The Horrible Truth

The horrible truth about nine month olds is that they put EVERYTHING in their mouths, including dead cockroaches. Yes, I said it...that was not a typo but a fact.

Last week, Landon and I hung out in the back room of our home, also known as the office. I was checking my Facebook account while he happily crawled around pulling books off the shelves. Finally, he seemed to settle down in front of the sliding glass doors, gazing out at the pool. A while later he crawled under my feet and looked up at me with his bright blue eyes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I spotted an unfamiliar piece of something hanging near his chin. Assuming it was part of a small leaf, I went to remove it. That's when my assumption changed. Leaves don't have little hairs on them! YIKES! Nope, this was not a leaf but an insect leg. As I brushed it off my nine month old, I noticed he was chewing on something. It took up almost the entire area of his mouth. I shook my head in disbelief thinking there was no way he could have a bug in his mouth because the floors were just recently vacuummed. As I got closer, the sick reality set in. There was a large cockroach in my baby's mouth and I had to get it out. The thought of sweeping it out with my finger gave me chills. He was not choking on it so there was no immediate danger. So, I dangled my baby upside down and shook him gently, praying it would just fall out. Not a chance! I then squeezed his cheeks together (while he was still hanging upside down) and shook him again. Finally, it dropped onto the carpet. I threw my baby over my shoulder and hugged him so grateful that he was fine. I rinsed his mouth out, of course, and gave him some juice to get rid of the roach breath. My heroism continued as I bravely disposed of the intruder. I had little desire to eat for the remainder of the day. I'm sure you understand.

I did learn two things as a result of this experience. First, force your kids to use pacifiers as babies. They won't need to use a cockroach as a chew toy. Second, my pest control service is working even if it does leave deceased insects behind for my little Landon to stumble upon. Oh the truth can be HORRIBLE sometimes, can't it?

Stages

I love watching babies discover things for the first time! They are so curious and exploratory. Landon is no exception. He is almost 6 months old and what a fun age it is! The other day I had him on the kitchen counter in his Bumbo seat while I was cooking spaghetti. I drained the noodles in the sink as I always do. As fast as the steam rose to the ceiling so did his little head and eyes. I smiled as I witnessed his first experience with rising gas.

He's anxious to do new things. For a while, he lay on his back and lifted his head. Up and down he went, like he was doing sit ups. (He's gonna have some great abs I tell ya!) So, I sat him up and a few weeks ago he learned to sit up on his own.

I think the dinosaur taught him this pose. If only he had a tail!

Lately, he wants to move! He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. He sometimes launches his body forward and plants his face in the ground. Ouch! Soon enough, he'll figure out this crawling thing and I'll be burning extra calories chasing him everywhere.
A plus for me, he's learned how to hold his bottle and feed himself. Yay! Hands free feeding! I am finding I can accomplish a whole lot more around the house now with so much extra time.

Today my little cutie even figured out how to style his golden hair. I was in another room for just a few minutes. When I returned he was sporting a faux hawk. I asked the boys what they had done to his hair. They assured me they had not touched it. Sure enough, Landon had created his own gel mixed of drool and spit up and spiked it with his tiny fingers. (Reminds me of the movie There's Something About Mary. Ha! Ha!) I must admit, my baby did a good job.
I am so happy to be home this year to watch all his "firsts". I look forward to the next stages of his life.

Love & Hate

Landon is seven weeks old and has gained 3 pounds since birth. But more than just weight, he's gained a greater sense of what he likes and dislikes. And though he can't talk, he communicates his feelings quite clearly.

HE HATES:SwingingRiding in his car seat

HE LOVES: Chillin' in the bath

Laying on the foor playing with toys

See what I mean?

Pool Rat

In Florida you never know what you might find swimming in your pool. A beetle? A frog? A bear? An alligator? Okay so we've had our share of beetles and frogs in our pool but nothing as grand as a bear or an alligator. But last week we encountered our most unusual and unwanted visitor yet...a rat!

When Travis excitedly yelled for me to come take a glimpse of what was swimming in our pool I expected to see another frog stretching his legs out under the water. So when I spotted a rat lapping the pool I was speechless (as was Tyler who was wide-eyed standing near the edge). What the heck was I to do with a rat?

Knowing that it was nearly time for Jeremy to come home from work, I snapped a picture of our guest and instantly sent it to him so he would be prepared to deal with it when he arrived. It didn't take him long to capture the wet rodent. The next day we set him free down the street and around the corner (far enough away from my house). I'm hoping that will be the last of our extraordinary visitors. Beetles and frogs are enough for me!

My Three Sons

Every time we bring a new baby home, it is welcomed an accepted. I remember when we brought Travis home from the hospital. Beforehand, I worried about Tyler feeling left out. But as soon as we placed Travis in his bassinet, Tyler took one peek and beamed at what he probably thought was a brand new toy. Even though Tyler was only one and a half, he did all he could to love and take care of his younger brother, feeding him, making him laugh, and dragging his cup and a gallon of milk across the floor to me so I could fill it up without having to wake the sleeping baby that was on my lap. There really was no jealously.

Well round 2 with baby Landon is the same. The older boys adore him! Travis is especially happy to be a big brother and care for his little brother. In fact, sometimes it is a bit obsessive. As soon as the baby wakes up, he notifies me to make sure I am at his baby brother's beckoning call. "Mom, Landon is waking up and you need to go take care of him NOW!" We won't have to worry about child neglect for even one second with our little deputy around! When Landon is crying, Travis offers his advice. One day he yelled to me from the computer room, "Mom, just rub his forehead! He likes that!" All I could do was smile and giggle. Really the baby wanted food, not just his head rubbed. Maybe I'll try that next time.

I seriously love that my boys love and care for each other. I am blessed to have these three sons.

Welcome Baby Boy

Our newest baby boy is here! Landon Trent Pope was born on June 16th at 2:14pm. He weighed 8lbs. 5oz. and was 21 inches long. He takes after both of our other boys. He seems to have Travis's mouth and chin and Tyler's eyes. We are so in love with him!

Landon was my quickest and easiest delivery yet. Third times a charm! My due date was actually June 24th. However, at a doctor's appointment a few weeks before, my doctor glanced at my records, clenched his chin and said, "You have big babies. We may want to think about inducing." I needed no convincing. Travis was 4 days early and weighed 9lbs. 9oz. so I had no doubt this baby boy would be plenty big and strong taken a week early...and he was.

The night before the induction, Jeremy and I discussed what we would name our baby boy... AGAIN! Since finding out it was a boy in January, he was set on the name Landon and I was set on Trenton/Trent. We both called my moving stomach our selected names. In the end, we still couldn't agree so we decided that we would flip a coin in the hospital the next day. Heads...Landon. Tails...Trent. Too bad it didn't work out that way.

When we got to the labor room that morning, I immediately went into the restroom to change into my gown. As I walked out I noticed the name "Landon" written on a large dry erase board. I looked at my husband who flashed his pearly whites at me. "I thought we were going to flip a coin," I said. "We still can," he laughed.

Finally our screaming baby boy was born. It was time to decide his name...so I thought. But before I could say a word, I heard the nurses saying, "Hi Landon. It's okay Landon." I glared at my husband and said, "Really? We named him?" "We can still flip a coin if you want," he said. But after seeing my proud husband's smile, I said, "That's okay. We can name him Landon but his middle name's Trent." My husband loves his boys and with it being Father's Day weekend it seemed fitting that this loving father choose his son's name. I love my little boy! Welcome to our crazy family Landon!

Growing Up

Tyler is growing up way too fast! This week he earned his Wolf badge in Scouts and celebrated his 9th birthday. Every night when I tuck him into bed I look at his radiant smile and just wonder how I got so lucky to have this sweet little boy in my life. He is a wonderful brother, always teaching Travis the new things he's learned. He has his father's patience and passion for Warcraft. He loves science almost as much as his Uncle Ben. He's quite the mathematician like his Grandpa Pope. I'm not sure what he inherited from me, besides his blonde hair and blue eyes, but I so enjoy watching him grow up. Happy Birthday Tyler Austin!