Teething

The last few days have been pretty interesting, to say the least. Yea, it has been Christmas week and there will be posts about that, but Landon teething is what I am referring too. Throw in his hair-trigger gag reflex, and you have nights filled with crying, throw-up, and whining.

He recently got his front left tooth and it looks like his front right tooth is coming in. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, anyone? It's hard to see in his mouth and we cannot tell if any other teeth are coming in. We hope if any of them are coming in, they get here soon. He's got all the teething symptoms, which started Christmas Eve... figures. So, we've been battling that while trying to juggle everything during the holidays. Additionally, Christi is coming down with a cold, so she isn't feeling well.

For some reason he is super clingy and it seems the only person he wants is... me. I have no idea why. I think it has something to do with me leaving for 2 weeks a few months ago. Either way, it makes everyone else feel badly because he only wants me to hold him. I'm unsure what to do since I want to calm him down but at the same time if I do he will continue this behavior. Normally I try to let him sit with someone else and he calms down, but in extreme cases I'll pick him up and calm him down.

We didn't get much sleep last night. After gagging on his medicine and launching throw-up all over the kitchen, he was very irritable last night. We got him to sleep at his normal bedtime, but he woke up around 3 am and did not want to go back to sleep. Eventually, we gave him some milk and he calmed down, but only after we laid on the couch together. I'm expecting him to be especially whiny today since he didn't sleep well. That combined with being tired from a lack of sleep, it makes for long days.

Hopefully he will feel better soon. It's definitely not his normal behavior. I'll keep you updated on how he is doing

Insane Basketball Shot

Have to watch to believe, and even then you won't believe it.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Hard to believe Christmas is about 2 weeks away, right? Christi and I did a lot of Christmas shopping this weekend, but we're maybe half-way through, if that. We have some people on our list that are so hard to buy for, so we're still searching for their gifts. Not to mention I only have 1 gift for Christi and time is running out. It's harder to find to shop now, and Landon doesn't exactly enjoy going in and out of stores, so we have to rely on others to keep him while we shop. Thankfully everyone has been very helpful.

We went to 2 Christmas parties this weekend. Friday night, Christi's fellow school teachers had a Christmas party and it was a lot of fun. We ended up having to bring Landon along and of course he was all over the place. We felt bad about that, since he was the only kid there. We didn't have anyone available to babysit, so we had to bring him. Everyone seemed cool about it, but you always wonder what people are really thinking. Tonight we went to our old church's Christmas get together at the church. It was a lot of fun to see people we haven't seen in a while. Everyone was thrilled to see Landon and he had a great time running all over the place. They always have great food, and tonight was no exception. I ate way too many desserts.

Landon did something hilarious. We were sitting near the front and they were singing some Christmas carols. The music director was leading everyone and doing his hand up and down while he was doing so. Landon was sitting there in our lap watching intently. All of a sudden, Landon raises up really straight and starts waving at the music director. He was convinced that the music director was waving at him. The music director saw him do it and waved back mid-song, and Landon started clapping and waved some more. It was pretty funny.

We also went to my grandfather's church on Saturday. It's the largest church in Macon and as a result have a large choir, orchestra, and band. He and his wife are in the choir. Every year around Christmas they put on a Christmas performance that is free to watch. It always draws a crowd and this year was no different. We had a great time and it was really well put together. It's always fun to watch my grandfather sing because you can see he really enjoys it.

How are you all doing on Christmas shopping? Any must-have gifts or good ideas for those hard to buy for people? Let me here them in the comments

Landon 1 Year Photo Shoot

For his birthday, Mrs. Debra gave Landon an awesome gift - a 1 year photo shoot. We met the photographer this past Sunday and had a fun yet challenging time with Landon to get his pictures taken. We haven't seen the pictures yet, but the photographer just posted 1 teaser picture. I love it. Check it out. For more of her work, check out her website.

Landon up close

Photo credit: Kimberly G Photography

Landon's 1st Birthday

Landon's birthday was this past Thursday, Dec 2. His actual birthday started off well. We sang him Happy Birthday when he woke up, but after that it was downhill. Some would argue me singing is starting the day off bad already. While we were getting ready in our bathroom, he was trying to jump up in the air. He just squats down and raises up real quickly, arching his back like he's going up in the air. Normally he will fall on his butt, but this morning he got off balance and face-planted on our tile floor. Instant bruise around his eye. He wasn't happy.

Since he was 1, it was time for a visit to the doctor. We weren't thinking and his visit was actually on his birthday. He ended up having to get 4 shots (3 in the leg, 1 in the arm) and his toe pricked so they could test for blood. Not fun any day, especially on not on your birthday. What made it worse was that one shot was chickenpox and the other was flu, so there was the possibility of being developing flu symptoms on his birthday and for his party on Saturday as well as getting the chickenpox the following week. Awesome planning, parents.

After we got home, Landon fell getting out of my lap and hit his head on the floor. 2 bumps for the day. While we were getting some things ready in the garage, Landon kept trying to go out there. Christi got him back inside and while she was shutting a door he snuck back to the door and ended up getting his fingers stuck inside the door jam with the door shut all the way. Needless to say he was hurting a lot. I'm not sure who was more upset, Christi or Landon. It was completely an accident and she couldn't see where his hands were at that last second. It looked really swolled and smushed at first, but his finger was OK and he was back playing in a few minutes. Christi was pretty shaken because she hurt his finger and as a parent you never want to do something like that. After seeing that Landon was fine after a little while Christi started to feel a little bit better, but I know it still bothers her. Just one of those things that happens, unfortunately.

The day ended on a high note with most of the family getting together for dinner at Cracker Barrel, which is Landon's favorite place to eat. He loves their veggies and biscuits.

We had Landon's party on Saturday. We spend a lot of time preparing the house for everyone to come over and getting all of the food ready to eat. The final tally was 37 guest in attendance (not counting kids) with over 30 burgers, 20 hotdogs, and 5 lbs of wings eaten, plus other foods and snacks we had. Christi spent many hours decorating his cake and her mom was a big help since she actually made the cakes.

I think everyone had a great time and Landon did pretty well. He didn't take a nap at his normal time (2:30p), but ended up falling asleep right as the party started (4p). We let him sleep for a little while, but woke him up soon after. He did pretty well despite the lack of sleep. He definitely slept well that night, though. It was great to have family and friends around celebrating Landon's birthday. We definitely couldn't have done it without some help, and I'd like to thank Christi's parents, Mike and Debra, as well as her brother, Jason, and his girlfriend Lynn for helping get everything together as well as my brother, Blake, with helping my on the grill Saturday.

Here are some pictures from Landon's party

Christmas Flash Mob

Pretty cool

Reflection

I'm sitting here thinking about the past year and everything that has happened. Landon was born. Many sleepless nights have passed. Untold amounts of diapers have been changed. We've gone from staring at our little miracle in his crib to chasing him around the house. It's impossible to say how fast this year has gone by because it feels like just yesterday we were at the hospital and I was laying awake, unable to sleep and lost in thought writing this post. Now I'm sitting here looking at my beautiful wife holding our sleeping son who will be 1 year old tomorrow at 9:59 am.

This past year has been nothing short of amazing. I think back at all the memories we've made this year and all the big milestones that have passed. It's sad because Landon isn't our little baby boy anymore, but it's exciting because he's growing up and doing new things seemingly every day. Just two days ago I was teaching how to jump - no, really, I was. He wasn't getting off the ground, but he sure was trying hard to copy me and jump into the air. It is amazing all the things they pick up on. Like when it's bed time and how he will try to do all of the things we think are funny so he can prolong his time awake. The kid is smart. It's scary.

As you know all to well, I can go on and on about Landon and everything that is going on. How about instead of all my words, I'll just re-post some pictures throughout the years. I know that's what everyone really wants to see anyway.

Landon in the hospital


He's loved baths since day 1


The new family






Ready to go home!


The jersey used to swallow him


Landon and Sappoo (great-grandfather)


Christmas last year


Landon and Christi. He's 1 week old right here.


Relaxing after bath time. 3 weeks old


Ready for Santa!


Christmas Eve. Landon was excited


Christmas presents. He was ours


Christi and reindeer Landon


Reindeer down for the count


1 month old


The lip


Cheese!


Almost 2 months old here


3 months old


Easter 2010 - Christi and Landon








Easter Bunny Landon


Landon 5 months old


Loves to grab the hair


Watching the fish at the Ga Aquarium




6 months old, wearing Papa's hat


July 4th - Landon sitting with Nana


Landon at the pool on the 4th of July


Landon sitting up. 7 months old


Landon and Mrs. Debra


Say what?


Landon smiling on the car ride at Myrtle Beach


He loves mirrors


Ninja Landon


Family picture at the beach. Wind was a factor


Landon, 7 months


Landon, 8 months


Landon and I ready for gameday!


Landon 9 months. Mommy making sure he doesn't run off and fall down. Note how the jersey fits him there compared to the earlier picture


Smiling for the camera


Landon and Ian having fun in the wagon


Landon discovered the joy of toilet paper at 10 months old


Impressive that it didn't break at all


Landon in his old Halloween costume


Posing for some Halloween pictures. All he really wanted to do was chew hay


Pumpkin Landon




Getting ready for Halloween! 10 months old








Landon getting ready for Winter!


He's 11 months here. Getting bigger, but still sleeps hard






Long-haired Landon!


Landon mid-snort. He loves to do this now


Getting ready for his first haircut


Having a good time eating his comb and getting his hair cut


1st Haircut


Landon in his Thanksgiving PJs (11 months)


Doing some yoga


Practicing some squats

That was just a few of the many pictures from this past year. Kind of amazing to see how fast he grew. I'll make sure to post a bunch from his party this weekend. Check back for more pictures