This Christmas was one that we will never forget. It was different than anything we would ever expect for Christmas. It all started on Christmas Eve. We were at Vance's aunt and uncle's house (Tim and Dana) in Highland having a party with his family. The night went really well and we had a great time visiting with his family, ate an amazing meal all prepared by Dana, and had a great Christmas program mainly put on by Vance's grandpa to help remind us of the true meaning of Christmas. When the event was over, we ate an amazing desert, and we all parted our ways to get ready for Christmas morning. Everyone had left while we were still trying to peel Mason away from all the excitement. Vance had gone out to pull the car in the driveway, and get it warmed up and when he got back, me and Mason were ready to go. Vance grabbed Mason and the diaper bag and led the way out to the car. But... we didn't get very far. As soon as Vance stepped off the porch, he took one more step and slipped on the ice, while holding Mason, and fell hard to his back. I naturally reacted to get to them as quickly as possible to help, not thinking, and I took one step and slipped as well onto my right side on the stairs. Vance cradled Mason really good so he knew he wasn't hurt, so he hurried and set Mason down and came to help me up. Tim and Dana were still standing at the door, so they were there instantly to help. Mason was screaming due to shock and being scared, and we were all quite worried about the baby. I called my doctor and he highly advised that I go straight to the hospital to get checked and have the baby monitored for a few hours. I wasn't hurting anywhere but my elbow (from catching myself) until I got up to walk to the car. I could barely walk to the car because the left side of my belly hurt real bad. Not a good sign, but the baby was moving good and I wasn't currently having any contractions, so I knew everything was okay. It was after 11pm when we got to the hospital. They hooked me up to monitors for the baby and said I would be here for 4 hours to make sure everything was okay. Vance ended up taking Mason to my parents house for the night while they did all sorts of things to me. First of all, after being monitored for a bit, the nurse came in and asked me if I could feel all the contractions I was having. Yes...I could feel them. They were every 2-5 minutes and were not going away. She talked to the doctor and told me they were keeping me for at least 12 hours now. They said the top two reasons for pre-term labor are UTI's and dehydration. So they had to take a urine sample straight from me, which meant getting straight cathed (which KILLS), and start an IV. They also drew blood, gave me 2 shots in my hip (one shot to help the baby's lungs develop faster in case he did come early, and another shot to make my body relax to try and stop the contractions. They also gave me a pill twice every 15 min to help stop contractions, but it lowered my blood pressure too much so they had to stop giving it to me. -By the way, at the time of all this excitement, I was only 32 weeks and 4 days along, so this was quite a scare. They also checked me for a hormone that if present, says you will most likely deliver within two weeks. If the test is negative, then it means you most likely will not deliver within two weeks. Luckily, this test came back negative, so that gave us all a bit of relief. But, I had already started dilating. I was at a 1 1/2 and 80% effaced. (Just a quick background update, I have been having contractions since week 20 and they were never consistent until two days before all this happened. So my body was slowly going into labor anyways. Me falling just MADE me go to the hospital to get it all stopped before it could have been too late.) Anyways, so Christmas Day they kept telling me that they had no idea for sure when I would be going home because the contractions were refusing to stop. They kept saying I could be there for a few more hours up to 4 more weeks! AHHHHH, that did not make me excited. But anything to keep my baby safe. Thank goodness for family that is so supportive and came to visit us during their busy Christmas Day. We were supposed to meet over at my parent's house at 8:30 that morning to celebrate, and with our situation, they all got together and decided they wanted to delay Christmas until we could be there with them. That meant so much to me. Luckily around 4:00pm, the nurse came in and said that they were going to let me go home! My contractions had finally slowed down enough that my doctor felt good about everything. The only catch was that I had to go back in the morning to get the 2nd shot in my hip to help the baby's lungs develop. But I was great with that. I was sooooo excited to just get to go home. We quickly gathered our stuff, took a few quick pictures, and we were out the door in a matter of minutes! 
When we arrived at my parents house, everyone was sitting there patiently waiting, including our sweet little boy. I was so happy to see him. It's a good thing he doesn't know that it was Christmas or I would have felt so bad. It was so much fun watching him open his presents. It had been a while since he'd unwrapped anything, but he knew just what to do and didn't hesitate for a second. He got completely spoiled from the entire family (thanks everyone!) It was so much fun to watch him open all his gifts with such excitement. Moments like this just make everything okay and every sacrifice worth it entirely. I love being a mom!!!!
Yes...we gave Mason a pink doll stroller. But he LOVES it and that's all that matters, right?!!? Plus, he has a baby brother coming soon, so it fits!
Everyone was trying to convince Mason to give them the balloon he caught!
Mason and his Great Uncle Mike!! That's right, so young and already a Great Uncle!!
