Back in the game and some organization

Whoa....it's been over a year since I've last posted anything. Man, has life been busy. I don't know if I'll go back and try to catch up, but I may here and there.


Work has slowed down a lot for me (for now...) so I have more time to prioritize for things like possibly blogging again. Ha!


Landon started getting a cold this past Saturday, which subsequently turned into what I believe to be bronchiolitis. Every single time he gets a cold he gets a horrible cough that turns into wheezing and shortness of breath. After the first three bouts of this over the past two years I know what to look for and I just give him an inhaler and it seems to help until the cough runs it's course.


All that to say, he stayed home with Kevin on Monday and I stayed home with him yesterday. I got this random urge to organize all. the. things yesterday and so we took a trip to our cousins' house to drop off some clothes for their daughter that Preslie has grown out of. One closet in our house has a little more room [for junk].


Then we grabbed some lunch real quick where Landon exclaimed "My like chick nuggets, Mama!" Everything is "my do it" or "my tired" or "my cold" right now. It's kind of cute.


We drove all the way across town to Home Depot so I could get one of those over-the-toilet storage cabinets for our bathroom and of course Home Depot had nothing. So we drove all the way back across town to Target and I found exactly what I needed (and then some, of course). Landon was a trooper the whole time. While we were standing in the horribly long line to check out, he proceeded to sing (scream?) "Jingle Bells" for all to hear. 'Quiet' is not in that boy's vocabulary.

Sweet boy was so tired.

A drive back across town and we were home. Landon took an hour-and-a-half nap while I put part of the cabinet together. Then I had to wake him up so we could get Preslie from school. Got home, tried to finish putting the cabinet together while the kids ran around the house and asked me for snacks 50 million times. Made them dinner, bathed them, dressed them and settled them down for bed.


Then I started in on our hall closet - which was the whole purpose of the over-the-toilet storage thing. I threw away crap that we've had for over six years now, and have never used! *sigh* it feels so good. I didn't think to take before pictures, but it's a serious improvement.

More towels should be in the bottom shelf but I need to do laundry!

Got ready for bed, put our Elf on the Shelf "Tipstie" (named by Preslie last year) on our tree with toilet paper so P would think he TP'd it, then finally crawled into bed about 10:00 (and stayed up for the next hour perusing FB and Instagram on my phone - such a bad habit!).


And that was my day!

Landon at Ten Months

Little Landon turned 10 months old on Saturday, August 1st!!!

Measurements

Weight: 19lbs 14.5oz -he's lost weight! I guess he's moving so much that he's just burning off all that baby fat. I'm not ready for him to do that, though!

Height: I really think he could be close to 30" long. He has stretched out so much this past month!

Appearance

~His hair continues to grow slowly, but surely. Some days it looks light brown and other days it looks a lot darker. I think he'll have stick-straight hair like his sister.

~Still just the two bottom teeth, but I can see four top teeth just waiting to break through any day now.

~His eyes are still a light color, but they've remained a gray color and haven't changed much lately.

Sizes

~Size 12 month clothes.

~He might be in a size 2 shoe but he doesn't really wear shoes right now so I'm not sure.

~We've switched to Huggies Pure & Natural (size 4) diapers because Honest Co. diapers started to give him a rash right around his boy parts. 

Personality

~Landon is in a stage where he's really taking everything in. He is very observant and very curious about everything around him.

~He is pretty quiet and low-key.

~He's started doing this grunt-laugh thing when he gets excited.

~He likes to laugh and smile, which is a big must in our family!

Likes

~He thoroughly enjoys eating!

~Still all boy and likes balls: football, soccer ball, bouncy ball, exercise ball - you name it.

~The kids has tons of toys and the only things he always wants to play with most are the remote and cell phone.

~He LOVES to roll around on a bed and be tossed around on a bed.

~He likes to wrestle with his Papa and his Papa loves having a wrestling buddy!

~Landon absolutely loves his crib. After his bedtime bottle he just reaches for his crib and has the biggest smile on his face once he's laid down.

Dislikes

~He HATES getting changed or dressed. Trying to keep him on the changing table is like trying to keep a greased monkey contained. Impossible!

~He doesn't enjoy being told "no." He's starting to learn what it means and if he goes near the dogs' food bowls and we tell him "no no, Landon" he'll stop and look up at us. So I know he's getting it.

Eating

~Well, we're officially done nursing as of his 10 month birthday. I don't have any regrets for stopping before 12 months, though. We had a great, last "hoorah" of breastfeeding the weekend we went camping and after that I just knew that that would be it. He hasn't had any "withdrawals" from the boob - so to speak, and he's just seemed way too busy to notice. It's also helped that he's taken a bottle, too.

~He takes three bottles a day of formula; about 7-8oz each.

~I had Landon on Similac Advance but he wasn't handling it well; lots of puking and multiple blow-outs each day. He was also fussy a lot. So I'm now in the process of switching to Gerber Soothe and I can already see a difference after just one day! I had started the transition from breast milk to formula about two months ago because I wanted it to be a slow process so my milk supply would naturally start to dry up, I could use all my frozen milk and Landon would still have an easy adjustment. Since he didn't have an easy adjustment once he was on formula 100%, I knew I needed to change to something that would be easier on his tummy. 

~Landon eats three solid meals a day and he pretty much eats anything and everything at this point (except peanuts).

~He uses a sippy cup like a pro and drinks a little water out of it throughout the day. 

~He's not a big fan of cheese.

Sleeping

~Still a solid sleeper; 11-12 hours each night.

~He's in a habit now of waking up at 6am for his morning bottle, then falling back to sleep until about 7:15.

~He takes great naps at home. Not as great naps at Ms. Kara's - too much fun to be had there!

Milestones

~Landon is finally crawling like a normal human being! Before, he would army crawl and his clothes and arms would get so filthy! Now he's on all fours and he's FAST!

~He pulls up to his feet to a standing position and cruises along furniture. 

~He doesn't sit in the bath chair anymore. He's a little cray cray in the bathtub now that he has all the freedom, but he enjoys it.

New Experiences

~He celebrated his first Independence Day!

~He experienced the kiddie pool for the first time (this was actually at 9 months but I forgot to include it in last month's update).

~He helped celebrate his little friend, Hunter's, first birthday!

~Landon had fun playing with his little buddy, Walker, at a BBQ we hosted this month.

~He experienced our first family camping trip. It was a bit of a disaster (thanks to Preslie - Landon actually did great), but it was an experience nonetheless!

~He had a weekend with just him and Papa while Mommy went out of town. It was a great time for him and Kevin to really bond.

We are just so smitten with this little guy!

Landon at Nine Months

Our sweet boy turned nine months old on Wednesday, July 1st!

Measurements
20lbs (give or take)

Appearance
~He's starting to thin out and get long!
~Landon has two bottom teeth and it makes him look entirely too grown up!

Sizes
~I'm moving him into 12 month clothes now. He's in the process of wearing his nine month onesies for the last time and nine month shorts do. not. fit anymore.
~Size one shoes.
~Size four Honest Co. diapers.

Personality
~This kid is so cool! He laughs at everything. He's not a huge crier.
~He's started fussing when he wants to be picked up, but overall he's super easy-going.
~He likes to really take things in and inspect things like your face if you're holding him or his toys.

Likes
~He like to crawl everywhere and he's fast!

 

~Landon likes to (try) and feed himself finger foods.
~He LOVES balls. He will laugh and wiggle when we give him one to play with.
~He loses his ever-loving mind when he gets to play in the water table outside.

~The dogs' water bowl is also a favorite of his. Ugh!

Dislikes
~He isn't particularly fond of being changed right now. He uses ninja moves to try and wiggle his way off the changing table.
~In the later part of the afternoon he doesn't like to be put down and wants to be held most of the time. Which presents a challenge because while you're holding him he tries with all his might to get out of your arms!
~Landon doesn't like to be left out and wants to be in the middle of all the action.

Eating
~Landon is becoming a pretty good eater!
~He's eating three meals of baby food each day and one snack mid-morning. He takes a bottle when he first gets up, a bottle in late afternoon and a bottle or nurses before bed.
~He hasn't shown much interest in nursing since he's become more mobile, but I'm still trying to nurse him every night before he goes down for bed. I think we're getting close to stopping, though.
~Some new foods he's tried this month are diced carrots, baked beans, pasta, avocado, banana and eggs. He LOVES eggs!

Sleeping
~I think this child is going to be my morning person. Preslie is not a morning person and neither am I. However, Kevin is and I think Landon is as well. Landon wakes up so happy and he doesn't like to sleep in.

~He's still on the same schedule as last month. He likes to wake up around 6:00, drink a little milk for about 10 minutes, and then goes back down until about 7:00/7:15.
~Still sleeps through the night.

Milestones
~He can now go from a crawling to a sitting position.
~Landon reaches up when he wants to be picked up. I love it!
~When he's standing and you're holding his hands, he tries to pick each foot up off the ground like he's practicing taking steps.

~He pulls himself up into a kneeling position on furniture.
~He will crawl to whomever he wants to pick him up - and then whine at your feet. Ha!

New Experiences
~Landon stayed overnight with my parents for four days while Kevin and I went to a wedding in Oregon. I missed him so much! And unfortunately, he cut his two bottom teeth during that time so he wasn't on his best behavior for my mom in the middle of the nights. Oops!
~He helped celebrate Father's Day for his Papa and Bacca!
~He attended a Hello Kitty festival with his sister. I'm sure he was less than thrilled about it.

~June was a rather laid back month so there wasn't a whole lot of new stuff going on for him.


Kevin and I always say we wish we could keep Landon this age forever. He is so fun and we don't want him growing up and changing so fast!

Landon at Eight Months

Landon turned eight months old on Monday, June 1st!

Measurements
Weight: 19lbs, 1oz

Appearance
~Not much has changed since last month. His hair is growing in a little more, but that's about it.

Sizes
~Clothes: 9 months, 6-12 months and 9-12 month clothes (depending on brand) 
~Shoes: He doesn't really wear shoes right now but I'm thinking he might be a size 2.
~Diapers: Size 4 Honest Co. diapers

Personality
~Overall, he is a very happy baby! He has his fussy moments but he's generally a pretty happy guy! 
~He never stops moving!

~He has started to fuss if something is taken away from him. If Preslie happens to take a toy from him he'll get mad and she's so surprised that he is starting to have an opinion about what she does.
~When he's told "no" he turns back and laughs at you. Little stinker! 

~He's generally a pretty quiet baby. 

Likes
~Landon absolutely LOVES the water. We got him a bath chair so he can sit up in the tub with his sister for bath time and he thinks it's the best thing in the world and goes NUTS!
~He's becoming a lot more aware of Stella and likes to go for her if she's laying near him. He seems to have a fascination with her rear-end and tail right now (lovely).

~He enjoys his crib.
~He just adores his Papa.

Dislikes
~I can't really think of anything he didn't like during this particular month. 

Eating
~Landon seems to have turned a corner with eating solids during this month. He makes a good chewing motion with his jaw so he's able to eat solids a lot better.

~He's eating three meals of baby food a day and nursing/getting a bottle three times a day.
~He's started using a sippy cup and has had no problems with that small transition. He doesn't yet know that he has to tip it up to get the milk out, but he'll learn.

Sleeping
~His sleeping has been a little rough during this month because he was pretty sick and wasn't sleeping well at night.
~He was starting to wake up two hours earlier than he normally would, so I switched up his schedule a bit and it seems to have helped some.

Schedule
6:30/7:00am - Wakes up and gets a bottle/nurses
8:15am - Breakfast of baby food
9:00am - Nap
10:30am - Snack with sippy cup
12:00pm - Lunch of baby food
1:00pm - Nap
3:00pm - Bottle
5:15pm - Dinner of baby food and trying some table food
6:30pm - Bath and nurses
7:00pm - Bed

Milestones
~The biggest milestone of this month is he's crawling! Landon started officially crawling on May 25th. It's actually an army crawl, but it gets the job done.

~He can also sit completely on his own now.

~He can go from sitting up, down to crawling.
~Landon has started to form sounds. His first official sound/word was "bubbabubbabubba."

New Experiences
~He practiced crawling - sometimes with not a lot of success. ;)

~Landon was introduced to the sippy cup. It was met with mostly frustration in the beginning.

~We had a special day with just Mommy and the kiddos and were able to go to the park and just play together all day. Landon tried out the park swing for the first time!

~He had a double ear infection and pink eye in both eyes this month. Poor boy was so miserable.

~He had a nice, long visit from Omi during this month.
~Landon celebrated his first Memorial Day holiday! Since he was still recovering from his ear infections, and Preslie was also getting over a couple days with a fever, we ended up just staying home, so not much celebrating went on.

~He helped celebrate his cousin Nathan's surprise 30th birthday party where he also took a dip in the pool for the first time!

~Since he's learned how to crawl he is now discovering so many new things. One of them being gazing out the living room window into the backyard.

As cliche as it sounds, every day is a gift with this sweet boy. He is the perfect touch to our family of four!