Grammy

Landon is so fortunate to get to spend so much of his time with the most fabulous Grammy around.  And Greg and I are so fortunate to get so much love, support, and guidance from said fabulous Grammy.  My mom is going to kill me for writing a whole post about her, but I have to document for Landon, all the things that his Grammy does for all of us.  I am pretty confident that we would not have made it through these past 6 months if it weren't for Grammy.  I mean, we may have "made it through," but we would have severely struggled.

The best thing about Grammy is that she loves her family unconditionally, fiercely, passionately, and would do anything that she can to help.  Since the day Landon was born, she has made herself available to help us out as much as possible, while also maintaining her life in Charlottesville AND while still being an awesome Grammy to her other 2 grand kids!  She is superwoman like that.

Here are a FEW of the things Grammy does for us on a regular basis:

-Takes Landon every morning she is here around 5/6am so Greg and I can sleep a little longer (then Greg gets up and plays with him til mommy stumbles downstairs).
-Changes many, many, many poopy diapers (and the outfits that get pooped on).
-Runs errands with me since running errands with a baby makes everything take twice as long.  We tag team everything that needs to be done.
-Helps us clean up our house on a regular basis - dishes, sweeping, mopping the floor, folding laundry - just to name a few!
-Takes Landon outside and rocks him in the rocking chair and sings to him - they both love this :)
-Keeps me sane by giving me some adult conversation during days that would otherwise be filled with baby talk, musical toys, and lots of dirty diapers.
-Spends her days doing things/going places that are best for Landon, even if she'd rather be doing something else (walking around outside, coming home for naps, going places we can easily take a stroller, etc.)
-Has spent an embarrassing amount of money getting Landon many of the things we realized we needed after he was born (and some other fun-to-have items) as well as larger clothes for Landon's larger mommy post-birth :0
-Has the patience of a SAINT and can always make Landon smile a huge smile
-Allows Greg and me to parent as we want and respects our decisions, even if she would do something differently.

Most importantly, Grammy has taught me how to be a mom.  A good mom, if I do say so myself.  Not by telling me what to do, but by showing me.  She is my role model of compassion, selflessness, focusing on what truly matters, making the most of each day, and completely and utterly investing everything she has in her family. 

The best part about everything that Grammy does is that she does these things to make our lives better, easier, and because she genuinely wants what is best for us and our little family of 3.  It's not always convenient for her to come to Richmond, or to stay as long as she does, but she does it.  Landon absolutely adores his Grammy and nearly jumps out of my arms to get to her.  He is so fortunate to have this relationship and I can't wait to see how their love for each other grows.

We love you, Grammy!  We (all 3 of us!) would be lost without you!

Month 4 & 5

Landon William you are now 5 months (10 days ago...I'm waaaay behind).  I am going to do your stats for month 4 and 5 since this mama has slacked with blog writing.  I'll go into some other specifics of what's been happening in your life in other posts.  Month 4 & 5 have been my favorite, by far.  You grow and change every day and you are so interactive-- it's truly amazing to see you become a little person!

At four months you:

• Weigh 14 lbs 9 oz.
• Are about 26 inches long
• Still have a big head (91st percentile.  Don't worry, it's your big brain ;)
• Your hair is a hot mess, my dear.  It is kind of curly/wavy, kind of a comb-over with random bald patches.  It'll even out soon, don't worry.  Your eyes are definitely dark brown and look just like your daddy's.
• Are eating about every 3-4 hours around the clock.  Some days more frequently, some days less frequently.
• "Play" for about an hour to 90 minutes after you eat and then are ready for a "nap."  In general, you nap about 3 times a day but it's hard to get on a schedule because we are always out and about.  You usually take a morning nap around 9ish and two afternoon naps around 1ish and 4ish.  You nap in the Pack n' Play, the car, the stroller, or on mama in the carrier.
• Sleep in the Pack n' Play  next to mommy's side of the bed.  You grew out of the RNP and started almost rolling out of it, which scared us.  It took a little bit to transition to sleeping flat, but once you could get on your side and onto your stomach, it was much better.  The only problem is you can't get back to your back once you're on your stomach which makes you realllllyyyy mad.  You go to sleep for the night around 7:00/7:30.  You generally wake up every 3 hours to eat, sometimes a little longer.  You eat and go right back to sleep.  A typical night is usually:  up at 10/11pm, 1/2am, 4am (you usually sleep in the bed with us starting at 4), then up for good between 6-7am.  
• Wear 3-6 outfits and 6-month sleepers because of your long legs and big feet.
• Wear size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 nighttime diapers so you don't pee through them.
• You are loving your MAM paci now.  You use it in the car, when you are trying to fall asleep, and when you are really upset.  We try not to give it to you too much.
• Are a drooling fool!  You constantly have your hands, and sometimes your feet! in your mouth and you have to wear a bib some of the time because you soak your clothes!  You chew on anything and everything.  We've given you Tylenol a few times thinking that you were in pain from teething.
• Are loving your toys (I'll do a post about your toys).
• Love to be bounced/rocked to sleep in someone's arms.  You like to be sung to as you're falling asleep.  The song of the moment is:  "Laaa la, la la la.  La la la la la la la.  La la la.  La la la.  La la la la la.  La."  Original, huh?  Grammy found this rhythm that you loved and so we have stuck with it!
• Still love to have time with daddy in the mornings.  He carries you around the kitchen while he's making breakfast and then you guys play while mommy sleeps a little more :)
• Still love to ride in the car and you still like your stroller.  You sleep well in the car and OK in the stroller and both still need to be going fast for you to stay asleep.  You really like the new Bjorn carrier I got - you sleep in there a lot, especially at the grocery store (I'll do a post on it).
• Take baths on your own now and you LOVE it!  You could be fussy one minute and as soon as you get in the tub, you are happy as can be.  You sit in a little bath seat and I make sure to keep you nice and warm with a warm wash cloth.  You take a bath every night and then we lotion you up really well!
• You rolled over!!  You rolled from your back to your front but you always go to to your left side and you can't get back yet.
• Love to interact with people.  You smile at people all the time and stick out your tongue in response to people doing that to you.
• LOVE music!  You and I watched The Voice together and you loved hearing them sing.  We sing to you all the time.  It's your favorite thing!
• For nicknames we mostly call you Bug, Monkey, and Boo Boo.
• Think we have your eczema under control--most of the time.  We make sure to lotion you really well in the morning, evening, and whenever else you need it.  You have some prescription creams and we do still have to use those just about every day but hoping we can go to regular lotion soon
• Your 4-month shots were BRUTAL!  You were pretty miserable for about 3 days-lots of crying, fussiness, cuddling- it was very sad.  One night the only thing that soothed you was watching Frozen while laying down (see picture below).  You LOVE the music in the movie.
  
  Here are some pictures of what you have done in your fourth month of life!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Your fifth of life has been my absolute favorite.  While your sleeping is still hit or miss, you are just FUN to be around.  You are interactive, funny, shy around other people, active, learning new things every day-- you're just cool to hang out with.  You are my sidekick and I love spending my days with you!
  
  You:
• Weigh about 15 lbs 9 oz.
• Are about 27ish inches long
• Still have a big head and some craaaazy hair.  Beautiful eyes and a gorgeous smile that lights up your whole face. 
• Are still eating about every 3-4 hours around the clock.  We gave you some solid food and you haaaated it haha.  We tried some pureed avocado and pureed sweet potatoes and you were not a fan.  You like banana one day but then not the next.  We paused trying food for a couple more weeks :)
• "Play" for about 90 minutes-2 hours after you eat and then are ready for a nap. Naps are all the same as at 4 months.  Same places, same times but they are getting a little more regular.  You generally nap for about an hour when you nap.
• Still sleep in the Pack n' Play  next to mommy's side of the bed although we have tried you in your crib a couple times.  You like your crib OK for naps; mommy and daddy just aren't ready to have you out of their room and they don't want to walk down the hall multiple times during the night to get you ;)  Same typical night schedule as at 4 months.  The only difference is you really like to sleep in our bed, too :)  You end up in our bed just about every night somewhere between 2am-5am.  Sometimes you sleep with daddy but mostly with mommy on her pillow.  You LOVE to snuggle and we love that.  We'll take it as long as we can get it. 
• Wear 3-6 outfits, some 6-month outfits, and 6-month sleepers.
• Wear size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 nighttime diapers
• Love your paci.  You use it in the car, when you are trying to fall asleep, and when you are really upset.  We try not to give it to you too much.  You also love to chew on the plastic parts of the paci and you're getting really good at putting it back in your mouth yourself!
• Still are having a lot of teething pain.  I wouldn't be surprised if a tooth popped through any day now.  Lots of chewing, drooling, fussiness at random times...
• Interact with your toys all the time and are really good at reaching and grabbing for things.  On one of your bouncer saucers you know the buttons to press to make the music play-- so cool!  You love to roll on the floor but still get pretty upset once you want to get back to your back.  You look like a fish out of water flailing around trying to get back over.
• Still like to be bounced/rocked to sleep in someone's arms but you also love to be snuggled to sleep in bed (and then moved to your bed).  You still like the La La La song to be sung as you're falling asleep. 
• Still love to have time with daddy in the mornings.  He teaches you all kinds of things and shows your ways to use your toys.
• Still love to ride in the car and you still like your stroller.  You can now sit in your stroller without sitting in the car seat (!)  You love to look around and you look like such a big boy!  You still sleep well in the car and you LOVE the Bjorn carrier.
• Still LOVE bath time.  It's your favorite time of the day.  You like to eat your toes in the bath.  And you coo and "talk."  You have also found...your privates...and like to reach for that, too.  Oh, life with boys :)
• Got to celebrate your first Easter!!  You did great sitting on the Easter bunny :)  You also got to celebrate daddy turning THIRTY!!  AND you got to help mommy celebrate her first Mother's Day :)  So happy you made me a mama!
• Love to interact with people even more than before.  You smile and laugh.  Your laugh is so, so cute.  Every time you start really laughing, you get the hiccups.  Every time!  You reach your arms out for lots of things and are very accurate when trying to grab things.
• For nicknames we mostly still call you Bug, Monkey, and Boo Boo.  I also use Sweet Boy often :)
• Your skin is SO much better.  We rarely have to use prescription cream; mostly just lotion.  You still scratch at your face some.  It gets really dry really quickly so we have to make sure to put lots of Aquaphor or Vaseline on it.
  
  Here are some pictures of what you have done in your fifth month of life!