Spirit Week

Landon had spirit week a few weeks ago. We didn't do much for the dressing up the other days, but one day was "multiples day" and my neighbor that we carpool with got the stuff for the boys to match. It was really cute. What a great idea. Landon had a blast getting his hair painted and matching his friends.

It's good to be 6!

Landon turned 6 on Friday. It was a mothers nightmare. Party planned, cake in progress and Landon comes home from school on Thursday with a fever. I couldn't believe it. What was a mom to do? Should I cancel the party? Do I keep working on the cake? Do I put the moms' on standby and tell them that my kid may be sick? Do I continue making the pumpkin muffins he wants to bring to school to celebrate his day? Answer?...Have Steve give him a blessing! I was feeling like this might be a little selfish to ask the Lord to help Landon to be better enough to enjoy his birthday, but obviously the Lord didn't think it was such a bad idea. Landon woke up at least 3 times asking me to take his temperature because in his words "I feel awesome!" Ok, so I am glad he was feeling awesome, but seriously, I didn't care at 1am! Or at 3am for that matter. He woke up Friday morning feeling great and made it the entire day at school. I checked on him mid day and he was doing great. He made it until about the last 15 minutes of his party and then you could tell he was starting to get the fever again. He was so happy he got to celebrate his day. The fever stayed for the next few days, but he loved all his gifts and played happily in the house. His big gifts were a new skateboard, a new scooter, and a football uniform. He had to earn half the money for the skateboard and so he went with Steve on Saturday and picked it out. He loves it.

We had his party at a place called Sky Zone. It is full of trampolines and you basically just jump and do tricks. There are tramps on the walls and all across the floor in this big room. They have a separate room that you can play dodge ball in. They jumped until they were red faced and wiped out. They had pizza and cake and we quickly did presents. It was a small party. Bigger than I had planned, but still we kept it pretty small. He had a great time despite not feeling 100%.

Some things about Landon at 6:

He loves school.

He loves baby Greyson (and wants more babies around).

His favorite colors are red and blue.

He loves to wrestle with Steve.

He loves to be outside.

He loves to hunt for lizards.

He HATES taking naps.

He is still a little shy in new places.

He is starting to read. Can sound out most anything and learning his sight words.

He doesn't have a strong desire to read.

Is a good negotiator.

Knows how to wear a mom down to get what he wants.

Can tie his own shoes.

Loves to play dress up.

Likes to be the boss.

Doesn't play well on his own. Really wants someone just to at least watch him play.

Is a people pleaser.

Behaves at school, mostly because he is humiliated if someone other than me corrects him.

Colors extremely well.

Is an early riser. (6:30 most days)

Wears a size 2 1/2 shoe.

Wears a size 7 jean/shorts.

Loves clothes and is very opinionated about what he wears.

Has lost 2 teeth so far and has 3 of his 6 year old molars.

Loves music. Asks the name of songs he loves and then asks for them by name.

Loves animals.

Internalizes everything.

Gets scared easily at night and needs a nightlight.

Loves his bear he sleeps with, "Doggy", and is on doggy #3.

Smells everything. The smell of Doggy relaxes him.

Loves having people come visit and stay at our house.

Is very sensitive.

Loves his family and especially his brothers

Landon and his friends. He got to choose 3 school friends and 3 church friends. We had to add 2 school friends because of siblings/conflicts.

Steve grabbed Landon and pulled him on top of him his very first jump out. He hurt his neck really bad and had to sit on the side and watch the rest of the party. He was so excited to get out there and jump with Landon and he could hardly move for 3 days instead!

Cohen didn't get dodge ball. It was mostly hoard the ball.

Baby Grey!

Grandma Carter came for his birthday.

Landon got jumped on while he was there. His eye was swollen and red!

The new football helmets. We had to get one for Co so they can play together.

Steve built the ramp. I did the cake. I think it was one of the best cakes I've done.

Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you!

Landon 6 yr stats

I took Landon to the Dr. today for his 6 year check.

Height: 49.5"

weight: 55.5 lb.

I felt bad. He has had a rough last few days. He has been sick. Fever off and on since Thursday. The Dr. checked him and said he was ok to get the flu mist. But today, he was Charlie. He got the golden ticket! They had the H1N1 vaccine, too. Can't do a mist of both, so he had to have one shot and one mist. Sorry kiddo, but despite the tears, you did great!

The first thing Cohen said when we got home was, "Did you cry brother?" When I said yes, he asked, "Why did you cry? I told you that you can't cry." Oh and when Steve called tonight, after Landon started talking to Steve, Cohen was bouncing up and down because he had something SO important to tell his Daddy. "Daddy, Landon cried for his shot today!" Too funny.

Always a Good Reminder

So today, I was at the Fountains having lunch with a friend. We took the kids over to the playground for a few minutes. I had Co and Grey, the stroller, my purse but apparently not my brain. I left my diaper bag sitting on the bench. I realized it when I got to the car and headed back to grab my bag. It was gone. This is the first time in a really long time that something of mine has been stolen. I forget how violated it makes you feel. It is a great reminder that I need to pay more attention. Not just to my belongings, but to my kids. You just never know when someone is lurking. I noticed the woman that they saw do it, but just am not a suspicious person. So, farewell to my super cute diaper bag. Hello to a new found sense of awareness! The holidays are nearing, it is a tough economy. She must have needed it or the money way more than I did. I hope it gets her children food, or a Christmas gift. I hope I can be less scatter-brained! Always a good reminder!

Grey 6 month ht/wt

I forgot to post Grey's 6 month stats:

Height: 29.5 inches (99%)

weight: 19.5 lb. (85%)

He had a rough time with the 4 shots. Seemed to make him cranky and not sleep much this week. I also made him some fresh pears this week and he is totally crazy for them. So cute. I haven't been consistent about feeding him solids every day, but he is doing great now that I am giving him freshly made food. I am going to make some sweet potatoes for him this week. Hope he likes them better than the jarred ones!

He's On the Move

Grey is really getting a hang of the whole crawling thing. He is putting together about two hand and knee movements now. It only took a few days to do. By this time next week, he may be all over the place. He figured out today how to really keep his balance sitting up. Between the two, I put him on his tummy and left the room. When I came back he was sitting up. Tricky! I can't believe how happy he was today. He was such a big boy! Love that kid.

I heart Landon

Today, I realized that my first born will be turning 6 in just two short weeks. I am having a little moment here thinking of all the memories I have made with this little man. As I helped him get his shirt on for school today, he looked at me and said, "This smells like Greyson." He is so his mothers child. His undershirt was one that had ended up in a load of Greys' laundry and was washed with Dreft, instead of Tide. He noticed. He smells everything, just like his mother. He has changed. He had grown up 5 years in the last month since school started. I love this boy. I love that he is so stubborn and in the very same moment he is the most gentle and kind child you could ever meet. Tears. Why tears? I butt heads with this child more than I care to. I love him, but he is strong willed. I wish I could make him understand how much I love him. He will understand someday. Today was a great day with him. I miss him when he is at school. I am not ready for him to be 6 or 7 or 8. I wish I could freeze time. I wish I could hold him like I hold Grey. I wish I could remember better what it was like just he and I. I love you little man.

6 months portraits

So here's the picture day story... (there's always a story to pictures, isn't there?)

I took Grey to have his pictures done today. They were all really cute, but I think this one was my favorite. I had a hard time deciding, but it didn't help that I ended up having to do the pictures after I picked Cohen up from school. I just didn't think about making an appointment, so when I showed up, they were booked. I almost didn't even do them because the day was going opposite of how I had planned. Grey did great. The girl who took them was really sweet...until Cohen had a full frontal meltdown. I mean, a totally out of character, freak out, kick and scream, wailing at the top of his lungs, sort of meltdown. Like picking pictures wasn't hard enough.

Grey thought this was totally hilarious. Laughed at him the whole tantrum. Oh, and the lady even said "looks like you should probably come back another time to pick them out". Seriously...she was being really nice, but walk away with nothing, after that experience? No way! When I finally decided, and I asked how long it took to print, she told me 10 minutes. But then said something along the lines of "that may be too long for you to wait". Hahaha! Like my friend Summer and I said just yesterday, parenting is a very humbling experience! Oh and the kicker to the story, while we waited for the pictures, Co lost it again, begging for a toy because I was such a mean mom. I think it went something like this, "Are you going to get me a toy since you were so mean to me?" The wailing began again because I just couldn't stifle my laughter, which was mostly sheer awe at the fact that my child wanted a toy. Oh, boy! At least I can laugh about it now. How I must have looked to all those judging eyes. At least I liked the pictures.

What Grey is doing at 6 months...

-Is off solid foods. It didn't seem to change his sleep and he hated everything I tried, so I have been lazy and just quit trying. (I'll try again soon!)

-Is sitting up for about a minute or two by himself.

-Is starting to get up on all fours. He does this a lot in his crib and rocks and rocks. Cute to watch.

-Isn't sleeping well. Gets up at least 2x a night. Sometimes more.

-Naps twice for about 2 hours and once or twice for about 45 minutes.

-Is happy without a nap if we are on the go. (I am usually more stressed that he isn't getting a good nap than he actually cares.)

-Likes his exersaucer.

-Just realized how much he loves the dog. He loves to touch and pull her hair. She is really good and patient with him.

-Loves to watch his brothers play.

-Hates any kind of binky. Trust me we have tried them all. He just decided one day that he wanted nothing to do with them.

-Loves hair. He loves playing with mine, but anyone who has long, dark hair has a big in with this little man.

-Has great ability to touch and grab things.

-Is a total mama's boy. He loves Steve, but he seems more attached to me than either of the other boys were.

-Laughs easily.

-Is drooling up a storm, but has no teeth.

-Still has blow out poops almost every day.

-Still spits up a ton.

-Loves the bath.

-Loves to be outside. He loves to look at the trees and feel the breeze.

-Likes to swing outside.

-Plays with the tags on the toys in his saucer, more than he plays with the toys.

-Loves to sit in highchairs.

-Likes to chew on the ribbon on his burp cloths.

-Screams. A lot!

-Won't fall asleep in my arms. Just in his carseat or bed.

-Is the sweetest boy ever!

He goes in for an appointment on Monday. I'll post his weight and height then.

Grey's got the Croup

We love the cooler weather, but with the good comes the bad! I hate cold/flu season! It is so sad when little babies get sick. We had to take a trip the the ER this morning to have Grey looked at. He was having a really hard time breathing and I normally wouldn't have taken him, but this is the week that Steve is gone pretty much the whole week.

They game Grey a steroid shot to open his airways and gave me some helpful hints about croup, but they said keep a close eye on him. Steve left for the airport shortly after I got home. The older boys have been amazing. I am pretty much useless. Grey won't let me do anything, but stand and hold him. I can't even sit down. He is happy playing with me by his side for about 3 minutes, but other than that we are walking the halls. I feel so bad for him. He is awake about 45 minutes, then he is back down for about 20-30 minutes. He was great for the doctors at the hospital, but it was hard saying bye to daddy, because I could tell this was going to be a hard week for Grey. Hope he feels better tomorrow, and more importantly, sleeps well tonight!