tales from a far-land

So, I thought it would be fun to compare Madilyn and Aiden's six week photos.  Can you believe how different they look and, yet, somehow similiar?  Either way, they are both absolutely adorable!

This morning Aiden attended his first day of preschool with his big sister.  It wasn't as emotional dropping Aiden off at preschool as I recall when Madilyn started daycare at the same age.  Hmm, I wonder if it had to do with the fact that I was dropping two off instead of one.  By the time I got to preschool, I was exhausted.  I never imagined how much coordination it will take to get both out of bed, dressed, hair combed, fed, and in their carseats.  And remember, one of them is a toddler.  Wow, what a way to start the a day! Anyway, both of our kids had a very good day.  Aiden seemed to fair pretty well despite changing his eating pattern from every 4 hours back to every 3 hours.  The only major comment made by almost every staff member at the preschool was "Boy, does he have a good set of lungs".  Yes, our little man is a very loud crier, especially when he is hungry.  Madi, on the otherhand, didn't ev...

That's right.  Our little man is 6 weeks old today.  I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed.  And wouldn't you know it, as soon as he is starting to get a little more active and independent, I have to go back to work and he has to go to preschool with Madi.  As of this week, he is starting to recognize faces, smile and coo.  His little smiles just make my heart melt.  It is so precious!  How can I leave this adorable little creature and go back to work?  I guess a Mom has to do, what a Mom has to do.  And this Mom has to go back to work. However, in these past six weeks, I have learned so much about Aiden.  He is so different than Madi.  It is like starting all over. He is not a sleeper.  He is a cuddler though.  He loves snuggling. He is not a binkie/pacifier man, yet.  He is noisy -- grunts all the time.  And wow, does he cry loudly! He is a mover.  Seriously, when ...

When was the last time you spent some good quality time with a toddler.  It is crazy!  In fact, to quote one of my girlfriends, who also has a 2 year old, "Toddlers are bi-polar!"  Here is a description of 3 minutes during a typical day with Madilyn.  By the way, each of these “emotions” lasts about 3 seconds.  This makes 3 minutes seem like FOREVER.  Enjoy! I want to play with Daddy’s phone. Shoes!!!   I want to put on my shoes. GET MY SHOES OFF MY FEET NOW! I want to push my brother in his swing.   Wee, wee. I want to open and close the cabinets in the kitchen. Is there anyone here with a phone I haven’t played with yet? I NEED TO PUSH SOME BUTTONS. I want to sit on the dog's head. I want to throw all the blankets in the house on my brother. OH MY GOSH, I’M STARVING. CRACKERS. BANANAS, NO CRACKERS. I want out of my chair. I want to play with the iPad. I want to go outside. No, I want to go inside. ...

Yesterday afternoon, Madi had her 18 month well check.  I cannot believe my little baby girl is getting so big.  Madi wasn't very happy to see the pediatrician this time.  She cried almost the entire time and didn't want to leave my lap.  I guess this is typical for this age.  Her pediatrician says that she is progressing very well and looks very healthy.  Madilyn's stats as of this visit were: Head circumference - 18.5 inches (68th percentile) Height - 32.5 inches (67th percentile) Weight - 24.4 pounds (69th percentile) Here are some of the things that we are experiencing with Madi at this age: Food favorites -- bananas, hot dogs, cheese, "crackers" which are graham crackers or anything similar like cereal or cookies and "water" which refers to any type of liquid beverage. Favorite toys -- books, her "baby", her stuffed animal giraffe, and her finger puppets. Talking ... her vocabulary increases daily.  She is starting to repeat words ...

I do.  Most of us do.  It was the moment when our world changed forever.  Ten years ago today, our nation and our freedom were attacked in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.  I woke up that Tuesday morning and followed my normal routine.  After getting out of the shower, I turned on the television to watch the news as I prepared to go to work.  I remember it took me a while to figure out what the newscasters were talking about.  Something about planes crashing into buildings.  Then, I saw the footage.  I watched as two airplanes, small in comparison to the building, crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  Smoke billowing from the buildings entry wound and sheets of paper falling from the sky.  I was stunned and didn't know what to think.  What was going on?  Who was to blame?  What does this mean? There I was, home alone, just watch...

Now that the dust has settled and all of our visitors have dwindled, I am finally able to collect my thoughts and start blogging again.  I realize keeping my blog updated will be an even bigger challenge now with two children under the age of two.  But I am up for it!  So, here is an update on our little baby boy and his first month of life. Aiden's stats as of his 2 week well baby visit -- The pediatrician was very pleased, as he already surpassed his birth weight.  We have a big, little boy! Weight: 9 pounds (92nd percentile) Height: 21.25" (98th percentile) Head Circumference: 14cm (80th percentile) Our son does not like to smile too much yet.  Mostly his facial expression looks like a grumpy old man, scowling with disapproval.  Although every once and awhile after a good feeding, he does share with me a small little smirk.  I cherish those moments. Unlike with Madi, being that we are secondtime...

When Josh and I discussed starting a family, we decided that we wanted to raise our children with some sort of religious/faith base foundation.  However, this became more complicated since my religious foundation is Christianity and Josh's revolves more around spirituality and self-discovery eventhough he is a decendent of the Jewish faith.  As you can see, we had several religions to choose from to have as our family's denomination.  After several discussions, Josh and I agreed on the Jewish faith as our family's credo.  So began my love affair with Judaism.  I started researching all of the traditions and holidays.  In fact, Josh and I often joke that I am more Jewish than he is since I have become more educated about all things Jewish.  Following the Jewish tradition, as soon as we found out our second child was a boy, we started planning Aiden's bris or also known as a brit milah.  T...

Several times throughout my pregnancy, I was reminded that every pregnancy is different and unique.  What you experience throughout your first pregnancy is not aways what you experience with your second.  This advice I found to be true.  I had two completely different pregnancies.  The same is to be said about labor and delivery.  Each labor and delivery is supposed to be unique and different.  Guess what!?!  Not mine.  Although the actual time of labor was cut in half from 27 hours with Madi, to just over 12 hours of labor, the events that unfolded throughout the day were eerily similar to my first delivery.  In fact, at one point, I started telling the nurse what the next course of action or treatment that would follow.  More or less, I have a stubborn cervix that did not want to open to allow our little one to enter this world.  He was ready and the rest of my body was ready, just not my cervix.  Crazy!  Anyway, th...

This morning, as I was working on some household chores, a delivery man arrived at our front door with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers.  As soon as I noticed the flower shop's name on the delivery van, I knew they were from my wonderful, thoughtful husband.  He has his own special florist and the bouquets are always amazing.  The card was *super* romantic and slightly "mushy".  However, there is more ... the card also informed me that I needed to be dressed and ready by 5pm tonight for an adult night out.  Don't worry about the kids, everything else has already been arranged.  What a lucky woman I am!  As you know, "date nights" are few and far between when you have two kids under two.  Although, we have been trying to make them a more frequent occurrence lately. Thank you, honey.  What a great surprise!  The flowers are gorgeous and their poignant fragrance...

He's sweet, he's cute, and he’s simply adored. Here's our new baby boy, we welcome aboard. AIDEN PRICE LANDERS Born:  Thursday, August 11th Time:  5:07 PM Weight:  8 pounds, 13 ounces Length:  20.5 inches Okay, I know I am a couple of weeks behind in announcing our baby boy's birth.  Surprisingly, we have been a little busy.  We will be updating the blog with more pictures and the birth story soon, but below are some pictures of Aiden from his birth and his first days of life.  We are so blessed and love our little baby boy.

After a week of being asked, "When is the baby due?" or hearing comments like "You are *so* pregnant."  Here is this week's progress report ... Projected Due Date: August 9th Total Weight Gained: 24 pounds Baby's Heartbeat: 156 Fundal Height Measurement: Per the doctor a "full 39cm" (He will probably be a big boy!) Typically, it should match your current week of pregnancy. Effacement Percentage: 50% (Same as last week) This is how thin your cervix is. Dilatation: 2 centimeters (More than last week, yea!) How far your cervix has opened. 10 centimeters being the widest. Baby's Head Station: 0 (The baby has dropped a little since last week) This is the position of the baby in relation to your pelvis, measured in pluses and minuses. A baby who is at 0 station is said to be engaged, while a baby in the negative numbers is said to be floating. The positive numbers are the way out! So, here is the deal.  My doctor feels that there ...

As of my weekly OBGYN appointment this morning, this baby is showing no signs of leaving the womb any time soon.  Apparently, he is enjoying his current living situation even though there is not much more space for him to occupy.  I am starting to feel like my ribs are going to explode.  Plus, my hips are pretty sore and my waddling is really starting to look more like a duck than a human being.  Anyway, here are the stats as of this week's visit ... no real changes from last week.  Only weight gain and there is no more room to grow.  Ughhh ... Projected Due Date: August 9th Total Weight Gained: 23 pounds Baby's Heartbeat: 148 Fundal Height Measurement: 38cm Typically, it should match your current week of pregnancy. Effacement Percentage: 50% (Same as last week) This is how thin your cervix is. Dilatation: 1-2 centimeters (It was the same last week) How far your cervix has opened. 10 centimeters being the widest. ***Next update will be...

Here I am -- due date, 4 weeks and counting.  I have reached beyond the pivotal week 36 in my pregnancy.  This begins my weekly prenatal visits.  As of today, my OB/GYN said this little one could come any day now.  However, there was no real change in the baby's statistics from last week, so I am skeptical that our little baby boy will be making an appearance in the upcoming week.  In the last couple of days, I am starting to feel what I think are Braxton-Hicks contractions, but who knows, especially since nothing changed from last week.  I guess, we are just in "wait and see" mode.  This pregnancy has been definitely different than with Madilyn.  He feels much bigger and slightly more uncomfortable than she did.  Plus, he is a *mover*.  He is constantly changing his position and kicking his little legs.  My heartburn hasn't been too terrible, but I have been surprised at my lack of app...

Our family has been keeping exceptionally busy this summer.  Besides moving into a new house.  We have had a couple of summer visitors -- Josh's parents and Miss Kathleen.  Why they visited us in the middle of the summer, we'll never know, but we enjoyed spending time with them.  Madilyn also participated in swim lessons at the city pool for the first time.  She didn't really enjoy the lessons at the public pool even though she loves swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Oh well, we'll try again next summer.  And we escaped the mid-summer heat by traveling up north to Munds Park to spend the 4th of July at my parents' cabin.  What a perfect way to spend the long weekend!  Here are some photos from our summer adventures: Sandy giving Madi a haircut at the cabin Grandpa & Madi sharing pita chips  Lynsey & I at Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff  Aunt Lynsey & Madi  Mommy & Madi on the 4th of July  T...