August 17th, 2004

Happy Birthday Landon! Today marks the end of the most life changing six months of my life, the craziest, happiest, most sleep deprived six months of my life. Today Landon Wyatt celebrates his sixth month birthday. February seems like an eternity ago - the tiny, pink, dark haired, peacefully sleeping, quietly wailing newborn has been supplanted by a curious, eternally moving, vocal, light haired, bottomless pit of a child. I can’t believe they are the same person. I am so constantly inundated by events involving the present day Landon, that the early Landon often seems distant and unreal. I can’t believe he was ever that little, then again he was never truly a petite newborn.

On Monday, our babysitter Stacey reported that Landon had taken his first crawl across the floor. Rhiannon and I have yet to witness this event, although every night now religiously involves some time with Landon on his quilt with gentle urging from his parents, desperately trying to recreate the infamous movement. So far our attempts have proved unsuccessful. There is no doubt however that Landon is close to gaining mobility, he often displays his ability to rise up on his hands and knees, rocking his body forward and back, intently urging his body to move - as of yet his limbs have failed to cooperate.

Landon has gained the ability to sit upright without support from a father’s hand or a soft pillow. Presently his time balanced on his bottom rarely exceeds a few minutes however, any distraction that evokes quick movement of his head brings him crashing down, head first, onto the floor below. Nonetheless, the progress in Landon’s activity, coordination, and control has been impressively rapid.

Our friends Ben and Leslie gave birth to their first child Zachary Clay last Thursday. I saw Ben last night and he proudly came carrying a laptop complete with a slide show of his new son. It was great to see the enthusiasm on his face; I could definitely sympathize with his excitement and relief that his son had arrived safe and healthy.

Last Sunday the family went to a birthday celebration for the child of one of Rhiannon’s coworkers. While there, halfway through a set of childish songs, belted out by a man behind a guitar boasting a forced smile several sizes too big for his face, I received a call from my friend Iwan on my cell phone. I described where I was, and the events that were transpiring around me, drooling toddlers, wobbling around eating grass, and listening to the incessant jubilee dripping from the big smile guy. He responded that we was just getting up, and thinking about heading to the beach. More importantly he astutely noted that he couldn’t believe how different our lives had become. Sometimes I struggle with this reality as well. My life a few year’s ago involved planning fly fishing trips to Mammoth, poker nights and watching the sun set from the line up. Now I’m often asleep before ten, up shortly after dawn, and always tired without the ability to ever catch up or slow down. I sing silly songs (I may have always done that), play with bright toys and fly spoonfuls of mush into a toothless grin. My life has changed and I miss some of the things that I have left behind, but I now cherish the mush and the songs more than I ever thought I could.

Little has changed on the home front other than Landon’s growth and development. He still has a father frustrated with his career and inability to provide a better situation for his family. And we continue to live in a cave-like condo in Irvine; often I come home to find my son already asleep after my painfully long commute home through Southern California traffic. Landon is a lightening rod though; he never fails to elicit a smile from me, no matter how long or painful a day I have suffered through, nothing warms me like his beaming expressions.