Happy Mother's Day!

He has this amazing way of reminding me about the important things in life.  I am so lucky to be called his mother!

My Mother's Day gift from my boys.  Way cuter than a boring leather one :)  I have been wanting one of these for work, so I may or may not have sent Ben an email with the link for where to purchase this, but all that matters is that he got it for me, right?!!

This sweet poem was sent to me by my Aunt Mary Ann (Mickey) last year, on my first Mother's day as a mom! I loved it and had to save it, which means that now I get to share it! I bet I won't find a mom who can't relate :) 

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body..

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there, but especially my own!  I owe you so much more than a simple 'thank you' and some new silverware! :) I am truly grateful for all that you have done for me through the years.  Love you, mom!!  And happy birthday, too!!

A Sigh of Relief!

I am so relieved that I can finally say that we are expecting a healthy baby boy this August!

Backing up a bit, we found out at our routine ultrasound (20+4 weeks) that our sweet boy looked great, except for one thing - they saw that he had choroid plexus cysts in his brain.  These cysts in no way interfere with normal brain development and are found in the part of the brain where cerebrospinal fluid is made - so no big concerns there.  The reason that these cysts can be concerning is because they can be a very weak marker for trisomy 18, which is not compatible with life.  My OB doctor, plus the high risk OBs that I work with downtown all said the same thing, "Don't worry about it - those go away, and they very rarely mean that anything is wrong."  Honestly, even Google was reassuring when I decided to read a little more about this so-called 'meaningless' finding. So we tried not to worry, and for the most part Ben and I both kept a positive attitude that our baby would be just fine, and that the follow up ultrasound was just another excuse to take a sneak peek at his sweet face!  On the inside, I was in constant turmoil.  The thought of losing this baby that we wanted so badly was almost unbearable.  My rational mind knew everything would be just fine, but that didn't stop me from worrying and making completely morbid and nurse-like comments to my family and friends. :)

So here we are, exactly 4 weeks later, and the ultrasound confirmed what my rational mind already knew: the cysts are gone, and my baby boy appears to be perfectly healthy!  And not surprisingly, he is measuring a week ahead already - so I am prepared for the possibility of another big boy!

Meet Dylan Thomas Havens :)  The ultrasound was not supposed to be 4D, but after the 'official' stuff was over with, the technician flipped the screen and I got to see our little man a bit more clearly! I think she felt badly for making me nervous from the results of our last ultrasound!

We officially named our baby boy last night!  We expect to meet Dylan Thomas on August 20th, when we are tentatively scheduled for a repeat c-section.  He may have other plans for us, so we are willing to be flexible with his birthday!

People ask us all the time how Noah feels about being a big brother, and honestly, he couldn't care less!  He loves babies, though, and he has been known to obsess over making a crying baby happy by bringing it toy after toy after toy.  He also loves to hug babies and pat their heads, so hopefully he will feel the same way when he meets his little brother!  He will also lift my shirt and kiss my belly if you ask him where mommy's baby is, but I think that for the most part this whole 'baby brother' thing is way over his head!

 A few more pics from the museum on Monday: Noah climbed in here to drive all by himself!

Driving the airplane while Scott and Cam ride behind him :)

Playing with a stick at Nana and Papaw's

Latest OBSESSION! "hands! hands! hands! please! please!"  He loves doing dishes and washing his hands.  Several times a day he will grab a chair from the kitchen table and drag it to the sink, then climb up and beg to have me turn on the water.  His big cousin, Ty, used to LOVE doing this as well - so we took a page out of Aunt Renee's book and quickly learned that we have to set the timer on the microwave.  When the timer goes off, the water goes bye-bye and we are all done.  The timing process makes for a tantrum-free transition!! :)

Monday CAN be a fun day!

So I've been a good mommy the last couple of days, and I have broken out the REAL camera a few times! WHAT?!?!?? I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!

Today was a fabulous Monday.  I wish that there could be more fabulous Mondays, but usually Monday means a return to the work week and 5 whole days of Noah at the babysitter's and me downtown!  But today was the exception. I worked Sunday evening, and therefore I was able to 'play hooky' and spend the day with my favorite little person! We had a relaxing morning, met Papaw Schmith for breakfast at Paradise, and headed downtown for a play date with the Kenney clan at the Children's Museum!  I'll admit, there was a quick detour to the hospital so that I could tie up a few loose ends from the night before, but it's not so bad when I get to show off my adorable little boy to my work family!

Best buddies! They play so well together :)

Despite the fact that he never cracks a smile, he is obsessed with the water table!

Noah was slightly terrified by the carousel. Katelyn asked to ride again with her daddy - go figure!

After the museum we came home and took a good long nap, then we went to Nana and Papaw's for dinner since Daddy has to work overnight at Methodist tonight!

It stormed, therefore we got SUPER messy!

So excited to be sopping wet - this might have been right before he ran at me attempting to knock me over.  Sweet kid :)

We also had some great family time on Sunday! Noah and I went to Mass in the morning, and then to Mamaw great's for brunch - which we LOVED! Ben had to miss the morning fun to work (have I mentioned how much we love med school???)  After nap time, though, we got to play a little bit and Noah decided to study like his daddy...

Got up here and put on the head phones all by himself!

"I'm kinda busy here. Can I help you people?"

One of his favorite toys...The award for favorite toy is a toss up between the vacuum, broom (which he broke this week), and the lawn mower. 

Barefoot boy loves being outside

He gets excited so easily :)  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this age!

And now that I have finally uploaded my pictures to the computer I have realized that I did, in fact, take a few cute pictures over the last few months as well! Kudos to me :) :)  So here are a couple of "catch up" pics from the last few months.

January 28th, 2012. Not his first official haircut, but his first cut with the clippers! Lots of tears were shed, but no permanent injury resulted from this experience!! :) Noah loves his Aunt Mary (just not when she is coming at him with hair clippers)!!

The sadness wore off quickly on the way home!

Noah loves his big cousin, Lily!

Celebrating Luke's and Conor's birthdays

Easter! And Noah's first Easter egg hunt!

Found some!

Discovering what's inside the eggs - he's not a candy lover (clearly he doesn't get that gene from his mother), so the Easter bunny brought him goldfish and teddy grahams, mostly :)

How is it May already???

Everyone who reads my blog knows by now that I update in bursts...and I always have an excuse for my 'hiatus.' Fear not: this time is no different!

• Excuse #1: I was updating frequently until I lost my camera for a month.  One might think that I would update again once I got it back; therefore, I give to you...
• Excuse #2: My job. Period. End of story. I'm busy now - management is a 24/7 job.  Top that with my mom hat and my husband working an ungodly number of hours each week, and this momma is in bed by 9:00 every night (at the latest)!
• Excuse #3: I regret to say that ever since I got my camera back (in February), I neglected to take pictures...I sincerely hope that Noah never notices that I did not document a good 4 months of his life.  

So there is my little slap on the wrist.  My blog about life as I know it has taken a backseat - because I wouldn't dream of trading the free moments I have with my family for an hour on the computer! But I owe it to my little ones to do my best to make the time it takes to document their lives - because time is racing by so quickly!

Did you catch that?! I said little ones - plural! We are expecting another little boy in August, so at almost 24 weeks pregnant I am making it 'blog' official that Noah is going to be a big brother!  Granted, it has been Facebook official for at least 10 weeks now...Need I remind you of excuses 1 through 3?!

As I said, I didn't use my camera, so all I've got are my iPhone pics! Starting with January and working our way through April...

He discovered a love for BBQ sauce.

And prefers to sit at the big table whenever we allow him too.

Not the greatest picture, but we had a great time checking out the Superbowl festivities while Nana & Papaw babysat!

I love those blue eyes :)

And he loves lots of big blankets!

He went through a few month obsession with building Legos.

A sneak peak at about 12 weeks from one of the docs at work!

Did I mention he loves lots of blankets?! He insists on having all of his blankets each night!

LOVES yogurt, but only when he feeds himself.  We use a lot of paper towel in our household.

Ben joined us one Saturday morning for a trip to the Children's Museum!

Some great daddy-son bonding time in the sand box!

We had a great time, but I definitely miss being able to go on my weekdays off to avoid the crowds!

The greatest February ever - we loved being able to play outside and sit on the porch! Even post -nap :)

16+2 weeks.  It's definitely another boy!!  Gotta love working with OB docs :)

Enjoying the beautiful March weather!!

Snack time outside is WAY more fun.

Daddy was so proud to find him like this (with the autographed Peyton Manning football - not the greatest toddler toy I suppose)!

Lawn mower shopping!! We got a self-propelled push mower - but he like sitting in the big one :)

Easter Sunday at Uncle John and Aunt Sue's house

Just watching TV.  He's the happiest naked.  I swear we have clothes that fit him.

Loving Daddy's "Bitchin Bald Eagle" shirt.  Excuse my language.

Post-nap bedhead :)

No pants. Again. 

"I just stole a snack out of the pantry" face.

We sent this picture to Aunt Mary asking her for a haircut so he didn't look like a girl anymore!

Exhausted from previously mentioned haircut.  Please note the snack trap still on his hand.

Enjoying cousin Lydia's 2nd birthday party!

NOT enjoying cousin Lydia's 2nd birthday party!

 That's it for now.  Hopefully I will take more pictures and post again before he turns 2 and baby brother is born! Let's face it, probably not!