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 

My little obsession

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I'm pretty much picture crazy when it comes to Landon. I think he might be one of the most photographed kids in the world, second only to Suri Cruise (and maybe Olivia Nau). When I send out the Shutterfly pictures, the 30 or so pictures I send are about a 5% sampling of what I actually took that month. Andy thinks it's a sickness but those of you who know my mom know it's actually just genetic. Anyway, my favorite times to take pictures of him are the rare occasions when I have to wake him up from a nap. I love to sneak in with my camera and get a quick shot before he starts to stir. I usually only get one chance because the flash wakes him up, but those make for some of my favorite pictures. 

Andy's Return

Andy returned home as scheduled (amazingly), and we spent his two weeks of post deployment leave engaging in as much together time and as little technology as possible (no email, no blogs, only a few texts...). We all love having him home. He and Landon quickly became best buds, and even Sushi's getting in on the Andy love. 

Our together time included playing in the pools at Glenwood, playing in the pool in our neighborhood, going to parks in Philly, family trips to the grocery store, jogging through our neighborhood (Andy's first marathon is June 27 - Landon and I would join him for the last 3 miles of whatever his goal for that day was), visiting local town fairs,  spending time with neighborhood friends, and wonderful together nothingness.

Thanks to all of you who sent words of encouragement while he was away. This was a long one and your thoughts were very much appreciated. 

Some Skype Lovin

Andy is scheduled to return in 10 days (yea!). With his homecoming rapidly approaching we've been talking a lot about how Landon will react to him after his 5 month absence. We've been fortunate enough to be able to Skype about once a week so Landon can see his Daddy often, but it's not the same as a Daddy Landon can touch and play with. Landon's new mobility gave us some insight into his feelings about Daddy. I'm thinking Landon will adjust just fine to having his Daddy home again; what do you think? 

My Little Yogi

In his quest to crawl, Landon revealed his inner yogi. Here he is in some of his favorite poses:

Plank Pose

Upward Facing Dog

Downward Facing Dog

Namaste 

By the way, he did finally get the crawling thing. You can check out some videos of that HERE.

Florida

Landon and I just got home from spending a week in Naples, Florida, and while there are about a million other things I need to be doing right now, I decided to post some pictures. We went to visit Andy's dad and his girlfriend, Debbie, and we stayed with Debbie's parents (who've adopted Landon as a grandson of their own - a kid can never have too many grandparents) in their beautiful home. We left temps in the 20's and arrived to a blissful 78 degrees. It's amazing how happy palm trees and sandy beaches can make this girl. Landon had some fun at the beach although I quickly learned that, as much as he loved the sand, letting him play in it means he's going to ingest it. We also got to do some shopping and eating out, but I honestly think his favorite part of the whole trip was having bare feet for a week. Here are some pictures of our fun...

Gary, Debbie, and Landon at a restaurant on Marco Island

Playing on the beach is serious business

I can't think of  a better place for a nap

Examining some beach treasures

Picking an orange in the back yard

He loved the feel of the grass on his chubby little toes

Relaxing in the office... Did I mention their house was beautiful?

Our New Year So Far...

Landon and I were in Colorado this past month and while we were there he achieved a few more milestones...

First tooth

Followed a week later by a second tooth

First time playing in the grass

First presidential inauguration

First Super Bowl

First Build-a-Bear

He loves to play peek-a-boo

While we were there a friend of mine also did a 7 month photo shoot with him. You can check out some of her great shots of him on her photography blog. 

It's good to be home but we really miss all our Colorado family and friends!!!