Catching up

Let me begin by saying that my New Years resolution is to post something on here at least once a week! :) I'm such a slacker! Anyway, I wanted to catch everyone up on our busy lives these past few months. We had a great October and Halloween. Jonathan dressed up as an elephant (roll tide!) and was the cutest one I've ever seen, if I do say so myself! It was fun for me and JP to do Trunk or Treats and other fun kid stuff like that with him for the first time since we were kids.

Thanksgiving was also good. JP's parents came to our apartment a few days before Thanksgiving day and then we traveled up to Birmingham on Thursday (I had to work Thanksgiving eve). We laughed, ate way too much, shopped at ungodly hours and even had a Wii bowling tournament (Aunt Kassi won!).

We've had a great Christmas season so far. JP finished up his first semester of PhD work and we're all still alive! :) Hopefully we've all learned some things to make the following semesters easier for him and us. I was worried that Jonathan would want to play with our Christmas tree but it's really more of the presents under the tree that he's interested in. He's already mostly unwrapped one! Fortunately he's clueless so we're ok. :) We took him to see Santa last night and he did good. He looked up at him like "who are you?" and then got upset when he saw me and JP just standing there looking at him from far away. Oh well, we got a cute picture. :) He's SO active all the time! No wonder he sleeps so well! I've thought back several times this holiday season to our lives last year. I was big and pregnant and we had NO IDEA how our lives would change! But I'm SO glad they have! Jonathan is such a blessing and the most precious gift we've ever received. Thank you Lord! Merry Christmas everyone!

Making noise

Jonathan's Gran and Pop (JP's parents) gave him a stack of blocks that sit on top of a plastic disc. He has discovered that it's way more fun to just throw the plastic disc around than to actually play with the blocks! He throws it (preferably on the tile floor), screams at the loud noise, chases it down, picks it up, and does the whole thing all over again and again. He started screaming at loud noises this weekend while we cheered for the Bama game. It's a happy scream, like he's trying to join in! :) I caught a little bit of this activity on video this afternoon (about 15 secs), but he kept busy with it for about 20 minutes!

Fall day in the Frech Quarter

My parents came to town this past weekend and since it was a BEAUTIFUL fall day on Friday, we decided to spend the afternoon in the French Quarter. Since people who live here in New Orleans really only go to the quarter if visitors are in town, it was a special treat! We walked through the French Market (not very stroller friendly), around Jackson Square, and then down the Riverwalk, where Jonathan got to see his first boat. After finishing the night off with some seafood (my mom and I had shrimp, the only seafood we eat) we headed back home and kept Jonathan awake in the car so he would sleep in his bed instead :)! We didn't have any beignets but sometimes you just can't stop at Cafe du Monde when you have a sleepy 8 month old! That's just one of the many ways our lives have changed as parents. But if you see the sweet, handsome boy in these pictures, you'll understand why we are MORE than ok with the life change!

He was curious about the grass...he hasn't played in it much because the grass behind our apartment has lots of ants in it :(

Fun balloons

As part of our birthday celebration weekend a few weeks ago, we went to eat at Pancho's, a newer restaurant in town. It was yummy (especially the sopapillas!) but the best part was the balloons they gave Jonathan when we left! Your focus sure does change when you have kids. :)

We wish he would have gotten them before we left because it was a great distraction and would have enabled us to have a slower, longer dinner, but he had a good time playing with them when we got home. Ironically, I had just read the night before about how you shouldn't let babies play with balloons because they're a choking hazard, but we just really supervised him with them and kept them from his mouth because he loved them so much! They died the next day and he had forgotten all about them by then, but they sure were fun while they lasted!

A long overdue update

So apparently I'm very bad at blogging! It's been 3 weeks since I've written anything, and my child has changed so much! He's 7 1/2 months old now and pretty much changed overnight a few weeks ago. He started crawling, pulling up and got 2 teeth all within a week! So needless to say, our lives have changed as well (including slowly baby-proofing the apartment!). He now sits up at the table while we eat, and does great when we take him out. He's graduated to the 2's of baby food and has even started eating some rice cakes and fruit out of his handheld strainer thingy (a person favorite of mine!). He sleeps great at night and takes 2 naps during the day. We're just enjoying watching him grow and develop a little personality!
Here are some recent pictures and a couple of videos. One is a little snippet of him crawling, and the other is my absolute most favorite video of him. He's laughing as I bounce a ball and make a noise in front of him. I don't know what was so funny about it, but we haven't been able to replicate it! Enjoy!

showing off my 2 teeth

handsome blue eyes!

first time he stood up in his crib

trying to eat a banana AND drink my water at the same time :)

Four years ago today...

August 29 probably isn't a very significant date to most people I know, but to anyone who was living in New Orleans or the gulf coast 4 years ago, it was a life-changing day. Four years ago today hurricane Katrina hit and changed thousands of lives. Since I'm home sick and Jonathan's sleeping, I thought I would retell some of the thoughts from that experience.
JP and I were engaged and had just gotten back to seminary from a summer at camp. (We'd been back here a week and a half to be exact!). Although we knew Katrina was out there, they kept saying it was going to hit Florida, so we stayed with our plans and came up to Gadsden to get engagement pictures made.
I still remember waking up at my parents' house in Gadsden and walking downstairs to see pictures on CNN of water. Water everywhere. It was really hard to even imagine that this had really happened. We searched online for pictures of the seminary. Every picture they showed on tv we tried to figure out where it was, hoping to maybe get an idea of what it looked like on campus. It was a nerve-racking, frustrating, hopeless few days as we searched for information. Eventually we learned that the campus was covered in several feet of water (like the rest of the city), but still had no information about what would happen next. I'm a planner. I HATE not knowing what will happen next. But that's one of the lessons God taught me through this experience.
James 4:14 says "yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." Since apparently I couldn't learn that lesson from scripture alone, God used this object lesson of Katrina to drive the point home. :) I'm not SO much of a planner anymore. The next verse, 15, says "Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'"
There are so many things in life, most things actually, that are out of our control. So instead of stressing about things I have no control over, I try to rest in God's providence and peace and trust that He knows what's best and wants what's best for me and my family. We eventually made it back down here to NOLA (1 year later) and have an immediate connection for ministry with so many people here just because we've been through the same experience. We didn't loose as much stuff as other people, and I know we weren't as emotionally or mentally scarred as others, so I consider us blessed. God has shown Himself faithful to us as individuals and as a seminary family. No, it wasn't fun and I wouldn't want to do it again, but I know God has used it for good (Rom. 8:28). So even though I'll take important papers, pictures, and memories with me for any other evacuations, I know that our lives are in God's hands and that He's in control of all the storms.

Sleepy Mommy

I'm sure all new parents have funny stories about silly things they do because they are so tired. Well, I've decided to share mine and hope no one reads this and calls Child Protective Services or anything! One morning last week I came home from work and stayed up with Jonathan until his morning nap while JP went to work. This is our normal routine for days after I work so I don't know why this day was different. Jonathan slept from 9-11 and then we get up, I feed him, he plays and then we both go back to sleep from 1-3. I always change his diaper when I get him up at 11.
Well, I was so tired and just kinda stayed asleep and was in this fog until after I fed him. Before I put him in his jumper to play, I couldn't remember if I changed his diaper or not so I took him to his room to check. As I opened the diaper, to my surprise I saw that I had put one diaper on top the other! Talk about leak protection! I have laughed hard about this several times, but not nearly as hard as the other night I got to wondering about what Jonathan was thinking. He was probably very confused why we were doing the diapers a little differently and his bottom was still wet!
Fortunately I started working part-time this week so maybe we won't have any more of these kinds of problems! But I understand where you are coming from new moms, night shift nurses, or just anyone who doesn't get enough sleep! Hang in there and just be glad you're not having to wear 2 diapers!

1 Little Indian

Jonathan has found his Native American roots! One of the inside jokes in our family is about how JP and Kassi are part Native American (like 1/16th or some other super small fraction)! We laugh because they are the ones who "married in" and brought some culture to our family. We even took pictures of them with Pocahontas at Disney World last year! :) Well now Jonathan has embraced his father's Indian genes and has learned a war cry! He can't do it himself yet, but keeps his mouth open until you do it for him - it makes us laugh hard! By the way, I realize this blog may not be completely politically correct, but my intentions are good! :)

First trip to Cafe du Monde

Last week we had a quick visit with my good friend Lauren and her boyfriend Andrew. They came through town on the way to Alabama to meet Lauren's new little niece. Because they were only here for a short time, we went down to the quarter for breakfast. Jonathan loved being in the quarter! He loves being outside anyway, so when you combine that with the jazz guitar in the background and people everywhere, he was fascinated! He didn't have any beignets or cafe au lait this time, but I'm sure we'll be back in the future!They matched! :)

SO much to look at!

Tickle time

We can't believe Jonathan is almost 6 months old already! It's flying by! It's amazing to see how his personality is showing more and more all the time. He smiles and laughs constantly which melts both of our hearts on a regular basis! One of our little routines is tickle time before he gets a bath every night. He LOVES laying on his changing table and has recently started loving our little tickle session before we wind down. Here's a video of it...it's kinda long, but we can't get enough of his sweet giggles! Enjoy!

Memories and new beginnings

In case some of you didn't know, my parents are moving to Birmingham. My dad has been driving there for work for quite some time now and it just became time to finally make the move. I know I don't live in Gadsden anymore, (and haven't in a long time), but it's still home to me. We moved there the summer before I started 2nd grade. Gadsden is where I began my relationship with the Lord, met and grew up with my 2 best friends, played MANY a soccer game, got married, and lots of many other memories! It's hard for me to imagine not having my "Gadsden roots" anymore.
A few weekends ago we went back to Gadsden for my 10 year high school reunion (yes, I'm officially old!). As God had worked it out, Stephen and Kassi were able to come down as well and we had one final weekend together as a family in our sweet house. Although it is sad (I'm tearing up as I write this), we all totally recognize that this is the path God has for my parents.
Throughout the weekend I just kept thinking of how we're closing one chapter and starting another. Our house in Gadsden will always be our house, my parents house. But now we have an expanded family with JP, Kassi, Jonathan and EVENTUALLY more grandchildren. :) The house they will move to in Birmingham will be Nana and Grandpa's house. Jonathan won't have memories of our family in our Gadsden house, but that's ok. They're my memories with my family.
As God was teaching me this lesson of closing one chapter and opening another, He used his wonderful timing to give us an object lesson - Jonathan rolled over for the first time that weekend! Although there were many sad moments that weekend, there were also many happy ones that just showed me that God is going to bless our family even more in the future!

(Here's the video of Jonathan actually rolling over for the very first time! Yes, he's crying because we wanted him to do it, and yes, we scared him when we all cheered after he did do it! But he rolls over like a crazy man now so apparently we didn't scar him for life or anything! :) )

Fun times at the pool

A few weeks ago we took Jonathan to the pool for the first time. (Yes, I'm quite slow at getting pictures up on here!) We wondered how he would like it and he did great! I think he was confused most of the time, but he didn't cry or get upset, so that clearly means he loves it! :) He got in a baby pool at my parents' house this past weekend but we haven't been back to the big pool yet, (it's kinda hard to go between naps some days) so we'll see how the second trip goes. Here are some pictures and a video of our first pool experience.

Getting ready to walk to the pool! (Can't you see his excitement?)

He was surprisingly OK with the hat...must be his father's child!

Here's a little video too! (We understand that you have to really love us and our boy to be watching and loving these videos as much as we do! It's not up for the Oscars or anything!)

4 months old and growing

Jonathan is already 4 months old! Time is flying by for us...he's growing and changing so much! This month especially has been neat to watch all the new things he's doing. He's grabbing rattles, blankets and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on and immediately puts them in his mouth. He's "talking" to us, especially when we're reading books (he helps!) or like this past Sunday he wanted to join in the singing in church! It was so sweet to hear his little noises while we sang!
We went for his 4 month check up today and everything was great. He's 15 lbs 5 ozs, and almost 25 inches long. That sounds huge, but he's actually in the 50% percentile of both and is actually slimming up some. Dr. Collins said he was a very symmetrical little boy. That makes me laugh! He told us we could go ahead a start some rice cereal once a day. Not so much for nutritional value, but just to practice eating solid foods. I wish my doctor told me to practice eating! :) We're just so thankful he's such a healthy and happy baby! Here are some recent pictures and a video of him talking a little!

Not quite sure what to do with it...

It was quite a mess this first experience with a spoon!

Parent-Child Dedication

On May 17 we were able to participate in the Parent-Child dedication service at Spring Hill Baptist Church, JP's home church in Mobile. Since the church we are a member of here in New Orleans doesn't have a pastor right now, we decided to do it there. We've known since we found out I was pregnant that a child was a gift from God and only a loan to us for a few years, so it was special for us to be able to participate in this service and symbolize that to the church body. Jonathan did so well in the service and we had a terrific afternoon with his parents, my parents, my grandmother and my aunt. We are so happy and blessed to have so many family members that love us and our son!
Our new adventure has been teaching him to sleep. I know it sounds a little out there, but I read a book called "The Baby Whisperer" and it has worked like a charm. No, it wasn't an overnight fix, but we've been doing it for 2 weeks now and he takes two, 2 hour naps during the day and sleeps most of the night (he usually stirs twice around 4-6 but we just go in and settle him). Compared to the 1 1/2 hour stretches we had before, this is wonderful! He has slept completely through the night once so we know there is hope! People tease me for reading a book for parenting tips, but as my mom says, "you love books, that's who you are" - She's so right!
Anyway, as we've been learning this new sleep method I've had lots of time to shhh and pat his little back. There's not a whole lot to do while shhh-ing and patting, so I've gradually begun to pray more and more during these sometimes stressful and tiring times. I pray for Jonathan and our families, of course, but I also find myself praying for all sorts of stuff (friends traveling, coworkers, and even Jon and Kate's marriage)! :-) These 2 weeks have been hard on all 3 of us, but I thank God for using this time to reteach me about praying continually. I hope that long after Jonathan is sleeping through the night I still have this wonderful, continual dialogue with my Saviour!

My first Mother's Day

This past Sunday we got to celebrate my first Mother's Day and it couldn't have been any more perfect! We had a great time in church watching our new friend, Mitchell Claire Olvey, and her parents do parent-baby dedication. Jonathan did so great and was so quiet except for one super cute baby squeal at a quiet moment! We got looks but they were "oh how cute!" looks and not "why is that baby in here?" looks! :) I'm still not ready to take him to the nursery...I know it will have to happen one day, but he's still good so I don't see the point right now! I love him being with me all the time! After church we went on a picnic to the park with the Olveys. It was such a beautiful day and Jonathan LOVES being outside, and also apparently watching ducks and geese!
All day I couldn't help but think back to Mother's Day last year. We had been trying to get pregnant for a little over a year at that time and I was just super depressed, thinking we would never be blessed with a child. After talking with JP and a sweet friend of mine who had been through the same difficult situation, I decided I wouldn't even go to church on Mother's Day because it hurt too bad. This year was exact opposite of the dark, bleak, sadness of last year. It was a day filled with joy, light and happiness! All week long I had been singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" to Jonathan while I fed him. For some reason God had put it on my heart. Guess what we sang at church on Sunday...you got it, that very song! Coincidence? I don't think so! I've always known that God is loving and faithful, but I've experienced that more this week than I have in a long time! Thank you Lord for all your blessings!

Pictures after church

I love my little man!

Getting tired trying to get another picture at our picnic

What a cutie!

Happy smiles

Jonathan is almost 10 weeks old and the time is flying by! Everyone told us that it would, but it REALLY does! We went to the pediatrician today for his 2 month check up and he weighed 13 pounds and 11 1/2 ounces and measured 23 inches long! People are always surprised when we tell them how old he is...they think he's about a month older. :)
These past few weeks have been wonderful with him. He's much more alert and smiling more and more! It makes our hearts melt! He's sleeping better during the night. Not through the night yet (he usually wakes up for 1 feeding). Of course we'd love for him to sleep longer, but we know it's just for a season so we're trying to savor every day of it. Amazingly, me and my night owl self have actually come to love the early morning feedings! It's so quiet and I love that sweet time we get to spend together.
Pray for us these next few weeks. I start back to work in 2 weeks (I hope it doesn't kill me!) so we're hoping what little of a schedule we have doesn't get completely lost. Since I work nights, we're coordinating our schedules so that one of us can always be home with him and he won't have to go to daycare. I don't know how it's going to work exactly but I know that God is faithful and will provide for ALL of our needs (even work schedules!).

First smile caught on camera!

He loves lying on his back, but HATES tummy time!

He helped his daddy cheer on the North Carolina Tarheels as they won the basketball national championship



What a sweet boy!

6 weeks and growing!

I can't believe our little boy will be 6 weeks old this week! JP and I still look at each other sometimes and say how crazy it is that he's even here in the first place! We're all doing well and have established a little bit of a routine. We're learning what his cries mean most of the time (didn't think THAT would ever happen!) and are getting better at meeting his needs. He and I have pretty much figured out this breastfeeding thing so that's a HUGE deal! I keep telling everyone that a c-section is nothing compared to breastfeeding!
We took him for his 1 month visit to the pediatrician last week and had a good report. He weighed 11 lbs 1 oz and had grown to 21.5 inches long! We couldn't believe he weighed that much! For all you medical people out there, he has a blocked tear duct and a floppy trachea, but those are both insignificant newborn issues that he'll grow out of in a few months hopefully. His doctor said he was healthy and we think he's pretty perfect too! :)
Here are a few pictures that I took when he was 1 month old.

This is what he wore to church for his first time - his Nana made it for him and he was so handsome! (He was so good in church too, so quiet!)He's gotten so alert lately!

He loves to sleep on his hands, like he's napping in school or something!

Baby Jonathan is here!

On February 5 at 5:19pm we welcomed Jonathan Merrill Patterson Jr. into the world! He was a healthy (and surprising!) 8 lbs 9 oz and 20 and 1/4 inches long! We came to the hospital on Wednesday night to be induced and things started off well. By early afternoon on Thursday, however, we realized that he was going to be too big to come out naturally. So we prepared ourselves for a c-section. No, this wasn't our ideal plan but God really provided us with His peace in making this decision with my doctor. The section went wonderfully and Jonathan came out without any problems. The recovery wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated, and I was moving around comfortably again in about a week. Even though the delivery looked completely different than we had planned, the whole experience was wonderful and filled with love and support from our family, friends and my sweet friends at work. God blessed the whole experience from beginning to end and I wouldn't change a thing!
After some breastfeeding difficulties I was nervous about him gaining enough weight, but at his 1 week checkup he weighed 8-12! His pediatrician was very proud and said he was exceeding his goals and was a very healthy little boy! We're now all doing well and getting adjusted to our new lives. We've learned the importance of swaddling (it's amazing!) and how to put makeup on while holding a baby, among MANY other lessons! :) Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts, calls and prayers. Remember us as we continue to settle in and learn more about each other!

Thursday's the day!

We had another uneventful visit to the doctor yesterday, so it looks like Thursday's the big day! I'll be 40 weeks and 1 day then and I think that's long enough for him to have inside his mommy! I've had a WONDERFUL pregnancy and have really enjoyed all of it, but I'm ready to hold him and see what he looks like! :) Induction isn't our first choice but we know that God is in control and we're trusting Him with our decisions and our doctor's wisdom. We didn't want to wait much longer after the due date because it could cause him to have some problems, so Thursday it is! Please keep us in your prayers...just because I'm ready for him to be here doesn't mean that I'm any less nervous about the process of him getting here! JP will send out phone calls and text messages and we'll post pictures as soon as possible!

Baby update

We had another doctor's appointment today with VERY little changes, unfortunately! :( I'm still not dilated any but she said that he had dropped some, so that's a good sign. Because she doesn't want me to go much longer than my due date, for the baby's health, we have set up an induction date. If he doesn't come before, we will go to the hospital late Wednesday night, Feb. 4 (his due date) and plan on having him Thursday, Feb. 5! Induction wasn't really our first choice, but we've been praying about the possibility of it and are trusting that God is in control of it all! We're definitely excited to finally have a finish line in sight, even if he does decide to come on his own during these next 10 days. We'll still go to the doctor next Monday but that seems to be the plan for now. We'll keep everyone posted with any updates we have! Here are some pictures of the completed nursery and the newest belly pictures that we took this past weekend.