Personal Blog

Birthday

1 year old

2 years old

Today my son turns 2 years old. Its amazing how sentimental I can get at a mere 24 months. I can understand in a whole new way the look in my mom's eyes when I went to college, or the day I got married. If after 24 months I feel this much sentiment over my child...I can only imagine the years to come.

I wont go into the details of the day of his birth...that is old news. Landon at 2.....

*He is so very smart. In the beginning I would follow all the books and watch for milestones as he grew. It amazed me, though, that he would do something out of no where that was far surpassed what I was looking for. I remember how quickly he caught onto his colors. After only a few times of naming them out to him, he would be pointing everywhere we go, "See Red?" "See Blue?" Or when he was whining and whining for me to take the flash cards out of the box for him. After I told him 10 times that those were for when he was a little older, I finally caved and got them out to show him what they really were....On the first time through he got every number correct, and the color it was written in. I was floored.

*He loves to Rrroar and growl, Moo and Neigh, Quack and Back, Ribbit and Baaaa. He has known his animals since last year, so by this year he has them done perfect. He will see anything cow print, cheetah print, no matter how suttle it is and shouts from across the store..."Mama. See cow? Mooo!"

*He was always Mr. Independant. I could leave him to play by himself for long periods of time. He would play with his toys, figure things out. He was content. Lately, however, he wants to just be with me. He wants to sit on my lap, play with my hair, sing songs with me, tickle, jump, run. He looks up at me with a smile that just screams "I love you mommy." He still likes to sit with his toys and figure things out sometimes. We have said from early on that we think he is going to be an engineer.

*He has a huge vocabulary. Even the doctor was surprised at his visit a few months ago. He picks up words and remembers them almost immediatly. He is the KING of association. If he does something once, he expects the same thing every time. (He gets that from me!) We put him in time out once in a chair in the corner. 3 days later he sees the chair and says, "See time out?" Kirk took him to Wilco today and he walked in, looked around, and than looked at Kirk. "No chickens?" He was referring to the chickens that were there last fall. He only saw them there once.

*He is and always has been so obedient. When I tell him no, he stops. When we put him in a timeout, he sits perfectly still looking at the wall until you approach him. He rarely pushes them limit and when he does its usually with a smile and out of a playful and loving heart. Im not saying he is perfect my any means. He throws mild tantrums hear and there when he is tired, but if I get serious with him, he looks me right in the eye and listens. He has such a sensitive spirit though (he gets that from Kirk) that I have to be really careful about when to really go full force with him.

*He loves trucks and diggers and tractors and trains. All boy. Although, he still loves shoes too. Especially wearing Kirks around, or my high heels:) You can tell he just wants to be like us. He will wear our hats, our shoes, my bracelets, etc.

*He loves his family. He has all the relatives down perfect and says each name so well. He gets so excited to see everyone and recognizes where we are going almost immediatly depending on which way we turn from the house. He ADORES, beyond words to describe, his dada. And dada ADORES Landon. The relationship these two have makes my life worth while. There is nothing in the world that even matters when I see them together. It is what my life is all about.

*He has begun the potty training process. He asks to go to the potty, not yet really knowing what it means, but when he has to "go" he says, "Go potty?" and goes into the bathroom. I bought him a little potty so he can start the association. Whenever we "go" he sits on his potty next to us. Im hoping these are signs that potty training will be a natural process for him. (Here's hoping, right?)

*Lastly, I cant forget about those adorable curls. We just had the first real hair cut last week and most of the long whispy ones are gone for now, but its still got curls and wave going on. I was so nervous to think of what he would look like without his curls, but sure enough I still think he is adorable:) Hopefully those curls will stick with him his whole life:)

Over all, I am SO proud of my little man. Watching his brain work is the highlight of my life. Seeing him grow and seeing what a sensitive and loving heart he has just warms my heart. To me, he is perfect. Not in the flawless way, but in the fact that he is everything I ever imagined my child to be. I can stare at every angle of his little face and just take in his cuteness. He is adorable to me in a way that I cant even comprehend. Its amazing how God gifts us the perfect match.

Landon,
I love you deeper than my mind can even comprehend. You are my world and I am honored each day that God entrusted me with your heart, mind, and spirit. Each day I pray that he will mold me into the mother that you need to nurture, love, guide, and lead you to become the man of God he created you to be. These last 2 years have been heavenly and I simply adore you. Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet boy!

Love, Mama

My first boyfriend was in 1st grade. We dated until about 3rd grade. In fact, in 2nd grade on the way back from the dairy farm field trip he showed me his ninja turtle underwear on the bus. WE even kissed in the big tire (which is crazy because the top of it only goes to my hips now but I remember it being huge). I accidentally pushed him one day and he ran into a fence and chipped his tooth. What can I say? It was childhood love:) His name was Jacob and he is married now with a daughter. He is also a soldier, and the one I think of anytime something is said to remember our troops. So today, I say to Jacob, thank you. Thank you for fighting for our freedom.

I also think of Cory. Cory is my Pier 1 buddy. We worked there in high school together and this guy would always make me laugh. I remember countless times of waiting to go home after closing and falling asleep in the papasan chair. The manager at the time had a horrible time with math and would always screw up on the tills, keeping us there like 2 1/2 hours after closing. So we would fall asleep waiting for her. Either that or pretending to ride those ridiculous huge metal giraffes. Today, Cory is a soldier and another one I think of when remember the men and women fighting for our freedom. Cory, thank you.

I dont have any family or anyone closely or directly in my life serving in this war, but I do have old friends who I remember as children. They are grown men now who sacrifice themselves everyday for us. For America. Whether you agree with the politics going on or the people who are leading us, it doesnt change the fact that that these guys have decided that America and what we stand for is something worth fighting for. I for one, am entirely grateful and proud.

Happy 233rd Birthday America. May the efforts of these soldiers bring us many more years of freedom!