We're home!

What a weekend!! It happened so fast, it seems like I was just posting Christmas stuff, talking about the possibility of having the baby. Well, we did!!

Meet Killian Aaron Reagh!

Aaron was born Friday morning at 11:12 after 13 hours of labor and about 30 seconds of pushing. :) He shares a birthday with his big sister and she's thrilled about it. I was so happy that she didn't mind. As Taylor put it, "Now I'll always have an extra birthday gift!" He was 7lbs 1 oz and was 19 inches long. It was a long labor since it stretched through the night, but so worth it. It took little effort to get him out, which was such a merciful blessing - I was so exhausted at that point. It was a great birth - the last part went so fast that none of the family and friends who were planning on being at the birth had made it! But it turned out to be a nice turn of events - it allowed Tom and I to enjoy the birth alone and have some time to bond without the distraction of other people. We were thankful for that time.

Here's what our family looks like now!


We just got home from the hospital today. It was nice to get rested up and have my time with the baby. I almost asked to stay another day. :) I have been completely exhausted so I wasn't sure I was ready to get back to reality. hehe But I'm so glad to be home, I missed my family! Plus, I rest better in my own bed and when I don't have to be prodded by the nurse for vitals every 2 hours! :)

I also missed my computer!! It's torture to have such great news and pictures and not be able to get it out there into the blogosphere! :)

And speaking of pictures... I have such a sad tale. After taking dozens and dozens of pictures of the time before the birth, the birth, and just afterwards our camera gave us a memory card error message. When Tom brought it home, it shows no pictures on the card! I was so sad. The good news is, we had the other camera with us! As soon as the error came up, we switched cameras so we still have lots and lots of pictures.

Cute, random facts about Aaron:
-He looks just like Brayden, the smaller version and a little less hair
-He's incredibly quiet and calm - he doesn't cry, he squeaks :)
-He has a deep dimple on his right cheek and a nearly invisible one on the left side.
-He didn't have a name for 2 days. Killian had been decided on, but the name we were actually going to call him eluded us until last night when I just decided he looked like an Aaron, a name that had never even been considered before. :)
-Mrs. Growden was his first visitor.
-He peed on Dr Hutcheson twice. :)
-After his first feeding the day he was born, he slept for 10 hours straight, worrying me to no end.
-He has big hands and in one picture is totally giving us the peace sign. :)
-He's a great nurser and such a cuddle bug.

Well, my little squeaker is squeaking. Enjoy the pictures!

Lots of posts and pictures

...and they're in reverse order. I was playing some major catch up. It might be best to scroll down to the "Snow in Texas" post and go up from there :) If we have a baby today, I'll be MIA for a few days at least. Hopefully Tom will post some pictures. :) Pray that Baby Reagh comes today and arrives safely!! See ya!

Happy Birthday, Chandler!

We didn't do much on Chandler's birthday yesterday. We're planning on having a party for him and Brayden later on in January ... sometime. I have to get this baby thing out of the way. lol Poor guy - stuck the day after Christmas. All Tom and I wanted to do was decompress. We got a special treat of sprinked dounuts and later I got him a pop gun set to go with his cowcoy costume he'd gotten for Christmas. He didn't seem to mind the lack of fanfare at all. He was very laid back about turning 5. We would hug him and wish him Happy Birthday several times throughout the day, each time almost to remind him. He'd smile and shrug and say thank you. :)

Helping with Christmas presents

I made Peanut Butter Blossoms to give to family along with our family calendar. The kids decorated the bags to put the cookies in. They were very pleased to be in on the gift giving process. :)

Christmas 2007

Here's some pictures of our Christmas morning and Christmas day with Tom's family.

Our Christmas Eve

We had our Christmas Eve early on Sunday- we let the kids open one present Christmas eve. We decided to do Christmas morning on Monday morning since we were spending the day with Tom's family Tuesday and we thought it would be more fun for them to get to play with their stuff longer. Plus, this allowed the real Christmas morning to be soley concentrated on Jesus and His birthday. We made a cake and sang happy birthday and read the Christmas story. It was a nice relaxing morning.

Friday

A few more pictures from the day of Taylor's recital - Friday. The boys had to get in on the picture taking action. :)

Snow in Texas!

I realised I'm very behind posting pictures! Merry Late Christmas, btw!! More on that in another post. I have lots of pictures to get posted before the baby comes! Which I hope is today! I've been contracting regularly all morning after a whole evening and night semi regularly. We had somewhat of a false alarm last Friday - It was more like we had decided to let a nurse friend help me *ahem*... progress. :-P I'd been contracting off and on and I was ready to have a baby! But then all the stuff I needed to do hit me - like give the house a good scrub down, get a bag packed and baby clothes washed AND we had Taylor's recital that day... not to mention, Christmas was rapidly approaching!! So I changed my mind. :) But not before word had spread like wild fire!! Sorry Dana! Thanks so much for the baby stuff and diapers though! It was really funny. I only told one person and in a few hours my mother in law was getting calls from coworkers out of state about her having a new grandbaby! :)

Anywho, here's some pictures from over a week ago. Our good friends and neighbors the Johnson's "make" snow by misting water from an air compressor overnight when it goes below freezing. The result is a fair amount of "snow" all over their front yard the next morning. Cool, huh? The kids had a blast. It's the only snow they'll be seeing this year, I'm sure! I sent the camera with them, and these are some of the shots they captured.

Taylor's Recital

Taylor got to wear her fancy new dress from Grandma to her Christmas recital. She was so excited about her dress. It looked just gorgeous on her. She did wonderfully on her songs - she said she messed up on one but I didn't even notice so it couldn't have been bad! :)



It's neat the way that Sharri does her recitals - instead of having it at a church for just parents, the kids play at Buckner Assisted Living community and the residents get to hear the kids also.

Family night

Tonight was family night - really though, unless one of us is gone, what night isn't family night?? :) We were planning on going downtown for the courthouse festivities, but I've had a cold that's been hanging on for over a week and I just didn't feel like going out in the cold for such a long time. Instead we stayed in, watched a movie, made puppy chow, had pizza and decorated a gingerbread Christmas tree. We also got some housework done that had we gone out, wouldn't have. I'm happy. :)

The kids loved the gingerbread tree. I think I prefer the house kit, there's more to do and you have more room for creativity.

Christmas Tea Party

On Thursday, Taylor went to her friend Bronwyn's house for a Christmas Tea Party. They had tea and hor'devours, made handpainted ornaments to take home and afterwards shed their fancy dresses for play clothes to jump on the trampoline. :) She had so much fun with her friends.

Such pretty ladies.

Wow

I came across these pictures (and others) of Brayden's birth. It hardly seems imaginable that this was nearly 3 years ago and we're about to do this again. I'm so excited! I love my birth pictures, they're so precious to me, despite looking like a slightly tan version of the Michelin man. ;)

I'm really looking forward to welcoming our new baby into the world. I love the birth experience. It's my favorite part of pregnancy, despite the pain. I'm still going back and forth about an epidual, but I'm not getting stressed about it. If I want it when the time comes, I'll get it.

With Brayden I went into it with my mind set on doing it totally drug free, just as I had with Chandler. I got to the hospital at a 7 with back labor that made it feel like I was already in transision and all of my resolve went out the window - I knew the worst was yet to come. I pleaded for anything just as long as it took away the pain NOW. :) Point being that I set myself up for feeling like I'd failed when I "chickened out". This time I'm going in with a very open mind. :) I've had it both ways and though the births were different, they were both great experiences. I'm just going to go with the flow and trust God. Hooray for discovering that it's ok to be laid back! lol

Our first family picture with 3 kiddos. Can't wait to get the same shot with 4!!! Come soon baby! :)

My first finished project!!

I finally finished a knitting project! I'm so proud of myself. Every pregnancy I knit, but never finish anything I start. This time around I learned to bind off, which is essential to finishing, so I think that's what spurred me on - knowing that I did indeed have the knowledge needed to finish this time! I'm still such a beginner, so don't look too closely or you'll see all my mistakes!! :) I told Taylor she could have my first scarf. She is thrilled. She wore it around all day - inside and out. :) I used a really soft yarn so it's very snuggley, not scratchy. I think I'll try one more scarf in a harder stitch/pattern - this one is all knitted rows, the simplest form of knitting. After that I just might try my hand at a baby blanket! We'll see how that goes.:)

Please pray

This has been the scene throughout my hometown, Collinsville, OK, since early Sunday morning. A large ice storm hit the town hard, causing widespread power outages and property damage. My family has been in the dark since Saturday night when it began to storm. They are in a better position than most, with two wood stoves for heat and cooking and propane for hot water. There's no word yet when they'll have power back on, the whole town has been affected, so it could be up to a week. Please keep Collinsville and my family in your prayers.

Finally!

Good news - Brayden is a big boy now! Potty training is officially done! Not to say he won't ever have an accident ever again, but it's been over a week since he had one, he tells me anytime he needs to do anything and he's been waking up dry in the morning for two weeks straight! I tried very unsuccessfully to potty train him several times since he turned 2 but it never would click with him. I decided not to stress and just wait. Now, just in time (I refused to have two in diapers!) it was like flipping a switch and he just got it pretty much from the get go. It was super easy - only two really bad yucky accidents. :) Great job Brayden!

All of his pants sag since switching from diapers to "big boy" underwear. :) He's not afraid to show it off either. :)

Christmas party

Our ELO Christmas party was today. The kids made crafts and decorated cookies, which they promptly ate. :) Afterwards we had a picnic outside in the sunshine. Is it just me that thinks it's craziness for it to be this HOT in December???

The kids all had a great time - I'm glad they enjoyed it. It took a lot out of me to prepare and go and be there with all the kids.... I collapsed on the couch as soon as we got home. I'm very tired these days. And not just at the end of the day anymore..... it's ALL day tired. I'm ready for this pregnancy thing to be over!! :)

Ice cream cone Christmas trees. Yum!

Painting a snowman birdhouse.

Working diligently on coloring his angel. :)

Lots of yummy snacks.

Showing off their finished projects - a Christmas tree and cookie, a birdhouse and ceramic "Merry Christmas" ornament and a beaded snowflake ornament.