Stuff from this week.

Well, we had a rough week. The last three weeks James has been gone almost all day for most of the week, last week being the worst. So, I have done a lot more caring for Landon by myself and my body just hurts... all the time. Sometime in the middle of last week, Landon decided to go from waking up once a night back to every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It's killing me. You know how they say it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all? Well, it is better to never sleep through the night after having a baby than to taste the bliss of a full nights sleep and have it taken away from you never to know when you will have it again. : )
BUT, Landon has reached a bunch of milestones again in the last week. Still teething and no teeth. He is now paying attention to other babies. He is now interested in the toys that I put in front of him on the floor for tummy time and he tried to get them. This morning he rolled/scooted all over his blanket. Interesting that he kept himself from going onto the carpet and just changed directions to stay on his blanket...
Last night we were saying prayer on dinner and I couldn't help myself and peeked at him. He had THE BIGGEST grin on his face watching his dad say the prayer. Then he looked at me and I swear he just knew that I wasn't supposed to have my eyes open. So hilarious!
He is growing like crazy!!! Today I compared him to our tv stand. He is the same height standing which is 24 inches. He is slightly longer when he is all stretched out. We'll see what they say at his next appt in two weeks. He is eating a ton, I might have to start him on cereal soon... We shall see, maybe it is just another growth spurt. Our scale at home measures him at 14lbs...

Splish Splash, Landon taking a bath!

Bath time is my favorite part of the day! James does bath time and I get to watch. It starts out with turning on the water and Landon loves to listen to the running water. Then we put him in the chair and he puts his feet in and out of the falling water (so cute). The whole time James is talking and making funny sounds of encouragement. Then James lathers him all up and sings funny bath songs he makes up on the fly. Every time it is different. Finally, if Landon is having a ton of fun, we let him play until he gets tired. This was his longest bath yet. So much fun!

Teething sucks!

Last week there were two days where Landon did not sleep during the day. His naps were between 5 and 15 minutes. I was so tired! I sound annoyed in this video, but I was just tired on the edge of hysteria. I am happy to say that is back to taking naps. Everyone is telling me that this is normal, but why didn't anyone warn me before hand? I was thinking that my little boy, who seems to be growing up way too fast, is never going to nap again! I even had dreams that he started talking last week! Craziness!

Interesting visiting teaching experience...

Yesterday I went to visit a new Sister on my visiting teaching list. My companion and I met there and I got to the apartment complex just before she did. I found the visitor parking just as she was trying to get the right password in at the front gate. I was so distracted in giving her the right password and showing her where I was in the parking lot, that I never turned off the car, but I closed my door and went to get Landon out. I got him out and then went to get the diaper bag from the passenger side when I realized I left the car on. So I reached over to turn off the car and completely forgot that I had my lights on. We visited with this Sister for over two hours and then when I went to turn on my car, it was completely dead! My companion didn't have jumper cables, so I hung out at my new friend's house until her husband came home with their jumper cables and got my car started. I was actually nursing Landon and he did everything for me. What a great guy! And it was one of the hottest days of the summer. So glad that this was a friend already and not an inactive that was annoyed at my visit to begin with! On the way home, Landon fell asleep and I never even knew it! This is a first for him. Usually he gets fussy before he falls asleep in the car. So I couldn't resist the picture perfect moment.

Oh, by the way, no car seat toys have been interesting at all to Landon until we got these linking toys thingies. He loves them! Notice how he fell asleep holding them? It is great for teaching him how to grab and let go. Yesterday I put my sunglasses in the car seat with him and then next thing I knew he had them and was waving them all around! I guess I have to be more careful from now on...

What is it about boys and electronics???

Landon is in the Bumbo watching t.v. and stealing glances at Daddy's laptop.
The boys watching t.v.

If they weren't so cute... I would be annoyed.

Standing and walking???

Holy Cow! Next week he'll be riding a bike!

Stuff from this week.

Landon loves tummy time now. He starts talking and it is so cute. Of course every time I try to record it, he starts crying. That diaper looks huge on him, but he is too big for ones and too slender for twos. I can't even tell you how many poop disasters we have had lately. Thank goodness for Oxyclean!
Love his little piggy's!

I could never get Landon to take a pacifier. Well, now that he is teething he will chew on it. Yes, that is right, chew on it. I will try to get a better video later of him chewing on it like it is a piece of bubble gum, but here it is proof that this little guy will take it! It lasted about a half hour yesterday. Not so interested in it today, but I will keep trying!

I really thought that babies slept more. He used to take a 3 to 4 hour nap in the morning and then a 2-3 hour nap and then a quickie here and there until bedtime. Now he is sleeping MAYBE two hours in the morning and less than an hour every time after that. AND, he has gone back to waking up at least twice every night... Ugh. When do I get to sleep? It is fun though. It is pretty cool how much fun he is while he is awake and happy.

Landon slept through the night!

YAY! On Friday night, Landon only woke up once and it was at 6am. Last night he didn't wake up at all! HOORAY! Now I just have to sleep the whole night. I kept waking up making sure he was still alive. Last night I got up at 3am and couldn't find his head... he had sunk down into his swaddle/boppy and I had to open it up to see his face. Yeah, we tried last night to get him to bed without the boppy in his crib... 4 hours and then we were too tired to keep trying. Last two days his naps were not allowed in the boppy. They didn't last long, but I know it will happen, we just have to keep trying. It just kills me sometimes to hear him cry for so long. We were watching a movie during this with the baby monitor near by and at one point I realized that I had started enjoying the movie and asked James, how long Landon had been asleep for. He had stopped crying and I was able to enjoy the movie without being distracted by his crying.

At the temple

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the D.C. temple and watch our friends Andrea and James Kelley be sealed to their adopted daughter Zoe. The Kelley's lost their little boy Dallin two years ago. It is so amazing to have the gospel in your life and know that through the temple families can be together forever. James and James are childhood friends and it was an honor to be a part of this special day.

This was also the first time that I was away from Landon where someone else was watching him besides James. Grandma Marker drove up with us and walked with Landon around the temple while we were inside for about an hour and a half. Landon did awesome yesterday and he had a low grade fever most of the day.

Zoe was so adorable! She had on the cutest white dress with little bloomers. To me she still has a sweet little newborn cry, but James Kelley says that we hadn't heard her at her worst.

Tara Walsh also was there along with Beau and Teri Ballou, another friend from when we were all in singles ward together Sean and his wife Emily, and James's mother Linda Kelley.

Afterwards we went to the Silver Diner for dinner to reminisce of the old days after a singles dance. Ah the good ole days!

I love this shot!

Zoe and Landon

Haven't seen that smile on James since the last time he was with James Kelley...

Beau, Teri, James Kelley, Zoe, Andrea, and us.

Zoe loves to stand and jump, such a doll! Oh yeah, I made the blanket that is on James's shoulder. They tell me she loves it!

Cooing to sleep

Starting a few weeks ago when we put Landon to sleep he has started this cooing thing. It is adorable. He cries a little in this video but you get the idea. Oh yeah, the best rocking chair is an exercise ball! I haven't found a baby that doesn't like the motion yet and it tons you up while you are at it!

Teething toys

We went and bought Landon some linking toys and a new teether (he doesn't like the one we have). I know I have been uploading a ton of videos lately, but this is so my loved ones far away can feel like they are literally watching Landon grow up too. Love you guys!

Trying to roll over

Feeling bad for not giving Landon enough tummy time, I have tried to make up for it the last few days. I taught him how to roll over by rolling him back and forth a couple of times and now he likes to try it all the time. Look at that neck rotation (it is like an owl!).

The only drawback is that now when he is trying to break out of his swaddle propped up in his boppy to sleep, he does the same thing. Makes me a little nervous... Any suggestions? We are going to try to take away the boppy this weekend and see if he'll sleep without it now.

Landon likes to pull himself up to standing now!

Right after we stopped recording, Landon let out a huge burp, it was hilarious, we should have kept recording!

I am not pulling him at all! It kinda looks like I am... He started this yesterday morning and now he loves to do it all the time! Today he wanted to stand for most of his morning awake time. This morning he was standing and I wasn't really holding him, he was holding onto my thumb and balancing himself! Holy Cow he is a strong little guy! The last few car rides when he has gotten mad, he has tried to break out of his seat belt straps by trying to sit up while strapped in! Don't know if that description paints a good picture for you...

He is definitely teething! This morning he chomped down hard on my hand, so (after reading the teething section in the 'What to Expect the first year' book) I took my finger and rubbed his gums gently putting a little pressure. He stopped fussing and seemed to like it. I tried it again a little later and he seemed to really want me to concentrate on his bottom gums. Looks like they are coming in low! I think it is cool, but I am worried about nursing a toothy little boy so soon. Oh well, we shall see how long it takes for them to cut through anyways.

I don't know about you, but it just seemed like it took other babies a lot longer to get to these points... It is flying by so fast! I have been really bad at "tummy time" because of his hernia he didn't last long before he started crying, but he seems to be doing fine with the little tummy time he has been getting!

Finding things to laugh at when things are tough

Landon has his first cold. I have become pretty good with the booger sucker (nasal aspirator)... except for those two times when....
I sucked some snot out of one nostril and when I went to suck snot out of the other I squirted snot right into his face! Ooops! : )
This week has kicked my butt. I thought (naively) that the nights and days of getting only a half hour of sleep at a time were over. I was so exhausted yesterday that I had some major crying bouts. I was so upset that I could barely eat my delicious dinner over my sobs. It was so sad. Needless to say James realized that I really was exhausted and not just saying so for sympathy's sake.
This morning Landon found his feet. It was so cute. I wanted to hold him, but stupid me pulled my shoulder/neck muscle and now I am afraid I'll have a spasm and drop him. So James is trying to do the heavy lifting so my shoulder/neck can heal as much as possible before he goes to work tomorrow.
How I pulled it... well, I wanted to wear a dress to church that zips up the back. I was trying to zip it up by myself because I would have to be able to zip and unzip it myself in order to nurse Landon at church. I zipped it up with no problem until I went to bring my arm down and ZOW! And just the day before I thought it couldn't get any worse. I just have to laugh and thank heavens for such a helpful husband.

Landon and his tv... inseperable

James has started putting Landon in the Bumbo after his nightly bath in his PJ's and watch tv together. It is pretty cute. See how entranced he is...
He is leaning over because I am obstructing his view of the television... hehehe I know I will hate this later, but right now it is super cute!

Last night Finding Nemo was on tv. He really liked that one. Hopefully one day we can add it to our collection.

Landon's morning stretching routine

This was taken one morning at the beach. Landon usually stretches for about a half hour if you let him. He sleeps swaddled so I don't blame him.

Landon loves his monkey mirror

When Landon was a newborn baby, he loved the car. But in his second/third month he started to hate it. Well, we finally put his monkey mirror in the car and during the beach trip he seemed to love the car again. Not sure if it really has anything to do with the monkey, but I would like to think so... He talks and laughs most of the car ride now. It is so cute. My sister-in-law Jes said that the beach is magical, well, he isn't quite sleeping through the night, but I'll take a happy baby in the car! : )

Landon's Play Station Thingy

The box to this toy says that babies can play in it as soon as they can hold up their heads... well, Landon started doing that at three weeks old.... (they need to put a recommended starting weight) After I put it together a couple of weeks ago, I put him in it, and his head barely came up over the seat area and his feet were way above the ground! Well, as you can see, he has gained a ton of weight in those two weeks!

Landon's blessing day

Love the dramatic throwing the head back and opening in a big WAH! He does that when he is tired and can't take anymore. I love it, it is so stinking cute!
Happy right before church in his blessing outfit.

Grandpa and Grandma Alba

This is our second attempt at these pictures, the first time we took them they all had Landon crying in them...

Hey, it is nice not to be the lightest one in the picture for once! I'm sure it won't last long though. By the time he is ten he'll probably be taller than me and have a much better tan than me too!

Well, Landon's blessing day was the day right after our trip home from the beach. The trip home was way too long and Landon had the beginnings of his first cold.

Crap-etty crap crap!

James started to loose his voice the day before the blessing and the last time they needed the portable microphone in church, they couldn't find it. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to hear the blessing that I started praying that Landon wouldn't be fussy for the blessing so that I could hear it. We always sit in the back, but when we got to church and they still didn't know where the mic was, we went right to the front. At the last minute they found it and then we found out that three babies were being blessed that morning. I was so stressed out because I knew that it was nearing the end of Landon's happy awake time and he would start crying soon.

Landon was the last to be blessed so I immediately took him outside to calm him down before it was his turn. Luckily the blessings went quickly and I brought him back in just in time for James to bless him. Landon didn't fuss once during the blessing! Prayers do get answered, even if they are kinda silly ones : )

Marker Family Photo

Two Grandparents, Eight Kids and spouses, 19 grandchildren and two babies on the way!

Beach Trip

(Sorry, this is a little out of order)

On the way to the beach
We left Saturday morning at 6am. We were up since 4:30am and we were at our first rest stop for bathroom breaks and Landon's morning nursing and interaction with Mommy and Daddy. We were at the rest stop for about 45 minutes. I don't know if you can tell, but I had quite the little cocoon back there...

Family photo in the car :)

Putting the baby carrier to good use!

Landon loves his hat! Thanks Auntie Candy! xoxo

Probably the only time it wasn't super windy. There seemed to be a lot of storms this week and a little too much wind for Landon. Thank goodness for gas drops!

Thanks to my sister in law, Jessica for bringing their jogging stroller. Otherwise I wouldn't have been to the beach all week.

Well, I have mixed feelings about this beach trip. I love the beach and taking a newborn to the beach is not ideal. Landon did great and reached a couple more milestones while we were there, but it kinda sucked too. We did have a lot of fun though, so it wasn't all bad. I had a ton of fun with my sister-in-laws that were in my beach house and they made a frustrating trip turn out great. Thanks ladies!

Landon's first tooth!

Just kidding! No, he doesn't have any teeth yet, but doesn't it look real????
Actually it is just the skin from his lip. It was just hanging there and I couldn't resist! Doesn't he kinda resemble Nanny McPhee?

Post op visit

The day before we left for the Marker Family Beach trip was Landon's follow up visit with Dr. Bagwell for his hernia repair. Did I already say how much I love this man? He is wonderful! He came and got us from the waiting room himself before we even sat down. Looked Landon over and chatted with us and before you know it, we were back on the road! I highly recommend his services to anyone that might need them!