Easter 2011: Only 1 Month Late

And I thought I was all caught up on blogging the big events...Somehow I missed Easter weekend! We headed into Longview for Rylan's first visit and to hunt Easter eggs with all the cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Kaelyn really got into dying eggs this year as well as hunting them! She loved it.

The Hudson's Welcome Rylan to Mimi and PawPaw's house

Kaelyn rarely falls asleep anywhere but her bed, but she was so tired

that Mommy got some sweet holding when we first arrived.

(Notice her hand is on the soccer ball; she didn't want anyone to take it away)

Dying Easter eggs at Mimi and PawPaw's

She found her Easter basket from Mimi and PawPaw in the pantry!

Rylan's Easter basket from Mimi and PawPaw

Dying more Easter eggs at Nana and Grandad's house

with Kade and all the cousins!

Cousin Breanna helping Kaelyn put stickers on her Easter eggs.

Easter morning; Kaelyn found her basket from the Easter bunny!

The Easter bunny hid Pop and KK's basket for Kaelyn too!

Rylan definitely loved his Easter basket from the Easter bunny!

(Can't you tell?)

Another Easter basket from Pop and KK for Rylan!

An attempt at a family photo. 

Family photo with Mimi and PawPaw

Family photo with Pop, KK, Karlene, Keeton and Kylen and Kade

Nana and Grandad and all the Grandkids and Great-Grandkids

On your mark, get set...GO!

Kaelyn was a great hunter, finding eggs in the craziest of places.

Got a little sweaty during the hunt and decided to cool

off in the pool with Pop's help. 

Our sweet babies

Rylan loves to stretch out in his crib! 

Kaelyn sitting on her new bean bag with all of her

stuffed animals inside (finally contained)!

Rylan's Baby Pictures

I can't believe that Rylan is already six weeks old! We went in on Monday, May 2nd for his 4 week check-up and have had busy weeks since then. Since birth, he has struggled a bit with nursing and would often choke and sputter through the feeding. At his doctor's visit, our pediatrician was concerned with how fast he was breathing and immediately sent us for a chest x-ray. Come to find out, Rylan had an early onset case of pneumonia which was not what we expected to hear at all. Our doctor believed it was brought on by silent aspiration during feedings and scheduled us for a Barium Swallow test at the hospital. On the following Wednesday, we went in for the test and have now adjusted his feedings. This has been a tough thing for me emotionally because I love nursing him and it came so easy with Kaelyn. He is a lazy swallower and so I'm pumping and having to thicken his milk for each feeding. Since Wednesday, May 4th, the feedings have been going much smoother (just a little more time consuming on my part) and he sounds less congested. Unfortunately, pumping and bottle-feeding are our new normal for at least the next month or two. My prayer is that we will be able to have the Barium Swallow test again in a month and be able to move back to breastfeeding solely and offering a bottle for convenience. Rylan will outgrow this "swallowing coordination" obstacle, and I'm hopeful it will be soon. I know the Lord has a plan for us and right now feeding is not as easy as I expected, but Rylan is responding well to the change.

Rylan's 1 Month Stats

Weight: 10 lbs. 14 oz.

(Who would've thought he'd be having feeding issues?)

Height: 21.75 inches

He is such a sweet baby and enjoys sleeping. We are beginning to have more alert times and are enjoying watching him look around and listen and recognize voices. He loves his tummy time and is very strong. He has been able to move his head from side to side while on his tummy from the first week. Rylan coos and smiles very often and loves to be snuggled closely. Kaelyn loves being his big sister, and we often find her giving him lots of kisses. This is such a special time for our family of four and we thank the Lord each day for our healthy children. We also recently got his newborn photos in and wanted to share them. Just like Kaelyn's newborn photos, it is impossible to pick out our favorites because we like them all.

In Daddy's sweet arms

Proud Mommy

I love this candid photo of our family of four!

(I like it so much it's our new blog title photo!)

My Mother's Day Gift

(A new canvas of our precious kids above the mantle)

Big sister loves Rylan and takes such good care of him!

Some sweet pictures of just Rylan!