Thanksgiving!!!

Landon seemed to enjoy his first Thanksgiving

He even got a special Thanksgiving sweater for the occasion!

He thought the mashed potatoes and gravy, turkey, pumpkin pie and whip cream were all YUMMY!

My parents got to come out again this year and we had a great time with them

We went up to Jared's parents' house for a low key Thanksgiving celebration

Jared's grandpa was there and it is always fun for him to get to hold Landon

We feel extremely blessed and have much to be thankful for!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

8 Months Old

I need to stop saying how I can't believe Landon is as old as he is...but I can't help myself! I can't believe he is already 8 months old!!!

* I should probably stop posting on your sleep habits because they are ever changing depending on the night, your growth spurts, your teething spurts, etc. At this point all I know is that you will sleep 11-12 hours every night. How many times you wake up is entirely up to you (somewhere between 1-3 times). There are times now thought that I can get you back to sleep with your pacifier instead of feeding you.

* Naps are still more consistent...one in the morning and one in the afternoon

* You have tried a variety of solids (cereals, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, squash, peas, applesauce, bananas, peaches, pears, corn and puff cereals)

* You love sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, squash and puff cereal

* You HATE peas and don't much care for the other solids although will tolerate them from time to time (I really wish you liked fruit more!)

* You are sooooo close to crawling, you get on all fours and attempt to go forward but just can't quite figure out how

* Although you aren't crawling you are mobile and can somehow get from place to place very well by flipping, rolling, etc.

* You can get from your back all the way to a sitting position

* You can roll from your back to belly, belly to back, go from sitting to lying down and vice versa...basically you are able to get to all different positions now on your own

* You are trying to pull yourself up on furniture but aren't quite strong enough yet

* You are babbling many more sounds...I have heard /m, n, h, y, d, g/ and an occasional /b/ (that makes this mommy speech therapist very excited!). You actually said your first /d/ sound 5 days ago.

* You like to play with your tongue and move it all around in your mouth or stick it in and out like a lizard

* You STILL like to scream in anger or delight

* You love to smile, laugh and make other people smile and laugh with you

* Your top right tooth just poked through your gums today

* Your fine motor skills are developing more and more as you can pick up smaller things and switch things back and forth between your hands

* You try to feed yourself the puff cereals and occasionally have success

* You love listening to your daddy play his guitar...it mesmerizes you

(maybe this means you will be musical)

* You are wearing size 6-9 month clothing. You are so tall that you have to wear 9 month pants but 6 month shirts still fit you

* You are wearing size 3 diapers

* You weigh 20 lbs

It is so fun to watch you grow and develop, learn new things and become more and more of your own person with your own unique personality.

Splish Splash

Landon loves his bath and his new favorite thing to do is SPLASH!!!

I feel like he gets a bit obsessive in his splashing and just can't seem to stop!

A rare moment when we could get his attention!

All nice and clean

7 Months Old

7 months old! How is it possible?! You have grown so much this last month. You are bigger, stronger, and developing new skills every day. You also have such a happy, sweet personality. You smile at everyone and just light up the room with your bright eyes and happy grin. I feel like you have overflowing joy in your heart that you just want to share with others! I pray that this joy and attitude continues with you as you grow.

* Night sleep has gotten better. You will go to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 and usually sleep until 5 or 6 am, then go back to sleep until 8:00 or so

(we still have some nights where you wake up around 2 or 3 am)

* You are napping really well during the day (as long as we are home). One good nap in the morning and one good nap in the afternoon.

* You eat at least one solid meal a day. You have tried carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, cereals, bananas, peaches and apple sauce. As of now you prefer veggies over fruit (I think the fruit is a bit tart).

* You easily sit up unattended and can reach out a grab things from a sitting position

* You are beginning to balance on all fours (I'm still hoping crawling is a ways away...I'm not ready for you to be mobile!)

* You still don't roll over much from your back to your belly, but can get to your belly from a sitting position

* You are so curious and LOVE new things (people, places, toys, etc.)

* You now sit in a high chair when we go to restaurants and flash your grin at everyone we see (you tipped over your first water glass the other day...all over my lap!)

* You still like to scream, both in delight and when you are pissed

* I have heard a couple consonants (mostly m's and g's)

* Everything goes in your mouth and your grasp is getting really strong

* You are wearing size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothing

* I don't know how much you weigh...our scale is broken (but I'm guessing around 18 pounds, you have the rolls to prove it!)

As I said before "joyful" is the word I would use to describe you right now. You just bring so much joy to me and Jared and our household. We are blessed to have you as our son!!

You Are Special

Long, long ago God made a decision - a very important decision. One that I'm really glad He made. He made the decision to make you.

The same hands that made the stars made you. The same hands that made the canyons made you. The same hands that made the trees and the moon and the sun made you.

That's why you are so special.

God made you. He made you in a very special way.

He made your eyes so they would twinkle. He made your mouth so you could smile. He made your laugh so you could giggle.

God made you like no one else. If you looked all over the world - in every city in every house - there would be no one else like you.

No one with your eyes, no one with your mouth, no one with your laugh.

You are very, very special.

And since you are so special, God wanted to put you in just the right home.

Where you would be warm when it's cold, where you'd be safe when you're afraid, where you'd have fun and learn about heaven.

So, after lots of looking for just the right family, God sent you to me. And I'm so glad he did.

I'll never forget the first time I saw you. Your eyes were closed, your fingers were curled in two little fists, your cheeks were puffy and round.

I knew in my heart God had sent someone very wonderful for me to take care of.

An Excerpt from Max Lucado's

"Just In Case You Ever Wonder"

6 Month Photo Shoot

Just a little preview!

More to come hopefully this weekend...

6 Months Old

A half a year has already gone by...hard to believe!!! Landon is doing really well and continues to grow and develop and become more and more his own little person.

Here's what you are up to these days:

* You have regressed big time in the sleep department, so we are trying to figure out if you are developing bad habits, growing, teething, etc. You are still sleeping 12 hours a night, but wake up every 4 hours or so.

* Your naps have gotten more consistent. You always go down after you are up for 2 hours in the morning. The afternoon isn't quite as predictable, but you are sleeping good during the day.

* You pretty much always sleep in your crib. You still prefer to sleep on your belly or side.

* Your pediatrician said today that your top teeth are definitely coming in and should be through in the next couple of weeks. So you are still drooling, chewing and biting whatever you can!

* You have tried rice cereal, oatmeal and squash. You are not sure what you think of these solids yet and still prefer milk!

* You are consistently rolling over from your belly to your back, but not quite the other way around. You will roll to your side, but seem to prefer being on your back.

* You can sit up by yourself for quite awhile but still need supervision as you topple over frequently.

* You can grab things in all directions and if they aren't in your mouth you love to shake them...often hitting yourself in the head which doesn't make you very happy!

* You have developed your own sense of humor and will sometimes laugh at the oddest things (it is so cute)! You like to laugh at us, Addie and then will get tickled at something that you see.

* You love to smile and are easy to please when we are playing with you or giving you attention.

* You get the biggest kick out of peek-a-boo and can anticipate when we are playing this with you.

* You are babbling a variety of vowels...haven't heard a ton of consonants yet.

* You continue to be the most vocal by screaming...which can be SO loud sometimes!

* We got a high chair for you and you seem to love it...being up with us at the table and playing with your toys.

* You sometimes have the funniest facial expressions and are adding many new ones.

* You got your first "haircut", as we trimmed the front of your hair (it was an inch longer than any other part and was looking a bit dorky!)

* You are in size 3 diapers and 6 month clothes (some 6-9 month)

* You weigh 17lb 13 oz (75th percentile)

* You are 28 1/4 inches (97th percentile) and head circumference is 17 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

Overall, you are a pretty easy baby (although there are times you can be quite demanding)!

I can't believe in another 6 months you will be a year old...how is that possible!?!?

We just love you soooo much!