Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Landon Turns One!

Wow. I am truly blown away that an entire year has gone by since I met the most amazing little boy on earth! This year has been the hardest and most exhausting year of my life - but also the most incredible! I love being a Mommy more than anything! Matt and I still find ourselves staring at him in awe, wondering how we made something so beautiful and incredible.

It's pretty amazing how much our little guy has changed in his first year. From a helpless scrawny newborn to an independent, opinionated, full of personality toddler. At his one year appointment he weighed in at 25.75 lbs and measured 29 in long. A far cry from his 8 lb 21in birth stats! Just look at how much this kid has grown...

He is doing SO much! He says Mama, Dada, Dog, Ball (although it doesn't sound much different than Dog) and all done. He can sign "more" and can do "eat" with a tiny bit of help.Speaking of eating, this boy LOVES  his food. He is learning to feed himself with a spoon and often insists that he do it himself even though he's not highly successful by himself yet! He is getting really good at eating finger foods, so we can feed him off our plate most of the time (as long as I think it's healthy enough for him! ;-P ) Here he is eating one of his favorites - spaghetti!

He crawls around like a maniac and isn't all that interested in learning to walk. He has taken four steps at a time and could probably do more, but he would rather sit down and go for the crawl. He walks around with his walker toy really well, though, and can even steer it! He also "cruises" on furniture and the walls with ease. Here my little trouble maker is trying to get to the electrical outlet.

He loves fans and lights (especially watching them turn on and off) and he will beg to get someone to let him flip the light switch. It's kinda cute, so he usually gets away with it! Overall we are pretty amazed with how well he is able to communicate now even though he has very few actual words/signs. He will point, grunt, gesture, cry, etc. until we figure out what it is that he wants. It's pretty cool!

Landon's first birthday party was so much fun! We were worried that the heat would ruin the day, but with a couple of easy-ups for shade and a baby pool to splash in, the day was just right. He loved smashing his cake and  loved all the attention even more!

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! Mommy and Daddy love you to the moon and back and would do anything for you. You are the most amazing baby and we cherish every day with you. We love you kiddo - thanks for making our lives so much richer <3

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

11 Months

Wow - I can't believe that in one month (well less than one month now since I am so behind on this blog post) my little dude will be turning ONE! Time has seriously just flown by. He's getting so big and learning so many new things!

Now that he learned how to sign "more", he is doing it ALL the time! He uses the "more" sign to mean that he wants to eat, drink, be picked up, be given whatever you are holding, or that he wants more of something. We've been working on other signs, but not much success with anything but "more" so far.

He gives kisses!

He has perfected his crawling skills and is now into EVERYTHING! Crawling really seems to have jump started his motor development because he is now doing pretty much everything except walking. He pulls himself to a stand on anything and everything now and he loves to be standing up now. One of his favorite things to do now is stand as the sliding glass door and watch the dogs.

He is getting really good at standing all by himself too!


He figured out how to walk with his walker and now will walk across the room with it.


He loves to play with his cars and will crawl around the room while pushing his cars. Such a boy!



He is also pointing now. He points and various things and looks at us while making a sound like "Eh" like he is asking us what it is or telling us about it. He LOVES to point out the ceiling fan! His babbling is becoming more frequent and it sounding much more "conversational" lately. Words we have heard so far that we are sure of are "dog" "mama" (although that one is a rarity!) and "dada" - others that we are not certain of are "ball" and "hi". 

Landon is such a fun and smiley little guy! I can't believe he has been here for almost an entire year! Just look at this handsome boy!


Monday, April 8, 2013

10 months!

O.M.G. What a month it has been!! Landon is growing and changing so fast now I feel like he is learning something new every day. Matt and I were just talking about how it feel like a switch went off in his head and he is ready to take on the world. So far, month 10 has been the biggest in terms of development. Here goes...

Landon began pulling himself up to a stand this month, although most of the time he is content to just pull up onto his knees.

He started taking steps when he hold his hands. He will walk all over the house now - but only when he hold his hands, he hasn't quite figured out the walker yet!
He learned his first sign! He signs for "more" now like a pro!! It's a little overgeneralized, though, and he also uses it to say "give me that thing that I want". It is so darn cute though! When he first figured it out, we could see his eyes light up with excitement like "wow - I can communicate with you!" So cute. We are working on some other signs too - but that is the only one he has done independently so far.

We are fairly certain that he is saying "mama" and "dog" and maybe "dada" too (it's so hard to tell since the sound "da" is what he babbles allllll the time!). We have heard "mama" when he wants me to pick him up or when I do pick him up and we have heard "dog" when the dogs come in the room and after we say "dog". It's seriously the cutest thing ever. I could just listen to him say "mama" all day long. Seriously. All. Day. Long.

Here is some sensory bin fun...just some dry oatmeal and kitchen utensils! Who needs toys??

He is starting to wave and clap (but is confused between signing more and clapping).

He figured out how to blow bubbles in the bathtub! So cute! Bath time is the best part of the day :)
He finally got the hang of finger food this month too. Still perfecting the skill of getting it into his mouth, but does pretty good with hard crunchy things like puffs and cheerios. All of a sudden this month he is way interested in solid foods and is seeming to want them way more. Now that he learned the sign for "more" every time I eat something around him he looks at my food and starts frantically signing "more"! I am now trying find new ideas for foods to feed him since I still don't want him eating all the stuff we do. Still trying to keep it mostly organic without sugar and processed foods for the little man.

First trip to the snow this month! Landon refused to smile for the camera, I think he was confused.
First Easter! Landon loved the Easter grass and the eggs. It was so cute watching him dig into his basket too!
Overall he is learning more imitation. He started imitating growling and it is hilarious!

He gives kisses now too! Big ol' sloppy, slobbery, open mouth kisses - and I LOVE it! BUT - only when it is his idea! Mommy tries so hard to get him to do it on command (I REALLY want a picture!!), but he will only do it when he wants to! We had a park play-date with one of his baby friends and he kept trying to kiss her, but he holds out on his Mama!

He has two teeth now. Well, two half teeth anyways! He has some slow growing little teeth :) They are super cute too! He is a way easy teether so far.

And....drumroll please...he learned to crawl!! FINALLY! We were starting to think this kid would never actually crawl. After two months of working so hard on crawling, he finally did it on the day of this 10 month birthday! Here is a picture of Landon's "bear crawl" pose that he has been working on for a while... And here he is getting ready to get his crawl on!



Monday, April 1, 2013

Back to the daily grind.

There's nothing like a whole week off from work to lull you into a feeling like work doesn't exist. After an amazing week off from work for spring break, it's back to work in the morning. I feel weary at the thought. It's not that I dislike my job, in fact this work has been a passion of mine for years, it's the simple fact that home tugs at my heart every time I go. Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to leave your baby. It's like breaking off a piece of my heart and leaving it behind me - and it's even harder now that he is starting to fuss or cry when I walk away. I want nothing more than to stay home and just be Mommy. I am not one of the mothers who need to work to feel fulfilled or maintain my own identity - I am so completely fulfilled by being Mom that I don't want anything more. It is a feeling of defeat knowing that we cannot make that happen and to feel that each day that goes by is another day I am missing with my son. It goes by so fast! I am so thankful that we have been able to avoid daycare and that gives me some comfort, but still - would you want to leave this precious face every morning??

Deep breaths...Tuesday here I come!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

9 Months!

Big boy just keeps getting bigger! I've been buying clothes for warmer weather in size 24 month and 2T!! What happened to my tiny little boy! I was not ready for the "t" sizes yet! I think the hardest part of being a mom so far has been watching the days fly by. Each stage of babyhood is so fleeting, it's almost unfair!
"Look - I can feed myself Mom!"

Momma has been tired this month. Work has been difficult and little man hasn't been sleeping well. I sure am missing those good ol' days when Landon was smaller and was such a good sleeper! But I also know that these days won't last forever and some day I will wishing I could get them back, so I try not to dwell on the exhaustion.

Landon is still trying so hard to crawl but can't quite get both of his legs to work together. He sure does figure out how to move though! He scoots, rolls, and twists to get where he wants to go...and he never stops moving! He's really working at pulling himself up too. He pulls up onto his knees now, but can't quite get his feet underneath himself to stand up.

He got to experience grass for the first time during a trip to the park. The weather has been so great lately that we have been trying to take him to park as often as we can. He loves the swings, sitting in the grass, and watching the people.

He seems to be falling more and more in love with dogs too. He just loves them! He laughs at most anything they do - even when he is getting whacked in the face by a tail! It is adorable and makes me feel glad that we have them :)

The biggest thing to happen this month is that Landon has finally cut a tooth! His first tooth on the bottom made its way through the gums and the very top edge is visible. (The top of the second tooth is through now too, but that happened technically in the next month ;) ) Landon is quite the little trooper too - we didn't even know he was teething!


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Big man is 8 months!

3/4 of a year! This kid is such a joy to have in our lives!



This month Landon has continued to explore new foods and so far seems to like everything he has tried. He still isn't all that excited about solids in general, he eats about 2 baby food cubes each time we feed solids (once or twice a day). Still no teeth or any signs of teeth, but Mama is a-ok with that ;-P He loves his sippy cup and has mastered the use of one (including banging it on his high chair and throwing it on the floor!)






In January was Landon's first trip to the zoo! Mommy took him with his Grandma and Grandpa Bush and we all had a blast! Landon's favorite animal was the snow leopard. It was so cute that Mommy couldn't resist buying him a stuffed one before we left :)




This boy wants to crawl so bad! He is really trying, but the poor little chunk has so much weight to move that it is really hard! He is getting stronger every day though.








If we stand him up on a toy he can hang on and stand there by himself now. He hasn't tried pulling up on toys yet, but if we hold his hands up just a little he will pull himself up to a stand.


He still adores Daddy's guitar and just loves hanging out with him when he plays. Landon usually tries to get in on the action too and play some tunes himself!


He has a new "face" - we call it the old man face. It makes me laugh every time!


 By far the cutest new thing this month, though, is that he has started lifting his arms to be picked up! It is so stinkin adorable and just melts my heart! <3



Another amazing month with my little guy comes to an end... Where does time go?! Before we know it he is going to be on the move an terrorizing the house. Matt and I really need to get on the baby proofing! :)

I'm 8 months old Y'ALL!!



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

7 Months!

Wow - 7 months! It officially feels like I have an "older" baby now. Crazy that he is now closer to being one year than he is to his birth! Landon has continued to grow and change throughout the past month; and I still find it pretty extraordinary how much can change in just one month.



The biggest change this month is that Landon is now eating solid food! His first food was avocado - and he wasn't too sure about it. After trying a few more foods and getting used to the texture of solids, he will the gobble the avocado right up! So far he has tried (and loved) avocado, banana, pear, sweet potato, peas, oatmeal, and mangoes. Mommy is loving making all his food and introducing new flavors :)


He babbles up a storm these days! He makes several different sounds, but the ones we hear the most are "yayayaya" and "dadada". Looks like he is more likely to say "dada" first than "mama" although we have heard him babble both sounds at times.

He sits like a pro and loves to sit on the floor and play with his toys. He is becoming more independent with play time so sometimes Mommy and Daddy can get things done while Landon plays on the floor by himself. He's gotten so good at grabbing things - even when it looks like they are too far away!

He is a master of the sippy cup now! We introduced it just before he turned 6 months and he can now use it by himself most of the time. He learned with a sippy cup that has a straw - so now he can use a regular straw too! Mommy shared her water with him the other day...what a big boy!

Can't forget that this month was his first Xmas! Boy oh boy was he a spoiled boy!! The holiday was a whirlwind and very exhausting for all of us, but it was so special to experience his very first Christmas! Landon loved presents and was able to tear at the paper some (although mostly he just tried to eat it). Christmas is such a different experience as a parent - the joy you remember feeling on Xmas morning as a child is the same joy you hope your own child will feel. I cannot wait for the Christmases when he is older and understands the concept.
Here he is with one of his favorite new toys!