Welcome to the World, Reagan Marie!

Sunday evening at 5:41 we welcomed Reagan Marie into the world. She was 6 lbs 13 oz, 19.5 inches long, and screaming her head off! Here are some pictures of the past 2 days.

30 is the best yet! :)

I am sitting here writing this blog post at 1:34am as I time out contractions that I have been having for the past 3 hours. They are still only 8-10 minutes apart but I am praying that they start to come closer together. I am ready to meet my little girl! :)
This month I turned the big 3-0. It sounds so weird to say I am 30. I know 30 really isn't that old but I feel like the 20's flew by. Before I know it I will be 40! This birthday really was one of the best I have ever had. Brian surprised me with a night away at a hotel in downtown Lancaster. It was sooo fun and perfectly planned by my awesome hubby. My family stayed with Owen and then we all went out to dinner together the next day. My dad and sister came the day before my birthday and made me a steak dinner and I went out on a dinner date with Bri on my actual birthday. I felt like the celebration just kept going. So many people sent me nice cards and gifts and I just felt so blessed and loved!
I feel like this past year was a growing year for me where God just continued to show me that he loved me beyond measure. In the past I had really struggled to accept God's love and also struggled to accept the love of people. God has continued to chase after my heart and this year I really was able to receive his love and all the blessings he gave me through the people around me. I am so thankful that we serve a faithful God that never stops chasing after our hearts.
Now here I sit waiting for my precious baby girl to be born. Hopefully it is today, but we shall have to wait and see. :) I can't wait to hold her and see her sweet face. I feel blessed beyond measure to have the chance to raise a little boy and a little girl. This baby girl hasn't even come into this world yet and she is already loved so much by so many people. I think my dad has called 5 times in the past 24 hours to see if I was in labor. This little girl already has him wrapped around her finger! :) Stay tuned for pictures of this sweetie.
Here is to 30 being the best year yet!!!




P.S. This is the best chocolate cake from Costco!! Also, Owen LOVES to sing happy birthday to himself and I think he thought this cake and song was for all for him. :)

Since Owen turned 2...

...we had an awesome tractor-themed birthday party for him, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. He was, and still is, completely obsessed with his tractor cake and still walks around the house saying "terr-actor-cake," blowing out fake candles, and singing, "Happy to you! Happy to you! Happy Owen. Happy to you!"




...we spent 3 days at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA while Owen was being treated for severe 2nd degree burns down his entire right arm. The poor little guy pulled a mug of boiling-hot tea off of the counter and burned his arm, but fortunately did not spill any on his face or on his pregnant mom. The ER staff here in Lancaster were amazing working with him while he was still hysterical and in shock, and then Owen got to ride in an ambulance with his mom to the hospital. Lehigh Valley's got a great burn unit there, and together with their pediatrics unit, where we stayed, they did a wonderful job of treating Owen's wounds and keeping him comfortable.

Here are a few videos that I took to document the accident.

Saturday morning before his surgery, Owen was set up in his bed with a laptop watching movies to keep him entertained.



Saturday night after his surgery Owen enjoyed one of the many ginormous cookies that Mimi and PapPap bought him.


Our parents were hugely supportive during our time in the hospital, and we are grateful for everyone who was praying for us. We have been back to Allentown twice now for follow-up appointments and the doctors say that his wounds are healing nicely. We have one more appointment next Monday, and by then he should have all of his bandages off and full mobility of his arm back. His Mimi, Deb, got him a great Little Critters book about getting hurt and going to the hospital. This has seemed to help him process what happened, and he has been talking about it more since reading the book. The worst part for him right now as his arm heals is just how itchy it is. Please pray that this passes quickly and the healing process is expedited. Through all of this we are amazed at the resilience and wonderful spirit that our little guy has. He has been such a trooper through it all, and we are so proud of him.

Chicago Videos

Brynne and I received a digital video camera for Christmas this year, so here goes with our first attempt at posting a video......

My dad's mom, Grandma Judy, unfortunately passed away last month, so Brynne, Owen, and I went to Chicago for the viewing and funeral. The bright side of things was that we got to spend time with my dad's dad, Grandpa Pat, with my cousins, whom we rarely see, and with Owen's cousins, whom he loves, loves, loves.

Beware of the background noise on this first video. There were 20 adults spectating during the photo shoot. Notice how much my brother Dan's little baby girl is enjoying herself in Great-Grandpa's arms!

Baby Bellies

Owen and Daddy thought it was funny to put O's soccer ball inside his pj's. We couldn't resist taking some pictures. Enjoy! :)

29 Weeks!!

It is hard to believe I am already 29 weeks pregnant with our little girl. Some days it feels like the next 11 weeks will fly by and some days it feels like soooo far away. She moves a lot and so far everything has been healthy with this pregnancy. Every day I find myself more excited to meet her. Brian and I took a 29 week picture and as we were looking over the picture we heard this little voice saying "cheese". We looked over and Owen was holding the 29 week sign trying to get us to take his picture. He often gets confused and tells me that he has a baby in his belly. :)
This past weekend I got to hang out with two of my dear friends, Abby and Liz, who are both pregnant with little girls. They were in town for a beautiful baby shower that Abby's mother threw for her. It was so fun to spend time with them. We took a picture to capture all of us in our pregnant state. Lookout boys.....the little girls are about to outnumber you! ;)

Christmas 2010

Now that all the presents are unwrapped and all of the decorations have come down we're ready to sit down and blog about Christmas. This year we were in NJ along with 10 other McHughs, 3 Hodges, 2 Pacellis, and 1 Soon-To-Be-McHugh. The living quarters were tight, nap time and bed time were delicate operations, but in the end everyone survived and boy did the kids have fun together!!! We had the pleasure of meeting our beautiful niece Maggie for the first time, and Owen couldn't resist hugging and kissing her. A good sign for his soon-to-be little sister. Here are some highlights.

Gram bought the kids all matching outfits, but they couldn't quite keep it together for one good photograph.



By far the biggest highlight of Christmas day for Owen was his new play kitchen. It wasn't even a minute before he was pouring coffee, frying eggs, and baking in the oven!!! (Obviously all things he sees his mommy doing at home).



It brought us such joy to watch Owen spending so much time with his extended family. At this point he has mastered almost everyone's name, but its Aunt Amy who has captured his heart like no one else!





We hope that celebrating the birth of our Savior meant as much to you as it did to us, and that the first couple weeks of your New Year have gotten off to a blessed start.