A Long Over Due Update

Well, clearly my blogging leaves something to be desired. I've set a goal to do better this year, because I know how much I love looking at all my family and friends blogs. We'll see how I do.

A lot has happened since I last blogged. Most of the changes have to do with Oaklee, but we'll get to that later. Two very big changes have happened with Ryan and I. Ryan started a new job! He is working in North Dakota on his uncles oil rig. Ryan has wanted to do this for years so he is thrilled that it has finally happened. He says it's the hardest work he's ever done but he loves it! There are, of course, some cons with this job. Like the minor detail that it is in a different state. His schedule right now is two weeks on and two weeks off. The time apart is really hard on all of us, but the pro list makes it worth it. The biggest pro is big change number two, I get to stay home with Oaklee. That's right! This mama gets to stay home with her baby now! I've loved every second of it. I'm so grateful for a husband who made it possible for me to be a full time mommy. We are still adjusting to everything that comes along with this new job, but we both agree it's been a great thing in our lives.

Now, on to the star of our family. I think I'm obsessed. But I'm her mom, so it's allowed. Oaklee has gotten SOO big. She turned 7 months old on Jan 29th and I have no idea how that happened. I swear she was born last week. She eats like a mad woman now. She loves everything I put in front of her. Except juice. She wants nothing to do with juice. We are working on that. She can now roll over, as seen here:




But she will only do it when forced. When I give her floor time she is perfectly happy to stay in one spot and play. She can also sit up on her own now....basically. She's still a little wobbly, but getting better every day. She's a chatter too! Don't know where she got that from.... She talks all day long. I can only imagine the stories I'm going to hear when she can actually talk. The most noticeable thing about Miss Oaklee is her smile. The kid is almost always smiling. She thinks everything is funny. Waking up to her big, cheesy, scrunched nose smile every morning is the best thing ever. Because she smiles so much, and because I think she's the cutest thing ever created, I have a picture taking problem. My sister's will be the first to tell you about it. I saw a pin on pinterest that I'm pretty sure one of them wrote about me. It said, "Oh, my baby moved an inch, I better take another picture." Yep, that's me. I don't even care though. :)

Because of my picture obsession, there are a lot to pick from, but here are some of my favorites. And some of the big events I missed in my blogging hiatus.

Oaklee's first Halloween! She's the cutest kitty ever.

Oaklee with her big sister! We didn't get to see Bentley very much this fall,

But when we did she had so much fun being a big sister.

We get her for a week in the middle of February

and I can't wait to see how fun they are together

now that Oaklee is a little bigger.

The famous Oaklee smile.



Oaklee with her cousin Parker. Oaklee is in LOVE with Parker.

If she's ever upset for no reason, Parker just has to smile at her

and she's happy again. He's also one really impressive babysitter

for a 9 year old. He will feed her and even change diapers.

Oaklee with her Bapa. Because my dad has spent this year

recovering, he spends a lot of time sleeping.

So Oaklee and Baba have taken a lot of naps together.

Oaklee's first swim! She LOVES the water.



First Christmas! She was spoiled rotten by her grandparents.
She even somewhat got into the spirit of opening presents.

One of Oaklee's favorite people is her cousin Jayne.

She loves when Jayne comes to play.

Six month check up! She's still a little behind on the

charts but growing like a bad weed.

I do think she's destined to be a shorty though.

Oaklee sits in the bathroom with me when I get ready in the morning.

I had to put this picture on because her face in this

is so freaking cute. Couldn't you just eat those cheeks?

Oaklee's first snow adventure. You can' tell but

the reason her mouth is open is because it was snowing

on her face and she was trying to eat it.

Showing off her sitting up skills. And her pretty blue eyes.

Ryan and I got called in to nursery a few months ago but Oaklee

hates going because there's too much commotion. Not to mention

all the kids try to 'help' me take care of her. So now, every Sunday

Oaklee gets all dressed up and goes to church with her grandmas!

For those of you who don't know, my mom and Ryan's mom are in the same

ward. So she gets to play with both grandma's at once.

Another church outfit.

This is the most recent picture of Miss Oaklee. She's too big!

I need to figure out how to make it stop.

America: Land of the Free

Turns out joining the land of the free is pretty costly. For those of you who don't know, Ryan was born in Canada. He's lived here since he was a small child, but never actually became a legal citizen. About a year ago this finally caught up to him and it was time to make it legal. Here's what we had to work with:

• Has lived here over twenty years


• An American mother


• An American child


• An American wife


• Served in the American military


• Has paid taxes timely every year

Now, one might think all these things combined would make for an easy process. One would be wrong. It, in fact, became very complicated and very drawn out. Also, very costly. Because the laws change so much, the application we thought would be applicable, was not. So, do they have you just fill out a different set of papers? No, of course not. You have to start all over. Which means paying the $750 fee again.

So we applied, we paid, we waited. We applied again, paid again, and waited. then we waited some more. And then when we thought it was almost done, we got a letter telling us to wait a while longer. But last Thursday, miracle of all miracles, the letter came! Our application had been approved! Ryan was still at work so Oaklee and I decided to do something special. We sent Ryan this picture without any words:

Oaklee was really into it, as you can see. Ryan called me and was SOOO excited. We sent the picture out to our family to tell them the good news. Only about half of them understood at first but they eventually all caught on. The next day Ryan and I went in and he signed all the papers and was given his certificate.

Also, just so you know, when you become an American citizen you get a little welcome packet with a letter from Obama, a little American flag, and a copy of the Constitution. Special.

So! Ryan can now be allowed to have a driver's license again and as soon as we get him a passport we will be able to go visit his Canada family. He hasn't been up to see them since he turned 18. It was a very exciting day at the Webster home.

In other Webster news. Oaklee won't stop growing. She's getting so big! And I'm pretty sure she gets more adorable every day. On Saturday Ryan had to work so Oaklee and I hung out in our PJ's all day being lazy. This is Oaklee in our bed watching me do my hair. Is she not the cutest thing ever?

Oaklee LOVES playing wither her daddy. Last night he was singing to her and she was cracking up. She's a clever little thing though and is a master at not letting me get pictures of her smiling on camera. You can almost see this smile if her hand weren't in the way.



This is her mesmerized by daddy's crazy made up songs.

And then being all worn out from playing. It's a hard job.

Also, note to self. When putting Oaklee in the corner of the couch, ALWAYS interrupt Ryan's xbox game to make sure he knows she's there. Otherwise she might get a daddy on top of her. Talk about a wake up call.

Catch up!

I have been a big, huge slacker with the blog for the last month. I was too busy enjoying my weeks home alone with the baby. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and I am now back in reality, aka: work. I started back yesterday, and leaving Oaklee was horrible. I was hoping today would be easier. No such luck. But we found an amazing lady to watch her while I'm at work, so I am at least comforted in the fact that she is in good hands, even if they aren't my hands. The last two months have been crazy for our family and so much has happened. The three posts after this are to try to get you caught up.

Oaklee is doing so well since she got home from the hospital and growing like a bad weed. The day after she got home from the hospital, at a month old, she was in the 2 % for weight. At her two month check up she had jumped up to the 27 %! She's a giant baby now, weighing in at just under 10 pounds. She's getting much more alert and loves to see what's going on around her. We had one blessed night where she slept through the night, but that has yet to be repeated. She does pretty good though, about every 3 hours. Since I started back at work, daddy takes one of the night feedings, so really I get a pretty good nights rest.

Even though it's only been just over two months it feels like Oaklee has been with us forever. She's our little angel and we can't imagine our family without her. Also, side note: She's freaking cute. Here are some pictures documenting her growth since she's been home:

This is 4 days after she came home to us,

at about 1 month old.

For the first two weeks home she only fit in

premie clothes, which are a lot harder

to find than you would think.

This is at 1 1/2 months. She finally fit

into newborn size clothes!

This is just last week at two months old.

Still in newborn clothes, the 0-3 months

are still pretty big on her. But she's a giant

compared to when she was born!

As you can probably see from this picture, our little Oaklee is not very lady like. Not only does she nap spread eagle, but she can out-fart and out-burp her dad. It's cute now. 15 years from now, it won't be so cute.

Blessing Day

Last Sunday our little Oaklee got blessed by her daddy. I'll admit to you I was extremely nervous about this day. I knew Ryan would do a good job, but I also knew how nervous he was about it. Because we still don't want Oaklee around hoards of people, instead of doing it in church we had it at my mom's house. My parents beautiful back yard was the perfect setting. Surrounded by our family Oaklee was given a perfect blessing. Now, I know what you are thinking, I'm bias in thinking it's perfect. And you know what, you are right. But it really was amazing. The spirit was so strong. I am so proud of Ryan and so grateful I have a husband who is worthy to bless our baby. We were lucky to have Ryan's brother Corry, and his wife Steph here, down from Canada. I'm so glad they got to meet Oaklee and that Corry could be part of the blessing. The only thing that could have made the day any better is if Kara, Perry, and Pete could have been there. They were missed! Here are a few pictures from the big day:

This picture cracks me up. Her face is hilarious.

It is misleading though because it is honestly the only time all

day that she cried. She was an angle during the blessing,

didn't make a peep.

The three of us. :)


Beautiful baby of mine! The dress was made
for Oaklee by a lady I work with.

Big Sister/Little Sister

From the day Ryan and I found out we were pregnant we were both SO excited for Bentley to become a big sister. Then when we found out we were having a girl and our excitement grew. Not that Bentley wouldn't have loved a brother, but for those of you who don't know her, Bentley is THE most girly girl ever. Everything is about princesses. So we couldn't wait for her to get to share this with her little sister. When Bentley finally got to meet Oaklee she didn't disappoint in her excitement. She was the cutest big sister ever. Anytime I did anything Bentley was right there, always saying the same thing, "Please I can help?" She helped change diapers, helped rock her to sleep, played with her, helped feed her, and would even pat along with me when it was time to burp. On one night she was so sure she was big enough to babysit that Ryan and I left her with Oaklee in the living room for about 10 minutes while she babysat. I've never seen anyone so proud of herself. The time Bentley was here was amazing, but as always, it reminded us of how much we miss with her, and how much of her sister's life she's going to miss. I'm grateful for the time they got to spend together though, and I know they already share a strong bond. I can't wait for them to get to play again! Here are some pictures:

Bentley's favorite day, we got both the girls princess outfits.

Oaklee only lasted about 10 minutes in her itchy dress but

Bentley spent the entire day as Belle.

This was at aunt Kara's birthday party.


The first time Bentley met her little sister.
I don't know how many times she told me
how cute Oaklee was. At least once every hour
for the entire week she was here.

Oaklee's Cousins

Our little Oaklee is a lucky girl, she has some pretty awesome cousins. Namely 3 of the cutest boys ever created, Pete, Parker, and Hunter. Little Pete has abandoned us for the east coast, but before he went he was SOO cute with Oaklee. He loved to try to hold her and help feed her. A clear sign he's ready for a sibling (HINT Kara). The boys on my side are just as cute with her. Hunter is a little hesitant, but will hold her if he is sitting on someones lap. He'll watch her for a minute and then be done. Parker, on the other hand, is in love with Oaklee. He'll hold her for hours. Feed her, burp her, and has even changed a diaper. Not what you would expect out of an 8 year old who is obsessed with football. But I should have known, when I was pregnant he would be the first to come rub my belly and talk to the baby. I love that Oaklee has such good cousin's around her. I know all three of them will be like big brothers to her. Here's some of my favorite pictures with the boys:

Here with Parker Man after Oaklee attended her first football game.

Parker's team won!

Here with Hunties at the football game.


The first time Hunter held Oaklee.

The first time Parker held her.

Pete being such a stud.

Children weren't allowed in the NICU so Oaklee didn't get to meet any of her cousin's until she was almost a month old. That was one thing I was most excited about her finally coming home, so that she could meet the three boys who are sure to be her favorite boys for at least the next 12 years, until she figures out boys you aren't related to are fun also. :)

Change of Plans

As most of you probably know by now, my last post was clearly incorrectly titled. It should have said "One More Day". It's been a very crazy couple of weeks. And it has not gone even a little bit as I imagined it would. But I guess that's parenthood for you so I should get used to it. I won't go into too much detail, but here's how it happened:

On Wednesday the 29th I was at work, just like a normal day and Ryan called to see how my morning was going. In the course of our conversation I mentioned that I needed to get his boss' number because Ryan usually left his phone in his work truck during the day, so that way I would be able to get ahold of him when the time came. He said he would give it to me that night when we got home. Right as we hung up I felt sometihng, looked down, and there was a nice wet spot on my chair. I immediately called Ryan back and told him I thought my water broke. Because we had just been talking about it he was sure I was joking. It took a good minute and a half to convince him I was serious, I think he finally heard the slight panic in my voice. He told me to call the doctor. By then I was positive my water had broken and my doctor told me to head to the hospital, we were having a baby. So I told my boss I needed to leave, hopped in my car and headed up to LDS Hospital. Looking back now I see that driving myself maybe wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made. But I made it there, and Ryan got there about the same time. So we checked in and it all went very quickly after that.

The labor and delivery went much more smoothly than I had hoped. Not that I would want to do it every day, but it wasn't as bad as I had prepared myself for. What I had not prepared myself for was what came after she was delivered.

Little Oaklee came out, took one big breath, and then promptly decided breathing wasn't for her and stopped. Those next five minutes were the most terrifying of my life as I watched them take my baby away and preform CPR on her tiny little body. As more and more nurses came into the room I tried to stay calm, but I knew it was bad when no one would make eye contact with me. They eventually had to intibate and before I knew it they were taking her away to the NICU. Ryan went with Oaklee and soon it was just me and my sisters in the room.

The next two hours are a bit of a blur. I know I pissed off more than one nurse demanding they let me go see the baby, but they refused to let me go until the epidural wore off. Once I was finally there, this is the perfect little baby I saw:

The next few days were a battle to get her breathing like she should. She handled it like a champ though and was soon right on track. Since that first week though she's struggled with eating. So, here we are, 16 days later and still in the NICU. She has good days and bad days, and I'll admit it as been a lot harder on me than I would have imagined. But she's a fighter and she tries so hard. One of these days eating will click for her and then we will finally get to have our little baby home with us. She already has such a funny little personality. She makes me laugh all the time. She loves having her hands up in her face, and as a result she pulls out her feeding tube ALL the time. The nurses try to get mad at her for doing it but she just stares at you like, "What? I'm just a baby, you should have put it in better." She has a beautiful little smile that I can't get enough of. She falls asleep with her mouth wide open all the time and it makes her look so much like her daddy that I can't help but laugh. She loves hearing her daddy's voice, she always reacts to it. She's also the best little cuddle buddy ever. I sit for hours just holding her and read a book. I can't wait until we can cuddle at our own house.

I came down with a cold yesterday (Ryan tells me it's y own fault for not getting any rest). So today I'm banned from the NICU and I'm missing my little girl like crazy. I want to say thanks to everyone who kept us in their prayers, and if you have a few more to get her eating I would appreciate it!

Here are her official stats:

Oaklee Webster, born Wednesday, June 29th. 5 lbs 9 oz, 18 inches long. Here's a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

Ryan and I as the fun was all beginning.

Beautiful Oaklee the next day, when I first got to hold her.

Proud Daddy holding her for the first time.













Poor girl with all her wires and tubes.

Beautiful baby.

Always with her hands up by her face.

SO freaking cute.