Leaps and Bounds

So it's been a while. My computer crashed so I've been without a computer for several weeks. It is still not fixed, but I am using my mother's computer to post a quick update. It will probably be another week before I can get back to regular updates. I will then continue the 30 day post challenge as well.

Landon is doing well. He has made leaps and bounds with his vocabulary. Quiet moments are few and far in between these days. He even talks in his sleep! Landon has even started referring to himself as "Landon" every now and then rather than "boy". He's also speaking in five word sentences. My baby is turning into a boy right before my eyes and I'm not ready for it one bit. I can't believe that he will be THREE in just over two months. Shortly the toddler years will be a past memory. I never imagined Landon growing up would be so hard on me. I truly love the age that he is at now. Although I say that at every stage. I loved the newborn stage, I loved the early toddler stage, and now I absolutely love the late toddler years. I have another year before I have to consider Landon a boy rather than a toddler. I'm sure I'll love his childhood years just as much as the toddler years. I just wasn't expecting it all to happen so fast.

I took Landon to the park the other day to enjoy our amazing weather. He was going down the slide and the little girl that he was playing with was standing at the bottom of the slide. Landon said to her, "look out girl, Landon coming." I had a permanent smile on my face the rest of the afternoon. Just a few months ago Landon was only saying a handful of words. Now he's saying a handful of sentences. I'm also starting to work with Landon on his letters and numbers. I'll have some craft projects to post once I get my computer back. 

As for a potty training update, there is no update. Things are still the same. The other day he stayed dry all day long while wearing his big boy underwear, but the past two days he has been going in his underwear without even telling me. Potty training is one step forward and two steps back at times. I guess Landon will get there when he is good an ready- a lot like his talking.

Big Boy!

I haven't blogged in a little while, but for good reason. I will get a blog up shortly on how Landon and I spent our little vacation. Until then here is a quick update on our Landon love. Landon now refers to himself as "boy". Landon still can't say "Landon" so he was referring to himself as "baby". The other morning he woke up and decided he was no longer a baby because he started referring to himself as boy out of nowhere. It was the funniest thing. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. According to Landon he is all grown up now. If only he realized that big boys don't use diapers! Landon still loves Tigger and Pooh, but is also now a big fan of Mickey. It all started with our trip to Disney. Now he loves Mickey Mouse. He is also becoming quite the talker. Just last week I had three people comment about how well he talks for being two. I was still thinking that Landon was a little behind, but now I think he is right on track with talking when I hear other parents commenting how well he talks. In the past month alone Landon's vocab has more than tripled. He still signs a bit, but tends to say the actual words while signing. I am continually amazed by how well Landon verbally communicates now. I guess he really is becoming a "boy"! I'm also slowly building up Landon's winter wardrobe. Once again we may have a problem with getting pants to fit him. He fits perfectly into 24 month pants when we adjust the waist, but the length is becoming too short. 3T pants are too big on the waist even when adjusted, but the length is perfect. Landon isn't even extremely thin. I don't understand why we have such a difficult time finding pants to fit him properly. Maybe I will really learn how to sew one of these days and create a toddler clothing line that actually fits toddlers properly. Bedtime has become quite the joke around here lately. Landon now postpones bedtime. I really thought I had a few more years before he started doing that. He will ask for juice as soon as I tell him his final goodnight. Once I get him juice and tell him one last time to go to sleep he tells me that he has to pee. This coming from the boy who can't seem to pee on the potty seat during the day. I can't help but laugh at it every night. Now after Landon's done drinking his juice and insisting on sitting on the potty seat one last time he will say every word in his vocab. He'll start off naming everyone (Mommy, Daddy, Tinkie, Jenn, Mom Mom, and so on). Then he moves on to his animals (tiger, lion, zebra, giraffe). He'll go on and on and will even start to say his opposites (light/dark, up/down, on/off, hot/cold). He will literally start saying everything that he knows in no certain order. I think he just makes himself talk so that he stays awake. I sure hope this is a short lived phase of his, but something is telling me that it will only get worse before it gets better. I do love his persistence though. Since this blog was a lot of rambling about no one thing, I will end it with what everyone loves- a picture of Landon! This picture will also serve as a sneak peek for what is about to come.

Doctor Update Pt. 2

We took Landon to see his new pediatrician yesterday. Kevin and I both walked away with good feelings about this doctor. I think we have finally found someone that we feel is a right fit for us. What I love most about this office is that there are only two people who will be overseeing Landon's care- the doctor and a nurse practitioner. There will never be a guessing game when we go to Landon's appointment about which one of the 6 different doctors will be seeing him. I also loved that they took so much time with us yesterday. They were really thorough with everything and we spent a lot of time talking with them about some of our concerns. We never once felt rushed. We did mention to them that Landon still is not talking. He was talking at one time and then stopped when he was about 15 months old. He refuses to say anything other than "Momma". I think he stopped talking as a way to shut down. I think it is his way of dealing with a particular situation. I definitely can't fix the situation on my own and I am still unsure about whether someone else has any interest in fixing the situation. I am glad that the doctor seems to feel like there is nothing wrong with Landon and that he is just being a little lazy. They did do a screening for autism because babies don't generally just stop talking, but we knew it would come back that he was just fine. They even commented that Landon was fine before my filling out the autism screening forms because Landon is able to follow all commands. The doctor asked Landon to lay down on the table so he did, but he layed down on his side. So the doctor then asked Landon to roll over to his back and he did just that. Landon can hear just fine and is able to perform any task that is asked of him. He is able to point out all of his body parts when asked and he can even imitate animal sounds when asked. He can now growl like a tiger, baaa like a sheep, ney like a horse, and thanks to Daddy he can even spit like an elephant. You may be thinking, spit like an elephant? Yeah, those were my thoughts exactly! Kevin tried teaching Landon how to make an elephant sound by doing some weird thing with his lips. Landon can't make the sound just yet, but he has learned that by trying to make the sound that he can spit at people. If Landon spits on you, then please thank Kevin for that! I am taking no credit for this new found hobby of Landon's. Landon may be regressing when it comes to his speech, but he is making up for it in many other areas. He has now learned what a circle, square, and triangle are. We are still working on the difference between an octagon and a pentagon. He has a shape shorter that we sit down and play with for about 20 minutes everyday so that I can teach him his shapes. I think once he gets all of the shapes down then we will move on to the different colors followed by his numbers and letters. Landon has also become very good at putting puzzle pieces together. He pulls his puzzle out everyday and puts it together within seconds. Once he is done he will give each of the animal puzzle pieces a high five and then carry it back to the toy box to put it away. Landon still loves to read and will often bring a book over to me and then sit in my lap so that I can read to him. He has very little patience though and often turns the pages before I finish the sentence of each page. I think patience will be another thing that we will work on this year.

18 Months Old!

Landon is 18 months old as of today. I don't know where the time has gone to. I can't believe that in just six short months my baby will be 2. It just seems impossible. This day has hit me rather hard. I associate an 18 month old as a toddler and no longer as a baby. I want to be able to stop time and keep Landon as a baby for all of eternity. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to watch Landon grow up and see the man that he grows into, but I am just upset that it seems to be happening quicker than I would like. I know I must sound silly and over emotional right now, but to be honest I have been over emotional since the day Landon was born. He has turned me into a blubbering mess. Any new achievement of his makes me cry, as does every passing milestone. I guess only other moms will understand. I am still amazed at how such a little boy can impact my life so deeply.

Landon had his 18 month check up today. He is now 32 1/4 inches and 25 pounds! He has not grown much in height, but he has put on some weight. I'm hoping all of his pants will fit him soon. Landon is becoming rather tall and thin making jean shopping impossible. All of his 12 month pants fit perfectly around the waist, but are too short...they come above his ankles. However, his 18 month pants fit perfectly in the length, but fall off of his waist. He only has 1 pair of jeans that fit somewhat ok and 2 pairs of khaki pants that fit. Those all have adjustable waists and adjustable leg lengths. He has over 10 pairs of pants that he can not wear because they are too big and fall off of him. It's definitely going to be a challenge getting him into pants this winter. Landon is still not talking. He calls me "Momma" and everything/everyone else is "Ma" or he will just point and whine. Landon has stopped making any attempt at talking and so he will be seeing a speech therapist in the upcoming months. I know he will talk when he is ready, but I am concerned about it because he was talking at one point and just stopped. I do know that Landon's hearing is ok and that is not the reason for his speech delay. He is able to follow commands without hesitation on his part. If I tell him dinner is ready and to go to his chair, then Landon will go directly to his high chair. If I tell him that it is bath time, then Landon will walk up the stairs to the bathroom. Landon can even throw things into the kitchen trash can and sink when asked. Landon still loves to read and he is developing a love for puzzles. Every time we go to the library he wants to play with the wooden puzzles and at the doctors office today he wouldn't put the puzzle down. With the exception of him not talking, Landon is developing well. He is so smart and continues to amaze us daily.

We were too busy today for me to take pictures of Landon, but I did snap a few shots of him in the car. We had to pick Aunt Jenny up from work and while we waited for her to come out I sat Landon upfront with me to play. Landon had so much fun sitting in the front seat while hanging out of the window and eating animal crackers.

Momma!

Landon has purposely said "Momma" three times now! On Friday he said "Momma" when he got his walking toy stuck in between the dining room chairs and he turned around and called me to help him with it. Then again on Saturday while he was crawling to me to be fed he said it. If that wasn't enough he said "Momma" this morning when he woke up crying in his crib. It was the best wake up call ever! He has been saying "Momma" and "Dada" for a little while now, but never towards Kevin or I. He was always just babbling it. It is the best feeling when he says "Momma" because he wants me. He isn't saying it too often yet, but I love hearing it when he does. Now we just have to work on him saying "Mommy" instead of "Momma", but for now I won't be picky!!

If talking isn't enough, Landon just finished walking up and down the sidewalk in his new shoes with the help of his walking toy. I took him and his toy out there and he walked around for over half an hour! He had so much fun and Tink followed along to make sure that he was ok. I'm hoping that by taking him outside to walk several times a day that he will be walking on his own by his birthday.