January 5th, 2005

Well, in the last six weeks Landon has mastered crawling, and cruising around the furniture. His coordination with grasping, throwing and bringing different objects together improves daily. His vocabulary has expanded to include “ma-ma, da-da, da-go-ga (Dakota), and go” there are rumors that he may have muttered a “kitti-kat” as well. He has decided that baby food is for babies, and has evolved on to enjoying small, cut up pieces of solid foods that he mashes and chews with his four teeth and gums. He has developed more personality, individuality and spunk, has shortened his naps down to two a day, and has continued to excel at wearing his parents out to the point to collapse.

Following are the last six weeks in a little more detail.

Vegas

Landon had his nine month doctor’s appointment on November 17th. Rhiannon had been somewhat concerned by the fact that Landon’s appetite had decreased recently, but Dr. Mackey assured us that Landon was still very healthy and doing well. He weighs in now at over 21 pounds and measures 28 inches in length (the size of a legal white seabass). Although he has now dropped out of the 90th percentile, he is still hovering around 75% in length and in the all important head circumference category.

Following his good bill of health, we decided Landon was in fit shape for a weekend away from his parents care, so we left the little rug rat with his grandparents Buhr, while we snuck off for a weekend of entertainment and debauchery in Las Vegas. It was definitely difficult to leave the little guy, but we felt confident we were leaving him in good and capable hands. I know my parents were also incredibly looking forward to an extended visit with their grandson, when I asked my Mom about the possibility of them watching Landon for the weekend, I’m pretty sure I heard a few excited tears tumble down her cheek.

Vegas was a blast as usual, except for the few hours of Saturday night that somehow I have failed to record in my memory bank. We drove out with Dave in Rhiannon’s new Pilot, and took advantage of Landon’s portable DVD to watch some movies during the drive – probably not an endorsed driving practice by the highway patrol, but the player fit just right on the dashboard. Justin and Jenn flew in from San Francisco, Iwan, as well as Zac and Kalia caught a plane from San Diego, and Nate and Melissa drove in later Friday night from Utah. It was a great Vegas weekend filled with family and friends spent laughing and drinking and gambling and calling to check on Landon.

We were very anxious to get home on Sunday, so as soon as we shook off our hangover around noon we pulled onto the 5 south, and joined the thousands of other cars headed back to Southern California. Unfortunately the weather decided not to cooperate. Just after the California-Nevada state line there is a desert mountain pass that crests at just over 4,000 feet. On our trip home this pass was engulfed in a blizzard. We passed the next four hours plodding along at 3 – 5 mph and after leaving Vegas 5 hours earlier we were a little more than 35 miles from the city, instead of reaching our final destination on Orange County. Eventually we dropped down the pass and the snow stopped sticking quite as heavily to the freeway. By the time we had reached Barstow however it looked more like we were climbing through the Sierras as more than a foot of snow had accumulated on the ground and was still coming down. The freeway was down to a one lane crawl again as we trudged through the dark and snow toward Victorville. By this time Rhiannon was lamenting the entire trip and wanted nothing more than to hold her son, add to that poor cell phone service and dying batteries, and the trip home continued to get more and more stressful. By 10:30pm, after over ten hours of driving, we reached Victorville, and were now faced with the decision of whether to push forward toward the Cajon Pass, or to submit to the elements and try and find a motel room for the night. Unable to find any reliable road info, and completely worn out from Vegas and ten hours of stressful driving we opted for a warm bed and a fresh start in the morning, hoping by then the snow would have abated. The first few motels we passed were already booked, but we eventually found a place with a few vacant rooms – five minutes after our arrival they were also sold out. The motel itself was pretty creepy, and would have been the perfect location for a cheesy Hollywood horror movie. At this point all of our nerves were fried; things looked like they couldn’t get any worse. A few minutes later, they did, when the power on the block went out which meant that we would have no lights and more importantly no heater for the entire cold night. Luckily we were fairly wiped out from the weekend so we able to fall asleep in the cold, ignoring the psychopath waiting for us outside our door. The next morning we awoke early to find clearing skies with over 18 inches of snow on the ground. We raced home, and made the last leg of our journey in just over an hour. We found out later that they did shut down the Cajon Pass for five hours the previous night, so if we would have pushed forward we would have spent the night in the car instead of the motel. It was awesome to see Landon again; he gave both of us hugs and seemed so happy to see us again. After the extended separation and arduous journey home I have a feeling that we won’t be leaving Landon behind any time soon.

Thanksgiving

We spent Landon’s first Thanksgiving at his grandparents Buhr’s house. It was a small dinner party, but what it lacked for in numbers, it far surpassed in warm memories. This was the first Thanksgiving that Justin had spent away from the family on this holiday, and my parents, being the pillars of sentimentality that they are deeply missed his presence. Luckily, Landon’s giggles lightened the mood, and he did his best to fill his uncle’s shoes. We shared the standard table fair complete with turkey and stuffing and gravy and so on, and I supplied a few lobsters for the feast as well. We decided that since this was such a special meal, and such a day to celebrate how truly grateful we are for little Landon, that we would forego the standard baby-jar-mush-meal that Landon typically enjoys and instead provided him a plate with all of the fixin’s, cut down into baby sized bites of course. This not only marked Landon’s first exposure to many new solid foods, but it was also his first taste of lobster which I particularly enjoyed watching him gobble up. I’m not entirely sure how much of the meal actually fell into Landon’s lap, but I would guess at least fifty percent of the food ended up in his tummy, and he had a terrific time spreading the rest all over his tray and smiling cheeks.

December 4th, 2004

We went shopping for our first Buhr family Christmas tree today. As a couple, Rhiannon and I had never purchased a tree together, but this Christmas, with a youngster in tow, we wanted to inundate all of his sense with Christmas cheer and holiday tradition. We figured he would at least appreciate the shiny bulbs and twinkling lights.

The Christmas tree lot experience was far different than the days I remember as a child, hunting through the rows of growing trees, looking for that perfect fit for the living room, circling the tree time and again, and finally upon discovering the archetypal tree, waving a flag vigorously so some guy in a plaid shirt could run over with a big saw and cut it down. We instead hunted through a lot at the nearby Home Depot, out of convenience, selection, and affordability. It was a practical Christmas decision.

The lot was full of trees, and we quickly decided to sort through the noble firs they had in stock. I was excited that at least the air had an overwhelming scent of evergreen. Landon seemed to like all of the trees, he would gently stroke their needles, and then follow his initial caress with a violent slap; looking initially quite perplexed, shifting swiftly to giggling delight. Rhiannon and I however struggled to find that ‘perfect tree’. There was an interesting dynamic taking place between the families present hunting for their Christmas centerpiece. All shared certain Christmas tree envy. If we eyed another couple holding out a tree, we would immediately question why we couldn’t find a tree like that. And when we investigated some crooked, unbalanced specimen, we would overhear someone whisper that they wanted a tree like that. This went on for quite some time; all of the parties present shuffling trees back and forth, each tree, looking so much better when another family possessed it. Eventually we grabbed a tree that a pair of old ladies had set down to “come back to later”, and finally the tree looked as good in person as it had from afar. The fir stood at over six feet tall, had wide strong branches, was sticky enough with sap that I smelled like tree for days afterward, and only had one small gap that we could hide against the wall.

It was a successful trip, and a great first tree for the family. Christmas is on its way

December 8th, 2004 (fever)

The following Wednesday, Landon had acted lethargic all day and had taken a four hour nap at his sitter’s (which crushes his day time average of sixty to ninety minutes). By the time he got home that night Rhiannon and I were fairly concerned that something was wrong with our little man, but no other symptoms immediately presented themselves. There was no cough, or rash or runny nose. Rhiannon took his temperature and it rang in at 103.7. We were immediately freaked out. After several more attempts with the “impossible to use on a wriggling nine month old” ear thermometer, we rang in several more readings ranging from 102.1 to 103.8. We called the doctor. They calmly told us that unless his fever was over 105, not to bring him to urgent care. They told us to give him a lukewarm bath and monitor him over night.

I gave him a bath that was probably too cold, making him shiver, and possibly raising his fever even higher. Rookie dad move of the month. We put him to bed early, and checked on him several times through the night. We slept fitfully at best.

The next morning his fever still had not broken, and by that afternoon Rhiannon had recorded a couple temperatures over 104, so she called Dr. Mackey to see if they might be able to see our son before the end of the day. They could see Landon at 4:30pm, Rhiannon had called at 4:00pm and the doctor’s office was only fifteen minutes away – without rush hour traffic. Rhiannon repeatedly called to report her progress both to me on my commute home, and to the doctor’s office, they were kind enough to leave the door open for Landon’s hyper-concerned mom as she arrived over twenty minutes late. Unfortunately Dr. Mackey was gone for the day, so in his staid Landon was cared for by Dr. Bruner, a female doctor at the practice. Landon was still pulling down a fever of 103.8 and still persisted in showing no other symptoms of infection or disease. This concerned Dr. Bruner, and upon sharing her concern with Rhiannon, she had a terrified mom holding a crying baby in the room with her. She suggested installing a catheter to collect a urine sample that would allow her to check Landon’s kidney function. Rhiannon quickly agreed; eager to try and provide any information that might lead to a diagnosis. The nurse told Rhiannon she was free to leave the room as the catheter might cause Landon quite a bit of discomfort. Unwilling to abandon her son, scared and sick in the arms of strangers, Rhiannon stood strong and held her son’s screaming head while they shoved a plastic tube inside his penis hole. UGH. The urine sample unfortunately shed no new light on the situation. Dr. Bruner insisted that Rhiannon bring Landon back the following day at 3:00pm, mentioning that if his fever held steady or increased he would need to come in sooner.

That night when Rhiannon returned from the doctor’s office she looked completely dilapidated and Landon looked equally fatigued. When I pulled him from his car seat his little blue eyes were hidden behind curtains of sagging, tired eyelids. He was sweating profusely. I was more scared than ever. Rhiannon tried to assure me by saying that he had been sleeping some in the car. I hoped she was right. Luckily for both of us, and our sanity, Landon began to perk up that evening. He batted ornaments on the Christmas tree, crawled around some, and carried on a few conversations with us and the dog. His fever dropped a little. He smiled. I can’t remember feeling more relieved.

The next morning Landon’s fever was up again, but not as high as previously. He ate better that morning, and by the time Rhiannon took him to the doctor’s, he was well on his way to recovery. This was our first real experience as parents with a sick child; it was definitely one we aren’t in a hurry to repeat. We learned a lot, but I think most importantly it highlighted something that Rhiannon and I both already felt quite certain of – Landon is precious, we would do anything for him. There is nothing as difficult as watching your child suffer, and this was only a fever, I’m not sure I can handle all of the lows that fatherhood may throw at us.

December 11th, 2004

By Saturday Landon seemed to have recovered from his illness, the cause of which still remained undetermined,, but he fact that he was feeling better combined with the fact that we it was his first Christmas prompted us to join our friend’s the Schoen’s at their annual Christmas Party. Mike’s mom has a house on one of the canal’s surrounding Naples Island in Long Beach, and every year the island hosts a boat parade of lights. Rhiannon and I have attended the event, and I was excited to get the opportunity to share this Christmas tradition with Landon for the first time.

We started the night with Zac and Kalia at a sushi bar in town. Our server was an older Asian gentleman, who insisted on making baby faces and sounds at Landon. The gesture was nice, but completely lost on our son who insisted on trying to swat the glasses off his face, and followed his every departure from the table with a look of disgust.

The night itself was exceptionally cold and foggy, Landon was well bundled from head to toe. The mist created a unique effect as the boats trimmed in lights appeared to float on air until they drifted closer, and the water of the canal appeared below them. Landon seemed to enjoy the show complete with several Santa’s and reindeers and a dragon that breathed fire. The parade started at 6:00pm however, and twenty minutes after it had started Landon had fallen asleep in my arms, his gently heaving lungs breathing warm gusts against my chest. It marked the first time Landon had fallen asleep in my arms since he was an infant. It was such a gift to have this consistently squirming bundle of energy lay peacefully in my arms, I held him tight until my arms began to shake – Landon has put on a few pounds since his infancy.

Christmas

Early in the day on Christmas Eve we headed down to the beach with dog and baby in tow to take in some ocean breezes, and to stick our toes in the sand. It was a spectacular Southern California afternoon, spending a few hours at the beach with my family forced me to realize how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place. I hope this beach visit may be the first in a continuing Buhr family tradition on this day.

We spent Landon’s first Christmas Eve at his grandparents Sharp’s house. Both of Landon’s great grandparents from that side of the family were there that night, as well as his aunt and uncle Mulloy. Landon’s great grandmother Alonzo made traditional tamales that were outstanding as usual; I am desperately trying to get Rhiannon to learn this recipe so this tradition/treat does not disappear with the older generation.

Presents were opened after dinner and Landon who has become increasingly active, coordinated and confident in his movements spent the evening crawling and cruising around the room. As expected he was spoiled rotten, and to be honest we all were, Rhiannon has tremendously generous family. Also as expected, Landon paid little attention to most of his new toys, instead relishing in grabbing the dog’s fur and pounding on the glass coffee table.

Later that evening we snuck back home and tucked Landon in bed, promising him Santa would come while he dreamt. As advertised, the tree was laden with more presents Christmas morning and Landon took at least twenty seconds to investigate each and every one. Of particular mention was a toddler size hippo, that when pushed will gobble up whatever is in his path, he also received his first laptop computer, and a four and a half foot tall, stuffed giraffe from his grandparents Buhr.

That afternoon we headed down to Poway to celebrate Christmas with the Buhr side of the family, including Landon’s grandparents, great grandmother Mleynek, uncle Justin, and two cousins from Hawaii, Leah and Chloe. We experienced another round of spoiling from this side of the family, and drank many cups of wassail, a Buhr Christmas drink, served warm. We stayed up late that night playing a card game called Uno, which our seven year old cousin Chloe beat us all handily at.

My guess is that Landon will probably remember more flashing lights and shiny ornaments than anything else this Christmas. Rhiannon and I will both never forget this first Christmas with our ultimate gift.

December 26th, 2004

As a kid I spent countless days charging around the Wild Animal Park pointing and laughing at the innumerous wild animals there. By the time I was three I could give a complete tour of the San Diego Zoo. So to continue this tradition we decided to head up to the Park this afternoon to introduce Landon to some of the wondrous animals that live there. We took a late train around the Park, the ride itself lasts close to an hour, and we were a little apprehensive as to how well Landon would tolerate the long trip, but at the risk of ruining everybody else’s tour of the facility we bundled Landon up and carried him aboard. He was absolutely hilarious. We anticipate that Landon might fall asleep during the ride since it was late in the day and he had missed his afternoon nap. On the contrary, Landon was curious and talkative the entire trip, pointing at the first elephants he had ever seen, and mistakenly calling a nearby deer a dog. He was giggling and babbling incessantly, it was by far the longest display of vocalization we had ever experienced with Landon. I may have mentioned previously, and I am sure I will discuss it again, but one of the most incredible facets to fatherhood is watching your child experience something for the first time. This experience is especially sensational when it is something that was so important to your personal childhood. I used to build zoos out of blocks on the floor of my room when I was little. I always envisioned that someday I would be a zookeeper. Watching Landon intensely stare across the recreated African plains of the Park caught me more sentimental than I had imagined. Landon has definitely softened me up more than I had expected.

New Year’s Eve

Landon’s uncle Justin was still in town the following weekend, so we again tripped down to Poway to celebrate the final day of the year with family and friends. We had a nice dinner with Jenn and Justin, and Iwan and Sara, and then returned for some fun drinking games at the Buhr pad while we waited for the prerecorded ball to drop. Justin and I invented Buhr Pong, and my mom was convinced that we should copyright and market it, although that may have been the cocktails talking. Landon spent the night peacefully sleeping in a nearby bedroom, immune to the debauchery that was going on around him. We all awoke to hangovers and college football bowls and plates of Buhr nachos. We also all awoke to an exciting new year that will hopefully bring us much joy and new exciting events with Landon to celebrate. His year old birthday looms on the horizon, it seems like only yesterday that I heard his first sweet scream.