Winter Storm '09

Here in Lexington, we have had ice and snow for the past 2 days.  It's fun to get winter weather, but I'm getting a little tired of it now!  Since it's so icy, it's really not safe for Brody to go out and play in it.  So, we're stuck inside, running out of things to do, getting tired of each other by the minute!  I'm guessing there will be no school tomorrow, so no Mom's Day Out! :(  Ryan's frustrated that he still has to go to work everyday no matter what the weather is like.  **sigh** Life of a lowly resident!

I had a doctor appointment yesterday that I managed to re-schedule so I could make sure to get in before the really bad weather hit.  Everything is great, the baby is doing just fine.  We have our big ultrasound February 18 in the morning.  We are definitely going to find out the baby's sex.  I just have a feeling it is a boy, I don't know why, just a gut feeling.  My sister is 3 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy.  She found out last week she is having a girl!  It'll be nice having a baby girl in the family.  Lots of pink and cute outfits to buy!  Jodi is due the end of June, I'm due mid-July! Crazy timing!

So, things here are going pretty well.  The footer for our house was layed last week when the temps were in the 50's!  It's exciting, but sort of scary.  It's like we have 2 houses now, no backing out!  I just hope we sell our house quickly!  Here's a picture of Brody shoveling the ice/snow with my Dad.  He liked the "dumping" part the best.

Brody the Fish!

Brody started swimming lessons this winter.  He LOVES the water and really has almost zero fear of it.  This time, I signed him up for lessons where Mom doesn't have to get in with him, yea! At first, all of the kids were a little skeptical of this new person helping them to swim.  But, by the end of the lesson, they were all a lot more comfortable.  Brody really wasn't worried at all!  He had a blast.  I hope he sticks with swimming as he gets older.  Ryan was a great swimmer, as were all of his brothers.  It's great exercise and a great way to spend time as a family.  Here are some pictures from his debut in the "Sea Turtles" swim class at the Y.

New House

Here is a picture of what our new house will "roughly" look like.  There is a house in Lexington built by our builder's partner that is the exact houseplan we are using.  The outside will look slightly different (our lot is not on a hill, the brick, siding and stone will be different colors) but you can get a pretty good idea what the house will look like.  We were fortunate to actually get in the finished house and walk around before we picked the plan.  It helped me a lot because I am a visual learner, I can't just go by looking at plans on paper.  We will probably get to go back once more to get details so we can better plan the inside of the house.  Fun!  Just thought I would share our excitement!

Christmas 2008

I know this is very late, but I finally got around to downloading our Christmas pictures.  Brody had a great time at his Grandma and Grandpa West's house.  All of his cousins were there to share in the fun and excitement.  He loved his new tricycle, his Mickey car track, and his Potato Head and Woody were great hits!  Brody is into Toy Story, so he has a new fascination with Woody, Buzz, and any other toy in that movie.  Hope you enjoy these pictures!

West Family News

We hope everyone had a great Christmas.  The West Family had a great holiday.  Brody enjoyed spending lots of time with his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and especially cousins!  Santa Claus came and left Brody lots of new toys and books.  He had a great time.  Shortly after, Brody and I both got pretty bad colds.  Of course, Brody's turned into an ear infection.  He is on antibiotics and is on the mend!

Our computer totally quit working on us about a month ago.  We have been without computer access (mainly internet!) for a long time.  We finally bought a new computer, an iMac.  I love it! I've never been a Mac user, but so far, it is definitely worth the extra expense.  I'll be learning new things every day, I'm sure.  

I know a lot of people know, but I thought I would make our news official.  We are expecting Baby #2!  I am almost 12 weeks, due July 20.  The last couple of months have been pretty rough.  Nausea 24/7!  It is so much harder being pregnant with a 2-year old running around.  I'm sure all you seasoned moms out there already know this.  We had a dr. appt yesterday.  We heard the baby's heartbeat and saw the little one on-screen during an ultrasound.  All is well so far, thank goodness.  I'm hoping I get my energy back soon!  This house is a disaster, that's for sure!  So, this summer is going to be CRAZY!  We will be selling our house, moving to our new house in August, baby arriving in late July, Ryan finishing residency and starting to study for his exam......  The list goes on and on.  I definitely lie awake many nights worrying about the next few months.  I'm sure it will all go well, as close-to-plan as possible.  

Happy New Year!

Holiday Update

It's been a while since I've blogged. No reason, just laziness. We celebrated my birthday last week. My parents watched Brody while Ryan and I went out to eat at Giuseppe's. Yum! I love that restaurant. We save it for special occasions, since it's kind of pricey. Then we went to Toys 'R Us to finish Christmas shopping. It was a nice night out.

Brody and I had a good time in St. Louis. Brody and Bryce had a blast running around the Hilton Hotel. I'm not so sure the hotel staff appreciated all of their fun. But, hey, what are 2-year olds supposed to do in that setting? They went swimming a couple of times, which was also fun. I really need to get Brody back in swimming lessons. He is a fish! Here's a picture of the boys hanging out in our hotel room eating a snack and watching a movie.

We also got all of our leaves raked just in time for the first snowfalls of the season. Brody loved helping with the leaves. You can really tell how much he has missed running around outside since the cold weather has come. He has a blast outside. Give the kid a ball, he's good for hours! Here are the most recent pictures of him. He's enjoying the Christmas season as well. Every house that is decorated for Christmas is a wonder to him! Ooohs and aaahhs all around! There is one house down the street where a reindeer pops up and down in a sleigh. We have to sit in front of that house for 10 minutes nightly to see the display!

It's Starting to Feel Like Christmas!

I love Christmas! It's my favorite holiday, but whose favorite isn't Christmas?? My birthday is next week too, which is always a nice little treat right before Xmas. Ryan is FINALLY starting to feel better. He had some strange virus that he picked up from UK Hospital. Who knows what it was. He thinks it started as a viral meningitis, and went into many other strange symptoms. He had blood-shot red eyes for a couple of weeks, body aches, headaches, severe fatigue, among many other things. But, it seems he is finally on the mend! We are all so glad to have him back to normal, or at least very close. It was a rough few weeks in the West household. Thanks to my mom and dad for helping us out a lot!

We have decorated our house for Christmas. The tree is up and decorated, the stockings are up, and all the knick-knacks we have acquired are up. We don't really have much, but I'm kind of glad. With moving next year, it will be nicer to just buy lots of new Christmas decorations for the new house. The only thing left is to hang the lights outside. We are waiting until Ryan feels up to it, since that part involves climbing a ladder! Speaking of our new house, I talked to the builder, and we are set to start building in February, '09! I am so excited! I just pray we can sell our house next year in a timely manner. That's what I'm really worried about, with the poor economy.

Brody and I are traveling with my parents this weekend to St. Louis. Tobin, my brother-in-law, has a basketball tournament there this weekend. Tobin is a Div. III b-ball coach at Hamilton University. His games are lots of fun to watch! I just hope Brody does ok! He will have his cousin Bryce to play with. But, if you know Brody, he tends to get a little bit excited around company. Bryce isn't so used to Brody's aggressive antics! So, usually it's a lot of "Brody, be gentle, Brody be nice, not so rough..." You get the idea.... But, we are looking forward to seeing everyone and having a nice trip.