Happy Birthday Brody!

Brody is now officially a 3-year old!  His birthday was this past Saturday.  We had a fun family party for him at our house.  Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were all there.  Brody had a great time!  He got several new toys and sporting equipment.  We are so blessed to have such a loving family close by.  Brody loved eating his cake, but got very shy when we sang to him. He refused to blow out his candles!  It was cute.  Here are some pictures of the party.  There's also a nice family picture we managed to take.  It's so sweet to have a family of four!

One month old!

I can't believe my little girl is already one month old!  Raegan is doing really well, she is such a wonderful addition to our family.  She is already starting to smile and really loves to be talked to. She immediately moves her head around when she hears her big brother talking.  She's already had cradle cap and baby acne.  Ugh!  Brody had the same exact thing at her same age. Must run in the family!

Brody is doing well.  We have started potty training.  He is doing pretty well.  Still won't go potty on his own, but will go when we ask him to.  He is doing well with peeing, just not very well with the "other."  I'm hoping he'll get it soon!  It's not fun at all to clean up messes!

Brody turns 3 tomorrow!  We are having a family birthday party for him after his nap.  I'm sure he will have a great time.  I'll be sure to post pictures later.

New Pictures

Here are some new pictures of what we have been up to lately. Raegan is doing great! Brody is being an awesome big brother. We are adjusting to having 2 kids, it is an adjustment! We all enjoyed my sister and her kids visiting us last week. Brody and Bryce had a great time, in between lessons of sharing and taking turns! The baby girls were adorable. Can't believe it's already August. Brody turns 3 next Saturday. Boy, does time fly by!

Raegan Lee West

Raegan is here!  She decided to come a little early, July 13, 2009 at 4:38am.  She weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.  She is just perfect!  We are so in love with her. Brody is a great big brother!  He is very concerned when she is crying.  He is very gentle and aware of where she is.  We are pretty pleased with his reaction.

I ended up having a regular delivery, no surgery this time!  I'm very happy about that.  Although I'm very sore, it sure beats recovering from a cesarean.  Ryan has been a huge help the past week, taking care of Brody while we were still in the hospital, and helping out with Brody while I'm feeding Raegan.  I am breastfeeding her, which is a big change for me.  I tried to breastfeed Brody, but he would have nothing to do with it.  Raegan is a champ!  She's a great eater, and has had no problems with it so far.  I will say, it takes a LOT more time to breastfeed, and sometimes I wish I could give her a bottle.  But, I really like the closeness I feel with her, and I know it's good for her.  So, I'm going to try to keep it up as long as I can.  My only concern is that when Ryan is not around as much, I will not have as much time for Brody as I would like.

Here are some pictures of our first week with Raegan.

Horse Park

We had a nice and quiet Fourth of July.  Of course, it was rainy and cool, so the weather was not typical.  But, I certainly enjoyed the cooler temps!  I didn't really take pictures, but here is one from when I made cookies.  Brody knows when I make cookies, he gets to lick the beater. Here's a picture of him doing just that.  

Brody and I went to the Horse Park today.  I feel bad, because these last few weeks, I have had very little energy to do fun things with him.  So, today we ventured outside to play.  We found the area where they keep the ponies for the kids to ride.  He has no fear of animals.  He was petting the ponies and letting them nibble his fingers.  The video below shows him right before the pony took a for real bite of his finger!  He was ok, just shed a few tears and we were on to the next thing.

There was a real nice park nearby, so of course we tried it out.

  Brody loved it.  He made friends with a few kids there.  No matter where we go or what we do, Brody always makes new friends. He is so much more social and outgoing than I ever was!  I'm glad for his sake that he is.  It will serve him well in life.  Here's a picture of one of the girls helping him on the playground.

After we played at the park, we got a hotdog and lemonade for lunch.  They had a really cute little concession stand at the kids area.  Once lunch was over, I was very hot and Brody was getting tired.  So, that was our morning.  It was nice to spend some time doing what he wanted to do.  With the move into the new house, we haven't had much time to just do fun Brody things.  Especially with the new baby coming next week, I know we really needed a day just for him!

Our New Home!

We are finally moved in and mostly settled into our new house!  Our move went pretty well, considering it was the hottest day we've had this summer, around 93 degrees!  Nothing was broken or damaged, so that's the best thing.  Ryan's mom helped us so much with the move.  They stayed at the house and put up blinds while I stayed with the movers.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted, my feet and back were really hurting, and I had a huge headache.  But, it was a success. I did run into a snag when I couldn't find the screws for the baby crib or our bed frame.  We found them yesterday in the last box we looked in, so Ryan put both beds together last night.  We now have TV, internet, and phone, so life is starting to feel back to normal.  

Ryan's last official day as a UK resident was yesterday.  He went to sign out and turn in his pager and sign final paperwork.  I'm sure it was very strange to leave UK.  He has been affiliated with UK for 12 years straight!  4 years in undergrad, 4 years of medical school, and 4 years of residency.  He is officially finished with school/training!  His board exam is late August, and then he will officially be on his own!

Here are some pictures of our new house.  We are still unpacking a few boxes and have all of our pictures/frames left to hang on the walls.  But, it's definitely starting to look like home!

Baby Alexa Anderson!

My sister had her baby girl yesterday!  Alexa Marie Anderson was born just after noon on Thursday, June 25.  She was 8 lbs, 5 oz, 20 inches long.  She seems to be just perfect!  Jodi is recovering after a cesarean, and she should be able to go home by Sunday.  My mom is up in NY with her, and my dad will be leaving this Sunday.  I really wish I could be there to meet my new little neice, but obviously my condition prevents me from traveling!

We are moving tomorrow!  Our house is finished, we close on Monday afternoon.  The builder is being very gracious and letting us move in this weekend.  I will feel so much relief living in our own house and getting things organized a little bit before our little girl arrives.  Which, could be sooner than later!  My last doctor appointment was this past Tuesday.  I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced!  I will be 37 weeks on Monday, but I have a feeling this little one will be here soon!

Here are 2 pictures of Baby Alexa.  What a doll!