Thankful for Good Health!

The last couple of weeks have been quite challenging because both of our little guys have been really sick. Grady got pneumonia, and Landon also got very sick. After eight trips to the doctor in the past two weeks, chest x-rays, antibiotics, a hundred viewings of Polar Express (or "the big choo-choo movie" as Grady calls it), breathing treatments and even a trip to the hospital, we are happy to report that everyone is now (well, almost) fully recovered and back to good health. Things like this are a good reminder of what is really important, and we are so thankful to have healthy boys! We want to give special thanks to my parents and Brandon's mom, who came to stay with us for a while to help out and give us a break, as well as to my sister Carleen who also was a huge help. Just today, Grady found the ear thermometer, pretended to take his temperature and told me, "I have a .87 tempapure." That tells you how much temperature taking we've been doing lately! :) You will also notice in this blog entry how often Grady and Landon are in pajamas! :)

Given the wintry weather this weekend (8 inches of snow in Chapel Hill according to the news report), we've been enjoying just spending time with our little guys and staying warm. Even though they are both getting over being sick, we did sneak out yesterday for just a few minutes to enjoy the snow.

Landon slept through it all!

Landon also had a huge milestone yesterday! He decided that it was time to roll over....from his back to his stomach! This was definitely a bit surprising since babies usually first roll from stomach to back, which he hasn't done yet. In fact, he despises tummy time, so he hasn't gotten much of it lately. Once I realized what he was doing I quickly grabbed the camera and captured this video. (He started out completely on his back!) You can tell how excited I was! We always say how we think Landon is going to crawl next week and walk the week after that.... He has always been a strong little guy and seems eager to get moving! :)

Lately, Landon is smiling and cooing even more! He is starting to bat at toys and can sit for longer periods of time without getting upset. For all of you who don't know, we affectionately refer to Landon as our "little squirm" because because he is quite a fiesty little guy. Recently, however, he seems to be growing out of his "little squirm" status and seems more content. :) Grady still adores Landon and loves playing with him and reading to him.

Grady was also excited to discover that he could still fit in the Bumbo seat! :)

2 months old!

Landon turned two months old on Jan. 11, which is unbelievable! Time has gone really fast, although it feels like he's been with us forever. He went for his two month doctor's visit today and weighed 13 lbs, 4 oz and was 24 1/2 inches long, so he's a big guy!! He got a glowing report, which always makes us happy! Unfortunately though he did have to get three shots (ugh!), so he wasn't too thrilled about that. :) Landon is full of smiles lately and especially seems to enjoy getting his diaper changed and the game "stand up, sit down," which he likes to do over and over again. We're excited to see more of his personality start to come out! (Thanks Meredith and Jason for the cute penguin pajamas!)

Landon also got some special visitors this past weekend.... Jerri, Deborah and Lauren (all college friends). The boys of coursed loved them!

Christmas, Christmas & More Christmas!

We did a lot of celebrating this year with a Christmas in Boone, Pinehurst and Chapel Hill! Grady got so used to hearing that Santa was coming again that he even asked us today if Santa was coming tomorrow. :) We first went up to Boone to visit Granny, Gramps and Uncle Scott. Although our trip was cut short due to wintry weather, we had a great time and Grady got to play in the snow, which he loved! Santa was also very good to him, and he got a big choo-choo, which he was thrilled about! Here are some pictures from our trip to Boone.

We ended up having to leave Boone the evening of Christmas Eve because there was a bad ice storm coming that night. We piled the boys in the car after church and started heading towards Pinehurst. Landon was crying in the car and had finally calmed down after a while... When I looked in the backseat, I saw that Grady was holding Landon's hand. It was so incredibly sweet. That pretty much sums up how wonderful Grady has been with his little brother!

Once we got to Mimi and Popeye's house in Pinehurst, Grady was excited to find out that Santa was coming again! Santa (aka Uncle Kevin) even made a surprise visit to see him...As you can see, Grady was kind of in shock! During our visit, we got to spend time with Mimi, Popeye, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Louis, Hannah, Aunt Carleen, Uncle Kevin and Ma, so it was a lot of fun!

And finally, we celebrated Christmas at our house back in Chapel Hill.... Grady got an adorable sleeping bag from Granny and Gramps last Christmas (personalized with his name), and Landon got one this year. We decided it would be kind of fun to have a little sleepover in the living room on New Year's Eve...Don't worry though, Landon didn't sleep in his! He's just in it for the picture. :)

(Special thanks to Eileen for Landon's cute Christmas outfit!)

Pre-Holiday Fun!

Kelly and Hannah decided to make the trip up to NC a little early this year to have a bit of a longer stay! This was Hannah's first time traveling out of Florida... After a LONG (15 hour I think) drive from Florida with Carleen (who flew down to drive back with them) they finally arrived in Chapel Hill! This was the first time I had seen Hannah since seeing her in the hospital in August...She looked so much bigger and seemed so healthy and happy! You really can tell when a little one is really loved! Brandon and Grady had not seen her since July when she was born and weighed about 2 pounds, so it was pretty exciting for everyone!

After getting Santa hats for both Hannah and Landon, we decided to take some pictures of them together. I had the brilliant (yeah right!) idea of leaving them both in their diapers and hats for the pictures. Later I realized the pictures probably would have been cuter if they had clothes on, but oh well! They are honestly pretty funny! The following two are my favorites. You can see that Hannah is not so sure about her cousin! :)

Landon is clearly exhausted after the photo shoot! :)

The day after Kelly and Hannah arrived, Grady had his little Christmas performance at preschool. Despite learning all the songs, only one of the kids in his class actually sang! :) They all enjoyed jingling the bells though...It was really cute! Mimi, Popeye, Carleen, Kelly, Hannah, Brandon, Landon and I all came to watch him.