Fourth of July Weekend

We had a really good Fourth of July weekend. We went to the parade Friday morning and then walked around the park after the parade. There were lots of food booths and other activities going on in the park. After lunch we went home so Landen could take a nap. While Landen was sleeping, Wendall, Elliot's friend Sean and I went back to the park for the free watermelon feed. Elliot stayed home with Landen. Elliot smoked a brisket in his homemade smoker and we had that for supper. While the brisket was in the smoker, we sat out on the deck, listened to music and enjoyed the beautiful day. As you can see in the pictures, Landen had a pop sickle that afternoon. Surprisingly, it wasn't all over him when he was done. We went to the fireworks show that night and Landen LOVED them. He was pretty tired, but it was worth it to keep him up. We lit a few fireworks when we got home and then Landen was definitely ready to go to bed. Saturday we all slept in and just relaxed in the morning. That evening we went to my parents' house and helped my Mom take supper to the wheat field. After we ate, Landen and I rode in the semi with my Dad to take a load to the elevator. Landen really enjoyed the ride. He was pretty wound up after the truck ride and it was fun to see him being so silly. It rained Saturday night, so my Dad couldn't cut wheat on Sunday so we got to go to the lake in the afternoon. Landen was a little cranky because he didn't get his afternoon nap, but he still had fun. Maybe next year he will get to ride the tube with Daddy!

Enjoying the summer!

First boat ride.










We found this cute little chair at Target and Landen loves to climb in and sit down. The other day he climbed in with his blanket and sat and watched TV while sucking his thumb...of course, he saw me get the camera out so he doesn't look as relaxed as he was.









Landen loves to play with the hose. He can drink from it and he just likes to experiment with it by sticking his finger in the end to see what happens. He only had a small dry spot on his back by the time he was done playing!



Not only am I bad about posting updates, I have even been bad about taking pictures. I realized that I went over a week without taking a single picture. The weekend of the 21st and 22nd we went to the lake down in Norton where my parents were camping. Shortly after we got down there I realized that I had forgotten Landen's life jacket so I was mad at myself because he wouldn't get to go out on the boat. Luckily, there were so many people camping that weekend that we were able to find a life jacket for him. He didn't like the life jacket at all, but as soon as the boat started going fast, he forgot all about it and just enjoyed the wind and water in his face. He was even trying to lean over the edge of the boat to get the water. When we were about done, we decided to let him get in. Elliot just put him over the edge of the boat and held on to the handle on the back of the life jacket and Landen just floated and splashed and loved every second he was in the water. I knew that he would like the water because he loves the pool. He thinks it's funny when he gets splashed and he really wants me to let go of him in the water...until he falls and gets a mouth full of water. He really likes it when I go to the 4ft area and go in shoulder deep and walk backwards the length of the pool. He kicks and giggles the whole time.

Last weekend we went to Kearney Friday afternoon to do a little shopping. Saturday we just stayed home. Sunday was Elliot's birthday so his parents took us out for supper. Elliot wanted to go to Republican City to Old Mexico so when we were done eating we drove around the lake to see how full it was. It was so nice to see that much water in the lake. It made me want to go out on the boat again. Hopefully we will be able to go this weekend. My Dad just started harvesting wheat earlier this week, so we might not get to go. Tomorrow should be fun with all of the fireworks. Landen has been interested in the fireworks going off in the neighborhood, so I think he will love the big ones (provided he isn't too tired).
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Happy Birthday!

Landen is tying to make Grandpa's tongue work. That is where you twist your ear and stick out your tongue. We have been trying to teach Landen, but he is not coordinated enough yet.









Landen really likes his new peddle car that Elliot's friend Sean built for him.









One year picture on the couch. (Look back to my first post to see how little he was)








Landen was helping Daddy and Grandpa with some beer and wine stuff.







Landen likes to feed Grandma Becker, so he had to share his birthday cake.







I was trying to keep Landen from grabbing the candle. He ended up getting it anyways, but it didn't burn him, it just hurt for a little while.






He wouldn't even touch his cake until we got him a fork. I was hoping he would dig in. He did finally eat a couple bites and got pretty dirty after playing for a while.







This was a good shot of Landen walking with a tractor in his hand.







Sitting on uncle Wendall's motorcycle.









This is at the outdoor class room a few blocks from our house.











Enjoying the new swing.








Well, I am enjoying the nice weather so much that I have been neglecting to keep this blog up to date. The bad thing about going so long between posts is that I can't really remember everything that has happened. Well, here we go. Saturday, May 24, we spent the day shopping in Grand Island. The drive was more fascinating than usual because it was shortly after all of the rain and flooding in this part of the state. The next Saturday my Mom, Landen and I went to Kearney to visit my Grandma in the hospital. She had surgery to fix her stomach which was folded over itself from her hiatal hernia. She is doing much better now. Landen and I spent most of the following Friday down in Norton with my Grandma. Then we went to my parents house that night for a going away party for a friend. Saturday Landen and I went to Wilsonville for the parade and rodeo. On Sunday we stayed home to recover from the long days that we had. My best friend from high school, who lives in Florida, came to visit us that afternoon. She and her husband were looking at houses because they are thinking about moving back to this area. Monday I took Landen to the pool for the first time. He LOVED it. We went a couple more times over the week. Tuesday we went up to Elwood for 1 year pictures. Wednesday Elliot and I went out for supper to celebrate our anniversary (yes, Landen's birthday is the same day as our anniversary). Thursday we went to the doctor. Landen weighs 20 lbs 8.5 oz and is 29 in. long at 1 year old. I also had my monthly check up and the baby is doing fine and the doctor said the size is right on track. (In case you are wondering, I am 17 weeks pregnant now and I have been feeling great!) This past weekend we celebrated Landen's birthday and Father's Day. Landen got a lot of good stuff for his birthday including a swing set from us, a wagon from Grandma and Grandpa Becker and more John Deere toys and clothes as well as other toys, clothes and books. We were going to go to the lake on Sunday, but it was too windy. I hope next weekend is nicer. We have to go back to Norton on Thursday for shots. This is going to be a big round of shots, so I am not looking forward to it.

In other news; Landen is walking pretty much full time now. He spends most of the day pacing around the house just practicing. He likes to stop and pick up toys or his blanky and carry them around. He says "up" when he wants to be picked up. He says "uh uh uh ooooh" when he throws something off of his highchair. He started saying "horsey" one day. It sounds more like "see" sometimes, but he points to his horse jack-in-the-box when he says it, so I am sure that is what he is saying. I reinforce the word "horsey" so that he will keep saying it. Sometimes I can get him to sign "thank you," but it also looks like blowing kisses, so I think he gets confused and won't do it at all. When he wants to play with his pin wheel, he points at it and blows, but for some reason he won't blow on it when I give it to him. I've been working on getting him to eat chunkier foods. He is slowly doing better, but he still won't eat chunks of fruit, strange kid.

Crazy Busy!

Sutton and Landen playing together at Sutton's birthday party








Sutton and Landen in the bathtub after the party.










11 month picture (I made the mistake of putting the same outfit on him as the 10 month picture.)








Playing with a pinwheel on a breezy afternoon.








As I mentioned in my last post, we have been busy lately. May 3rd was the Becker branding and the last one for this year. We did not stay all day because we wanted to go to Sutton's birthday party since Landen and Sutton are only 5 weeks apart in age. The following Wednesday my Mom, Landen and I went to Norton to a supper with my Grandma at her church. While we were there, Landen's temperature went up and he was not feeling very good. As I mentioned in my last post, Landen has been working on three teeth on top, so the fever was likely from teething. Another symptom of teething was a really runny nose. The runny nose drained into his throat and caused a really bad sounding cough for the past two weeks. Anyways, I had a doctor appointment the day after the supper with my Grandma, so I had the doctor examine Landen while we were there. She didn't see any infection and was sure that it was all from teething. My exam went well too. We were able to here the baby's heartbeat and it was 140 beats per minute. It is always relieving to hear the heartbeat when you can't see or feel the baby growing inside. On Friday we left with Elliot's parents to go to Atkinson to Elliot's cousin's graduation. Landen traveled pretty well. I was worried that he wouldn't sleep good in the hotel because he hadn't spent the night away from since he was six months old. He slept as good as he does at home. The only difference was that he was in the same room as us so I responded a lot quicker when he woke up...and he got to come to be with us for an hour or so until we were ready to get up. He actually didn't feel too good the whole weekend, but he was pretty good most of the time. He also took a dive off the bed in the hotel room. I think he was reaching for the alarm clock and leaned too far and fell of the bed and scrape his head on the bed side table. Once I finally got him calmed down, he was back to his playful self. I spent my first Mother's Day wrestling Landen during graduation and riding in the van for 4 hours.

We stayed home to relax last week (at least Monday - Thursday). Friday, May 16, we left my parents' house at 6am and drove to Wichita for my cousin's graduation party. We came back that night. We got back to my parents' house at 2:30am. Landen slept all the way home...we left at his bedtime. Once we got back to my parents' house, he decided that he didn't want to sleep anymore and it took me about 45 minutes to get him to go back to sleep and not start screaming when I put him down in the pack and play. Luckily, he slept in until 9am after that. After that we had a pretty quiet weekend and enjoyed the nice weather and did lots of yard work.

Other news...All three of the teeth that have been giving Landen trouble have come in...hopefully the cough goes away now. Landen also took his first step while we were in Wichita; he was trying to get the dog that was entertaining him. A few days before he stood up from the ground without help for the first time, so I knew it wouldn't be long before he tried to take a step.

Where has the time gone?

not really liking the grass, but he is getting used to it









first time on a horse; we didn't walk around because my horse was acting up a little (he hadn't been ridden in a year)







Watching for the cows with Grandma Becker








Riding Taylor's tractor after Blickenstaff's Branding (Taylor had been pushing the tractor with Landen riding...it was so cute)






Redneck playpen!!!












Finally, I got a picture of Landen standing on his own. He hasn't taken any steps yet, though.








We have been pretty busy this last two weeks. The last two weekends we have gone to some brandings. (For you city folks, we brand calves, give shots and castrate the bull calves) This is a once a year thing that I look forward to because I love gathering the cattle on my horse (and he enjoys it, too). Last year I was 7 months pregnant and didn't get to ride, so this year I was really looking forward to riding (especially since it has been a year and a half since I last had a chance to ride). I am riding with a little more caution than I would if I wasn't pregnant, but I am experienced enough that I will be fine. Other than our busy weekends, we have doing some yard work...planting flowers, tilling, and hoping the buffalo grass will finally grow. If we ever get a day when we can get away, I have been wanting to go to a greenhouse to get my veggies for my garden and some more flowers for my planters. I hope I can get this done before we get too far into May. I had my garden planted by about this time last year. Landen and I also went to Norton last week and on Tuesday this week to visit my Grandma. She was in the hospital last week (she is home now), and then Tuesday was her birthday. Landen was good for both trips.

The last couple of days, Landen has been pretty cranky because he is getting three teeth, all on top, all at once. They have been hanging out just inside the gums, but they are slow about breaking through and the last few days have been rough. On Monday I thought I felt the middle left tooth, but it was teasing and I haven't been able to feel it since. He has the middle right tooth already, and today I felt the tooth one the outside of it, so they are coming in in a strange order. I'll be glad once he is done teething because he is not dealing with it very well. This time around he has had a runny nose and even been coughing some. On top of his crankiness from teething, he has been throwing fits when we take away something he isn't supposed to play with. The other day my Mom was letting him play with a coozy cup (i don't know if i spelled that right) and he bit off a small piece, so she took it away. He screamed and cried so hard that he nearly hyperventilated. He finally got over it but he has done that other times with different things.

He also remembers things really well. Our office is right off the living room and we try to keep the door shut because there are a lot of small things that Landen could get into. The other day I did not get the door shut very tight. Landen was playing near the door and he used it to lean on as he stood up. Before he got stood up, the door popped open and he fell to his hands and knees. He was a little surprised, but excited because the door to the mysterious room was open and he was free to go in and explore! Of course that didn't last long and got him out of there and shut the door tight (and he threw a fit). Later he went over to the door and stood up and started pounding on the door. I'm sure he was thinking "I know I got this open earlier by pushing..."

Well, I didn't realize I had this much to write about. I have a feeling I may go another two weeks before posting again because we have more busy weekends coming up. This weekend is the Becker Branding. We are also going to go the North Platte to Sutton's first birthday party. Then we have two weekends of graduations. I'm looking forward to a weekend of nothing.

10 months old!

Well, once again I went two weeks between postings. I guess I didn't find much interesting to post about. We have mostly just been hanging around the house the last two weeks. We went to Kearney last Friday (April 4). Landen was very good and slept in the car both ways. Then Sunday night, Elliot broke his glasses, so we went to McCook on Monday to order a new pair. He went back on Friday to pick them up. We played poker in Beaver City that night. Friday was also Landen's 10 month birthday. The first two pictures are our attempts to get a picture in the spot on the couch to show how much Landen has grown. He didn't want to cooperate. The next picture is where Elliot found Landen on Saturday afternoon. I was running errands and Elliot was watching TV and pretty soon he heard Landen when he got stuck behind the toy bucket. The last picture above is Landen's new facial expression. He says "OOOOO" when he makes the face. He will also imitate you if you do it first. He is so much fun right now!





OK, before you read any farther, read Landen's shirt in this picture (he doesn't look happy because he was tired) .....Yes that's right! We found out about 3 weeks ago. The baby is due November 22. This was a little bit of a surprise, but we had talked before we knew I was pregnant and we agreed that we were ready for another baby. We are happy that they will be so close in age (17 months) because they will likely be friends as well as siblings, plus Landen won't remember not having a sibling and hopefully won't be jealous.

Is it summer yet?

Landen was fascinated by this new toy Daddy made. It is a peel for the brick oven that Elliot is going to build.










Landen was having some fun sitting in his toy bucket.






I'm going to start off with a little bit of sad news. Last week the man who married my Grandma Becker (technically my Step-Grandpa) passed away. His funeral was on Friday. Something good did come out of this, though. We got to see some relatives that we hadn't seen since Christmas and some that we hadn't seen since before Christmas. When we showed up to the funeral home, we found that Landen and Sutton were wearing the same sweater vest (both of them wore them for Easter as well). It was pretty funny because the people who didn't know us at the funeral kept asking if there were two of them because they had seen them both at different times or if they were twins. You can see why everyone thought they were twins in the pictures because they are the same size even though Sutton is 5 weeks older than Landen. (If you are struggling to tell which one is Landen, he is on the right.) Landen is getting more adventurous. He likes to crawl around under the kitchen table, in the pantry and, well, just about anywhere he can squeeze himself. He has also figured out how to open containers with a snap on lid. He first did it Sunday night at my parents' house. He was playing with the bottle of lotion after his bath and he used his bottom teeth to pry the lid open. We'd shut the lid and he'd open it again and it became a game. Well, on Tuesday he was in the kitchen and he spotted the can of wagon wheels and got it down and proceeded to pull the lid off. I watched him do it just to see if he could get the lid off and I took the can away before he could dump them everywhere. He also knows how to open the seat of his John Deere tractor now. (See last picture) He loves to push his tractor while making the tractor sound (see the video and turn up the sound, it's kind of dark, but you can tell what is going on).



Nothing else interesting has been going on. We are definitely ready for some warmer weather so we can go for walks. Landen really enjoys getting outside on the occasional warm day. It's raining today so it doesn't look like we will be going for any walks today...but I'll take the rain!