Pics of Hayden

Leaving hospital
So Serious!
The kiddos
My photo shoot with Hayden

Just paint some spots on me......

 And call me a cow. Because right now that is exactly how I feel. I am solely here to be an udder. A milk machine. I think Hayden is having a growth spurt. All the boy wants to do is eat, and eat, and eat. I know, I know, he's a baby. And I love the fact that I am able to do this, but man, sometimes I get tired of sitting. I have fed him so much over the past two days that I am surprised I could get up from the couch. My back hurts, I barely have time to do anything, my poor other kids probably hate me because they have had to entertain themselves the past few days and I am tired of watching Scooby Doo. I think I have seen every episode of any Scooby ever made.  I can't remember when I showered last when I hopped in tonight real quick. I figured I had to when he went to sleep for all of 3 minutes tonight, that and Ben told me Hayden smelt like an armpit, how embarrassing. Man, I'm glad he loves me. Because I don't know if I would. So anyways, I got that taken care of real quick. But I still haven't gotten him to go down on his own yet tonight. So as I type I will continue to be an udder, a clean udder none the less. 

Opposites...

Well we started swimming lessons for the summer. And let me just start by saying my kids are polar opposites. Madie has taken swim lessons for three years in a row and still is very unsure of the water. Which I guess could be a good thing. She is in a class where it is just her and the instructor and some other kids. No parents in the pool with them this time around. She was so pumped on the way there, but as we go to the pool and walked up and she saw her Daddy wasn't gonna be in the pool with her you could feel her apprehension. I was going to stay by the side of the pool where she was until I was informed that they didn't want the parents there beside the pool. I guess this is because they feel like the kids will be distracted by the parents and not want to learn. I can kind of understand this. I just felt bad because I had told her I would be right there and I ended up having to go all the way to the other side of the pool with Ben and Jack. As I sat and watched her you could see that she just wasn't too sure of the idea of having to get in the water without one of us. She was on the end and you could see her unsureness (is that even a word? Well, it is now-a Jennaism  we will call it) as she watched all of the other kids jump off the side and swim to the instructor. Like she was thinking, "It's getting closer to me. I know he's not gonna make me do this too!" Well, he got to her and, as I type this I have to laugh, she shook her head and before he could even try to persuade her, she slipped into the pool. Not jumped, slid in, very gracefully I might add.  She was not going to jump. This was a picture of her after she got in but still very apprehensive. Now I don't even have to explain how Jack felt about the water, this one explains it all.

I just hope he continues to love the water. I just have to make sure he doesn't jump in on his own. The boy has NO FEAR!!!!

Our new addition

Hayden James McGarvey is finally here. He was born May 5, 2008 at 8:38 a.m. via C-section. He weighed in at 8 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. We are so amazed by God's gift to us. He is so precious, although I must say he is a little spoiled already with wanting to be held all day. I have had to purchase a couple of slings and wraps just to carry him around so I can get things done with Madie and Jack and get things done in the house. Madie and Jackson are just loving their new little brother. Madie is our little mama, she sings songs to him when he is upset and Hayden loves it. He instantly quiets down when she sings to him. The first day home she even told me, "Mama, Baby Hayden makes my heart sing". So precious. Jackson didn't really have any interest in him for a few days. Now he loves to pat the "bebe" ( as he calls Hayden), and he will hold him for about two seconds before he tells us "Iya" ( which is his way of saying "all done"). We are trying to adjust to three kids and so far it hasn't been too bad. I think adjusting to sleep deprivation has been the hardest and this week I will have three kids alone all day for the first time, so say a prayer for me. 

Boxes and Cramps and Kids......Oh my!

Well, we are here. We have been in beautiful sunny Florida for a week or so now. I have to admit. I am feeling a little like I am at home. I didn't think I had missed Florida, but I have. It's actually good to be back. There are actually trees here and I feel safe for the first time in a while. San Antonio was great, but there was a lot of crime. Although I will miss the shopping, I'm sure Ben will be glad to see money in the checking account though.  : ) We have been super busy since we've been here. My mom and dad stayed for a couple of days and helped me get a lot of things unpacked. I am still seeing boxes everywhere though. I haven't really unloaded anymore in a couple days though because honestly I am sick of looking at them. At this point I want to throw everything away because I know I will be doing this again in a year. Although Ben will be with me next time. Little does he know there will a lot to do for him next time.   :) Moving practically by yourself with two little ones and being 35 1/2  weeks preggers is not something I wish on anyone.  I have been having quite a few Braxton Hicks and they are getting to where they are more and more uncomfortable. Nothing regular so don't worry I'm not rushing to the hospital anytime soon, but there is that fear that something will happen in the middle of the night and I guess I need to be prepared in case it does. Ben will be here the 19th , so say a prayer that the little one decides to stay put till then. I am soo ready for this one to be here though. There is no taking it easy with the kids running around. I swear they have so much energy and it just about kills me to get up and down all the time. I honestly feel like Hayden is going to come falling out. One good thing about this time away from Ben though is that I get the bed all to myself, well, with the exception of someone sneaking in every night. I love Ben, but you ladies who have been pregnant know what it is like. You NEED to have like 4-6 pillows and be able to sprawl and get just right or you CANNOT sleep. I do miss him terribly though, as do the kids. Madie had a cry this morning and I know it is because she misses her daddy dearly. Jackson does too, everytime the phone rings he shouts "DADA". They are great. Although Jackson does seem to be turing into the Tasmanian Devil. He is like a little whirlwind. At first when we found out this one was another little boy, I was thinking "Good. I can deal with more energy in place of more drama." Now I am not too sure. I am already seeing what kind of mess my house is always going to be and what my grocery bill is going to be like feeding 3 boys. That's part of the adventure though isn't it. I just can't wait to hold him in my arms. Only a little less than 4 weeks if I hold out till my C-section. It is scheduled for May 5. My little Cinco de Mayo baby. Lets just hope he doesn't use that as an excuse to party to hard.  Well, thats it for now. I have to go snag my daughter since she is fixing a five course meal for her and her little brother and it is only 10:30. They are bottomless pits I tell you :)

Meet my new Doc, Madie Grace

Well, we just got back from my 24 wk OB appt  and everything looks great so far. I am going to have to go into see a nutritionist because of the possibility that I may have the Gestational Diabetes again this time. I have resigned myself to it, but man, taking chocolate away from a pregnant woman just isn't fair!! But I really don't want to have an almost 11 lb baby again either. So I guess this is it, I am officially putting myself back on the program. Sigh. Madie and Jack did great though. The doc let Madie play with the heartbeat monitor and listen for the babies rate, you should have seen her. She thought she was hot stuff after that. Everything else went great though, just trying to gear up so that I can leave San Antonio the end of March and head back to Destin. I have been going through the closets and trying to purge what we don't use or don't need and I didn't realize how much junk we have. It feels great to let stuff go though. Too bad Ben would be happy if I got rid of all of it. Anyone else with that problem?

Back to the Beach

Well, we are headed back to the beach. We found out on Friday that we will be going back to Eglin for a year for Ben to finish his phase II training for Physician's Assistant school. We will probably be renting a house in Navarre, which is a 5 minute drive from the beach. We are excited and sad to be returning. The beaches here are beautiful and I am looking forward to taking the kids a lot, and it also will be great for me to know my way around the are since I will be there by myself for a while before Ben comes. ( Air Force won't let me travel past 36 weeks, so I will be moving the end of March). We are saddened because we are military, so by nature we love going to new and exciting places. I 'm more than certain there will still be plenty of time for that though. So.... if your up to a trip to the beach, give us a call, we would love to see anyone that's in the area.