Fall time

All bundled up at 5:00am

Now that Landon is over a year old, I guess I decided I didn't have to blog about him anymore :) So here is our family update for fall:

At the beginning of September, I competed in an Olympic distance triathlon at Lake Geneva, WI. Lake Geneva is very beautiful and it was so much fun, albeit cold in the morning for the swim. The name of the triathlon was "TriRock" and it is a national tri series. On the website it advertised live music and bands on every mile of the run and at the finish. I did not see any live bands the entire time, so that was mildly disappointing. I was 1st out of the water for my age group on the swim, and 2 girls passed me- one on the bike, and one on the run in my age group. So, I got 3rd place in my age group, which ended up qualifying me for the 2014 USA triathlon age group national championships in Milwaukee, WI. It's really too bad that I have no idea what country I will be in next year, or I might just sign up! It was not my fastest Olympic distance time, but I was proud of myself, especially since we live in the flat plains and there were many hills on both the bike and run that I was not prepared for. Landon was a trooper- we had to wake him up at 4:45 am and he was not too fussy all day. He really is a great kid!

Just prior to the start, which was delayed due to fog on the lake

Post race by the lake

Every day, Landon gets better at walking/running/reaching/climbing. For awhile, his favorite activities involved making huge messes for me to clean up. He seems to be more interested in toys the past few weeks, which makes my life so much easier. He is also saying more words, and doing a few signs (mostly "more" and "done"). He says "Mom" much more often, and in a wider variety of situations. He says "dad", "ball", "done" and "hey/hi" as well. 

Cute boy ready for church

 Right around Landon's 13th month mark, we gave him his first haircut. He had tufts of hair behind his ears that were much longer than any other hair, and the hair on the top of his head was starting to grow much longer, so it was time. After the haircut, he looked SO much more like a toddler. We also decided his hair was much blonder than we thought it was.

Getting his haircut...

Landon found a ball at the pool. I thought it would make Greg and Hannah, my water polo playing sibs, proud.

Landon loves baths! He is now blowing bubbles and went through a phase of practicing floating on his back multiple times during bathtime. Now he is more comfortable backfloating in the pool, but no longer does it during bathtime.

 The 2nd week of October, my mommy came to visit and spend time with our family. It was so fun to hang out with her, help plan my little sister's wedding, and go on a few fun outings. Our first outing was to Brookfield Zoo, the zoo that costs money in Chicago. It is much bigger than the zoo in Lincoln Park, and is actually closer to our house. Landon loved watching the seals and sea lions, but that area of the zoo was in desperate need of renovations- the habitats were so bare and there was dirt at the bottom of the sea lion tank.

Watching the seals

Hangin in the stroller

Being a piggy

Monkeys/Gorillas!

Grandma and the boy

Hard to corral this kid once you let him out of the stroller

Landon loved the music playing out the loudspeakers at the front of the zoo. He danced around, lifting his arms up and down, bouncing, running, and turning in circles. I had never seen him dance around so much, so that was fun to watch. 

 Our 2nd adventure was to All Seasons Apple Orchard in Woodstock, IL. It was a 45 minute drive out to the farm, and we truly were in the middle of nowhere. They had all sorts of fun activities for older kids, but we elected to just do apple picking, since that was all I was interested in anyway. We took a tractor ride out to the orchard. Landon was intrigued, but thankfully did not try to jump out of the cart.

In transit to the apple orchard

Ready to go into the orchard

Sampling his first Jonagold

 We picked Jonagolds. They were so delicious and crunchy and sweet and tart all at the same time, especially right off the tree. Landon loved sampling the rotting, half eaten apples off the ground, but we convinced him to eat some good apples as well. I think he ate the equivalent of 3-4 big apples!

My boys eating apples

Our family in the orchard

Trying Golden Delicious

Filthy dirt and booger face

Father son- good apples

Landon was so much fun at the apple orchard. He is definitely not shy to wander around and explore. He tagged along with "friends" he made at the apple orchard and kept waiting for people to give him apples. It was fun to watch. 

We also attempted to shop for a Mother of the Bride top for my mom, but we were unsuccessful. We found a dress for me to wear as unofficial matron of honor. I don't feel old enough to be a matron :) It was amazing to have my mother in town, and it's all thanks to my little sisters and dad who convinced her that they could hold down the fort at home. Thanks family!

Cute boy loves playing with the pans in the kitchen! I think he might be trying/pretending to cook!

We are looking forward to taking Landon to a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin and Halloween. Landon is going to be an adorable dinosaur! So excited!