Family Ties

Landon has visitors! His Aunt Jenni came to visit him last week, and now his Aunt Andrea and Grandmother are visiting him this week! He loves being held and carried around by them, and especially loves talking with them. If you haven't met Landon yet, you can't appreciate how vocal he is...he constantly makes noises...grunts, groans, coos...I'm pretty sure that he is going to ask me for his own cell phone the second he learns to speak! He tried the grab the phone from me today so that he could hear the caller better!

Baby Vogue

Everyone has been telling us to take plenty of pictures of Landon while he is "new", since we will never believe how quickly the time passes, and how quickly he grows up. Luckily, our good friend Ashley loves babies and photography, and volunteered to come over and take some pictures of our little one. She is always so good at documenting the events in her family so we were excited for Landon's photo shoot, and also unsure of how he would like all the attention. Turns out we needn't have worried...

Us: "Wonder if he will keep his eyes open for some of the pictures?"

Landon: "Amateurs...I'll give them 'Blue Steel'..."

Us: "Hmm...he seems to be following the camera around to make sure his face is in every shot"

Landon: "Get ready for this next one...Mom made me watch America's Next Top Model while she was pregnant...my 'broken-down-doll' pose is going to bring the house down"

Us: "Might as well get some pictures of his cute little butt since we are changing his diaper anyway..."

Landon: "Yes! Now I can do my homage to George Costanza's 'Timeless Art of Seduction'!"

Note: this last little bit really happened AND we have the pictures to prove it. But, those are staying in the archives for now...

I'm Two Weeks Old Already!

Landon is growing up a storm and getting bigger every day! He is such a delight - he makes us laugh every day...

Home with Baby

Phillip and I are enjoying our first week at home with our precious little boy, Landon Charles Lewis. He was born on Sunday the 16th, and we have been enjoying him ever since. He is the sweetest baby and very laid-back (he must have his Dad's personality)!

He spends his days relaxing in his Moses basket (thanks Brandy and David), eating and making cute faces and noises. Here are some pictures of him partaking in his favorite pursuits...enjoy!

Twas the Night before our Doctor's Appointment...

Tomorrow afternoon we return to the doctor for a check-up; hopefully we will have some news soon! It feels a little bit like the night before Christmas for us, but we don't know when Christmas is going to get here!

Every night when I go to bed I think "this could be the night...my water could break...we could be driving to the hospital in just a few hours". I guess it's kind weird to look forward to a situation where you will probably ask yourself "did I just wet the bed?", but after years of Hollywood-idealized labors, I'm hoping for the water works. Just seems like part of the fun!

At Phillip's request, here are some pictures of my belly. We went to Poole's for dinner tonight and had to move from a booth to a table because Baby Lewis was in serious danger of being smushed! For the record, I think I could have made it through the appetizer course, but after seeing "peach crisp with creme fraiche" on the dessert menu, I knew I was going all the way with this meal. The sad part of the story is that when I started to ask our waitress about moving tables she said "oh, I was going to ask you about that"....

What's up Doc?

Nothing! At all! We just left the doctor's office and the baby wasn't as bis as they expected. He's still bigger than average - weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz per the ultrasound, but since he's not in the 90th percentile or greater for his age, the doctors are going to let him be for now.

The little lad seems to be enjoying his home quite nicely, and is not eager to leave. The good news is that I can still use my belly for a table since he hasn't dropped yet. Bring on the ice cream!

Thanks for all the calls today to check in on us - it makes us feel very special to have so many people excited about our little guy...

School Is Out for the Summer!

Since you know Phillip and I, you know that we are pretty systematic in the way we do things. Especially me...I've had an Excel spreadsheet tracking the baby to-do items for several weeks now! I "know" everything doesn't have to be ready and perfect before Baby Lewis arrives, but trying to convince my type-A brain of the fact is another thing entirely. So, I'm not going to fight nature on this one, and I'll continue to update my spreadsheets and re-organize every closet, cabinet and drawer in our house.

BUT...the scary, exciting, wonderful and nerve-wracking news is that to accomplish all of this, I'm taking some time off from work before the baby arrives. Wednesday at noon - school is out for the summer for me! On the one hand I can't wait; it's becoming harder and harder to concentrate on projects with the baby kicking around like he's trying to escape my belly (and I worked so hard to build it for him!). On the other hand, I'm losing the routine that I've had for the last 6 years. I'm very interested to see how my maternity leave works out for me - I haven't finalized whether or not I will go back to work yet, and I will definitely feel lost without my calendar!

Phillip is taking some time off too - his leave kicks off the Monday after mine. If you need to reach us, look for us lounging around Raleigh! I'll be the enormously cute (why yes, that is a double entendre!) pregnant woman rotating one of three outfits, and Phillip will be the stylish, yet farmer-tanned gentleman (he's been hitting the golf course lately). We plan to sleep in, hit some brunch spots, take in a movie or two, visit places that you can't take infants, and all sorts of fun adventures! Come join us - the more the merrier!