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!?!?!?