This, That, and the Other

My goodness, how these little ones change! Although it's still a rare occurence for Carter to have his eyes open for longer than a 30 minute stretch, when he's awake, he's a happy little guy! I guess it's a good thing our first baby was a harder baby...this first week and a half has seemed super easy in comparison...then again, it could just be because my wonderful mother and sister Melanie have spent the last 5 days with us! Carter and Jemma have greatly appreciated their company too.

Mom/Nona (as affectionately called by her grandchildren), with Jemma and Carter.

Aunt Jewels with a snoozing Carter.

Nona and Carter.

Aunt Melanie and Carter.

Brandon and Carter, both out cold.

Just one example of how fun it is to have company: right after Jemma's bath the other night, Aunt Melanie let Jemma try on a whole bunch of her shirts...they fit more like dresses, but Jemma LOVED it! She kept saying, "I'm pretty!" and wanting us to turn on music so she could dance around like a little princess! She's ALL GIRL...unless she's wrestling with her daddy.



WHAT A GREAT BIG SISTER!

Jemma really wanted to hold Carter the other night, but insisted on wearing the oven mits...who knows!

We are so grateful for both of our children. How blessed we are!

It's A Boy!

Carter Brandon Reed was born Wednesday, May 14th at 4:32pm and has been such a wonderful addition to our family! He was 7 days early and still weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces...exactly the same as Jemma (who was one day LATE) and was 19 in. long. Half of his weight has got to

be in his cheeks! They're super kissable...your lips just sink into them! I love it!

Jemma has taken quite a liking to him and LOVES to hold him...but only for a couple of minutes and then she hollers "All Done!"

Jemma, monitoring Carter's first bath!

That's our boy! What a stud!

Oregon, Here the Reed's Come!

PACIFIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF OPTOMETRY...we are on our way!!! So, for those who are unfamiliar with this story...last fall, Brandon and I decided to switch from premed to preoptometry...we also decided to take a long shot at applying a year early, and to only ONE school. So, right before Brandon's interview at the ONE school we decided we were interested in this time around, we found out that the school had filled it's Fall 2008 class, but that they were still interviewing for their alternate list. With flights booked, hotel reservations, etc. in place, we decided he would interview anyway. It's been a month now since Brandon interviewed out at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, but today, we recieved a phone call from the head of admissions telling us that they had ranked their alternate list, Brandon was number ONE on the list and they were prepared to offer him a spot in their FALL 2008 class of Optometry students!!! Talk about unexpected! We are so excited, and I just want to say, BRANDON YOU ARE THE BOMB!!! (ha ha ha!)

Sunday Afternoon at the Rexburg Temple

So, today we decided after dinner we were going to walk on up to the Rexburg Temple. Eric and Julianne always come over for Sunday Dinner and they were gracious enough to accompany us. Jemma took MANY breaks on the way there...the photo below is her resting at one point during our walk and when we asked her where the temple was, she pointed right to it. Pretty impressive! We must be doin' something right...pointing it out when we drive by...pictures at home...because this was the first time we took her to the temple grounds! So, we did finally make it...with a tired two year old and an 8 1/2 month pregnant girl in tow. Most of the landscape is still dormant...we're grateful for the green grass...but it's still an impressive sight.

Candid of Julianne and Eric...THANKS GUYS FOR COMING WITH US!! (Since they don't post stuff on their blog, I figured I'd letcha know they're still alive. ;o)Brandon was a little tired of chasing Jemma around...those steps sure come in handy.
Brace yourself for these next few photos...I am GINORMOUS!!!! (Is that a real word...or even how you spell it if it is...?) P.S. I had been worried about the size of the baby...I'm bigger this time than I was with Jemma (an almost EIGHT pounder!) so my doctor sent me to the hospital for a detailed ultrasound. The results came back showing my due date one week earlier, May 21st (HOORAY!!!) and because the baby's size two weeks ago was about 6 1/2 pounds, my doctor said we'll be lookin' at another 7-8 pound baby and wants to induce on the 14th of May!!! Hooray for doctors who listen to your concerns! So, the count down has begun...TEN DAYS!!!

I told you to prepare yourself...don't blame me if you have nightmares about pregnancy after viewing these photos!

Brandon and Jemma...having some bonding time...don't those clouds look cool!?!

Our family in front of the temple...it is really tall...sorry we couldn't fit the whole thing in the pic.

Brandon, Julianne and Eric all took turns carrying Jemma on the way back...we would have been taking a lot more rests otherwise.