Evan is more than a month now!!! Where does the time go? Here are all the newest pics of our little man

This is a typical face for Evan. When he's mad...HE'S MAD!!!!

Sweet baby boy on his tummy time mat

Sleeping like an angel. A
favorite past-time

This is Evan in his "I love Nana" shirt that I made for him.

He is Nana's favorite little boy. She helps out a lot by watching him while I'm at work.

More tummy time in his favorite P.J.'s

This is Evan and his friend Emma. They were due on the same day but Emma came two weeks before Evan.

Evan Ray Elkins- Born August 25, 2009

Evan Ray Elkins was born at 3:51 pm on August 25, 2009. He weighed 9lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long. Big Boy!!!!

We are so pleased to announce the birth of our son. He is already 12 days old. I can't believe how the time goes by. Sorry to all of you who have been checking the blog anxiously awaiting his arrival. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Evan decided to make his entrance into the world on Tuesday, just three days past his due date, what seemed like an eternity to his parents who were nervously waiting for any sign that the moment had arrived.

I woke up at about 2am and noticed some pains through my back that I had not had before. As time went on I became more and more convinced that these were the contractions that I had been waiting for. Around 3am I finally got out of bed, snuck downstairs and began to time the contractions. They were coming 3-5 minutes apart already but were not terribly uncomfortable. I decided around 4 in the morning to wake Kendall. He began to rush around the house doing what amounted to a lot of nothing. I calmly took a shower, dried my hair and sat down for what I knew would likely be my last meal for some time. We called the hospital around 5:30 and they decided that at my leisure we could go ahead and come in due to the fact that we live 45 minutes from the hospital. Better safe than sorry. We loaded up the car with everything but the kitchen sink (glad we did, you'll find out why in a bit) and we headed out, me, Kendall and my mom.

When we arrived at the hospital they saw that I was already 5cm dilated so they decided to admit me and move me to one of the labor and delivery rooms. As time passed the contractions became more and more intense. I was determined to avoid any type of pain medication and relied on my loving husband who on this day proved himself to be the loving, comforting, protective partner that I could only pray for.

Hoping for very little intervention, I was disappointed by how much monitoring the nurses wanted to do. The IV was painful and my wishes to walk, move around and relax in the tub were overlooked for the "safety of my son" who always seemed to be fine when the monitors were on. As things became more uncomfortable I began to have a harder time keeping still during the contraction. Shocker!!! Because the monitor would slip off the nurse finally decided to put an internal monitor on the baby's scalp. After this uncomfortable procedure that did not work and left me mad and them with no clearer picture of how he was doing it was time to push.

After 14 hours of labor and only 18 minutes of pushing Evan Ray was born. He came out like superman with his hand above his head and he was beautiful.

I was able to breastfeed in the first hour and everything seemed fine. As time passed Evan began to sleep longer and eat less. My colostrum was not coming in quickly and the baby had a harder and harder time getting satisfied. After the first night and day it became obvious that he was not getting enough. He had dropped from 9 lbs 2 oz to 8 lbs 4 oz in a day and a half. When they tested him for jaundice on the day we were to go home they found that his numbers were very elevated. We would not be going home for what would turn out to be three more days.

Evan had to be placed under lights and his blood had to be taken every 8 hours, something he found particularly painful. He was such a champ under the lights. He would lay on his back in his little diaper kicking and flailing his arms and legs with his little blinders on to protect his eyes. Not being able to hold him for nearly 3 days except to feed him was very difficult and I have to admit that it drove me to tears on several occasions. To make matters worse he decided that the ease and speed of the bottle was far superior to the method mommy was trying to force on him.

On day 12 I am pleased to announce that my milk finally came in, we kept at it and Evan now weighs more than he did when he was born and is strictly breastfeeding. He sleeps good, eats good and he loves his mommy and daddy. He is everything we could have ever asked for. A blessing from above. A hungry blessing, so I must go. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I am so happy that I got to share this news with you.

Less than four weeks to go!!

With less than four weeks until our due date we are starting to get very anxious and excited. The baby is still moving a lot and growing more and more every day. I have been healthy and have started attending weekly doctors appointments in preparation for the big event. My plan is to try for a natural delivery. We will see what happens on the day, but I have faith that it is possible.

We are asking that everyone keep us in their thoughts and prayers as the big day approaches. Reading the birth story of our friends who just welcomed their little boy into the world has given me a lot of encouragement that the process of having a child can be a beautiful and life changing event.

My plan is to put my feet up, prepare my nest and await the miracle that is about to take place in my life. Despite how hard things are and all that can and does go wrong on a day to day basis, I know that everything will be alright and we are truly blessed to have this experience looming on the horizon.

Finally Posting the 3D Pic of our "little man"

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Kendall and I are so excited to be expecting our son in less than 10 weeks. Everything is going well so far and I am healthy and the baby is doing great. We are getting ready, going to garage sales and accepting hand me downs from friends and family. Our little guy will be one well dressed dude.

The weather has stayed nice for me so far, so being pregnant in the summer has not been so bad. I am working in Pueblo West over the summer for an autism program and having a lot of fun. I am working with pre-school aged children and they are sweet and complicated all at the same time. I will do that job until just before the baby comes. It will be a challenge but it will keep me active and keep my mind off the delivery, at least a little.

Kendall is enjoying his job at the pool more and more every day. The stress of getting everything off the ground is gone and now it's just a matter of, as he says, "kids and water."

Spring Has Sprung!!!

It's spring time in Colorado and we have finally gotten the long awaited moisture that we all have been praying for. Kendall's favorite saying these days as the rain is falling on the mountain is, "hills green, cows fat!" Well, the hills are definitely green and we are hoping for fat cows.

We decided to go in with family and get a couple of bottle fed calves this year because they are cheaper than a weened calf and end up being much friendlier. We got a little black and white Holstein we named Knuckle Head and my cousin Clint got a little Brown Angus we call Never. We are keeping them here in our barn and they are proving to be more work than we bargained for.

A few days after bringing them home they got what is called scours, a nice way to say "the runs." This is common in bottle fed calves but it requires more attention and more regular feedings of milk alternating with electrolytes to keep them hydrated.

For the first few days Kendall would get up in the middle of the night to go out and feed the little guys. He was a dedicated farmer and it really paid off. They are doing great and growing like weeds. I have been banned from tending to them because of the potential of exposure to whatever caused the scours. Common causes are salmonella and E-Coli, things we decided I probably should stay away from.

We got a few pictures of the little guys with my cousin's kids. They were here almost every day when we first got the calves but now the thrill is gone and they seem to visit less and less.

We hope to get them eating more grain and grass so they don't require so much milk. I think Kendall and my mom would like that seeing as how the job of feeding them has fallen on them for the most part.

No matter what, you can't dispute the fact that they are cute as can be. I love the spring with all of its bright green growth and baby animals around every corner. There's nothing better.

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're having a BABY!!

We are so excited to share our news and send out the details to everyone. We found out that we were expecting a new addition to our family in early December and are now half way through the pregnancy at 20 weeks. Our due date is August 21st so be thinking of us as that day quickly approaches.

The picture that is attached is the ultrasound we got at 3 months. Kendall thinks that it's going to be a boy because the baby was doing a crazy little jig just like daddy. In two more weeks we will get another ultrasound and be able to find out what we are having. (Boy or Girl) At first I didn't know if we wanted to find out. I know we will both love whatever God has in store for us but we are excited to start decorating in blue or pink and begin to imagine our life with our new little lady or little man.

Everything has gone good so far. We both look healthy and I have gotten over the dreaded morning sickness (all day sickness) and the exhaustion that comes with the first trimester. I am more and more excited about all the changes that are taking place. I can feel the baby move now a little more every day which is a lot of fun.

We hope that you are as excited to hear our news as we are to share it. We love you all and miss you very much. Stay in touch and check out our blog for the latest goings on in the Elkins' Family.

We bought a car!!!!

Kendall and I bought a car last week. It is a 1998 Honda Passport. It's forest green and oh so cute. It has plenty of room for us and my folks, as well as tons of room for our beloved dog Sadie. It runs nice, has a good stereo and a sun roof.

The weather is getting so much nicer with some days going into the 70's. I can't wait to drive around with the windows down and the sun roof open in sunny Colorado. My hope is to post a picture of it soon for all to see.