One woman band. :)

Sydney has turned into an adventurous little girl.  She is into everything and has quite a selection of words she says.  I started writing down the things she says just to see what she is saying on her own, and we are up to 36 words so far.  It's anything from "hi" to "airplane".

Some of my favorite things she says are:
"wa-wa" (water)
"Me-na" (banana)
"wok" (walk)
"Oh no!" This one is all in how she says it.  Like it's the worst thing that's happened to her all day.
"Ew!"**
"Shewsh" (shoes)
"Tick-awl, tick-awl" (tickle, tickle)

**Funny story:  One day I was upstairs doing laundry when Sydney wandered off.  I knew exactly where to find her.  She likes to go in my bathroom and take every bottle out of my drawers.  She learned recently that there are Q-tips in one of the drawers.  I walk into the bathroom and there she is, standing there looking down at a Q-tip in her hand.  I asked her what she was doing and she started saying "Ew, Ew" over and over.  She had put the Q-tip in her ear and got some ear wax on the Q-tip!  She definitely thought it was gross. :)

My little girl is getting so big, so fast!  I feel like I'll turn around twice and she'll be in high school.  It's amazing how time flies!

Here are some cute pictures of the little munchkin playing with our musical instruments:

Sydney has her 18 month appointment towards the end of the month, so we'll be visiting the doctor to see how much she's grown.  I'll put that up when we have it. :)

Extra pictures from June...

Landon's a rock star!!

This picture is pretty fitting for my little man!  He's a pretty amazing kid!  I have to say that Landon is probably one of my heros.  He's such a fighter and surprises everyone with what he can accomplish.  Going from May 2009 to now and how much he's grown and progressed, I can't imagine him being any short of amazing!  If any of you need a refresher as to how far he's come, just check this out!  You can also watch the video at the bottom of the screen.  Watching that video makes me feel so blessed.  I'm so glad that we took the time to document everything that happened.  Just to remember where we've been and how far Landon has come.

Speaking of Landon being amazing (no pun intended), we've been still going to speech therapy over the summer with Kim.  She's awesome with him, and is always amazed by what he accomplishes.  Sometimes even in a week's time.  He's talking so well and even clear enough for anyone to understand him.  There are still some things even I have a hard time understanding, but I didn't think he would make such progress in such a short amount of time!  Neither did Kim!

I was watching some videos on my phone the other night that were taken right after Sydney was born.  On the video, Landon is spelling out JCPenney's.  He couldn't say the letters very clearly, and was making the sounds for most of them.  The C was just a little click of the tongue, where now he can pronounce every letter and most of their sounds.  There are still a couple of sounds that he gets caught up on (like X and Q, J and F), but for the most part, he has trumped a year and a half ago.  Here is a video of him spelling his name, and you can tell that he couldn't pronounce "N".

The trach disappearing definitely helped a lot of his progression, and we're hoping that he just continues to progress to where eventually we won't have to go to therapy!  Kim is already talking about how he's almost to where other kids his age are struggling.  I couldn't believe it!  He's come so far!!!

I'm hoping that this year in school, Landon will graduate from using his iPad and he will speak clear enough for his teachers and his peers to understand him.  Only time will tell... :)  At the end of the school year, his speech teacher at school (Mrs. Wilson) was only working on using his iPad when she couldn't understand him.  We wanted to make sure that speaking was his first choice, even at school.  She would work on him using his iPad when she would say "what?" to him, like she didn't understand him (even if she did).  He's so efficient with it, that he had no problem with communicating with it.  I'm so happy that he has such great teachers that are so willing to help him out!  We ran into Mrs. Wilson at Walmart last week and even in the month and a half that she hasn't seen him, she was saying how clear he sounds!  It always makes me happy to hear things like that.  Not because I don't realize how far he's come, but because sometimes I forget how fast he progresses.  He's one amazing kid....A ROCK STAR!! :)

A lot of LOVE

I'm always worried about Landon and Sydney getting along.  For the most part we just have the normal issues with sharing and the "that's MINE!" problem.  Then I just have to remind myself that as long as we spend time sharing love with them everyday that we can't go wrong, right?

Evidence that my little family has a lot of love to give:

We love our children for all their differences and similarities.  We wouldn't trade them for anything in this world.  I would hate to know what kind of person I would've been without them.  Children have a way of reminding you to slow down, live in the moment, and don't take life too seriously.

Tents and hideouts

I've been a bad blogger, I know.  But I promise my absence in blogging hasn't effected my picture taking. :)  We've been having fun during the summer, hanging out in the pool in the backyard, playing at the park, getting books at the library, and spending time with friends.

Mom and Dad have also been busy with projects around the house, which is what has slowed my blogging down.  I've been exhausted, but I can't wait to show you what we've been working on.  You'll have to stay tuned because it's still a work in progress. :)

Anywho, so we've had some fun with some pop-up tents I found in our basement.  We used to have them up in the playroom, but they took up too much room and Landon didn't really care for them that much.  I saved them thinking that he would like them when he got a little older.  Thank goodness I did!  Both Landon and Sydney really enjoyed them!

We put a pillow and blanket in one of the tents to snuggle on.

Then Landon had a visitor... :)

Peek-a-boo!

"I'm not tired, Mom!"...yeah right!

Yes, those are both of my children in one photo.  And yes, they were sitting still...shocking.  I know.

This was my view after a couple of pictures were taken.  They made a break for it! :)

I had Landon take his picture peeking out of one of the holes in the top of the tent...

Then he wanted me to take his picture every time he stood up through one of the holes!  He says, "Take my picture, Mom!"  What a diva! :)

Braydon and Landon spent some time in the basement one day building a fort out of couch cushions and blankets.  Landon had fun climbing in and out and Sydney climbed in there a few times too.

Landon with his masterpiece

Even Braydon climbed in.  You know....to test it. ;)

He's such a cutie!

Landon's last day of preschool!

Landon and Mrs. Sanders

Tuesday was Landon's last day of preschool!!  He's grown so much in the past couple of years with Mrs. Sanders!  He started out with a nurse in tow, needing help with everything, and in pull-ups.  He's now a big kid and doesn't have a nurse helping him with his tasks during his school day.  He's also potty trained and goes all by himself at school just like the other kids.

I'm so thankful for Mrs. Sanders and her para-professional teachers, Mrs. Ackles and Ms. Nan!  They have been amazing with Landon and have taught him so much independence.  I know they love him and want what is best for him.

The last day of preschool was celebrated the same way it was last year...with an ice cream party!  Even with two children throwing up their ice cream after playing a long game of "red light, green light", all the kids had fun!  Here's some pictures of Landon's ice cream party with his classmates...

Landon enjoying his bowl of ice cream topped with sprinkles, M&Ms, and a cherry. :)

Landon with his favorite teacher, Ms. Nan.

Sydney eye balling Landon's ice cream.  Those crackers and raisins just don't sound that good compared to what brother has! :)

Landon with Mrs. Ackles

Landon and Liana doing sidewalk chalk together.  Small world but Liana also goes to Children's for therapy at the same time and day that Landon is there to see Kim.  So, he'll still get to see Liana until school starts in the fall.

Sydney made a friend this year too.  Mahala is one of Landon's classmates, and she LOVED Sydney!  Sydney would always run up to Mahala after school and they would have a little conversation. :)  Here Sydney is trying to give Mahala a hug so she can reach her hair tie....she's sneaky!

Mrs. Ackles drawing a number 9 with sidewalk chalk.  If Landon was good in school, Mrs. Ackles would take him on a walk around the school so Landon could find some numbers in the hallway.  They called it a "number walk". :)

Mrs. Sanders with Liana, Christian, and Landon  

These three were in her class last year also.  They are all three going to different schools next year. :(

The class enjoying a juice box after "red light, green light"

The last day of school calls for some "last day of school tater tots and milk"  YUM!