A Few...

STEPS!

BRYNN TOOK A FEW STEPS TODAY!!

Brenda called me while I was at work today and I was all worried, because she never calls. Brynn took two steps at daycare AND a few tonight at home too!!

Everyone keeps telling us that we should be thankful that she's not walking yet and that it's actually really good for her other developmental skills. Who knows.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!!

* Our friends, the Blakesley's, had a baby girl on Monday. (They have a son who is 2 months younger than Brynn - yikes!!)

* For those of you who know the Deegans, they found out they're having a BOY! (Due in May)

* We probably won't find out what Ana and Keith are having until next month but I'm 99.9% convinced it's a girl!!

Fresh Start

Yesterday was my last day at Layne, I was there for a little over two years. Literally. My two-year anniversary was on the 16th. I was able to stay the full two weeks of my notice and I got a lot of things finished up. Not as much as I wanted, but a lot.

I think I did an ok job with what I did but it wasn't my dream job and I was ready for a change, it just wasn't me. I would rather have one or two people above me, instead of a million. I've never worked for a small company before, so this should be interesting!!

I made a few GREAT friends in the last two years and I'm sorry to leave you!! (You know who you are...) It's things like this that will make you realize who your real friends are, I really hope we keep in touch.

Thank you to everyone who made my last two weeks really enjoyable. Thank you for the lunch(es), the cards, the plant, the cake, the "Big Hunks", the friendships and the opportunity.

Wish me luck, I start my new job on Monday.

I QUIT!!

MY JOB.

No worries, I have another one.

I turned in my notice this afternoon and was super nervous about what my boss would say. It went well. I hate to disappoint people and I feel like I'm letting some people down by leaving because I think (ok, I know...) some of my work will fall onto their plates. Oh yeah, and for that one guy that I can't stand, you can kiss my ass, do the work yourself. You're not any better than me. It's not my fault that you don't wear the pants at home, you don't wear them at work either. I don't know if you read this but man, it made me feel better that I told you to kiss my ass.

Ah, that really did feel good.

The position that I am in now just isn't me and I'm ready for a change. I've made a few good friends there who I will keep in touch with and that I will miss; but for the most part, I'm ready for a new adventure.

I am going to be a buyer for a company in Tempe. I'm pretty excited about it, a little nervous too. You always are when you start something new. My friend, Amber, recommended me for the job, she and I will work pretty closely. I have absolutely no buying experience but I think I will do well at it. Now, I just need to prove myself.

Wish me luck!!

Thanks Amber!!

Aunt Jami's Change Of Plans!

Chad's sister Jami is in the Navy and you may remember a post from a few weeks ago that said that she was being stationed in Hawaii... well, the Navy has changed their minds twice since that post. Now she's going to be stationed at a base north of Los Angeles!! Chad and I are actually really excited about this because it means that we'll be able to see her more often!!

Jami got released from training in Florida on Tuesday and made it to visit us in Arizona on Wednesday! Want to know the really cool part? She'll be back for Brynn's first birthday party next weekend!!

Here are a few pictures that we took on Thursday morning before Jami headed to California to see the rest of her family!!

Exciting News!!

Chad started a new job today!! CONGRATULATIONS BABE!! That's an awesome birthday present! It seems like a great opportunity and we're really excited about it!! He's still going to be working on air compressors and dryers but now he'll get to drive a company truck...



YAY! This means that I'll be driving the car that he was driving to and from work and we'll just be taking the van at night and on weekends. The car that he drives costs approximately $46.00 to fill up... and the van costs $72.00 to fill up. EVERY WEEK! I'm guessing we'll end up saving close to $250.00 a month. Ah. Finally, some good news for us! Just after I typed that, Chad told me that the check engine light came on in the van. Nice. There goes that $250.00 for this month.

Also, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes... I had a pretty good day today. Brenda and Kelsey took a picture of Brynn, blew it up and framed it for me! I walked in the door and Chad was like "LOOK!" I was super impressed and thought that he did it! ;o) They also sent some cupcakes home with him!! THANKS CAUDILLS!!



I also had a box that was addressed to "Manda West" so I knew it had to be from Bri... she sent a "Lucky Bamboo Plant". So, maybe this plant will be lucky and stay alive for a while!! ;o) THANKS BRI!!



Thanks again to everyone who sent birthday messages!!

Here's another picture of my two favorite people!!

Jami's exciting news!!

Chad got a call from his sister Jami, who is in the Navy, on Thursday afternoon. She finally got her orders of where she's going to be stationed next and she's headed to Hawaii!! Woo hoo!!

We're so excited for her! Started out at bootcamp in Chicago (she graduated exactly a year before Chad and I got married!), then was stationed in Virginia (she drove to Ohio to surprise Chad while we were there at Christmas!), then was just in Florida doing some training and now she's headed to Hawaii! How cool is that?!

I don't have many details yet, she and Chad are playing phone tag. I'll update this post when we have more info!

Congratulations Jami, we're all so proud of you!! Love ya!!

Beautiful!

Brynn's surgery was a week ago today. We can't believe the difference that this surgery has made, not only with her eyes, but her emotions as well. She is so much happier now than she ever was before!! She's grabbing things so much faster than what she normally would and she's talking a lot more too. I don't know if the talking part has anything to do with it, but she is a lot more talkative than she was a week ago.

We took this a few days ago... isn't she BEAUTIFUL?!



I took Brynn for her follow up appointment last Friday and Dr. Salevitz was really impressed with how great her eyes looked. We had to make another follow up appointment for April 25th, so I went ahead and made her nine month check up appointment for the same day. He said that she may need another surgery in six months or five years, you just never know. So, we'll just have to keep an eye on it.

Ah, what a relief!!

Mama!

Brynn's been saying "Mama" all day today!!! YAY!! For the last two weeks, she's been saying "Daddy" or "Dada" a lot. I would try to get her to say "Mama" and she would whisper "Dada!!" back to me. Chad thought it was pretty funny... Um, not me.

Brynn's surgery update!!

The alarm went off at 4:05AM(!), we were both extremely nervous for everything that was going to happen today.

We arrived at the Phoenix Children's Hospital at 6:00. She was in a pretty good mood, considering she hadn't had anything to eat since last night at about 7:00. After we filled out all of her paperwork, they put hospital bands on Chad, Brynn and I so they knew who we were at all times and so that no one was able to steal her from us!! There were about six other kids and their families that were in the surgical waiting room with us, for all sorts of different procedures, I think Brynn was the youngest of all of them. Brynn was the second baby called back to the prep-area. The guy who took us to the prep-room weighed her in at 8.5 kilograms (almost 19lbs!). He also hooked her big toe up to a monitor, which she didn't really like, and he had us change her into a gown. We met with two nurses, they both asked us a bunch of questions and told us Brynn was SO CUTE! Shortly after that, we met with the anesthesiologist and Dr. Salevitz to go over a few more things and to answer any questions we may have had. They took her to surgery at about 7:15am. (We didn't even cry!!)

We sat in the lobby/waiting area until about 7:45, Dr. Salevitz came out and told us that she did great!! They gave her gas to put her to sleep and then they gave her an IV. When we went back to see her, she was still really out of it. One of the nurses was holding her and was giving her a small bottle of Pedialyte. The nurse gave her to me and Chad started making her a bottle. She couldn't wait, she was sooo hungry!! The nurse told us that she was actually on her second bottle of Pedialyte. ;o) (That's our girl!) After she was finished eating, she fell asleep for a little while and they kept an eye on her to make sure that everything was ok.

By about 8:40, we were on our way home!! They gave us some medicine that we'll need to put in her eyes twice a day and we take her in for a follow up appointment on Friday morning.

When we first saw her at the hospital, her eyes were really dilated, bloodshot and actually pretty bloody. She slept the whole ride back to our house and another two hours once we were home (Mommy and Daddy slept for those two hours too!!). When she woke up, she started crying and her tears were orange and red from the medicine and blood. ;o( You could tell she was uncomfortable and didn't know what had just happened. We gave her some Tylenol and she seemed to be a little better after she had that and another bottle. ;o)

As the day progressed, you could tell she was feeling much better. We had to really watch her today to make sure that she didn't rub her eyes. She has some stitches that will dissolve and we need to make sure that she doesn't disrupt them.

Her eyes aren't completely straight yet but you can definitely tell that they are more straight than what they were. Dr. Salevitz said that they should straighten out more within the next few weeks. He said that he was really glad that we did the surgery as soon as we did, he said that her muscles were really starting to strengthen and pull her eyes closer together. Eight months was the earliest that he would do the surgery because of the anesthesia.

Chad and I are both really excited that we made the decision to do the surgery and we hope one day, Brynn will be glad too. Chances are that she'll have to have atleast one more surgery sometime down the road. If we didn't do the surgery right away, there was a possibility that she could go blind in atleast one of her eyes, so to us, we didn't have a choice, we were going to do the surgery.

Brynn, we are so proud of you for being such a strong, beautiful little girl. We love you with all of our hearts and are so happy that you made it through the surgery today with no problems.

Pre-surgery with her "Soooooooo Big" gown on, with Daddy:



Sleeping in Mommy's arms after her surgery and bottle:



Eating Pears and Strawberries after her first nap:



Late this afternoon after we put her medicine in her eyes:





Playing with Daddy and trying to grab his tongue (feeling much better by this point!!):



Also, we just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers through all of this!! There are a lot of people that we need to call and e-mail back but this was the quickest way to let everyone know how she was doing all at once. For everyone that called, we will talk to you soon!!!

Love,
The Wests

Brynn's first word!

Was "DADDY!!" She said it a few times on Tuesday night and was smiling when she did it!!

I meant to post this sooner but I forgot!! (AND I was jealous that her first word wasn't MOMMY!! I think that had something to do with it too...)