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'.