This and That

Fall is settling on our part of the world. Nighttime temps fall into the low 30s and the leaves on the trees are starting to glow yellow and red. I love fall even though it means six plus months of cold is ahead of us.

At 14 months old sweet Landon is morphing from a baby into a little boy. He loves digging in the dirt and bringing me treasures he finds outside. Rocks, sticks and bugs are his favorite. He crawls at turbo speed and is able to stand on his own for several seconds. He enjoys helping me feed the dogs and he still loves training for the Olympics in the bathtub.

New words in the life of a toddler are always exciting. A couple weeks ago he started saying mama. One day he was crawling behind me and he started repeating, "Mama. Mama. Mama." The sound of his little voice calling out to me melts my heart.

Top 1 & 2: Catching and showing me a bug. 3: Too hungry for pictures! 4: Helping fold laundry.
Bottom 1: A little nerdy. 2: Helping himself to tomato off plant. 3: Cute in his fall vest. 4: Helping care for Danni!

                     


                     





Two days ago he woke up from a nap. We were eating dinner. I put him in his high chair. He was ill and still half asleep. He was lying back in his chair, too tired to hold himself up. I was blowing on a spoonful of mashed potato all of a sudden he blurts out clear as day, "Hot." I looked around at Daddy and Addi to see if they heard it or if my mind made it up! I said, "Yes, honey, your potatoes are hot." He just smiled. He has started blowing on his food if I tell him it is hot.

He points to something and we say, "This?" and he says while pointing, "That!"  It is a cute exchange!
He asks, "that?" and we will tell him what 'that' is. He signs 'please' and 'all done'. This past month he got his 8th tooth in.


This past weekend Landon and I were really sick. For almost two straight days we stayed in bed in our jammies. Landon ended up with a fever of 103.5 and an ear infection. He has been pretty sick, sleepy and very gooey.

                            

Yesterday Landon saw a pediatric cardiologist for his pectus excavatum, his indented chest. His pediatrician wanted to make sure his indented sternum bone wasn't putting too much pressure on his heart. The cardiologist said his indented chest was on the mild side of moderate in severity and there is no reason to be alarmed by it. Basically there are rarely any emergent cases when it needs to be fixed at his age and really very little reason to worry about it. Because Landon's intended chest wasn't caused by an underlining syndrome and because there is a history of this on my side of the family we will continue to treat him as a well baby and do nothing about it.  If he later develops breathing or heart problems, or if he has trouble with fatigue while playing sports or develops issues swallowing food we may choose to have it fixed when he is around sixteen years old. He said there is a chance that Landon may even outgrow it. His doctor said once his bones begin to harden (in his teens) it won't look as scary when he breaths. His whole chest sucks way in and looks as though it is collapsing when he takes a breath. It looks worse than it is because the cartilage is more pliable that hardened bone. We will have yearly cardiology exams to monitor it and make sure it doesn't get worse. But for now it is one more thing we can check off that we don't need to worry about. Praise the Lord!

Killing time at the park before doctor appt. 

Addison is so busy in her new big kid life. She is so happy. She is doing so well in gymnastics. The move to the big kid class was a little traumatic the first time. She is the youngest and smallest. She chose to sit and watch the first class. By her second class she was ready to show her new coaches how strong, confident and ready to learn she is. She "got her brave back" and did cartwheels, front rolls, and worked the bars right along with the big kids in her class.

Ballet, soccer and school are going so well. She is loving every second. Her school teacher pulled me aside one morning and said she is enjoying having Addi in class. She said Addi is so bright and "does everything right!" She said she so was impressed that Addi can tie her own shoes. One proud Mama I was! Addi actually taught herself to tie her shoes. I remember probably over a year ago showing her on my shoes, but since then we haven't talked about shoe-tying, it being flip-flop season and all. She pulled  her new tennis shoes out of the box, put them on and tied them all by herself on her first try. A very, very big deal in the life of a four-year-old!

Waiting for ballet to start.

New kicks all tied up!

Daddy is having a great time with his friend, PA school classmate and new co-worker, Shane, avoiding all the grizzlies while trying to track down an elk. He dusted off his bow and is hoping to fill the freezer early this year. He is a giddy little boy during hunting season. I spend my hunting-widowed time watching the cheezy-girly movies that Dylan normally complains about!

I have been able to sneak a couple mommy days and go climbing with my friend Claudia. We love the quiet time spent climbing in the beautiful Blackleaf Canyon. Some people have questioned my choice of how I spend my alone time! Yes, I do prefer scaling rocky cliffs, dangling 90 feet over jagged edges suspended by only a rope. "Why not relax? Get a pedicure, go get coffee?" they ask. I like the challenge. I like the fear. I like learning a new, difficult thing, trusting myself, my gear and my climbing partner. Plus you can't get the view I get at the top or the rush I feel from a nail salon!

The kids and I get out and explore as much as possible!

Last Friday night we attended our first hometown high school football game. It was such a cool feeling when the lights came on and the boys were playing under the Friday Night Lights. Kids of all ages were running and playing everywhere. The whole town came out to support the team. Addison found several of her friends and was off playing with them the rest of the game while Daddy, Landon and I sat with friends in the stands. We crushed the other team 30-something to zero! Go Dawgs!

Ending this post with some love. I heard them playing and quietly spied on them to find this! 



Addison and Landon love, love, love to read together.

Reading books together.