I am not sure how we got here but here we are... And while nothing is ever given with Landon, especially when it comes to taking photos, we ventured out for photos days after the frigid February freeze and spent time together capturing these images to commemorate his birthday. He started his birthday countdown at 39 days and makes sure that each day everyone knows exactly how many days until it's his special day. He was the whole day planned out since we aren't having a party this year.
In honor of my baby turning five, here are FIVE things I love about Landon.
1. His leadership and strong will. This little boy is going to change the world - I am just sure exactly how. He is a natural leader and loves being bossy and won't back down - no matter what. And while parenting him has not always been easy I know these are the traits that will allow him to go for his goals, have huge dreams and make an impact on so many of those around him. My hope for him is that he continues to lead people in the right direction and doesn't back down when faced with obstacles.
2. His work ethic and passion for everything he tries. Similar to above, when Landon sets his mind to something there ain't nothing that is gonna to stop him! And while this tends to get him a trouble a lot of time, I constantly try to remind myself that he is learning how to channel his energy and it's my job to help him along the way and not stifle his passions. Because of his desire to succeed, he works hard at everything he does and rarely asks for help until he has given it his all! My hope for Landon is that he never lets that spark die because someone tries to reign in his passion.
3. His fashion sense, individuality and carefree nature. I used to fight his clothing choices each morning but around the age of four I quit and gave into the fact that no one is going to tell him what to wear (Are you noticing a trend here yet?!) It isn't uncommon for Landon to change clothes multiple times a day and wear about six pieces of clothing at a time - headband, long sleeve shirt, shirt over the top, leggings, shorts and don't forget about the bright colored baseball socks to complete the look! He honestly does not care what people think and thankfully he is still young enough that he hasn't received any bad reactions to his choices. He marches to his own beat and I love seeing what he will conjure up next. My hope for Landon is that he never lets anyone change who he is or makes him feel bad about his choices - stay strong and do what makes you happy!
4. His amazing memory and ability to pick up on things so quickly. Being a younger sibling I think has pushed Landon to learn things earlier that he may have otherwise - but his memory is just a gift. He will often say "remember when" or repeat an obscure fact that someone said months ago or he will rattle off the jersey number of random Chiefs players or tell you the temperature for the next 5 days - and we have learned not to question him, because more often than not, he is right! He learns things so quickly and just by being around Bryce he is already picking up advanced math computation facts and totally understands the concept behind multiplication and negative numbers. My hope for Landon is that he challenges himself in school (and in life) because I know things will come easy for him and that he will soar if pushed to dig even deeper.
5. His compassion and love for others. This boy loves hard - especially for his big brother. Landon is super aware of the feelings of others and truly wants everyone to be happy and feel loved. Some days I have to wrangle him in before school because he wants to draw a picture for EVERYONE is his class and he makes sure to remember his friend's birthday so he can tell them happy birthday. My hope for Landon is that his loving nature will bring him many friends and hopefully few heartbreaks.
Happy Birthday, Landon! I love you so much!
