The Arrival of Neal Ryan Gates

He's here!



Neal Ryan Gates arrived on February 13, 2010 at 9:12pm. He was 8lbs 1oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

There was lots of family at the hospital to welcome him once he arrived. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and lots of family friends.








After a very long delivery and labor we are finally home, happy and resting.



Yawkey got his first look at Neal when we arrived home - I think they'll be good playmates soon.

39 weeks and 1 day

If i wasn't already counting down the days I am now. Only 6 days to my due date and I sure hope that due date is correct. This has been my first week off of work and I am loving it. I have done lots of last minute errands, cleaned several rooms in the house, taken several naps and watched several movies. There are still things to clean but I am slowly making progress. I have actually finished the laundry before the weekend, which is a first.

I am feeling ready to welcome baby Gates into the world so I hope he decides to join us soon. We have all the needed accessories put together, the nursery decorated and my bags packed. Guess i can't get to anxious yet since I still have a week 'till my due date. I am learning to enjoy this quite time for now, knowing that very soon life will be very different.

I have added a few more recent prego pictures though, I have to say I feel just a tired as I look in these pictures. There is one baby after another arriving around here among family and friends. Here are a few pictures of my friend Natalie and I. Natalie and Kyle are expecting their first baby in April so it will be so fun to be new moms together and to plan some play dates for the boys since they will only be a few months apart.




Tyler has been wonderful lately helping out with lots of things around the house and trying to get caught up at the office so he can spend some time at home once baby arrives. He tries to sympathize with me and my growing belly but as you can see he is no where close to making his as big as mine :)

37 weeks and 4 days

Only 2 1/2 weeks left! Tyler and I are both very excited and anxious to meet our boy. Things are changing quickly already and the thought that any day our baby could come just makes things even more interesting. I have one week left of work and then it's time to relax at home and wait for baby to arrive. Tyler did the sweetest thing the other day and sent me these flowers at work.


What a special surprise to have delivered. They help brighten up my desk for my last week.

We are still putting the finishing touches on the nursery - i have hung one picture frame with the only baby pictures i have at this time and look forward to filling the rest of the frames in the room soon with new baby photos.


We are hoping he chooses to arrive a little early (as i am feeling quite large and ready to meet my little boy). We just have to wait and see 'cause he'll come when he's ready. My bags are packed (or almost completely packed) and I am trying to stay active and enjoy the sleep I can get now - 'cause very soon things will change :)

The New Room

While my parents where up for Christmas they did a wonderful job of painting the babies room for us. I didn't make it an easy project as I chose three different colors for the walls and another color for the molding. But they were up for the task and it turned out just how I wanted. Here are a few pictures. There are still quite a few details to finish such as pictures in the frames, the decals on the walls and more baskets for the dresser but the hard part is done and I am so happy with it.





We had a great visit with my parents and are excited to be abel to have them back once the baby arrives. About 5 weeks left until our family grows and we are excited. I have started to feel a little anxious and wondering how everything will get done before baby arrives. There is lots to do in the house to get ready but one project/chore at a time. I'll post more pictures of the nursery once all the details are finished (this may not be until baby Gates has been here for awhile).

Christmas Goodies and Good Friends

Last weekend the girls and I all got together to bake some Christmas goodies and hangout. I always have such a great time with these girls. It was wonderful to finally get some time off work to just relax, visit and bake (one of my favorite past times). Everyone come up with some ideas of what to make and we ended up with several plates of delicious sweets.




What a great idea Renee had to bake goodies. While we all said how we planned on taking the plates of goodies to our neighbors some of us were less successful at this then others. They were just so good that they disappeared off the platters shortly after arriving home with them.


We missed having Brandy, Liz and Melanie there with us and I look forward to when we can all be back together again. What a blessing the Lord has brought to my life through the friendships he has given me with all of you.

Below the double digits - in weeks

I am at the 31 1/2 week mark; which means that we only have 8 1/2 weeks left to go until baby Gates joins us.


I thought I would be more organized by now - such as having the nursery painted and the crib put together and his quilt started...but time has gotten away from me and none of this has happened (or even been started). However, my parents are coming up for Christmas and have so graciously offered to paint the nursery for us while they are here. What a blessing it will be and so fun to get to set stuff up in the freshly painted room with my mom while she is here.

My new most favorite thing is the recliner that we just got. Our couches, though usually very comfortable, are not quite comfy for me at this point. The recliner was a much needed and welcome addition to our living room. It will also be very handy in helping rock baby Gates to sleep.

The Christmas season has come very quickly this year. Tyler and I have been so busy at work that it has snuck up on us. I am finally starting to get Christmas decorations up and this weekend we got our Christmas tree. I stayed back this year on the annual tree trek and allowed Tyler to choose our tree. Tromping through the snow and cold is not quite as easy as it was pre-pregnancy. I had a wonderful "tree trek" by sitting by the fire up at the property, quilting, sipping hot tea and holding my new nephew Titus. Tyler got a great tree, by AK standards, and it will soon look and smell like Christmas in our house.


One week 'till my parents come. Two weeks 'till Christmas and two months 'till baby arrives -- we have lots happening here in the next few weeks/months.

Baby Gates - 26 weeks

Today we went in for an appointment and we got to get more pictures and video of baby Gates. It was fun to see him at this stage. He cooperated well this time without moving quite as much, allowing us to get some good shots of him. Here are a few photos and video of baby Gates at 26 weeks.

The most crazy thing is that next time we get to see him will be in the delivery room - 3 months left and time is flying.