Family Updates

This morning our beloved Keith underwent surgery to replace the bone that has been out of his skull for nearly 8 weeks. In under just about 2 hours, they doctors were able to replace it and he was recovering nicely at St. Mary's in Long Beach. In a few days, and after he is stable, he will be transported back to Methodist Hospital in Arcadia where he will continue his rehab. Keith is doing extremely well at Arcadia. He is ordering food on his own, eating on his own, talking, calling Jenny from the phone in his room, laughing, joking, and has all around great spirits. Although the rehab center is working on his short term memory, we are all praying together that he will pull through this with flying colors. The brain is a tricky muscle and only time will give Keith the healing he needs. Bryant and I are lucky enough to be taking Lamaze (and will be delivering Maddox) just 100 feet away from Keith's rehab room at Methodist. In addition to seeing him when he has other visitors, Bryant and I also drop in on our breaks at night to spend some one-on-one time with him. After he returns with a full skull, I will be sure to take a smiling picture of Keith to post for everyone.

In other news, we are at 31 weeks today! Bryant and I went to get a 3-D scan of our little boy, and what a picture that was! He has Bryant's nose, and I wasn't the only one to point that out. (lol) The ultrasound tech was quick to point to Maddox's little nose and boldly state that it "looks as if he is getting daddy's nose!" The look on Bryant's face was priceless. Besides the cord being slightly draped around his neck, we were told that we have a very healthy, growing boy.

In addition to Maddox growing at an accelerated rate, it seems that my belly is also keeping pace. I feel so large, and I still have 9 weeks to go!

Prayers for Keith

Dear Family & Friends,

Our brother-in-law, Keith, had an accident last Friday night. He was rushed to the ER and had immediate brain surgery, and is still in the ICU as of today. Keith's work, Bower's Ambulance, has started a blog about him, and has everyday updates concerning his progress. I urge you to visit the site, if only to say a prayer or two for Keith. Bryant and I are doing all that we can to get our family through this difficult time.

http://keithmaclellan.blogspot.com/

Thank you.

LoveShannon & Bryant

Miami '09

Bryant and I went to visit his side of the family last week in sunny Miami! (His mom, sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and grandmother live out there) The weather was beautiful, DisneyWorld was nice, and we had an all-around great trip. The plane ride home was not so much fun, but we made it back in one piece! We were amazed to find out how many people had the same Disney World idea we had on a Tuesday. (Does nobody work anymore?!) But then we remembered we were traveling on the busiest Florida week: Spring Break. Lucky us. Although it was packed, it's good to check Disney World off my list; and I can let Maddox know that he was, in fact, at the Magic Kingdom sometime in his existence. (I doubt as he gets older he will think it's as funny as we do now)

This was also the first time that all three siblings were together in Miami since the family moved out there 5 years ago! It was nice to have a week to spend with family that we only see once in a while. :(

This was defiantly the last trip we are taking via plane for the duration of the pregnancy. Although we had a blast, it left me so tired that I slept for a day and a half when we got home!

It's a BOY!

After Bryant asking the doctor (twice) if that was really a penis she was seeing on the screen, he proved to be quite the proud daddy. His smile was two-fold. One, because he was getting his boy, and two, because he produced the boy. Ah, men.
So! We are excited (we would have been either way) and are getting ready to buy blue! Also, as a side note, we are a little further along then we originally thought. 3 more weeks to be exact. So, after much measuring on the ultrasound, we are 20 weeks and due August 8th. We'll see. :)

My Husband, The Golfer

In honor of Bryant's birthday last Friday, we chose to have a full weekend for him! For Friday, we BBQ steaks, baked potato's, and veggies and topped it off with a slice of his favorite cake, The Motherload. (Which I had to drive to Arcadia to get, damn Claim Jumper for not building one closer to us!) Saturday was spent in Golfsmith, Bryant's new favorite store, in which his gift from me was a few new golf clubs and various golf accessories. Saturday night was dinner out with our friends and family, in which my camera was conveniently left at home! The cake I ordered for Saturday had a picture of him and his sisters on it when they were 3, 7, and 11. It was, apparently, the hit of the waitstaff and kitchen staff at the restaurant!

Sunday was Bryant's favorite day of the weekend! My dad took him out for a round of golf with him and my uncle. For those of you that don't know, this is his new favorite thing to do. He is always in the back yard chipping away, practicing his putting, and heading to the Range for some more practice. Well, it all paid off, because on Sunday he shaved 19 strokes off of his previous round!

So, with Bryant's birthday weekend behind us, I have to say that I am a lucky woman to have such a wonderful husband. Not only is he great to me, but his birthday wish (both days) was to have a healthy, happy baby. My wonderful husband is becoming a wonderful father...

An Arizona V-Day!

Bryant and I were lucky enough to be part of our good friend's (and Bryant's long-time friend) graduation party from the Police Academy!! We felt very lucky to share this special day with him and his family and friends, and we had so much fun! Bryant let loose and started the party off with some shots, which he paid for later. :) All in all, we left Arizona feeling that Tempe is gaining such an amazing officer with such a supporting family. We wish Edward nothing but the best in his new career path, and we give a huge pat on the back to his wife, Melynda, for being the amazing woman she is. (Being a police man's wife isn't always easy, and she is being so positive and supportive - Edward is a lucky guy!)

Here are some of the pictures I was able to get and hopefully Melynda sends me hers too, because she took some really cute ones.

The guys needed a group hug, for some reason

A few hours into the party - and many shots later

Tequilla is not one of Bryant's favorite

The morning after...

The results are in.....

The short version....

1. Yes, we are excited!

2. No, we were not trying

2(b). Yes, we know it's soon

3. We took more then one test to be sure. A few weeks later, the doctor also confirmed it!

The newlyweds are on their way to becoming newly parents :)