"It's A....... BOY!"

I have started to write this several times over the past 3 weeks.

I have deleted each entry and started over.

This is one of those moments that I want to remember every second of.

I want my memories and writing to do this "life moment" justice.

One day I want Cohen to be able to read this and feel the anticipation, joy and love that were present when he entered this world and became a part of our family.  

So here it goes...

June 13, 2012 was a day for me that was full of blessings, surprises and unexpected twists and turns.  The day started out with my dream/vision of having a baby boy.  Next was my 39 week Dr appointment that turned into "see you back in a few hours. You are having a baby.... TODAY."  Next thing I know Kenton and I are heading back to the hospital to welcome our 3rd child into the world.   

As we were driving to the hospital I was rather quiet and filled with anxiety.  This was the first time that I knew that I was about to have a c-section.  The "what ifs" were playing in my mind.  I was once again very fearful of the epidural.  What if as a result I would end up paralyzed.  I tried to calm my racing mind and was comforted by my husband.  This man is always so good to me.  

The hospital experience was very different than our previous 2 times.  Like I said this was the first time I was going in for a "planned" c-section.  Once we arrived it was all business.  Paperwork, surgery prep, iv, blood work, monitors, epidural, and wheeled off to surgery.

All of this was just a whirlwind of events that are a bit of a blur to me.  I mean was this really happening NOW?   From the planning and preparation all the way back to our first child we never went in with a birth plan.  Our "plan" was to go with it.  That way we would not be disappointed if things did not go our way.   I was a bit let down that things were not happening the way that I had dreamed, but no time for tears.  We were moments away from meeting our newest addition.  

I snapped this picture as I waddled into the hospital.

Here I am waiting for showtime!

Just before I was wheeled into surgery MiMi and Pop took
the boys back to give me a quick kiss.

Roman was very uncertain and a bit afraid.

Here is Griffin giving the baby a quick kiss and a "see you soon."

"Are you SURE about this?"

"I don't know are you?"

Once I made it into the operating room the mood was light.  I was being tended to by a wonderful staff.  The experience was much better than my memories of it the first time around.  As much as I feared the epidural it took very well.  Everything went by pretty quickly.  There was a little joking and last minute wagers on boy or girl.  I remember the Dr saying, "We are very close.  Are you ready?  Here the baby comes."  After a moment of silence I heard, "it's a.... BOY!"

6/13/12  5:20 P.M.

Here he is as they are pulling him out.

                                        

The first shot moments before the big reveal.

I remember Kenton looking at me and I just laughed.  A lot.  Another boy?!?  This is the reaction that I prayed for.  I so badly wanted to feel joy when/if I was told it was another boy.  Guess what?  I did.  I felt joy, peace, and contentment.

Seconds after the announcement I heard him and that precious newborn cry.  The beautiful sound that every mother waits to hear.

They brought "New Baby" over for a quick clean up.

Here he is.

Here is my first glimpse of our precious baby boy.  A healthy baby boy.  My first glimpse of my precious child.  The child that I carried for 39 weeks.  The child that we prayed for.  The baby that we longed for.  To finally see the baby that I already knew so well...

Proud Daddy showing off his son.

The nurses were getting "New Baby" all checked out before Kenton walked out with him into the hall to announce to the family our newest addition.  A beautiful and healthy baby Boy!  

39 week appointment... You're having a baby

Have you ever had one of those days when something so unexpected happens that it changed your life forever?  I have...

I had my 39 week appointment on June 13.  My doctor was on vacation so I was stopping in to see one of the other doctors.  I wasn't expecting much.  Just a quick everything looks great your doctor will see you on Monday for your scheduled c-section.

I was tired because I had a very restless night of sleep the night before.  I had one of "those" dreams.  You know the kind where you actually see your baby.  I had one of these dreams when I was 29 weeks pregnant with Griffin.  My dream revealed to me that I was having a baby boy.  The baby in my dream was actually a vision of Griffin at about a year old.  I did not have any dreams like this while pregnant with Roman.  This time around I was pushing 39 weeks so really didn't expect to have one.  In my dream I saw my big, healthy, RED HEADED baby BOY!  I just pushed the dream aside because the baby in the dream did not look like anyone that I even know.  Could not possibly be my child!


I got up and dressed after tossing and turning the night away.  I had big plans for the day.  It was my last day of work for 3 months, quick trip to the doctor, possible quick afternoon siesta, and total rest and relaxation until it was time for the baby to come.  On the way to the doctor "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" played on the radio.  Hummm.... does this song cancel out my dream last night when I had a vision of a baby boy?  I was over the top excited with anticipation of BOY or GIRL! (for the record I predicted boy 9 lbs 10 ounces)


I make my way to my appointment.  After a quick examination I saw the look on Dr. M's face as she was putting my chair back into a sitting position.  "I said, let me sit up straight before we have this sort of conversation."  I was expecting her to say you MUST chill out until you are scheduled to come in on Monday.  I really had my heart set on Dr. C delivering our baby.

Needless to say our conversation went a little differently than I expected.  It went like this.  "Okay, your labor has begun.  I will be delivering the baby as soon as this afternoon, but no later than tomorrow morning.  You are beginning to dilate and you are 75% effaced."  


I'm pretty sure that all of the blood in my body rushed from my head to my toes.  I had been having contractions, but played them off as the baby moving.  Remember I so badly wanted to hold out until my Dr. returned on Monday.  I fully expected to have a baby really soon, but TODAY?!?

Dr. M sent me off to ultra sound to get a quick scan of the baby to check on fluid levels and size of the baby.  I made my disclaimer as soon as I entered the ultrasound room. "We don't know the sex of the baby."  I made sure to remind her no less than 8 times in a 10 minute visit.  At one point I saw a look of "OH MY GOODNESS/ FEAR" on her face.  I said, "pretty big huh?"  Her response put the look of OH MY GOODNESS/FEAR on my face.  The baby was measuring 10 lbs 14 ounces.  I was then hooked up to do a quick stress test.  Dr. M. walked in and said, "see you in a few hours."

Hello Baby... See you soon.
xoxo, Mommy

 I rushed home to tie up loose ends, make afternoon arrangements for our boys, finish up work expense reports and time, and take a bath, shave my legs, fix my hair, and polish my toes. :)

Kenton met me at home we loaded up the car with our bags packed and drove away knowing that our lives would never be the same again...

Father's Day 2012

This year Father's Day was a bit of a blur.

We were home from the hospital less than 24 hours.  

Luckily I had the gifts prepared well in advance 

just in case "New Baby" decided to come a little early.

I had very lofty goals.

I planned to join the family at church on Sunday morning.

Needless to say our first night home from the hospital was less than dreamy.

It may have even resulted in a 3am wake up love tap to the husband and a tad bit of blood.

Cohen and I stayed home to rest while everyone else went to church.

We then enjoyed steaks and baked potatoes for lunch.

After lunch the boys gave their Daddy and Poppa the videos that we made for them.

I later found out that Griff may have mentioned to Poppa 

that we made something for him, but it was a secret.  :)

Here is the card that the boys helped me to make for their Daddy and hero...

After we watched their videos we had to go outside for our expanded family pictures.

My handsome boys

Big boys kissing baby Cohen.
Funny how Roman moved into the "big boy" category. 

The boys with Big Poppa.

Happy Father's Day from all of us!

Kenton's video:
http://youtu.be/xxasMLjyH8E

Big Poppa's video:
http://youtu.be/zzVWOOLAAPw

The Name Game

Naming our 3rd son proved to be a difficult task.

We went into the delivery with a name for a girl:

Lucy Kathryn.

This was easy.  

(1)We have never used our baby girl's name.

 (2) She was to be named after both of her grand mothers.

Baby boy was not so easy.

We had a list and discussed names many nights leading up to the big event.

Fast forward to June 13, 2012....

Doctor announces,

"It's a baby BOY!"

I was expecting to hear these words, but it was still a major surprise to actually hear the words.  

Immediately after birth the questions start.

"So what's his name?"

The next day the questions get a little more animated and look more like this.

"So what's his name???"

On day 3 the questions looked like this.

"SO WHAT IS HIS NAME????"

Here is a behind the scenes look at our process to name our little peanuts...

This is our original master list.  This list was written shortly after our engagement in 2005 during a church sermon.  The pastor was teaching out of Samuel according to the sermon notes.  I tried for Sam all 3 times, but was vetoed 3 times.  :) 

On March 10, 2008...

We hear the doctor announce,

"It's a BOY!"

Doctor asked "does he have a name?"

My response was "I'm not sure, but I believe it is Griffin James."

After a quick conversation our baby was named.

Here is our second list that was jotted down while we were in the hospital after baby boy #2 was born.

April 27, 2010...

Doctor announces,

"It's a BOY!"

Baby boy #2 was 3 days old before he had an official name.

Baby Boy went by the name "Andrew" for 1/2 a day.

Satch knew that I just was not feeling it.

After a heart to heart we agreed on the name Roman Wade.

Here was the list that we were working off of for baby #3.

June 13, 2012...

Doctor announces,

"It's a BOY!"

All of the names that we tossed around just didn't seem to fit our baby boy.

Criteria for naming our peanut:

• We didn't want to use a name that was on a popular list. Our first 2 names are somewhat unique and we wanted this name to feel the same.
• Our first 2 boys names ended in "N."  We did not initially intend to do this while naming Griffin and Roman, but we liked it and thought why mess up a good thing?  (Kento(n), Kevi(n), Steve(n), and Jaso(n)- the "N" went past our two boys and also included their Daddy, Uncle, and 2 first cousins)  All names end in "N" and all are boys.  Seeing a pattern here?!?  
• We forced ourselves to stay away from potential unisex names.  We loved the name Morgan and Cameron, but we know how cruel the world can be.  We didn't want to give kids/people ammunition to tease our boy for having a name that could also be used to call a girl.
• The name needed to carry our precious baby boy well through adulthood.  We needed a strong name that would serve him well from diapers through business meeting. (if that is the path that he so chooses of course)  
• We also wanted a name that would give us options to nick name off of.

We spent a couple of days hanging out with our little guy and getting to know him a little better.

We test drove a couple of names on him to see what we felt suited him best.

I hated going days without having a name to call my baby while we were initially bonding,

but I couldn't just settle on a name.  This was a decision that was much to important to settle on.  

Three days later the nursery nurse brought the baby in and we were talking to her.

We were talking about the names of our other children and names that we liked.

She observed that we liked names that ended in "N."

She offered to come back later and bring us a list to help with our process.

This is the list that she returned with.

As we looked at the list Cohen rose to the top.

I prayed hard before going to bed that when I woke up that God would give me peace and comfort in the name that we choose.

I woke up that morning and didn't feel led to the name.  

A few hours later I took a nap.

When I woke up I was totally at peace with the name Cohen.  

As you may recall Cohen was on our first list written in 2005.

We have tossed it around with each boy, but this time it seemed to be the perfect fit.

And that is how the name Cohen Jacob (CJ) was born...

Momma Birthday Fest 2012- 2

I have the best husband.

I REALLY do...

When I got home from dinner with friends

Satch had the red place mat set and the house decorated for the morning.

I love how he takes care of me.

Red place mat set for the birthday princess.

Here we are enjoying our traditional birthday breakfast as a family.

I am making a wish before I blow out the candles.

A girl can dream...

Once we got home and had dinner we celebrated once again over cupcakes.

Birthday gift from my boys.

Thanks to my family and friends for making my day so special.

Y'all sure know how to make an "old girl" feel loved!

Momma Birthday Fest 2012- 1

On Tuesday night I had plans with my friend Cristina.

Here was the plan.

She was picking me up for dinner.

What she forgot to tell mention to was that we would be joined by 9 other of my favorite ladies.

Needless to say I was very surprised 

and greatly humbled that they all took time out of their busy schedules to celebrate me.  

I had such a great evening with all of these girls.

Each one of them is such a blessing in my life!

The birthday girl wearing her crown.

This is the party that I happened upon.
It just so happened to be for me.
Very cool...

I was also surprised with some adorable baby goodies.
I adore these newborn hats made by Erin.
Which one will we use?!?

Who Dat baby. (thanks Brittany)

Now a party would NOT be complete without 'staches.
Seems that we are all suckers for the 'stache.

Thanks girls for such a fun night.

Very sneaky and I love it!

This year is already off to a great start!

Can I be a cowboy...

We made the trip back down the bayou yesterday 

for an afternoon of horse back riding at Mr. Al's farm.

Yesterday morning I told Griff that we were going on a trip when I picked him up in the afternoon.

He was SO excited about the trip.

He told his teacher and another parent that he was leaving for a trip.

His teacher said,

"where are you going Griff?  Disney World?  The Beach?"

I replied... "Cut Off, LA!"

When I picked him up he was chatting up a storm about our trip.

He was telling Roman about what we needed to pack.

He planned to bring along a jacket and an umbrella just in case.  :)

Once home he started to pack a bag.

He threw in some diaper rash cream for Roman and a Power Ranger for himself.

I had to hold him back from packing his tooth brush and a drawer full of clothes.

It was really cute to see his excitement.

Once Kenton got home we revealed where we were heading.

He could not wait to get back to the farm.

Once we arrived they had several folks riding horses.

They asked if Griff would like to ride too.

The rest was history...

I love the smile on his face.

Griff giving Lilly some love.

Baby Bear and Kenton.

Baby Bear warming up to the horses.

After a little convincing Kenton got
Baby Bear into the saddle for a minute.

Taking a break to check out the tractors.

Griff went back out and rode with Mr. Al's grand daughter.
They rode for about 45 minutes.
It is always so much more fun to ride with a partner.

Momma and Baby Bear watching Griff ride.

After they finished riding horses we toured
the property.

We also headed over to the pool for dinner and a swim.

We are so proud of Griff.

Not so long ago he would run when we tried to get him on a pony.

Today, he wants to be a cowboy.

Dream BIG my boy...