Just a few more cute Reag and Gav moments!!

Alright, I have to write about some more sweet moments with my babies.  

I was talking to Gavin and asked him "Gav, who loves you?" he replied, "umm... mommy!?"

I said "uh hu, who else?" he said  "daddy yuv(love) me, yeagy(reagy) yuv me, umm... havin (gavin) yuv me....(him thinking)  Dat's (That's) all!!"  It was so sweet.  

Gavin and Reagan sing together all the time.  She helps him to learn or remember the words to primary songs.  We started singing some of them to her when she was just a baby, so she knows the words quite well by now.  He started to sing Love Is Spoken Here.  We could only make out a few words here and there but we knew it was that song.  He ended with a very confident smiley "Yuv is Poken Ere."

Today Reagan was playing the piano with Gavin, (not making any sense of the notes) but she started to sing and what she sang was so sweet, she sang " We lead the way to follow Jesus Christ." I'm not sure where it came from but it was really sweet and just reminds me of how close to the Savior our children are.

more later, Brandi

Brandi's Growing Belly...

We thought that an updated picture would be good.  I am growing especially now that I can't do ANYTHING!!  We will keep it updated every month. 

Virtual Christmas Card (Picture Below: Reagan's Santa Claus)

Hey everyone just thought we'd give you a little update and do what we consider our virtual christmas card.  Brandi is officially on strict bedrest.  Meaning no going anywhere but to the bathroom.  This little change has affected our christmas plans so we're being required to stay home this year for christmas.  It's all good though, it'll be fun.  Kind of exciting to get a peek at how it will be when we're older staying home with our kids for each christmas.  The doctor just felt that a 2 hour trip to logan would be too much to handle on the already touchy situation.  She's only 28 weeks along and contracting to the point where sometimes she has to breathe through them.  Yea, it's pretty scary.  WE WANT BABY TO COOK SOME MORE!  

Anyways, just an update on our last year.  Brandi and I are doing great.  Things are better than they ever have been.  We each are more aware of each others' needs and willing to do what it takes to make the other happy.  Except for the last couple of weeks due to being on bedrest, Brandi is a full time stay at home mom.  

Except for the last couple of weeks for myself, I work at Human Dynamics & Diagnostics, working as a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist.  In short it's counseling kids with behavioral problems and helping them learn skills to better deal with some of the really adverse environments in which they live in.  I love spending time with my kids and Brandi and really enjoy our times we spend together.  For the last couple of weeks I've been pulling the load of full time dad, full time housekeeper and full time worker.  It really takes its toll sometimes but I have heavenly help that really assists with the burden and i enjoy the responsibility to take care of my family in every way that I can.  

Reagan is loving preschool and cries the days that they don't have it.  She is so gosh darn smart and her teachers are so impressed with her.  All of the other kids love her to death and she's never lacking more attention.  Recently she has really gotten into drawing pictures and surprisingly enough they are really good.  They used to be just scribbles but it's been fun to see how they have progressively gotten better and more recognizable as actual resemblances of what she is recreating.  

Gavin stays at home and does his 2 year old stuff.  Making messes, playing with his "pirate"sword  pronounced "piewhat" as he says it (the narrow tip attachment to the vacuum) and eating everything he can find.  We're trying to get him potty trained now but he's not seeming to get it quite yet.  He says "potty" and will get his potty seat out, but when we put him on the toilet he sits for about 30 seconds and says he's done.  About 15 minutes later however, we're usually changing a poopy diaper.  Oh well, he'll get it soon enough.  

Anyways, things are great around here and we wish all of you a merry christmas.  Again consider this our christmas card to everyone.  Yea, we're cheap.  :)

Out of the Mouth of Babes!

Tonight when I was cuddling with Reagan to put her to bed she said out of the blue "When I grow up I want to be a doctor, dentist, and a life guard.  So I can help kids across the street.  I want to be a dentist to help fix peoples teeth.  Oh and I also want to be a hospital."  Which is really funny because she hates the dentist more than being sent to her room.  She is so cute.  It would be real funny if she did end up being a dentist.  I love when Reagan just says things out of nowhere.  It's fun to be a parent. 

Gavin was sitting on the couch coloring while Reagan and I were sitting on the computer chair talking to my mom on the phone.  I asked Reagan if it was time to put Gavin down for a nap and I suddenly saw Gavin pop up over the couch and say "No mom!" Then he sat back down and started to color some more, it was so funny.  He heard me and let me know what he thought.  I love it.

HOORAY for ME...NOT!!!

So I have been officially put on bed rest.  I  had my 25 week check up on Friday and told the doctor that I had been feeling contractions for about a month.  I just figured they were Braxton Hicks (which are real, they just don't affect the cervix) and she said they were normal and show sooner with each baby.  Well she told  me to limit my activity and take a few more 15 minute breaks.  So we decided to still go on our Christmas Tree adventure the next day.  I started having stronger contractions 5 minutes into the hike.  We were up there for 4 hours.  Ry finally told me to sit and not move.  He finished  cutting down the tree with my brother and bro-in-law and met the kids and I and some family back at the Jeep.  Well, needless to say that was a very bad idea.  I was very sore and tired when we got home.  I could not sleep that night.  I woke from the contractions and when I started to track them they were anywhere form 3 to 10 minutes apart. (Again I am 25 weeks) So this is not good.  I called my doctor and she said I didn't listen very well and to get to the hospital to get monitored for a while.  The contractions all showed up but my cervix is not acting up because of the contractions (which is what makes them braxton hicks) but I called today and they want me down as much as possible and to keep tabs with them.  This is going to be (oh wait it already is) so hard.  I have Reag and Gav to take care of.  And myself while Ry is at work.  He has been so supportive of this. He hasn't even complained about having to pick up ALL the slack.  I could not do this with out him.  I have a great ward and lots of family around so we will be okay.  (I THINK!!)  Anyways that is the most recent in our lives.  

more later

Brandi

Christmas Tree 2007 (Hunt & Decorating)

Wow what a weekend!  We got a tag from the Forest Service to cut a tree for Christmas so we took the kids up to Fall Creek, near Swan Valley, ID yesterday to pick one.  What an experience.  We drove the Jeep up some pretty crazy terrain slipping and sliding until we finally got to a place where we could park and start to hike.  We looked for a few hours until Brandi could barely move and started contracting.  Yea smart move on our part.  She's only 26 weeks along and Friday we had met with the doctor which told Brandi to take it easy and reduce her amount of activity.  Ha ha yea right.  Brandi is the pickiest person with Christmas Trees and everyone of them that would have suited your typical person received a response like, "That's too yellow," or "That one's too bare," and "Are you kidding?!"  At that rate we would have been up there all day, but stamina can only go so far.  I eventually forced her to stay put and to rest with her sister and the kids while I took off to finish choosing one.  Eventually I found one and cut the sucker down.  Then came the part of having to drag it BACK up the hill that I had just descended.  Well being in the incredible shape I'm in, i was 2 seconds away from blacking out.  Finally I came to the road and dragged it the rest of the way to where we had parked.  Meanwhile Reagan had not made it to the bathroom in time and so Brandi had quite a mess (yes number 2) to clean up while I was off galavanting around the snow covered terrain.   Reagan was freezing by the time I got back because Brandi had to strip her down to change her clothes meanwhile Gavin was laying in the sled totally zonked out.  Being his condition with 1 1/2 lungs and being at such a high altitude, he just rode in the sled that Jake pulled around.  Lucky.  So anyways we finally got it home and put up and just finished decorating it this afternoon.  Turned out pretty good.  But needless to say, I imagine I will think twice before I do this again with a pregnant wife, a daughter with unmentionable bowel troubles, and a son with half the normal breathing capacity.  Oh yeah and me also being in incredible shape.  

Sweet Reagan and Her Prayers

This is my first time putting anything on our blog.  This is fun.  I thought I would give it a try and vent a bit at the same time.  

Being a parent is so rewarding and hard at the same time.  I don't know who thought up terrible 2's, because Reagan is 4, looking back her 2's were a breeze.  She is the first child though.  Maybe that has a lot to do with it.   (Because Ry and I are perfect parents!!)   I just don't know sometimes how to deal with her attitude.  She is so sweet and fun-loving.  I had no idea what other moms and dads were telling me when they said they loved there kids.  You don't know what that means until that baby is in your arms.  I have never loved someone so much at first meeting.  I think that is why I get discouraged about how to deal with behaviors.  I love her so much and just want the best for her.  This all goes for Gavin to but he is still just a baby.  

Reagan loves to say her prayers or family prayers or any prayer at that.  This morning she said her prayers and I was sort of confused and touched when she said "please bless me to love my mom and dad." I didn't know if she was saying "I am struggling to love them, or if she was just saying help me to love them today."  It was sweet and funny.  She also never forgets to say "bless the baby to come out."  I always laugh.  I sure hope it stays in for a bit longer.  As anxious as we are to see the baby, we can wait. 

We only have 15 weeks left, holy cow it has flown by.  We are still not set on a name so send them our way if you are willing to share them.  

Alright that is all for now.  

More later,  Brandi

The End of Thanksgiving Weekend

So here we are a couple of days after all of our consumption of various meats, treats, veggies and carbs.  All of the after Thanksgiving Day Sales have died down and we start to feel that holiday spirit.  I seriously love the Holidays.  The lights, the cold air, even the cheesy christmas music already playing on the radio 24/7.  Brandi and I woke at 3:30 AM to join the madness of Black Friday.  I love that day.  It's so enjoyable in a demented way to watch people act like idiots for an Elmo doll.  We ended up getting some pretty amazing deals though so a total win-win situation.  Reagan is ecstatic about Christmas coming up.   Everything she sees in the store she says, "mom put that on my list okay?"  Everyday she wakes up she asks, "is it time for Christmas yet?"  Gavin is completely oblivious.  Oh well.  He's two and the only important thing for him to remember is where he put his toy cars.  

Today was interesting though.  We started talking to a couple at church today and found out that their son had also been born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia.  What are the odds?  It was cool that we were able to relate to their story about the whole ordeal.  Their situation was a bit different though in that they found the deformity in-utero and he only had a 7% chance of living.  His stomach was actually resting on his heart.  He also only has one lung.  I consider us extremely blessed with our situation having been so short of an ordeal compared to the long term options that happen.  

Brandi is getting bigger by the day (as am I ha ha)...(okay it's got to be sympathy weight) with her pregnancy.  The other day I swear the baby was throwing a tantrum inside of her.   Her belly was bouncing all over the place.  We had a good laugh. Every once in awhile we try to get the kids to talk to the baby.  Gavin gets real close and sticks his lips on Brandi's belly button and makes random noises like its the communication hole or something.  

Anyways, happy belated thanksgiving to everyone.  

Ry & Bran & Kids

Brandi's Belly

Hey all, we thought we'd take a pic of Brandi's prego belly as time goes on so everyone can see the progress.  

Hi!

Hey everyone, this is the first post we are doing for our new blog.  We thought this would be a fun way of keeping in touch with everyone and sharing things that happen every week.  

More later.