Philly Christmas

So many good pics, here's a few.




We love Christmas vacation! We always take about 2 weeks off and just veg out with family! This year for the Guerra Christmas, we all celebrated on New Year's Eve at the Reyes's house. We had a three course fondue dinner and champagne toast at mid-night. After the fact, I realized that we didn't have a single picture of the amazing surf-and-turf fondue. (No one stopped eating long enough to snap a shot.) Of course, the chocolate fondue dessert was my favorite. And the champage. And the fact that I actually stayed up until 1AM! (What's the difference, Landon would've had me up a few time already anyways, right?)
As for Christmas presents, all the kids were on their best behavior. All the gifts were separated into piles and the kids would open up presents one at a time. We actually couldn't believe it was so orderly and peaceful! We especially loved getting Landon's name for his nursery from Grandma Dee Dee.

Pray for Our Soldier(s)!

The Newlyweds, Amanda and Frank, have been preparing all year for Frank's 2nd deployment to Iraq. We had a special going-away dinner in Frank's honor to thank him for his service & pray for his safety. Since he won't be having many steak dinners in 2008, we had beef tenderloin. Yummy. Then we rounded out the evening with game night, Uno Attack and Texas Hold 'Em (of course!)

Minnesota Christmas

We love our week-long vacation in Minnesota. It's so relaxing and we love all the quality family time. These are two handsome guys, Henry (a.k.a. The Tank) and Landon (a.k.a. L-Train). Henry is obviously going to be super tall, he was already as big as Landon.







Thanks Maddie for help opening up all my presents. Next year, I'll be able to do it myself. Madeline Rocks!



It was all fun & games until we tried to put the Minnesota Vikings pajamas on Landon. He's already a die-hard COLTS fan and wouldn't compromise his loyalty! (JK papa, he's also an EAGLES fan!)

Landon's Baptism

The Best of the Worst

All the Christmas cards were late and that's because I had the hardest time getting that elusive "perfect" Christmas picture. Not that I didn't try and try and try. Here are a few pictures that show the torture that poor Landon endured before Aunt Lori finally got a shot of him smiling!

Notice on the first picture, my Santa Suit is so tight, I have a diaper weggie!

Landon's 4 months old

Our gift from Santa this year was our sweet baby boy, Landon!


At his 4 month check up, he was 25 inches and 16 lbs 6 oz. The doctor said he was the picture of health. For the second appointment in a row, he "christened" the doctor's office after getting undressed for his weigh-in. What a Mess!

This month, Landon seemed to have grown from an infant to a busy baby boy.

-Found his feet and keeps putting them in his mouth.
-Loves to float in the water and kick his legs during bath time.
-Sucks on his two fingers and drools like crazy (teething).
-Uses both hands to grab his toys and holds his bottle when he's eating.
-Loves to stand up (with our support). He's a strong little guy!
-Grandpa got Landon to really start 'talking' - lots of "grrrs" and "aaah goo's".
-Started eating rice cereal in his bottle at night (unfortunately, it's not helping with more sleep like we'd hope it would).
-Attempts to turns the pages when we read a story.
-Here he's playing with a 'karaokee' stand from Grandma that has a mirror and lights - he loves it!

A Happy Thanksgiving

God continues to bless our family and we thank Him as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our family! What more can I say? Lots of yummy food and fun filled our wonderful holiday.
Thanks to Lori and Danny, who hosted another wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

Sleeping through the night?

It's one of the most popular questions for parents. And, one that we've never been able to answer "yes" to. We keep trying new techniques to get Landon to sleep. He's just not a sleeper. Once we start making progress, something changes. First came the 3 month growth spurt and he started waking up every hour or two and was HUNGRY! So, the doctor said to feed him, which I did until he was about to burst. Well, the growth spurt has come and gone and he's not sleeping much better. Then, along came teething pain that we now think is waking him up. We're back to not feeding him at night and just keep praying that the L-Train learns that there's no reason to wake up! One thing's certain: just when you think you've got it, it all changes! You gotta laugh or you'll cry, right?!?

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

It was another gorgeous fall day for our second annual trip with the Correia family to the Lindville farm to cut down our own Christmas tree. Ryan and Megan Correia are friends Albie made at Villanova. This year, we had two more sets of eyes helping find the perfect trees, Carter and Landon.

Celebrate

Happy 5th Birthday Nico & Cruz! To celebrate, the boys had an army-themed party & all the guests completed various drills in their camo-gear. So fun!

The Pierce family drove in from Illinois to celebrate. It was so great to see the Pierce's again and to introduce them to Landon! Rob was our pastor who married Albie and I.

Welcome to the family, Henry Edward Knutson!

He finally arrived... on October 29th @ 10 lbs 4 oz and 22 and 1/2 inches, he's a big beautiful baby boy! As we were planning our trip to meet Henry, all Becky could say is "I just hope Landon is bigger than Henry." Well, no worries, Henry was as cute and smooshy as any tiny baby - just supersized! He slept most of our visit, so we can't wait until Christmas to see him more awake and smiling. (Check out the link to the Knutson's blog for more pics of Henry.)

Here are some more pictures from our trip to Minnesota (just Landon & Mommy went). Landon was a great little traveler, sleeping most of the flight there and home. Grandpa, Grandma Cheri and Grandma Rita were all proud of their 3 adorable grandkids. It was a busy week, Henry and Landon shared a crib for naptime, Madeline helped me give Landon a bath and we all just took turns changing diapers and tending to crying babies. Needless to say, the time flew!

Where's Baby Henry?

Poor Becky is 4 days past her due date and still very few signs of labor. Please pray for Becky and Henry that they have a safe and healthy delivery! We can't wait to meet our 5th nephew!

Landon and I will be taking his first plane ride to Minnesota the first week in November to meet the baby and visit Grandma and Grandpa Schwartz. We can hardly wait, but I'm already a bit anxious about how the plane trip is going to go.

Shout Out to my Chi-Omega Aunts!

Do you think that Chi O is looking for any good looking waiters for formal dinner night? "Hootie Hoot!"


October 25th and we finally got our first taste of fall weather! So, we got all bundled up and headed downtown to run errands in my super-stroller. All the other babies get jealous when they see my ride! (A gift from the Chi Omegas).
I always fall fast asleep in my cozy stroller. I just love that fresh air!

My Crazy Grandma Hafner

Earlier this week, we were greeted by the UPS man heaving a huge box up our front stairs asking for Landon's signature for delivery. Can you say "Christmas in October?"


The big treat inside (which warranted such a large box) was this cool sort of 'toy chest', which we obviously now need. Thanks Grandma for the "BOX OF FUN!"

Bath Time Fun

We took the infant sling off the tub, and he's now sitting up like a big boy. He loved the extra freedom to kick his feet and splash. He's all smiles in the tub! Landon, you will thank me later for the privacy that the strategically placed duckie provides. LOL




Check out this amazing video of an infant surviving a fall in the pool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aseQsDBJS6c

Being over-reactive (of course), I was having Landon practice floating on his back tonight during bath time. :)

2 Month Checkup

(Love this 'mini-me' picture because Albie wears the exact same outfit to work.) Our 'little' Landon is the picture of health! He had his 2 month check up and immunization shots. He let out this heart breaking whimper when he got the shot, it was so sad!

STATS:
Weight: 14 lbs, 1 oz - 90th percentile
(Guess he's getting enough to eat, huh!?!)
Height: 24 inches - 75th percentile
Head: Don't know the measure, but only the 50th percentile, so he's just proportional there - no beetlejuice or blockhead

OTHER MILESTONES:
He's discovered his hands, so he's always sucking on them or looking at them, like "what are these things?" As a side affect, he's started to drool (a wet mess). Landon loves to sit up and check things out, he's got good neck strength but still needs help sitting up. He shows a lot of interest in his musical toys and rattles. He's not really rolling over as much, but I'm thinking it's because he's so chubby - that's a lot of weight to throw around! And, the best part is the sleeping... 6 hour stretches at night! One night we decided to be a little tougher on him and I just gave him the Nukkie instead of feeding him that time and then the next night, he slept a lot longer. Nap times are going so much better too! I am a rested mommy, finally!

Hoo Rah!

Albie's first childhood friend, Justin Schleinkoffer, just graduated from Marine Corp training. We're so proud of him! We took a drive up north along the Delaware River to have breakfast with the Schleinkoffers before Justin goes off for more training. (Nick, Lori, Justin, Mae, Albie)

Fall Fun

We got the perfect fall day to enjoy out at the Stout's brewery for Octoberfest!
Our little pumpkin slept most of the day.
(Jay, John, Mike and Albie)

First Milestones

What an overachiever...
Landon rolled over from his tummy to his back when he was 4 days old. We couldn't believe it! He's still rolling over in both directions every day. Other than that, Landon's busy mimicking faces and starting to "talk" with lots of "eghhs" and "ahhs". At 6 weeks, he's finally sleeping a little longer, 3 or 4 hours at a time. Thank God!

This week has been so much fun (week 6), Landon has really started smiling and cooing.

Little Eagle's Fan

Albie hanging out with the newest Eagle fans, Landon and Rocco (both 4 weeks old). All the excitement must've pooped them out!
We watched the Eagles game at the Reyes's house and celebrated our 28th birthdays.
Check out those beautiful blue eyes!.
Albie and Landon watching the Eagles game (5 weeks)

Sweet Nap Times

Landon's not a very good napper, UNLESS he's resting on someone's chest. It's probably a bad habit, but it's so sweet!
(Landon (1 week) napping on Aunt Chris)

(Aunt Becky, Baby Henry (due at the end of October) and Landon - 3 weeks)

(Great-Grandma Roth)
(Grandma Guerra)
(Mommy & Landon - 3 weeks)
(Mommy multi-tasking - 2 weeks)
(Daddy & Landon - 6 weeks)