Playdates and our 2 month checkup

We've had a busy few days! On Wednesday, we went to a church playdate at Jana's house. Landon was boring and slept the whole time, so maybe at the next playdate he'll be awake and I can get some pics of him with the other kids. Carley did love peeking at Landon under his blanket. She kept checking on him to see if he was still sleeping. It was so cute!

Then we went to the mall to have lunch with Margo and Addison, Melissa and Anna Kate, and Laura and Mason. It was so fun to see how much all the kids have grown! Landon was happy and awake for this playdate. Addison LOVES Landon to pieces, and I think that she thinks he is her baby. She loves to watch him and talk to him. Here's Addison and Margo holding Landon and playing with him:

Here's Landon chilling out on Daddy's legs. He loves to hold his head up and look around at everything.

This morning we had our appointment for Landon's 2 month checkup and first round of shots. He looooved the baby Tylenol that he got to have this morning before we left. He tried to eat the dropper.

Landon had a great checkup! He now weighs 11 lbs 13 oz and he's 23 1/4 inches long. We think he's going to be tall like his daddy!


Here's Landon before he got his shots. Ahhh, he was so happy and content!

When Landon got that first shot, it was like he was screaming, "What the HECK was that????" Poor thing! His little face was so red. It was so sad. But luckily, he was asleep within minutes of leaving the parking lot!

He got some cool tough boy band-aids for his battle wounds. Hopefully, he won't remember the trauma for his next round of ammo!

The Vine's New Building

On Sunday afternoon, Kris, Landon, and I went to the dedication of the Vine's new church building. It was so exciting to see our new home and be a part of it's first get together. Kris and I have been a part of the Vine since Day 1. We've never had a place of our own, and it can make things difficult. I know it will relieve a lot of stress, especially on our fearless Kidzu leader, Liz! It doesn't matter where we have church, but it sure will be nice to have a place of our own. Each week, countless volunteers make sure that there is a great place for us to worship. Many people showed up to pray over our new building and all the people that we will be able to reach out to in the future. We'll have an even bigger opportunity now to reach people in the Braselton area. It was awesome and I had chillbumps the whole time, and not just from the unheated building! How great is our God!

I couldn't help but think that this is one of the places where Landon will learn about Jesus! It's so exciting that we were there in the beginning to see this large open space. Next time we see it, it will be The Vine, an awesome place to worship on Sundays. I can't wait for Landon to grow in his love and knowledge of the Lord in this awesome place. We all wrote prayers and scripture on the concrete floor. Kris and I included 2 verses from our family.

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." Colossians 1:17-18

"You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Ephesians 2:19-20

Jess the Daredevil

Mom's Night Out for the ladies of The Vine was last night at Classy Nails and Tan in Braselton. Our pedicures felt wonderful! We had a great time having adult conversation and girl talk. I have loved getting to know so many moms at church and spending time with them. Of all the pedicures I've gotten, I've never gotten any color but red or pink. I decided to be a daredevil and go with this bright blue! No one will see my feet anyway during these cold months. Maybe in the spring I'll be even more of a daredevil and do this color again! I've learned quickly that as a mom you have to put aside time to pamper yourself and take a break from being a mommy. We deserve it! What do you do to pamper yourself?

Is it real?

Today Landon is 2 months old! How time flies! I thought I'd post a few more things I've learned about motherhood in the past month.

1. Poop can stain some clothes.

2. Landon's never going to be able to wear all of his adorable clothes before growing out of them. (Maybe future kid #2 will be a boy as well...)

3. Watching your child have to be in the hospital is the most heartbreaking thing ever.

4. RSV sucks (enough said)

5. Seeing my baby smile makes me happier than I've ever known.

6. Who knew there were multiple uses for a hairdryer, vacuum, and dryer?

7. My noise machine finally comes in useful for more than just me!

8. When a baby is tired, you better find a way to let them sleep! Your errands, etc will have to wait!

9. Grandparents might love your baby more than you do!

10. I love my sling! Landon loves it too. At least once a day, he gets in it for a ride. It helps me get things done around the house and he loves to nap in it. Here's a pic of Landon in the sling:

Landon loves to pay on his Baby Einstein mat! He likes to stare at the lights and colors.

Landon also really likes his baths now. The first few weeks he wasn't too sure about them. Now he likes to look around and enjoy the water. He gets upset when he has to get out! Bathtime will be even more fun when we can play with all our bath toys.

Here is a rare time when Landon wasn't screaming when he got out of the bathtub!

Our fabulous friend Rebecca painted this for Landon's nursery:

She is so talented and creative! Landon will have something to look at now over his changing table. Rebecca, Nick, Katelynn, and Tanner came over today with the painting and cupcakes. (I don't even think she knew it was Landon's 2 month birthday!) They are awesome friends and we can't wait for mini-Moon to get here and play with Landon!

As I blogged about earlier this week, I took Landon to Pharr to meet my teacher friends. A precious little boy named Michael was asking me all kinds of questions like, "Is it a boy or girl?" "How long has he been alive?" "Does he talk?" and my favorite, "Is it real?" I laughed at the time Michael asked this, but I've been thinking about that innocent question ever since. Is this real?

Kris and I went through a lot physically, emotionally, and spiritually to get Landon. There were times when it seemed like we might never have a baby and it was hard to keep our hopes up. So I find myself asking sometimes, "Is it real?" Do we really have a healthy little boy? Is he really here? Have our prayers been answered? I constantly want to pinch myself and make sure that this is all real. Motherhood is hard, very hard. It's definitely a full time job, and I have no idea how single parents do it. There are afternoons when Landon is fussy, and nothing in the world makes him happy. Those times can be exhausting, mentally and physically. But each and every second is so worth it. I wouldn't trade anytime with Landon for anything. So yes, Michael, it is real. God has really blessed us with the most wonderful miracle possible. Happy 2 month birthday, Landon. Here's to a million more months...

A Busy Day!

Wednesday was a busy day for Landon and I! First we went to Snellville to visit Great Grandma and give her her 90th birthday present. She was so excited to see little Landon and love on him. We're so blessed that Landon has 2 great grandmas to get to know!

Next, we went over to Mimi and Papa's house to meet their new dog Phoebe! Phoebe is a yellow lab mix with a little greyhound in her. She is so pretty (and big)! Phoebe is so calm and she doesn't jump on people or furniture. She was staring at Landon trying to figure out what that noise was. She can sit and kiss on demand. I got a slobbery one from her. Landon is going to love playing with Phoebe in the future! After meeting Phoebe we went to lunch with Papa and Uncle Steven. It's always good to see them!

Then we went to Pharr so that Landon could meet my teacher friends. I should've allowed more time because I forgot how many great people I worked with I would want to see! It was so good to see everyone and have so many friends meet Landon.
When I was visiting with my friend Meredith, one of her students, Michael, came in and was in awe of Landon. He asked me funny questions like, "Is it real?" "Is it a boy or girl?" "How long has he been alive?" He was so cute and I remembered how much kids can make you smile with their innocence. As soon as we got in the car, Landon sacked out! He slept the whole way home.
Thursday morning Landon and I met our friend Stacy from church for breakfast. Stacy has a 3 month old named Ayla. She was so sweet and cute! She has red hair like Landon, so won't they be cute running around together!

It's been a busy week already! Landon turns 2 months on Saturday, so we'll have another update then!

This Monkey can move!

Landon still sleeps in the pack n play in our bedroom. (There's no telling when I'll start putting him in his crib...) I got him an inclined sleep positioner to sleep on because he likes to be elevated and have something around him. (Well, he can't tell us this, but we think it's what he likes since he likes being held so much!) Every time Landon wakes up (doesn't matter what time it is), this is what Landon looks like:

He slides down off the positioner every time! He kicks so much and moves in his sleep. This little monkey is all over the place!

But he's always so happy and content first thing in the morning. He's just laying there babbling and looking around. It's so precious and he makes getting up each morning (no matter how much sleep I'm deprived of) totally worth it.

Getting back into the world!

I haven't blogged lately because there hasn't been a whole lot going on with the Jones family! We've been staying in the house a lot and staying away from friends and kids. We've seen a lot of our parents and Uncle James, but that's it. I've been cruising with Landon around Target and Kroger too to get out for a while. We've been sure for a while now that Landon is all better now, but we wanted to be on the safe side and stay in. It's been cold and yucky outside anyway!

So we finally had a busy weekend! On Saturday, we went to our friends The Roach's house. Kris' friend, Rusty, and his family were in town visiting from San Diego. I was so looking forward to going all week because it meant I got to see some friends again! I didn't realize how much I have missed girl talk and human contact. It was fun (and weird!) to have so many kids and babies in the house. When one would stop crying, another would start!

Here's Landon in his new hat from Uncle Steven on the way there:

How cute is that??

Landon and Anna Kate checked each other out on the floor. It will be so fun when Landon, Anna Kate, and Mason can all crawl around and play together. They're going to be such good friends!

On Sunday we went to church, and it was great to see everyone and hear an awesome message from David. Well, I got to hear half of the message before Landon woke up and got fussy for a bottle. It might already be time for him to stay in the nursery...We'll see if I can handle that soon!

On Monday, Landon and I met my dear friend from college, Amber, at the mall for lunch. Amber has a 10 month old named Tate, and he is so cute! It was fun to see them and catch up. It won't be long before Landon is crawling around just like Tate. Here's Tate and Landon meeting for the first time.

We're so glad to be back in the world again with friends! We are really looking forward to springtime so we can get outside too!

Back to Normal

It's really hard to believe that one week ago this adorable face was in the hospital with all kinds of tubes coming out of him. We're so thankful to be done with that! Landon had a checkup on Tuesday and all looked well. We are lucky that he seemed to have a mild case of RSV. He weighed 9 lbs 9 oz and he's now in stage 1 diapers. Growing so fast! Now we can get back to "normal" and continue to watch our little monkey grow and change.

Shout out to Mimi!

They say when something goes wrong the first person you want is your Mom. When we found out last Wednesday that Landon was going to be admitted to the hospital, I immediately wanted my mom, or now known as Landon's Mimi. I've only been a mom for 6 weeks now, and I've learned quickly that there is nothing I wouldn't do for my child. My mom is proof that this feeling continues until your child is no longer a child, but a 30 year old new mom.

I've always known my mom to be the most unselfish person I've ever known. However, when it comes to her children and grandson, she kicks it into high gear and gives us her all. Kris, Landon, and I would not have made it through our recent hospital stay without Mimi.

She brought meal after meal to us. She took off of work to come sit with me at the hospital when Kris had to go to an appointment. She loved on Landon endlessly. When the doctor suggested that we use a humidifier, Mimi ran out and got us one. She brought me "Mamma Mia" in the hospital just because. She did ALL of our laundry which had really been piling up. She cooked food for us at home and made me take a much needed nap. She did everything she could and more.

Thank you Mimi for taking care of us and proving to me that wanting to do anything for your child is a lifelong desire. You're the best mom I could've ever asked for and a wonderful role model to me! There's no way I can't be a great mom with you by my side!

We're Home!

Needless to say, the last several days have been stressful and busy. We are so thankful that Landon got the all clear to come home from the hospital on Saturday morning. He went through the night without needing any help from the oxygen. Every time they checked his levels, he was between 95-100%. Praise the Lord!

Now we have to go back to the doctor on Tuesday for a checkup to make sure that Landon is still doing well. He's had no fever since Wednesday afternoon and his congestion is slowly but surely clearing up. Kris and I can already tell that Landon is coughing less and less. The doctor said that he will be contagious for another week, but we're going to play it safe and stay away from other young kids for 2 more weeks to be on the safe side. Landon can only give adults and children a cold, but he can pass RSV on to children 2 and under. We sure have learned a lot about RSV the past few days!

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and phone calls. We're happy to be getting back in a "normal" routine (whatever that is with a newborn!). We can't tell you how glad we are to be home and in our own beds instead of in the teeny tiny hospital room. God has been so good to us. Here's a few pics of Landon getting to come home:

Snoozing with Papa

Enjoying my own bouncer seat and not having all those tubes and wires!

Our Hospital Stay so far

Here is my little monkey on Saturday before all this mess started.

I caught my two favorite guys snoozing on Sunday evening. This is the day the dreaded cough started. Landon slept most of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

This is Landon on Thursday afternoon. He's been so much more alert than he was earlier this week. Landon did well on his own for a while, but the need for him to be put on oxygen and receive breathing treatments happened Thursday night. The first time he received a breathing treatment he stared at it the whole time trying to figure out what this mist coming at his face was. It was so cute!

However, the next breathing treatment was in the middle of Landon pitching an all out fit because he was hungry! At least we know he breathed a lot of the medication in!

Landon listening to the Dawgs beat Michigan State on New Year's Day

They put Landon on a low amount of oxygen Thursday night because his levels kept dipping when he was sleeping. He ripped both sides of the tube off within 10 minutes and then was very upset because the tape had just ripped off of his face! It took a few tries, but a pro nurse finally got the tape right and he hasn't had a chance of ripping it off since. Ouch!

It's now Friday evening and Landon definitely feels better. He's very alert and having his usual "fussy time" in the evening. He's eating like there's no tomorrow and breathing without any trouble. If Landon does well tonight and his oxygen levels don't dip while he's sleeping, we'll be able to go home tomorrow afternoon and take care of Landon from home. Pray that this happens! We are very ready to go home and get some rest. All of Landon's tests are continuing to come back negative, including a chest xray for pneumonia. Halleluiah!

More updates to come...