Reese's Room

It is finally finished. I have to give credit where credit is due- Nathan did all of the painting, the boys made the large canvas', my sister made the initials, and my mom made the bedding and curtains. All I did was arrange the room.

More hospital pics

These are pictures Megan took while visiting us at the hospital (you can tell cause they are way better than my pics) Thanks again Megan :)

swim lessons

So this is a make-up post. Last month, we signed Griffin up for swim lessons at the Pflugerville rec center. He has always been hesitant in the water- he loves to be in the pool, but putting his head under, jumping off, etc...not so much. Since we had never done this before, we signed him up for the first "stage", Preschool I. I must put a plug in here for the rec center. We were VERY impressed. The cost was reasonable, it was a perfect time frame (4 days a week for 2 weeks) and the instructors were great. griffin did great the first day and they immediately moved him up to the next level. He loved the lessons and made leaps and bounds in his swimming. He now loves to go under (with his new goggles on) and to jump in with his life jacket on. Overall it was a great experience for us and we would recommend it to others.

Reese, 2 weeks

We just had Reese's 2 week check. She is 8lbs, 3oz (almost a pound over birthweight). This is a first for our family- we might actually have a chubby baby :). She is in the 75th % in weight and the 50th in height (20 in). Everything was perfect- thanks be to God! We are so blessed!

Our Family

Reese, 6 days

These pictures were taken by my good friend and GREAT photographer, Megan. Her website is www.MeganDrennon.com. These pictures are amazing and really capture the personality of our boys as well as our sweet little Reese. Thanks Megan!

Griffin's birthday party

This year we kept it simple and invited a few friends to Chuck-E-Cheese. It turned out to be a fun afternoon, despite the crowd. Here are a few pictures of the day.

Happy 5th Birthday Griffin!

Griffin,

I can't believe my baby is 5! You are so smart and so full of life- I am constantly amazed at your imagination and your sense of humor. Although you tire me out with your endless energy, I love to watch you play with superheroes with your brother and do "powers" with your daddy. You never run out of ideas!

Even with your loud play and crazy high energy level, you have such a soft heart. You do not like to disappoint and often break down when you do. You are sensitive and thoughtful and never are without a hug and love for your mom and dad. I know that God will use this part of you to bless the lives of others as you grow up.

Griffin, you have always been a bright child- you talked early, learned your ABC's, number, and colors with little effort. I have enjoyed watching you learn both in school and Bible class and I look forward to seeing you soak up everything you are taught as you go on to school (although I am glad that I have one more year at home with you).

Your Daddy and I are so proud of you and we love you so much! You are a great big brother to Tucker and I know you will be to Reese as well. Happy Birthday son!

Love,
Mom and Dad

Oh, and Happy Anniversary Nathan! I know our day gets lost in the shuffle, but I love you more than anything and I am so blessed to have spent these last 7 years with you. I can't wait for many more together. I love you!

A Good Night's Sleep...

Finally!! Last night we finally got our first pretty full night's sleep in a week and it was much needed. Starting last Tuesday night when I woke up at midnight with contractions, Nathan and I have been up at least half of every night. We spent the following 2 nights in the hospital and you know how sleep is there, and the first 4 nights at home Reese has had a little bit of day/night mix-up. She sleeps most of the day away, no trouble at all going down and would probably sleep hours on end if we let her. Then when night comes, she is all of the sudden wide awake and hard to get to sleep. She has had a good stretch every night of about 3-4 hours, but the rest of the night has been very long. But last night, thanks to our friend Julie and her gliding/swing like contraption that she let us borrow, we put her down at 11 in it and she slept until 3:30! She woke up, ate, and slept till 7. It may not happen again for a while, but it feels good to feel normal for a day :)

More pictures

Reese Madalyn Smith

She is HERE! Reese Madalyn Smith was born at 7 am on June 6th. She weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz and was 19 in long. Although she did come on her induction date, she came on her own terms and her own time (not sure if this is a sign of things to come :)). I was scheduled to go in at 7, but we ended up going to the hospital about 3:30 am with contractions. She already has a mind of her own (but I shouldn't expect anything different from my children!). We got to come home from the hospital around 10am on Friday morning and everything is great. She is absolutely perfect! The boys are just gooey over there little sis and we are adjusting now to our family of five. Thanks to all for the comments and well wishes. We are excited to share her with everyone.