Denver Zoo and 1 month old!!

Last week Jill and Doran decided to come and spend a few days with us in between semesters at school. We were so happy that they were able to come and see Blake and their newest Nephew Carter. On Saturday we decided to head over to the Denver Zoo along with Joci, Tyson, and Blakes bestest little friend Levi. We had such a good time there and it was the perfect day to go. Blakes favorite animal was the goose that ran around on the sidewalks. He wanted to chase that thing around all day. What can ya do? Oh well, he did like looking at the polar bear and the gorilla. We had a great day.

On the 26th Carter turned 1 month old. I can't believe how fast this past month has gone. He is such a sweet baby and adds so much joy to our little family unit. I already can't imagine our lives without him. He is growing so big already and has the sweetest chubby face ever. Here are Jill and Doran with Carter on his one month birthday!!

Here are a few more pictures of my little men. I love them so much!!

Blake also found my camera one day and decided that he wanted to be a photographer. I found these on my camera. Oh how I love this boy!!!

And Three Becomes Four!!! Welcome Carter Gregory West!!!

Carter Gregory West has arrived. We are so excited to have him here and we have a great story to tell..... Hear it is....

On March 25 I had my 38 week doctors appointment and we have had a running joke with the doctor saying that he can come come any day BUT the night of the 25 and early morning on the 26th because Ryan had his Neurology final the next morning at 8:30 (Hence the reason I cannot have the baby this night or the next morning) . My doctor checked me and said I was dialated to a 3 but he was still so high and hadn't dropped. She said we had nothing to worry about and that we would most likely be seeing her in a week for another appointment.
After the appointment that day Ryan and I went home and I layed down to rest while Ryan started to study like crazy. He is super nervous about his test and said he had to study the entire night. That night I put Blake down for bed at 8:00 and layed down to watch T.V. for the rest of the night. At about 10:00 Ryan came home from school because his contacts were hurting his eyes and he needed to switch to his glasses. He then went to study with his friend Eric. He got home about 11:30 and was exhausted and ready for bed.
At about midnight we heard Blake start to cry and went to check on him. I could tell he wasn't feeling well so I took his temperature and it was 103 degrees. So Sad!! Ryan was exhausted and I knew he needed to get some sleep so he could do well on his final the next morning. (I forgot to mention that his spring break started as soon as his test was finished so anytime after the test would be awesome) So Ryan went to bed and I layed on the couch with Blake to watch his fever and see if it would get better with some tylenol. About 2 am I felt a pop in my stomach and thought that the baby had kicked a nerve or something but I felt fine. About 5 minutes later I decided to go to the bathroom and SURPRISE I gushed (sorry if too much info). My water had broken on the one night that we said we could not have this baby. I was still 10 days before my due date. Everyone told us this would happen and we even joked about it ourselves.
We called our friends that said they would take Blake and explained that he was sick and that we didn't want him to get their little boy sick. Tyson ended up coming over to spend the rest of the night with Blake so we could go to the hospital. We headed over to the hospital and the contractions were coming on strong. When we got there we were taken up to labor and delivery and they immediately got me going on an I.V. and an epidural about an hour after we got there. As soon as the epidural started working I was in heaven.
Ryan e-mailed his teacher at 2:30 explaining the situation and asked if it was possible to reschedule his test. Things started to go so smoothly after that. After the epidural they checked me and I was a 5. Forty-five minutes later I was a 6. An hour later I was an 8. An hour after that I was a complete 10. By 7 am that morning they told me I could start pushing when I felt like it. At about 7:30 we decided to give it a try. After about 2 pushes the nurse decided she needed to call the doctor and tell him to get in the room. The doctor on call came in and heard everyone joking with Ryan about his test that started in less than an hour. He looked at Ryan and asked if he wanted to gown up. Ryan got so excited as he got ready and the doctor told Ryan that he was going to deliver our son. (I am tearing up right now) The doctor then proceeded to tell Ryan that his hands would be right there in case something went wrong but he wanted Ryan to do most of the delivery.
About 4 pushes later, Ryan delivered our second son. Carter Gregory West came into the world on March 26th at 7:54 A.M. weighing 7'3 and 20 inches long. We were so happy and even more happy when his teacher e-mailed him back saying that he could reschedule his test and to just worry about his family at this point in time.
The entire labor and delivery went so quickly and smoothly that I couldn't have asked for anything more. I am so happy that Ryan was able to deliver Carter and that he could have that amazing experience. We went home a few days later and still had to keep Carter away from Blake who is still sick. We took Blake to the doctor and he had a double ear infection plus a really bad cold.
When my water first broke we called my mom who was supposed to come a week later and told her what had happened. She immediately got a plane ticket and flew in that night so she could take care of Blake. She had to go home a few days later but returned on her original flight a few days after that. She is here with us now and I am so grateful for everything she has done for us this past week and a half. She is such an amazing woman and I cannot thank her enough. She has truly saved us from so much stress and I love her so much.
Yesterday which was Easter was the first time that Blake was able to hold Carter. We were so sad that we didn't get the hospital pictures with them together but it was so neat to see Blake hold him last night.
I love my little family and am so happy that Blake has a little playmate now to grow up with. We will never forget this night and the crazy way things happen. On a final note Ryan was able to take his test a week later. When he started to study again for it his hard drive crashed and he had no notes to study from and he still did quite well considering everything that had happened.
WHAT A CRAZY WONDERFUL MEMORABLE WEEK!!!

I LOVE MY BOYS SO MUCH!!!