What a difference!

I like to go back and see what the boys were each doing at different ages. As Landon gets older there is a distinct difference between the two boys. I once thought that they looked exactly alike and now I have to say- not so much. I guess this isn't much of a surprise since I don't look anything like my brothers.

Peyton- 2007- 8 mo.

Landon-2010-8 mo.

Summertime Picnics

Nothing says summer better than picnics. This has been a favorite thing of Peyton's this summer so we have tried to do it as much as possible. Whether it is having a picnic on the back deck, at a park, packing a lunch or dinner or just picking up something on the way we have enjoyed our picnics.

Landon enjoying some refreshing water on a hot humid summer day at the park.

If I get close enough to the plate the food seems to taste better.

Corndogs from Roscoes- yummy!

And, Puffs for the little man.

Boating

On Friday afternoon we packed up the kids, some dinner and headed out on the Mississippi with our friends and neighbors the Grota's. We had a great time grilling on the beach, enjoying the water and boating to and from Wabasha. We usually head out first thing in the morning but we decided to go for out for a later afternoon trip this time and it was perfect. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time.

Landon was perfectly happy to float around and play in the sand the whole afternoon. He might have eaten a little of that sand too when mom wasn't watching.
Peyton had a blast playing in the water. He had to keep his life jacket on the whole time because the current was so strong and the water was very high- it didn't stop his giggles though.

Matthew ( our neighbor boy) had a great time burying his legs in the sand.

And of course a true Eckhoff boy.......

always falls asleep on the ride back in!

Landon 8 Months

It is hard to believe that our little guy is already 8 MONTHS OLD! It is amazing how fast he is growing. Parts of me wants him to continue to change like he does each day, then other parts of me long for that little infant that just wanted to cuddle up in my arms. There isn't much cuddling going on anymore. He is more interested in being up and moving along.

Here are some of his 8 month information:

* Weighs about 17 lbs.

* Wears a size 3 diaper.

* Wears 6-9 month clothing.

* He is "scooting" everywhere. He isn't in a full blown crawl yet- but he gets himself where he needs/wants to be.

* Sleeps 12 hrs/ night. Goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. and I wake him about 7:30 a.m.

* Takes 2 - 1.5 to 2 hr. naps per day.

* Smiles constantly.

* Loves to watch his brother playing and get into his toys when he can ( this has only just begun I am afraid).

* Eat 3 meals a day with the family. He is still eating mostly pureed baby food- but each day he is trying more and more table food. Watermelon is his favorite by far.

Welcome Silas James Mobraten

Congratulations to my brother Jason and his wife Sarah on the birth of their little boy Silas James Mobraten. He was born this morning and according to Jason everyone is doing well. I am so sad that I cannot hold this little guy, but because of the distance between Rochester and Boston is just not possible. I hope to see him in the near future. He came a couple weeks early and surprised his mom and dad. He was 7lbs and 19.5 inches long.

Independence Day!

On Sunday we celebrated the 4th of July with a great group of friends. We held our annual 4th of July party and the weather turned out to be just perfect. There was rain earlier in the day and then it stopped just as everyone started to arrive. We had a great time. Our neighborhood had great fireworks as always and we didn't have to leave the comfort of our own home to view them.

The best I could get (someday I will get a good one).

Peyton was so excited that his "girlfriend" Brynn was coming over and staying at his house. They had a wonderful time together. They even found time to lock eachother in the dog kennel (good thing I had cleaned it earlier that week)

Look at that sweet face.

Bu don't worry, Brynn can handle him.

The preschoolers had a great time playing in the backyard and even stayed awake for the fireworks. The babies were fast asleep in the house and slept through all of the fireworks loud bangs around the house.

We had a great time, and next year Peyton and Brynn want Evan to stay over night with them.

New Skills

Landon ha become a sitter over the past couple of weeks. It sure has helped with the toys that he can play with. He is so happy when his big brother takes out the bead frame to share with him.

He is getting so close to crawing. He gets up on all fours and rocks or goes up on his toes. Once he figures out how to move his arms watch out world.

Summer Swimmin'

Last last couple of weeks Peyton has spent a TON of time in our backyard kid pool. He loves it. Nothing says summer like a little boy slidding down a plastic slide into a pool of water with a water squirter in his hand.

Landon wanted in on the action on Friday night so we dug out his baby pool and filled it up with luke warm water. He loved it- or he loved the toy he was chewing on. The big pool is a little too much for him yet.

Bee Keepers to the Rescue

So, the bee saga continued into Friday. Our neighbor Jim called around and found a bee keeper that lives about a mile from us. They came out right away and attracted quite the crowd. Here is another close up of the bees before they tried to catch them.

The bee keeper suited up and headed into the tree along with his box. It was amazing how he shook the tree and thousands of bees fell inside. Peyton and I caught an up close and personal view from our driveway.
Because of the strong wind on Friday the box that they were catching the bees in blew down in the wind. This was amazing to see. The two bee keepers just kept scooping the bees up and putting handfuls back into the box. By the end of the day most of the bees had decided to leave the tree and go into the box.

Friday evening the bee keeper came back to get the box and bring them to her bee farm. We found out over the weekend that they bees had left their hive there. We are all crossing our fingers we don't see them swarm around here again.

The BEES

This evening I was in the backyard with the boys and one of our neighbor girls ( Kalli) while Jeremy and Kalli's dad, Jon, were working on installing out doors in the newly finished basement. Suddenly Jeremy came running around the corner of the house from the garage and yelled "Get the kids in the house right away!" Being a little freaked out I did what he said. I was imagining the worst, that there was a person in the neighborhood that was dangerous. Then he explained that there was a sworm of bees in the yard next to ours. So we hurried the kids in the house and spent the rest of the night indoors.

After putting the boys to bed this is what we found in the neighbors tree...

A swarm of honey bees! It is an amazing sight. They are all protecting the queen. Jeremy and Jon had big plans of dressing in layers and spraying the bees but the neighbor that owns the tree convinced them otherwise. He has given them 24 hrs and then if they are not gone by tomorrow evening the guys can have at them. It is a really cool sight- from a distance.

Landon- 7 months 6/19/2010

Landon was 7 months on 6/19/2010.

Official Weight- 17lbs 8 oz.

I am a little late on this post but the picture was taken on the correct day. Here are some of the things that he is doing this month:
* Sitting on his own- for more then 30 seconds!!!!
* Gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. He tried to go forward today and fell flat on his face so it is only a matter of time before he is crawling- we better start baby proofing...
* Eats three meals of solids/ day and nurses twice. He has suddenly decided that this is his favorite thing to do. He will eat anything that is offered to him. He also started Puffs this week!
* Smiles constantly
* Loves his brother (still) he will belly laugh any time that Peyton comes close to giving him any sort of attention.
* Is starting to have seperation anxiety.
* Loves to be held- my right arm is getting really buff from carrying him all over the place;)
* Sleeps from 7:45p.m ish to 6:30 a.m and then right back to sleep until 7:30 a.m- I am still in shock that babies sleep. I was up with Peyton at LEAST one time per night at 7 mo.
* He continues to be a very happy baby!