Happy Birthday Landry

Landry turned ONE on October 18. We had a sports themed party for him at a park in Frisco. It was a beautiful day and lots of friends and family came to celebrate! 34 adults and 32 kids. Plus Mommy, Daddy and the BIRTHDAY BOY for a total of 69 peeps. What a fun time!! However, the day was not complete. We missed Na Naw because she was not feeling well...and had to be admitted to the hospital the next day. We are thankful that she is home now.

I can't believe my little boy is already ONE. Landry is growing up fast. He is pulling up on furniture (no steps yet), crawling fast everywhere, has 6 teeth, smiles a lot, and loves to play with balls. His laugh is contagious. Landry says Dada, Mama, Ball, Uh Oh, Bye-Bye and makes lots of other sounds :)

Happy Birthday Pumpkin! We love you!

Landry's First Haircut

Before

Mom says I'm gonna get my hair cut

There goes my bangs

This isn't so bad

All done. How do I look?

I'm a BIG BOY now!

On Sunday Landry got his first haircut. We went to Cool Cuts 4 Kids which totally caters to young kids and first time moms! They gave us a little card with some of his hair in it and a picture in the play car. Landry watched the Old MacDonald Baby Einstein DVD while sitting in mommy's lap. Ms. Amy blew bubbles for him and helped keep him entertained....all while cutting his hair. Daddy was the photographer and videographer. It was a family event. Landry did a great job and it was a fun experience.

Landry has a new cousin

Josiah Michael Wall was born on Thursday, July 31 at 7:12 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. Josiah is Laura's fourth baby (3 boys and 1 girl). NaNaw & PaPaw now have 8 grandchildren....5 boys and 3 girls. We look forward to loving on Josiah for many years!! Congratulations Wall Family.

Lake Tahoe / San Francisco

Woah, my Daddy isn't this tall!

Landry wouldn't let us leave until he got to dip his toes in the water!

Angie's friend Ava came to Lake Tahoe for a visit!

Landry poolside with Mommy and Daddy (and Ducky)

Learning how to wave...backwards

One of my favorite pictures from the trip!

What a great vacation we had up in the Northwest! It was Landry's second airplane trip and he did wonderfully (thank God!). We spent a few days at Lake Tahoe - which was so relaxing. We love the water and got to see plenty of it while we were there. Angie's friend Ava and a couple of her grandkids came up from Stockton for a visit. Then we met up with my sister and brother-in-law in San Francisco for a long weekend. Landry got to meet Uncle Ben for the first time and we had a great time hanging out. They were such wonderful hosts! Highlights from the trip were: paddle boating across Lake Tahoe, Landry dipping his toes in the water at the beach, walking the trails of Muir Woods, sampling Ghirardelli's Chocolate at Fisherman's Wharf, eating fresh sandwiches while exploring Sausalito and meeting Cousin Elaine and Roy at the Cliff House for Sunday brunch.

65 Candles

Jen, Angie & Teresa

Yea, Lisa was in town

Angie & Sharla

34 + 31 candles = restaurant discounts!?

Wow, that's a neat gift, maybe I can borrow it sometime.

Cool and the Gang

NaNaw with the kiddos

Angie's first celebration was with some dear friends at Blue Goose. Yummy!
Angie and Amy both have birthdays in early June and so we celebrate them together every year. It's always fun to get everyone together at NaNaw and PaPaw's house! Happy Birthday Angie and Amy!!!

Motorboat

Landry took and passed his first class - swimming!

Landry's favorite trick is KICKING, both in the water and out!

This June, Mommy enrolled Landry in his first class. Landry LOVED the water and didn't cry once! He was even submerged on two different occasions and didn't get scared. Daddy got to attend the last class where they administered the final exam, handed out grades and held the graduation ceremony, where Landry was honored with the highest distinction of Summa Cum Laude. Okay, so it wasn't THAT big of a deal, but by all accounts, Landry passed the class with flying colors! He's already a much better swimmer than Daddy is. :)

Happy Memorial Day

Thank you Grandpa Rodriguez, Grandaddy Mills, Uncle Eddy, Great Uncle Don, Uncle Carlos, Uncle Roy, and Uncle Ray for fighting in WWII and the Korean War to secure our freedom. We thank you for your service and sacrifice! We appreciate the countless others that have served our country and those currently fighting for our freedom. God Bless You!

one little boy...one little man...funny how...TIME FLIES!

Ah yes, it's the end of that famous Tears for Fears song called "Head over Heels." A lot has happened over the past several weeks. Papaw's 64th birthday, Daddy's 35th birthday, Joshua's 7th birthday, Mother's Day, our 3rd Anniversary. Landry is turning into a little man. Some month 6/7 milestones include: catching his first cold, putting his foot in his mouth (just like Daddy! jk), eating cereal, turning over ALL THE TIME, and jumping in his new "Jumperoo". He is a HANDFUL. The doctor says he doesn't sleep quite as much as most six-month olds...but that it's nothing to be too concerned about. Still trying to get him on a consistent night schedule. His cold threw a wrench is some of the progress that was being made. We'll get there! LCR is already in the 50% percentile in length and 20% percentile in weight. We are encouraged by that! Anyway, tootles for now! I've got to WASH BOTTLES!!!!

Landry's 1/2 Birthday

Landry at 6 Months: 14 lbs 3 1/2 oz

It came without fanfare, but Landry is six months old! We look forward to a weekend with Angie's family tomorrow and my family on Sunday (except for Sis and Ben - we miss you guys!!). This weekend's festivities aren't to celebrate Landry's 1/2 birthday :) but to celebrate a couple of April birthdays. :) I can already tell that I'm just days away from turning 35. Just in the past several weeks, I've noticed that it's taking longer to complete my neighborhood jogs. Yikes! Oh well. We can't remain at our physical best forever. But we can get smarter and wiser in other areas. Or so I've been told. Maybe I'll wake up in a few days and find out.

Landry's first Easter!

Do you remember going on Easter egg hunts when you were a kid? This weekend we got to recount those memories by watching our nephews and nieces journey around bushes and trees to find their little treasures. Both Saturday and Sunday included superb weather - and AMAZING dinners by both Nanaw and Gran. THANK YOU!!!!! Nanaw made a pound cake that is to die for (I snuck home a few extra pieces!) and Gran made me an ENTIRE pecan pie! WOW!!! Landry got his first easter egg basket from Gran. And if you watch the slide show closely, you'll see that he actually ended up with several eggs! Hmmm. I wonder how those got there?!

Month Five Discoveries

Landry's new friend, Mr. Caterpillar

5 Months: 13 lbs 7 1/2 oz

As Landry becomes more aware of himself and his surroundings, his personality is starting to shine - and it's so exciting to see! He's responding and interacting more every day and every week. Here are a few firsts that we think have occurred within the last month: rolling over, blowing spit bubbles with his lips, noticing his feet, grasping onto toys, transferring toys from one hand to the other and laughing out loud in response to tickling. :) His cooing is more frequent and he's learned to inflect his voice and make a variety of noises (sometimes very loud ones!). The above pictures were taken yesterday. Notice that he's wearing GREEN. Thank you David and Jessica for the outfit! And thanks to you, Landry didn't get pinched on St. Patrick's Day. Only tickled. :)

Eventually is now...

Learning to Fly

Exhausted after a long day at the office

Great Grandma with her three Great Grandchildren!

NaNaw helping Landry with his hand and foot prints!

Not on Christmas day, but on March 6th? Only in Texas.

The morning is my sanctuary. Angie generally sleeps in with Landry (usually after an early morning feeding or two) and I have "free time" to eat breakfast, read the news or work. Well, my inclination this morning is to download and send pictures to family. Here are a few of my favorites. Mr. Landry is over 13 lbs now and bursting with energy! He changes daily and it's just incredible to witness. Like watching a flower bloom before your very eyes - only over protracted period of time. And if you blink, you might miss something! It's easy to get distracted. There is always so much to do. Never enough time for everything. But that's the lesson, I guess. Knowing that. Accepting that. And then priortizing for the things that are most important. "Eventually is now" in life. There is no tomorrow. Who was it that said, "Compared to what we ought to be we are only half awake." William James? Anyway, we just want to soak up these happy moments and store them forever to remember and experience over and over again.

Catching up

The paparazzi was after Landry again - this time for his four-month birthday celebration...which consisted of toggling between CNN's election coverage and Jay Leno's interview of a quirky Reese Witherspoon. What can we say? We're old parents now :) and we love it...fast forward one day to the 19th. Landry had his "4 Month" round of shots. Not fun for Mr. Landry or for mom. But he's gradually catching up to his peers in terms of height (45%) and weight (10%). What an adventure it is to be a parent and watch a child grow before your very eyes. What a miracle!

I Love Me Some Landry!

Terrell Owens has made famous the phrase, "I Love Me Some Me." Well, this Valentine's Day, "We Love Us Some Landry!" Saying goodbye to Grandpa, while sad, was a blessing in that we were able to visit with so many family members. And Grandma got to spend time with Mr. Landry, her second of now THREE grandchildren - thanks to Delia's second child and first girl! Congratulations Delia & Orlando!!! Our good friends Tanya and Jason stayed with us this past weekend. They are such wonderful friends to us and we had a nice visit together. Here are a few snapshots from the past few weeks. Landry will be four months old tomorrow! WOW!!

A few more memories of Grandpa

There are countless other memories and pictures. But here are a few snapshots through the years. We love you Grandpa!

Saying Goodbye to Grandpa

Gregory Rodriguez Senior

1915 - 2008

This morning, we said goodbye to my grandfather, Gregory Rodriguez Senior. He was such an amazing man and he leaves us with many fond memories. Grandpa was a World War II veteran, a commited husband and father and an incredible grandfather. This picture was taken in 1944. Grandpa had just turned 29. He was writing love letters to my grandmother, who he would eventually marry. Grandpa leaves behind his wife Esther, three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, with one more on the way. We love him and his legacy will live on forever.

Growing Landry - Three Month Birthday :)

The year of your first child's life is like your first year of marriage. You celebrate every month! And so we're celebrating Landry's birthday each month. :) We went out for BBQ tonight! Here are some snapshots of Landry's progress: from being born one month early due to a condition called "Inter-Uterine Growth Retardation" (IUGR) to where he is today three months later. Fortunately, despite the lower levels of blood and nutrition he received from the placenta towards the end of Angie's pregnancy, Landry appears to be completely healthy and normal. Most IUGR babies do fine and eventually catch up to their peers in weight and growth. So far so good! Great job Landry! He is a remarkable little boy and we feel so blessed.

Cousin Lucas' First Birthday

Cousin Lucas had his very first birthday this past weekend - and it was Landry's first "cousin" birthday party! :) However, the next day, the Cows didn't show up against a very good Giants football team - and so a promising season has very suddenly ended. So the weekend was both wonderful and a bit of a bummer. Whenever the Cows lose, I tend to "make up for it" by spending more time being productive and less time following the season / playoffs. That way, there is always some good that comes out of a disappointing loss. My attention now is on continuing to build Plano Life into the company I know it can be while doing some marketing consulting work on the side. Angie is on point with Landry, and she is so amazing with him! I've got Landry duty tomorrow, however - his 3-month birthday!

Daddy's Chores / Landry's Progress

House Rule #1: When Landry gets a bottle, Daddy gets a bottle too

Landry's "after meal" sleeping position (notice "unbuckling" of pants)

Looking at Mommy tonight after late dinner

I have bottle duty every night. It's one of my "baby chores." Angie might argue that it's my ONLY "baby chore," :) - but hey - it's a very important one! Of course, I welcome bottle duty because when Landry gets a bottle, Daddy gets a bottle too. It's a house rule that I instituted way back when Angie declared, "Greg, I'm going to teach you how to do the bottles." And so we negotiated, and this rule was the outcome. While the "bottle for bottle" rule works out quite well during the evening hours, Shiner Bock doesn't taste as good at 3:30 in the morning, or just before heading to the office. And I've never been one for beer at lunchtime either. Nevertheless, it's a rule I can live with - and so I'm not complaining too much. Of course, I'm KIDDING about all of this (most of it). :) Landry is doing quite well. He turned 12 weeks old yesterday and has BALLOONED to a healthy 10 lbs 6 oz - a full six pounds heavier than his birth weight. That's eight ounces per week - or slightly more than one ounce per day! Of course, it WAS the Holidays. And Landry wasn't the only one that gained six pounds during that time period. :) And no, I'm not talking about Angie! Thanks to mom's Christmas cookies, pralines, pecan pie and all of my bottles with Landry :) I've also put on about six pounds since Landry was born. But nobody's oooing and ahhhing while praising me for that accomplishment. As dad said last time we had dinner at their place, "Greg, it's not all about you anymore." You know dad - you're absolutely right. It's not about me. If ever there is an event that makes you realize that, it's having a child.