Christmas Holiday

We are back from Christmas in Spartanburg! We had a great time and it was very relaxing. We went there 0n Friday and stayed until Tuesday. We also spent our first night away from Mac and went to Chapin for the Smith's annual Christmas party. It was fun and eventful. Ashley's brother got engaged and Denise annouced she was pregnant! Congratulations to both of them!

John Lawrence was so much fun this Christmas. He got into the spirit and left a cookie and glass of milk for Santa Claus along with having a hard time going to sleep on Christmas eve. He woke up at 6:15am and decided to go into the den all by himself (which he never does) and played with all of his toys and things that Santa brought him. He did this for about 15 mins and then came into our room. He got us up and did it all again for our sake I am sure! His favorite presents were a game called Let's Go Fishing and a Thomas the Train shaving set.

Mac was great on our trip he is sleeping longer and is really a good baby. We are so blessed and in love with our Angel.

Mac has a doctor's appointment on Friday, so I will update you on his measurements.

Mason, JL and Mac on Christmas morning

JL and Walker wearing their Thomas the train pjs and playing with new trains

Pop and JL playing with JL's favorite Christmas present (Game called Let's Go Fishing)

Mammy (Jan's mom) holding Mac

Grandma Walker (Larry's mom) holding Mac

We welcome to the world (Mac) Thomas McMurry Walker

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get this blog out. Here is the birth story.

I went in for an induction on Wednesday, November 29th at 6:00am in the morning. I started having back pain on my own at 3:00am and contractions at 4:00am. So Wednesday would have been the day regardless. We get to the hospital room at 6:45 am and I was already dilated to a 4. The doctor waited until 9:45am to start pitocin so that I would not have the baby too fast. So we waited and watched tv and relaxed before the show began. At 11:00am the pain hit me all at one time. I asked for the epidural and the nurse checked me again and I was an 8. Another hour goes by and I am at a 10 and have to wait on the doctor to come back to the hospital, so I can start to push. I only had to push for 30 minutes (with the help of a vacuum) and Mac entered the world!

He was born at 1:44pm and weighed 9lbs and 4 oz and was 21 3/4 inches long. We got to hold him for about 15 to 20 minutes then he was taken to the NICU. He ended staying in the NICU for 6 days. He got to come home on Monday afternoon around 5:00pm. I will say it was the longest six days of our lives. He had to go in the NICU for Tachypnea (he was breathing fast-respiratory distress). They say that a couple of factors caused this to happen. My labor was very quick (fluid on the lungs), had to get help from the vaccum, and he was a big boy (they have a hard time transition from mother to the outside world).

He did not loose an ounce of weight during his hospital stay and even gained a few ounces. He is home and doing wonderful.

John Lawrence is doing great with his new brother. I have been happily surprised to see how gentle and helpful JL is with Mac. He calls him baby Mac and when he talks about him or his body parts he puts the word "little" in front of it every time.

I will send more pictures later.

Thanksgiving Weekend and Update

I just wanted to update everyone on our Thanksgiving holiday and Baby Walker.

We spent the holiday here in Atlanta literally waiting on the baby to arrive. I had many phone calls to ask if I felt anything yet! Mason was off of work for a couple days and we spent all of our time enjoying John Lawrence. We ate our Thanksgiving Meal at the Carriage House which is a restaurant owned by Chateau Elan. It is a was very quaint plantation house and the food was excellent. John Lawrence was on his best behavior. I pulled out all the stops and brought Skittles and Gummy Bears. His meal consisted of Pasta, Grapes, Bread and Candy. That night we went and got our Christmas tree. I must say it is our biggest and prettiest one yet.

Friday, we got up and played and went to play Putt Putt Golf with Martha Jane. As you can tell we go often. John Lawrence absolutely loves it! JL is into his Aunt Martha Jane and believe me I am taking full advantage of it. He even says no Martha Jane do it!!! (instead of no mommy do it)

Saturday was game day-(Carolina vs. Clemson). We started out with a big homemade breakfast with all the sides. Around lunchtime Martha Jane came over and we decorated our tree and she gave us a break and played with JL. Then it was game time. Carolina won and JL took a long nap! Martha Jane made us dinner and then she and I went out and did a little shopping. It was fun!

Sunday, we played Putt Putt Golf again and played outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was a nice way to end the holiday weekend.

On to baby news!
Monday was my doctor's appointment. I was really looking forward to seeing if I had progressed any from the week before. I was now dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. The doctor thought I would go this week so he made the decision to go ahead and induce me on Wednesday. I can't tell you how happy I was to hear those words. As of tomorrow I will be 39 weeks and I can't believe I made it this far. I am so ready to meet this baby and find out the sex and watch John Lawrence interact with his new brother or sister. I go to the hospital tomorrow at 6:00am. I will post pictures as soon as possible (thinking Friday). I know many of you will get phone calls as soon as we find out the sex and stats. Someone will call you don't worry!

Middle of November

I have not posted in two weeks and my the time is flying. I am surprised because the count down is on to meet Baby Walker and the time has not slowed to a stand still yet. I am 37 weeks as of yesterday and I will admit that I am impatient at this point considering that John Lawrence would be 2 weeks old at this time. Hopefully it will happen soon. We feel like life is on hold at the moment and then we look at JL and remember that for him life keeps going very quickly.

Here is what has happened the last 2 weeks.

Dad and Diane came for a visit. They had 2 days off of school and decided to come to Atlanta for the weekend. We had a great time. Diane, JL and I did some Christmas shopping and Dad and Mason played golf. We had some good meals and just really enjoyed each other. John Lawrence loved Dad and changed his name to Grandaddy instead of Grandpa. He thought it was fun to tickle Dad's feet and jump/wrestle with him the entire time. So, they had a lot of bonding time together.












John Lawrence's preschool had their Thanksgiving Feast. Parents were invited to attend and bring some food to share. We were asked to bring the dessert so Mason made his famous Banana Pudding. It was a hit! John Lawrence was excited to see us there and Walker was also at the luncheon which was an added bonus! They were so excited to see each other at school. They go to the same school, but are in different classes.























The weather was beautiful last week so we took advantage of it and took the boys to the park two of the days. It was great!!! On Saturday, Mason and Eric took the boys to play Putt Putt. They loved it and then went to McDonalds afterward.













Sunday, my friend Katie invited us over for lunch and made us Lasagna, Salad, Bread and Banana pudding. It was a great meal and her daughter Anna Kate and JL got to play together. Thanks Katie and David! It was great seeing you both!

This week the weather has not been as nice. It rained all day on Wednesday so we went to the mall. The mall is ready for Christmas! The decorations are up and so is Santa Claus. We rode the train, waved to Santa, ate lunch and got a cookie. Even did some window shopping for awhile.

Halloween Pictures

Here are some Halloween pictures. We went trick or treating with the Pangles. The boys had a great time!

End of October

It is almost the end of October and it can't come soon enough. We had a nice relaxing weekend at home and really enjoyed it.

Friday, John Lawrence and I went to a Halloween party with the playgroup. It was fun. JL enjoyed dressing up in his Indian costume. He did not want to keep his hair/feather wig on for very long, but I still got some pictures. The group took some pictures as well of everyone; however, I did not get them with my camera. If I get them through email I will come back and post it later.



Friday night I went with Martha Jane to the outlet malls to find her some new work clothes. We were successful and she got some really great things. It was nice to get out and shop, but I could definately feel the back pain by the end of the trip.

Saturday was relaxing and quiet. We had big plans to work in the yard all weekend, but after a trial run on Wednesday of pulling weeds and trimming back I realized I could not do it and remain pregnant. We did some small projects around the house and got organized for you know who (baby). Saturday night Martha Jane cooked us a wonderful meal. Stuffed Shells, Salad, Bread, Wine and Chocolate Cake! John Lawrence helped her make the cake and cupcakes! He loved it!!! So you can imagine what he ate for supper that night. We lost count after his 5 mini cupcake! Thanks for dinner Martha Jane- It was wonderful!





Sunday- were we up in the 6:00 hour. I just don't understand why kids still wake up at the same time even if the time changes! Just kidding. We did some yard work- or should I say Mason did yardwork and I supervised. We knocked out some of it and the rest we will tackle during the next couple of weeks. We also tried to take pictures of John Lawrence and my belly, but he would not cooperate. I think we got 3 pictures so will try again in the next few days.



I will post again after we take some pictures on Halloween night!

Girls/Family Weekend

We went to Columbia this weekend for a family trip to visit college friends. We had a great time! There are 6 of us girls that were roommates since our freshman year in college. We are all married and 5 out of 6 of us have kids. Between us all there are 9 kids and 2 more of the way!!!!












We got into town on Friday night and hung out and then the women and kids went to the zoo the next day while the men went to play golf and watch football.

That night the girls went to eat at Kyoto's (Japanese steakhouse) to celebrate my baby's arrival. After dinner we came back to Ashley's parents house and we ate cake and I opened gifts. It was such a nice weekend and was great to share it with Mason and John Lawrence. We all love going to the Smith's house for a weekend. We call it a Bed and Breakfast! Thank you to the Smith's for always making us feel welcome!

We are home now and will be staying close until Baby Walker makes his or her appearance. I am 34 weeks as of Wednesday and the count down is on.

Getting Ready for Halloween

We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday at Burt's Farm (Dawsonville, GA -about an hour away) in the mountains. The weather was perfect! JL loved the hay ride and looking at all of the tractors. We also had a picnic lunch near a stream there as well. JL had to get a pumpkin for Walker and one for Henry, so ended up leaving with 5 pumpkins!!!

John Lawrence will be a Little Indian Boy for Halloween. I will post pictures of him in his costume closer to the date. He is too cute in it!!!!

Belly Shots

Here are some new pictures of my belly. I will be 32 weeks on Wednesday. I really don't know how I can get any bigger, but I am sure within the last 8 weeks it is possible. I have a doctors appt. on Tuesday and from this point I will start going every 2 weeks. We are really getting excited about the new arrival and can't wait to find out if it is a girl or boy!

End of September

Not much to update but here are some things we have done in the past week and weekend.

John Lawrence got his first big boy haircut. My regular girl was not available, so we went to a Great Clips and boy did they cut it. It looks cute and people say he looks more like Mason now.





We took John Lawrence swimming in an indoor pool near our house called Bogan Park. I sat out, but Mason and JL had a great time swimming. He really enjoyed swimming this summer; therefore, we want to try and keep it up this winter.





Over the weekend we went to play Putt Putt Golf. It was a great course! Mason and I had as much fun as JL did. It was set under the trees- and so shaded, so it felt at least 10 degrees cooler than it really was.

School is going great! I can not believe how easy a transition it has been for us this year. What a relief. I can tell he enjoys it and is learning too!!!!

I am 30 weeks pregnant as of yesterday!!! I have been looking forward to this time for awhile. Only 10 weeks or less to go. If it is like last time only 5 weeks to go. This weekend JL is going to Pop and GranJan's house so we can get the nursey set up. Can you believe we have waited so long to do this? I guess you do get more relaxed the second time.

I will email pics of my belly next time and maybe some of the nursery once it is completed.

Vacation in South Carolina

We are back from our vacation in South Carolina! This time John Lawrence and I went to the Beach with Mom, Ron, Nina and Kathryn. Mason had to stay in Atlanta and work. We got there on Tuesday and left Friday.


We went to The Grand Cirque (which is like the Las Vegas Cirque de Soleil Show) but on a smaller scale. John Lawrence sat for 2 hours straight and loved it. Especially when the dogs and cats performed. The next day we went to the Aquarium. He really enjoyed seeing the colorful fish and large sharks. Other days, were spent time by the pool and hot tubs.





On Friday, we left and went to visit my friend Ashley and her new baby -Lauren. She is a week old and absolutely precious. JL played with her older brother Luke and had a ball! We stayed there for the day then headed down to Beaufort. My other friend, Jenny had her baby boy Hudson about 2 1/2 weeks ago so we went to visit them as well. Hudson is the "King of the House" after coming into the family of 3 older sisters. He is a beautiful baby!





We left Beaufort on Saturday and I will say it feels great to be home. That is my last car trip longer than 3 hours until after the baby is born!!! I could definitely feel the pain of sitting and riding by Saturday night.

I have a doctor's appt tomorrow and they will be checking my glucose/sugar. I have to drink that awful drink 1 hour before the appt and I will have to give blood as well. I will post another belly picture next week when I turn 30 weeks. It is amazing how much I have grown since the last picture at 24 weeks.

Labor Day Holiday and First Day of School

We had a nice weekend! It was spent at home enjoying the nice weather and John Lawrence.

We went to Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (INK) on Saturday morning. It is a children's museum that features a Doctor's Office, Dentist Office, Beauty Parlor, Grocery Store, Train tables and display, and Firetruck exhibits to name a few. They are all exhibits that are designed to be kid friendly. JL got to do lots of exploring and really enjoyed the train areas.
























Today, was the first day of school. JL is really into the tv show Dora the Explorer so he was really happy to be wearing his backpack. He only cried for a short time and then he was ready to get down and play. His teacher said he had a great first day! When I picked him up the first thing he said was "Fun School" He wanted to show me the playground and I asked if he wanted to come back on Thursday and play on it. He said yes!!!! I am really glad he enjoyed school!!!!

Weekly Update

Here is our weekly update!

We went to Mason's high school football game on Saturday (that was aired on ESPN). It was a big deal in the town and we had a lot of fun. It was family day so we got to enjoy activities before the game started. We saw lots of family as well. Here is a picture of John Lawrence, Walker and Preston (cousin).





On Monday, we had a playdate at our house and of course the Pangles came over as well as my friend Jan and her son Christian and daughter Jaden.

On Tuesday, we went to the Jungle Jump to let the kids jump and play and blow off some energy.

On Wednesday, we went to John Lawrence's school to meet his two teachers and classmates. We stayed for about an hour so he could get a feel for the classroom and his new surroundings. School starts on Tuesday! I think I am more excited than JL is!!!

This weekend we are actually staying home and celebrating Mason's birthday with a nice dinner and of course watching lots of College Football!

Pictures of Pregnant Belly at 24 weeks

Here are two pictures taken of me at 24 weeks. I will update again closer to 30 weeks.

Pictures from Vacation

The Pavilion @ Myrtle Beach on a train ride

Back porch of Beach House

Putt Putt Golf

At Grandma Hunt's House

On the Beach