Faster than a Speeding Doctor

Well, it's official now. A majority of our children have been born without a doctor present at the time of birth. Yes, little bean finally decided to come out (and no, we aren't sure what his name will be, yet). Yesterday made a full week that Leslie was overdue and, as we had no special indications that anything was going to happen, I went to my morning meetings and we all went to church in the afternoon. That was something that Leslie was dreading, just because she knew how many people would be asking why she was there and not at the hospital or at home with a baby. Anyway, everything went as usual. We even had our home teachers over after church. About the time we started getting the kids ready for bed, though, we realized we would have a baby soon. For those of you who are here mainly for the pictures, the next paragraph is the short version of the story. Following the pictures is the long version in Leslie's own words (I really should have taken a picture of her sitting in bed, typing away on my laptop in her hospital gown).

Short Version: We were putting the kids to bed last night (10/26/08) when Leslie started having hard and fast contractions. Once Morgan and Emma were laying down we called a friend to come over and stay at our house. Then we left for the hospital. We walked in at 9:27 PM and little bean was born at 9:41 PM. Quick! But the nurses did manage to get Leslie's name in the computer beforehand (which did not happen with Emma). Anyway, he was 7 lbs., 3 0z. and 20 in. long. I bolded all of the important numbers for you stats fanatics.

Little Bean (soon to be named) first sees the world (or at least the surroundings in the labor and delivery room).

What a cute mom!

Father and son.

The proud parents.

He seems to have some good sideburns going already.

Sounding his barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

I brought the kids to the hospital to meet their brother the morning after he was born. Emma was very excited to hold him (she kept kissing the top of his head), and decided that we don't need to call him Little Cucumber (which has been her consistent vote for a name), as he doesn't look much like a vegetable.

One of Morgan's recent name votes was Talmage "The Boomer" King. We have no idea where he came up with the middle part. Maybe that's what starts happening when you live in Oklahoma.

Our first picture of the whole family, kindly taken by the lunch lady at the hospital.

He just kept getting cuter by the moment - it's true and it has nothing to do with me being his parent.

Two sleepy hands.

Long Version (in Leslie's words): "I had some contractions in the wee hours of the morning but they quickly slowed down and stopped so i went back to sleep. We had a pretty typical Sunday - gave the kids baths, went to church, went for a walk, made dinner, and baked cookies. I had some very mild contractions during the day and just felt generally crampy and yicky. Then at about 8:15 PM as i was frosting said cookies the contractions started coming and they came on hard and fast. I knew this was the real thing. Nate continued getting the kids in bed and pretty soon i could tell that not only were we going to have the baby that night we were going to have another close call making it to the hospital in time. Our good neighbor came over quickly and we rushed off to the hospital.

"We made it to the hospital just fine (it is just a five minute straight shot from our house). I was starting to get the shakys and knew that i was ready to push. We put the nurses into quite a tizzy trying to get the doctor there and gather necessary supplies. Nate did his best to help me breath slowly but honestly there is only so much you can do at that point. It was a scene that would make any medical TV show proud. A few pushes and he was out. It was wonderful to hear him cry. The doctor came in a few minutes later to clean up the mess we had made. Who needs a doctor anyway. It was another wild but great experience that left me exhausted and happy."

We are somewhat preoccupied with waiting for #3 to arrive but i don't want to neglect the two fun kids we already have here. Here are some funny things they have been saying and doing lately.
Morgan is really a numbers kids. He loves to count things and look at numbers and is very good at adding and subtracting in his head. We knew that he was good with numbers but he really showed us how much he loves them the other day. We were listening to our Bert & Ernie tape in the car (best 10 cents i ever spent). Ernie sings "Imagination" and at the beginning of the song the kids on the tape are telling what they see when they close their eyes. With awe-filled voices they are saying things like "I see stars", "Rainbows", "pretty flowers", etc. Morgan also had his eyes closed and from the backseat, in the same voice of joyful wonder, i heard him say "Numbers!"
Two nights ago Emma was having a hard night. She was crying about everything. I looked at Morgan and said, "Oh, what are we going to do with that girl?" His immediate response, "Sell her!"
Emma is always saying funny, random things. The other day she came into the kitchen to tell me something. Then she asked "Mom, who stinks?" Me, "I don't know." Emma, "Hmm, must be Dad!" and then she walked out.
We are trying to help Emma understand prayer. Sometimes she is just flopping around not paying attention to what she is saying and then other times she just pours out her little heart in prayer. It makes us chuckle. Her prayer last night was one of the latter and went something like this. "Heavenly Father, please bless my mom and her baby. Please bless Morgan and all my family. I love my family so much and i don't ever want them to go away from me. But i know Daddy has to go to work so we can pay for our minivan. (sigh) So, we will pray for him everyday that he can come home everyday. Name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
Funny, funny kids.
Enjoying a moment with all three of my wonderful kids on my lap.

No.

Still here. I am now 5 days overdue. We are doing our best to induce labor but so far no luck. It is a funny thing to go places and have all your friends disappointed to see you. We are getting ready to head to the school carnival. Maybe the games and fatty overpriced food will do the trick.

No news is . . . no news

Lest any of you think the reason we haven't been blogging is because we have a baby i wanted to set the record straight. Nope. I am two days overdue, more pregnant than i have ever been but still no real signs that lil' bean wants to come out.
So since there's nothing report about the baby i thought i'd take this chance to do a little bragging about my fabulous husband.
Seriously, I am so blessed to have him. Besides being just the nicest guy ever he has a broad spectrum of qualifications. Let me explain.
We got an exciting package in the mail last week. It came from BYU and was very heavy. It contained this -
four hard bound copies of a book by Nate. More specifically his dissertation. It was so cool to see his name embossed on a real live book. (If you are fortunate enough to live in Provo you should be able to check out a copy of it at the BYU library, if you want some light reading about Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium of....) Yep, that's right my husband is a bonified Dr. King.
But it doesn't stop there. Shortly after moving to Oklahoma Nate decided to join the ConocoPhillips technical rescue team. He thinks it sounds fun to climb down ropes into damaged buildings and put out fires, etc. Last month he attended fire school. He has his own "bunker gear" - fireman boots, overalls, coat, mask, gloves and helmet. They put out all kinds of large industrial fires. So yes he is also a Fireman. Oh, HOT!
To round it all off a few weeks ago after assembling the cradle and putting the bedding in he informed me that he has mastered the secret of tying the perfect bow. So apparently he is also part Martha Stewart.
A Doctor of Science
A Fireman
and Martha Stewart
How many girls can boast having that kind of sweetie? I am so lucky! Hope i didn't make you all too jealous but i really do have the best husband ever. Love you Nate!

A Name

Just three days left until my due date but this little bean is showing no signs that he wants to come out anytime soon. (Much to my chagrin!) Maybe the problem is a name. We really can't think of one we both agree on. Once lil' bean knows there is a name maybe he will be willing to come out. Give us your vote. Some names we are thinking of are:
Kaleb
Heber
Talmage

Be honest. Let us know if there are name ramifications we have not thought of. Feel free to add other suggestions. Thanks. We'll keep you updated.

Enjoying life and Waiting

Just wanted to let everyone know i am still here. My Mom, Dad, and sister Holly are here visiting. We are loving having them here. It is fun showing them our little OK world. They have already been so helpful. My mom has been an excellent interior designer - rearranging furniture and beautifying our house. My dad spent the day yesterday building us a bench / food storage in our hall closet. He also wrote a fabulous story to go with all our finger puppets. Holly is the designated game player and entertainer. The kids are absolutely in heaven having extra people to play with and order around.
Our due date is just 5 days away but, as anyone who has been pregnant knows, it already feels like it is way past. My family is leaving the day before D-day. There is alot of hoping and pressure to get this baby here before they leave. There seems to be a mind set in this town that one should be induced for convenience. I don't want to do that but it sure is hard to stick to that decision. I am hoping that it will just happen soon and everyone will get to see our new little boy.
In the mean time we are having fun with family and hoping, hoping. We will keep you all posted.

One of my favorite "Holidays"

General Conference is coming up this weekend and i am so excited! I really do feel like it is a holiday. It brings so much joy to hear what our prophet and leaders have to say. It also has many traditions associated for me. This will be my first Conference living outside of Utah so many things will be different. I am excited to grow our own traditions as my kids get older. I would really love to hear what you all do for the Conference weekend. Do you have special treats? Games or activities that you do as you watch? Any traditions during the Priesthood session while the men are gone? Tell me what you are all doing (or did do) for this special, wonderful, happy weekend. Happy Conference everyone!!!