Three to Four on August 10th

Matthew Henry Henderson was born on August 10th at 1:32 pm. He weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 18 inches long. He is our miracle baby because after his birth the doctor showed us a "true knot" in his umbilical cord. It was a tight knot that with a tug from either side would have cut off his blood supply causing him to be still born or die while I was in labor. I am so grateful for the many prayers and blessings I received that I am sure helped him to arrive safely!! He is a very welcome addition to the family and very loved by us all (including his big brother Drew).

Why couldn't I be more like a lion??

Did you know that lions on average have their cubs after only 108 days of pregnancy? That's only about 3 1/2 months. I would have had my baby back in the middle of March!!!!! The blog has been silent for a long time because I am leading a very boring life of waiting. I had some early signs of labor back at 28 weeks, so I've been trying to take it easy (watching my summer disappear :( ) It has been a boring and very uncomfortable few months. I am now so excited to be done and meet my little boy, but of course now that I want it to happen, it won't! So, I'm am sitting at my computer google-ing pregnancy and I notice how lucky some animals are. Rabbits are only 30 days!! But they also have a gajillion babies at once (no thanks!!) And all I can say is poor poor African elephants--645 days or 22 months. Maybe I'll just be grateful it's only nine-ish months for us humans and go take another nap!

The Saddle Man

Okay, so I've been meaning to post some stuff about my hubby and I am finally taking the time to do it. For those of you who do not know, Dustin owns a saddle business with his dad and brother, Henderson Saddle Company. They make beautiful saddles and sell them to people from all over the country (and sometimes other countries). Saddlemaking is an art--they hand tool all of the designs on the saddles. It is a cool process to observe the saddle as it comes together. Maybe someday I'll post some pics of the process. These are some photos from a show that I just went to with Dustin in Jordan Valley, OR (literally a town in the middle of nowhere). We had a fun time together and Drew especially enjoyed being outside all day for three days.

It's a boy!!

I am so excited that Drew will be getting a little brother. He will love having someone to play with and I can only imagine the trouble they will get into together. I love my little guy so much. I can't wait to meet our next one and get to know him better.

Sunshine and Smiles

We love spring!!! Wheelbarrow rides and driving the "tracor" (Grandpa's little tractor)

and sunshine and lots of fun. The only sad part is when we have to

go inside (it involves tears-lots and lots of tears!!)

DREW is TWO!

And his cake tasted really good! Thanks Grandma!!

We took a fun weekend trip to Salt Lake. A few of the highlights: The Living Planet aquarium was cool, the fountain at The Gateway Mall was refreshing, Korean food (Dustin's mission) is very unique and extremely tasty, Brazilian food (my mission) was sooo good we only wished we had more room in our stomach, a memory walk on BYU's campus, and a visit to Temple Square with all of it's beautiful flowers. It was a great trip and we made some memories that we will enjoy for a long time. Sometimes you just have to get away, do something different, take a deep breath and restore your perspective. I love my life and my little family!! I threw in a belly shot so all of you could appreciate why I am freaking out about how big I've gotten this time.

I still have 4 more months to go--AHHHHHH!

Backpack Backpack

So in an effort to get that lovely prego picture of myself further down the page and out of my mind, I am writing this update blog.

DREW has new words everyday. It is amazing how fast their vocabulary grows once they start to talk. His favorite new word is backpack (from the Dora movie that plays over and over in our van since it is the only DVD we can get it to play :~) Saturday he wanted a backpack of his own so I dug out my old college backpack and he hauled it around. It is as big as he is!! I should have a picture, I know, but the batteries in my camera are dead and I forget to buy new ones. He also likes to talk to the baby (my belly) everyday. He pats it and says, "Hi baby!" Tonight he looked up at me after saying hi to the belly and said, "Baby nap" then nodded his head and walked away. I guess he was explaining to himself why the baby never says hi back to him. So cute!!!

DUSTIN is a work-a-holic. Because his work is just out our back door, he sneeks out there at times that anyone with a normal job would be enjoying free time. Now that we have sprung forward with daylight savings he is going to need a reminder alarm at 6 PM to wind things down and feed the animals just so he can be "home" by 7 PM. This all day everyday schedule is Mon-Sat every week (with an every other week trip to the grocery store with me for his lunch break :) I really need to post some pictures of his saddles. He does a great job and is truly an artist/saddlemaker. I just wish I could get his Saturdays for my "honey do" projects.

EMILY is watching her belly grow much faster with child #2. Everyone keeps telling me that this is normal to get big fast with a second child, but I can't help but worry that the same won't be true on the other end. (I see biggest loser goals in my future!) I am also trying something new. I have a piano student. Someone I serve with in Young Women's asked me if I would be willing to teach piano lessons to her daughter. I was happy to give it a try. We've only had a few lessons and she has already learned and improved so much. Learning to play is a slow and sometimes frustrating process and I hope that I can help her to be determined to stick with it and have fun along the way. If this is a sucess, I will definitely take more students if anyone is interested. I love playing the piano and if I can share that love with others it would be so awesome!

Baby Tag

(These are pictures from a few years ago when Drew was born)

This was taken the night before Drew was born.

I know it looks like I shoved a basketball under my shirt, but this photo is the real thing I promise!

Proud Daddy

Proud Mommy

Cute Baby

Thanks for the tag Heather--it's always nice to be given a blog topic! So here's some info on Drew and what I know of babe # 2.

1) Where were you when you found out? At home (in the bathroom), but I suspected I was with both due to the random queasy stomach.

2) Who did you first tell? Dustin and the family soon after. I had to explain why I was sick all the time (as if it probably wasn't obvious!)

3) Did you find out the sex of the baby? Yes, how else do you know what to buy: blue or pink?? I enjoy surprises, but I do not have the patience to wait nine months for one.

4) Did you have morning sickness? Unfortunately, yes. It was much worse with Drew than it has been this time though. I was miserable for five months with Drew and I am already starting to feel better this time at 12 weeks!!! Yeah!

5) How much weight did you gain? With Drew I lost 12 pounds in the first 5 months, but I gained 30 by the time he was born. Don't know and don't care this time :)! We don't even own a scale.

6) Did you get any stretch marks? I didn't notice any.

7) Did you have any cravings? Yes--fruit. I love Jamba Juice!!! This time I just got myself a gift card when I found out I was pregnant--it was my way of congratulating and consuling myself at the same time. And this time-salt and vinegar potato chips.

8) Were there any complications? Drew was three weeks early, but he was healthy and I was totally fine with a 37 wk pregnancy.

9) When and where did you go into labor? I was asleep in bed and a little after 1 AM I woke up to a little "pop" and I told Dustin (who was awake and watching tv) that I thought my water just broke. I didn't wonder anymore when I stood up--it was pretty obvious!! I had noooo idea how much water was inside me holy moly!!!! We quickly threw a bag together (I hadn't packed one yet) and by the time we got to the hospital my contractions were 2 minutes apart and starting to get very uncomfortable!

10) Did your water break? Uh huh and boy am I very grateful I was at home and not at the grocery store--that would have been soooo embarassing!!

11) Who drove you to the hospital? Dustin--very quickly too

12) Who was in the room for the birth? Dustin, my mom (thank heavens--she helped me with the experience and got the nurses to pay attention to me when they were scoffing at me saying I thought I was ready to push), the doctor, and some verrrry surprised nurses.

13) Was the baby born early or late? 3 wks early

14) How long were you in labor for? Well I had contractions on and off for about a week and then after my water broke it was a little over 4 hours.

15) Did you have any drugs for the pain? The nurse's words, "Hon, you're doing so good. You have at least 4 more hours to decide to get an epidural or not so hang in there a little longer." Fifteen minutes later Drew was in my arms.

16) Natural or C-section? Natural

17) What was your first reaction after birth? Total amazement. What an amazing thing to see your first child for the first time--very exciting and very overwhelming. There were tears of joy and exhaustion and a little fear. I wondered if I could really care for this little person who was totally dependent on me.

18) How big was the baby? 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 18 inches

19) Date and time of birth: April 14, 2007 (his Grandma Henderson's bday) 5:24 AM

20) Baby's name: Andrew Robert Henderson

21) Does the name have any significant meaning? Andrew after Dustin's Grandpa Henderson and Robert after Dustin's dad and Robert is also Dustin's middle name

22) Did the baby have any complications? Nope, unless causing major sleep deprivation for his parents is considered a complication :)

23) How old is the baby today? He'll be 2 on April 14th

24) What kind of temperament has the baby had so far? Very fun and playful and curious. He's had a sense of humor since he was very young and loves to be goofy and make faces. He loves to do stuff, go places and see things.

25) Would you change anything about it? Only the nausea--I can't stand being sick!

I tag anyone who would like to share their baby story.