1st Haircut!

Getting Ready to start. He sat on my lap so they covered me in a cape as well. You can see how curious he was as to what was about to happen.

Landon with his cape on...just before we got started. He was starting to get a little unsure about the whole thing, and what exactly it was that we were doing.

He was not a fan of getting his hair cut. He fussed and cried through the whole thing, poor guy. I think a lot of it though was because of the sounds of the scissors snipping. He was fine until she actually started cutting his hair. The other part I think was that I had to help hold his arms down since he was swiping at her scissors when she was cutting...this I think reminded him of being held down for his blood draws and also when he had his IV in the hospital.

After he had calmed down and was sitting in the car. His hair is not that short, we swept it off to the side to see how it looked! They did trim his bangs, around the back of his neck, and around his ears. It was really long in those places, and we wanted his hair to be nice and even for his upcoming 1st Birthday photo shoot!

Merry Christmas!

We are spending the day with family and great friends, and celebrating Landon's 1st Christmas! We wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We had a great Christmas morning, Santa was generous to everyone. We will be having Honey Baked Ham for dinner tonight, yumm. We are counting our blessings today, especially for our little guy and everything we have learned, everyone we have met, and for our great family and friends who have been our rocks through this past year. Hope everyone has a blessed Christmas, and you make many happy memories with your family and friends.

Love,

The Heise's

Landon sitting amongst the present. He wasn't too sure what to think of everything at first!

Sitting on his power wheels car! Zach was off to the side, that's why he is looking in that direction

Playing in his ball pit that Santa brought him. He loves this thing, he has been in it all morning long!

Helping Daddy unwrap presents. He really got into it once he figured it all out!

My favorite picture from this morning! He was having such a great time with everyone.

Zach showing Landon the presents.

My Mom and Boomer, hanging out.

Zach's Big Ticket Item, He got a TV to play his Xbox 360 on!

Landon playing with Mommy & Daddy!

Santa!

We took Landon to sit on Santa's lap tonight. He did very, very well. We waited in line and talked to him about Santa and telling him what he wanted for Christmas. When it was his turn Landon was great. he sat there and smiled at the camera for 2 pictures. Then he looked over and saw me standing a few feet away, and looked to his other side and saw Scott standing a few feet away, and then looked at Santa and started to get nervous. So, we stepped in and scooped him up, and picked out the picture we liked best. Overall it was a great experience, and I am glad we took him. I really like the Christmas outfit I picked out for him too, it's even cuter on him than it was in the store!

Our 1st Hospital Experience

Wednesday morning started out perfectly normal. My alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. so I could get up and give Landon his Carnitine on time. I stopped on the way to his room to make him a bottle, like I do every morning. When I went into his room he was standing in his crib whining, which is very unusual. There was also this smell...not like a dirty diaper, it was a completely different smell that I justt couldn't figure out. So I changed his diaper, gave him his medicine, and then we sat in the recliner so he could fall back asleep since he was whining when I went in there. Well, he then started choking. I couldn't figure out why, he wasn't eating anything and had already swallowed his meds. So I sat him up and he stopped choking, and cuddled up with me. But, he just would not sit still...which is very unusual when he is as tired as he was. This was my first hint that something was wrong...other than the whining. So I decided to take him into our bed, maybe he would sleep better in there. Again, he just wouldn't lay still, and then it started. He began throwing up, all over me, all over our bed, and all over himself. When it finally stopped I whiped him off, changed his clothes, and then changed his diaper because he had pooped again. Well, he had major diarhea too. This is when we began to get worried...with his disorder he CAN'T get dehydrated and throwing up and having diarhea at the same time, can get very serious very quickly. So I tried to get him to take some pedialite...he refused. So I just sat him in my lap and covered him with a blanket, and he fell right asleep. After about 1/2 hour I took him back to his room and sat him in the chair with me. He woke up about an hour later, and I changed his diaper again, managed to get him to take some pedialite, which he promptly threw up 10 minutes later. I called his Pedi and they couldn't get us in until noon since they only had 1 doctor working that day. By the time we made our dr's appt Landon had thrown up 5 times, had diarhea 7-8 times, and only took around 8 ounces of fluid, all in 7 hours. I knew we were in trouble and there was a very strong possibility that he would be admitted. Our pedi checked him out, I told him everything that had happened, and he made the decision to admit him to the PICU. I was very worried and really trying not cry, even though our Pedi has seen me cry before when we were first going through everything with Landon. I called Scott, who was at work, and told him to meet us at the Hospital and gave him all the info. The Pedi then decided to check Landon's Blood Sugar..which is the important part, his blood sugar tells us how hydrated he is because his disorder presents and acts as Hypoglycemia. Well his blood sugar was 56, they do not want it below 75!

So we went over to the hospital, and they asked us questions. took all of his info, our info, etc. It took about an hour to an hour and a half to do all of this, and to meet with the doctor. Finally he was able to get his IV, I went with him because he would not let me put him down, or anyone else hold him. He was crying and fussing constantly at this point so I knew he was feeling just awful. To say getting his IV was awful, would be an understatement. They had to velcro him down to this board, to where only his arm that they were putting the IV in, was free and barely free at that. My job was to try and keep him distracted, and they had another really nice lady there to help me. She had all kinds of toys and stuff, but Landon was not having any of it. After getting his IV and drawing blood for labs, we went back to his room and he fell asleep on me. An hour later or so the Doctor came back and told us that his blood sugar was down to 48, which is why he was so fussy...his blood sugar was right about the level where most children can start seizing...can we say scary? So he let us know that we would be there at least until Friday...Great.

That night went pretty well. Around 10:30 p.m. they decided to move us to a room in the Pedi ward, and out of the PICU. The room was much different and not as nice, but at least we had a bathroom and a shower, and we were at the end of the hall so it was mostly quiet. We had great nurses, and a great Doctor. They had to come in every 2 hours and refill his IV fluids. He was on 60 mL of fluid every hour, mostly glucose but with lots of other stuff mixed in it. Thursday morning they came in at 4:30 a.m. to draw blood for that days labs...I had just got to sleep, ugh. He was feeling  a bit better though. He downed 2 packages of Graham Crackers, but was still refusing fluids..but we think this was because he was getting so much through his IV that his body knew it didn't need anymore. The nurses and doctors both told us that babies are very instinctual and they will not take fluids if they are already hydrated enough so they were not too worried about it. We just "hung" out in his room, took a few naps, and kept trying to get him to take more food, and maybe some fluids. He took a bottle the whole day, but it was a start. By the end of the day he was definately feeling better, and basically back to his normal self. So, Scott and I were very hopeful we could go home the next day.

Friday morning at 2:00 a.m. they woke us up to draw blood again for his labs for the day. We were able to go back to sleep, thankfully and Landon even slept in the hospital crib for a little bit. So I was able to get a little bit of time sleeping in the "sleeper" chair alone. Let me tell you this chair was impossible to sleep in. My neck and back are still sore. Oh, well. Our favorite nurse came in around 7:30 a.m. to check his IV site. His hand was very swollen and sore, so they had to take his IV out. They kept saying they were going to have to put it back in, in his other hand...this made me shudder, I did not want to put him or I through that again. So, I convinced them to let him try some time off of the IV and see how he did..since he was back to himself and feeling much better. The resident came in and told me there was no way Landon could stay off of it, he would need to drink 5-6 ounces every 2 hours...what baby does this? He also told me there was no way we were going home that day, etc. So I appealed my case to his actual Doctor and she agreed to keep him off of the IV until noon, when they would check his blood sugar again (they had been checking it every 4-6 hours for the last 2 days) at noon. If his sugar was below 80 at noon they would have to put his IV back in, I agreed. Landon ate some vanilla yogurt for breakfast, and had a few ounces out of his bottle! He then had more out of his bottle at 10:30 (normal time for a bottle), and ate some graham crackers! They checked his blood sugar at noon and it was 91!! I was so excited, they then agreed to check it again at 5:00 p.m. while leaving him off of the IV. If his sugar had not gone below 80 at 5:00 p.m. we could go home, woohoo! So Landon then ate a whole thing of applesauce, and some peaches for lunch. He also had another bottle around 3:00 p.m. (again a normal time for a bottle for him). Come 5:00 p.m. they checked his sugars, and it was still 91!! So we were cleared to go home! Scott and I were so excited. About this time nurses from all over the hospital were coming to the Pediatric ward to see the cute little red headed boy, it was so funny. They all said they were told they would know who he was as soon as they saw him..yeah that's right my son was famous all over the hospital! It was great and so Landon..he is such a ham and let them all hold him, and would walk up and down the hall way showing off for them! We finally were released around 6:15 and headed home!

We are doing well at home now. Landon and I are both excited to be sleeping in our beds again. He is back to being himself, and feels great. We are very thankful for our awesome Pedi, his staff, and the Doctor's and Nurses at the hospital. Everyone learned all about his disorder and how to treat him, and I am so thankful they were so willing to learn, and to help us and him as much as they possibly could. They were great about following his diet, and being supportive of us and what we were going through. Hopefully we will not ever have to go through this again. We have to follow up with the Pedi this week, and I am really praying they will not give us a glucose meter, but I think they will so we can check his blood sugars when he is sick and keep on top of them, so we can go to the hospital if we need to without having to make a stop at our Pedi's office first. We can call, and then he can call and get us admitted ASAP. We missed our Christmas Party at the Geneticist's office, but that is o.k. hopefully we can make it next year.

Landon in the hospital, this is when we were in the PICU. The diaper on his hand is covering his IV to try and help to deter him from pulling on it, or pulling it out all together.

Landon, very happy to be in the car on the way home from the hospital. He was so exhausted from the whole experience, as was I.

Geneticist Appointment

We saw Landon's Geneticist today, and were reminded again how much God has truly blessed us. We had a great appointment. They said that Landon looked perfect, and was doing great. We met with the nutritionist and went over (again) the food guidelines that we were given about a month ago. We talked about his issues with not getting enough Zinc, and how much he was eating...mostly the usual. Then we saw the Geneticist and I'm guessing she was a resident, but I have never met her before and she was learning from him. We went over Landon's stats...he is 9.5 Kilos or about 21 lbs, and 30 inches tall! Everyone kept telling me that I need to push the sippy cup on him more, and it's time to start weening him off of the bottle. I really wish they understood that this is easier said than done in our house. I will get back on track with it though starting tomorrow.

We talked with the Geneticist for a long while going over the things to watch for when he gets sick, his fat levels, how much Zinc he is taking, how much Levo-Carnitine he is on, how he has been doing, etc. I asked him about having more children and he repeated what we already knew that since VLCADD is an autosomal recessive DNA mutation that we have a 1:4 chance of all future children also having this disorder. He said that usually if siblings have the disorder as well that they seem to have the same pattern within the family..meaning that since Landon has a VERY mild case of the disorder, it is very likely that if we have another child with the disorder they too would have a mild case just like him. He also reminded just how blessed we really are that Landon has such a mild case, and that after a few more rounds of blood work (we will get to that in a minute), we may be able to liberalize his diet a little more...since they know more about how his enzyme levels are and how is body is "coping" with the disorder, fat intake, and levo-carnitine. He also told us, once again,  that Landon does not present any of the signs or symptoms of the disorder except that his body does not make enough of the amino acid, Levo Carnitine, needed to break down the Very Long Chain fats and move them across the appropriate cell membranes. As well as his muscle enzyme levels are a little bit elevated, but not to any level that we need to be worried about. He said that the level to which they are raised on a normal person could be because they fell on their butt and got a bruise. It is not something that we can ignore, and we need to be mindful of it and watch it, but it is nothing to worry about, and he is not surprised by them and is very happy that this is the only "symptom" of VLCADD that Landon exhibits. They checked his liver to make sure it wasn't enlarged, and of course it isn't and his heart sounds great so all in all he is one happy and healthy little boy. They were very excited that he is already walking and talking and is constant movement! We will be keeping him on his Zinc supplement until further notice, and according to the Geneticist Landon isn't the first one with VLCADD to have had a Zinc deficiency, even though it has never showed up on any of his blood work.

 Landon's specific case of VLCADD is that he has the mildest for of the disorder where he has NO heart or liver damage, no heart arithmia, or muscle issues. His form of the disorder deals mainly in the form of hypoglycemia meaning that his blood sugar can not get low (which is why until he was 6 months old we were having to wake him up every 3 hours to feed him), he can't ever fast, and he cannot get dehydrated. If any of these things occur and they are ignored for a period of time (we are talking about many, many hours to days) it can become dangerous to him and he does have the possibility of going into a coma...which we all know will never happen since we are so on top of everything. We were also told that if he seems lathargic, sleeps more than normal, isn't active like he is, vomits for more than 6 hours or refuses food for more than 6 hours then we are to take him to the ER and have him put on a glucose IV until he is better, his appetite returns, or the vomiting stops and he is able to keep foods down again.

Now about the blood work. Let me tell you I hate when we have to have his blood drawn. I don't use the word hate often, but when it comes to having to have Landon's blood drawn eevery definition of the word describes it. To get his blood drawn, they make me sit in one of the chairs with him, that has the little part that comes down in front of you. They of course put the arm thing down, and then make me grab the arm they aren't going to draw blood from, and hold him in a "bear hug" while trying to pin his feet and legs between mine so he cannot squirm. So inevitably this makes him scream bloody murder b/c he does not like to be held down, and because I am convinced that he knows exactly what they are doing. Then they put that rubber band thing around his arm, which scares him even more and makes wiggle and yell louder. Then we get to the actualy blood drawing part...he screams more when they put the needle in his arm, and inevitably because he has himself all worked up it takes forever for them to draw the blood since he is so rigid, and trying to free himself and crying and yelling...and by this time I am trying to sing to him and talk to him to try and clam him down so the blood will flow faster and we can get all of this over with...all the while trying not to cry myself. Let me reiterate I hate having to get his blood drawn. It is a tramatic experience for both of us, but I also understand it is completely necessary so they can monitor his Carnitine Levels, Liver Enzyme Levels, and Muscle Enzyme Levels so we know how well he is doing and if we can liberalize his fat intake at all. Thank God they only take his blood every so often and not every visit.

We rewarded ourselves, and Landon, with Cheesecake Factory for dinner with great friends including Landon's God-Father. Landon had a few *tiny* bites of cheesecake for being so brave today while everyone squeezed him, and checked him out, and drew his blood.

We are headed back to the Geneticist on Friday, but this time for the Metabolic Clinic's Christmas Party. I am looking forward to it, and to meeting other families that are going through something similar. Santa will be there for the kids, so I hope Landon will sit onhis lap for a picture, and we are taking a toy donation for Toys for Tots, as well as making something to share. It should be fun and I promise to take pics and post them up once we get back.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Today is Landon's Grandpa's (my dad) birthday! We wanted to wish him a very happy birthday, we hope he had a great day and was able to relax and enjoy himself today. I'll leave out the part about how old he is ;o) We can't wait to see him in January when we go visit to celebrate Landon's 1st Birthday as well!

Landon also recieved his H1N1 booster today, I am very relieved because he is now 100% covered against the virus. I was worried because they said that with his disorder he was conswidered to be in the high risk category and he would have to be hospitalized if he had contracted the virus. But, we are all clear and very thankful to our Pedi! Landon is a bit cranky and sore from the shot, but he is also cutting his 2nd front top tooth so that plays a big role in it too. Here's to hoping it breaks through tonight and brings him some relief.

We are headed to Phoenix tomorrow to meet with the Geneticist and the Metabolic Nutritionist. It should be a very interesting and informative appointment. I will update you on everything once we get back. We will also be meeting up with our good friend Catina and her baby, JT. Landon's Godfather, Gary, will be going to dinner with us as well. We are going to eat at Cheesecake Factory...I cannot tell you how excited I am about this, I really miss Cheesecake Factory. Especially since our house in Frisco was 7 minutes from there, yumm. Pray for a good appointment and no blood work for Landon!

Turkey Day!

Yesterday was Landon's 1st Thanksgiving, and he had a blast! We had dinner at our house with Scott'sgrandma and great friends Amanda (and her kids Aidan & Iam), and Janel (and her son Simon)! We had a blast and ate lots and lots of really yummy food, Landon had his first taste of many new favorites, some he can have a lot and others that will be on a  more occasional basis like home made macaroni and cheese.
We truly learned fromt he last 10+ months that we are really blessed and we have a lot to be thankful for. We are most thankful that even though Landon does have VLCADD, he has the mildest version and it barely effects his day-to-day life. We are thankful and blessed to have our wonderful family and friends both on-line and IRL. We really hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday, and you counted all of your blessings!

I wore myself out today shopping. Amanda and I went to Toys R Us at midnight! We were able to get a lot of what we wanted, but not all of it, which is great! We continues on from there and only stopped to take a 3 hour nap in between. it was crazy, but a lot of fun and we got some really great deals!

Here are some pics from our turkey day celebration:

Landon & Mommy on his 1st Thanksgiving!

My sweet guy playing in his toy box.

Playing with Simon, who also thinks the toy box is fun to play in. Who needs toys, just buy them plastic rubbermaid containers!

Simon & Landon coming up with a plan, in our pantry.

I am very Thankful for my little guy, and that he had such a great first Thanksgiving.

10 months old!

Landon is doing so many new things now, it is really hard to keep up with them all! He is growing by leaps and bounds constantly, it really is so amazing to watch everything he learns and figures out each day. He's in to everything and curious about everything. His favorite new thing to do is to type on the computer, or to take your mouse and carry it off to random places in the house! He is also walking so much now! He has walked as far as across the room, and he can now turn and walk in a different direction! He loves to babble and has picked up a few new words now. He can say "mama", "dada", "up", he really tries to say "more" and "book"! it won't be long before he will be talking constantly!

I took Landon to Little Gym today to see if it would be something he would enjoy. Since he is constantly moving and getting into everything I figured we should have an outlet in a super fun and safe enviroment with other children around his age. He really had a blast, he was walking alla round, crawling on to and into every thing! They even had exercises that we did together, which I really liked because Lord know I need it too. We are taking Scott to their open house tomorrow to show him all the fun we had, and the neat stuff they have for him to learn, and then we are going to sign him up. I am super excited that he is going to be in Mommy & Me gymnastics. The one thing i have always wanted is for my children to try gymnastics, since I loved it so much. He doesn't have to do it forever, I just want him to be able to experience it. I am also super glad that we are going because it gets us out of the hosue 2 days a week, teaches him to socialize with other children, and I can socialize with other moms, how fun!

Anyways, enjoy some pictures in our adventure of trying to take the monthly picture for the blog and our baby book!

It took a lot of tries to take our 10 month picture. Landon is constant movement these days!

Some distractions were needed. Yes, taping the sign to the couch was absolutely neccessary. You can't tell in the picture how crinkled it is from him grabbing it and playing with it..it was really quite funny.

This was the only shot I could get with his whole face showing. Thank Goodness for Pack-n-Plays and big brother's distracting him.

Prematurity Awareness Day

Today is Preemie Awareness Day. This is close to our hearts, not because of Landon but because of me. I was a preemie and spent a few weeks in the NICU and the hospital before coming home in 1983. Ihad Jaundice pretty bad and Asthma as well. I can only imagine what my parents went through. With everything that we have been through with Landon he has never been in the hospital, and I just cannot imagine what my parents and all the preemie moms out there must go through. Please hug and love your babies today and thank God for them. Please say a prayer today for all of the preemies out there.

We are going to be Famous!

Well Kind of. I left a testimonial for our Ergo Baby Carrier that we absolutely love and use all the time on facebook since we are fans of them! After going through who knows how many carriers, a good friend of mine suggested that we try the Ergo. I am so glad that she told us about it, it has been the best baby carrier ever. I tell every mom and mom-to-be I can about the Ergo. Our testimonial will not be up for about a week or two, but I will let you know as soon as they post it! I am super excited about it, and really glad that they think we are cool enough to use our story! In the mean time here is there website if you want to check them out:
 http://www.ergobaby.com/


Also, if you get the chance, go check out my friend Megan's food blog. She is giving away a sample pack of this super yummy popcorn. I hope I win it, no offense to all of you...ha ha :o)

http://megansmunchies.com/the-return-of-the-decadent-popcorn-giveaway/

Foods

Now that Landon would rather eat solid foods off our plates, than the baby food puree's that I make or in the jars, our metabolic Nutritionist gave us a list of "acceptable" foods for Landon to eat. Since he has such a mild case of his disorder, he is allowed more fat in his diet and we are allowed to be more lienent around the holidays, birthdays, etc. This list is for normal everyday foods, that he can eat without us having to worry about the fat contents of them. I must say it is nice to have a list of "go to" foods that we know we can feed him without having to find nutrition labels to calculate the fat contents and whether or not the foods are considered low fat enough for Landon to be able to eat.

We also learned how to calculate whether a food is low fat enough for Landon to be able to eat. It's really a much simpler "equation" than I thought it would be, I was thinking "oh, no am I going to be able to do this and learn this so that when I am in the grocery store I will be able to look at the nutrition label and know if he can have that particular food item." Here is our equation:

If there are 50 calories or less per gram of fat, then it is considered low fat enough for Landon to eat. For example:

Item A has 100 calories and 2 grams of fat...then Landon can eat it.
Item B has 175 calroies, and 4 grams of fat...then Landon cannot eat it.

Item B would have to have 200 calories with 4 grams of fat, for landon to be able to eat it. Although if it only had 3.5 grams of fat, for the 175 calories...then Landon could have it. Hopefully this all makes sense.

Now when it comes to the Holidays or going to Birthday parties when he is older Landon is able to eat the food, but in smaller portions. The few days before the Holiday or party Landon will have only non-fat foods from his list or ones we know that he can have from using the equation above. The day after the event also he will have only low fat foods, and then he can go back to his "normal" diet.

It is important to note, that although Landon's body has trouble breaking down Very-Long Chain fats, his body still needs some of those types of fats. The VLC fats are the ones that aide in brain growth, body development, etc. they are important for him to have, but only in limited and controlled quantities. He is also on Levo-Carnitine, which is the amino acid the naturally occurs in our body that helps to move the fats across the cell membranes to be broken down. We are lucky that his body does produce some of this amino acid/enzyme, just not enough.

Now that you have had a full lesson on fat, ha ha, here is the list of foods I talked about when I started this post.

Low Fat Food Choices:


Food Groups &  Recommend Limits:

Meat, Poultry, Fish:

White Meat Only

Reduced fat luncheon meats

No full fat hot dogs or bologna

No fried foods

Other Protein Foods:

Beans and peas, egg whites, egg substitutes

Egg yolks: Occasionly

Avoid: adding fat or lard during cooking

Soy and “meat alternatives”

Peanut Butter Use in moderation

Avoid adding oil during preparation


Milk Products:

Skim or 1% milk only

No 2%, or whole milk

Low fat yogurt, cottage  cheese, sour cream,  and cheese only

No full fat dairy products


Breads and cereals:

Whole grain bread products including cereals, pasta, and pretzels are best

Avoid: trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and fried foods


Fruits and vegetables:

All are excellent choices

Avoid: adding fat (butter, ranch) and fried foods (potato chips, etc)



Desserts:

Fresh fruit, fruit ices, sherbet, frozen low-fat yogurt, gelatin, and angel food cake

Limit: fried foods and full fat desserts

Chatter Box

We now have a chatterbox on our hands! Landon said his first word yesterday. He crawled up to me and pulled up and looked right at me and said "mama" on several different occasions through out the day! I am so glad that he has started talking, and I must say I am biased and super excited he said "mama" first. Scott and I cannot wait to see what words are to come next. Logically and developmentally wise it will more than likely be "dada" followed by "baba" which is what we call his bottle, so he will be able to easily say it when the time comes.

Landon is also signing a lot more now. He signs, more, milk, and all done. We are well on our way to great communication. Having a mommy with a degree in Speech Pathology doesn't hurt him either, ha ha.

We also had our first run in with Poison Control yesterday. I about had a heart attack when I found him witha bottle of white out, and it was all around his mouth, on his hands, feet, the dog, and the tile floor. I called Poison Control and luckily they said that babies usually tolerate white out very well, and he didn't ingest a whole lot of it since most of the bottle was still full. We had to watch him closely over night because they said it cold cause stomach aches, breathing difficulties, and vomiting (super dangerous for Landon w/ his disorder). Luckily he had none of this, but he definately gave his Mommy a major panic for a few minutes. We have to make sure to keep Zach's door shut from now on, because that is where he found the white out. We are looking to have a bit of a calmer rest of the week.

Trick-Or-Treat

We had a great Halloween at our house, and we hope that everyone else did too. We went down to the pumpkin patch in Wilcox, AZ. We went on a hayride out to the spot where we could pick our pumpkins! Landon enjoyed riding in the wheel barrow thing that you could use to cart your pumpkins that you picked back to the hayride. We picked out 2 pumpkins to replace the ones we had carved for our fall decorations we will keep up through Thanksgiving (pictures to come). We had a great time, and since we went later in the season, it wasn't very crowded at all!


When we got home we went down to our neighbors house, where they had a potluck dinner for our cul-de-sac. Landon was dressed up in his tigger costume, and had a ball as did the rest of us. We hung out there until we took Landon trick-or-treating. For only going to a the houses on our street, he made out like a bandit! We decided not to go to the 3rd Halloween party we were invited too. Landon was tired and a little fussy, his top teeth are just about to break through hus gums too..poor guy, so we hung out at home and handed out candy. You will never believe what we found when we got home. We had left a bowl of candy out since we were not home to pass it out. Well someone took the entire bowl...fine, that's the risk you run when you leave it out like that. But, they took our BOWL with them...really who takes the bowl? It was in our front yard this morning, so they either threw it in the neighbors yard, or their parents made them bring it back. Who knows, but I am certainly glad to have my mixing bowl back.

I will leave you with some pictures from our weekend!


Landon's professional picture in his "Baby's 1st Halloween" Outift.

Landon's professional Picture in his Tigger Costume. He was so happy to be Tigger.

Landon & Mommy on the hayride out to the pumpkins.

Landon & Mommy in the Pumpkin Patch!

Landon & Daddy in the pumpkin patch.

Landon playing "George Washington" in the wheel barrow with Zach.

Landon & Mommy heading out to trick-or-treat.

Tigger and his trick-or-treating ride.

Landon's Loot.

Some Blog Fun

Rules


1. You Can Only Use One Word.

2. Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers.

3. Alert them that you have given them this award.

4. Have Fun!



The Fun Part:

1. Where is your cell phone? table

2. Your hair? shorter

3. Your mother? amazing

4. Your father? Determined

5. Your favorite food? Cake

6. Your dream last night? none

7. Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper

8. Your dream/goal? amazing mom

9. What room are you in? living room

10. Your hobby? traveling

11. Your fear? critters

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Colorado

13. Where were you last night? Pictures

14. Something that you aren’t? Fearless

15. Muffins? Blueberry

16. Wish list item? Equinox

17. Where did you grow up? Dallas

18. Last thing you did? LP-Bed

19. What are you wearing? PJs

20. Your TV? huge

21. Your pets? Boomer

22. Friends? Amazing

23. Your life? Busy

24. Your mood? Tired/Sleepy

25. Missing someone? Family

26. Vehicle? Jetta

27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

28. Your favorite store? Coldwater Creek/Gymboree

29. Your favorite color? Purple

30. When was the last time you laughed? Tonight

31. Last time you cried? Sunday

32. Your best friend? Landon

33. One place that I go to over and over? Pediatrician

34. One person who emails me regularly? Scott

35. Favorite place to eat? Randy White's BBQ
 
I tag:
Molly
Melissa
Sara
Kelly
Andrea
Megan

Doing the Two Step!

Landon took his first 2 steps tonight!! We were at his Great-Grandma's house after having his Halloween pictures taken professionally. He was playing and playing like normal, reaching from the coffee table to the couch, etc. Well I had Scott move the coffee table back a little bit to try and encourage him to maybe think about taking some steps...well about 30 minutes later, he lets go of the coffee table (he's been free standing for a few weeks now), and is free standing for about a minute. Well, then he looks at me and takes 2 steps to reach me!!! It was so neat to watch, and extra special because he had 5 people watching him! His Grandma (Scott's mom), Great-Grandma, Brother (Zach), Scott and I were all watching him, it was quite possibly the neatest thing I have seen :o) The cutest part I think of though was after he took the steps we were all saying "yay!!" and he started clapping and was so proud of himself! It won't be long before we are running after him :o)

9 months old!

My little guy is 9 months old today! I cannot believe that time is flying by so fast, and he is getting to be so big! His well check is not until the 28th so I will update will all of his stats then. He is doing very well and is getting to the point where he prefers table food, especially what Mommy & Daddy are eating, to baby food. He will still eat baby food but we have definately moved on to stage 3 foods and are quickly fasing those out! We go back to the Geneticists and the Metabolic Nutrisionist sometime soon. We had to cancel our original appointment because we had to come to Texas for some family things. I hope we get to meet with them soon so we can learn how to calculate fat % and what that means for his diet and what he can and can't eat depending on the fat %. It will definately be a learning curve, but I am looking forward to it because it means the whole family will be eating much healthier! Landon has accomplished a lot over the last month! He can now do the following:

~Pulling up on everything

~Standing for 1-2 minutes at a time w/o holding on to everything

~He is so close to walking, we expect it to happen any day!

~He can sign "more" and know the signs receptively for: no and finished

~ He is into everything!

~He can climb the stairs...and fast too! Don't worry we have gates up to stop him!

~He can clap, blow raspberries (aka stick his tongue out and spit), he takes his hands while he is babbling and puts them over his mouth and takes them off again to make (bababa) noise...kind of like the noise we made for "indians" as a child.

~Loves to take the dogs toys and them taunt them with it...it's hillarious because they know they cannot take it from him.

~Loves to read the Elmo book "So, Big!"

~He loves to stand up on anything!

~Still loves to jump, especially while holding on to MaMa and standing on the couch...it's super bouncy.

~He babbles all the time...of course I am trying to teach him MaMa first :o)

Information on VLCAD

My Note on this: As it states below this is general info on all types of the disorder. I wanted to let you know how it effects other children and how lucky we really are that Landon has a very, very, mild case of this disorder. Landon does not have any of the heart disorders they will talk about, or for the most part any of the side effects or other issues covered in this reading. As I have stated before in the blog, Landon has the form of the disorder that presents like Hypoglycemia. He does have to be hospitalized if he gets really sick with a glucose IV, and he does take the LevoCarnitine they mention below to help him break down fats in his body. Landon however has the form of the disorder that he has the Carnitine enzyme, his body just does not produce enough of it. If you have any questions specific to Landon's case or not, feel free to ask me I would love to tell you more about our expereinces or the disorder in general.

Please note: This is a general description and information on the disorder. There are mild, moderate and severe forms of this disorder. In our case we are very lucky that Landon has an extremely mild case and his life will not be as effected as some of the stuff you will read below. Landon also has the "hypoglycemia" form of the disorder. He does not have any of the heart defects, liver, muscle, and kidney issues that go along with the more sever forms of the disorder. With Landon we just have to make sure that he does not get dehydrated, he is not allowed to fast at all, and if he does get the stomach flu or viruses like that he has to go into the hospital and have a glucose IV until he can keep food down for a number of hours. Landon's form of the disorder is not fatal unless he does get severly dehydrated and then he can slip into a coma, but it would take a lot for that to happen to him. We count our blessing everyday that he is so mild. With that being said, googling and reading all of this information when we were first facing the disorder scared us to death. Which is why I have started this foundation and blog to show other parents going through the same thing, that there is hope and these children can live normal, happy lives with just a few adjustment.

Without further rambling here is the article we were given by our Medabolic Nutritionist that adequately and fairly explains VLCAD and basic info on Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders.

Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders




Disorder Name: Very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase

Acronym: VLCADD



•What is VLCADD?

•What causes VLCADD?

•If VLCADD is not treated, what problems occur?

•What is the treatment for VLCADD?

•What happens when VLCADD is treated?

•What causes the VLCAD enzyme to be absent or not working correctly?

•How is VLCADD inherited?

•Is genetic testing available?

•What other testing is available?

•Can you test during pregnancy?

•Can other members of the family have VLCADD or be carriers?

•Can other family members be tested?

•How many people have VLCADD?

•Does VLCADD happen more often in a certain ethnic group?

•Does VLCADD go by any other names?

•Where can I find more information?

This fact sheet has general information about VLCADD. Every child is different and some of this information may not apply to your child specifically. Certain treatments may be recommended for some children but not others. Children with VLCADD should be followed by a metabolic doctor in addition to their primary doctor.



What is VLCADD?

VLCADD stands for "very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency". It is one type of fatty acid oxidation disorder. People with VLCADD have problems breaking down certain types of fat into energy for the body.



Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders:



Fatty acid oxidation disorders (FAODs) are a group of rare inherited conditions. They are caused by enzymes that do not work properly.



A number of enzymes are needed to break down fats in the body (a process called fatty acid oxidation). Problems with any of these enzymes can cause a fatty acid oxidation disorder. People with FAODs cannot properly break down fat from either the food they eat or from fat stored in their bodies.



The symptoms and treatment vary between different FAODs. They can also vary from person to person with the same FAOD. See the fact sheets for each specific FAOD.



FAODs are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner and affect both males and females.



What causes VLCADD?

VLCADD occurs when an enzyme, called "very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase" (VLCAD) is either missing or not working properly. This enzyme's job is to break down certain fats from the food we eat into energy. It also breaks down fat already stored in the body.





Energy from fat keeps us going whenever our bodies run low of their main source of energy, a type of sugar called glucose. Our bodies rely on fat when we don’t eat for a stretch of time – like when we miss a meal or when we sleep.



When the VLCADD enzyme is missing or not working, the body cannot break down fat for energy and must rely solely on glucose. Although glucose is a good source of energy, there is a limited amount available. Once the glucose has been used up, the body tries to use fat without success. This leads to low blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, and to the build up of harmful substances in the blood.



If VLCADD is not treated, what problems occur?

VLCADD is variable and can cause mild effects in some people and more serious health problems in others. Symptoms may start in infancy or not until adulthood. There are three forms of VLCADD: “Early”, “Childhood” and “Adult”.



It is common for babies and children with the early and childhood types of VLCADD to have episodes of illness called metabolic crises. Some of the first symptoms of a metabolic crisis are:

•extreme sleepiness

•behavior changes

•irritable mood

•poor appetite

Some of these other symptoms may also follow:



•fever

•nausea

•diarrhea

•vomiting

•hypoglycemia

If a metabolic crisis is not treated, a child with VLCADD can develop:



•breathing problems

•seizures•coma, sometimes leading to death

Periods of hypoglycemia can happen with or without the other symptoms. Hypoglycemia can cause a child to feel weak, shaky or dizzy with clammy, cold skin. If not treated, it can lead to coma, and possibly death.



Either hypoglycemia or a full metabolic crisis can occur:



•after going too long without food

•during illness or infection

•after heavy exercise

Symptoms of early and childhood VLCADD often happen after a period of having nothing to eat for more than a few hours. Symptoms are also more likely when a child with VLCADD gets sick or has an infection.



Early VLCADD

About half of babies diagnosed with VLCADD have the “early” type. They usually start to show effects between birth and 4 months. In addition to metabolic crises, babies can also have:



•enlarged heart, irregular heartbeat and other heart problems

•enlarged liver and other liver problems

•muscle problems

If not treated, babies with early VLCADD usually die young.



Childhood VLCADD

About one third of people with VLCADD have the childhood type. They usually show symptoms in late infancy or early childhood. Episodes of hypoglycemia or full metabolic crisis happen during illness or after long periods of not eating. Other effects can include:



•enlarged liver

•other liver problems

•muscle weakness, especially after exercise

Heart problems are usually not seen in childhood VLCADD.



Some children with VLCADD have never had symptoms and are only found to be affected after a brother or sister has been diagnosed.



Adult VLCADD

About one fifth of people with VLCADD have the adult type. They usually show symptoms starting in the teen years or in adulthood. Periods of muscle weakness are common. Breakdown of muscle fibers can occur. This usually happens during heavy exercise or after going without food for a long period of time.

Signs of muscle breakdown are:



•muscle aches

•weakness

•cramps

•reddish-brown color to the urine.

Adults with muscle symptoms who do not get treatment can develop kidney failure.



People with the adult form of VLCADD usually do not have heart problems, hypoglycemia or metabolic crises.



What is the treatment for VLCADD?

Your baby's primary doctor will work with a metabolic doctor to care for your child. Your doctor may also suggest that you meet with a dietician familiar with VLCADD.



Certain treatments may be advised for some children but not others. When necessary, treatment is usually needed throughout life. The following are treatments often recommended for children with VLCADD:



1. Avoid going a long time without food

Infants and young children with VLCADD need to eat frequently to prevent a metabolic crisis. Your metabolic doctor will tell you how often your child needs to be fed. In general, it is often suggested that infants be fed every four to six hours. Some babies need to eat even more frequently than this. It is important that infants be fed during the night. They may need to be woken up to eat if they do not wake up on their own. Your metabolic doctor and dietician will give you an appropriate feeding plan for your infant. Your doctor will also give you a ‘sick day’ plan tailored to your child’s needs for you to follow during illnesses or other times when your child will not eat.



Your metabolic doctor will continue to advise you on how often your child should eat as he or she gets older. When they are well, many teens and adults with VLCADD can go without food for up to 12 hours without problems. The other treatments usually need to be continued throughout life.



2. Diet

Sometimes a low fat, high carbohydrate diet is recommended. food plan is recommended. Carbohydrates give the body may types of sugar that can be used as energy. In fact, for children needing this treatment, most food in the diet should be carbohydrates (bread, pasta, fruit, etc.) and protein (lean meat and low-fat dairy foods). Any diet changes should be made under the guidance of an experienced dietician.



People with VLCADD cannot use certain building blocks of fat called “long chain fatty acids”. Your dietician can help create a food plan low in these fats. Much of the rest of fat in the diet may be in the form of medium chain fatty acids.



Ask your doctor whether your child needs to have any changes in his or her diet.



3. MCT oil and L-carnitine

Medium Chain Triglyceride oil (MCT oil) is often used as part of the food plan for people with VLCADD. This special oil has medium chain fatty acids that can be used in small amounts for energy. Your metabolic doctor or dietician can guide you in how to use this supplement. You will need to get a prescription from your doctor to get MCT oil.



Some children may be helped by taking L-carnitine. This is a safe and natural substance that helps the body make energy. It also helps the body get rid of harmful wastes. Your doctor will decide whether your child needs L-carnitine. Unless you are advised otherwise, use only L-carnitine prescribed by your doctor.

Do not use any medication or supplement without checking with your doctor.



4. Call your doctor at the start of any illness

Always call your health care provider when your child has any of the following:



•poor appetite

•low energy or excessive sleepiness

•vomiting

•diarrhea

•an infection

•a fever

•persistent muscle pain, weakness, or reddish-brown color to the urine

Children with VLCADD need to eat extra starchy food and drink more fluids during any illness - even if they may not feel hungry – or they could develop hypoglycemia or a metabolic crisis. When they become sick, children with VLCADD often need to be treated in the hospital to prevent serious health problems.



Ask your metabolic doctor if you should carry a special travel letter with medical instructions for your child’s care.



5. Avoid prolonged exercise or exertion.

Long periods of exercise can also trigger symptoms. Problems occurring during or after exercise can include:



•muscle aches

•weakness

•cramps

•reddish-brown color to the urine.

If muscle symptoms happen, prompt treatment is needed to prevent kidney damage. Children and adults with muscle symptoms should:



•drink fluids right away

•eat something starchy or sugary

•get to a hospital for treatment

To help prevent muscle symptoms:



•avoid prolonged or heavy exercise

•keep the body warm

•eat carbohydrates before and during periods of moderate exercise

What happens when VLCADD is treated?

With prompt and careful treatment, people with the childhood and adult forms of VLCADD can often live healthy lives with typical growth and development. Before diagnosis through newborn screening was available, the early form of VLCADD was fatal. Now, with immediate and ongoing treatment, many infants with VLCADD are surviving.





What causes the VLCAD enzyme to be absent or not working correctly?

Genes tell the body to make various enzymes. People with VLCADD have a pair of genes that do not work correctly. Because of the changes in this pair of genes, the VLCAD enzyme either does not work properly or is not made at all.



How is VLCADD inherited?

VLCADD is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. It affects both boys and girls equally.



Everyone has a pair of genes that make the VLCAD enzyme. In children with VLCADD, neither of these genes works correctly. These children inherit one non-working gene for the condition from each parent.



Parents of children with VLCADD are rarely affected with the disorder. Instead, each parent has a single non-working gene for VLCADD. They are called carriers. Carriers do not have VLCADD because the other gene of this pair is working correctly.

When both parents are carriers, there is a 25% chance in each pregnancy for the child to have VLCADD. There is a 50% chance for the child to be a carrier, just like the parents. And, there is a 25% chance for the child to have two working genes.





Genetic counseling is available to families who have children with VLCADD. Genetic counselors can answer your questions about how VLCADD is inherited, options during future pregnancies, and how to test other family members. Ask your doctor about a referral to a genetic counselor.



Is there genetic testing available?

Genetic testing for VLCADD can be done on a blood sample. Genetic testing, also called DNA testing, looks for changes in the pair of genes that causes VLCADD. Talk with your metabolic doctor or genetic counselor about whether DNA testing for VLCADD would be helpful to you.



DNA testing is usually not necessary to diagnose your child. It can be helpful for carrier testing or prenatal diagnosis, discussed below.



What other testing is available?

VLCADD can be confirmed by a special test called a "fatty acid oxidation probe"using a skin sample. Talk to your doctor or genetic counselor if you have questions about testing for VLCADD.



Can you test during pregnancy?

Yes, it is possible to test for VLCADD during pregnancy. The sample needed for this test is obtained by either CVS or amniocentesis.



Parents may either choose to have testing during pregnancy or wait until birth to have the baby tested. A genetic counselor can talk to you about your choices and answer other questions you may have about prenatal testing or testing your baby after birth.



Can other members of the family have VLCADD or be carriers?

Having VLCADD

The brothers and sisters of a baby with VLCADD have a chance of being affected, even if they haven’t had symptoms. Finding out whether other children in the family have VLCADD is important because early treatment may prevent serious health problems. Talk to your doctor or genetic counselor about testing your other children for VLCADD.



VLCADD Carriers

Brothers and sisters who do not have VLCADD still have a chance to be carriers like their parents. Except in special cases, carrier testing should only be done in people over 18 years of age.



Each of the parents’ brothers and sisters has a 50% chance to be a VLCADD carrier. It is important for other family members to be told that they could be carriers. There is a small chance they are also at risk to have children with VLCADD.



Some states do not provide newborn screening for VLCADD. However, expanded newborn screening through private labs is available for babies born in states that do not screen for this condition. To learn more about expanded newborn screening, see How to obtain MS/MS.

When both parents are carriers, newborn screening results are not sufficient to rule out VLCADD in a newborn baby. In this case, special diagnostic testing should be done in addition to newborn screening.



During pregnancy, women carrying fetuses with VLCADD may be at increased risk to develop serious medical problems. A small number of women are known to have developed:



•excessive vomiting

•abdominal pain

•high blood pressure

•jaundice

•abnormal fat storage in the liver

•severe bleeding

All women with a family history of VLCADD should share this information with their obstetricians and other health care providers before and during any future pregnancies. Knowing about these risks allows early treatment.



Can other family members be tested?

Diagnostic testing

Brothers and sisters of a child with VLCADD can have special testing to check for this disorder. Ask you metabolic doctor whether your other children should be tested for VLCADD.



Carrier testing

Carrier testing may be available to other family members. Your metabolic doctor or genetic counselor can advise you about carrier testing. .



How many people have VLCADD?

VLCADD is thought to be a rare disorder. The actual incidence is unknown.



Does VLCADD happen more frequently in a certain ethnic group?

No, VLCADD does not happen more often in any specific race, ethnic group, geographical area or country.


Does VLCADD go by any other names?

VLCADD is sometimes also called:


•VLCAD deficiency

•ACADVL deficiency
 
Source: http://www.newbornscreening.info/Parents/fattyaciddisorders/VLCADD.html

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by our new blog! I have set up this blog as part of a foundation I am starting called Landon's Place. I hope to provide information on VLCAD (Very Long Chain Acyl Dehydrogenaise Disorder) and other Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders, show that it is possible for children and families who have children with these disorders can live normal lives through my son, Landon and his adventures. I am also aiming to raise awareness of these disorders so other families will not be blind sided with the diagnosis like we were. My goal is for this foundation to be nationally recognized and well known, so there is awareness and knowledge of FAO disorders among everyone. I want to help fund research, provide scholarships for students to go into the Metabolic Genetics field, and for doctor every where to have knowledge and understanding of FAO (Fatty Acid Oxidation) Disorders. I also want every state to include FAO disorders in their newborn screenings...It could save so many lives and increase the quality lives in many others. I hope you will join in our cause and help make our foundation and our goals a success. I promise this blog will not be all medical information...it will hopefully also include stories about Landon and other children who are living with this disorder daily and show their successes, joys in their daily lives, and adventures along the way. If you are a family with a child who has VLCAD or any FAO please contact me so I can share your story.

Dallas Arboretum

My mom and I took Landon to visit "Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum." We decided to go on a whim, since we were already here and it was a relatively nice day outside. We had a blast walking around and looking at all of the flowers and fall decorations. Landon also really enjoyed playing in the pumpkin patch! I am really glad we were able to go, and Landon came out with a super neat Bib that has the State flag of Texas on it! I just couldn't resist getting it for him, since after all his mom is a Texan!

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Arboretum!

Landon playing in the pumpkins at the Pumpkin patch!

Landon and Mommy with a Landon sized Pumpkin!

Landon and Mommy in standing in the Pumpkin House.

One of my favorites, he looks like being in the Pumpkin Patch is serious business.

I Love that he is smiling and so happy to be playing in the pumpkins!

Thanks Grandma!

My mom came to visit us here in Arizona, and while she was here she taught landon how to stick his tongue out (kinda) and spit. So what is Landon's new favorite thing to do...yeup that's right, spit, it's really cute until he does it in your face, or in when you are riding the bus at the Grand Canyon and he is spitting at everyone around you. Thankfully they all thought it was cute too.

Other than spitting we are doing well. We tried a new formula out that had a corn carbohydrate in it, not corn syrup but something different. Well Landon now has a rash all over his chest, upper arms, upper legs, and his neck. So I am going to take him to the Pedi tomorrow just to make sure it is only an allergy rash and not something more. This rash looks different than the original allergy rash that we had way back when.

Unfortunately Landon and I will be heading back to Dallas in the next week or so. My Aunt (dad's sister) is quickly losing her battle with rheumatiod arthritis. She is in Renal Failure and will fall asleep, go into a coma, and that will be it. I am really sad about it, and really wish she would have been able to meet Landon, but he wasn't allowed to visit her in the hospital due to his disorder and she wasn't released to hospice at home until after we had already left town. Please put her and our entire family in your prayers. Also please pray for safe travel for Landon and I flying to Dallas and then the majority of our family driving to and fromt he services when the do occur.

Still Kickin'

We are still here, just been very very busy. I promise to be a better blogger from now on. Our lives have just turned a little bit hectic. I can tell you that we are super excited that it is basically fall! It is my favorite time of the year! Both mine and Scott's birthday's are in the fall (his is next week and mine is 7 days later), and our 2nd Anniversary was on the 8th! We didn't do anything extravagant we just went out to dinner at P.F. Changs...my favorite. Scott got me gorgeous diamon studs, and I got him a Chicago bears grill cover!! So all were happy, and Landon had a great time playing with the chop sticks at dinner!

That's about all we have going on. More to come soon I promise.

New Accomplishments

Landon has has a lot of new accomplishments in the developmental world since we last blogged! So I will list them out so it's easier to read!

• Landon is now crawling very fast and is all over the place
• He loves to pull up on everything!
• He has figured outt aht he can use your pant legs to pull himself up and be standing while holding on to them, just like you!
• He is starting to stand only holding on with 1 arm
• He will occasionally let go with both hands for a few minutes.
• He has learned to click his tongue! He will even click it back at you if you click yours.
• He can make semi-raspberry noises. They aren't very loud, and it takes a few tries, but he can definately do it.
• He is in to everything. He loves to explore and see everything.
• He is very alert and very clever when it comes to getting to or getting what he wants from everyone.
• He is really babbling now. He says: "bababa, gagaga, dadadada, mamama,"
• He loves to blow bubbles with his mouth.

I cannot believe my little guy has learned so much and is so active and happy all of the time. He is constantly changing and learning new things so fast!

7 Months Old!

Landon is 7 months old today...and do you know what that means? We can now sleep for 7 hours straight at night between feedings, woohoo! He is doing so well and I cannot believe he will be 1 in 5 months...someone please help me figure out how to slow down the time!

What Landon is doing:

• Crawling on all 4's!
• Pulling himself up and standing while holding on to the couch or something sturdy
• Starting to eat finger foods. Such as the Gerber Stars, Yogurt melts, and the baby cheetos!
• He eats 3 meals a day of baby food and loves everything, but one thing he has tried!
• He has 1 tooth that is almost fully in and the 2nd bottom tooth is well on it's way.
• He still nurses 1 feeding a day
• Reaches out to go to have someone hold him. He does this now if say Scott is holding him and he wants me to h old him he reaches out and leans in my direction...super cute!
• Not a big fan of strangers unless one of us is holding him and then he will flirt.
• Loves to chase the dogs around!
• Loves to play with shoes.
• Can hold his bottle all by himself.
• He goes "uh, uh, uh" while bouncing up and down if you have a bottle or food and he wants it.
• We are working on baby signs such as "more", "milk", and we may add a few more here shortly.
• He loves to play on the floor, with all of his toys and even goes for the dog toys so we have to be careful!
• He loves to pull things off of the counter or book shelf if he can reach them!
• We are working on going to sleep and self soothing. It's really hard for me b/c I love cuddling him until he falls asleep, but I can't be doing that when he is 10! It's a slow process, but we will get there eventually.

I will post a picture of him tomorrow. I do not have our regular camera handy so I am having to take pictures with our new video camera, and I haven't loaded the software onto my new computer yet. I promise to get to it tomorrow. i need to take his 7 month picture tonight too!

Couch Surfer

Well our little man is just punding out those milestones and REALLY early too! The day AFTER he started crawling..so Monday...I was sitting on the couch while Landon was playing on the floor and the little guy crawls over to the couch and then uses the blanket that's hanging on the couch to pull himself up. So I look down to see him staring over the couch at me like "look what I can do mom! Isn't this cool?" It was amazing, so now he is always pulling himself up on the couch. He tried to do it on the fireplace the other day, but will the foam padding we put on it he can't get enough of a grip to pull up. The other day he pulled up on the couch and then bit me on the toe! So yes that tooth is still coming through, and man is it sharp..that love bite hurt.

We have a crawler w/ a tooth!

Landon has been making huge leaps in bounds lately. On August 8th his first tooth (one little spike) broke through on the bottom right side! And then today on August 9th, Landon crawled on his hands and knees for the first time! He took off towards a car that was on display at the mall today when we were hanging out and let him play on the floor in one of the areas with couches to lounge on. It was amazing to watch him just get up and crawl...he went 4 paces! I am so excited I cannot believe that my 6.5 month old is crawling already. Landon is also already trying to pull himself up on things, he tries to stand but doesn't quite have the balance to do so yet, but he is working hard on it everyday! It's been a super weekend at our house and we couldn't be more excited or proud of our little man :o) His 2nd bottom tooth is just about to break through. I am hoping to catch him crawling on the video camera this week and I will post the vidoe when I get it. I will also try and get a pictureof him with his tooth. He is very shy about letting me see them so I will do my bestest.

Sorry

I know I have been a bad blogger lately, but I have been super busy and sick. I had mastitis and let me tell you it HURTS. It was one of the most painful things I have ever experienced in my life. I am still on these super high powered anti-biotics for it, and I cannot nurse Landon until 4 days after I finish them..they are that strong!

Landon is so big now he reaches for and grabs everything he might possibly be able to get ahold of. You really have to keep a good eye on him! He has also started army crawling every where so he is officially mobil now...time to baby proof the house! he can also push himself up from laying down into a sitting up position and stay sitting up! And we have been teething in our house...any day now and his bottom two teeth are going to pop through. He has been really fussy and clingy especially at night. We have been usuing the Hyland's teething tablets and I love them. They are all natural , but they take the pain away and he sleeps so much better. I just refuse to load him up on tylenol because he's teething. he has had some days where he has a slight fever from the teething and I have to give him some tylenol then, but that's the only time he gets it.

Other than that we are just enjoying our summer. I am taking a break from school and reevaluating what it is I want to do with my life. I would really love to work 3 days a week and stay home the other 2 days once Landon is cleared to go to daycare. I really want to be able to go up to his school and have lunch with him on a regular basis, and play with him, and be a room mom etc once he gets to school age. Hopefully I can find a PRN or PT Speech job in Arizona. We will see though.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We will be in Dallas visiting family and friends!

6 months pics!

Landon turned 6 months old on Sunday and we had pictures taken. He took some adorable pictures, and my friend Holly and her baby Jenna came with us, and we had a blast! Landon is now eating solid foods and Loves Bananas, Apples, Squash, and many other things he has tried. We love trying new things and seeing how he reacts to them.

Landon, Me, Holly, and Jenna! Holly was my college room mate and Jenna is about 6 weeks older than Landon!

Landon and Jenna! They had so much fun grabbing at each other and playing with each other.

Landon and Mommy!

Landon in his Payne Stewart outfit. I love his smile.

My super cute little boy, I love his outfit!

San Diego

We went on Vacation to San Diego over the weekend! We had a blast and really enjoyed ourselves. We went to the Zoo, The beach, The USS Midway, and a few other places around town. Here are a few pictures. Sorry there are quite a few I just couldn't decided which ones to show you. We decided on the drive home that we want to go back soon and hit the spots we missed! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, it couldn't have been a more perfect weekend.

Zach, Landon, and I eating dinner on the bay!

Look Zach can fit in a torpedo tube! This was taken on a Russian Submarine that they had set up as a museum. Only Scott and Zach went in this submarine, the American one was tight enough for me.

Scott and Landon taking a break in the shade from touring the USS Midway.

Landon and I in one of the door ways on the USS Midway. It was alot of fun to tour the Aircraft Carrier, it was huge especially when carrying a 17 lb baby on your front :o)

Scott, Zach, Landon, and I sitting at RT's Longboard Grill on Pacific Beach. We came here to get t-shirts b/c as most of you know we are HUGE Deadliest Catch fans, and this is where they filled this year's "After the Catch."

Zach at the beach for the first time!

Landon in the Ocean for the first time! The water was 69 degrees so this was as far in as we went.

Zach "driving" the submarine.

Scott, Zach, Me, and a sleeping Landon at the San Diego Zoo. Do you see the Panda bear in the background?

Scott and Zach petting a giraffe, with Tristen our guide. We went on a behind the scenes tour and got to pet and get up close with lots of different animals..it was a blast.

Zach feeding the Giraffe, Silver. It doesn't look like it, but they tug hard when they take leaves off of the branch!

Landon and I taking a break at the San Diego Zoo. He was being super cuddly :o)

Landon, Zach, and I at the San Diego Zoo! Landon wasn't so fond of the hat, though it kept falling into his eyes.

Mommy and Baby Koala.

Panda Bear. I have now seen Panda Bears in both locations in the U.S. San Diego and the National Zoo in D.C. The boys saw their first Panda's here in San Diego!

Mommy and Baby Gorilla! The baby is sleeping in Landon's favorite sleeping position!

Landon playing on the Gorilla statue! See how well he is sitting up now!

Zach, Landon, and I in front of the USS Midway.

The view from our hotel balcony!