LIFE WITH WILL

Well, our computer is STILL down, so I'm not able to update this like I wanted to on my mom's computer! I wanted to go back through the last almost five months of Will's life and share about how our life has changed but will have to put it into one I guess.

Will is the biggest blessing ever! He is the sweetest, most precious little thing in my life. I will post a few pics of the last four months and show how he's grown since I can't update that far back and I love being a mommy!

This is Will at seven weeks :)
Here he is at nine weeks :)

Here he is at three months on Christmas morning!

We also had a white Christmas so here he is in his first snow.

Here he is at four months old. He is such a happy baby.

He is meeting all of his developmental milestones...actually all of them for a six-month-old. We have a little bit of trouble with tummy time b/c he just wants to be up and kicking. He rolled over when he was only two weeks old_yeah_scary. But, he will roll back to front but doesn't like rolling front to back! He is so strong and even his pediatrician thinks he is VERY strong...just lazy-lol! We have started eating green beans and peas and love them along with his cereal in the morning. Tonight I get to go and buy him some other veggies and let him try some other things. He LOVES to eat. At his four-month checkup he weighed 14 pounds, 12 ounces and was 25.5 inches long. He is solid and has cute little chubby arms and pretty big hands for his age and size but he is very long. He is already wearing some six-month pants and they are not terribly too long for him. Can't believe that when his dad and mom are so short_hahaha!

We just had his pictures taken last night so we would have them if we make it to TN for his great grandma's 95th birthday in March. They turned out cute except when he saw the camera, he wouldn't smile. Silly boy! Here is just one of the pics we had made yesterday and I will share and post more soon. Of course we had to get OU for the OU side of the family and TN for the TN side-lol!

Here's our precious boy at five months_that is...five months tomorrow :)

CATCHING UP ON LIFE

Well, our computer has been down since I had the baby so I have been using mom's when I can and haven't been able to even put anything surrounding his birth on my blog! So, here goes....

I had been having some back problems because of the way "Will" was positioned and had been seeing my awesome chiropractor and he was really helping me a lot. However, about week 36, my back had just about bit the dust and I could barely walk and was getting no relief from Wes' manipulation at all. I was ready to have this baby. We also found out this week that Will was breech and so Wes tried a maneuver to get him to turn. We did this twice and without any success.

By this time I was 37 weeks and couldn't walk, seriously! When I went for my 37-week checkup, I had to be monitored b/c my otherwise excellent blood pressure was dangerously elevated. They monitored me and sent me home to bedrest b/c Will was doing okay while at rest. My doctor also wanted to give me one more week before she took him.

The next week was spent with me at home trying to walk and get up long enough to get a bite to eat and go to the bathroom....which was a major chore when you can't walk and have to go ALL the time!!! I made it through eight days of rest with the Lord's help and of course the help of my family and made it to the C-section day which was scheduled September 23, 2009.

We had so many people praying for us and the baby and are so blessed even now. I looked so horrible when I got to the hospital at 5:30 that morning trying to walk that they thought I was in labor and was going to have a baby right then in the lobby. I assurred them all that no, I was just in a lot of pain :).

The anesthesiologist was AWESOME! He let Donnie and my mom be in the C-section and take pictures and video of my new little guy.

At 7:52 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23, 2009, we were blessed and our lives changed forever with the addition of our precious son William Everett Perry who weighed 5 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces and was 19 1/2" long.

He was/is absolutely perfect in every way we can imagine and we are so thankful to God for allowing us this gift to take care of for HIM! I will post some more on life with Will very soon!

COUNTDOWN TO WILL'S ARRIVAL!!! 35 WEEKS

I am so excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that meeting my baby boy is just around the corner! We get another glimpse of him, hopefully the last by ultrasound, on Wednesday to evaluate his size and position. I have carried him so high that we just haven't been able to tell his position. On Monday he was really high and by yesterday, my mom and everyone at work was talking about how he had dropped a few inches! Yay_please start making your way downward little Will :). I just want him to not be breech, although I'm confident in my chiropractor that we may be able to get him turned if he is. I hate to say that he still needs to probably wait a week or so before he comes but wouldn't mind at all if he came in about three weeks. My back issues are coming and going and when they are here, they are really bad. My chiro has done wonders but now Will is back over on the left side and sitting on my sciatic nerve. Since I really don't want to do an epidural during labor, I've joked that if Will would just make my lower body go numb then I would be good to go :) lol.

We are so excited to meet our little boy and to kiss his little face. He truly is a gift from God and I have so enjoyed taking care of him for the past nine months! We almost have his nursery finished except for curtains, cushions for rocker and the crib bedding. Since he has two cradles, we are putting the crib bedding on hold for a couple months. Here are a few pics I've taken of his shelves his daddy built for his nursery and his dresser and awesome cradle my mom decorated!

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!

So, we now have 10 weeks and three days to go until our little bundle is set to arrive. I absolutely can't wait. Yes, we still have a lot to do to get his room ready but we are ready to see what he looks like and to hold him and love on him!!! I had what may be my last ultrasound on Thursday and was so looking forward to trying to see what/whom he looks like. Unfortunately, he did not cooperate very well. We did get some pics but they were pretty unclear who he looks like and not great quality since they had to be saved so fast while he was moving away from the camera. I guess he's going to be shy. That is not such a bad thing since I have my moments with shyness and definitely did when I was younger. But, we love him and know he will be just adorable!

The doctor said he is just doing wonderfully. My fluid is excellent, the umbilical cord blood flow is excellent and all of his little body parts and heart are working just as they should. We are right on target. They estimated he is about 2 pounds and 10 ounces right now. He has also moved up to just under my chest area so I'm finding it a little more difficult_having to find new ways to get up out of bed b/c I'm using different muscles now since he's higher. I'm still going to the restroom a LOT but don't have all that pressure sensation every time I stand up now that he's up a little higher. I know before long, though, he will be moving back down and getting into position for birth. Fun times and I wouldn't change or trade it for ANYTHING!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to include a pic also of the beautiful cradle that Donnie's dad built for us! It's huge and sentimental b/c not only did his dad make it but it came from wood from a tree that used to be in Donnie's grandmother's yard. Very special!

Turning 34 and some random events of the strange weekend

I don't know about anyone else, but this last few days has just been very odd. My birthday was this past Sunday and we were going to enjoy a nice birthday dinner Saturday night with mom, grandmother and some family at Cheddar's in Norman. This is one of my favorite restaurants in Tulsa and now that it's in Norman, I was thrilled! I wanted to get there before evening rush so we wouldn't have to wait so long since it's still a new place and they don't take reservations. However, the road gods decided to shut down half of Broadway Extension on our way to Norman and it was down to one lane_UGH! We got to Norman and my brother and his family arrived. When I told them we had eight people, the little hostess said "here's the deal, we have two tables for larger parties and they are taken so we can't seat you." Are you kidding me-you are just gonna turn us away?? I informed her that we came all the way from Guthrie and asked her what the options were. She was of course misinformed and we were seated within 10 minutes. Some other minor things happened but the clincher was when we were expecting our food any second and the power in the building goes out! Oh my goodness-really??? We decided to wait it out a few minutes and then it was just getting too hot and we were hungry.





My sis-in-law suggested Charleston's! Good choice. They already had a table for us when we got there after calling to inform them of what happened. The manager put my cake in the fridge until we were ready and our waitress was on top of everything. Kuddos to Charleston's in Norman! They even brought out the cake with the candles on it and extra forks, plates, and even the cake server. I think Cheddar's, though they couldn't help it, is not going to be a place I rush to anytime soon. The evening ended up being fun and I enjoyed it with my family. Got some really nice gifts and all in all it was a success. Until, we started home after looking at some cars for my mom and had to be stuck in more construction on I-35 and had to smell sewer for several minutes. But, we made it home safe and sound and all was okay.

On Sunday we traveled up to Perry so I could hear my friends, the Weatherfords sing. They sang a song called "Heaven's sounding sweeter" and I just got really sad about my dad and missing him and started bawling my eyes out. After the concert, we were invited to eat. I was excited b/c it was going to be Mexican and seeing as how I have to have that almost every day and it was my birthday, I was ecstatic. Then, I hear one of my dad's favorite songs on the radio on the way to the restaurant and I start crying AGAIN! I finally got ahold of myself and went inside. It was a good thing they had chips and salsa and queso, etc., b/c after three tries, they still didn't get my food right and it was real simple. They kept making me the wrong kind of chimichanga!! I told them to forget about trying a fourth time since everyone else in our party was finished eating. So, my birthday lunch was ruined-oh well. Then, I found out that a benefit concert I was trying to get involved in or at least attend for a man I used to sing for who is very sick, was the night before where the Weatherfords had sung! How come nobody mentioned this to me and how come I never did find out from another friend about it whom I had been asking for a month or two???!!! So then I was distraught. What in the world was happening? I felt so ready to come home and just be by myself. My husband was so sweet the whole time and we came home, took naps and I had ice cream and cake for dinner :) I was determined that yesterday was going to be a better day and it turned out to be(go figure since it was a Monday). God was still in control and I just had to have him lift me up and make me feel better!

It was a strange, eventful weekend but I did manage to turn one year older and hopefully did so with a little bit of grace :) despite all the emotions I was feeling.

MOTHER'S DAY....TO BE THAT IS....

I had asked my husband a few weeks before Mother's Day if I was entitled to celebrate it now that I was pregnant. He said, "of course, you can." So that's when I informed him that I was to get a present and be taken out to eat :) Not that I really expected this but I had fun with it. My mother-in-law sent me a precious mommy-to-be card and a darling outfit for Will. My husband came home from work a night or two before and had a cute stuffed bear and explained to me that he had done something a little different. He wanted to find a card to give me from the baby. He couldn't find very many that said "mommy." He finally found one that had a precious little inchworm or something like it on the cover and said, "Mommy,do you know what this is? It's a snugglebug hug just for you!" Then, my husband wrote in it..."Mommy, I know I'm not here yet but thanks for loving me before I was...love Will." That melted my heart b/c my husband got creative and he thinks he doesn't have it in him. Then on Sunday, he took me to eat at Cheddars which is my favorite restaurant in the whole world that is now thankfully in Norman and not all the way in Tulsa! I had a pretty good day and thanks to my hubby for making it very special for me!

WE ARE HAVING A ......

Wow! Last Thursday was a very exciting day for us. It was a very LONG day to say the least but a very blessed one at that. I had my ultrasound and it took an hour! It was very thorough since we don't go back again until 30 weeks and my abdomen is sore now from all the pressing on it. On our last ultrasound at almost 13 weeks, there was nothing in between the baby's legs and we got a pretty good picture. So, we were in little girl mode but still knowing that anything could happen. Well, our baby did a lot of developing in five weeks and we are having....a BOY! He is definitely a boy :) . I actually saw his evidence before the ultrasound tech told us and I said "is that a boy?" She said "that's DEFINITELY a boy." We were so excited and we cried. It was a special treat because although we are only doing this once and I thought I couldn't live without my little girl, we are naming the boy after his grandpa who never got his grandson while he was here on earth so we will be naming the baby after him. We will have a William Everett Perry in the fall. We will call him Will and we love it and we love him so much already. It's fun now to refer to him as a "he" and not "it." Here is a look at our little "sprout," "gummi bear." This is 17 weeks and 2 days. Amazing!!!