February Surprise!

Well, February was a very special month for us. It started with a baby shower that was given by my good friend Courtney. It was so nice to have friends and family come together to celebrate this little bundle of joy that was expected to arrive in March. I feel so blessed to have such special people in my life.

I was so excited and preparing for his arrival. We finally were able to get his room ready. We put away diapers, onsies, gowns, booties, and hats. I went to the doctor and she informed me that things were really starting to progress. I decided to go home and pack the hospital bags (one for me and one for the baby). It seemed as though things were going smoothly and then we got news that Jonathan's Grandaddy had passed away. Of course, this was a very sad time for us. Although we know that he is in a better place, it was very difficult for the family. My doctor advised me to not go to the funeral in fear that I might go into labor and traveling would not be a very good idea. Visitation was on a Thursday and the funeral was on a Friday, so Aunt Emily and Uncle John were able to stay with us over the weekend, which made Jaxon very happy. He loves spending time with Aunt Em and Uncle John. That Friday, I began not feeling well and by Saturday morning, I had a very strong feeling that this baby was going to come sooner than planned. I felt very bad and was having inconsistent contractions all morning. Also, did I mention it was a full moon?

Anyway, I rested on Sunday and went to work on Monday. Even though I had a doctor's appointment scheduled on Tuesday, I decided it would be best to give my doctor a call and let her know how I was feeling and that I had been having contractions over the weekend. Of course, with it being President's day, my doctor was not in the office, so the nurse told me to go on into the hospital to get checked out, just to be safe. Well, I firgured everything would be fine, so I went ahead and finished up at work and then headed to the hospital. I told Jonathan not to come and that I would call him after I was all checked out. Well, needless to say, after they checked me out, the nurse informed me that it was "baby time" and they sent me on down to labor and delivery. Apparently, my water had ruptured over the weekend and I had what they thought was a 'high leak'. This meant that there was a risk of infection and I needed to go ahead and deliver. Of course, I called Jonathan immediately and we began to make arrangements for our moms to come up to take care of Jaxon.

The on-call doctor came in to talk to Jonathan and I and she decided that it would be best to monitor me and my contractions the rest of the night and then start Pitocin around 4:00 in the morning if needed. Well... after a night of waiting, they started the Pitocin at 4 and then I got an epidural around 7:00 in the morning, and then my doctor came in to check me out. I was so happy that this little guy waited for my doctor and then he decided to wait just a little bit longer. Finally, at 2:00 in the afternoon on February 22, 2011, Ashton Locker Wayland made his arrival and weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces! Although he was born a few weeks early, he was perfectly healthy! I must say that although this pregnancy was very difficult for me, the labor and delivery was a breeze! Everything went perfectly and by that afternoon, I felt better than I have in 9 months! The arrival of this little bundle of joy was such an amazing experience!

Before having him, I remember thinking to myself, 'How can I love another one like the first?' But, let me just say, it is true that your heart just grows bigger. The love that I have for Jaxon and this new little guy is undescribable. My heart grew bigger and our lives became even more complete! It is truely an amazing experience. I am so blessed to have these wonderful blessings in my life.

Jaxon has been such a trooper throughout this whole process. He wore his 'Big Brother' shirt to the hospital and even wanted to wear it to sleep in that night and to school the next day! He is very proud to be a 'Big Brother" now!

Right after delivery in the delivery room

First time Jaxon held his little brother

Great-Memaw, Jonathan, Jaxon, and Ashton

Jaxon and Mimi having Birthday cake - We celebrated Jonathan's birthday in the hospital. His birthday is Feb 23rd!

Ashton loves to be swaddled and cuddled!

Going home from the hospital.

Jaxon helping Daddy feed Ashton

Daddy's little Wildcats!

Relaxin in his vibrating seat

January Snow Days

One thing for sure, January was packed with snow days! We had a blast and enjoyed the lazy days around the house. The extra days off also really helped me to find time to prepare the house for the arrival of the new baby, not to mention, I was also able to spend soem quality time with Jaxon (:

Jaxon all bundled up ready to play in the snow

Building a snow man (Frosty) with Daddy

Going for a sled ride around the neighborhood

Daddy even took Jaxon to school on his sled one day!

A day at the circus

Getting a Tattoo at the Circus

Jaxon helping blow out candles on my birthday cake

Ho Ho Ho - Merry Christmas!

I apologize for all of the pictures, but December was such a fun month, I had to post as many pictures as I could! Afterall, this blog is also kind-of like a baby book for me. I love looking back at all of our memories! Jaxon is at such a cute age, it made Christmas time extra special. Here were some of my favorite moments:

Jaxon posing in front of the tree

This is when we went to the Christmas parade. It was very cold outside and it even snowed a little bit. We were bundled up!

Jaxon arranging some of the ornaments.

Cheesing for the camera!

While we were at WalMart one day, Santa just so happened to be there as well! Jaxon had to tell him that he wanted a "Big Lightening McQueen Car," a "Buzz Lightyear" and a "Thomas"

Santa also made a stop by Jaxon's school and we were able to eat breakfast with him!

This was SO funny... The Prather family came to visit us, so we decided to take the kids to the Ice Sculpture exhibit at Opryland Hotel. As you can see, for some reason, Jaxon got stuck wearing a parka that swallowed him! It was huge on him!!

Jaxon sliding down the ice slide.

Where is Jaxon?? Well...we tried to take a family picture, but the parka was so big, we were unable to see Jaxon (:

We also took Jaxon to the Opryland Hotel to go on the Holiday train ride. Here he is waiting for the train with Mimi.

While we were at Opryland Hotel, Jaxon was also able to have cookies and milk during story time with Mrs. Clause.

Here, we tried another family picture. Jaxon was a little distracted by the decorations hanging from the ceiling.

Every year on the night of Christmas Eve, Daddy reads 'Twas the Night before Christmas' to Jaxon.

They also put out Reindeer food that Jaxon made at school.

Hanging the stocking

Santa came!

Jaxon wanted to drive Lightening right then!

Dressed up as Woody

Dressed up as Buzz Lightyear

On Christmas, we also went to Mema's. Aunt Kim and Uncle Mac got Jaxon 'Stinky the Garbage Truck.' It is a really cool toy garbage truck, but unfortunately, Jaxon was terrified of it! So...Stinky had to stay at Mema's.

Test Driving Lightening in the back yard

I just had to take a picture of this! I'm sure that you can tell, but Jaxon LOVES Toy Story. He wanted to sleep with all of his Toy Story toys. It was too cute!

Family picture in front of the tree

Jaxon playing his new drum set from Aunt Em and Uncle John

Aunt Em even played the bells while he was playing the drums

Posing in his new Toy Story PJ's