February has brought many changes to our little man. I think that he's changed more this month than his entire life thus far. Seeing him change and grow makes me proud, but also a little sad. Here's what we've been enjoying this month:
Valentine's Day! Our little Casanova wore a special t-shirt to school that said "Love Bandit" and a sweat suit that said "Heart Breaker," (see photo above...thanks for the outfit Grandma Terry!). I had no idea that the other boys in his class (well, their moms really) would hand out Valentines, so I ran to the store and bought some cute animal-themed cards and some organic yogurt chewy granola bars for treats. His classroom consists of six baby boys, but they put their macho-ness aside and celebrated. :) I had a school board meeting that night, but when I got home, Jim, Landon and I exchanged cards and enjoyed some cake from the local German bakery. Yummy. The next night, my mom came over and brought Landon a recordable nursery rhyme book with her voice. Very special!
Landon is a waver. He. Waves. At. Everything. It is beyond cute and one of my favorite things. He waves to us as soon as he wakes up in the morning, he waves to the dogs, he waves at trees, mailboxes...you get the picture.
. Landon has two teeth on the bottom and
almost two teeth on the top. We can see the white peeking through the gums, but they haven't quite popped out yet. He's been such a champ through this long process. It's been more than four months of pain, drool and low-grade fevers. On the plus side, he's enjoying many more foods with his new chompers. His current favorites are spaghetti, Cheerios, raisins and wheat bread...any anything we are eating. We're still trying to get a picture of his teeth, but he doesn't like to show them off. All he cares about is his new Elmo toothbrush.
Less than one month until the big day. We are hard at work planning Landon's first birthday party. It'll be a small family affair at a local pizza party to the theme of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Landon's favorite book. the district's graphic designer made special invitations and a banner with all of his "month" pictures. He sure has grown! We're trying to keep it simple, but have added some special touches like a handmade (not by us) crown and birthday shirt. We are going to make him a special cake and make some fun bear cupcakes. We are so excited to celebrate Landon James' birth with the ones we love. Landon will move up to the Toddler One room after his first birthday. He's been visiting during the day to help acclimate to the extra kids and new teacher--who he loves! The toughest part will be moving from two naps to one. That'll make for one tired little boy. The great thing is that two of his friends from the infant nursery have already moved up, and our friend's son is in that class as well. I think he'll have a great time!
We have a mover. It can't be called a crawl, but Landon can certainly move. He scoots around on his bottom and has a very long reach. We have been busy baby-proofing the house and even bought some large foam squares to help pad our hardwood floors. He'd much rather stand than sit, and isn't shy about grabbing onto the couch, our clothes, the dogs, anything that he can use to attempt to pull himself up. Today he managed to get onto his knees and hung out there for a while. Tonight, we lowered his crib (now you can stop reminding me mom) and we always keep a firm hand on him while he's getting his diaper changed.
Oh the cow in the meadow goes "moo." Landon's bottles now consist of mostly whole milk and only one scoop of formula. Next month we'll make the full switch. Landon really likes the milk and doesn't seem to mind that his bottles aren't warm. We planned to heat them, but he's not very patient when it comes to wanting his bottles (thinking he gets that impatience from me). Landon's down to about four bottles a day, and isn't too interested in his sippy cups yet. However, he knows what they're for, but he'd rather play with them than drink from them. We're buying so much milk that we are going to start an account with the local milk man.
Da-da-da-da. Everything is "
da-
da" or "
da." Landon has been able to say this since November, but now everything is "
da-
da." I am "
da-
da," the dogs are "
da-
da" his bottle is "
da-
da." If he wasn't so cute, I think it would be annoying. I can't wait to hear "mama!" He has started saying "
ga" to the dogs after we
enunciate "d-o-g." One of the best things we hear is "ugh." It's his little answer to everything. When we speak to him he looks intently at us and answers either "ugh" or "
da-
da." He's priceless.
Reading, reading, reading. Landon really likes books, so I got a brochure from the library that lists the top 100 books each child should hear before kindergarten. We are slowly checking out books, reading them, and marking them off the list. It's a fun activity that we hope will grow into a life-long love of learning.
Westport. We took a day trip to the beach with Jim's sister, Emily. We took a long walk on the beach, where Landon promptly fell asleep all cozy in his backpack. Afterwards, w
e went down to the docks and got some fresh prawns and steamers. Jim and Emily even did an oyster shooter. Emily wasn't too thrilled. Landon really likes his Auntie Emily, so it was fun to spend the day with her.
Landon has been going to a local church day care/preschool since November and is really thriving there! He loves his little friends and especially likes story time, playing with blocks and anything that involves eating. 
