13 Months = many new skills

Landon is now 13 months. His skill of walking is getting much better. It still makes me laugh the way he looks like a little drunken sailor/he just got off a horse though. The other day he came through the kitchen and found a tissue on the floor. He then put it up to his nose and started making blowing sounds through his mouth. It totally cracked me up that he knew what the tissue was for. I've never told him to "blow" his nose when I wipe away the snot from his face,but I guess just the fact that he sees us blowing our noses shows him what he's supposed to do with a tissue. There's proof right there that we are obviously HUGE examples to him. Another thing he did, and I think it was on the same day, was put the phone up to his ear...well, actually he put it up to his forehead. It was the phone that was connected by a string to his Kettler Toy Car riding toy. The string is too short for him to get it to his ear, so he bends down and puts it to his forehead. He's getting smarter and smarter as time goes by. It just amazes me what he learns without me really knowing it until it's apparent that he's learned it. Another example, I think I may have mentioned in my last post, was that he knew to put my comb up to his hair and try to start brushing his hair. He did it with my round styling brush and my regular brush. Ahhhh, I can't get over how cute it was to see that. His sixth tooth is coming in too, which has made him a bit cranky. Oh and one other thing...recently I asked him where his tummy is. He either lifts his shirt or bends down so that he can see his tummy himself. I love this kid so much!

He's Walking!

I just wanted to post a little video so you all could see Landon and his new talent...he's walking. It's too funny, Ben calls him our little drunken sailor...which is a pretty good description of how he walks. He took his first step right after Christmas at his Aunt Rachel's house in Charlotte, NC. So he was a little over 11 months at that point. From then on we were practicing with him, letting him walk from mommy to daddy. After a few weeks of that he got really sick and decided that crawling was a lot easier than trying to balance on two feet. So he protested and stopped trying to walk before his first birthday (Jan. 17th) Then on the 30th of January he just got up one day and walked from the door to the garage all the way to the front door! (about 50 ft). So he's been walking completely on his own for two weeks now.

Oh another cute thing that he just started doing a couple days ago...he'll grab my hair brush off the bathroom counter and try to brush his hair. I think its funny that at a year old he knows that "brush" is for his hair...but he does it with a "toothbrush" too...so I need to teach him that not all brushes are for his hair (example: toiletbowl brush).
Here are also some pictures from his birthday parties in the middle of January...they were a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from Maggiano's

Landon is pretty much always the spotlight of the party, as you can see below ;)

Papa Dirt and Landon, buddies forever!

Happy 1st Birthday, My Moose!!!

A year has gone by already? I can't believe it. Landon, you are my pride & joy and you make me so happy. You bring a smile to both mine and your daddy's faces. We love you more than anything in the whole world.

Here are some pictures from your first year of life

The day you were born : January 17, 2008 11:37 am, 7lbs. 10 oz. 21.5in.

4 days old1 Month6 Weeks, Baby Blessing day2 Months3 Months4 Months5 Months5 & 1/2 Months, Visiting the Woodhouse family in Charlotte, NC 6 months, and the first day you were able to sit up on your own. 7 Months8 Months9 Months10 Months 11 Months I hope you've had a wonderful first year with your mommy and daddy. You have many more years to come and you are such a special little boy. I can't even express how much I love you and how wonderful you have made my life.

Some of Landon's Firsts over Christmas

Well it was actually Landon's second time going to Charlotte, North Carolina, but he happened to have many firsts while he was there. He turned 11 months old on the 17th and we got pictures with Santa, which I'll have to post later. He had his first Christmas with his Aunts and My Lola and Papa Dirt (Grandma and Grandpa Woodhouse). He got his first 5th tooth (if that even makes sense). He had his first haircut. And he even took his first steps.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

(Landon's Christmas Letter)

January 17th, 2008, was the most glorious day in the world: I was born. Now I'm almost 11 months old and I'm so unbelievably smart that I'm already using words like "glorious" and "unbelievably." I've seen a lot in my short life so far and it has wizened me up to the ways of the world. When I was born, my mommy had a hard time leaving me alone because I'm so darned adorable, so she decided to stay at home with me every day. At first I have to admit I was pretty boring... I don't know why she wanted to hang out with me so much because all I could do was lay there and poop in my diaperJ But now I'm way cooler and my mommy takes me to the park to play on the swings, story time at the library, and even to a play group where I can hang out with my friends! But wait! That's not the best part! The best part is when I see my daddy come through the door after work. He's as tall as our house and he lets me play with these big huge banging things (drums) in his music room. I'm a natural, so they say!

When I was 2 months old my mommy's side of the family came to see me. They were crazy! They kept trying to make me do stuff... but I told you! When I was that young, I only liked to lay there and poop! And have you ever seen 4 red-headed girls in the same room? It was too much to handle at my tender age. My mommy has a mommy and daddy too and I call them My Lola and Papa Dirt. They came to visit with my three crazy aunts. Papa dirt is one handsome guy (but only because he was born fortunate enough to look like me). When I was 5 months old I went to visit all of them in Charlotte and it was so HOT! And since I was so much older I was way more entertaining to them. They couldn't get enough of my cute little tummy or the way I danced in my new "Exersaucer" with all the cool toys on it. Did I mention how many animals Papa Dirt and My Lola keep in their house? WHOA! Every other Sunday, Mommy, Daddy, and I go to Grandma and Grandpa Shepherd's house to play and eat good food. I love going over there and seeing my Daddy's side of the family!

Do you want to hear how amazing I am? I started sitting up the day before I turned 6 months old! Shortly thereafter, Daddy taught me how to crawl when I was only 7 months old. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of mischief! Thanks Mommy and Daddy! Wait, I'm not finished... I started pulling myself up on the coffee table and couch when I was 8 months old, and I've become very experienced with the treacherous terrain and the knee over hand action of these amazing things called the stairs. I'm not really SUPPOSED to climb them, but I've gotta keep Mommy on her toes. I also found a huge white shiny bowl with a lid that makes a really loud noise when you touch the knob (toilet). There’s water in there too, but Mommy doesn’t let me play in it L When I was 8 months old I started swimming lessons with my friend Sutton. I hated it at first when my Mommy put me under the water, but now you might think I'm related to a dolphin with the way I splash around everywhere! At 9 months I got to dress up in the greatest costume for Halloween. I was a giraffe! I loved it! But then, the next morning, woke up with this sharp thing in my mouth... Don't worry! It was just a tooth! And I have 3 of them now!

This month, Mommy and Daddy put up these tall trees with bright lights and shiny balls on them in our house and I hate to admit it, but they scare me! Mommy keeps telling me they're for this thing called Christmas... She sings and plays happy music all the time. I think it might be a conspiracy. How can you be happy with two scary trees in your house? But even if it is, I still get to go visit My Lola and Papa Dirt in Charlotte for Christmas day! Oh... and those crazy aunts...

Love, Landon

On His Way to Walking!

Here are a couple videos of Landon with his walker. I just had to share :)

Landon's First Thanksgiving

Yeah, I know this is kinda late. I hate to erase a whole bunch of stuff on my computer in order to have enough room to upload more pictures. Anyway, we spent Thanksgiving up at my cousin Todd's house with his wife and kids and my Aunt and Uncle. We had a great time. Lots of yummy food and they had tons of toys for Landon to play with. We've gone up there for the past 3 years.Landon loved the mashed potatoes, turkey, and green bean casserole.Playing cards and board games with the big kids
Riding Alia's horsiePlaying with Alia

Here's a cute video of the two of them as well.