Here comes Landon

So after several sleepless nights, Amy and her doctor opted for an induction.  We're two day overdue and the baby is nice and big, so no problem.  We dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grampa's house last night and ate dinner with them.  This morning we were supposed to be at the hospital at 5:15, but we got bumped back a couple hours.  So now we're in our hospital room and the doctor just broke Amy's water, so we're underway at 5 cm.

Landon is the consensus name for this new little guy--the kids have been referring to him as Landon for weeks.  It's a name we've liked for a while, but friends in our last ward had a Landon so we took it out of the running.  The kids are very excited for little Landon's arrival, although they have only the vaguest of notions of what's about to happen or how it will effect their lives.

With a little supervision and training, Sahara will be a great help to mommy and an excellent big sister.  Sahara is in second grade now and doing very well.  She's not a huge fan of the math homework she gets every day, but is an avid reader.  Each night, after scriptures and family prayer, Sahara retreats to her room to read for 20 minutes.  When I come in to tell her time's up, she begs for just a few more minutes to finish the chapter.  If we don't watch her, she'll read well into the night.  We can take the book away from her, but she keeps a backup book stashed under her pillow.  And if I take that one, she's got at lest one more hidden away beneath her covers.  Redundancy is key in any emergency backup plan.

Gavin is in kindergarten and goes to an afternoon soccer class once a week.  He's still a happy guy, with a default smile and an enviable pleasant disposition.   In soccer, what he lacks in superior athleticism, he makes up for with dogged persistence and thinking.  He never stops running around the field with a big smile on his face.  He's an amazing helper, always giving me a hand with yard work, and staying on task until it's finished, even if it means hard work over a long period of time.  For a five year old, he's amazing in this regard.  He's also very visual and good at following directions.  He'll sit and put together an advanced Lego toy for hours, with only the instruction booklet as a guide.  I could do that too...for about 10 minutes.

Dallin is starting to come into his own now.  He's graduated from toddler group to preschool, which he attends 2 1/2 hours three times a week.  He also does swimming lessons once a week, which he loves.  Dallin is our little class clown, always making animated facing and sound effects.  When it's time to wrestle, he's fearless and physical, keeping right up with his older brother.  But when it's snuggle time, Dallin is sweet and affectionate, especially with his mommy.  His biggest trial in life right  now is being left out of things.  He wants everything to be equal and fair between him and his older siblings.  If he sleeps in and misses Sahara and Gavin getting on the buss, he cries.  The best part of his day is when they get home fro school.

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So Landon has arrived!  He came yesterday evening at 6:26, weighing a whopping 9 lbs and 13.5 ounces.  20.5 inches long.  He's a big boy, and a cute one!  And best of all, he seems to have a very pleasant disposition.  We'll hope that never ever changes.  Amy is doing well and happy to have a new baby to fatten up.  After a night in the hospital, family came to visit not-so-little Landon.  By early afternoon all the tests had been completed, we'd posted bail and took Landon to Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's house for dinner and to pickup the rest of the kids. Then it was home for the six of us.  Welcome home Landon--you're a blessing to our family and you'll be loved here.