Landon - Month 10 - The Month of Mobility

Month 10. What? How did that happen? One more month and Landon will be a year old. Wow. Really? Clearly I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that one!

It was an amazing month in the land of Landon. His backwards scooting transformed into a frontwards army crawl. One minute he was sitting playing with his toys on his play mat and the next thing all my Friends DVDs are tumbling off the shelf! You could tell he was pretty proud. He has been starring at that bookshelf for months counting down the days before he could dissemble it! By the end of his tenth month he was moving all over and quickly. He squeezes himself into any space possible. He climbs through our living room tables. He pulls on phone cords. He opens and closes doors and kitchen cabinets. He follows Addison into her room and they 'hang' out together! He loves the vacuum! When I vacuum he army crawls behind trying to catch the vacuum. Once he catches me he likes to climb on the vacuum.

He continues to nurse in the morning when he wakes up and before bed at night. He eats at least three meals a day plus a couple snacks. He is a good eater. I haven't found anything he won't eat! He loves cubed sweet potato, scrambled eggs and homemade fruit bars. He is very good at feeding himself and actually prefers to feed himself. He prefers cubed or chopped up food better than any purees I make him. He will not eat baby rice cereal anymore and likes un-pureed oatmeal and rice better!

He continues to use both his right and left hand equally. Papa is still hoping for a lefty.

He got in 3 teeth this month. Teething is pretty terrible for him. He gets a horrible diaper rash that turns into blister-like open sores. He gets very constipated, a little fever and very sleepy.

He sleeps very well. He goes down for the night about 8:30 pm and sleeps until 6: 30 am. He loves his blankey and needs it to fall asleep. He likes cuddling with it up by his face and hugging it as he lays down, with his two middle fingers in his mouth of course!

When he gets excited or when he sees something he wants you to bring him closer to he starts kicking his legs and flapping his arms.

He is a very sweet boy. He loves to cuddle!

Funny, funny, not funny.

Being tickled with a feather is funny .... until it isn't funny ....  and then it is heartbreaking!

At The Pool With Squints!

Every time we go to the our local outdoor swimming pool this enters my mind:

 Narrator: Michael Squints Palledorous walked a little taller that day. And we had to tip our hats to him. 

He was lucky she hadn't beat the *crap* out of him. We wouldn't have blamed her.

 What he'd done was sneaky, rotten, and low... and cool. 

Not another one among us would have ever in a million years even for a million dollars have the guts to put the move on the lifeguard. He did. He had kissed a woman. 

And he had kissed her long and good. We got banned from the pool forever that day. 

But every time we walked by after that, the lifeguard looked down from her tower, 

right over at Squints, and smiled. 


The Sandlot movie is a classic!! One that my softball friends and I watched at least 100 times! At one time we knew every single word! Our little city swimming pool looks exactly like the Sandlot pool! All the kids park their bikes outside the fence in jumbled mess, the changing rooms and office are made of old faded white bricks, the teenage lifeguards sit up on a lifeguard tower and a chain link fence surrounds the pool. "You're killing me Smalls." It just makes me giggle!

I just sit and watch all the kids swim and smile! So much happiness in all of them! Addison can barely stand to wait until the afternoon to go!  She has loved the water her whole life. Riding her bike to the swimming pool and meeting her friends at the pool will certainly be the highlight of her summer. You can find us there most days, as long as the sun is out! The water is still too cold for this mama to join her. Landon and I play on the deck while Addison swims. 

Summer fun, summer memories.

Climbing on sister and pulling her ear trying to get some attention!

Some days after swimming we stop for a snow cone!

Hot Summer Days

I think I can officially say summer has finally arrived! The kids and I enjoy spending our days OUTSIDE soaking up all the sunshine we can. We know too well these warm days never last long enough! The first thing Addison does in the morning is look outside to see if the sun is out. Her bikini or "the swim suit that shows her belly" is her favorite thing to wear! Landon takes after his big sister and loves the water. Today, he spent a long time splashing in the kiddie pool and eating sticks while Addi jumped over the sprinkler and climbed the tree in her Keens & bikini! These two small people make every part of my life better.

Her Big Kid Bike

She was ready to trade in her Red Rider tricycle for a big kid bike and she worked very hard to earn it. Every child remembers their first big kid bike! The day Addison choose hers and brought it home it was a very momentous day in her little life!

Addi and the neighborhood kids ride their bikes together up and down the street.  You can usually find where the bike gang is hanging out by the pile of bikes in one of our front yards!  Daily we go on bike rides around town. She rides her bike to the ice cream parlor, to the swimming pool, to the park, to visit the horses and to the grocery store.  She is getting more and more confident. She will ride over bumps and rocks now, where before she would get off and push her bike.  She took her new bike to Glacier and proudly road it around the paved campground road.  She gets really nervous leaving her bike out in front of a store and while swimming she will get out and check on it!

With Addison the first time she does anything we can expect a little fit, some mild screeching, frustration, usually she throws something! She is a bit of a perfectionist and if she cannot do something perfect the first time she doesn't want to do it at all. Well, bike riding was no exception. Luckily Papa was there on her maiden voyage. Papa can be a lot more patient with her Addi-tude than her Mama sometimes! He worked with her and built up her confidence. By the end of her first ride she was riding up and down his street. On the way home she said, "Papa should really be a little kid bike riding teacher. He is really good at it." God bless our Papa and his endless patience! 

A Special Visitor

Today a very special person stopped by for a visit. He was excited to see Landon all grown up and well! I was very excited to show him off a little! To show him how amazing he is. I know this person had a lot to do with his recovery and his impact on Landon's fragile life will never be forgotten.

When your baby spends over 6 weeks in the NICU you get very attached to the people who care for your baby every hour of the day. Their little lives are literally in their hands. It isn't easy letting go and accepting the fact that someone other than you will be caring for your baby. I cannot even begin to describe the emotions of leaving your baby in the hospital everyday with strangers. To say the least it is not easy. I can't count the times I left crying, sobbing.

This special person was not only a wonderful nurse to Landon he was an amazing support to me. He always said the right thing or when needed said nothing at all. He was encouraging, compassionate and so kind. He was real. I loved it when he would say, "Nothing exciting is happening!" That was so good to hear. He worked the night shift. He was Landon's nurse many, many nights. I would feel a little disappointed to go to my evening NICU visits and not see him there. I always slept better when I knew Mike was in the NICU with Landon. I remember watching his hands. His hands seemed so large almost rugged, but when his hands were holding my baby, moving my baby, changing my baby, caring for my baby, they were soft, they moved so slow and they were filled with tenderness.

Although there were many nurses who cared for Landon, many we got to know very well and all were wonderful and caring, both Dylan and I really connected to Mike the nurse from the first night he cared for Landon. I don't know exactly why. Some people you just connect with. He was the person who put my baby in my arms for the first time. I will never in my whole life forget when Mike asked, so calmly, so quietly, "Do you want to hold him?" I don't even think I spoke, I could not form words. When he placed Landon on my chest for the first time I bawled. I tried holding it in, but I could not! It was a big moment, one I wasn't sure would ever happen. Mike understood and even offered to take pictures. Those pictures I will treasure forever.  When I would cry and literally could not speak, he would so genuinely ask if I was okay, if I needed anything. After that, at each evening "hands - on" time it took Mike plus one other nurse to move Landon into my arms. His wires and breathing machine tubes and Landon's small, frail body made it difficult to be moved. It was even more difficult getting him back situated into his bed. Mike never once made me feel like I was inconveniencing him or bothering him when I wanted to hold my baby. He understood that for Landon and I to survive we needed each other. He needed to be next to me just as much as I needed him there. I remember asking him one night, "If he is too sick or if it will make him worse its okay for me not to hold him." I sort of meant that! Of course the mama in me would sacrifice anything to make him better, even if it meant not holding him. Mike said, "He needs you to hold him. It is okay. It is good for him." Mike just got it and if Mike said it was okay, I believed him. Even when Mike was working, but not Landon's nurse, he always came over and said 'hi' and would check in to see how he was doing.

I have always been curious to know what babies remember. If they can remember that sort of trauma or if they remember the people in their lives when they are that young and sick. Whether or not Mike was familiar to Landon, today they reconnected! Mike held and played with Landon for a long time. Landon thought Mike's glasses and necklace were really cool!

Thank you Mike for visiting! Thank you for caring for my baby, for being such an amazing nurse and  person and for being there with Landon when I could not!

A Dare to Give Thanks - Part II

My personal journey to record 1,000 things I am thankful for:

Click for Part 1

46. The tiny fist of my baby's fingers wrapped around my thumb
47. Anxious sled dogs barking and pulling, ready to run
48. Spotting the first buttercup announcing spring's arrival
49. Ripples on crystal clear river water
50. Perfection of a spider's web
51. Hearing my favorite songs on the radio
52. A pair of jeans that fit just right
53. An empty hamper (meaning the laundry is done!)
54. Rolley polley bugs curled up tight in my palm
55. Learning something new
56. Finishing a book
57. The unconditional love from my pug Kya
58. The long furs covering black and orange fuzzy caterpillar
59. Raspberries picked fresh from the bush
60. Summer thunder storms
61. Fireworks off the end of the lake cabin dock
62. The excitement of a new hobby
63. Mountain peaks reflecting perfectly in water
64. Sources of heat, particularly - My heat dish and heating pad
65. Fresh huckleberry pancakes
66. Watching water drop off the end of my kayak paddle
67. Observing the love developing between my daughter and son
68. Ice cream
69. When Addison climbs up on my lap just to say I love you Mamma while wrapping her arms around my neck
70. Patagonia outerwear - clothes that fit my long monkey arms and small frame
71. Older couples walking hand in hand
72. Home videos
73. Curling up next to my husband in a blanket watching a movie
74. The feeling of being home when I pull into Missoula
75. Pygmy goats
76. Blue glacial ice
77. Dinner by candle light
78. Breakfast food
79. Giving gifts to my daughter, her thankfulness and appreciation for simple gestures of my love for her
80. The perfect bubble gum bubble
81. A clean car
82. Laying on my back, in the forest, in the sunshine
83. The complexity in the minute details of a butterfly wings
84. Handmade cards
85. Baby carnations
86. Dolphin smiles
87. The color green
88. Standing on top of a 10.000 foot Montana peak
89. Time spent with my brother Jake
90. Cold, clear, cloudless, starry nights
91. The sound of a hot crackling fire
92. Building-less horizons
93. Coral polyps
94. The smell of mint
95. A perfectly broken in pair of hiking shoes
96. My right to own a firearm and protect my family if I should need to
97. Silence and calmness right after I put my babies to bed
98. Rummaging through antique shops
99. The sound of rain
100. Early morning bird songs

Father's Day Weekend - Camping in Glacier

There are just some moments in your life that you just know you will remember always. This weekend was one of those moments. I will never forget these words, "Just let the boys go back to camp and me and you will go find the grizzlies." --Addison. I am proud of her every day, but on this day I wanted to make time stand still, fold her up and put her in my pocket and never let her out of my sight!

We headed to one of our favorite spots this past weekend (I say that a lot about everywhere in Montana!) to celebrate all that is Daddy --- Glacier National Park! Our first stop was along side the road in between East Glacier and West Glacier at this massive water fall.

On the way to West Glacier we spotted a large herd of mountain goats on the goat salt lick cliffs. We hiked up to get a better view. It was amazing watching a new baby goat jump around and follow her mama all over the steep rocks. 

We pulled into Avalanche campground on Saturday afternoon after we stopped to feed a very hungry Daddy in West Glacier. We were a little bummed to learn the Going-To-The-Sun road opens THIS weekend and not last weekend while we were there! Avalanche campground was the very furthest we could go. It was sunny and the water falls were gushing off the steep cliffs above our camp. Daddy and Addison spotted a few more mountain goats, white dots against a dark, wet background, settling down to sleep. I said that must be where the goats go to human watch! Addison didn't get it! After we unpacked and were all settled we hiked up the cedar forest trail and up to Avalanche Lake. Well that was the plan anyway! With Landon securely fastened in his Ergo pack and Addison enthusiastically bouncing her way along the raging creek, holding tightly to Daddy's hand, we made our way through the rocky trail. On one side a blue-white mess of  glacial water gushing down to Lake McDonald. On the other side a dark forest. Other hikers were coming up behind us and other's were coming back down the trail. Were grizzlies on my mind? OF COURSE, that is why we were there right, to see a grizzly bear! My bear spray was on my hip and I was ready with my camera around my neck. Then down the trail came the self-proclaimed 'ranger Rick'. He looked at Dylan and sternly said, " I don't think it is a good time to head up the trail. About a half a mile up two grizzlies are walking down the trail and criss-crossing back and forth." WHAT? Awesome I thought as my face light up and I took a step up the trail. Dylan did not have the same thought. His thoughts were more along the line of what's on the menu tonight for the bears, us? I know he was thinking of the poor man who just last year was horribly killed and buried by a grizzly in Glacier. Okay. So in hindsight he was right. I was happy that safety official Dylan was there to keep me thinking straight. But I was overjoyed at the thought of hiking with a grizzly. I know, I'm crazy. Dylan tells me that daily. He thinks I think I am one of those crazy animal people, who thinks the bears know that I am 'nice'. He thinks I am a person who thinks I am 'soul mates' with the animals. That is so not true. I am not that crazy! Dylan always points out that those crazies are usually eaten by their soul mates! After a little bickering and me really disappointed that I just missed the bears again, Addison said, "Just let the boys go back to camp and me and you will go find the grizzlies." She really tried her hardest to talking Daddy into letting us keep hiking! Another day my sweet girl, another day!

Playing in the hollow tree!

So down the trail we went. And the whole way down we walked behind several people who did see the grizzlies and they were so happy and excited, not scared. I got to listen them tell and retell their experience. Oh, I was boiling with annoyance and a lot of jealousy!


We had dinner in camp and s'mores around the campfire. Just as we were getting settled into bed the rain started and the rain really did not stop until we got back home!

Looking at the goats.

                                   
                                    

:In my grizzly rage I forgot to mention that this was Landon's official first ever camping trip! The really cool thing about it is Addison first official camping trip was also in Glacier when she was 8 months old! He did so great. He slept really well and seemed to enjoy it all, even when we soaked him to his bones, but that story is coming up soon!:

First night camping. He didn't wake up once!

                                    

                                                 His 6th tooth popped through on this trip!

Dinner!

Breakfast!

It rained hard all night. There are few things I love as much as falling asleep to raindrops on the tent (or tent camper in this case). We woke up in the morning, Father's Day, and made breakfast in the camper. We spent the day hanging out in camp, driving around the woods, exploring the gift shops and having drinks on the patio and watching the rain at Lake McDonald Lodge. 

Daddy's scavenger hunt in the rain to find his present!

Huckleberry milkshakes & lunch at Eddie's!

The water and mist is intimidating to a little girl.

Love my sweet boys.

"Ta-Da" She is always practicing gymnastics!

 __________________________________________________________________

Landon & Mama, age 11 months.

Addison & Mama, age 8 months. Same spot! (*tear*, I want my baby girl back!)

Before dinner we decided to attempt Avalanche Lake trail again. It was raining a little when we started out. The whole day it was raining for a bit then it would let up and let in some sunshine. We were not anticipating the rain to completely drown us. The three of us (not poor Landon) had on rain gear but in the end that didn't matter much. After the trail disappeared and a raging river appeared we decided it was time to turn around. Addi again was trying to talk Daddy into going 'just a little bit further'. She loves to hike and anytime it is a little dangerous she is having even more fun! Again Avalanche Lake trail conquered us due to the wild, untamed conditions! 

The pack was not keeping Landon as dry as I thought. And although the poor little man was soaked he didn't complain once. 

That river is the trail!

After getting warm and dry and ringing out our wet clothes, the was rain still not letting up. We decided to go to Lake McDonald Lodge for dinner. Addi was very excited to be having a fancy dinner dressed in her camping long-johns! It rained hard the rest of the night. We were unable to have another campfire. After dinner we went back to camp hung out in the camper until we all fell asleep. The next morning we had breakfast and packed up in the pouring rain!

Ready for bed.

Cuddling by the warm fire at the lodge.

My camping kiddos.