Fourth of July

I don't have a ton to say, but I wanted to get this post out before it go too late and so I had it for our memory! Every year, for the past 15 years, we have been going to Sturgeon Lake for the 4th of July. My dad has a permanent camper on the lake, so it has been  years of swimming, boating, drunken nights, boat parades, concerts, fireworks, etc. This year, we knew it was going to be different, but honestly, this is something I have looked forward to forever! Maybe I'll come back and add more when I have time, but for now, here are some pictures!

Hanging out on the table at the camper

My everything!

Hanging out with uncle before heading to the beach!

My world!

<3

3 generations

Pirates with grandpa Mark for the boat parade- he didn't do the boat this year though.

So sweet and innocent

Hanging out at grandma Debbie's wedding reception- the day after the 4th!

Watching the fireworks- he fell asleep right away!

Landon Jay- 5 Months 8/19/14

Landon turned five months old on August 19th and I can't believe how fast it is going! I never thought I could love another human being so intensely, but my love for him just gets deeper and deeper, which I didn't think was possible.  He had a very busy month with many new "firsts," but I think he enjoyed all of them :) He started daycare on August 25th, but that's a whole other post... For now, let's look at the statistics!

Weight: 18 pounds, baby!

  

Height: My guess is that he is 25"-25.5", but I'm not sure if that is truly accurate.

Miles Traveled: 5,610 miles! We visited Fairmont (he went with grandma and grandpa with Cory and I were at a wedding), Albert Lea, Adams a couple of times for work, Springfield to see the great-grandparents and for a reunion, Rochester, and Ham Lake to see grandma and grandpa!

Sleeping: Landon is a GREAT sleeper at night! I know this can change at any given moment, but he usually goes to sleep around 9:00 and sleeps until 6:00 am. Now that we leave for daycare at 7:00, I would like to try and get him to bed earlier so I know he will be up at 6:15 or so to drink a bottle and get ready for the day.  I am SO thankful he sleeps through the night because it makes things a lot better.

He has been fighting nap a lot more lately. He does have a double ear infection, so that may be part of it, but I'm not sure. Our daycare provider has her work cut out for her, but hopefully it will get better. He is fine at taking 20-40 minute naps, but he needs to sleep longer- poor baby!

Feeding: He is still drink 6, 4.5 ounce bottles a day and that seems to be going well. I tried increasing the bottles to 5-5.5 ounces, but he didn't seem to care for it, so I am going to stick to 4.5 ounce bottles. We are hoping to introduce oatmeal cereal the first weekend of September, so wish us luck :) He is definitely starting to watch us more when we eat, so I think he is ready!

Clothing: He fits in a good amount of his 3-6 month clothes, but I have started to put the 6-9 month clothes on him due to the weather and I want to make sure he has a chance to wear them! He still has such a small waist/legs, so he can fit in 3-6 month down there no problem. His grandpa Mark took him shoping for fall and winter clothes, so Landon is going to be one stylish little boy this fall and winter! Grandpa Mark loves to shop and we love that he enjoys it :)

Diaper Size: 2 for the most part, but we are slowly changing to size 3- Huggies and Pampers. When we put Pampers Cruisers size 3 on him, for whatever reason, he broke out in an awful diaper rash with little pimples for about 5 days. We always use Pampers, so I'm not sure if it was that the diaper was too big or if the Cruisers had a different filling. Regardless, we switched him back to size 2 for a week and then tried the 3s again and we haven't had a problem... who knows!

Looks: I really think he looks like me, but I may be biased. I can definitely see Cory's features as well, but I feel like he looks more like me. I really need to get our baby pictures out from when we were this age to see who he looks like more. He has this one expression which totally looks like Cory's dad who passed away last year. I can't quite describe it, but when he does it, I feel like it is a sign from Jay, his dad.

 

Nicknames: Bugaboo, Cheeks, Ham Ball, Bubs, cuddle bug, babycakes, little fish, beezie, peanut, baby Landon.

Likes: Sitting in his bumbo and sometimes arching his back, reading books (he likes to turn the pages by himself ), playing on his activity mat and watching the mobile go around and around, this crazy orange rattle and bumblebee that he does not let go of when he is in his car seat, dogs (he saw his first one this past weekend and he giggled for five minutes straight- see link below), jumping in his rainforest jumper, shoving his hands in his mouth, swimming, hanging out with his baby friends, zerberts on his neck because they make him laugh, kicking his piano, and shoving his O Ball into his mouth and throwing it at Bella :)

Giggle video: Giggle Video

Dislikes: His new Nuk pacifier (trying to get rid of the soothie one) and being overly tired! Otherwise, he is a happy baby!

Personality: This hasn't really changed at all from last month... We are so blessed to have such a happy-go-lucky baby who smiles all the time! Honestly, he loves to smile at you, flirt with the ladies (especially my future sister in-law and friend, Megan), giggles when you blow on his tummy or make zerberts on his neck, and smiles when he sees a fan. I wish the innocence of a child could be in all of us because life would be so much better that way! He is SO much like me it is scary, but cute! He loves to smile, giggle at me, read his stories, sit and listen to me sing songs, music, and be with family!

Randoms:  

• He still only has two teeth on the bottom, but they are cute!

• He went to his first family reunion on August 2nd. He was the youngest one there and another lady was 102 years old, so they had their picture taken together for the youngest/oldest. Landon also got to experience his first "cabin trip." Every year, five couples go to our friend's cabin where we jet ski, drink, hang out, swim, boat, and who knows what else. This year was a little different because we had seven babies there, five of them were 6 months old and younger.  We have all struggled with infertility, so it was neat that we could all be together. The only couple who didn't have a baby there has one on the way in February, after going through IVF.  It is SO exciting!

• He got his first cold (double ear infection) and it was diagnosed on August 21st at urgent care in Blaine. I thought he had an ear infection earlier in the week, but it is so hard to tell with kids, so I just kept an eye on it to see if his mood or appetite would change. Up until Thursday the 21st, he was doing okay and didn't seem too bothered. Well, at my brother and his fiance's engagement party, he was so not himself- screaming, not drinking his bottle, and just in pain- so we took him to urgent care. They got him on Amoxicillin and so far he is doing okay. Hopefully it will go away soon because I don't want him to hurt :(

Well, now I'll leave you with some pictures:

Landon's girlfriend, Aubrielle! She is so much fun!

Landon's new playmates and mommy's new hunnies she loves to cuddle :)

All of the babies at the cabin for cabin weekend- Amelia-2 1/2, Owen- 2 1/2. Aubrielle- 6 months, Landon- 5 months, Lillian and Evan- 2 1/2 months, and Avery- 1 1/2 months!

First time swinging... I think he liked it!

Tummy time!!

Landon went to his first story time at Barnes and Noble to read Pete the Cat!

Landon went to Como Zoo for the first time and loved watching Sparky the seal and all of the monkeys :)

First time at the Mower County Fair- I promise he had fun, but he had just woken up.

First time away from mommy all day :( He visited me at work!

 

Swinging at the park with mommy!

Landon Jay- 4 Months 7/19/14

Landon Jay is 4 months old already! Seriously, how is that even possible? I'm a little late to the game- oops! I feel like those first 5 weeks were such a blur and now everything is going so fast that I can't keep up with it! He is such a funny baby and the absolute light in our lives. We constantly ask ourselves, "what was life like prior to Landon?" I feel like we had a good life, but nothing compares to this! To those of you still in the trenches of infertility, please know that I am always praying for you and rooting you on, even if you don't hear from me that much. My heart aches for you and I want so badly for you to be a mommy or a daddy! If you ever need to talk, please know that I am here!!

Now for the stats and four month information about our Bugaboo!

Weight: 16 pounds 5 ounces! He is in the 79th % for his weight. The doctor said he looked good, so that's all I care about.

  

Height: 24 inches tall! However, he is only in the 30th % for height, which is fairly common I hear.

Miles Traveled: 4,620 miles! We made a couple trips to my parent's house, a trip to Burnsville, a trip to Sturgeon Lake/Carlton, a few trips to Rochester, and a trip to Springfield. I LOVE that he is such a good traveler!

Sleeping: Landon is finally sleeping through the night! I feel like if I say it out loud that I am going to jinx it, but let's hope not. Between three and four months, he transitioned from getting up at 5:00 am, drinking a bottle, and then going back to bed, to sleeping completely through the night. Every morning is a little bit different, but typically he wakes up between 7:00-9:00, for a total of 9-11 hours! I can't tell you how awesome this is because this took him a long time to get to this point. However, I know it can change in a heartbeat, so I am going to appreciate it for what it is right now. 

He has been napping pretty well throughout the day. He is up for two hours and then sleeps for 30-60 minutes, up for two hours and then sleeps for 30-60 minutes, and repeats that all day. Every day is a little bit different, but I've noticed that if he naps more during the day, he sleeps more at night... seems opposite of what it should  be, but I won't argue with it :)

Feeding: He eats a 6 ounce bottle when he wakes up, then 4 ounce bottles every three hours, and then a  6 ounce bottle before bed, for a total of 24 ounces a day. I thought we were going to start oatmeal at four months old, but many pediatricians, and the Mayo Clinic, suggest waiting until 5-6 months so their digestive system is fully developed. 

Clothing: He is completely in 3-6 month clothes and I love the clothes that he has. He definitely has short legs though, so he could fit in 0-3 month pants/shorts if needed. I just bought a ton of clothes for him for next summer and it is hard to believe that he will be in 18 month clothes then... slow down, time! Some of my favorite clothes he wears are rompers because they are all in one and many of the ones he has are bright colors with cute animals! A few of my favorites are his blue jumper with the polar bear and a white onesie underneath it... his white romper with yellow and blue stripes... his onesie with a blue bow tie, shorts, and a little cardigan sweater...a lime green and blue alligator romper with a lime green onesie... and his baseball romper :)

Diaper Size: 2- Huggies and Pampers, but mainly Pampers

Looks: Everyone says he looks just like me when I was a baby and I totally see it. However, at the same time, I think he looks just like my husband, too. Therefore, he must have an even mix of both of us, which is fun. He definitely has Cory's ears, a mix of our eyes, my round head, my toes, Cory's hands, and Cory's tiny legs. He has a little red mark on the back of his neck by his hair line, so I'm not sure if that is a birth mark or still newborn skin... who knows! One thing I will say is that his nails grow like crazy and I hate clipping them because I'm afraid I'm going to hurt him :( He changes on a daily basis, so who knows what he will look like next month!

 

Nicknames: Bugaboo, Bubs, cuddle bug, babycakes, snookums, half-pint, little fish, beezie, peanut, baby Landon.

Likes: A new thing for Landon this month was swimming. Since he loves bath time, we thought we would take him to the YMCA to see how it goes and it has been great! He loves to splash, watch the other kids, and float (obviously with us holding him) on top of the water. He also loves bath time, playing on his activity mat, sitting in his Bumbo like a big boy, jumping in his rainforest jumper, watching the fan, going for walks, car rides, shoving his fists in his mouth, and playing with his new kicking toy. He loves to kick, so I found this toy at an online garage sale for $8 and he LOVES it. It plays music when he touches the toys and kicks his feet, so he thinks it is the greatest thing ever!

 

Dislikes: Being overly tired and tummy time after about 5-7 minutes. He isn't a huge fan of getting out of the bath tub, but I don't blame him because the air is cold!

Personality: His personality is really starting to shine! We are so blessed to have such a happy-go-lucky baby who smiles all the time! Honestly, he loves to smile at you, flirt with the ladies (especially my future sister in-law), giggles when you blow on his tummy, and smiles when he sees a fan. I wish the innocence of a child could be in all of us because life would be so much better that way!

One thing that is super cute is when you walk into his room in the morning he gives you the biggest smile you've ever seen! Honestly, if you are having a rough morning or overwhelmed, he will just flash you the brightest smile and all of your worries will go away- it is so precious! 

Randoms:  

• He has two TEETH right now! He cut his first one on his four month birthday- July 19th- and then he cut his second one on July 24th! It seems hard to believe that he has two teeth already because I feel like he is way too young for this!

• Landon got to go to his first wedding, of many, on July 26th! He did so well during church and at dinner. He was able to dance with me for a little bit, but then he got to spend a lot of time with his grandma B and Papa T! (oops, I suppose this was after he turned four months, but oh well ;)

• He is following all of our movements and beginning to reach for different toys. He absolutely LOVES his bumblebee and orange rattle (we named Ellie) from on his car seat! He will grab Ellie and bat at her all day, it is pretty sweet. Thank goodness for fun car toys!

Well, now I'll leave you with some pictures:

Hanging out at his cousin, Patrick's, baseball playoff game :) Rocking the shades!

Landon's first wedding!

Landon and Aubrielle have a new playmate- Avery John!

Landon LOVES swimming!

Bumbo + Ellie = Heaven!

My little ham ball :)

The outfit is a bit big, but I LOVE it!

See how smiley he is in the morning?

Don't even think about touching his bumblebee ;)

:)

Until next time friends... God bless