Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Mt. Holly Holiday Parade

So these guys, Bon and Mary and her kids showed up to support (and freeze!)



this one as she marched in the parade!!



She said she had fun, but her feet hurt. She told me she waved at a ton of people she didn't even know! lol It was in the 50's, maybe the 40's even and windy! Everyone who was smart was bundled up!

Next week I think Ryan will be riding on a float in the Belmont Holiday Parade with his scout troop. I'm hoping for warmer weather! :)
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Friday, November 12, 2010

Happy Belated Birthday Bon!

(I just saw this in my drafts folder! Sorry for the messed up order!)


I hope he had a good day! It started out great! The kids and I were up before him and so we hopped in the car and got some Krispy Kremes since Bon isn't a huge cake fan. This was the best picture out of two with him and three of the four kids.




Then we went to the Discovery Place. We laid on a bed of nails...



Played Tug of War ...


And you wrote yourself a Happy Birthday message out of Kapla blocks!


It was a great day!!
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New look

I changed the look of my blog. I kinda like it! I better like it I guess, since I wasted time on it instead of putting laundry away, cleaning the kitchen, etc., etc.

:)

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

What Reagan did

So during one of my sewing streaks this summer, Reagan begged and begged to have me teach her to sew. I had her practice on a piece of lined paper, first following the line and then following the guide lines. She did very well, but I was nervous that she was going to get her inexperienced fingers. She did really good. We made a baby blanket.

Here is the finished project!



Here she is while sewing. So cute!

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And the business goes on...

It seems like from the time that October started, it has been go, go, go and it isn't going to end until....January??!! But I guess maybe all this going will keep my spirits up. :)

I never got Bon a present, but we did spend the day together as a family and that was really nice. There was a moment when we were sitting just talking to each other with no kids demanding attention and he commented on how nice it was. Just to be together. And I agree.

Halloween came and went. I would post pictures, but somehow I can't get the computer to find them and when I stick the card back into the camera, it doesn't show them there either...I will be so sad if they are gone. Bon is trying to help me find them.

Up next is my friend Mary's birthday party. It's this coming Saturday and we are having it here. She turns 40 on the 8th and acts like she's 17. She is so fun!

Ryan stayed home from school today. He has had a runny nose for the last couple of weeks and just sniffs it in because he refuses to blow his nose. I keep telling him that he'll get an ear or eye infection if he continues, but he just won't blow it! So after school yesterday I noticed that his eye was getting red. Great. I asked if his ears hurt. At first he said no, but changed his answer. We trekked to the dr. this morning where it was confirmed that he didn't have an eye or ear infection. The Dr. flipped his eyelid up and found a foreign object that was irritating his eye. Got that out and then put a drop of "water" *wink wink* in his eye and looked at it with a black light to make sure it wasn't scratched. All was fine, so I'm glad for that.

Parent-teacher conferences are tomorrow. I love going to those and hearing the good stuff about my kids. :) They are good kids.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Last minute. Not ready!

I do this every year and every year I tell myself that I will do better next year and then...well...it's just a vicious cycle that I can't get myself out of! PROCRASTINATION!!!

Bon's birthday is on Saturday. I have no presents, no date planned, nothing.

Trick or Treat is on Sunday. I *think* my kids know what they want to be, but I can't be certain. I'm not ready for that either. Ryan has to dress up Friday as his favorite book character. Hmm...we haven't even discussed this. I will have to ask him in the morning...if I remember.

BUT, I actually have a couple of presents stashed away at Brenda's house for Christmas so my kids don't find them and rip into the box. So having a Christmas gift purchased before December 1st is something new for me. lol

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Teething is for the birds!

Evan is having such a horrible time teething. His top two teeth are making their way down and taking their sweet time. Ugh. And add to that his first cold...well, it makes for long, sleepless nights. He was up every two hours last night and took 45 minute naps today instead of his normal 2 hour stretches. Tonight I gave him Motrin instead of Tylenol and put baby orajel all over his gums.

I am slowly making progress on painting rooms. The kitchen is painted, as is the front hallway area. (but not the foyer...we are going to have to hire someone for that, I believe) I just have one wall left on our family room and I will probably pause for a little while. OR I might do the dining room. :) Kitchen is Tomato Bisque, and the rest so far is Tawny. A darker brown (don't remember the name) is going on the wall with the fireplace. (all Valspar colors) I am deciding on a greyish blue for the dining room. Choices, choices...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

glimpse into the future

This past weekend we were able to watch two extra kids. Our friends Brenda and Brian were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary by going back to their honeymoon spot of Gatlinburg, TN. We had their 8 year old and 13 year old here from Friday until Sunday. They were great! While they were here, I asked G (the 13 year old) if they had a birthday gift for their dad (since his birthday was Monday). She said that they hadn't gotten one yet. Since our family doesn't shop on Sundays, I took her and Evan to the mall on Saturday night to get a gift. We had so much fun. She is so respectable and just a fun teenager to be around. She really has her head set on straight and even told me that when she does things, she thinks about what impact it will have on someone now or even in the future. Wow! How many 13 year olds think like that?!

Anyway....I felt like that time was a glimpse into my future. I love having a daughter and I hope that Reagan will be level headed like G. I know that we will have fun and do fun things like that. We do fun things now, but on a different level. But it reminds me that I should cherish the time we have now, instead of wishing it away. I remember as a first time mom how I couldn't wait for her to sit, crawl, walk, etc. And now she is almost 8!!! Sometimes I want that cuddly little baby back just to sit and snuggle with.

I guess I just need to remember that life is too short to wish away. Glimpses into the future are fun, but the present is pretty awesome too.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Ah, the innocence of children.

Ryan got in trouble yesterday for pulling a neighbor girl's pants down. I guess they were all playing a game where they laid on top of each other and he decided to pull her pants down before laying on her. (yikes!) So I reprimanded all the kids for playing a game where you lay on each other. But as I was trying to explain to Ryan about the pants thing, I asked "Why are boys and girls different?" His first answer, bless his heart, was "Their hair." :)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Pause time, please!

Life is so busy lately. I need activities and days and nights to slow down! I feel like the mad rush to Christmas is already starting and now my mad rush of celebrating won't end until Evan's birthday...ahhh!! He can not get older! I feel like I am losing and missing all the memories I want to keep and treasure forever. And at the same time, I want that moment of frustration gone. Today Evan was grumpy all day. Which made me grumpy. I yelled at the older kids too much because I was tired of whining and the messes that were made and this and that and on and on. Tomorrow is a new day.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Some pictures from this summer

Something huge happened in our house this summer.



Bon decided that these shoes were done. They had served him well for the at least 11 years that he had them. For the last....oh...really long time, they have just been his "work outside" shoes. You know, the ones for mowing, gardening, doing anything "manly". And for the last year or so, every time he would wear them, his socks would be FILTHY! Like he might have not had shoes on to begin with kind of dirty. So really, why bother?! So after cleaning up from Ryan's birthday party (notice the festive paper plate in the trash), we said farewell to this fine pair of shoes.

His new outdoor shoes are a pair of running shoes that we had gotten from Nate & Shanel a couple of years ago and have just sat in the closet. They might be a little big??, but his socks aren't orange when he takes his shoes off...which is a huge plus. :) (orange because of the red clay/dirt we have here in NC.)


And just a few pictures of the kids playing in a pool at my grandma's house this summer. The lazy days of summer were upon us.

Ty, who takes the saying "Mothers of little boys work from son up to son down" quite literally. Today while we were checking out at Target, he was chattering on and on and on and I couldn't tell if the worker was annoyed, so I jokingly said that he didn't come with an off switch. She laughed and said her 5 year old was the same way...talk, talk, talk. Sadly, it's good to know I'm not alone. :)



Reagan, such a tender spirit. Gosh how I love this girl! I was looking through her school papers today and I came across a paper she had written. They were writing mock letters and I vaguely remember her telling me after school one day about this. How she had chosen me because the teacher didn't know that "Becky" was my name...it was her "friend". Here is what her letter said.

"Dear Beacky,
It was fun with you teaching me how to sew. You are a good friend. I like it when you smile. It is fun sewing diffrent colers.
Love,
Reagan



Ryan is gaining so much independence this year. He has joined Tiger Scouts and enjoys going to the weekly meetings with Bon. They will be selling popcorn at a booth at our town's Harvest Festival this coming Saturday. Which reminds me that I need to sew the patches onto his shirt before then... :) The other night Ryan and I were in the kitchen. I said "oh snap" to something and Ryan mumbled something and then started laughing. I said "what did you say??" He was embarrassed to tell me, but he said it again into his elbow. "Sweet Mama!" (said like a southerner who really likes something) I asked if that's what he said and we both cracked up. Who knows where he learned that from!

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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Last two days of school part 2.

Ryan had his awards day on the last day of school. He was given the Mr. Goodbar award. It's funny because Reagan was given that award in Kindergarten. Here he is with his teacher Mrs. Taylor. She was super nice and loved Ryan to pieces. :)



I wanted to start a tradition for the first and last days of school. So I picked up my kids (plus a neighbor/friend, Christian) and we went through Wendy's drive thru for Frostys. It was a great treat for the hot last day of school!



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Last two days of school part 1.

Reagan was given two awards on her awards day for her class. The first award was titled "The Walking Encyclopedia". She was so thrilled to get that with a puzzle. The second was her award for AIG. (academically or intellectually gifted---basically a gifted program)



Reagan with her teacher, Miss Jenkins, who will be getting married in 2011, I do believe. :)



On the front steps. The last day of school!! A cupcake bag holding the gift for our great bus driver Miss Tracy! We didn't know it, but she was driving her last day! Now she does something else within the school. We miss our Miss Tracy!!!


The bus stop gang getting on bus #10!!
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Last day of school present

This is late, but I wanted to share what I came up with for end of the year gifts for my kids teachers. I got some of my idea from another blog, but then came up with the rest on my own. It's hard to read the writing, so this is what it says: "It's o"fish"al!! You have been an AWsome teacher! Now that it's break time and your life isn't revolving around school, I hope you have time to get sun-kissed! Thank you for being a "tote"ally great teacher and helping me become "note"iceably smarter!" And in case you can't tell what all was in the gift "tote", it contained A&W root beer, Sunkist, a note pad, a Kit Kat bar, a pack of Orbit gum and a package of Swedish fish. (although you could always use Goldfish crackers also.)

It was inexpensive and all the teachers said they loved it. I'm sure they are supposed to say that...even if it's something crappy that they hate. But I like to think that they thought it was unique. :)
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Sunday, September 12, 2010

A little downtime

Ahh....all the kids are in bed. Peace. Silence. All I hear is the football game Bon's watching in the other room, the hum of the baby monitor and my keys tapping on my laptop. Bliss.

Tomorrow Bon and I celebrate our 11th anniversary. We pondered last night about would we have changed anything that has gotten us to where we are and the answer was no. We are so happy together and our life together just gets better and better.

Happy anniversary babe.

Monday, September 06, 2010

a little update

Just a little bit about what is going on here....

The kids started back to school and so far are "bored". I think they are stuck in the first weeks where they test to find out what they do and don't know, so it's mostly review. Reagan is in AIG, which is the gifted program here. She's also in AR, which is advanced reading. Her reading level is pretty close to that of a 5th graders. I'm excited for her this year and I hope she'll do well.

Ryan was lonely for the first couple days of school during recess. He said he didn't have anyone to play with. He was also excited that he wasn't the shortest kid in his class either. I think that he will do well in first grade since he copies so much of what Reagan does.

Ty is still full force most days from sunrise to sunset. He is a crack up and says the funniest things.

Evan is 8 months today and I can't believe how time has flown. I want to freeze time and keep him little. I am feeling the heartache of him being our last baby. He is expressive and is starting to move around a little more. I bet within two weeks he'll be crawling.

Bon took this past week off of work and it was so nice to have him home. He was able to get Reagan from school and we went to the dentist and ran errands. I know he's not excited about going back to work, but it pays the bills.

I am dealing with life right now. I feel like I've been overwhelmed and consumed by emotions lately and so I've been working on that. Trying to get my life in a working, sensible order. I went to a new doctor on Thursday and she is testing my thyroid levels and is putting me on some medication to help with my depression and anxiety. There are some days where I say something to the kids and immediately regret it...wondering how I would feel if roles were reversed and I was being treated that way. I hope they will forget all the harshness they have gotten from me in their early lives.

I also got news that my grandma is going to be put on Hospice. I will talk more with my sister tomorrow, but "failure to thrive" was mentioned and that is never good. I had just commented to Bon that you can see such a decline from last year to this year. Knowing she has had a good life, it still doesn't make it easier.

So some positive things to reverse the sad...

I am planning on painting our walls very soon...
I painted our kitchen and made curtains to hang on the deck door/window. I will have to take pictures and post....
I have many sewing projects lined up. Bag, shopping cart cover, skirts...
Reagan started dance class last Monday...she was so cute!
We signed up Ryan for Tiger scouts. He's super excited because you get to camp and hike and make stuff.....
I am signing Ty up for a "mousersice" class. Basically tumbling. I hope he'll like it....

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Just thinking

I remember talking with my sister-in-law Shanel one time about how after having a baby, a woman kind of loses who they are and they have to re-define themselves. I was thinking about this again tonight as I was rocking my baby. It's so true how what we have defines us. I am a mother to grade schoolers, a preschooler and a baby. What I do and the roles I have are different now then they were just 2 years ago. And my life will change and be different each year, because of who I am...a mother.

And even though that is a scary thought...I'm okay with that. I will have to adjust and learn to go with the flow. Re-defining myself is just too overrated. :)

Monday, June 21, 2010

Well...isn't that interesting....

Usually after two months of no activity, my friend sends me a very short message that says something like..."it's been two months!" Well...she must be busy because I didn't get a reminder! :)

But I have been busy. May and June, so far, have been busy months. In May it started with end of school programs and picnics and June was class parties and teacher gifts and class award parties and the end of school. Now that school is out, it should be slowing down....or one would think. But I am probably busier! Now I have to make 4 lunches all at once instead of just two at a time. I have to plan around nap times and really consider if it is a good idea to take all of them to Sam's Club or Walmart or if I can just stay home. Sometimes I don't think I'm supposed to be a mom of 4. It's hard!! lol

But we have some fun things planned this summer. I hope they will have good memories! Next week we are headed to the beach. Then in July, I am headed up to Ohio. Then at some point, we will go visit Bon's brother, because we told the kids we would and by golly...they still bring it up. They want to swim in Alexandra's pool! lol

Last week I took Ty to Pre-K screening. I am not sure he'll be placed, but we will find out by the end of July. I am sad to think that he might be placed and be gone all day like a big boy. A part of me wishes that he will be home with me this last year before he really goes off to school.

Evan is growing so well. I still haven't started him on solids. I think I am going to start when he turns 6 months, in just a couple of weeks. He looks longingly at food...so I think he is ready. I'm just not ready! lol Ryan finally got a booster seat for his birthday, so I took the cover off his old carseat and today I bought some new material and padding and picked apart the old cover. I will use that as a pattern to make a new one. I looked online for new carseat covers and the cheapest I found was $67. My supplies cost me under $25. And I know I can sew it just fine. I am taking pictures as I go, just cause I want to feel cool. Like a true blogger. lol

Tomorrow I may take the kids to sign up for the summer reading program. And it's crack down time on their chore charts. Summertime does not equal playtime all the time like they think it does. ;)

Well, I should get to sleep. I will try not to neglect this blog so much. I need to put some pictures up, too. Soon, my faithful readers. Soon. *said in my best karate teacher voice*

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

It's happening...

I'm Southernizing. I don't think that is a real word, since it has a red squiggly line under it while I type, but if 'winterizing' can be a word, then so can Southernizing. So here's why.

After telling my older kids several times to pick up their toys and come inside for dinner, I said "Pick up your toys right now and don't make me say it again!"

Wait...what's wrong with that you ask? Weeeeelllll.....I didn't say "again" like I've said it for the last 30 years of my life. I said it more like "ah-gay-n". Three syllables and all.

Sadly, my friend Brenda heard me and stopped to stare at me. I was hoping she hadn't heard me but when she said "oh nuh uh. You did not just say that did you???" I knew I had been found out.

So the cat is out of the bag. Occasionally my tongue feels the need to Southernize words. And as long as I don't start saying colloquialisms in every conversation, then I'll be as happy as a tick on a fat dog.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The difference of a year

As I was driving today, I realized that it has been a year since I was at my lowest of lows. I thought about how much "higher" I am on the scale of emotional health. I would put myself in the safe zone. I still have areas that need work, but for the most part, I love who I am and what I have and can recognize the blessings of my life. I am thankful for prayer.

This afternoon my paternal grandmother passed away. She was 89. There will be a graveside service on Saturday and a memorial service after (her) church service on Sunday, followed by a church lunch. I will be leaving tomorrow with Evan and Ty and going to Ohio. I regret not seeing her this past summer. It seems that lately I am regretting too many things. I take for granted the delicate nature of life and keep the mindset that people will be there next time. Well, next time never came. And I am sorry. I haven't been close to her for a while now, but I still loved her. I have fond memories of her. I miss her already.

So live each day so you will have no regrets. Say "I love you" to your loved ones. Be the best you that you can be. If we all did that, our world would be better.

Monday, February 01, 2010

ramblings

I just need to ramble about some things.

We had our first snowstorm of the year this past Friday. The kids were so excited to see it falling and wanted to go out at 8 at night to play in it. Being the mean parents that we are, we told them that if they waited until morning, there would be more snow. And there was. They were in and out of the house all day on Saturday. Church was cancelled and so they played outside even more on Sunday. Our hilly backyard makes the perfect ramp, especially when you start at the top by the neighbor's fence and sled all the way down past the house to the sidewalk. Our neighborhood has a street that is basically a sledder's dream. Since the snow was over a layer of ice, the street was just perfect to go down, or so I'm told. I didn't venture out. :) But they cancelled school today and again tomorrow.

Evan is getting big. He is filling out and I had a newborn sized outfit on him this last week and it was the last time he could wear it because it was too small! We ate Chinese food Friday night and even though I was trying to stay away from something that might bother him, I guess the little bit of cabbage and two pieces of broccoli I had were just enough to make him fuss for the next 24 hours. He was grumpy with a capitol G! But he's much better now and just cute as cute can be. Ryan is especially sweet with him. Loves to touch him, wants to know where he is, constantly says "awww, baby Evan is SO cute!", etc. My mother-in-law made the comment about one of her grandsons and how tender he was and how his parents seem to try to toughen him up or beat the tender out. She said that one of her sons was the same way. (not Bon. lol) I often see how tender Ryan is and it breaks my heart when I feel anger towards him. I want him to keep the tenderness that he has. Such a gentle spirit that I hope I don't break. Gosh being a parent can rip your heart to shreds sometimes.

Bon's grandma passed away last week. He wasn't close to his grandparents growing up. I'm sorry that I didn't make more of an effort to get to know her. The times that I did spend with her were good. She sounds like she led an incredible life and did so with a great sense of humor.

I'm doing good this time around with the whole postpartum thing. I wake up sweating half the time, but I'm not feeling mopey or angry. There are moments when I do feel that way, but I think that is just normal hormone fluctuation/being a mom with 4 kids/being tired/etc. Sometimes it's hard for me to realize that I am old enough to have 4 kids. That I am a responsible person that has a house and a minivan and I have kids in school and I can multi-task. I do look around at my friends though and feel like I'm not in their league. Like I don't have my act together and I'm really just playing pretend while they do the real deal. I don't know why I feel that way though. I've been trying to figure it out for a while now.

Well, off to put dinner dishes in the dishwasher. Reagan is sleeping over at her friend Rylie's house. Ryan is asleep in bed and Ty is on the couch. Evan is sleeping and occasionally pooping/farting while in his bouncy seat. Bon is watching tv and looking over papers from work. Tomorrow will hopefully be another great day. I will be thinking of my mother-in-law (mom, I love you) especially.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

And then there were 4


We welcomed Evan Lewis into our family on January 6, 2010 at 5:12 p.m. He came in at a whopping 8 lb. 7 oz and 21.25 inches. I will copy the birth story that I wrote on an LDS forum I belong to. Before I do that, however, I am so grateful that he is here and healthy. I love to sit and cuddle with him and I will admit that I'm not very good at sharing him. Even Bon has commented that Evan isn't happy unless I'm holding him. I think it must be that way because I am treasuring this babyhood. I regret not holding my other kids more, savoring in their babyness. I regret not making the time for that. Thinking that other things mattered more was a huge mistake. But now is the time I can correct that. I hope that my love for all of my children is reflected to them. I hope that as this new year marches on, that I can be a better mother. I want all my kids to think they are my favorite. Maybe to have them feel like they are the most important and treasured person whenever we spend time together. I know that I fall short of giving them that feeling, but it is my goal this year, to give them the best me I can be.

Here is Evan's birth story. His name by the way, was chosen from a baby name book. I really liked Landon, but Bon wasn't sold on it, so I started going through the book again and liked Evan, so I wrote it down. Bon took to it right away. Lewis, however, was my grandfather's middle name.

We decided to go with induction because I got to my due date (Jan. 4) and there still wasn't anything going on. I was dilated to a two, but by this point I was just frustrated, depressed and very uncomfortable. So we arrived at the hospital on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 7:45a.m. Fill out some paperwork and then get to my room. The midwife that is in the group I saw throughout pregnancy was the one that was there to check me and get everything going. She had checked me on Monday and I was a two. And on Wednesday I was still a two. She has really small hands and I just remember that her exams hurt...a lot. lol

So by 8:15, I'm all settled and the pitocin starts. I've never been induced with pitocin for a live birth before, so I didn't know what to expect. I've heard a lot of horror stories about it, but it really wasn't bad for me. My contractions started around 9 and they stayed steady and really weren't that painful. Closer to 11:30 though, I was starting to get nervous because the midwife said she would be back to check me at lunchtime and would probably break my water then. Well, I knew that I didn't want her to break my water without an epidural, so I think it must've been a little after 12, when they started getting stuff ready for the epidural. The nurse brings in a step stool and a chair and Bon and I wonder what is up. lol The step stool is for me to brace my feet on and the chair is for Bon. They don't allow the husbands to stand up anymore because they had one fall and crack his head open and end up in the ER while his wife is laboring away. lol So the closest Bon can get to me is to rub my leg. Needles freak me out to begin with, so I always get really anxious and nervous with epidurals. I was hugged over the pillow and the anesthesiologist is doing his stuff and the pressure in my spine was more than I remember and I started feeling lightheaded. The nurse held my shoulder so I wouldn't fall in case I fainted. But he finished and I laid down and I started having what the anesthesiologist called a vasovagal response. My jaw was shuddering, my left eye was twitching and for the life of me, I could not stop blinking. lol That lasted about 10 minutes before I was back to normal.

But that is when my blood pressure started dropping. The alarm for the blood pressure thing went off several times before she set it to only go off if it dropped below 90 over whatever since my blood pressure is usually 110/60. Well it was still going off. I think the lowest that I know about was 78 over whatever. So she had given me three different doses of epinephrine to make it go back up. This goes all throughout the afternoon. The midwife comes in sometime around 1, I think, and I'm at a 4. She breaks my water and keeps saying..."whoa, that's a lot of water!" I get flipped from side to side about every hour. I felt some pressure at three and the nurse checked me and I was only a 6. Bummer! The nurse comes in at 4 o'clock to help me turn over and pulls the blanket back and says..."that's a lot of bloody show....let me just check you really quick." I was complete!! She decides not to move me (lol) and calls the midwife right away (who was at the office that is like....2 minutes from the hospital.) The midwife says that she'll "mosey on over". lol

They start getting the room ready, the warming table is brought in, the bed is broken down. They move me ever so carefully onto my back and get an oxygen mask on me. The midwife gets there and she starts doing her stuff and working with me. They call the NICU team up to my room because Evan's heart rate keeps decelerating during my contractions. So it goes from a room of 5 people to a room of at least 9 or 10 people in about 5 minutes. And I remember there was this guy that followed some nurses in and he was dressed in khaki's and a sweater and I couldn't see a name badge, so I was thinking...who the heck is that guy? But I later learned he was the NICU doctor. lol (by the time they came in, my legs were up in stirrups. lol)

I was so scared at this point. I didn't want to cry, but I was really close to it because I was tired and really scared for Evan. So, I pushed and pushed. More than I ever have with any other baby. It was so hard! I know I didn't push as long as some women have pushed, but to me it felt like forever. They finally told me that he was coming out face up, which was why it was hard for him to "turn the corner". I saw the midwife cut me a little to have more room. She had been stretching me but I needed more I guess. So I finally get his head out and they tell me to stop pushing. I know they are doing something, but I can't see what, and they are counting. I was so confused. Bon said that he was watching the midwife's face and her eyes kept getting bigger and bigger. When it was all said and done, Evan had the cord wrapped around his neck 5 times!!! They said it wasn't tight, but they had never seen it around 5 times before. I finish pushing him out and he gets plopped up on my belly and he looks perfect. They whisk him away to the warmer right away though, so the NICU team can look him over. He was fine. I heard them say his apgars were good and he just stayed in the warmer content and happy as can be. He just looked around at everyone.

So on Wednesday January 6, 2010, at 5:12 p.m., Evan Lewis Carter joined our family. He was 8 lb 7 oz, 21.25 inches long and just absolutely perfect.