Landon had no problem picking out his Uncle Anthony in the crowd, walking right over to him, and ask te be picked up! So sweet!


Dancing to the live music! This boy has some rhythm!


"Follow me I know the way"

We stopped to take a few shots of Landon and the waterfall he was dying to plan in. He caught the attention of a few ladies near by. He was more than happy to flirt and strut his stuff for his photo shoot, showing off, of course. The ladies were so taken by his adorable-ness, they offered to get behind my camera and take our family picture....which can be a difficult task to get us all on cue!

Little Boys and All Their Big Toys

Beckett and Landon...two little peas in a pod. Each one has a personality that compliments the other. They are learning to play so well, getting to know one another, and showing each other new things. We explored a new park and between the slide, crawl-through-tunnel, sand, water, and PB&J picnic, we filled an entire afternoon.

After a 3 hour nap, we headed out to Tommy Bahama restaurant at Kierland. Our little man was quite social, dancing to the live music at dinner and stopping to wave "hi" to everyone sitting down on the benches. He high-tailed it to Cold Stone Creamery....I think the delicious smell coming of waffles cones tempted him to get a sugar high.

Sunny Days

Fabulous weather, leads to fabulous outdoor play time. We can fill most of our day outdoors exploring, playing in the grass, and watching the birds. Today I brought out a water mat with a hose attachment that posed timeless amounts of fun! The absolute curiosity and excitement in his eyes makes everyday so worthwhile!!

Todder Play Date turns Mommy Play Date

Deep down our strong effort is to socialize our boys....but I'll let you in on my little secret, I plan play these dates for me too!! I love getting Landon and Beckett together, but the added bonus is Becca and I can sit, chat, and share secrets about life and our boys. Couldn't be any better to have friends like that.

"Let the cookie decorating begin"


"These sprinkles are everywhere"


"Here friend, let me top off your cookie with a few more sprinkles"

Poor Landon was so excited to so show Beckett his walking skills, but the pain from teething won. Sure, a little Tylenol helped, but my sweet boy just wanted to cuddle and watch Beckett. Becca and I got sugar cookies ready for our boys and they dove into the sprinkles, full force, in their own Toddler Food Challenge event. After a quick dunk in the tub, which I quickly realized Landon does not like to share that private time with anyone , we let the boys do as they wish. They moved from toy to toy to refrigerator magnets to toy again. The boys were pooped by the end of the afternoon and passed out.


"Don't drive too fast boys"


"Checkin' each other out"

Can't wait to do it again soon!

Restoring the Z's

Z life had been slightly off balance the past week. ....our poor kitty, Mia had to be put to sleep 4 days after we lost our dog, Tyson. Yikes! We needed to restore the Zen Zee life we love. Landon knew just how to do it! Our boy has such a sense or humor, he keeps us laughing and definitely loves being the center of attention.


Up and coming American Idol star and yes, our son is singing naked!!!

Thanks to Grandma, Scot and I got a much needed date night. We headed off to a favorite restaurant, Cartwright's, for cocktails, oysters on the half shelf, and adult conversation.

As usual, Landon spent the rest of the weekend hamming-it up for this parents. He has recently become obsessed with his accessories (he is sooo our son). He loves to have his shoes put on, for play or going out, and he gets such a kick out of wearing sunglasses. His recent toy of choice, a bouncing zebra. He laughs so hard when he jumps and spins on his horse!!

The household life is resoring itself, planning our summer trips, and if Scot has his way, perhaps another dog!! Stay tuned for that drama!