4 months old

I was just thinking today about how much Landen has grown and changed. He has been working on rolling from his back to his tummy. He gets most of the way over, he just doesn't get his head picked up. He doesn't really like being on his tummy, so the only time he tries to roll is if he is reaching for a toy. He has gotten really good at grasping the toys. Whether he is in his activity center, on his play mat or if I hold a toy up for him, he is pretty good at grabbing it with one or both hands. Anymore now, if he can get it to his mouth, he'll play with it...including my fingers! Here are some pictures from the week. In the first one, Landen had just woke up from a nap on the couch. In the second one, I was trying to lay him on his tummy on the couch (he is asleep) and this is how he ended up when I put him down. I had to take a picture before I readjusted him. The third one is a good shot of him in his activity center. He LOVES to play in it. We think he looks like a mad scientist hard at work the way he studies some of the objects. In the next picture, we were getting ready for a walk and Landen got Elliot's glasses and, of course, tried to put them in his mouth. The fifth picture is our comparison picture that we take each month to show how much he has grown. Scroll down to see other months and notice where the top of his head is in the first post compared to now. The last picture is about as far as Landen gets in rolling over...he was reaching for toys.

He gets shots on Monday, so we'll find out much he weighs now. He has been eating his cereal much better and getting it twice a day. It was like he decided one day that he would eat his cereal and he has been eating good ever since.

Another busy week

We had an interesting week. A friend in town needed a baby sitter for a couple days for her six month old baby. They asked if I would watch him. I agreed to watch him for two days. In those two days the clock did not move fast enough. This baby is not a bad baby, but he was left in an unfamiliar place with someone he didn't know and he was not a happy camper. He cried about half of the time and he and Landen cried at the same time quite often. It was pretty stressful. Not only that, but this older baby is rolling and crawling and while I was trying to nurse, he was getting into things (I haven't baby proofed yet...I was just planning on telling Landen "no" when the time comes). Needless to say, the mom of this baby and I agreed that the situation wasn't going to work since both babies are at a very needy age and he was all messed up from going to so many different places in one week...but I tried.

Here are a few pictures from the week. In the first one, Landen is trying out his new activity center from Grandma Hoefs. He spins himself around in there to check all of the toys on it...I have as much fun watching as he does playing. In the next picture, Landen is feeling Daddy's face...he loves to touch our faces. In the third picture, Landen is trying to grab the toy in the tub. He love to play in the bath tub and he managed to get himself in this funny position. Don't worry, I watch him very closely and I don't let go for very long. The last picture looks pretty silly, but if you look closely, you can see a small white line on his gums just above my left finger. That is a tooth...that's right, just 5 days short of turning 4 months old and Landen has a tooth! I noticed it when I was feeding him some cereal and he put my finger in his mouth and started chewing. He has been cranky and chewing on everything a lot in the last couple of weeks. I figured it was his teeth moving around, but I didn't think one would poke through this soon. He's growing up too fast! :'(

New favorite toy...FEET!

Landen went to his first Eager Beaver Days celebration. We enjoyed the parade in the morning. The sun was pretty bright, so Landen wore his shades. They were a big hit! The next picture was taken at one of my mom's friend's house later that day (Landen needed to eat). She was actually out of town, but we know that we are always welcome...so we made ourselves at home. In the next picture, Landen saw a wine bottle and couldn't take his eyes off of it...at least he knows good wine when he sees it! (it was some that Elliot had made) The next three pictures show what we have been seeing a lot of lately...Landen grabbing his feet. He has been eating his cereal better. I tried it thicker one day to see if he would eat it...and he liked it better!

New pictures

As I mentioned last week, Landen has started getting cereal every day. He is slowly starting to catch on and even swallowing some of it. His favorite thing to do is to blow bubbles right after I give him a spoon full. In the last picture he is smiling at me after getting a bite. That was the first time to eat a meal in his new highchair. He looks so little in it! The second picture shows how Landen like to turn himself sideways in his bumbo. The first time he did it, he was reaching for his right foot. Ever since then, I can't get him to sit in it straight! He always seems to turn the same direction, too. The third picture shows how Landen pacifies himself (this is also how he puts himself to sleep). He seems to like his fingers better than his thumb, now. It's kind of funny because I used to suck the first two fingers on my right hand. Landen usually sucks his left...we think he is going to be a lefty. He even reaches for toys with his left more than his right. In the fourth picture, Landen is hugging one of his favorite toys. It's a blanket that has a bear head (with a rattle) and arms in the middle of it and satin on the bottom side. He hugs it and chews on it and he is getting very good at grabbing it when it is near him. I have a cute video of him playing with it, but it is almost 2 minutes long and it takes up a lot of space. If I can shorten it, I will add it later.

It just occurred to me that I did not say how big Landen was at his last doctor's appointment. At 3 months (and 2 days) he weighed in at 13 lbs 11.5 oz and is 24.5 in. long. He is in the 75th percentile in both weight and height. He has doubled his birth weight!

more pictures

I wanted to share the 4 generation pictures that we took at Landen's baptism. I wanted to share them earlier, but I had so many pictures, I decided to wait. The last picture is from earlier today. We went to the doctor yesterday and got the o.k. to start feeding Landen cereal. I tried it for the first time at lunch today. As expected, more ended up on him than in him. He just wasn't sure what to think of me putting a spoon in his mouth.

3 Months Old!

Landen is 3 months old! On his three month birthday, he started blowing bubbles. It is so cute how he puckers up his lips to blow the bubbles and he thinks he is pretty cool and does it all the time now (that's all I have heard out of him this morning). I took a short video of him blowing bubbles (you'll have turn your head to watch it though). I hope it works for everyone. (a quick note: I changed a setting that will allow everyone to post comments, not just members) Landen has also been reaching for his feet when he is sitting on the couch or in his bumbo. When on the couch, he can go from sitting to his belly in a matter of seconds...guess that means I can't leave him on the couch to even get the camera anymore. We took him to get his 3 month pictures last night. It went pretty good, except the little stinker wouldn't hardly smile. He smiles all the time for me, but he wouldn't do it for the camera.

I've been told by a lot of people that I am pretty spoiled with Landen. The reason I say this is that I can't remember the last time I had to get up with him before 6:30 am. He usually sleeps until 7:30 or 8 and sometimes until 9. The only reason he woke up at 6:30 the other day was because he was cold (it got down into the 40s that night). If he wakes up during the night, he finds his thumb and goes back to sleep without crying. In fact, he rarely cries. He whines when he is hungry...he cries when Grandpa Becker waits until really mad before letting him eat! He "talks" a lot and I can tell when his tone changes from happy to hungry...and it can happen pretty quick.

Not much new

With the exception of a little computer problems, it's been a good week. Landen is getting into a routine (and I haven't really been trying). He has been going down for a nap usually between 10:00 and 11:00. I really didn't think of it as a routine until Sunday when we were in church until 10:15 and he fell asleep after nursing him during the sermon. He woke up when we got home and didn't go back to sleep. An hour later he was very cranky and wasn't too interested in eating while we were at Connie and Larry's house. I took him home and he fell asleep almost right away. I hope future children are this easy! Landen is also very entertained by the TV, as you can see in the picture above. He even ignores Elliot and I to watch TV. I think he just likes to watch the movement...he is always moving and he has to watch something that moves at his pace. On Saturday we watched the first Husker game of the season. Landen was all dressed up for the occasion, but the outfit didn't make to the end of the game...we had a blow-out. To make the weekend more exciting, on Sunday we went to the lake where my parents had the camper set up for the weekend (after Landen's much needed nap). We didn't get to go out on the boat but we went down to the beach and Landen got to put his feet in the sand and the water. He didn't like it at first, but after a little while, he decided it was kind of fun and got a big grin on his face when I sung him back and forth with his feet dragging in the water. Later we hung out at the campsite with friends and ate supper. We are looking forward to next summer when Landen is big enough to go out on the boat and will be able to play on the beach without us holding him the whole time.