Kyle is almost 8 months old, and boy, has he changed!  He’s still our little chunky monkey, but he now rolls over to get from place to place, he can grab a hold of something (like my fingers) and pull himself up to a sitting position, and he can stand while hanging on to something!  So far, he hasn’t crawled (he prefers to roll around), and no teeth have pushed through yet.  He has started to speak random syllables, and I think he’s starting to figure out that “mamamamama” means me. :) 

 This past weekend was sort of a big weekend for the little guy - he placed 3rd in the baby contest at the Warren County Fair on Friday, he slept through some great fireworks, and then on Saturday he was Christened into the Catholic Church.  His Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Hannah are the Godparents.   (Go figure that even though I bought the outfit a week ahead of time, he grew out of it by the time he was Baptised!)

 Of course, I’ve posted pictures (finally)!  Enjoy looking through them.

Amy and I are heading to Clovis, NM in August to visit Amy’s sisters and celebrate Christmas a little early! We decided in an ever sane state of mind that since we will be driving all the way to New Mexico, we might as well make a vacation out of it and drive further west. One thing led to another and we ended up planning a trip through much of California! Are we crazy? (Don’t answer that… )

Even if we are crazy for some massive driving days, I’m really looking forward to our road trip through California. I haven’t seen Death Valley, Yosemite, or San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Nor have I seen much of the Pacific coast line which we will see along Highway 1. There are many other sites along the way that I’ll enjoy seeing for the second time, like Sequoia, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and many more.

One of the things I’ll enjoy the most is watching Amy see all of this for the first time!

If anyone is interested in seeing a sketch of our route, you can take a look at this Google Map.

I finally got some more pictures of Kyle uploaded!   He is now 5 1/2 months old, eating some solid foods and sitting up (while we spot him)!  He loves to play peek-a-boo, and laughs and coos a lot.   Enjoy the pictures!

For everyone who is watching Kyle grow up virtually, I’ve put up a few more pictures on the website.  I need to get more from his grandparents — they are doing a better job of keeping a photo record of him :)  As of Monday, he is 20lbs, 10 oz!!!  He is quite the little bruiser!  He’s rolling over from tummy to back quite regularly now (both ways), he’s eating solid foods and reaching for things.  He is also exploring new noises and laughs a lot!  He is such a cutie (no, I’m not biased)!  Hope you enjoy the pictures.  Hopefully I’ll have more up within a week or so.  Happy Viewing!

Pictures of Kyle are back by popular demand!  Weighing in at almost 16 lbs by 11 weeks, Kyle is a very happy baby most of the time, loves to smile and laugh.  He’s holding a rattle, although he’s still figuring out that when he shakes his hand is when it rattles.  He also has excellent head control and has superb aim while on the changing table!  Lots of pictures in our gallery!

Well, the puppies are now 6 weeks old and almost ready to leave the nest.  We are going to keep the little girl, Calypso.  We still have one for sale, so wish us luck on finding a home for him!  See new pictures by going HERE.

Congrats goes out to Storm, who had 4 puppies early this week!  See pictures in the gallery!

I went to the hospital Thurs. at 1pm, was induced at 2, labor started at 7, and Kyle Joseph was born Saturday, November 17 at 1:53am, 9lb, 4oz, 20 1/2 inches long.  We got home Monday afternoon and we are enjoying our new family.
My mom was an entire paparazzi and has a million pictures (and still adding) on our gallery. . .

You know, I thought I was prepared for motherhood…everyone tells me that you can’t imagine that feeling of being a new mother and the love that you instantly have for the baby.  I thought I understood, but I didn’t.  I have never felt so in love with anything in my entire life.  And to watch Justin holding him and the way Justin took care of me through it all…I feel like I’m falling in love with him all over again.  Some weird things I’ve noticed, though: Before, when I would look at baby pictures, I’d be like, “oh, cute!” and give them back.  My mom showed me pictures of Kyle, and I can’t take my eyes off of him.  Before, when I’d hold a baby, I’d shove it away from me as soon as it got fussy or started passing gas.  Now, as soon as I hear Kyle cry, I want to grab him away from everyone and just calm him down and make it all better (sometimes, I cry with him).  Before, if the phone rang, I’d run to grab it.  Now, if I’m holding Kyle, there’s suddenly something more important than anything else in the world. 

I was a little worried about not knowing what to do (my first diaper change ever was Saturday morning when Justin showed me how).  I would dream about forgetting to take care of him on days on end, etc.  Everyone told me that it just comes naturally, and they were right.  When he’s crying, I already know exactly what to do for him.  My instincts are on overdrive!  (and I LOVE it!)

We are getting very close to Baby Boy West to make his grand entrance!  I am now 38 weeks pregnant — less than 2 weeks away from my due date!  With the exception of some back pain (that has been excruciating at times), I am doing well and still loving being pregnant.  I’ve been attending physical therapy for my back, and while it won’t be 100% until after the baby is born, the therapy is definitely helping.  Because of my back, I had to quit going to work a couple of weeks ago and I have gone from excruciating pain to excruciating boredom.  Now that the therapy seems to be helping and I am able to move around more, I’m able to find more things to alleviate my boredom.  Unfortunately, the dogs are disappointed that I am unable to take them on their daily walks :( 

 We took pictures of me on Sunday for those of you who can’t be here to see me.  I think you’ll notice quite a change between 31 and 38 weeks!  There are also pictures of the nursery in the gallery.  I got the new crib at one of my showers (thank you, everyone who went in on it!), and it is gorgeous!  Enjoy browsing!

Well, we bred our Rat Terrier, Storm, last week to a Jack Russell Terrier, Grit.  It appeared to be successful, but I guess only time will tell.  I put some pictures on the gallery of both dogs so you may muse about what the puppies will look like in 60 days or so!  Have fun!