Landon's first Halloween

Our little Monkey was a monkey for his first Halloween!
This is for you Candy! xoxo

Bum shot! Look at the cute tail!

Landon had so much fun tonight!

Amanda was a fabulous witch and she sure caught Landon's eye...

The bag says MONKEY TREATS

Brendan Black was our first official Trick or Treat house. He was great and posed with Landon for this historical moment.

Landon loved Brendan

Mommy with her favorite monkey on her birthday. Last year in the 20's...

Checking out Mom with that cute tail hanging out.

Trying to open a Twix for Mommy.

Haley and Bailey (both dressed as Cinderella, their favorite Princess)

Caitlin (also Cinderella)

*James's mother made all of these dresses by the way *

Natalie was a fairy. She loves to be held by whom ever is holding Landon. Not sure if she feels threatened, or just loves babies...

Today was Landon's first Halloween. It has been so long since I have gone Trick or Treating that I forgot how much I love the whole experience. It was even drizzling the whole time, but I loved it. I can't wait until next year when Landon is walking! All in all I think he got maybe 5 pieces of candy. And of course he was extra cute with his Got Candy bib and monkey treat bag.

It is almost 11pm right now as I am blogging and he is still wide awake just hanging out in his jumper. Church will be interesting tomorrow...

I turned 29 this year and my niece Samantha turned 12 today. I am so excited for her to have the Young Women experience at church! So crazy to see kids grow up so quickly! Today at the store, this man commented that I look like I am 13. I just laughed and told him that he needs to look closer at all my gray hair.

I am so grateful for all the things I have experienced in my life this far. The good, the bad, the easy, the hard, the REALLY hard... it has made me who I am. And it has made me strong in the areas that I need to be strong in. Of course, I still have a lot of work to do in other areas, but that is why we live so long, right?

I also want to say to my Mom, thanks for your hard work in bringing me into the world. (Now that I know what is involved in being pregnant and giving birth and the work that goes into being a mom) You are an amazing lady and I am blessed to be born into the family that I was.

Getting out of the house

Yesterday, I decided that I couldn't live with the smelly trash in our garage, over flowing recycling bin, and empty refrigerator any longer. (This is what happens during craft season time) So, before Landon's morning nap, we made a run to the dump. I had about 5 stinky trash bags, tons of cardboard boxes, and a bin and a large trash bag full of recycling. (we don't have trash service out here in the country, luckily the dump is about 2 minutes away from our house) So, I loaded everything up (having to unpack the car from the craft show on Saturday. Is that sad or what?) and off we went. (Two minutes down the road) I emptied the car in record time and moved on to the recycling containers. I finished everything but the cans and of course yesterday turned out to be a nice day in the 70's. Well, on nice days, the bees come out. And it just so happened that they were all over the aluminum cans (that probably still had soda in them). So I very carefully got rid of my aluminum and went back to the car, got in and came face to face with a hornet. Nice. I immediately got out and it chased me (which was good, because I didn't want it to get Landon who was helplessly trapped in his car seat) all over the dump lot. I finally lost it, or it lost interest in me... I gave the dump attendant some entertainment for the morning at least...

So then, after his morning nap we went to the grocery store. I just purchased a shopping cart cover for him and he LOVES it! Can you tell? He was like this through out the entire store. He wasn't even interested in his toys, because he was so excited about his big boy seat and new view in the shopping cart. Gosh, he is growing up so fast!

We met a few people that were enamored with him and he is having fun meeting strangers now.

One lady told me that she would never get anything done with a sweet baby like him. It made me feel a little guilty about not paying enough attention to him lately.

The lady at the check out said that he looked just like me. Which I was surprised at. And then she saw his face and said, "Well, he looks like you from behind..." What kind of comment is that? I know, Landon and I don't look alike really at all, but he definitely does certain things like me. For example: I have to rub my foot on something when I go to sleep to soothe me. He does that too. (I know that is a baby thing, but let me just pretend for a while)
I also decided that James and I needed a break. So I rented two movies at the Red Box (who doesn't love the Red Box? And if you don't know about it yet, you need to find out where one is. Movies for a dollar!)

We made a real dinner, for the first time in a long time. And I thought James said that he needed four cups of water when he said a fourth cup of water... It still tasted fine...

We watched the movies last night and had to rock Landon most of the time. While he has been having a hard time teething (since Saturday night), the best remedy to his crying has been to swaddle him and hold him tight. He is just content to be like that forever (which can be a back killer, yes that is right, I am back to having back pain all the time). I am just glad that I did all my work and that I have the time to rock and hold him without anything else on my mind. James got tired of rocking him and laid him on the couch next to me, swaddle and all and we all watched Transformers. I hoped a couple of times that it wouldn't give him nightmares, but soon after, he started turning his head towards me and closing his eyes. So off to bed he went. Then about 2:30am he woke up to nurse. After putting him back to sleep I came back in our bedroom to find the lights on in the bathroom and James missing from bed. I opened the door and James wasn't in the toilet room (don't know how else to refer to it), or in the tub, so I called his name and he was in the shower. I asked him why he was taking a shower and he said, "what do you mean?" So I told him that is was 2:30am and he didn't say a thing and then, " Are you serious?"

Okay I know this has been a really long post about really boring stuff, but this is the stuff that I really missed those last few weeks of sewing. So, thanks for listening.

Teeth

Can you see it?
It is there...

How about now?

Okay, so these are my sad attempts to get a pic of the tooth in the excitement of finding it... You can see it a lot more today, but it is in the back of the gum line, so it is really hard to get a picture of. I'll just have to contain my picture documenting excitement until it is out a little farther. But, these were fun pics so I decided to post them anyways. I think the bottom two would have shown it except for the flash reflection on all the saliva...

Interesting position

The other morning I came back into the room from the kitchen and found Landon like this, but his head was straight down on the floor in the middle of the boppy. I thought maybe he fell asleep, but not our swaddle bug (he won't fall asleep without being swaddled or held tight). He was just playing with his burp cloth (which I call a spit rag). He has been having fun starting out sitting up in the boppy and then rolling and scooting all over. It is kind of like his jungle gym or something.

I can't believe just how much he has changed... soon I'll have a little boy running around the house...

Elf ears

Elf ears!

Fun shirt (MOMMY THINKS I'M COOL)

The other night, James said that Landon looked like an Elf with his hat over his ears, and we should make him an Elf for Christmas. What do you think?

We have a tooth!

For the last several weeks Landon has gone from wanting nothing to do with his Binky to having it all the time. Mostly my fault... Today I decided to try and keep it from him for a while. So today, when he chomped on my hand... I felt a tooth! It has just barely broken through and you can barely see it. It took a few minutes before I could see it. Every time I put my finger in his mouth to try and see it, his tongue attacked my finger and covered up the tooth. BUT IT IS THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Teeth just make babies more adorable...right???

Craft Show

Here was our set up in our tiny space...

James and I made that sign together.

The table in front of me has our Snugga-Luvs on it.

Landon's first craft show.

Tag-A-Longs and Cuddle Blankets.

Baby Blankets and Kids Lounge Quilts

All I have to say is... I am so glad it is over! The first craft show of the season is always the hardest to get ready for. But we sold a ton of stuff and I have 5 orders to fill. All in all it was a good show. Landon's schedule is off, though, so now we are trying to fix that. No sewing room for at least a week!

Next step is to get the website up to date and looking more professional. My brother and my parents are giving my website a make over for my birthday gift this year! Thanks guys!

Landon's Tag-A-Long

Landon loves tags... so I made him a tag-a-long!
I think he loves it!

Hmmm... Mommy sure does love me!

He is so much fun!

Trip to North Carolina

Ella
Kate

Ella shared her very special blanket with Baby Landon. So sweet of her!

Don't you love James pink lap top?!

Landon in the car for 6 hours.

This was the beginning of the trip. It was freezing in Virginia, so he was bundled up with his cute hat and oh so tired (we woke him up early).

Check out his eyes. Every time we go under an overpass he does this with his eyes and I crack up every time. I just think it is hilarious!

Ella dancing. James played the Barbie song by Aquarius and Ella decided to put on a sparkly play dress and dance for us. This is not the Barbie song, but it is a great song anyways.

James kept telling the girls to spin, and I had to help him by telling them to twirl. You gotta use special words with girls, James...

James's brother Scott moved out of their house and into a rental home while they build a house, so went down to help out. Jes was impressively organized, so went a lot faster than we expected.

Jes is also 37 weeks pregnant, so that made every thing more impressive.

The home they are renting is big and has plenty of room for them. So happy for them.

Bunch of stuff...

What a cute outfit! I couldn't resist taking pics of him in this outfit with this blanket!

I love this hat on him!

Bailey, Landon's 4 yr old cousin came to visit one Sunday.

Awesome sunset.

Sorry, forgot I already posted this pic...

Eating/sucking on elephant's nose.

Talking and laughing with Daddy.

Landon loves his sweet potatoes...

Wow, a lot has happened these last few weeks... I have been sewing like crazy getting ready for a Craft Show that took place this past Saturday. I feel like I have missed so much. Landon is now a pro at sitting up. He is amazing with his hand co-ordination and knows how to get the things that he wants. I am still not used to his arms being so long and I often find myself in awe when he grabs something that I thought he couldn't reach. He has started the process of scooting. It is funny because if he wants a toy and he gets frustrated with scooting towards it, he'll just pull the blanket until it comes to him. Smart little booger!

Cereal didn't last long (probably because it is gross), so we moved on to sweet potatoes. Yummy! If you can't tell by the video, he loves them and we can't feed him fast enough!

We had a really cold spell a few weeks ago. 30's and 40's at night, and high of high 40's and 50's during the day. Landon got used to wearing a hat pretty quick and when it warmed back up, it was weird not to see it on his head.

Our heat didn't work the first night we turned it on. Luckily my brother-in-law's nephew came out and fixed it for us free of charge. Major blessing for us right now...

For those of you that don't know, I have been fighting with our previous insurance company over paying for our IVF treatments. The funny thing is we only did it because they would pay for it, and now they owe us $4000.00 (that we could very much use right now) and they keep telling me that they won't pay it. It has made me crazy and anxiety ridden and super emotional. I just keep praying that they see that they are wrong and that they need to pay it. I don't know what else to do. I was so emotional about it last week that my brother and James both wanted me to just stop and let it go. They both said that I should just be happy with the end result and move on with life. No matter whether I was able to have a child or not, they are still in the wrong and need to refund our money. (That we have been paying 13% interest on for about 6 months now...) Anyways, I would love to hear some thoughts on this. Joan, the office manager at the fertility, clinic a wonderful woman who has become a great friend, told me not to give up. She had another woman who fought the same fight and won, so don't give up. She told the insurance company last week that what they paid was unacceptable and we will not give up. Great lady! I don't want to go into much detail, but please give some feedback. Keep going or just stop? My brother says that it is $20,000. worth of stress for $4000. worth of money...

Other than that, life has gone on, but I have felt very detached from the outside world. I can't wait until Craft Show season is over, but at the same time, this is the most baby blanket sales that we get all year, so it is important. I just feel like Landon has been so neglected. I take every opportunity to play with him and I missed him so much. Some days I cry a little when I am rocking him to sleep for a nap because I want to just pay attention to him all day and I know that is not possible. It has been good for him to learn to entertain himself. He is vocal all the time now and it is great. It has also been fun to hear him laugh when we aren't tickling him. He laughs at me a lot and mostly when he is deliriously tired. Cute boy!

Landon is sitting all by himself!

Yesterday, James caught my attention and this is what I saw...

I am so excited about this milestone, but also sad because I feel like my baby is gone...

This one was taken at Grandma's house with four little girl cousins all over with lots of distractions. Good job Landon!

xoxo,

Mommy

Super fun!!!

Landon in his special Monkey Pajamas. Thank you Auntie Heather and Auntie Candy. Unfortunately, soon after this picture was taken, there was an explosive poop. Hopefully the stain will come out...
Landon snuggling with his Cuddles (name of his blanket) on our walk the other night.

Love this outfit! I couldn't resist the monkey onesie and these jeans are from Auntie Candy and the shoes... Oh, I am not a big shoes on baby person other than Sunday (and that is only because Candy gave him shoes for Sundays), but I couldn't resist putting this outfit together!

The best part is that he obviously has room to grow and will be wearing it for a while!

blah, blah, blah...

Okay, I think that I am officially up to date with the blog! Whew...
Basically, we have been busy, James has been training the last three weeks to close the store, so he has been working Sunday evenings from 3:30-1:30 and then getting up at 8:30 the next morning to get to work for training. It has been rough. I also threw out my back last Monday and it took a couple of days to heal along with some major chiropractic work. I am so lucky to have a very awesome chiropractor in my ward. He is amazing! He even got rid of my muscle aches so I can now sleep at night without taking Tylenol or sitting up to sleep! Thanks Mac!
I am working on tons of blanket/quilt projects. James has taken over the Redskins and VA Tech baby blankets. I can't wait until they are done, they are going to be awesome!
Working for me has been good. I had one day that was super busy, but now it is slow again.
I mentioned before that we changed out Landon's clothes to 6 month clothes. I kept looking at the 6 month clothes and thinking they are so HUGE. But I finally gave in when I decided that it is too cold for Landon to be sleeping in gowns. They fit perfectly. So we changed it all out and it all fits perfectly. WOW!
Landon is becoming so much fun! Life is hard, bills are scary, but he just makes it all go away! He has been super cuddly lately, and I love it! He wants to play with me more than his toys, which is awesome, except when I have to work. Luckily he has decided that watching me type one handed is fascinating... Thank heavens for spell check, huh?

More Videos

Isn't his cry pitiful? I love it when he throws his head back and wails. I have to laugh every time. He only does it when he is tired.

James tickling Landon. I love his smile so much, sometimes I hate to give him the pacifier.

More tickling. I couldn't get enough the first time. (Sorry, I forgot this is lopsided when I recorded it.)

More of Landon's monkey face.

Practicing sitting up.

Feeding time!

Landon eats so much that I can't keep up with him during allergy season. He hates formula, so we have decided to try real thick cereal at dinner time. This is his first taste of it...

This is the second night of cereal... And it goes down hill from here. I was TRYING to feed him last night and after doing a couple of airplanes, I thought of the mom in The Incredibles and all her funny baby feeding faces and I just started cracking up.

Good Stuff

Landon fell asleep in his swing and slumped over. So cute!
Man, he is getting big!

Swing time

He was staring at the mirror of his mobile forever.

James is in awe that Landon isn't 5 months yet, but we have completely switched out Landon's clothes to 6-9 months.

It got chilly last week, so we had to dress Landon in his first sweatshirt.

Landon holding his own bottle. It is funny when he pulls it out on accident because he isn't used to keeping his hand still while eating.

Oh My... What a cutie!

Landon loves these pajamas! He can spend forever just looking at all the prints.

The other day, I came into our bedroom and this is what I saw...

Look at those faces, I must have ruined their fun or something...

Look! No hands! Landon is sitting up on his own!

For some reason this morning, Landon was trying to eat or slobber on his bumbo tray...