The tree actually comes in the house!!!!

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I don't think that Landon could believe his eyes when the tree was carried into the house. It made that much more amazing to him. Our little guy danced around the house the whole time we were getting the tree set up and did it with the biggest smile on his face. I think he loves this tradition!!! (it's way better than dying Easter eggs!!!) The best part was when I started to water the tree, Landon brought his sippy cup over and started to dump it into the tree stand. He is so observant and loves to help out. Next came the lights. Landon and lights go hand and hand. He loved helping with this part. Actually he ran around the living room holding onto the lights and flinging them all around. It was so much fun just watching the excitement in his eyes. The tree is now decorated and Landon has been un-decorating it ever since!!!

Landon's First Christmas Tree

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This year we went to our favorite place to get our tree, Boyer's Tree Farm. The place was pretty bare so we had to hike way in to find the right tree. Landon didn't mind one bit. He loved every single tree on the farm. He didn't want to be held at all. He wanted free reign to run around and explore. He would run around and point way up to the top of every tree and give us the look of wonder. He was absolutely amazed!!!

We are Thankful for .......

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the miracle of Adoption. Our hearts have been forever changed by this little face. We thank God everyday for bringing Landon into our lives.

Anybody need a plumber?

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Landon woke up this morning with a mission. As soon as I carried him down stairs, he went out to his playroom, grabbed his socket wrench and went straight to the toilet and started pounding on it!!! I have always joked with Ian that it would be great to have a plumber in the family!!! I guess he just wanted to please his momma!

Precious pumpkin and the Old Maid

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On friday, Landon and I visited daddy at school for a Halloween Party. Halloween is a pretty big deal at my husbands school. After a party with lots of sugar the kids get dressed in their costumes and parade around outside for all the parents to see. This was not Landon's first visit to 2nd grade but it was the first time since he started walking. Let's just say Ian's room is not baby proof. If I would have let him, Landon could have destroyed his daddy's classroom in a matter of seconds. He did manage to dump a whole box of rulers, a box of assorted shapes, he pulled all kinds of papers and pencils out of one kids desk, ripped papers off the magnetic board, and was seconds away from dumping a can of change and the ant farm my husband just ordered for his classroom. Let me just say that Landon keeps me moving. It is great exercise trying to keep up with a thirteen month old. I was curious to see what Landon would think about seeing all the costumes and really hoping there wouldn't be anything too scary for him. He wasn't at all afraid, he went right up to people he didn't even know. He loved the teacher who dress like a barrel of monkeys. This years theme for the teachers was "children's games." My husband being one of two male teachers in his school, thought it would be a good idea if he were to dress like the "old maid." Great idea Ian!!!

A day to remember

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On October 22, our little man officially became, Landon Kebede Snyder. We went to court to take the last step in our adoption process. I was looking forward to this day because everything would finally be official. This day turned out to be so much more amazing than I expected. It just so happened that when we walked into the court house there was a huge celebration going on. We didn't know it but our county was celebrating it's first ever "Adoption Day". There was a large number of families that were there to finalize their adoptions along with us. Most were being adopted out of our foster system and there was at least one other international family. They had all kinds of activities for the kids to take part in: balloon artists, pumpkin decorating, face painting and they had really nice gifts for all the kiddos and parents. We came home with all kinds of free coupons to various restaurants, flowers, and Landon got a really cute stuffed bear. It was just a really nice celebration. It was so amazing to be surrounded by other families that share the same passion that Ian and I do for adoption. There seems to be really amazing things happening in our town as far as adoption goes.

Landon in the leaves!!!

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Since the weather has been absolutely beautiful the past couple days, Landon, my mom and I went for a nice little stroll through the leaves today. Landon loved walking through the leaves and kicking them, I think he loved the way it sounded. Of course I had to snap a few pictures (62 to be exact, but who's counting!) I love this time of year!

Traditional Ethiopian attire

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To celebrate Landon's 1st birthday we took pictures of him in his Ethiopian outfit. I had been looking forward to taking these pictures since we got this outfit in Ethiopia. We were able to get a few good pictures before the tongue came out. We know now that this means he is done, he's had enough , no more pictures. Well, here they are:






Landon's First Birthday (1 1/2 Over Due)

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Landon turned one on September 3rd. To celebrate we had just our family over for dinner and cake and ice cream. It was still crazy!! Our little guy loves to be around people and loves entertaining and making people laugh so this was a great night for him. Ian and I were excited to see what Landon would do with his cake and hoping that he would love it and make a huge mess with it. This was not really the case, it took him awhile to decide what to do with it, then he thought he would prefer to eat it with a spoon and have everyone else help him make a mess. We were a little surprised because he makes an absolute mess out of every other meal we give him. Ian and I joke that with Landon, the only thing that is predictable is that he is UNpredictable!!! We love it that way. He keeps us on our toes and always guessing!!





Outer Banks Beach Vacation

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We had a great time vacationing with my family in North Carolina earlier this month. This was Landon's second trip to the beach this summer, however this time he had to travel a lot further. It took us about 12 hours to get there with all the stops and outer banks traffic. It is always well worth the drive when you finally get there. Landon did an amazing job traveling, I guess that was nothing for a little guy who traveled all the way from Ethiopia!!! Just wanted to share a couple pictures from the week.

Landon Walking

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We took Landon down to the dike around Sunbury. We were looking for a flat spot that he could push his walker on, and this turned out to be awesome.

Here you go:

Beach Pictures

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Our last day at Bethany Beach had to include some sweet beach photos.The other family is my sister Amy, her husband Wes, and their two kids Eliana and Liam.
North Carolina Next!

Here they are: