Gavin Thomas is here!!!

Because Christmas is getting closer and closer, and I just kept getting bigger and bigger, we decided to induce labor 6 days early (the baby was due on Christmas day).  Of course, this happened to be the day of the biggest snowstorm we've had so far!  Ronnie and I trudged through the snow this morning at 6 a.m. to get to the hospital.  Once we got here and checked in, they started me on pitocin at 7:30.  The doctor arrived at about 8:30 and broke my water.  The contractions began kicking in right away, but really weren't too strong until about 9:30.  After a couple hours of hard labor, Gavin Thomas arrived at 11:22 a.m!   He was so much larger than we anticipated-- a full 8 pounds!  The doctor thought that he would only be 6 1/2 pounds!  He was 20 inches long, and of course, I think he's the most beautiful baby in the world!  He is very alert and is keeping me up at all hours of the night already.  Whew, we have a busy couple months ahead. 

Probably the highlight of the day for me was when Brayden and Landon came to visit.  Brayden was SO EXCITED to sit and hold the baby, who he adamantly calls "Dylan".  Ha ha, that should cause for some confusion.  =)    Landon enjoyed poking his head and climbing around the hospital room.  I will be posting more pictures as we take them.  Thanks for all of your prayers.  God has truly blessed our family with a beautiful gift just in time for Christmas!  I'll post some pictures tomorrow...