Deployment

It was finally official on Friday, May 21st...Shane left for his first deployment on the Truman Aircraft Carrier. I did pretty well the week leading up to his leaving. I did not really cry until I drove Shane to his plane. We got to his work walked in the door and I just broke down. It was so hard not to. The mood was just so depressing. Landon and I got to stay with Shane until he flew his plane off of the base. It was really cool being able to see him gear up, walk out to the plane, and watch him take off. This was my first time ever seeing him fly. Granted I did not see much because my eyes were swelling with tears...but I saw enough.

I am very excited for Shane to go on his first deployment. He has been preparing the last 4+ years of his life for this day and it has finally arrived. He has gone through a tremendous amount of work and he finally gets to use his training.

Landon and I will pray to God every night to keep him safe and for the strength to make it through the next several months without us.

WE LOVE YOU DADDY SO MUCH!

First Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Landon's 1st Birthday with a good old backyard BBQ. With daddy scheduled to be gone when Landon turns one we decided to celebrate early. We had about 15 people over and 2 kids, Evan & Matthew. Landon got a ton of presents...a lawnmower, farm toy, legos, books, and more!

I decided to let him get a whole cupcake of his own and I thought he would dig right into it...but he didn't. I don't think he really liked it all that much. He hated the icing on his fingers. He kept on flinging his hands around to get it off. It was pretty funny.

I can't believe our baby is almost one. Where did the time go??

Bush Gardens - Happy Mother's Day

On Mother's Day I woke up to wonderful sound of my baby Landon talking on the monitor. I was hoping he would say "mama". Instead I heard "dada...dada" and his monster voice. After getting Landon out of bed, Landon and Shane gave me my gifts...an apple computer & AWESOME card made by our little peanut.

We decided last minute to go to Bush Garden's with our friend Alex. It was a blast. Landon LOVED the teacups. He laughed so hard at daddy spinning the cup round and round. Landon went on the ride 2 times in a row and I think that was enough for him. We also rode on the carousel, but he did not have as much fun since the ride was slow. I am finding he is a dare devil...the faster and more daring the more he loves it.

Quick Update

My blogging about Landon has come to a pause since our personal computer crashed :( I no longer have a computer to upload photos or video.

Anyway, Landon is almost 1 and it is so hard to believe. On Saturday (5/1) he took his first steps. We were at a BBQ and he let go of one of our friends and took 4 steps to come see me. Shane and I could not believe it. He looked like he had been walking for months.

Landon is also crawling to the door in the afternoon when he hears it open to see if it's his daddy. He starts saying "dada dada"...It breaks my heart because pretty soon dada will be gone for months on deployment and he won't see he dada walk through the door.

It's starting to get real now that Shane is leaving in about 2 weeks. I hope I can handle the housework, my job, being a great mom, and all the day to day stuff by myself. I pray this deployment will be safe for him. I know we will get through everything together even though we are separated.

WE LOVE YOU DADDY!