Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas. We are recovering from too much food, cookies, toys, etc... Brody really enjoyed seeing what Santa left for him. He loved his new bike and helmet, as well as K'nex and leggos. But, his favorite was probably the Hungry, Hungry Hippo game! He talked about that game forever and that is all he really wanted from Santa. P.S. Raegan sat on Santa's lap this year, but again, Brody refused. This is his 2nd year in a row to not sit with the Big Man in Red. I don't blame him, I guess. It's a little freaky!

Raegan got a few things from Santa as well, but she mainly enjoyed watching Brody open his gifts. She also liked "eating" the wrapping paper!

The day before Christmas, Brody started getting a cough and runny nose. Of course, it turned into a full blown cold. The cough was pretty bad. He has a touch of asthma, so whenever he gets a cold, it goes straight to his lungs. Our number one priority was trying to keep him away from Raegan. The pattern is: Brody gets sick, a few days later....Raegan gets sick. We really didn't want that again. But, it is impossible to keep a 3-year old away from his baby sister. So, inevitably, Raegan got sick. She now has an ear infection, lovely! Last night, we got probably 2-3 hours of sleep. She was up all night. I'm hoping that was the worst and she will get better soon!

A new development....Brody is not sleeping that well lately. He is saying he is afraid of the dark, wants a drink 5 times during the night, which then results in going to the bathroom a couple of times. He's also not napping as well either. I am really hoping he is not getting rid of his nap. I have loved his great napping over the last 3 years. I'm not ready for it to go away!

So, this week I have lots of laundry to do and packing for this weekend. We are traveling the short trip to Cincinnati for Chris and Maggie's wedding. I really hope Brody behaves during the ceremony. I've heard it will be an hour long! My mom will be there taking care of Raegan and after the ceremony will take her back home. I'm grateful that I can enjoy the reception baby-free. Hope everyone has a Happy and Healthy New Year! 2010 will be great!

Brody's Christmas Program

Brody's preschool had their Christmas program today. It was so sweet. I had tears in my eyes as I watched my little boy walk in to the sanctuary to sing songs with his class. He is so grown up, not a baby anymore! Pretty soon, he will be in school all day and my time with him at home will be limited. I need to remind myself of this on those hard days when I'm exhausted and he is wearing me out. I love my little boy!

Here are some pictures of his program (my Dad took pictures while I took video). Raegan was in attendance too! She did really well. I am also posting some pictures of our decorations at home.

Holiday Update

We are getting ready for Christmas at the West house. All of our decorations are up, presents bought (not yet wrapped), and plans made for the holiday. Brody loves to turn on all the lights everyday. But, when he goes to sleep, he must have them all turned off again. Strange!

Last week I celebrated my 30th birthday! Wow, can't believe I am 30 years old. Time flies by! That day, I traveled up to Cincinnati for my soon-to-be sister-in-law's wedding shower. Raegan went with me. She was a good little girl and was the star of the party. Everyone wanted to hold her and love on her. When we got back home, my parents came over to watch the kids and Ryan and I went out to dinner at a great restaurant here in Paris called Migdalia's. It was so good!

Brody has his school Christmas program tomorrow afternoon. I am so excited to see my son's first of many school programs! I'm hoping to get it video taped, as well as get lots of pictures to post later.

Raegan is now eating solid foods. She loves fruits, of course! She likes some veggies but is not as thrilled with them. Sweet potatoes is her favorite! She is not a fan of cereals. I've tried several times to give her rice cereal and oatmeal. She just does not like it. Brody loved any kind of food I gave him. He was not picky at all! I have a feeling Ms. Raegan is going to be particular!

We are getting ready for my brother-in-law's wedding. Chris and Maggie are getting married January 2nd. Brody will be the ring bearer! He will look so handsome, I'm sure of it! Today, I bought Raegan her dress. It is so cute, pink with a white sweater. She will look adorable. I showed Brody her dress when he got home from school today. He said, "Oooh! She will look like a princess!" I just felt so proud of him when he complimented his sister. He's such a sweet boy!

Here are some recent pictures of the kids!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving in New York. We all traveled up north at different times, but all made it there safely. My dad drove up the Friday before, my Mom and Brody flew together on Tuesday, and Ryan, Raegan and I flew up Wednesday. Brody enjoyed flying. He never fell asleep, of course. But he kept my Mom busy. Raegan did pretty well. I'm glad Ryan was with me, so he could help when she decided to have a blow-out diaper mid-air! Sorry to the passengers around us. We had to change her at our seats!

Brody and Bryce had a good time. As usual, Brody is more of a rough player. He loves physical play, and Bryce is not such a fan. So, there was a lot of intervening when things got hairy! Also, lots of sharing/taking turns/being nice talks. 3-year olds have so much to learn! My parents stayed in a hotel (smart!), so the boys got to go swimming. We also managed to lug everyone to Tobin's basketball game. The boys had fun running around the gym. Raegan loved the noise of the game! The girls did well. Raegan was not a fan of sleeping away from her bed. So, her naps and nighttime routine were not great. Needless to say, we're glad to be home for that reason!

Here are some pictures of our weekend. Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving! Now, on to Christmas!!

Sickness Go Away!

Sickness has hit the West Family. It all started with Ryan. He got a cold a week and a half ago. It lingered for quite a while. I'm sure he is exposed to all kinds of bugs at his office, but he's really good about hand washing. Some things, you can't get rid of!

Brody started getting a fever and cold-like symptoms last Wednesday. He didn't go to school that Thursday. That night, he developed croup. He always seems to get the croup at least once a year. It's not fun when your child is having a hard time breathing. It's downright scary! But, after Ryan called in a steroid for him, he perked up and is doing fine now. Just has remnants of a runny nose and cough.

Raegan and I managed to stay well.....until yesterday. She started with a fever and fussiness. This morning, she woke up with major congestion. A little baby who can't breathe is just pitiful! I feel so bad for her. She still has her fever, tylenol doesn't do any good! She's too young for ibuprofen. So, I'm hoping her fever goes away today and we will fight off the cold. I have a cold now, as well. But, no sympathy for this mom. We never get sick days!

So, I'm hoping by next week, we will all be healthy. Boy, it's exhausting when your family is sick.

Some news....Raegan tried rice cereal a couple of days ago. She loved it! Here's a picture of her messy face. She's still figuring out the whole spoon thing. I remember when Brody first started eating, he knew exactly what to do. That child was born to eat!

Trick-or-Treating

The kids had fun trick-or-treating. Brody did a great job walking up and down hills and porches for almost an hour and a half! I kept Raegan at Grandma West's house, while Ryan and his brother took the bigger kids out. Brody got lots of treats and had a really fun time.

Halloween Festivities

We have been getting ready for Halloween at our house this past week. Last night we carved our pumpkins and roasted the seeds. Ryan did a great job with the pumpkins. Brody liked to help, along with his older cousin Logan. This year, Brody is going to dress as Buzz Lightyear! He's pretty excited about it. His costume was a hand-me-down from my cousin's kids. Thanks Kerri! Raegan will dress as a pumpkin, which is what Brody was his first Halloween. We're going to take the kids over to their cousin's house to trick-or-treat in their neighborhood. It should be a great time! I will post pictures next week. Here are some pictures of our fun Halloween festivities. Raegan supervised the pumpkin carving, but was dressed in her Halloween shirt. As you can see, she sure can have quite the temper. Must be that reddish/auburn hair of hers!

"I Will Give Her Some Toys Mom"

This morning, we were just doing the normal things. Brody was watching a show on TV, I was emptying the dishwasher and drinking my coffee, Raegan was laying under her toy watching the lights. She started to cry, so I started to walk over to pick her up. Brody answered "I will give her some toys Mom." Here is what I found when I walked over a few minutes later......

I had to laugh, he was so proud of himself! He was being helpful, just went overboard. He's a good big brother. He is very concerned when Raegan is crying and wants to help her feel better. I just always have to make sure that his idea of "help" is safe for Raegan!

Fall is Here!

We have been keeping pretty busy here in the West household. Ryan started private practice October 1st. He is really enjoying it. His moods are soo much better after a day at work compared to residency! We are really enjoying our new home. We're able to have friends and family over with all of the room downstairs for entertaining. It's a lot of fun.

Brody is doing great at preschool. It took a couple of weeks for him to get over the anxiety of it, but now he looks forward to going. He loves to hang his pictures on the refrigerator every day he gets home. He's fully potty trained and has been for a couple of months now. He was so easy to train, I think he was really ready for it. Thank goodness! We had his 3-year old pictures taken last week. They are sooo good. I will try to post one as soon as they come in.

Raegan is an absolute sweetheart. She is 3 months old today. Wow, time is flying by! I can't believe my little girl is that old already. I feel sad that her "infant" days have passed. But, she is getting more playful and interactive everyday, not to mention more adorable by the second!

We went to the pumpkin farm this past weekend with cousins Garrett and Aerial. They had a great time. Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Raegan's Sweet Smile

Isn't she sweet!?!?!?

Brody Playing Wii

Here is Brody and his first experience playing his Daddy's Wii.  As you can see, he totally gets into it and works up quite a sweat!  He's huffing and puffing, he is working so hard.  Hilarious!!

1st Day of Preschool!

Brody is now an official preschooler!  He is going Tuesdays and Thursdays to school from 9-1pm. He seems to really enjoy it.  His first day was great, no tears (from him)!  He likes his teacher and seems really happy when I pick him up.  What a big boy!

Raegan is now 2 months old!  Can't believe how sweet and lovable my little girl is.  She is getting to be quite the chubby baby too!  We go for her first round of shots tomorrow at her doctor's appointment.  Hopefully it isn't too bad.  We had a great time visiting with my sister and her family this past weekend.  I took Raegan and stayed for a few days in NY.  We had a nice visit, but I was glad to get home to see Ryan and Brody!

Stomach Bug!

Well, Brody has his first run of a stomach bug.  He has had a fever for 2 days now, threw up yesterday.  Today he is doing better, just not eating much.  He has managed to keep everything down, so that's improvement.

Raegan is doing well.  I must admit, she is not as great of a sleeper as Brody was as a baby.  She sleeps all night long, sometimes only waking up at 5-6am.  But during the day, another story! She will not settle for a nap.  Car trips in her carseat are pretty much the only way to guarantee she will be sleeping.  Frustrating!  But, at the end of the day, she is a sweet little angel, and you can't be mad at her!

Here are some recent pictures.