Year 3, Weeks 28 and 29: Baby Amelia Goes Out

 Hello, there! We are trying to get back on track here! Also, we were off on the weeks...so there is a repeat somewhere...it's a bit of a mess, but we are still showing up! There are a LOT of pictures, but I will do my best to put them in order!

Week 28: January 25-31

Monday and Tuesday were Jonathan's last days off, so we tried to make the most of them. Jonathan spent the day working on our kitchen faucet. The one we had was absolutely horrible, so he got a new one and got it all hooked up! It has been so nice to have one that actually functions well. We are trying to prioritize date nights, regardless of what they may look like, so Monday we watched a movie and did some reading together after we had steak, potatoes and green beans for dinner!

Tuesday ended up being a little bit crazy, but it was a good day. We spent the afternoon soaking up our last day at home just the three of us, then the evening went a little wild. Jonathan and Dad went to move a freezer from the grandpa's house. He wanted to get rid of it, so Jonathan and I are putting it to good use! They cleaned it out and moved it here while Mom and I spent time here with Amelia! Cori brought us dinner, which was super sweet, and she got to meet Miss Amelia!

On Wednesday Amelia had another doctor's appointment, so we went there, then returned something to Kohl's and stopped at Aldi on the way home. Linda stopped by, brought us a gift card for dinner and got to meet Amelia. It was Jonathan's first day back to work, but he only did a half day so he could come to Amelia's appointment with us, so it went pretty well! After dinner, Mom, Dad, Grandpa Haas and Hope came over so Grandpa and Hope could meet Amelia. They loved her and were so sweet! She was an angel the whole time!

I mentioned earlier that Wednesday went well...Thursday was long! Jonathan worked a whole day, worked on the freezer and cleaned it out while I made a corned beef brine, then went to band...so Amelia and I hung out all day. It went well, but I was pretty tired and ready for some time with Jonathan by the time he got home! As you can tell from the pictures...they were both very excited to be reunited.

Friday we got ready for the weekend since we were getting our meat that weekend. Jonathan worked, I made a quick run to Drugmart, then I prepped everything for chili and made chicken and wild rice soup for dinner! Saturday was a big day. It was Amelia's first trip anywhere other than the doctor's office...Aunt Bev's house! She got to meet some more cousins...which was very adorable. I found out why God only gives you an infant or two at first then gets you warmed up to having five...it was fun to hang out with all five of them but I am very glad I only have a little baby to take care of at this point! In the evening, we finished putting everything away and Vickie brought us some enchiladas...which took a lot of stress off of me! They were delicious!

Sunday, Jonathan played for church, so I stayed home with Amelia and watched church online. Once he got home, we went to Drugmart then went to visit the Haas house for the first time with the baby! She had a great time...as you can see, she slept for most of the time! We had burgers when we got home, then did a group Zoom call with the Landis side of the family! It was so much fun to introduce all the babies to everyone! We enjoyed getting to see the other babies...Amelia was the largest of all of them...she is also the only girl! They are just all so cute...I hope they can all be together at some point! All of them were born within 4 days of each other!!!

Week 29: February 1-7

Monday was a quiet day for us here at home, there was a lot of snow, so we hunkered down and spent some time relaxing. Tuesday we organized a bunch of stuff around here, moved things around in our freezers and watched a movie! Pam and Sara came over and saw Amelia in the afternoon, so she loved that! She got a lot of love and snuggles! 

Wednesday was our date night and meeting with our financial advisors. It was awesome to regroup with them after our crazy year, then relax and play a game. We had a fantastic time...and I won...accidentally...which was very entertaining! We had never played the game on our own before and it was a lot of fun...a little different considering the fact that I had to pump and Jonathan had to calm a crying baby while we played, but we made it happen! It was great to figure out how to incorporate her into something we enjoy doing together!

Our Thursday was a little bit different than normal because Jonathan didn't have band, so we enjoyed an evening together! Cat brought soup for us to have for dinner, then my parents came to hang out with us a little bit, which is always helpful because then we don't have to worry about her while we are eating! It is also wonderful to get to see them love on her, she is so spoiled!

It was a WONDERFUL weekend. We had quite a few outings, which was new for Amelia! Friday afternoon Faith came over to talk and see if we could work something out for Amelia's care when I go back to work...and we did! It seems like it will be a wonderful situation for everyone and I am so glad that Amelia gets to spend time with someone who is excited to spend time with her and will love her! God has been so good. 

Friday evening ended up being a little different than we planned, which was wonderful! We ended up going to get Wendy's for dinner, then went to Grandma and Grandpa Dickerhoof's for Amelia to meet them! Again, she is beyond loved. It was so sweet for me to see them meet her! She got to meet her first Great-Grandma and that was super sweet and special for me. I just love her and I love sharing her with the people I love.

On Saturday morning, we had baked oatmeal for breakfast then Jonathan went up to the farm in the morning and Amelia and I hung out at home. I made ham braid and macaroni and cheese for lunch, then we left and headed out to the Landis'! It was her first time visiting there, so that was exciting! Grandpa Landis and Aunt Joyce came down to meet her too! We got home in time to feed her, then went straight to church for the first time ever for Amelia! She hadn't even gone while she was in the womb!!! That's how long it has been since we have been able to gather corporately! It was wonderful to be back together again.

On Sunday we napped, relaxed, had leftovers and recharged for the week. Then, in the evening, we watched the Superbowl! My parents and the Prusias came over! They brought pizza, chicken and brownies and we made philly cheesesteak dip and a chocolate mousse dip. It was awesome! Amelia got to meet her Aunt Granny and Uncle Duane and we got to share her preciousness with even more people who love her.

We are loving our baby girl and are loving sharing her with the world. The winter season has been beautiful! Snow, sunshine, it is just so bright and cheery! I am thankful for the beauty we have been given. I hope everyone else is enjoying it, staying warm and taking some time to recharge! We love you all!

Love,

Alli, Jonathan and Amelia

Year 3, Weeks 25-27: Amelia Ann Finally Arrives

 Hello! I have a good excuse for this post being late...WE HAD A BABY! That's right, baby Amelia showed up and we are so thrilled about it. So this is the first post from the Landis'...family of three!

January 4-10:

This was Baby Amelia's due date week and I was scheduled to work 60 hours...and that's what I did! Monday I worked a short day and came home for smoked pork chops and noodles, then rested for the rest of the night to prepare myself for the rest of the week.

Tuesday was a long day for me, so Jonathan spent the evening working down in the shop on a few different things. After the two days of work, Wednesday was a welcomed break and my only day off that week. I did have a doctor's appointment and kind of expected them to schedule for me to be induced...they did not do that, so it was a little disappointing. We stopped at Target and got a few last minute items to prepare for the baby, then went home and Jonathan finished his work day. In the evening we went to Mom and Dad's for chili and games since Shem was getting ready to go back to school.

The rest of the week was work for me. Thursday I worked, then Jonathan had band, so I came home and ate, then my family came over to visit again and Shem brought my birthday gift! It was good to get to see them and to not be home on my own for the whole evening. Jonathan came home and brought some cake, so that was delicious! Friday was a long day for me. Jonathan came to visit on his way back from Robertson's...and he brought me some Subway! 

The weekend was long for me...Saturday was Baby's due date...so that came and went! Jonathan was at home and worked on a few projects! He worked on getting the water lines ready for our fridge to be hooked up, installed a sediment filter in our water lines and re-routed our cable. After work, we met at Doug's for dinner as our last "pre-kids" date night. Sunday was the Brown's game in the evening after work, so Jonathan got a lot done during the day so we could just relax in the evening after I got back from work. He and Dad fixed our light out by the shop that never turned off, then he went to get groceries and picked up Hot Heads for our dinner! I had Mexican food both of those nights just trying to go into labor...to no avail.

January 11-17:

I was off work on Monday, so that was a much needed rest day after my long week. It was full of rest since I knew I had a 13 on Tuesday. Sometime around 6 AM on Tuesday I woke up not feeling well at all. I knew I was either getting sick or going into labor, so I ended up texting my partners who said they would cover the shift for me and I called Laura to let her know that I wouldn't be there, which was all okay with everyone! At this point everyone was just waiting for the call to come through since I was already past due. I ended up sleeping until about 11 AM, then had a completely normal day. By bedtime I was pretty irritated that nothing had happened. As we were going to bed we got a text from Jonathan's mom saying that his cousin's baby was born that day...their due date was January 8th originally and ours was the 9th, so I jokingly said "Maybe our baby was just waiting for Andrew and Casey to have their baby because they knew their baby was supposed to come first." Ironically...I went into labor less than an hour later!

At first, I went to sit on the recliner, hoping to get some sleep! That didn't go as planned...but at least Jonathan got some sleep for a few hours! It was about 2 hours out on the recliner for me...mainly just making sure it was really labor! So I was timing contractions and making sure they were progressing as expected. By about 12:30 I was confident it was labor, the contractions were getting worse and were coming closer together, so I woke Jonathan up so he would be able to help me out and get us ready to leave. At about 1:30 he wanted to go to the hospital, but we stayed at home until 2:30am...at that point I started bleeding a little bit so we headed out as soon as that happened! We got to the hospital at about 3:30am and they got me all checked in and established the fact that we were going to be having a baby before we left. I got my epidural at around 9am when I was about 7 cm dilated...and then we waited...and waited. Thankfully, with the epidural, I got to sleep a little bit while we were waiting. Of course, I couldn't eat, which was very irritating, but the sleep was good. At 8:30pm I was finally dilated and could start pushing...so I pushed until 11:30pm, then they came in and said we needed to try the vacuum before I was too tired and had to get a C-section. Once they got her on the vacuum it took two contractions and she was out at 11:48! Jonathan was wonderful and got to help a lot. He helped hold my leg and helped me lean forward...all of which I couldn't have done on my own. When she came out they let him tell me that she was a girl, then they set her on my stomach and got her cleaned off and finally gave her to me so we could snuggle! After that they took her to weigh her, examine and do some tests on her. She was 8lbs 8oz and 21.25 inches...a little bigger than we expected! Jonathan stayed with her the whole time, took some pictures and just watched her. She barely cried at all, just let them do whatever they needed to, such a little trooper!

Once the epidural ran out and I could go to the bathroom on my own, I got to eat, we went to our new room and finally got some sleep between trying to get her to eat. We stayed in the hospital until Friday afternoon. No visitors, little help from the nurses, it was a sweet time as a family, just the three of us! Thursday morning we fed her, then facetimed our family so that they got to meet her, even if they couldn't come to the hospital. It was so sweet to get to introduce them to her. We were all ready to come home by the time we were released. It is a little stressful to bring a baby home for the first time...but she was a little angel! She slept the whole time and was just perfect...as expected. This is how she is in general!

Once we got home, my family came over to see her and hold her, then Ken and Pam came over as well! She loved getting to meet everyone and was just sweet as sugar the whole time! Saturday she got to meet Jonathan's sisters and Dustin, so she loved that as well. Sunday was the Browns game, so my family brought pizza over, Mom helped us tear down the Christmas decorations and we had a good evening together watching her first Browns game!

January 18-24:

Our fist week home...it was so wonderful. We were loved on by so many people. Monday we went to the doctor for the first time. Poor Amelia had lost too much weight, so we had to increase her feedings. Every two hours she had to eat and every other feeding I would pump, then add some formula to her bottle so she got a few extra calories. It made for a long couple days! Thankfully, we had so much help. The Parrish family brought us dinner on Monday and they all got to hold her, then the Henmans brought us dinner on Tuesday. Vance was fine with her until his mama held her...then he was definitely not okay! It was funny, and we had a good time interacting with him! Jonathan got the fridge hooked up to the water that day, so now we have ice and water on the door, which has been very helpful and has spared us some space in the fridge since we don't have to have a filtered tub of it in there anymore!

Wednesday we had Amelia's follow-up appointment and she had gained 60 grams when they needed her to gain 15...so she really exceeded the expectations! It was so wonderful to know that she was headed in the right direction...it was also wonderful to be able to cut back on some feedings! Mama was getting exhausted! That evening the Lumleys came over and brought dinner. We loved spending time with them and their boys and so appreciated the food they shared with us!

On Thursday, Jonathan went to band so my parents came over to spend time with me. I just wasn't ready to have her all by myself yet. On Friday, Amelia got to meet Aunt Chery and Uncle Jeff! She is so spoiled already by everyone in her life and is loved by everyone who meets her...which is only natural since she is adorable and the sweetest thing in the world.

It was a good weekend for us, Jonathan went up to the farm on Saturday, so Amelia and I hung out at home for the morning! Once he got home we had stuffed shells, watched a movie and relaxed. Sunday we had church, the Landis' came to visit and we rested again that evening. Ken and Pam brought Grandpa Landis to visit as well, so Amelia got to meet her Great Grandpa, which was super sweet.

As you can see, the past few weeks have been a little crazy and have involved a HUGE adjustment for our family...all of us went through some pretty crazy changes! We are all feeling much better now, are fairly well adjusted and are starting to fall into a bit of a schedule!

We hope everyone is staying healthy and enjoying the beautiful winter we are having!

Love,

Allison, Jonathan and Amelia

Bonus photos: