funny videos

Here are some funny videos from the last couple of days. I will do a more detailed post later this week.



This video is from Sunday night at my parents' house. Landen didn't get a nap that day and when he was driving the toy Gator he kept falling asleep. Let's hope he doesn't do this when he starts driving larger vehicles!



I got Adellyn giggling this afternoon and I actually caught it on video. It's a little jerky because I was trying to keep eye contact with her so that she would keep giggling. Apparently she thought my laugh was pretty funny.

Illness and more

We have not had a very good week with Landen. He is still sick. On Saturday we noticed he was starting to cough. I kept thinking that it was just a cold that needed to run its course, so I put off taking him to the doctor. Besides that, he had just been to the doctor and just finished the antibiotic (it was a 5 day antibiotic). When it didn't get better by Wednesday (and he was driving me nuts with his crying and clinging) I decided to take him to the doctor again. It turns out that both ears were infected this time. So, he is on a third different antibiotic and this time the PA we saw said to start him on Claritan. She also said that I need to bring him back as soon as he is done with the antibiotic to make sure his ears are clear. So far he seems to be feeling a little better, but still fighting the cough and stuffy/runny nose. Luckily, Adellyn has not gotten sick.

Even though Landen has been feeling sick, it hasn't stopped Elliot and I from going on with our plans. Last Friday (a week ago today) Elliot decided that we needed to go to Kearney to look for a new pair of shoes for him. We didn't realize as we were leaving how much snow Kearney would get and as we got into town, it was coming down pretty hard. But, it turned out ok because it had quit snowing by the time we got done eating supper and the roads were mostly clear for the drive home. (I suppose that night out didn't help Landen any either.) Saturday we left the kids with Connie and Larry and went to the Cattlemen Banquet. It was a good night and both kids were in bed when we got home. Sunday, Connie and I went to the movie and the kids stayed home with Elliot and Larry. Monday Elliot's boss had a supper for New Age Employees, including spouses, and the sales people that were in town. My mom watched the kids that night and again they were both in bed when we got home. We had been needed to get out of the house without the kids!

In the last couple of days, Landen has started doing something new and funny. He runs or spins circles in the living room saying "ashes, ashes" and when he gets dizzy enough he falls down. Sometimes he gets mad when we start to sing "Ring Around the Rosey." I was thinking the picture of Landen sleeping in the chair. I have taken and posted several pictures of him sleeping recently. I think I have been doing that because it's funny that he will fall asleep in some of those places and positions considering how active he is. I guess that is also about the best time to get a picture of him, again because he is so active I don't always have time to grab the camera.

The only new thing Adellyn is doing is buzzing her lips and I posted a video of that earlier this week. I will probably have more to post about her next time. I should also have her 3 month professional pictures to share.

some videos

Here are some videos that I have been meaning to post for a while. I had to figure out how to use iMovie so that I could edit them a little.



This one of Landen is from Jan 23 and he is copying a funny laugh that Elliot does. He also showed a few words that he can say.



This one of Adellyn is from Jan 26 when she really start cooing. It is really dark, but we were going after the sound more than anything.



This is another one of Adellyn from yesterday. She figured out how to buzz her lips and I managed to catch it on video...she is already doing it a lot more today than yesterday.

Yet another long update...

Well, once again I have gone several weeks between updates. I could list several excuses, but I won't waste my time (or yours)! I ended my last post saying that Landen had an ear infection and pink eye. None of the rest of us got it, but Landen didn't completely get over it. We finished his antibiotics around the 16th, and about a week later (the 23rd) we went back to the doctor, so Landen is on a different antibiotic. I hope this ear infection gets cleared up this time...I'm ready for Landen to be less crabby! We have also been having some battles with Landen during meals. We are having troubles getting Landen to eat healthier meals. Lately he eats crackers with peanut butter, yogurt, apple sauce and dry cereal. Occasionally I can get him to eat chicken nuggets, re fried beans, and peaches. He won't even eat the Gerber meals that he used to love. I just have to keep reminding myself that he won't let himself starve and he will eventually start eating again. Unfortunately his poor diet has caused him to be constipated. When he does go, he does what we call the 'poopy dance' where he runs frantically around the house and occasionally stops to grunt. It is hilarious to watch. Landen is continuing to show us that he loves his little sister. He loves to give her kisses and has started trying to entertain her now that she has started to respond and watch him. He doesn't do a lot, but I have seen him talking to her and trying to give her a toy or tickle her. Landen has just recently figured out how to open the gate going to the kitchen. It is a hands free gate and he has known for a long time that you have to step on the pedal to open it, but he is not heavy enough to make it work. The other night he was jumping on it and it opened, so now he knows that he can make it open if he tries hard enough. I was hoping that he wouldn't be able to figure it out for a while...oh well.

Adellyn is growing so fast. She has really found her voice and will just sit in her swing and 'talk.' She screams and squeals and has the biggest grin on her face when she is happy. She is also very ticklish and occasionally lets out a giggle. She has also started sucking her fingers or thumb to soothe herself when she starts to get hungry. This is great for me because I don't have to feed her every time she wants a snack. She has even put herself to sleep sucking her fingers. She also examines her hands and feet. She gets pretty intense...her eyes get big and she sticks her tongue out as she stares. I'm still waiting for her to reach out and grab her toes...I saw her do it on ultrasound at 23 weeks! She also loves to watch Landen run around. Sometimes when she is nursing, she will stop and listen if Landen runs through the room screaming...then she grins at me when I ask her if she hears her noisy brother. She is at that age where the slightest unusual noise gets her attention. Speaking of age, we went to the doctor for her 3 month check-up on the 12th. She weighed 13 lbs and 0.5 oz and is 23.75 in. long. She is in or near the 75th percentile for both. I looked at Landen's size at 3 months, and she is 11oz smaller and .75 in. shorter. I thought she would be bigger. Her chubby cheeks make her look bigger than she is. On the 7th, we baptized Adellyn at the Saturday night church service. We thought that having fewer people at church would make it easier for us since Landen doesn't sit very well. Turns out that Adellyn was the bigger problem. Shortly after we got to the church, I tried to feed her and somehow that made her upset...possibly because of the nursing cover. Anyway, she started crying so hard that she could not stop crying. I have never seen her cry so hard and for so long. After she started to settle down, she still had that whimper from crying so hard. My Dad was able to get her to calm down and go to sleep. She slept until it was time to start the baptism. I was worried that she would start her hysterical cry again, but she was fine...I think she even liked having the water poured over her head. I did end up having to go feed her during church and then I just stayed out in the fellowship hall the rest of the time because Connie was out there with Landen. After church, we went to my parents house to continue the celebration...if you know the Becker's...any reason to get together with friends and family! After the kids got baths, Adellyn fell asleep on her tummy on the living room floor while we were playing the Wii! She was tired! The latest thing with Adellyn is that we have been working getting her to take a bottle. Elliot and I are going to a Cattlemen supper on Saturday and the kids can't come, so Adellyn had to be able to take a bottle. We finally got her to take it without fuss on Sunday and she has taken it twice since then...so Connie and Larry should get along ok. I and very proud of myself for going over 3 months without having to offer a bottle...but I am ready for a night away.

In the last few weeks, we have been out and about some. Other than several trips to Norton for doctor appointments, we went to Grand Island on Valentines Day...yes after a snow storm, but the roads weren't too bad. We agreed that the new van was a life saver with the DVD player. Landen usually gets really crabby after a day of shopping, but when I stayed in the van to feed Adellyn, Landen stayed in and watched DVDs. This gave him a chance to relax and he didn't get near as tired. He was also pleasant in Perkins for supper. He colored, cuddled with his blankie and ate really well...I was really proud of him! We also got a new stroller...a double stroller. It came just in time for the nice weather we had. The kids loved the last two days we had and they even fell asleep on our walk on Tuesday! When we got home, we continued to play outside until it was time to go in to fix supper. I really have spring fever after the nice days this week. Sorry this got so long!

busy but not...

When Adellyn was born, I told myself that I would do a little better about posting updates on a more regular basis...she is almost 3 months old and I am not doing so well. I knew I would be busy with 2 kids...but I never imagined how busy I would actually be. Of course, much of my time during the day is spent nursing and I can't really type very well with one hand and she wiggles too much to attempt to prop the computer up behind her. I'm forced to wait until they go to bed at night to update and sometimes that is pretty late...I need my sleep more than I need to update the blog.

We haven't done a lot since my last post. We have enjoyed the occasional nice day by going for walks and even played in the snow the one day it snowed last week. I guess the most exciting news since last time is that we finally decided to trade our Stratus in for a 2008 Chrysler Town & County Touring van. It's pretty cool for a "looser cruiser" (that is what a friend of mine calls mini vans). It has power sliding doors and lift gate (that means I can open them with a remote...awesome), dual DVD players, stow and go seats, ambient lighting, heated leather seats, and a handful of other cool things. If you can't tell, I really like it. The only thing I don't like it the color, but it had everything else we wanted including a reasonable price.

Adellyn is growing like a weed. I don't know how much she weighs now, but I am sure she is over 12 lbs. She is "talking" and smiling a lot. I have even gotten her to laugh a couple of times. I can't believe how much I have forgotten since Landen was that little and it hasn't even been that long ago. She is really strong and holding her head for longer periods of time. She is even starting to like her tummy time! She doesn't really like to be held by anyone but me...which is frustrating. Fortunately, she likes to just lay on the floor and look around. One evening my parents stopped by on their way through town and she cried as soon as my Dad picked her up and stopped as soon as he put her back down. When she allows someone to hold her, she is picky about how she is held...again, she likes to look around, so she has to face away from the person holding her. We have been working on her night time routine. She has gone from going to bed anywhere from 1 to 3am to going to bed closer to 11pm. (Tonight she went to be at 8pm...wow) She is so good in the mornings. She will lay in bed quietly while I get Landen up and fed and dressed. I have left her there for an hour or more and she just drifts in and out of sleep until I get her up. She has had a few mornings where I go to change her diaper and she is completely dry! Even after feeding her she is dry. Then she cries (as if in pain) and then she finally wets her diaper. Then she is fine the rest of the day. This has happened about 3 or 4 times. I called my doctor about it, but she didn't seem concerned unless she was running a fever, which she wasn't.

Whether I am nursing or not , Landen is often trying to lead me around the house saying "cookie," "bankie" (with the emphasis on the "kie" in both words), "o-wow-o-wow-o-wow-o" which means 'I want that' or simply whining about something that I can't figure out. A funny story about 'bankie': I was washing it yesterday and Landen was looking for it and trying to get me to find it for him. I told him it was in the wash and he wasn't very happy about that, but soon got distracted and forgot about it. After a while, I was on the phone with my mom and Landen heard the washing machine and ran back there to watch it. He could see his 'bankie' through the door and he ran to get me crying "bankie, bankie, bankie," (again with the emphasis on kie). I had to take him outside and push him in the swing to get him to forget about it. Luckily Adellyn had fallen asleep on the living room floor and would be fine while I was outside. He is getting better about playing in his room without me, which is nice. I try to go play with him as often as I can. I really just enjoy watching him and seeing how his imagination is growing. He is still playing with the shape sorter about everyday. He has also been stacking rings and he really examines them as he stacks. He is so intense when he plays and I love to watch him. When I think about it, I narrate for him by saying colors or shapes as he picks things up. I have noticed on several occasions that he has excellent hand eye coordination. He can eat a meal using a fork or spoon with little mess. He also has good balance. He climbs into his highchair on his own. He also climbs on this wobbly little table by the couch to look out the window and has not fallen yet (knock on wood!). I have even seen him balance on one foot for a few seconds before falling down! He has been able to get both feet off the ground when he jumps lately.

Yesterday, Landen had some green stuff in his eye and by the afternoon, it had gotten worse, so I called the doctor. They just called a prescription for eye drops into the pharmacy so I didn't have to drive to Norton. Today, I had a dentist appointment in Norton and Landen acted like he didn't feel good (he also woke up a midnight and 6am crying), so I made a doctor appointment for him. Turns out that he has an ear infection that spread to his eye and caused pink eye. I am really hoping the rest of us don't get it. I figured out that he probably picked up the bug last week when I took him to daycare (for the first time) for an hour while I ran some errands and picked up the van to test drive. I didn't leave Adellyn there because my friend who runs the daycare only had room for one more kid that day. I'm hoping that since I am nursing (and I'm on antibiotics for a sinus infection) that she doesn't get sick. She acted a little fussy tonight, but I think it was just a gassy tummy.

I get this feeling that I am forgetting something. I'll add more later if I remember. We are baptizing Adellyn this weekend, so I will post pictures from that.

Adellyn's Baptism

We are going to baptize Adellyn on Saturday February 7 at the 7:00pm church service. I would like to invite all friends and family to attend (Trinity Lutheran Church in Arapahoe). The baptism will be at the begining of the church service, so don't be late. We are also going to have a soup supper before church starting around 5:30 in the church fellowship hall for anyone who plans to attend. If you can't make it before church, you can stick around after church, there will be plenty of food. Please let me know if you plan to come for supper so I can have a general idea of how much I need to make.

Stories

Landen is using more words and is definitely back on track. He is starting to repeat words we ask him to say...when he feels like it anyway. He says grandma (an-ma) and grandpa (ah-pa). He has said "I love you" a few times...I really don't know how to describe how he says it, but he repeats it in the same tone when we ask, so we know that is what he says. The other day when Landen was in his highchair for lunch, I was holding Adellyn with her feet dangling near him, he reached for her foot and said "tickle tickle tickle." I just laughed because I hadn't seen him do that before. Another funny thing that Landen started doing is he spanks himself. He has done this a couple of times this past week when he gets into something that he knows he is supposed to stay out of, like the trash can. All I did was say his name in a tone that let him know that he was in trouble and he walked away with a sorrowful look on his face and he hit his butt a couple of times like he was giving himself a spanking. I couldn't resist laughing at that. A not so funny thing Landen has started is when he wakes up from his naps lately he sometimes cries and throws a huge fit. A couple of times he would throw himself down in he crib and when we would try to pick him up he would arch his back and kick and scream. We have no idea why he started doing this because he used to wake up happy and even be content to sit in his crib and talk to his stuffed animals until we went in to get him. I hope this is just a phase that will pass soon. As I am watching him right now, I am reminded of another way that he is growing. He is playing with one of his shape sorters and I am amazed at how much more patient he is with it now. Several months ago I mentioned how frustrated he would get when he couldn't get the shape in on the first try and now he is figuring out what shape goes where and even patiently turning it to make it fit. In the last couple days, he has played and played with those shape sorters.

Adellyn is also growing like a weed. I am amazed at how much she is filled out compared to our skinny little Landen. She is still not a fat baby, but she has more rolls than Landen ever did. Adellyn had her first round of shots on Monday. She weighs 11 lbs 13 oz and is 22.5 inches long. She is just a little bigger than Landen was at that age. It will be interesting to see if she continues to be bigger than him at certain ages or if she slows down. She is sleeping through the night and even slept almost 12 hours one night. Now if I could get her to go to bed before 1 or 2 a.m. I'd be really happy. (she sleeps in until around 10 when she goes to bed so late) I'd really be set if I could get both kids to nap at the same time during the day. It never fails that as soon as I get Landen down for a nap, Adellyn wakes up and stays up until just before Landen wakes up. I guess there are couple of good things about that; one is that I don't have to worry about Landen trying to drag me somewhere while I am trying to feed Adellyn and two is that she gets used to the noise of Landen playing while she sleeps. I don't want to have to be quiet just because a kid is sleeping, so I make them get used to the noise. Adellyn is also holding her head up really well now, but it does still bobble a little. She hasn't rolled over as much lately. I think her balance has improved enough that she doesn't fall to the side to get started. I still don't think she was rolling by accident before, because she had to kick her leg over after falling to her side. She is "talking" a lot more with coos and gurgles. She usually grins while she is talking. She also "sings" when she is just starting to get hungry. She makes this noise like she is starting to cry, but it turns into a coo and it sounds like she is singing. I hope I can catch it on video before she quits doing it.