Back to the Beach

A few weekends ago we spent the afternoon at the Jersey shore. I wasn't sure how Landon would react to it since he's timid about random things lately. Turns out the ocean isn't one of those things. He went CRAZY...

Charging head first into the ocean,

laughing as the waves tried to deter his enthusiasm by smacking him in the face again and again,

ignoring his chattering teeth, blue lips, and goose bump covered skin while insisting that he needed to crawl just a bit farther out into the "bath".

He was daring. He was adventurous. He was unstoppable.

Then he was exhausted.

Success.

A peach by any other name...

The other day we were at a local farmers' market when we discovered a new addition to Landon's rapidly expanding vocabulary. As soon as we walked in he spotted some peaches and started shouting "Apple! Apple!" Then we passed some tomatoes, "Apple! Apple!" Nectarines, "Apple... " you get the idea. While I was having him show off his new word by walking past the nectarines repeatedly, he decided enough was enough and used his Go-Go Gadget arms to grab a nectarine and take a nice bite out of it before I could stop him. We decided we'd better buy some nectarines. Now every time he sees them on the counter, "Apple, apple!" He knows what he likes... I'm sure someday he'll learn that not all spherical fruits are apples.

Other new words he's acquired for those who are interested: "Elmo", "hat", "up" (when he wants to be picked up), "eye" (while poking himself, me, or random kids at the pool in the eye), and sometimes "hi" - if he's so inclined. 

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 

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.