5

Landon,
As you sleep between us 30 minutes before you turn FIVE-YEARS OLD!, your Mom and Dad have a very difficult job: to try to describe in this blog post just how much we love you and just how special we think you are.

You've been so loved and so perfect and so special from the moment you came into this world. You were a truly beautiful little baby. One of our favorite memories is you sleeping on Mommy's or Daddy's chest. Sometimes Dad would break the rules and fall asleep himself, but what Mommy didn't know won't hurt her, right?

And you were an ornery little cuss almost from the beginning as well. But that orneriness (is that a word?) is one of the things that makes you special. You were into everything and from the beginning, it was your-way-or-the-highway. Now don't get us wrong, you were a very happy baby. A joy to care for. But you definitely knew what you wanted and when you wanted it. And you've passed on that philosophy to your little brother Kellen, that's for sure.

Nowadays, you've developed from an ornery little toddler into a cute little smart aleck. We're constantly laughing out loud at some your observations about the world. The best part is there's not a mean bone in your body. Your Landonisms come from your heart. Straight into ours.

We mentioned Kellen above. You're are truly the best big brother in the world. You are so patient and so wonderful to him. Kellen looks up to you so much. And he has a great role model right across the hall. It's been our hope from Day One that you and K-Man become best friends and we're so happy that you have truly taken him under your wing. He's even got the ornery thing downpat. You're a good teacher! :)

Have we mentioned yet how talented you are? From swatting baseballs into Mr. John's yard (or into Nana's lip or off Dad's face), to swimming laps at the pool, to your Monster Book with Ships and Monsters, to your Lego towers, to cruising the strip with your bro-bro in the Jeep, you bring us so much joy with your talents. We love all the things you're great at. We even love the things you don't think you're great at. You're great in our eyes.

In summation, thank you for being you. We can't believe the five years have gone this quickly. And while we're sad that we don't have our bouncing baby boy on our laps anymore, we're so happy and thankful for each and every day we get to spend watching you grow up. Happy 5th Birthday son! Thanks for bringing so much joy into our lives!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Here are some of our very favorite pictures of you over the past 5 years:

We love you Lan-Man!