Waterfall

I've sat down to write a couple of times since the last post but it was after a long difficult day with Landon and I just couldn't bring myself to publish the debbie downer post that I had written. I'm sure I'll share one like that sooner than later but for now we'll keep it on the light side.

We had a busy Easter weekend as I'm sure most of you had as well. Jason and I were so pleased that we had two successful outings with Landon. We went to an Easter Egg hunt at a corn maze/farm and took him to Bridal Falls. There was a little bit of yelling when we first got to the corn maze but thankfully there was a swing set and a huge bouncy pillow that he absolutely loved! We knew he wouldn't care about the egg hunt or the bag of treats but were hopeful that he would be happy with the other things there. He happily jumped for close to an hour with daddy while I took Adrianah on the egg hunt. We might just have to turn our yard into a big bouncy pillow!

Taking him to Bridal Falls was a much bigger deal than the farm though. Anytime we had ever thought about going there we quickly laughed at the idea. With Landon's love of water and loud noises we have always opted out of taking him near a waterfall or down to a river. Obviously. He asks for the bath/pool/water balloons/hose etc every day and a waterfall would blow his mind! We imagined that he would not be satisfied to just hear it from afar and it would become a battle of keeping him away. It wasn't something that we wanted to try because if he gets upset up at the waterfall, it would be a long hike down to the car with a flailing child. I guess we were both feeling brave that day and figured even if it goes poorly we will have a story to tell about the one time we took Landon to the mother of all water sources.

Landon doesn't really know what a waterfall is but when we told him we were going to a waterfall he was intrigued. Maybe it was our overly excited voices that convinced him he would like it. He did very well walking up the trail to the falls. I think it helped that he could hear the water from the parking lot. Jason took him to the stream and he was enjoying sticking his hands in the water even though he occasionally asked us to make the water warm for him.

 Jason was feeling much braver than me at this point and decided they could make the final hike up the steep rocky hill to the top where the waterfall was. I nervously followed behind them and took pictures as I tried not to fall on my own. It was so awesome to see them sitting at the base of the falls while Landon leaned down to touch the water. It made the stressful moments so worth it. At the time, I probably would have said otherwise as I watched Jason climb back down the mountain with Landon on his shoulders. I think Jason had to completely tune me out as I was 10 feet behind him yelling..."Jason...Jason...stop...Jason...wait for me....Jason...This is crazy....Jason.....Be careful!". I was freaking out. Just ask my sister in law.

I really like this photo of the two of them in front of the waterfall. It makes me feel happy that he was able to get so close and experience the power of it but at the same time I feel sad about the fact that he can't see the beauty of what's behind him. I like to think that the sound of it falling is just as impressive to him as it is for us to see it. Anyway, I think we'll definitely be going back, maybe not right up to the top, but we'll go back.

Big Sister

Adrianah was a baby when she became a big sister. At 16 months old she had a hard time understanding why I was in the hospital for a few days with another baby. She was ticked right off and completely ignored me when I came home with Landon. I think she felt betrayed. Little did we know it was just the start of her having to put her needs aside for her brother.

People must think we have twins when we are out with the two of them. Landon is taking after his 6'7 daddy and has been the same height as Adrianah for well over a year. Adrianah often asks me if people think they are twins because she loves the idea of people thinking she has a twin. Even though he is just as tall and much heavier, she still treats him like a little brother and doesn't mind doing things for him or giving him a horsey ride. I know she wishes she had a sibling that she could play with more often. Landon usually likes to do his own thing but when he does want to be around her, it's all on his terms. I absolutely love seeing them have fun together.

It's not easy being his big sister, but she rarely complains, because she loves him very much. I often feel sad for her when I think of all that she has to deal with at just 6 years old. Sometimes when Landon is upset he will specifically want to be with or hear Adrianah's voice. She usually is happy to be there for him but sometimes his demands are just too much for her as well. She's learnt to accept that in order to keep a meltdown at bay she also has to sacrifice some things. There have been too many times to count where she has had to leave a fun event early or miss out on one all together, turn her music/tv show off because he can't stand the sound, or simply play by herself, again, because Landon's needs are taking up all of my time. He yells at her and hits her when he's upset and often during a car ride she's huddled against the car door on her side so that he won't be able to reach her when he's swinging his arms and legs her way. I'm constantly apologizing to her on his behalf and she's always very forgiving. I sometimes worry about how this will affect her but I believe that it is creating strong character in her. I can see it already.

There are things that Jason and I like to do with her to make up for all that she misses out on. When we can, we like to take her on little dates and even if it's just Jason and her walking to the library, she feels special. Going to the movies is obviously something that we don't get to enjoy with Landon so it's something we can do just for her. Last spring we made the bold decision to take the kids to Disneyland. We knew that it could potentially be a disaster for Landon but we were willing to take the risk because it would be something that Adrianah would always remember. Thankfully, with help from Grandma, it went fairly well over all. We planned the trip around Adrianah's birthday and I was so happy for her because she still refers to it as the best day ever. Even though she will one day think back on her childhood as having its difficulties, I hope she is able to remember moments of feeling special in the midst of a family life that revolved around her little brother.

I feel so blessed when I think about her and her huge heart. She is very compassionate and understanding. I'm so proud of who she is already. She's the perfect sister for Landon.