A Smile Like mine 6-19-07

A Smile Like Mine

I can't get over this picture. Yesterday afternoon, Noah was on my bed and Landon was talking to him and touching his head (Landon always wants to "pet" brother) and Noah just broke out in an all-out grin at his big brother....and it wasn't just one big grin, it was as though he kept smiling at him over and over. It was the first time Noah reacted to Landon, and my heart melted into a puddle as my two boys played together for the first time!

In other news, Landon's imagination has EXPLODED. Every day he imagines something new that just amazes me. Yesterday he "built" a bird house out of a breakfast tray, a candle holder and some pillows. He used his little wooden hammer to build it and then asked me for some pennies, which he used for bird food. It may not sound all that interesting, but I don't even know where he learned about bird houses and to see him imagining and really thinking that he built a bird house was like a blast from the past. I remember imagining and playing...house, school, my little ponies, etc...I also remember the day that I noticed that it first got difficult to imagine. At a certain age, playing became not so natural, and adulthood loomed shortly thereafter. I love to watch Landon get lost in make-believe.

Landon is also absolutely obsessed with garbage trucks. In fact, when he had his chest x-ray the other night he was telling Jonathan and the tech all about his plan to be a garbage truck driver when he grew up...all the way down to the color of his truck (yellow). Both the tech and Jonathan were laughing and Jon told him that after he graduated from college, if he still wanted to be a garbage truck driver, he could .  When we are driving down the road now, at every house Landon reaches out as though he is a side-loader (yes I know that term bc we have been watching garbage truck movies from the library) and pretends to grab the trash and then "dumps" the trash into his truck by raising his arm up and hitting his head. He looks ridiculous, but again, he really thinks he is a trash truck and it is so much fun to watch.

Yesterday didn't seem too productive, but instead of taking a nap I finished all of my thank-you's and finally got caught up on my emails. Landon did not have any coughing spells during his nap so I was able to get both of those finished up, and although it was a small feat, it really feels good to have those two things done. Wednesday night  my sister-in-law and my niece are spending the night and then on Thursday Jon's mom and all three of Jon's sisters and their kids are all coming over and we are spending the day at the beach. It is supposed to be a beautiful day and it should be a great time. Other than that, I have no specific plans this week...the deck remains 80% finished, we have landscaping to plant, weeds to pull, a house to clean, you know...the usual.

Noah has been only getting up once a night for about a week...usually around 4 and then around 7 (but I don't count 7 bc that is morning). I have really appreciated the reprieve, but last night he was up around 2 and I held him off until 2:40 but then he was screaming, so I fed him. Instead of going right back to sleep like he has been, he was fussy and awake until 4. I realized that before he was only waking once a night I would not have minded so much becuase I had no expectations, but since I knew he could put himself back to sleep I was more frustrated becuase in one week I had develeped expectations. Not to say we should not expect things from our children (we absolutely should!...just maybe not from a 5 week old)...but I think I need to work on my expectations for night-waking. I stressed so much about it with Landon, and I just don't want to do that this time. But I love my sleep, and everyone who knows me well knows that I can be a grumpy bear if I am tired. I don't want my kids reaping the negative consequences of my grouchiness. Just because some 5 week old babies sleep through the night, doesn't mean mine will.

This picture is from Noah's first bath in his infant bath tub. I gave him sponge baths until his cord fell off and since then I have been doing it in the sink, but last night I figured he was big enough for this baby tub. He LOVED it. Our wonderful friends in Colorado (courtatwell) Jason and Courtenay surprised us with this gift a few months ago. They use this tub with their kids and she knew I needed a good tub this time around so she ordered it for me and one day it spontaneously showed up on my doorstep. Gotta love unexpected blessings! And Noah just loved it...and so did Landon becuase he got to help wash Noah.

Coming soon (as soon as I figure out our scanner) a picture of Noah and a baby picture of me...I didn't realize how much we looked alike until last night. It is so different to have a child look like me...Landon is so daddy, but Noah is quite Mama's boy.