...our sweet baby Hayden joined our little family! He made quite the entrance and for those who don't know the story - I am going to give a quick recap of the day leading up to his birth:
It was Tuesday May 20th - the last day of school and my last day of teaching before having my baby. Hayden's due date was 3 weeks away and I was looking forward to a few weeks of relaxing on the couch before the big day! The kids were dismissed around noon that day at which point I went to work trying to finish packing up my classroom. I was really quite huge at this point but still getting around pretty well. Andy was planning to meet me at the school when he was done with classes around 5pm so we could finish packing up together. Once he got to the school I felt so sick to my stomach - I figured it was because I hadn't eaten all day and all I wanted was a steak! So instead of working, we left to go out to dinner, even leaving my car in the parking lot and heading to Black Angus.
When we got to the restaurant it was so crowded, why on a Tuesday night before 6 was it so stinkin crowded??? So I sat down to wait for our table, after a few minutes I really thought I would pass out because I was so hungry. Andy was feeling really bad and got me a loaf of bread from a hostess who took a little pity on me! The bread was wonderful, it helped me feel a bit better pretty quickly. After waiting in the lobby for about 20 minutes our name was finally called and I would finally get my steak and potatoes! We got about half way to our table when I heard a small pop, like a balloon popping and suddenly water was gushing down my legs. I sort of freaked out and told Andy I think my water broke! Meanwhile people are staring at us - I had a knee length skirt on so you could just see the water puddling on the floor as I tried to keep my legs together while waddling to chair I saw 5 feet away. I grabbed the chair and sat down. Turns out I grabbed the chair from a table where a very young couple were on a date - they looked at me pretty wide eyed!
The hostess didn't know what to do, neither did I or Andy - this had never happened to us before! Andy asked if they had any towels in the back and so she ran and got some. I started wiping down my legs and kind put a few between my legs as I stood up, another huge gush, and I sat right back down. How on earth would I ever be able to walk out of this restaurant??? Eventually Andy convinced me that I just had to suck it up and do it! And so a few minutes later we headed back out the way we came in - people were clapping and telling us congratulations, it was so unreal. As I walked out of the restaurant people were coming in saying, "Is it time???" We got to Andy's car and put a few of the towels (that the restaurant let us take) on the seat of the car before I sat down, then we headed home to get the hospital bag!
Andy called triage and they told us to come in right away even though I was having no contractions, but the water kept pouring out. I was measuring over 6-7 weeks ahead during the pregnancy and now we know why - I had huge amounts of extra amniotic fluid - it was amazing. The rest of the story is basically that I spent 17 hours in labor, in the hospital on pitocin before Hayden finally entered the world on Wednesday, May 21st! I was glad to have that surprise 3 weeks early - I totally didn't expect it! He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces. Here are a few pictures from the days after Hayden was born:
We are so thrilled with the young man that Hayden is becoming - he continues to amaze us each and every day! He is already talking about turning 8 next year and getting baptized - time sure flies!
Hayden was so proud last month to get his picture taken at BYU - he is totally set on going there - we cross our fingers that he will someday!
Baby #4 at almost 36 weeks:
Hmm, it will be interesting to see her in person and see how much they really compare but I think the resemblance is pretty amazing!
The ultrasound tech gave me about 30 pictures as it is very rare for a baby to be showing off her face this far along and she was amazed at the pictures she was getting. I can't believe I will actually meet this little lady soon!
I'm thinking she looks exactly like Brynley!
And here we are today at breakfast:
Our life has certainly not been perfect and I am sure there are many obstacles still in our way but we are in it together - all of us! Andy continues to spoil me daily and is always beyond thoughtful when it comes to making me happy. I remember 10 years ago waking up the morning of our wedding freaking out - I thought for sure I had made a mistake, what was I doing? I was only 21, Andy was 26 - practically an old man! I remember walking into the Portland Temple and Andy was sitting there waiting with his parents, he had a huge grin on his face and I could hardly look at him - our lives would be changing forever and sometimes I don't deal well with change! Thank goodness I didn't listen to the butterflies and I went ahead with the wedding - because the rest of the day was pure bliss. And the 10 years since have been a wild ride that I wouldn't step off of for a minute!
Andy took us all to breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast spots - The Flight Deck Cafe at the Gateway airport. It was a nice way to spend the morning together.
Brynley thought we needed a picture of the two babies in the family:
Hayden - 7 years old
Brynley - 4 years old
Zac - 2 years old
And not to leave out the next member of the family - Baby girl at 32 weeks
Happy Anniversary Andy - I love you more today than yesterday!
Hayden was very patiently watching every dance!
Bryn's teacher (Miss Misty) also works on tumbling and had the girls do a little bit of tumbling. Unfortunately, Bryn's cartwheel is not so good - Though I'd say she has at least 15 - 20 pounds up on all the other girls in the class so I'm not surprised that her little arms can't hold her up!
After the recital - what a cutie! (I think I'm starting to see some resemblance between the two of us!)
Hayden was so proud last month to get his picture taken at BYU - he is totally set on going there - we cross our fingers that he will someday!
Before the concert - eating dinner right by the arena
Lifehouse - they were fantastic!
Here I am with Chris Daughtry in the background!
Some pictures of Daughtry
The baby's legs and feet
A profile shot of the baby with one arm by her face, you can see the other hand in the left corner
Another picture almost the same as above but she is almost smiling!
This picture might be a little much for some but I finally feel confident calling this baby a girl. If you can't tell, her bum is at the bottom of the picture, hand is between her leg with one finger sort of pointing to her girly parts!