My Little President.

Exactly three years ago at this time I was waking Willie up telling him, "I think it's time." Time to go to the hospital, that is. I remember asking him to play board games with me to try and make the time go by faster. Because I really wanted to wait as long as possible before we headed to the hospital. This all started at about 4:00 a.m. He was tired, and at one point looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Stephanie, you are in labor. You should not be wanting to play games." Then, I think he rolled over and went back to sleep. Thanks for the support Willie!

I called the doctor's office at about 8:00 and the nurse said that I needed to come in, but to come to the clinic and the doctor would check me first. We took our time getting ready and then headed to the hospital around 9:00. When the doctor checked to see if I was dilated, he looked at me and said. "Well, I've got good news, and I've got bad news. Bad news is, you're not dilated any more than you were last week. Good news is...[creepy pause] I just broke your water.  I headed up to labor and delivery, soaked in my own fluids, feeling like I did in 2nd grade when I peed my pants while walking home from school, but that's a different story.

Several hours passed and I was feeling great! Sometime that afternoon the nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural. I told her that I really wanted to wait as long as possible, until the pain was unbearable. She told me that the anethesiologist was going to be leaving soon and if I decided I wanted one later it may take awhile for them to get to me, and by then it may be too late. So, I agreed to getting the epidural, and it was all done within 30 minutes. Let me tell you, it was fantastic! Even though what I had felt so far was nothing I couldn't handle. Hell, I have had menstrual cramps worse than what those contractions felt like. I definitely felt a lot more relaxed. At this point I hadn't changed much, I think the most I was dilated to was a 4 or 5. At about 6 the doctor told me that since I wasn't progressing and the baby hadn't dropped, that it would probably be best just to go ahead an do a c-section. Which secretly, I wanted all along. I'm lazy, and would rather not have to go through all that pushing and hard work.

Carter James Henderson was born at 6:45 p.m. on February 19th, 2007. He was 9 lbs. 12 ozs. and 21 1/2 inches long. Yes, you read that right. almost 10 pounds. No wonder he didn't want to even attempt to come out naturally.

February 19th that year just happened to be President's Day. The day that I hoped Carter would come into the world on. When I first started thinking about what I would name my children, long before Willie and I even got together, I decided I wanted to name my baby girl Reagan. Then, I changed my mind and decided I liked the name Kennedy. Funny, both presidents. So, I decided I was going to go with a president's theme for my children's names, whether my future husband liked that idea or not. When we found out we were having a boy, we decided on Carter James. After James "Jimmy" Carter. Little did we know our little bundle of joy would grace us with his presence on President's Day. So it stuck. And 3 years later, his sister McKinlee "Kinlee" Marie was born, and named after William McKinley. Of course, as any mother would, I believe my little man has the potential to become president, and he like peanuts. So him and Jimmy have a lot in common.

Happy birthday little man! These past three years with you have been the greatest time of my life. Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy love you VERY much!