SITTING UP

Landon is still enjoying all of his toys and books. We were excited to find out that the rest of our stuff from the U.S. has arrived and they will deliver it early next week. So lots more stuff for Landon. Now we just need our car and our stuff that we shipped when we left Vietnam.

Landon is getting really good at sitting up on his own as well. He will be 6 months old tomorrow and he has already outgrown most of his 6 month clothes and is now wearing 9 months. It has warmed up a little bit here in Germany and all of the snow has melted, so we have gotten out a little bit more lately.

THE FIRST TOYS ARRIVE!

Landon was very happy to wake up this morning to find that the Steelers are going to the SuperBowl. (Mom and Dad stayed up until 4:30am to watch the big win!) Then later that morning our air shipment arrived and Landon had a great time playing with his toys again! He especially loved his exersaucer where he squealed in delight as he played. It was the first thing Dad put together and he definitely appreciated it.

LANDON IN GERMANY!

Well, we are trying to get back in the mode of updating our blog now that we are kinda settled. Ryan and I are both finally healthy after battling colds. Thankfully Landon stayed healthy through it all! We haven't seen too much of our new neighborhood as it is really cold and not too inviting for many walks. Just some grocery store runs and hanging out at home adjusting to the new time zone. As you can see Landon is enjoying the few toys that we fit in our luggage and we can't wait until the rest of our stuff gets here.

One thing is for sure it will be a lot more like home than our tour in Vietnam. The grocery stores are nice and we have lots of U.S. TV shows because of the local military bases. On Sunday we felt like we were in Pittsburgh again, as they played the Pens, Pitt basketball, and of course the Steelers game. We enjoyed it even if we were up until 2am to watch the Steelers win. As you can see Landon was all decked out for the big game. Go Steelers!

MISSING THE GRANDPARENTS

Landon already misses having his grandparents around everyday to spoil him. He logged quite a few hours in their arms as well as Aunt Regan's. He can't wait to see them all again...hopefully in Germany! (In the meantime Skype will have to do!)

HE LOVES BEING HELD!

...and obviously sucking his thumb as well. We were glad that Ryan's Uncle Ron and Aunt Helen were able to meet Landon before we headed out to Germany. He enjoyed being held by everyone and being entertained...it hasn't been easy to keep up with that expectation since arriving in Germany. He definitely misses all of the family that he was able to be around over the holidays.

TIME WITH FRIENDS

We were able to meet up with some friends while we were in Pittsburgh as well. We visited with Andy and Holly whose son AJ is about 4 months older than Landon. Ryan and I enjoyed seeing all the cool things AJ was doing and trying to prepare ourselves for when Landon becomes that mobile! We also stopped in to see Toni who is expecting a little one soon. We can't wait to hear if it is a boy or girl!

Kids, kids, kids!

Landon was also able to meet a lot of new family over the holidays. He especially liked watching the little ones running around and playing. Many of the great-grandchildren were able to kinda pose for a picture with Grandma Dickert. Quite a crew. We were missing Josh and Andrew however. The boys would have appreciated their presence, as they were greatly outnumbered! It was great seeing everyone over the holiday and for Landon to meet them.

LANCASTER FAREWELL

Landon was able to visit with his Mom's side of the family one last time before making his big trip over the ocean to Germany. He is hoping that he will get many visitors at his new home in Frankfurt where he can show everyone around!

FUN WITH THE COUSINS!

Landon had a great time with Madison and Zachary. They liked their gifts from Landon and helped him with opening his gifts as well. It will be like Christmas all over again when he is finally able to open up these boxes and play with his toys. I hope that ship moves fast to Germany with all his goodies.

MORE GIFTS!!!

The day after Christmas we headed to Lancaster where Landon had a great time opening more gifts and seeing family. His favorite part of it all was trying to eat the pretty paper. Yummy!!

CHRISTMAS DAY

Landon had a busy Christmas Day. He opened lots of gifts and was able to visit with his Great Grandmas as well. We are so thankful that we were able to spend time with Great Grandma Russell as she passed away on December 27th. She was an amazing woman and we will all miss her dearly.

FIRST CEREAL

Landon had his first cereal meal on Christmas Eve. It was a big hit!! He enjoyed guiding the spoon into his mouth and then plunging the cereal down with his trusty thumb.

CHOPPING DOWN A TREE

It has been some time since our last blog as things have been pretty hectic. We had a great holiday and are now preparing for our journey to Germany. Here are a few pics of our Christmas tree hunt in Slippery Rock.