The Blessing

Today was Easton's baby blessing. I'm so thankful for all my family and friends for coming to support our family on this important day in Easton's life. Kade gave a beautiful blessing, and I think Easton is going to be off to a good start. In case you missed it, here are some of the blessings Easton was given.
-The blessing of a healthy life
-Strength and wisdom to fight the evils in the world
-Intelligence and the desire for higher education
-A desire to serve a mission and the ability to find those seeking the truth
-The blessing of a temple marriage
-The ability to love all people equally
-A love for and understanding of the scriptures
-Faith in the prophet and the ability to take the prophet's word as scripture
-The ability to listen to the spirit and not man
I'm sure there was more, but that's all I can remember right now. The blessing was absolutely perfect. I'm so grateful for my husband and for the fact that he holds the priesthood. I'm so glad that he was able to bless our son. The priesthood is such a powerful thing, and I can't wait to watch it work in our son's life. I feel so blessed to have the priesthood in my home. Thank you, Kade! I love you!
Here are some photos of Easton in his outfit. It's the same outfit Kade wore on his own blessing day, over 24 years ago! Easton looked so handsome. I think we might have a lady killer on our hands. Thanks also to all of you who came to the luncheon after church and for helping us to put it together. We also took some family photos today, so when I get them back I'll post them.

Our little comedian

We are just beginning to discover what very large personality our son has. He's become a real pro at smiling in the last week. Those of you who have met the little tyke know how expressive he is. Yesterday, he looked around the room with one eyebrow raised like we were all a bunch of goons. I can't even raise one eyebrow! What a talented little guy. Also, I've learned that he's very much a morning person. After his breakfast bottle, he'll just look around and grin. He's become a big fan of his mobile. He loves to stare at it for as long as I have the patience to keep winding it up. My very favorite is that he's begun to coo and chatter a lot. His favorite phrase is "Ahhh GOOO." I'm pretty sure that's Eastonese for "I love you." Kade and I fall more and more in love with our little boy each day. We'll be blessing him this Sunday, the first. If anyone would like to come, I'd be happy to get you the address and info. Here are some new pictures of our little guy hammin' it up.The one-eyebrow-raised stare...

Easton's first month

Tomorrow is Easton's one-month birthday. Boy, time flies. Here's a look at some of the moments we've shared:

Sleepy moments




Happy moments

Cuddly moments

Angry moments



Peaceful moments


And moments that are just plain funny


Happy First Month, Little Guy! We love you!

Another week bites the dust

We have almost reached the 3 week mark. Here is what is new in Easton's life.
- He now weighs 7 pounds 3 ounces. He has gained a whole pound since he was last weighed!
- He's measuring at 20 1/2 inces. Another whole inch! He's really growing!
- Poor baby is now having to take Zantac for reflux..you can blame daddy for that one little man.
- The smiles are rolling across his chubby face more and more often.
- He's sleeping 5 or 6 hours at a time at night. We are so LUCKY!
Those of you who have seen little Easton while he's awake will know that he sure is expressive. He's always making faces and letting you know just what he thinks of you with a look. I can't wait to see more of his personality. I'll post some pictures soon and maybe some videos of his cute little faces. Love you all!

Two weeks

Happy Two-week birthday to our little Easton! This week you have become even more handsome and aware of your world. I love watching you stare around the room with those big round eyes. Sometimes you look so serious and intense and your little brow scrunches up. I think you'll have wrinkles by the time you're five. Other times you look at me with the cheesiest grin and I fall completely in love you. I don't care if it is just gassy smiles...you're adorable. I think you and I could stare at each other for hours and still be fascinated by what we see. I can't help but wonder who you'll be to the world. You've learned to coo and talk to me and the best part of my day is when you will tell me a little story. You know how to burp loud enough to shake the walls and I'm actually proud of that! You can only get away with that for so long, so eat it up! Daddy and I are still trying to figure out how to take the very best care of you. We'll get there- we promise. I want you to know that you are my dream come true and the love of my life (right up there next to daddy.) As long as I can remember, I've wanted a little boy. A rowdy, dirty, break-my-things-and-drive-me-nuts little boy. You're even better than I imagined you would be. You're such a good boy. Thank you for being such a good eater and for only waking me up once each night. Thank you for the times you fall asleep on my chest and make cute snoring sounds. Thank you for being patient with me when I kiss you a million times. Thank you for letting me be your mommy. I love you, baby.

The Bili, the belly, and the bath

Well, little Easton is a week and half old now. Time is passing so quickly! So far Kade and I have been amazed at what a good baby we have. He hardly fusses, sleeps great at night, and eats like a little piggy. And he's in excellent health! We had to have his Bilirubin level checked 4 times to keep a close eye on jaundice, but I just found out today that he's okay and doesn't need any more tests done! Hooray! I hated watching them poke his little heel. He was a real trooper though. His cord fell off last night and I don't think I've ever been so excited to see a belly button...except when I finally saw mine again after he was born. Since the cord fell off, we got to give him his first bath. I think he was a little nervous about it and he fussed a little. But I realized that he liked the sound of water running so we were a bit wasteful and let it run while we bathed him. He seemed much happier then. He looked adorable in his little hooded towel! We're getting along just famously! Today we are little lonely though. Kade went back to work today and we are both missing daddy. Kade is an incredible dad. He feeds him, changes him, and cuddles him to death. I have fallen in love all over again with him watching him be a dad. I think Easton and I would both be lost without him. We can't wait for the weekend to have him home again, and we're impatiently watching the clock today for him to come home.

Easton Maddux Gardner

Finally! Our little man has arrived. He was born Monday the 12th at 4:54 pm. He weighed in at a tiny six pounds ten ounces and measured up at nineteen and a half inches. Just a little guy, considering he was five days overdue. The last few days of my pregnancy were especially long and hard. I had false labor a few times and was so very frustrated each time the contractions would go away. I was so overwhelmed and exhausted by it. I had a bit of a mental breakdown Sunday night. My poor dear husband. He must really love me. The next morning I woke up around 4:30 am from contractions. I assumed it was false labor again, so I got up to take a bath and make them go away. When I stood up, there was a small gush of fluid, and I thought maybe my water had broke. So, reluctantly, we went up to the hospital. I was sure that they would send us home, but knew my mind wouldn't rest until I knew for sure that my water hadn't really broken. So we checked in and waited around. They checked my dilation and said I was at a 1-2 centimeters. I was SO mad! My last appointment I was at a 3 and I thought for sure that all the contractions would have made me progress. Well, an hour later, they checked me again and I had progressed to a 4+. So, hooray! I really was in labor and we got to stay at the hospital. I managed the pain really well and had no help until I got to a 6. Then they broke my water and I made the decision to get the epidural then. The first epidural they gave me only numbed my right side and I was really uncomfortable and sick feeling. But once they redid it, I was just peachy! In the next hour I progressed all the way to a 9! Then just a half hour later, I knew I HAD to push. NOW! So we got all set up and I pushed for a short 28 minutes. Then Easton made his entrance, and he is BEAUTIFUL!!! He had already had a bowel movement in the womb, so they took him immediately to clean up and make sure he didn't breathe in the bacteria. The whole experience was great and not nearly what I had imagined. It was just about 12 hours long and a lot easier than I thought it would be. Kade was a fantastic labor coach and he is so proud of this new little boy. He can't get enough, and neither can I. He's nursing really well and he's not a terrible sleeper. We love him! Thanks to all of you who have called, visited, sent flowers, etc. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We'll be sure to keep you posted on all his milestones, big and small!