The Westies

Beach Trip 2010

2010-08-04T21:49:00.006-04:00

Josh bought Kendall her ball cap at The Bass Pro shop the first night at the beach and she is still wanting to wear it all the time. So needless to say, Mommy had to wear a ball cap too.

Beach Baby

We went to Ripley's Aquarium and she had a great time, even though it may not look like it. She did not feel 100% on vacation.

She would much rather play in the ocean than the sand. She would let the waves knock her down, shake it off, and go right back for more. At one point, people were stopping to watch her then go back and get other people to bring back to see her. She had a blast. Mommy & Daddy enjoyed the trip, but were very tired at the end of the day from going non stop .

Boone/Blowing Rock continued

2010-06-16T20:39:00.002-04:00

Rock climbing in the park
Swing, Swing

"What happened to my fish?"

Trying to decide where to go next

She took fishing VERY seriously, can you tell?

Boone/Blowing Rock 2010

2010-06-12T21:44:00.003-04:00

We went on our annual trip to NC this week and had so much fun. It is hard to believe that Kendall was 18 months old this year when we went. Last year she was 6 months old with terrible colic, needless to say this year was a much better time for all AND we stayed the entire time because we were having so much fun.

"I love Daddy this much!"

Here she is being as sweet as can be....this will get you whatever you want.

They are discussing "the big one that got away...."

Cheese!

She had so much fun fishing, she rarely put her rod down the entire trip.

There are many more pictures, and I hope to post more.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T21:42:00.004-04:00

Today I spent my day with this girl. She did not feel too well, so I bribed with with donuts to get a few pictures after church.

I am so thankful and blessed to be Kendall's Mommy. I am so glad that God picked me to have that title. I love her more each day that passes.

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day!

Eye surgery...Check

2010-05-01T12:39:00.005-04:00

On Thursday Kendall had her eye surgery. The procedure was very fast and best of all a success. Her tear ducts are now clear! We know this worked as soon as she woke up on Friday morning. Her eyes were not crusty and have not been watering. The recovery process was very fast as well. By that afternoon she was her normal self, acting as if nothing had been done to her. We do have to stay indoors for a few days to avoid dirt or pollen from getting in her eyes, but we are having a great time playing inside. The hard part is keeping her from rubbing her eyes and putting drops in 4 times a day. Thanks to you all for the prayers and well wishes!

A look back at Easter 2010

2010-04-21T22:16:00.004-04:00

True to Blogger, the pictures are all out of order and slow...It makes me remember why I never update.

Just trying to post a few so that y'all can see that we are alive and well (if anyone still looks at my slack blog)

I have more Easter & updated pictures on my Facebook, so if you want to see more you can find them there.

Slacker Update

2009-08-25T23:05:00.003-04:00

I know I am SOOOO slack on the blog. I must admit I am a little addicted to Facebook because it is so much easier. I can do FB from my Blackberry with one hand while doing things with Kendall. (it is really amazing how much you learn to do one handed after you become a Mommy)

As for updates on my sweet girl, who is now 8 1/2 months old -

She has 2 teeth
is doing a scoot/crawl thing
prefers rolling over about 4 times to get where she wants to go
has enough hair (barely) for a bow
says Dada & Bye
and LOVES the Wonder Pets on Noggin
She loves all the dogs....but she pulls tails & ears, poor Grady (see below)

And now a few pictures....

UPDATED.....

2009-07-03T19:02:00.002-04:00

It was brought to my attention earlier this week how I have neglected my blog, so for the ones that complain (I will not name names, you know who you are ) I have posted SEVERAL times today to catch up. Hope you all enjoy and will really try to do better, for real this time. I still have the love/hate relationship with Blogger because of the time it takes uploading pictures.

New bath seat

2009-07-03T18:45:00.002-04:00

Kendall's love for bath time outgrew her baby tub in no time, so I found this bath seat that works amazing! She can kick, splash, and play like a champ now. If you have a little one that will not stay in the baby tub, The Westies highly recommend this.

I think she is part fish......

2009-07-03T15:40:00.001-04:00

Kendall went for her first swim. We just thought she loved the bathtub, but she REALLY loved the pool!!!

First Vacation as a family of 3

2009-07-03T14:26:00.006-04:00

The first of June we went to Boone & Blowing Rock North Carolina. My grandmother has a timeshare there and we have been going the same week each year since I was a little girl. This was the first of many years that I got to take my little girl. I have so many good memories of this place as a child and I hope that Kendall enjoys it as much as I do.

Josh bought Kendall a Barbie fishing rod, so we thought we would play around with it

We reeled it in.....

and she caught her first fish!

We went to the park in downtown Blowing Rock

We had lots of fun there!!

Then we went to The Blowing Rock

Kendall climbed her first tree with a little bit of help from Daddy

May Recap

2009-05-31T21:44:00.006-04:00

May was a very busy month at our house....

May 5th - Kendall rolled over from her back to tummy for the first time, and hasn't really stopped rolling

May 7th Josh took her to the doctor because she sounded horrible. They said it was just a really bad cold. She weighed 16.5 that day.

May 10th was Mother's Day. It was a good day, but K started feeling worse, so that was no fun.

May 11th I took her back to the doctor, because she sounded & felt worse. She had a double ear infection and got her very first prescription. She weighed 16.1 that day.

May 13th I turned thirty, that is right 30!

May 17th was our 6th anniversary and Kendall was baptised that day.

May 22nd we headed to Gastonia for cousin Lauren's high school graduation and party.

May 24th was my friend Lauren's baby shower.

May 25th was Memorial Day so we dressed patriotic and had a cookout at Aunt Pam's.

Other things of note were Kendall LOVES peaches and HATES peas, sounds like her Mama! She adores the dogs, cackles, & has more fun at bath time than anyone I know.

During the Baptism

After she got the water. She did great!

Playing Peek-A-Boo with herself! I am SOOO glad I caught this, because Josh was at work.

There she is!

Sunday before Memorial Day, looking patriotic

This is just too cute !

Laughing at Daddy....

Yesterday morning before church

Playing catch up

2009-05-02T11:35:00.002-04:00

Not to complain, but for the past several weeks I have been sick. The short version is strep throat, high blood pressure, and a tiny bit of a stomach bug. Needless to say I have not had time or really felt like blogging much. Yesterday was the best I have felt since really before Easter. I am hoping that all will be back to normal at The Westies.

Kendall has been doing all kinds of new things during her fourth month. She eats cereal out of a spoon like a big girl, has almost rolled from her back to tummy, and LOVES playing with toys. She has even mastered the art of pinching with her toes - She has gotten my Mama, me, and even Bogey. She has figured out that she has really gotten her Daddy right where she wants him. He adores her. I find it so sweet and adorable the bond that they have. It really it amazing how having your own child will completely change your life. The little things each day are amazing. I am working on uploading some pictures today, so maybe I will get a minute to post a few. Got to run for now, K is calling : )

Kendall's First Easter

2009-04-16T20:38:00.004-04:00

Hope ya'll don't go into Bunny overload.....

Here is one pair of Easter PJ's that she wore this weekend,

she is showing off the bunny feet

This is the bunny dress that she wore Friday

This is the smile that lets her get away with ANYTHING, and always will

Bunny Tail

More Bunny PJ's, once again showing off the bunny feet

This is the outfit she wore after we took off her Easter dress

These are the eggs that Kendall dyed, she did a good job for her first time

Here is the Easter dress

(she already had on her church bib, so you can't her dress too good)

Here is the family after church

We had a good weekend, other than the fact that my blood pressure was REALLY high from Thursday until yesterday. I have had problems with it since I was pregnant, but I took some Claritin. For the record if you have high BP, don't mix with allergy meds. I am going back to the doctor next Friday to see where we go from here. I really thought I was dying on Saturday. Long story short, that is why I look really bad in the Easter picture.

Recent Pictures of Kendall

2009-03-29T23:07:00.002-04:00

Playing in her Bumbo while Mommy is putting her clothes away

All ready for church last Sunday

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Posing with Daddy before church

Sunning after eating breakfast on the front porch

These are in random order thanks to Blogger, but hope you enjoy them anyway.

Dr. Appts x 2 & Updates on KQW

2009-03-25T20:06:00.004-04:00

Kendall went to the doctor Monday for a check up and shots. She is very healthy and at 15 weeks, weighs 13 pounds 10 ounces. She has almost doubled her birth weight. She doesn't need to go back until her 6 month check up.

I went to the doctor this morning for them to check my blood pressure and my visit was not as good as Kendall's. My blood pressure was high 140/86. This was higher than when they checked it 6 weeks after Kendall was born. My doctor told me to come back in 4 weeks for another BP check, but not to worry too much about it. On a side note they weighed me today and I only have 10 pounds to lose to get back to what I weighed before I got pregnant. That made me fell a little better~10 pounds left is WAY better than what I started with. So I need you all to pray that my BP gets lower before I go back to the doctor next time.

Since I have been VERY slack at updating, I am proud to say that we have not ran out of Colief again and for the past 2 1/2 weeks Kendall has been sleeping all night. The colic is getting much better - Which is probably a combo of her outgrowing it, Colief, and her getting sleep.

I will post some recent pictures soon - I don't have time to sit here that long right now.

Hello! Did ya'll miss me?

2009-03-22T23:05:00.004-04:00

I know that I have been a little absent lately in the world of blogging, but to be quiet honest I have been doing something WAY better...I have been enjoying just being a Mommy.
When I get home I spend time with Kendall, boil bottles, pack everything up for the next day, and by that time I am more than ready to go to bed. Needless to say that doesn't leave much too much time for the computer - I do get a little in via my Blackberry just to feel attached to the outside world. I promise I have still been a ready good blog reader to all of you, because I do need to keep up. I think if it did not take 10 years to upload pictures to the blog I would keep up a little better. However, I vow to do a little better next week. We will see how it works out!

7

2009-03-07T23:04:00.001-05:00

....That is the number of hours that Kendall slept last night without waking up. Wish us the same luck tonight.

Snow Day with my Snow Bunny

2009-03-04T19:24:00.004-05:00

I spoke to soon...

2009-02-23T19:01:00.002-05:00

Guess what we ran out of yesterday? You got it, Colief drops. I emailed the company back and told them that is was an EMERGENCY...I needed those I ordered ASAP. I heard back from them this morning and they are rushing them to me at NO additional charge. I guess they felt sorry for me in my email....whatever works to get them here faster. I know that you all think I should be smart enough to realize when the bottle is getting low, but they are in a bottle that looks like eyedrops that you can't see through and they never even slowed down like we were getting close to the end...even Josh was surprised when he broke the news to me that we were out. I have learned my lesson from now on, order multiple bottles and when the first one is empty, place another order.

Oh Colief....How I love thee!

2009-02-22T00:24:00.002-05:00

The Colief drops that I ordered online from the United Kingdom for Kendall's colic came last Saturday, and I must say that we are very pleased. She still has some fussy times, don't get me wrong, but she seems to be much better. I think they have gotten into her system pretty good, because the past 3 nights were better. Today I ordered 2 more bottles because we are almost out. Please keep your fingers crossed everybody that she continues to feel better.

Another WCD giveaway.

2009-02-21T10:41:00.001-05:00

There's a great giveaway on Whitney Caroline Designs. You must check it out....Too cute!

Time to do it again..

2009-02-15T23:04:00.004-05:00

Well I made it the first week of being back at work and taking Kendall to daycare. As I was getting her things ready for tomorrow, I thought "time to do it again". I now have another new routine. I did much better this week than I thought and K did great. We are very pleased with her daycare. She was being spoiled every time we went to get her. The director told me on Thursday that "she LOVED my baby, but that she had one of the worst cases of colic she had ever seen". That made me feel good and bad~Good because she knew how to deal with it because she has been taking care of children for 20+ years and Bad because on the first day when we told her that K had colic she said not to worry that they used to have a set of twins that both had it really bad. She told me on Thursday that Kendall had the twins beat. I ordered some drops called Colief that came on Saturday. They seemed to have helped some, but it was only been a couple of days. I will fill you all in on if they are all that they are supposed to be. I am hoping that they are...

We made it!

2009-02-09T18:39:00.001-05:00

Well somehow Kendall & I survived the first day at daycare. I think she had a much easier time than I did. Thanks again to everyone for thinking of us today, it really helped!

Move Me to the top....

2009-02-08T21:12:00.003-05:00

We always joke at work about moving each other to the top of our prayer list from the bottom when we are having a bad day, but I really need you all to move me to the top of your lists tomorrow. I have to leave my sweet baby and I am about to have a mild coronary. It matters not to me that my emails and work on my desk has been building for 2 months, stress at work I can handle. My issue is leaving my baby, I knew this day would come and I tried to prepare myself....but I am not sure that you can prepare yourself for this. My ulcer is flared up, I have cried off and on all weekend, and I even feel like I could be sick at any given moment. So all jokes aside and without sounding selfish, please move me to the tops of your lists for tomorrow.

Close ups, Bunny suit, & smiles.....

2009-02-05T22:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Josh!

2009-02-04T11:37:00.001-05:00

Today is Josh's 31st birthday! Kendall and I are wishing him the happiest birthday ever. We love you!

Olan Mills Take 2...

2009-02-02T19:05:00.002-05:00

Since we purchased the "Grow with Me" plan at out first photo shoot, we have decided to take Kendall every month during her first year. This not only will give us permanent memories of how she changes, but we will also get our moneys worth for buying the plan in the first place. Today we went for our second appointment. Lets just say that is was VERY eventful. The past few days or so K's colic has not just been at the ususal 9pm, it comes at random times during the day. I thought I was scheduling the shoot around her fussy time, but boy was I wrong. We didn't get to change into any of the other clothes I took - to be honest I should be glad that we even got any good ones at all. I must say that if she just wasn't so darn cute to begin with (I am biased), we really would be in trouble. Needless to say there were some good shots and we did buy some.

On a side note we went to Target before we went home, and guess what was on sale?GRIPE WATER. Ya'll know we bought some more, because we used all we had at Olan Mills.

Maybe month 3 will be better....

Some pictures of Kendall

2009-01-29T22:27:00.002-05:00

Here she is in her dress that cousin Joni made & smocked for her for Christmas

Playing with her babydoll

On the lounger...Check out the Bunny slippers

Josh calls this her Dorothy look with her ruby red shoes

Yippee for Gripe Water !!

2009-01-29T20:52:00.002-05:00

Thank you Megan for suggesting Gripe Water!
That was the best $10.99 I have ever spent (saw in today at Target for $7.99, but I digress)
We have been using it since Tuesday and it really has helped. It has not totally solved our problem, but it has really helped. She is still fussy, but nothing like it was.

Any advice?

2009-01-25T23:41:00.002-05:00

Kendall has the dreaded colic...You could set your watch to 9:00 at night, because that is when it hits her. She screams for around 2 or 3 hours. NOTHING helps. Just thought that maybe some of you more experienced parents could offer some advice to help...if there is anything that may settle her down. Her Mommy and Daddy would love any tips that you know of.

Giveaway

2009-01-23T19:55:00.001-05:00

There's a great giveaway on Whitney Caroline Designs. Thanks Kelly for posting about it, there is REALLY cute stuff!

Updates

2009-01-21T18:31:00.002-05:00

Kendall went to the doctor today for her first round of shots. We were very surprised to learn that she weighs 10 pounds 3 ounces. I can't believe that she has already gotten so big! She had a good check up and doesn't need to go back until March.

I have also decided to stay out of work for 2 more weeks. I was originally due to go back on Monday the 26th, but with the whole daycare issue I think that me staying out a little longer will work out better. Thanks to those that offered their services as babysitter to help me out (Kelly & Jessi), but I think that she will do better going directly into a daycare rather than going from being with me all day and then staying with different people for 2 weeks. The people I work for were very understanding and I will be going back on Feb. 9th.

Daycare Take 2

2009-01-13T23:57:00.003-05:00

We really liked the daycare that we visited today MUCH better than the first one we picked out, so it looks like all worked out for the best. They won't take babies until they are 8 weeks old, so we will have to find people to keep her for 2 weeks after I go back to work, and I must say that I am proud of myself for not freaking out when they told me that today. I handled the curve ball pretty good if I do say so myself. Josh said that he thinks it will make me feel better with me going back to work and Kendall staying with someone I know before we send her straight into daycare. I don't normally admit it, but he may have a valid point.

Are You Kidding Me ?!?

2009-01-12T23:54:00.004-05:00

This were some of the first words I spoke today. (other than talking to Kendall in the wee morning hours) I called the daycare today to let them know that Kendall would be coming 2 weeks from today and to see what all we needed to have and that kinda thing. Do you know what the director told me? He said that I was on his list of people to call today. I knew it was going to be bad news when I made someones "To Do List". He said that due to the economy that some of the babies that were going to be in the baby room with Kendall were not coming and that she would not be able to attend there. He said that she would be the only baby they would have until June - I saw no problem with her being the only baby, but he said that they could not take her. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? was my response to him, he was giving me 2 weeks notice to find a daycare. Luckily Josh was off today, so I could cry and have a mini nervous breakdown before I hit the Yellow Pages. I remembered a friend at church told me about how pleased she was with her daycare (she also has a new baby girl) so I called them. They were super nice and everyone I have asked about them have only had great things to say. Josh & I are going to visit there tomorrow, so I hope all goes well. This is more than likely God working in a mysterious way again (you think I would learn by now) and we will be extremely happy with this daycare and this is where she was meant to go all along....I will let you all know how it turns out.

My new addiction

2009-01-11T01:14:00.002-05:00

Josh and I got new cell phones last week. He had been put on a waiting list for when Nextel/Sprint came out with the new Blackberry Curve with the push to talk. When his phone was delivered to the house we went to the Sprint store to have it activated & all set up. While we were there we combined our plans into one (after 5 years), which was cheaper and made sure that the plan would utilize the phone for all it could do. We decided that since we were paying for all of that for both of us, that I should have a Blackberry too. (they both came with REALLY good rebates, or I would have kept my old phone)
Well now I am addicted! I can get on the internet and keep up with all the blogs, text, and all kinds of cool things that I haven't figured out yet. These phones are great!

First Photo Shoot

2009-01-05T23:17:00.003-05:00

Today we took Kendall to have pictures made and to say the least it was eventful. She pitched her first official fit in public during the shoot. We had to stop and feed her, bribe her with the pacifier, and take a 15 minute break (all while she was screaming & holding her breath) but in the end we did manage to get some good ones.
They saw SUCKERS written all over us when we walked in with our new baby girl because they talked us into a first year picture plan as well. I know it was a good deal and that we would have her pictures made a lot anyway, but they had our number from the time we walked in.

First Bath

2009-01-03T13:01:00.003-05:00

Kendall's belly button came of on New Years Eve, so to ring in 2009 she had her first bath on New Years Day. She really did much better than we thought, she cried for just a few seconds and then did really well. I must say that I love hooded towels - Babies look too cute in them.

Kendall's first Bowl Game

2009-01-03T12:31:00.002-05:00

Kendall got all decked out in her Gamecock gear for the first bowl game....She cheered really hard, but it didn't do much good. At least she looked cute trying to cheer the Gamecocks to victory, there is only so much a cute fan can do.
Her Daddy is hoping Thursday night that cheering for her other team with Daddy - The Florida Gators will bring them a National Championship.

By the end of the game I think all Carolina fans felt like this....Tired of watching the game.

Kendall's first week

2008-12-18T20:06:00.006-05:00

We took Kendall to her first doctor appt. yesterday morning. She weighs in at 7 pounds 1 ounce, so she has already passed her birth weight in a week. The doctor said she is very healthy.

Here are some pictures from our first week at home.....Enjoy

On our Boppy lounger.....

In the cradle napping....

in the Boppy bouncer

being watched over by big sister Charley

rocking with Daddy

Details/Updates on Kendall's birth

2008-12-15T22:23:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay in updating....I am sure you could all tell that Josh wrote the last post.
They admitted me Monday night at 5:15 and started me on meds about 8:00 that night. The medicine did not start my labor and my blood pressure just kept creeping up. They started me on Pitocin Tuesday morning and gave me another round of the Cervadil that night to try on onset my labor....No such luck. They then told me that if I did not progress by Wednesday at lunch time then they would have to do a C Section because my blood pressure was REALLY getting high. On Wednesday morning they started back the Pitocin and gave me my epidural (that was to help bring my blood pressure down as well as feel no pain) that finally got me dilated to a 1 so that they could break my water. After that got going I dilated very quickly, Kendall was born at 3:21 Wednesday afternoon. It took a long time for my labor to get started but after if got going, it went very quickly. We came home Friday afternoon and during our first night home - all the power in Startex went out, so that was fun. Not only were we dealing with a brand new baby, we now had to worry about not freezing her to death, but the power came back on between 3 or 4 in the morning. On Saturday my Mama called my cell phone to say that our home phone said it "was having network difficulty", we enjoyed the phone not ringing so much that I did not call AT&T to report the problem until today. The only bad part about the phone not working was that we did not Internet access, but I really haven't had much time to blog until today.
My blood pressure was still high when they discharged me, but they think within a few days that it will level off. My swelling got 10 times worse in the hospital with all the fluids they gave me, and they tell me within 2 or 3 weeks that the swelling should be gone as well.
I promise to update with pictures soon. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts & prayers during Kendall's birth and all the way through my pregnancy. We sure have been blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby girl. I sure did work hard to get her here, but she is SO worth it.

SHE'S HERE

2008-12-11T11:20:00.006-05:00

It is my pleasure to introduce to you, all the way from Startex, SC.
Weighing in 6 lbs 14ozs , 19 3/4 ins long.........

KENDALL QUINN WEST

We are off to the hospital.....

2008-12-08T15:55:00.003-05:00

Today I went back to the doctor...Gained 2 more pounds (fluid) and my blood pressure was the highest is has been 146/88. Staying off of my feet did not help my swelling or blood pressure. I am going to report to the hospital at 5:15 tonight.They are going to start me on medicine to get my cervix ready, because I have not dilated yet and they will induce me in the morning. I will get someone to keep you all posted.
Please pray for our growing family!

Today's Dr. Visit

2008-12-04T17:38:00.003-05:00

I went to the doctor today and my blood pressure was a little higher than Tuesday morning, I had gained almost 2 pounds of fluid, and my feet were really swollen. The doctor said that all those things were still within "normal" range so she wanted to do some blood work and an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that Kendall is doing great and is down and turned the way she should be. It also showed that she has a good bit of hair and already weighs in at 6 pounds 14 ounces! I couldn't believe she weighs that much already....She still has about 3 more weeks before she is due, just think of all the growing she could still do. To be on the safe side and cover all the bases, the doctor wants me to stay out of work tomorrow and collect my urine for 24 hours. They will check it for protein when I drop it off at the hospital Saturday morning. Needless to say that tomorrow I will be home all day "collecting" with my feet up. I am supposed to stay off of my feet this weekend and go back to the doctor on Monday for all of the results and to see if staying off my feet helped any. I will let you know what the doctor says Monday afternoon after all the results are in.

Thanks

2008-12-03T18:12:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and happy thoughts that I am getting closer to meeting sweet Kendall. I promise to let you all know how it goes tomorrow afternoon.

36 Weeks and counting

2008-12-02T18:05:00.003-05:00

We went to the doctor this morning for the start of my weekly visits.....They like me so much that they want to see me on Thursday afternoon of this week as well. My doctor took a look at my feet, ankles, and legs and thought they looked bad...I told him that I thought they looked good that he should see them in the afternoon, so they will on Thursday. I have been thinking they looked bad for weeks now, but I finally had them agree with me.

I almost died when they weighed me today because the scales were not nice to me, but my doctor said that is another reason that he wants to see me back this week, the weight I am putting on is all fluid. Now that made my day! I hate the fact that I am swelling, but at least I have an excuse for the increase on the poundage.

My blood pressure has been creeping up on me. It is still within "normal" range, but my normal is really low. The doctor seems to think that my swelling, gain of fluid, and blood pressure sneaking up is a sign that my blood pressure may be about to sky rocket - NOT GOOD. This would mean that they would need to induce labor early to avoid any problems. I will know more on Thursday and promise to let you all know what they think.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T21:33:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!
I went to the Cracker Barrel with Mama, Chet, and Dena for a late lunch. I did not eat with them, be we visited and had a good time. Then it was onto dinner with Josh's side of the family. We eat at his Mema's house and Josh always fries the turkey. It was very yummy as always. Then everyone came over to our house to see Kendall's room that is almost ready. If she was born today we would be fine, but there are still a few finishing touches that need to be done...I know, I know where are the pictures? They are coming soon I promise. I want to wait until all is done so that you all can see the entire process, and it was a long process thanks to me.

Sunday Shower & Update

2008-11-24T21:27:00.003-05:00

Josh's family hosted a shower for us yesterday. Everything was very nice and we got lots of great gifts for Kendall. Josh's Aunt Sandy took pictures and I took my camera and forgot to take any (imagine that), so I don't have any to post.

This weekend I started having a few Braxton Hicks contractions, but of course I didn't know what they were until I explained what I was feeling to Carmen & Jessi. My feet, ankles, & legs up to my knees are so swollen that they almost feel bruised, kinda like they can't possibly get any bigger. I am hanging in there otherwise. The closer it gets, I am really ready. Not because I am miserable (just uncomforatble) but because I am really impatient and I can hardly wait any longer....I am ready to meet Kendall.

Dr. Appt

2008-11-13T17:49:00.002-05:00

I went to the doctor today and all is going great! My swelling is still normal according to the doctor, but I don't recognize these feet or ankles. I am supposed to go back in 2 weeks, but that would be Thanksgiving, so I rescheduled to the Tuesday after. My regular doctor wanted to see me the first of December anyway, so this will work out perfect. From then on out I will be going every week until the big day when we get to meet Kendall. It can't come soon enough, we are very excited to meet her.

Barney Update

2008-11-12T18:02:00.003-05:00

I talked with Barney's new family on Monday night and he is doing great! We are very excited to hear that he is adjusting well. It makes it easier to know that he has found a great new home.

It's Officical....

2008-11-09T20:25:00.003-05:00

I have lost my ankles! I now have cankles, according to Josh...Isn't that a nice thing to say to your pregnant wife...
Over the past week my feet & ankles have gotten HUGE. The only shoes I can wear now are my Crocs. I thought I would tell all of you in case they show me on "What Not to Wear" for wearing Crocs with every outfit. I am a real fashion plate these days.

I also got to looking at how horrible my hair looked in the pictures from the baby shower last weekend and had it all chopped off. I am not loving it yet, as it is a lot shorter than I meant for it to be. I will post pictures soon when I feel a little better about it. It really shouldn't be that big of a deal to me, since about 7 years ago I lost all my hair during my mystery illness. I guess I need to look on the bright side....It could always be worse. I could be bald with cankles....

A New Home for Barney

2008-11-06T18:09:00.003-05:00

Our cat Barney was not adjusting to the baby items in the house or the change from extra bedroom to nursery. (That room used to be his hangout)
We are very sad today at our house because Barney went to his new home today. He will be the only inside animal there, so I am sure he will be very spoiled. Please know that this was a very hard decision for us to make and we are hoping that we found him the best home possible. I am pretending that he has gone to college, since he is the oldest child we have. His new family has promised to email pictures and give us updates on how he is doing at his new home.

Baby Shower

2008-11-03T21:19:00.004-05:00

Saturday some of my very best friends Carmen, Mollie, & Kristin hosted a Baby Shower for Kendall. Here are some pictures.

Here is me with Carmen...This is so not the greatest picture of me.

Here I am with some friends from high school. Alicia, who is expecting baby #2 (not that you can even tell) and Carly with her sweet little boy Davis. Is he not the cutest?

Here are some of the presents that Kendall got. Is she spoiled or what?
(I can't get these sized right, so sorry that they are so big. If you click on them I think you may can see a little more)

Thanks again to all who helped and came to the shower. Everything was perfect and we got really great gifts for our little girl.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-03T20:47:00.003-05:00

Josh took Grady to Trick or Treat Friday night. Normally we all go, but that was a little too much walking for my swollen feet. I kept Bogey & Charley while they were gone. Here are some pictures of them in costumes.

This little piggy went to Trick or Treat....

Charley had to settle for a bandana...They don't make "big girl" costumes.

Here is a boney little Bogey with his skeleton shirt on.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T17:37:00.002-04:00

Wishing you all a very Happy Halloween!
I love this holiday. I will post pictures of the costumes later.....
Grady is VERY excited for everyone to see his new costume!

A Little less than 9 weeks to go!

2008-10-30T18:02:00.003-04:00

We went to the doctor today and all looks good. He said that my swelling ankles & feet looked bad to me, but good to him. He said that I should not worry and just try to stay off of them and prop them up when I could. I have now graduated to going to the doctor every 2 weeks. That may sound like a pain to some people, but I am excited about it. This just means that we are getting really close to meeting Kendall.

Boys at a Baby Shower....

2008-10-29T22:03:00.004-04:00

Saturday night Danny & Jane and Andrew & Staci hosted us a baby shower. We had a great time! Guys and Girls were invited, so Josh got to join in on the fun.

All the great gifts for Kendall before...

Here is a picture of us opening the gifts....They didn't really turn out so great, but I guess you can tell how we got the boys to participate in the shower.....Football on the TV

These are my favorite.....Spartan Bakery cake squares.

Are these not the cutest? They are monogrammed....Too cute & yummy

After the presents & dinner we went outside by the firepit and enjoyed a great fire and good times with our friends.

Thanks to all that helped, hosted, and came by bearing great gifts to help us get ready for Kendall....She is already very spoiled.

Relocation

2008-10-20T22:10:00.002-04:00

Kendall has taken us residency on my sciatic nerve today.....ALL DAY. She has been there since about 8:30 this morning. I have poked and begged her to move with no luck. She has been steady kicking and moving around, but is still staying on my nerve. I guess this goes back to one of my thoughts about her being stubborn.....I still haven't figured out where she gets that trait from...

4D Ultrasound

2008-10-16T18:13:00.002-04:00

Here are some of the pictures from our 4D ultrasound....There were 77 in all on the CD and then we got a DVD that is 32 minutes long. I just picked out a few of the pictures.

Hope you all enjoy!

28 Weeks....

2008-10-09T17:51:00.002-04:00

We just got back from the doctor's office and everything is going great. I have now graduated to going every 3 weeks rather than 4 weeks. That just means that we are getting closer to meeting our sweet baby girl.

I did discover that Kendall may be a little hard headed....not sure where she gets that from. When the nurse was taking her heartbeat, she had to track her down. Kendall was moving away from the heartrate monitor and kicking it along the way. Her Daddy thought that was very funny, so I will keep that in mind when she starts giving him a hard time.

12 weeks to go!

Kendall's First Carolina Game

2008-09-28T13:54:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Danny, Jane, and I went to see the Gamecocks play. Kendall got VERY excited when they played 2001 and I even think she liked the fireworks after every score. She moved the entire game, I think she was very stimulated by the whole environment. Who knows, she may be a good luck charm since we did win.

I must admit that if was a long day for me. Normally I can hang with the best of them, but being pregnant really does take its toll. My feet were very swollen, there are TONS of stairs to tackle, and then you have to walk back to the truck. I was useless after I plopped down into the truck for the ride home. I had a great time, but I am still paying for it today.
Well, I am off to bed for my Sunday nap....Grady is already waiting in the bed for me.

The Belly....

2008-09-25T17:49:00.004-04:00

This was me at 18 weeks, the day we found out that we were having a little girl

This was at 24 weeks, the morning of my last doctor appt.

These are not the greatest pictures, but I thought I would share since some people have been asking for the belly photos.

It's Back....

2008-09-25T17:41:00.003-04:00

I am sooooo excited that Grey's Anatomy is back. My Thursdays are now complete again.

Gameday at the Westies

2008-09-21T19:42:00.003-04:00

Grady & Bogey are Gamecocks like their Mama

Charley is a Daddy's girl and pulls for the Florida Gators like him.

Both our teams had wins yesterday, so everyone was happy.

Kendall will be a Gamecock and a Gator until she is old enough to choose for herself.

24 Week Update

2008-09-11T18:30:00.003-04:00

I went to the doctor today and all looks good. My glucose test, hemoglobin, and blood pressure were great. The only thing that I thought was not good was the whole weighing thing....I think that is overrated and they should not make you do that.
The doctor said I was measuring 25 weeks, so we are still on for late December.

Since my last post we have Kendall's bedding (not RED) and we are going to start painting the room pink before too much longer. The trying to find something red got the best of me and little girls all love pink, so I think we are good.

Last week I had bronchitis (thanks to my hubby) so I felt pretty bad. I took a Z Pack and Hall's cough drops. A bad part of being pregnant is that you can't take good drugs when you are sick. However, I made it through and I am feeling much better now.

We have also scheduled a 3D/4D ultrasound for October 16th, so that is a big deal at my house. Josh REALLY wanted to do it, and I finally gave in. My thoughts were we already know she is a girl, do we really want to know what she looks like too.....But I must admit I am a little excited about it.

I promise I will post the ultrasound pictures and a picture of my ever going belly soon, for those of you that keep asking about them.

A New Season Is Here

2008-08-28T17:53:00.002-04:00

I know it is not Fall yet, but my favorite season starts today......Gamecock Football season.

I usually go to several of the games with Dano & Jane, but this year we will just have to wait and see. There are a lot of steps to climb, and anyone that has ever visited Columbia knows that it is one of the hottest places on earth. Being a big pregnant woman, hot, and 1,000 stairs to climb may not mix well. You never know, I will more than likely try it anyway. Hmm.....There is a doctor that sits in the seats next to us...I am sure he might know a thing or two about labor.
Well all I have to say is GO COCKS!

Decisions, Decisions

2008-08-11T22:13:00.002-04:00

I always have a hard time making up my mind, but with a baby on the way it is a little worse. Don't get me wrong, I know what I want when I want it....the tricky part is finding it.

We have made one firm decision, we have given our little girl a name. We are going to name her Kendall Quinn West. Josh heard Kendall and really liked it and Quinn is my grandmother's maiden name. I liked Quinn for a first name (Josh didn't), but nothing really sounds that great after it, and I know that it is a pain to go by your middle name. Also if you say it really fast, it sounds like queen.

My next decision is bedding for Kendall's room. Our walls are currently fire truck red, which we like. We like it not only because we love the color, but also because it would be a real pain to paint over....not to mention choosing another paint color will be one more choice to make. I have searched online FOREVER looking for bedding and gone to several fabric stores....I haven't really fell in love with anything yet . I am not a "theme" person, so that also makes it a little harder. If any of you get bored and have some time on your hands, please see what you can find and send me a link.

I have also already started to worry about who will take care of Kendall after I have to go back to work. If anyone has any suggestions about a great place, please let me know. Better yet if any of my stay at home friends would like to earn extra income, that would be even better.

They are many other things to decide on, but I will think about those another day....

Baby News

2008-07-31T15:14:00.003-04:00

It's a GIRL!!!! We are very exicted. She looks very healthy. I will post pictures later, but for now just wanted to let everyone know.

Updates on the Pregnancy

2008-07-23T18:08:00.002-04:00

Well I am now 17 weeks along. At my last appt all is going is well. I have now made it a record and haven't been sick in 11 days....Eveyone keep you fingers crossed.

Next Thursday we go for the ultrasound to see what the the sex of the baby is. We are very excited, so I promise to update.

Grady's Birthday

2008-07-23T17:56:00.001-04:00

While I have been missing in action...My sweet Grady turned 5. Here is he wearing his birthday present. He is too sweet.

Dr. Appt. - 12 weeks

2008-06-19T21:40:00.002-04:00

Today we went to the doctor and we got to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time....158 beats per minute. The doctor said that was good and strong. All looks good on my end as well....I have gained 7 pounds this trimester. I guess that is not too bad. It feels more like 27 pounds...
I go back in 4 weeks and then at the next 4 week visit I will be 20 weeks and they will do an ultrasound. We are looking very forward to knowing the sex of the baby...
You people that don't find out amaze me...

First Photo

2008-06-09T17:43:00.002-04:00

Here is the first photo of Baby West.....This was taken 05/30/08, so we have grow a week and a half since this (those leg & arm "buds" may be real legs & arms now).....I am just now almost feeling human.

I have not gotten sick since Wednesday night at 6:20pm...I am not bragging yet....I don't want to get too excited yet. I have made it all day today with no drugs...I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

They found no cyst and Baby West is right on target with the due date of Dec. 30th.

Dr. Appt.

2008-05-22T17:34:00.002-04:00

I went to the Doctor today and everything is going good. He does think he feels a cyst on my right ovary, but said not to be too concerned about it. He does want me to have an ultrasound next Friday to check it out a little closer. That being said we will get our first look at our baby next week. He also gave me another prescription for the sickness, so I will wrap this up to head to CVS....I get sick around 6 at night and stay that way until I finally get to sleep.

My Boys Love the Sun...

2008-05-19T20:26:00.001-04:00

I thought this was too cute not to share....

5 years....

2008-05-19T20:17:00.002-04:00

Saturday was our 5 year anniversary....Time sure does go be fast.
Needless to say we did not really celebrate much. Before I was pregnant we were going to go out of town for a long weekend, but since I get a little queasy riding to Greer now, a trip was out of the question. (for those who don't know Greer is like 5 miles away)

I have a great husband, if I say so myself. He has cooked, cleaned, washed clothes, and taken care of me for the past week. I really like to do all of that myself, but when I am too sick to open my eyes, you give in.
Next year, we plan to make up for the lack of celebration this year....not to mention by then the baby will be here and a break will be needed I'm sure.

The Latest

2008-05-14T17:57:00.002-04:00

OK, the computer is really fixed this time, so I will get back into the habit of "the blog".

The past several days have not been fun at all.....Yesterday was my birthday, and I felt pretty OK most of the day. Monday was the worst day I have had since I have been pregnant. I really hate to complain, and if you have a weak stomach you may not want to read this....I had dry heaves ALL DAY.....It was horrible, but my doctor did call in a prescription that has helped.....I keep telling my self that I should feel better in 5 weeks. From what I have heard the second trimester is great....I am being optimistic.

Updates

2008-05-05T21:49:00.003-04:00

Our computer has been getting repaired, so I am now going to update what has been going on.....

*On Monday April 28 th my friend Carmen had her beautiful sweet baby girl, Campbell. She weighed 9 lbs 4oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.
*My friend Carly also had a sweet baby boy, Davis. He was a little smaller than Campbell, he was 5 lbs. I must say that he is a really handsome boy!
*Danny & Jane graduated on May 3rd....I am so very proud of them...
*I went to the doctor on Friday....The due date from them was December 30 th , so I was only a few days off the the date I got from calculating on my own. I have felt really good until I started taking the prenatal vitamins....I have been queasy since I put it in my mouth ....I am just know feeling better, and of course it is time for another daily dose. (Any advice on what do about this, if there is any hope... PLEASE SHARE)

Playing in the Backyard....

2008-04-26T09:42:00.003-04:00

These were taken Sunday afternoon....

Isn't my Charley a pretty girl? Even if she is a little tired...

Even Josh practiced his swing after playing ball with Charley and Bogey.

If anyone noticed Grady didn't have his picture made while playing....This is because that is a little like exercise to him. (I know everyone has noticed that he is a little chubby) He hung out on the deck with me while I took pictures.

As If December isn't busy enough.....

2008-04-23T23:24:00.002-04:00

I know that most people think that December is one of the busiest times of the year......But at my house we are really looking forward to it.

After 8 long months of trying to get pregnant......We are!!!! The baby should be due December 28th.

So far I have only been a little more hungry and a lot more tired. For those of you that have done this before, any advice or tips would be very helpful.

Please keep us in your thoughts during this time.

We have a kitchen?

2008-04-14T18:24:00.004-04:00

For those of you that know me well, you know I never cook. People often tell me that I have a kitchen, just because it came with the house....

Saturday night was an exception....Our kitchen was used...I asked Josh to cook spaghetti.

(Jane this is your fault because you talked about cooking this for Danny, and my taste buds were set)

So on the rare occasion that food is being prepared in the house.....Everyone gets excited and helps out

This is also a good view of not only how excited the babies are, but check out the size difference....That alone makes for a photo opt.

Before & After.....The Finished Product

2008-04-02T20:36:00.009-04:00

Our floor is done!

All we, (well I.... the rest is my part) have to do now is touch up the white paint on the baseboards and add the wood trim.

Here is part of the process.....

The left side is the new and the right is the ugly old floor that I discovered that night at 10:30. I pretended to be OK with this for awhile. As I mentioned earlier..this was REALLY UGLY.

As all good neighbors do, Andrew and Noah helped.....

Even Grady helped with the project......

And finally we have the finished product.....

I am very thankful for all of the people that helped out on this project.....Mainly Josh. I am very proud of his hard work and the way this turned out. (He doesn't know it yet, but call me and we will discuss the going rate for flooring if anyone needs some work done)

I wonder what next bright idea I will come up with.....I will have to think about it and let you all know.

Our Project....

2008-04-01T18:56:00.006-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know why I have been busy for the last several days, we are doing a little home improvement.

I had the bright idea one night about 10:30 that I was sick of our carpet and that the original hardwoods must be under there somewhere. Well they were, under some really ugly linoleum that has been down since the beginning of time.

So after I saw that, then I decided that we MUST have new flooring. It has taken me several months to choose the new floor. (I was really overwhelmed at the number of choices, they should give people like me no more than 3 options)

Several weeks ago I found the floor.....Then my next dilemma was dealing with rain and finding time when Josh could have some help to get this done. We are now on the downhill stretch. I will post pictures of the entire project after this is finished (which may be tonight or tomorrow) so all can view the finished product.

For the record, if my marriage has survived this I really think we can go the distance. Anyone who can put up with my late night decisions, length of making up my mind, and my lack of patience to have this finished must be a keeper.

Grady's New "Throne"

2008-03-23T22:52:00.004-04:00

Grady needed a new comfy spot for when we are on the computer, so The Easter Bunny got him a new bed......

This bed was really for all of the kids, but Grady really took it over. Charley just laid on the hardwood floor ( since it was cooler) and Bogey fought for a spot......Which he got AFTER Grady was asleep.

We will give this a try...

2008-03-19T18:21:00.011-04:00

At the suggestion of my sister- in- law Jessi, I am going to attempt to blog. I am not sure how many people will actually be interested in my life, but you never know. I have really enjoyed several blogs that my friends have done, so I will give this a try.....So here it goes.

So for those of you who haven't met them, here are our children:

Barney

(The firstborn who keeps to himself)

Grady

(By the way....he loves clothes)

Charley

(She is our only little girl)

And last but not least

Bogey

(The Baby)

No really good pictures of Josh and myself yet, but I promise we will work on this over the weekend. This is all new to me, so like I said we will give this a try!