Keeping Up with the Jones'

Claire is 3 months - 14 1/2 weeks to be exact. All I can say is she is just an angel. She's so super sweet and happy. I call her "happy baby" and "Claire Bear." She's such a sweet baby - maybe I'm a bit biased:-) The last 3 months have been wonderful with Claire. Quite a few things have happened, so let me try to break things down into chunks:-) Month 1 May - June Of course we had lots of company to meet our bundle of joy. Everyone was blown away by Claire and those beautiful gray eyes. I'm still blown away by them. We stayed close to home month 1 and pretty much ran errands on a "need to go" basis. Thank God for "Amazon Prime Now."  I was so thankful that Claire latched on perfectly - no issues at all breastfeeding. I was back on my feet so quick compared to Camille. I was told it was because I didn't take any meds during Claire's birth (of course that wasn't by choice - LOL)  For the first 1 -2 weeks after C

Well - we were in for the shock of our lives on Tuesday night! Claire Elise Jones took the world by storm and made a very dramatic entrance. She was born ~ 2:18 am on Wednesday May 6....and we didn't make it to the hospital. Here's how it all went down... Tuesday was a very normal day for me...no contractions and no signs that labor was approaching. I had just gone to the doctor and she confirmed that I hadn't dilated or effaced any. She even mentioned that we discuss possible inducing labor on my next appointment which would have been at 39 weeks/ 5 days. So - Tuesday night around 10:30 pm I started experiencing contractions which felt a LOT like the Braxton Hicks contractions that I experienced a few weeks prior so I didn't pay them a lot of attention. They were pretty sporadic at 7 - 15 minutes apart and then got a bit closer together. Again --- same story as a few weeks ago when I "thought" I was in labor....I really felt like this was a repeat. So these

Darn Braxton Hicks! Thursday was a very eventful day for me. My colleagues threw me a baby shower. It was supposed to be a surprise, although I suspected something (it’s hard to get one over on me). It was extremely thoughtful and much appreciated. See a few pictures below. Then – that evening around 9 pm I started having contractions. I downloaded the “contraction app” and started logging them. I was up most of Thursday night timing them, they were very sporadic but coming on stronger. It made me SO nervous because I hadn’t done a thing! I hadn’t packed my hospital bag nor had we installed the car seat. So, between contractions I’m scurrying around like a mad woman trying to pack a bag just in case. The next day – we go to the dr. and she checked my cervix and confirmed “NO DILATION” – I was just about crushed. She did tell me that the baby “dropped” a couple of inches but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Dilation & Effacement are the most important things….and neithe

We had a really great Easter Weekend! Camille's grandfather was in town for the weekend. Camille had an Easter party at her school on Good Friday. I took the day off and spent the afternoon at her school for the party. Camille was so happy that I was there. The Easter Egg Hunt was absolutely hilarious! So - Camille figured out that her classmates were dropping eggs as they were "hunting" so she literally ran behind them to pick up the "dropped" eggs. I have to admit - it was kind of funny. I made her give a few to her classmates....but then she started crying....and you can guess the rest! We attended church on Sunday and the service was great. I made Camille a very small "Minnie Mouse" Easter Basket since she loves MM. She was excited when she saw the basket. I found the Minnie Mouse basket at Hobby Lobby and then filled it with: a Minnie Mouse cup, t-shirt, sticker/ coloring book. I put a little bit of candy but not much. Here are a

Wow - this time is really winding down! It's so hard to believe that sometime in the next ~8 weeks or so that our precious baby will be here. I am SO excited. I can't wait to meet her. I'm so loving the fact that Camille will have a little sister, someone to grow up with, teach things to, and be best friends with! I really wanted that growing up --- but instead I got Valerie LOLOL! Seriously - wouldn't trade her for anything. We have an 8 year gap in age, so it was challenging when we were younger but we're the best of friends now.  I went ahead and purchased newborn diapers over the weekend. It's my first "REAL" baby purchase. I plan to stock up and start buying diapers in various sizes  over the next few weeks. The diapers really came in handy with Camille --- I don't think we had to actually buy diapers for her until she was around 6 months or so....which was a huge blessing.  As for Mama - I've been feeling ok. I have a really bad cold

I am currently 8.5 weeks away from my due date and let me tell you ---- I could not be more thrilled. I'm constantly reminded of the goodness of God on a daily basis, but even more so when I feel my baby kicking inside me. The miracle of a woman carrying a baby in her womb, the means to provide nourishment through breastfeeding ---it's no one but God that could create such miraculous works. And this is just a fraction of what HE can do! I am also thinking back to how I felt when I was 8.5 weeks away from having Camille. I remember having the nursery, birth plan, maternity transition plan for work, and every other PLAN in place. I even had a project plan to keep me on track for preparing for her birth. Let me tell you ---- I was ON it and I was also ON my husband's nerves too! LOL! All clothes were washed labeled by size, separated by sleepwear, play wear, etc.  But, this time around - I haven't done much. I finally went through Camille's clothes and sorted them by

So, we are officially in the home stretch!!!! I am 30 weeks and 2 days. Anxiously anticipating our baby girl's arrival. I must admit - I have not done one single thing to prepare, but for some reason I'm not nervous YET. I'm trying to stay as calm as possible, but with Camille I had EVERYTHING in place at this point in my pregnancy. I'm definitely a lot more "lax" this time around. I'm happy to report that all of my tests (thyroid, gestational diabetes, etc.) have come out great. This has been a very healthy pregnancy and I'm so thankful for that. I'm tired ALL time - it's becoming my "new normal" but I know it will get better soon. Claire is a busy body (just like Camille) she kicks ALL the time! I absolutely love it. I can't wait to meet her. I keep wondering what will she look like? what will her personality be? will she be like Camille?, etc. and the list goes on. My due date actually falls on Mother's Day - what a treat t

We're so excited for the arrival of our baby girl due on May 10, 2015. Both of us are very healthy and this pregnancy is about as "boring" as my pregnancy with Camille. The doctor says it's boring because everything is going as planned/ routine visits, etc. I'll take BORING any day! We are doing really well - I must say. The hardest challenge has been chasing behind Camille, plus all of my other responsibilities. With Camille I had the luxury of being "lazy" and now I don't. I wouldn't trade it though. Here are some fun facts: Due Date: 05.10.15 How Far Along: 22 Weeks Facts About Baby: Our baby is about the size of a papaya. During month five, the average fetus measures about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces. She's got more developed eyes and lips and is looking more and more like a newborn. She's also starting to sleep in cycles - about 12 to 14 hours per day Total. Weight Gain: I lost countL I’m gett

So I had about a month to put together a party following our stay at The Ritz CHOA and it was quite the task. I really wore myself out but of course I wanted it to be perfect. Camille had an "owl themed" birthday party. She LOVES owls. We had 13 guests plus their parents so we had a house full. It was absolutely wonderful - we are very blessed to have such a huge support system. Here are a few pictures! Beautiful Cake made by Ms. Jenett Walton. She designed it based on the invitation.  Close up of Owl Cookie Favor from Totally Scrumptious Cookies (Etsy) Paper Owl Lantern. I had these lanterns from my baby shower, then used at Camille's 1st birthday party, and then reused again at Camille's 2nd birthday party.  Cookie Favors from Totally Scrumptious Cookies (Etsy) Personalized Coloring Sheets from Sugar Pie Studio (Etsy) Owl Favor Table Invitations from Zazzle.com Party Details were on the back.

I was telling my husband that I wanted a weekend at the Ritz where all I would do is lay in the bed, watch movies, and order room service. Well, the weekend of November 7 - 10 that's exactly what I got. On the night of 11/6, I noticed Camille had a small hard lump on her bottom that was painful to touch. We took her to Fayette Piedmont Hospital Emergency Room and they confirmed that it was a boil and needed to be drained. The only problem is that they would have to sedate her to drain it and since she had eaten in the last 4 hours they weren't able to drain it. The next morning we took her to Children's Hospital of Atlanta to have it drained --  we thought it would be an in/ out procedure. We were SO wrong. The boil had doubled in size from the night before and was very very heavily infected. They told us that they would have to administer antibiotics through an IV to be sure the infection was gone. We stayed there from Friday - Monday! And all we did was lay with Camille,