5:00am on the 9th of December, Ryan and Lindsey's alarm went off, rousing them from a mostly restless period of sleep and non-sleep. It was time to get up and go to the Family Birth Center of the hospital again. This time around the stork had a scheduled landing time and place, so Ryan and Lindsey had looked forward to this particular day for many weeks and months prior. Leaving their 3-year-old daughter, Bailey, in the capable hands of her Grandpa Ed, Grandma Debbie, Grandma Lynnette, and Aunt Avery, they headed to the hospital and were checked into their room, this time #150 (just three doors down from where little Bailey was when she was first born).
Their first nurse, Lindsay, helped prepare Lindsey and Ryan with ID bracelets, and gowns and scrubs, then she put the IV in Lindsey's arm and everything went smooth as you please. The doctor came to talk to Lindsey, and then they just had to wait a few moments to make sure the OR was available. After that, they started walking there, but suddenly a nurse told them to head back to the room, because there was another mommy-to-be that might need the OR in a few minutes, just in case. Back to the room they all went where they waited about fifteen more minutes and then they began the walk again.
Lindsey was walked into the OR, and Ryan again had to wait for a bit outside. This time he was more excited than scared, and it seemed like the wait before he could go in was much, much shorter than the last time.
In he went and sat by Lindsey's left shoulder. There were sounds, there were smells, there was motion, and after what seemed like a small trickle of flitting little moments, the doctor said, "It's time to see baby come out," so Ryan peeked around the curtain.
This time, there was a very tall doctor in the way, so he didn't get to see little baby poking out or being pulled out, but a nurse brought her right around RIGHT after she came out, and she was very vocal about her displeasure.
Baby got cleaned, weighed, and measured, and Ryan asked Lindsey if the name they'd planned seemed to fit after they'd both seen her. It did, and minutes later little Reagan Mae Anderson was in her daddy's arms.
She was 7lbs 40z and 19 1/4 inches long. That's just a little bit heavier and longer than her sister was. She came out at 9:02am.
The parents and their new little daughter went to the recovery room for a bit, then went back to their new mommy suite. On the way Daddy signaled to Grandma and Grandpa Bliss that everything was A-Okay, and then the visiting began.
A few minutes later, Grandma Lynnette and Aunt Avery brought the new Big Sister Bailey in to meet her new baby sister Reagan. On the way back to the suite, Ryan told everyone her name, and Bailey said, "Oh, Daddy, it's beautiful!"
Overcome with emotion and overwhelmed by the amount of people in the room (and that Mommy was still in a gurney, not her regular bed) Bailey needed her Daddy to hold her for a bit as she first laid eyes on her little sibling. Later that day, she got to hold her for the first time.
Mommy and Reagan had to stay at the hospital for a couple days longer than they'd hoped, but finally, on Monday the 13th, everyone came home and the new foursome family life began.
Fun in the sun, folks! If you can see past the glare from Daddy's pasty white skin in the bright sunlight, you might be able to see me sitting there with him and Bailey in the pool out in our back yard! I had so much fun splashing the water with my feet first, then my hands. It was like a super big bath, and I didn't even have to wash! So fun. No wonder Bailey likes it so much.
Here are some clearer shots of my two big central chompers on the bottom. I've got a couple more coming through, one on either side of the first two. My poor little mouth is all achy every now and then. Teething sucks.
Bailey's friend William turned five this summer, and it was the first time I got to attend his birthday party outside of Mommy's tummy. There were tons of kids there, including William's new little sister Emma, who is just a month younger than me. She was pretty sleepy, so we didn't get a chance to play, but I'll bet someday we'll be great friends. So, instead, I spent the party hanging out with Mommy and Daddy and looking cute.
A couple weeks ago, the Coffees came over for a visit, and I got to play with my new friend Allison! We'd met once before, but then neither of us was in a very good mood to play, and we were too young to crawl around on the floor together.
I love my bouncer. Sometimes, Bailey bounces on this cool purple ball when I'm bouncing in my bouncer. I thought I'd give it a try, but I couldn't get the silly thing to work right. It was still fun to roll around with for a bit.
Yeah, I can sit up by myself now. I still tip over, and sometimes bonk my head, but my balance is getting better and better.
Hey blog fans! On July 13th, two days before Bailey's birthday, I cut my first two teeth. Well, at least that's when Daddy first felt them when I bit him. They're right there in the middle on the bottom shelf. You can kind of see them in picture number three, if you squint.
Holy smokes, folks. I got here seven months ago today, but the party is just now getting started. These days I'm an expert roller, even when Mommy or Daddy is trying to change me. I can drag myself across a room, and I'll be crawling in days, people. Days. I can make all kinds of sounds, including what might be a noise a baby velociraptor might have made. I'm eating baby cereal like a champ, and I'll be starting fruits and veggies next week sometime. I love to bounce, play on the floor, and hang out with Bailey. My kitty Maximus has decided I'm his buddy now too, and likes to come over and snuzzle me. You can see him giving me the Maximus head-butt above, though it's a bit blurry. Go me!
Last week, Mommy dressed me up in this cute outfit and took some awesome pictures of me. Doesn't that second one look like a professional took it?
When we all went for a walk at Sun River, I had a blast just riding in Grandma and Grandpa's umbrella stroller. It was kinda chilly out that morning, so I was pretty bundled up. And, since it was close to my nap time, I got sleepy on the way back.
Daddy and I got a chance to play a little tether ball at the playground at Sun River. It really wasn't much of a mach, since I was strapped to his chest. I totally schooled him.
Here I am hanging out--literally--with Daddy, Mommy, Grandma Debbie, and Aunt Karen, while Bailey was playing with Grandpa. Trust me, I'm in each of these photos.
So, yeah. We went to this place called Sun River, where that bright thing stayed in the sky all the time. I don't think I've ever seen it for more than two days in a row. We went to the playground and I got to ride the swings with Daddy. It was awesome.
I'm so good at eating my cereal that everyone wants to help me do it. Here is the first time Bailey took a turn.
At Hannah's party, for a little while, I got to visit with Uncle Rhett and his girlfriend Andrea. Our Favorite Aunt Avery was also there, as well as Uncle Jared.
