Turkey Apple Sausages

I found a great recipe for turkey apple sausages. Check out the recipe here. They were really good. We had the sausages and scrambled eggs for lunch/brunch today. I didn't think I liked sausage, but I like these ones!

Landis usually wakes up from his naps happy, refreshed, and ready to play, but this afternoon he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He kept fussing until I came and picked him up. We sat down on the couch together and he kept fussing until he found the best and most cuddly spot in my lap. Then he smiled, looked up at me and said, "That's perfect, right there." He stopped fussing and snuggled for a few minutes and then was ready to get up and play.

Landis has a new obsession: type-woke walking (known to some of us as tightrope walking.) There is a picture in one of his books of a tightrope walker in a circus, and he has decided that he would like to emulate that illustration. We've been encouraging him to try walking in a straight line on the grout between rows of tiles, and are planning to set up a low balance beam in the back yard. It's nice that he is interested in activities that will improve his balance and coordination, and we feel pretty comfortable about his safety on the ground or only a few inches above it.

This evening, though, he decided to practice tightrope walking along the edge of the kitchen table, above the tiled floor. He just about scared me to death! He now knows that the table is off limits for his "type-woke walking" adventures. I'm amazed we've managed to stay away from the ER this long... Here's hoping that we make it another 2 years without an ER visit!

Landis' Bible Commentary

Landis and I read the story of Samuel being called by God in his little toddler's Bible today. God keeps calling Samuel, but Samuel thinks that Eli, the priest, is the one who is calling and keeps waking him up. Finally, Eli tells Samuel that God is the one talking to him. After I finished reading, Landis said, "Look - this Samuel. It is night. Waked up. Samuel is tired. God is tired too."

Landis Quote of the Day

"I'm not cute trouble, I'm just trouble!"

Landis Ludwig, Space Explorer

Landis and I just read a book about Sam, a monkey who was sent up into space in a rocket in the 50s. Landis is inspired. He just told me, "Landis go up in rocket. Bring special monkey. Go to moon. Not see Monni and Daddy ever."

Landis, you have to at least come back for a visit!!

Landis and I just finished tidying his room. I walked into the living room to grab a couple of toys that were on the floor there, but ran back to his room when I heard a crash. Landis had overturned a big bucket of toys. Exasperated, I asked him why he had done that when we had just put those toys away. He shrugged and said, "Monni, sometimes I make a mess."

Happy Birthday

Caleb!!! We love you. Have fun being 9!

Adorable Figure of Speech

When Landis sees someone mowing, edging, trimming, planting, or otherwise working in their yard, he says they are "lawning." He gets really excited when we take a walk on the weekend. "Monni, look! Neighbors all lawning!"

Landis the Artist

Landis is coloring. To the uninitiated eye, it looks like a bunch of meaningless scribbles, but if you ask Landis, he will explain the scene to you. Here is his explanation of today's drawing.

"Landi draw Johnny, Caylo, Josh, Paul. See? Josh, Caylo, Paul, Johnny. Moon, stars are here. Color more stars. Color a cloud. Look at moon! Moon's light on, shine in sky. See? This Jesse Bear."

Negatives

Landis has been figuring out the meaning of words like "no" and "don't" and "not" recently. He practices as often as he can. I asked him today to "Come over here to Monni."

"Okay. *points to self* Is not Monni. This Landis. That *points to me* not Landi. That Monni."

He does this at the zoo too. I say, "Look at that giraffe, Landis!"

And he says, "That is not rhinoceros. That is giraffe."

He's also obsessed with the word "only", though he hasn't quite grasped the meaning. We were grocery shopping a few days ago and passed a cart which contained a bag of dog food. He asked what it was, and I explained it was food for dogs, and not for little boys.

"Oh! Only dogs eat it. Only Landi doesn't eat it." While dog food is only good for dogs, not eating dog food is a pretty common trait for those of us over the age of 3 or 4. I explained that Monni and Daddy don't eat dog food, and, in fact, most people don't eat it either. We'll see when he figures "only" out.

It is so much fun having a talking little boy, and I am loving every minute of it!

Landis cracks me up. I looked over and he has put his toy dinosaur into one of my my smelly, sweaty tennis shoes and is tenderly cradling both dinosaur and shoe. He saw me looking at him and said, "Look, Monni. I put my baby dinosaur in!"

Hopefully by the time he becomes a Daddy to a real baby he will have learned not to carry the poor kid around in stinky gym shoes. (Although if he hasn't figured it out, I'm sure a newborn or 2 could fit into Uncle Paul's shoes! :) )

Poor Landis

He inherited all of my worst characteristics.


Here we have Landis "Not a Morning Person" Ludwig in his favorite shirt.

As he says: "Is my favorite. Josh got it for me! Has al'gators on it. Also helmets."

Everytime he wears it (and he wants to wear it every day, and gets up set when it needs to be washed) Landis wants to call Josh to thank him and have a chat about the Gators. Funny boy...



One time when Landis was about 6 months old I tried to wake him up in the morning before he was ready. I talked to him, gave him kisses and rubbed him back, but he didn't so much as move a muscle. I flipped him over onto his back. He didn't flinch. I grabbed his arms and pulled him into a sitting position. His eyes remained resolutely shut as he flopped forward back onto the bed. I took off his pajamas and dressed him. Nothing. Picked him up and popped him into a sling. He made a slight grunt, the only sign of life so far. Walked out to the car and put him in his carseat. He rested his head on the side of the seat and kept sleeping. Arrived at our destination, pulled him out of the carseat and back into the sling and started walking around. He woke up an hour later, when he was good and ready to be awake and not a moment sooner.

I've been trying to teach Landis to be respectful of other people's belongings, and to think about the effects of his actions on others. Every time he plays with one of Goat's, Aaron Scott's or my things, we go through this conversation about how it is important to take care of other people's things and return them in the same condition they were in when they were borrowed, and how it makes people feel sad when their things are broken. Here is a conversation we had yesterday.

Landis: Monni, Monni, Monni! *tugs on my skirt* Orange, please.

Me: Okay, Landis.

Landis: Peel it, please.

Me: Of course, silly boy.

Landis: Monni no drop orange on floor. Monni break Landi's orange, make Landi too sad.


He made this ridiculously over exaggerated sad face, and I couldn't suppress a giggle as I assured him I would take good care of his orange and not drop it on the floor.

He got my sweet tooth...

Me: What do you want for breakfast?

Landis: *noncommittal shrug*

Me: You can have cereal and fruit or eggs and toast.

Landis: OR Landis could have candy!