Heat + Big Boy = Sad Dad

I think that we're finally done with the 2009 vacation posts and we hope that you enjoyed them. We had a great time with the posts, as it gave us a tiny chance to relive some of the fun. This first picture shows Landon sitting in the rocking chair with his buddy "Sandy" the Penguin. We got him at Sea World in San Diego, so we thought Sandy wasn't a bad name and Landon just loves him. He's pretty soft and usually ends up being a good pillow during naptimes.

As for getting back home, probably the biggest rude awakening that we've had so far has been the weather. As of the time that I am writing this, it's 103 degrees outside, and it hit 106 yesterday! Now I know that all of our Arizona family are sitting there laughing at this (as they have been struggling with 116 degree days), but I guess we are just wimps now. It has been absolutely brutal!

We had two ideas for beating the insane heat this weekend....first was to go see a movie, and the second was to find a pool! Well, my sister Nicole was nice enough to come over and watch Landon for a few hours on Saturday morning so Michaela and I could go see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I think that we both liked it quite a lot (it was definitely the funniest of the series), but we thought a few things could have gone differently...I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

The second thing that we did was head over to hang with our friends John, KC, and their son Nicholas at their pool on Saturday afternoon. Nicholas just got done with his first swim class, and he has really gotten alot more comfortable in the water. He jumps in like a fish every time, and while he can't swim yet, he has no fear of the water. Landon has always loved the water, but it was great for him to see how Nicholas was going under the water, and we actually started "letting go" of Landon for short stretches so he could get used to that submerged sensation. Sure he coughed a few times, but all in all, he did great and had a blast! Afterwards we headed back to their place for a nice steak and potatoe dinner and then it was time to head home and off to bed.

Since we've been back, we've been trying to get into a "business as usual" routine, and I think that we're finally back to normal. Landon was definitely excited to go back to his daycare to see all of his buddies. The big news of the week was that Landon has officially transitioned into the Toddlers room, and will be in this room until he turns 2 years old. It is really exciting, as they now nap on cots instead of in cribs, they get to go outside more frequently to play in the water, and are around kids that are a few months older (although kids that are only a few months older at this age almost seem like they're years older due to the development that happens around this age). This is really great for his development, as most of the older kids are really talking well, and we think that this could help Landon immensely. It's also nice to see that Landon has little girls in his class again, as his previous class was just four boys that were constantly going crazy and battling with each other....maybe the little girls will keep the crazy boys in line.

We are happy to report that so far Landon has been napping very well in his cot, which we were fairly surprised about. He did so well in fact that we decided it was time to transition him to his "big boy" bed. So for the past two nights Landon has slept in his bed all night, and we no longer have a crib in the house. Don't worry, we did put a bumper on the side of the bed so that there is no way he can just roll out or anything. And to answer your question, yes we are sleeping in his room with him for the time being. We have an inflatable mattress that has taken up a temporary residence in his room until he's comfortable with the new accomodations. At the rate he's going, I'm thinking it'll be another few days before we can pack it up, but this is still alot of progress.

We had two other semi-milestones that I thought were worth sharing in today's post. I really don't want to brag here, but I just couldn't more proud at how smart our son is! While he's not talking all that much yet, he really knows the meanings of just a ton of words. One way that we like to pass the time is for Michaela and I to sit in the living room and tell Landon to go get random things throughout the house....and some things may take longer to find than others, the kid doesn't make many mistakes. And as we have posted on many different occassions so far, he is really into books. His favorites by far are any that have animals in them, as he is really fascinated by them. At this point we can ask him to find any animal in any of his books and he will turn to that page and point to it. We can also say things like "which animal makes this sound?" and he'll find that animal....I don't know if this typical for kids his age or advanced, but either way I'm loving it!

Another thing that has really changed for Landon in the past few months is his diet. Since he basically has all of his teeth in now (we think that he's only missing two molars that aren't supposed to come in until he's 2 years old), there really is no limit to what he can or cannot eat. The only thing that we're a little hesitant to try are things that he might choke on like steak or apples. The kid loves fruit (with bananas, aka "na-na's" and red grapes being his new favorites), and he really just wants to eat whatever we eat. We'll still offer him typical food that he'd get in the past, but he usually snubs them in favor of eating whatever is on Mommy and Daddy's plate. I told Michaela the other day that Landon is really the only person in the world with whom I would gladly share my food (including garlic bread and french fries)....she was shocked by that, as I even give her the "evil eye" if she gets to close to my fries! :)

This leads me to the reason behind the title of this post. While I knew this day would come (and it came alot sooner that I anticipated), I find myself getting sad when I think about how fast my little boy is growing up. I know, I know...I'm a big sappy Dad! But what can I say? I literally teared up a little when I finally got him down that first night in his new bed...yes, they could have been tears of joy because I was so tired after fighting with him to go to bed...but they were still tears. For those of you who really know my inner nature, I tend to look "down the road" for most things...and I guess seeing him go from one milestone to the next, I'm already looking "down the road" to the times that he doesn't want to snuggle up to me for nap time anymore, and is embarassed to give me a hug, or even (gulp) when he leaves us to make his own life!

But I digress...he just hit the 16-month mark on Saturday, so I think we have at least another 16 years and 8 months to enjoy with him at home....

As for this week, I'm turning the big 2-8 on Wednesday, so we're going to do two of my favorite meals this week...we're going to have grape leaves tonight, and then we're going to make spaghetti and garlic bread on the big day. I believe we'll also try to sneak in a group dinner with some family next Saturday as well...so it should be another fun week ahead.

As I get older it seems like all of the birthday sort of blend together...oh well, at least I have the anticipation of my son's birthdays to keep me young at heart.

Have a great week!