San Diego

At the beginning of August the Batliner crew headed to San Diego for a family vacation. Everyone was able to go and we had so much fun. I cannot believe how good Landon was, he slept in his pack and play and adjusted to the time change very well. Our days were packed with lots of fun time with family and great food. On Saturday when we got there we checked into our resort and Stephen and Landon took a nap while the rest of us headed to the pool for a few hours before dinner.


Sunday we drove to Coronado Island and walked around the hotel and spent the afternoon at the beach. This was Landon's first visit to the beach. He loved it and thought is was fun to eat the sand. He also loved to just feel the sand in his hands.

Then on Monday we went to Legoland. My niece Alexis has wanted to go to Legoland for the last few years and we all had a great time. There were not many rides Landon was big enough to ride but he still had tons of fun watching everyone and cruising around in his stroller. He did get to ride the train with mommy and he thought that was pretty cool.

Tuesday we had another fun filled day spent at Sea World. Stephen and I are huge animal lovers and it seems we have passed that on to Landon. This is definitely a place we will take him again. He loved all the animals and his favorite was the whale show, Baba bought him a Shamu to remember his trip. It is amazing to me how good a 9 month old can be at an amusement park all day. He took two sort naps and smiled and laughed all day.

Wednesday we rested and hung around the resort at the pool before going out to a very nice dinner. Thursday we drove up the beautiful cost of California, stopping at Laguna for lunch and Malibu for dinner. My Aunt Monica lives in California and she met us for dinner in Malibu and it was great to see her and get a chance to catch up. The drive back from Malibu was a little quite with most everyone sleeping.

Friday was the day we headed home so we sleep in, packed up and had a nice lunch before heading to the airport. I cannot express how blessed my family is, the fact that we can get 19 people on vacation at the same time is amazing. But the true blessing is that we have so much fun together and it truly is something I look forward to all year. It was so great to spend time with Jason, Jenny and Charlie and it made me realize how much I miss them and wish Charlie and Landon could grow up together. Charlie and Landon are the closest in age of the grandkids and it just makes me so sad to think they won’t get to grow together. I had such a close relationship to my cousin Michelle growing up and I want so badly for Landon to have that same type of relationship. Hopefully they will develop a great relationship when they see each other and grow closer every year.

I want to thank my mom and dad for making our trip possible; we cannot express how much we appreciate making these memories. We had such a good time and we LOVE you!

Here are some pictures to enjoy!

Lunch at the resort

Landon with Baba and Papa at Hotel de Coronado

Papa and Landon at lunch

I sure like the sand Papa

Landon and Charlie ready for Legoland

All the Grandkids at Legoland

Cute Cousins

I'm so big!

Ready for some food

Hurry up...where is my food?

I love Shamu

Watching the whale show

fun times at the pool

lunch in Laguna Beach

Landon and Alexis at dinner in Malibu

Are you sure we have to go home?

Landon's First Haircut

In July I took Landon to get his first haircut.  We went to Sugar and Spice kids' salon in Overland Park Kansas and it was so neat.  Landon was able to sit in a car and watch Dora while he got his haircut.  He loved his stylist and actually sat very still for her.  It is obviously a very kid friendly place and it was perfect for his first haircut. With his new haircut he really does look like a little boy instead of a baby.  Here are before...during...and after pictures. 

sitting in his car getting ready for a trim

Look at my car

What is this lady doing to me?

I guess it's not so bad

How do I look?

I got a STICKER!

Watch me Grow

I just wanted to post a few more pictures from our fun summer.  We have been so busy enjoying the lake, pool, spending time with family and friends and so much more.  Landon has grown so much and does new tings everyday.  He is eating real food, can feed himself, crawls all over the place, still loves people and faces, smiles and laughs all the time and is overall such a happy boy.  I can not express how much I love everything about him.  I hope you enjoy the pictures below and can see how much he is growing and changing.

Also Landon had his 9 month appointment and is growing great.  At 9 months he was 28 3/4 inches (55-65%) and weighed in at 19 Lbs 7 Oz (30-35%).  He is still nursing 4 times a day and eating food three times a day.  He goes to bed around 8-8:30 and sleeps trough until 8 or 8:30 in the morning and still takes two 2 hour naps.  I could not ask for a happier baby that sleeps and eats great.  We are so lucky!

Landon realized he could roll over in his sleep.  He loves his belly!

Landon loves taking a bath and now it has become more about playing than anything else.

He gets a little messy when daddy feeds him!

Just relaxing in the lake!

Taking a little rest in the pool

Such a little ham

Where's Landon

4th of July

For the 4th of July we headed back to the lake for more summer fun. We spent both Saturday and Sunday on the boat and we watched fireworks from the deck and even had time to do a little shopping on Monday. Landon's highlight of the weekend might have been when we were trying to take his picture with the flag cake I made and he stuck his hand in it and decided he LOVED cake. I have a few pictures of the weekend below.

Where does the time go?

I am amazed by other people every day. How do they get so much done? I feel like I am constantly busy yet I do not have time for so many things. It has been over 2 months since my last post and while I would love to say that I will do better, I am sure it will be weeks before I find the time to post again. I hope this is not the case and that I can find time to do more things but all I want to do it enjoy all my time with Landon. He is so much fun and I am amazed every day that I watch him learn new things and grow. This summer has been filled with going to the lake, swilling in the pool, walks, playing outside, ice cream, and so much more.


So I guess I will start where I left of and try to catch everyone up on our summer activities.

After Landon and I returned from Virginia we spent a little time at home before heading to the lake for Father's Day. We spent Saturday on the boat with my family and Landon loved swimming in the lake and playing in his baby pool. He as such a trouper on the boat and even took a nap in his raft. I don’t think you can find a more laid back little boy. Saturday night we had a great Father's Day dinner and made smores around the camp fire. Stephen got to go fishing in the early hours of Father's Day and then spend the afternoon with Landon and me. It could not have been a better weekend or first Father's Day for Stephen. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing husband that truly loves Landon more than anything. He is such a great dad and I love watching him play and spend time with his boy. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Virginia

The first weekend in June Landon and I went to Richmond Virginia to visit my very good friend Sam. I as nervous about flying with him alone but he was perfect. He was a great traveler and adapted to all the changes great. We left on Friday and once we got there we headed back to Sam’s apartment for dinner and to relax a little. Landon was a little out of sorts that night and would not fall asleep until 11. The crying and fighting sleep made me a little worried for the rest of the weekend to come. But to my pleasant surprise he woke up Saturday morning around 830 in a great mood.

Saturday we were going to go to this park that has a small petting zoo but it was so hot that we decide indoor activities might be better. We ate a great lunch and then headed to the art museum. Landon was very good, he actually liked looking at some of the paintings and sculptures and he took a great nap in his stroller. Saturday night we went out to dinner with some of Sam’s friends and had a great time.

Then Landon slept in until 9 on Sunday, after which we went shopping downtown, out for sushi and then swimming at the pool. It was a great day followed by an enjoyable evening at Sam’s mom and dads house for pasta primavera and homemade cake.

Landon and I flew home on Monday and he slept on both flights. It was such a great relaxing weekend and I wish we could visit my friend Sam more often.

Here are a few pictures from our fun little trip!

Playing at Sam's appartment

napping at the art museum

Sam and Landon at the museum

Sam and Ashley at dinner

Lets go swimming!

Yeah I like to swim

Sam and Landon relaxing at the pool

Dinner at Sam's parents house

Landon really wants to get Leilani

May!

Well May was a busy month. It started with Travis and Natalie's wedding on the first. It was such a great day with beautiful weather. Landon could not have been better, even partied with everyone until 1 am. He never cried and he stayed awake until the DJ turned off the music. I do not have many pictures from the big day but here are a few.

Natalie and Ashley

Then as soon as the wedding was wrapped up the family began to plan for our annual Luau.  This is a huge party with more than 400 people that we have every Memorial day weekend.  Last year at the Luau I was pregnant with Landon, and it was so much fun this year to show him off to everyone.  The weather was hot but good and everyone had a great time.

Landon at the Luau

Then on Memorial Day we had a relaxing day at my moms pool.  Landon was able to swim in Baba and Papa's pool for the first time and loved every minute of it.