Baby Signs

Ok, so I may be a little biased, but I'm quite certain that Landon is a genius! :) A few weeks ago, he excitedly learned the sign for "milk". After he realized that the little movement of his hand held powerful meaning (as in, whenever he did the sign...he got a bottle of milk) it was like a lightbulb went off. He has been obsessively pointing at everything he sees and saying, "dat, dat" wanting to know what things are. He has also mastered 6 new signs! He is amazing me with how fast he picks them up. My favorite is the newest of them all, "frog". He has a favorite stuffed frog, and we've been modeling the baby sign (sticking your tongue out repeatedly) for him the past few days. Then I went into his room this morning and laughed at finding him sticking his tongue out super far as he snuggled his froggie :) I can't wait to keep teaching him more---the light in his eyes as he takes in new things is absolutely priceless.

Happy 10 Months, Landon!

Ten months old today, and I can hardly believe it! He's truly turning into a kid lately rather than a baby. It's incredible to me as I watch him interact with his toys now--his current favorite...cars! He actually drives them around the house. And when I say, "Landon, where is your car?" he knows what I'm talking about and goes to find it. I don't know why this has seemed like such a big deal, but I just can't get over how much he's actually able to understand now. It's such a blessing getting to have the summer off to catch every little moment in his world :)


He's been working hard lately on learning some baby signs, and has been almost obsessive with his use of the "milk" sign these past few weeks. We've even caught him signing "milk" in his sleep! :) I think I have it on video, but these pics show it pretty well too. He likes and knows that one the best, but can also sign "more" when he feels like it.

Daddy's Work

It's only been a few days since summer break began, but they have been incredible. We haven't done anything extraordinary, but it's been so rewarding just being around in the mornings when he wakes up and getting to do everyday things together all day. We've gone on long walks, done a little grocery shopping, checked out books at the library, and played with the dogs. Yesterday, we even went to visit Daddy at work and had so much fun hanging out on the lawn outside his office. We blew raspberries at each other (note the lips in the picture), explored the sidewalk (we found dirt, sticks, and even dead bugs!), and played in the grass with a plastic spoon. We were full of giggles and smiles and Daddy was really excited that we came to see him. I'm pretty sure that when I have to go back to work at the end of the summer, it's going to be so much more difficult than when I went back the first time...For now, I'll try not to think about it and focus instead on what to do with the many more days we have together this summer!

Noodles!

Ok, so I have realized that I've written a lot lately about food...but I think the little man likes to eat :) Feeding time has been getting a lot more interesting lately to say the least. Although Landon still likes to eat pureed foods, he definitely prefers to eat things that he can pick up himself. As a result, we've had a lot of fun introducing new foods. The other night we decided to introduce some whole wheat pasta. From the first picture, I think we can tell that it was a hit! He had noodles EVERYWHERE. The second picture shows him doing his new hilarious trick...sucking the food off of his top lip :) So funny. He grabs them by the handful, puts his hand up to his mouth, and then shoves them inside--smearing them all over his face in the process of trying to make sure they all get in. By the end of dinner he was completely covered in noodles. I tried to pick them off of his lap, out of his hair, ears, and nose noodle by noodle, but in the end we had to take him outside and brush him off.

Summer!

Summer is finally here! I'm finally off of work for a while and the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. We went to Papa's house to visit with everyone and have some yummy BBQ. Landon got to try watermelon for the first time and LOVED it! I think he must have felt like such a big boy, getting to hold the rind himself...we had to remind him to pace himself as he tried to fill his little mouth with too much at a time.
At first he was like a little bird, opening his mouth really wide and leaning in to get more...and more...and more!
By the end, we had to pry the rind out of his hands so that he wouldn't eat the "green part".

9 Months

Landon came to mommy's school to watch the kids' science fair. The 6th graders taught him all about acid rain, electromagnets, the exciting reaction of Mentos and Diet Coke (SOO fun to watch!), and lots, lots more. (He even dressed up for our spirit day, Sports Day)

Landon and Poppy (great-grandpa)

Landon was outside with daddy practicing his new skill of clapping.

Landon and Grandpa Joe at the zoo--he still loves the giraffes the best!

Full Moon

Spencer woke up this morning as usual to get ready for work. Landon was stirring in his bed, rolling around but not really quite awake. While he went downstairs to make a bottle and start coffee, our mischievous son was busy "exploring". When Spencer heard him beginning to talk to himself, he ran upstairs to check him out in the video monitor. To his surprise, he was greeted with a full moon! That's right...Landon had somehow managed to remove his diaper and was sticking his little cheeks fully up into the air! Hilarious...I wish I could have seen, but it was still good for a great laugh after my long day at work :)