Sweet Summertime!

Our Story the Last 3 Months

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated the blog! I think that's just going to be the norm, and you know what? That's ok! So, rewind...and here we go...and   not  exactly in chronological  order...

In June there was so Much to Celebrate!

Between Landon, Scooter, Matt and GG, June was certainly the month of celebrating!

Landon turned 3 months old! Everytime we go to the doctor they're always shocked at how big he is. During an appointment this month, a nurse predicted by the length of his long legs that he'll be towering over Matt and I by his early teens. Oh my! He loves to talk (like his daddy). We're not going to have a quite house, that's for certain! He'd probably skip meals and naps if I just held him in front of me talking all day. He loves to giggle too. He giggles so much that he starts coughing, bless his heart! The only thing he wasn't enjoying so much at 3 months was tummy time. He absolutely hated it. He likes it better now, and he'll roll over from time to time, but no crawling yet!!! He'd just rather be doing something else.

Here's a picture of him at 3 months old!

Happy birthday to our Scoot Scoot! June 10 Scooter Tater Hutchins turned 4 years old. We gave him his birthday bone and in typical Scooter fashion, he doesn't chew on it for a few days, instead he wonders around the house crying with the bone in his mouth looking for a place to "bury" it. He gets upset because he won't just leave it anywhere. It has to be just the right spot. It's always fun to see where he hides it. His favorite spot is in our closet behind clothes. Although cute, yes, I prefer he not hide his bone under our clean clothes in the closet. We have to leave the closet door shut when he has a bone in the house :) Recently he's began every morning by tracking the course of overnight backyard visitors, mostly bunny rabbits. Then he usually hunts for birds in the trees before wanting to come back in. On his birthday morning however, after doing his business, he returned to the door crying so he could come inside and check on his bone. I love that dog!

June 14th we celebrated Matt's 31st birthday, and the following Sunday we celebrated Matt's 1st Father's Day!

Father's Day 2013

Landon's First Trip

Landon's first trip was to Texas! Are you shocked? He surprisingly did well on the car ride to Dallas on his first two trips. I just have to get his waketime in and it's soooo difficult when he's wanting to nap for 6 hours in his comfortable, plush carseat. If he sleeps the whole way though, he won't be sleepy at night. We stayed at his Nana and Granpa's (my parents) and I was a little worried on how he'd do sleeping in the pack-n-play instead of his crib overnight, but he did FABULOUS!!!

Baby wasn't excited about being stuck in a carseat for about 6 hours.

His first trip was extra special because it was the first time that he and his cousin Jonah met each other. They're going to have so much fun together growing up! Here's a picture of the cutest two baby boys in the world, and a few more of our family!

Cousins meet for the first time!

Landon with Uncle Jim

Landon with Daddy, Uncle Graham, Aunt Leila & Cousin Jonah

Landon & Granpa

Landon & GG

Nana feeding Landon before bedtime!

After our first trip to Texas with Landon, only 2 weeks passed before we made a second trip for GG's surprise birthday party!



Landon's First Church Service

On Sunday,  we finally made it back to church on Sunday, May 26 for the first time since Landon was born.The sermon that day was titled "Birthmarks." I thought that was neat :) He're a picture of us as a family the first time at First Baptist Church in Fayetteville. We can't wait for him to start going to the nursery and making friends! It's been difficult to make it to Sunday School. I shouldn't make excuses, I know, but it's right in the middle of his morning nap. And by the way, I've since retired this dress. Not so flattering with baby weight. :( This is probably one of the yuckiest pictures of me EVER, but it's still a very special one!

Landon's First 4th of July

Landon, Granpa & us

Scooter had patriotic pride as well!

Landon Turned 4 months old July 7

Landon's favorite toy at 4 months is his Baby Einstein Saucer. I call it his Sea World! He loves the crab the most! Here's several pictures and videos. Thank you GG! :)

Although his favorite song is still The Green Grass Grows All Around, I seem to have a second hit with him, A Bushel and A Peck, here's a video clip of him laughing. I'm glad someone appreciates my singing voice in this world! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJjNE-5w6UM

This month he also began responding to "Peek A Boo" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anT11sIuSSo


Landon's First Flight: August 2, 2013

It's August! Last Friday, Landon went on his first flight. We flew out of Northwest Arkansas and connected in Chicago before flying to our final destination in New Jersey for the Deemer Family Reunion! (Matt's maternal side of the family). While the travel was a complete nightmare, Landon did beautifully! It was the airline we flew and the airports we traveled through that just about pushed me over the edge. Sweet Baby was about as perfect as a 4 month old could be traveling half way across the country! We're so proud of him! This was about the only event I can think of that we'd take him on a plane so young. I came prepared with tons of Clorox wipes and Wet Ones. Everything we touched and he touched from the airport to the hotel room was wiped down more than once with germ killing, virus killing wipes! Airports, airplanes and most hotel rooms disgust me! I'm the lady you see opening doors with a napkin in my hand. Matt is equally as crazy. He washes his hands more than anyone I've ever met.

With Mama before boarding Landon's 1st flight!

With Dadda before boarding Landon's 1st flight!

Sitting in Dadda's lap on the plane! He did sooooo good during the flight!

Our little family before we got off of Landon's 1st flight on an airplane from Northwest Arkansas to Chicago!

Family Reunion!

Landon with his Cousin Jonah & Aunt Leila on Friday night
Jonah, now 18 months (time flies), likes to point at Landon and say "Baby"

Us with our super precious nephew!!! This was me trying to steal him for some lovin' which can be hard to come by. He'd rather be playing than getting love from Auntie Ju Ju! He was reaching out for his Mama in this picture! :)

Landon and his GG!

The Deemer Family

Matt and I discussed before we left Arkansas that we wanted as many of Pop Pop's stories on video as possible. Mission accomplished. We have approximately 30 minutes of priceless footage of Pop Pop. Sweet stories, some tearful and some comical, will be with us forever.
We'll be sharing those with the family, privately, soon. Pop Pop is 93 years young and is Landon's GREAT grandfather. I can't possibly express the "GREAT" enough. He's a wonderful man. For those of you reading this who are not family, Pop Pop met Matt's grandmother at a very early age in a Pennsylvania orphanage where they were both orphans. They have a beautiful story together, and I've never once been around him when he hasn't brought up the love of his life, and how much he misses her. She too was an amazing woman, wife and mother. It touches my heart every time I hear him speak of her.


Here are several little videos of Pop Pop playing with Landon! They were the oldest and the youngest at the reunion!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiMyy3hBpAk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=292-fHZGSUQ

While we were away, Landon picked up and played with his toy all by himself. It's a little turtle that plays music when you press his hands and feet. It's so fun watching him explore and learn how to do new things!


A Hutchins Saturday

Here's my wonderful husband on any given Saturday! Super Dad! He helps me run any errands that were impossible to get to during the week with Landon. His Saturday attire always includes Landon in a BabyBjorn. I can't tell you how much I look forward to the weekend!  He never gets a break. I'm proud of you, Sweetheart! Thank you! You'll never know how much I appreciate you and love you.

Several Things Baby Landon Loves

Bathtime

Here's a little video of him going splish splash in the tub! He can really splash some water since this video was taken about a month ago. His little legs are getting stronger! http://youtu.be/oQELXl3Y5Ho

The Great Outdoors

We can seriously take him outside if he's fussy and he calms down instantly. He loves being outdoors. He watches the trees blow in the wind, listens to the birds chirp, and is entertained by Scooter's playfulness. I know it sounds "storybook" but it's the truth and it's just so sweet to watch him enjoy nature!

Recently he's discovered he can make loud and shrill sounds, he loves squealing/squawking. I would say I don't love it so much, but it's his happy voice, so naturally, I think it's part of his preciousness!!!

His legs have also got stronger, and he LOVES standing on our laps, or even on the ground with our assistance. 


What I Love about Each New Day

It's ironic that I wait alllll day for a break and for some reason, I seem to get sad at night when I give him his goodnight kiss. Although I absolutely don't want him to wake up in the middle of the night, I find myself excited about getting to see him in the morning. Here's a little video of the precious face that greets us and melts our hearts at the start of every beautiful day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nqLvDNG-1I


5 Months Old Today

Here are a few of my favorites from today's 5 month old photo shoot!

Look Who's Two Months Old Today!!!

Last week we visited the doctor and measured 23 inches long! Landon measured 11 pounds and 4 ounces which means he's grown a TON! He's in the 50th percentile for weight, although I really don't get wrapped up in all that percentile stuff. We were instructed to begin practicing our tummy time for 5 minutes, twice daily. Yesterday I began putting away all his clothes that are "newborn" size. So sad, but exciting at the same time! He has new Halo Swaddle Sleep Sacks too and he's begun wiggling his arms out of them! That's a good thing when it doesn't wake him up. The doctor said he probably shouldn't be swaddled after 3 months.

Landon fast asleep yesterday...and having wiggled one arm out of his swaddle!

The First Seven Weeks

Landon Arrived!

My due date was March 6 and after a doctor appointment that day I was pretty disappointed that I had not progressed any further than the week before, actually I hadn't progressed much at all in 2 weeks! That evening around 7pm, I was leaving the grocery store when I began to notice contractions. I had experienced false contractions before then, so it didn't alarm me too much until I started timing them!!!

When Matt got home, I told him that there was a slight possibility that I might be in labor and we may need to go to the hospital that evening. Although the thought was in both of our minds, it was really surreal and neither of us would have bet money that we'd be holding our precious baby boy in the next 24 hours. We (slowly) got things prepared "just incase"....each of us took a shower, we finished putting together our overnight bag, did a little light cleaning around the house and really just took the evening calmly. Around 10:30pm, I knew I better go to the hospital because the contractions were getting closer together and lasting longer.

Although we had been calm all night long, the drive to the hospital was really when our hearts began to pound. We loaded the car up, got in and right when we started the car, the very first words that blared out the speakers were "This is the first day of the rest of your life." Ummmm, yeah. Crazy!!!! Matt and I froze, looking at each other. I think we exchanged something along the lines of 'did that really just happen?' and I knew right then that Landon was coming. If you're not familiar with the song, it's by Matt Maher and it's titled Hold Us Together. It's a beautiful song reassuring us that God is in control!

We were excited parents-to-be and just wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible!!! I wanted to get there before pain set in, and Matt...well if you know his personality, he naturally gets overly anxious. So with hazard lights flashing, away we went, (cautiously) speeding of course, and even (safely) running a red light or two. The speed limits on some hardly traveled streets around here is 25 MPH, so it's not like we were doing 100 on the highway or anything. About a mile from the hospital, a cop lit us up. I told Matt to keep going and he could follow us to the ER. I think Matt was going something like 20 over, the speed limit was only 35, but of course the cop excused it and just said to just don't speed so much over the limit on the next baby! :)

So I walk into the triage with a big smile on my face and excitely proclaim that I think I'm in labor! The nurse smirked and said, "Honey, by that big smile on your face, I can tell you that you're NOT in labor." She checked me out anyway, and within about 15 minutes that same nurse was telling me we WERE in labor and we were about to have a baby.

Labor and my stay started out beautifully, we had the sweetest nurse once we checked in who stayed in our room ALL night comforting us. We tried to get a little sleep but we were just so excited, sleep wasn't going to happen. Around 7am I began pushing, and finally at 12:50pm we welcomed Landon Garrett Hutchins into the world. 6 pounds, 15 ounces and 20.5 inches long

Unfortunately, I didn't have the most smooth or ideal labor and delivery. I would do it again in a heartbeat for Landon though. After 4 nights in the hospital, we were finally released on Monday, and Landon went for his first carride home at 1pm!!!

Homecoming

Landon's Auntie Leila had the most precious announcement made for our front yard. This super cute stork greeted us!!!

The first thing when we arrived home was introduce Landon and Scooter, who was very curious, very happy and very welcoming.They're going to be BEST buddies! Click here to see a short clip: Puppy Meets Baby!


Landon's nursery was also ready to welcome him! I can proudly report that he's spent every night in his own crib since we've brought him home!

My mom (AKA Nana) stayed with us for the first two weeks. Matt and I don't know what we would have done without her. She was such a blessing to us in so many ways. I had begun my recovery and I felt horrible, constantly. Mama woke all hours of the night with me and Landon for feedings, changed more diapers than Matt and I combined, and put him to sleep when I myself couldn't keep my eyes open. Being able to share Landon's first days with her is something irreplaceable. But I also enjoyed having Mama here for me too. One of the most special things is that we enjoyed breakfast, lunch and dinner together everyday for 2 weeks. I cherish that so much. I had not been able to spend that kind of time with her since high school.

Landon took newborn pictures at just 7 days old. He is just the most sweetest, beautiful thing that I've ever seen and I'm so happy we were able to capture what he looked like soon after birth. He's already changed so much. Here are a few of my favorites from the session, and his birth announcement!

 

Being a new parent is exhausting and certainly something we could have never prepared for. I just want to share how thankful I am to all the people who brought us dinner. The first month I don't think we cooked but just a time or two. First our neighbors took turns bringing us dinner, then our Sunday School class. We can't thank everyone enough!

March ended with Easter! Landon's GG got to come love on him for a few days that weekend, and she was such wonderful help...even taking the baby monitor for a whole night so we could truly take a break!

Month 2: April

April started off a little rough. Landon began showing more signs of colic, and although he isn't half as bad as many colic babies, it was just enough to almost make us go crazy! All I have to say is gripe water is the most wonderful thing on the planet! He had, still has, some stomach discomforts and gripe water has proven to calm him in most cases. 

Landon turned one month on April 7!

I was on the phone with my best friend Kara the first week in April and I guess she could tell that I was about to lose it, because Monday morning that next week she surprised me by flying into Fayetteville. She stayed all week. I love her so much and she'll never know how much I appreciated that. It was so much fun to have her here, and sooooo much help! Dropping her off at the airport was one of the hardest things I've had to do.

The following weekend Matt's brother and dad came to visit. Here's a picture of Landon with his Uncle Graham the first time he held him.

The third week in April I received some of the most glorious news! That Friday, my doctor had given me permission to work out again! I can't tell you how much I had been looking forward to that. I need more energy and less jiggle. Since Matt works and I'm not quite ready to put Landon in the gym's childcare, I have to start back at the gym with 5:30am classes. What a challenge! I'll be happy in the weeks ahead when I'll get to return to an 8:30am workout and have someone else watch Landon for an hour or so!

This last weekend my parents were able to come back and visit. It was so fun to show his Nana and Granpa how much Landon has grown. His 6th week he started smiling at us. Before then, he would smile, but it wasn't with intent. He also recently began responding to his toys and us singing to him. I know these things are the start of the most fun "firsts" we get to experience with him. Yesterday morning he actually giggled for the first time! It was a short little giggle but it was his first, and it was sooooo precious. The past two nights he's actually slept 7 1/2 hours through the night. I pray he will consistently have more nights like those. It's wonderful!

Landon loves:
Being swaddled tightly (this baby hates to be naked),
his daddy's voice,
looking at the light that shines through windows,
watching me sign language to him,
his toys during waketimes (see picture below),
napping in his swing (I allow once or twice a day),
car rides--as long as the car is in motion,
being sang to; his favorite song is The Green Grass Grows All Around

His two favorite toys! Bouncy chair with sounds & lights....and a colorful fun playmat!

Landon's First (sponge) Bath at Home: March 13, 2013

The preciousness in my life!

Our lives have changed so much since our little angel came into the world. We are grateful for our gift!

Every good and perfect gift is from above. 
James 1:17