Year 4, Weeks 17-19: An Introduction

 Well, hello there! We are back! I am a little off schedule at this point I think, but I don't even know for sure so I am just going to keep going with it. At this point, we hardly have a schedule and that's true about almost every part of our life!

Everything we had planned at the time I wrote the last blog was basically thrown out the window and all fell perfectly the way it was supposed to, God has a way of doing that! We always think our plans are pretty decent and He tends to just ruin those with an infinitely better plan! Thank goodness for His provision too!

It's hard trying to plan maternity leave since you don't really know when it is going to start. Since Amelia came 5 days late, I intended to work up to my due date, considering my days off, I had it starting on the 21st with my due date being the 19th of November. Well, I started having contractions on the 3rd. They weren't consistent, but it was enough to make me a little nervous about being at work as the only pharmacist. Since I was heading into a long week I decided to call my scheduler and come up with a new plan and we decided that the 8th would be my last day and that I would only be there until 4, then I would come home, it was supposed to be a 13 hour day. I am very glad it wasn't since we thought we were going to be headed to the hospital that night. We didn't end up going, but I was having consistent contractions for about 2 hours, it would have been scary being at work and having to figure out when to call someone else in! This was the first plan to be adjusted. Jonathan and Dad were still working on the house and we were continuing on our planned trajectory at that point. 

Wednesday came along and we kept doing our thing! Amelia and I went to small group while the guys worked on the house, it was a good evening, I enjoyed seeing everyone, but was getting a little antsy about the appointment on Thursday. Definitely not feeling confident about Baby #2 holding off until Monday when the carpet was going to be installed. When I got home, Jonathan told me that he was going to call and reschedule the carpet in the morning because it didn't seem like we were going to make the deadline. We both thought it was the best decision since there was (and still is at this point!) a lot to get done. Thursday morning he got up early to get some work done, then he called the carpet place and asked them if we could reschedule for whenever they had an opening, turns out it's December, so not too much of a delay, but enough for us to be able to get our feet under us and get everything done. Second plan to be adjusted.

Thursday morning I had an ultrasound followed by an appointment with my doctor, that's when she told us I was going to be induced the next day. Our third plan to be adjusted! Baby #2 was definitely not going to be waiting until the carpet install was completed and wasn't going to let me wait until the 21st to be done at work - coming in at almost 9 and a half pounds per the ultrasound, they didn't want to take any chances. I'm so glad they didn't!

We spent the rest of the day getting everything done that needed to be done around the house...which was a lot. We cleaned, got the bedroom ready for the baby, got out the toys, seat, swing, play mat, all the baby things so that we wouldn't have to do that when we got home. Dropping Amelia off at Mom and Dad's was not easy. We tried to make it easier by getting ice cream, but it was still hard to leave her. Thankfully, she was fine with it once she realized what was happening. When she saw that we were leaving she started running around putting toys away, gave Mom and Dad hugs and kisses then ran over to us so she could come, but she didn't cry when we told her she was staying! She did really well! Mama? Not so much, but I made it!

Friday morning we went to the hospital, it seemed like it took forever to get the whole process started. I got there at 7 and they didn't start anything until 10:30. It was a long day. My expectations were not what they should have been, but it all went well in the end. I was in labor for 19 hours, Little Man didn't arrive until 5:19am on the 12th! Mr. William Glenn Landis took his sweet time, but we are all so in love with him! Amelia got to come meet him Saturday morning, then Granny and Papa got to come up too! The Landis family came in the afternoon and introducing him to Grandpa Landis was super special. William is a family name on Jonathan's side, it's his middle name as well as the middle name of his dad and grandpa. Glenn is both of our maternal grandpa's names, so William is named after quite a few great men and we are praying he lives up to those standards!

We got some good rest while we were in the hospital, I was glad to eat again, since they don't let you do that during labor, and we were very excited to come home and be back in our own house Sunday afternoon. Amelia got sick Saturday night, of course, and then Jonathan also ended up not feeling well, of course, so our 2 weeks of leave didn't go quite as planned either, but we enjoyed it just the same. It has been so sweet and special to spend time together as a little family of four! Not a lot to report, mainly just trying to get William adjusted to days and nights, feeding, sleeping, playing with Amelia and healing. Everyone is feeling a lot better! At this point, we are all basically back to normal and are really starting to fall into a consistent rhythm. Amelia is adjusting to her baby brother, she loves "Baby Willmum", as she calls him. It's so sweet to watch her love on him. 

Our little family is slowly adjusting back to normal life, William and I are still hibernating at home, but we have had a few visitors, which makes the days better and we DID go out for Thanksgiving, which was a lot of fun. Of course, we only went down the road to Mom and Dad's, but it was still a change of scenery!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, keep scrolling for pictures!

We love you all!

Love,

Jonathan, Allison, Amelia and William

Year 4, Weeks 13-16: Work, House and Reading Books

Lil Landis update here! I am still pregnant, Amelia is still fun and Jonathan is still working on the house, so nothing terribly exciting to report, but we will see what we get into here!

Week 13: October 10-16

This was a bit of a crazy week for me because I worked long days Monday and Tuesday, then had inventory on Wednesday. It was a long stretch for us, but we made it. Amelia had some great time at Faith's and we both took really good naps on Wednesday! Jonathan and Dad worked on the house when they could.

Amelia had a bit of a rough week this week. She took a hit to the leg on Wednesday that made her limp, her leg kept giving out on her and she was very unsteady...thankfully, she quickly mended up and was having no problems by the evening! Thursday was another challenge. I had a doctor's appointment in Canton, she threw up all over herself on the way there, which was the first time she had done that. Since I didn't see it happen, I had no idea why she was crying until I smelled everything a few minutes later. We were late for my appointment because I had to clean her and the car up a little bit when we got there ,it was a whole big mess! That evening, Jonathan had band, so Tempi came to hang out with us, which was a great help to me! RIGHT before Tempi left, Amelia was spinning around being crazy, fell against the ottoman and slammed her chin against one of the corners. Thankfully, it was her chin and not her eye, nose or mouth because it left a significant bruise!

I was off the rest of the week, so I took advantage and did a lot of cooking. Made pot pie, shepherd's pie and applesauce - a successful weekend for sure! Jonathan and Austin got our stairs flipped on Saturday and we enjoyed some time with the Millers and Jonathan and Dad got some work done on Sunday as well. The boats came in Sunday evening, which was a lot of fun! One of my childhood friends' father-in-law rents here, so she came with them and we got to catch up a little bit, so that was awesome.

Week 14: October 17-23

Monday was grocery shopping and finishing applesauce for me and the guys worked on the house. You will catch on to a theme - lots of work on the house. We have been in crunch time...we are currently in MAJOR crunch time as I am VERY pregnant and carpet is coming. Mom and Dad have been here helping consistently and we are so thankful for all they have done. We have also had some additional help from Todd, Jonathan's family and, as I mentioned, the Millers. This season has been hard because I have not been able to help much, but we have both been reminded of how blessed we are to have the people in our lives that we do. Not only do they help us out tremendously, they do it with willing and loving hearts. I am so thankful that my daughter (and I, for that matter!), have their example to look up to!

I have spent a lot of time at work getting ready for my maternity leave - getting the schedule ready, teaching people how to do the order, all that type of thing. The pharmacist part is easy, because people are trained for that, the managing is a little bit more difficult. Wednesday I made apple cake and granola, we had small group in the evening and had sausage gravy and biscuits for dinner...just typing that today makes me way too tired!

Thursday was a lot of  work for everyone. We try to take Amelia out every day, so we introduced her to jumping in the leaves...she isn't a huge fan yet, but we are slowly getting her on board! She has decided she likes to crunch them and run in them, so for now we will take that! I had an ultrasound this morning, Baby was fine, so we are just waiting to see how we look next ultrasound if we make it that long!

Jonathan and Amelia had a night just the two of them on Friday, which was a blessing for both of them I think, The guys worked all day on Saturday, then the Landis' came to visit on Saturday. Jonathan worked all day on Sunday and we had a family night in the evening. It was a productive and family centered weekend!

Week 15: October 24-30

Basically all work this week. I worked on making sure everything was ready for the baby and tried to keep everyone fed, but we just have been focusing and pushing really hard on the house. Amelia and I have enjoyed our time together while everyone else is busy, I am trying to soak up my last few weeks with just her! We have been going to the library on Wednesdays for story time since I cut back on work and she is loving it! She talks about it all the time, loves getting new books and is getting more comfortable participating! I am always so proud of her.

I have been having doctor's appointments every week, so Jonathan has been taking those as personal days so he can be involved in that and then can work a little bit. Not that they leave a lot of time for work since I am always taken back super duper late. 

We had a wedding reception on Saturday, but otherwise spent the weekend working. Saturday morning was spent shopping - paint, register vents - all that type of fun stuff, but otherwise work! Shem and Karah were in town, but they were busy, so we just stayed the course and got a bunch of stuff done. 

Week 16: October 31-November 6

I worked double 13s, the guys worked and then the rest of the week I was off and everyone else worked on the house while I made food and kept Amelia - basically the gist of the week! My tasks included finding light fixtures and window coverings, both of which went pretty well, but otherwise? Just making sure our home is functioning! Saturday, Jonathan's family came to help, so that was wonderful. We had great food on Saturday - Yoder's sandwiches for lunch and Papa John's for dinner because Amelia and I were in Alliance grocery shopping. Dad and Jonathan worked all day Sunday, then we had a few hours as a family in the evening. 

It has been a lot for everyone these past few weeks, but God has been good. We are getting close to baby and close to carpet and close to done with all of this, thank goodness, but even with all of the craziness we are still enjoying these last few weeks together just the three of us. This season of life is closing in fast! We are thankful for this time we have had and are excited to see what the next season holds! Next time we report we will most likely be a family of four!

Enjoy the beautiful fall we have been experiencing! We love you all!

Love,

Allison, Jonathan and Amelia