Introducing Evan Wilson...

October 8, 2007 at 9:47am... Evan arrives.

We can't believe he is finally here. It is so weird to look at a little person and realize that just minutes ago they were wadded up in a ball inside of you. What a wonderful miracle and gift from our Lord and Savior. This is truly one of the most wonderful times of our lives... we feel very blessed that we have been honored to welcome this new little man, Evan Wilson Cutler, into our family. We hope that we will make him proud, as we are already so proud of him.



Well, we were wondering how he would make his way into this big world. He was due on October 26th, but we knew we would meet him sooner. First, the little guy wouldn't turn around and we thought for sure we were going to have a c-section on the 17th, but then at almost 35 weeks he flipped himself around (well, with the help of a special herb from the doctor; which is definitely a funny story within itself) ...But whoo hoo he was turned around. But then he was measuring really big and we still thought maybe c-section, but definitely we'd have to induce him even earlier on the 10th to be sure Mommy could get him out... Oh, but as we knew he would... Evan has a mind of his own and he decided to come on his own time two days before my scheduled induction. (Yes, of course he decided to come before Erick's huge October 15th tax extension deadline. Nothing like giving Daddy a few gray hairs early on.)



Early on Monday morning, October 8th, my water broke while I was sleeping (it took me about 10 seconds to realize what had happened). I looked at the alarm clock and it was 4:47am and we were having Evan today - yippee. What a surreal moment. I just barely said to Erick, "my water broke", and he was up and running around; a cute Dad moment. I was of course set to pack my bag the next day, so we just grabbed what we needed and took off. Honestly, as long as I had my camera, there was nothing else that I needed... but I must have every necessary photo for scrapbooking you know. Of course, there have already been several moments where I have smacked myself for not taking a picture.



My OBGYN had actually been out of town all weekend, so we were so happy that Evan waited for him to BARELY get back into town. Funny enough, we had said to ourselves Sunday night, "it sure would be great if he came tomorrow on his own"... we had no idea he was listening (we hope this listening trend will continue throughout his life; doubtful). So we arrived at the hospital about 5:30am and they confirmed that my water had indeed broken... a fact that I was pretty sure of, I haven't had an accident in a few years. Hee hee. Anyway, I was already at 4cm when I arrived so labor moved along pretty quickly. I think I got my epidural around 8:30am and quickly moved to a 7cm, then 9cm and they were calling the doctor to come deliver. The doctor arrived at about 9:35am and Evan was here at 9:47am. He was ready to come and came out with very little help from me.



We were pretty sure that he was ready to come out - even though I was only 37 weeks and 3 days pregnant... but he was "done cooking". He came out very content and perfect. He weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long (maybe he'll be a tall guy like his older brother). We were very glad that he wasn't the 9 lbs. they suspected.



It was a very special time waiting on Evan to come. Erick, Preston and I headed to the hospital together at the crack of dawn. Preston wasn't sure if it was okay to miss school, but we convinced him that this was a good enough reason to miss a day of school. We called my best friend Susan right before we left home and she was there by 6:00am to wait with us and help with Preston at the hospital. We all waited together for Evan to make his way out... we wondered how long it would be. It was really important to me that Preston was there for his brother's arrival. Even though I knew he would have to wait outside with his Aunt Susan during actual delivery, he got to be there for the rest of the labor and I hope it's something that he will remember as a special moment in his life. He was so patient and such a big brother. I will say that has been a great advantage of having my two sons six years apart... Preston has been a part of everything and he has understood about his brother on the way. He was there when I told Daddy I was pregnant, he went to just about every pre-natal appointment, every sonogram, felt Evan move around inside of me and anxiously asked every day when Evan was coming and how big he was that day. He prayed for him, that God would help him grow every night. He was so excited to meet his "sweet Little Evan" and to "finally be a big brother"... Preston's words. I know that we have lots of great adventures ahead of us with our Cutler boys. We love them both so much and can't wait to watch them grow together and love each other.

Thank you to all of our family and friends for their thoughts and prayers. They were heard and we are so blessed and fortunate. We know that you will each touch Evan's life in your own special way and we are looking forward to introducing him to all of you! And thank you to so many of you who came to visit us at the hospital. It is truly overwhelming that you would take that time to spend with us. We love you all. And thank you especially to Preston and Evan's Aunt Susan - we could not have done it without you. Thank you for always loving us and ALWAYS being there for us. We can't imagine our lives without you and your family.

And a huge thank you to Dr. Jacoby, who delivered Preston and Evan. What an incredible doctor to have for such important times in our lives. I am so glad we found you! You've always made everything so easy and stress-free. And you've delivered us two healthy baby boys! We trust you so much and we can't thank you nearly enough for all the great care!

I will post again soon about our first days at home... but I wanted to get these few "first pics" up for everyone.

P.S. This last picture is Evan with his namesake, Wilson Manuel, who is affectionately known as "Papaw". Papaw is truly like a second father to me and is a wonderful Godly man. I pray that Evan will learn from him and come to know Jesus and wonderful examples of His love at a very young age.