Wednesday, September 10, 2014

First Date

Saturday, I went on a date with a really, handsome boy...And the boy wasn't my husband.

It was with this little guy! He is such a stud!



We started our date at the zoo where we met Landon's little friend, Emerson and her mama, Brittany.  
And they had a great time together!







I love taking Landon to the Toledo zoo, especially now that he can recognize and say the names of the animals. He usually gets most excited about the elephants and monkeys, but more than that, he loves the animal statues.  I could post an entire entry full of pictures of Landon loving on these statues at the Toledo Zoo. I'll spare you, and just share this sweet picture of Landon loving on this large cat:



After the zoo, we went to Landon's all time favorite restaurant. If you know Tyler and I, it will come as no surprise to you, that is his favorite place to eat is...CHIPOTLE! I ate so much Chipotle while I was pregnant with him so I'll just credit that to his little obsession. If you have ever eaten there, you know how big these burrito bowls are. Landon and I "share" one and when I say, "share" I really mean Landon literally eats over half of it which means he eats more than I do.






After he indulged in over half of our his burrito bowl, we made the executive decision to go get a cupcake from a little place called Cake In A Cup. They make delicious cupcakes. I let Landon pick from two and he picked Cookies and Cream...he is my child for sure!





He doesn't particularly like sweets, but he ate the entire cupcake, minus the two bites he let me have. He even ate the Oreo on the top. 

When he was tiny, I always thought about what it would be like to take this little guy on "dates." I wanted our mama/son dates to be different than every other day we spend together. So when we got up the cashier, I told Landon since we were on a date and since I drove us, he was going to "pay!" I handed him the magic, green, card and he handed it to the lady. After she swiped it, she handed it back to him. He was so excited!
(Special thanks to the cashier for being patient and so sweet with Landon)

I want to teach him what it means to be a gentleman. We want Landon to see what it means to treat a woman with respect. Apposed to the way society views women and how they are "shown off" more like objects than people (I could write an entire entry about my thoughts on this.) Tyler is a perfect example for Landon...he has been opening the car door for me since our very first drive together. He will grow up seeing Tyler love me the way every woman deserves to be loved. 

On the other hand, I want Landon to know what it feels like to be respected. Men deserve just as much respect as women do and I want Landon to understand that starting now. He deserves to be treated with love and kindness with no exceptions. 

I'm going to continue to take Landon on dates and I'm sure, as he gets older, they will change. I'm looking forward to conversations that consist of more than toot toots and Curious George. But for now, I'm going to enjoy carrying him from place to place, listening to him talk from the back seat, and him asking ME to hold his hand.




I write this as if I'm ever going to let Landon go on a date with anyone except me.
Just kidding...
Kind of.