A week full of miracles

Thomas was born at 8:13am Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at the Parker Adventist Hospital. Here are a few photos of our little guy's first few hours and days.

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Me getting prepped for the c-section. I woke up at 4:30am to shower and do my hair and makeup. I cried all the makeup off before they made the first cut and sweated my hair flat by noon. I would like to say I should have slept for 30 more minutes, but I was awake anyway. It gave me something to do to keep my mind off the surgery.
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Kraig all ready to come into the surgery with me. He looks good in blue.

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First few minutes out of the womb. Although we're still waiting for his genetic panel to be completed, the nurse practitioner confirmed in the first few minutes after birth that he does have Down Syndrome.

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Meeting Thomas for the first time.

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Kraig getting some snuggle time.

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Meeting Grandma and Grandpa with the Cookie Jar in Japan for the first time via Skype. Praise technology! It was well after midnight in Japan, but Mom and Dad stayed up to meet their newest grand baby.

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Meeting his big brothers and Grandma and Grandpa in Colorado for the first time. The boys can't get enough of Thomas. I'm sure that will wear off once we're home and he's crying all the time:)

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A proud Grandma.

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A proud big brother. Andy already has a very reverent, respectful and protective love for Thomas.

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Joshy's love right now is very attentive. So attentive (and smothering), in fact, that we had to give him something to be in charge of with Thomas. So, if you come and visit be sure to ask Joshua where Thommy's binkys are. He'll know.

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Getting to know Grandpa for a few minutes.

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Andy and Joshy, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Fuzzy, Aunt Brenda, Stacy and Autumn all came to meet Tommy and to celebrate his birthday, Grandpa's birthday, and Uncle Fuzzy's birthday. Everyone got to each birthday cake. Oh wait. No. I didn't get to. I was on a clear liquid diet. Phooey. But my mom did bring me a piece the next day.

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Thomas, apparently, is under house arrest and has to wear an ankle monitor. Neither Andy nor Joshy had one at our little hospital in Heber.

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During his audiology test. He passed with flying colors! Hearing loss is often associated with Down Syndrome, so that was one of our little miracles that his hearing is perfect right now.

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Heart defects are also common in Down Syndrome children, so an echo cardiogram was ordered. Another miracle was that his little heart is PERFECT, no defects or murmurs.
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So. We'll bring Thomas home with us tomorrow. Another miracle. Every nurse and doctor that examines Thomas comments how great his muscle tone is (Downs usually presents low muscle tone), what a good nurser he is (we're still working on it, but he can do it if he wants to), and generally how good he looks.

We love Thomas! Welcome to our family, my boy!

Lighting up the darkness

I've been very spoiled the last few weeks. I've felt an outpouring of love from my husband, my family, and my friends--all for which I'm extremely grateful. And, lucky me, all of it has involved beautiful flowers to brighten my home.

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First, Kraig and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. It was Kraig's year to plan the celebration and he really outdid himself. We had dinner at two fantastic restaurants, stayed the night in a ritzy hotel sans children (Thanks, Mom and Scotty for helping us with childcare), and basically just spent two days being together remembering why we love each other so much. He also had this beautiful flower arrangement delivered to our table the night of our anniversary. It was a wonderful surprise. Our anniversary is January 28th and today, February 12, the flowers are still in bloom and beautiful!

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Second, my wonderful girlfriends threw me a surprise baby shower. The theme was "Jacqui's about to Pop!" and everything--from the invites, to the food, to the games and decorations--revolved around things popping. It was fantastic. I felt spoiled and loved. I have the best friends in the world.

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Third, one of my friends gave me a little spot of peace for my home. Since our home is small and I don't have a place to dedicate to my meditation and study, I placed this beautiful vase and flowers where I can see them from my bed (where I'm spending a lot of time these days). It warms my heart each time I look at them. I remember that even though the winter is dark, spring is just around the corner. I feel the peace she intended with the gift and truly feel loved.

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I'm a lucky girl.

Give a Day, Get a Day

The Webbs are headed to California in June for a family vacation. To help cut expenses, Kraig and I participated in Disney's new "Give a Day, Get a Day" program. Basically, as Miss Piggy explains on the commercial, you give a day of service to an associated charity and you get a free day pass to Disneyland. Count us in! We are all about free!

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The charity Kraig and I chose to support was Project Linus--they take donated homemade blankets to hospitals and shelters. Kraig and I each had to make 2 blankets. In my preparation for the baby's arrival, I had already sorted all my fabric, so I just found a piece big enough for 4 blanket tops, found scraps to coordinate 4 backs, and bought $11 worth of batting to go between them. Not bad, considering we'll save over $140 on our tickets to Disney.

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Kraig sewed his blankets himself. I just gave a few pointers. I wish this photo showed him sticking out his tongue--he does that when he concentrates :) So cute.

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I know I've raved in a previous post about my Kitchenaid mixer, but let me say a few kind words about my Bernina sewing machine. LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Just like with my Kitchenaid, it was a little pricey, but worth every penny. I've loved and appreciated my machine from the moment we bought it 4 years ago, but I love to let Kraig use my machine and listen to him rave about it too. He never fails to call it the "Cadillac of sewing machines." It makes my heart happy.