PBR

So Black&Decker gave Brian and I VIP tickets to the PBR Rodeo in San Antonio. I didn't think I would get to go because I would need to be with Beckham, but THANKS to Brian's AWESOME parents babysitting the little dude I got to go on a sweeet date with my love! We had SO much fun!


THE PRESHOW

When I said VIP I meant VIP. We were escorted down to the rodeo grounds (the court if it were a basketball game) where we watched the preshow fireworks and what not.



B during the preshow.



Preshow glitz.



We were escorted from the rodeo grounds, through the underground tunnels, then up to our seats after when the rodeo began. I felt like a legit VIP. (can you tell I've never been backstage for anything special -- I felt cool)



Our seats were directly above the chutes where the cowboys get on the bulls and then the gate gets pulled and the bull starts bucking. SO COOL!



Directly behind our seats were the pins where all of the bulls were kept ... our seats would shake when the bulls got rowdy. We loved it!


THE SHOW



A bull rider getting thrown by the bull ... YIKES!



He walked it off ... no big deal.



The bull rider sponsored by Stanley Black&Decker ... he was kind of a hottie. I told B I had a crush on a cowboy. He's on the bull in the shoot.



Our sponsored rider ridin the bull.



He got launched off the bull and stepped on ... but again, just walked it off.



The bull riders would walk right past us after they rode ... I don't know anything about them, but I get the feeling they are somewhat of a celebrity, at least with the country folk. SO I felt cool when they walked right next to me and even brushed my legs with their chaps. :)



The winner of the rodeo!



End of the rodeo ... We had SO much fun! Such a different date from the typical dinner and a redbox movie. Thanks Black&Decker for sending us!! Oh and I almost forgot to mention ... our nieces watched the rodeo on tv and said they saw Brian and I for a second!! Holler!



(More pics of our San Antonio trip in a later post)

Cuts For A Cause

Everyone CLICK on the flyer to blow it up bigger. READ the flyer. Then ATTEND the event!!!!

Bath Time

This Little Mister LOVES his bath time. He was screaming for two hours, we put him in the bath, and !BAM! happy baby!!



Daddy is insistent we be modest and protect Beckham's manhood!



So content after a warm bath.

Mimi's Visit

My mom has been here for the last week and half and I HAVE LOVED HAVING HER HERE!! That woman worked non stop to take care of my little family. She cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped, babysat, bathed Beckham, taught me about my new little peanut, rubbed my back, gave me a pedicure, ran my errands, listened to me cry, sewed Beckham's crib bedding, and much, much more.



My mom worked all week fixing my mess of a bumper and making the bedskirt fit the bizarre crib bottom. It turned out wonderfully!! We are going to add something to the ribbon that attaches the bumper to the crib, but not sure what yet..



Me & Beckham relaxing while Mimi scrubbed my calloused feet! Gooooo! Thanks mom!



My not Vietnamese nail tech.



















We were hunting for a BBQ store she found online and were terrified for our lives because of the roads mapquest told us to take...



Mom helped us master the art of getting Beckham to sleep in his crib. He refuses to sleep flat on his back ... so mimi had the brilliant idea to wedge dish towels behind his back and stomach to keep him on his side. He is a happy camper now!



Mimi bought Beckham some new things! This new little rocker/seat is perfect for putting him in and moving him from room to room with me. She bought me the "Brest Friend" -- cheesy name, i know, but the bomb nursing aid. For all you "Boppy" users - the Brest Friend will change your life...and your back pain!



Mimi and lil b -- doesn't he look handsome! Not sure if it is the stripes or the blue that I love on him so much. But DANG he looks good!



Mom was here over her birthday ... I know ... we had here working so hard on her special day! We took her to Red Lobster for lunch. MMM.



Beckham had his first bath ... mom taught us how to maneuver with a slippery little body.



Snugglin with his Mimi

We took her to the airport this morning and I cried as soon as we got there and the whole ride home. Mom- thanks for your help, thanks for the lessons learned, but most of all thanks for the time we got to spend together. I LOVE YOU!

Hands

Beckham found his hands the day we got home from the hospital.

Brian mastered the swaddle, but Houdini manages to get his hands free every time!

He loves to suck on his fingers. He sleeps like me - with his hands stretched above his head. He found that sucking his thumb comforts him. He flails his hands around with no control when he's upset. --- He LOVES his hands!

The King

On July 14th we welcomed KINGSLEY MARK HALLOWS to the family. He arrived 2 and half weeks early, but weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 4 oz. He is a gorgeous little guy who we can't wait to meet!

The Story

This is how it all went down.

Wednesday I had a doctor’s appointment where I was told I had effaced 80%, but STILL had not dilated, the baby was pretty high up, AND "if the doctor had to predict..." (because I forced him to make a prediction) "he'd say that the baby was going to be in there well into next week at least." DANG. I just wanted my baby to come. I was so ancy to meet him.

Thursday
Thursday night Brian left for Dallas because he was working at a Black & Decker event all day Friday. That night I went to bed around 11pm and couldn't sleep so I got up and cleaned my bathroom. After that I fell asleep fairly quickly, but I had contractions throughout the night. They were very different from the braxton hicks I had been feeling for weeks. These contractions were more painful, period like cramping. Different, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

Friday
I woke up and went about my day as I had planned - finished cleaning my bathroom, walked 3 miles on the treadmill, painted my toenails, went to target to make a return and some purchases. I had the contractions all day long and knew they were different, but still didn't think they were "labor contractions". But they were getting worse.

Around 2pm I decided to call Brian (remember he is in Dallas) because I was just a little concerned with the contractions possibly leading to labor. His event should have been over around then and I just wanted to make sure he came straight home. I told him I didn't think it was labor, but just in case, he better not do anything to slow his drive home. Dallas is right around three hours away ... but he was in bumper to bumper traffic that made the drive take an extra 45 minutes. The contractions were painful- that's for sure- but I still wasn't sure that they were the contractions that cause people to say "oh, you'll know when you are in labor."

So after I called him I went to Target to walk around to keep the contractions going and get my shopping done. Again, contractions were painful, stopped me in my steps, made me breath, but I still didn't think it was labor. I got home from the store and decided to call my doctor because it was a Friday and I was nervous about going into the weekend unsure of my situation. They said to just continue timing and if they seemed to get more regular and five minutes apart OR if I saw bleeding OR if my water broke (obviously) then I needed to go to the hospital.

B got home about 6:30pm. I was laying down on the couch, breathing through contractions that were coming 6 and 10 minutes apart. About 20 minutes after B came home I went to use the bathroom and saw blood (sorry TMI!). I yelled out to Brian - "AHHH! We're going to the hospital!" Brian jumped 5 feet out of his chair and just started FRANTICALLY packing clothes, toiletries, etc. I just kept laughing at him - I was surprisingly calm.

We arrived at the hospital around 7:30pm, checked in (nurses predicted I’d be told to come back because I wasn’t ready yet), and they examined me. I had dilated to a 2 so they said they would watch me for the next couple hours and if I progressed at all they would keep me. They were still thinking I'd probably have to leave and let my body continue to progress at home.

Contractions were painful, I was miserable, but still didn't feel like screaming or yelling through them. However, I did text my mom and say "I can't do this. I can't do this." So in the moment I guess they were pretty horrible. Well at 10:30pm the nurse checked again and said I had dilated to a 3 ... THEY WOULD KEEP ME and I'd have the baby sometime the next day. B and I were SO excited and really shocked. I asked if I could shower ... I desperately felt like washing my make up off and relaxing my body. So I showered and then they got me all connected to the IV and monitors.

Saturday

Around midnight the anesthesiologist came in and was about to shoot me up, but got a call that a baby was in distress ... he didn’t come back for over an hour. It was a PAINFUL hour, but the epidural came around 1am and I lost feeling COMPLETELY in the lower half of my body. They broke my water, gave me pitocin, and checked me every couple hours. I continued to dilate to a 3, 4, 5 each time they checked! I slept on and off from about 2-5am -- God bless you epidural!

Around 6am my nurse checked me, said I was a 9.5, totally effaced, and predicted I'd be ready to push at 7am. 7am the nurse prepped me for delivery.. They woke Brian up and told us how the delivery process would go. I still could NOT feel ANYTHING! I couldn't lift my legs in the slightest, wiggle my toes, NOTHING. So they had me start pushing - I asked the nurse if I was actually pushing because I was trying to, but couldn't feel it. The nurse said I was doing great .. and after three pushes yelled for me to stop because the head was almost coming out! They promptly called the doctor who came in and prepped. Then he left and instructed the nurse to call him when I was ready to deliver. So, the nurse had me push. Again, I pushed TWICE, she yelled for me to stop, called the doctor and said "You gotta get here. This baby is coming out fast!" I started to sob at this point, knowing I was just minutes away from meeting my son. The doctor returned and I pushed THREE times and my sweet Beckham was here.

Brian and I wept, overwhelmed by how much we loved this little boy. He was perfect and beautiful and I felt so close to Heaven when they put him in my arms for that first time. The NICU nurses whisked him away from me abruptly because he had meconium in his system ... it was a scary moment. But they assured me that he was fine and that they just needed to clean him up and check him out.

He WAS fine and they brought him back to me. Wow, what a phenomenal feeling to hold him and know he was mine. What a special thing. I am so lucky to have been blessed with this little man.

We just adore Beckham!

Grand Debut

Beckham Alexander Davis

6lbs 11oz of sweet lovin!

More pictures to come.

Crib

Last night we finally put our crib together! Holler!

We had to return the crib mattress we bought because it was too small .. When we took it to Target Brian told the lady

"Ya, we ordered this online and got it in the mail and we just don't think that we'll both be able to fit on it."

The lady was like "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that - we'll take care of that for you."

She didn't even flinch. Brian and I started busting up, but tried to keep control til we at least left customer service. The mattress is like 3 feet long by 2 feet wide.

Apple Fritters Attracting Little Critters

So the other day I needed to go to the grocery store ... but since it is SO hot here I try to go earlier in the morning to avoid the heat. This last Saturday was no different ... I went before Brian was awake. I decided that I'd surprise him with his favorite dough nut - an Apple Fritter. When he woke up I told him that I bought him an apple fritter and he was REALLY excited. A few hours later I noticed the apple fritter was still in the box! He must not like them as much as I thought. I tried to make some pitiful remark later on about how he doesn't like my surprises and how I just want to make him happy! (Pitiful, I know.)

--- He said NO! I love that you got me an apple fritter! That was the greatest surprise. Lauren, the apple fritter is just like the slim jim. If I hide it now, when I find it later it will be bliss. That's how much I love the apple fritter you got me.

I didn't know he had this habit ... I'm really scared to think about what I am gunna start finding around the house.

37 Weeks

Excuse my grodiness ... but this shows just how BIG my belly actually is!

Slim Jim

This post isn't about a skinny guy I know named Jim.

It's about something I found in between my couch cushions.


Yes that is a Slim Jim ... in my couch cushions ....

I asked Brian about this when he got home from work. He casually told me that yes, the Slim Jim was in the couch because of him, but it wasn't an accident. According to him, he put it between the cushions so that he could forget about it, then find it at a later time because, well, how GREAT would that be?!

You know, I really couldn't judge him because I've left money in various jean pockets before with the same intention.

36 Weeks.

This was from a few days ago. Just lovin my belly and the little guy inside it. I can't believe he is coming so soon. Contractions are getting stronger and stronger. I've had a few painful ones. Bring it on!

Plus I had to document the ONE day this week that I got ready.

35 Weeks

I am LARGE and IN CHARGE.

A Lady at the mall the other night said "Oh my gosh, You are SO pretty!"
I could have hugged her and never let go. What a nice, but not very honest person!!!

35 weeks BABY!

Baby B

When I first started feeling Baby B moving around it felt similar to how your stomach feels going down a BIG drop on a roller coaster.

Now it feels more like he is doing karate inside of me.


Just over five weeks to go. Wow.