Landon and baby steps

It's been a busy time lately. The end of my first semester at VCU, my parents and sister were in town visiting and just life in general. Here's a tiny update on things around here ...

I had graduation last weekend for my Associate Degree from the community college, the next small step in getting my degree from VCU. My parents and sister drove down for that and to visit with Landon (and us), of course. They were there along with David, Heather and Heather's parents and grandmother. Landon was playing with his cousins that morning. We weren't sure how long it would take and didn't think he would enjoy it. It was a good ceremony, very odd to be wearing the outfit, feeling like I was in high school again. It was really neat, though. I look forward to being able to do it again in a few years.

My first semester at VCU went well, I can't believe that it's already over. Classes for the summer start on Monday, so on we go. I got an A in each class so hopefully I will continue along those lines as I go.

A few quick pics of Landon ...

Landon (what a big boy!) sitting in the window. I remember when he was too short to be able to sit in the window that easily.

We had a cold morning so put him in his fleecy Santa sleeper. What a ham.

Are you lookin' at me? Are you lookin' at me?

One funny result of this past weekend is Landon's new friend, Bubba. My father-in-law's name that the kids call him is Poppa. We were trying to have Landon call my father a variation of Grandpa but Landon didn't want to 100% cooperate. He does that sometimes, knowing the word but not wanting to say it. He knows who Grandpa is, just won't say it.

At some point during the weekend Landon started calling him Bubba. I'm not sure exactly when or why, but it seems to have stuck. He even takes the little red Matchbox truck (that looks like my Dad's) and calls it Bubba's truck. He really enjoyed being able to sit inside the 'real' Bubba's truck while everyone was visiting.

Well, this weekend marks the first anniversary of the day that we were finally given custody of Landon. Many people that adopt refer to it as 'Gotcha Day' and remember it along with the other important dates in their lives.

It's hard to think of how the year has gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that we were walking around in Krasnoyarsk taking in the sites, visiting this little boy, nervously waiting for our court date. Each step was another one down, but we weren't able to really breath easily until it was officially over. May 22 was they day that it was official in the eyes of the Russian government.

We only had to get a few more things done, Landon's passport, processing in Moscow, before we could arrive home and be past it all.

Whew! Well, our journey isn't complete. It seems that this fall Landon will be celebrating another special day with us. The first week of November Heather, Landon and I (along with family and friends) will be celebrating the birth of a new baby. Yep, you read that right, we're having a baby!!! Wow!

To think that we are about to celebrate a year of the adoption being final and getting into a routine after this seemingly short period. Now we get to get ready for another little journey followed by it's own set of changes.

So far things are going well, nothing to worry about at this point. We go back in about a month for the next appointment, so a little closer.

Please send good thoughts our way as we start down this new journey,

Heather, Landon and Stephen

Blame it on the rain

Kids are funny. Lots of you know that, but it is a different kind of funny when it is your kid. Landon is getting more talkative, sometimes being funny in what he says. He is pronouncing things better and it is surprising when we hear something for the first time and he says it well. Sometimes he will say something 'wrong' but he knows it is pronounced wrong, but most of the time he says it properly. Heather got him talking about the shower as rain wawa, as he knows about water and the rain.

He's starting to sing more also. He seems to like country music. In the car, it seems that he will break into song when country music is on, no prompting needed. He is also starting to sing along with the night-time songs. We sing from a selection (that he chooses) before bed. Not that he gets the words right, but he is singing along and sounding cute.

He doesn't dance as much as he used to, but he still does it. It is still lots of the 'keep the legs still and rotate the upper body' dancing, but he adds in his jump a little. Did I write how he is 'jumping'? Sort of hopping, sometimes not getting his upper and lower body coordinated.

It is just very different in a 'not so different' kind of way, that he is sort of developing a different personality in a way. As I said, he is more talkative, saying new words or phrases without prompting. He has a newish thing where he wants us to go with him, he sort of waves his arm in a "let's go" sort of way, and says 'come one daddy' (or mommy). Very cute. Just lots of little things he does, sometimes for a brief moment that you hope to remember forever. Things you wish you could record everything you see, not just with a camera or flip video like we have, but just record things that your eyes see so you don't miss anything. We'll have lots of pictures and video to embarrass him when he gets older, ha ha.

A brief bird moment ... now that the weather is warmer birds are doing their thing. The birdhouse that my brother gave me (sitting outside the window of the morning room) is housing bluebirds again. We can hear the babies from inside asking for food. I was trying to get some pictures of the daddy coming back to feed them and got this shot of a male red-bellied woodpecker making his way to the suet feeder.

We also have some finches at the front door, nesting in a wreath we have there. It's a winter wreath, but we couldn't move it with them nesting. It has been interesting listening to them also, watching them change and now flying away.

We were thinking today that it's funny sometimes, the saying along the lines of 'what a difference a year makes'. Just a year ago we were about to leave for our second trip. Brings back some good and interesting memories, but to think that so much has happened in a single year. That is the craziest thing. To think that a year ago we hadn't even left. Some of the memories from hanging out in Krasnoyarsk seem so fresh. Remembering the day we met him, watching him walk towards Heather, letting her pick him up and then later falling asleep in her arms. Hearing him laugh the first time, playing in the orphanage. Just a huge difference in both us and him. I just feel so lucky to have him in my life.

Anyway, enough for now from me.