The end is near...

Well Christmas has come and gone and the New Year is upon us. I can't believe how fast the weeks have flown. We had a nice Christmas spending time with our families. Bryson even met Santa and that went very well! :) I just can't believe Christmas has come and gone so quickly! I guess we say that every year though!

This is my last week staying home with Bryson and it's breaking my heart thinking about it. I never thought it would be so hard to take him to daycare....boy was I wrong. I can't help but worry if he'll be taken care of like he should be. Will they rock him to sleep if he needs to be? Will they know when he's hungry? Will they comfort him if he's upset? It just absolutely breaks my heart to know I wont be there for him. I know I'll be fine once I get used to everything but it's definitely going to be a difficult adjustment. I really hope that Bryson doesn't have too much trouble adjusting to his new environment. I also worry about missing out on major happenings in his life. Will I miss the first attempts to crawl? His first word? His first steps? I sure hope not!

With all that being said, I know it will be good for me to get back to work and get back into the grown up world I've left behind for so long now. I also know that it will be very healthy for me to get out of the house and have the time to myself during the day. I just know I'll be itching to get my arms around my baby at the end of each day!

Anyways I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I hope the upcoming New Year brings many blessings to everyone! I'm certainly looking forward to what this year has in store for us!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

Well another two weeks have passed! Bryson is growing more and more each day. We went and had his first shots last week which was a little hard for mom but Bryson was a trooper. As of that visit he weighed 11 lbs 4 oz and is now 23 inches long. It's hard to believe how big he's getting! Everyone always says that time with a baby just flies by and now I'm really starting to see that. He changes so much every day! We get so many smiles and sounds from him now. Every noise he makes (aside from the crying) is music to my ears. Even as I type now he's in his swing talking away. I can't help but smile and laugh...it's just such a sweet sound.

We are really looking forward to the holidays coming up. This year is going to be so special with a new baby. I've finished up most of my shopping and thankfully I've been able to do a good bit of it online. Shopping with Bryson is not always the easiest thing to do. I've learned he's not too fond of it. We like to wait until the weekend when Daddy can go with us. Bryson loves the Christmas tree. We sit him in his bouncy seat and he just looks the tree up and down. It's precious.

That's about all there is to share right now. Our baby boy continues to get more beautiful each and every day! I can't believe how lucky we are!

Smiles that warm your heart...

Hi everyone! Today marks Bryson's 8 week birthday! I can't believe how fast the time is flying. It's absolutely incredible. He has finally started smiling and it is the most precious little smile ever. He also likes to talk to us now with a bunch of coo's and aaah's and you can't help but laugh because it's so sweet. Aside from bathtime, his other favorite time of day seems to be diaper change time (unless he's being cranky that is). He has the best time on the changing pad just talking and smiling. In fact this morning when I was trying to clean out his nose with the bulb syringe, he thought that was the funniest thing! I never thought I'd get a big grin from him for doing that!
Each day he brings so much joy into my heart it's unbelievable. Part of me wants him to stay little forever but the rest of me is so excited and anxious to see the little person he's going to be. I do know one thing, he's going to be one handsome little dude!
One thing that I have learned in the past few days is it is nearly impossible to catch one of his smiles on camera. I have tried my hardest but by the time the camera flashes, he's already stopped. So here are some shots of me trying to catch a smile...he still looks adorable though!




I'm so glad that Thanksgiving is coming up this week. It's my favorite holiday because it's all about spending time with family. This year I am so thankful that God chose Jeffrey and I to be Bryson's parents. We don't deserve that kind of blessing but God has given him to us anyways. We really don't deserve any of the things God gives us, but to be chosen as parents...wow, that's huge. Having Bryson in my life has really taught me to count my blessings daily. Because of him, my heart is overfilled with love and joy and my life is now complete. What more could I possibly want?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Gobble Gobble!

6 weeks and 500 diapers later...

Time sure is flying! Bryson will be 6 weeks in just a few days which is unbelievable. He's getting to be such a big boy. Everything continues to go well and he's a very healthy boy so we are grateful for that. Every day around 12:00 PM he goes into a little crying fit for a while, so that can be a bit frustrating but somehow I make it through. Being a temporary stay at home mom is pretty stressful at times but I really cherish the special moments that we have together. I wouldn't trade this time for anything.

We still haven't seen that first precious smile yet but every day I try to get one out of him. I think it will come really soon! Bath time is our most favorite time. Bryson is the happiest little thing ever when he is in the bathtub. It is so adorable! If he could smile, he'd have the biggest grin on his face. I feel so bad when I have to take him out because he gets so upset. I wish they made a little portable bathtub that we could tote him around in. He'd love it!

We are just really enjoying being parents. Each day is a new adventure! Gotta love parenthood!

Love,

Jennifer

Sleep much?

Well we've made it through almost 3 weeks now! I can say that life with a newborn is a little crazy at times but we love spending each day with Bryson. He's already growing and changing so much and it's fun to see what each new day brings. I still stare at him for hours wondering how he could be mine! What a precious gift from God.

I made it through my first week of being a "stay at home mom"! It's so weird being home and not going to work every day but I'm enjoying it so far! Thankfully Bryson is a very good sleeper during the day time so my job is pretty easy. We snuggle and watch TV and he sleeps the day away. I just need to figure out how to make myself sleep the day away too!

Saturday we took Bryson for his first photo shoot and he did so good! I am thrilled with the pictures we got! He is so adorable I can't hardly stand it! He did poop on me during the naked shots, but I imagine it wont be the last time that happens! I thought I'd share some of the pictures from the shoot. Enjoy!

Love,

Jennifer

Surprise delivery!

Well what a week this has been! Much to our surprise, Bryson decided to come a little earlier than planned. Tuesday morning (the 30th) I woke up at around 1:00 AM with contractions. At around 4:00 AM I called the doctor and he told us to head on to the hospital! When we got there, we were disappointed to learn that I hadn't dilated any yet but they were going to keep me and monitor me for a few hours. They talked about possible sending me home if I didn't progress much. (In my head I was thinking...the heck you will!! I'm not leaving without a baby!) After a few hours I had still only dilated 1 cm, however the doctor could see that my contractions were coming fast and hard so he decided to keep me. After a few more hours they gave me some meds to speed things up a bit and let me tell you, that stuff works immediately. Almost as soon as they started my IV, I immediately started experiencing some very strong and painful contractions coming only a minute or two apart. Needless to say, soon after I was requesting my epidural, which I was told would be given to me in approx 20 minutes. Unfortunately for me, it was a very busy day at the hospital and I had to wait an hour and a half before the anesthesiologist paid me a visit. This was the longest hour and a half of my entire life!! After the epidural I was on cloud 9 though. Medicine is a wonderful thing! Anyhow, a few hours later I was fully dilated and ready to push. Fortunately for me it only took a handful of pushes and he was here! I keep telling everyone that the delivery was the easiest part of the entire day. I couldn't have asked for it to go better. Bryson Alexander came out weighing 6lbs 10 oz and measuring 20 inches long. (that ultrasound fooled us!) Also, his head is absolutely perfect...no bobble head on this baby! He looks EXACTLY like his daddy and is absolutely adorable. He inherited my nose and ears but the rest is Jeffrey. It's too funny!
Now we've been home a few days and it's definitely been an adjustment for us getting used to a newborn in the house. He's an absolute angel during the day and sleeps peacefully for hours. At night is when the fussiness begins. We've had a few loooong nights but he's starting to come around and get the hang of things so we're very thankful for that. Breastfeeding has been a bit of a challenge for both of us but just in the past day he's improved a ton so that has been a major relief. We had his first doctor's appointment this morning and everything is great. She said we have a perfect baby! (of course, we already knew this)
Other than that, there's not much to say other than we feel SO blessed to have such a beautiful baby boy. We stare at him for hours in amazement, still in shock that he is our son. We couldn't be more proud. I'll try to keep the blog updated as much as possible...it's a little tough to find free time these days! :) For anyone that would like to email us, my email is JLJohnson84@yahoo.com and I'll be checking that as much as possible during the coming weeks.
Now for some pictures of our sweet little boy:





Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers during this time. We are absolutely blessed to have such a beautiful child. We can't wait for you all to meet him!


Until next time...
Jennifer

bobble head dolls are the coolest.....

Jennifer and I got another peek at Bryson on Friday. At 37 weeks, our little man weighs in at 7lbs 7ozs!! His arms and legs are measuring at 37 weeks, BUT thanks to his daddy, Bryson's head is a little on the large side. Sorry, buddy! I wouldn't wish this bobble head syndrome on anyone, especially you! You'll just be as smart or smarter than me. Probably smarter! See you soon, little-big man.

We are so close to finally meeting him! Thanks to all of you for your prayers.

Jeffrey