Family

We had a great time with my parents and Leah and Emery in town. We went to the Children's Museum, which was a blast. I didn't really know what to expect from it, but the boys loved it. Lennon is still really sensitive and dramatic around Emery--I don't know if it's a territorial thing or a teething issue--but I'm hoping when we see them this summer it won't be an issue.

Trying to put on his new sandals:Lennon LOVES playing with his Grandpa...there's just something about Grandpas!
This is video of Lennon REALLY enjoying his left over cake (enjoying it a little too much!):


This is at the Children's Museum:

Happy Easter!

We had a great, low key Easter Sunday. We got up, went to church, and then just enjoyed a relaxing day and a great meal. My mom and I left that afternoon to go pick up Leah and Emery from the airport. So we did Round 2 of Easter baskets the next day.

This was Lennon and his Easter basket last year...And this is Lennon and his Easter basket this year...

Party!

We had Lennon's first birthday party on Saturday, April 3rd. We delayed the party because we wanted my parents to be able to be here (my parents came on my mom's very last spring break!) My mom and I spent Friday getting ready for the party, making food and decorating the cakes. We had a lot of people come to celebrate Lennon's birthday--around 20 family and friends crammed into our not-so-big place, but I think it worked out well, and hopefully wasn't too cramped. Lennon did great with all the people, and seemed to have a fun time! We are grateful to have so many great friends and family and loved having so many share the day with us (and missed those who are long distance and couldn't be there).

Not too messy after it was all said and done...

Lennon had more fun with the clothes that he was getting than with unwrapping his presents. He loves to put clothes on--It started with trying to put sock and shoes on his feet and now he has expanded to putting hats and shirts (and occasionally pants) on his head and he tries to put pants on his legs. So he has clothes laying around in his room so he can play with them (now I actually have a good excuse for having clothes laying around!)

So Lennon had his one year check-up with his doctor yesterday, and he did pretty well. He is, in fact, a little guy--he weighs about 18-18.5 pounds (he did not want to sit still on the scale, so it was hard to get an exact number), which puts him in the 10th percentile. He's only 28 inches long, which puts him in the 6th percentile and his head circumference is in the 96th percentile! We're kind of expecting to be small through childhood, but he should be taller than Adam and I as an adult. However, you never know when a growth spurt will hit. But we are pretty sure that he'll always have a big head!

We're getting ready for family to come into town--my parents are coming in Thursday night during my mom's last spring break and then my sister, Leah and nephew, Emery will be coming for a few days Sunday night. So we're going to have a fun, active house full of people! We're looking forward to watching the boys play together--as they get older, their 4 month age difference is not going to make any difference, so they should be able to interact and play together even better than they did in January. I'll be posting pictures!

Happy Birthday Lennon!

I can't believe it's been a year already. Lennon gave his mom a gift by waking up at 12:55 this morning--exactly one year, to the minute, from when we first met our little guy. Normally coming into bed with us at 12:55am would not be so good (a good night lately is 3:30 or 4am), but when I heard him cry and looked at the clock, I smiled.

We had a great day celebrating Lennon's first birthday. We got about a foot of snow last night so Adam had a snow day! Lennon did what he loved all day long...He brought books to Adam to read over and over again (I think Adam's pretty much done with "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?" and "There's a Wocket in My Pocket"). Adam guesses that he read those two books at least 30 times each (he's a good dad!)

He had a great time with his cake. He didn't really eat much of it, but had a blast squeezing it and throwing it! We were talking over the webcam with my parents and Adam's parents at the same time and I think Lennon liked the audience.

Lennon has his doctor appointment on Monday so we'll see how much he weighs. It's hard to guess, but I do know that he's a lean little guy. I look back at pictures when he was about 4 months and he was a chunker, but now there's not much to him.

First Steps

Lennon is still not totally interested in walking, but he has his moments. Most of the time if he is standing on his own, he'll just go into plank position and fall either forward or back (I guess he trusts us enough to catch him!). Just another week and a half to his birthday, so I don't think he'll be walking by then--but it's amazing how much things can change in just a day!

Like Father, Like Son

I came across this picture of Adam as a baby;
I think it's pretty clear who Lennon looks like...

Adam:

Lennon:

My Grandma

My Grandma Martz passed away last week, which has been really hard. Lennon and I flew to Columbus on Friday morning to be with the family. Lennon remembered the family and warmed up to them right away. It was nice to have him be a little bit more independent (whereas two weeks ago he was really going through the separation anxiety phase with me). It was fun to have the two babies there, talking and cooing during the memorial and funeral (just as Grandma would have wanted).

We are so thankful that we got to spend time with Grandma after Christmas. She loved Lennon and Emery so much and she just lit up when they were around.

This summer:After being apart for two weeks, Lennon decided that Emery was fun to play with. Leah and I shared a hotel room and one night they decided to tag team with keeping us up. One was always talking or fussing while the other slept--then they would switch places (it's a good thing they're so cute!)
Great-Aunt Cathy and Lennon:

Great-Uncle Rob and Lennon:

I think we would have done her proud with the entire family getting together, enjoying each other and celebrating her. Those of you who knew my grandma know that she was an amazing woman. She was one of the most loving people you will ever meet and I feel so thankful to call her my grandma and my friend. My hope is to be a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother like she was. She has made this world a much better place.

Linda, John Thomas, and Carla:

Isn't she beautiful:My Grandpa and Grandma (and my favorite):
I love her and miss her a lot.

First Christmas

We had a great Christmas in Wisconsin and Ohio. Lennon did great on the plane--he didn't sleep at all but he stayed happy throughout the flight. We had a great time with family and friends. Cousin Emery was very interested in Lennon. However, when Emery would touch him, Lennon would burst out crying, which he did the entire time (they'll be the best of friends someday!)

He got into the presents and would start to unwrap the gift, tear a small piece of paper and be perfectly happy with that small piece. I would take that piece away, only for him to repeat the cycle. He changed a lot in the 2 weeks we were gone. He started to wave, walk around furniture and talk a lot more--he really is changing everyday!Lennon and Emery:With Great-Grandma Ackatz:

With Uncle Jared:

Lennon's new truck from Grandpa and Grandma Martz: