Meet our Newest Addition!!

Well sorry it has taken so long to get these pictures up, but it has been a whirlwind 4 days!!!

The quick synopsis of Will's arrival is that we went into the hospital at midnight on Wednesday night to be induced. They started my pitocin about 1 am. At 5:30 am, the doctor came in and broke my water. I received my epidural about 9:30. The nurse checked me about 10 am and said don't push b/c he'll ready to come right now!! They called the doctor in, I pushed for about 5 minutes & William Rhodes Hankins arrived into the world at 10:27 am. on August 28, 2008. He weighed a whopping 8 lbs 10 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long with a head full of hair!





After a full day of visitors, we enjoyed a good night's rest at the hospital. The hospital was very accomodating and comfortable..We thoroughly enjoyed the new renovations. JD was especially thankful for the comfy new couches!! Our plan was to stay in the hospital until Saturday and then come back to the hospital if Hurricane Gustav decided to threaten our area.

However, Friday morning we woke up to the news that Hurricane Gustav had strenghtened and was headed straight our direction. Therefore, we got an all clear from my doctor and Will's doctor to head home and start thinking about where we would go next.

We went home on Friday afternoon and got another good night's sleep (Will only woke up once during the night to eat!!) After considering all of our options on whether to stay or leave, we decided it would be best to leave on Saturday, ahead of the traffic. Our plan was to make it to San Antonio where JD has a lot of family. The traffic ended up being heavier than normal & it took 3 1/2 hours to get to Houston instead of the normal hour & 45 minutes. That far in the car is not comfortable for someone who just gave birth, so we decided to find a stopping place closer than San Antonio.

My grandma is with us and we decided to call her brother in Lake Conroe to see if we could evacuate to his house instead. Thankfully they agreed to take in the whole car load- me, JD, Anna Katharine, Will, my mom, brother, grandma & our 2 dogs!! So we are hanging out here for a few days until we figure out what the storm is going to do. Right now it looks like our house is going to be safe & we'll be able to go home in a couple days.

So all that to say, Will's first few days of life has been quite chaotic. Thankfully he has been quite a trooper through all of this! Again, sorry it has taken so long to post pictures of our new little guy, but I think I have a valid excuse.

Thursday is the Day!!

I've been meaning to post all week & haven't gotten around to it. Last week Anna Katharine started Mothers Day Out, which went very well. I have the most adorable pictures from her first day of school that I will try to post later (pictures are still on my camera).

Well the big excitement is that I'm going to be induced on Thursday!! We go into the hospital tomorrow night & they'll start a low dose of pitocin. The doctor should be there between 4-6 am & he'll check how everything is going. If all goes according to plan, baby William should arrive sometime Thursday afternoon. I'll be delivering at Cal-Cam hospital, so feel free to stop by & meet our baby boy if you are in the neighborhood. We will have wireless access at the hospital, so hopefully we'll have some pictures posted soon after his arrival for everyone not able to make it to meet him in person!

So please say a prayer for our family that everything will go smoothly and in less than 48 hours we'll have a healthy precious baby boy!

Less than 2 weeks!!!

Well the countdown for baby Will has officially begun!! I went to the doctor yesterday for my 38 week appointment. He said I have dialated slightly, but baby Will is still very high. JD asked Dr. Darby what his prediction for Will's arrival & Dr. Darby responded that he expects that we'll end up inducing before he arrives on his own. The doctor is encouraging us to induce the week of my due date to prevent the baby from getting too big, thus increasing the risk of having to have a c-section. Therefore, based on Dr. Darby's on call days it looks like we'll be inducing on either Monday, August 25th or Thursday, August 28th. However, this is all very tentative as baby Will could have a completely different agenda & decide to arrive in his own time :) All that to say, we'll have a baby boy in less than 2 weeks!

Today was a very productive day as we picked up my chair & ottoman for the nursery. Mom also finished painting the baby bed. JD started putting it together today, but was slightly distracted by the Olympic basketball game. I have high hopes that it will be completely put together tomorrow. Very exciting to finally see the nursery put together. Once things are set up a little more, I'll take some pictures to post.

Well we're about to watch Michael Phelps hopefully win his 8th gold medal than I'm off to bed. I'm helping host my cousin Lynette's wedding shower tomorrow, so I need to rest up!

Circus, Visit with Nanaw & Happy Birthday JD!!

Last Tuesday the Ringling Brothers Circus came to town! This was Anna Katharine's 2nd circus experience (we brought her last summer when they came to town). However, she was much more excited and interactive this time around. She liked the elephants & kept making a hand gesture like their trunk. We let her pick out a prize to bring home & she picked out a cute white tiger. She makes quite a ferocious growl whenever you ask her what her tiger says!

On Friday Nanaw & Aunt Tracy came over to visit. Every time we visit with Nanaw, Anna Katharine loves to play with Nanaw's walker. Well this time, Nanaw thought it would be good exercise to push Anna Katharine around on the walker. It was good for both of them because Nanaw got a little exercise & it definitely kept Anna Katharine entertained!!

On Sunday we celebrated JD entering a new decade- the big 30!!! We had lunch with all of our parents, siblings (sans Steph & Kicker since they are in New Hampshire) & friends Ryan & Kelley at the Country Club. After lunch the boys played golf (a ploy to get JD out of the house so I could set up for his surprise party!!) I was very pleased that I was able to pull off a little surprise party for him without ruining the surprise (I'm terrible about ruining surprises!!). It was a small party with a few of his high school friends. I brought my camera to the party & realized I didn't take a single picture! Oh well, everyone seemed to have fun & JD seems to be embracing his new decade very well.

Friday I'll be 38 weeks & I'll go back for a doctor visit. Last week I hadn't made any progress, so we'll see what this week holds. I've had a lot more contractions this week, so I'm assuming something is happening?! Hard to believe that in 15 days or less we'll be a family of 4!!

Guess Baby Will's Stats!

Here's a fun little game we did for Anna Katharine's arrival & we thought we would try it again. Hope you all will make your predictions. Winner gets to change the first diaper!!




Good luck Kate Mascarenhas since you were the big winner last time!!

New Car, Potty Training & the Countdown is On!!

Well this has been a busy week around the Hankins house! We decided that since we are about to have 2 car seats to maneuver & my trailblazer has a few years on it, we would upgrade to a new vehicle. It appears that we are the only people in America getting a bigger vehicle with gas prices the way they are, but it worked to our advantage in getting the dealership to make a deal with us. So Friday afternoon, we picked up our newest family vehicle- a 2008 Chevy Tahoe! JD wanted to get a suburban, but I couldn't quite bring myself to get the same vehicle that both of our mothers drive. I recognize I'm doomed for Suburbanhood at some point, but I'm not quite ready yet :)

We are also proud to announce that our precious Anna Katharine is brilliant (in case you didn't already know!). We decided that we weren't going to try & potty train her before the baby arrives, since most children digress to baby habits with the arrival of a younger sibling. However, being the independent child that she is, she has decided that she's ready to be out of diapers. For a few months she's been pulling her diapers off after she uses it. So yesterday I went ahead & bought her a "big girl potty." I took it out of the box & left it in the middle of the kitchen floor while I was putting other things away. About 5 minutes later I walked back in the kitchen & found Anna Katharine sitting on the potty. I asked her what she was doing & she said "I tee teed!" Sure enough, she had used the toilet correctly!! Of course we had to take a picture to mark the occasion!

Last but not least, we are continuing to prepare for baby Will's arrival. I had my 36 week doctor appointment on Friday & I am fully effaced. My doctor said that means that as soon as the baby drops, I should begin to dialate pretty quickly. I also had an ultrasound done & Will weighed 6lbs. 2 oz.!! They said he's growing right on schedule & appears to be a healthy little boy. It's scary to think that the countdown is now only days until his arrival!! We still have a ton to do & buy before his room is complete. I think I've finally accepted the fact that his room is not going to be complete before he arrives. I decided to take a few pictures of what we have so far.