Welcome Mason Matthew Baker!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but at the Baker household we've had a VERY busy week! I normally post to the blog each Sunday, but we were a little preoccupied that day! Last week I was having lots of contractions, especially when I was on my feet and walking around. After my Tuesday appointment, I was up most of the night with contractions, and really thought I would be heading to the hospital on Wednesday, but instead I went to work. I was miserable all day, so decided to take a sick day Thursday. After staying home, relaxing, and staying off of my feet for a day, I felt so much better! So I went ahead and went to work on Friday, then regretted it because I felt awful. I decided that I was not going to go back to work this week (it was only a 2 day work week) and lined my sub to start Monday.

Over the weekend we relaxed and didn't do too awful much...every time I was on my feet I began having contractions and not feeling well, so I tried to take it easy (and tried to resist the temptation to walk, walk, and walk some more to bring labor on)! Saturday night we were relaxing at home and Zane decided to perform for the camera. Here he is singing a couple of songs:

"Days of the Week" song

ABC's

Sleepy Santa

Sunday morning I woke up and was having lots of cramping. I started also have pretty regular contractions and they began getting closer together. Finally, after 2 1/2 hours of that, I gave in and called the hospital. They ended up telling me to come in to be checked out. So we called our awesome friends, Jason and Mary, and asked if we could bring Zane over to their house so we could possibly go have a baby! They are so good to us and even offered to come get Zane so we didn't have to go to their house. We took him over there around 10:30 and headed off to the hospital! I had a hard time leaving him there because I knew our lives, and his, were about to change drastically! He had no clue whatsoever and could have cared less that we were leaving...he was at Madelyn's house!

We got to the hospital at about 11:00 and they took us to the triage area to assess me and see what was going on. I was dilated to 5 cm, 90% effaced, and -3 station. The nurse talked to the on-call doctor, and she said to go ahead and keep us and we'd have a baby! I was very excited that they didn't tell me I had to go home! We even got to be in the same hospital room as we were in with Zane...how lucky!

Since I was already dilated to 5 cm, they told me I could have my epidural just as soon as they got everything hooked up and they paged the anesthesiologist. I was ready for it! The doctor came in and introduced herself and she talked about how easy and quick she thought this was going to go for us (man was she right). At 1:45 I got my epidural and at 2:00 they broke my water. After that, it went very fast! They checked me at 3:00 and I was dilated to 8 cm. At 3:45 they came in and said they saw changes in the baby's heart rate, which was nothing to be concerned about, but was telling them that it may be time to deliver. So when she checked me, I was 10 cm and ready to push! Just a few minutes before that, Matt stepped out of the room to get some fresh air, so I had to call him to come back up quickly!

As soon as Matt walked into the door and to my side, they asked me to start pushing. That was at 3:52. At 3:56 (4 minutes later), Mason Matthew Baker entered the world! Neither Matt nor I could believe how quickly and easily it all went! Here are his "stats:"

Mason Matthew Baker, 11-23-08, 7 lbs, 14 oz, 21 3/4 inches

We very quickly learned he has a GREAT set of lungs!

We were very excited for Zane to meet his new brother! He was still at the Ottis house, so we called them. Mary left her girls home with Jason and brought Zane to see us. On the way, she told him that they were coming to see his new baby brother named Mason. When she said "Can you say Mason," Zane's reply was "No, Bobby." I wondered how that would go! They stopped and got McDonald's for me, yum! Mary also made me pumpkin bars...I'd been DYING to have some of them. Mary is so good to me! At first Zane wasn't sure what to think...he kind of shyed away from Mason. The week before, we had bought "Bobby" a couple of gifts for Zane to give...a book and a "little lion" that looks a lot like his bigger lion. Zane came and brought the gifts to Mason.

Brothers!

All Zane wanted to do was see Mason's hands. He kept saying "where his hands, mom?" He would put his finger in Mason's hand and have him hold it. It was so cute! The longer he was there, the more he wanted to be around Mason, look at him, and touch him. After awhile, the grandparents showed up, then he started doing a little bit of showing off...as soon as visiting hours were over they were sure to tell us...I think he was getting a little loud! Matt's mom ended up staying through Tuesday so that she could stay with Zane and Matt could spend time with Mason and I.

Monday was a very relaxing day in the hospital. The nurses took such good care of us, I enjoyed every moment of it! That evening we had quite a few visitors from my school who wanted to meet Mason. I am so lucky to have such great friends! Keeta brought Zane again and he was even more excited to see Mason. After a little while he got bored and wanted to leave. He said "this dumb place. Let's go." At least he's honest!

Zane chilling and watching cartoons

The new family of four!!

Tuesday Matt and Keeta took Zane to preschool, all set to show off with pictures of he and Mason! He was not wanting to stay at preschool and did not want to talk to anyone about the baby, but we thought it was important to get hm back on somewhat of a normal schedule! By the end of the day he had talked some about his baby brother, but didn't give them many details. He had taken a picture to show them, but wouldn't let them see, although they said he did sleep with it during rest time! We left the hospital around 11:00, so I got to go inside and pick him up from preschool. It was fun to watch him and Mason in the backseat. He kept looking over at Mason saying "Hi Mason."

Mason not happy with his going home hat
Right before heading home

All buckled in, ready to roll!

When Matt woke up Tuesday, he felt awful...his body hurt all over the place. He was very worried about all of us catching whatever he had, so he made a doctor appointment for later in the afternoon. He went and found out he had strep throat and also a temp of 103! That was NOT what I wanted to hear the day we were home from the hospital with a brand new baby and a 3 1/2 year old to take care of! So, since we've been home it's mostly been me taking care of 2 (really 3) boys! I'm ready for Matt to feel better so at least he can help hold Mason once in awhile! I know he feels so bad that he can't help out, but it's more important that he gets healthy first!

The more Zane is around Mason, the more he loves him! He's always asking about "my baby" or "my baby sister" (we have to work on that...all the other kids at daycare so far have had baby sisters, so that's what he's used to). Yesterday Mason was sleeping on the couch and Zane was watching a movie. The next thing I knew, Zane was over beside him, standing by the couch, just resting his hand on Mason's stomach. He kept looking at him and smiling! It was so cute, I just hope it keeps up!!

It has been so much fun getting to know Mason! I think he looks so much like Zaner! So far he is a wonderful baby! He loves to eat, I don't have a problem feeding him!! He likes to sleep too...day and night! I just hope that he remembers that nighttime is the BEST time to sleep!

Check out our flickr site, as I posted a lot more pictures there. Check back this weekend...I should be back on track for posting now (hopefully...)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bakerbunch/

Take care!

Matt, Amy, Zane & Mason

Getting Ready for Bobby!

First of all I have to share with you the pictures that were taken at Preschool of Zane! Of course I saw them and had to buy the whole package...who could resist? It was a company that comes in with a variety of changes of clothes. They dress the kids up, take their pictures, then print them and show them to you so that you feel like you HAVE to buy them! I thought he did pretty darn good!
This week we've done a lot of baby preparations! We got our strollers out and washed/cleaned them up. Here is Zane with one of the strollers. He has Buzz Lightyear and Woody in the seat and the bottom basket FULL of toys! He says he's going to help push Bobby in the stroller!

On Thursday, my dear friends Mary, Leanne, and Tara threw a baby "sprinkle" for me! Everyone guessed the gender, birthdate, time, etc for the baby and we played a game called "The Price is Right." Matt's mom got the closest without going over...she was proud of herself! There was wonderful food and I received many great gifts...a lot of necessities like diapers, wipes, shampoo, lotion, etc. I came home that night and put it all in the nursery...I look ready to go now!!! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who support and care for us!!

Keeta, Grandma Beggs, and Mom playing a game

Lisa, Mary, and me
Maggie, Chris, and Katy

Leanne, Tara, Aimee, Jennie, Michele

Mary, me, Tara, Aimee, Michele, Leanne

We had a fun and busy weekend! Saturday morning, Matt's mom and dad came down for the day. It's been raining so much back home that Craig isn't able to be in the field, so he came down to help Matt hang the drywall in the basement. I'm happy to report that they got it ALL DONE!!! Now the basement actually looks like a room! It's really starting to come together and we are very thankful for the time that Craig spent helping out!

Zane acting like a "dead bug"

Our basement Saturday morning...

Our basement Sunday morning!

Zane making me french toast. Yum!!

Matt finished up a little bit of the drywall work today and I worked on odd jobs around the house. I was sure hoping I wouldn't be attending school this week, but from the looks of it I will be...we are so ready to meet Bobby!!! We'll keep you posted...please help us pray for a healthy delivery and baby!

A Fun Family Weekend!

It is so hard to believe that we are in the month of November already...and only 3 1/2 weeks (or hopefully closer) to meeting Bobby! This week Matt had the electrical work done in the basement, so we're almost ready for sheetrock! We have our couch ordered so that's also on the way!

Zane & Ryan in the leaves at Jo's house

I had a field trip this week with my kids and it was a lot of fun! I was hoping the bus ride there would help encourage labor, but no such luck! That nght we had a book fair at school, so Matt brought Zane to it. He picked out a book for himself and also picked one out for Bobby. I asked him if he was going to give it to Bobby when s/he was born, and he said "Yes. I bring it to him and say 'Happy Birthday to you Bobby!'" It was so cute!! I hope he stays as excited about Bobby after Bobby's actually here!

Friday the movie Madagascar 2 came out and we were excited to go see it! We headed out for supper first (McDonald's...Zane's choice) and then went to the theatre. While I waited in line to get Zane a snack, Matt and Zane picked out our seats. They sat clear on the top row on the end, a perfect spot for us so that noone sat in front of Zane! He was SO GOOD at the movie...just sat there eating his popcorn and drinking his pop the whole time. Afterwards he was actually mimicing things from the movie...so much better than our first movie theatre experience! (We had to leave after about 30 minutes).

Zane at McDonald's...Happy Meal box on his head!

Zane and Mom at the movie
Zane waiting for the movie to start

Saturday we did a few errands, then decided to stay home for the evening. We had "game night" and I think Zane really enjoyed it! We played CandyLand, Hungry Hippos, and Memory. He did a pretty good job following the rules of the games!

When Zane went to bed last night, he had a temperature. He woke up this morning right before 6:00, came into our room crying, and said "I need a bucket." He got sick a couple of times, but mostly has been dealing with a fever. He and Daddy are going to stay home together tomorrow and hopefully he'll be all better and ready to go to preschool Tuesday!

In Zane's Words

Zane has quite the manners lately! We have really been impressed by him saying "Thank you very much" when we do the simplest things for him! The other night Matt offered Zane an apple slice with frosting on it (healthy, yes). Zane looked at it, said "Ew...no thanks," and passed it back. At least he said it nicely!

At school a couple of weeks ago, they made pumpkin bread together. Then they asked the kids some questions about the bread. Here were Zane's responses:

• What things can we use to make pumpkin bread? Milk
• Do you think the bread will taste good? Yes
• What color will the bread be? White
• How long will it take us to make the bread? 4 minutes
• What will the bread feel like? Rough
• What will the bread smell and taste like? Cotton candy (that's my boy, definitely)
  

Happy Halloween!

We had a super busy week! I had parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday until 8:00 at night, so Matt and Zane had some quality time together! It was nice to meet with the parents and everything went very well! I told more than one of them that having a child in school has sure put a new spin on everything for me as a teacher! I now "really know" what they are saying when they talk about how much and how quickly their children are learning at school! Zane has recently been singing the days of the week song...we were so excited to hear him singing "there are 7 days in a week" and saying them all correctly!

On Wednesday, Zane's classroom had their Halloween party. Matt picked him up early from Jo's house and took him to school. We were in charge of bringing the vegetable dip and apparently there was a little "accident" with it (Zane said it was too heavy for him), so they had to make an emergency run to Quick Trip! When they got there, I think Zane was a little overwhelmed...he was clinging to Matt and saying he wanted to go home. He's not used to that many kids or adults being in his classroom, so it took him some time to adjust.

I was not going to go because of conferences, but it was really bothering me to miss his first ever school party, so I decided to go! I am so glad I did, it was fun seeing him have fun! They ate food, played pin the nose on the pumpkin, laced Cheerios, and sang a song. Here are some pictures from the party:

Zane & Matt at the party

Zane SWORE this was Woody the Cowboy!

He kept standing by him and following him!

Pin the nose on the pumpkin
Singing a song...he's having fun!

Zane kept "lasering" everyone. It was cute!

He's running around the room saying "To

infinity...and beyond." Look at that face!

Stringing Cheerios on a string

Zane and Miss Michelle, his main teacher

Because of conferences, I didn't have school on Friday. I actually had a doctor appointment, so Zane went to his friend Ryan's house for a little while so I could go to my appointment in peace! Everything at the appointment looked great, and now we only have 4 (or less) weeks to wait to meet Bobby! Matt left work at 1:00, so we were able to head to Iowa earlier than normal.

When we got there, we attended the Halloween parade uptown. The business people handed candy out to the kids. It was fun! Then we went to a few houses for trick-or-treating. Zane loved it! He would say "go to another house now?" After a few houses, we went back to Gaga/Papa Hammer's house and Zane helped hand candy out to the trick-or-treaters. I think he had more fun doing that! One thing we found out is that he's not too fond at all of masks, especially scary ones! Papa Hammer had a mask on and Zane kept shrugging away from him until he would take it off. Zane got to trick-or-treat at his Great Grandparents Houses also! It was a busy night!

Buzz Lightyear

The Halloween Parade

Handing candy out to the spooks!

On Saturday Zane got to be a "farmer" and was able to combine beans! He was thrilled! When he came back from combining, he said "I make beans!" I think the kid could live on a farm! That night we went to Old Papa/Gaga's house for supper and spent the evening with them. Poor Zane was SO tired that he laid down about 8:00 and fell asleep in about two seconds. He didn't wake up again until 8:00 the next morning, and with the time change, that meant he slept for 13 hours! He needed it! Sunday we went to Papa/Gaga ee-ah's house and had dinner. It was a beautiful day, so most of it was spent outside on go-carts and flying kites! Once again, Zane was worn out!

Zane, Keaton, & Matt on the go-cart Keaton, Zane & Celine on the go-cart

Zane & Keaton taking a snack break!

This past weekend was our last planned trip back to Iowa until Bobby's born! It doesn't seem like we should be saying that already, time sure has flown by! We are really to hold our baby in our arms and get to know him/her!

Take care and have a fantastic week!