Relax

I LOVE the week between Christmas and New Years! It is possibly my favorite week of the year. Everette usually takes the week off of work and the best part is.... we don't go ANYWHERE!!! It is fabulous. Today... I am making a huge pot of ham and bean soup and yummy cornbread and whoever from our family is invited over to eat it. Everette, his brother, and his dad are making storage shelves in the basement. Really an excuse to use his air nailer he got for Christmas, but they all seem to be having fun. More on Christmas fun later.

Who am I???

Lately I am alarming myself. I am behaving in ways that are contradictory to what I thought was my nature...Example....
This morning, Everette and I popped out of bed at 5:30 AM. Jonathan (who went to bed an hour before us was still sleeping)> by 6:15 we decided to go out for breakfast. We weren't even sure Cracker Barrel was open at this time of day (we assumed they were, but we got worried when the lights were low). I don't think there has ever been a time in my life that I woke up at 5:30 for no reason, and actually decided to get out of bed. I am worrying myself.

Pre-Christmas Tragedy

News Flash......
Unfortunately the ADORABLE reindeer hat was eaten by the dog.
We are all sad around here.

More Pictures

Finally Long awaited photos.
There are a bunch of adorable Christmas ones... too many to choose so if you go to my website... or click here you can see... Jonathan's Christmas photos

Here are a few other random pictures!

Everette and Jonathan both fell asleep on the couch one evening and I thought they looked so cute. I went to take their pictures and then I realized why they were sleeping so soundly!
The power of the bottle!



I can't get enough of this hat! It is the cutest thing Ever!!!!
Jonathan had finally graduated to 0-3 month clothes... this is my favorite outfit in the bigger size!!!

SO this is what everyone has been talking about

You have to see it to believe it. Jonathan for the first few months of his life was a very "neat" baby. He never spit up, he didn't drool, and he only pooped once a day. We were barely changing diapers and wearing clothes more than once. How naive I was. Now that Jonathan has been supplementing with formula he is like a totally different kid. Top it off with the fact that he is congested and it makes for some incredibly gross stories. Here are a few highlights.
Saturday was the night Jonathan first started getting really sick. We were all lying in bed watching CSI: Miami--thank you paper clip, and Jonathan was sucking down a bottle. Now He had nursed, and had one bottle and now he was working on two. I knew in my head that this seemed like too much for a little tiny baby, but he really acted like he wanted it. Plus I am still grappling with the concept that my baby was not gaining weight at all. So I let him have it. He burped and everything seemed to be fine. He finished and lay contented if not drugged. After about 15 mins I sat him upright. Again everything seemed fine. a few minutes later the geyser erupted. I am not talking spit up I am talking rotten milk, empty your stomach projectile vomiting all over our sheets (This is why Everette, in his anal retentive wisdom, makes me wash the dirty sheets as soon as we change them).
Another time Jonathan was looking festive in his Christmas Jammies and adorable reindeer hat pictures to come). So I thought I would have an impromptu photo session. Things were going well, I had an alert, happy, smiley baby. All of a sudden his dinner appeared on his festive jammies. Thankfully, his outfit had puckered at the top and the spit up collected into a nice neat little pool, unfortunately I was hoping to have him wear it the next day so his gramma and granpa could see him. Fortunately, I got lots of pictures. Which by the way, you will see soon, it is just that the camera is downstairs and I am too lazy to walk down and get it.

The Spare

So Jonathan is almost three months old and for three months I have been carrying an extra outfit and an extra onsie and an extra pair of socks. The same pair, Jonathan just hasn't used it, he has never had a diaper blow out and he has never spit up. Until now. We were at the Dr's office for our weight check and I was giving him his extra bottle. He had almost three ounces and I kept trying to burp him, but nothing would come. Finally, it came, along with the rest of the bottle.... it was gross and it was all over his outfit. Wouldn't you know it at that moment the nurse called out his name. Well the outfit was coming off anyway.
Good news Jonathan tanked on a whole pound in one week. Bad news, he has a bit of a cold... so do I so does Everette. anther milestone.. that outfit that has been in his diaper he has grown out of.. time to upgrade to the 0-3 month clothes!!!

How Can So Much Come From Someone So Small?

So some of you know Jonathan has had a little trouble gaining weight. At his two month check-up he was only 7.8 so the pediatrician (whom I love--Thank you Michelle and Brian) has me supplementing with formula after every feeding. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it (the biggest one being that I want to do what is best for him), but this is not the point. The point is that Jonathan hadn't pooped since last Thursday(we went to the dr on Tuesday so this was five days). Soon after we began the formula (tuesday evening) we had a poop. It was relatively significant in size and smell. However this evening Jonathan pooped the largest poo he had ever pooped in his life. A very significant moment. Everette was excited it was like some bizarre right of passage. All I knew is that it smelled(s) terrible (we all know none of those diaper contraptions can mask the smell of a stinky poo) and it took five wipes to clean the whole thing up. Thankfully I had the foresight to remove his socks before the diaper so when I drew back in dismay and let go of his foot and of course it went directly onto the poo, I only had to use a wipe instead of starting a load of laundry right away from one measly (but very stinky) sock.
On a positive note... we met with the lactation nurse today and he has gained 5 oz since yesterday!

p.s. I know people only read this for the pictures, but I really felt that for this a picture would be too much. I promise I will post more later.

Introducing Emily Ruth

My sister-in-law had her baby on Wednesday! Her name is Emily Ruth Greene. She was 9 lbs and 3 oz at birth and 21 in. She looks just like Mary and Elijah did when they were born. Michelle is doing well (the time in the hospital is almost like a vacation for her!). Mary and Elijah are beside themselves with excitement. We are all just so excited that she is here! I don't want to post too many pictures, because, well, that's Michelle's privilege. But at least you can take a peek!

Thanksgiving

So Everette and I went to Selma Alabama for Thanksgiving. Both of his grandmothers and his aunt and his cousin live there (or reasonably close). It was the first time most of them got to meet Jonathan. One of Everette's grandmother's is unable to travel. She is barely able to walk. We were all excited for her to meet Jonathan. It was so neat, she was so excited. It made the long trip worth it. Which speaking of the long trip... Jonathan was amazingly quiet during this trip. He barely made a peep the whole way down and the whole way back. Everette and I were worried we would spend 12 hours listening to a screaming baby. But he was amazing.
The whole trip was great.. exhausting, but great. It was nice to spend time with Everette's family and it was encouraging to see how Everette and I worked well together on our long trip south.
Here are some pictures!

Jonathan slept the whole way down!

Everette and Grammy and Jonathan, at Grammy's Place.

Grammommie finally got Jonathan to be quiet.

Holy Freakin' Cow!!!!

I don't know how it happened and I don't know if it will ever happen again, but my baby slept for eight hours Saturday night! It was the most glorious thing ever! I gave him a bath, nursed him and laid him down at 1:30 AM and he woke up at 9:30 AM. It was marvelous... the best part is I slept soundly, I did not wake up once in a panic that he wasn't awake, at least not until 8:30 AM when we realized if we didn't get moving we weren't going to make it to church. On top of all of that Everette and I had a pleasant evening out together alone. It was a great end to a reasonably sucky day.

No Escape

There are many wonderful things about Everette working from home, I get to spend my day with my favorite person. He gets extra time with Jonathan, I mean who else gets to have a midday cuddle with their son and their husband during the week? And I also usually have some interaction with an adult every day!
The downside however is that when Everette has a bad day at the office, it is very hard to leave it at the office. This is exacerbated when Jonathan happens to be having a bad day. It isn't like Everette comes home from a bad day at the office, and hanging out with a crying baby is at least different (doubtfully better). He has been hanging out with a crying baby and a stressed out wife as well as dealing with stressful work situations. These days require us to be extra kind and extra patient. We are not always so good at, thankfully Everette has a great job and Jonathan is a great kid so these days are few and far between.

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

So Everette and I were at his parents house on Sunday celebrating his younger brother's birthday (Happiest Birthday Grant). Jonathan was being particularly fussy/hungry.
His family was passing him around trying to give me a much needed break. I was also finishing up my dessert (continuing the theory that he only cries when I am eating). Needless to say Jonathan was feeling desperate, so desperate that Daddy's Magic Finger wasn't even doing the trick.
Everette picked him up and held him in front of him and started talking to him. Jonathan in his desperation latched (quickly) onto Everette's nose! And stayed there!!! Long enough for us to get multiple pictures. It was hysterical, and pitiful at the same time. He has also done it several times since then (although now it has turned into more of a stupid human party trick).
Here are a few pictures!


This was the first time... as you can see it was a good latch!

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

So I had planned to move Jonathan out of our room after Thanksgiving, we would be past the 2 month mark and it seemed like a good time. My "plan" was to put him down for his naps in his room during the day so he can get used to sleeping in the room when it isn't so dark and scary. Then after Thanksgiving he would transitions to nights.
However, it seems that he has transitioned earlier... it might be a little too early to say for good (i.e. the pack and play is still up in our bedroom). But after, two nights and two days of little sleep, for all parties concerned, we moved to the "cry it out" method. So far it seems to be working. I hope that someday we get to the "no crying"point, but after a few minutes of crying he goes to sleep.... this was preceded by several 45 min crying sessions (for those of you who might be thinking of calling CPS--he was checked on periodically during the 45 mins).
It's funny how people keep asking me about his personality, like does he sleep well, or does he cry alot, etc. Everyday seems to be different. He is changing and developing so fast at this point that his sleeping and eating patterns are new almost every day.
One thing is for sure it is an adventure and Everette and I are loving it.


Here are some pictures of Jonathan in his very own crib. Enjoy!

And a teaser to keep you coming back... next time: Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

12:57 AM.. who says those college days are gone?

I don't understand why everyone says your life is over after you have a kid. People say to me your late nights are over...so far things haven't been farther from the truth. I mean in college I stayed up regularly until midnight at least (often 2 AM). Well here it is 12:57 and I am WIDE awake. Just like the good old days. In college I spent my late nights hanging with my roommates watching movies, crying and indulging in midnight snacks. So far there is a lot of that going on now... only differences are my roommate is a one month old boy and his crying is a LOT louder and so far he is the only one snacking (on the plus side I am burning calories while he is eating). But really I don't see what the fuss is about. If I just popped some popcorn it would be just like the good old days. (ooo wow... that was a REALLY LOUD scream). Also on the positive side my jaw has progressed from feeling like I was hit by a semi to just one really good punch in the jaw.


Everette's parents came over yesterday and made me dinner and his mom spent the night to help with Jonathan. It was wonderful! We also took a bath (really just Jonathan but we helped... umm that would be weird). But here are some fabulously adorable pictures. Don't worry they are all PG thanks to one strategically placed rubber duck.

It's all relative

So today is day two of having my wisdom teeth removed, and I have learned that pain is all relative. Like yesterday I went to sleep feeling like I lost a boxing match, but today I woke up feeling like I was hit by a semi. But this pain is nothing compared to the searing, piercing, stabbing, nerve exposing pain I felt in my tooth before they removed it. This pain was the second worst pain I have ever felt in my life (just in case you are wondering... the first is NOT labor--- when I was in high school I had these strange reoccurring lower abdominal pains--definitely the WORST pain in my life). So the moral of the story is if you are afraid of getting your wisdom teeth removed because of the potential for pain; just let a large painful cavity develop in one of them and wait until the pain gets so bad you want to blow off the side of your jaw and then the surgery will be much less painful... relatively speaking.

Super Fun Weekend

I know that I had a really fun weekend, my problem is that I absolutely cannot remember what I did on Friday. Saturday Everette and I met for a spontaneous dinner at Olive Garden. It was quite fun. The evening got even better when we went over to see my brother and sister-in-law. Who we have not seen in FOREVER! It was so great to see them and spend time with them. Which brings me to more serious thoughts. It is interesting how people keep telling me that they are amazed at how calm and together I am since Jonathan was born. Quite frankly, my life is easy. It is people like my brother and his wife that are amazing. Both full time teachers, with two kids under five and one on the way. Quite frankly I don't know how they do it, and they manage to do it all while keeping their sanity. They are great parents and they manage to find time to do things with their kids and each other. I truly am impressed with them, especially in light of recent events where they seem to be bombarded with one thing after another in this already insanely busy season of their life. So Michelle and Brian... hats off to you. Your kids are amazing, you are amazing. I hope my kids turn out as good as yours. It is an honor to know you and call you my family. Love you lots! I am praying for rest for you all!

Halloween

So mostly this is an excuse to post more pictures of my kid (those of you who were complaining before... watch out now!). My parents came over for Halloween and passed out candy to trick or treaters. In the past this is something Everette and I have really enjoyed doing. We stock up on the "good" candy--you know the stuff you traded for. This year, I hardly got to enjoy it... one of the many secondary benefits to nursing... you are tethered to a chair (positive-people wait on you, negative-you miss seeing adorable kids dressed up like pirates). It was quite comical the few moments I wasn't nursing, we became quite a spectacle answering the doorbell. Imagine some poor five-year-old ringing the doorbell, only to get bowled over by an over-exhuberant dog trying to lick you to death. When you finally get back up on your feet there are four adults and one screaming infant "oooing" and "ahhhing" over your costume and shoving candy in your face.
Overall it was a pretty great time, we did however realize that our neighborhood has quite a few less houses than our previous one did. Next time we don't need as much candy.


So the outfit Jonathan is wearing is from his Gramma Mills. She bought it before he was out of the hospital. I have to admit I was skeptical that he would be able to wear it by Halloween, but here he is! He definatley has some room to grow (out) lengthwise he has almost reached the toes. Enjoy!

The name

So I feel compelled to explain the name. Many of you might have guessed JEM are the initials of my family members. After Jonathan was born we got a congratulatory email from a dear friend of ours JP Flory. There he pointed out that we could now be "truly outrageous"... sending me into hysterical laughter and several moments reminiscing over one of the best television shows of my childhood. Not to mention my own secret identity of glamorous rock star--I am JEM, or at least I was in my bedroom.
I was then struck by the irony that Everette had NO idea what JP was referring to, even after I explained it to him. I thought it would be perfect. After all, we are Truly Outrageous.
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, please check out this youtube video. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpKggnvna8k

Everyone Else is doing it

So I find myself checking other people's blogs on a regular basis and I realized that there might actually be people out there who would want to read mine. Maybe.. I actually think my biggest selling point is I have cute baby pictures. Not to mention I am incredibly witty. Ok that might be a lie. So this is for all you people who have been harassing me to send out updates on Jonathan, you can find them here!

Today.. Jonathan slept for an amazing 20 hours (not in a row) and cried for only1 (the other 3 he was either eating or staring into space--he is really cute when he does that. I have learned that this kid has radar for any time I am sitting down to eat. He knows it and starts screaming... I am not kidding... others have confirmed it.

So for those of you who are dying to see... here are a few photos you may have not seen before. I promise to do my best to keep a steady stream, but it is hard because right now... he is just sleeping and eating (you wont' see any pictures of this.. this event is only viewable live and definitely not posted on the internet.. there are a few things even I won't do).