Landon is now a year and a half old! Since his birthday...
- We found out that Landon will have a little sister (due January 23, 2015)! He knows his "Baby Ti-tur" (sister) is in Mama's tummy, but he also thinks there's a baby in everyone else's tummy too.
- At his 15 month doctor appointment he was in the 50th percentile in weight and 84th percentile in height. He was starting to look like Daddy, tall and lean. His 18 month appointment is next week, so we'll see if that is sticking.
- Landon's vocabulary has really, really grown over the last 6 months, although many of the "words" he says can still just be understood by Mama and Dada (and some only by himself). He has his own word for most objects (often just the first syllable of the real word). He calls himself "Nan-nan". He loves Fridays when the "tas tuck" comes to pick up the trash and Wednesdays when he can watch the gardener cut the grass with the "mo mo" (lawn mower). In the beginning of October he started putting together 2 words ("pig race" were the first 2 strung together...at the pumpkin patch) and a few days later he was saying 3 together here and there.
- It's crazy to think back almost exactly 6 months ago when he took his first few wobbly steps because now he runs around like a maniac. He pretty much goes at 1 pace (running), unless, of course, we're in a rush. He even started jumping (finally actual jumps with both feet off the ground) but has since reverted back to the single foot "jump".
- He still LOVES music. We often play music from the TV, so when we go to someone else's house he points to the TV and starts dancing, hoping that someone will turn on the music for him. He loves to be sung to as well, and he's started trying to sing along. He usually gets the last word of each line if he's heard the song a few times. His favorite songs are "Stay with Me" by Sam Smith ("Meeee" is our most requested song) and the classic "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" ("Whoa Whoa"). He also really likes watching videos of people playing musical instruments.
- Landon (or Daddy) enjoyed watching the World Cup (Go U.S.A.!!! and Greece!).
- Landon also still has a great love of reading. Now he can "read" some of the words in his favorite books. Sometimes it seems as though he knows the words because he has memorized the book, and other times he names the objects you point to when it gets to that word.
- Landon had his first haircut...I'm still waiting for the curls to grow back (which it looks to be starting to do on top!).
- He likes trying on Dada's shoes, and he calls himself a "big boy" whenever he gets them on.
- His favorite activity is being chased. He will "hide" (in the same spot every time) and run to his bean bag chair (usually face planting) when we "find" him. He also likes to run to the corner of the room and turn around, smiling and waiting for us to chase him. We don't know which he likes better, the chase or the tickling at the end of the chase. Either way, it's a (several times a) daily Kelepouris household activity (and usually right before bedtime - whoops!).
- Grammie (Nicole's mom) took us to Zoomars, a petting zoo, playground and mini train with Uncles Matt & Peter. Here Landon experienced his first pony ride. The Zims spoiled him with a second pony ride, some chocolate shake, a balloon animal and running (literally) across town to see a real train passing by. Now, whenever he talks about Uncle "Matt Matt" he says "bong bong bong" because he remembers Matt running him to the train. He also went to Lake Mission Viejo for his first time (one of my favorite childhood places!) over the summer.
- Landon's cousin, Zoe, arrived on July 29th, and we were able to meet her a week and a half later. Landon has also had several honorary cousins born over just a few months. He hasn't been too impressed with babies, unless one is crying in HIS mom's arms...then he comes right over, fake/real cries and wants to be held. We might have a problem when #2 comes along! He did, however, have a great time playing with his big cousin, Jake!
- He contracted both Roseola and Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, unfortunately, within a couple of months of each other. The poor little guy had to sit in the car all the way home from Arizona with Roseola (we didn't know what was wrong at the time!) which turned our 5.5 hour drive into 7.5 hours of crying in the car. The upside of him having HFMD is that he learned that hugging/cuddling isn't so awful...and it stuck (not nearly as much as when he was sick, but he does now allow...and occasionally offer on his own...an extended hug)!
- We were able to babysit Landon's honorary cousin, Kaylee, for a weekend, and the two little ones had a great time together! Now everytime Landon see's a picture with Kaylee in it he points her out, calls her "Tay" and has a huge smile on his face. The last time we saw her he snuck in an extra hug! :)
- Daniel's good friend, Jason, got married in Lake Tahoe in August, and we had a wonderful long weekend up there. We had a couple of family days before the wedding festivities began, then Landon got to stay with Papou and Babcia (Daniel's parents) for a couple of days in Tahoe. He had a great time with them at the park, going on walks, climbing stairs, checking out the lake and eating Papou's homegrown tomatoes.
- We spent Labor Day at the beach (with the rest of California), and it was a beautiful day with friends! Landon is still very uneasy about walking in or getting his hands dirty in the sand. Once he warmed up to it, though, he had a great time. He seems to really like standing at the edge of the beach and letting the waves splash on him!
- We were up in Mission Viejo for Daniel's birthday weekend, so we celebrated with the Zim family at Irvine Regional Park with train and pony rides. (Whose birthday was it??)
- Papou and Abbey (dog) came to visit while Babcia was in Poland. We spent a lot of that time in the pool. We're not sure whether Landon liked swimming himself or watching Abbey chase her ball into the pool. Landon will be excited to see them (and Babcia) again this weekend in San Jose!
- New baby cousin Zoe (with Peter, Amber and Jake) made her first trip to Temecula. We spent a day at the beach and a day in downtown San Diego, including a Padres (winners) v Giants (losers) game. It was a great weekend, and we can't wait for them to visit next month!
- Landon had a blast at the pumpkin patch this year. He loved everything from the pumpkins to the tractors to the pig races to the pony ride to chasing chickens at the petting zoo (although he could have cared less about the bigger animals) to the mini train (especially getting to ring the bell on the train).
- He also got to spend a weekend with Grammie and Papa Zimmerman. He got to go back to Zoomars for their Halloween festivities, another mini train ride, choosing a pumpkin and petting & feeding the animals. From the pictures of the rest of the weekend, it appears that they spent a bunch of time playing with the dog and starting a band.
- We leave today for San Jose to visit Papou, Babcia and the rest of the San Jose family. We will probably be spending a good portion of the weekend watching the World Series.
- We found out that Landon will have a little sister (due January 23, 2015)! He knows his "Baby Ti-tur" (sister) is in Mama's tummy, but he also thinks there's a baby in everyone else's tummy too.
- At his 15 month doctor appointment he was in the 50th percentile in weight and 84th percentile in height. He was starting to look like Daddy, tall and lean. His 18 month appointment is next week, so we'll see if that is sticking.
- He's great with letter sounds. At about 14.5 months old he knew 20 of the letter sounds by name, and shortly after by sight. He now knows a lot of the letter names as well and mixes up the names and the sounds of letters. (We'll give him a pass on that for now.) ;-) He's starting to count and recognize numbers and to learn his colors. Pink is his favorite color of chalk, and purple is his favorite crayon color. He can count to 10 as long as you agree that the number 7 doesn't exist (he can't be convinced otherwise)...so really to 6.
- Landon's vocabulary has really, really grown over the last 6 months, although many of the "words" he says can still just be understood by Mama and Dada (and some only by himself). He has his own word for most objects (often just the first syllable of the real word). He calls himself "Nan-nan". He loves Fridays when the "tas tuck" comes to pick up the trash and Wednesdays when he can watch the gardener cut the grass with the "mo mo" (lawn mower). In the beginning of October he started putting together 2 words ("pig race" were the first 2 strung together...at the pumpkin patch) and a few days later he was saying 3 together here and there.
- He still LOVES music. We often play music from the TV, so when we go to someone else's house he points to the TV and starts dancing, hoping that someone will turn on the music for him. He loves to be sung to as well, and he's started trying to sing along. He usually gets the last word of each line if he's heard the song a few times. His favorite songs are "Stay with Me" by Sam Smith ("Meeee" is our most requested song) and the classic "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" ("Whoa Whoa"). He also really likes watching videos of people playing musical instruments.
- Landon also still has a great love of reading. Now he can "read" some of the words in his favorite books. Sometimes it seems as though he knows the words because he has memorized the book, and other times he names the objects you point to when it gets to that word.
- Landon had his first haircut...I'm still waiting for the curls to grow back (which it looks to be starting to do on top!).
- He likes trying on Dada's shoes, and he calls himself a "big boy" whenever he gets them on.
- His favorite activity is being chased. He will "hide" (in the same spot every time) and run to his bean bag chair (usually face planting) when we "find" him. He also likes to run to the corner of the room and turn around, smiling and waiting for us to chase him. We don't know which he likes better, the chase or the tickling at the end of the chase. Either way, it's a (several times a) daily Kelepouris household activity (and usually right before bedtime - whoops!).
- We spent a lot of the summer at the park, playing in the sprinklers, swimming, at the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park, at the beach and the Temecula Duck Pond and playing with bubbles.
- One of Landon's favorite times of the day is when Daniel gets home...no, not because he misses Daniel, but because he wants to "dive, dive, dive" (drive). He loves to stand on his daddy's lap in the car and pretend to steer, push the buttons, roll the windows up and down, etc..
- He just switched to 1 nap a day, and it seems to work well. He remains a great sleeper at night (which we do not take for granted!).
- He's a really good eater as well. He chows down on pretty much everything, with the exception of cauliflower and Siracha (that one was Dada's fault). He loves everything about food, including cooking. He has adopted one of our pans and wooden spoons as his own so he can pretend cook/stir. We even considered making his Halloween costume be "leftovers", as he loves to play with/in Tupperware.
- Landon loves Halloween! Well, at least pumpkins.
He's been a pretty busy boy over the last 6 months:
- Daniel and I took a trip to Washington, D.C. to celebrate my very good friend, Katie's, wedding. We had a great time out there and were able to spend time with friends we rarely see. Landon was lucky enough to stay with Grammie and Papa. We missed him, but we know he had a really fun time at the Z's!
- One of Landon's favorite times of the day is when Daniel gets home...no, not because he misses Daniel, but because he wants to "dive, dive, dive" (drive). He loves to stand on his daddy's lap in the car and pretend to steer, push the buttons, roll the windows up and down, etc..
- He just switched to 1 nap a day, and it seems to work well. He remains a great sleeper at night (which we do not take for granted!).
- He's a really good eater as well. He chows down on pretty much everything, with the exception of cauliflower and Siracha (that one was Dada's fault). He loves everything about food, including cooking. He has adopted one of our pans and wooden spoons as his own so he can pretend cook/stir. We even considered making his Halloween costume be "leftovers", as he loves to play with/in Tupperware.
- Landon loves Halloween! Well, at least pumpkins.
He's been a pretty busy boy over the last 6 months:
- Daniel and I took a trip to Washington, D.C. to celebrate my very good friend, Katie's, wedding. We had a great time out there and were able to spend time with friends we rarely see. Landon was lucky enough to stay with Grammie and Papa. We missed him, but we know he had a really fun time at the Z's!
- We spent Mother's Day here in Temecula with our little family and the Zimmermans. It was a fun family day!
- Father's Day began pacing the halls of the hospital to welcome the arrival of Landon's soon-to-be buddy, Mason (currently they couldn't care less about each other). Then we headed out to Oceanside and spent the rest of the day with the Rogers family.
- Daniel and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary over a weekend away in Huntington Beach. Daniel surprised me with a gondola ride. We spent time on the beach, at the pool and riding bikes around town. It was a great weekend, but, again, we really missed our little guy!
- We took our annual 4th of July trip to San Luis Obispo, which is always one of our favorite weeks of the year. Landon got to see Dada and Mama's old digs/favorite place, he enjoyed his first ice cream, played on the beach and learned that you really can't have enough red, white and blue clothing for 5 days.
- Grammie (Nicole's mom) took us to Zoomars, a petting zoo, playground and mini train with Uncles Matt & Peter. Here Landon experienced his first pony ride. The Zims spoiled him with a second pony ride, some chocolate shake, a balloon animal and running (literally) across town to see a real train passing by. Now, whenever he talks about Uncle "Matt Matt" he says "bong bong bong" because he remembers Matt running him to the train. He also went to Lake Mission Viejo for his first time (one of my favorite childhood places!) over the summer.
- Landon's cousin, Zoe, arrived on July 29th, and we were able to meet her a week and a half later. Landon has also had several honorary cousins born over just a few months. He hasn't been too impressed with babies, unless one is crying in HIS mom's arms...then he comes right over, fake/real cries and wants to be held. We might have a problem when #2 comes along! He did, however, have a great time playing with his big cousin, Jake!
- He contracted both Roseola and Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, unfortunately, within a couple of months of each other. The poor little guy had to sit in the car all the way home from Arizona with Roseola (we didn't know what was wrong at the time!) which turned our 5.5 hour drive into 7.5 hours of crying in the car. The upside of him having HFMD is that he learned that hugging/cuddling isn't so awful...and it stuck (not nearly as much as when he was sick, but he does now allow...and occasionally offer on his own...an extended hug)!
- Daniel's good friend, Jason, got married in Lake Tahoe in August, and we had a wonderful long weekend up there. We had a couple of family days before the wedding festivities began, then Landon got to stay with Papou and Babcia (Daniel's parents) for a couple of days in Tahoe. He had a great time with them at the park, going on walks, climbing stairs, checking out the lake and eating Papou's homegrown tomatoes.
- We spent Labor Day at the beach (with the rest of California), and it was a beautiful day with friends! Landon is still very uneasy about walking in or getting his hands dirty in the sand. Once he warmed up to it, though, he had a great time. He seems to really like standing at the edge of the beach and letting the waves splash on him!
- We were up in Mission Viejo for Daniel's birthday weekend, so we celebrated with the Zim family at Irvine Regional Park with train and pony rides. (Whose birthday was it??)
- Papou and Abbey (dog) came to visit while Babcia was in Poland. We spent a lot of that time in the pool. We're not sure whether Landon liked swimming himself or watching Abbey chase her ball into the pool. Landon will be excited to see them (and Babcia) again this weekend in San Jose!
- New baby cousin Zoe (with Peter, Amber and Jake) made her first trip to Temecula. We spent a day at the beach and a day in downtown San Diego, including a Padres (winners) v Giants (losers) game. It was a great weekend, and we can't wait for them to visit next month!
- Landon had a blast at the pumpkin patch this year. He loved everything from the pumpkins to the tractors to the pig races to the pony ride to chasing chickens at the petting zoo (although he could have cared less about the bigger animals) to the mini train (especially getting to ring the bell on the train).
- He also got to spend a weekend with Grammie and Papa Zimmerman. He got to go back to Zoomars for their Halloween festivities, another mini train ride, choosing a pumpkin and petting & feeding the animals. From the pictures of the rest of the weekend, it appears that they spent a bunch of time playing with the dog and starting a band.
Happy Half Birthday, Little Guy! We love you so much!!!
