Firsts

It's amazing all the "firsts" you experience when you're brand new to the world!

First road trip

We drove the 6 hours to Alabama for a little family reunion time,

and Samuel was amazing! I think not quite 2 weeks old

is the best time to travel with kids. Samuel is a sleeping champ.

 

First football Saturday

Because Clemson and Mizzou were playing at the same time,

the plan was to change clothes at halftime.

But the Clemson stuff only lasted a few minutes

due to an unfortunate diaper situation.

I think Samuel really does love Clemson though.

First trip to Dollywood

Again, pretty easy with a 6 week old. He slept through it all.

 

First First Friday Parade

And he slept through it.

 

 First Sunday in the nursery at HopePoint

Not surprisingly, the sweet ladies who held him said

he slept the whole time.

 



We had a first too- our first anniversary!

Boo and Sue were wonderful to stay with Samuel

so we could have a night out to celebrate!

One month of Samuel

As little Samuel Regan is sleeping on my chest right now, it's amazing to think that he's been here one whole month and that he's only been here for one month. We love him!

Way back on July 6, I was told that I was already 3 cm dilated and Samuel was most likely going to be coming early. On July 23, more than 2 long weeks later, I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 6:00 am to be induced. Instead, I woke up at 3:30 that morning with contractions already 5 minutes apart. Patrick and I got to the hospital at 5:00 am, an hour before we thought we would be going, and Samuel was here in the world by 10:16 am, all 9 ½ pounds of him. It was a whirlwind morning!

 

We're enjoying this little boy so much!

All the way to the end

We were hoping weeks 39 and 40 wouldn't come. But they came... and went. And I look about as miserable as I feel! And apparently Patrick and I both wear the same clothes a lot.

We're almost there

 38 weeks

Samuel's room is complete. More pictures to come. Someday.

37 weeks

At Mark and Katie's house



36 weeks

Patrick's sister Jenny was visiting and we took her to a fun

French bakery in town

another month of pictures

 31 weeks- after a long drive out to Missouri

we made it just in time to celebrate Jenny's high school graduation

 32 weeks- celebrating Regan and Sheila's wedding

and Patrick's birthday at a beautiful country church

way out in middle of nowhere southern Missouri

 33 weeks- hanging out in downtown Greenville

with some precious Slovakia friends

 34 weeks- after a baby shower in Clemson we got ice cream

and enjoyed some time with Shelby

35 weeks- visiting my parents in Gatlinburg.

All that walking at Dollywood and around town

got some contractions going that scared us a bit.

But the doctor said this morning that everything

still looks great!

And one last shot of the cute cupcakes from our

shower in Missouri.

We are so ready to meet this little boy!

Weeks 29 and 30

Celebrating 29 weeks of pregnancy and 8 months of marriage

at a fun Gullah restaurant in Edisto

 

30 weeks at the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau

In the past 2 weeks we've traveled from one coast to the other. We spent a week with my family at Edisto Beach and a week with our friends Matt and Katie at their home in Juneau, Alaska. No more traveling for me for a long time! Or at least until we leave to drive to Missouri tomorrow.

Here's a few more pictures from our trips-

I sat on the beach and read while Patrick painted a small masterpiece.

He's really good.

We had 2 half-days in Seattle traveling to and from Juneau. Besides Pike Place Market, we visited the original Starbucks, the original Seattle's Best Coffee, Tully's Coffee, and Seattle Coffee Works. My husband loves coffee!

The entire purpose of the trip to Alaska- a picture of Katie and me both pregnant

9 weeks worth of pictures

If you're thinking we look a little rough, you're right.

After spending a whole day moving to a new apartment

(with a lot of help from friends and family-

who helped us move and unpack!).

At Smith Lake partying and celebrating

my grandfather's 80th birthday and

grandparents' 60th anniversary.

Happy St. Patrick's Day. A big holiday at our house.

Celebrating with friends from church.

Yard Sale. We didn't have much to offer, but we sold

a lot of our friends' things and met a lot of our neighbors.

"March for August"- our student leadership planning retreat.

Just happened to be at the camp where I worked for a summer in college.

Oh, the memories!

At a concert in downtown Spartanburg

in our favorite new little park.

This was our kind of concert- less than 100 people

and Patrick had uninterrupted access to coffee.

Intern Kick-off Weekend. We spent the weekend with 66 new
laborers in the harvest. Patrick and I will be coaching 8 of them
this summer through their Christian Doctrine class
and ministry partner development.

Coffee Bar. This was a date night, but after every doctor appointment

we go to the Cakehead Bakeshop inside Coffee Bar

and share a cupcake.

Family Video. Our favorite slightly sketchy spot

in Spartanburg.

We don't watch many movies because it's rare that

I stay awake through them (even before being pregnant),

but "Zookeeper" was a good one. I made it all the way through.

And, if you haven't heard, it's a boy!

His name is Samuel Regan, and we can't wait to meet him!