Staying Busy

Tomorrow is the last day in August! This summer has flown by, and I am so glad the Fall Season is upon us. Aside from Spring, Fall is one of my favorite seasons! Love the crisp air, colorful leaves, and football!

Brody is doing wonderful in Kindergarten. I was a little worried that he was not making friends very quickly. He is in a class where a lot of the boys already know each other from last year. A lot of them were in the same preschool class and Brody was in a different one.None of the boys from his class are in his K class. But, this week I have seen a huge improvement in that area. He has 2 playdates with classmates this week! Brody's favorite activities in school are P.E., music class, math, and doing projects (cutting, pasting, coloring). He really likes his teacher, which I'm so thankful!

Raegan has started to go to a preschool here in Paris on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She is there from 9am-3pm. They eat lunch at noon and have naptime from 1-3pm. She struggles with me leaving her, but her teacher says she has a great time and is totally fine the whole day. She is singing songs and learning how to draw in circles and is learning to play and share with other kids her age. Raegan is so happy to see me when I pick her up in the afternoons. I'm so proud of her!

While the kids are gone on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have been working at Ryan's office. Ryan's mom is the office manager and virtually has no back-up. She is training me to do most of her duties, so I can eventually take over her position when/if needed. I have learned to do the payroll, billing and coding, and so much more. I always knew my mother-in-law worked long, hard hours at the office. But I had no idea how much work she actually did in a single day. I am so glad I am going to help her out. Hopefully she can now sleep at night knowing she has a back-up!

I am really enjoying working. It has been 5 years since I left my full-time position at Lexmark. It is so nice to be a part of the "real world" again. It has been great for me and I'm even looking forward to working more as Raegan gets older. I love my kids and miss them when I don't see them. I wouldn't trade staying home with them for anything. I feel so blessed that I have so much time with them both. But, working a couple days a week has been really awesome for me.

Brody's 5th Birthday Party

Brody turned 5 years old on Monday, August 15! I can't believe I became a mom 5 years ago. Before that, all of my other titles in life were very insignificant compared to "Mom." He was born a big boy and has continued on that curve his whole life. Brody is a big, strong little guy. He is the tallest in his class, and probably one of the youngest! We love him to pieces, his weird quirks and all!

Brody had his first "friend" birthday party this year. We had his party at Monkey Joe's on Sunday the 14th. My mom was nice enough to stay home and watch Raegan. We felt bad not having her there, but she is not a fan of Monkey Joe, and suffers thinking about him for a few days after seeing him. We didn't want to traumatize her anymore.

There were 8 kids who came to Brody's party. They all had a great time playing, bouncing, and running around. They had pizza and drinks for lunch, followed by cake and present opening. I tried to hurry Brody along with the presents because it was kind of boring for all the other guests! The party was a great success!

Monday was his actual birthday. It was a little hard to explain to Brody why he had a party on the day before his real birthday. We took cupcakes to school, which they ate at snack time. Brody came home with a Birthday crown and they recognized his special day during assembly in the morning. Then, last night, we went to the UK Pros vs. Dominican Republic basketball game at Rupp. It was a great game, and so much fun to see the old guys back. Brody had a blast, and was VERY tired by the end of the game.

Wow, he has had a wonderful Birthday Weekend. I'm so happy to make fun memories with Brody. He's a good boy and we love him dearly. My Big 5 year old Boy!!

First Day of School

Today was Brody's first day of Kindergarten! He has been so excited for school to start since the last day of preschool in May. He loves school, and that makes me so happy. Brody needs structure and stability in his day, and school provides just that. There were no nerves, tears, or jitters. Brody woke up ready to go!

His teacher seems wonderful. Her name is Ms. Hampton, and the assistant's name is Mrs. Rule. Both seem super nice! As I walked down the hallway to pick him up at the end of the day, my first glimpse of him was as he took a great big yawn! I know he was tired, but had such a great day. Brody's not one to go on and on about his day, so I knew when I asked him how it was, I would get a short and sweet reply. "Good." He was happy to see Raegan, but believe me, not more than 5 minutes at home and the two were already back to their usual antics!

I think Brody will have a wonderful Kindergarten year. I am so proud of my son and can't wait to see him grow over the next several school years.

Vacation on Fripp Island, SC

We had a wonderful beach vacation this summer at Fripp Island, SC. The island is close to Beaufort and Hilton Head. We had never been before, but would definitely go again, hopefully next year! It is a beautiful, gated island. The beaches were gorgeous and very private. At the busiest time of day, there were maybe 4 or 5 other families in sight on the entire beach. It was a West Family Vacation! We went with my in-laws, Ryan's brother Richard and his family of 6 and Ryan's brother Morgan and his wife Andrea. The house we rented was perfect for our family, right on the beach. Walk outside the backdoor and you heard the waves crashing and saw the sun shining!

The trip down was pretty good. It took about 10 hours total, including stops and breaks. The kids did really well, thanks to movies and electronic game devices! The only setback of the entire trip was that first night.

I was feeling fine all day, until the evening. We went to bed around midnight, and I had an upset stomach. I was up all night in the bathroom, shaking with chills and just feeling really poorly. Around 2:30, I called Ryan in to the bathroom. I felt like I was on the verge of passing out. Luckily I did call him, because a few minutes later, I was out cold on the floor! I was only out a few seconds, and when I woke up, there were lots of people around me. Luckily, there were 3 doctors in the house and 1 nurse! I felt like I was in good hands. If the story stopped here, it would've been pretty eventful. But, oh no, it continues. I then started to feel the worst abdominal pain that I have ever felt, the worst pain I've ever felt period! Worse than labor and delivery pain! There was no relief from the pain, and it continued for well over an hour. My father-in-law decided we needed to go to the ER. They all suspected it was my gall bladder. While in the car, it seemed that my pain started to diminish. By the time we got there, I was pretty much pain-free. They evaluated me, did blood work and an ultrasound. I ended up with a diagnosis of gall bladder stones. The ultrasound showed gall bladder wall thickening, which is a strong indicator of a diseased gall bladder. So, I am going to probably get it removed now that we are back. I could wait to see if I get another attack, but I prefer to NEVER experience that pain again.

Gosh....sounds so dramatic! After we returned from the ER, it was about 8am. My sister-in-law watched the kids, and they were awake, of course, and ready to hit the beach! So Ryan and I went out with them, even though we could barely keep our eyes open! I was pain-free, just exhausted. After a nap in the afternoon, I felt like a new person. The rest of the week was wonderful! The kids had a great time at the pools and beach! The island is filled with families and the main mode of transportation is via golf cart. That was a huge hit amongst the kids! My nephews Logan and Garrett loved to drive around. Brody and Raegan enjoyed being passengers. There were deer all over the island, and they were so comfortable with people. They would come right up to you and allowed you to pet them and feed them. Brody loved that. Raegan did as long as she had some distance. We made day trips to Beaufort and Charleston. They were beautiful towns, the homes were gorgeous. Breakfasts and lunches were eaten at the house, and we went out to dinner most nights.

Aside from the first night, we had the best family vacation! Everyone got along and enjoyed each other's company. The kids were well-behaved and had a great time. We all can't wait to get back to Fripp Island next summer. Enjoy some of our pictures below!

Happy Birthday Raegan!

My baby is 2 years old! I can't believe it. She has grown so much since her last birthday. She is talking NON-STOP! Between Raegan and Brody (and Ryan), the only peace and quiet I get comes at 9pm! My children did not inherit my calm/peaceful/quiet personality. They are definitely Wests!!

Raegan no longer walks, but runs everywhere. She climbs on anything that sits still. She is a pro at aggravating her older brother. Raegan loves to watch Toy Story, any one of the 3 movies will suffice! She loves to sing and to be sung to. Her favorite toys are her babies. She loves to rock them and shush them and give them bottles. She is showing signs of wanting to potty train, but not quite there yet. Raegan is a fiesty little girl, very smart and sassy. She is also the sweetest, friendliest, and happiest little girl. We are so lucky to have her in our family of 4. We love you Raegan Lee! Happy Birthday!!

Brody Can Swim!

Brody just finished a two-week session of swimming lessons at Transy. We had never been there before, but decided to try it. He has been so close to swimming for a year now, so I really wanted to get him over the hump this summer. Transy has great facilities, and really nice instructors. There were only 2 kids per adult, so he got lots of private instruction. He really enjoyed it, and learned so much!

At the end of every class, they were allowed to jump off the diving board, which of course he was all about. On the last class, he asked the teacher if he could jump off the high dive! I was shocked. He didn't mention this to me, so I didn't know he was wanting to do it! He got up there and was about to climb up the ladder, but no one was going to be up there with him. I protested just for a minute and requested someone walk behind him. I could just imagine what could happen if he got up there and freaked out, 10 feet up on a narrow board! Gladly, someone followed him up the ladder and onto the diving board. My brave little boy took one look down at the lifeguard who was in the water waiting for him to jump in, and JUMPED!! I was so proud of him! I know I didn't jump off the high dive until I was at least 10. Even then, I was scared, and probably wouldn't be able to do it today! I'm so glad he has the gumption to do such things, at not even 5 years old! Unfortunately, I was watching all of this while trying to contain Raegan as well. So, I did not get pictures of Brody jumping.

So, all in all, swimming lessons at Transy were a great success. He can now swim on his own, though it isn't always pretty! He feels more confident in his swimming abilities, going underwater to swim, starting to use strokes, and dog-paddling like a champ! Way to go Brody!

Happy 4th of July!