Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ode to the Poopsey Party

A few weeks ago Landrick's sweet little cousin Hannah, while shopping with Nikki, found a cute little onesie for Landrick. I suppose she asked her Mommy what it said and Nikki told her that it said "Party Pooper" on it... They brought it over to Landrick and Hannah immediately told Sam all about the "Poopsey Party" outfit. She was soooo excited about it. Landrick has since worn the onesie to their house twice and both times Hannah has made sure to tell me (while giggling) that Landrick has his Poopsey Party outfit on... it's so cute. Landrick is sure loved by his cousins... and I'm sure he loves them too.

On an unrelated note, I'm not sure if it will ever get easier to hear my little man cry... he has gotten to the point where he does not always enjoy getting strapped into the car seat and he therefore cries a bit... it's the saddest little thing ever. I can't look at him while he's crying (when I can't pick him up or hold him) because it just tears me up! His little face gets all red and his tears just flow down his little cheeks. Here's this little innocent baby trying to tell Mommy that something's wrong.. and Mommy can't do anything about it (well at least not the carseat issue). It reminds me of when he was brand new and would pout his little lower lip out and it would quiver a bit before he started crying. He still does that occassionally now... mostly when he's asleep. He will make a little squeaky whine and then go back to sleep... I often wonder if he's having a bad dream or perhaps just a little gas pain... either way, it melts my heart.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Our little Chatterbox

Landrick can officially be nicknamed a chatterbox now, as he's finally 'found' his voice. He chatters alllllll the time... sometimes it sounds more like dadadadadadadadadad... sometimes it sounds like silly little squeaks... sometimes its just a soft little squeak or two. Regardless, the sounds he makes are pure happiness to his mommy's ears. While listening to him talk to his animals yesterday I couldn't help but smile (a lot) and think about how I would miss that when he got older and learned to talk... my little baby boy is growing up. It's a good thing and exciting thing, but at the same time it makes me a bit melancholy, which I suppose is normal.

He's such a good baby... Sam and I pack him around just about everywhere we go and he's a trooper. Even after long days away from the house, without a comfortable/familiar place to nap, and even an irregular schedule, he's still a happy baby almost all the time.

Last night during bathtime he really enjoyed kicking and flailing his little feet and legs into the warm, soapy water. He kept his arms, however, at a 45 degree angle out to his sides... almost as if he did not want to get them wet... it was funny. I tried to get him to play with the water with his hands but he preferred to hang on to the towel or just keep them hovered above the water. Maybe he takes after his Momma and does not like the feeling of wet hands. Of course, I don't mind my hands being wet when I'm in the shower! haha

Sunday, April 25, 2010

A milestone... or two

When you become a parent you know that you're going to watch your child grow into an adult, God willing; however, you don't realize just how important and special some of the steps along the way will be to you. Today Landrick ate something other than breastmilk for the very first time... he's 24 weeks old and has only ever had his Mommy's milk... so it was a very special moment, one of many soon-to-come milestones when we fed him rice cereal for the very first time.

To document the memory we set the video camera up and took lots of photographs.  Landrick ate it like a champ... he didn't quite know what to think of it at first and during the first two bites I can honestly say I was a little bit worried that he may not fancy cereal... but by the time we got to the bottom of the bowl, Landrick was actually rather upset that it was all gone. I rewarded him with a little of Mommy's milk to wash down the cereal. He was so cute... such a big boy. We gave him a spoon to play with while we fed him with another. He pounded the 'play' spoon down hard on his highchair tray... Sam said it was almost like he was trying to be a drummer... no matter what he was doing, it was really cute. The funniest thing perhaps was when he was trying to eat the cereal off of the spoon while at the same time sticking his fingers in his mouth and trying to eat them too. I think he was actually a bit confused and thought that he was supposed to be sucking on something rather than just eating off of the spoon.

We concluded the day with a trip to Meimaw and Poppy's where Landrick and Poppy finally bonded... AND Landrick rolled from back to belly for the first time! (The best part is that Sam and I actually got to witness it!) I told Sam that Landrick was trying to recycle a bottle, which motivated him to roll ( in truth, he was trying to grab an empty gatorade bottle to play with.) He also figured out how to 'scoot' himself across the floor toward Poppy. He was laying on his belly on a blanket and would push his feet against me, allowing the blanket (and himself) to move towards my Dad. Then, while on his back he figured out how to push his feet on the floor to move away from Poppy... Smart baby boy!

Yesterday was a very active day (helping Brian and Jennifer move into their new home!) and today was a relatively low key day with two milestones...

Needless to say, we had a great weekend.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Teaching little man to love the Earth

Yesterday was Earth Day and it was a great day! For those of you who know me well it will come to no surprise that Landrick, Sam and I all partook in some Earth Day festivities. The day started by Sam dressing Landrick in his 'Tree Hugger' onesie (with jeans and a jacket too - since it was a bit chilly). That little onesie is very special to me, not only because it is so cute and shows a love for the environment, but because it was the very first piece if baby 'clothing' that I purchased for the Mason baby-to-be... we bought it at TJ Maxx after one of the very first prenatal visits. Yesterday was the first day that Landrick wore the onesie (which was fitting because it was Earth Day)... however, even though it was a 9 month outfit Sam said that he's almost too long for it (he's a super long baby!). Hopefully we'll get a few more good wears in before he totally out grows it though... that's just how it goes with baby clothes though:)


Landrick's not been having the best sleeping patterns lately. Some nights he wants to go to bed early... while others it takes forever to get him to sleep (or at least it feels that way). He's also been getting up quite a few times during the night. He went about two weeks where he only got up once or twice... but now he's back to waking up like every few hours. Many times he does not seem to be hungry, but rather just wants to play. Mommy's not really in the mood to play at 2:30 in the morning...
Last night while nursing him before bed he started doing this really funny kicking thing with his leg. He would kick kick kick his left leg in the air... over and over and over. Then I guess it got tired so he'd rest for a minute or two and then resume kicking. It was hilarious. The blanket was covering his leg at first so I thought, 'well maybe it's bothering him'. So I removed the blanket and he only kicked more intensely. Maybe he really will be a soccer player... Mommy can only hope:) hehe

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Roo's First Truck

Well, Sam bought Landrick a truck today... fortunately for me it was just a toy truck! hehe I'm not quite ready for Landrick to drive!

When I came home from work I saw the little yellow and black carhart truck on the floor and I had to smirk a little... but a little bit later I laid Landrick down on his play mat and he went crazy over that truck! He grabbed it and started waving it back and forth in the air. He exuberated excitement with his entire body. It was really cute.

Landrick has also really started laughing on  regular basis... he does it a lot when I kiss his belly after changing his diaper... or when I play the 'Mommy's going to get you' game with his little feet or with tickle hands on his belly. He's started to regularly anticipate the tickle I suppose.

He got up with me this morning and hung out in the bouncy seat while I showered. It's really funny because for the first few minutes hes normally a little reserved and just sits quietly. Then once he fully wakes up he's all giggles and smiles. I'll occasionally slide the shower door open and play a game of peek-a-boo with him. He'll just smile and giggle a bit... then after a few rounds he goes back to playing with Mr. Duck, Mr. Bee, and Mr. Blue Bird (the toys on his bouncy seat).

I just can't explain how much I love that little fella... one can't possibly understand until they have a child of their own. Everything changes... a new level of love seems to have been created.

Monday, April 19, 2010

A week and a half wait...

So no one ever really told me that I'd have to track how often my child pooped... when he was a baby he pooped multiple times a day... now it averages about once every 5 days or so. On Saturday night Sam and I realized that Landrick had not pooped in almost a week and a half. My parents freaked out and told me I needed to call the doctor... which freaked me out! (He did not seem to be in any pain or discomfort, other than the occasional gas, which is nothing new for the little man.) So I found myself planning to call the doctor on Sunday to ask what I should do.

After church, a short nap (for Landrick.. sadly not Mommy) and lunch with friends we came home and I placed Landrick in the bouncy seat while I cleaned up the kitchen. (I love to clean the kitchen... seriously, I do. It's almost like therapy for me for some reason!:) I had just finished washing the sink out when I turned around to meet a very happy baby who was kicking his feet like crazy... only something caught my eye. It was a dark brown growing-in-size discoloration on his green sleeper under his right leg...

I called to Sam and said 'well, there's no need to call the doctor'.

Chalk Sunday, April 18th as the day that Landrick had his most massive poo to date... Good thing I love that little man so much, cause that was one heck of a stinky, smelly, messy, massive poopy diaper.

On a lighter note, and by that I mean less stinky, I've now witnessed Landrick roll over from belly to back 3 times.... he's getting quite efficient at it!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Bouncy Seat on the Move

For the past half hour or so I've been in the kitchen fixing supper, putting dishes way, etc. Meanwhile, Landrick has been sitting happily in his bouncy seat 'singing' away (babbiling in a sing-song sort of way). I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but alas I was wrong. He's been kicking so hard in his bouncy seat that the entire seat has slowly been moving its way around my kitchen floor... too funny! So far I've move him back to his original position twice.... Its like he's a sitting, baby Richard Simmons... hehe.

He's also gotten quite talented at rotating himself 360 degrees while on his back on his blanket on the floor or even while in his pack n' play.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Rolling over... and back over again.

Before leaving for work this morning I fed Landrick and then put him back to bed to sleep for at least another hour or so. Although he was asleep, I kissed him goodbye, told him Mommy loved him (my morning ‘goodbye’ routine – mostly for my comfort) and off I went to work. When I returned to work Sam asked me if I’d laid him down on his back to sleep this morning. I gave him a rather odd look and said ‘no’ (hold your gasps to a minimum… yes my son sleeps on his tummy. I spent 12 weeks sleeping with him on my chest in the recliner until Sam pushed the issue and persuaded me to allow Landrick to sleep on his tummy – he’s been fine and slept well ever since). Sam then proceeded to tell me that Landrick woke him up this morning ‘talking’ and when he rolled over to say good morning Landrick was laying on his back! Our Little Man had rolled over for the first time (to our knowledge) and we did not even get to see it! Ha!


This evening I was playing with him on his blanket on the living room floor when while on his back he almost completely rolled over to his front… He got all the way over, but his left arm was stuck underneath him so he ended up plopping back over onto his back…. CRAZY! We’ve been ‘practicing’ with him… but it’s still hard to belive that he’s old enough to start doing such things. Every day I look at the photo on my desk of Sam holding him when he was just 2 days old… it seems like yesterday… but at the same so far away. Our little man is becoming closer to just that…. A little man.

Grabbing the sun...

Wow, it’s been a rather long few days… hence the missing blog posts, which will make this one rather long… you’ve been warned. Landrick, Sam and I traveled to Cincinnati and Oxford, Ohio this past Saturday and did not return home till late Tuesday night.
We started by having a wonderful visit with my grandparents (Landrick’s Great Grandparents) on Saturday. Landrick traveled fairly well on the way up, sleeping most of the way; however, once we arrived and he had a little lunch he got a little sleepy and was not such a happy camper when we went out to eat. (Maybe he just wanted to eat some ‘grown-up’ food too!) Although he slept a little on the ride back to Nonnie and Pawpaw’s he was still a bit cranky for the duration of the visit… he was also a little gassy, which did not help the matter. BUT all-in-all he did really well and had a great time visiting… it’s such a joy to be able to see my son with his great grandparents. I know just how lucky he is (and I am) to be able to have such an experience. We are truly blessed.

On Sunday we traveled to Oxford, OH to visit Miami University – which I completely fell in love with. I’m telling you, if you’ve never visited that campus and town, I definitely recommend it. It is absolutely beautiful! Sam was gracious enough to come with me to watch Landrick while I attended meetings on campus with my fellow Presidential Leadership Academy class… this also still allowed me to nurse the little man without fear of messing up my milk supply… so very thankful. We decided to try having Landrick sleep in the middle of the second Queen bed in the room… since he’d not yet started rolling over or really moving much in his sleep we thought it would be okay. I still placed a pillow barrier of sorts around him so there would be no risk of falling off the bed. He actually slept really well… so well in fact that on Sunday night he slept (for the first time) for 7.5 hours straight!!! I almost could not believe it…. Wow. (He did not repeat this new found sleeping pattern on Monday night though… but that’s okay.) He was full of new tricks on Sunday, as he also tried to drink some water through the straw in my cup… he probably would have been successful accept I’d already drank all of it myself!
We left Oxford on Tuesday afternoon and were able to have another short visit with Nonnie and Pawpaw before returning home. It was a treat to get to see them twice in one week! We ate lunch and visited a bit before hitting the road for home.
Landrick must have had such a good time visiting with Pawpaw and Nonnie, touring Miami’s campus in the stroller with Daddy and going on various other adventures with Sam that he simply did not want to leave because he cried just about all the way home on Tuesday evening. Now granted he is not a very good ‘evening’ traveler (which we were previously aware of) but he’s never cried for such a long time. We stopped 3 times, getting him out twice (and feeding once)…. But as soon as his little bottom hit that seat the crying began again… I can’t say that I blame him though, as it’s probably rather lonely in the backseat.
When he finally did stop crying the sun was low on the horizon and hitting the sides of his car seat… as I watched him in the ‘baby mirror’ he kept trying to grab the sunlight, almost as if it were a physical intety resting atop the fabric of his seat rather than simply a beam of color shining just beneth his reach… something about that made my heart full… the innocence of a child is wonderful. Everything is new to them… every moment is a moment of learning something new, soaking it in…. just like trying to grab the rays of the sun.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

If dinosaurs were still around...

Landrick has developed several new behaviors lately.... all of which are completely cute, of course. Perhaps one of my favorites is his ability to squeal/screech loudly. The only sound I can relate it to is one that a Pterodactyl makes in the movies... it's too funny. He really likes to make that noise while hanging out in the bouncy seat. He'll kick both legs simultaneously back and forth which makes the seat bounce like crazy... then he adds his own sound effects, which apparently makes the whole experience that much better!

I've also decided that he's a bit of a toy hoarder... I'll lay him on the blanket on his belly with his toys scattered about (just within reach). The next thing I know he's pulled them all in up under his chin/chest. At that point he looks for more and when he realizes none are left he ends up pushing them back out from beneath him... I guess he just wants to make sure he has at least one to play with. I'm not quite sure what this may indicate in reference to future playdates though... we'll have to work on sharing! hehe

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter Sunday

Today was Landrick's first Easter Sunday and it was absolutely wonderful! As always he was in a super sweet mood when he woke up. He ate a little breakfast, played with Daddy and helped Daddy make lemon poppy seed pancakes (sort of:) all before church. He was great in WeePoint (as always) while Sam and I enjoyed an awesome sermon by Pastor Daniel.

Because Sam was teaching in Elevate during the second service, Landrick and I came home after the first service by ourselves. We painted his foot and hand so he could sign his Daddy's and Meimaw and Poppy's Easter cards.... the painting of the foot went pretty well and I was able to get several nice footprints on the cards and envelopes. Trying to paint his hand was a whole different story. I managed to get paint onto his hand but as soon as I tried to get him to flatten it out to push on the card all heck broke loose. He did not want to do that and he let Mommy know! I got him calmed down but he was no longer in a great mood. I gave him a quick bath to get the rest of the paint out from under his toe and fingernails and let him have some lunch. He fell asleep while eating (such a tired boy) so I laid him down in the pack 'n play for a nap... of course when I laid him down he was no longer sleepy so he 'talked' to the animals on his blanket and amused himself for a bit.

He finally joined me in the kitchen while I worked on cleaning the house and preparing for our Easter Sunday supper with Mom and Dad. I was in charge of making roasted asparagus and baked beans... Mom made/brought ham, deviled eggs, rolls and a pie.... yummmo.

After we all ate Landrick 'opened' his Easter basket... I know he's just almost 5 months old... but baby no matter their age has to have a Easter Basket! We filled his with awesome books, two sippy cups (to be used in a few months), a rubber ducky, and three outfits. Meimaw and Poppy contrinbuted as well with another book, some safari Easter eggs, a little buzzing bee (which Landrick loooved) and a bunny Mr. Potato Head! Landrick seemed to like everything... he got a little overwhelmed with it all, but still managed to try to grab just about all of the items.

All and all it was a great day.... it was actually a GREAT weekend.

On a side note... Landrick is really into grabbing and pulling things toward him... yesterday it was the front carrier that was on the ottoman and today he was trying to pull the couch pillows (cushions). He's also squealling like crazy and can produce some pretty high pitched noises every now and then... always super cute:)

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Giggles, Toots and Toes

Yesterday was such a great day! It started with Landrick waking up at 4:00amish and wanting to play. Even though I was suuuuuper tired, I still thought it was the cutest thing on Earth. Being the responsible Mommy that I am though, I gave him a few kisses and told him that it was not time to play, but rather time to sleep. I put him back in the pack ‘n play (his bed for now) and laid down with my head next to him. He played by himself for the next 45 minutes or so and then went to sleep without even a fuss.


Before I left for work I had him drink some breakfast and he’d just fallen asleep while eating when he tooted… a few seconds later he giggled. He’s had ‘happy baby’ squeals before, but this was the first actual giggle I’d heard. No doubt onset by the gas, but nevertheless oh-so-very cute and memorable.

When I got home from work yesterday we quickly gathered some essentials in preparation for an evening of egg dying and grilling out at Meimaw and Poppy’s. While I was changing Landrick’s diaper he lifted his feet up to play with them (which he does ALL the time) but as soon as I got that diaper all the way off he popped his toes right into his mouth!!! He’s constantly trying to ‘chew’ on his toes like he chews on his fists and fingers, but alas, being diaperless allowed him to finally reach his goal. Ahhh… such a cutie.

Although he’s not quite hit the 5 month mark, I do think he enjoyed dying eggs last night as well. He kept staring at all of the mugs that each contained a different dye color (there were probably 10 to 13 different colors I’d say) but his favorite part was trying to grab the spoons. Poppy was freaking out worrying that he’d make a mess (I’m so much like my dad in that respect), while Meimaw just let him grab away and when he splashed some dye on her shirt she simply replied, well I want to tie-dye this shirt anyway!
This morning he got up again at 7:00 and was such a happy baby! He took a 2.5 hour nap for me at 8:15 and got up just in time to eat and experience his first ever Easter Egg hunt in the neighborhood.
He may only be 5 months old and some reading may think it’s silly that we dyed Easter eggs with him and took him to an Easter egg hunt, but a child only has one first Easter and this was his. He may have no memories of it when he grows, but his very happy Mommy and Daddy will have these memories for the rest of our lives.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Just a little Wiggle Worm

After a long day at work and a trip to Wal-Mart with Landrick, I was able to sit back and watch him wiggle around on top of our ottoman tonight. I had laid a colorful quilt (thank you Ann Scott:) down on top of it and just let him play around and try to grab his toys. We'd been working on rolling over from back to front (and have come quite close to complete success several times but have thus far come up a bit shy) but had never even tried to attempt rolling from belly to back. He's able to wiggle himself around in a circle almost... it's rather cute to watch. Tonight I was trying to give him some extra belly time to work on his upper body strength.

While on his belly he all of a sudden pushed his little knees up under him a bit and kind of rolled over onto his side! Woah! He'd done it before I even realized what he was trying to do. A moment later he plopped back over on his belly (his starting position) and then tried to do the same thing again with no luck. Even though it was not even perhaps a '1/2 of a milestone' as his mother I was totally impressed. My baby boy is growing so fast... right before my eyes. I've decided that I shouldn't blink for a while...