water baby

reed can't go swimming with the brothers yet, so splashing in the bathtub has to suffice!

bathtime...loves it!


getting out and drying off...hates it! (therefore, no pics)

post-bath bliss...don't let the pacifier fool you. i haven't gotten him to like it. yet. he seems to take after wes and like his thumb (or fingers), but he can't always find them!

it was kinda like omaha

except that it was 5 minutes down the road.

our town has played host to the dizzy dean world series for the past week. i act like i know what i am talking about. in reality, all i know is that there have been a whole lot of little people in baseball uniforms all over town. and there are cars with plates from texas and florida and everywhere in between. and all those cars have shoe polish all over them touting their team as #1. william noticed all of this. and he wanted to go see the baseball players.

so, we took our people to the park for some free entertainment. they loved it! we stood behind home plate for a while, and then william parked himself on the front row of a bleacher for the team from oak mountain. anybody know where oak mountain is?? me neither. but it didn't matter. wes joined him on the bleachers, and they jumped up and down and clapped and cheered with their fans like they knew what the heck was going on.

and wes entertained everybody by dancing to the music between innings.

then we moved on to the fence by right field to get a different view.


and william was lucky enough to get a foul ball.

we used to take foul balls to the concession stand to get a free coke. or was it a snow cone? i can't remember. all i know is that there was always a mad dash for foul balls and more times than not, there was a little wrestling match to go along with it once we got to it. anyway, before i could find out where he was supposed to take his foul ball, he promptly lobbed it over the fence and onto the field. luckily, they were between innings, so they didn't have to stop the game on account of us.

too bad baseball season is over. because instead of taking him to games, i'm out in the backyard hitting wiffle balls to him and letting him peg me with pitches. guess i better get used to it. or get him some golf clubs for his birthday so he can hang out with his daddy on the golf course!

a busy week

ok, so i'm using the term "busy" very loosely. considering i've left the house maybe twice, it hasn't been all that busy. tiring, maybe...but not busy. but, the new guy has had lots of stuff going on.

he got snuggles from his biggest brother...


who was also nice enough to lend him his torpedo to play with. it doesn't really have quite the excitment factor on a blanket in the den as it does in the pool, but it was nice of him to share...

he laid around looking cute...

and tried to uncurl. i'm guessing this was his breech position that he was in until a few hours before he came out because his legs are pretty much stuck this way!


he tried to figure out if he likes his finger or thumb better...

i think the thumb is gonna win!


this has nothing to do with reed, but i thought it was cute. the only person who is more stubborn than wes is probably his mama. so when we butt heads about something, he usually ends up pouting. here he chose the chair out on the patio to pout for a while one afternoon...but only after asking very politely for something to drink! he's trying his hardest to look like mr. serious...

but, he got over it and was willing to share in some post-bath love...

complete with kisses!

maybe next week will be just as "busy!"

the 3rd time's a charm...

...or not.

i've gotten many requests for details and pictures, so here you go. you may want to grab a bag of popcorn. or a beer.

the last weekend in june, i told chase that i wanted to go get an ultrasound to see where this new kid was positioned. all the kicks and jabs just didn't feel right to me. the other two always nailed me in the ribs, but that wasn't happening with this one. i kept feeling most everything way down low. so, he gave in to the crazy, hormonal pregnant wife and took me up to the hospital late that sunday.

as soon as the probe touched my belly, we could tell that he was breech. to say that i was not happy would be the understatement of the year. i kept it together through the halls of the hospital until we made it to the car. then, i fell apart...for 3 days. morning...middle of the night...it didn't matter. there were tears.

i did NOT want a c-section. i don't think there's a thing wrong with them, but i just didn't want one and the recovery that goes along with it. plus, after having 2 the other way...that's what i knew, and that's what i wanted.

so, my unbelievably, awesome doctor (kristen, i know you read this blog...) told me that we could try a version to get him into the head down position. (if this is something that you are about to have done, please do not google it or watch it on you tube!) so this past wednesday morning, we went up to the hospital for my mauling...ahem, procedure. i got my epidural (the 5th time i've been stuck in the spine, by the way...and this is only the 3rd kid), and then we waited around for an hour or so for it to kick in. i don't know why, but i have the most routine, mundane pregnancies until it's time for them to get out. anyway, after loading me up with enough lidocaine for a 500lb man, and me blowing their mind that i could still move my legs, the stuff finally kicked in. then i was flat on my back with a whole lot of pushing, pulling and twisting going on. i don't know how long it took to get him flipped because, ya know, with a bp of 90/47, i was pretty nauseated and out of it. BUT...my unbelievably, awesome doctor got him head down (despite him pushing and kicking back) and ready to come out. only it was just over 2 weeks early, so i had to be observed all day to make sure he was ok, and then we came home.

can you say sore? i felt like i'd been beat up from the neck down by a skinny, 5'3", 100lb chick, but i've never been so glad to be so sore!!

anyway, we came home ready to wait it out for reed to make his entrance into this world. but, apparently he was afraid of what else was going to happen to him if he stayed in there!

i was woken up around 530am with some crampy stuff going on. but, i thought nothing of it. after what all went on just 24 hours prior, i figured that was part of the deal. they kept coming about 3-5 minutes apart, so i got up and got dressed. no sense in staying in the bed if i can't sleep. i told chase, and he thought nothing of it either. you'd think by the 3rd one, we'd have some sense. but obviously, we're idiots.

chase's work schedule saved me. he was supposed to drive to starkville to work that day. and since he'd be over an hour away, he told me to contact unbelievably, awesome doctor to see what she said. after a few texts, i met her up at the hospital. yes...i drove myself to the hospital, and chase headed out on his way to starkvegas. so i walked in the doors of the hospital fully expecting to walk right back out of them. in fact, i told william when i left that i'd be right back. poor kid...mama straight up lied to him.

after a brief moment with unbelievably, awesome doctor, all she said was "call chase and tell him to turn around. you're at 5cm." say what? i'm supposed to be going swimming with the little people in a little bit. but, then some lady came in and slapped a bracelet on my arm, took me to a room in L&D, and squashed the swimming plans for the day.

here's the fun part. knowing that i have some sort of immunity to anesthesia, they got a hold of them and told them to do the epidural before we got things going because, hello....it might take a while. i say them, because both days there were anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists (did i even come close to spelling that right?) in the room trying to hook me up. they got there and did the epidural flawlessly, or so i thought. my toes started getting tingly, so i thought we were on our way. chase decided to go for a walk, and while he was gone i could swear i felt something dripping down my back. the last time i felt something dripping down my back, i ended up with a blood patch and lying flat on my back for days. so yeah, bp went up. my sweet nurse came in verified the drip, then called the anesthesia boys back to my room. i'm sure they were glad to see me! the news...it fell out! it FELL OUT, people! i had not moved an inch so as not to disturb that thing, but somehow it slipped out. i didn't know whether to laugh or cry. soooo...that one got discarded, and we went for yet another one. this is #7 for those of y'all keeping score. it went in great again, and they taped my back up like they were trying to hold back the hoover dam. there was no way this one was coming loose. my legs were getting numb, but i could still feel those contractions. and they were getting worse. but, it did take an hour for the epidural to kick in yesterday, so i just had to wait it out.

so, friends and family came in and out, and my legs were getting heavier, so i figured we were on our way. but i could still feel the dang contractions. but only on my left side. it would be just like me to get an epidural that worked only on one side. and that's exactly what happened. unbelievably, awesome doctor came in, and it was about then that i decided that my husband will sleep in another room for the rest of his life. or maybe i just put my pillow over my face and cried until i was given the go ahead to push. i've always wondered what i'd be like if i actually had to feel labor. i didn't think i'd be a screamer or one that cursed my husband like a sailor. i had to focus on the ability to breathe, so i guess my sailor-like tendencies had to take a back seat. instead, i just cried my way through it until reed finally made his way out into the world. and, i'm oh-so-glad he did. i was almost to the point of telling her to shove him back up in there, and tell him just to stay put. i'd be a pregnant person forever. but, unbelievably, awesome doctor held him up, announced that he looked like wes, got him to cry, and then i took a nap. or something. i don't really remember much until chase handed him to me all wrapped up. this perfect, little, baby burrito.

a few minutes old...


daddy and reed...


mama and reed...


meeting the 2 new big brothers...


family pic...


tired after the last 2 days...


i got moved into a room shortly after all that, and i had the cutest door on the hall. thanks, sarah!


reed pretty much ate and slept for the duration of our hospital stay. he did wake up a time or two for a photo op...


when we were finally able to come home, the crew was out in full force to welcome the new guy home...


they even made signs...

and although he was a completely, stubborn little thing when it came to him getting out, he's been a super, sweet little thing since he's been here. i guess he figured after all that he put me through, he'd better be nice for a few days. and i do appreciate it.

and now, i think i'll head up to the hospital to get a few more epidurals just for fun. because surely i'm close to some sort of record.

reed is here!

well, it's 2 weeks early. and it was a little more dramatic than i would have liked, but i wouldn't trade him in for the world!

i'll post the details later after i take a few naps, but for now...here's the new guy in all his glory!

reed chase henson
7/9/09
12:59pm
7lbs 6ozs, 19.5 in

the 4th of july (on the 3rd of july)

the country club had it's annual july 4th party this past friday night. friday was the 3rd, but i guess they don't care. or maybe they didn't want to interfere with the city park's celebration on the actual 4th. either way, it was a lot of fun, and it gave us something to do on a night that we would have surely gone to bed much earlier than the start of those fireworks!

william hit up the bouncy things right off the bat...


and wes wasn't too far behind...


then they played games...


got a really cool hat...


and a puppy dog...


showed off the arm at the dunking booth...


danced to the band after supper...


and prepared to watch the fireworks...


william and wes provided the musical entertainment while we waited. mary elliott looks enthused, no?


and then the sky lit up...


lucky for us, we only live 30 seconds from the country club. so, we managed to get the little people in bed around 915. but don't think for one second that there was any sleeping late the next morning. we got up and swam, took a nap, swam some more, and then cooked out with some friends.

you'd think that all that fun in one weekend would wear the under-4 age group down. and, although they look sweet and calm in this pre-chuch pic,...

...church was anything but.

i can only hope that naptime runs a little long today! and bedtime might come early, too!

something fun for a hot, summer day

ok...i guess i'm a bad mama.

wait a minute. let me back up. i hate to read. seriously, i can probably count the number of books i've read in my life on one hand. i was the kid that got summer reading books on tape and listened to them in the car on the way to tennis tournaments because i knew dang good and well that i wasn't going to sit down and read them. the great gatsby?? puh-lease. the red badge of courage? don't think so. the hobbit?? not hardly. i was also the kid that refused (and i do mean refused) to read "as i lay dying" by faulkner in 11th grade because hello......have you looked at that book?? have you read faulkner? i rest my case. and yes, i made a 71 on that test. if you're adding that up in your head...that's a C. my english teacher was so mad at me because i actually passed that test and never read the book. i didn't say i couldn't listen in class!!

anyway, while i will gladly sit down and read "the very hungry caterpillar" or a bible story book to william and wes, i have never given much thought to taking them to the library. i mean, there are swimming pools and swingsets outside. in the sunshine. but somehow, william got in his head that he wanted to go to the library. so my mother (the librarian) took my little people to the library a few mornings ago to check it out.

obviously, the love of books gene skipped a generation because she said they were like 2 kids in a candy shop. william couldn't believe "all these different books about all kinds of stuff," and wes couldn't pull books off the shelf fast enough. the stuffed animals were a hit, too!

i guess i'm going to have to teach them how to solve derivatives, graph parabolas, and read the periodic chart of elements. because if they don't get the math/science gene from me (and their daddy), i'm not going to be of much use to them in this literary world.

or, i guess i could, ya know...get them a library card.

do they have pools at the library??