Introducing Owen Andrew

We went to the hospital on Sunday morning for our scheduled induction. By the time played 200 questions with the nurse and got my iv all hooked up and ready to roll, it was 8:30am.

I got my epidural moments before my doctor came in the room to break my water. I kept saying that only one side of my body was really numb, but they told me to lay on my side and it would even out. Well...things progressed very fast. The baby was ready to come before the epidural was really working. Around 11:10 or 11:15 I started pushing and by 11:28 our little boy was screaming his way into the world.

Owen Andrew was born on Sunday, October 25th at 11:28am. He weighed in at 8lbs 13oz and was 20.5 inches long.

On our way to the hospital...

Our first picture with Owen..

Mommy and Owen

Daddy and Owen

So much hair!

Today is the day...

Wow...I can't believe that we are going to have a baby today. Our family will now be four instead of three. I know that it will take some time to get used to loading up two kids into the car, balancing my time and getting onto some type of schedule again.

We are looking forward to meeting our newest addition and looking forward to seeing how Ryan reacts to having a little brother. It is hard to imagine that just over two years ago we didn't even know if we would ever be able to have a child. It is amazing what prayer, faith and a positive attitude can do. Jeff and I are truly blessed.

I am nervous and anxious about this little boy. I know this time that it is going to fly by in the blink of an eye. That I will look up in a few weeks and he will be SO big by comparison. I am feeling a little nostalgic today so I wanted to share a picture of Ryan on his birth day.

We are hoping that things go as well or better than they did the day that we had Ryan. We can't wait to see all that this little guy has in store for us. Oh yes, and FINALLY give him a name. I actually packed the baby name book in my hospital bag just in case. :)

Sweet Ryan...

For the past several weeks Ryan has been saying "layou" or "I-layou" whenever we say I love you or love you to him. He knows that we usually give hugs, kisses or cuddles when we say those words. Well last night I was getting ready to head out for a Mom's Night Out. I came to Ryan and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Out of the blue he says to me "I-layou". His sweet words and voice brought tears to my eyes. It was the first time that he said I love you without being prompted to say it. He is such a sweet little boy. I never want to forget these precious little moments!

Such a smart boy...

Every night when Jeff gets home Ryan runs around the house showing him all kinds of things. Some days it is his toys, other days it is objects around the house. Last night Ryan wanted to play with the letters on the fridge. Ryan and I don't play with the letters all that often. Typically he will just throw them around or maybe play with them while I am doing the dishes or preparing dinner. All of the sudden I hear Ryan start saying all of these letters that I did not even know that he knew! He was pointing out the Q and at least 9 other letters. I was scrambling for the camera telling Jeff to stop so I could get it on video before Ryan lost interest.

I know that everyone thinks that their kiddos are the cutest or the smartest or the best at whatever. Ryan is truly special and is SUCH a smart little boy! Love you Ryan! You amaze your mommy and daddy every single day. We are so proud of you! :)

Here are a couple pictures from our walk today. We found a neighborhood nearby with a sand volleyball court. Ryan was in heaven. He had so much fun playing in the dirt. He loves to "dig, dig, dig!"

Pictures

I have a few pictures that I have been meaning to post for a while now...sorry for the delay.

We have a VERY eventful week coming up. Baby boy 2 will be here by Sunday. I can't believe that by the end of the week I will be a mom of two little boys! My doctor seems to think that he will come sooner rather than later but with my luck he will hang in there until the last minute. We have some family coming after he is born and we are so thankful to have them coming to help us out and visit.

I am hoping that baby boy waits at least one more day to make his grand entrance into the world because we have a very fun event planned tomorrow. If he does come, that will be great too! His safe and healthy arrival is our top priority! :)

Helping Daddy put more air into the ball..

Now I will air up the floor...

My two loves...they are simply the most wonderful men in the world. Can't wait to meet this next little guy..

Is it a jersey or a dress??

Putting frosting on the cookies....err in the mouth. Fun with the Powell girls.

This picture melts my heart. They are just too cute!

They were having the best time and being SO silly..

19 Months!!!

My baby boy is 19 months old and in a few, short days he will be a BIG BROTHER!!! It is hard to believe that we are closer to two than we are to one at this point. Ryan is changing so fast and learning so much.

His new things are repeating two word phrases and helping out around the house. He loves to help us put away the dishes and will say thank you every time we take a dish from him to put into the cabinet. He has also started repeating us when we tell him "I love you" and he has started saying "nyan cute" (Ryan cute).

The past 19 months have been the most wonderful 19 months ever. Each day is full of new adventures and surprises. Jeff and I are both very excited to be adding to our family in the next week or so. It should be quite an adventure adjusting to life with two kids and seeing how Ryan reacts to being a big brother.

Pictures coming soon --- I promise. :)

Getting the hang of it...

Ryan is becoming quite the talker. He loves to point out everything and tell us what it is. In the mornings if I go to get him out of his crib he will ask for Daddy. If Jeff gets him up he will ask for Mama. Ryan is the happiest when we are all three together. He runs around touching Jeff and saying Daddy then pointing to his own chest and saying "Nyan" or "Meee" then pointing to me and saying Mama.

We have been trying really hard to get him to use his words when he is upset so that he can tell us what it is that he wants. He is getting much better. Yesterday morning he wanted more to eat. He says to Jeff, "daddy ma (more) waffle peas (please)". How could we deny that sweet little voice? Today he says "mama bapple (apple) mmmm tasty" It is just the cutest thing!!!

Our little boy is growing up and learning so fast! :)

Halloween Party!

Yesterday was our annual Halloween Party with my Mom's group. Last year we weren't able to attend because Ryan had an ear infection. The weather was perfect, actually it was a bit warm to keep the kids in their costumes the entire time.

Seriously --- you want me to wear this monkey suit?

4 monkeys!!! Quite a popular costume for the boys..

Put me down and get this thing off me...

Ok hat is off..I'll drink to that!

Off to the Halloween Parade..

Time to trick or treat...

Soccer!!!

Yesterday was Ryan's 3rd soccer class. His coach is Coach Kara. Typically the soccer class starts off with just letting all the children run around and kick the ball, throw the ball and just get warmed up. Then they all meet in the circle to say their names and something they like (color, animal, toy --- the parents do all of the answering). Then they do their warm-up stretches. Once stretching is done they go kick a goal (Ryan usually tries to kick 2 or 3). Then it is off to play Red Light, Green Light. After that there is more ball play, then they build towers with cones and kick them down, play with a parachute, play with bubbles and they finish off the day getting some great stickers.

Ryan has gotten better at following directions each week. He is the youngest one in his class but only by a month or two. We are having lots of fun and Jeff says that he wants to keep Ryan in the soccer thing because he seems like he is such a "natural". LOL.

I found my spot...let's get started.

That is a number 9 if you couldn't tell...

Scoring a goal...

So focused...(running back and forth - Mommy's favorite activity to wear him out)..

Watch me go...

Hmmm...who should I kick it to?

Time to build a cone tower...

Bubbles!

Dirt

Ryan loves playing in the dirt. He can spot dirt a mile away. The other day Ryan and I took a walk around the neighborhood and it did not take him long to find the smallest spot of dirt to play in. The small dirt mound entertained him for at least a half hour and I got a few great pictures in the meantime.

Searching for dirt to play in...

The one picture I got where he is looking up..

It's DIRT!!!

Someone needs a bath....