Thanksgiving

We had three wonderful Thanksgiving dinners! I enjoyed each visit we had with both sides of the family. It was so nice to do it on three different days rather than cram it all in one. We are very thankful to have our families so close to us so we can be together for things like this. We always get together and have such great times and make such great memories. We are so blessed that everyone is healthy and doing so well and having each other means everything!

Ryan's mom, Patty with her grandkids at her house

Some of the girls at the Parks' Thanksgiving, Molly's house

The guys at the Parks' Thanksgiving

2 month

Here's a couple pictures of Alexis at 2 months old. I think she eats more than Austin did when he was this age. Or have I forgotten how much he ate? Alexis loves to eat in the evenings and during the night. Evenings are fine except on Thursdays. That's when I run my errands, mostly grocery shopping. I can do it in about 2 hours but I come home to Ryan doing his "walk n bounce" around the house with a hungry Alexis. I would have him give her a bottle of breast milk or a binky to tide her over but she's rejecting both. We need to try the bottle a little more but the binky we are definitely trying and she's not having it! I'm gonna have to buy different ones to see if we can find one that she likes. Now I can understand moms who say, "they just wouldn't take a pacifier for me!" For now I'm her "soothie" which I love but I'm gonna have a hard time getting any kind of a break from my kiddos if we don't get this figured out.

Halloween candy

Last night was Beggar's Night. Candy was on all of our minds! I guess that's why Austin forgot his joke and his flashlight and Ryan was ready to come back after 1 hour rather than 2 like he originally planned. Kaylee gave out candy to 40 kids this year and we had more left over than usual. Now what to do with all this candy! Ryan, don't you have a candy dish at work?

Pumpkin patch

I love this time of year! It's sad to see summer go but the fall season makes it all worth it. We've really had the perfect autumn weather this year to enjoy the outdoors a little more. We took a trip to Patch's Pumpkins & Honey Farm with some friends and their kids. I strapped Alexis to me dressed in her pumpkin costume and she slept the entire time.

We all had a great time riding the hay rack ride, picking pumpkins and taking in the beautiful day while the children enjoyed the fun activities. They played in the bounce houses, rode the cow train, ran through the straw maze, pet the farm animals and played on the playground. It was a full day!

1 month

At 1 month old Alexis is cooing like crazy and smiling a lot. Her daddy can get her attention just by coming into the room. She looks all around for him when she hears his voice. Austin gets right in her face when he talks to her. She doesn't seem to mind. She really loves listening to his stories. He told her all about balloons today and showed her how he likes to throw them in the air. He's a good big brother and is good at putting the binky in her mouth when she cries. Or telling me that the baby is crying and I need to feed her. Well, I don't have to feed her everytime but he thinks so.

2 weeks old

Alexis is growing so fast! These cute pajamas she has on in this picture don't even fit her anymore. I'm already having to raid her closet and get all the newborn sizes put away.

3 days old

A friend of mine who's a talented photographer took these pictures of Alexis at 3 days old and my nephew Jonah at 7 weeks old. They turned out so great! She did an excellent job!

Alexis Lynn Farley

Swaddled at the hospital

She's here! Yes, she's almost 2 weeks old and I haven't posted anything. I've been so busy holding her and taking care of her my whole world has practically stopped. But I'm enjoying every second of it! Alexis Lynn was born on Friday, 9/10/10 at 11:56 am. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She was absolutely perfect! My labor and delivery went so smoothly. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. We are enjoying our sweet little bundle of joy. She's a really good baby and I can't believe how well she sleeps through the night. I can only hope that keeps up!

Ready to go home from the hospital

First Day

Austin is going on his second year of preschool. It's so exciting! He has the same two teachers as last year and a new lead teacher. They are wonderful gals! He'll be going three days a week this year. Here's some pictures from the first day of school with his lil' buddy Hayden. They were playing with Mr. Potato Head so they wanted to put on the glasses. Too funny!

39 weeks

I'm hanging in there, well just barely. On Monday I was dilated 2 cm and 50% effaced. The doctor gave me the option to be induced this week but I turned it down. I kind of wish I would have done it so I could have this baby already but I really wanna try and go on my own. If I don't have this baby before next Tuesday, they'll be inducing me Wednesday or Thursday. I'm praying my water will break (like it did with Austin) in the next few days. Here's a picture of me after I attended my cousin's wedding last weekend. I look so funny. I think Ryan's crazy but he still thinks I'm sexy. I guess it takes a lot to turn off a man!

36 weeks

I can't believe I'm coming to the end of this pregnancy and will soon be holding my baby girl. I've gained about 20 lbs with this pregnancy which is surprising to me cause I put on about 50 lbs with Austin. I don't sit at a desk all day anymore so I know that is the main reason why. I keep wondering what day my little girl is going to come into the world. Right now I'm only two weeks away from my due date. The doctor said yesterday it could be anyday now eventhough I'm only dilated 1 cm. I'm sure it won't be until my 40th week but I can dream, right? We are all so excited to meet our new addition and see what she looks like. Here's a picture of Austin and I from a couple weeks ago.

Kaylee and the appendectomy

A week ago Friday I woke up as I usually do, didn't have to fix Ryan's coffee since he had the day off from work and I made some breakfast for Austin and I. Kaylee came down after a bit like she always does and I asked her if she wanted some breakfast. She said she didn't feel good and felt like puking. She didn't want any breakfast. By mid-morning she hadn't moved from the couch and was still saying she didn't feel well. We decided to take her temp and it was 102. I was not expecting that! Soon enough the severe stomach pains started. It got so bad she couldn't even walk and was crying a lot. We were really concerned. By the noon hour Ryan couldn't take it anymore. He picked her up, got her flip-flops on her and headed to the ER. We had no idea what to expect. While they were at the ER my mind was racing and I just kept thinking the worst. Her pain was on the left side of her stomach so I didn't think it was her appendix. Well, either did the doctors at the ER. They took a urine sample, had her undergo an xray then diagnosed Kaylee with a kidney infection and began an IV of antibiotics. Her stomach pain was still really bad and was not going away so they did a CT scan around 7:00 that night. By 9:00 they had her scheduled for an appendectomy. Kaylee had appendicits, inflammation of the appendix. She was finally taken into surgery at 11:30 and was done by 1:30. It was quite a day! She went through so much in those 12 hours. It was awful to see her suffer for that long. She reluctantly stayed at the hospital through Sunday then got to go home. She's doing much better and is already wanting to have sleepovers and go swimming. I told her she's gotta give herself one more week of recovery before doing anything. She's a strong girl and has quite a story to tell when she goes back to school in a few weeks.

We love you so much Kaylee-kins! We're so thankful for you!

Baby Jonah

Last week my sister delivered a healthy baby boy! Jonah Max was born on 7/27 weighing 7 lbs 9 oz. I think he looks a lot like my sister and dad so his middle name fits him very well. Her other two kids are really good with him! It's very sweet to see them watch over their new baby brother.

Aunt Sarah holding Jonah for the first time

Austin loved holding his new cousin Jonah

Big sister, big brother, Jonah and their daddy

4 years old today

Austin is 4 years old today! He had a pretty great birthday. The day started out with his favorite kids at the house first thing this morning then a trip to Toys r us where he picked out his two favorite things, a sword and a gun. (He's been fighting the air all day and Mommy got a couple shots in the behind.) Tonight he had dinner at his favorite place, Chuck E. Cheese's and to top it all off a visit to DQ for an ice cream treat! My favorite part was his ice cream kiss with a smile and big thank you hug when it was all over. What a perfect day for a little boy who turned 4.

Austin on his 1st birthday

Austin at his 4th birthday party

32 weeks

Here I am at 32 weeks. As you can see I'm starting to get really big. I'll be 34 weeks this week. I'm really starting to slow down and feel every ache and pain. I take lots of baths! My sister is due anyday so I'm very envious of her right now!

28 weeks

It's been a while! The month of July is always so busy for us and we're still gonna be busy 'til it's over. Maybe in August I'll finally get to catch my breath. Here's a belly picture of me at my brother-in-law's wedding. Natalie, my sister-in-law, is just joking around. We had a lot of fun that night!

24 weeks

I'm 27 weeks along right now but a few weeks ago I had Ryan take another picture of me. I'm trying to take more belly shots with this one. I didn't get very many when I was pregnant with Austin and I kind of regret it. This weekend I'll be in my brother-in-law's wedding and I gotta fit in my bridesmaid's dress. Let's just say I'm eating a lot of salad this week! I'm really looking forward to the wedding day. Hopefully we'll have a beautiful day to celebrate Shane and Natalie.

It's a......

G-I-R-L! I think everyone knows by now but I had to post a couple of the ultrasound pics. I can already tell she's gonna have my butt chin and forehead bumper! She sure looks cute, doesn't she? Can't wait to meet her! I still can't believe I'm gonna have a lil princess.

20 weeks

I had Ryan take a picture of me last week. So far I'm not as big as I was with Austin. It's kind of weird but I love the fact that I didn't have to get out maternity clothes 'til recently. Something about being pregnant for the 2nd time, you're just not as excited about those maternity clothes as you were the 1st time. I'm really enjoying this pregnancy and look forward to meeting him or her! I feel it's movement everyday and treasure it. A week from today on Cinco de Mayo and Duke's 10th birthday we will find out the sex. We're so excited!

Spring Break

We had a good spring break this year! I wish I could say we went somewhere warm but that's not the case. We still had a lot of fun though!

We attended the St. Patrick's Day parade

We had a family outing at Incredible Pizza

Austin saw the Easter bunny and rode the train at the mall

Ryan and I had a night out to celebrate Brian's birthday, dinner and The Funny Bone

Next year we're going somewhere warm! Don't know where but I'm not gonna let another spring break go by without a getaway.

Star Wars

Austin is really into Star Wars lately. My husband and I have never been Star Wars fans so this is all new to us. He plays a video game called Legos Star Wars with his dad sometimes and loves it. And yesterday he saw one of the movies for the first time and was hooked. This morning at breakfast he wanted to watch it again! So now he thinks he needs a light saber. Well, he's come up with his own. After playing with some kitchen utensils he took a special interest in the turkey baster. Now it's his favorite toy! Yesterday he fell asleep on the couch legs crossed and turkey baster in hand. He would not let go of that thing! He even took it to bed with him last night. What a nut!