Happy New Year (sort of)

So, my blog is titled "Adventures of a new mommy". Well, we are certainly having an adventure right now! I'm trying to stay positive, but this is definitely not a fun adventure. Landon started coughing on Sunday and he's had a little congestion as well. He developed a fever late Tuesday night, and I checked him again Wednesday morning rectally and he had a fever of 101. Off to the doctor's office we went. Kris and I figured that we'd given Landon our cold that we've had for the past week. We thought they'd give us something for the fever and send us on our merry way. Boy were we wrong...

The doctor sent us over to the hospital for a round of tests for Landon and said we would be here a minimum of 3 days. What?????!!!!! Not the New Year's Eve we had planned. (Granted, our New Year's Eve was going to be just the three of us grilling out steaks, but still more exciting than sitting in the hospital!) I immediately began crying with the thought of my little sweetie being in the hospital at a mere 5 weeks old. Basically, according to our doc, it's standard procedure when a baby is this young with a fever. They want to rule out any bad stuff and figure out why there's a fever.

They did blood work, urine tests, and even a spinal tap. Yes, I was scared out of my mind. Needless to say, we were not prepared for any of this and I've been a basketcase the majority of the day. They also tested Landon for RSV, and that came back positive. Sometimes it comes along with a fever, sometimes not. So they're continuing with the tests and making us stay here for the 3 days to rule out any other underlying causes for the fever. RSV is basically a very contagious bad cold that is worse for those 2 and under. Landon will get breathing treatments to help with the cough. It only affects the rest of us as a cold. So little Landon will be cooped up for 2-3 weeks and kept away from other kiddies.

We haven't gotten any other test results back, but we're hoping it's the RSV and nothing else. I feel better now that we know a little something, and Kris and I are grateful that we're in the right place and we caught this stuff soon. I tell you what, there is NOTHING more heartbreaking for a mom than to see her little one in the hospital. Landon has been a trooper and sleeping through it all, but not so much for his parents. His pitiful cries made me cry harder and just wish there was something I could do. I would take his place in a heartbeat and do anything to take his pains away.

As of an hour ago, Landon no longer had a fever, and they're continuing to give him antibiotics just in case of any other infection. We're hoping for the best and we know that God is taking care of our little angel.

Landon's First Christmas

Landon's first Christmas was very busy and fun! We started out by going to The Vine's 3rd Annual Christmas Eve service at Chateau Elan with Grandma (aka Kris' mom). The service was GREAT and we really enjoyed it. Everything looked awesome and the music and message were incredible. Kris worked at both services and helped contribute to the wonderful evening.

We came back to our house with Grandma and enjoyed dinner and presents. It looks like Landon already loves his rocking horse from his Grandma!

On Christmas morning we went to Mimi and Papa's house (my parents) for a delicious breakfast and presents. Did I mention there were presents?

This is Landon's pile of presents from Mimi, Papa, Uncle Steven, and G.G. It seemed like we were going to be opening presents all day long!

Landon slept through most all of the present opening, but one day he's going to love playing with all the toys he racked up!

Mimi and Papa could've cared less about opening their presents. They just wanted to hold their little grandson the whole time. We thought for a while that they might come to blows over who got to hold him!

Landon loves spending time with G.G. (Great Grandma),

who showered him with fun toys!

If you can't read Landon's shirt, it says "Who needs Santa, I've got grandparents", and it proved to be very true!

Next we went to Grandpa's house (Kris' dad) to have Christmas dinner and presents. Kris cooked a fried turkey and we had a great dinner with all kinds of yummy casseroles. Then we opened even more presents.

Landon's first Christmas with Aunt Karrie, Uncle Aaron, and Grandpa!

Me with my favorite Christmas present ever.

It's been a long day, and Landon was ready to go home!

So Landon's first Christmas was a fun time! Landon is very blessed to have such a wonderful family that gave him so much. We are all very thankful for all the gifts we received. However, more than ever, I remember the real reason for the season this year. Our prayers were answered this year in the form of a beautiful, healthy little boy. Having Landon here reminds me of our Heavenly Father and the gift that he gave us in his son, Jesus. Being a parent is the best gift of all, and we have God to thank for that. He has blessed us with so much, and I thank Him everyday. There has never been a Christmas that I was so excited about, and it's all because of the best gift I've ever received- my son. Christmas is not about the presents under the tree, and I realized that this year more than ever. We hope you had a Merry Christmas too!

Recently, we also went to Landon's first playdate! Jana was our awesome hostess, and she had fun crafts for the kids to make, and we all brought snacks for the kids to enjoy.

All the kids made an ornament to take home. Since Landon was too little to make his own, Henry helped decorate an ornament for Landon. Thanks Henry!

Landon loves to be held by Miss Margo! Addison likes to watch Landon and tickle his feet!

We can't wait for more playdates with all our friends!

Landon's Newborn Pics

Today we went to Portrait Innovations and had Landon's newborn pictures taken. He did a really good job and we were very pleased! They took tons of pictures and it was so hard to choose, but these are some of my favorites. All I can say is I have a ton of frames to buy!

Happy Birthday Landon!

Landon is 4 weeks old today! It is so hard to believe that Landon has been here for a whole month already. Honestly, it feels like he's been with us for forever. It's hard to imagine life without him in our home now. Even though 4 weeks may seem like a short time to some, I feel like I've already learned so much from our little monkey. So I decided to make a list of the things that I've learned.

What I've learned in the past month:

1. It is really hard to be on time anywhere when you have a newborn.

2. You can survive on a few hours of sleep and not even feel tired.

3. I used to be a decent sleeper. Now I am up at the slightest peep.

4. There is nothing on tv at 2 a.m.

5. Sometimes it takes forever for a baby to burp!

6. You can (and will) get peed on by a baby boy.

7. My husband can handle taking care of a baby!

8. I can eat standing up, with one hand, and chewing doesn't happen as much.

9. Poopy diapers aren't so gross when they're coming from something so cute.

10. I can unclog a tear duct without having to call the doctor!

11. The Baby Book by Dr. Sears is the best book ever.

12. Landon doesn't care whether I've had a shower or not.

13. It's okay for my baby to cry. It doesn't mean I'm a bad mom.

14. I never knew I could love someone so much that I've known for such a short time.

And the BIGGEST thing that I've learned in the past month is:

15. Things are not always how you envision they will be. They might be completely different, and that's perfectly okay. What matters is that my baby is here and healthy!

Here's Landon on the day he was born.

Here he is today. Of course he was sleeping when I wanted to take pictures. He had a big day meeting his future girlfriends, Abigail and Karra! (Us terrible moms forgot to take pics, but we will next time!)

A Day of Firsts

Friday was a day of firsts for little Landon. He went to Athens and the UGA campus for the first time (and definitely not the last!). Landon's Uncle Steven graduated on Friday from UGA in less than 4 years with a degree in business. We're very proud of him! Landon was awake during most of the graduation, but he didn't make a peep.Steven, we know you'll go far in all you do and we hope you achieve all your dreams and goals!

Landon had another first when we went to Rafferty's in Athens. This was Landon's first trip to a restaurant. He had a good time, and was already eyeing everyone else's food! On Saturday evening, Landon made his first trip to the Mexican restaurant with us. He slept the whole time!

Here's some pics from graduation and lunch:

Mimi would rather hold Landon than eat lunch!

Landon is so proud of his Uncle Steven!

The whole family

Landon's "twin"

My fabulous cousin, Elisha, and I were pregnant at the same time, due within days of each other. She was having a girl, while we were having a boy. Our family threw us a joint shower, complete with a pink cake and a blue cake. It was so fun talking with Elisha for months about all our pregnancy joys and woes.

Here's a pic of us when we were prego:

Now both of our little bundles of joy are here. Wouldn't you know it that we'd end up having more in common with our babies than we thought! Landon and little Hayden were born less than 24 hours apart, weighed 1 oz different, and were 1 inch different in length. Elisha and I were so excited to get them together at the Thompson Family Christmas so that they could finally meet! We found out how hard it was to get two babies to look anywhere near the camera, but here they are:

Here's me holding my darling new little family member, Hayden. (She looks exactly like her father, Chris!)

The proud new cousins and parents: Chris, Elisha, Me, Kris and our adorable babes

Landon had so much fun being held by all his relatives!

All bundled up and ready to go!

Mimi (my mom) met us at the mall on Tuesday for Landon's first mall trip (the first of many!) and to sit with Santa. Landon was half asleep and Santa tried to wake him up. I asked Santa (on Landon's behalf) for a night of good, deep sleep!

I'm starting a blog!

Landon David Jones is finally here! He was born on November 24 at 1:42 pm, weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and 20 3/4 inches long. Life has been a whirlwind since Landon arrived, and I can't believe that today he is 3 weeks old! I've had a few friends saying that I should start a blog, but I wanted to wait until Landon was here so I'd have plenty to blog about. I call this blog "Adventures of a New Mommy" because adventures are exactly what I feel like we're having with Landon!
Landon sleeps pretty good right now, and we're thankful for that. He usually sleeps about 3-4 hours at a time. Kris has been WONDERFUL with Landon, and he's really surprised me with how quickly he's picked up on baby things. I admit I was worried because Kris has never really been around babies. I'm very proud of him and how helpful he has been. Here are some recent pictures from Landon's first few weeks:

Uncle James finally holds Landon! He did great, and didn't drop him or anything!

Landon taking his first bath



The bath part was more fun than the drying off part!


Landon's Mimi is always counting down the minutes til she can see him again!


I have to brag on Kris here. He's been on vacation since Landon was born, and he's been tackling all kinds of projects. I needed some shelves to house all my books from my former classroom. Instead of buying them, my crafty husband decided to build some into the wall in our new playroom. Kris' dad, Stan, helped out and below is the results. I love the shelves and I love my husband too!

I am brand new to the blogging thing, but I hope to make it a regular thing. Stay tuned for more pictures and adventures from our little Landon!