Ian's 2nd birthday party

We had Ian's second birthday party at Monkey Joe's on Sunday, April 19th, from 2:30 - 4:30pm. Ian has a ball in that place. For his birthday we chose the theme of the the Little Einstein's since Ian loves them so much. I had Spartan Bakery do the cake and I was VERY pleased with how it turned out. They did a great job!

2 years ago today...one of the happiest days of our lives

Our son, Ian Michael Thomas was born this time 2 years ago...on Friday April 20th at 9:22PM. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long.

He is definitely the product of much prayer. After 3 miscarriages, Jason and I were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to experience parenthood. We had many many prayer warriors...for which I will always be grateful.

It was mid August, 2006, one year from our 2nd miscarriage...when we found out we were expecting for a 4th time. We prayed and prayed...and each month we saw our precious baby grow and grow. At 19 weeks, we found out we were having a boy!

Me at 30 weeks!

Waiting on Ian!

IAN's Birth Story:

Thursday, April 19th, I had my regular OB visit. My dr. said that I was 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. She initially said, "I'll see ya Monday and we'll see where things stand." I said, "Is tomorrow at all an option to be induced?" She said, "I can check...but they only allow 1 induction/doctor/day." So, she checked and sure enough there was an induction already scheduled for Friday, the 20th. She said, "What about Monday the 23rd?" I said, "Sounds great!" She said, "Ok, be at the hospital at 6 PM on Sunday night and we will get things going." They were going to put in Cervidil (SP?) to thin my cervix in preparation for starting the pitocin on Monday morning at 6 AM. She said they like to have the Cervidil in for at least 12 hours. So, I left the doctor on Thursday thinking I had all weekend to make last minute preparations. Well, Ian had other plans! I went to bed that night and about 1 AM I had a very painful contraction. Keep in mind, I had been having contractions since about week 30. I was even hospitalized once around week 32 to get them stopped. However, this contraction was much worse than the other ones. After that one, I had a few more before 2 AM...but nothing like that one. Then, around 2:15AM, I had another very painful contraction. I kept having contractions with a very painful one about every hour. Then, that morning, I began timing them and noticed that they were coming every 15 mins. So, I called the doctor and she said to come be checked. Jason decided to go ahead and pack the car. I on the other hand was like...there is no need...they are just going to send me back home. Well, Jason was right and I was glad we had everything with us. We got to the doctor and I was at 3 cm and 90% effaced. The doctor said you're in labor and I am sending you straight on over to Labor and Delivery. Wow...I was like we're having a baby today! So, I got to the hospital around 10AM. They got me in a room, got my IV started and broke my water. Then, they started the pitocin to get my contractions into a more consistent pattern. I began having stronger and stronger contractions and finally got my epidural. Epidurals are wonderful by the way and I highly recommend them!! I then labored until 7:30PM when they told me that I was at a 10 and that it was time to start pushing. During the course of the afternoon Ian's heart rate dropped twice. Once for about 8 mins. I had 5 contractions back to back that lasted about 10 mins. His heart rate dropped to about 85 when it had been around 150. The doctor came in and said, "if that happens again, we're talking c-section." He said that babies cannot handle contractions that last that long. However, we were able to get his heart rate back up with some oxygen and flipping me back and forth from side to side....and my contractions returned to a more consistent pattern. So, at 7:30PM, I started pushing and around 9:00ish, his head got stuck because it was coming out sideways. At this very crucial time...my epidural wore off. So, needless to say, I felt everything at the end. The anesthesiologist came in and topped me off right before Ian came out...but I felt everything there at the end. After his head came out, his shoulder then got stuck. The nurses pushed Jason out of the way and literally jumped onto my bed. They started pushing on my stomach and pelvis and within seconds Ian arrived:

They told me later how severe the situation was and that I should have probably had a c-section. I finally got up to my room around 11PM and finally got to sleep around 1AM and slept the rest of the night, with some pain medication of course!! It was truly an experience I will always remember!

Our sweet baby boy!

Psalm 139:14 - "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."

Our little boy is 2 today and is truly a gift from God and an answered prayer! We love him more and more everyday and look forward to celebrating many many more birthdays! We love you Ian!

Easter 2009

Friday, was Good Friday, and Jason and I had the day off work. So, Jason took off for his morning bike ride, and Ian and I painted some eggs. Ian had a lot of fun...but kept getting the paint on his hands and wanted me to wipe them off about every 2 mins. I kept telling him we would wipe it off once we were done, but he wanted it off then. Anyways, I let him paint 2 eggs while I painted the other 4. I had to paint quickly because Ian was mixing all the paints. By the time we got to the last egg, we had a lovely shade of brown!

After Jason got back home from his ride, I took off to the gym and ran 3.25 miles. Then, I had my annual Easter spa pedicure! LOVE IT! We finished off Good Friday with a visit to the Olive Garden! YUM!

We had a very busy but fun Easter Sunday!

We woke up to find that the Easter bunny had come and left Ian some goodies!

Then, it was off to church to celebrate the real reason for Easter!

After church, it was off to Gurney's for lunch. After lunch, Nick, Jason, Erin, and I hid eggs in Gurney's backyard for the kids while Leah entertained all of them in the front yard. Then, they were off. We hid them like 3 times. Then, we went over to Granny's for a brief visit.

I love half way through the video below...Ian gets buzzed by a bee and starts shooing the bugs away. So funny!

After we hid eggs at Gurney's, the kids started the catapillar hunt. Hmm...maybe we should start a new tradition!

Then, it was time to head back to Spartanburg to see Nana and Papa. Ian found some more eggs in their backyard!

Happy Easter 2009!