FEBRUARY 17TH, 2007 – CELEBRATING 3 YEARS OF LANDON!

Well, as the above title suggests, this past Saturday was Landon’s third birthday. The past three years have seen our son develop from a writhing pink lump, to a bumbling toddler, to the dynamic little boy he is today. I’d like to think that during that same period Rhiannon and I have developed as parents as well, but more often than not I still feel like I could use some training wheels for the ride.

We started last Saturday morning as we do every Saturday; after Landon awoke he joined me and Rhiannon in our room to watch the weekly episode of Thomas the Tank Engine on public television. This ritual is always a treat for Landon as he gets to snuggle into our still warm bed and order where pillows get placed, and who gets to sit where. Colton usually attempts to participate in these viewing parties but often loses interest quickly and decides to investigate what might happen if he crawled right off the edge of the bed – so far I’ve only had to catch him once.

After the show we trudged over to the local breakfast joint, Cinnamon Productions, for some anticipated birthday breakfast, complete with chocolate muffins, cinnamon rolls, cantaloupe and bacon. We gave Colt his first slice of melon, soon after which Landon proceeded to mimic Colt’s attempts to eat the rind side of the slice all amidst giggles from all parties at the table. After breakfast Colt went down for his morning nap, and we informed Landon that as soon as his brother woke up we would be heading down to the train station for a birthday trip on the local Pacific Surfliner route. He smiled in anticipation.

Rhiannon and I decided that we would celebrate the day together as a family, rather than having a full fledged party filled with family and friends. In a few short weeks Colt will be turning one, a truly immeasurable cause for celebration, the significance of surviving that first year on the planet seems particularly to warrant celebration both for the child and parents alike. But since we also didn’t want the impending festivities to overshadow or minimize Landon’s birthday, it was agreed that the party in March would be thrown for both Colt and Landon, although in reality Colt will get top billing on that incredible day. Rhiannon and Landon have been planning a bug-themed party for the event complete with a bounce house, and insect inspired activities – Landon is very excited. The original plan was to host the party at the local park located just across the street, however a phone call on Saturday informed us that the park had already been reserved for that weekend, so the party’s locale would need to be rescheduled for our house. I was amazed at Rhiannon’s resilience after receiving this unsuspected news, in a few seconds of conversation, an afternoon with family and friends at the park had transformed to over 40 people invading our small home, a daunting proposition, but one that Rhiannon took completely in stride.

An hour later Colt was awake, and we zipped out of the house and headed to our next destination, the Irvine train station. Throughout our drive there, Landon peppered us with questions about the train and the tracks and the station. He squealed from the backseat when he saw the train tracks upon our approach. We arrived at the train station only a few minutes before departure so Landon and I rushed inside to by tickets while Rhiannon and Colt got the prerequisite gear out of the car. Upon reaching the front of the line we blurted out our plans and destination only to hear the man behind the counter reply in a demeaning, monotone response that the trains were shut down this weekend for track repairs. Landon’s face dropped in recognition, and the lack of compassion from the ticket seller made me incensed. They had no information on the Amtrak website of this planned closure, and no signs in the station advertised this situation either, so his gruff rebuke seemed a little inappropriate. I guess I have matured a little as a parent, because if I hadn’t been holding Landon at that moment this jerk store would have gotten more than an earful. Instead I turned to console Landon and to try to salvage the day with a back up plan.

It was a beautiful day, with winter temperatures registering in the low to mid 80’s, so we concluded that a trip to the grand Pacific Ocean would be a sufficient venue to continue our celebration. We headed down to Laguna Beach and grabbed a quick lunch at a great local taco stand. Landon was not impressed with the bikini clad patrons there that began flirting with him when they found out that it was his birthday. Instead, Landon could see, the ocean and smell the ocean and wanted nothing more than to feel the sand as soon as possible. We obliged his wishes and headed down to a surprisingly crowded beach for a winter weekend afternoon. There was an outgoing low tide, so Landon and I spent some time exploring the tidepools while Rhiannon and Colt remained behind on the blanket, where Colt proceed to try and fit as many grains of sand as possible into his drooling mouth. Landon jumped over pools and pointed out the anemones and mussels and even found a shore crab. As I mentioned it was an unseasonably hot afternoon and since this wasn’t our original destination we were all overdressed and unprepared without sunscreen, so our trip was cut short by our impending heat exhaustion. We drove home with sand between our toes and smiles on our faces.

The boys settled down for their afternoon naps and Rhiannon and I got some much needed rest as well. Upon waking up, Landon and I spent some time on his train table constructing a new track design that would incorporate the waterfall tunnel he received for his birthday. Later we headed out for some birthday pizza at Selma’s and then came home to bake birthday cupcakes. Landon assisted in everything from cracking the eggs to stirring the batter, to making an immense mess. He blew out his three candles and inhaled a cupcake before going to bed.

It was a memorable day not only because we were celebrating the birth of our first son and our entry into parenthood, but also because we spent the entire day together, without any outside distractions, as a family – that alone can account for a remarkable day.