Getting ready for Christmas

We've had a lot going on lately. On December 7th, we went to find our Christmas tree! It was Landon's first time and unfortunately it was very cold. He handled it very well and never fussed about it! We were lucky enough to have my whole family go with this year. Usually we go with my parents, but Taylor wanted to come with this year, so that included Megan also. It was great to have all of us there!

Later that afternoon, we had Landon's one-year pictures taken. They turned out great! And...he smashed his cake really well! His birthday party is this weekend, so I'm hoping for repeat performance! It's hard to believe he'll be one on the 17th!

On the 8th, we had the Fire Department kid's Christmas party. It was Nick's first and my first in about 23 years! They started the party by watching Monster's University. Landon did very well and sat and ate and played a bit during the movie. It was so nice to go and relax and spend time together as a family. We also got to spend time with our friends Jake and Kim and their son Michael. It was Landon's first time meeting Santa and he didn't seem scared of him. He seemed quite curious of who this person was. He also seemed quite possessive of his gifts! We had a great time!

Checking out Santa...

Such a ham!

Don't.Touch.My.Present.

My mom discovered a couple of days ago that Landon has his 7th tooth! He's been working on two more on the bottom for a while, so it's nice to have one of them through! Landon has been doing a lot of new things. He has learned how to clap and wave. He now says "dog" and when he says it he looks at the dogs and puts his hand up in the air. He has also learned how to push trucks along the floor. He has fallen in love with doors. He likes to open and close them. 

I was very excited for Thanksgiving because there was so much food that Landon could eat and it would be a great opportunity to see how he handled foods that are more solid than his purees. It was awesome! He ate everything that the rest of us ate! So, I've been trying some different foods as much as possible. He likes pulled pork and pot roast. They are nice soft meats for him to chew. He will eat baked beans, mashed potatoes, bread, cheese, and crackers. I find myself trying to make sure I make food that I know he can eat! I hear that tonight he will be having blueberry pancakes at Grammy and Papa's house while I'm at work and Nick is at the fire department.

We are very thankful for our sweet boy! I'm certainly looking forward to celebrating his first birthday with our families! This will be his second Christmas, but to us it's almost like his first since we weren't home for it last year. Very excited to celebrate at home this year!

Merry Christmas from Santa's Little Helper!

Halloween, leaf-jumping, and being thankful

This year we had a little giraffe at our house! Landon dressed in his cousin Taylor's 1st Halloween costume, which happens to be Grammy's favorite animal! We made several stops in our trick-or-treating extravaganza. Our first stop was at East School Park to see Papa at the fire truck. Every year the fire department sends out two fire trucks for children to trick-or-treat with firefighters. It's a great event for the fire department!

 

Our second stop was to see Grammy. Grammy had Butterfingers for the giraffe.

 

Then we went to see Grandma Connie and Grandpa Irv. They had Tootsie Rolls to share and Landon loved them!

Then we went to see Aunt Kelly and we were lucky enough to also get to see Aunt Rhonda, John, and Anna there as well! Landon's first Halloween was a blast!

 

My favorite picture from Halloween.



 

A couple weeks after Halloween, we had a leaf pile and jumped in it. Landon wasn't so sure what to think about all the leaves.

 

 

As I am writing this the week of Thanksgiving, I am thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for. I have an amazing family, immediate and extended. I don't know where we would be if we didn't have the love and support they have given us over the last 11 months. My friends are incredible and have been very understanding when I am short on time. I treasure their amazing personalities and souls. We were very lucky to work with the most incredible doctors and nurses in the first months of Landon's life. If it weren't for them, we may not still have our sweet boy with us. I am so thankful for their knowledge and courage to do what they do. I am forever indebted to them. Finally, I am thankful for the amazing gift that God gave me, Landon. He brightens my days and keeps me on my toes. I am constantly in amazement of him and how he has healed. Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last 11 months. The prayers, the love, the good thoughts have helped us so much. Sometimes I think that "Thank you" isn't enough. Please know how much you all mean to us and our family.

 

Landon's 1st birthday is only a few weeks away and I am having a blast planning his party! Can't wait for it!

 

October fun!

We haven't had much going on lately, but we did have a little fun on Sunday at home. I carved Landon's pumpkin for him and made an attempt to make it look something like him. I think I did pretty well considering it's been over 10 years since I carved a pumpkin!

We just let him play around on the floor, which in Landon's world means, crawl everywhere and have Mom and Dad chase him! We don't mind because it gets him moving.

Landon has also learned how to say Dadda! Nick is pretty excited to hear him say it! This came about a week after he started saying Mamma. He is a very vocal little boy, so we're excited to hear him actually forming words. He now has three teeth, with the fourth really close to being through!

I had to work a double shift on Saturday, so I wasn't able to get any work done at home, so Sunday was a catch up day for me. Landon played really well in his play pen for me! One of his favorite things to do while he is in there is to smush his face against the side. It's hilarious!

Enjoy our pictures from Sunday!

October 15, Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day

2 years ago this past Saturday, Nick and I lost our first child. I was 12 weeks along in my pregnancy when I miscarried and the doctor said the baby didn't live much past 7 weeks old. We were devastated. We both were so excited to be expecting a child that this event really crushed us. We have a very supportive family and they all were there for us as we worked through this tragedy. That day was a Wednesday and I went in on Thursday afternoon for surgery.

The Monroe Clinic hosts a wonderful event to honor all of the lost children. On the first Saturday of October, they hold a memorial service at our local cemetery. Unfortunately for us, that year it was the weekend before. So, last year we attended the service which was very helpful for us. We were able to say goodbye to our angel with great respect. During the time between our miscarriage and the next service, the cemetery sexton contacted Nick and his dad to sandblast and paint some grave markers. They didn't know until he actually came with them what they were for. They were for the next 10 years of lost babies. Nick was so stunned that this came to him. He comes from a very generous family and he and his dad donated their time and supplies. This was so personal to us and Nick felt so honored that he was able to do this for our child.

I decided to write this today because not many people know we went through this. I want people to know so that if we can help anyone who has gone through this, they have someone to talk to. We had people in our life that experienced the same thing and it helped us to have people to talk to and lean on. I still think of that baby often and wonder what he or she would have been like. We have yet to name our sweet angel, but are working on it. God had other plans for our baby and us. If this had not happened to us, we would not have our sweet boy Landon.

Please say a prayer for all of the lost infants and pregnancies.

Landon and I visited his older sibling last night and left a small stem of mums.

Landon 9 AND 10 months

Landon will be 10 months old this Thursday! We had a couple of doctor appointments around his 9 month birthday. His stats at 9 months were 18 lbs, 14 oz. and 29 inches. That puts him in the 24th percentile for weight and 76th percentile for height. He is moving along quite well! We also saw his cardiologist at the end of September and he is so happy with Landon's progress that we don't have to go back until April. That will be 1 year post-op from his second surgery and they will attempt to do a full exam that will include an echo and an ekg, as long as Landon will cooperate for them.

Landon has been hitting some major milestones lately. He crawls on his hands and knees now and pulls himself up to standing. He has four teeth about to drop on the top. He is handling it very well. He has gotten the small rash on his face from it and drools a lot and chews on everything. So, I feel like any day now he'll have six teeth instead of two.

On Thursday night, Nick and Landon came home shortly after I did. Nick set Landon down and I hear, "Mamamamama"!! It was the greatest thing I have ever heard! I'm pretty sure he hasn't made the connection yet of what it means, but I'm trying to teach him.

He continues to make everyone he meets happy. He has such a great personality and smiles at almost everyone he sees. It's incredible! He has this ability to draw people in that I'm sure will continue throughout his life.

We have done a lot of fun things this fall! We went to The Apple Hut in Beloit and picked apples, we made an attempt at Eugster's in Stoughton that didn't turn out well except that we got pumpkins, we went to the MVFF Pancake Breakfast, and made a trip to Chicago for the unveiling of the world's largest camera that Nick was part of building. I am loving making memories with Landon! You never know what tomorrow will bring, and even though he won't remember these things, I think it's very important to spend the time with him and document it. Really looking forward to the rest of the fall to continue with our fun!

No Landon in this picture, but here is the camera that Nick helped build. Landon was there for this event. The man in the black shirt is the photographer who dreamt up this incredible beast! 9-17-13

9 months old! 9-13-13

Playing with Daddy!

10 months old! I had to get this skeleton outfit because it has the heart on it. I thought it was very suitable for Landon! 10-14-13

At The Apple Hut 9-22-13

 

Family mustaches. Just being silly :-})  Labor Day





8 months old....a little late

So Landon is 8 months old now...and 3.5 weeks!. He will be 9 months old on Tuesday, so I'm a little late with this post, but sometimes my time just gets away from me!

Landon is doing very well! He recently had a rash on his face that I took him to the dr. for and he weighed 18 lbs 2 oz and was 28 inches long! He is growing very nicely. (We will get 9-month stats next week.)

His second tooth came through over the weekend so he is no longer the one tooth wonder! He is still eating well and hasn't really found much he doesn't like. That makes my life so much easier when I make food! I recently added yogurt to his menu and he likes it a lot. I know what some of you are thinking, I buy it, I don't make it. He also has been introduced to cantaloupe, plums, cherries and blueberries. He eats some snacks also that, for the most part, melt on his tongue. He has learned how to pick them up and get them in his mouth by himself!

As you can see from the picture, he has gotten very good at sitting up by himself. He rarely falls over anymore. He army crawls to get from place to place because he just hasn't quite mastered crawling on his hands and knees. It's a pretty great feeling when he comes crawling at me when I go to pick him up after school! We recently got him a jumperoo and he loves it! It will really help him to strengthen his legs. A few weeks ago he figured out how to go from his tummy to sitting. Now he is working on pulling himself up to his knees, so standing shouldn't be too far behind! We'll be in trouble then! I won't get anything done!

He is a very well-behaved little boy and is almost always happy. I took him to a sheep show last weekend and the sheep are kind of noisy when they are on their halters. Landon felt he needed to communicate with them and would baa back at them. It was pretty funny and I will catch him doing it sometimes when we aren't around the sheep. No words yet, but I keep working on different words with him. We are trying to get him to wave at people also. He has kind of done it, but just has decided to not do it anymore. He can do the motion with his fingers, but hasn't connected that he should do it when people leave or enter. He'll get it soon though.

Enjoy some pics! With a few editorial quotes...

Squirrel!

Ahhh. I love oats.

Raar! I'm strong!

2013 summer pictures

These are just a few pictures from this summer...

 

Eugster's petting farm with Taylor

 

 Harley Davidson Museum

6 months old at Krape Park. He got to swing and rode on the merry-go-round.

7 months old at Davis' pond. The dog is from my Aunt Sharon. It's Landon's fire dog!

 Our little redneck!