Brynnie Bryn is 1 Month Old!

Bryn turned 1 month old today! While we feel like we're still new to this (which we are), we also feel like she's been with us forever.

Dale's parents were nice enough to offer (again) to keep her for one evening at their house. We took them up on it this time as we were/are severely sleep deprived. Although it was nice to be able to spend time alone together, both of us agreed that when Bryn's not with us, we definitely feel as though a huge part of us is missing. We have, without realizing, become a true family. I cannot put into words what an incredible feeling this is.



Bryn invited all her stuffed animals that family and friends gave her to her 1 month birthday party!



She even invited Black. She's a very nice girl.

Beautiful Bryn wore one of the two dresses Grandmama made for her. As you can see, she is already a master of the sideways disapproving glance. She is our daughter after all.

Pics of the Day

Our Other Baby

Jack's really been such a good boy. He's been super depressed and it's quite evident, but other than that, he's been terrific and quite understanding.

This freezing weather has just made matters worse as we can't even go out for walks as a family. Good thing the weather has changed and we're really looking forward to a long weekend where we can all get out together as a family, dog and all.

First Smile?

Dale's grandparents stopped by today and Bryn smiled while Bertie (Dale's Grandma) was holding her. It definitely seemed that Bryn was smiling at what Bertie was doing, but she hasn't smiled since, so I think it's still up for debate (no, this has nothing to do with my refusal to believe that Dale or I would be the first to make her smile).

Either way, it lead to a great picture.

Yay, I Have a Follower!

I have my first follower! It's my best friend, Jen. I chose this site b/c I've become a huge fan of her blog. I check it almost daily. She told me it's a great way to document your life and also you can have your blog turned into a book as well (I don't know how to do this, so I'll have to pick her brain more).

I hope I can keep up with my blog as much as Jen does with hers. She's really inspiring in this aspect and I'm super excited to be starting this new endeavor!

For Jeni

I picked on Jeni for a picture of her right after she had Avery where she looked, um, less than glamorous. Well, here's a classic of me:

Goings On

Nothing really interesting has happened recently. Apparently, my wound seems to be closing up, but I still see no end in sight. It's quite painful, so it gets rather discouraging, but I just keep reminding myself that Bryn is healthy and happy and that's really the only thing that matters right now.

Aimee has been incredible (as usual), coming out everyday during the week to change my wound dressings while Dale is at work. David stopped by yesterday too and they fixed our crib! Bryn slept in it for the first time last night. She looks so tiny in it (see pic)! She slept for a solid 4 hours (after not sleeping ALL day), so hopefully this will be a recurring theme.

My Mom is going to MD Anderson in Houston tomorrow, so Bryn and I are going to try and get up to the office to surprise her and see her before she goes. We tried to go to lunch with her last week, but that pesky work thing got in the way. Hopefully we'll have more success today.

It's been freezing here in FL. In the 20's at night and 30's during the day. To make matters worse, our thermostat quit working, so we've have to turn it on and off constantly to keep the house warm. It's supposed to start warming up today, so I'm really looking forward to that.

I got my rings fixed and was able to pick them up yesterday. I missed them so much and forgot just how beautiful they are! I have a pretty great (and tired) husband.

So now I leave you with some pictures of the newest McCrystal...

And More....

Pictures

Some of our current faves (as if we have any that aren't our faves).

New Year, New Baby.....

Well, our lives have changed drastically since my last post. I have a ton to report, so please bear with this incredibly long post...

First and foremost, we had our daughter, Bryn Elise on December 16th, at 7:25 p.m. Due to complications, we had to have a c section. Bryn weighed in at 8 lbs, 6 oz, measuring 22 inches long - by far the biggest baby had by any of my sisters. She came into this world screaming and full of life. It was a moment we will never forget. We came home from the hospital on my birthday, December 19th. We walked around the lake with Bryn and Jack and just enjoyed those first few days.

Around 11:00 pm on December 23rd, my stomach basically busted open and fluid came gushing out causing Dale and I to rush to the hospital where Ann (thank God) met up with us and brought Bryn home to her house for the evening. It turns out my incision became infected while I was at the hospital. I was admitted to the hospital and stayed for 2 days. I was released on Christmas Day evening. I didn't care about being in the hospital on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I didn't even care about the amount of pain I was in. The hardest part of the second hospital stay was being away from my new daughter. She couldn't come to the hospital as I was in a ward that was highly contagious and everyone there had open wounds. Lovely. We didn't get a chance to even get one picture of Bryn on her first Christmas, but hopefully she'll understand.

Dale is amazing. I don't know how he handled it. A wife in the hospital and a newborn at home. We have awesome families and my Mom came and stayed with Bryn for about 14 hours on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas morning. Dale's Grandma also came and stayed with him on Christmas Even night. If I were him, I would have lost it. He is the best.

My sister, Ann, came by the hospital and showered me with Christmas presents and stayed and visited with me too. It was so nice considering she had her husband's family's Christmas to celebrate that evening as well. Also while I was in the hospital, my best friend, Jen, and her husband and sister stopped by to see me. We were supposed to be able to meet each other's babies, but unfortunately b/c of my hospitilization, I missed out on meeting her little man. He's already 8 months old and I am dying to meet him!

We are still dealing with the infection, but most importantly, Bryn is perfect. She is amazing, healthy and happy and that is really the only thing we care about. Oh, she's also quite beautiful!

It is literally impossible for Dale and I to put into words our appreciation for what our families have done for us. This week, Aimee (Dale's Mom) is coming out everyday to change my wound dressings (not to mention she takes Bryn and gives me a break, constantly cleans, does laundry and all around rocks!). Dale's sister, Lauren, is constantly checking on us, seeing if we need food, coming by to visit and just being awesome. My sister, Melanie, came by and visited and gave us wonderful food to boot! Cindy (Bryn's future favorite person) has come by and showered us with food as well (some from Mom too, but most importantly, red velvet cake). She also watched Bryn while Dale and I went to my weekly doctor's appointment and to the grocery store.