Landon's Blog: Landscape Edition

Drumroll please....
The landscaping is done!

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, the yard is finally complete. EVERY weekend for the last three months has consisted of landscaping in some way, shape or form. Poor Ron. He has taken on the lion's share of doing it himself, but now, Landon has his Daddy back and I have a husband again!

The sod came yesterday. Of course, it DIDN'T get installed without a few problems. They were supposed to deliver and install the sod yesterday afternoon. At 3:30, they still weren't there. We called the sod company and they told us they were on their way. At 4:00 a semi truck arrives with our sod. He starts unloading it but there wasn't any installation crew. Again, I called the sod company and we were told the installation crew was on their way but not to worry, the sod WOULD STILL be installed last night. At 5:00 the installation crew shows up. They proceed to tell Ron that they wanted to do the installation Saturday morning instead. Nope. Not going to work for us. We ordered an install on Friday because we wanted installed on Friday. The install crew still said no. Again, we call the sod company and talk to these guys' boss. A little bit of yelling occurs and they begin the installation. They finish the front then two of the guys (there were three in total) take off because they said they need to get lunch. WHAT???!!! They leave the one guy alone to do the back yard and Ron has to haul all the rolls of sod to the backyard for him. Meanwhile, I was in the front yard picking up all the scraps of sod they left all over the front yard. An hour passes and Ron asks the guy doing the back where the other two disappeared to. They guy says they went to do another installation! Okay, I'm pissed. Why did we pay an installation fee when more than half the crew took off? Believe me, I'm going to be calling the sod company again on Monday and getting a discount on the installation!

Anyway, it DID get done though and that's what's important. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped with the landscape. This truly was a collaborative effort. Ron's mom and her boyfriend Terry drove down many times to help and Terry tilled the yard (twice), planned our sprinkler system, and along with Ron, dug the trenches and installed it. Ron's brother Ryan also helped out quite a bit along the way. My dad helped Ron dig two of the holes for the trees and my nephew Kevin moved a lot of rock in the beginning and helped trench as well. Amazingly, I even dug a tree hole, put in edging, installed the planter box, pulled A LOT of weeds, spread rock and leveled the yard. Pretty good with a 5 month old baby, huh?

Here are some pictures, but first, a photo of Landon and his reaction to the new yard...

Front yard

Another view of the front

Backyard

And another view of the back

Water is NOW yummy!

Okay, a week ago, water was like poison to Landon. As of Sunday though, he likes it! Crazy baby. Here's a photo of Landon drinking Daddy's water from the Budweiser cup. Starting the kid early...

How's this for a comparison?

Our little boy is growing so fast, but the easiest way to see this is to do a comparison of Landon in his swing. The first photo shows Landon at 6 days old. The second shows him at 20 weeks old. Isn't the difference amazing???

"I had a big day!"

"Today was a big day for me! Mommy took me to Daddy's office to say hi and see his co-workers. Daddy says that they ask about me all the time and wanted to see how big I am. When we got there, I felt like a celebrity! Daddy carried me in and all sorts of people started coming around to see me. I don't even know how they knew I was there. As normal, I was a flirt for the ladies. Who could resist my charm though?

I then went with Mommy to see her friend Karrie. Karrie goes to something called Medical School in Erie, Pennsylvania and she is here in Colorado for a visit. Mommy told be that she and Karrie went to college together and they lived with eachother for about 2 1/2 years. Roommates I think she called it. That's funny though because everyone knows that Mommy only lives with me and Daddy.

Anyway, Karrie is staying in Colorado with her friend John. We drove to pick up Karrie and when we got there, talked to John and Karrie for a while before we went to lunch. They loved playing with me and I was in a good mood so I indulged them. John said I looked like I could be the Gerber baby. I think that means they think I'm cute. Karrie was playing elevator with me and kept lifting me up and down. I thought it was fun. I had some lunch while I was there, and before Mommy had a chance to burp me, Karrie wanted to hold me again. I spit up on her but I couldn't help it. She was a good sport though and didn't seem to mind much. She also gave me a present! I guess they're called flip-flops. I don't wear shoes much yet, but Mommy thought they were cute.

After playing at John's house we went to eat. We drove all the way back near where Daddy's office is to get some Indian food and found out that the restaurant Mommy and Karrie wanted to eat at was closed! We all went to an Asian place instead and it was nice. There was only one other table there eating so we almost had the place to ourselves. Mommy and Karrie talked about old times and caught up on all the new stuff in their lives. Mommy mostly talked about me!

Here is a picture of Karrie holding me at the restaurant. I really liked her!"

Water is Poison

While out running errands today, we stopped for lunch. Landon was grabbing for my glass of water. I figured, "okay, I'll give him a drink." This is the aftermath. Water must be poison!!!

Five Months Old Today

Today is Landon's 5-month birthday. So, in honor of the occasion, here's a quick rundown of what he's up to now and what he's already accomplished:

• He's been smiling and laughing for at least three months now.
• He can roll from back to front and front to back.
• He loves to stand and sit (with assistance, of course). We try to get him to sit-up by himself, but he quickly topples over (don't worry, we do it while he's on the bed and it is soft).
  
• He is fascinated by his feet and pulls them up to his chest. They haven't ended up in his mouth yet, but I stress YET!
  
• He 's drooling non-stop and puts everything in his mouth. We can't figure out if he is teething or not, but no tooth has broken through yet. Again, I stress YET.
  
• He loves to "talk." He babbles all the time and I just know he is trying to tell us a story.
  
• He's grasping at objects and figuring out how all his toys work. Landon loves to pull mommy's hair.
  
• He is able to put his pacifier in and out of his mouth all by himself. He usually ends up getting it in upside down or sideways, but every so often, he gets it right!
  
• He still doesn't sleep through the night, but usually only wakes up once to eat. Just like his Daddy, this kid has an appetite!
  
• Speaking of sleep, Landon's new favorite position to sleep is on his side. He looks like such a big boy when he sleeps like this.
  
• No solid foods yet. He likes to watch us eat, but we're holding off on cereal or baby food until 6 months. Don't worry though, he's still a champ at breastfeeding and is gaining weight great. We love our little sumo wrestler.
  
• Last, but certainly not least, Landon is definitely getting a personality all his own. See what I mean?

A couple photos of the sleeping baby

Is there a theme developing here? In the last entry, I posted a photo of Landon sleeping on his play mat, and in this entry, I'm posting a couple more pictures of the sleeping boy. The irony of this, however, is that Landon is FIGHTING sleep lately. He is definitely tired, but too interested in his surroundings to take a nap or go to bed. Ugh. Mommy and Daddy need to find a solution. Anyway, enjoy the photos while you can...he won't be asleep long!

Feet hanging out the crib.

Napping on Mommy and Daddy's bed with his girraffasaur.