Head. Wall. Thunk.

Its the kind of day where I put my facewash in my hair and walked out of the shower with shaving cream on my (still unshaven) legs. True story. Its the kind of day that suggests that I should really start drinking coffee. But on the bright side of things, I did get a shower today. I'll take it.

Ever since our return from the whirlwind 4 day Dominican Republic trip, Landon has been a bit "challenging". It could all just coincidentally be coinciding with the onset of teething, but I'm not entirely convinced that Landon isn't hiding a supply of Red Bulls somewhere in the nursery. One day I will go to adjust his crib, only to find a stash of empty cans.


He is not sleeping through the night, he doesn't want to nap and he is climbing all over me... with gusto. But he's doing it all with a cute gummy smile, so it is hard to be upset. This, too, shall pass.

Landon Learns to Swim

After a few comments I've received, I'm belatedly editing this post to point out that Landon is indeed laughing with pure joy in this video. He is not crying - it's kind of my personal philosophy to not post videos of my son being tortured.

This was Landon's first swim at the pool at our resort in the Dominican Republic during my brother-in-law Christian's wedding weekend. Our friend Carey used to be an infant and toddler swim instructor, so we definitely lucked out on learning some pointers so Landon didn't have a meltdown.

Corpus CoNA Air Show

This past weekend, we drove up to Corpus to attend the annual air show. [They rotate bases each year - last year we had to drive down to Kingsville. I guess we were just never destined to live near the correct base.]

They painted "the birds" in celebration for a Century of Naval Aviation. They had a few of the Growlers down there which made Erik blush like a schoolgirl asking little Timmy to check the yes or no box on a "Do you like me?" note. I personally miss the fuel wiener that you see on a good ol' Prowler, but I suppose things do need to evolve.

We were also able to catch up some friends from former Japan glory days who were at the air show with their respective crafts. This was key since we got into the VIP tent which offered much needed shade and free food. It also offered front row seats to the Blue Angels show. Alas, they could not perform because of a low cloud cover. Landon didn't seem to care. Once his earmuffs were in place, he peaced out.

Hangin' With Dad

The boys chilling after a long day...

Frothing at the Mouth

Landon is learning to blow farts with his mouth. Otherwise known as spit bubbles or raspberries. But let's be honest: it sounds like he is trying to make a fart noise.

This is Local?

Oh gosh, I love the show Portlandia right now (airing on IFC). It. is. perfect.

Oh, hey! I'm 5 months!

Current Likes
- Drooling
- Chewing
- Drooling
- Snuggles
- Sophie the Giraffe
- Turkleton the Turtle

Current Dislikes
- Strawberry-flavored milk (mom note: tear, tear)
- Asparagus-flavored milk
- Fried-onion-ring-flavored milk
- Blizzard-flavored milk

My Favorite Tush

One of my favorite things this month is Landon's tiger butt pants. Thanks, Grandpa!

"Are you looking at my bum? You bum lookers!" *

* Give yourself points if you said this quote in your head à la Simon (Mike Myers) circa mid-90s Saturday Night Live.

Family Bonus

Last week, Erik had to renew his certification for a swim physical; it took him away to Norfolk, VA for four days. And I realized it was the first time he'd been away for more than a day in recent history.

Erik and I have been back in the States a little over a year now and my how it has flown. [Pun semi-intended.] Going from three years of interrupted time together in Japan (home for a month, deployed for four, meet in a port for a few days, back to deployment, rinse, repeat, etc) to being at home together every single day was quite an adjustment. Admittedly a bumpy road at first, but now I can't imagine it any other way. Which is dangerous since I know he'll soon be returning to back-to-back sea tours which means he'll be in deployable squadrons for 5-6 years straight. I know I'm spoiled right now. Like, *big time* spoiled.

We (well, Erik) lost a large financial bonus to take the route of going back to get his pilot wings. Instead of extending his original commitment, it kind of resets the whole thing and puts him in that semi-awkward sea tour path. Which we are fine with - this has always been considered a long term career and he loves loves loves flying. But little did I realize that it was the best thing that could have happened for our family unit. The fact that Landon is almost 5 months old and has only missed seeing his dad for about 6 days during that time is not a privilege I take lightly in this day and age. Regardless if you are military; families are working hard.

Knowing what I know now, I can honestly say it is undoubtedly, definitely worth the loss of the bonus and longer sea time to have Erik home with our baby boy... and of course seeing him happier as he learns to take control of "the stick" and fly "the ball."

Nap time at 4 weeks old.

We Heart iPhone Videos

While Erik was away at his Swim Physical in Norfolk for a few days (he passed!), Landon and I made sure to capture plenty of phone videos to send each day. [Can I just take a moment to say how happy I am we got the unlimited text, photo, video plan for our phones. Just in those four days, we sent a butt ton of videos - hooray for all inclusive pricing.]

This first video below is how we are greeted each morning that we peek over Landon's crib. He is a *super* happy baby in the morning. I love how the video ends on a maniacal pause.



This second video shows off Landon's flexibility. I guess he was practicing yoga in utero and is now gracing us with a demonstration of his skills.



Does right foot taste better than left foot? 'Cause he doesn't seem interested in lefty toes.