Hello again

Yeah, it's been a long time. I know, one of those things where a day turns into a week into a month. Not an excuse, but there has been a bit going on. You probably know about Landon's sister, but I created a new blog for her. I thought that she might like a chance to talk to everyone.

Head on over to http://landonssister.blogspot.com/ to see how she is doing.

Now, I can't promise that I am going to update this one more. I think we know what my recent track record is, so let's focus on the new one. :)

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.

I gotta feeling

that I (hopefully) will begin to post more. I know I've been slack. You'll probably read this post in 2 weeks because you didn't think I was posting anymore. I understand, not a problem.

It's easy to say I'll post something new tomorrow, then tomorrow becomes 3 weeks and I get busy again. Lame excuse, I know. So, on to the random thoughts ......

Landon is really getting into the 'normal' 2-year old stuff. He is trying his luck in saying No or 'hitting' because he is not getting his way. He does actually try to hit us, but just like those other cute but bad tendencies, he knows he isn't supposed to hit. He likes to hit the air because he can't hit us. It is sort of cute, though. One of those things where you can't laugh or act like it is cute, but you really do. The other day, one of those moments, he was walking away from me as I sat on the couch. He turned back and turned his left arm to me in his fake hit gesture, his arm was pointed out but his fingers were still in his hand, looking like a superhero outstretched arm kind of thing. Hard to describe but just try to picture it.

It has been nice to get past the winter blues. We can actually go outside and have fun playing. Yay! It does bring out Landon's VA allergies, though. We actually took him to the doctor last week (he had strep throat) and the doc said we should try kid's zirtec on him for his allergies. It has helped some to get his runny nose to run less.

Well, he's just becoming a Virginian I guess. We get the whole pollen mess here, especially with all of the pine trees around the house.

Now a few pics to catch you up to where we are, until I get back to a better routine. Landon has really been a normal kid since we got him, acting and looking like whatever age he is. Just a normal little guy.

Easter 2010. Funny look on his face, not sure why it was like that. Maybe he just doesn't like showing how cute he can be.

It reminds me of this picture from last year. Almost a similar look on his face and his hair in the new picture doesn't look too bad. He does need a haircut but it's not so bad.

He does go through his phases like any kid. Certain toys go in or out of phase, like how he was sitting in the old diaper box. It's still sitting in the living room, he hasn't been in it in months. He then comes back to something that he hasn't played with in weeks, so not completely away from these things.

Anyway, more to come as I (hopefully) get into more of a routine. It was easier when we were in Russia and had daily things to talk about. Hopefully you haven't given completely up on us, but email or comment to let us know if there is something you want to know or hear about.

One year ago ...

Wow, it's been a whole year. Not since Landon got home, not since we started the process, the day we first saw his little face. One year ago today we were surprised with a referral. It was sort of surreal.

We had barely sent in the information to switch to a single child, I was driving home and my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number but it was from Maryland. Hmmm... coincidence or the agency? I answered and talked with the head social worker about an email with the referral waiting for me at home. She wanted to talk to me before I read it since this was going to be quite a change.

Heather got home while I was on the computer looking at the referral, not realizing what was about to happen. I gave her a funny look and told her that we got a referral. We had gotten a document of medical info and some bio and a picture of what would be our son. He was such a cutie, not just because he was cute but because we were finally able to put a face to this unknown child that we were on a journey to meet. It made it more real. To go from an idea of sorts, siblings to a single child, an fuzzy thought of some child, boy, girl, who knows. Now we had a face, an age, a name, a real child waiting for us. Things quickly came into focus as we saw the end of the journey, could see ourselves meeting him for the first time, all the hassle of paperwork and dreadful waiting swept away by this little boy looking at us, into us, into our hearts, latching on with his little chubby hands, pulling us to him, thousands of miles away, wanting to meet us, not knowing how big a deal it was, just pulling us along.

At that point, any thoughts we had of being in control or having a say went out the window. We knew we were just along for the ride - and what a ride it has been.

Here is a comparison of the picture we got in the referral and one from this evening. Landon was I think 10 months old in the referral photo. The referral got to us just before his first birthday, and we are preparing to celebrate his first one with us.

Quite a bit of a difference, eh? Even though the whole process has been going on longer, it has been one year since it really began for us. Here are some pictures from the past year.

A whole lotta buildup for 5 minutes of not much

In case you hadn't been watching the weather, we just got a whole bunch of snow (again). It was about 12-14 inches but was dry and light so not too bad. It had started late Friday night and snowed during the day on Saturday. I went out today to start the process of getting us out, working my ways towards my neighbor's driveway. He has a bobcat (think of a small vehicle with a bucket on front) so he (like last time) used it to clear out our road out to the front road. Maybe a half mile or a little less.

I was able to clear out our driveway enough to get the van out and see how the main road was. It had been plowed but was not bare, something that will be interesting to see in the morning. It is supposed to refreeze tonight and possibly tomorrow night.

We ended up getting out of the house and heading into the real world. We got a snack then got some groceries at 'mal mart' then went home.

So all this snow reminded me of our last batch of snow and taking Landon out in it. We had no real need for proper snow pants or boots for him so we weren't really prepared. We figured we would figure out something to put him in to take him outside and see the snow. We got the little blue 'tights' that we had gotten him over in Russia. We put some wind pants on him then wrapped his legs in plastic Walmart bags (trying for water protection). We put his heavy jacket on him and the hat we also got in Russia. It was a little bit of effort to get him into all that, plus getting our own outfits together. We went out the front door and played in the snow a little before heading back in. The snow was a bit too deep for him to walk in so playing outside wasn't much fun for him. He started to get snow in his 'pants' and he was ready to go in after 5 or 10 minutes.

Here is Landon while getting ready with his plastic bag pants.

Outside in the snow

As a point of comparison of our odd weather here, just last Thursday the weather around here was nice (in the 60s) and Heather took Landon outside for some fun. It quickly got cold around here on Friday, though.

Hopefully next week won't be as cold as it is supposed to. We might get some snow on Wednesday and possibly more next weekend. Yikes, not too much fun. Maybe I should go out tomorrow and get a proper snow shovel.

I like big (trucks) and I cannot lie ...

A few more weeks and a few more things going on. Landon has continued to do well other than a little sickness here and there. The 'usual' cold type stuff in the winter, though it does seem that he recently got a stomach virus thing. He seemed to be feeling pretty much OK and was active, but his diapers were a little different and more frequent. Anyway, we are a little surprised that he hasn't (knock on wood) had more issues between daycare and being this time of year.

It has been almost 1 year since we got his referral, which was not too long after we switched from siblings to a single child. I think that this Wednesday would be 1 year since we switched to a single child. Wow. It's funny how back when we were waiting, it didn't seem 'real' since we were just waiting. The trips over there seem like they were quick, and afterwards it still didn't sink in. Now that we are here so many months later, we are just in such a good routine that those events seem like a distant memory.

My parents got Landon a little backpack for him to use. Heather put some things in it for daycare use during church and he certainly liked wearing it around. A few times he has been playing in the living room with it on, making sure that you don't take it from him.

Here he is on his first day going to church with it on. He looks like such a big boy here.

The other week I got him a little outfit that was 75% off at Target. It was so cute I had to get it and it only cost a few dollars. Not an everyday outfit but worth every penny. There is a little black jacket that goes with it but he wasn't wearing it at the time. Landon likes to briefly stand still for a picture and then starts to move towards you before you take it. He wants to see the picture that you took.

On a different subject, last week marked my first week as a student at VCU. I had orientation the week before and then classes, not that there was much going on since it was just the first week. It is very odd for me to be back in a large school. The community college I had been going to had a small campus and I did most of the classes online. Very different feel to it. It is also much different than Virginia Tech, where I had started my college life so many years ago. Large rural campus to large urban campus.

It was funny at orientation seeing the kids that were there with their mothers or both parents. I remember doing that. It's a nice campus and easy to walk around to the buildings near me. I am a junior so pretty much all of my remaining classes will be in the single building for the school of business. There is a parking deck across the street that I will use so I won't be going across campus much if I don't want to. I look forward to trying to keep my grades like they were at the community college, something that I think I can do as long as I put the effort in.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

I came across the pictures that I mentioned a long time ago I would post, regarding our 'bear-y' unwelcome guest a few springs ago.

Heather and I were sitting in the living room watching t.v. one afternoon. I thought that I heard something but didn't really think about it. We had the bird feeders and sometimes the birds make noise or fly into a window. I got up to go into the kitchen to put away a plate and looked into the back yard. Imagine my surprise when I see a bear outside, sitting on his/her rump eating away at the bird food in the feeders.

I called her over since it isn't something we normally see. We started watching it and I got my camera. I took after my father a little, I guess at first I just opened one of the windows in the morning room to get some good shots with. The bear didn't seem to mind us, though. I then proceeded to go out to the screened porch, open the door there, and take some more. I had a telephoto lens so didn't need to get close, but the bear was still only about 15 feet away.

The bear kept working on the food in the feeders, but later on made it's way back into the woods. I was annoyed that the bear bent the main pole in the feeder system, meaning I would have to buy a new one. I bent the pole back up and hung the clear plastic feeder in the above photo. I put a little seed in it, as I felt bad that the birds wouldn't have any. Heather and I were heading out to hockey, I think. It seems that the bear came back later in the evening, as the dome feeder was missing. Not just off the feeder setup, but I couldn't see it around the yard or in the woods.

The next day I ventured into the woods down my trail, looking for the feeder. I found it about a hundred yards in the woods, close to my trail. It had been licked clean and had some big claw marks in it, but was still good. Earlier that day I had gone to the bird store to get a new feeder pole and dome feeder, but now I could take that replacement dome feeder back.

So, kind of exciting but fortunately the only bear we have seen here. We still get the deer, turkey and sometimes a fox. I actually saw a funny thing last week. There were some hunting dogs in the woods somewhere (hunting dogs can be used during deer hunting season) and I saw a single turkey running in the opposite direction about 10 feet into the trees. Kind of funny watching a turkey run fast like that.

Happy New Year! (oooopst!)

Ok, Landon was off by a day when he wanted to name this blog post. Dates and years aren't his big things right now, so we'll give him a break.

Heather is sleeping off a long set of music in Rock Band 2, so I thought I would make a blog post since one is overdue. So much going on, where to start ....

We've had a few holidays since the last one. Thanksgiving was fun but just a build-up to Christmas. We had 16 inches of snow that unfortunately messed up our plans of visiting family in North Carolina, but hopefully we will see them soon. I think that Landon enjoyed Christmas, seeing everyone, opening presents and 'Tanta'.

We took him to see Santa and were surprised at how well he did. He went right up to Santa to take some pictures. We weren't expecting that. The picture we got makes it look like he wasn't as happy around Santa as he was, but we were shocked.

We also got some holiday photos at a local place. They had two rooms set up, one with a tree for a Christmas setting and the other more generic. Landon wanted to run around the tree and check out the ornaments, so it was hard to get him to sit in a little chair for some pictures. He was cute, though, especially considering the time spent there. We got some better ones there, including family ones and one with his doggy. Heather thought it would be good to bring it along and it paid off.

Christmas itself was busy, first our gifts, then at Heather's parents for her family stuff. Back to the house for a nap, then my family came over for gifts and food. Landon first was opening gifts by ripping of a little piece of wrapping paper. He then got a second piece in his other hand. He would put them both down to get a third piece, though we got him using the trash bag. He got to the point where he was taking larger and larger pieces of paper. He was already at the point where when he got a gift of clothes, he put it aside and went for the next gift.

His favorite is Santa, though. He sees Santa everywhere and wants to point it out. He got some good gifts and lots of things for him to play with (thank you everyone!).

As a whole things are still going well. He's enjoying things and growing up a little. He has started trying to put phrases together instead of just words. He still points to things and wants to know what they are, but he understands more and more each day. My brother gave him some letter blocks to help him with his letters. He has worked on saying the alphabet but the blocks will help him put the letter with what it looks like.

Some pics now, can't get away without those ...

Landon showing his friend Elmo to mommy.

Landon offering to carry my hockey bag out to the car. (He didn't quite make it)

Landon helping mommy to make some cookies for Santa.

We were at Heathers sister's (Tracey) Christmas Eve and wanted to get a picture with Landon and Tracey's daughter, but Landon sat on her when we asked him to sit next to her. Ooopst!

Landon being given an ornament from Santa. This is the best shot from him squirming in the chair.

Landon and his doggy when we took pictures. We thought that this one came out so good. He does love his little animals.

I am going to try to be better about posting in the new year. If you want me to post about something, or just want to complain that I haven't posted anything recently, send me an email. I sometimes lose track of time and might be busy soon, so be obvious about it. I will transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University this spring so might have a cray schedule. I finished up at community college and will transfer to continue things at VCU. I don't know yet what my schedule will be but hopefully will be ok.

Check back relatively soon for (hopefully) a new post. It has been a crazy year, but has gone by fast and ended up being a pretty darn good year. That's pretty cool. I'm a dad. Heather is a mom. We are parents. Wow ..... yay!!!

There's no place like home

For those of you still checking the blog, sorry for long absence (sound familiar?). One day becomes one week and then I feel like nothing has changed to write about. I forget that we see the little changes each day so it seems like not much happens, but for those who don't see him every day you would notice the changes. I need to get back to posting more, so email me if it seem like a post is needed in case I forget.

So, we are getting to the holidays and we did a little Trick-or-Treat-ing. Landon seemed to have fun and liked his costume. He didn't mind wearing it and would even continue playing around the house if we tried it on him or were getting him ready.

The outfit is a two-piece outfit, so when putting him in the van we had to take off the jacket so he would fit into his car seat (and seatbelt). He didn't like that. I was surprised that he liked it but he did get warm in it. He likes his stuffed monkeys plus his bathroom is done that way, so it seemed appropriate. He also looked cute in it, and no it doesn't have wings.

He is doing much more with the words and understanding us and when to say certain things. He is using 'no' in the correct way now, when we ask him if he is done eating or wants to go to bed. He is working on 'please', but at the moment comes out like 'pup' when he says it. We had been trying to get him to say something so started with the 'p' and he hasn't gone much further with the word. He points to lots of things in his books or out in the world to find out what the word for it is. It gets repetitive but it is his way of really understanding the word so he can say it. Sometimes you can almost see the wheels in his head turning trying to remember the word and then he tries to say it. He's doing very good with it.

Unfortunately he didn't care about the time change, getting up this morning at 6 am. He then didn't take much of a nap so was tired this evening and got punchy. He normally gets that way when he is tired. He might stumble around or be even sillier than normal. Tonight he was playing in an empty diaper box. He had put in a few of his stuffed animals and was sitting in it with them. He then tried to go into the box head first and you could only see his legs sticking out. I got some video and pics of it, I need to download them and see how they are.

On a quick side note, for those that knew or remember from my previous post, I have been working on an Associates Degree at a community college to get back into school. Well, last week I got my official acceptance letter from Virginia Commonwealth University to start in the spring. Very cool but very odd. It will be fun and I'll be there at the same time as my cousin Morgan. We most likely won't have any classes together, though. He is in the art school while I'll be in the business school.

A few quick pics for now. I'll go through more and post again soon.

Here he is falling off of the changing table in his room into Heather's arms while getting ready for bed.

Here he is outside with a push mower that spits out bubbles. He was having fun with it, stopping now and then to go pop some bubbles.

Looking back at the camera while mowing.

More soon...

Sunglasses at night

I guess that with the entire adoption process taking so long it seems like we've been doing this forever. I then remember that we have only had Landon for a few months, something that is still surprising given how well he is doing. I sound like a broken record and all but I am still surprised at how well he is doing.

I'm working on an Associates degree at a local community college. Next spring I will hopefully be at Virginia Commonwealth University starting the next phase in my goal to get a degree in economics (with a minor in math). I've been in the Information Systems field for a number of years without a degree which has gone fine, but in trying to think of the future (now including a son) I am getting the degree to help my career. The end result of all that is that I am taking a public speaking class this semester.

Today we had our first speech, a self-introduction using a prop to help out. I talked about the changes in my life (Heather's too) as a result of the adoption. Some of these changes are the obvious things like new schedules, not sleeping late, diapers to change. There are also the not so obvious changes like how I look at life differently. You think about the things we take for granted, the things that you expect to have. Landon is just a happy boy, not expecting anything, everything is new to him and something special. I also used his favorite lion and doggy as my props to explain that they were my next friends as a result of the adoption.

He's saying more words now, or at least trying to as he doesn't always pronounce the entire word 100% correctly. It's still cute, his version of the words. Heather and I got his Halloween costume yesterday. She had looked at Old Navy and saw a little monkey outfit that works so well for him. He has his money friend, the monkey theme in the bathroom, he likes to make a monkey sound and sometimes do his arms (tough to describe) like a monkey. Anyway, it's a little 2-piece outfit, pants and a 'jacket'. We will get some pics later but he seemed to be ok with it on.

The next few months will be interesting. His first Halloween, first Thanksgiving then Christmas, New Year's (he is a partier), then his birthday in February. Lots of stuff coming up soon. I'm trying to take more videos. They are better than pictures for some situations and there will be more things to take video for soon.

Here are a few recent shots of him just being cute ...

Tom Cruise who??

Pimpin' the fake crocs.

Not the best resolution, but he has cute froggy pajamas and he just wanted to wear the shoes at the same time. I guess he's a trend setter.

Video killed the radio star

It just keeps getting better and better. I probably sound like a broken record, but Landon is just such a normal little guy. Maybe kids are just supposed to act like this in a 'normal' (i.e.- a non-orphanage) setting. Who knows, I just know that he is a silly little guy that is a ham. He enjoys when we are eating dinner and he tries to keep our attention by acting silly. Oh no, if we are not paying attention to him, he has to act cute and laugh or just be silly so we laugh first. It makes it tough some times when he does something bad and we try to let him know, but we have to almost turn our heads so we can laugh and he doesn't see us doing it.

He's working on more words and phrases. If we say 1 he says 2. When he is ready for bed he knows what night-night is, walking us to the stairs if needed. We go through our nightly routine of reading a little story to him and he is ready to get into his crib. He sits down in our laps and we both get a turn to read the story. He is so cute turning the pages to help move the story along. He knows that a train makes a choo-choo noise, along with the arm movement. I can sort of get him to put his arms up for 'up' and then down for 'down and he says both. He was doing both of the up and down parts, but now he mainly does the up part.

Let's try a little video to see if it works. Here is Landon at a meal acting cute and doing his choo-choo.

Let me know if this works or doesn't work so well. Maybe a little video is better than just pictures sometimes. It is still very odd to think that not so long ago we had only just met him. He also looks very different from 'way back then'.

Just a few pics

I just wanted to post a few newer pics that I had. It's tough to try and pick the 'best' ones to post, because they are all good to me. Sometimes he is just doing something cute and you can't get a camera. Tonight was his bath night. We've got a towel thing for him that is a Cookie Monster towel, where there is a 'hood' of Cookie's head so Landon can wear it. Heather put it on Landon before his bath and he was running around with it, funny but no time for pics. Just the little things that he does that you try and remember for later.

Here is Landon giving his friends a ride. He put 3 of them on his ride and pushed them around.

We recently took Landon to get his first Build-A-Bear. There was only one bear that was good for kids (sewn on eyes) but Landon liked it anyway. Here he is after we left holding is bear close.

Landon got a chance to got out the other weekend and play in the water. Heather got a kid's sprinkler attachment that Landon enjoyed. He didn't know what to make of it so we took turns taking him close and running him through the water. Heather's sister brought over her kids to play with Landon.

That's all for now, but hopefully more soon. I might get back to the non-Landon pics if I can get the bird and other creature ones. Do you know about the bear we had behind our house the other summer? Yeah, adult black bear eating on the bird food. Heather thought I was crazy like my Dad when I went for the camera. I went out to the screen porch to get some close-ups of him/her. The bear was too focused on the bird food, but didn't stay for long. I'll find the pics and tell you the whole story later.

Watching him change

I'm going to start posting more sans pictures, hopefully allowing me to get things out more quickly. I had been in the habit of only posting something if there were pictures to go along with it, but that isn't always needed. So, here's a post that might be a little random at times (or the whole time) but I'll get a few pictures up tonight or tomorrow.


I'm still utterly amazed at how smart, healthy, normal and adjusted Landon is. I almost think that Heather and I are the ones adjusting and Landon is sitting there wondering why we are acting so odd. He is just so good with everything and go-with-the-flow, it's like he is waiting for us to catch up to him.

He has finished a few weeks of daycare and has done very well. His biggest problem is that he hasn't been taking good naps there, but last week he got in two naps of almost two hours. He is there 3 days a week, so that is great for him. He also didn't get any bumps from falling down or anything, so that was good also. He sometimes walks a little 'wobbly' or gets excited and trips over himself in running. He doesn't really cry much, if any, when I drop him off. I've been picking him up at the end of the day, trying to hide when I go in the room first. I like to try and watch him a little before he knows I'm there. It's cool to watch him playing with the other kids or by himself, seeing how he is from an outside point of view. It gives a different perspective on him and how he is adjusting.

He is still doing well at eating and not being picky. There are still times when a certain food is not something he wants all of a sudden. Some times he acts like he is done with his food but then keeps eating. His 'all done' arm shrug might mean 'well, I really want to keep eating'. You can tell right away as he still goes for his bowl when you take it away.

He hasn't gotten the pronunciation of any word down 100%, but he keeps adding to the words he is working on. You can see him trying new words, getting the first part of it only but you know he is trying to get it right. One day he is just going to blurt out a word perfectly and we'll be shocked.

We're all settling in even better to the routine, although it has adjusted a little as time has gone by. Most of you will understand, but it is just great to sit and just watch my son doing anything or nothing. Just talking on his own, playing with a toy, working on his food, watching the birds in the back, whatever. Just to know that he is changing all the time, becoming more and more a part of our lives, growing and growing. It's hard to think that next week he will be 18 months old. Wow. It's only been 5 months since we first met him. Wow. We've only been home with him for just over 2 months. Wow. Crazy stuff, those kids.

Sorry for the delay

Wow, the past few weeks have gone by quick. I hadn't planned on this much time between posts, but I guess things have been getting into a rhythm. That's a good thing, but it also bad in that time is already flying by. Heather and I were looking at some of the pictures going back to the first orphanage trip. Landon already seems to look different and older. Mainly in his face as he is still kind of short. It was just odd how he looked different and then we got to thinking about how it was only 6 weeks ago that we got back from Russia but seems like much longer. The 4 weeks that we were over there almost seems like a dream. 

Then the first trip seems further away, our initial agency visits and paperwork last year seem like it never happened. Very strange. Take pictures and possibly video of your kids, they really do change before your eyes. He is trying more words and even though they aren't 100% pronounced, he is understanding what we say and tries to say the words. He has been trying to say birds as he looks out back, Hi, bye-bye, doggy, woof, daddy, mommy, snack. We think we heard him clearly say doggy this morning with no prompting. Cool.

The King of Rock

Nothing super exciting or different going on, just the same old 16-month old stuff here. We seem to have relatively quickly gotten into a routine and feel like we have been doing this forever (almost). Going to Russia seems like a dream or something that happened a long time ago. With Landon being so well adjusted, I know I keep mentioning this, but it's like we've been home longer than we have been. It's only been 4 weeks tomorrow that we have been home. Wow! I saw a shirt at Target that I had to get for Landon. It was from a group of t-shirts that they had showing music type themes. This one was a Run DMC t-shirt. I grew up with Run DMC and like their music, so it seemed fitting to get Landon a shirt with them on it. We need to wash it so he can sport it with his new shoes. 

I've been able to get back into taking care of my birds. I have a few feeders behind the house along with some bird houses around the yard. I felt bad when we went to Russia since we had to leave them for so long. I need to get some pics from my old computer's drive,  but I've got some good shots of various birds (I learned form my Dad). There is a pole setup behind the house that has 4 arms. One arm has a hopper feeder, typical feeder shape. 

One arm has a finch tube feeder, as they like a different type of seed. 

One arm has a suet feeder (with tail prop) for putting in suet blocks (basically fat plus goodies like peanuts or fruit). Lots of birds like suet because it is high in energy but woodpeckers like it, too. 

The tailprop allows woodpeckers to use their tail for support as if they were on a tree. This is a male red-bellied woodpecker. 

I get lots of birds at the feeders (plus ground feeding birds), so I enjoy watching them and feeding them. I have a bluebird house out in the yard which has been filled by bluebirds for a few years. I've had birds like wrens and Eastern Phoebes nest under our screened porch. One recent exciting event is a feeder that has been empty until now. 

My brother bought me a 'bird bottle' fashioned after ones found in Williamsburg. It was based on old houses excavated and is meant to be put under the edge of the roof. It has been outside our morning room for almost 2 summers with no activity, but now there has been some. Now, birds don't just start using a house that you put up. It takes lots of time for them to find it and want to use it, so I wasn't expecting any birds to care about it for the first year or two. At first, we had a pair of Carolina Wrens nesting in it. Just last week Heather clued me in that some Bluebirds of all things were using it. I was very surprised, both because wrens had used it and I didn't expect Bluebirds to care about it, but there were in fact a pair that were preparing it. I felt bad last weekend when I was mowing behind the house, they were waiting on the roof while I was around. The female had some nesting material while the male stood guard.

I'm no bird expert (talk to my Dad), but I had thought that Bluebirds liked different 'specifications' for a house. Different birds like different types of houses. Some like cavities, some like open nests, etc. If you get a birdhouse you often see ones meant for a particular type of bird. A certain shape or size opening, or rules about where to place the house. My original Bluebird house was from Wild Birds Unlimited (www.wbu.com). The idea is that the house is of a particular design, the entrance hole is a certain size, it is placed at a certain height and should face an open yard to the south. Lots of rules, but it seemed to work. The bird bottle that my brother got me is like the opposite of that. It is shaped quite differently than a 'house', has a larger opening, is higher off the ground, is facing the opposite direction and does not open to the yard. Very odd, but I don't mind. I likes my birds.

As a footnote to this post, here are the birds that I have seen at or near my feeder setup ...

Carolina Wren, Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler, Chickadee, Cowbirds, Hummingbird (sat on the feeder but their feeders are elsewhere, they like sugar-water), Chipping Sparrows, Dark-Eyed Junco, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (woodpecker), Goldfinch, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Breasted Nuthatch and probably others that I have forgotten. I also have hummingbird feeders, so I sort of included them in the list.

Anyway, I need to find pics to show you some of these birds and let you know that you should get a bird feeder or two if you can. It is a good 'hobby' and it is nice to watch the birds benefit from something that I have done. Granted, they would probably be find without me but it doesn't hurt to help (except when it attracts bears).

Learning To Fly

Funny stuff, having a son (or daughter). It's the little things that hit you, here and there. Things you don't expect, things that make you laugh (or cry), things that just remind you there's a new sheriff in town. 

A couple of days ago, Heather and I were giving Landon his bath. Bath is over, drying him off, about to lead his 'neked' self off to get his PJs on. I thought I saw some more water dripping off him, but it was a stream that wasn't water coming from his mid-section. Oops! He didn't leave too much, but it was quite a shock and funny. 

Earlier tonight, we were giving him dinner. He was acting fine, nothing out of the ordinary. He seemed to be at the point of being done (he puts his hands up to say 'all done', thought we taught him) and Heather notices a slight odor. Sure enough, he had a dirty diaper. She goes to change him and it turns into a 4 alarm diaper change. Somehow the 'stuff' crept outside of his diaper, up one leg and started to go up his back. He hadn't acted like he had anything in his diaper so we were wondering where (and when) it came from. Landon wouldn't say. We cleaned him up, it was bath night anyway, and all was better. A little surprise t finish off our night. Joy!

We are still surprised at how well he is doing. Also enjoying him getting to know us better and all of the stuff that goes on. Funny how we went changed to a very different situation almost overnight but it is starting to feel like we've been doing this for a long time. At least we are taking good pictures to bribe him with when he gets to be a teenager.

Speaking of pics, here are a few.

Here he is with one of his books, reading like a big boy.

Landon and his 2 favorite friends sitting on his chair.

Cute outfit and his trademark smirk.

More fun at the house

Landon is doing better with the sinus/cold thing he had. He is acting more like the little boy he has been instead of the sickly little guy. It's good that he is feeling better, it makes for better pictures, ha ha. 

A new chair that we got him. A little big right now but he will be able to grow into it.

Looking out from a new toy we got him today. We wanted to get something that has more activities so he doesn't want to go to another toy as quickly. This is a little fake front door where he can play outside or inside the 'house'.

First Haircut

The past few days have allowed us to get into a routine of sorts. Landon is doing well at sleeping through the night and only having one nap in the afternoon. A few times he has fought so much when we put him down for his afternoon nap that he either doesn't nap or doesn't nap enough. 

He has continued to do well going out. We went to Short Pump Mall friday to get him his first pair of 'good' shoes while he is learning to walk. They look like running shoes and are cute on him. We also fed him his first Chik-Fil-A, he enjoyed the chicken nuggets. 

We went to the Ashland Strawberry Faire on Saturday with sister-in-law Tracey and her kids. It is a little fair of vendors, food and music held on a few streets at the Randolph Macon campus. It is one of those 'small town' events where everyone shows up, so we saw lots of people that we could introduce Landon to. He did well for the most part, but he woke up early so he started to get tired and hungry a little early. We weren't able to get him a haircut because he was getting a little cranky.

On Sunday we made a visit to church to see people again. Landon saw some people he had seen, met some new people and ran around a bunch. He likes the open spaces and new things to see. He did well with everyone, but he might have had too many people a few times. We then played on the playground with his cousins before lunch. He had his first CiCi's Pizza but he didn't really want much. He was a little fussy and had some crackers and bread. We took him home for a nap and later went to Great Clips for a haircut.

Wow, did he do well! He sat on the little block by himself and didn't fuss until the end. The person cutting his hair did real good with him being so young. We didn't get it cut too short since it was so long. We'll see how quickly it grows and maybe cut it a little shorter next time.

Now on to some pictures!!!!!!!!

Here is MC Landon (look ma, no pants!) on one of his new toys (new in that we took it out of the box) learning to ride around and press the buttons for noise. He is good at getting on and off of it and learning that he has to push him around.

Getting out of the car to go in to get a haircut.

Here is is sitting like a good boy getting the haircut.

This is after his haircut. How cute with the trim.

This is Landon when we went to Walmart after the haircut. Not sure why he looks scared, maybe as it was his first visit there.