GRANDPARENTS

So my parents came out when we had Ryan to take care of Brianna. It actually worked out perfectly! I had originally had told them not to come, that we had some friends Bri was going to stay with, and to wait and come when Ryan was about 2 wks old. We just really wanted to have some "family" time with just our new little family of four before we had everyone come visit. (This is what we did when Bri was born and it worked out really good for us).

But unfortunately our sweet friend that was going to watch Bri ended up having a family emergency that she had to go back home for. So I got on the phone with my amazing parents and they were so so so nice and changed their plane tickets to come out early, after I had just told them no don't come then. This was such a blessing in disguise for me - little did I know at the time, I really couldn't have done it without them here.

So the day before we had Ryan my parents took us to the State Fair. (I say they took us to the fair, because when we got there we went to go get cash from the ATM and realized that the card in Justin's wallet was expired. So after making them go to the fair with us, we then made them pay for everything too! :) Nice!) It was, well... ok. Basically it was hot, I was huge, swollen, and in pain - I'm not sure what I was thinking. But we did get to eat some yummy fair food and Brianna had fun, so I guess that's all that counts.

Found some shade to eat our lunch at.

(I love how you can't see Bri's face behind her stroller.)

Bri's all time favorite ride - she didn't want to go on anything else.

LOL!!! (The funny thing is that it was Justin's idea to get the fairy picture!)

We bought crazy expensive tickets to ride the big ferris wheel because it was the only thing that we could all go on together. Well, they wouldn't let me on! I guess they were afraid of me going into labor on their "wild" ride. :)

Waving to mom.

All the way up at the top.

Waving with grandpa.

After a forever long walk, we finally found the petting zoo.

She wanted to hug all the animals. Too cute!

Give me a HUG!

And she got to ride a REAL horse!

This is the next morning after we sent the first text telling everyone Ryan was here.

My mom said she was so cute, she just couldn't stop smiling and staring at the phone.

Oh I am so grateful that my parents were here - like I said I couldn't have done it without them! First, it was so nice to have Justin stay the whole time with me at the hospital and not have to worry one bit about Brianna. And second, it was a such a blessing to have them here when I got home. (I didn't quite realize how down and out I would be after a c-section). It was so nice to have meals cooked for us, the house cleaned, Brianna taken care of, and the best part - I could go take a nap whenever I needed. Oh and not to mention they totally spoiled Bri and Ryan!!! I was so sad to see them have to go home because they were such an amazing help to our family.

Snoozing with grandpa. I mean if you're not old enough to golf, what else would you do with my dad! :)

Oh I LOVE my parents!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

About a week after my parents left, Justin's parents came. They were on there way through to their winter "home" in Arizona, so they only stayed a few days. And since Ryan was still so little and I was still pretty sore, we had a really low key visit with them. Just sitting around visiting, playing with Brianna, and cuddling with Ryan. It's so nice being able to see them more now that we're down in the lower 48 - they were only able to come see us once the whole time we lived in Alaska. It's fun to watch them watch their son be a dad - I'm positive they first, never thought he would be one, and second, they never imagined he be this good at it! :)

Cuddling with Nanny.

Snoozing with Papa. I'm pretty sure Howard was never the "baby" type of guy, so it's really cute to see him always wanting to either hold Ryan or play with Bri.

(Oh and this is the great man that Ryan's middle name comes from!)

We love our family so much and were so happy that both sets of grandparents got to come and share in our excitement of our new baby boy. We are so thankful for all the love and support they give us!!!