He's 5!!!

I remember the day he was born, the first thing the nurse said was, "He's got the cutest dimple on his right cheek". That memory is etched into my mind and it doesn't seem possible that the moment is already a five year old memory. You hear people ask the question day after day...Where has the time gone? Really?

You look into your child's eyes and you think you can figure them out, predict their personality, their likes and dislikes, their interests and their habits but each day is a new surprise, another opportunity to explore who they really are.

Over the last five years, we watched in amazement as our little buddy morphed into a look-a-like for his daddy. We watched him learn how to communicate through some simple signs and then slowly add words to the mix. His personality truly began to emerge; not a fan of sarcasm, loves to giggle and smile, and of course, most are familiar with his love for a "Shake the Booty" dance. But as the years have zoomed by, we have watched those first traits give way into the little person he is today.

Today, our little guy is still "little" (finally hitting 30lbs but still in the 10-15% for height) but his personality is bigger than life. He's very intelligent (lots of people reminded me of this fact during our trip to California in March; apparently his non-stop chattering about plane facts, directional position and any other general interest he could he lend is voice to was noticed and thankfully positively received by those around). He loves...ok, LOVES anything Fire/Rescue oriented. His trademark shy and reserved self has given way to a still somewhat shy guy but I don't think the kid stops talking until his little head hits the pillow and his eyes give way to sleep. The giggles keep on coming (I hope they never stop, even in the hardest times he will face, I hope he can still laugh). He's compassionate. He's the caretaker (when Mommy had to say goodbye to her grandma, he was there to tell me "it's okay and so is Grandma"). And, he's an amazing big brother.

I thought I would be soooo ready for his 5th birthday. Ready to celebrate his milestone. Ready to say "so along babyhood". Ready to see him off to Kindergarten. Ready for him to be a big kid. Nope, I'm a mess of sadness and anxiety. He's going to be in Kindergarten, KINDERGARTEN! How did this happen to me? Five years were supposed to be a long time, forever when you first hold your newborn baby but that's not the reality. It took only a nano second for him to reach this milestone and I for one am not ready for it. I may need to start therapy now so that on August 20th, I will be able to peel myself off the floor as I let go of my little man's hand and he walks into that school on his own, beginning a new chapter in all of our lives.

In the meantime, he is ready to kick off his summer. He is busy discovering his new surroundings and all the new bugs, birds and firestations that come with it. He's looking forward to running through the spinklers, eating popcicles on the deck, and catching those little lightning bugs. And, so am I. There is that one great thing parents realize as they play and interact with their children...if he's 5, I get to be 5 this year too.

Clip, Clip, Clip

Landon is "blessed" with curls. I have curls and some days they are the most frustrating thing I will deal with. Tony has curls and he has his days as well. Jayden however, landed the highly sought after straight hair.

When the L-man was 4 months old I trimmed his hair. He was born with a full head of hair and instead of it all falling out, he only lost the sides which gave him a nice mohawk of curls. By the time he was 4 months, it looked a bit ridiculous and I took the scissors to it. Since that time, I have been letting it grow out, telling myself that I wouldn't touch it until his first birthday. The birthday came and went and I just couldn't bring myself to cut his crazy soft curls...but eventually, the curls needed some disciplinary action.

Landon was a trooper. He sat in the little car and quitely watched a movie while the stylist began cutting his curls away. I was not about to let her crop him too short so I requested he be left with at least 1 inch of curl. When it was all said and done, my little man looked like just that, a little man.

Happy Birthday, Take 2

Landon is 1 year old!

His actual birthday fell on a very sad day (see previous post) so we decided to try celebrating his birthday one more time. He didn't mind getting another round of cupcakes. Unfortunately, he's been watching his dad a little too closely because he actually tried to shove the entire mini cupcake into his mouth all at once. He's was very upset that it didn't fit as he had intended.

Officially, his numbers are: 21 pounds, 10 ounces and 29.5 inches long. He is walking, he started that about mid March. He didn't crawl (and still doesn't) which has presented its own set of problems; he doesn't know how to get from sitting to standing, if he isn't near something to pull up with he can't move, and he has no idea how to properly crash. Usually kids will begin to lose their balance and land on their knees or bottom but with Landon he literally just falls over, usually onto his face! He has figured out how to get from laying down to sitting and he's working on sitting to standing but once he's in the "bear crawl" or "downward dog" position, he's stuck. Horrible predicament for him but it allows me to sit him in the middle of a room so I can tend to something quickly and know that he'll still be sitting right where I left him.

Jayden is learning that Landon is a force to be reconded with. The other day Jay was eating Mac n' Cheese at the coffee table and Landon walked over, grabbed a handful and shoved it in his mouth. Jay was not pleased. If Jay has a toy, Landon will take it. If Jay leaves "B" laying around, Landon will claim him as his. In regards to "B" (Jayden's blanket), Landon received his own "B" as a birthday gift from his brother...Landon still wants Jay's "B".

Landon now "says" a few words. He has "wow", "Yea", "Oh", "HayHay" (JayJay in Landon speak), and "cock-a-doodle-doo".

With Landon's one year milestone came another, he is turned around to face forward in the car. This also lead me to discover that Jayden had outgrown his carseat and so he is now in a booster (with a five point harness) and Landon will inherit the old carseat for use in dad's car.

The transition from baby food and formula is going a little slower than anticipated. Landon is not a fan of cold milk. He only wants food that he can feed himself. And, drinking from a cup with a straw, not on his agenda...he prefers the bottle. It will be the first match of wits between me and him, and I will prevail.

So, as we see it...only 12 months until the terrible twos are upon us. Yipee.

Doris Donais

In the early morning of March 31st (also Landon's 1st Birthday) my Grandma Doris passed away. Her 82 years of life was filled with love and laughter from her husband, four children, 10 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren (with one more on the way, the little girl she had been waiting for). Although our family is deaply saddened by her passing, we are comforted in knowing that she is eternally in the arms of her husband Orville.

The family gathered around her as she began her journey home. All of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren had visited her within weeks of her passing. We all had our opportunity to tell her we loved her.

Our trip home was not as smooth and expeditious as I had intended. I got the call she was very ill early Sunday morning and within minutes was searching for same day flights. We had a hard time getting a flight out of Chicago with enough seats for the four of us. Once we did, it wasn’t a direct…we had to fly first to San Diego to catch a connector to Sacramento, arriving at 11:55pm. Our luggage however, didn’t make the connection! Of course it never happens at a “good” time, but I must say that Southwest did their very best in the situation. They put us up in a hotel for the night so that we could come back to the airport to greet the first flight of the morning which would have our luggage on it (this was the most time effective solution for us all).

With the luggage delay, we didn’t get to my mom’s house until early afternoon on Monday (this due in large part to Neverlost which always seems to get me lost). One would think I would know how to get from the airport to my mom’s house by now but in my defense, we usually only head home once a year.

After getting unloaded and changing clothes, we headed to the nursing home to be by her side. Tony, Jayden and Landon all joined me and the other family members around her bed. Our efforts to get home gave me three hours with her; time to tell her we loved her, time to see her once more, and time for her to be near my babies. Although she wasn’t responding much to most of us, she opened her eyes when she heard Jayden giggle and again when she heard Landon babbling. By the time we left the nursing home, it was evident she didn’t have much time left.

In the early morning hours of March 31st, she passed.

My uncle’s family had begun the drive from Vancouver, BC and were scheduled to arrive around noon on Tuesday, March 31st. It’s approximately a 16 hour drive, and my aunt and cousin were switching off driving. With only an hour or so to go, they were hit by a semi truck switching lanes. Although the car was totaled, everyone walked away with only bumps and bruises!

Friday, April 3rd, our family gathered to say goodbye. She will be placed in a mausoleum next to her husband. Ironically, my paternal grandparents are placed across the walkpath so all four of my grandparents are together, facing one another.

I struggle with the reality that she is no longer physically here to participate in my life. I have lost someone so very special to me. However, in a time where we have just moved and feel a little alone, her passing has reminded me through emails/cards of support and sympathy, that we are never truly alone and we are very blessed with the friendships and relationships we have made. Each message has helped lift me up and comfort me, Thank you.

Jayden

Kids really do say the darnest things...Jayden has recently been memorizing advertising slogans. The other day I was helping him into his pjs when he looked at me and said, "Mom, did you know that you could save 15% in 15 minutes with Geico?" A few days later I walk into the family room where the three boys were playing and he points to the TV and says, "Do you see that laundry, that's the power of Oxy Clean." But, my all time favorite of the month had to be his response when I told him he ate his Twizzlers super fast (of course the candy goes down fast), he simply replied, "That's because I have a big mouth".

Growing pains have also set in for Jay. He had been complaining about leg pain for a few weeks but I wasn't sure if he was being serious. As I was putting lotion on his legs he started complaining again so I decided to measure him in order to figure out if he needed a doctor visit or just growing pains...he grew 1/2 inch in four weeks! He was relieved to hear he didn't have to go the doctor again. He was last in the office about four weeks ago for Strep Throat and Scarlet Fever (yes, people still get scarlet fever). He's all better now and apparently growing like a weed.

Jay has also begun the transition to Kindergarten. Can you believe my little man is heading off to real school in the fall. He will be 1 of 70 kindergarteners in our school that serves only two communities. He seems pretty excited. I had to attend a parent orientation this week to introduce us to the cirriculm and kind of get all of us moms ready to let go of our precious cargo. I have to admit, I did get a little nervous when they told us we can't walk them into their classrooms after the first day. Jayden did not seem phased by this rule what so ever. He just wanted to know if his classroom will have blocks because he really like to play with them.

For the most part Jay is doing exactly what he should be doing, being a curious little boy, getting to know a few of the neighbor kids, helping out whenever and wherever he can in the house and being a great big brother to Landon.

From Three to Four

This one is quick because right now I'm supposed to be writing a paper on the Earth's multitude of environmental perils and how overpopulation is the cause...I should really get a grade for my creative ways to procrastinate. I re-organized kitchen cupboards last night!

My last post was about my cute little Landon and his teeth. He had three little baby teeth and his smile was a little lopsided. Well, the fourth finally came in and now he resembles a Guinea Pig with the large teeth in front. Great. On the bright side, who doesn't love a cute little Guinea Pig?

Teeth

You know those little cartoon drawings of baby faces (they have a name but it's escaping me right now) that have three teeth, two on bottom and one on top? That's what our little Landon looks like right now. I've never actually seen a baby with this look. It does look a little funny and odd. Today his fourth tooth cut through the gums so this look will be short lived.

Landon is apparently in no hurry to become mobile. He has absolutely no interest in crawling; put him on his tummy and he rolls over immediately. He does have some interest in walking but he doesn't have his balance well enough yet to get moving. Nor does he have any fear of falling on his face. When he does try to take a few steps he usually ends up falling forward and seems to be quite fine with the prospect of knocking his now "four" teeth out as he take the header...thank god I've caught him or the waist of his pants in the knick of time.