Everything You Wanted to Know....About Landon...

My oldest boy is quite possibly the sweetest boy you'll ever meet.  I found out on November 11, 2004 that I was pregnant.  When I went for my first ultrasound, December 13, 2004, I found out that I was pregnant with twins.  For most people, this would probably not be the best news, but I was estactic.  I had always dreamed I would have twins, but unfortunately, it was not to be.  The doctor told me that the babies were 6 days apart, according to their size.  So, we went in on December 26, 2004 for a second ultrasound.  It was at that point that I felt like my world came crashing down.  Only one of the babies had a heartbeat.  One of my biggest fears, of course, was that something would happen to Landon also.  But my little boy is a strong one!  I just knew from that exact point that it was a little boy. 

We had decided on Christopher Landon if we had a boy and Emma Grace if we had a girl.  Unfortunately, right after I found out I was pregnant, one of our friends was killed in a car accident.  He was actually instrumental in introducing Chris & I.  His name, some of you know, was Brandon Everette Penny.  It was at his funeral that I told Chris, if we do have a boy, I want to name him Landon Everette, after Brandon.

My whole pregnancy after that, went great.  In fact, Chris was the one with all the morning sickness!  I only gained 24 lbs the whole time I was pregnant.  His due date was set for July 24, 2005.  But, on July 12, 2005, I went in for one of my checkups.  I remember Dr. Mellon asking me if I had "Triskadekaphobia (Fear of the number 13)."  I replied of course not, I was born on the 13th.  After clarifying that it was not on July 13, but September 13, my induction was set.  That night, I had my last meal, Japanese, and went to a church softball game.  We were so excited, we hardly slept at all.

The next morning, we drove our couple of blocks to the hospital and checked in.  I had a bet going with the nurses, Chris, and my friend Amy in Alabama (who had just had a baby 5 weeks earlier) that I would be done by lunch.  She laughed since it took her almost a whole day!  But at 11:56 a.m., my bundle of joy arrived weighing in at 8lb, 6 oz and 21" long.  I was on Cloud 9 until around check-out time, when the "baby blues" hit me full force.   It took me a full two weeks to get over that and it was so weird how it happened.  It left just as easily as it came.  One minute I was sad and the next I was just happy to be in my role as a new mother. 

Four, almost five years later, my little boy is still the highlight of my life.  Although, now he has to share that spotlight with his more feisty, demanding, little brother.  One of his teachers told me a year ago that he's very "sympathetic to others, always knows when one of his friends is sad or feeling left out and tries to correct it by paying attention to them, even when everyone else is doing something else."  That made me feel so good.  I know that I've done a good job as a mother, but when you get affirmation from an outsider, it just makes your day.  It's hard to explain unless you're a mother too I guess. 

It's hard when you're in the midst of dirty dishes, clothes that need put away, bills that are due, and the endless lists of wants from everyone to sit back and enjoy these moments with your children.  But they are sure to pass, just like they do for every other parent.  So to remind me at some point when I'm old and grey, here are a lists of Landon's favorite things, according to Landon...

Food:  Bread
Number: 5
Color: Orange and Red
Best Friend:  Britt and Jase
Sport: Baseball and Basketball
Sleeping Toy:  Bear that we bought when I was pregnant and Mr. Puppy

Cartoon:  Wow Wow Wubbzy
Loves:  Olympics...especially Bobsled
Baseball Team: Red Sox
Football Team: ECU Pirates
Basketball Team: Tarheels & Hawks
Thing to Say: "May-be" and "Ohhhh Mannn"
Wants to be: Power Ranger