A survey about my main man!

Basics
Who is your man? L.C. Hayes, Jr. (I must clarify so that you don't get confused... you know... there are three of them now!)
How long have you been together? 11 years
Dating/Engaged/Married? Married
How old is your man? 30
What's his middle name? Doesn't have one!

You or your man?
Who eats more? L.C.
Who said "I love you" first? L.C.
Who weighs more? L.C. (Thankfully!)
Who sings better? Who knows! Neither of us are singers.
Who's Older? Me
Who's smarter? L.C.-- The man is a stinkin' scientist! ;o)

WAYS
Who's temper is worse? Probably L.C.'s, but mine surfaces more often.
Who does the laundry? Preferably me!
Who does the dishes? Both of us
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me
Who's feet are bigger? L.C.'s
Who's hair is longer? Mine
Who's better with the computer? L.C.
Who mows the lawn? L.C.
Who pays the bills? I actually send the money out, but L.C. is the main money-maker!
Who cooks dinner? We both do.
Who makes more money? Oh... I see I have jumped ahead! L.C. does by far! Just in case you ever wondered social workers don't get into it for the money! ;o)
Who drives when you are together? L.C. does 89% of the time.
Who pays when you go out to dinner? Um... we have a joint account, but I typically let L.C. pull out his wallet! ;o)
Who's the most stubborn? Me!
Who is the first one to admit when they're wrong? L.C.
Who's parents do you see more? Surprisingly it is not too far off balance. We usually see L.C.'s folks every 3-4 weeks and my parents every 3-4 months. (But we see my family for several days at a time!)
Who named your dog? L.C.
Who kissed who first? L.C. kissed me first. Oh, the memories!
Who asked who out? I asked L.C. out for T.W.I.R.P Night. (The Woman Is Responsible for Paying) Then about 4 months later he asked me out to the Valentine's Banquet. There was a lot of mutual hanging out between all that.
Who's more sensitive? Me, definitely.
Who's taller? L.C.
Who has more friends? Me
Who has more siblings? Same... me-2 brothers, him-2 sisters
Who wears the pants in the relationship? I say L.C., but one of my favorite professors begged to differ! ;o)

Sweet Baby

Check out this sweet baby! Several weeks ago my friend Jill came over to take some pics of our sweet newborn. Tonight I finally sat down to really checking them out. I hope you like this one! ;o)

He Smiles!

Trey has been smiling for a week or so, but in the last couple days it is really obvious that it isn't just an involuntary movement. He has loved his bear mobile from week 1 so it is no surprise he is all smiles while he hangs out on the changing table. These smiles seemed to be lasting so I took the time to grab the camera. Enjoy!

My Tulips

This morning Pheoby and I found special Valentine's Day gifts on our seats of the car! What a blessing it is to have a loving man in our lives who knows just how to make two girls feel like the only ones alive!!! Tulips were our wedding flower. There is just something about them that I love. And this morning was no different. L.C. has given me roses on several occasions and I love the sentiment, but tulips really get to my heart!

Hip Hop or Not

Bored? Or just want to prove your devotion to Hip Hop? Play this!

Oprah told me to do it!

Gosh! What is it about Oprah? She really does promote some great things. I learned about my new favorite movie, Juno, from her. I also was watching recently and learned about the PBS special African American Lives 2. It looked so interesting. I love the idea of researching my ancestory, but I don't feel smart enough or diligent enough to really do much with it. This documentary looks into the geneology of prominent African Americans. If you get a chance to catch this special I definately recommend it. I know I am far from Oprah, but hey... my recommendation means something! ;o)

Sometimes having kids around isn't all its cracked up to be!

Yeah, I said it! It is the truth!! And I have proof right here in the special story for tonight's blog entry.

As many of you know and the rest probably assume, I have some extra poundage I am trying to let go of since birthing my boy. Well... I have been kinda picky on what I "waste" my calories on. Now, mind you, I don't avoid all junk food. I still get my fair share. But I am really thoughtful that I don't put stuff in my mouth that I don't truly enjoy.

So last night I decided it was worth it to have a Tootsie Pop. (Yeah, there are still a couple left! L.C. hasn't finished them off yet!) I am not particularly fond of suckers, but a Tootsie Pop is worth the work and empty calories to get to the gooey goodness in the end. Since I am not all up into the sucker part I gave in to Pheoby's pleas to share while we folded laundry. (She seperated the socks!) I was gladly taking turns with her. She would have it for a minute or two and then she would give it back to me for a minute or so.

Well... I gave her one last turn before the greatest part and I got distracted in the folding of laundry and didn't realize she had chomped into MY Tootsie Pop until the 3rd or 4th bite! Oh my!!! I about came unglued! I am not proud of my antics, but it really did bother me! ;o) I tried my best to get over it because, after all, it is only a sucker. But inside it continued to burn me up a bit.

One would think things couldn't go too much further downhill, but oh, my friend they certainly can! Once she finished with the sock sorting it was time for her bath. I have a good line of sight into the bathroom where I am sitting on the couch and I watch to make sure she is taking all the appropriate procedures in preparing for her bath. And what do my wondering eyes should appear (ok... so I don't know how that really goes in the Christmas poem, but roll with me... this is an emotional story!) but a little girl spitting out the "gum" before she hops in her bath.

UGH!!! The gooey goodness that I was patiently waiting for, that I heard her chomp into without my permission, that I wasted calories for was dropped into the trash because my girl didn't have any idea that what she was chewing was not a wad of Blo-Pop gum!!!!

See what I mean?!?!? Sometimes kids aren't all they are cracked up to be!!! ;o)

Sit & Spin?

Nope... he was laying down! Today during naptime I got these shots. I took the first one because I realized how big Trey is getting. He fills up the bassinet part of the pack n play!






Then I went to check on him cuz he was fussy and he had rotated.





Once again I checked in and once again he spun some more!




What a cute little guy in big boy pants! They are a tad big still, but worth wearing, I say. And it is a good thing they were long cuz I forgot to put socks on him. Oh... maybe that is why he was fussy! Oops!!!

Survey

Most of my friends know I only do surveys every once in a blue moon. Well, my good friend Jill had a brilliant idea to post this one to her blog so I am following suit. That way I can justify not doing the next 12 surveys that come to my inbox! ;o)

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 8-ish... refer to previous post!
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Diamonds
3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? Juno... refer to post from last weekend.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? The late Gilmore Girls, Brothers & Sisters, 30 Rock, The Office, Saturday Night Live
5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Pancakes, french toast or cereal
6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? Jolene
7. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? There's not much I don't like.
8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD? I am more of a radio girl.
9. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? I own a Chrysler 300M, but currently drive a PT Cruiser loaner while mine is in the shop.
10. FAVORITESANDWICH? I don't like cold samiches, but just about any toasted sandwich is a hit. Probably my favoriate would be turkey.
11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? phoney-ness (how do you spell that?)
12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? right now when nothing fits... ribbed tanks & sweat pants
13. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? A private tropical island
14. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM? cream, for now
15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? Old Navy
16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO? We always talk about the Oregon coast where we honeymooned.
17. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? gymnastics, Pheoby will be starting soon! ;o)
18. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS? China
19. WHO DO YOU LEAST EXPECT TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I don't expect anyone to repost, but would love it!
20. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST: No one
21. FAVORITE SAYING: Are you kidding me?!
22. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? September 28, 1976... I am 31.
23. ARE YOU A MORNING OR NIGHT PERSON? Definately night!
24. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 10
25. PETS? Sally the dog
26. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? Wehadababyitsaboy! (Do you remember that commercial?)
27. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? A lawyer
28. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Sleepy
29. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Reece Cups
30. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? Tulip
31. WHAT IS A DAY ON THE CALENDAR YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO? Feb. 22, Pheoby's 4th birthday
32. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Some crazy shoot 'em up movie L.C. is watching.
33. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Dry roasted almonds
34. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? No
35. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Turquoise
36. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? Um... dark
37. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? I have been into grape soda lately
38. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? The Melting Pot
39. SIBLINGS? Two great brothers who I love so much. Andy-older, Justin-younger
40. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? June 13th... just kidding... I don't have one favorite.
41. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? my bike
42. SUMMER OR WINTER? How do I decide... there is a reason I live in SC, well, several really! But having 4 seasons is a good one!
43. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
44. COFFEE OR TEA? coffee
45. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? vanilla
47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? yesterday over 2 seperate e-mails
48. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? A lost toy
49. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Heather Nays
50. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? watched American Idol
51. FAVORITE SMELL? baked goods
52 WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? losing my husband and/or children
53. SALTY OR SWEET? sweet!
54. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR RING? 4
55. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Friday... L.C. is off and everyone else is working. It is a great family day!
56. HOW MANY TOWNS HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 9 that I can think of
57. DO YOU MAKE FRIENDS EASILY? not really

Insight into the life of L.C. Hayes, Jr.

I have a FUNNY story to share with the world about my husband. Not many people get to know the funniest parts of him, so I take it upon myself to share what I find out! If you haven't noticed, or haven't met my husband, L.C. is pretty proper and attempts to put his best foot forward in most interaction with others. I am much more silly and often sarcastic which is why I enjoy sharing funny stories about him.

This morning I was supposed to get up early so that I could get Pheoby to school at a decent time. It is good practice for when I head back to work in a few weeks. So my alarm was set for 7:30 which would give me time to shower before Trey needed to eat. It was a great plan. It didn't work out that way!

Sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 when I actually got up Pheoby came into my room. Trey woke up, probably a few minutes early due to some noise coming from an afore mentioned source ;o) and I continued to rest. I heard and even vaguely recall seeing Pheoby assisting her baby brother in relaxing. She gave him his paci, shhh'd him, sang to him and even moved his teddy bear mobile to a location that was better suited for early morning viewing. Finally Trey made it clear that it was time to eat so I ever so gingerly (there, my friends, is an example of the sarcasm I enjoy so much!) hopped from my bed to gather my son for his breakfast.

I proceeded to feed him in my bed with my eyes closing quite often. Before having children I wouldn't have thought I could sleep sitting up, but I can! So while I was resting I hear Pheoby continuing to talk with her brother and she probably was talking to me as well. I am sure I answered her appropriately, too! She roused my attention when I heard her say "oh, what's this" and then again louder with disgust "Oh! What is this?!?!" I looked over to where she was sitting and staring at the bedsheets. This is what I saw...


Pheoby and I laughed at how Daddy could fall asleep with a sucker, but not nearly as much as L.C. and I laughed when I called him at work to tell him of our discovery. He reports he remembers enjoying the sucker, but didn't remember if he finished it or not. He says he saw the wrapper on the nightstand and wondered about the stick, but disregarded it as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

Now... I must ask you... when was the last time you fell asleep before finishing your candy? And this is coming from the guy who "doesn't really like sweets!"

New Boots

If there is one thing that we buy over and over it seems to be shoes. We go through more shoes than one would imagine a little girl needs. A couple weeks ago we went shoe shopping and left the store with a stack of shoe boxes. I got a pair of well-needed sneeks (my last pair of tennis shoes were purchased when I was pregnant with Pheoby!), Trey got his 3rd pair of kicks that he can't even fit into yet, and Pheoby ended up getting two new pair. One pair was a cute pair of New Ballance slip-on sneakers and the other was this classy pair of boots! She is one stylin' gal in these bad boys!!! As you can see she liked them. L.C. caught her in her bedroom playing one evening all fancied up in her nighty, wild hair and the boots! ;o)


Speaking of wild hair.... We have come to the age that discussions regarding Pheoby's appearance come up quite regularly. It is usually not an emotional conversation, although we have had those, too. Typically it is some random thought that she blurts out seemingly from nowhere. For instance, a week or so ago Pheoby asked me if she would look different when she turned 5. (Mind you, that is over a year away since she is only approaching her 4th birthday this month!) I said, "of course" as any reasuring mother would. I was thinking she wanted to know if she would look older. Nope! She was crushed, all most crying. She said, "you mean I won't have my brown skin and my curly hair?!" I quickly responded that she would look very similar, only older! ;o)


Anyway.... back to the wild hair story. It is best for Phoeby to have her hair conditioned and combed daily; however, we often times don't get that done. When she has her hair loose and it gets all messed up we say it is "wild." Well, the other day we were watching some children's program on TV and she saw a bi-racial girl who looked very similar to her. She noticed that, too, and commented. "Mommy! She looks like me!" Then after we watched her for a few more minutes she piped up again.... "I don't like her wild hair, though!" I was surprised, because the little girl's hair was nicely done, just loose with no barrets or pony-tails or anything. It was interesting to me because that is Pheoby's favorite way to wear her hair. She loves to have it down with nothing holding it back. Maybe if that is how she saw this other little girl we might reconsider the beauty in her wearing hers loose!

Now... let's see if I can find a good pic to showcase some really wild hair...

A Good Day!

Today was a good day!

My son slept well last night. I believe I got a good 4+ hours solid so that was nice. I spent the day with Trey at a Southern Wesleyan University Alumni Board of Directors meeting that was quite inspirational. This afternoon we met with our friend who we are hoping will take the charge of caring for our boy. After Pheoby woke up from her nap, she and I went out for a little bike time. She got a new bike for Christmas and since it was a beautiful day we couldn't pass up a little play time outdoors! We came in and enjoyed some puzzle time and dancing.

This evening I headed out for a girls' night with some friends from church. We met at the movie theater to see Juno. It was hilarious! I am no movie critic, that is for sure, but my take on it is Napolean Dinomite meets My Best Friend's Wedding with splashes of Gilmore Girls witty dialogue. I definately reccommend it! I laughed A LOT, I was reminded of my youth, I realized how old I am, I felt a little sick at one point and I cried tears of sorrow and of pride. I look forward to seeing it again.

And, Jill, I made it home in plenty of time. Trey is still asleep! ;o)

Growing Older

I found this in my inbox today. I typically delete most forwards before even glancing to see what they are, but for some reason I opened this one and read it through. It seemed to be something good to ponder this afternoon.
_____

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)

Blog Links

I have added a few additional links to great blogs. These are blogs that I read daily. I enjoy them and I believe it is not just because they are my friends! ;o) Check em out!

Time to check in again, I suppose!

Trey is one month old!!! I can't believe how fast this month has gone. We have some exciting things on the horizon for our family so the fact that the past month has gone by this quickly makes our future look so close. We took Trey to the doctor on Friday due to several minor things we wanted checked. He has grown so much. He is now 11 1/2 pounds. Zero-Three month clothes are typically for babies up to 12 lbs. Unfortunately we have already started our "retirement" pile for outgrown clothes. It only has 3-4 items in it so far, but a couple of them he didn't even wear once. That is too sad, huh?! They will go into a tote and to the attic in hopes that a future Hayes will get use out of them.

Other news on the home front...

• I am thrilled to be able to participate in some Mom & Tots activities once again. We had to give them up when I returned to work. Now that I am a part-timer I am jumping back into these fun activities. We will start with the new music class for kids tomorrow morning. I think we will start getting ready at about 8:00 to be there by 10:00! ;o)
• Our home has recovered from a month of visitors! It was wonderful to have my family and my best friend here for visits. We really enjoyed all the fun times and new memories that were created during their stays with us. However, as a "new mom" I kinda ate up the fact that I didn't need to do much around the house. So by the end of this past week our house was a disaster. L.C. let me sleep way in on Saturday so when I got up I was ready to get to work. He left for basketball practice and both kids napped at the same time so I jumped in with both feet! It never felt so good to pick up and clean our home! With every bit of progress I felt life coming into order. Nice! When L.C. came home he jumped in and helped with the cleaning and by bedtime our home was spotless... well, except for the cluttered desk and bills that still need to be paid. I should get on that tomorrow. Why not tonight you ask?!?! Perhaps I will play the "day of rest" card! ;o)
• I am so thankful for our church. The current series "obey" has really got me thinking and has challenged me in great ways. I have faith that God has great things right around the corner for me! The connections I have with friends there is so special, too. It has been hard for me to connect through the last several months due to low energy from the pregnancy and adjusting to working full time. But now that both of those are done I am looking forward to building upon the relationships we have with our friends there. On Friday night I was blessed to be a part of a White Elephant Baby Shower for several women who are expecting babies (and two of us who were blessed with ours one month ago)! It was a neat experience. I really enjoyed getting to know more women from our church. Some that I had never seen before and some that I had met, but never really got to know. It is truly a blessing to be a part of a interconnected body of believers!
• Pheoby is about to turn 4! I can't believe how big she is getting. What a marvelous thing to watch this child grow and advance in knowledge and wisdom with such ease. She certainly makes us proud! We will be celebrating her birthday with a My Little Pony party at home. She will be getting a fabulous outdoor "toy" so I am praying that spring time weather comes early. I am hoping for dry ground and a nice carpet of grass to prevent little feet from turning orange. I am in the midst of creating our guestlist. If you fear I may forget to invite you drop me a comment and I will add your kiddos to the list. We want all our friends to share this special day with us! (Friday, Feb. 22)

Snow Day!

Yesterday we had a snow day. Snow days in the South are so much fun because they are pretty much a guarantee for the littlest bit. And there is a serious buzz all around the region. I had to get a couple items from the grocery store on Thursday and people were out in droves loading up on supplies! ;o) Anyway... here is a glimpse into the fun time we had with our snow day.

We are well!

Just in case you are wondering... we are all well. We have pretty much been vegging out at home the last several days. We are getting a little bit of order in this home, but not working too hard! ;o)

While my parents were here we worked on clearing out some clutter in Pheoby's room, but didn't get to her closet. So tonight we went in and worked in her room. Let me tell you... it was so rewarding to hear my daughter make some choices on her own about some things that needed to be thrown away or retired to storage for later. I am so glad that we started weeding stuff out early on with her. She now evidently sees the benefit on living clutter-free! And I had some flashbacks to times when we would clean our rooms as kids. What great fun it was to clean and find toys we had forgotten about! Pheoby found many great treasures! One special thing she found was a special bracelet her Grandma got her. She found it and claimed, "Mommy!!! I have been looking for this!!!" Now... I don't recall her ever looking for it, but perhaps it was an underlying urge from deep within. Hmm?!?! Maybe tomorrow we will get enough done so that we can feel good about doing some deep cleaning. It is about time, I think! I really want to go see The Pirates That Don't Do Anything with Pheoby. Perhaps we will get out tomorrow or Friday to do that.

Trey is growing! I just weighed him on my scale (with his jammies and a blanket) and he weighed 10.9 pounds. So I wonder how much a blanket and jammies weigh?! It is wild for me to think about how much this boy would weigh if he went to term... or over! Thank goodness he came early!!! Oh... and speaking of weight... although I have a long way to go I am happy to say that I have lost 25 pounds so far! I have about 2o more to get to my pre-pregnancy weight and then about 20-30 more after that to get to my goal. So a big goal for me is to get motivated to get back to exercizing. Maybe in the next week or two I will get on track with that. I need just a tad more motivation and energy! (and perhaps a good gym friend to join me!!!) ;o)

I can't believe that I am still up at 2:15. I am sleepy, but now I am thinking it may be worthwhile to just stay up till Trey's next feeding! ;o) Although there is no telling when he will be ready. Two nights ago he was up every 2 hours. Yesterday we worked on making sure he wasn't confused about days and nights and he did better last night. He went 3 1/2 hours between feedings. Let me be the one to tell you... there is a HUGE difference between 2 hours and 3 1/2! With as great as Trey has been sleeping I am fairly confident that he will be sleeping through the night by 6 weeks! I am looking forward to that! So I will go on the record now with my guess. ;o)

I suppose I will get these pics added and get to bed! I hope to get better at posting more often.

A Fun Transition

Well... it has been about a week and a half since we met our Baby Trey. It has been a great adjustment period of becoming a family of four. We have had lots of fun, but one of the greatest things has been watching Phoeby become a great big sister. She is so proud to be the big sister and loves her baby brother so much. You can tell in the pictures that she is proud of her new role. The other day she wanted to hold Trey and stayed on the bed with him for about 20 minutes.

Although I would love to tell more stories, I am a bit tired out! ;o) Perhaps in the coming weeks I will be a babbling brook! Until then, enjoy these pictures.

Happy New Year!!!

What a wonderful way to celebrate a New Year... spending it getting to know my new son. He is a sweet boy and pretty much only cries when he is hungry. He is a great eater and is pretty much adjusted to our 3 hour feeding schedule. Through the night he just eats enough to not be hungry anymore and then dozes right back off to sleep.

I want to give all the details, but my mind is a little fuzzy due to the pain meds I am taking. So if you think of questions leave a comment and I will fill in the details!

At our last appointment, the day after Christmas, the doctor scheduled my induction for Friday morning. It was pretty exciting to me to think of having Trey (Trey is a nickname for "the third" since his name is officially L.C. Hayes, III) on Friday since the date was the 28th and both L.C. and I were born on the 28th. L.C. was born on August 28th and my birthday is September 28th.

Anyway... I had been having contractions off and on the weeks prior and spent some time on the 26th doing some mall walking to try to get the contractions to come on stronger. We were finishing up our time at the mall while enjoying some Dippin' Dots Ice Cream and I thought for sure my water broke. I was so scared to stand up because I just knew it would go everywhere! I finally did stand and there was no waterfall. But I was still concerned.

We went to the hospital and were admitted Thursday evening at about 5:00. It was very busy at the hospital so I didn't even get started on my pitocin until about 7 or 8:00pm. Once I got started the contractions developed right away. I held off on the epidural as long as I could and finally got it about 6 am. When I started feeling the effects of the epidural the contractions really picked up because they were able to max out the pitocin.

The nurses changed shifts at 7am so it was really hard to get a nurse when I felt the need to push. I really felt Trey was on his way by about 20 till seven. When we finally got a nurse in the room at about 7:10 she called others in to prep the room. Within seconds there were 5 other people in there. I started pushing while they were breaking down the bed and by 7:15 Trey made his arrival!

It all happened so fast which is a dream! I didn't have time to get nervous or scared that I wouldn't be able to do it. Also... feeling the need to push helped a lot! I didn't feel that way with Pheoby so I just pushed because it is what I needed to do. With Trey I could tell he was on his way regardless! There was a little hesitation on getting his head out. We later were told that his cord was wrapped around his neck twice and they had to cut it in order to get it loose.

Once Trey was delivered they practically threw him up on my chest. I always wondered how I would feel about all that slime and nastiness on me. But it was GREAT!!! I was so happy that they put him up without even asking. It was so awesome! I certainly was full of emotion and definately cried because of how overwhelming it was to be holding my son!

We have wondered for a long time what our boy would look like. It turns out he looks just like his sister. By no means do they look identical, but you can certainly tell that they are brother and sister! And speaking of Big Sister, Pheoby, she is an excellent one! She really loves her brother and is concerned with his well-being at all times, but at the same time understands that she is not fully in charge. She seems to be adjusting well to the new roles we all are playing and hasn't gotten too upset at the division of attention.

Oh... perhaps you may want to know the stats on our boy.

L.C. Hayes, III "Trey"

9 Lbs, 21 inches long

December 28, 7:15 am

And now for some more pictures!

37 Week Pictures

Look at this belly grow! I can't believe I am going to be meeting my son next week!!! I am so excited about it! What I am not excited about is that I am growing out of all my clothes. I wore a button up shirt today and the shirt was popping open between the buttons. However, I refuse to buy new clothes at this point!