A stroll in the park

The weather has been so beautiful here lately-hence the not blogging very often!! I was really getting cabin fever-it has been such a cold hard winter and I was just itching for some nice weather and sun shine. I knew Landry would LOVE playing outside as would mommy! Well last week when it finally started getting pretty Amber and Mother (and myself-ha ha) all just happened to be off work the same day so we decided what better way to enjoy the sunshine than to go the the park and go hiking on a bike trail along side a beautiful creek, play in the creek, play on the playground, slide and swing.
So we headed to Chickasaw Park and Landry had a blast!! He and Byrdie played in the creek forever. Landry really wanted to get in the water and play but every time his feet would hit the cold water he would quickly change his mind so Byrdie would find him a rock and let him throw it in the water and make a big splash over and over and over.


He loved the swings but wasn't a big fan of the slide unless you held him while he went down. Please know that we did NOT stage this picture at all- and no matter what that face tells you he was not mistreated....the slide went a little to fast for him and scared him but we just couldn't resist taking this picture! He had on some tennis shoes and I think the static got to his hair-what do you think?? Here is a before and after picture.

We laughed and laughed at this picture ALL day! I have seriously thought about sending it in to one of those TV shows where they show funny baby pictures b/c I think we could possibly win for his Albert Einstein hair! I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Animal Noises

Landry has been taking off lately....and I don't just mean by walking fast which he is now doing. He loves to make animal noises he can now make 4 different ones. My personal favorite is his bear noise. He will raise his arm up like his is clawing at something and in a whisper voice he says "Rooaar." It is so sweet and innocent when he says it. My second favorite is a seal. He learned to make the seal noise b/c my sister painted him a picture of a seal to match his bedding before he was born and it hangs right above his changing table. So we have to do the seal noise just about evey time we get our diaper changed. Austin and I always make the noise and clap our hands together when making it and so when we ask landry "What does a seal say"...all he does is clap his hands together way out in front of him and then immediately smiles. I think that is his favorite! He can also "moooooo" for a cow and raise his arm up in front of his face to make an elephants trunk and make a noise. He is a little sponge these days. I love this stage...but then again ever stage I have loved! He can also make a tractor noise and car noise (which is the same sound) but he will grab his car and immediatly start making the "Putting" noise. If you ask me I think he is going to be a lot like his daddy and be able to immitate just about anything and anyone he hears which is a true talent! Oh I almost forgot that he can also "blow" his nose. I have been suffering with a cold for the past 2 weeks so all he has seen me do is blow my nose 20 times a day. Well last week I was blowing my nose and then he bends over and picks up a sock sitting in my bedroom and hold it up to his nose and makes a noise that sounds like he is blowing his nose. haha! I started dying laughing and then he kept doing it...yes he is an entertainer and loves attention!

I have several new picture of him I need to post but will have to make the time to do that later. Right now he is napping and my house is a mess so it's cleaning time for me.

Enjoying the sun!

We have had a few days of beautiful weather lately. Last Saturday we had an alumni softball game and any current players could come back and play the 2010 current team. It was so much fun and made me realize how much I miss playing softball. Us "old ladies" as the current team called us did pretty well and were leading 4-1 into the 5th inning. However, our old age kicked in and the young girls kicked it in high gear and they came back to win 6-4. It was a great game and fun getting to see and play with old teammates and a few girls that I never got to play with.

This is all the girls that came out to play on "Team Alumni."
Landry playing with his ball in the outfield before the game started-he just about stole the show of the game! :)
Drawing our our game plan in the dirt-isn't this picture precious! He is all boy and I love it!)
These next few pictures have nothing to do with the alumni game but thought I would share anyways. Austin has been on me to cut Landry's hair....but I just can't do it. Not yet anyways! It is getting pretty long and luckily we swoop it to the side or it would be in his eyes all the time. It also hangs over his ears and hangs down on his neck just a bit. Austin keeps telling me he is starting to get a mullet but I don't believe him-that is until he gets a bath and his hair is wet. See he doesn't have a mullet when his hair is dry so don't worry I'm not being cruel to him by not cutting it! I just can't cut it yet-I guess it's the final thing I am holding on to that classifies him as a baby. I feel that once I cut his hair it will really make him look like a big boy and I'm just not ready for that yet. So until I come to terms with this my son will have a mullet.....but only when his hair is wet.




I have mentioned several times how Landry LOVES to drink. The other day he was walking around the house carrying his sippy cup. What I couldn't understand was how in the world he was carrying around his tractor and his cup at the same time. Well it had gotten hooked around the handle of his sippy cup but that didn't stop him from drinking.

Good husband in training!

Well I have decided to train Landry early on how to help his future wife with house work-okay not really he is just volunteering his work. But WOW what a good helper he is these days. He helps me with laundry(he decided his coins that go to his piggy bank were dirty and needed to be washed-luckily this was as far as he could put them in the washer or I would have never seen them),trash-he put that wrapper in there all by himself without me even asking) ,sweeping-give that boy and broom and he will sweep all your floors-it's his favorite!),
putting Sadie's toys where they belong(hey he had the right idea-penguins do swim in the water-just not the toilet) and helping me walk her outside, and putting mommy's shoes up that were left in the living room floor in his shopping cart(you can tell he has been shopping with me just a few times-and he also knows mommy's weakness-SHOES), and helping pick out what he wants for dinner from the fridge. Here are just a few pictures of evidence for those of you who don't believe how big of a helper he really is. I guess he gets it honest from his daddy. Austin really does help me out with the house a lot and I couldn't be more lucky I know! I know aren't very many men who enjoy cleaning-God just knew I needed one so he gave me Austin. Life has been a little more busy since he has started walking. He stays on the go constantly!! The only time he sits down is if he is eating and occasionally to read a book for about 3 minutes and then our attention span is gone.
Landry your daddy and I are already praying for you and for your future spouse. I pray that you bring her as much joy as you have to us and that you are a good Christian husband and leader to your family! We love you-thank you for being you!

1st birthday slide show

12 month milestones

Here are just a few things that Landry is doing now at 12 months old and a few milestones he has reached:
~He weighed 22lbs on his 1st birthday(34th percentile)-poor thing had to go to the doctor on his 1st birthday due to 2 week chronic congestion-all better now!
~Walking 100% of the time
~Loves to dance and he can get down(where did he learn this? haha!)
~Loves Mickey mouse club house!
~FINALLY he is riding in his carseat without a fuss!WHEW that was a LONG time coming!
~He smiles and waves to people in the balcony and people who sit behind us at church-I feel so bad b/c I know he is distracting people but it's so cute at the same time!
~Loves to climb on top of things
~Loves to play outside(the 3 days it has been pretty enough to go out)
~Takes 2 naps a day -morning and afternoon. He usually sleeps around 2-3 hours in the morning and 1-1.5 in the afternoon. Thank you landry for being a good napper-mommy enjoys that down time
~We have put 2 little "lovies" in the crib with Landry and now when he wakes up he immediately grabs them and chews/loves on them when he wakes up.
~He has a VERY favorite book right now that Nana got him for Christmas called "Big Red Barn." He loves loves loves that book and brings it to me on average 5 times a day and then takes it to Austin when he gets home from work about 3 times wanting to read it. I can even have it laying out in the floor with all his other books and I can say "landry bring me your big red barn book" and he will go and find it in the midst of all the other books and pick it out and bring it to me! I am so impressed with this! Smart boy!
~Favorite foods: bananas, cheese, applesauce, mandrian oranges and whole cows milk(organic)! But we don't turn any foods down at this point he loves to eat anything and everything!
~Loves to drink all the time!
~We now get a sippy cup 100% of the time and he has done amazing with it. I realized I was crazy for putting the cows milk into a bottle when he loves his sippy cup as much as the bottle. 1st time mothers live and learn right! :) Yes this means his is completely weaned now and has been for 3 weeks! Sad day for me! :(
~He signs for "drink" and "bite" but does the drink sign for both. He can also do "please" and "more" when he wants to-he isn't very consistent with these. He also does a sign where he pats the side of his face but we have absolutely no idea what this sign means or where he got it from.
~Points to things everywhere we go and talks as if he is trying to say what they are and they are coming out very close but no actual words yet but I know what he is saying.
~"Talks" all the time now!
~Has 6 and 1/2 teeth-he is currently in the process of getting his 7th tooth-it's already poking out of the gum but isn't all the way through
~Loves Sadie! He will just walk up to her and "pat pat" where it's more of a slap slap. Good thing we have a very good natured dog!

I couldn't help but think of this verse as I have reflected on the past year. As Landry is growing and developing every day it reminds me of my job God gave me and Austin to do.

Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it"

New things!

There are several new things landry is doing now. He is really starting to put things together when we are talking to him. Here are just a few:
-He was over Nana's house the other day while I was gone running and when the coo coo clock went off he said "Ock." He only said it once and hasn't said it again since.
-He was sitting in the kitchen floor one morning right after we had gotten up for the day and I always say "Hi-dee" to him and he looked at me and plainly said "I-dee." Once again only said it once and hasn't said it since.
-My granny has always taken him over to her firplace and to a little space heater she keeps in her living room and hold her hand out and said "HOT." Well he walked into her house the other day-walked straight up to her fire place and held his hand out and said "OT"(with the "t" silent) and then walked over to the space heater and said "OT".
-I was eating some sweet potates as a snack at my granny's house yesterday. Landry walked up to me and wanted a bite so I told him "Ok hand on baby they are hot so let me cool them off for you" well all of a sudden 3 seconds later Landry throws his hand in the air toward the fireplace and says "OT"(With the "t" silent). It didn't register to me at first what he had done and then granny said "tara you said hot and he pointed to the fireplace!" Way to go Landry- you are such a smart little boy and it's so fun to see him putting things together and verbally showing me he knows what I am saying to him. It still catches me off guard when he does stuff like this b/c in my eyes he is still a baby and too little to be putting things together but he is a big 1 year old now so I better get used to it but i just keep forgetting that and it is SO fun to watch him learn!







We have always enjoyed playing with Landry-but with him getting older and more interactive now we have had a blast with him! He is at such a fun age right now and we are throughtly enjoying him!! We have had a few warm days lately so we have been taking him outside to soak in what little sun we can. This little boy LOVES to play outside and has had a blast. We take a ball and a few toys with us but he ends up playing with the grass, dirt, and rocks more than his toys. We are so excited about this summer and playing outside, going swimming at aunt susan and uncle laray's house and going to the lake and riding on the boat with him-i think he will eat it up!! Landry also loves to dig through kitchen and bathroom cabinet drawers,closet and anything else he can get his little hands on. I was able to capture just a FEW things he always pulls out and walks around the house with in his hands. He is such a mess and creates such a mess in our house-but I wouldn't trade it for anything- a messy house just means you have loved ones living in it to mess it up-it truely is a blessing! :)




Another thing that Landry is loving to do right now is climb on everything! He just got his "1st chair" from Byrdie and Dad-o for his birthday and he has had a blast climbing on it-who has time for sitting down when you can climb and walk right?? Here are just a few pictures of my little monkey!




The last and final thing that Landry loves right now is balloons. This all started on the day of his birthday party but Oh how we have developed a love for them fast!! We still have a few around the house left over from his party b/c he enjoyed them so much I hated to throw them away right after the party. He picks the balloons up carries them all over the house,sits down and plays with them, and points to them every time he passes and says "Ohh." It looks like I will be going to the dollar mart every now and then and getting him a few balloons so he can continue to enjoy them. Don't worry-he is supervised when playing with the balloons! :0)

1st Birthday Bash-Giraffe Themed

We clebrated all week long for Landry! He turned 1 on Wednesday night so before church Nana, Pops, Byrdie, Dad-o, Granny and Aunt Baleigh and Uncle Nathan all went to La Fuenta to celebrate and eat dinner. We then had his big birthday party saturday afternoon at our house and followed up with his first baskin robbins birthday cake at Grannys for lunch on Sunday(this is a tradition we started several year ago and we have a baskin robbins cake for every member of the family at sunday lunch-we just about have all 12 months covered!). So we have ate and partied and ate cake all week long to say the least!


We had an absolute blast at his big party! But I think Landry had the best time of anyone! I was a little nervous at how he would react to a bunch of people in his house looking at him and giving him all the attention-but this little boy ATE IT UP-let's just say he is NEVER attention deprived!! He had so much fun and was in the best of moods all day long. He walked around the house in the middle of 50 family and friends just like he did it every day and it was no big deal to him. My intentions were to keep his party small and intimate with family and close friends. Well-the party kept growing and growing and we ended up with 52 people at his party. Every person came to his party that was invited except for 4 people. That's a great turn out and one that I was not expecting. This is not a bad thing though b/c it reminded us we are very blessed to have all our family who live in this area and many close friends who have children around Landry's age that were all able to come and celebrate with us.
His party was giraffe and the #1 themed and it turned out so adorable! I ordered his cake from the Puffy Muffin in Brentwood and they did an AWESOME job on his cake! It turned out so much cuter than I ever imagined! When I went to go pick it up Friday morning the baker asked me if I had refrigerator space for it and I said yes. Her response was WOW you must have a big fridge. I was confused as to why she would have said that but when I saw her bring the cake out I was in shock at how BIG the giraffe cake turned out-she said "sorry it just kept growing and growing and turned out a little bigger than we had planned!" It was perfect though and it tasted just as good as it looked! To decorate the house in giraffe theme I hung pictures up of Landry over the past year on giraffe paper and strung them across the door ways. They turned out really cute and everyone enjoyed looking at how much he has changed and grown over the year. I covered the fron door in giraffe print fabric and then cut out a big #1 in blue fabric and glue it to the door. I also set up a table of pictures of Landry that we had made at Mac Brown at his newborn, 3 month, 6 month and 9 month old portrait sessions. And then we had giraffe balloons, #1 balloons all over the house. Everything turned out really cute and better than I had planned or pictured in my mind.




The only think Landry wasn't to sure about was his "smash cake." He wasn't really sure what he was suppose to do with it-we had never put that much food on his high chair tray before so he was a little confused. Once I got a spoon and started feeding it to him he didn't want to stop eating it! He ended up eating HALF of his cake!!! I was worried his tummy was going to hurt him after eating that much but he never acted like it bothered him at all.


My mother(Byrdie) ended up making him an outfit to wear at his party. It was SOOO cute on him and matched his theme perfectly! I had several people ask me where I got it...I think she could go into business~ She had a giraffe appliqued on it and inside one of the balloons was the #1. Landry looked precious walking around in his little bubble barefooted all day(there is just nothing sweeter than a baby in a bubble outfit barefooted)! She is so talented and can make some amazing clothes. I don't know how she finds the time to do what all she does she stays so busy!! She has always loved making clothes. She made just about every dress Amber and I ever wore when we were younger! I wish I could sew like her...maybe one day!


All in all it was a wonderful day and we had such a blast celebrating Landry's 1st birthday! Thank you God for blessing us with him this past year....each day just keeps getting better! I am going to put up a slide show for most of his pictures b/c there are just to many to download one at a time! :)