Little Man, Lots to Say

It's been really tough figuring out what Landon's first words were because for a long time he's been making lots of noises that really sound like words, but we couldn't quite confirm that he was consistently using them at the right times. He's been saying Mamamama for Mommy for about 6 months now and Dadadada for Andy ever since Andy got home. Sometime in between there -ight became a favorite sound and I though it might be "light" because he would always be looking at a light when he said it, but then he started to expand -ight to mean whatever he was looking at at the time.

Within the past two weeks or so, however, we've really noticed that he is acquiring quite the little vocabulary, and he's using the words consistently and appropriately. So it seems that his first official word is "bubble"- which is a little ironic if you saw the video of him crying in terror the first time we blew bubbles with him. After bubble came "outside", "off", and the latest, "ball".  He's also quite good at making kitty noises "maw!" and dog noises "woof". It's amazingly difficult to get him to perform for the camera considering how often he says the words when it's not rolling, but I did manage to get a few short videos of some of his first words. 

The Big ONE

Once again I'm a little behind in posting... but that is life these days, I guess. 

Landon turned 1 on July 3rd and we can't get over how this past year flew! We had a small party at home in NJ with a few of our local friends and all of Landon's grandparents who were able to make it out for his big day. He is truly the best thing that's ever happened to us and we are intensely grateful that he is our son! Here's to one great year!

A look back:

 One Week Old

Six Months Old

One Year Old!

Even though he's been able to blow for about 5 months now, he needed a little help with his candle because he was more interested in reaching for the flame

He wasn't a big fan of his first cake experience

But he still managed to get plenty messy

The party wore him out so we opened presents the morning of the 4th

He got some really fun new toys!

Such a big boy!

Happy Birthday Landon! We love you!

Seattle

A little late posting this but better late than never...

Andy completed his first marathon on June 27. He opted to run the Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon so we could squeeze in a visit to his aunts and cousin out there. The course was full of hills (which he hadn't prepared for) so it was harder than expected, but he finished which I find amazing - not because I doubted that he could do it  but because I find the fact that anyone can run that long amazing. The course was mostly on highways and viaducts so spectators were pretty limited as to where they could watch from, but there were live local bands at each mile for the runners. We waited a few feet from the finish line so we could cheer him on to the end. 

Practicing crossing the finish line at the Expo the day before the race

Almost There!

We stayed with his aunt and cousin who live on a lake, so while we didn't get much sight seeing done, we were able to go out on the boat a few times. Landon wasn't too sure about it but I think that was largely because he lost all mobility while wearing his little life jacket. He LOVED meeting his aunts and cousin out there, and he spent much of his vacation giving their dog, Pepper, lots of kisses. He also learned to pull himself up and climb stairs while we were there... life changes for Momma yet again!

Laying back on the boat with Aunt Ann

Trying to take it easy on the board because it's the day before the marathon

First time we walked in to this sight after a nap!

Aunt Sue was Landon's buddy - she let him pick the flowers

Just before this picture Landon learned how to pick his nose and was showing off his new talent for his cousin Christy