Simon Says: Slideshow

Mom was so good to me and Simon last night. She got very little sleep and let daddy sleep through one of the night feedings, so I am feeling pretty good this morning. Mom is sleeping now while Nana B. and I tend to Simon's post-feed time...which basically means we hold him, cuddle him, and let him sleep in his new room (which he is doing right now). He had a pretty good first night. He only fussed for a little while around midnight. His other feedings were quite smooth.

The first three pics in the slideshow below are just hours before we went to the hospital. On Tuesday night, we had been to the mall to spend some Christmas money and while Laurie was feeling "slow," we never dreamed that she would go into labor that night. After we got home, Laurie said, "Let's take some pics of me with a belly." We had NO CLUE and NO SIGNS that Simon would come so soon. But, at 1 am on Wed. (just 4 hours later), it was apparent that it was time, and we dashed to the hospital. Simon arrived 11 hours later on Wednesday afternoon.

I love blogs and they are great for keeping in touch, but we really want to tell Simon's full story in person. So, please call or ask us when we see you next. One thing that blogs do VERY well is to provide a mode for sharing pics. For forty of 'em, click here.

Simon Says: I'm Here Early!

Just a quick announcement tonight to let everyone know that Simon Vance Basham showed up three weeks early! He was born on Wednesday afternoon at 12.22 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs, 15 oz., and measuring 19 1/2 inches. We have been at the hospital since 1.30 am Wednesday morning and just returned home late this afternoon.

Mom and baby are doing great. Mom was fantastic during delivery and Simon has been excellent since arriving.

I'll post a slideshow tomorrow sometime if I get any sleep.

Christmas Travels Part II: Breckinridge County

We traveled to Breckinridge County for Christmas with the Basham and Preston families on Christmas Eve. This included a monster breakfast at Cort's parents' house followed by lots of presents, games of Rummikub, hanging out at Mamaw and Papaw Basham's, and Christmas at Mamaw Preston's house.

Here are some pics from the big day. We head to Glasgow today for Christmas with Laurie's family.


Neal and Nikki open the family gift (we get a new game every year from Santa.) This year, it was Rummikub (pronounced "rummie-cub" for those of you who do not know). Hee hee.


















YaYa Audrey enjoying Christmas loot.


















Papa Monte opens a front rack for his 4-wheeler.



















Mamaw and Papaw Basham opening gifts at their house.


















There are 18 folks pictured here at Mamaw Preston's house, and at least that many not pictured. It's a big family on the Preston side!

Christmas Travels Part I: Burkesville

We had our 36-week doctor's visit on Friday morning. Everything looked great. Simon's heartbeat was very strong and steady. Everything checked out with Laurie, too.

The big news is that Laurie is dilated 2 inches and is 50% effaced! Things are definitely moving, but Dr. Lyons said that "he still has some work to do." So, we are not expecting a Christmas arrival or anything like that. We still have a little time.

The Christmas travels have begun. We are just doing day trips this year. Yesterday took us to Laurie's Aunt Maedell's house in Burkesville, KY. Today, we head to Hudson for a Breckinridge County Christmas and tomorrow we will be in Glasgow.

Here are some pics from the Burkesville trip.


Uncle David attacks The Spread.



















Laurie uses Simon's body for a table.


















From left: Earl Mullinix, Grandaddy Vance, Aunt Jean Cary, Aunt Edna Shaw, and Lindsey Bell get their grub on.



















Post-lunch sugar crash for Aunt Jean, David, and Earl.


















The Founder of the Feast and Hostess with the Mostest, Aunt Maedell and her beautiful, gigantic poinsettia.

Belly, Fish, Guitar

We are now in Week 36, which means Simon weighs about 6 pounds and measures around 18 inches in length. They sure grow up fast.

We are also in between our first and second "weekly" end-of-the-pregnancy doctor visits. Last Thursday, the doc informed us that Simon is head down (good news!), but is facing up. They would prefer that he be face down when he exits, but this is not a major concern. Laurie is still doing very well. Her belly is starting to have that "ready" look. See below for the 36 Week belly pic.

There are also some pics the Basham Family Fish Fry from this past Saturday. This is an annual holiday event at Cort's parent's house. There are some shots from my recording session in Central City last night, too. Daddy is working hard to get his tracks laid down before his little drummer boy arrives. One more session on Thursday night should complete my parts for the Redfoot album. If not, two more is the maximum.

We return to the doc on Friday.

36 Week belly. With pigtails. Can you handle how cute this is?
















YaYa Audrey can manage 43 skillets at once during a fish fry! Seriously, there are three going here and two "hot plates" not pictured!
















Papa Monte takes advantage of a 65-degree December day and grills wild deer and wild salmon for the party.















Official post-fish fry Rook game. From left: Cousin Aaron, Uncle Charles (facing), Neal aka Uncle Dooney (back), and Cort.
















Cort finishing up his guitar tracks for the Redfoot album late last night in Central City.

Five Weeks to Go!

We are quickly approaching the T-Minus One Month countdown. Simon is due to arrive on Jan 14, so we will be one month away on Thursday.

Right now, Simon is around the 5-lb mark and is probably around 18 inches long. From this point on, he will mostly be putting on weight and making Laurie feel a lot more "crowded." His kidneys and other organs are fully developed, for the most part. His job now is to get fat, keep his head down, and make life difficult for his poor mother. Sorta kidding.

Laurie is still feeling good. She has a little back pain and heartburn from time to time, but she is still sleeping well and generally feeling pretty good. She climbs four flights of stairs at the ballgames without much trouble other than getting a little winded. But, honestly, she can probably do it as well as most non-pregnant people! She looks great and rarely complains about anything hurting.

We start our weekly doctor's visits this week, so pray for our visit on Thursday afternoon. We hope to make our normal visiting rounds this Christmas season, although they might be slightly abbreviated at each stop. So, also pray for good weather and safe travels for us.

In other news, Cort has started recording the full-length Redfoot album with Voiceless Studios in Central City, Kentucky. We laid down the drums this weekend and they are finished. I am driving up this afternoon to put down my acoustic guitar tracks. I will be working hard in the next couple of weeks to get my guitar and vocals recorded before Simon arrives. We are hoping for a late spring release date.

I'll update again after our doctor's visit on Thursday.