Clay's First Bath @ Home

SOKY Fair

On Friday, July 25th, Gordon, Ruth, the kids, Stacy, and I went to the Southern Kentucky (SOKY) Fair at C.W. Lampkin Park in Bowling Green. It was entertaining and it made for a good opportunity to get out of the house and walk around a little. We watched a demolition derby, walked the midway, and got cotton candy. Good times.

Joel

Bringing Clay Home

We brought Clay home from the hospital on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Happy Birthday Clay Daniel Ham

Clay Daniel Ham was born at 1:39 p.m. on Monday, July 21st, 2008 in Bowling Green, KY. He weighed 9 lbs. 7 ozs. and measured 21 inches long (and he was 2 weeks early).

Due to his size, we scheduled Stacy to be induced 2 weeks earlier than Clay's due date. Stacy's labor went okay, starting Sunday night after being given some medication and progressing faster after the doctor "broke" her water Monday morning. Stacy did a great job pushing, but needed some help at the end to get our BIG boy out. Our doctor and the nurses did a great job of taking care of Stacy and Clay throughout. Clay is doing well and appears to be healthy in all respects. Stacy is recovering nicely and looking forward to going home. We should leave the hospital tomorrow morning (Wednesday, July 23rd).

Stacy's parents, Gordon & Ruth Leeman, have been in town since Saturday and have been taking care of Edith while we've been in the hospital. We're so grateful for their help and support and look forward to spending the rest of this week and weekend with them.

Grandma Ham will be arriving on Sunday, July 27th to spend some time with us. At some point Grandpa Ham will come down to visit as well. We look forward to our time with them.

Stacy and I are so thankful for everyone's prayers and support. Our God is so good to us everyday! We look forward to where He leads us from here. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Joel

In addition to the photos I've posted in our Picasa Web Album, I've uploaded some videos to our YouTube page. Click on the links to be taken to each site.

Fun Friday

We had a fun Friday afternoon and evening. Stacy painted Edith's fingernails and toenails, we played on the bed and on the living room floor, and, after supper, we went for a dip (in the pool) at dusk.

I uploaded some videos of our fun time at the pool. Visit our YouTube page to see them.

Joel

Please?

Edith has mastered the language of sign. Okay, mastered might not be the right word, but she has learned to say "please" using sign language. We finally cracked through her stubborn little brain and helped her make the connection that "please" means you get things a lot quicker and usually with a smile and some praise from mom & dad.

She has also started letting on that she knows when it is bedtime. She cries and clings to you for all she's worth. She cries less than she clings, so we don't mind really. We get a few extra hugs at bedtime. Thankfully, she doesn't fight sleep too much and, usually, gives in and goes to sleep with little "fanfare."

We're excited to see how she does with her little brother. Many precious moments are to come, I'm sure.

Joel

P.S. You can see more videos of Edith and, eventually, the rest of the family by clicking YouTube.

Baby Update

Stacy had her last doctor’s appointment today. The doctor confirmed that we are good to go for Sunday night/Monday morning. He said that Stacy is dilated to almost a 3 and is approximately 75% effaced. So there you go.

If you would, please pray that Stacy will be able to get the rest that she needs before Sunday. She’s been getting bad heart burn and/or acid reflux at night, along with all the other aches and pains that come with having a gigantic baby inside you, so sleep hasn’t been coming and staying as easily as it could.

Also, pray for safe travel for Gordon & Ruth as they drive down on Friday night/Saturday morning. We are excited to be able to spend a whole week with them!

Pray for wisdom for the doctors and nurses that will be taking care of Stacy and Clay.

Pray that I will be a good husband, supporting and encouraging Stacy through this delivery.

Pray for all these things and more. Thank you.

Joel

Weekend Fun

We had a lot of fun this weekend. We wanted to enjoy our time together as a family, because we will have company for the next two or three weekends.

We didn't do anything too crazy; went to the pool, grilled out, bought Edith some sandals, went to church, etc. Stacy made wonderful food, as usual, and we played a lot on the living room floor. Edith's walking around pretty good now and can't wait to show off her skills to Grandma & Grandpa Leeman and Grandma & Grandpa Ham.

We hope the Lord blessed you with a great weekend as well. We'll keep you updated on baby news as it comes in.

Joel

Edith - The Mover and Shaker

Ham Baby Update

Hello Family & Friends! The blog has been sitting unchanged for too long, so I figured I'd post some baby news.

Stacy, Edith, and I went to see the doctor yesterday for a routine appointment. At the previous visit, the doctor had us schedule an ultrasound, because Stacy was measuring larger than "normal." So, we had the ultrasound first and got to see Clay up close and personal. He looked a little squished in there and, if you've seen Stacy lately, you know why. After the ultrasound we met with Stacy's doctor and talked baby/delivery. Stacy is between 36 1/2 weeks and 37 weeks, but Clay is measuring at 40 weeks, so he's a big boy. We had already talked to the doctor about inducing Stacy earlier than her due date. He confirmed that that would be a wise thing to do; especially if we want to have Clay naturally vs. C section. So, we talked dates and settled on Sunday, July 20th. Yeah, I know, that's less than 2 weeks away! We will go into the hospital Sunday afternoon or evening and they will administer medication to "soften" Stacy's cervix. By Monday morning we should be rockin and rollin and having ourselves a baby! Needless to say, we're pretty excited that he'll be here a little early!

Stacy's parents, Gordon and Ruth Leeman, will be coming down that weekend, so they have the grueling task of taking care of Edith. ;) We get their help for the whole week and following weekend. Then Grandma Ham (and maybe Grandpa) will be coming down and staying with us to help until we kick them out. ;) I'll take a little bit of time off from work, here and there, when Gordon and Ruth and Mom and Dad are here. Then, when the grandparents have left, I'll take a few days off so we can spend time together on our own. I can't wait!

So, that's the news so far. I'll try to keep you posted on any further developments. I'm sure I've left out some vital information, so please feel free to ask any questions you may have. I'll do my best to answer them or make something up. :P

As they say in Kentucky, "We love y'all."

Joel