Landon's 9 months old!

Landon's got such a spit-fire personality. He's so playful and full of smiles. (I just realized that he's not "full of smiles" in any of these pics though. LOL)


Me and Uncle Nick


Meet Landon's friend, Adrian. We went to Rosanna's house to play.



Landon playing at Taney Park, a few blocks from our house.



He's now a really good sleeper and has a very steady routine. He's in bed by 7 and up around 5 or 6 am. (I think it'll be years before we enjoy sleeping in again.) Most nights, he sleeps solid through the night. During the day, he's down to two hour+ naps.

WHAT'S NEW FOR OUR LITTLE 9 MONTH OLD:
*He's cruising: Holding onto the wall or furniture or toys to get around on his feet.
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*He's letting go and standing for a few seconds before falling down.
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*He's chewing food. He loves to use his hands or spoon to feed himself.
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*Stranger Danger! He's pretty clingy right now. Yes, Mommy's secretly loving it! :)
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*He's a retreiver! He loves to pick up things, throw them as far as he can, & then go after it. Repeat 30 or so times.
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*Loves Gravity! He sits at the edge of a bed or table and throw things, watching them hit the floor. Facinating Stuff!
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*We're predicting a Left-Hander. He seems to favor it.
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*He's got 2 words and when he says them, it's in a whisper. "Up" and "Ba" (ball).
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*1st two teeth on the bottom row and a big swollen gum on the top.
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I Love My New Toothbrush.

9 month appointment stats:
Height: 50%
Weight: 75%
Head: 50%

Spring Sales!

45 minutes away, tank of gas= $50
2 hours of shopping for baby gear = $170
The Rush from a good Garage Sale = Priceless




Can you believe I got all this stuff for $170? I'd say retail was well >$1,000. If only I had a bigger car, I could've continued to shop. I will be sure to highlight Landon's wardrobe in the upcoming posts to the blog.

I hit the mother load! Three houses in a row with all boys, selling their clothes, shoes, toys and books. I would just give the ladies like $50 and buy EVERYTHING off her. I got two whole boxes of books for $5! I got Crocs for $2 each!

For me, my favorite part is putting together Landon's preppy wardrobe and this way I can afford it. He's all set for clothes until he's 3! The next best thing is knowing that it's better for the environment for me to "recycle" these clothes than go out and buy new ones. Finally, as a family, we've started a charity we call "Babies and Beyond." Since I have been getting more than Landon needs, I send them to my mom and she donates the clothes to families from the daycare that are in need. Becky and Amanda are doing the same and it's become a family project that we love.

1st Mother's Day

May 11, 2008

Sometimes I look at Landon and can't believe I have a son. He's such an amazing gift and it was really special to spend the day celebrating my new mommy-hood!

The day started off participating in Philadelphia's Breast Cancer Walk. Grandma Dee Dee participated with us for the second time. Then, Albie took his two favorite Moms out for brunch at a yummy crepe place. Even better than the food was that Landon slept through the whole meal! Good Boy! Albie got me exactly what I wanted for Mother's Day - Landon's seat for my new bike. I don't feel ready to take him for a ride yet, so I think we'll wait until he's closer to 1 years old. From Landon, I got a very special gift as well. He said "Ma Ma" for the first time. I heard him say it twice that day (confirmed by Al). Interestingly, he hasn't said it again since Mother's Day.





Finally, the day wrapped up with a mini-nap up on our roof-top deck. We just got some deck furniture in and we're looking forward to spending a lot more time up there enjoying the city view.

First Race - Dad's Vail Regatta

May 10, 2008
Albie joined the PwC team to compete in one of Philadelphia's most famous events - The Dad Vail Regatta. He's always wanted to row, but never got involved in the sport until now. The team practiced each Saturday for 6 weeks. The race showcases college rowing teams from across the nation. The "half-time show" was the Corporate Challenge, which is what Al's team competed in.

The race started off a little shaky. The course was crowded and PwC's boat and the neighboring boat had a little crash. Once they got their stride, they came back from behind to finish in 3rd place!






(Team PwC on their way back to the boat house with their metals)






Side Notes:
It's seems to me like an "elite" sport, so I got Landon dressed in his most preppy outfit - his polo shirt and sweater from "Aunt" Lisa in London. Landon nailed that sporty prep look! Thanks to Lisa!
(Landon and one of his many girlfriend, Nicole. Nicole's our co-worker, nieghbor and event organizer.)

(This isn't a good picture, so I'm sure Al will be deleting this portion of the posting, but for the time being I'd also like to ask Al if he has a license for those guns?!?)

Tax Season Celebration!

As a tax season celebration, the firm took us to a business man's special at the Phillie's game.

7 Months Old & So Much Fun!!!

It all seemed to happen so fast. Right at 7 months old, Landon learned to crawl. A few days later, he made it all the way accross the room - and fast! He's not only able, but he's totally fearless! It was only a week after that before he discovered how to pull himself up on anything and everything. He's so fun to watch because you can see his little brain working on trying to figure out how to climb on whatever he comes up to.
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The other day, I put him down for a nap and he stood right up agaist the rails in his crib and looked up at me and chuckled. Like "look at what I can do, mommy." I couldn't contain my laugh, he totally won that battle!
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Easter 2008

L-Train's First Fall

Easter morning was rough for our family. We were up at 6am, plenty of time to make 8:00 service. Al was in the shower and Landon was naked on the bed getting a diaper change. I turned to get his lotion from the counter and before I could turn back, I heard a terrible thud. Landon had crawled right off the bed and hit his eye on a metal floor lamp. Needless to say, he was crying - I was crying! I knew better than to leave him alone on the bed. Well, look at our handsome little guy in his Easter tie and matching black eye. It didn't turn out as bad as I expected, but it was his first fall and mommy felt so bad about it all day.

Date Night

Thanks to our friend Mike Gundzik who gave us a gift certificate to one of the best restaurants in Philly, Vetri. When we had Landon, he said, "I already know you guys are going to make great parents and will get all the diapers Landon needs. So, what I want to give you is a date night for the two of you so you can go celebrate becoming parents." We finally made it out, 6 months later. The food was amazing & it was one of our best dates ever! Thanks so much, Mike!

I'm Sick!

Had to post Landon's booger face shots!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sure most of you all had some form of that terrible flu bug that went around this season. It hit all three of us, but poor Landon had it the worst. Grandma Dee Dee took good care of him. When we got home from work, Landon's fever spiked and he was lifeless. We took him to the hospital because he couldn't even keep the Tylenol down. He had a fever of 104 degrees. Poor Baby!
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P.S. I must add a Post Script to this blog entry after both of my sisters called concerned that their nephew was sleeping in a crib on a pillow at night. No worries to all our blog readers: Landon was only propped up on a pillow right then as we waited for a call from the doctor to decide if we were going to the office or the hospital. The Schwartz family is very sensitive to sleep safety issues after our brother, Michael, passed away as an infant from SIDS. What a terrible and still mysterious condition. Our family honors the memory of sweet baby Michael and thanks God for the healthy babies in our family!

More Bath Time Nuddie Shots

At night, I'm trying to create a calming bed time ritual where we take a bath, go up and get a baby massage & into pajamas. Here's what I'm dealing with - the push up king.

Home Projects

Check out our new office and play room (basement). We have been so excited to do these two rooms. Thanks to Mom for all your help with getting these rooms put together! Thanks to cousin Chad for your handy work. And, thanks to my honey for all 20+ hours of your painting. Everything looks great!
Office Before:

Office After:

Basement Before:

Basement After:


Both are about 95% finished. The doors in the basement need to be cut down to clear the carpet and the office needs some organization & our college diplomas hung. (No comments from my dad allowed... YES, I did graduate from college! I just didn't exactly graduate at the time that I had you come down to the Indiana University Graduation Ceremony.)

Landon's World @ 6 months!

Unfortunately, he's celebrating his half-birthday by just getting over "baby bronchitis." He's been sick with fevers, coughing, weezing and lots of snot! (He's feeling much better now.)
Landon's changed so much lately, mostly because he's totally mobile. He's rolling over front to back & back to front. He's up on hands & knees. He's in downward facing dog pose. He's in push up position. Basically, he's a maniac! We think he's practicing in his sleep - he wakes us up to find him screaming, rocking back and forth on hands and knees. Hilarious even at 3am!
He's been really cuddly and clingy to us lately, it's so cute. Daddy describes Landon at 6 months as: "quite the personality; stubborn; cute; active; a handfull; we love him!"