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We have tropical storm Fay to thank for me having time at home to post. We only had a couple of tornado scares, and thankfully we and our home are still in tact.

While I don't have time to truly blog, I'd like to tell you that being Dash's mom is incredible, better than I could have ever imagined!

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Happy First Father's Day, Derek!

Derek is doing a great job as a new dad. Following my c-section, he had to change Dash's first couple of dozen diapers, and hasn't been a stranger to the job since. He's a champion swaddler! Even though Dash could easily go to the sitter, Derek keeps him at home on his Wednesdays off. It was great to have a day to honor him and Dash's wonderful grandfathers as well.

What's In A Name?

A lot of thought went into naming Dasher Everett. Dasher was inspired by Derek’s ancestors, who after arriving in North America, settled in Dasher, Georgia. They are wonderful people, strong in faith. To give even more history to the name, the town of Dasher was named after Christian Dasher, who among a few others, established the first Church of Christ in Georgia. The church in Dasher continues to be strong, and it is the location of the Georgia Christian School and Children’s Home—also an establishment of Derek’s family.

After deciding to name our son Dasher and call him “Dash,” we felt confirmed by our decision by a very sweet poem that was sent to us almost immediately following titled “The Dash.” See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPyu4M2di8U .

Everett was the middle name of my dear former Uncle Ted. He was caring, generous, and witty. The name Everett literally means “strong.” We pray that Dash will grow to be strong physically, spiritually, academically, and in character.

This picture was Dash's first trip out of town to Dasher. He's posing with the Thompson clan.

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Welcome to the world, Dash!

Thursday, May 22nd was the day. Our doctor feared that the baby was growing too big for a regular birth (he proved to be right) and advised us to hurry him up a bit. My folks came into town, Derek couldn't sleep, and the clock seemed to almost audibly be ticking down.

We arrived at 7:00am to get everything going. With the induction, I decided that I would wait until dialated 4-5 cms before getting the epidural. All the grandparents-to-be came into the labor room and hung out for a while. It was a slow process, so it was no big deal. Around lunch time, though, I couldn't keep the perpetual smile with the increasing pain. They went out for wings, and Derek held my hand while they got me hooked up... After having stressed about using an epidural for months, I was relieved that I didn't feel anything during insertion!

Again, it was a party in our room, now that I was good and numb. Time passed, and I got stuck at 8cm. The day had not seemed to drag until the doctor was concerned I wasn't progressing. That was the longest 2 hours ever; I knew what he was getting at. Fortunately, the baby was never in distress, and I was assured his vitals were great. It wasn't reasonable to keep sitting there... so off to surgery we went. I had to have been the most scared patient ever. Derek was at my side, though.

With the doctor's skillful hand, he delivered the baby within minutes! The entire o.r. staff remarked at how big he was. Derek held him and brought him around to me. I said hello, and he immediately knew my voice. He seemed to come out smiling, with an attachment to sucking on his fingers.

Here's the name...Dasher Everett Thompson, "Dash." He was 8 lbs, 12 oz, 21 3/4 inches long. Although there were several reasonable guesses, no one guessed his name beforehand. I'll post later about why we picked it.

Dash is very strong and is good at raising his head! We couldn't believe how alert he was after all the pain killers of the day. He can roll over to his side, too. I can't even tell you how great his facial expressions are. We are just so blessed.