~~Ilyana's First Christmas, 2007~~

Literally the Christmas from hell.

Both Will and Ilyana were sick Christmas morning when they woke up. So sick that Will only made it through half of his stocking before he had to go downstairs and lay down with a barf bucket. He could barely move the whole rest of the day. Ilyana was a trooper trying to make it through, though I could tell by her glassy eyes and pale face that she felt just terrible. She managed to get by through the stockings, but of course once I had all the stocking gifts into a bag, she proceeded to throw up all over and inside of the bag, causing me to spend the next half hour or so cleaning the presents, cleaning her, cleaning her Exersaucer, and finding a new way to (safely) store the gifts.

From then on, she was pretty much a sad little blob that just wanted to snuggle and be held. Being only seven and a half months old, Illy didn't understand what all the hubbub was about, and wasn't really old enough to care about opening presents. I have no pictures at all to show for Christmas day, because I spent the entire day cleaning diarrhea and puke, running back and forth from the upstairs back down to check on Will, and then hastily trying to rip open gifts that I had to catch up on for both me and Illy, because she couldn't do her own... Which made it very boring for everyone else, I'm sure, because being her first Christmas and all, everyone spoiled her, buying her tons! The whole last half hour of the morning was me, trying to catch back up while my whole family watched. One thing I was grateful for, though: at least I didn't get sick, because I was able to care for the both of them... Oh, and the gifts, of course. We're always grateful for those!

It must have been a strong virus, because not only did the two of them get sick, but most of my family caught it (I'm assuming from Ilyana) as well. We felt so awful!! Merry Christmas everyone, your gift from Illy is.... the sickness of death! My cousins Miles and Bobby both caught it, as well as my brother and Mom, and then also my grandfather. We had also gone to visit Will's parents, and made his Stepdad sick too!

I'm lucky that I had taken some "Christmas" type photos prior to the actual day for scrapbook and present purposes, so I do have some cute little pictures of Bendy in her Christmas suits, seen below. Next time anyone feels bad the day or two before Christmas, I think quarantine will be in order. Hopefully next year will be much more enjoyable, and I'll get some awesome pics of the Eve and the day. I can't imagine it could get any worse!

Ilyana, just under seven months old.. December 1, 2007

Ruggle with the beads!

Christmas poses, December 16, 2007

Hey there!

Who me? I didn't do anything....

Escaping ruggle!

I love you...

Woo! I can hold this handle!!

Help Mom! My hat!

I'm done with pics. Where's the food?

Vacation July 2007- Millinocket Lake, Maine

My Mom and David go on vacation up to Lake Millinocket every summer (well, at least for the past five or so years). Usually we all tag along, and it's tons of fun... We spend the week relaxing, hiking, swimming, and of course going out on the boat we rent from the owners at Twin Pines, which is the *resort* we stay at- really a group of cute little cabins that is family-run and owned which sits on a peninsula jutting out onto the lake. It's too gorgeous for words on sunny days- Katahdin looms over the lake in the background, and the water is so crystal clear you can see all the way to the bottom in most spots. The air is so clean up there that you feel when you first arrive as if you're able to take a nice deep, fresh breath for the first time in months. There's just nothing like being in touch with nature and taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of the earth.... Here are some of our pics from summer 2007:

Sunset over Lake Millinocket, July 23, 2007- Katahdin hiding behind the clouds!

I loved the way the sun glared off the water and illuminated the ripples... More sunset July 23

And this one, though dark, is one of my favorites of the sunset- I love the dark, rich colors.

Ilyana chilling with the Mama duck and ducklings, July 23, 2007.

Baby ducklings and baby duck-fluff girl! :o) July 23, 2007


Owen hanging out, July 23, 2007


Illy in the bouncer, Monday July 23, 2007


I know this picture looks kind of weird, but it was taken in the pitch-black. I wanted to capture all of us hanging out and roasting marshmallows by the fire, which is one of our favorite things to do when we go to Millinocket. Here you see Matt, Mitch, Frannie and Mom enjoying the night! July 23, 2007


Sleepy Daddy and baby girl, July 24, 2007


So Will and I went on a hike... an eight-mile hike up a mountain which left us sore for the next few days. Here I am, tired as hell, taking a break on a big rock off the path. Wednesday, July 25, 2007.


A cool little shroomy we saw on our hike! July 25, 2007

We were on the last mile or so of our hike, almost delirious (we'd been out of water for hours with the sun pelting down on us) and feeling very discouraged... And we rounded a corner and saw a moose bathing in the pond! As soon as he heard us, he ran for the woods, but I captured him... Sort of! If you click on this pic to look at the bigger image, you can see him off on the edge of the pond, hidden partially by the brush. July 25, 2007

Mom and David went hiking the day after us, but they actually had the balls to hit up Katahdin! Here's Mom, triumphant at the top... July 26, 2007

David, finally resting at the top of Katahdin! July 26, 2007

The Birth of Bendy Ruggles

May 9, 2007 was a momentous day for us. Little Ilyana Arana Shayla Boudle finally made her way into the world at 2:13 PM, after three days' worth of contractions and being sent home two nights in a row.

The first night was quick- they checked me and watched me for about an hour, and then let me go, saying I wasn't progressing fast enough.

The second night, after having contractions all day long and into the night, we went back in. They kept me for a while, making us think that I was going to be staying- so we called my mom, she came down to the hospital and we were all very excited! Ilyana would finally be coming... or so we thought. The nurses asked me if I would like some medication for the pain, and I said yes (of course!) because I hadn't slept at all since before my contractions started, and I was EXHAUSTED. The nurse told me that if they gave me some morphine I would be able to sleep and rest up for the heavy labor and pushing, which they were worried might be difficult for me if I wasn't able to sleep before it. Of course we trusted them, because they're the nurses, even though it seemed odd that they would give a narcotic to a pregnant woman!

What they neglected to tell me was that giving me morphine could slow down my contractions, and that's what it did. So I was able to sleep on and off while Mom and Will gorged on caffeine, thinking they'd be up all night into the next day. When I woke up in the early morning hours, Mom and Will were still wide awake, and the nurses told me the bad news- my contractions were less steady and frequent than before I came in the night before! Never mind progressing, I had regressed. I was so upset that they hadn't explained the possible consequences of the medication before giving me it, because now I had to go home AGAIN. And my poor mom and fiance- they'd now been up all night for no reason and would still have to be there when it actually DID happen.

When we went in on the third night, I wasn't really dilated enough (at about 3.5 cm) that they would have admitted me normally... But I was really tired and they thought they'd let me hop into the jacuzzi tub to see if that would move things along some. Apparently the tub helped, because after one hour in there splashing around and eating orange popsicles, I was at 5 cm and it was decided I would definitely stay. I had hoped to be able to pull through labor naturally, but it was an entirely different story once I actually felt what those contractions are like after 5cm! I got the epidural (which, believe me, is the weirdest feeling in the world- your whole lower body feels like a fast-asleep foot) and proceeded to chat away and be happy through the rest of my labor. I was even talking to Will and my Mom like normal in between pushes! After about 35 minutes of pushing, the doctor asked if I would like to have my baby on my belly, to which I growled, "yes!" and in the next few minutes, Illy was here. Although her Daddy had claimed he wouldn't want to touch her until she had been cleaned off (typical guy), he changed his mind once he saw our baby! Here are her first pictures; both right after she came into the world, and throughout our 2 day hospital stay and family visiting...

Weighing In!

Our new family! I wavered on putting this one, because I look like such dog crap, but it's the only pic of all three of us that was taken minutes after she was born. So please ignore my ugliness here.

Me and Ilyana- look at how little she is compared to my hand! Of course, I was swollen, but still...

Mom and David holding her for the first time!

Uncle Mitchy and my Nana visiting with Illy!

Swaddled girl, May 10, 2007.

Me holding Illy, May 10.


Me, little brother Owen , Aunt Tami and the Bend! May 10.


Getting some Da-da love, May 10.

The random hand is actually Kristen :o)


Aunt Tam Tam visits with the Bend, May 10. Hush was there visiting too, but we didn't get any pics because he was too nervous to hold Illy just yet!


The day of heading home, May 11, with Daddy!