One Week Old Photo

Evan's First Christmas

We took Evan to my mom's house and my grandmother's house for Christmas. I know some people thought we were crazy, but I worked on Thanksgiving, and there was no way I was gonna miss Christmas too. Everything went really well and everyone loved meeting Evan and passing around our best Christmas Gift ever.

Evan and Santa

We were released from the hospital on Christmas Eve but not before Santa could find him! (don't judge my appearance, i just had a baby!)

first baby photo

Here is Evan's First photo.
Our Big Boy

Evan has arrived

Our sweet lil boy is here! Born Dec 21, 2009 @ 547am. 9lbs 1oz; 20 1/2 inches long.

So the story of labor is kind of a funny one. I was supposed to work the hospital Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Well I worked Friday, and I had a horrible day. 9 months pregnant and being as big as I was and working on a Neuro floor does not work! That night after work I could barely walk, I was having some severe cramps! I knew there was no way I was gonna make it Sat and Sun so I called in sick. Saturday I had some symptoms and I knew I would be having him soon. Then Sunday (keep in mind I was supposed to be working) we decided to see this year's blockbuster film Avatar. We went to the 4 o'clock 3D show. So, about halfway through the 3 hour movie, I started having painful contractions. But I liked the movie so much, that I didn't want to leave! So I made it all the way through the movie before I eventually told Ron that we need to go to the hospital. We left the movie and went home to get our hospital bag. Ron immediately started shaking and started dialing friends and family. When we got home I went and got the bags and wondered where Ron was. So I grabbed the luggage and went and sat in the car, in labor, by the way. I sat and sat wondering where Ron was. Then I heard banging around in the attic. I was furious at the time and wondered what in the world Ron could possibly need in the attic at a time like this. Apperently, Ron needed to fix the holes in the fence, so when we would be at the hospital while people were watching our house and dogs, the animals wouldn't run away through the holes. While he was patching up the holes in the fence (and I was hauling the luggage, waiting in the car, and BEING IN LABOR) Ron's phone broke, so he needed to crawl in the attic to get his back-up cell phone so he could finish calling everyone. We eventually got to the hospital and were accompanied by my mom, her boyfriend David, Camille and her husband Chris, and Jake. Ron's parents drove in from Memphis as soon as they got the call. And Jake's dad Mike came and waited with us for Evan's arrival. After several hours the Dr's decided we needed a C-section for the safety of the baby, so that is what we did. All I can really remember was staring into Ron's eyes and hearing the Dr's say "you are going to feel some pressure" then "Oh My! What a Huge Baby!" then the best sound ever...... "Waaaahhhhh!!!!!"

Evan's Room

Here is the progress on Evan's Room

37 Week Checkup

Today I went for my first "intimate checkup" as I would like to call it. The Dr said I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced! I am so excited! It finally feels like the finish line is near! As she was checking me, she also said "this baby's head is Low" Which means he is head down, which is good news, but I knew he was head down just by the way he is always kicking my right side of my stomach. But the weird thing is, I am carrying him so high, so I do not understand how his head is low? Plus I have not "dropped" yet, so we shall see. She ended our appointment with "Well I will see you next week, unless you go into labor" Ahhh!!! Exciting!

Baby Shower @ P.F. Changs

P. F. Changs Shower

A few of my closest friends got together and threw us a couples shower at one of my favorite restaurants P.F. Changs. It was so exciting to have MOST of all my favorite people in the world in one place (my sister and brother were not in town) It was very special for us and was surprised to see yet again, a table full of gifts. Most everyone there had already given gifts at the other showers and decided to bring us even more. And lets not forget, More Cake! This time in Ron's honor, it was a Colonel Reb cake! This kid had better be prepared to love Ole Miss Football!

Baby Shower @ Deborah's House

Baby Shower @ Deborah's House

My friends Deborah and DeShea from the beauty shop where I had worked, wanted to throw me a shower. Deborah volunteered her home for the shower, and WOW! what a wonderful and elegant venue! Her house was beautifully decorated for Christmas and but she also had a separate baby blue Christmas themed tree and decor. She used her china and crystal and I really felt grown up and elegant. The food was so pretty it was almost scary to eat it! But you can see how big I am, it didn't take me long to get over that!
Of course I was spoiled by both hostesses and all the ladies from the salon. I have never seen so many gifts! We really did have a fun and beautiful day. Ron was also happy because I was sent home with a ton of leftovers. I am such a lucky girl to have so many caring and thoughtful friends in my life!

Baby Shower @ Gail's House

Click here to view photos

Halloween in Atl

The weekend of Halloween we drove to Atlanta to see my sister and her kids. It was so good to see the kids again. We had such a good time. My sister was so excited to talk to the belly and make sure Evan would recognize her voice. It was really cute. We didn't think we would dress up for Halloween, we just thought we would take the kids. But they wanted us to dress up. We did not bring any costumes, so we had to get creative and make last minute costumes. I was a candy corn. A really BIG candy corn!

David's Star Wars Birthday

For David's Birthday we wanted to do something special, so since one of his favorite phrases is "Use the Force," we decided that Star Wars was the way to go. And who doesn't want to be Darth Vader? So we planned for weeks and ordered our costumes and yesterday the day was finally upon us. We planned so when he got off work, no one would be home but only a Darth outfit and an envelope with strict instructions to be dressed and ready by 1800. At that time he would receive a call from the Sith Lord (Camille). She called him via his "communicator" and gave him directions to await for the Death Star (limo) to arrive. Then with the useful tips from the Sith Lord, he figured out the clues to his first destination, Kroger in Madison, where he found C3P0 (Ron) on the beer isle. They then both returned to the Death Star and C3P0 informed Darth that a member of his Empire was captured and they must go to their 2nd destination to release him. David/Darth knew immediately that it must be his Storm Trooper Jake @ the Madison Police Department. But being men, and only concerned with how they were going to get their beers open, they didn't even notice the limo was headed the complete opposite direction towards Canton! Thankfully they did not get too far and rerouted the Death Star in time to release the handcuffed Storm Trooper Jake. Jake then notified Darth that the police confiscated his weapons and they needed to head to Madison Walmart to buy a new weapon. Yoda (Jen) was awaiting for them in the weapon isle (AKA Toys), but not before running into friends while wearing her ridiculous green face and outfit. It's Wal-Mart for crying out loud, of course you are going to run into someone you know while looking like crap. But I digress. After hinting that maybe Darth needs to head towards the Planet Tatooine, to the famous cantina from the original star wars movies, we headed to Applebees where we met up with Anakin Skywalker's true love Queen Amidala (Gena). Every time Darth met with a member of his party, Star Wars trivia questions were asked (which I must say, David was not great at answering). Even though he did not get the questions right, he still got his gifts from everyone. It was after all HIS birthday. After Applebees Padme Amidala then entered the coordinates to her home planet of Naboo (Nana's House) via the captain/ limo driver (whom by the way, was the best sport about all the craziness that is our family, he may have had as much fun as we did). At the planet Naboo, we had the traditional birthday song, cake and of course more presents. We were limited on time so we could not attack the star wars themed pinata as planned, so we opted to take the pinata with us and whack it later. Our last destination lead us to downtown Jackson to the Planetarium (it is sadly the only spacey thing to do in Jackson) to watch the stars and a movie about the planets. It was a fun night that we all hope David will remember forever.

Evan's 3D Debut

Here is the 3D video broken up into 4 segments

Evans 3D Debut

From Evan4d_1

Oxford Baby Shower

Our dear friends Chris and Charlotte threw us a baby shower in Oxford. They invited all of their friends, some that Ron has known for years and some who we had just met or barely knew. And here's the weird thing, they all showed and with gifts! What a wonderful group of friends! And of course Chris and Char have already spoiled this future Ole Miss baby. Thank you so much Chris and Char for throwing us such a fun party! BTW the Ole Miss football game was on during the shower, so we would open gifts during commercial breaks and the others would take shots every time Ole Miss scored!

Canton Flea Market

My mom and Grandmother decided to participate in the Canton Flea Market this year. My mom started making beautiful jewelry and wanted to have a venue to start selling. Turns out the Canton Flea Market crowd was not exactly her clientele. All anyone wanted to buy were hand cut pumpkins out of wood with their last names painted on the side. My mom had ONE sale all day! And yes the only sale was a pair of PUMPKIN earrings! out of all the beautiful pieces! Well now we know and will never do it again!

Camille's Wedding (Sept 19th)

My sister was married on Sept 19th 2009 at the Jiggett House in Canton MS at 500pm. The ceremony was beautiful and a very emotional one as well. I had no idea that my new brother-in-law was such a big bag of tears! Seeing him, with his wet eyes, staring directly into my sister's eyes, vowing to love her forever, for better or worse, really did a number on me. I am so happy for them and had such a great time at their wedding. I wish them many years of happiness together.

It's A ...... Baby Party (Aug 15th)

Exported Videos

When we returned from our Family Reunion, We had the big sonogram to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. We had the tech put the results in an envelope, and I immediately took the envelope to a bakery to get rid of it. I ordered a cake for our party and told the baker to look in the envelope and to dye the inside of the cake Pink/Blue depending on what the envelope said. On the day of the party my closest friends and family came to find out with us if we were having a boy or a girl. It was such a fun party and I was so greatful for everyone that came. I was honored to share the moment with those whom I love.

Family Reunion Gatlinburg TN (July 27- Aug 1)

I have decided to update my blog and fill in where I left off. So the Moenkhaus Family had a reunion in Gatlinburg TN, and boy was it wonderful! My grandparents like to gather the family together every couple of years so we can all see each other.They rented a huge mansion cabin that housed all 18 of us comfortably.We had such a great time. My whole family was there including some of the kids that I have not seen in years. I also enjoyed seeing our kids (AKA: Gabi and Christian) meeting and playing with our little cousins whom they may or may not have remembered. Ron and I loved the nature trails and exploring the mountains. We tried very hard not to fall for the ultra touristy stuff. Then on the last day of the scheduled vacation Ron and I took a short drive to North Carolina to see the Biltmore Estate. We were in love with North Carolina from mile marker number 1. It was such a beautiful mountain drive and the Estate was unbeliveable! It took us 3 hours to walk all the way through the house and that wasn't the whole house! It was just the part they let you see! Then we walked in the gardens for hours with our shoes off and talked like we did when we first dated. We had such a wonderful vacation, One that was needed very much.

15 week update

So today I am 15 weeks. I feel OK but I am having more and more headaches. I have also been going through a dark period in my life for the past 6 weeks or so with work, but I am glad to announce those days are over and now I have no where to go but up. I also get a few vacations coming up here in the next few weeks which I'm sure will completely refresh me. Tomorrow I leave on our annual trip to Destin I have tried to take every year with my friend Windy and her family. We have been doing this since before we could drive, like 8th grade. We always have so much fun, so I am so excited. Then when I come back I work a few days with my old crew back on 4 South. Then off to Gatlinburg for my family reunion. When we return from that trip, we meet with our Dr. and find out if we are having a boy or a girl! So a very exciting month to overshadow such a gloomy time in my life. I can not wait.

Pictures From Camping

Camping the Bogue Chitto

Video of Ron's Rope Dive from Cliff

2 Year Anniversary

June 23, 2009 was our 2 year anniversary. So in honor of our anniversary we decided to go camping at the Bogue Chitto Water Park in McComb MS. Now I know this sounds ludicrous being preg and all. But I am an outdoorsy kinda girl, I can handle it. We did end up having alot of fun. The only gripe I would have would be the bugs and the 100 degree temps during the day. But thankfully there was a trail very close by that lead to the sand bar and that is where we spent a majority of our time, IN the River! We also rented inner tubes and floated or "tubed" the Bogue Chitto. It took about 2 1/2 hours and had some very memorable moments. Ron even found a rope swing from a tall embankment and flipped into the water! I have a video of it I will try to get it on here. I also got a ton of pictures, who knew Miss could be so beautiful?

We're Pregnant!

I am so excited to start a baby blog, and my sister made me the super cute header! Thanks Camille. So as of Friday June 19th, we are 12 weeks pregnant. We are sliding right along into the 2nd Trimester. I am so excited because the "morning sickness" and food aversions are finally so much better. I am also not AS tired. I am still waiting for the cravings to hit. I never really feel satisfied when I eat, so here's to hoping.

New Orleans for Lou's Birthday

New Orleans Lous Birthday