All Smiles

Look who is smiling...

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Several times throughout my pregnancy with Landon people would refer to him as our "rainbow baby".  To be honest I didn't really know what they were talking about.  I just smiled and nodded and moved on.  I did some research on what a rainbow baby was and found out that a rainbow baby was when a family who lost a child goes on to have another child.  Cute?  Sure.  I suppose Landon is our rainbow baby.  It didn' really have too much of an impct on me and I sort of just forgot about it.  Earlier this week I came across this explanation...

"Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope.

Wow!  Now this struck a chord with me!  How very true this is!  Last January Pat and I went through the biggest storm of our lives.  It was more than a storm, it was pure torture.  We hit rock bottom, but yet just a year later we have found ourselves on the other side of the rainbow.  We have found our own beauty from this storm.  Will we ever forget that storm?  NEVER!  It is permanently a part of us!  And now we have the most gorgeous reminder of that storm, but yet even bigger than that a reminder of HOPE.  Landon is our hope for the future, our hope for happiness, our hope in all that is good.  Landon is our rainbow baby and thank you sweet Jesus for sending him our way.  God knew how badly we needed this sweet little boy to heal our broken hearts and he allowed our storm to turn beautiful.  I love this side of the rainbow and I love this little boy and his big sister!

Slacker

I know I have not been the best blogger the past few weeks. My time is pretty consumed by one very cute little boy. And when he sleeps I do what all moms do.... I sit and stare at my precious baby. I can't help myself! I just love him so much and I can't do anything else but just marvel in how awesome it is that he is here. I will try my best to get back to more regular posts, but for now here are a few pictures of our sweet boy!

Twin Cousins

Early this morning my brother, Bill, and sister-in-law, Michelle, welcomed two beautiful baby boys into this world.  Gabriel and Nicholas were born at 9:38 and 9:39 am this morning.  We couldn't be more happy for them.  Landon is excited to have two boy cousins just his age (and one more on the way). 
Introducing Nick and Gabe Godefroid...

Nick was 6 pounds, 13 ounces and Gabe was 7 pounds, 1 ounce.  Just love them!

I know this is blurry, but you can kind of see it!

Nick and Gabe, Aunt Marissa loves you both!

 

Congrats to Bill and Michelle on two precious little boys!  And a big congratulations to the big brothers and sisters... Emily, Christopher, Anthony and Isabel. 

 

That's right... 6 kids!!!  I guess my big brother is following in my parents foot steps!  : )

The Question

With the weather being a bit warmer in the last few weeks we have found ourselves getting out of the house a little more.  We're finally getting the hang of packing up the diaper bag, timing out feedings, and bundling our little man up for a quick errand or two.  While I absolutely love showing off our bundle of joy it is inevitable that during almost every outing at least one person will ask, "Is this your first child?"  Ugh!  My heart about jumps out of my chest and I always feel the urge to vomit.  I've tried giving a quick nod "yes", smile and then awkwardly walk away, however this just isn't acceptable to me.  Although Landon is our only child here on earth he most definitely is not our only child and he is not our first.  Sometimes I will try to explain that I had a daughter about a year ago and that she was born with leukemia and she lived a very short time.  Then the person who I'm speaking to looks at me as though I have just ruined his/her day and walks on as quickly as they can.  I usually end up consoling them and telling them that it's ok.  Seriously!  It is so awkward!  I just hate it!  I want to speak about both of my children and not have it be so weird.  In the past few days I have found myself answering the dreaded question with, "he has an older sister in heaven."  This way I don't have to go into a long drawn out explanation and relive Paige's death over and over again yet I am acknowledging my daughter and her special place in our hearts.  It's crazy how one little question can be so hard to answer.  I refuse to ignore the fact that I have two children.  Paige is our daughter, Landon's big sister, a sweet granddaughter, niece, and cousin and I will gladly tell the world about her.

1 Month Stats & Dad Update

Today Landon went to the pediatrician for his one month well visit.  Everything looked great and we have a healthy baby boy on our hands.  Thank goodness!  Sadly, the poor guy had to get one shot...  the face he gave the nurse when she gave it to him was priceless.  He gave out one good scream, but that was it!  Tough little boy!  Our little man is growing great and has gained some lbs.  He now weighs 8 pounds, 13 ounces. and is 21.5 inches long.  That puts him in the 15th percentile for weight and the 43rd percentile for height.  The doctor was very pleased and gave him the thumbs up! 

Today dad came home from the hospital after udnergoing arm surgery yesterday.  Dad is in quite a bit of pain, but glad to be home.  His recovery time is expected to be about six weeks.  I don't know all the ins and outs of the surgery, but I do know they had to use cement to help repair... ouch!  The doctor told mom that most of the outerbone in dad's arm was dead but some of it still had a good blood supply.  Dad is just so happy that his arm in on the mend.  Now, we have to deal with this darn spot on his kidney.  When we know more on that I will update.  Thank you for all the prayers!

1 Month

Yesterday, Landon was 1 month old!  Oh my goodness, where did that month go?  I guess with Christmas, New Year's, Paige's birthday and angelversary and the craziness of life the past month flew by.  I just absolutely love being a mommy and I am head over heels for my little boy.  It has been so much fun watching him grow a bit, become more alert and having a ton of parties in the wee hours of the morning.  ;)  Gotta love those middle of the night feedings... it's actually one of the sweetest parts of the day.  Tomorrow we will have his 1 month check up at the pediatricians office, so I will update stats then.  Can't wait to hear how much our little man weighs!  At this point Landon loves his swing!  He sleeps in it, plays in it and is one happy baby when he is swinging away.  Landon also loves to cuddle and snuggle with mom and dad.  He is pretty content when he is hanging on the couch with dad!  Too precious for words!  Right now, Landon is eating every 2 - 2 1/2 hours during the day and about every 3 hours at night.  This makes for a pretty busy day for mommy.  It becomes a game of how much can I get accomplished between feedings, diaper changes and snuggle time.  Landon is doing great at tummy time.   He is just starting to like it.  A week ago I would of told you that he screamed through the whole thing... this has changed as of recently.  He is doing a great job holding his head up and moving it side to side.  Other than that Landon's day is spent sleeping and growing.  Oh, the life of a newborn!  Here are a few pictures of my attempt to get a one month pic....

Oh no!  Mom has the camera out again!

Maybe if I don't look at her she'll leave me alone!

She's seriously not going to leave me alone!

Fine I'll look at you, but I'm not going to smile.

We'll try again next month!