Noah's Bathtime

Melanie will often ask me to take photos of Noah when he's in the tub...I think it's because he's usually very happy to be hanging out in the water. I really like the light reflecting in his eye...we usually bathe him in the kitchen, where we have multiple lights overhead.

Happy Birthday Ethan, Horseback Riding

We went out early this morning to take the kids horseback riding to kick off Ethan's birthday. We're lucky enough to have great friends who made this possible and are very thankful to them for that! Ethan got to ride Skeeter and Catherine rode Lulu. Since we live really close to the desert it took about 5 minutes to find a great spot to let the kids ride. We started the day off right with some Dunkin' donuts and then put the kids on and led them around for about 45 minutes. They also got to feed the horses and see their big teeth!

Noah: The Progression

It's been a while since we blogged so we thought we'd post some photos of Noah over the past 2 months. Here (in order) are his 2, 4, 6 and 8 week photos. For an "official" 2-month photo of Noah, check out my blog here...enjoy!

Welcome, Noah!

We are excited to announce that Noah Robert Reeves joined our family on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 10:48 am.

Due to medical necessity Melanie was induced and labored for 6.5 hours. She did an excellent job through the labor and delivery! Both Melanie and Noah are healthy and recovering well. 

Thank you all for your prayers, help and support to allow Melanie to carry Noah to 37.5 weeks. We feel very blessed that everything turned out well. 

Catherine and Ethan are ecstatic for their new baby brother. Ethan can't keep his hands off of him and has let out plenty of squeals. Catherine is the perfect little helper/mother and they both love to give him kisses. 

We enjoy the special spirit that Noah brings to our home. He gets plenty of love, hugs and kisses in return. We are happy to have him as a part of our family. 

How far you've come!

It has been almost 2 years since I bought Larry his first pro camera for his birthday...  He has always had a talent to match his love for photography, and I was curious to see where he'd go if he had the right tools for it.  

I'm in awe of where he is today.  What an amazing example he is to me of perseverance and diligence in developing the talents our Father in Heaven has blessed us with!

For those of you, like me, who don't understand much about photography and all the artistic rules... there's a lot a person can do to edit a photo to try to make it look better than it actually is.  There's a huge difference between good pictures straight out of the camera, and those that have been edited to look good.   

These pictures of my "crusty, unkempt kids"  are straight out of the camera, and I love them because they capture the true, un-sugar coated memories of our life!  

Thank you, Larry!

www.larryreevesblog.com

We love Uncle Brad!

A big thank you to Uncle Brad for coming over to visit us tonight!  We just love him.  He's an amazing brother and Uncle.  Both kids were practically hanging on his legs all night, and Catherine was begging him to spend the night... she was hoping to keep him all to herself forever. 

Have a safe flight back to Hawaii... please be sure to double check your bags for stowaways!

See you in June!

Baby Boy Reeves coming soon...

Well, I guess no news can be good news.  I had my 35 week appointment today... with 35 more days to go... don't you love when numbers align like that?  

The doctor's orders are "light activity" until 36 weeks.  After 36 weeks he said they won't stop my contractions any longer, but he'd really rather the baby not be born until 37 weeks.  We feel the same way!  We'll have more news in a week and a half when I go to my next appointment... unless our baby boy decides to come sooner!

It sure has been a LONG week since my mom, "Grandma Cattin" flew home.  We miss her!  She was a HUGE help!  I must say, Catherine and Ethan have been absolute angels for me, though, and have made my mothering responsibilities much easier than they might otherwise have been.  

Larry is photographing a wedding this evening, so he wasn't able to come home right after work.  The kids and I sure miss him!  He is my greatest help and support and the kids' best friend!  Catherine didn't even want me to turn her songs on her CD player "until Daddy comes home."

There is a lot scheduled over the next two weeks... most especially: preparing for baby.  But tomorrow we kick it all off with the kids' gymnastic pictures in the morning as a prelude to their upcoming recital on May 16th.  They are very excited!  Check back for gymnastic pictures and highlights of the recital!