Top 10 Reasons December 8, 2011 was Funtastic

10. Zackery and I rode on a plane at 6:15 a.m. The sun wasn't even out yet and Zackery was very happy that the flight attendant offered him pretzels and apple juice for our flight. Plus, the flight was NOT full, so we got a row all to ourselves. We even managed to take a 20-minute nap.

The ride home was a full flight and Zack instantly made friends with the adult male next to us. We encouraged him to become an organ donor when he asked, "So what brought you to L.A. for the day?" It's always amazing to see the special sparkle in someone's eye when they see a miracle sitting/standing in front of them.

9. Zackery met his mom's long-time friend, Cassandra and her husband, Alvaro. They were kind enough to navigate L.A. traffic for us and drive us to Zack's appt and back to the airport afterwards. We are so thankful for their help!

8. Grandpa Lloyd and Grandma Max took our family to dinner to celebrate my (Tiara) birthday! The ribs at Famous Dave's were tasty and the company well-enjoyed! Layla was such a piggy diving into the ribs before anyone else. Her face was covered in bbq sauce; you couldn't get in her way of eating those ribs.

7. Walking through Westwood on a Thursday afternoon searching for pancakes was fun. Most of the restaurants were closed until 11 a.m., so Zackery had to settle for chicken nuggets from BK. He also scored a BK crown. Oh yes, we also found a doughnut shop and got a Simpson's donut for Zackery to enjoy.

6. L.A Weather - It was a nice day! Great for walking!

5. Jumping! Zackery enjoyed climbing on all the ledges and quickly leaping off. Up and down, up and down. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

4. Successful Blood Draw - Zackery was a champ---he had drama-free blood draw and required ONLY one poke. He's getting so big. By the next visit, he might be able to sit himself on the chair and only need to hold my hand. I'll be so sad the day he asks me to go wait in the waiting room for him.

3. Stickers - For his success, Zackery earned himself around 15 stickers. We ran to the elevator to get checked in and when I turned around, Zackery was covered in stickers. He was so proud of himself! He even let me have one of his Jessie stickers.

2. Diddy Reise Ice Cream Sandwiches -- I celebrated my birthday by purchasing a self-created ice cream sandwich. Two Chocolate chip cookies with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in between. YUMMY! All the yumminess for only $1.50. Zack also had one and we just sat there, people watching, eating our treats.

1. TWO THUMBS UP FROM DOCTORS -- Zackery impressed another one of his doctors, Dr. Vargas. His doctors continue to praise how healthy he is. There were no changes to medications as his blood draw showed healthy numbers. He is now down to two medications, the ones he'll be on for the rest of his life. We got to see our usual nurses who checked us in and beamed at how much Zack has grown. We were just a tad sad that we didn't see our favorite - Dr. Venick. But we'll be back in June. At the conclusion of our check-up, Zackery was able to select a very festive hat for coming into UCLA for the day. We <3 Our Hospital!

*Thanks Family for helping us with making this trip a success*

Zack's Latest Craft

While time is going by everyday before my eyes, it seems funny to realize how far we come as family. Layla is blazing a trail thru school with awesome repertoire among the teachers and the grades that make me nervous 'cause she may definitely have her choice of college one day. I'm not a rich man nor do I have the highest paying job in town so I want to make sure she will get to pick her college of her dreams.....as long as its in-state ;) While college is still a long way off I can't help but begin to look into getting started on some preparation for her.

So where to begin? The amount of time to drive from work to home is about 45 mins. Great alone thinking time because what else is there to do in Phoenix traffic in the afternoon?. As I'm thinking whether to open a savings account, or start buying bonds; Some people say open an IRA or CD but cant help say WTF is that?. So while my mind is racing thru everything I can do to to get money like robbing a bank, becoming a council delegate, or finding some old rich cougar & take one for the team, I find myself at my son's daycare to pick him.

I walk inside and greeted by the world's unfriendiest little dog and my son. He is excited to leave and begins to collect his jacket and backpack. His teacher reminds him to get his craft for the day and he runs to grab his reindeer. He hands it to me and says "Look dad! my deer has a red nose...hahaha". His little craft and his little effort gave me peace of mind that a million dollars couldn't even touch. Instantly I'm pulled back to the moment where no problems exist. He reminds me that as long I stay in the moment with just a eye on the future I'll be just fine. We walk out to the car and he climbs in, he puts his seat belt on and sits patiently because he knows I'll let him play my Itouch on the way home. We're back on the freeway, I'm smiling. This guy will be amazing when he gets older. Just like his sister.........and dad :)

Back in Action

After a long hiatus, the Boye Family blog will be awaken. Derek and I have committed to improve our writing habits to share with Layla and Zackery's grandparents our weekly events to keep you in the loop with your grandbabies. We're going to try a weekly update trend to help build our posting. We hope you enjoy! Your feedback is always appreciated. This is for you!

August 13, 2007

I spent three days in and out of labor with my little boy. I prayed to God that he would allow me to set up my 1st grade classroom the best I could and prepare my substitute teacher for my maternity leave. I prayed to God that any time after August 10th, 4PM, I was ready for Zackery to come. So at 6PM that evening while eating dinner with Derek and my friend, Lynette, I began to feel small contractions. I just ignored them mostly and ate my dinner. I didn’t want to alarm anyone and I also thought about Layla. Layla was in Window Rock with her grandma and she wouldn’t be coming back to Mesa until Sunday. I didn’t want her to miss anything. By 10PM, the contractions stopped and I just went to bed.

The next morning I rose early and felt the need to finish shopping for Baby Zack. I just felt I didn’t have the essentials for his arrival, like diapers and wipes. So I left before Derek woke up and made my trip to Wal-Mart for these items. I also figured I could walk around the mall. Within 20 minutes I started to feel the contractions again in the aisles of Wal-Mart and my mind lingered to the movie, “Where The Heart Is.” I didn’t want to be Novalee Nation, so I took the items I had in my cart and checked out. Breathing slowly and quietly. I also started timing my contractions and drove myself home. When I got back, Derek was surprised I even left and I told him that I started contracting so that is why I came home. I felt more controlled this time around. Not so alarmed and determined to allow my body to feel the contractions and allow my body to get this baby out.

So we started the timing and Derek called my mom. He told her I already had the baby and that declaration threw her into tears. I hate when he picks on my mom. When he told her he was joking, she allowed him to tell her that I started contracting. By that afternoon, the contractions stopped and we called my mom back and told her never mind. I just went on with my day and waited for my Layla to come home. Deep down, I knew that Zackery was waiting for his sister. That didn’t stop my family calling Derek with all the “directions and suggestions” about getting this baby out. He took me to Garduno’s to eat dinner. The hopes of hot chili to induce labor. I just enjoyed my food like I always did and nothing. No baby. It didn’t stop me from enjoying everything I ordered.

Sunday morning arrived and we waited for my family to come down. They swooped into the door and started throwing out information. Try this, try that. I even remember them telling Derek to take me in the bedroom and you know? This is my mother and my aunt telling my husband to DO me while they were waiting in the living room. I was so embarrassed and upset. I told them to get serious. I was in NO mood for THAT right NOW. The nerve! I was happy to hear my aunt’s husband got mad at her for even suggesting that and the apology that came later was accepted.

Finally they convinced me to take a swig of Mineral Oil. My last attempt to get this baby out. I took a swig of that nasty stuff Sunday afternoon and we went on with our Sunday. Walking around malls and stores. Driving me down bumpy roads. Nothing really. When I went to bed at night I hoped for a good night’s sleep. Well around 10:30PM on August 12, 2007, the contractions picked up again. Making one of the long trips to the bathroom I began breathing. This time I was able to control my urge to clean and did my business and went back to sleep. I would sleep in intervals of an hour and wake up with stronger contractions. By 3:30AM, I finally woke up Derek and said I thought it was time to take me to the hospital now. I packed my hospital bag and began walking to the car. Derek tried his best to be calm, but he had to wake up everyone to let them know I was going in. The frantic looks on their faces and good luck calls is all I remember as I thought GET ME TO THE HOSPITAL already.

The drive to the hospital was calm. I juts reminded Derek to take it easy and avoid as many bumps as possible. I breathed in and out. Before I knew it we were at Banner Desert Hospital. I remember being dropped off and walking in, letting the security guard know I was in labor and I was waiting for my husband to park the car. When Derek got in, he took us into OB Triage area of the Women’s wing. They asked all the questions, sent me the insurance lady to get my information and by 5AM I was being IV’d and getting ready to get my epidural. HOORAY! I told them I need it or it’s going to be a long day.

This hospital birthing room was much different than Layla’s. It was bigger and seemed to be more personal. I didn’t feel like everyone was watching me. They just let me be. Encouraged me. Made sure the epidural was working. This time around it only took one poke in my back to do the trick and the pain went away. I figured Zackery would be here by 8AM. Boy, was I wrong!
This time around, the epidural slowed down the process. I ended up gazing at the clock and realized hey it’s 8:00AM, my 1st graders are arriving to school. I wonder if I should call. Derek looked at me like I was crazy. But reassured me that he let my friends from work know I was in labor and that they should leave me alone for the day. So throughout the day I kept bringing up what my class should be doing at this point as I lay waiting for something to happen.

My mom and aunt arrived sometime around 8am with distractions for the day. Some drinks and snacks to keep them company. They’re the best birthing team. Derek, my mom and Aunt. They keep me laughing all day. My mom was taking pictures of everything in the room for the baby book. The whiteboard read “Baby Boy Boye” which everyone was excited to see. The nurses thought it was pretty funny too. Derek kept saying Men could handle childbirth to give the ladies in the room a hard time. My mom was in and out of emotions. It’s always a good time.

My doctor didn’t arrive to the hospital until around 12PM. The nurses waited on calling her until I was about 6cm and by the time she arrived the pain came back and I was starting to feel the urge to push. It’s funny how calm I was and confident that I could do this. This time I was ready. The pain I felt was bad and the nurses kept asking if I wanted more meds from the epidural. I told them NO. It seemed when it was time for the pushing, it felt like I wasn’t doing anything. They would tell me to PUSH and I was but it seemed like nothing was happening. I told the nurses that since I didn’t feel my legs it didn’t make me feel confident that my pushing was doing anything. So I kept praying…please get him out. My doctor was great. Reassuring and motivating. My aunt and Derek each had one of my legs in their arms to help with the pushing and my mom was in charge with motivating me to push.

At one point I told her she wasn’t doing a good job because she was so soft toned and “oh baby…this…oh baby that.” I finally told her, “Mom I need to you to be tough! I need you to just yell at me!” Her expression was priceless. She tried her best to be TOUGH! Eventually after an hour and half of pushing my doctor decided to use the “vacuum” device to get Zackery out. After one more push with the help of this device Zackery was out! I was convinced his head was huge and weighed a ton and that is why he didn’t come out. I knew he was stuck.

Sure enough! Zackery weighed in at 10 lbs. His head got stuck in a place it shouldn’t be stuck at and his umbilical cord had some knots in it. Which I learned later was not safe and could’ve gone terribly wrong. But for that moment everything was great. This time around as soon as my baby was out, I was in tears and thanking God. I just wanted to hear the words “HE’S HEALTHY!” and I looked directly into Derek’s eyes and screamed “I can’t do this again! Do you hear me? I can’t do this again. We’re done! Do you understand?” I had been telling him that for the duration of the pregnancy because I knew Zackery was going to be so heavy. I knew that anytime we chose to have babies, they came out monstrous and my body just couldn’t handle another. Zackery is PERFECT! He let out just one big cry and chilled out. They did the rest of the newborn baby screenings and brought him to me. He was just so calm and he just laid on my chest looking into my eyes. We were so happy. Just lying in the birthing room together.

April 29, 2003

I awoke the morning of Tuesday, April 29th, around 2am, with an urgent desire to go to the bathroom. For the last 8 months, the urgency always was intense as I made the first pit stop of the night. I know, the reality of the situation may turn off some of you readers, but it’s the truth. This time as I went to flush, I noticed a red mucousy thing floating in the toilet. Yes! Having a baby isn’t as pretty as Hollywood portrays it. It’s all blood and pain. That’s reality. So in my mind, I’m screaming out, BLOOD! What the hell is wrong with me? Then when the pain in my stomach coincides with my bewilderment do I realize I’m in labor. I check the books I’ve bought to double check my instincts as well as all the pamphlets and paperwork the nurses have been sending home with me. MUCOUS PLUG! Check. Early Sign of Active Labor. HOORAY! My daughter is on her way.

Layla was already a week late and the weight of my pregnant belly was becoming too much for me to handle and be comfortable with. The day before I was walking the mall and had to make many breaks and my ankles were at an all-time swollen, that I just didn’t even bother to look anymore.

So what does my pregnant self do? Do I start timing my contractions? Nope. Do I wake up Derek? Nope. Do I lie down to get some much-needed rest? Nope. I started cleaning up my bathroom. I started freaking out that my newborn baby was coming home to a dirty bathroom. I started wiping down the bathroom counter and sink. Freaking out that it wasn’t getting clean enough to satisfy my crazy pregnant lady self. After buckling over in pain from the contractions do I decide to go have a seat on the couch and call the hospital? I wanted to check if I should come in right away or just wait for my appointment, which was scheduled at 8am that morning. I already knew the answer and sure enough the nurses said to wait it out. That’s IHS for you! You would think they would try to get me there so they could start charging me for services, but nope stay home until you’re ready to push!

So I sit down and start timing the contractions. But let me tell you a secret…I do not have a high tolerance for physical pain so the contractions were getting the best of me, even when they were 10 minutes apart. I still didn’t bother Derek because I already knew he couldn’t do anything. Hell, I was just breathing and praying to God that I would survive this.
I jumped into the shower to ease the pain I was feeling in my back. The pain was bad and I just wished I had a massage therapist at my beck and call to get me through. After a long time in the shower, I decided to start packing my bag for the hospital and then I heard Derek. You should lie down and try to get some rest. So I did.

There is no way to get comfortable and go to sleep when you’re in active labor. So I got back up and walked around. Breathing and half crying. Then around 5am I decided to get back in the tub for a bath. The pain in my back was excruciating by this time. After about 45 minutes I got up and by then Derek was up. He started trying to call my mom, who was staying at my brother’s apartment for the night that my labor began. We started making our way to the hospital. By this point, I was in so much pain, the bumps in the road were irritating and for lack of another word…PAINFUL! I remember yelling at Derek about driving better. When you're in labor, you feel every bump on the road. Ones you didn't even know existed before.

When we got to the hospital and the nurses checked me in I was hurting so bad. I don’t really remember what they were saying to me. I just remember having enough in me to answer their questions. When the doctor came in to check how dilated I was…he said you’re only at 4cm. “Why don’t you go out to eat and come back later?”

I couldn’t believe it. But we obeyed the doctor’s orders and my mom, Derek, Loren, and Jalyn took me to IHOP. By the time we got seated I couldn’t even open my eyes. I was just breathing to myself and taking directions from everyone. I was trying to concentrate on not passing out at IHOP. From what I remembered the waiting staff was looking at my family like they were crazy. The waitress saying, “Shouldn’t you be taking her to the hospital by now?” “She’s not going to give birth right here, right?” I didn’t even want to eat what was ordered for me. I just wanted to get this baby out.

My mom, in her soft nature self, was trying to calm me and rub my belly. I snapped, “DON’T TOUCH MY STOMACH!”

FINALLY they drove me back to the hospital and they finally took me. I got stuck at 6cm. Like I said I have such a low tolerance of physical pain and my way of dealing is by tensing up my body. So that’s exactly what I was doing. By body was so tense I wasn’t allowing it to dilate like it was supposed to. At 3pm the nurses and midwives finally decided that an epidural would be in my best interest.

I really don’t remember anything about it except being told to bend forward and don’t move. Derek was holding onto me and he was too busy trying to look at the needle while holding me that he moved me a little while the needle was going in that IT HURT and my natural instinct….I BIT HIM ON THE SHOULDER! They ended up having to start over and the first attempt was unsuccessful. So they had to take it out and do it again. When it finally worked, the world was a great place again and I finally took a nap. FACT: An epidural is a long needle that is inserted into your spine and then they push a catheter up your spine to give you medication to numb your body.

While I napped, Loren took Derek out for lunch. The nurses reassured my family it would be a few hours before I would be dilated enough to start pushing. By then, my aunt had driven from Window Rock to Phoenix and sitting in the labor room with me.

I screamed and showed so much pain that my youngest brother, Jalyn left with a friend of ours in seconds. This kid was very shy around new people and hardly knew Troy. But not today. He was like “I’m out!” He didn't come back to see me for 24 hours when I was "normal."

Within one hour of the epidural, I had dilated all the way to the necessary 10cm and woke up feeling the pain all over again. My aunt, the family midwife, got up and called for the nurses. Sure enough I was ready to push. My mom was on the phone telling Derek to hurry back.
By 5pm, I was pushing. I looked up and saw the mirror they place at the foot of the bed, the reflection showed my brother, Loren, standing in the corner with a ghost white face. He was trying to ask if there was a way for the mirror to be moved so he didn’t see anything. I think he almost passed out because at one moment all the medical staff were paying more attention to him than to me. Finally he was like “I’m OUT!” Later he told us he left the room and ran to the bathroom and threw up. He also confessed to being seconds away from punching Derek for putting me in this state of pain.

When I was told to do so, I PUSHED. I pushed with everything I had. 6pm passed. 7pm passed and still I pushed. I thought this was the easy part, but boy was I ever wrong. I was crying for them to just cut me open and take her out because I was so exhausted. I almost passed out on the table. FINALLY at 7:50PM, Layla popped out. Literally. It happened so fast that Derek had to help catch his daughter because the midwife almost missed. Layla was huge! 8lbs, 10 oz. But she was also beautiful! I was too tired to really pay much attention at this point. I just waited for the words; she’s healthy before I just laid back. I even managed to take some pictures that I really don't remember taking.

Whoever said that was the end of childbirth is a liar. Next I had to push out the placenta. Since Layla was so huge I also tore. Yup, the vagina is capable of tearing. So I was one of those lucky women who got stitches DOWN there. Then they cleaned me up and told me I was probably anemic from how much blood I lost from this birthing process. Then they let in whoever wanted to see the new baby. Because really, that's why they came. Not to see the battered mother, but the precious baby who just entered the world.

I just remember seeing Layla in the arms of her dad. Tears in his eyes. Her grandma, Norma, who cried through the entire process to be honest got her turn next. Then her Nonnie. And her uncle Loren. They were all there. Even Derek’s dad was there. By chance. I couldn’t wait to get some sleep. It was exhausting day!

My last thought: why would anyone want to do this, willingly?

Son

Name:

Zackery Brody Boye

Origin:

Zackery---Zack de La Rocha, Lead Singer of Rage Against the Machine

Brody---"Brody," Jason Lee's character in Mall Rats

Meaning:

Zackery---God Remembered

Brody---From a Muddy Place

The same story applies to Zackery's name. His name came way before he came. Music + Movies. We debated more about his name though. We thought about Zackery River, River Brody, or Zackery Rory. But I was fond of Brody. Always. I knew that would be his name. So in December 2006, when the EPT test confirmed my suspicions I began my talks with my tummy and Zackery was his name. I knew right away that he was a boy.

I was content because I knew that once he was here our lives would be complete and I wouldn't have to try anymore for children. One girl and One boy. That's all I need. He is meant for big things. I believe he is going to revolutionize the world in some way.

Daughter

Name:

Layla Royal Boye

Origin:

Layla---"Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes

Royal---"Royal Tennenbaum" from the Royal Tennenbaums

Meaning:

Layla---Night

Royal---Royal

Derek and I are big fans of both music and movie entertainment. We decided long ago we would encorporate our love of both into the love of our children. So we use the equation of Music + Movie for our children's name.

We decided long before Layla was conceived on her name. So before she was born, before she was a being in my belly, she was named. I always knew I'd have a girl first. So in July 2002, it was confirmed I was pregnant. By December 2002, I knew it was a girl for sure. So throughout the pregnancy she was named and we called her by her name. So on the day she arrived, she responded to her name. Layla Royal Boye.