Recent developments & playing catch-up

In light of a few important milestones (well, to me at least) I thought it was time to finally update the blog so that we can remember these small joys & share them with our friends & family.

Ryder has been an active baby from the start. Not only did he hold his head up starting on day 1 & move his arms & legs constantly throughout the first month, he has also been rolling back & forth on flat surfaces for the past month & a half or so. In the last week he learned to move around his crib at night. A few weeks ago he started pulling himself around like a little inch worm with his hamstrings. These two tricks together have provided Mr. R with his first taste of mobility. Starting this week I began finding him in many different positions in his crib - on his side, lying next to the crib slats, perpendicular to the crib slats & finally, last night, at the foot of the bed. Yep, he moved himself all the way to the end of the crib with his head facing the complete opposite end that he started at. Now, granted, his mattress is at an incline so he has some assistance in rolling to the other end of the bed, but I'm still quite proud of my little guy!

So, in addition to his crib antics, tonight, after swaddling him up tight & laying him down, I proceeded to watch the monitor as he rolled himself completely over to his tummy. I'm so excited to watch him develop his motor skills & fear the day I have to start child-proofing the house & walking him into his kindergarten class for the first time (yes, I'm already stressing about him growing up too fast!).

The other highlight this week is that while Grams is here watching Ryder for my first week back at work (a very sad milestone for me), he began reaching out for the toys on his playmat. While I was home with him I would point out the excitement each offered & help him touch them (though he only allowed a closed fist to touch the colorful objects). He has yet to start playing with his feet but is starting to reach out & grab my hair, shirt & necklace so I'm sure it's coming soon. Hopefully Sam gets to enjoy seeing Ryder master that next little trick while he's at home with him this week.

Now, since it's been 2 months since my last update we have lots to catch up on. Ryder's first trip out of town was to visit his grandma & papa at the ranch followed by his second out of town adventure to visit his cousins in Austin (I say adventure because on the way home mommy resorted to playing old school Mickey Mouse cartoons on my I-Phone to keep him entertained for a few minutes & end the crying). He is such a trooper! He was definitely not ready to be in the car for a long trip but made it all the way to Waller before we had to pull over for a nice long break. Almost made it home! Almost ;-)

We also celebrated Ryder's first Halloween & Thanksgiving. For Halloween we headed to Humble with cousin Abby for pics in the pumpkin patch & then to Austin for the weekend with the cousins & a little Halloween festival at their church, complete with a petting zoo & hay ride!

Here are a few pics ...

Just chillin while mom & aunt Jami take pics with cousin Abby

Gotta love these 3 boys! Brody & Jaden both loved having "baby Webb" visit them

Other events over the past 3 months ...

Meeting great Grandma Roberson

Gram's first visit to meet Ryder

First Aggie game on tv

Meeting Aunt Regina

Grandpa's first visit to meet Ryder

Mommy & Daddy's first night out (Thank you Gus & Kristen!!!)

Thanksgiving with Grams, Grandpa & Uncle Matt

Ryder - month 1 (94 photos), by Jessica Webb

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Water baby?

Last night Sam & I tackled what we thought would be scream-fest 2010 when we decided to give Ryder his second real bath. He wasn't a fan of sponge baths & our first real bath was even less enjoyable for the little guy.

We had been fighting gas all day (best reason EVER for not having to eat broccoli! thank you, Ryder!!) & decided to try & calm him down with a meal before attempting to get him wet. Thankfully the subsequent diaper change also went off without much incidence as well so we decided to go for it ... let the games begin! All that worry for nothing - he loved it! No fussing at all this time!

Now, I don't want to jinx us, but could this perhaps indicate a future water baby?? Either way, I was so happy not to have made my baby cry - that little scrunchy face he makes right before a big cry breaks my heart!

Baby pics - Sneak Peek

Check out the amazing pics that our photographer got of Ryder last weekend! We LOVE them & can't wait to see the rest of them!!

Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah!!

Check out Mr. R at the following link ... http://www.studiobloomphoto.com/blog/

3 weeks already?! Where has the time gone?!

Since it's been nearly 3 weeks since the arrival of our little guy I guess I have a few things to post about!

Our birth story ... not the one we wanted to write, but one we'll never forget!

After waking up around 6am to get ready for a day at the hospital, we were unexpectedly delayed twice on the morning of the 8th. Apparently with the hurricane that hit Brownsville the day before, a barametric change sent many women in Houston into labor which meant inductions were on hold until they got organized at the hospital. Thankfully we weren't delayed too long & were on our way to the hospital by 9am.

I was *a little* apprehensive about being induced as I've always believed in letting little ones determine when they are ready rather than forcing them out early. But alas, the time had come to evict the little guy from his cozy home & finally meet him. Having Sam's parents with us made the whole experience easier on me (& kept me from backing out of the induction from fear).

By 10:30 I was hooked up to the Pitocin drip & they had broken my water (another thing I'm not a fan of but felt I needed to give into b/c "dr. knows best"). Once that water was busted open, it was a free for all for those nasty contractions. When they originally hooked me up to the monitor I was contracting & didn't feel it ... these were TOTALLY different. I thought I was going to die if I didn't get pain meds before Ryder started making his way out.

Needless to say, the induction worked. ;-) I went from 2cm dilated at 9am to 4cm at 1pm then 8cm at 2pm & finally delivered (after waiting 30 mins for the dr. to show up while maintaining a crowning baby) at 4:10pm.

Ryder arrived at 8 pounds 11 ounces and 22 inches long. Sam was quite impressed when he found out that out of 10, Ryder scored a 9.9 on the APGAR scale. :-) Nothing better than being super proud of your kid early, right?!

The following day Summer brought the girls by for a visit while Sam ran home with his parents for a quick shower, etc. It was so amazing to see the difference in the girls vs. Ryder & I started seeing just how quickly these moments will pass & just how quickly it will go by.

After lunch Eryn also came by for a visit to meet our little guy & brought a little stuffed dinosaur that I am still using to keep Ryder's attention during feedings. LOL! Who would have known that a balloon & stuffed animal would be so entertaining?!

We were also lucky enough to see Kristen & Sarah after they got off work. During their visit, one of the nurses introduced Ryder to his first pacifier. I was not a fan, but Sarah assured me that I would be a big fan in no time. Sure enough, Ryder loved it & quieted down immediately & I am completely at a loss when I can't find a paci! What would I have done with him all day without a paci?!

The next day, Friday, wasn't quite as fun. The day started with Sam and I being a bit stressed out about when Ryder's circumcision would be completed b/c we really wanted the nurses to take the off & make sure everything was good before heading home. The OB finally came by at 9am to get Ryder & dropped by after to assure us everything went off without incidence. If only she had been around when it was finally time to go home to reassure us of that!

Ryder got back to our room around 11 & was actually not showing signs of the trauma we know he'd been through. I let him nurse whenever he wanted as a way to hopefully make him feel better after the morning events which ended up bringing in my milk sooner than I expected & helped me get him nearly back to his birth weight by the next day. Yes, I know his exact weight for that Saturday b/c our checkout process didn't go as expected & we ended up at the pediatrician's office the next morning.

Upon removing the bandages we'd been waiting all day for, we were quite concerned b/c he had some slight bleeding from an area that stuck to the bandage. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but we got very concerned when Sam & the nurse saw what they thought were stitches which kicked off a series of calls the OB who did the circ, the OB on call, the pediatrician & of course God himself. Oh yes, I was praying the entire time - especially when Sam started listing all the potential issues that a bad circ could bring to our perfect little guy.

Thankfully everything turned out just fine ... after having the OB on call come give Ryder a thorough check & having to have a CBC done for the pediatrician (since the nurses hadn't told us to keep up with input/output during our visit & they didn't have a wet or dirty diaper on the books since prior to the circ). We finally got home around 10pm on Friday night. Not exactly the coming home we were looking forward to. Sam's mom was so supportive! We can't thank her enough for preparing dinner for us, keeping it warm with hopes we were on our way soon & finally welcoming us home to a nice big hug for everyone (and dinner for Saturday).

The first weeks as parents

So, as I mentioned, our first day home with Ryder started with a trip to the pediatrician (I LOVE that she is open on Saturdays!). We also gave Ryder his first sponge bath at home. Thank goodness for Grandma! She and Sam tackled that adventure for me & allowed me to sit back & learn how to do it while I snapped a few pics of the event (which Ryder did not enjoy in the least!).

During the first week home we got to enjoy watching Ryder try out his new facial expressions & voice. He was making kissy faces (which I love), frowny faces & even tried out a big mouth smile. It's amazing to see how quickly these faces developed!

From birth, Ryder dropped down to 8 pounds 4 ounces on Thurs but was back to 8 pounds 7 ounces on Saturday at the pediatrician's office. By the next Friday, just one short week home with us, he was already up to 9 pounds 9 ounces! He's a fast growing little guy for sure!

My mom came for a visit on the 14th and stayed with us for a week and a half to help out. We

are so blessed to have been able to have both grandma's spend time with us. It made

everything so much easier to have help! We can't thank them both enough! Not only did they

offer experienced arms to help, but Sam and I were both able to get them to fill us up with our

favorite foods =)

In addition to our mom's, my brother & Sam's sister were both able to come stay with us &

meet Ryder. It's such a blessing to have such a wonderful family! Thanks for coming y'all! We

love you all!

Twas the night before baby

Well, it's come to be that time already ... the little guy will be making his appearance tomorrow whether he likes it or not. Tomorrow is the big day & I'm as nervous or maybe more so than the night before our wedding! It's strange knowing that I'll be going through the biggest day of my life tomorrow - you expect this to be a sudden surprise =) Sam has a "scary movie" from the 80's on tv to calm our nerves ... I think I'd prefer 'ritas and queso like the night before the wedding instead ;-)

Thankfully Sam's parents are here now so we had a nice home cooked meal tonight & they will be with us tomorrow as we work through a long day at the hospital. I can't thank them enough for being here to support us & help us with Ryder when he comes home.

I wanted to take a sec to thank everyone for their prayers & well wishes for tomorrow. It means the world to us!

Here's to a nice, easy day tomorrow! ;-) LOL! Well, it will end nicely at least =)

Can't wait to finally see your sweet face, Ryder!

Nursery is done ... where is the baby?!

We have officially finished the nursery, well, minus one decoration we are still searching for & may give up on. Now it's down to getting the rest of the house totally cleaned up before we have to head to the hospital.

Speaking of the hospital ... yeah, I don't feel any closer so with our due date being a whopping 2 hours away as I type this, the official overdue countdown is now on. I have to remind myself constantly that the original due date was Sept 4 so as not to get too anxious. Anxiety is definitely setting in though. I keep looking at Sam, pointing to the bump & saying "a real live baby will be in our care in a few short days." Hard to imagine. Exciting though.

Soon we'll have a little guy around to coo at, little chubby cheeks to stare at and an adorable smile to make our day. Oh, and diapers, up all nights and crying.

Here are a few pics of the nursery ... many thanks to our wonderful parents who helped us so very much in filling this happy little space =)

Now. Time to get this boy out of his oh so snug temporary home & into his big boy room!

Updates and a name decision

I'll start this post with a great picture of my beautiful wife. This is Jessica at 34 wks 5 days and looking absolutely gorgeous.

So there hasn't been a lot of time since our last post, but there have been alot of changes and fun at our house.

We decided on a name for our baby boy.

Floyd Ryder Webb

The Floyd is a family name that has been passed down now 5 times, so that was definitely going to be part of his name. I originally told Jessica on our 2nd date that I had already named my first boy, Floyd Thurston Webb, this was going to be after my grandfather. Jessica wasn't a big fan and decided that he needed a 'cool' name to go by. So we swapped the middle name to and he'll go by Ryder.

So today Jessica is at 35 weeks and 2 days, but the baby dropped yesterday or today and the discomfort has jumped quite a bit for her =(

This is a week old picture of Jessica working on doing a few touch-ups on the nursery. We still haven't quite finished, lots of stuff all over the place but we do have everything we need, so hopefully we'll be finishing up soon.

So we decided that our last road trip before Ryder comes we wanted to go see my sister and her family. We wanted to see her two little boys, Jaden 3 1/2 and Brody 1 1/2, and catch-up with Natalie and Josh since it had been awhile since we'd seen them. We had a blast with the boys and were so glad we decided to go see them for our last trip. We played some Cornhole, ate some great food and just in general had a great time.

Josh and I in a serious game of cornhole.Apparently Brody really enjoys watermelon and isn't too happy when Jaden has some and he doesn't.
This was Jaden blissfully ignorant of the angst he was causing Brody.
This is Brody in a calmer, happier mood. Such a cute kid!!
Below are just a few more pictures of Brody and Jaden that I liked and thought I'd share.

This was Brody making sure he was on top of me, the kid already has some pretty good wrestling moves.

Baby showers and bump progress!

We were treated to two wonderful baby showers hosted by friends and family in June and July & can't say how grateful we are to the hosts & how much love we felt from all those that attended the showers. Y'all are the greatest!

In June Sam's family hosted a shower for us in Beeville at Tommy & Kathy's home where we also celebrated our wedding 2 years ago (yep! yesterday was our 2 year anniversary!). We were joined by not only our immediate family, but also our extended Beeville family including close family friends. Everything was perfect (many thanks to our wonderful hostess, Ms. Kathy, for wonderful food & a beautiful setup!) and everyone had a wonderful time.

Comparing belly size - I think I finally have Sam beat since he is obviously straining to get his belly out there! ;-)


Cousins Alex & Abby with Grandma Kathy

In July, good friends Sarah & Jim, hosted our friends shower at their home with the help of Melissa, Julie & Randy. We decided to do a couples shower since we don't get many opportunities to see everyone & we all had a wonderful time! Many thanks to the 5 of you for making it such a wonderful day for Sam and I. We love you all!

In the beginning, there was no bump

Here we are at 19 weeks - the bump has made it's presence known to Sam and I but others wouldn't have guessed
Mid to late April and the bump is now a definitive part of my life & we definitely know the little guy is on his way!
Not sure how many weeks this is, but the bump is growing ...
This was last week - 33 weeks and the torpedo shape is taking full form!

From Sam-

As Jessica said in the previous post, she couldn't figure out the whole linking to Snapfish process...so that means a challenge for me...hopefully I figured it out.

We now how two new snapfish links on our page, one is our shower and Jim and Sarah's and the other was the next day when we all got together with all of the kids. I took a lot of pictures and learned alot thanks to Randy.

Been a long time!

So, originally I started this post about a month ago & thought I'd be able to figure out the link to a photo album. However, in the time that has passed I have to admit that I haven't even tried to figure it out =(

So! This is going to mostly be quick notes and lots of pics ... hope y'all don't mind ;-)

To catch up from the last post we've had lots of happenings starting with a trip Inks Lake state park in April with our dear friends Kelly & Paul, the purchase of a new truck for Sam and a trip to Kentucky to see my fabulous friend Lara & her family & attending Derby back in May.

Sam's new truck (and his BFF, Cooper)

Kelly & Paul, pre-hike
I absolutely LOVE the Hill Country in the Spring!
A man and his best bud

Derby fun

The famous Spires
Louisville Slugger Museum & factory - I think Lara's son, Hunter, enjoyed beating on this metal bat with his mini bat more than anything else we did that day!
Post tour at Makers Mark. We all had a great time - especially deserved after trying to get around a flooded valley 3 different ways!

Our first baby gift!

Thanks to Aunt Kristen & Uncle Gus for our first baby gift!

This might be BW's outfit home from the hospital! We just love the kickin' shoes & matching bibs & socks! BW will be super fly in these sweet onesie's and bibs & momma will be looking good with the cute diaper bag for sure! =)

No more pink here!

Despite his attempt to prepare for a girl (which he did very well by the way & will one day be a great baby girl daddy), Sam was *a little* excited to hear the news yesterday that in fact, we are having a boy, not a girl this go-round. So, I've updated to the proper background color!

We are super excited & appreciate all the love yesterday from those we told. We're looking forward to meeting our little man & introducing him to y'all.

It was a lot of fun to watch him on the screen yesterday & we enjoyed joking with each other about who gave him his nose & toes ;-) The nurse was super sweet & turned on the 4-D for a while & attempted to give us a look at his little face. We did get to see his profile & a little side view peek at him, but those things still make them look pretty alien-esque & he had his arms & a leg up at his head so it wasn't very easy for her. We definitely appreciated all her help though!

Now, time to plan the nursery!

Change of background and random thoughts

So everyone keeps telling me we are having a girl, so I went from a blue/brown (boy) background to our new very pink, very girl background.

I need to get some pictures up of Jess, if she'll let me post pictures. Over the last couple of days, she's all of a sudden gotten a real little baby bump going. We even did a comparison last night to see if I still had the biggest belly in the family, it was a close call, but I think I'm still the champ in that race at least for a few more weeks.

Other than Jessica having some really bad heartburn/reflux, which will hopefully be cured with the Pepcid AC we bought last night, everything has been going pretty smoothly. We got in a long 4.5 mile walk last night, so long in fact that one of us had to take a pee break at a port-a-potty that was along the trail...I'll let you all take guesses as to which one of us that was. We are both just kind of surprised by how fast it is going, but seeing Jess with a little baby bump definitely is starting to make it feel more real. I can't wait for next Friday when we can see him/her again.

We are in the process of deciding what we are going to replace the Jeep with, which my dad was nice enough to put on the lot and retail for us. For now, Jessica is driving the Audi and I'm in my dad's old Dakota for now, but considering I've had it for a month it's getting close to time to be getting it back to him. I think we're leaning towards getting a truck, but we are having a hard time deciding between SUV, Truck or just having 2 cars.

We received a mixed blessing from my sister, who already has 2 boys and needed to get rid of some baby stuff, and that was an entire truck bed full of baby stuff. I say stuff, because we haven't even gotten all of it from the living room to the 'baby room'. Which isn't even close to a baby room yet, as we still have to get the dog kennel out and find a place for all of the other 'stuff' that was already in there. But with how much everyone keeps saying everything costs, we are grateful for all of our stuff. I know there are quite a few things that we would have needed that we won't have to go out and buy now and Jessica can buy more clothes instead.

It kind of goes without saying that I've got a lot of honey-dos to complete between now and August 30th!!

New Gadget and big news for anyone who doesn't know!!

Posted by Sam:

Well for those of you who may not know yet, Jessica and I are expecting our 1st baby on August 30th!! We are incredibly excited and can not wait until the big day. The past 4 months has flown by, so we are hoping that it slows down at least enough for us to get the baby room put together. We spent the last weekend at my parents house with my sisters 2 little boys, 3 1/2 and 1 1/2, and we both decided that we are glad that we get to start with a newborn because by 3 they have way more energy than either of us. I added a little countdown gadget to the blog, so everyone please keep us in your prayers and for anyone that we hadn't told yet, sorry, but I couldn't wait any longer to tell everyone.

Weekend Getaway

There is nothing I like more than the trip home during the Spring. There's the perfect crispness in the air (i.e. none) and the sights and smells of spring. Nothing better.

This past weekend we headed to Johnson City to spend the weekend with our brother in law's family. They are a wonderful family and we love spending time with them. In addition to our nephews, their cousin, Raley, was also there so we got a little glimpse into the family life that awaits us.

We had a wonderful stay, lots of R&R and many laughs. Of particular highlight was watching the guys move boulders from a dirt pile across the yard to the fire pit. Though they put a lot of hard work into it, the rest of us found it quite entertaining and we all very much enjoyed the new seating around the fire while roasting marshmallows.

Many thanks to the Bibler's for such an enjoyable weekend!

After leaving the ranch we hit the Nutty Brown Cafe in "South Austin" (closer to Dripping Springs in my opinion but I digress) and then headed to the Driftwood Estates Winery for a little tasting to kill some time before picking up the dog. The views were amazing and I would love to live closer & have the ability to pack a lunch & buy a bottle to enjoy on their patio!

Despite not being able to swallow the wonderful wines I thoroughly enjoyed being able to taste the VERY tasty juices! We ended up with 6 wines that I know friends and family will enjoy this summer and one that I will be opening after the arrival of our little angel. Yes, I will be celebrating baby's homecoming with a little sippage ;-)

Here are a few pics from the weekend ... can you tell that we enjoyed our time with the nephews?!

Putting the first boulder in place. Only a few more to go!

Even the little guys love beads & dance parties

Jaden and uncle Luke playing in the bubbles

Who knew setting up a bubble machine would take 4 of us?!

Most of the Bibler clan participated in the BBQ judging & enjoyed some yummy chicken