Delivery Day!

Here I am in my delivery room the night before Payton was born, getting ready for my cervical ripening. I was very excited for this day to finally be here--it was a relief to have a few days to plan everything and not have to make middle of the night phone calls! :-)







All smiles getting ready--check out those ankles and feet--one of the reasons why my midwife said it was time to have a baby! And yes, those were pretty much the only shoes that would fit me! :-)





Calling to check on Jakson before we settled in for the night!




Delivery day! Jakson had arrived at the hospital to visit. We had made a special photo book for him--Rory was reading it to him for the first time.






All of my friends/coworkers had signed one of those large pads they put on the beds to wish me luck (again, you have to keep in mind this is where we work...)

My mom all ready for Payton's arrival with her newly updated "Grammy" shirt on! :-)

Me and my mom! Obviously I am still smiling, so not too much pain yet! Things went kind of slow at first, but not long after they broke my water and I got my epidural, things sped up and I had to wait for my midwife to run over from the office before I could push! After only a few pushes little Payton James Estes arrived at 3:57pm on December 8, 2008!

The first reaction of everyone in the room--"he looks just like Jakson!!!"

Rory cutting the umbilical cord

The proud parents!

I just love this priceless shot Rory took of Payton laying skin-to-skin with me!

Just about half a pound bigger than Jakson!

My dear friend Heather who took care of me when I had Jakson came in a day early off her vacation to be there with me for Payton's birthday--what a blessing!

All done, feeling great, and waiting for Jakson to come see his little brother!

Rory, Payton, and I with my midwife Heather, who was just wonderful throughout the entire pregnancy and delivery!

I know these shots turned out blurry, but I think they sort of capture the essence of that moment. Jakson just couldn't wait to get in there and see Payton and they had been holding him back until I was sitting back up and ready for him. He ran all the way down the hall and straight up onto my bed--no hesitation! It was definitely a tearful moment for all of us!

Loving on his brother instead of mommy's belly! He was so excited!

FINALLY!!! I get to hold my brother! We made sure that Jakson was the first person to hold Payton, and he actually ended up holding him before even Daddy! It took quite some convincing to get him to share!

Everyone is all smiles!

Jakson checking out his baby brother--good job mom!

Sweet big brother kisses!

Another one of Rory's great shots

Daddy finally gets to hold Payton!

Mommy getting a moment with Payton after the dust had settled a bit...

First family of four photo!

Rory got this great shot of Payton holding onto his thumb after he took Payton to the nursery--what a sweet moment!

Just love that sweet face! God has truly blessed our family and we are so grateful that everyone is here and healthy!

The Last "Belly" Shots

We didn't have professional pictures made this time around, but I think Rory did a fine job capturing exactly what I would have wanted from them! This was just before Rory and I left to go to the hospital for cervical ripening the night before my induction. Jakson loved kissing and hugging my belly the whole time I was pregnant and these pictures really capture that sweet spirit perfectly! Really makes you stop and remember what a miracle it all is and what a blessing our children are to us!

Jakson's Night Out

After my shower, we decided to take Jakson out that night for some special time that was all about him. It was our last chance to have some time with just Jakson. We took him to Gattiland for some pizza and games--we all had a great time!



Mommy and Jakson before we left--he loves to give Payton hugs!



Our last family photo as a family of three! Happy but also a little sad (does that make sense to anyone else?)



Jakson riding on a "Harley"




"Yes! I won!" He is just too funny!

Jakson and Poppy playing something--very serious faces!

Check out how much Jakson has to stretch to reach the pedals! :-)

Poppy helping Jakson shoot some "bad guys" at the saloon game!

Jakson and Daddy concentrating very hard on this game!

Baby Shower #2!!

The girls from our church home group had a shower for me as well-it was at April's house and was so nice! My mom, Keva, and Rebekah were able to come up for it! As it happened to work out, the day before the shower, I was sent over to Labor & Delivery to be evaluated for high blood pressure and severe swelling. My midwife and the doctor who delivered Jakson decided that it was time to have a baby, so they have scheduled me to be induced on Monday, Dec. 8th. This shower was just two days before Payton was born-whew! Thanks so much ladies!!




The adorable block cakes with Payton's initials on it made by our very talented Paige! Each block was a different flavor of cake--yum!



April (she is having her second boy in March!), me, Paige, and Jenny



Keva, me, my mom, and Rebekah




Jennifer, me, and Renee (the college roomies back together!)

Jakson and Santa

We took Jakson to see Santa just before Thanksgiving because we didn't want to take a chance on him missing out on that! He loved it and really liked showing Santa his shirt that listed his wish for a baby brother for Christmas! :-)

Baby Shower!

Some of the girls I work with gave me a shower--we had it at one of our fav restaurants by the hospital so the girls working that night could still join us! I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time! We all had a great night hanging out together!



A belly shot before I left for the shower!



Kelly, me, Tracey, and Ashley



Tracey, me, Cyndi, Juhee, Heather, and Jennifer



Me and Tracey :-)



The awesome cake that matched Payton's room decor, made by Jennifer and her mom.







Showing off the "present" Heather gave me--you will really only understand if you have seen the movie "Baby Mama" and take into consideration we ARE labor & delivery nurses! :-)








Me and Mary with the Santa hat PeePee TeePees she gave me! :-)

Again, we had a REALLY good time--notice I am the only one with a plain coke to drink! :-)

The whole crew!! Thanks for such an awesome time girls!!