Cousin Time!

Justin, Lindsay, Britten and Baby Ellie are in Texas for a while to visit. We got to hang out with them and the rest of the cousins on Monday and Tuesday. I FINALLY got to see and hold sweet baby Ellie. Let me tell you, she is tiny but gorgeous! She has so much hair and the biggest, darkest eyes. My son, of course, makes her look even smaller! We had so much fun hanging out at Gammy and Pa-paw's and getting to see Chrissy and her 3 sweet kids. It was a zoo with SEVEN kids under 3 1/2, but tons of fun!

Here are a few pictures first of my 2 sweet kiddos on Sunday. Ryan hanging out in his bouncy seat and Taylor in her new swimming pool...

seriously mom, no more pictures!!

such sweet eyes!

a rose from our rose bush out front

Taylor in her new pool

precious Ellie

check out her beautiful eyes!

Cooper getting tickled by Pa-paw

Gammy and Pa-paw and 7 of their 9 grandkids

Ellie and Ryan...only 11 days apart!
sweet cousins


Clayton has beautiful eyes!

Cheese Britten
swimming at Gammy and Pa-paw's

2 weeks

Ryan turned 2 weeks old this past Monday. I took him to the doctor for his check-up, and he's doing great! He's weighing in at 9 lbs 4 oz!! He's eating great, obviously! It was my first outing with 2 kids all by myself. It was an interesting day, but we survived. It's tough because when I drive to Lubbock (about 1 hr away), I want to get all my errands done. So dragging a 2 1/2 yr old and a newborn around Lubbock all day, plus 2 hours in the car makes it a little stressful. Not to mention that we were in the doctor's office for an hour and a half! But considering all that, Taylor did really well and Ryan just sleeps through most of it!

Ryan is such a sweet baby. We are so blessed!! It looks like he's still going to keep those blue eyes for now...they are much more blue than Taylor's ever were. And we've also noticed that he's got lots of red tones in his hair. I think he'll definitely be blond, but maybe strawberry blond!! He has a dimple on his right cheek that's really deep. Taylor's is on her left cheek, so as they get older, I'll have to put Ryan on Taylor's right when I take pictures so their dimples are on the outside (ha!). We are loving having a boy and are so thankful that he's healthy and happy!

Taylor is still doing really well with all of the changes. She's had more potty accidents than normal and pushes my buttons a bit more sometimes, but I was expecting all of these things. Yesterday, she opened a bottle of nail polish (hot pink, of course) and spilled a big blob on the carpet. I'm actually surprised that this is the first time it's happened! A new change with Taylor is she's starting the understand the whole "making friends" thing. Our neighbors have a 6-year old girl that loves to play with Taylor. They play at each other's house all the time. The thing is, I don't think Taylor understands that she's not as old as Alana. I have to remind her of this, especially when we are at the playground and Taylor thinks she can do all the things Alana can. It's fun to see her with friends, but sad also. Mom and Dad are no longer her favorite play-mates. :-)

Of course, I have pictures to share of my sweet kids!!

I love the onsie Ryan has on (a hand-me-down from Cooper). It says (Not) 2 Little 2 Dunk

Before church on Sunday

Ryan Update

We made it through the first week!! Ryan is a wonderful baby and Taylor has done great with him. She was holding him the other day and he was fussing a little bit. She started singing rock-a-bye-baby and he stopped crying and just stared at her. It was too precious for words...I've got to get it on video! She has seemed to just go right on with life as if nothing has changed, which is great! You'll notice that most of the pictures of Ryan are of him asleep...gosh, I don't remember Taylor sleeping this much. I'm sure she did, though...you just forget these things. :-) We are loving being a family of four and soaking up all of Dustin's time-off right now.

We went to the doctor Friday for his weight and color check. He was a little jaundice, but not enough to worry about. When we left the hospital Wed he was 8 lbs 6 oz. On Friday, he was up to 8 lbs 8 oz already!!! That's my big boy...he's a great eater! Enjoy the pictures!

This cute onsie is from my friend, Ashleigh

All wrapped up after his bath...robe from Brad, Kari, Tin and Kelc

First bath
More bath

Aunt Staci came to visit!

Sleeping on Daddy's chest

My boy's...melt my heart!!

Aunt Staci brought Taylor this baby doll in an infant carrier so she can carry her baby like Mommy will carry Ryan when he gets big enough.

Can you tell how much she loves the doll?! She rode to the playground with it and played!

Sweet sleeping boy!

Everyone commented that he looks like Taylor. I think he looks more like his Daddy...especially with eyes open! I'm hoping for blue eyes!!

Ryan Samuel

Ryan Samuel is here!! He arrived Monday, July 6th at 3:51 pm, weighing in at 8 lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches long!!! He's quite a big boy. We are very glad to be home! Taylor is very excited and doing well so far. She enjoys loving on him and kissing him. She wants to hold him all the time! I've got lots of pictures and you know there will be more to come!

July 4th and Class Reunion

We had a great 4th weekend! We came to Lubbock Thursday for my last doctor's appointment and just stayed here for the weekend. I go into the hospital TONIGHT for cervidil and they will start pitocin tomorrow morning. Ryan Samuel will be here tomorrow...yay!!! We've had a great weekend with family and friends. Taylor got to hold her first sparkler last night and loved it! She also "swam" (floated) on her own in a big pool! I was so proud of her!

We also had our 10 year high school reunion this weekend. It was great to see so many people I hadn't seen in a while! Everyone met at Fox and Hound Friday night, then met up again Saturday at the Slaton Park. It was great fun. Here's proof from the fun weekend...

Taylor "swimming"

She loved the sparklers! So does her mommy!

Sidewalk chalk at Gammy and Pa-pa's house

One last belly shot...39 1/2 weeks!
At the park...Lori, Justin and Dustin

Brooke, Me, and Melody

Mike and Dustin being goofy
Me and Shannon

Me, Annetta and Ashleigh

Group Picture

Dustin and I before the reunion Friday night