Reid Christopher Armstrong
born May 20, 2017 at 1:51 am
8 pounds, 8 ounces; 20.25 inches
We are so happy and relieved that our baby boy is now here – safe and healthy! He is an amazing gift and blessing to us and we are so very thankful for God’s provision for our family and for Reid.
We are also thrilled to have such amazing photos captured by my sister Amy to document our pregnancy and family before his arrival, his birth, and his beginnings as a newborn. She certainly has a gift and we are grateful she shares it with us 🙂
First, our maternity photos. We took these on a Sunday afternoon, at our house and in our front and back yards. I was 36 weeks pregnant. 
And here are the photos from Reid’s labor, delivery, and visit from family on Saturday, May 20th. Warning: there are some graphic photos and plenty that document the various crazy positions I was in throughout the process – including being on my hands and knees (where you can basically see a large blanket in the air!). Dr. Plante pointed out how awesome Reid’s umbilical cord was – it was super thick and curly-q’d like a pasta noodle. She said it’s no wonder he was so big and healthy with a cord like that. Turns out the cord was also around his neck, hence the fluctuations in his heart rate after my water was broken and during contractions.
We were thankful for the support of my sister and parents throughout my labor. My nerves got the best of me at times and I didn’t always feel super great, especially when they would have me lay down on my back to check my cervix (hence the oxygen mask at various times). I had a lot of good distraction via conversations with my parents and as Kevin likes to point out every time I would talk to my dad my blood pressure readings would improve (hence he kept asking my Dad to sit by me and chat, lol!). 
I really am there, behind that big booty and sheet 🙂
And here I am in the “throne” position toward the end of laboring, all in an effort to get Reid’s head to turn from sideways to facing backwards. I had to lean forward and basically hug the ball for upwards of 40 minutes!
And here are his newborn photos and our first official photos as a family of four!
Earlier in the week Debbie was off for a couple of days, so my sister was kind enough to watch Griffin on Monday. She picked him up from pre-school, along with the other kiddos and they had a fun afternoon playing in bear-suits and being silly. My mom came down later that night and we had dinner and then headed to Graeter’s for dessert, of course! Then on Tuesday mom stayed home and played with Finn for the day. Super thankful our families are always helping us when we need it!
Tuesday was also Finn’s last soccer lesson for this session. He really loved running around and learning a bit about soccer. They also work on motor skills, listening, and various athletic skills too. Some of these photos are fuzzy, but they show him having fun nonetheless. And at the last lesson Kevin went out and played a game of “sharks and minnows” at the end of the class. It was a beautiful night so we celebrated with dinner on the patio at Liberty Tavern, where Finn likes to get his picture taken next to the Statue of Liberty. 
We’ve been playing outside a fair bit lately since the weather has been so nice. Finn was hitting balls off the tee and after a bit we decided to pitch to him. He has a really solid swing (and an accurate throw for his age too!) and made contact several times with the ball. I took a video and he missed the ball the first video I shot, so I figured I would take another. And here is what happened:
