"Just Keep Swimming..."

Landon and I have enrolled in an 8 week "Mommy & Me" swim class at the Niles YMCA. It is a BEAUTIFUL establishment and we love the pools. There are about 10 babies and their mothers in the class. Landon seems to have googley eyes for a little girl named Emma who typically lines up on the wall next to us.

The first day of the class Landon was a little timid, but you could see that he loved the water. His excitement was no surprise. After his first bath when he was just a few days old, he has loved splashing and exploring the water. Of course this was one of the most exciting things for me! I have had a love of water since I can remember, and to have him enjoy it as much as I do makes me so happy. I am enjoying the bonding experience that we are having in the water and sharing our love of it. I love watching him study the ripples in the water and how it can splash around.

The place that we will be living at in Knoxville has 2 pools on the grounds. I cannot WAIT to have a pool at our fingertips. I hope to spend many days at the pool playing games and having tons of laughs.

Landon News

As far as the new things that Landon does goes... where do I begin?! He started eating baby food at 6 months. He loves sweet potatoes, pears, applesauce, carrots, green beans, bananas... basically everything! And if you know me, everything is organic! It is the only way to go! If you are starting to think about solid foods for your baby or even what you feed you young children, think about doing some research about the benefits of feeding them organic. I feel strongly that it is one of the best and most simple gifts that you can give your child. I started eating organic in college when I was able to do my own grocery shopping. When I became pregnant I became even more strict on what when into my body. There are so many good resources out there for you, you just have to look! Anyways, let me get back on track! Landon is also doing an amazing job with finger food! He eats everything from avocado to little puff cereal. Some things like mango and banana are too slippery to pick up with his little fingers, but he sure does try hard! I love the look on his face when he is thinking, learning and trying a new task. It amazes me how quickly babies learn without any verbal instruction.

As far as babbling goes, he is quite the loud mouth. I love this stage of his development! I studied Speech Language and Hearing Sciences at Purdue, seeing everything that I learned in the classroom unfold in front of me is amazing! Landon's first sound was "mama"! Typically babies start producing other sounds first, but not my love! Although this was his first sound, I am not sure that it was produced in direct association with me, but sometimes I let myself think that! He now also says things like "baba" and "gaga" and something that sounds like "brabra". He is a little chatterbox, just like his mommy! I am proud that he seems as if he will grow up to be the type of child to voice what he is thinking and feeling!

His gross motor skills are developing in front of our eyes. He went from rolling over to sitting up as straight and strong as could be to getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. I believe we will seeing him crawling in a matter of days! He works so hard at trying to get to where he wants!

He is still as bald as could be and still have no teeth! Maybe soon we will see some hair and teeth! Well, if he has my genes (which the blonde hair indicates that he does) he may be bald until he is two like I was!

The Latest Holidays

Since I have not been up-to-date with my blogging, I figure the best thing for me to do is tell you all about our bigger events. These would be the recent holidays!

Easter was a great time for us. We were lucky to have Stasia in town and we were able to spend time with my cousins. We spent some time at Stasia's family home and were able to do something that we have never done before: blow eggs! It was totally "Martha Stewart" and I loved it! Landon obviously did not partake in any of the actual blowing or dying, but he loved seeing all of the bright colors and, since we are talking about Stasia, glitter! We went to church in the morning and then helped Landon with his Easter basket. He received bath decor and toys, a prayer book, and a book called My Heart is like a Zoo. I saw this book at Notre Dame story time and was determined to find it for Landon. Well, after quite an adventure, I was able to get my hands on one and I highly recommend this book to anyone who is into creative children's books. With Stasia's and my families eating at different times on Easter, we took advantage of all of the good food and both ate at each others dinners! Yes, that does mean that we both consumed 2 multi-course meals plus deserts! It was SO worth it! Landon just loved all of the familiar faces and smiles!

MY FIRST MOTHERS DAY WAS AMAZING!

Words cannot describe how it feels to be a mother. Every day is a joy. A joy that I had never experienced before Landon. On Mother's Day it was all confirmed, that for the rest of my life, I get to celebrate this holiday because my sweet little Landon came into my life! I am so blessed to have him and thankful for him. My family and friends were amazing to me this day! I got so many loving text messages, phone calls, and e-mails wishing me a happy Mother's day! Thank you to everyone for taking the time out of your day to do that! I LOVE YOU ALL! My family was so amazing to me as well! It was somewhat funny how my mom and I handled the day. It was a constant battle to try to get the other person to relax and let the other take care of them. I wanted to celebrate my mother and she wanted to celebrate my motherhood! My father, sister and brother did an excellent job celebrating both of us though! Thank goodness for them! We had an amazing breakfast, lunch and dinner- my kind of day! I got a beautiful arrangement of flowers from Landon courtesy of my Dad. People I love, great food, tons of smiles and the baby who completes me! Less than a year until I get to celebrate my 2nd year of motherhood! Cheers to many more!

Those were the big events that you missed. I will do a much better job of keeping up.

A Change

As I prepare to post a large update on everything that has been happening lately, I realize that a name change for my blog may be appropriate. I have been a mother for 8 months now, so I feel that the word "new" is not so relevant anymore. I have been brainstorming for a more suitable title, but I am not 100% settled on one yet.... so stay tuned to find out what I decide on!

The New Things...

So many things have changed since I last blogged (which I will say now, my frequency of blogging will change!)

Landon and I are now back in Granger until we move to Knoxville! Our house in Lafayette was not the best place for us to be at the time so we moved back in with my parents. It is not what I had in mind, but it is temporary and the help and love Landon and I receive from my family is amazing! Jackie and Bryant are infatuated with the baby, and Landon is all giggles and smiles around both of them too! My parents (AKA "Birdie" and "Gramps") are so thankful for this unexpected time they have with us. We could not be more blessed as a family!

The plan is still for me to begin working on obtaining my AuD at University of Tennessee in August. The big move will happen August 1! It will be SO exciting to finally get the ball rolling, but it will definitely be hard for me to be in a strange city with strange faces and it just be Landon and I. But we are the best duo around and I know we will make just fine! We will find our routine and from there things will fall into place!

Now for the Landon updates: He is still bald, although if you have the right light, you can see his tiny bleach blonde hairs shining! There are still no teeth in that big smiling mouth of his, but by the drool fountain that he is, I would think that it is safe to say that they may be coming! He is working SO hard on crawling. You can see the frustration creeping inside of him when he is trying so hard to get a toy that he wants. He can get to his hands and knees, will rock for a while, and then sprawl out in exhaustion. I am savoring every moment that he is not mobile for the moment, because all mothers are telling me that once babies start moving, our jobs just get harder. I am looking forward to seeing this milestone that he reaches though! He is constantly babbling; saying "mama" and "baba" and blowing bubbles with his lips. He is eating finger foods and might I add that he is a GREAT eater, plumpin' up and looking SO healthy! All around he is absolutely, positively the greatest, most adorable, sweetest, happiest and joyful baby around and he truly completes me!

As for me, things are complicated but always getting better! I have the best family and friends who are my rock! I LOVE YOU ALL!

I will post again soon!

The Big Roll!

Today I witnessed Landon roll over! He had done it twice for my parents (Birdie & Gramps to Landon) while visiting them, but was holding out on me until now! I just placed him on his stomach and three times in a row, as if it was no problem at all, he did it! I tried so hard to contain my cheers, but after the third time I just let out a "Hooray!".

We have had a busy few weeks since the last time I blogged. I joined a Mothers Group a couple months back, but Landon's unpredictable schedule made it difficulty to always attend. This week, we went over to one of the mothers' home. Her and I enjoyed tea and cookies while her youngest daughter (19 months) oohed and awed over little Landon. She was so precious with him; covering him up with the blanket, giving him toys, and just talking to him. On Wednesday, we walked to the Klondike Library to attend Story Time with the Mothers Group. Landon was such a good little boy! Not one peep while the librarian read stories about farm animals and was so engaged with we sang songs. It was so much fun to see Landon excited to hear all the songs and be stimulated by all of the people around. We then found two books about Basset Hounds that we brought home to read. We signed up for a "Read Around the World" program in which we will read for 4 hours and come back to the library for prizes. On Tuesday, we hope to attend the Family Lapsit Story Time!

We were so blessed to have had Heather and her mom visit yesterday! She is currently living in Alabama so we are so lucky to be on her list of people to see when she is in town for such a short amount of time! We got to visit for a few hours and loved every moment of our catch up!

It is snowing outside and the ground went from being bare to covered in snow within a few short hours. It is supposed to snow more, so maybe we will get to go out and explore the great outdoors with Landon and Marley again! I am looking forward to a nice and relaxing weekend!

Tennessee!!!

So, Andy & I decided to take advantage of our time off and plan a trip to Tennessee. We had the goals of touring the UT Early Learning Center (day care for Landon) and find a place to live next year. Landon did GREAT on the 7 hour drive down! Thank goodness! Our trip was a little bit unorganized and last minute, so we were a little scatter brained at first. Packing for a 3 month old last minute is overwhelming! You would not believe the amount of pure stuff you need for a baby. You need numerous clothes and burp cloths because no laundry will be done, toys to entertain, binkies galore, a pack n' play crib, blankets, and so on. Now, when you are planning on going on a trip where you know you will be doing a lot of walking, you would think you would remember a way to transport your baby. Not us! We were nearly to Knoxville when we looked at each other and asked, "Did you pack a stroller? Or the back carrier?". We both answered "No!". Apparently we are both getting used to traveling with an infant. We went to the nearest Walmart and ended up purchasing the sweetest little umbrella stroller that we will get a lot of use out of! Our absent mindedness worked to our advantage this time!

After our stroller purchase, we headed to the Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg area. It was absolutely breathtaking!

The mountain views of the Smoky Mountains was gorgeous. Gatlinburg was a cute little town cut into the valley of the mountains. They had a ton of little touristy shops. Some were not worth peaking into, but we found a treasure chest at a local wood carving shop! I wanted to get Landon

a little stuffed Black Bear and found the best one ever there! Andy couldn't resist buying hand carved sling shots for him and Landon (when he gets older of course). I will admit, they are adorable. One is a Black Bear and one is a Moose. We also got a magnet for our refrigerator. We also stopped in at a

local candy making shop where Andy bought some Smoky Mountain Taffy (I don't know if he thought that was better than the Outer Banks' Salt Water Taffy) and some locally made BBQ sauce! After walking around the main street, we decided to head up into the Smoky's towards Ober Ski Resort. Andy was so nervous as we wove around the mountain. Once we reached to top and took in the view, we decided to head back down, which was a great decision because it started snowing then.

The snow is an entire story on its own. It doesn't snow there often, so when it does snow, people act as if a natural disaster has occurred. We had stopped in at the Old Navy Factory Outlet Store when the snow was beginning to fall at around 6PM. Schools had been cancelled that morning in anticipation of the snow (and were also cancelled the day before because it was cold). While we were in the store looking for teaching clothes for Andy, the worker were in a frenzy. Their boss had just called telling them to close ASAP so that they don't get snowed in. Let me just tell you that there was just a dusting on the ground. I just kept thinking about how my parents have 3 feet and their days continue as normal! After we left, we needed food. Well, everything was closing! There was still just a dusting on the ground, not even 1/8th of an inch! We stopped at Kroger to see if they had a deli to get food at. While Andy was in the store, they announced that they were closing due to weather! Grocery stores, fast food joints, gas stations, and restaurants were all closing! On our drive home we passed 20+ cars pulled over on the side of the road with their hazards on! We could not stop laughing. Again, there was still less than 1/2 and inch on the ground. Oh, it will be fun living down south just for that entertainment alone!

The next day we went on a major house hunt. We saw some places that could work, but nothing that we felt was a perfect fit for us. We did find out that the West side of Knoxville was the place for us. Andy was on cloud 9 because our hotel was in the same parking lot as the largest Bass Pro Shop we had ever seen. We went to dinner that night at Islamodora Fish Company which was inside the shop. It was by far the best dinner both of us had ever had. Everything was amazing! The margaritas, bread, salad, and our main dishes were a 10! We then walked all around the shop. Andy was in the zone. He was so happy with the thought that he will live so close to this store next year! Each night after we retired to the hotel room, I left Landon and Andy to have Father-Son time while I sat outside in the hot tub! It was so peaceful!

Before we headed back home, we looked at one more place to live. A girl in the AuD. program at UT had told us that is where she lived and loved it, and so did we! It was so safe and had so many things to do (2 pools, movie theater, play set, racquetball, pool table, etc.) all on the grounds. The set up of the townhouse would be beyond amazing for us! We wanted something with an open floor plan and a lot of storage. The place is called Forest Ridge and this is website:

http://www.forest-ridge.com/intro.asp

We will be opting for The Maple floor plan. The third bedroom with be turned into an office. This is where we will be living if we don't find anything more like what we are living in now, but we were unsuccessful at finding that, but will keep looking.

The trip home was nice. It didn't seem like 7 hours. Landon had a fussy fit this time for a little bit. Eventually, he was fine! It is nice to be back home! It has been so long! Andy starts student teaching today and is very excited about it! He will do great!

Also, today is the one year anniversary of the day we found out about Landon! What a year!

Holiday Recap

We had a lot to celebrate this Holiday season. 2009 was a great year for our family. I got graduated with a Bachelors of Science, I was accepted to 3 graduate programs to receive my Doctor of Audiology, Andy had a successful elbow surgery, he signed his NFL players contract, we got engaged, and most of all: LANDON!

We celebrated Christmas at Andy's parents house. "Santa" came to their house and all Andy and I could think of to ask for was for health and happiness for Landon. Landon was also a mini Santa. I am not much for the dress-up thing, but it brought many smiles to peoples faces. Andy, Landon and I went to Christmas mass at a cute little church that was built in the 1800's! It was such a nice mass and had about as many people in the whole church to fill up one pew at St. Pius X. I love new experiences!

We then headed to Granger to see my side of the family. It

was so nice to be home and to see everyone! We were lucky enough to get to spend 2 evenings with my cousin Rich, his mo

ther Lois and his daughter Carly. She is a riot! I guess she gave Andy a hard time for calling Landon "Bubba Billy Bob". This is only funny because I do not know if she exactly understood the whole nickname thing.

My Dad made his famous Sour Broughton meal for NYE! I love my German heritage! I think I said 100 times while it was in the over "OMG! It smells sooooo good!" And man it was! I realized that I am getting old when I was counting down the seconds to midnight on New Years Eve, not because if the celebration that came along with the beginning of a new year, but because all I wanted to do was to go to bed! I made it to midnight and only knew it was because I could hear fireworks going off (assuming from the famous Futa boys! Gotta love them!). That was my cue for bed.

Everyone loved spending time with little Landon, especially Bryant and Jackie. Jackie is so amazing with him! She has the most gentle touch and loving smile when he is in her arms or playing on the floor with her. Bryant just knows all of the right things to do. He likes to always

respond to our "Do you know what you are doing?" with "Yeah! I have seen it in the movies". And amazingly, he always does a superb job! They are doing great jobs at being an aunt and uncle. I love getting to watch

their relationship with Landon grow and watching them grow as well. Of course my parents (a.k.a. Birdie and Gramps) love him to pieces as well. Landon read the newspaper with Gramps every morning in his big red leather chair. He helped Birdie cook meals and even clean. He fits right in the chaos that I love of the Wind household! :)

Now on the agenda for 2010: Enjoy life and being a mom! Take a moment out of every day just for our family to enjoy life. Move to Tennessee, become a

Volunteer and get one step closer to becoming a Doctor of Audiology! Support Andy in his every move with the NFL.