Yummy Yummy

He's a good eater so far. We're introducing solids and it's a mess! Maybe I should be more strict, but it's cute when he grabs his spoon and tries to feed himself. And isn't he "exploring" when he puts his hand in the bowl of rice and smears it all over the table and chair? ;)

This was also my excuse for going out and getting that food processor that I've wanted for the past 5 years! Yeah! I steamed, pureed & froze squash, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, green beans, rudabega, carrots, sweet peas, and apples. So far, he doesn't care for avacado or red potatoes.

It's a Man's World!

January 24, 2008

Landon learned the joys of being a man...He peed standing up twice today! In the morning, I was changing his diaper and was letting him "air out" a bit before getting him dressed again. I stood him up on his changing table; he was all smiles and enjoying himself. Then, he started peeing right on his pile of pajamas laying on the table. Big smile from Landon and I laughed thinking, "well, you learned that little trick awfully early!"

Then, later that same night, naked Landon was standing up holding onto the bath tub waiting for the water to get warm and he again peed standing up. That's one thing us women are jealous of...man's ability to pee standing up!

What a Month!

I am now 5 months old. Whew, that 4th month flew by! I did so much and learned so much! I went to Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and then home to Philadelphia. In my short life, I have flown THREE times. The trick is to eat and sleep on the plane and I did that really well.


I am a busy baby who loves to play! Papa (that's what Albie wants to be called. a.k.a. 'Pops') keeps yelling at mommy to leave me to play by myself so I'm not constantly stimulated, but mommy can't seem to leave me alone. I think she's obsessed with me or something!

It's no longer quiet at my house! I'm a constant jabberer. (Grandpa really got me talking at Christmas and I haven't stopped since!) Now when I'm upset, I don't have to cry anymore, I just make my other noises and someone comes to my rescue.



When I was 4 months old, I found out that I have feet. Then I learned to put them in my mouth. Soon I found that my whole fist fits in my mouth. I pretty much always have something in my mouth, usually it's my two fingers or a Nukie.





And, finally, I learned how to sit up on my own! I'm having fun learning how to move around and now I can play with a lot more toys on my own. My Grandma gave me this fun play mat from her daycare, which comes in handy when I topple over.

Back to Work

After 5 blissful months at home with Landon, I have returned to work and into the realm of working motherhood, and right in time for tax season! The transition was really hard for me, not because of the work, but because of not being there for every moment with Landon. (I know, but I'm a first-time mom!) Al was so great and supportive (and happy to have my paycheck rolling in again.) He had so many nice surprises for me during my first week back. Flowers delivered to my desk on Monday and then a lunch date at LeCroix on Wednesday.

Landon is in good hands, he's at home with Grandma Dee Dee while I am at work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays. It's such a great set-up, we're so grateful to have Al's mom watch Landon!

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!