2 Months

Our growing boy is now 2 months old! I can hardly believe it! In other news, both Sam and I celebrated a birthday this month. I know that I definitely feel older this year. Sam surprised me by getting tickets to the Glee concert. We went last night, and it was a fabulous concert. It brought me back to my show choir days, and I thoroughly enjoyed the singing and dancing as well as the high school angst and drama portrayed in the show. Thank you Natalie and Jennica for watching our peanut so we could enjoy a date!

Love Him!

To my delight, Sam caught this precious moment on video. You have to pause the music at the bottom to hear it, but this is the first time we heard Carson laugh. This might be the most beautiful thing I have ever heard.

One Month Picture

I meant to post this picture awhile ago Carson is 1 month old here, and now he is almost 7 weeks! I can't believe how fast he is growing. He is starting to smile and make a few noises. He finally likes his bath. He still likes to sleep (just not for long stretches), and he likes his swing. We are pretty blessed to have a happy baby.

This was just a couple of days ago, sporting the cute outfit that Jason and Jen and the boys sent him. Thanks guys! The hair is a little unruly, but that's Carson's style :)

Baby Photo Shoot

These are just some cute pictures a friend of mine took. Carson is ALMOST 2 weeks old in these pictures. I also posted below about his blessing day. It's hard to believe he is almost 6 weeks old now! He's growing like a weed, and sometimes I wish I could freeze time. And other times I can't wait for him to sleep through the night!

Baby Blessing

On Sunday, April 4th Carson was given a name and a blessing by his dad. It was also Easter Sunday, and I can think of no better way to celebrate Easter than to bless a new baby. We were fortunate to have a small group of family in town, and we are so thankful to have had them here. Both sets of grandparents were here, as well as a few sisters, brothers-in-law, and some close friends. We missed those who are out of town (and that's quite a few of you!) Carson is named Carson Scott Blackham, after both of his grandpa's and his dad. They are all such good men, and I hope that Carson will develop the same qualities of kindness, strength, and priesthood power that these men have. We feel so blessed to have him in our home, and we love him more everyday.

Baby Blackham is Born!

I laughed when I got on our blog and the baby counter said "5 Days to Delivery!" Our little boy made his debut on Monday, March 15th, a few days ahead of schedule. I think he was trying to spite his mom, who is chronically behind schedule, or else wanting to be here for March Madness and some good Cougar basketball (which we are a little overdue for). We are so happy to have him here and healthy. After much debate and discussion, we have named him Carson Scott Blackham. I never imagined it could be so great to have a child. Don't get me wrong...it was definitely not all fun, but he is such a miracle. He is so perfect and so cute, and I don't think we could love him any more than we do.

For those inquiring minds who want to know the details, keep reading. For those who don't, just scroll down. I have certainly heard my fill of labor stories in the last several months, and I don't blame you if you skip mine. Last week I kept having thoughts of getting a few things ready JUST IN CASE our baby was born early. I didn't heed those too well, thinking I would have Spring Break to finish up those things I wanted to do. I had been having contractions on and off for several days, but I wasn't too concerned. Well, Sunday morning I woke up thinking that my water had broken - two days after I reassured my students that my water wouldn't break in class and that people's water doesn't really break that often until they are IN labor and at the hospital. Apparently I don't really know what I'm talking about, and that became quite apparent.

I pulled Sam out of a meeting to take me to the hospital. Five hours later, they couldn't confirm that I was in labor or that my water had broken. They sent us home. We came home and ate dinner, and contractions kept getting closer together. After two hours of 4 minute apart contractions we went back to the hospital. They sent us home again, and I'll admit that I wanted to pop off the nurse's head. She was nice, but not too sympathetic or reassuring. Apparently I was supposed to wait until contractions were 2-3 minutes apart - not what the doctor had told me, by the way. And she said I was ONLY in early labor. Lucky for her, I did not pop her head off, just cried a lot and came home.

They gave me Ambien to sleep the rest of the night before sending me home. I heard this little voice screaming in my head that maybe I shouldn't take the little pill, but I did. It was a horrible night, and maybe worse for my husband. I started hallucinating - apparently I thought I was Alice in Wonderland - and I got really sick. Then the REAL contractions started, and amidst all of this my dear husband tried to reason with me. He wasn't sure I could handle the hospital sending me home again, so he tried to make absolutely sure I was ready to go. I decided to tough it out for as long as I could. It was a long, sleepless night, and finally we went to the hospital at around 7 on Monday morning. Hallelujuah! The mean nurse was gone and the nice nurse was there. She didn't waste any time. I was dilated to a 7, and they got me an epidural right away.

I can honestly say I have never been more ready for a shot to the spine. I swiftly went to sleep, and after some much-needed rest, I was ready to have a baby. My mom and dad had driven down from Eagar and had arrived by this time, and my sister had come to the hospital. It seemed that we waited for quite awhile for the doctor to get finished with a c-section, but by the time the doc was ready, so was baby Carson! It didn't take too long at all to get him here. He came fast, and he was pretty healthy - despite a few potential complications.

I don't think I'll every forget the feelings I had when I saw our little baby boy for the first time. It's really unbelievable that we can bring little spirits into this world. They are so perfect and innocent. I am so thankful for the plan of salvation and for families. Sam has been a rock through it all too. I couldn't ask for a more supportive, loving, and helpful husband. He's already turning out to be a great dad, and it's pretty awesome to see him taking care of our little guy. It was also nice to have other family members there, and I am especially indebted to my mom for becoming our live-in nurse/maid/cook for a few days. I have a much greater appreciation for what she went through (without an epidural!) and I am so grateful for her help and support.

My Valentine

I prefer to think of myself as spatially challenged rather than a bad driver. I think it's because of my poor eyesight, which I attribute completely to my father. So Dad, my occasional "spatial challenges" are all your fault. My most recent spatial challenge - at least the most recent with proof - actually occurred several months ago. I tore the driver's rearview window off of my car when backing out of the garage. I haven't been in a real hurry to fix it because frankly, it's much easier to back out of the garage without the extra appendage. I have been driving without a rearview mirror for awhile now, and I hardly notice it's gone. This morning I woke up and drove to church without looking in the mirror, as usual. As I slid into the bench next to my husband, he leaned over and whispered, "Did you get your Valentine's present?" I nodded and told him the flowers were nice. He looked at me funny and asked if I had already broken it off again. First I had no idea what he was talking about, and then he explained that he fixed my mirror. I felt like an idiot for not noticing, but I was also happily anticipating what my car would look like WHOLE. After church, to my surprise and joy, I got in the car, LOOKED IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR, backed out of the parking lot, and drove home. Oh happy day (for me and for the other drivers on the road)! What a sweet husband I have.

In other news, we are happily anticipating the arrival of our little boy. We might have him named. We at least have it narrowed down (and Titan and Stone are out of the running...unless he's born on April Fool's Day, in which case I might have to let Sam name him). We had a wonderful baby shower yesterday. We so appreciate everyone's work and kindness. I think we are ready to have this baby now! I am super excited to get his room all set up and put together. And I am more excited for him to get here. I think we're close enough that we can start counting down the days!