2 Months!

Landon turned two months this past Sunday and he is scoot scoot scooting along. The doctor said he is growing very well, but I could have told her that based on my backaches and sore arm muscles (said muscles are unfortunately hidden behind some upper arm fat - I'm sure I'm ripped like The Hulk under there somewhere). The little guy is growing like a weed, as they say!

"Hey dad, I'm still the coolest!"

And he still loves to talk talk talk. His little coos and gurgles are just the cutest thing in the world and can really turn a grumpy day upside down.

Wrapping Up 2010

Happy New Year, ya'll! We just arrived back at our home in Texas this past weekend after a 3 week trip back to Pennsylvania and Maryland. The stars were shining brightly across the Texas night sky as we drove back from the airport and the house was quiet as we unpacked in our little abode for three. Well actually there were some noshing sounds as we consumed some Whataburger that we picked up on the way home - because after weeks of eating unhealthy amounts of food, we thought "Well heck, what is one more burger and fries going to do to us?"

Soooo... I'm not quite sure where to start as we look to pick up the pieces here in the New Year. As many know, my mom passed away early in the morning on December 10th with my brother and my dad by her side. Erik, Landon and I arrived later that evening. My mom did not have a chance to officially meet Landon, but they did have some Skype (video chat) dates and the last time we talked to her on the phone, she was singing him lullabies. I feel very blessed to have such a precious memory.

On the other end of the emotional spectrum, we got to share little Landon with our family and friends. I could make some inane comment about the circle of life or something like that, but I will just leave it as simple as he was a wonderful light. I don't expect him to replace the sadness we all feel, but his smile and coos are certainly top notch for diffusing heavy moments.

I will leave this post with the eulogy my brother James wrote for my mom and then I will move on to more joyous moments such as Landon's first Christmas in posts to come.

In a world which is often too serious, where people too often take themselves far too seriously, free spirits like my Mother are invaluable. They grab us and shake us out of our sacred, mundane comfort zones, to show us what we are missing. They show us that life does not have to revolve around a schedule; that it is ok to let loose every once in a while and take chances. They show us that a little charisma never hurt anyone, whether it is a ferocity in pursuing or protecting your beliefs; a warm hug when someone really, really needs it; or a certain panache in your expression, to make yourself heard. They teach us to not take any of it too seriously, not with all the fun to be had in the world.

This exuberance and care-free attitude was especially important to me growing up, as I was quite the opposite during particular phases of my adolescence. I do not know what the deal was, but I had a mustache by the age of 9, so yeah -- I was quite an awkward little boy. I also became awkward socially, and began making a point to avoid social activities (and people in general). The experience made me one of those uptight individuals, in what I saw as an uptight world.

I am telling you, folks, it could not have worked out any better that the Queen of Cool, the Queen of Silly, the Queen of Warm Smiles and Hugs -- Barbara (Lolly or Babs to many), was my Mother through all of it. I fear how horrible things could have gone for me if I didn’t have someone to: a.) Love me through it all. No matter how ugly or awkward I was. Best hugs ever. They will be missed; and b.) teach me to not take any of it too seriously, and how to blow things off in order to focus on what is really important -- family and friends, the here and now, and truly enjoying oneself regardless of what others think of it.

It is not until many years later, looking at all of this from a whole new perspective, that we see these things -- how certain people affect our lives, how their actions and examples live on in us. I know what a bright smile, warm greeting, and strong hug will do to wash away a bad day, because of my Mother. I know what it means to laugh, FULLY, because of my Mother. I swear, watching and listening to some people, it was like were never taught. One opportunity to hear my Mother woop it up, and you had a new capacity for laughter, enjoyment, letting go. Looking back, I can say that I have the capacity to love and to enjoy life because of my Mother’s example, and I am very thankful for that.

I would do anything to have my Mother here longer, but I am not surprised her candle burnt out so soon. She was just that bright a flame in her lifetime. She was a Loving Mother and an amazing person, and I love her very much for it.

Hugs

I will not play Tug O' War,
I'd rather play Hug O' War;
Where everyone hugs, instead of tugs,
And everyone giggles and rolls on the rug.
Where everyone kisses,
and everyone grins;
everyone cuddles,
and everyone wins.
- Shel Silverstein

Video: Landon James' Birthday

One Month!

"Hey Dad, I'm one month old! I'm the coolest!"

Here is a video of Landon trying to mimic Erik. He has been getting a tad better each day with his vocalization!

This Time Last Year: Christmas 2009

This time last year, we were deep in the spirit of the holidays while living in Japan. The 80's song "Last Christmas" breathily sang by George Michael was on repeat on every store and we were hopped up on candy canes and wine.

VAQ-136 Christmas Party at the happening Trilogy lounge on base.

Shenanigans with Emily (Eerie Santa) and Aya-chan. This should be one of those "create your own caption" photos.


Our little Christmas tree in our little abode.


Our nice dinner out to enjoy some hibachi style grilled Wagyu beef from Gato's. It's worth the two train connections and an awkward cab ride.

This Christmas will be much different: We will be with our families and we have little Landon creating the shenanigans!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Hi. I'm thankful for boobies. Burp."

Tiny Bubbles

Our little man sure does love bath time!

"Hi. Burp."

The bath time below was a result of some major explosive poop time on Grandma Marian. He has never done this to us before (yet), so the inaugural flying poop was quite a surprise when she went to change him for the first time. It was a bit ironic that we have lived here for months without a drop of anything on the carpet and then the last night in town, a mustard poop shower. We sent Grandpa "The Dude" Lloyd on a carpet cleaner run - the stain was quite persistent.

"All clean! The carpet, however, is another story..."

It's all True...

...The sleepless nights, the poop, the pee, the crying, the fussing, the cuddles, the sore nipples (mine, not his), the poop, the hiccups, the poop, the crying - it's all true. He is still super cute (at times) and is coming along with some basic eye contact skills, but I really love catching tiny glimpses of a smile. Yes, it's probably gas but I don't care - I'll take it. It's the only thing keeping me going in this sleep-deprived and hormonal state at this point.

Some snippits from the quote log this past week:

After realizing Landon was breech and my time spent in labor at home was ultimately futile:

Nurse: Well you should have just come in sooner and saved yourself a few extra hours of unnecessary labor.

Kate: *Glare*

After using diaper cream for the first time (and liberally):

Erik: "Landon, you have enough butt paste on you to paste 8 butts together."

While we were roto-rootering our son with a thermometer to stimulate a bowel movement over the weekend:

Erik : "Maybe we should put on some soothing music or something for him."

Kate: "I don't want him to have a complex about Jack Johnson for the rest of his life."

Peace and diaper grease,
Kate

Birth Story: Landon James Halvorson

Around 3:00a on Tuesday morning, November 2nd, 2010, I woke up with some cramping pains. Having not had any contractions nor any other signs of labor in previous weeks, I just kind of brushed off the pain as the Braxton Hicks ("practice") contractions and tried walking around the house to ease up the crampiness. Erik woke up but I told him to go back to sleep and I assured him it was nothing.

In the meantime, the pains were coming more regularly every few minutes and I started to finally have my suspicions that something (THE thing) was going on. Then I went into crazy nesting mode, putting things away in the nursery, cleaning up the kitchen, etc - stopping every couple minutes to breathe through a contraction. By 5:30a, I told Erik it was time to call the doctor. They told us to come in to the hospital to be checked - yay! And yet: I hesitated some more. I told Erik I wanted to take a shower and repack my bag - I was pretty sure once we left, we weren't coming back. I think I was hanging out to absorb the last few quiet moments, as well. There was excitement in the air as Erik and I were anticipating what lay ahead and it was just a very special moment. We arrived at the hospital around 6:30a, Erik with coffee in his hands and me with a pillow stuffed in mine as I worked through the contractions.

Sure enough when we were evaluated at the hospital, we found we were in active labor. But when the nurses were checking me, they looked slightly quizzical and a debate started whether they were feeling the baby's head or the baby's butt. Sure enough, it was butt. Poor guy was getting his buns poked at. The doctor came in with the ultrasound machine and confirmed that the little booger was indeed breech. This means somewhere between his Thursday appointment and Tuesday morning, he had a disco party and flipped around. Erik and I thought his movements were odd throughout the weekend, but we did our "kick counts" and everything seemed fine movement-wise. Now we know that - after months of being in the correct position for his grand exit - he was poised for a different entry into the world.

I sat in labor for another hour or two - they tried to slow things down with medicine, but everything was moving along a little too quickly to nip the pain in the butt. I have a whole new respect for women who naturally progress through labor without relief - those several hours of contractions were admittedly very painful and all attempts at breathing/focusing were half-assed in effort as my eyes begun to cross.

By 9am, we were headed to the OR to prep for our c-section and Landon James Halvorson was born at 9:43am. It took a few seconds to hear his cry, but when the sound hit our ears, Erik and I started crying immediately. The doctor's first words were "Wow, what a nice round head you have!" And then it became known to us that the kid had a full head of hair. To our surprise: It was a full head of brown hair. Erik and I both kept commenting that we thought he would be blond. Erik was able to walk over to the clean up area to meet Landon right away and follow him to the nursery. I was able to greet him with a kiss while the nurse nuzzled him against my face and it was of course a ridiculously special moment that was far too brief. I hung out for another 20 minutes or so while they finished up the business on my tummy. I was then reunited with my new little family about an hour later in the recovery room.

So overall things did not go as envisioned originally, but what really does in this life, anyways? He is here and he is healthy... and I believe he is happy. It will be our mission to keep that going for the rest of his life.

All our love...