Birth announcement to the family.

I was being stitched up and sent into the recovery room so I had to view the rest of the story on video.

Kenton always gets the pleasure of making the grand announcement to the family of....

"It's a........ BOY!"  

This time everyone had their $$ on it being a girl.

Oh how I wish I were a betting woman!

Gotcha... another BOY!

The hospital staff was so good to our big boys.

From the moment they rolled New Baby out 

they encouraged them to touch their brother and tell him hello.  

Griff admiring his baby brother.

They even let the big boys roll their baby brother to the nursery.

Hold on baby brother.
This is only the beginning!

The proud Daddy.

6/13/12   5:20p.m.
9 lbs 2.6 oz  21 inches
(9.2 seemed "petite" compared to the 10.14
estimate in the ultrasound earlier in the day!)

Check out the length on that baby!
Long legs, long feet, long toes, and long fingers
After 3 tries Kenton got it right. :)

The boys checking new baby from the nursery window.

After a few hours in the recovery room I was ready to go to my regular room.  At this point everyone joined me and waited on baby brother.  I love raw expressions in the next few pictures.

Gotta love those smiles...

 I made big brother gifts for Griffin and Roman.  I wanted to remind them how very special they are to our family.  I made them each an "ABC of me" book.  With each letter of the alphabet I included a picture of each boy and something that they enjoy.  They love their books!

Mommy and her big boy.

Amazing how these 2 boys grew up in an instant
with the birth of their baby brother.

FINALLY... the star of the show arrived.  "New Baby" 

The reaction from each boy was so different and unique to each personality.  From the moment that Griffin entered the room he was concerned about me.  He kept on telling me, "you gonna be okay Mommy. You will get better."  Roman on the other hand was more into the baby.  He wanted to hold, kiss, and give lots of love to baby brother.

Momma adoring her newest addition.

Snug little bug...

My THREE sons. :)

My boys.

"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...