17 Months Ago...

at this moment I was in the hospital, having just given birth to my son . Yep, my little boy is 17 months old today! Its hard to believe that he will be 2 this year. I just can't believe how fast it goes. I try to remember that I need to treasure every moment!

I am finding this age so much fun, but so challenging at the same time. I have talked to a few friends with boys and they have found this age to be tough as well, so I'm thankful that I'm not alone in it. Landon has such a great personality and I love watching it emerge. He is a ton of fun - always going going going and finding something new to get into. He has now been walking for 7 1/2 months! And he has moved onto the "running" stage! Its amazing how fast his little legs can move :) He loves being outside and I"ve been so thankful for this wonderful weather, because we can get out all the time! Landon has been communicating with signs for a while - he signs "thank you", "all done", "more", "please", and "sorry". He is just starting to try to repeat words. He is now saying "Mom", "dad", "papa", "hi" and "more". He does the sounds of a monkey, lion, car and cow and he is watching our mouths a lot and is jibber jabbering all the time. I'm sure one of these days, its just going to spill out and not stop!

I think one of the most frustrating things about this age for me, is the communication. Landon seems to be getting frustrated easily when we don't understand what he wants. And when he gets frustrated he really gets frustrated. We have started timeouts in the corner now and he DOES NOT like that, but it seems to be working. He then signs "sorry" and gives us a kiss when he is done timeout. I am looking forward to when he is able to say some more words and communication gets a bit easier for all of us! At the same time, sometimes we just have to laugh. He is quite dramatic (ahem....Auntie Kare...) and so sometimes it is so funny because it could go on forever!

Landon is so friendly and would say hi to anyone! If we are ever in the mall or somewhere where he is walking beside us, he will wave at everyone we walk by and "talk" to them. Then as we pass people, he'll blow kisses and wave bye. It is so funny and we get such a kick out of it. And every morning when Daddy, Uncle Jer, "Uncle" Trent and Auntie Shari leave for work, they all get kisses and waves. Its hard not to leave with a smile when you get that!

At this very moment, my son has stacked all of his animals underneath a tupperware container, put books and the lid on top and is standing on top of it, balancing with a huge smile on his face! That would be my cue...Better run and go for our walk so that we can both get out in that beautiful sunshine! Hope you all have a wonderful day!