Leaps and Bounds

Dear Landon,

I have no rhyme or reason to the writing of these letters. I suppose we could call this a belated 13-month missive, but really I just wanted to write down all the little adorable things you're doing right now. It'll be good for me to look back on when you're throwing tantrums across the living room in a year or when you break into our liquor cabinet in another fifteen (at least, right?). Because you really are a fast moving little bundle of happiness, and even though I am really looking forward to starting my new job, I love our special time together too.

In the last month you've developed all sorts of new tricks. You started clapping your hands a few days ago and think it's the funniest thing every time your hands make noise. When you wake up in the morning we immediately carry you downstairs for breakfast because you've made it quite clear that any delay in the eating of cheerios is unacceptable. As soon as you get a glimpse of the bag of cereal you get a huge grin on your face and start clapping for their honey nut goodness. While you're distracted with the O's, we make you a cup of milk and get your yogurt ready. Once you're done with breakfast we go feed the doggies their kibbles and you get lots of good morning kisses from them, which you think is very funny. You love your dogs and I'm pretty sure that "dog" is your first real world. You say it more like "don" but it's always the first thing out of your mouth when you see them. You don't have many identifiable words yet - not even mama or daddy, but you jabber on and on to everyone around you so I know you'll figure out a few soon. Lately you've been experimenting with the volume of your voice - you have some very high pitched squeaks you seem to save for Lilly the cat and you've started whispering and when someone whispers back you give them a small smile, like they've just told you a secret.

You still love your walker wagon and you'll push it around the house for as long as someone will keep turning it around for you. I know you could walk on your own if you wanted too, and you even took 4 steps all by yourself the other day, but you still prefer to crawl around at hyper speed. You love your wooden blocks and always have one in each hand as you crawl around the house. I like it because I know exactly where you are in the kitchen, even when I'm far away, because I can hear the clicking sounds of the wood hitting the tile. You even carry your blocks with you into the car seat and the high chair (carefully placing them in the corner while you eat and then picking them back up when you're done), and you'd bring them into the bath tub if I'd let you. You still love bath time and like to make big splashes until your face is all wet - if you get too much water in your eyes you'll just sit there and slowly blink until it's gone, then you splash again!

It's been fun watching you figure things out on your own. Yesterday you crawled into your cozy coupe all by yourself.

And then you figured out your own way to get out of it! It wasn't the one intended by the manufacturer, but it seemed to work for you.

A few days ago I was sitting on the floor of the play room with you and you turned to hide behind the post, then you moved your head out to the side so I could see you, and then you hid again. You were playing peekaboo! Usually I'm always the one ducking behind things, but you figured it out for yourself! It's little leaps like that that simply amaze me - a year ago you were just a cute little lump who slept and ate all day. You've also become a great mimic and love copying our movements - wrinkling our nose, putting our hands up in the air, or making certain noises. There's so many other examples of your mind working, your daddy and I swap stories of you at night and just marvel at all the little things you've figured out for yourself.

You still love crawling up the stairs and now you can do it so fast that if I turn around and realize you're gone, I can usually find you up in your room playing with your wooden train. We're working on teaching you how to scoot back down and you practice on the first few stairs, but for now you'll just sit at the top and wait for me to come carry you back down (so you can immediately crawl back up again). Your dogs usually walk up with you and stand guard until I come up. You love petting them and never pull their tail - we knew you'd be an animal lover.

Like your parents, you love food and will eat just about anything we give you. Your favorites are macaroni & cheese and any other pasta and sauce, ALL fruits (you even fed yourself a banana yesterday and only tried to eat the peel twice!), goldfish, peas, and apparently, Hula Hut tortilla chips:

You are a big flirt and always smile at the ladies we see when we're out and about. It was your flirting that got the customer service rep to give me a full refund without receipt at Wal-Mart yesterday, so thank you for that. I get so many comments from people when we're running errands- you're a very special, smiley guy. My favorite smile is the one you give when you see your daddy or me when we've been separated for a little while - it crinkles your whole face to make your mouth that big and I adore it.

Last night when I was holding you and singing "You Are My Sunshine" before you went to bed, you snuggled your head into my neck, and my voice broke from the tears that suddenly welled up in my eyes. You're the best thing I've ever done and I love you so much. I can't wait to keep watching you smile and laugh and figure out this big world around you.

Love,
mommy