Toone Family

Benson Clark Toone has made his grand entrance! I would have posted sooner than this, but the internet connection at the hospital was rather choosey about which sites it would link to and which it would not. Apparently my blog didn't make the cut; I could view it, but I couldn't sign in to make a posting. Anyway, here are the details: We went to the hospital Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. We got admitted and got me hooked up to all the monitors and stuff. After all the routine questions and paperwork, I was wheeled into the OR. I received an epidural, and the nurses started prepping me for surgery. The doctors and Logan came in a few minutes later, and just a few minutes after that (at 7:47 a.m.), Benson was born! When they held him up for me to see, it was obvious why I felt so big. HE was big! I was later informed that he weighed in at 9 lbs. 7 oz. My other kids were 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 7 lbs. 11 oz. Let me tell you, those extra two pounds make a difference! Anyway, I ...

I allow one pregnancy photo per pregnancy. It is always taken in front of the front door right before we go to the hospital. When you look at this picture, please keep in mind that the child inside of me weighs nine and a half pounds...

I got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Benson in the hospital -- time I will always look back on and treasure.

To be truthful, Logan isn't any more excited about having a boy than he would have been to have a girl. The bottom line is, he's just plain excited! He adores having a son...

It's hard to believe that at 16 months, Lily is now a big sister! She's not quite old enough to understand what having a new baby in the house means, but she does like to say "Baby! Baby!" over and over again while trying to "pat" (read: smack) Benson on the head.

Amanda LOVES being the big sister! She constantly asks if she can hold Benson and really wants to be a good helper (which she is -- most of the time).

Here's Benson right before we left the hospital. I must say that he fills out his "going home" outfit quite well!

I realize that this is a lot of posts for one day, but I have to record the extra-sensory experience I'm having before it fades. Remember how I said the other day that my ears felt like they were full of peanut butter? Well, those days are over. I went back to my doctor yesterday to have my ears flushed out. At first he said that it looked like they were still too plugged up and that I would have to do the drops for another two days. I'm not sure what look came across my face when he said that, but it must have been pretty pitiful. He took one glance at me and said, "Well, you managed to get over here with your kids and everything; that warrants at least an effort." So he went and got this little machine that heats up water and squirts it through this little spinny-brush. As it turned out, he was able to clear both ears. As soon as the second ear was unplugged, I had one of the weirdest experiences of my life. Amanda was sitting on the paper-covered exam tab...

What a sweet Valentine Logan is! He really does dote on all his girls. : ) When we came downstairs this morning, he had set out valentines for each of us. I made a special Valentine's Day breakfast for the girls (I realize that you supermoms do stuff like this on a whim; for mid-level-moms like myself, this took some thought). Tonight we will share a special Valentine's dinner together -- and hopefully Logan and I can get the girls to bed early enough to allow us to watch a movie or something. It has been my opinion for some time that if you can adjust your idea of love and romance to fit your reality, you will be very happy -- as we are!

Logan got me this FANTASTIC footbath for Valentine's Day. Incidentally, both girls got to try it out before I did (isn't that just the way it goes?). Anyway, this is Lily enjoying the heated, jetted, effervescent deliciousness.

I realize that it's more fun to see pictures and videos on blogs rather than to be subjected to senseless blather. However, it takes a lot of effort to get decent photos in the first place; edit them; download them; condense them, if necessary; and then come up with captions and explanations for everything. Video is even more of an ordeal. I pledge that while I am sitting in the hospital after the baby is born, I will catch up on these tasks! However, the days I have left before he arrives can't be spent on editing photos and stuff. I'm already a naughty pet for devoting this precious time (both children are napping) to blogging instead of dish-washing, laundry-folding, bed-making, thank-you-card-writing, or any of the other million things that need to be done! I think I am officially in the nesting stage. I had a burst of energy yesterday to wash all the baby's clothes and blankets, set up his bassinet and organize all his acoutrements (diapers, lotions, wipes, e...

Why is it that when you get to the stage of pregnancy I'm at, people make comments about you popping? Is everyone aware that pregnant women don't pop? On Christmas Eve, Logan and I stopped at a gas station before going to a family Christmas party. While there, I decided to get a bottle of water. There was a lady standing right in front of the refrigerated case of bottled water. As I tried to edge around her to get my water, she exclaimed (not using her "indoor voice"), "Whoa, you're just about ready to pop!" (Please imagine the way it sounds when somebody with no teeth utters this phrase. This woman definitely had no teeth.) This was on December 24th -- a full two months from my due date of February 25th. The inevitable next question came: "When are you due? Any day now?" The response that I wasn't due for another two months pretty much sent her into orbit (not quiet orbit). "You're going to explode!" PREGNANT PE...