23 Week Ultrasound

Today we went to our 23 week appointment with Dr. Morgan.  At our last ultrasound, they were unable to get a good picture of his heart.  So they decided to try again this week.  This time, he was a lot more cooperative and his heart looked just perfect.  We were even able to get a 3D image of him!  Below is little Hayes with his arms and feet in the air!

Easter in NYC

This Easter we decided to head to New York City with my parents to visit my sister.  We flew in on Friday night and stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.  Derek had only been to New York once before, so we decided to be the ultimate tourist and take a bus tour on Saturday morning!  We sat on the top of the "double decker" and were able to see all the hot spots of the city.  Here is us on the bus:

Below are a few of the sights we were able to grab pictures of..............

Saturday night, we met my family out for dinner and then to the Broadway performance of "West Side Story".  It was great! 

On Easter Sunday, we met my sister and some of her friends for brunch at a place called "Alice's Tea Cup".  Some of you may know about my mother's love for Easter Bonnetts.  Well, don't worry, they made the trip to NYC!  Here is us at brunch with our hats............................

Oh yes, my parents spent all day Friday at Jenny Beth's apartment with her friends decorating hats.  My mom was really excited about her new creation for this year.............

After brunch, we headed to the NYC Easter Parade where my mom's hats had some competition!  Below are some of the sights..............

Even dogs had their own hats...........

We stopped to take a few pics of our group..........

And from the back....................

The Snyder Girls...........

And one "non-hat" family picture........

As you can tell, our Easter was very "colorful"!  Afterwards, we went to Jenny's Beth's 5pm Church Servce and then headed to an Italian restaurant for dinner with several of her church friends.  Below is the group:

Although I was slightly mortified for most of the day...............I truly appreciate my parents enthusiasm for having fun on the holidays!  I'm sure my mom is already planning what baby Hayes's first Easter hat will look like!  Here is my favorite pic of Chuck and Melin in full "Easter Hat" force........

On Monday, the girls went shopping in Soho while my dad and Derek went to Wall Street.  Through some of Derek's work contacts, he was able to get himself and my dad on the floor at the stock exchange!  This, by far, made Derek's NYC experience complete.

Hayes Christopher Bland

We are excited to announce that we have given our little man a name!  He will be called "Hayes Christopher Bland".  We fell in love with the name "Hayes" and especially liked that it was the name of my late grandfather on my mother's side.  Christopher is also Derek's middle name.  We love giving our son a name that has so much meaning and history in our family.  We just can't wait for him to arrive!!

Paw Paw Bland's 90th Birthday

This past weekend we traveled to East Tennessee for Derek's grandfather's 90th birthday party!  Derek and his grandfather have always been very close so it was great to be able to see him reach this milestone in his life.  He is truly a sweet and wonderful man.  While we were there, we were able to surprise him with the news that we are having a boy!  He was excited to know that the Bland name would continue on.  I can't wait till our little man is born so we can get the four Bland generations together!

Derek and his Grandfather

With his wife, Wanell

The Family