Our new little guy

On Sunday, Nov. 20th, I woke up at 3:00 a.m. and felt kind of strange cramps. I went to the bathroom, as I usually do every two hours when I'm pregnant, and came to lay back down in bed. I laid there for an hour and kept having these cramps that wouldn't let me go back to sleep. So, about 4:00, I woke up Blair and said, "I think I might be having contractions...the real kind. But, I'm not sure." His eyes got huge. I had been having "fake" contractions for probably 3 months, but I could just tell these ones felt different. He jumped out of bed and I headed to the bathroom again. When I came out, he was fully dressed. I laughed and said maybe we should time them before jumping in the car and heading to the hospital. So, we timed them for about a 1/2 hour and they were happening about every 6-7 minutes. I wasn't ready for labor. I hadn't finished packing a hospital bag, I hadn't cleaned my house or gone grocery shopping...I didn't want to go into labor right then. I needed one more day! Alas, I didn't want to start progressing into hard labor at home or in the car, so I told Blair we should probably make the 30 minute drive to the hospital. Our neighbor was nice enough to sleepwalk down to our apartment and sleep on the couch so someone would be with Will.
At the hospital, they checked my cervix and I was at a 3! I thought that was great since I'd been at a 2 for two weeks. The nurses, however, were unimpressed. They said they probably couldn't admit me until I was dilated a little more and more thinned out. They suggested I walk around for an hour and they'd check to see if anything had changed. Long story short, I ended up walking around labor and delivery for two hours and by the end of my walk I was bawling my face off. I am a wimp when it comes to pain. My doctor walked in and said, "You look like you're not very happy." They checked me out and decided to admit me. I got an epidural about 10:30 and things were going okay except the baby wasn't moving down where he needed to be so they gave me a little pitosin to help things move along. It did the trick. My water broke about 12:00 and our little Matthew Ross was born at 1:53. He cooperated nicely and came out with just a few pushes. What a relief! Here are some picks of our new little buddy. We sure love him!

This is the last picture of Matthew on the inside. 39 weeks along...

and I was convinced he would come late.

I was expecting post-Thanksgiving.

FINALLY- they admitted me to the hospital. Thumbs way up.

Matthew's first screams of protest. It was actually a sweet sound.

7 lbs. 3 oz. 19 1/2 inches long

Will visits us at the hospital. He was less than thrilled to see his new brother.

He's doing a little better now.

Aunt Rachel and Grandma Newbold

Grandpa

Proud Daddy.

Aunt Lisa and a very wierd expression by Baby Matthew.

Touch down!!

Will, likely wondering when his world would return to normal.

Finally Will smiles. He could get used to this older brother thing.

He just sleeps and sleeps.

What a blessing. We are so glad you are here!

Unforgettable Halloween...

So, I feel bad, but this year there will be no pictures of my cute little son dressed up for Halloween. For some reason, he refused to wear his costume. This is a huge disappointment on many levels for me. First of all, his costume was Lightning McQueen. He LOVES Lightning McQueen. This is the kid who watches Disney's Cars every chance he gets. He has Lightning bath toys, he has Lightning action figures, he's got Lightning p.j.'s and Lightning hats and shirts. So, I was obviously dumbfounded when I tried to put on his Lightning costume before the ward's Trunk or Treat and he started crying, took it from my hands, threw it on the floor and yelled, "No! I don't like it!" I stood there frozen. How could that be possible? We coaxed and begged. Every other parent with their adorably costumed kid at the party asked Will and tried to tell him it was cool to wear a costume on Halloween. Nope. He wasn't giving in. I thought, maybe by Monday, he'd be over his costume aversion. Halloween came, same routine. No costume. I tried to reason with my independent little friend that people like to see costumes on kids who go trick or treating. He might no get any candy. Will's expression remained impassive. We settled on him wearing his Lightning McQueen jammies over his clothes. I realized I was fighting a losing battle with a 2 year old. He had a great time. He got plenty of candy. I agonized over my $30 dollars that I would never see again due to the un-returnable Lightning costume. Oh well, there's always next year. In fact, I think as payback, he's going to be Lightning for the next TWO years. Ha. That'll show him. What a guy.

Will returning home from his trick-or-treating experience.

Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to play some Halloween games and eat some caramel and apples. Yum.

Blair and I dressed as Lightning's Pit crew.

Close up of the picture we pinned to us.

Will putting bing-bags in the ghosts and pumpkins.

Getting ready to toss.

Good shot!

Grandpa cheering him on.

Just Dance...

I took this the other day while Will was playing with his friend Emily. We turned on the radio and wow! They could really bust a move. Well, Emily can. Will tried to copy her. It was pretty funny.