1 year ago. . .

Yesterday was 1 year since Landon's last surgery, the Glenn.  It feels like a lifetime ago (which for him it is) seeing him like he is now so happy and healthy and active.  We went for donuts after church today as a special treat, in the future we'll probably do more to celebrate his "heart"iversaries but right now it's just another day to him.  We'll have to balance not ignoring his diagnosis but not constantly making him feel different   It is such a gift knowing that right now he doesn't even understand that he's any different than other kids (and looking at him, you would never know it either!)

He has another ear infection over Christmas (his first one since getting tubes) so he was extra cranky while we were traveling but all things considered he did pretty well.  Since then he's had a little bit of a stretch without being sick.  He's cut several teeth- I was brave and stuck my finger in his mouth to get the latest total yesterday and he's up to 12, 4 of which are molars.  It was a rough few weeks while those all came through.  We are over halfway there & we'll be glad when he cuts that last one, though that will be a while!

We're still working on getting him walk- it has been a long and arduous process!  He's still going to PT and has definitely made improvements.  At this point it seems like he just has to make the decision that he wants to walk and it will happen.  He just stood up in the middle of the room by himself for the first time today so we are hoping it's very soon!  He's just started climbing up on chairs and the couch and climbing back down too, which he thinks is a lot of fun!

His vocabulary is constantly expanding- he's turning into quite the parrot, copying words that we say pretty often and learning the actual meaning of words all the time.  Most of the time that we ask him a question he says "DAH!" (which sounds a lot like "yeah") but occasionally he shakes his head adamantly.  We are glad that he is starting to communicate what he wants and doesn't want but we know that with is comes that toddler defiance when he doesn't get his way!  Some of his latest words are "apple", "dog", "nana" (banana) and he has started saying mama again quite a bit.

All things considered, this has been a really fun stage with his being affectionate, laughing at everything and learning new things every day.