The Growing Joneses

updates from 3424082 years ago

2009-06-19T07:28:00.004-04:00

Um, we moved! And I've been avoiding doing this for some reason. Here are some snapshots of the last two months or so....

Our friends threw us a great going away (aka happy to get rid of you) party. It was a fiesta! and as you can see I killed the pinata...

The day our movers came we took one last trip to our park across the street...

Then we hurled Nolan into the air in celebration! Just kidding. We spent a really relaxing and fun weekend in Cashiers, NC before the drive up to DE.

After driving up here and unpacking all our junk, we headed back down to NC for Jesse's law school graduation! (He's the one on the right who looks like Harry Potter)

We're unpacked now and completely settled here in Wilmington, DE...just getting to know the area and our neighborhood. More pictures to come!

what we've been doing

2009-04-26T21:00:00.011-04:00

We've driven in Jesse's Jeep, but not with the top down yet...

we've practiced-hiked with our "new" back pack from the 1990s...

we've laughed...

we've cried...

we've done the dishes...

and we've napped with our bums in the air...

well, nolan did at least...

As you can see, we've been very productive.

Steps!

2009-04-26T20:16:00.010-04:00

Check out some of Nolan's first steps! We enjoyed doing the "victory jumps" almost as much as the steps themselves...

Happy 1st Birthday Nolan!

2009-03-28T21:36:00.005-04:00

He's ONE today!!!

I feel like he's so much older when I say, "he's one" instead of "he's 11 and a 1/2 months". He started clapping today and has not stopped clapping for himself all day. Ironically, when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him, he cried like a baby. And when I say cry, I mean SCREAM. Hopefully this will not be a trend for future years, because that will be pretty awkward when he's in his teens.

More pictures to come!

can I have a redo?

2009-03-26T11:15:00.002-04:00

Sorry. When I uploaded the video, I accidentally forgot to make it "public". Thanks for the e-mails letting me know the error of my ways. Here's the one from yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYEyo0-TLqc

"not uhhhh"

2009-03-25T20:51:00.003-04:00

Nolan has mastered shaking his head and will sometimes do it on command if we "prompt" him by doing it first. The trick is that you have to be really exaggerated as you're about to see Jesse demonstrate:

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYEyo0-TLqc

6 reasons

2009-03-06T20:10:00.003-05:00

I may or may not have forgotten to post a little Happy Birthday post for Jesse. His birthday was Monday...so I guess technically you could say I forgot. Whoopsies. Happy Birthday Jesse!!

Reasons I love Jesse: (these aren't the only reasons, by the way)

he's strong!

he's insane!
he shares his hats with Nolan

he helps me grocery shop for silly babies

he carries our son like a duffle bag

he sits in the backseat of our car in the parking lot of coldstone so we can share our ice cream as a family

Happy 25th!
I love you.

outtakes

2009-02-28T18:44:00.002-05:00

Nolan is exactly 11 months old today! Here are some of the rejects of his 11 mo. smushed kiss picture.

All I have to say is, thank you God for digital cameras and my freakishly long arms.

There were many more of these, but I'll spare you...

smoothies

2009-02-26T08:53:00.003-05:00

Nolan LOVES the spinach/berries/yogurt smoothies that Jesse makes and attacks the glass as soon as it is near his mouth...

How ridiculous is this picture? He looks like a cross between a crazy frenchman and the joker. Can you feel the joy?

When he's finished smoothie-ing, we wipe off the floor and his clothes but he still probably needs one of these**:

**but this is actually from last night. I just wanted to show his curlhawk and pudge.

baby "mop and glo"

2009-02-23T12:47:00.003-05:00

We spent last Friday morning doing this over and over and over again until Nolan stopped laughing and was crawling a little crooked. But hey, the dining room floor is REALLY clean now...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7919295428325189251

new favorite activities...

2009-02-18T14:04:00.006-05:00

getting caught under glass tables...

smiling big...

passionate speech making...

making massive messes from inside his crib (??)

his changing table looked NOTHING like that when I put him down for his nap...

hiding things under the couch for daddy to find...

learning how to "eat" pumpkin pancakes...

(this last one is my new favorite skill because I get to use Nolan as an excuse to make a favorite treat of mine)

ahhh laughter

2009-02-05T12:36:00.001-05:00

I'm having trouble posting videos directly onto the blog...so check out this link for a really short video of Nolan laughing at me. Cause I'm HILARIOUS! And humble. : )

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6025317099978386229

weather weather

2009-02-04T10:50:00.006-05:00

I know it's not very interesting to post about the weather unless it's something major, but I just wanted to share about one of the reasons I like North Carolina!

One day you have this:

And the next day you have this:

Nolan likes winter about as much as I do.

fun weekend

2009-01-18T22:08:00.002-05:00

This past Friday was my birthday and I think it might have been my best ever! (I don't say that every year, I promise) It was very relaxing and fun and I spent it with my two favorite people:

For some odd reason I decided to turn the lights out tonight and give Nolan a headlamp and flashlight to play with (yes, we have a headlamp and we keep it on our closet door, just in case???)...anyway, he loved playing with them.

On Saturday my sweet, sweet, amazing friends cooked up a delicious brunch for me and I felt so loved by them. Keelen hosted and whipped up some amazing pumpkin pancakes (my favorite!)

Jesse's amazing gift to me was a new camera which I am LOVING and learning how to use so that I can catch Nolan in the action. The good news (or bad news depending on how much you like seeing our faces) is that I have been taking a ton of pictures and I'll probably be posting them as I go. So, you're welcome (or, I'm sorry...whichever)...

SHOCKING NEWS...

2009-01-12T16:54:00.007-05:00

...apparently Nolan is a tall baby, SURPRISE!!! With both parents over 6 feet he never really had a chance to be short.

We finally took him for his 9 month check up this morning (he really was officially 9 months 16 days ago) and he measured in at 30 inches, putting him in the 95th percentile for height. In other words, our little boy is a MONSTER.

He also beefed up his poundage in the last few months because he gained almost 4 pounds since his doctor's visit at 7 months. Apparently that's amazing because most babies don't gain much between 6 and 9 months since they are so active all the sudden scooting and crawling around. Hmmm...maybe that's because we fed him an entire barbecue bacon cheddar cheeseburger on vacation...

All kidding aside, his appointment was great.

Thank you God for a healthy and thriving little boy.

Florida Vacation

2009-01-12T12:16:00.006-05:00

After coming back to NC from spending Christmas in NJ, we jetted down Florida to spend a week vacationing with Jesse's family. Nolan did great on his first plane ride! He was a little restless but amazingly, Jesse and I scored a row with an empty seat for Nolan to play around on.

The rest of the week was spent playing at the pool, playing golf, bike riding, and relaxing! Here are some pictures from the week:

Jesse and Nolan at Downtown Disney

Also at Downtown Disney

Nolan playing in the pool
(after an hour of coaxing him into 3 inches of warm water)

Enjoying a post pool snack...I felt like I was feeding a baby bird

Family photo after Nolan's first time ever in a pool!

Finally, a video of Nolan's new laugh, which he does just for fun, not when he thinks something is funny. I'll try to post a better video of it soon because it's pretty ridiculous.

2009-01-01T10:35:00.005-05:00

Jesse wanted me to post some shots from finals week when Nolan and I stopped by the law school library to help him study (aka bring him lunch). Nolan REALLY liked the library.

He couldn't stop grabbing for the books, yearning for some legal knowledge so he can sue us for forcing him to eat vegetables

Here's a short video of Nolan at Jesse's desk preparing his case against us...

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T10:49:00.003-05:00

As always, my pictures are in the wrong order. So reliving this past week backwards...

Nolan modeling some of his new wardrobe, thank you Aunt Mary and grandparents!

On Saturday we went bowling with Jesse's family and cousins. Nolan drooled while he watched, anticipating the day he could lift something that heavy.

Above: Nolan, Ally (Jesse's 2nd cousin), and Jesse

Below: Drooler, Laura

I love this picture of Jesse and Nolan from the first day we spent in NJ at my parents house

Nolan crying after 10 minutes of me placing him strategically under different lights trying to get a bright shot for a Christmas picture the week before we left.

One of the first tries at a good picture of Nolan with one of his Christmas gifts.

Our little family of three had Christmas here on Friday night before we left for NJ. It was fun to watch Nolan crawl OVER his wrapped gifts to get to the wipes box that has been in our living room for 2 months now. I'm so glad we didn't spend a lot of money on nice toys for the king of trash.

We are here for New Years and then on Friday we're heading down to Florida for a week. Pray for Nolan's first plane ride. Anyone have any tips? (Besides Benedryl, it makes him hyper instead of sleepy...not like we've tried it or anything...)

PS- Hi KAIT!!! : )

5 down 1 to go!!!

2008-12-19T11:30:00.003-05:00

I finally emerged from the library yesterday afternoon after spending two somewhat excruciating weeks studying for finals and writing papers. Thankfully its over for the time being and I don't go back to school for at least 3 weeks. We'll spend part of that time in NJ visiting family, part of it in NC hanging out with friends, and the other part in Florida with family again. Laura and I are really looking forward to seeing everyone, we're driving to NJ for Christmas tomorrow morning. I haven't packed a single thing yet, and now Nolan is thwarting my progress by taking a nap. Not that I mind that at all, its giving me time to catch up on the National Geographic Channel. Its all about the marine iguana.

- Jesse

p.s. sorry i don't have any cool pictures to show like Laura always does.

for future girlfriends...

2008-12-17T21:06:00.005-05:00

I know he probably won't be happy about pictures like this when he gets older, but I had to get a little tush shot.

Jesse helped Nolan learn how to pull himself up on the ottoman last night! We were really excited about it until this afternoon's nap consisted of Nolan repeatedly pulling himself up in his crib for an hour and a half.

Better lighting, less crawling

2008-12-05T11:07:00.001-05:00

Tada!

2008-12-04T19:37:00.003-05:00

Nolan wanted to play with my phone so badly that he crawled to it tonight!

Pictures galore!

2008-12-02T21:00:00.008-05:00

Prepare yourself for Nolan overload:

He gets so giddy when we put him on his rocking giraffe. We watched with amazement yesterday when he dismounted gracefully onto the ground. It was ridiculous!

Jesse running and jumping on the cart with Nolan

Nolan trying to pay for our groceries. If only they took drool as credit...

This kid LOVES baths.

Did we mention he drools?

Doing two of his favorite things: standing at the ottoman and playing with the remote

Playing in his toy bucket. I put him in here as a joke to see what he'd do and he loved it so much I left him in there while I made dinner.

november

2008-11-21T11:12:00.006-05:00

These pictures are a few weeks old and out of order but here is the last bit us enjoying the fall!

I think Nolan shares my love for crunching on leaves...

Jesse and Nolan enjoying the swings...I didn't enjoy the baby swing as much as Jesse did since my big rear was WEDGED painfully into the tiny seat...

The first weekend in November Janet came down to visit us!! We had so much fun with her. One of the days we went for a "hike" around Pilot Mountain (cupcake mountain to our parents) and I gave Nolan a ride in the backpack. As you can see, Janet enjoyed herself...while Nolan...not so much (in this picture at least!)

I have some good videos to post but we are having technical difficulties. I haven't been blogging on here to boycott and send them a message that I mean business but nobody seems to be getting that message. : ) Hopefully I'll figure out to get them up here soon.

Love you guys.

Eat your fruits and veggies

2008-10-31T19:09:00.003-04:00

We met some twin girl bananas this afternoon.

It was hilarious to see Nolan interacting with other babies his exact same age (aka trying to poke their eyes out) until he discovered a popcorn ball and lost interest.

NOLAN! Can you hear me!?

2008-10-26T21:57:00.003-04:00

Noley-bear...loving the swing

family photo thanks to random student who asked to take our picture

Nolan kicking back after a hard day of eating and sleeping

This afternoon we enjoyed the warm weather raking leaves. Nolan supervised from his stroller and made sure we didn't miss any. Be forewarned...this video is semi-loud...

Whirlwind weekend, pt. 2

2008-10-20T17:03:00.005-04:00

See, I told you they were here...

swinging at the park

trying and loving a lemon...he didn't even make a horrible face, it was pretty disappointing

snuggling up after dinner

Whirlwind weekend

2008-10-20T09:45:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was incredibly busy but great fun! Half of Nolan's amazing grandparents were down for a visit and we really enjoyed spending time with them. I have very little photographic evidence of them being here but I will post more pictures soon! As usual our camera was focused almost entirely on Nolan. More to come!

On Saturday I "ran" the Ardmore 5k with Ashlee, Laura, and Erica

Nolan LOVING a gift from Aunt Mary

A dark little video of Nolan growling like a bear in his new winter hat and mittens

Simple pleasures

2008-10-14T10:52:00.004-04:00

What could be more fun than throwing plastic lids on the kitchen counter?

(yes, he is playing with a bottle of multi-vitamins until we can invest in some maracas for the boy)

New tricks...

2008-10-06T13:37:00.004-04:00

swinging at the park

strolling without the infant carseat

wearing shoes (or an entire outfit for that matter)

being threatened by his father..."give me your milk money!"

Proof

2008-09-29T11:45:00.004-04:00

Ha! After just posting some of Nolan's favorite things I caught him doing two at once...Sorry for the not-so-good quality, but it's just a little clip.

Halfy Birthday Nolan!

2008-09-29T09:36:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Nolan's half birthday...6 months old! We sang "Halfy Birthday" to him but he didn't seem to get as much enjoyment out of it as we did.

These are pictures of Nolan in the photo booth, aka a chair on our little porch. Our camera takes horrible pictures inside, and now that Nolan sits really well I am taking advantage of the nice weather and natural light. Lets just hope he takes his first crawl and steps outside or our camera will just capture a dark moving blur. : )
Here he is taking up most of the changing table. His feet are almost touching the end now and when they do, he's going to learn to change his own diaper...

A Nolan fact for each month...

1. He likes to roll like he's the crocodile hunter when we're trying to put a clean diaper on him.

2. He loves to pull on his toes and socks and always ends up looking like a little elf with curled shoes. (see photo above)

3. He can't get enough pears and also is loving sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, and butternut squash...but HATES carrots so far.
4. His favorite book to look at and listen to (and conveniently, our favorite to read) is Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones, which is one book I plan on keeping forever now.

5. Current favorite toy is one of his brightly colored spoons that he examines closely, twirls around his little fingers, and repeatedly sticks in his mouth (making ridiculous gagging faces when he does).

6. He says "buh da da bah da da ba ba da" all day long while blowing bubbles and letting out cupfulls of drool. Sometimes the entire top half of his onesie will be soaking wet.

We can't get enough of this boy (but we do like when he naps). Happy 6 months Nolan!

Goodbye Summer....Hello Fall

2008-09-25T10:55:00.006-04:00

This past weekend we were in Wilmington, NC for Jesse's triathalon and had a beautiful day on the beach while Nolan napped in his baby tent (thank you girlsnight friends!)

This week has been cool and crisp some days and warm and sunny other days, which is always a great time to be in North Carolina...stretching out the summer days while still having a taste of fall. Here is a small preview of Nolan's Halloween costume...

Short order cook

2008-09-16T14:41:00.004-04:00

The other day Nolan pulled all three of these out of the cannister by himself while I was making dinner...

He inspected each one before dropping it...
and made sure he was choosing exactly the right spatula.
Okay later that day I was telling Jesse about what he did and we decided to oven mit him even though the mits were longer than his arms...
He makes cooking fun.

I've never been so excited for messes!

2008-09-01T21:25:00.003-04:00

As you can see we started Nolan on solids. He LOVES eating anything he can off the spoon and gets his whole body moving when it's coming at him! It's been really fun to feed him (and take pictures of him being messy) and we are excited to keep introducing new foods to see what he likes!
Finger lickin' good...

Back in NC!

2008-08-29T18:01:00.006-04:00

Nolan posing in all his naked glory

Nolan being happy (and modest) in the bath tub and laughing at Jesse who was making faces at him while wearing one of Nolan's hooded baby towels.

We are officially back in Winston-Salem after a great summer with our families in NJ. Jesse really enjoyed summering at MNAT and it seems like an awesome law firm. He’s already back to school to finish off his last year! We’ve spent the last two weeks reorganizing our tiny apartment, getting rid of the things we don’t use enough (or ever) and catching up with good friends that we haven’t seen in a few months!

Nolan turned 5 months old yesterday and is more loveable and fun everyday. It’s unbelievable how easy it is to make him smile and laugh compared to a month ago. Our days with him consist of Jesse and I making absurd faces, doing weird dances, and talking in ridiculous voices, just trying to see how Nolan will respond. Honestly, sometimes it’s funnier when you do some type of wild jig while singing along in a weird voice to a song on the radio and Nolan just stares at you with absolutely NO expression whatsoever. I’m pretty sure we already embarrass him, but thankfully he has no baby friends to roll his eyes at to just yet. Most of the time he is a very happy baby, squealing and screaming (loudly) with delight, and making sounds like this: “nnggdddddnanadagggn” while moving his eyebrows up and down. We’re not 100% sure, but we think he’s saying, “Wow, you guys are great parents! You should go treat yourselves to dinner!” We are beginning the process of solids, so be looking for some great nasty pictures of Nolan with mush all over his little face.

Love, Laura and Jesse

O.C.N.J. (Ocean City Nolan Jones)

2008-08-15T07:31:00.006-04:00

Nolan is now an expert beachgoer. He can swim the ocean, build sandcastles, surf the waves and evade the beach tag people. Here are some pictures of our trip to Ocean City New Jersey with our friends from North Carolina.

This is Nolan's first time touching the ocean. He liked it...sort of...he hated it, it was too cold. See the video below of his reaction to the waves.
This is the group of us on the Boardwalk after eating Mack & Manco's pizza (the best in the United States) and Kohr Bros. ice cream (also pretty darn good). Nolan is facing the ocean.

A big thanks to Laura's mom and Mrs. Kelly for making the trip possible. We needed a place to stow Nolan out of the sun and Mrs. Kelly graciously let us use her condo while Lorraine kept an eye on our firstborn.

Nolan's Maiden Voyage

2008-08-15T07:13:00.004-04:00

Here is Nolan on his first sailing trip. He has a special life vest that he enjoys chewing on. My Dad was especially happy that Nolan wanted to go sailing, so here is a picture of the two of them manning the helm of JoySea III.

Nolan telling us about his weekend in MD

2008-07-28T09:59:00.003-04:00

I forgot to add this to the other posting. Here is a quick video of Nolan talking...

You're in the right place!

2008-07-28T09:40:00.010-04:00

We've updated our blog a little bit but this is still Jesse and Laura's page. Most importantly, Nolan's page! Sorry we haven't been making regular posts (we're sure you've been just dying to see MORE pictures of Nolan...the poor kid doesn't even blink an eye when the flash goes off in his face anymore).

We are coming to a close on our summer in NJ. Jesse has just two more full weeks at the law firm and then we'll be visited by some of our favorite NC friends! Shortly after that we'll be heading back down to NC around mid-August. We have no idea how we'll get everything there as we've been given some really great baby gifts this summer! Nolan definitely has some cute clothes for the future.

Here are some pictures to recap the last month! (By the way, Nolan is 4 months old today!!)

Nolan posing patriotically

Jesse playing with Nolan under his jungle mat

Nolan's nameless parents

Nolan looking sad because he just found out his Uncle Heinz would be going away to Chile until Christmas time!

3 Months Since Blast-Off

2008-06-27T20:39:00.005-04:00

Here is Nolan doing one of his favorite things - being thrust through the air like a rocket. Tomorrow marks the 3rd month that he has been here blessing us with screaming, salivating, smiling and senseless squealing. It's been absolutely great. Hats off to you Nolan. Love Dad (y su Madre).

First Weekend of Summer

2008-06-23T09:02:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone!

We just wanted to post a quick hello and show some new pictures of Nolan where he isn't all red and spotty! These are pictures of him in his little bebePod chair sitting at the table with Jesse. It's amazing how small he looks, even though he's still not even 3 months old yet. The last time we put him in it a few weeks ago he slumped right over to the side and was not happy about it. He "sits" a lot better now, though and looked pretty comfortable in his seat for a while.

Check out those big feet!

We spent the first weekend of summer with both the Stuart family in Mount Laurel on Saturday morning and the Jones family in Maryland for the rest of the weekend. It was very relaxing and we feel so blessed to have so much family around to wrestle Nolan out of our arms!

Love, Laura and Jesse

Little Leopard

2008-06-12T09:10:00.003-04:00

These past two weeks have been a little rough for Nolan, as he celebrated turning 2 months old by getting his vaccines followed by hives (unrelated to the shots) and then started running a fever and throwing up. At least he got it all over with at once! Here's a photo of Nolan looking like a little red leopard when he had hives... poor kid...

He seems to be completely back to normal now and has been smiling a ton and making new sounds. He has also discovered his hands so he has a pretty good time just looking at them while going cross-eyed and trying to stick them in his mouth.

Jesse is still doing great as a summer associate at MNAT in Wilmington, enjoying all the fun events they have planned throughout the summer. So far there has been a Phillies game, cocktail party, softball games, and bowling. As a family, next week we'll be joining other MNAT people to walk a 5k for Mom's House near Wilmington.

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary on Tuesday, June 10th! It's hard to believe that two years have already gone by but even harder to believe how much has changed in that short period of time...NOLAN! He has brought us a new level of joy of being married and has made us into a little family. If only we could get him to change his own diapers, Jesse and I would have more time together...

Happy 1st Father's Day, Jesse!

Back to NJ

2008-05-20T19:48:00.004-04:00

We made it back to NJ in time for Jesse to start his summer internship at MNAT in Wilmington, DE. Here are a few pictures of our time up here so far.

Mother's Day 2008

Mary, Mom Mom, Oma, Grandmom Stuart, Laura, Nolan, Grandmom Jones, Aunt Linda, Aunt Katie

Nolan has started smiling when Jesse and I stand over him and make ridiculous smiles in his face. It's so stinkin cute! But I'm biased...

Nolan starting to "talk"

2008-05-03T11:08:00.003-04:00

Here is a short clip of Nolan from the other day. He's starting to coo a little during his play time and we always have a hard time catching him doing it on video, but Jesse was quick the other day!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad Jones and Happy Birthday Mom Stuart!

See you all next week...in person!

~Laura, Jesse, and Nolan

Bubbles

2008-04-27T16:39:00.003-04:00

Ignore the dates on the photos...these pictures are from this afternoon! Nolan is starting to really enjoy bathtime and only really cries when we take him out because he hates being cold! (We're thinking about moving somewhere tropical to please him...) Jesse scrubbed him down while I took some pictures. Look at that big tummy in the first shot! I love staring at him right after a bath because his hair is always super curly and smells great and he's so incredibly smooth. Fresh baby!

Jesse is studying hard for finals in between laughing at Nolan's expressive faces and squeaks (he's trying to find his voice). He'll wrap things up at school next Wednesday the 7th, and then we'll be packing up to go home to NJ for the summer. I will be working my last official day at WFU this Friday and then I will be a stay at home mom for real! I'm so excited!

~Laura

When I'm bored, I dress up my baby...

2008-04-22T09:15:00.003-04:00

I think it's clear from these pictures that Nolan loves to be put in outfits, propped up on pillows on our bed, and have a camera flashing in his face. Doesn't everyone? Don't worry, I don't do this to him every day or anything (though I kind of think I should), I just saw that this little uniform wasn't going to fit for too much longer, and since Jeremy and Julianne gave us a little baseball glove and ball when they came to visit, I thought it was necessary to make Nolan strike a pose. For the record though, I did not raise his arm in that first picture, he has decided on his own to be a right-handed pitcher. Jesse is not upset about this.

We've gotten a lot of really cute, super tiny outfits as gifts, so be looking for more photos of me driving my baby nuts with little photo shoots...he's taking a nap right now, but he has no idea what's coming to him when he wakes up!

~Laura

Deacon's Kid

2008-04-10T20:06:00.004-04:00

This is the video I was trying to post last night. Thankfully it worked this time. Laura and I were sure that our child would never fit into an outfit this small, but we were wrong. We figured we'd better put him in it soon after birth though.

I took Mary and Janet to the airport today, so its just the three of us. However, Justin and Holly brought us dinner tonight, so Laura and I have continued our streak of not cooking dinner since Nolan was born. We're going to try to make it back to New Jersey before cooking another dinner. That would be impressive.

Speaking of dinner, I fed Nolan with a bottle tonight. It was the first time he ate out of a bottle and he gulped it right down, maybe a little too fast - there were some repercussions. Apparently if you don't feed a baby out of a bottle within the first 2 weeks there is a chance that he'll refuse to eat out of one ever. That would not be good as it would completely tie Laura down for the next few months. It was fun to feed him too.

Alright, time to go watch "the Office," Its a good one.

Picture that were supposed to be attached last night!

2008-04-10T08:46:00.003-04:00

Ok, here are the pics from Nolan's first visit with his "ants." One by blood, one honorary.

A Quick Substitute

2008-04-10T00:12:00.003-04:00

I was trying to upload a video of Nolan doing something, but the internet connection is too slow and its too late to keep trying. I'll try to get it up tomorrow or sometime soon. In the meantime, these pictures make more sense anyway. Mary and Janet have been here for the past few days and they have really been a huge help. They have made dinner, done the laundry, cleaned the floors, gone shopping - pretty much everything that needed to be done, they did. And all with smiles on their faces. They even got to take Nolan for his first stroller ride in the outside world. Unfortunately they have to leave tomorrow, so we will be one step closer to doing this baby thing alone. (Again not really because we have such good friends down here). Anyway, Laura and I really appreciated their help, and I know Nolan enjoyed having his first 2 "ants" visit him. It won't be long until he sees them again!

Ok, I don't know if I'm too tired to type straight or what, but I can't get the pictures to upload either. I promise I will post them asap. Sorry!

It is impossible to get work done.

2008-04-05T18:20:00.002-04:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. Nolan is absolutely hilarious. The problem with that is personified by this picture. We're having a great time together, which is wonderful, but its about 10:30 am on a Wednesday when this particular picture was taken. I really should be at school at 10:30 am on Wednesday! However, accomplishing less this week was totally worth it. Its just too bad that I will have to go back to some sort of reality pretty soon. On the other hand it will be nice to have Laura and Nolan hanging out at home when I get finished with school stuff for the day.

Turning to another subject, our parents left to go home this morning. They were a huge help and its too bad they had to leave so soon. I guess we have to learn how to juggle everything sooner or later though. However, Laura and I don't have to figure out how to do everything by ourselves just yet, because Mary and Janet are coming on Monday. We're looking forward to putting them to work! Get ready ladies, we'll have a running list for you. hahaha - I'm not kidding.

There's a First Time for Everything

2008-04-01T21:26:00.003-04:00

This is a happy bunch of grandparents, all first-timers and loving every second of it. After I talked to them on Friday night they jumped in the car and made their way down to W-S. In record time I might add.

This picture was taken in the hospital on Saturday afternoon, just before 5:30 pm, according to the clock in the background. They really like Nolan and I think he likes them too. I know they won't be able to wait to see us in May.

They have been helping Laura and I big time over the past few days and thankfully they'll be here until the end of the week. Then we're on our own... Not really, we have alot of good friends who can't wait to help out.

Rollin' with Nolan

2008-03-31T23:08:00.002-04:00

(Imagine the voice of an NBA announcer) AT 1 FOOT NINE INCHES, 7 LBS. 10 OZ. A SHOOTING GUARD FROM WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA: NOLAAAAAAANNNNNN JOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEESSSS!!!!!!!

Whatever. We're just so excited that he's finally here. Laura had a pretty good delivery, SHE SAID that it couldn't have been easier. (I emphasize the fact that she said it, because every time I tell someone that they look at me with disgust and say "that's easy for you to say.") Anyway, Nolan and Laura are doing great, they came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Nolan really likes to be held, so much so that he generally lasts about 10 minutes alone before he starts screaming. He looks really funny to me when he screams, but he is pretty loud, so we try to keep him quiet. We had a succes this evening though: he slept for almost 2 hours by himself in his crib. That is the kind of progress we're looking for. Be on the lookout for more pictures and posts in the very near future!

Nolan's Baby Suite

2008-03-16T20:46:00.000-04:00

Here's a short video for you to see where the baby will stay. It is a very spacious room with a private balcony attached. He'll love it.

37 Weeks

2008-03-14T16:15:00.000-04:00

Picture of Laura enjoying the first few days of maternity leave and using her stomach as a fruit platter...

Quick baby update:

Wednesday (3/12) we had another doctor's appointment. We met another doctor who could possibly be the one to deliver the baby, and she was great! (The practice I go to has 4 different doctors who deliver babies and they have you meet them all so that you'll know them if they are working at the time.) Each of the doctors has been awesome and I'd be happy to see any of them on the big day! The doctor said the baby had dropped and that everything was looking good! Since I'm past the 37 week mark it's perfectly safe for me to go into labor at anytime. His heartbeat was very strong and I even managed to drop two pounds somehow!

36 Weeks

2008-03-06T14:19:00.000-05:00

So, we had another doctor's appointment yesterday (our first weekly) and everything was great! Laura gained another 3 pounds (yes, in one week) and the baby was moving all around when the nurse was trying to find his heart beat. We think he was trying to outsmart her, that little punk.

Here's a random picture of Jesse throwing a football at youth group on Sunday. We help out with the sophomore/junior guys (Jesse) and the junior/senior girls (Laura) and the guys play a lot of football before our small groups get started. I thought it would be nice to show Jesse's pretty face since Laura's gut has been getting all the attention lately. : )

We love you, whoever is reading this!

~Laura and Jesse

35 Weeks!

2008-02-28T18:24:00.000-05:00

Here's a shot of Laura at 35 weeks. We had a doctor's appointment today and everything looks great! She gained another 3 pounds, making the grand total so far 38lbs. The baby is really active, he's kicking Laura in the ribs all the time and gets the hiccups a lot, too. Either the hiccups or he's got incredible rhythm...

Jesse is having a really light workload lately which has been really nice. He hasn't had the chance to be bored in months, so it's been fun to relax together after work/school. Speaking of work, Laura's last day is March 11th and she can't wait! We going to celebrate by having a "Happy Retirement" dinner out.

From now on we have appointments every Wednesday afternoon until the due date, so check back for more updates!

It's a fetus!

2008-02-14T18:08:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of our fetus who looks a lot like Charlie Brown. If you look at his right hand, that kind of looks like Woodstock. If you think we're nuts, you're probably right.

This ultrasound is from January 2 and it's the last picture we'll have of him until he actually gets here. We're really hoping that he's not black and white. Ahhh.

Welcome

2008-02-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our blog!

We suspect that none of you care about Jesse and I and that you're only here for fetal news but we accept that and we love you anyway. However, since our baby isn't quite here yet, you'll sometimes have to suffer through updates on his future parents. We hope that you enjoy our blog and post replies so that we can hear from you, too!

We've chosen the title "Growing Joneses" for a few reasons:
1. Laura is gaining pounds as she "grows" our child (whose birth weight doubles in these last two months).
2. We hope to update you on the physical growth of our little baby with pictures and videos once he gets here (sometime in the end of March!) We're hoping that he's at least around 6'1 by first grade. : )
3. Who knows, maybe we'll be updating you on future family growth one day (but not any day soon).

Happy reading!