Taylor's First Bath

Taylor got his first bath this morning! He loves getting his hair washed! Its amazing how he settles down when I start massaging his head! And he's so cute when he's just sitting there waiting for me to finish washing him up - I just love giving him a bath!

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Back to the 50's Car Show

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Back to the 50's Car Show has been a tradition since Mike took me on a date there in 2001. We go every year and enjoy all the cars. Mike and Dad take so many pictures and they seem to all look the same from year to year. :) This year was Taylor's first time and since he was so little, we had to protect his ears from the cars but he seemed to enjoy it by sleeping through it all! Is there any other way to tell? He even helped us carry all the hotdogs! This is always the first taste of the Fair and just makes us long for those Fair days - but they will come soon enough. The night was beautiful and we enjoyed every minute! It's always such a memory!

First Sunday Outfit

Today was Taylor's first church service and Auntie Kim bought him the cutest outfit! We, of course, took pictures to mark this very special occasion! He looks so adorable! The outfit is a little big but that makes it even more cute. He did so well. When the kids got on the bus, they just loved seeing him. They are so good with him, they kept telling each other to be quiet since he was sleeping. Kakuru just sat in the seat behind him and stared. It was so cute! And in church, he just slept in Grandma's arms while Mike and I served. We are so proud of him and what a good boy he is! Church is so much more fun now!

Keys Cafe Breakfast

We love Keys Cafe - it's the perfect place for breakfast! Their cinnamon bread french toast is amazing! Anyways, this morning, since I'm on maternity leave, we decided that we would meet Mom and Dad Henderson at Keys for breakfast. It was fun to take Taylor out even though he slept the entire time except for when he was eating! :) It's so much fun to have him with us all the time!

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First Day Home

It's our first day home! Getting up in the middle of the night was a new thing......one that I'm sure I will get used to. I've waited so long for this time with him that I can't complain about having to get up. He's so precious! Mike and I are doing the diaper duty together since he was circumcised on Saturday. I just can't handle all of that by myself because I feel so bad for him. But Mike's really good with it and we just do it together. I'm waiting for the first time we get sprayed......:) What a surprise that will be! Here's a picture that Mike took of him holding his monkey. Aren't his hands huge? This picture makes them look bigger than they really are but they are still pretty big and he loves to spread them really wide. I may be biased but I do believe he is the cutest baby ever!

Going Home

We came home today! A production in and of itself but so much fun. Nana had bought Taylor an outfit to go home in so we dressed him that. Since it's Sunday, we didn't have any visitors but Grandma and Grandpa Henderson came to escort us home. And Taylor got to experience his first dinner out at Culvers! He's still throwing up but the doctors said that since he didn't lose more than a couple ounces which is normal with any baby, they are not as concerned. Again, they think that once all the yucky stuff from being born is out of his system, things will get normal. I'm so glad that we are home now and able to get settled in. Amazing how quickly your life can change - I thought I was going to be pregnant forever! I'm so glad that he's here!

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So Many Visitors!

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Today was a day filled with love, family, memories and laughter! We enjoyed every visitor that we had and tried to get pictures with each and everyone of them! Everyone was so thoughtful and kind and we loved every minute. The first visitor came a little after 10am and the last visitor left just a little bit ago.......we were tired but wouldn't have changed a thing! Pray for Taylor, he's throwing up everything that he eats and he's not keeping anything down. The doctors say that this is because of the trauma that he went through in delivery and that it should get better day by day, so we will continue to pray. It's just so hard to see him choking and gasping for air - last night was so long.....he such a cute sweetheart and we love him so much!

He's Here!

Today finally happened! We've waited so long and with such eager anticipation that it's so hard to believe that it's over. Taylor is 8 pounds 15 ounces and 22 inches long! Such a big baby! Mike and I are so thankful that he made it through the delivery. I was just a couple of minutes away from a c-section but the doctor was able to help me get through those last few minutes and he arrived. Every contraction was making his heart rate drop dangerously low so there was quite a few people waiting to examine him as soon as he arrived. I didn't get to hold him for 40 minutes! We're doing fine now and enjoying being a family! God is so good!

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Tomorrow's the DAY!

Mike and I had our final doctor's appointment today. When we met with Dr. Gilster, he discovered that I had toxemia which can lead to complications and seizures in both the mom and baby so he scheduled me for inducement right away tomorrow. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I like things to be scheduled so being induced is very nice. I hope that everything will go well tomorrow.

I finally felt him!

Had to post again.....everyone's been asking me if I have felt him yet and up til now I had to honestly say that I didn't feel him. Obviously, I didn't know what I was feeling. Anyways, I posted the previous post and then laid back down (we took another day off for my birthday so of course we are sleeping in!!!) and was laying on my left side and just thinking about everything that happened yesterday when all of sudden I realized that was I thought were air bubbles in my stomach were not that at all! The revelation of realizing that there is a human being inside of me was so overwhelming and so wonderful and so amazing all at the same time that I have laid here for almost an hour just feeling him move and trying to figure out what he's doing. Mike put is head on my stomach and Taylor actually kicked him in the cheek!!! It's so much fun and so incredible! I am amazed that God gave us this ability, honor and privilege! I so can't wait until he's here!

We're Having a Boy!

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I can't believe that I haven't posted through the holidays! I don't know what happened but life must have, had to of, gotten too busy! I promise that now that everything seems to have quieted down, I will post more often with updated pics.

Yesteryday, it was my birthday so that made the day special but even more than that, I am 21 weeks so we were able to schedule the ultra sound on my birthday and find out that God is blessing us with a boy! Halfway through the appointment, he kicked his legs while the tech was measuring his femure and I knew right away that we were having a boy. But I didn't say anything because Mike had been so sure that we were having a girl so I thought it best to let the tech tell him. A few minutes later, I asked the tech if she had been able to tell yet and she said that she hadn't really been paying attention to that so no. At the end after we found out that he is growing ahead of schedule by 2 weeks!!! (moving on quickly from that point since Mike was a 12 1/2 pound baby and over 2 feet long) The tech said that we might be able to tell for sure since the baby had been so active during the appointment but all of a sudden she let out a little "wow" and said, "I can tell you a for sure!" and then said that we were having a boy. Of course, Mike wanted a picture of that which she said most people don't ask for but printed anyways to take with us. What a wonderful moment and now I am just going nuts thinking of all the things that I want to buy!

We met Mom and Dad Henderson at 50's Grill to show them the pictures in person. Then we went to Macy's where of course, I bought boy clothes (so cute!!!) We then met my parents for dinner at The Melting Pot downtown.

The day was so special and amazing! I'm so thrilled that Taylor Michael - that's his name - is healthy and doing so well. And most of all, I'm so excited that I can actually call him by his name! These next months are going to go by so fast so I'm praying that I can live each day to the fullest, not rush each step and just enjoy where we are at!

Family Party 2007

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Mike and I host a family party every year for my family and we love it. Everyone comes over, we play games outside, eat a ton of food and just enjoy the day. This year we had perfect weather - it was the most perfect tempature with beautiful skies and just the right amount of breeze....absolutely beautiful! Whenever we can spend time together is such a blessing! The boys had fun playing with eachother and I think we covered every bit of ground playing bocci ball. The day was wonderful and we had such a fun time!

Date to Science Museum!

On Friday, Mike and I went on a date to the Science Museum! We went to see the exhibit for Pompei which was really cool! It's always fun to be together and do stuff like that. Having children is going to be even more fun and we are having the best time thinking about our little one and planning for him or her - we can't wait!

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Birthdays!

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Jess invited us over last Friday to celebrate Dad, Matt and Trevor's birthdays since they all celebrate their birthdays within one week of each other. Mom got dough from Casettas' and we all made our own pizzas - the pepperoni was so spicy!!! It was great to get together like that and just have fun together. The guys always enjoy hanging out and we sisters don't mind either! :)

Today was so much more special just knowing that we are finally going to have a family! We had Matt and Jess over after the activity and told them. We thought that since we were with them and saw them first we would tell them instead of not telling them and how can we not share the news! :) We decided to then go up to my parents and surprise them with the news. We chose not to call ahead of time and when we walked in Mom was wondering why we were there and we tried to make her think that she had forgotten we had talked about going out to eat which was so funny! Dad wasn't there and we couldn't get a hold of him on his cell so we just went ahead and told Mom and she was so excited! And then just before we left, Dad came home so we were able to tell him too!!! We only spent a little while with them since it's Saturday......but we just got done telling Mike's parents and they are so excited too! The feeling is so amazing! I am so excited and I cannot wait for the months ahead! I want to remember every part of it!

Okay, so this morning, we decided that it was time to find out if we were pregnant or not......so.......I took the test and we are!!! We have a youth activity today - we are all going to the zoo and I'm not sure how we are going to keep the news to ourselves......I'll write later tonight....

Celebrating Five Years!

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We just got back from South Beach, celebrating our five year anniversary! The weather was perfect and we stayed at a hotel right on the beach and just a couple blocks from Lincold Road Mall and the Art Deco District. We were on the beach every other day enjoying the sun, slept in most days, went up to to Aventura to the Mall and downtown Miami. We tried to eat somewhere new every day and do something that we hadn't done before. It was such a good trip and I wish that I were back there. I think that I will wish even more when the snow gets here! We're hoping that we are pregnant but so far, we don't know......try to keep you posted!

We were married on Friday, August 30, 2002! We met through church as Mike visited my church with his sister for a special meeting. My sisters and I were singing that night and I sat a couple of pews behind him. I was smitten from the minute I saw him and had an immediate crush on him and still do to this day! We couldn't date at that time because we are almost 8 years apart in age but we waited for God's will, and I was praying, and the Lord brought us together in the most special way through our sisters. Mike is the youth pastor at our church but we also work full-time jobs at large national banks. Our goal is to one day be full-time completely at our church because we love the ministry and serving! We hope to add to our family soon and pray that God blesses us with healthy babies! This blog represents a new time in our life, one that Mike and I are excited to share!