Landon is 4 months old!

We visited the doc today for Landon's checkup and shots.  He's 15 lbs 11oz and he's 24 1/2 inches tall now.  He's in the 65th and 35th percentiles, respectively, so the doctor and I joked that he's short and fat. :)   But the biggest development from the appt is the go-ahead to try solids. He's been showing a lot of interest in what we're eating lately, so we'll start trying some rice cereal and then other solids. We'll be sure to take pictures of all the messes.

So Landon's been doing great. He's getting better and better at grabbing things, including his own feet. He's been rolling a lot more from side to side as he grabs his feet, so we're expecting him to get a lot more mobile on the floor soon. He's also adjusting to daycare quite well - he's able to interact a bit more with the other babies now, which I think he enjoys. He is just such a happy baby and we are so grateful for that - he smiles at everyone and is really so much fun to be around. He's also been pretty predictable at night, typically waking up twice in a 12-hour period and wanting to go to bed about the same time every night (7-8).  Sometimes it's harder for us to be ready to put him to bed than it is to actually get him to sleep.  But he's been sleeping longer periods at a time, so maybe one of these days we'll have a consistent sleep-through-the-night baby. Although I'm probably jinxing our chances just by writing that!



For those who like videos, I've uploaded 2 new videos of Landon playing in his Jump-n-Go...he's getting good at it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atLvxd2FEZg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fiqf5H7NfRM


And below are some other recent photos from various things Landon's been doing. We have a lot of traveling coming up in Sept and Oct, so I'm sure we'll have a lot more pics to share from those visits.

new shoes!

big boy in jeans and shoes

with my new friend jackson fry!

 

watching the astros (seriously!)

Oshkosh, Chinese Brothers, and Daycare

Last week we had a great time in OshKosh for the annual AirVenture event. Landon did really well, although he did get tired of his stroller/carseat at times. But overall, we tried to take it easy on him and he did wonderfully. He would even watch the airshows at times - his eyes tracked those airplanes across the sky. He wasn't too bothered by the noise except when he was trying to eat and a big loud mustang or some other plane came by.  We really enjoyed spending the week with him in those surroundings and we got a lot of smiles and comments on "starting him early" and "future pilot".  He especially impressed us on our flights - he was the best behaved baby on the plane both ways!  Here are some photos of the trip.

Enjoying his first flight

Dad imitating Landon...I'm hungry!

Having fun in the camping cabin (we didn't last long there--moved to Holiday Inn!)

Ready for the first day at AirVenture

Chilling at the seaplane base

Resting after a long first day

Naked baby and airplanes - so cute!

Watching the planes overhead in the airshow

Landon loved walking around in the Bjorn with Dad!

Visiting with Cousins Brian and Madison

Landon's favorite souvenir from OshKosh

Today we said goodbye to Landon's Chinese brothers. Michael and Kevin (their chosen American names) were very good kids and we enjoyed the 2 weeks we spent with them. Last night they cooked us dinner and it was delicious. Although they said they had never cooked before, that is hard to believe. It was a traditional Chinese dish. First, an eggs/tomatoes dish and then a chicken/peppers/noodle soup dish. By the way, soy sauce on eggs is awesome.  We also got to know some of the other host families in our church and through that, we made some great new friends!

Dinner with Lindsay & Chris' boys: Alan, Sam, Kevin, & Michael

This week was a big milestone for us too (especially me) because Landon started daycare.  He did pretty well and the teachers are getting to know him and his needs a little better every day. A funny coincidence is a little boy named Brandon who is about a month older - he could be Landon's twin!  Anyway, Landon was worn out the first 2 days after I picked him up and slept all afternoon/evening until bedtime, then went to bed for the night. But the past 2 days he's stayed awake most of the afternoon/evening and has been in pretty good spirits (although noticeably more tired than usual).  And last night we had a big milestone - his first 9 hour night!  He usually goes about 6 hours and then 3-4 hours. But last night he drank a whopping 8.5 oz of milk before bed and made it all night. We were very excited about that, obviously. 

Ms. George & Ms. O'Brien with Landon on his first day of daycare

So overall, Landon is doing great, growing like crazy, and learning more new things every day. He's getting good at grabbing things now and pulling them to his mouth. He's also even stronger and can easily stand (with balance support from us) and hold himself up on his elbows during tummy time. He's getting better at sitting up when propped up as well.  He's also "talking" rather than outright crying when he tries to communicate what he wants. It's very cute and his tired "talking" will break your heart, it's so precious. We took a video of it when we were in Wisconsin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ApoHehMn4

Laughs and Updates

It's been awhile since I updated but Landon has been changing more than ever. I took a good video last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFLAWvf-kCU.

He's now able to hold things and pull them to his mouth. He's also trying really hard to sit up! He's talking and smiling more than ever and can remain entertained with his toys for longer periods of time - he just talks and kicks. Actually his kicking is more like running lately!  And when he yawns now, he often makes an accompanying "ahh" sound. Very cute.

Over the next few weeks we have a lot going on. This week and 2 wks from now we are hosting 2 Chinese teenagers who are part of an American experience program through our church. We'll post pics of them soon (Michael and Kevin).  Next week we go on our long-awaited vacation to OshKosh, so we'll definitely post pics of that as well.  Meantime, here are some other shots we took over the past couple of weeks.

Hugging my lovey from Nanny Judy

Landon and Alex with their Dads

I don't know about girls yet... :)

Landon's First Fourth of July and Trip to Fredericksburg

We went to Fredericksburg, TX this wknd for the holiday, which was supposed to be Landon's first flight as well. But the weather didn't exactly cooperate, so we drove instead. Four to five hours is a long time for a baby to ride in the car, so it wasn't the most perfect drive but he did sleep most of the time and that was nice.  Overall he did pretty well, but we learned a lot of good lessons about traveling with him and taking things at a pace that makes it easier on him. So hopefully that will help us out when we go to OshKosh, WI at the end of July.  Probably one of the biggest surprises was how much he liked the fireworks...he woke up right before they started and watched intently the whole time.  It was precious.

Here are some pics from the trip. Enjoy!

I love the Hangar Hotel!

Dinner-time entertainment (Baby Einstein on YouTube)

Hanging out on the Observation Deck at the Hangar Hotel

Watching John Arthur Martinez at Torre di Pietra winery

Watching the fireworks

New Video of Landon

For those of you who like baby videos, here is a new one of Landon. (Ignore my singing please!)  He's "talking" quite a bit now and you can hear it in the video. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W-ljwTFwng

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Landon!

I know it's cliche, but I can't believe Landon is already 2 months old!  Time really does fly. 

We went to the pediatrician on Wednesday and she was very happy with his progress. He now weighs 12 lbs, 5 oz and is 23 inches long. That's the 75th and 50th percentiles, respectively. He is really starting to "talk" now too, and the smiles just keep getting bigger. He also mimics when we tell him to open his mouth or stick out his tongue. Very fun stuff.  One of the best things recently is his ability to stay awake and happy for much longer periods of time. We sat for about an hour and just talked and looked around the other morning. Before, he would have been bored in no more than 15 minutes. Also great is the fact that we have had no more colic episodes since the surgery. He is just as happy as can be most evenings, which we love. We're still working on getting him to sleep longer periods through the night, but I know we're blessed because at least he typically goes back to sleep pretty quickly after waking up. Now we just have to try to reduce the number of times he wakes up....  :)

This week we also signed Landon up for preschool, starting in August. They have 3 adults to 8 babies, which is the best ratio I've found, and it's a relatively new school so their facilities are great. They have a very detailed but fun cirriculum as the kids get older and they have great activities and cleaning procedures for the babies. So I think he'll be happy there. We're going to ease in starting the first week of August, so hopefully by the time we really have to drop him off for an entire day we and he will be ready. I'm sure he'll do better than I will those first few times!

I took some great pics of him today, capturing some of his many expressions. Enjoy!

This is his very cute "MAD" face...we are to the point now where it just makes us laugh because it's so severe. BTW, he doesn't always cry after this face, sometimes he just makes it to let us know he is not happy.

I took this last weekend - he looks like such a big boy here!

Landon's First Road Trip and Playdate

Today we went to College Station to meet Landon's newest second cousin, Asher, who is about 4 weeks younger.  At first I thought Landon looked way bigger than Asher, but when we laid them next to each other, the only real difference was that Landon is more filled out. It was really cool seeing the two of them together.  We had a great time hanging out with Signe and Rodney, Asher's two older brothers Ethan and Owen, and Aunt Pam, Uncle Denny, and Stephanie.  Here are some pics from our big road trip/play date!

All four Texas "Jansens" (by blood at least, if not by name!):

A closeup of the newest friends...

Uncle Denny with all the boys

Owen and Landon

Aunt Pam and Cousin Stephanie with the babies

Aunt Pam with Landon

I LOVE this one of Stephanie and Landon!

And to top off the day, we saw a double rainbow on the way back home!

By the way, Landon is doing great after his surgery ... we couldn't be happier. He is obviously feeling much better - many more smiles and long periods of contentment. Praise the Lord!