Landon Jr.

Landon and I went to my ultrasound yesterday and found out that we're having a boy! We were really surprised - we were both guessing it was a girl. We're so excited and glad to be finally able to call the baby 'he' instead of he/she/it. The ultrasound was about 45 minutes long. They identified and measured many body parts. Everything was there and looked great. I was especially happy to see and count arms, legs, fingers, and toes. He weighs 9 ounces and is probably around 6 inches (crown to rump). We saw him opening his little lips to drink the amniotic fluid. We also saw him sucking his thumb with his jaw going up and down. It was so cute! He's measuring in age what we expected, so May 14th is still the due date. Our doctor said we should really expect a range since only 5% of babies are born on their due dates. That range is two weeks before to two weeks after. So he'll definitely be born sometime in May! The picture is a profile shot of his head on the right, and belly on the left.

O Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree

On Tuesday, we got a real pine tree from the tree farm in the Wal-mart parking lot. We thought that last year we had an 8-9 foot tree, so we got a 9 foot tree. But this must have been measured incorrectly because it is huge! It almost didn't fit on top of the car! Landon had to stand on a chair on the table just to put the star on top! (Unless, Landon's just a Hobbit) And because the branches continued to drop, the tree seemed to be growing each time we looked at it. It's fun to have such a big tree! I wonder how we'll get it out the door after Christmas...

Wild Rumpus

The same day we went to the Science Museum, we also stopped at Wild Rumpus - a cute little children's bookstore in the Cities that has animals running around. I remember the first time I went there was with the Larsons and Nanny Ocel and I was probably 10-12 years old. This time, besides the usual animals (cats, hamsters, fish, spiders, birds, rats, etc) they had a new member - a chicken. I think her name was Lucy. She was free to roam around the store and was constantly on the move. I think she learned she had to, because the little kids loved trying to catch and pick her up.

'Bubble Head'

I haven't posted for quite a while, so I'm going to back post. A few months ago, Landon and I went to the Science Museum. I always love going there. I feel like a little kid again. So much to see and learn. They had real human organs and one of them was a brain. I was surprised how small the brain was - I always imagined it to be bigger. Landon said that was the real size and probably the equivalent to my brain. That sounds funny, but he really was serious. However, I tease myself about having a small head because I have to buy youth hats - so Landon nicknamed my head "Bubble Head"- like a bubble on the end of a straw (my neck) :) So I just had to get a picture of me with 'My Size Brain'.

Baby Heart Beat

Today was my 12 week appointment. Since Landon wasn't able to make it, I brought my camera to record a sound clip of the baby's heart beat. This is the first time I heard it. It sounded exactly like I expected it to sound (from watching TLC's 'A Baby Story'). It's always reassuring to see or hear the baby. The check up went well. I've gained back the few pounds I lost and am 1 pound heavier than my baseline weight. Hopefully in 2 more weeks, the nausea will be completely gone. My next appointment is in 4 weeks.

Baby Trost

Today we got to see our baby for the first time! It was so cool to see that there is REALLY a baby inside of me :) At one point, the baby flailed its arms and legs and we could see its heart beating . It measures a little longer than one inch from crown to rump. The ultrasound also estimated that it's 9 weeks 6 days a long, which is exactly on schedule. I'm glad the baby seems to be growing just fine, even though I'm not eating very much. The due date is May 14th - Rob and Marla's Anniversary - though I'm sure it won't come on that exact day so Rob and Marla can probably keep that day for themselves :) On both pictures, the head is towards the center of the picture.

'Bun in the Oven'

Hi Everyone! It's been a long time since we last updated. I don't have any new pictures to post, so I thought I'd use this Halloween costume I found online. In a few days, I'll be 8 weeks along. I had my first nurse's appointment last week and my first doctor's appointment is October 15th. Nausea has hit now, and smells are more powerful than ever. I get tired and dizzy often, but I'm sure it could be worse. I just have to keep eating every 2-3 hours. It gets better at night. In the morning I just drink orange juice and crunch on dry cereal. The grossest thing to see in the morning is leftovers in the refrigerator- like taco meat. :(

Epcot Movie

Yes! We're pregnant! We can't believe it - it doesn't feel real to us. I don't physically feel any different and since my belly isn't popping out yet, sometimes I forget I'm pregnant. I feel like I'm pretending when I tell people, even though I know it's true. I guess it's going to take some time to register. It feels so weird to talk with Landon about "When the baby..." Baby?! It feels like we're playing house. Anyway, I'm about 4 weeks and the estimated due date is May 13th. There's not much more to say, I guess I just need to lose track of time and let the next 8 months fly by. So I decided it was time to post my Epcot movie. This movie is from two different trips: our honeymoon and last May, so you'll notice our clothing varies a lot. Hope you enjoy it!

Minnehaha Falls

A few weeks ago, after we went to the State Fair, we stopped at Minnehaha Falls. A while ago I was looking up "top things to do in Minnesota" and this was one of the things that popped up. It's part of a beautiful park and it's always so relaxing/ soothing to be near a waterfall.

First Video

Well, here it is. My very first uploaded video. Thanks Bri for teaching me how to do it. Now sit back, relax, get some popcorn, and enjoy..... "Landon's Life as a Resident" (Which Landon is actually not even in - it's me filming myself as if I were the eyes of Landon.) I know it's a little jumpy - I'm having a hard time getting it rendered under 100 MB, so this is only 7MB...

State Fair

Whew! I have a lot to post, but I don't want to post it all today or I'll have nothing to post these next few days. I'll start with the State Fair. Landon and I met up with Mom, Dad, Bri, and Kev to go to the State Fair last Saturday. The weather was beautiful and the fair was packed! But we got to meet up with Andrea, Brett, and Justin for a little while, which was really nice. We haven't seen them for a long time. Too long. Well, we did the usual state fair things: walk, look, eat - repeated over and over. A few of my favorite pictures include the boys flexing. They had just completed pull-ups at the Marine Corp booth. Check out their cool prizes!

Our new baby

It's a girl! We named her Kawai. She was delivered on Monday, August 20th at 10:20 AM. She weighs 441 lbs and is 44.88 inches tall (ouch! Tell me about it). Her coloring is Ebony Polish (Hmmm... is Landon the father?). She's a genius for being only 6 days old. She can already play Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Beethoven, and Debussy. And she has a sweet spirit, too. She plays 'O Divine Redeemer' and all the hymns. Not to brag or anything, I'm just a proud parent.

The rains came down and the floods came up

Yesterday it rained ALL day. It continued to rain all night, too. I woke up in the middle of the night because of all the lightning. I checked the basement - dry as a reed. But this morning, I looked out my window. "Oh Man!" Mud from the lot next to me, is winding its way into my lawn. I'm glad, at least, that my house doesn't seem to have any problems, but this lawn thing is driving me crazy. I don't know when a good time is to clean it up. The forecast says rain until Friday. Oh well. First my corn, and now this ;)

My Mini Harvest

This is the first time I've tried a container garden. Next year, I'll be making a real garden outside, because look at my produce! Everything was miniature. The corn plant grew about four feet tall and the corn was a cross between a real cob and one that you put in a stir fry. I don't think I picked them too soon, either, because I grew them in April/ May and harvested them in August. The carrots were only one edible inch. By the way, I boiled the corn and ate it. It tasted just like corn! All two bites. Good thing this didn't have to be my food storage this year.

Landy Scissorhands

Lately I've been feeling a little lame, like I don't have anything cool to post since I don't have any pets or kids. But this morning, Landon has the day off and is practicing some suture tying. Things like this are so normal to me, but I forget that not everybody ties sutures - especially as part of their Saturday mornings :) When Melissa and Natalie came over the other day, Melissa said after seeing all the scissors and clamps laid out on the nightstand, "You guys definitely don't have kids."

The Memories

As all the cool people are buying iPhones, I'm thinking about selling my iBook. I just don't use it anymore since we have a desktop. But I was thinking about its history and I started getting a little sentimental. I got this computer September 2003. Bri helped me set it up (I have to stop here and mention that I owned an iBook even before Bri and Rob! But I was soon overshadowed) This was my college computer - I wrote papers on infant, child, adolescent, and geriatric development. I wrote about marriage and family relationships, conflicts, and communication. I discussed topics such as, "How does having children affect marital happiness?" and "How does having friends affect self-esteem?". Besides writing papers for marriage prep class, this computer was part of my personal marriage prep. Through this computer, years ago, Landon and I began our courtship. Long emails turned into even longer phone calls and my computer turned into my journal. This computer had pictures from Tiffany's Wedding, Andrea's Wedding, Rob & Marla's Wedding (Nauvoo and out East), and my wedding. I had pictures from Disneyland, Las Vegas, the State Fair, New Orleans, and Houston. This computer was my DVD player on airplanes, my music in my room, and my link to family websites. It kept track of my finances and my goals. Hmmm, can I really give it up?
"YES!" I'll take a picture to save the memory and then get rid of it, to save some space. The income will pay for decorating our home and the desktop will store all the great exciting things ahead like future pictures of our children (will their eyes be blue or hazel?). Thank you Clean Sweep.

Neighbor Update

It's crazy how quickly they can build a home! I haven't seen the construction workers for more than a few hours in the last two weeks and it's already looking like this:

Construction Time

I woke up this morning and was surprised to find that they were starting to build a home on the lot right next to our house. They also started on an empty lot across the street from us only a few days ago. I've never been able to see a house constructed, so it's exciting for me. Good thing I'm waking up early now, because he started at 6:50 AM and the beeping on the excavator could really wake up a person in a grumpy mood :)

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday Mom and Dad came into town for a visit. The visit had been planned earlier that morning, and initially Landon and I weren't going to do anything special, but Landon thought it would be fun to have a little BBQ with them. Landon became a Grillmaster and cooked some great cheeseburgers. Earlier that morning, I had seen a video on MarthaStewart.com of 4th of July Cupcakes with sparklers in them. I was so excited I had to try them - and they were awesome!! Though, later we saw specks of metal on our cupcakes. We hadn't noticed them at first because of all the colored sugar on top. However, Mom had made a special cup cake, with blue sugar on one side, red sugar on the other, and white frosting in the middle ("It looks like a French flag," she said) and the metal specks showed on the white frosting. We were grossed out - we had already eaten about 2 each. But it didn't stop Dad, who downed another one, saying he thought the metals would clean out his arteries. :) The sparklers were fun to see, but I don't think it's a good idea for the future. Thanks for the cancer, Martha.

Landon thought it would never happen....

My "stick" as it is affectionately called, was purchased in Epcot in early May. It came as a stick - looking merely like a sling shot, with no leaves. The woman claimed it would become a beautiful Plumeria and I was willing to give it a try. But the hope of future blossoms slowly grew dim as the weeks passed and I didn't get around to planting it. Four weeks later, I stuck it 3 inches deep in cactus/ succulent soil and provided light and heat. With occasional misting, lots of eager anticipation, and 2 months later, look at it!! Landon gave up on it and has been so surprised. He thought it would end up looking like the dead branch I posted. But its future is to become a beautiful pink and yellow hybrid. Only time will tell!

Our Home Sweet Home

We are so excited to be moved into our new home!! We couldn't be happier! But who knew a home could be so much work! From putting in a mailbox to watering the lawn and the countless things in between, it feels like the home owns a big part of our lives! But we're still happy as can be - and for me, it's my first time living in a 'real' neighborhood! :)

More Pictures

How do you like my little garden? I'm growing corn, pumpkin, watermelon, carrots, basil, and cilantro. This is the first time I've had a container garden, and I've never considered myself into plants or a gardener, but I'm having so much fun with 'my seeds' that I'll be doing this again next year. Hey, I have no babies and no animals, so I have to have seeds to take care of - I need some sense of obligation.

Landon's Graduation

Last month was Landon's medical school graduation from Tulane. Both sets of parents came to the graduation, which was so nice for us. The graduation was definitely New Orleans style with a jazz band entering before the graduates, setting the mood for the celebration. While we were in New Orleans, we also visited the San Francisco plantation home and went on the Creole Queen - a jazz dinner cruise on the Mississippi river. We won't forget our time in New Orleans!

More Disney Pictures