Eating the table...

Why wouldn't she be eating the table?

Just a quick video...

Almost 4 months old

Here are some pictures of our latest adventures:

Rae has discovered a new friend; herself!

Swimming for the first time in Madison

She loves her exosaucer and all the fun toys it has!

Still a thumb sucking baby; so irresistible!

Our family outing to Sycamore, IL

All smiles on the 4th

Great Uncle Tom is fun!

It's the end of July already! Summer really is flying by. Mike spent a week at Tower Hill at Hug Camp in Sawyer, MI being a camp counselor at the camp I was formerly a counselor at. From all the pictures he took (1500) and the website (hugcamp.com) he put together, I think he had a great time. It was a hot week, but full of lots of memories and good times. While he was away, Raegan and I visited my friend Amanda and her two boys, Anthony and Elliot, in Madison, WI. We had a great time just hanging out and swimming in the kiddie pools (although, Anthony did most of the swimming). While we both enjoyed our time apart, I think everyone was excited to be back together as a family.

Raegan is doing great! Her first 4th of July was a big success. We had a very busy, full weekend. She really enjoyed her first fireworks show- she fell asleep on her Godfather Scott! Then we spent the day with Grandpa, Aunt Tracy, and Uncle Tom and Alpay. It was great to relax and enjoy the company. On the 4th, she slept through the parade. After the parade, we enjoyed food and games at Great Grams house with the whole fam. Altogether a great weekend! Rae is now so full of giggles, smiles, and babbles up a storm. She loves playing with all her toys and even telling them stories. It is so cute to see her interact with things and even more so when she is interacting with us. She loves to sit up and look around. Her latest thing is to watch tv; we might be in trouble a little sooner than we thought! When I last checked her weight and length, she was around 13 pounds and 25 inches long and is officially grown out of all her 0-3 month clothes! We'll find out in about ten days at her next doctor's appointment what her true measurements are. She'll also be getting her next round of shots; hopefully she'll take them like a champ like the first time around.

Mike and his dad have been busy building a shed in our back yard. The progress is slow, but it looks great and I can't wait until we can use the garage again! Other than that, not too much has been going on. Work is about the same for me and Mike goes back to school in a little over a month. He just got his schedule and starts at 8 and will be done at 2, so once cross country is over, he'll be able to get home before most of the rush hour traffic.

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer and trying to stay cool in this hot weather we've been having.

Time flies and flies are out of time.

Some Current Photos

Pops and Rae

Nana, Rae, and Jenn

GGG, Jenn, Rae

Jenn, Rae, Mike

Alex and Rae

Rae at Picnic

Auntie Rosemary and Rae

Uncle Bill and Rae

Ozzie

Four Generations

Dad and Rae

Raegan

Mom and Rae

The Baby Update
So we are two months into this Mom and Dad experiment and Raegan is doing great for being eight weeks old. The last doctor's appointment revealed, well, nothing too exciting. That is how we like our news, no surprises. While there, she weighed in at eleven pounds and six ounces. She was up from the eight pounds and seven and a half ounces on D-Day and the seven and a half pounds from when she left the hospital. She is already an overachiever and is above ninety-five percent of her peers in the weight area. She measured in at a whopping twenty-four inches, also above average. While some of you may think she may become arrogant, do not worry. Her head is average.

The Mom Update
So Mom went back to work this week. She is on the early shift and is in by six and out by 12:30. The kids are just as goofy as ever. Thankfully Auntie Amy is here to help out and watch Raegan while we are gone. Along with Ozzie, Amy and Rae are chillin' at the house waiting for mom to come home. Work has been a going well and we hope will continue to work out so well. Nice weather means kids outside burning off energy and water days at the KC.

The Dad Update
Dad is counting the seconds down until the end of the school year. There is one week to go, but for all practical purposes, the year is ending. Kids will stop coming by mid-week and if they still show up, the heat will drive them away without air conditioning. Time will be quickly be used up though with a conference at DePaul the week after school lets out and then an easy transition into cross country practice twice a week, which will begin after a week off. Then I will spend most of the summer being Mr. Mom waiting for Jenn to arrive home for fun afternoon adventures in an around the area.

The Dog Update
Ozzie is still crazy. If anyone would like to take him to the park, let me know. Ozzie has a new hobby of chasing flies around the house. He is bananas.

5 weeks young

All smiles for the camera. No shyness here

Go Blackhawks!

First trip to the zoo.

Fun times with Nana and the polar bear.

Well, I can't believe it's been 5 weeks since Raegan made her entrance into the world. We've kept ourselves rather busy. We enjoyed our first trip to the zoo with Nana, Auntie Amy, and Conor. Raegan wasn't too impressed with the animals yet, but had a pretty good day nonetheless. We also enjoyed our first Mother's Day together as a family. Friday night Mike and I decided we needed to get out of the house so we stayed at a locale hotel. It was a great idea and Raegan let us enjoy breakfast the next morning without waking up! Then Grandma Nan, Auntie Tracy, and Uncle Alpay came over to bbq and play some cards. For my first Mother's day, Mike got Rae and I matching shirts; they're so cute :) Then she let us eat breakfast out again, so generous of her to sleep :) Later on Sunday we went mini golfing and Nana held Raegan the entire time. It seems to have improved her game.

Raegan went for her one month appointment and is in perfect health. She weighed in at 10 pounds even and 22.5 inches. She was great with the doctor and didn't cry once. But she did pee all over me once the doctor handed her back to me; thanks Rae! We go back in 3 weeks for our first round of shots; I think I'm a little scared for that... She's certainly an active little girl these days; always looking around and working those neck muscles. She's also been smiling so much; it makes my day to see her face light up!

Week Two

Raegan's first bottle feeding; Daddy did a good job

Ironic, huh???

Enjoying some play time on my monkey mat

Raegan is now over two weeks old. It's hard to believe how fast time is going! She had her first real bath today after waking up because of an 'explosive' diaper. All you parents know how that goes! She did pretty ok with the bath. I'm sure as I get better at it, she'll enjoy it more. She also had her first bottle today. Daddy also got to experience what it's like to feed her. Hopefully he'll be doing more of that in the future. She sucked it down like a champ, but I knew she would. This girl sure does love to eat! Guess I better get to work on storing up for when I go back to work.

We had a couple more visitors and did some visiting. Monday, Auntie Noelle came by with some cute outfits and couldn't believe how little Rae was. Tuesday, we went to Auntie Julie's office and out to eat. Rae ate right along with us at Panera...it was our first public feeding; a little scary, but we made it through. Then I had some me time and went shopping, but of course, I bought only things for Rae; it's so hard to resist! Wednesday we went for a nice walk to visit my work. The kids were really cute and kept saying 'baby'. Today, Nana, Pops, Auntie Amy, and Auntie Angela came over for lunch. Angela changed her first diaper and it was a big one!

Looking forward to the next couple weeks and hopefully warmer weather will come with it!

One week

Going home outfit, pink of course!

My monkey blankie is super soft; thanks Auntie Amy!

Mommy's little monkey sucking her thumb and holding on for dear life!

Raegan past her one week appointment with flying colors. She has already put weight back on and is back up to 8lbs 3oz and is 21in (although doc thinks she might have been that at birth). She certainly may be a big girl, but she still swims in all clothes other than newborn. I can't wait to put her in some of the outfits that have been finding their way into our house. We've taken several walks and for the most part, if it's moving, she's ok with it :).

I'm still in the recovery period, but really only hurt when I cough, sneeze, or move too quickly. I'm thankful that everything has been going smoothly for me; I can't imagine if I was still out of commission. Luckily, Nana had been able to come and help us out with a little cleaning and giving Rae her first bath (I'll admit, I was a little scared...). Thanks Nana! Still can't wait to show her off to everyone!

HOME

Raegan and I are finally home from the hospital. We were released with clean bills of health on Friday morning and finally arrived home Friday evening (Daddy had to work, so we had to wait for Auntie Amy to bring us home). When we got home, Daddy had decorated the house with balloons and pictures and welcome home signs for us. It is so cute. Also waiting for us at home was Auntie Tracy and Grandma Nan. She couldn't have been more excited to see her granddaughter for the first time! Friday was a long day, but I was so excited to be home with Mike and our Sugar.

Saturday brought a couple more visitors. Grandma Nan took Oz to the park and then visited a little with Rae. The brakes on my car needed to be changed, so Uncle Dave came to help with that. It took a little longer than expected, but they're fixed. Rae had an eventful day of sleeping, eating, and visiting, lol. Today we are having a nice relaxing afternoon laying on the couch and napping. Mike is enjoying some much needed Daddy-Daughter time. He's been a great help at night changing Raegan for me, so I figured they needed some alone time that didn't involve dirty diapers!

I'm excited to take Raegan out eventually to show her the world and introduce her to everyone else. We'll post new pics soon! Thanks for all your love and support not only over the past week, but the past months.

The long run.

So the day, last few days, are winding down.

Today started with oxytocin, cousin of pitocin to get the contractions going. Unfortunately as the day went on, we began to realize things were not changing. Jenn was only dilated three to four centimeters and holding there. Around four in the afternoon, the doctor lead us to the conclusion we saw as inevitable. She gave us one more hour until the c-section would be scheduled.

Five o'clock came and we were well prepared for the new route. Unfortunately we were postponed because another mother had an emergency c-section. We were more than willing to wait for her. Around six Jenn was taken to prep for surgery. I paced around wearing out the booties covering my shoes. Thirty minutes later I was called in to the O.R. After some wiggling and maneuvering, Raegan Kathryn-Anne came out. Mom was stitched up and everyone was back to healthy and feeling well (some with the assistance of pain relievers).

Reagan Kathryn-Anne Shunt was born at 6:55 pm on April 13, 2010. She weighed in at 8 lbs 7.5 oz. (I think I wrote that correctly). She is 20 inches long and has black hair with long eyelashes. She is a blessing to say the least.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts over the past few days. Jenn and I appreciate it more than anyone knows. It has helped us get through a challenging time and on to the good stuff. We hope to see everyone soon.

Love,

Michael, Jennifer and Raegan

Raegan Kathryn-Anne

Epidural.

Epidural is in. Jenn is feeling better after a rush of pain from some very long contractions. Things look good for now. The baby is still sitting high up and we are hoping for a drop soon. The contractions are not strong enough to push the baby down yet.

Jenn is making progress. Baby is still doing good. Still need some thoughts and prayers.

Doctors broke the water.

Let the games begin.

Sleepy

Going to begin pitocin again shortly.

Jenn is sleeping.

Updates

Jenn is OK.

Things are going slow and we are entering another long night. We are thankful for our nurse Kim for getting us through a very long and difficult day. She is gone for the night, but we have another great nurse on duty.

So Jenn is hovering around three centimeters and stuck in pre-labor, awaiting active labor. She is off of the pitosin and on to cervidil until the morning. Hopefully moving things along.

The Doctors said the baby is healthy and mom is healthy. Really just waiting.

Family was in today. Thankfully they helped pass the time and provided great support. Everyone is anxious. Without them, this would be much more difficult. So thank you.

Doctors are here to start the next meds. So, got to go. More soon.