Geaux Halls!!!

Nothing

2012-01-23T21:30:00.004-06:00

I can't believe I haven't posted in all of 2012! Richard is getting on my case, he says I need to post SOMETHING! Crazy thing though, I've barely taken a single picture in the last 3 weeks! A few on my cell phone, but I haven't had the camera out much at all!

We've had great weather though, so the kids are getting good outside time and loving their jeep!

Sutton loves the jeep too, but he's taken a great liking to this car...and can even drive it himself. Of course he crashes, but at this speed, no biggy!

I'm not sure what sparked it, but Brookston had his own fishing pole, so they went to get Kaisley one the other day. We didn't make it to any water yet, but it doesn't mean the kids couldn't have fun pretending!

Christmas celebration

2011-12-30T23:03:00.000-06:00

It always happens...I post an event a week after it happened, so I just touch on the highlights. Better late than never though, so here it is!

We started off Christmas Eve day with making cupcakes for Jesus! You have to have a cake for everyone's birthday, so this was a request by the kids! Nothing too special, but the kids helped all the way through and seemed to really enjoy themselves!

We also baked and frosted some cookies to put out for Santa. I think this was actually the first year we did it, since Brookston is of the age of really getting into things! (We've done cookies every year, just not placed them at the fire place for Santa.)

Just before bed! Then we placed out cookies and milk. And Daddy read "The Night Before Christmas" to the big kids.

Unfortunately around midnight we saw Brookston, as this is when he got sick, twice. Poor buddy! We obviously knew that the family Christmas would be cancelled at this point and were very glad we didn't talk up the family get together earlier in the day. I was very sad for the kids to miss Christmas with their cousins. But I knew we'd still make a great day out of it!

Christmas morning, Kaisley sees that PINK scooter that she asked Santa to bring to her!

And Brookston got his blue remote control race car!

Sutton seemed to have a great time on Christmas morning!

The kids got a Jeep, but Kaisley was a little hesitant at first!

But Brookston and Sutton LOVED IT!

Daddy got a Keurig...and got a little jittery from trying so many cups on Christmas day! :)

Nana, Papa, and Yiayia arrived a little after lunch time (from out of town). The kids were so excited to see them and we were especially excited to have the company since we had to cancel our family get together.

We ended up cooking a modified Christmas dinner. Our normal family holiday meals include everyone bringing a couple dishes. But since the get together was cancelled at our house, we didn't have everything. I think we made the best of it and had a decent dinner in the end!

After dinner with the 8 of us (Me, Richard, Brookston, Kaisley, Sutton, Nana, Papa, and Yiayia), we opened presents from Nana, Papa, and Yiayia, as well as the gifts from the family! (Richard drove by to drop off our stuff to the family and pick up the stuff for ours.) So, we got to do presents all over again!! But we really missed the family and all of the excitement of seeing everyone! :(

Brookston opening a present

Kaisley loving her umbrella

Sutton LOVED this toy!

And to wrap up Christmas...Grandpa made a special delivery on the 26th to deliver their present. WOW, how exciting to get this HUGE present. It was an outdoor playhouse, which is already getting some great use!

2nd place again!

2011-12-30T22:24:00.002-06:00

Every year our neighborhood has a Christmas lights contest. We won 2nd place this year!

We really didn't do much in terms of decorating outside/lights until we thought maybe Brookston was old enough that he'd enjoy the view. So, in 2008, we started decorating.

2008 - We didn't win anything! So sad. I know I was a little insulted because ours looked much better than 3rd place, for sure! Haha! So we bought some extra stuff after the season was over, with our minds set to go "all out" next year.
2009 - We won 2nd place...yay us! 1st place was a house that decorates the entire roof and has something in every square foot of the yard. So we were pleased with our 2nd place win! Picture
2010 - No outside decorations since we had a newborn in the house. We felt a tad bit guilt about this, but decided a 2 day - 4 week old was a good reason to slack.
2011 - We won 2nd place again. Wahoo! (that's the picture above) We actually did a little less than in '09, but that's because we had a few items worn too much by the weather.

Introducing Teddy, Kitty Cat, and Breezy

2011-12-29T21:05:00.001-06:00

This was our first B.uild a b.ear experience! At first, Brookston didn't want to help fill his bear, but by the time it was Sutton's bear, he was all about helping. Kaisley didn't really care all that much, she just wanted her Kitty!!! And Sutton is absolutely in love with teddy bears right now!

Brookston helping the lady fill the bear

Sutton giving his Teddy a hug

Kaisley at the bath station for her kitty

All 3 kids with their new friends, ready to go home!

Breezy, Kitty Cat, and Teddy getting some love!

Breezy is a Saints football player, Kitty Cat has her own PJ's on and Teddy stayed without clothes, since Sutton liked him just the way he was! :)

Sweet sibling moments & mean virus

2011-12-28T14:22:00.002-06:00

I just love sweet moments like this. All 3 kids playing together. This is enought to just melt a mama's heart! L-O-V-E!

I'm hoping to get our Christmas pictures up here soon. Unfortunately I'm a little behind due to a nasty little virus that attacked our house last week. Kaisley fell first, followed by me, Sutton and then Brookston on Christmas Eve. It was a tricky little virus, as we had been 48 hours free of any symptoms in the house (which had me very excited that Christmas plans could/would happen). I cloroxed everything on Christmas Eve day, we had just finished preparing the house for the family's get together on Christmas...and I heard Brookston cough, cough, cough over the monitor. It was midnight on Christmas Eve and I knew this was exactly how the others happened...Brookston got sick! Luckily that was it and he was feeling good for Christmas. But, it meant we had to cancel the family get together since the virus was obviously very mean and lingers. My parents and grandma arrived on Christmas day from out of town. So, no big shocker...now they are sick. Oy! I'm sure they are loving their little Christmas vacation!

Christmas Party #2

2011-12-17T01:33:00.000-06:00

Kaisley had her Christmas party on the same day, but luckily it wasn't until noon. They enjoyed pizza for lunch (Sutton joined in, even polishing off Kaisley's cookie) and each got a new book. Kaisley waited so patiently to receive hers and she was THRILLED as she ripped off the paper to see an Olivia book!

Christmas Party #1

2011-12-17T01:24:00.000-06:00

Brookston's class had a breakfast Christmas party. Donuts, yogurt, and fruit! Yum! Ms. Stacy read the Polar Express. The kids got a present (provided by mom & dad). And Santa came to visit! Fun morning at preschool! Oh...and it was PJ day!!

21 questions to ask your kids

2011-12-15T15:37:00.001-06:00

My friend Katherine posted these the other day, so I had Brookston answer the questions. I will see if Kaisley will participate after nap today. Here are Brookston's answers:

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Be good

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Don't do anything bad

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Hitting

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Tickling me

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Made funny faces

6. How old is Mommy?
31

7. How tall is Mommy?
42 inches

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Cook dinner (haha, not even close...baking maybe) :)

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Cook dinner or go somewhere else

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Because you're a mommy

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Spelling words (haha, maybe because we are doing words like Dad, cat, and ball) :)

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Cleaning rooms (so true buddy, so true)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Cooking dinner, cleaning rooms, cleaning dishes, washing clothes

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Everything, pizza

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Doing happy stuff

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
A queen

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Dance

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
We give each other hugs

19. How are you and Mommy different?
You're big and I'm small

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Because we are a family

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
At the ice cream place

Christmas Tree Farm Field Trip

2011-12-15T15:03:00.001-06:00

Brookston's class visited the Christmas Tree farm yesterday. Kaisley, Sutton, and I also tagged along for the fun...along with about 12 other parents!! :) We started the morning off with a hayride around the farm. Last hay ride Kaisley violently refused...this time she was all smiles. Phew!! I think being with the big kids and excited to tag along helped!! Next was hot chocolate and muffins (Sutton polished off his, and the left overs from my other two!!). Then we walked around and sawed down a tree for their classroom!! Fun morning!! :)

The Birthday Boy

2011-11-28T22:32:00.000-06:00

It's official. He's ONE! Shortly after waking up in the morning, we did a few presents. He of course enjoyed the wrapping paper, the big kids enjoyed helping him open the presents, and eventually he got to the toys!

We did a little get together for him around dinner time.

I was very pleased with his teddy bear cake, presents and his very own smash cake (something I've never done before!)

A few decorations

He pretty much stayed in the pool of balls, barely interested in stopping for cake!

He was pretty excited to hear people sing to him...he is clapping here!

He either wanted Daddy to dip his finger in the icing or he was pointing at people, not sure which here, since he kept doing both!

Sitting in his cool chair (of course with balls) and presents!

Opening presents with Mommy

Our sweet boy

Presents

Checking out his new book

Cousins playing

This was Princess Kaisley, Queen Hailey, King Brookston, and Prince Sutton

Oh my cuteness!!!

2011-11-28T10:57:00.004-06:00

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

2011-11-22T22:46:00.000-06:00

Good news: We went to visit Santa today.

Bad news: The printer wasn't working when we got there and by the time it was our turn, the camera wasn't working either.

Good news: They said normally they do not allow cameras or phones, as you have to buy their pictures, if you want a picture. But since their camera wasn't working, they allowed us to take our own pictures. (at least we had our phones)

Bad news: Kaisley was very timid (even though she was so excited for days) and Sutton totally freaked out!!

Good news: While they were trying to figure out the camera/printer, Santa came over and talked to the kids.

Bad news: Even though we were only about 6th in line, we were there for a good 20 minutes.

Good news: It all ended just fine!

Kaisley ignoring Santa

Brookston telling Santa that he wants a car that goes super fast!

Mailing a letter to Santa, so he remembers the super fast car!

Here was round one last year. Followed by a sibling picture to introduce Sutton.

And this year was in parts...

First Brookston!

Tried to add Sutton, since Kaisley was being very clingy. Whoa, that didn't go well.

Okay, take Sutton back to calm down. Daddy eases Kaisley on the arm of the chair, by standing RIGHT by her side.

Add in Sutton and there you have it...a loving and happy 4 year old (who is tired of smiling at this point), a very shy 2 year old (which blows my mind to call her shy) and totally freaked out 1 year old!

In their hats

Went for a little ride on the Merry Go Round before we left!

We almost never ride, so I hope I didn't just start something!

Rare Moment

2011-11-21T14:06:00.000-06:00

He's almost one!

2011-11-18T22:40:00.003-06:00

It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that my baby is almost one. Really? When did this happen??? Thankfully, he's now sleeping better, screaming little, and such a fun little guy. I'm loving be able to watch my littlest man turn into this sweet little thing! He loves to wave to EVERYONE (with a new wave that goes side to side, instead of opening and closing his hand), he is obsessed with fish, and enjoys big kid toys, like cars. He's not a big fan of the car, but I can't blame him, we drive a lot! He's becoming a really good eater, like the other kiddos at this age. He's a big bath lover...but he sure does protest getting out! He has 5 teeth, with #6 wanting so badly to bust through. He loves his paci, still (I say that like it's been forever, but if you read my post a few weeks ago, he only started a few weeks ago) and I love it even more. He's not even remotely interested in walking. He will cruise around a table or when pushing a toy around...but you take him away from that, or try to put him down by standing (even if you hold his hands), he will just immediately sit down. But, he can crawl super fast! :) Probably one of the CUTEST things I've seen him do is crawl up the little two steps in the bathroom, up to the sink. And immediately when he pulls up he can see himself in the mirror, he'll start waving. Love it. I'm enjoying this stage SO MUCH!

Oh, and the relationship between all 3 kids...absolutely the best. They all love each other so much and THAT right there is absolutely heart melting! You can see that Sutton loves his big brother and sister. He follows them, laughs with them, and tries his hardest to do what they do. And then to see how sweet and kind Kaisley and Brookston are with their baby brother. Oh, precious! Kaisley is constantly talking to him. She wants him to follow, asks him to what he wants to do, if he wants to play with her toys, she helps feed him, I think she enjoys a real live baby doll! :) Then Brookston, our sweet, gentle big brother. He is so caring and helpful. And melts my heart to hear him ask when we are going to have another baby. I usually say to him, it's going to be a while buddy, why do you ask? And he says because he loves Sutton and he wants another baby like him! Awwww!

(Just for the record, yes, it's going to be a while...no baby #4 in the plans for a while!)

Big boy hair cut

2011-11-10T22:39:00.002-06:00

I have given Sutton 3 little trims in the last few months. Mostly just around the ears, a tad in the front too, but that's it. But, check out the back of his hair...I needed to clean this up! So on Monday, during bath, I brought out the scissors. He did really well, because he was playing in the bath the entire time. Unfortunately I got to focus on one side a lot more than the other since all he wanted to do was play in the running water.

I know the haircut wasn't perfect...but I was fiarly pleased. This picture was actually before I fixed up the front so it wasn't so choppy. But I needed to get a picture while he was happy. Really though, oh my goodness, he looks like Brookston here!!!!

I was just glad that the back was no longer a huge mess! But now it begins...monthly haircuts..and he's not even one! OY! This is one, and possibly the only, place that boys are more high maintenance than girls! LOL!

Oh right, Halloween

2011-11-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

I tried to post about Halloween the other night and my pictures wouldn't upload, so I gave up...sorry it's so late. Anyway, we started the evening by attending an awesome "Fall Fest" at the church where Kaisley goes to Mother's Day Out. The kids had a blast playing games, bouncing on jumpers and eating lots of yummy food! They really did a great job with their Fall Fest! We probably stayed about an hour and a half, then went to trick or treat for about an hour, just making the block around our neighborhood. Cousin Hailey joined us for the evening, so you know the kiddos had a great time!

The two princesses!

Pirate and spiderman playing with their awesome light sticks from Unlce Lloyd

Knock, knock, knock...

Spiderbaby had his first ride in the wagon...and LOVED it!

The kiddos checking out their goods!

One week ago

2011-11-01T20:13:00.001-05:00

Last Tuesday Kaisley shared a paci with Sutton, as she often does when she wakes up in the morning. Normally Sutton chews on it, attempts to suck on it, but never got the actual sucking down, so it was more a teether for him. Well, last week, Sutton took it and started sucking away, like he had been doing it for 11 months. Ha!! And he's been loving them ever since!!

Many would call me crazy, but I'm giving that boy a paci...and he likes it! Sure, this may mean at 2.5 or 3 we have to "wean" him. But this also means I have a good 1.5-2 years of potentially soothing times by a paci!

Yes, I'm excited about this...even if most would call me crazy!

Pre Halloween recap

2011-10-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I forgot my camera to two of our biggest Halloween events (the pumpkin patch and Sor.ority Row Trick or Treat), but, I have a lot of other fun ones from this month...

Sutton loved his first pumpkin

Brookston's class visited a pumpkin patch and I was able to go on my first field trip with him! I had so much fun and I know the kids did too!

Brookston having fun!

Brookston and some school friends

These glasses were hilarious!!!

The kids had so much fun!

And Sutton did pretty good trying to do them on his own!

Brookston finished up his second soccer season!

We attended Boo at the Zoo again this year!

Brookston's class did Trick or Treating at school

Sutton at 11 months!

Brookston tried Daddy's costume on!

Sutton at the Pumpkin Patch...all we had were cell phones, so we didn't get much.

Carving pumpkins at home!

Mommy made Minnie for Kaisley

Daddy made Mickey for Brookston

Our Family

2011-10-23T22:20:00.006-05:00

My photographer friend, Kristie, came by our house to take pictures of our family a couple weekends ago. Having her come to our house ended up being so nice, since Sutton was still asleep at the time she arrived. So, she was able to take pictures of the big kids first! Then, she used our house for the cutest pictures below! Both inside and out. She said she was thinking abou this first pictures for weeks. Our past with our present! :)

Check out her site, with a slideshow, and the rest of her talent!

http://www.kristiephoto.com/?p=341

And here are our pictures!!!

A visit on the way home

2011-10-18T23:33:00.000-05:00

My best friend from high school now lives about 6 hours from the beach in N C, and about 12 hours from our house. Not quite half way, but it made for a nice weekend stop. We haven't seen them in exactly 2 years! And it was a nice way to break up the trip, especially with young kids in the car! We arrive at their house Friday early evening and spent the night Friday and Saturday.

The kids "relaxing" with a DVD before bed. They were so cute.

For Olivia's 3rd Birthday she was going to see Dis.ney on I.ce. So, we had the honor of going with them. This was by far the coolest experience I've had in a long time. The look of complete awe on their faces, their eyes glued to the ice and lighting up like never before. I honestly don't think I could ever forget seeing their faces! Plus, I was loving it. Amazing show and I'm so glad to have gone!

Seriously, aren't those faces priceless???

It was tough getting all 4 kids to look at the camera! :)

The girls in their outfits for the show!

Sutton had an absolute blast with balloons! :)

Last beach post

2011-10-18T22:54:00.000-05:00

Well, it's taken me a while, but I think this is the last of my main pictures from our beach trip. Of course, I took hundreds of pictures, but this sums it up.

A few of our family snapshots....

On our last night we did smores and sparklers!

The cousins!

Nana and Papa with the big kiddos

This beach trip was to celebrate Nana's birthday, so each of the grandkids helped to make her a special birthday card.

Oh the fun - Part 2

2011-10-12T15:31:00.000-05:00

Brookston got really into the boogie board in the last couple days. I didn't have my camera out on the day he was actually catching waves...but boy did he have some fun!

Kaisley sure was striking some poses!

Sutton had SO MUCH FUN! In both the sand and the water. He didn't really eat much sand, thank goodness, but he sure did play in it. And he loved the tide where the waves rolled in. When a wave came in that was a little too big, I would swoop him up and boy would he get MAD!!! lol!

Oh the fun - Part 1

2011-10-12T14:39:00.004-05:00

ARG Matey! Here's were the pirate treasure is burried!!!! Go around the turtle and "x" marks the spot...treasure is burried here!

Aunt Kristi showing the kids the treasure map

Digging for treasure!

Brookston found a boat!

Kaisley enjoying the water with daddy!

Jumping waves

I love this one!

Baby feet in the sand

Aunt Kristi and Sutton exploring the water!

Rain at the beach

2011-10-12T14:12:00.004-05:00

Our trip started off with some rain. Luckily it was on and off, so we made the best of it. We were outside when the weather cleared and we took a few walks in the rain, which turned out to be quite a bit of fun!

This was from our first beach walk. It was only raining a little bit, so the kids had fun. Our second beach walk in the rain, the sky opened up on us, so we have no pictures from that walk. We were down by the playground, which was 1.3 miles from our house and decided to walk home. The minute Nana and Papa drove off, the rain started...and fast. But with the intense rain, I got Brookston to run a large majority of it home. I was very proud of his run!

Inside fun!

Sutton playing with Uncle Adam

Ahhhh, my little loves!

Kaisley took a little time to warm up to the water

Brookston's favorite non water activity...throwing shells in the water

Daddy and his kiddos

Where to start??

2011-10-06T13:57:00.006-05:00

In mid September, I flew up to North Carolina with just Kaisley and Sutton. A lot went into the decision, but Brookston and Richard stayed back home for a week for work and school, while I enjoyed getting together with some friends from college and a pregnancy buddy I met back in 2008.

The flight up there went amazingly well. The first flight both Kaisley and Sutton were entertained almost exclusively with no toys. Between the excitement of the plane, the drinks and snacks and just, well, nothing, neither of them had a problem on the first flight. The second flight Sutton fell asleep before we even took off. Which was a big blessing. I could have seen this flight being a disaster if Sutton was cranky and that meant Kaisley got little to no attention. Instead a sleeping baby meant one on one time for Kaisley, the entire time.

While in NC, I was able to visit my two best friends from college. One had a little boy very close to Kaisley's age. So they had a blast. And they both had babies, that I had not yet met!

Here we are with our kiddos (just missing my buddy, Brookston).

Kaisley and her new buddy!

Nana and Kaisley making muffins!

Then we headed to one of our favorite children's museums! LOVE this place! And I was so happy that my friend, her husband, and her two kids could join us. Along with my mom's friend and her grandson. So, we had 3 two year olds and two babies!

Somehow I had never seen this baby area...Sutton and his friend had a blast!

It was a totally different experience being at the museum this time. Last time, Brookston was about 2 1/2, Kaisley was 7 months. This time Kaisley was 2 1/2 and Sutton was 10 months. Brookston plays very different than Kaisley. Where Brookston could spend 2 hours in just one area of this huge museum, Kaisley hit the entire thing (at least all she wanted to of it) in less than 2 hours!

Our next stop was the beach...this however will take a while to organize...I think I took over 200 pictures in 6 days!

The Family

2011-09-29T23:14:00.002-05:00

I thought it was time to update the family picture!

Geaux Hall Kids!

2011-09-15T23:23:00.003-05:00

Kaisley - First Day of School & First Dentist

2011-09-08T15:28:00.004-05:00

Kaisley had her first day of "school" (Mother's Day Out) on Tuesday. She has been waiting for this day for at least a year! Ever since she was about 7 months old, she's watched Brookston go to school (at the time, also MDO). But last year she REALLY wanted to go. So when she heard it was her turn, she was THRILLED. For a while now, if you asked her when she got to go to school, she would say, "In September". And who are your teachers? "Ms. Bonnie and Ms. Nancy!" She was READY!!!!

I dropped her off in her classroom and she never turned back. I tried multiple times to tell her bye. To tell her I'd be back in a little and have fun with your friends. To ask her if she remembers her teachers. If she remembered where the potty was. To tell her to have a great day. Have fun. Okay mommy is leaving. NOTHING! She went STRAIGHT for the puzzle she was talking about earlier that morning. The one she remembered playing with at "meet the teacher". I could see her through the window when I went to my car and she was still playing and very determined to master that puzzle.

Her teachers said she had a great day! And even asked to go potty! :)

Then, just to add to her firsts. Kaisley also visited the dentist for the first time. Luckily Brookston has a blast at the dentist, so Kaisley wasn't nervous at all going back there. They are GREAT there. They make sure to let the kids play before having them sit in the chair and use very kid friendly words. It's a pediatric dentist and they treat them so well. I think my favorite part is that the dentist just dresses in street clothes, even a baseball cap, so he doesn't look all scary! :)

They have toys and games in the back and the kids came out with so many treats. Kaisley had a "pearl necklace", Brookston a jeep toy car. They each had a figurine animal, stickers, a balloon, new toothbrushes. Seriously exciting stuff! :)

The picture is something they do for each child during their first visit. Kaisley had a great check up and no concerns at all. She did have a few tears when the dentist came by, but she sat in Ms. Hailey's lap and did pretty good in the end.

Brookston, while he did great and came out with big smiles, has two small cavities. Uh oh! Luckily the amazing dentist said he's very determined to keep their positive relationship, so I'm confident he will do a great job when Brookston has his teeth "painted" next month.

Food & bowling

2011-09-08T15:10:00.001-05:00

This boy sure does make a mess of a meal....

As part of our rainy (tropical storm) Labor Day weekend, we went bowling with some friends. The kids had a great time and did rather well!

They were very excited about their shoes!

Brookston had two styles for bowling, as seen below. One is the granny throw, between the legs. And the other is the side toss.

Last Pool Day

2011-09-08T14:39:00.001-05:00

Labor Day weekend were the last days our neighborhood pool would be open. However, a tropical storm decided to take it's time and pass by the entire weekend. So, little did we know, but when we were at the pool the weekend before, THAT was our last time at the pool for the season. I was so glad I brought my camera and captured some sweet sibling moments!

9 months old

2011-09-02T14:58:00.003-05:00

Someone please explain how this little guy will be one year old in just 3 short months???? Richard has asked me a couple times if I have started to plan his 1st birthday party. No, I refuse to believe it. Has it really already been 9 months?

My "skinny" baby is 18 pounds, 12 ounces and 28.25 inches, putting him right at 50th percentile for both. (Although I think they were off on the height, we shall see next time I guess!) This 50th percentile thing is such uncharted territory in our family, I just don't know what to make of it! :)

And pssst, it's a secret, but he's sleeping a tad better these days.

PLEASE don't tell anyone!!!! I don't want to jinx things! ;)

His pictures started off a little shaky. He wasn't into it at all. There were a couple poses that we got NOTHING because he was clingy, didn't want to sit, didn't want to smile. But we busted out with some props and he was a HAPPY boy! He loved the football, sitting in the chair, and especially loved the briefcase (and so did I!)

Comment testing

2011-08-28T09:39:00.002-05:00

I know I've been having problems lately commenting on many blogs. Some blogs it tells me I need to log in. Even though I'm already logged in. And if I try to re-login. It just does the whole cycle over again. Annoying. Then, sometimes I'll get the message that I don't have access or permission for "this action". At first, I thought maybe I needed to be invited, but that didn't make sense as it wasn't private. I realized there has to be some kind of error when my own blog told me I didn't have access to comment! :)

Anyway, I tried changing a setting, if you're reading this and can, will you tell me, please?

I realized if you're reading this and cannot post, it's kind of pointless, I won't be able to know. But I'd love to hear if you're reading this and CAN comment...to see if my new setting helped!

Thanks!

Cakes

2011-08-25T11:07:00.006-05:00

When Brookston's 1st birthday was coming around, I somehow got it into my head to make this awesome 3D duck cake that I found (last picture). Richard helped boost my confidence with encouraging me to make a practice cake and then practicing to use the special decorating tips. It went pretty well, I must say. And it felt great to have made a great looking cake! From that point, I decided that doing the birthday cakes for my children would sort of be, my "thing"!

Up until April, 2011 I would use shaped pans only, with specific directions and everything! I did get a little fun with some of the cupcakes though! Which I always enjoyed as well. But Brookston requested a "racetrack with Lightning McQueen and his friends" for his 4th birthday. So, that's the first time I got a tad more creative and came up with my own racetrack with a stadium.

Then August, 2011, I had a request for an LSU cake...the eye of the tiger became the idea. This was the PERFECT cake to learn fondant (something I really want to learn, but have not yet). But, it was crunch time, I had about 4 days and I wasn't prepared to learn just then. But, this was a milestone of making my first completely free handed cake. I shaped the cake AND came up with the pattern (with the help of pictures of course). Just, no directions.

Soon, I hope to learn fondant...then the possibilities will be endless! :)

Here are my cakes:

3D Teddy Bear cake with presents - Sutton's 1st Birthday - November, 2011

LSU Eye of the Tiger cake - August, 2011

Soccer cupcakes - Yellow Jackets - May, 2011

Cars Stadium cake - Brookston's 4th Birthday - April, 2011

Abby Cake - Kaisley's 2nd Birthday - February, 2011

Elmo cupcakes

Lightning McQueen cake - Brookston's 3rd Birthday - May, 2011

Cars cupcakes

Ladybug cake - Kaisley's 1st Birthday - February, 2010

Ladybug cupcakes

Monkey cake and cupcakes - Brookston's 2nd Birthday - May, 2009

3D Ducky Cake - Brookston's 1st Birthday - May, 2008

Playing catch up - All caught up

2011-08-16T14:38:00.003-05:00

After almost 3 weeks of not posting...if you're stopping by you've got a lot to read! :) This is the first of 4 posts, titled, "Playing catch up"! I'm not sure why I haven't posted all of this on time?!?! Maybe the 3 kids thing is catching up to me or maybe we're just having too much summer fun!

Anyway, this last Sunday was Hawaiian themed at church...we went a little over board! :)

Sutton's outfit is actually from Hawaii! We went back when Brookston was 10 months old. PERFECT for church on Sunday! ;)

And here's Brookston on his first day of PRESCHOOL!

This is big time now. The real deal! PRESCHOOL!

He started Monday and has always done great with change. He already started at his new school in June. But this transition was into the 4 year old/preschool class. So, new room, new teachers. He said he LOVED his new teachers (he really must like them because this was unpromted) and had fun in his new room.

Kaisley starts at Mother's Day Out in September. She knows the month September has a lot in store for her. If you ask her when she starts music class or school, she says "in September!" Between music, little gym, bible study and school, this girl is gonna be BUSY!!

Playing catch up - sick days

2011-08-16T14:11:00.005-05:00

Last week Brookston came down with some sort of sickie. It was well timed, as it was the days he had off from school from summer to "fall". But poorly timed because I had all sorts of plans for fun things. But, we made the best of it. We started with making and decorating cookies...

And then we painted...

And painted....

And painted!!!!!

Playing catch up - random

2011-08-16T13:54:00.003-05:00

A rare moment, brought to you by: A toy out of the attic...

All 3 kids, playing together. Of course, with a baby toy! :)

Although all 3 kids REALLY like cars too!

Long story...Once a month our church does a "Parent's Night Out". We haven't participated in FOREVER, but decided the kids would especially have fun this month because it was water night. Well, one reason we never participate is because it goes late into their bed time, but mostly, because Sutton doesn't take a bottle. So, bringing a non bottle taking baby at bed time...well, that would just not be cool. So, we decided to let the "big kids" participate and go on our date with Sutton. As Richard called him, our DD for the night! ;)

(no, he wasn't on my lap driving or anything like that(I'm waaaay too much of a car seat freak for that)...the car was parked, this was post nursing, sitting in the rain while we decided what to do next...oh and yes, it rained on the poor kids for water night!) :(

See, this is where Sutton sits! :) Funny, I was posting this picture anyway, before I added that part above about how he was not in my lap while driving. I just decided to take this picture one day because I realized I never take pictures of my kids in their car seats. And well, poor buddy spends a lot of time like this between school drop off/pick up and playdates!

ARG! Kiddos after a pirate themed bday party!

Playing catch up - pool

2011-08-16T12:51:00.004-05:00

I probably have about 20 more pictures from the pool that I'd love to share, but since I'm so behind, I'll just post some of my favorites....

8 months fun fact

2011-07-27T17:32:00.003-05:00

Ignoring the fact that my baby is EIGHT MONTHS OLD...what? How? When did that happen? I weighed him today on the pediactric scale that we have and he's 18 pounds, 11 ounces. Right at the 50th percentile. Before having Sutton, when it came to weight, I didn't know anything under 97th percentile until maybe 18 months! ;) And still to this day, Brookston hangs out around 70th and Kaisley around 85th.

So to my fun fact...Sutton at 8 months is 18 pounds, 11 ounces. The EXACT weight of Brookston, when???

This is where you think to yourself...7 months? 6? 5? 4?

It's crazy to think that my 8 month old is the same weight as Brooskton at....

4 months old! :) So, if you have a child weighing 18 pounds 11 ounces at 8 months, he would be in the 50th percentile, but at 4 months, that puts him in the 97th! I just thought it was funny!

A little mix

2011-07-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

Just some fun pictures I wanted to share...I realized I put a number of these on f.aceboo.k, which is unusual for me. Usually I put them here, but not there. So, here's a few:

Here's Sutton on one of our weekly lunch dates with friends! I'm guessing by the hat you can figure out where we were!

Brookston enjoying the water slide at his friend's birthday party. He and mommy enjoyed this party, just the two of them. While the whole family was invited, daddy had a lunch with a board he's on and the little kids needed their nap!

There were TONS of water balloons! The kids had a blast! And the hostess said that she, her husband and the grandfather spent 3 hours filling these water balloons, only for the kids to blow through them in about 5 minutes!

Brookston and his buddies from school

Last night the kids and I went to dinner at a kid's night that had Bubbles the clown. She did face painting and balloons!

So, Brookston became Spiderman....he loved it!

Kaisley was very very hesitant, but curious. So, Bubbles had her sit on my lap, then she did one step at a time on my arm, followed by doing it on Kaisley's arm (she has obviously done this before!) In the end, Kaisley was soooo excited about her flowers!

Kaisley thought this was HILARIOUS! I swaddled her up, but as the kids say, it's a cocoon! She was so excited to be in her cocoon, she laid there giggling for quite a while.

So....maybe this is why daddy says girls are expensive! She's two and already obsessed with shoes! Hey, at least she's organizing them!

VBS at School

2011-07-22T22:51:00.003-05:00

I was soooo excited that Brookston's school was invited to attend VBS at the church where school is held. Since he goes to school throughout the summer, he did not come to VBS with me when I worked ours. Today was their little show day. He's in the yellow shirt, close to the middle of the screen (yay mama for thinking to do that too...made him much easier to spot in that huge group of kiddos!) Not sure what he was looking around at the entire time...distracted with excitement I guess! :) And sorry it's a little wobbly, Sutton really wanted to hold my camera!

That's a full tub!

2011-07-19T13:57:00.003-05:00

I cannot at all remember when I put my others in the big tub for the first time, but Sutton had a blast the other night when he finally had his turn! It was certainly time as he was NOT enjoying bath time in his little tub. And even better, it was one bath for all 3 kids. And again, even better is that Kaisley and Brookston were seperated by Sutton! It was quite successful and rather peaceful in terms of bathing 3 at once!

In other news...Sutton is doing his own version of crawling quite well. He tries to chase Kaisley quite a bit. Of course it takes him a little while, but he does follow her room to room when she encourages him with "come get me Sutty, come get me!"

Sutton waved for the first time last week.

He now has 2 teeth.

He is pulling up to a standing position.

He is pushing himself up from laying down to a sitting position.

Wow....he is just getting so big, so fast.

Still not a big fan of sleeping in long stretches....BUT, most nights do NOT consist of a screaming match at 3am anymore. YAY!!!!

Just like big brother....a bin of matchbox cars kept him happy for a FULL HOUR! Yes, he sat RIGHT HERE for that entire time. No one playing with him. He didn't move from this spot!

My loves!

And a little video of Sutton:

go baby go!

2011-07-08T19:02:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure why this is so very dark. On my computer before uploading it to youtube, it wasn't so dark...but, you can see Sutton on the move!

A toof, a toof!

2011-07-07T12:55:00.002-05:00

My little buggy sprouted his first tooth on June 30th. This picture, taken today, you can finally see it enough to show, he has a tooth!

What I find just fun is that Brookston's first tooth came in at 7 months, 1 day. Kaisley's first tooth was 4 days before she turned 7 months. And now Sutton got his first tooth at 7 months, 3 days! :)

Tubing on the lake

2011-07-03T22:22:00.000-05:00

Here is our fun tubing...

Sutton was not fond of his life jacket...

But he did fall asleep for quite a bit of the ride!

Kaisley wanted to go FIRST...go girl! And of course we were going super slow, so she wanted to touch the water!

After waving to us on the boat, she was waving to other boaters!

Brookston took his turn and after a few minutes, signaled that he wanted to go FASTER!

Love his expression! (just moments after going faster)

Then he braved going ALONE!

Then Daddy got his turn....

And Mommy waiting to get started too!

A couple videos...

And here's Richard...sorry I didn't follow him the very best...I was holding Kaisley between my legs, holding a sleeping Sutton and taking the video in the air without looking at all. Once I watched it, I was actually quite pleased!

Water fun

2011-07-01T20:42:00.005-05:00

Just some pictures of the many things we did in the water at the lake...

We brought out the tube to just play in by the pier, in hopes the kids would get used to the water, plus the idea of the tube...it worked! They had a blast, ended up IN the water and later went tubing behind the boat!

We had a number of floats to chose from as well!

Sutton also enjoyed, from dry land!

I was so proud of how brave the kids were in the lake. Last year Brookston mentioned that he did not want to go in the "black water" because he couldn't see the bottom. This year he was all about it.

We went for a couple boat rides, before tubing. Just to get used to things!

Brookston even fell asleep at one point! When we had our boat he OFTEN did that...so it was quite cute!

Mommy & the big kiddos took the paddle boat down to the "store" and got icee's and ice cream!

Fishing at Lake Bruin

2011-06-29T22:36:00.008-05:00

Last week we headed up to visit "Yaya" & "Papa". These are the parents of our friends. We've tagged along with our friends a number of times to visit Yaya and Papa at their lake house, but a few times they've been so sweet as to invite us up, just our family (since their kids are far, FAR away)! We have a blast on our little vacation and we enjoy visiting with them so much!

I decided I'd split up our lake trip in a few posts...that way I'm more likely to actually post. I'll get them up quick and not have to think "when will I have time to go through ALL of those pictures and do a big old post!"

So, first up is fishing.....

The first day, mid morning it rained a little bit...but it was PERFECT for fishing. The kids did great and were catching a BUNCH!

They fished on and off ALL week...and did pretty well!

This was a required picture. We have one of Brookston when he was a baby (although he was maybe 4 weeks old at the time), as well as Kaisley as a baby. So, daddy made sure to take Sutton fishing at Lake Bruin as well. It was rather entertaining though...he really wanted to help!

Okay, so this is a little swimming too...

And I just couldn't resist this cuteness!

Love a baby laugh?

2011-06-27T17:22:00.001-05:00

Man this kiddo is cute! Love to hear that laugh....

Pictures from our Lake week are coming soon (I hope!)

Quick stuff

2011-06-27T15:47:00.004-05:00

This is a couple weeks old now, but poor Sutton, he wants to crawl so bad. Instead he goes backwards often and gets himself into little situations like this! :) He also goes in circles, rolls, pushes, and so on...just no forward progress yet!

I love this above! What are they called? I can't seem to remember! Anyway, this was part of Richard's father's day present that Brookston made at school! Love it!

Siblings pictures is not my strong point

2011-06-14T14:20:00.003-05:00

Well, taking siblings pictures is not exactly my strong point! While I got a few cute expressions, the purpose of these pictures were to show their cute sibling shirts...which you can't see much of them at all! Maybe I need to try again with them all laying down and me above them!

Anyway, the shirts are all the same picture (which you can see okay). Then Brookston's says "the oldest", Kaisley's says "the middle", and Sutton's says "the youngest"!

Who needs baby food?

2011-06-02T23:14:00.006-05:00

After night number 1 of solid food (cereal) going okay, night number 2 was only so so. Then, thing pretty much went down hill! I gave it a break after a few days of totally no success, then decided to try veggies. Maybe a little more flavor? Or maybe the cereal bothered him? I started with squash, he liked it! Night #1 was great, #2 was so so, #3 was pretty good. So, on to sweet potatoes. No go! That was tonight. He took maybe 2-3 bites, but after that, it was back to him sticking his tongue out and not wanting anything to do with it. Other than getting the spoon from me...then starring ME down as I ate!

So, I gave him a corn on the cob. He was in heaven! So, it sounds like possibly "Baby Lead Weaning" may be what he likes the best! Baby Lead Weaning is where you skip baby food and just give them real food to start exploring textures in full form, not mush. They gum things, suck on things and eventually learn to chew and bite pieces. It may be a slow start, but he seems much happier when he's gotten a hold of mamas apple, daddy's cantelope or given his very own corn!

Please see my posts below....I had a busy blogging night! ;)

Princess

2011-06-02T23:12:00.002-05:00

Kaisley gets her medal!

2011-06-02T23:07:00.001-05:00

Kaisley had her end of semester award's show was this week. She attended class as the little sister for so long, then she did an 8 week trial last fall. So this was her first semester, in which she gets her very own medal. And in perfect timing because she sure was checking out Brookston's soccer medal from the other weekend!

Flying during warm ups!

The second best part of class (the best is bubbles!)

Rolling through the hoop with Ms. Erin!

She loves the hoola hoop!

Doing her own trick!

Doing a trick for Ms. Erin!

Receiving her award (she was just standing there starring off to the back of the room...it was quite funny! She barely moved a muscle up there!)

Playing "drums" at the end of class!

First swim

2011-06-02T22:15:00.003-05:00

Not our first swim of the season, but Sutton's first swim ever! :) He seemed to enjoy himself!

We invited Richard's brother and his family come to our neighborhood pool for a swim. So this is Kaisley, Richard, our niece Hailey, Brookston, Sutton, and Me!

Kaisley's bobo!

2011-06-02T22:09:00.002-05:00

Poor girl! It's her turn for her "big bobo". We were going for a walk around the neighborhood last night and she fell, not once, but twice! And within about 10 feet! Of course in this picture it's all wrapped up, but that's the only way she would be "okay". At this point she was a tad proud of her "big bandaid"! She even got the limp down! ;)

Sutton's 6 months

2011-05-27T15:01:00.005-05:00

Our sweet Sutton is 6 months old today!!

So hard to believe that we were just meeting our little man 6 months ago. Cuddling him, stroking his soft skin, listening to his first cries, looking into those gorgeous eyes! Hard to believe that our family grew from 4 to 5, just 6 months ago. While time has sure gone quick, it also seems like Sutton has always been a part of this family.

Brookston and Kaisley are amazing big siblings! They love him so much and take such good care of him while mommy is "coming in just one minute!" They have always been so soft and caring towards him.

Sutton has the sweetest, easy to please personality all day long. All he needs is a little eye contact and he'll flash you the biggest smile. A tiny bit more love and you'll get a good giggle from him! He thinks he's pretty hot stuff when he's on his belly or playing with his toys. He sure does seem to love his life as the baby brother!

Night time is a slightly different story. He's been struggling, well, since birth! We've tossed around the idea of allergies to reflux. He screams, a lot! He has trouble settling and well, mommy is tired beyond my wildess dreams. I never thought, at 6 months, I'd be sleeping less than I've slept with a newborn. But even with the night time troubles, the next morning I get the biggest, warmest smiles...he melts my heart to pieces!

Sutton's first babbles

2011-05-26T21:14:00.001-05:00

There sure is something sweet about a baby starting to babble! I got a little piece of his newest sounds on camera...

Swimming, or rather the slide!

2011-05-26T20:39:00.002-05:00

Brookston just finished 2 weeks of swim lessons, just in time for our pool to be open for the summer! While he's not to the point of being able to swim alone yet, he sure does love to swim! Hopefully I'll get a decent video this summer, because "show off day" for lessons, someone kept walking in front of my camera every time it was his turn! Arg!

I think the highlight of swim lessons just might be this big water slide! Brookston never wanted to try it last year...but this year he was all about it!

baby babble

2011-05-24T14:20:00.002-05:00

Sutton officially started to baby babble yesterday! What a sweet little sound. And those first babbles, lucky me, were mamama! I know they have absolutely no meaning other than exploring his own voice, but man did he get my attention!!!! And I loved it! Following his mamama, was bababa, ahyayaya, and dadada. Go buddy, way to explore all of those sounds at one time. Although today he seems to prefer the good on ahyayaya.

It really took my by surprise because Kaisley took a long, long time to babble. She constantly had fluid in her ears, therefore keeping her from really hearing what was going on. So it wasn't until tubes at 10 months that she started her babbling. And since Brookston is 4 years old, I didn't remember how old he was. I had to go look it up, he was about 6 1/2 months old. Who knew! Well, who remembered anyway.

I love hearing Sutton's little voice...it's adorable!

Fun party today

2011-05-22T22:46:00.006-05:00

We all had a blast at a birthday party today for two sisters! Just pictures here!

Just an FYI: But I just posted 3 other posts tonight! (Along with one late last week). Just so you don't miss anything! :)

Last soccer game

2011-05-22T22:31:00.004-05:00

I do believe Brookston had a great time playing soccer this year! These are pictures from our last game.

Brookston and Coach Ken doing a throw in.

The kids all got awards!

I can't remember if someone suggested they be "silly" or "stick their tongue out", but looking at this picture, it sure seems like the suggestion was tongues out! :)

We had a party afterwards and I made cupcakes. The numbers are the numbers from the kids' shirts. The green ones are "grass" and my soccer balls, well, they were a learning experience! ha!

Jumpy, jump baby!

2011-05-22T22:17:00.003-05:00

He loves to JUMP!!!!

I was having lunch with my friend the other day and Sutton was jumping on my lap. She asked if we had one of these jumperoos. I said yes, but our attic seems to have eaten it!?!?!! (Richard cannot find it up there! Crazy, I know, but they can break down fairly small). So, she's letting us borrow their's for now! Sutton is soooo happy!

Yum, yum!

2011-05-22T21:57:00.003-05:00

Yum, yum! Mommy finally gave in...and I don't turn 6 months until Friday! She said she was waiting until 6 months, but I've been grabbing at their food, starring them down at dinner time, and really interested for way over a month! So, Saturday at dinner, I got to join in the fun!

The first bite was...interesting.

There were plenty of "yuck" faces, followed by wanting more!

He wanted to hold the spoon, hold the spoon, hold the spoon!!!

Eventually he got to hold the spoon...and even did a little feeding himself! :)

Uh oh!

2011-05-19T21:45:00.002-05:00

Yes, my son is in a pink chair, that is not the point of this blog. The point is, he's holding on to the bar above him....

You know, the one that the toys hang from...

And he's pulling himself UP. As in, up off the back of the bouncy seat! Hmmmm, that can't be good! I'm guessing that's not too safe.

Poor buddy

2011-05-10T18:19:00.002-05:00

Picture was taken at 6pm, so swelling is now gone!

Oh, I forgot

2011-05-10T12:06:00.003-05:00

I forgot to include this picture in Brookston's birthday post! It was from my mom's camera, so it was in a different location! :)

Birthday, Birthday, Birthday

2011-05-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

Wow...Brookston sure did get to celebrate his 4th birthday. Over and over and over again!

First, it was his birthday party at "the jumpy place"....

He's in the turquoise blue shirt, there's a group of them doing the hokey pokey in the middle, following the 2 party coaches in the neon green shirts! :)

Nana had Sutton while he napped. He took a great nap during the party!

The awesome chair for the birthday boy to open presents!

Watching the opening of presents!

Papa and Sutton during the party

Opening more presents

The cake

Another view of the cake. Brookston wanted a racetrack with Lightning McQueen, The King AND Chick Hicks. This was my first "free handed" cake. My others were always done by a shaped pan. So, I was pretty pleased with the outcome! And of course most importantly, Brookston loved it!

Then there was his actual birthday.

Presents at home!

Sutton really liked the balloon!

Brookston took cupcakes, cookies, juice and treat bags to school!

He only stayed at school until right before lunch. We took him out to lunch and sang to him before eating bagel pizza!

The went to Chuck E Cheese that night!

We sang to him again...and again in PIZZA! My oh my, lucky 4 year old, right???

And do you notice that sign behind Brookston's head in the picture above. It says "follow me for Free Tickets". Ummmm, yeah, the kids had a blast, but you'll see below the tickets...

First it was dancing and cheering with Chuck E

Then there were tickets....all S-I-N-G-L-E tickets! I was joking with the woman that these were all the tickets they didn't want to deal with...she admitted that yes, they were!

Because we had to put each one individually into the ticket counter! Don't get me wrong, it was awesome to get hundreds of tickets...but OH MY!!!! It was a long, long LONG process!

The evening wraps up for this lucky little 4 year old! It's hard to believe it's been 4 years. Four wonderful years! Happy Birthday Brookston!

Nana and Papa visit

2011-05-08T20:16:00.006-05:00

Nana and Papa came to town for Brookston's birthday and party. And of course we had lots of other fun while they were here. These are the pictures from their visit, non birthday related.

Nana painted Kaisley's toes (this was a first for her!)

The kids enjoying a new park

Papa and Kaisley at the park

Nana and Sutton at the park

Sutton loving the fresh air

Kaisley got pigtails every day, done by Nana!

We went to Brookston's soccer practice and the weekly dinner out after practice with friends from the team. It was Nana & Papa's anniversary, but evening practice means we need something quick for dinner. So they celebrated their anniversary at a pizza buffet, they're such troopers! :)

Then there was the actual game! Go Yellow Jackets!

Kaisley got new dresses. The pigtails, bows, dress, and shoes...she was LOVING life! Twirling in her dress, bobbing her hair, tapping her shoes! :)

Nana, Papa, Brookston & Kaisley went to see "Rio" (the movie)

We went to Kaisley's Little Gym class

Sutton enjoyed Little Gym too!

Quick recap

2011-05-06T15:37:00.005-05:00

I got a little behind in April, so here's a quick recap of the second half of April.

There was a field trip to the LSU farm. I was very sad to not be able to go, but I didn't think I'd be very helpful with a 5 month old and 2 year old in tow. Luckily, the mom that was in charge of Brookston sent me about 12 pictures, so I got to see all about their day. The recap was, the kids had a blast and the highlights....they got to see the cow poop and then later they got to eat ice cream. Talk about 3 & 4 year olds perfect day! Ha!

Throughout the week they talked about bike safety. Then that Friday they had a trike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Their school had a family fun day...I was rather impressed. Each classroom did a booth, along with a jumper, a fire truck, a boat, a cop, and a few other fun things. Our kids had a great time!

We had an Easter Egg hunt and social with our Sunday school group.

Brookston had an Easter Egg hunt at school!

Then on Easter morning the kids followed my childhood tradition of hunting jellybeans in the house...

Followed by enjoying their Easter baskets full of goodies!

Easter afternoon was a crawfish boil at Grandpa's house

Cousins

Kaisley on the final hunt of the season

Brookston taking advantage of the eggs that led him up a slide on his hunt

And of course our precious boy the day he turned 5 months old!

Next up: Pictures from Nana and Papa's visit, Brookston's party & birthday!

Mother's Day at school

2011-05-06T09:20:00.001-05:00

This morning the Moms at Brookston's school were invited for breakfast. In addition to breakfast we received a little flower arrangement, and some homemade cards along with a printed card of "one thing I love about my Mom" and "How much I love my Mom". Brookston's responses:
One thing I love about my Mom:
Making cakes together
How much I love my Mom:
8 long

Ms. Katie (his teacher) explained to me the "8 long" came from his showing Ms. Katie how he loved me "this much", as he stretched his arms out from end to end. Ms. Katie asked if he could put it into words, so he went up one arm and down the other...1(fingers), 2 (wrist), 3 (elbow), 4 (shoulder), then down the other arm. So he decided that was 8 long! Love it!!!

Okay, this is an email from my phone, let see if it will post my picture??

Family Easter Pictures

2011-04-24T23:28:00.002-05:00

I have a number of posts I've been wanting to make, but things seem to have gotten a little chaotic lately...so, hopefully posts will be coming soon about Brookston's trike-a-thon at school, his first school field trip, their Easter egg hunt, Easter, and so on. But for now, I at the very least have a new family picture. I decided it was waaaaay past time to update the picture at the top of the blog. And while this pictures isn't the best (poor Sutton isn't even looking), the previous picture was from LAST Easter and baby Sutton wasn't but the size of a lima bean! So...here's our family...Easter, 2011!

Boots, dos, tres

2011-04-20T13:06:00.001-05:00

Dora (and boots) must have something to do with Kaisley telling me, "I'm counting! It's Spanish! Boots, dos, tres!"

Then she tells me she learned it in school. (She doesn't go to school!)

We were however talking about Brookston having Spanish at school. But we weren't saying numbers at all. We were only talking about "transportation".

Too funny that it's Boots though. When I said uno, dos, tres. She repeated, "boots, dos, tres, it's Spanish!"

Everyone wants a turn!!

2011-04-15T19:06:00.002-05:00

It's been long overdue, but Sutton finally got to enjoy his exersaucer this week! He really loves it, afterall, he's plenty strong to hang out in it and can reach for his toys...so, he's doing great!

And he of course loves when he gets attention from his siblings!

But, we can't pull out a new "toy", without big brother....

and big sister trying it out too!!!

3-4 year old soccer

2011-04-09T13:53:00.003-05:00

Brookston started soccer with the YMCA this spring. SO CUTE to watch 3 & 4 year olds playing soccer. It's actually a lot more "organized" than I thought it would be. Of course the goal is only to kick the ball. There are no positions and there's barely an understanding of not stealing it from your own team for some kids. Or, mine we need to work on, don't just let the other team pass you by! As sweet as it is to see, this isn't a game of taking turns! :)

For the first game, Brookston was a part of the coin toss!

One of his best friend's from school was on the other team

I find this picture hilarious...to me it looks like all of the kids are just looking at the ball, not a single one appears to be going for it!

Before the second game, we had team pictures...here they are, in all their cuteness!

My soccer playing boy!

And here he is in action!

Room transitions

2011-04-01T14:05:00.002-05:00

Until recently Sutton was perfectly happy in our room and it was going well. Mostly because he was not a fan of sleeping in long stretches, so mommy liked having him right there! But a couple weeks ago, not only was he not sleeping in long stretches, he just plain old wasn't sleeping!

Something needed to change because mama was lucky to get 3-4 hours of sleep, broken up 6-8 times in an 8 hour stretch. So after 2 weeks of that, we decided to make the big room transition!

So...here's Sutton happily wrapped like a burrito in his crib!

But, in order to get Sutton into the crib we had to get Kaisley into the BIG GIRL bed!!!!

And she's doing great!!! Not only is she in her big girl bed, but she's also in Brookston's room. Honestly, this was a huge, scary step for me. I pictured the worst and what do you know, it's been amazingly perfect. (Knock on wood!) They've shared their room all week and so far, they've only needed a few gentle reminders that it was time for bed, not play!

Testing, testing

2011-03-31T21:44:00.000-05:00

I'm posting this through an email. If this works, that's really just plain old cool!

We shall see...ready, go!

Sutton's 4 month update

2011-03-30T13:53:00.003-05:00

Weight: 15 lbs 14.5 oz.

Length: 25 3/4 inches

Head: 17 1/8 inches

My skinniest baby yet! Can you believe at this age Brookston weighed almost 3 pounds more! THREE pounds!!!! He was 18 lbs 11oz! Wow!

I love books like this...

2011-03-28T11:44:00.002-05:00

Here's a clip of Brookston reading a book called "Yummy yucky". I just love books that a 3-4 year old can read because of repetition!

But I think I love even more the page that says, "Mommy's cookies are yummy. Mommy's coffee is yucky". But instead he says "Mommy's coke is yucky!" I love it! :) Although it's Diet Dr. Pepper, but still!

And "Apple Pie is yummy. Mud pie is yucky". His version is "Apple mud pie is yucky"!

Just two things I find too cute to correct! :)

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin

2011-03-24T11:23:00.000-05:00

Sutton is rolling like crazy!!!! As in, you lay him on his back and he rolls within seconds. And rolls all over! He's already going "across" the room. That is until he hit a pile of toys too big to roll over! Oy!

This morning I put him on the floor and next thing I saw, he was at least 3 full rolls away! Ready to roll again! The other two didn't use rolling to get around, but I'm wondering if he will do just that to sort of keep up with the big kids!

Since starting to roll, I've noticed how much stronger his head/neck has become! I guess since his goal is to get on his belly, he's been doing a LOT more tummy time lately and it shows!!!!

Here is Sutton being a big boy going for a walk! It was his first time in JUST the stroller, not in his infant seat, in his stroller!

We went to my friend Megan's the other day and she took this picture! Kaisley did not want to smile (so we got a tongue! And a baby! And she's wearing an Abby outfit), Brookston was complaining that he couldn't hold Sutton, and Sutton only wanted to chew on his hand! But with all of that, it turned out pretty cute!!!

He Rolled! And School Conference

2011-03-21T10:04:00.002-05:00

Just a little update from my video of Sutton almost rolling. Well, this morning he did it! He completed the roll. And now I sit here on the floor with him, he's going for a repeat of the big event! YAY! Go buddy! Maybe he'll get some more tummy time in this way. Something I haven't been that great with doing so far!

This morning was also Brookston's parent/teacher conference at school. In January his lead teacher left for a new school and the assistant took over as lead teacher. (As well as getting a new assistant.) I was okay with this change because I knew the previous assistant/new lead was great, but today I really got to see how GREAT this change was. I learned all sorts of new things they've been doing. There's more routine, there's more learning, and there's more communication! At this school we have to go inside for drop off and pick up, so I do get to exchange a line or two about his day most of the time. But today we got to talk for 30 minutes about just HIM! So, I got to learn about his typical days, the stuff he's learning, his strengths and weaknesses, his "school" personality, how he plays with others, how he communicates with his teachers, and so on. His teacher really took the time to talk to me and tell me everything. I'm SO happy with his teacher and I know he loves her too!

St. Paddy's Day Parade

2011-03-19T23:03:00.002-05:00

Today was the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade! It's a huge parade around here and size wise it competes with the biggest Mardi Gras parade, at least in my opinion. (This is Baton Rouge, not New Orleans though!!) So, we try to go every year and this year the weather was aboslutely beautiful! This kids had a good time, but were quite tired (??? not entirely sure why???), so we took advantage and jetted out a few minutes before the end!

Kaisley and Daddy in the swing of things

Brookston and some cool beads

Sutton has been enjoying his baby toys lately

Kaisley checking out a St. Paddy's Day football

That afternoon Brookston decided we needed to make our own parade. So, we did just that on the sidewalk outside. It was adorable. One person was the "leader", one on the tamborine, and one on the drums, and everyone switched it up! Too fun!

Here's a little of the action. Check out how seriously Brookston takes his position as leader in this clip...totally awesome! :)

And well, this is just my two big kids in their matching PJ's! I rarely match them, so since I did, I had to take their picture!

He's so close!!!!

2011-03-15T13:27:00.002-05:00

Check out my little buddy trying SO HARD to roll over! I can't believe he's already to this point...wasn't he just born? It's going too fast! I was thinking at 3 1/2 months this was "so early", but I looked it up and Brookston rolled a week before he was 4 months and Kaisley rolled a few days after she was 4 months. But still....already? Geesh!

I need to pull out the exersaucer and some other fun stuff for Sutton...I guess I didn't realize he was getting so big! Sigh!

My baby is getting big!

2011-03-11T14:35:00.003-06:00

Sutton LOVED the bumbo yesterday! I'm pretty sure he thought he was Mr. Cool!

And below is him again, acting like such a big boy. He's working on rolling! While he's not quite there yet, he really seems to enjoy going from his back to his side. And loves when I help him get that leg all the way over so he can complete the roll. I get a big grin and giggle out of him! He's not a huge fan of tummy time though, so he gets himself back onto his back in a short amount of time. Funny that he still trys to roll, even when he's not a big fan of tummy time! :)

And do you see that hand all up in his hair! He's been pulling out his own hair! Stinker! See the bald spot? Granted some of it is just rubbing off (Kaisley too had a nice head of hair and was fairly bald by 4-6 months), but he's also doing a great job of making a bald spot on that right side! And he's found further back on his head...since the spot he had been pulling on is now basically bare!

Night time update: Last night was a great night. Those bad nights are just once or twice a week. But last night, he would just eat and go back to sleep peacefully. Woke up in a great mood around 7:30am! Of course when I say "great night", this DOES include feeding him usually 2-3 times! But hey, I'm all for feeding him, if it makes for a happy baby!!!

I don't understand!

2011-03-10T15:35:00.003-06:00

Some nights, in the middle of the night, Sutton just cries, and cries, and cries! It's heartbreaking and terrible. I don't know what to do! He's tired, I know this. First, because it's usually somewhere between 2 and 4am. Second, because when he calms down enough to not be screaming, he's yawning.

Back when he was younger (like 3-7 weeks old), I thought it was a dairy issue. But I cut out all dairy for 3 weeks and saw no change. Then, ironically, I added dairy back in and he had a few really good weeks (like 7-10 weeks old). Probably once or twice a week now, we have a REALLY BAD NIGHT! Last night for example, he was up around 2:15 and it wasn't until 4:30 that he finally settled and slept again. He went from screaming, to moaning, to almost asleep and waking up screaming again. And the ENTIRE time I was either nursing him, holding him upright, holding him in a cradle position, patting his bum in his bed, nursing him again, swaying and pacing while patting his bum, walking, rocking, swinging, shushing, nursing again (of which after a couple time he wanted nothing to do with me), rubbing his back, playing with his hair, we had a sound machine on, I tried his "tv" (a sound, light, motion crib toy which this half way worked, but only made him nice and awake). I think after 2 1/2 hours, he was finally exhausted enough that he passed back out.

I hate not being able to help my baby. I hate that he finally fell back to sleep from pure exhaustion, rather than me being able to comfort him. Most nights, he will eat and go back to sleep. But nights like this, suck. And they happen tooooo often. He was miserable, I was miserable. It makes me feel like a pretty crummy mom! :(

Kiddie Mardi Gras = cute chaos

2011-03-04T17:08:00.004-06:00

Brookston's school had a mardi gras parade today. So last night, we got decorations and suped up the wagon! :)

Brookston with his tattoos and mask

Kaisley and Brookston ready for the party & parade

Brookston and Kaisley ready to go

TONS of kids! Lots of fun!

Riding past kids ready to catch beads!

Here comes their "float"!

Throw me something Brookston & Kaisley!

And during lunch and KING CAKE :) they let Kaisley join, once again! She loves getting to be a big girl in class!

Fun with Family

2011-03-04T15:45:00.006-06:00

Just some random picture of when our Alaskan family was here...

The boys spent a LOT of time on the trampoline!

Kaisley even enjoyed her fair share!

Uncle Adam and the boys at Bluebonnet Swamp

Kaisley was DONE by the end!

Cousins reading their books for bed time

Aunt Kristi getting a little snuggle time with Sutton

Bubbles!!

More trampoline fun!

Kaisley, Lucas, & Brookston

Adam, Kristi, and Lucas on LSU campus

Brookston hanging out on the tiger!

The boys checking out his teeth!

Kaisley is officially TWO!

Opening presents for her birthday!

Super excited to have everyone singing to her again!

New Orleans, Swamp, & Mardi Gras

2011-02-27T21:29:00.007-06:00

While cousin Lucas, Aunt Kristi, and Uncle Adam were here visiting we did a day trip to New Orleans. We ate outside on a lower level patio for lunch, walked along the river, down Bourbon Street, and played by some fountains. We had it in the back of our minds to possibly visit the aquarium or insectarium, but after a pretty full day, we figured heading home was our bet bet.

Brookston by the paddle boat

As Kristi said, "it takes a real man to push a stroller down Bourbon St."! LOL!

Kaisley, Lucas, and Brookston playing by the fountain

Brookston at the fountain

The kids getting coins from Aunt Kristi

Brookston checking out the "beach"

(the water was SO low there was sand showing along the river)

The boys and Aunt Kristi

Next was the swamp tour. The plan was to have Richard stay with Sutton, since we didn't think it was quite appropriate to have a 2.5 month old out on the swamp to see gators! He came along for the trip out there, JUST IN CASE someone else didn't want to go. Good thing because Kaisley freaked out before even getting on the boat and Brookston freaked out once he got on the boat. So, instead of Richard staying behind with only Sutton, he stayed behind with all 3 kids! Mama got to go, kidless! What? Although I kicked in with my Aunt duties and loved on Lucas a bunch!

Richard and the kids waving bye to us

(see how happy Brookston is to be on LAND!)

-Not sure why both of them freaked, it wasn't long ago that they were on OUR boat!

A view in the swamp

Lucas and Kristi on the boat

These smaller gators were seriously everywhere!

One of the bigger gators we saw!

Yikes!

We also took our Alaskan family to their first Mardi Gras parade! Lucas already seemed to really enjoy the beads we had at home, so I'm pretty sure he was excited to get his very own!

It was also Sutton's first Mardi Gras parade!

Although he passed out before the parade started and slept or nursed all the way through!

The kiddos waiting for the parade to start

Aunt Kristi and the boys

It's almost time to start

(notice Kaisley covering her ears...it must be close!)

And she covers her ears again! :)

"Throw me something Mister!"

Kaisley turns 2!!

2011-02-24T14:09:00.007-06:00

We had our family and a few friends join us at The Little Gym to celebrate Kaisley's 2nd birthday party! She loves that place and had a blast!

The party started at noon (not my top choice, but that's what I get for waiting so late to schedule the party), so we immediately had a little pizza!

The cake was ready! Abby Caddaby was my biggest challenge yet! After doing a number of these type cakes, it wasn't that it was hard, but it took a LONG time! Four hours actually! And when starting at 11pm the night before, I was exhausted when I was done. Luckily I had Aunt Kristi in from Alaska to help me with cleaning tips, knifes, and so on, until 1am. And sweet Richard who ran to walmart at midnight, then stayed up til 3am when he took over for Kristi! Thank goodness they helped! This cake switched tips a ridiculous number of times, which ends up taking up so much of the time! So worth it though...especially when you see one of the pictures below!

I went easy on the cupcakes...Elmo toppers. But I didn't want Kaisley to be disappointed without Elmo (since she couldn't decide between Elmo and Abby for her cake)!

I was trying to get a picture of the birthday girl and her ADORABLE Abby shirt. My friend Kim is amazing at making these aplique shirts! Is it not the cutest???

Daddy, Kaisley and cousin Lucas playing inside. Lucas was visiting with his mommy & daddy from Alaska! We were so glad they could be with Kaisley to celebrate!

Kaisley and daddy having fun

Kaisley enjoying the parachute (as long as you don't ask her to get ON it!)

Aunt Niki and Sutton (not sure what that face is all about...lol!)

Trying again to get the shirt!!!

Thanks to my friend Katherine for coming to the rescue...my camera battery was dying maybe halfway through the party! :( So she snapped some amazing picture and sent them my way! Love her shots! Especially the ones of Kaisley and her birthday cake (below)!

Kaisley and Lucas

Big Brother Brookston enjoying the party!

Everyone singing to Kaisley

Blowing out her candles

Daddy showing Kaisley her Abby cake

Then she turns to me and says, "thank you for my Abby cake mommy" and gives me a kiss!

OH MY GOODNESS! Talk about melting a mama's heart!

Kaisley's excited face at present time!

She had a GREAT party followed by a great birthday!

Sweet baby tiger

2011-02-11T21:16:00.001-06:00

I tried again...and my sister's coming!

2011-02-11T11:34:00.002-06:00

We tried a sibling picture again....

I even promised suckers and candy...

We tried silly positions and silly faces...

But Sutton still wouldn't smile, Kaisley wouldn't look at me, and Brookston usually had a cheesy and totally not into this stuff smile on his face...

Oh well...maybe one day!

On a different note, my sister, her husband, and their 2 1/2 year old (Lucas) are coming for a visit. They live in Alaska, so our visits are few and far between. But still, for the distance, we do get to see each other here and there. I think having kids motivates us because we've been able to have visits every time one of us has had a baby! I'm so excited to see them and I know Brookston is excited to see his cousin. He still talks about seeing them at the beach almost a year and a half ago. I can't wait to make these new memories! Although it will be a little crazy with 4 kids in this house, 2 months, 2 years, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2! I hope we get some sleep! Hahaha!

2 months

2011-01-28T20:43:00.003-06:00

Hard to believe my baby is 2 months (yesterday)!

He is growing like a weed:

13 lbs 3 oz, which honestly I was thinking he'd be more! The way he was gaining a few weeks ago I was sure he'd be well into 14 pounds! But instead this puts him just between the 75th and 90th percentiles! That's small for my babies so far! :)

24.5 inches, that's 95th percentile there! Wowzers! Did he JUST have a growth spurt maybe? I made sure the nurse did it well (sometimes I wonder, ya know...infants like to pull their knees in)! When I measured him at one month he was only 21.75 inches! So that's a lot!!

Trying to get a picture...

2011-01-28T20:31:00.003-06:00

I tried and tried and tried...I probably took 20-30 pictures and this was as good as we could get. Never all 3 smiling (Sutton wasn't in the mood), but at least eyes were open (yes, sadly I consider most of these open eyes) and for the most part hands down! So...here they are, together!

Sweet moments

2011-01-17T13:47:00.003-06:00

Sutton's first real bath

2011-01-13T23:04:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, my kids have very stubborn umbilical cord stumps. Brookston's took 10 weeks to fall off. At that time, I made a few special doctor's appointments since this was unusual, not to mention it was still there for the 2 month appointment. So, we went from doing alochol on his stump just once a day (which was the current recommendation), to alcohol on his stump at every diaper change (which was the previous recommendation), to doing nothing (a new study had just come out showing that the average length of time was 8 days if you did nothing, instead of the 10 days using alcohol). After all of this, it still took 10 weeks.

Come Kaisley, it was the same routine...we tried everything. And trust me, I was getting in there good. Can you imagine how many times I was asked if I was doing it right!??! I refer back to the study showing if you do NOTHING it falls off "faster". Ummm, not my babies! Anyway, her stump was still rather attached at 10 weeks and it was cut and cauterized!

So...when Sutton's stump fell off yesterday morning at just 6 1/2 weeks...I was thrilled! Hahaha!

So, here he is enjoying a real bath! It's funny because after 6 weeks of really good sponge baths (almost 27 weeks when you combine all 3 kids), this almost seemed harder! With so much practice doing sponge baths, I got REALLY good at them! :)

Okay, enough history, here he is...he LOVED it...as you can probably tell by all of these smiles he was flashing!

Of course when I switch the camera to video mode the smiles stopped and he started observing...but I still had to post the "big event"!

Cuteness and bowling

2011-01-05T19:52:00.004-06:00

Daddy and Sutton being cute

Just SO cute!!!

Brookston and Hailey bowling

Brookston watching his ball

The ramp and the gutter guards made for some easier kid bowling!

We tried to get Kaisley to give it a shot, but she spent most of her time here.

Brookston is such a sweet big brother

Sutton flashing his sweet smile!

Sutton smiles!!!!

2010-12-31T09:52:00.003-06:00

I can't even believe it...on Sutton's One Month Birthday (December 27th) he flashed a sweet little smile!

And again for the family Christmas gathering...

I'd even still be hesitant because it just seems so early at just 4 weeks, 2 days (at least compared to Brookston's 5.5 weeks and Kaisley's 8 weeks), but he's done it every day since that first gummy grin!

Christmas post below!

Christmas summary in mostly pictures

2010-12-31T09:52:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve...

Brookston and Kaisley in their new Christmas PJ's

Getting a picture of the 3 of them was not exactly easy!

Papa reading "The Night Before Christmas"

Christmas Morning...

Opening stockings

Sutton seeing one of his gifts

Kaisley on her new ride!

Kaisley LOVED all of her baby doll stuff!

Both kids playing in the kitchen!

Broookston and Daddy singing in the new microphone!

Brookston & Mommy taking pictures of each other

Sutton after a long morning, taking a nap on Papa!

Family Christmas...

The cousins ready to open presents

Brookston with one of his presents

Kaisley with one of her presents

Sutton snoozing away through the chaos!

Opening presents from Grandpa!

Brookston and his cousin, Sully!

Grandpa, Piper, and Kaisley

The annual Christmas group picture

Sutton and Santa

2010-12-20T20:41:00.001-06:00

Last week I took Sutton & Kaisley to see Santa while Brookston was at school. Kaisley was only interested in waving, and getting a candy cane. I was ok with that, since it allowed Sutton to get his first picture taken with just him and Santa!

Today I took all 3 kids to see Santa! At first Brookston was resistant and I worried my plan would be a bust. I quickly realized that he just needed to "play" first! Too many cars, trucks, shooting ranges, and fishing games that needed to be visited. Then he was easily convinced to sit with Santa and give him the wish list...so Kaisley super super eagerly followed. She was actually almost worried and whining when Santa didn't pick her up immediately!

After a kiddo was on each of Santas legs, I was a bit worried when Santa offered out his hands to hold Sutton between the kids...I was hesitant to back away from the picture! Eeek, please hold him tight Santa!!

I love how both Kaisley and Brookston are very actively holding Sutton though...like they've done this holding a baby, while posing for a picture before!

Professional Pictures - 2 weeks

2010-12-15T10:57:00.004-06:00

Pictures taken at 2 weeks, 2 days

Post below was just added yesterday with lots more pictures...just so you don't miss it! :)

Early December Pictures

2010-12-14T09:33:00.006-06:00

Brookston and Kaisley LOVE their pillow pets!!! One of Richard's sweet coworkers bought these for them...I'd say they are a BIG hit, ya think?

Sutton's lips and cheeks are just SO kissable!

And yes, he's in a pink chair...what can I say, it happens with #3! Sorry buddy, but I promise you will NOT wear any pink clothes!

Daddy and his baby boy

I love when Brookston and Kaisley hold Sutton together!

I thought these little "scoop me up" footed PJ's were just fun! Brookston especially liked them because they have tractors and diggers all over them!

Sutton's first Christmas party!

Kaisley on duty as big sister!

Sutton wrapped like a burrito after bath

(The spiked hair is when it's at it's cleanest!)

Baby yoga maybe?

Sutton's Birth Novel

2010-12-06T15:58:00.002-06:00

Just an FYI: This was 5 pages on my word document...so read if you have time! :)

I woke up at 1:00am on Saturday, November 27th and to put it out there, I felt a small gush and headed to the bathroom. Unfortunately when I looked down, I saw blood. At a recent birth group meeting I remember discussing the fact that any amount of blood more than spotting is NOT normal. My heart sank a little bit as I felt my dream natural delivery quickly going out the window. I tried to rationalize that it was not that much; maybe it was a onetime thing. I feared as soon as I called the doctor’s office I’d be met by a surgical team and wheeled off to the OR for a c-section. Fear and a bit of panic crossed my mind.

Just after that, I had my first contraction. My mind raced a little more with the what if’s, the why’s and so on. I decided just for fun, I’d pull out my iphone and I started my “baby’s coming” contraction app…yes, after my first contraction I started timing them! J That contraction lasted maybe 45 seconds. At this time, Richard was still awake, after just seeing Nevada and Boise State football game. His first words to me as I came out of the bathroom were, “You have to see this replay! Nevada just beat Boise State!” I replied, “ummm, no, I’m having a contraction…and I’m bleeding!”

Five minutes later I felt another little gush of blood, followed by another contraction. Then again, gush of blood, another contraction. With my measly little 3 contractions, we were looking at approximately 5 minutes apart, lasting 45-50 seconds. The blood made me REALLY nervous, but I decided I needed to call the doctor because the “not normal” part kept going through my mind. My plan of staying home as long as possible was out the window...and I called the office number.

I got my call back and yes, they wanted me to come in. I knew that. I called Ann, my doula, she agreed, the bleeding I described it sounded like going in was a good idea. Again, I was scared...why was I bleeding? I sort of knew why in the back of my mind…this wasn’t just cervical bleeding, this was my placenta. I was excited that labor was starting, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up for natural birth.

We got all of our stuff together, told my mom we were leaving (she had been here for 2 weeks already), and off we went. I remember from Kaisley’s labor that being in the car and contracting was terrible. But I also remember a friend telling me that she turned around in the seat and hugged the back. So that’s just what I did…much better way to deal with contractions in the car. Granted, not quite safe, but hey, I was in labor. Oh, and here too, now about 1:30am, the small stop light outside of our neighborhood was just optional, right?

I got to the hospital and the security guy at the door asked what we were here for. I said having a baby. He said are you being induced? Hahaha, that made me laugh, since 1:30am is such a popular time for arrival for induction. No, just not having a contraction RIGHT now, but I’m in labor. He asked if I wanted a wheel chair and I said I’d rather not! I was glad he asked. For Kaisley they “made” me get in the wheel chair and well, that’s just not fun when you’re having a contraction.

My only complaint about the whole day is when I got there, even though I called the OB Express number, I had to wait in this little room, standing there, as she got my paperwork and bracelets. Maybe it was because we only live like 8 minutes from the hospital and we made the call on the way, so they just didn’t have time to gather everything? I don’t know. I was hoping to bypass the assessment center, but that was also when my plan was to labor at home as long as possible and come in with lots of progress, maybe even pushing. I NEVER thought I’d be calling in and going in after just 3 contractions. But, back to the bleeding, it was the right thing to do.

I got to an assessment room and they hooked me up to some monitors. I mentioned my bleeding and being GBS positive (I wanted my antibiotics ASAP since Kaisley contracted GBS last time and I never received my antibiotics). I quickly told the assessment center nurse that I had a “safe place”, something I know they have to ask you before they “allow” your husband to come back with you. She didn’t seem very interested in my desire to get my husband back to me ASAP. I flat out asked, what else do you need to know so he can come back here. She didn’t seem happy with me, nor was I happy with her.

Richard came back to meet me and must have realized some of my frustration because he rocked…he went out to the nurses and told them that I have a birth plan that I had worked on with my doctor and it was very important to me. At this point we never saw that first nurse again and 2 new nurses must have been assigned! YEAH HUBBY! J This part, I did not know until days later, I was so proud of Richard to stick up for me! As prepared as I was, I was NOT prepared to butt heads with anyone. Major props for Richard stepping in at this point…this was just the first small piece of him supporting my natural birth!

At 2:15 I walk myself upstairs, again saying no thank you to the wheel chair. Walking was MUCH better, so I was able to stop and be in a more desired position during a contraction. The nurse made a comment or two about how amazing it was for me to be walking myself up to L&D. It was sweet, I liked the encouragement, but honestly, a wheel chair sounded miserable! We get admitted upstairs to labor and delivery at 5cm. Ann met us up there, the room was ready and our nurse Hayden greeted us. I got set up on the wireless & water proof monitors, which were fairly new, so it was a little bit of a learning process for my nurse. But, she was very patient and gave me space during my contractions.

At 2:30 my first bag of penicillin was hung, which made me very happy! J We were on the way to defending GBS!

Currently we had the on call doctor. I don’t remember her name, but she’s not too significant other than she wasn’t in a hurry to rush me off to a c-section. I am VERY VERY grateful for this. Mom & baby looked beautiful on monitors, so at this point, bleeding was not an emergency. HUGE HUGE RELIEF! I think the fact that I was in active labor helped. My body was obviously working to get baby out. The on call doctor did require that I was continuously monitored, but I was prepared for this since I was a VBAC. It was not something I planned to fight, since I knew they had the wireless and waterproof ones, so they wouldn’t be in my way too much. And anyway, even though I was a VBAC, my doctor was very relaxed on the “continuous” part of the monitoring. I expressed some of my goals and desires for my natural birth and while on call doc seemed “okay” with them, she wasn’t super supportive like MY doctor. But whatever, I had my husband and my doula and I was ready to rock this birth! It helped quite a bit that just a couple days earlier my doula and I had discussed delivery without MY OB (since he had an out of town emergency just the day before). So, I remembered the conversation with my doula about how we’d be just fine, even if someone else delivered me. Still, I was a little eager to find out when MY doctor was going to be called to come in, since I knew Saturday was actually his on call day…nice!

The one thing on the on call doctor told me was that I couldn’t labor in the tub like I wanted to. She said it was because she wanted the monitors on me. I was very proud of myself when I “stood up to her” and asked, is it because you want to have me monitored or because of the bleeding? She said she wanted me continuously monitored. I said, well, what about the fact that they are waterproof monitors? Because the monitors were so new, she had no idea they were waterproof! Hahaha! She said as long as I was monitored she was okay with the water…however, when the nurse looked up the bleeding and being in the water, it was contraindicated. So, no tub labor for me after all. DARN! This was a bit disappointing as I was really looking forward to the relief that I heard water could bring. But honestly, I never thought too much about this again, until after labor.

The next few hours (maybe 3am til 6:30am) were spent with very controlled contractions. At least in my opinion. I felt like I was coping wonderfully. I spent some time walking, swaying, leaning on Richard, lying in bed on my side (since I had only an hour and a half of sleep), on the ball, basically just switching things up every handful of contractions. Thanks to my support group for suggesting constant change to get baby moving around and down as much as possible, at least that was the thought process. The time seemed to pass decently fast and I felt like I was handling things wonderfully.

I was very dependent on Richard and looked for him every time I felt a contraction coming on. If I was standing, I was holding on to him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. If I was somewhere that I couldn’t hold him (like sitting on the ball, squatting, leaning over the side of the bed, leaning on the wall), he was right there next to me telling me how awesome I was doing and encouraging me, over and over again.

A few memorable moments were when we had the whole room swaying, to keep me swaying and keep my hips open. Then probably my favorite was when Richard didn’t know that I could juggle so I took it upon myself to use the 3 massage balls to try it out. According to pictures, this was around 5:30am. I didn’t do so great at the juggling, but hey, I WAS in labor and I was working on no sleep!

Some time notes from Richard and my doula. Around 5am, I was 6-7cm. Dr. Dickerson arrived to the hospital around 5:20 and I was very relieved to know my doctor was there. I felt very at ease knowing that he WOULD deliver me! Around 5:45, I started doing some squats to get baby to descend. Around 6am, everyone noticed a change in my pattern; I was around 8 or 9cm. At 6:10 I received my second dose of penicillin! Again, I was very relieved; I couldn’t believe I actually made it to receive a second dose! By 6:22, the dose was in. This one was pushed faster and it was only half the amount of the first dose. At 6:20 I was sitting on the ball between contractions and squatting on the side of the bed for contractions. Around 6:40 Dr. Dickerson came to check on me, I was at 9cm. At 7am there was a shift change and we asked for our nurse friend, Gayden. She was actually at the hospital and we thought it would be nice to have another person in the room who would really work with us towards our goal of a natural delivery. At this point I was maybe 9.5cm, I was said to still have a lip. There was the slight urge to push and I was told to go with it with little pushes if I felt the need. But at this point, I still had a lip and baby had not yet descended. My water was still intact and I was joking that I would deliver him in the bag of waters. However, it was a bit frustrating to know that things were progressing so slowly, even during transition. Well, maybe it’s not fair to say it was “so slow”, but I went from 5-10cm with Kaisley in 30 minutes. Now, his head just wasn’t putting any pressure on my cervix. Richard and I discussed if we should ask to have my water broken. I did NOT want my water broken artificially, but at the same time, here I am 9.5cm and the bag was still intact, with little to no progress. I asked my doctor what he thought and it seemed like it was a good idea to rupture, which I consented! So at 7:25, Dr ruptured my membranes.

So, the urge to push came sometime between 7 and 7:30 and the whole pushing phase gets a little fuzzy. I know my water was broken at 7:25 and things of course intensified, like I knew they would. But the entire pushing phase was extremely, extremely intense.

I’d say for the last 2.5 to 3 hours of labor my eyes were closed, only opening if I was changing position or looking for Richard. Having my eyes closed was a big part of my focus and coping. I was able to block everyone and everything out, unless it was someone or something I wanted in, like encouragement! My support team was amazing. They had me moving, moving, moving. I don’t think I stayed in one position for more than 5-8 contractions in a row and they were encouraging me to switch to something else. We swayed, squatted (bed, ball, floor, you name it), rolled on the ball, leaned on the wall, hugged and squatted with Richard’s support (which seemed to be my favorite and I know everyone else could tell that.) My doula even came up with some new positions that impressed everyone in the room! While the entire pushing phase seemed to last FOREVER (well, can you blame me, it was 2-3 hours long), at the same time, I have no idea what we did during that time! I know I requested the epidural at least 4 times! But each time, everyone knew I was just starting to lose my control and they needed to help me refocus! I know having our friend as our nurse was very helpful! She worked just as hard as everyone else to get me through this. There were times I request IV meds or the epidural, but instead of running out of the room to go get it, she knew that this meant I needed more support. Instead of running to get me drugs, everyone stepped it up a notch, they helped me to refocus my breathing, gather my concentration, and they brought me away from the panic and got me back under control. I could feel myself about to panic a few times, I did panic a few times, but it was fairly short, because THAT is when I felt the amazing support from everyone. They didn’t let my panic get out of control, but brought be back to where I was before that moment.

Thinking about how amazing everyone was in the room really makes me feel blessed. There is no way I could have delivered naturally without everyone there! I know it was hard on them too. Richard told me that there were points where he wanted to give up. And that our doula was the reason he kept going! So she wasn’t just there for me, she was there for him! Richard told me there was a time where he felt like he was going to break. Here I was in pain, asking for drugs, he knew how to “help” me, but he also knew I’d regret it in the end if we all “gave in”. I’m so grateful that EVERYONE supported me in this and THEY stayed strong when it got tough.

And I can only begin to describe how amazing the support from my doctor was. From day one of pregnancy, he’s known my desire to naturally VBAC. He’s been on board with everything, every step of the way. He was so amazing to let me do things my way that he worked around me! There was one time that Richard later told me about when I was squatting on the side of the bed, but facing Richard and Dr. Dickerson was on the floor, his head actually resting on Richard’s shoe, with a flashlight and mirror! He tried to bother me as little as possible and let me go on with what I felt the need to do! It’s amazing to me how much he tried to stay out of the way and let me birth my baby!

I remember my last 3 pushing positions the best. The 3rd to last I was squatting off the side of the bed and I was “making progress”. I wasn’t sure if I should believe it or not. I had the mirror and “I” couldn’t see progress!!!! I was glad to see that my doctor thought things were looking good, but I didn’t feel any different and I was just downright exhausted. The 2nd to last position was with the back of the bed all the way up. I was kneeling facing the back and sort of hugging the bed. In this position I seemed to be making some progress for real…FINALLY! Or were they just saying this to encourage me? I wasn’t sure. This must have been around 9:25 because I apparently requested the epidural again (oy!) to only hear shortly afterwards some super excitement in the voices of everyone. I remember Richard telling me to that he could see progress in my BACK! Like he could see my pelvis spreading and his head descending! The intensity of everyone’s encouragement picked up 10 fold. I didn’t physically feel different, but the way everyone was getting SO excited and really bumping up the support, I knew they weren’t kidding, something REALLY was happening. I think this was when I was told that they were actually SEEING some of his head when I pushed. Thank GOD, this was something I needed, this WAS going to happen!

I can’t remember why, but it was suggested that I lay on my side to push. Maybe partially due to my severe exhaustion, maybe so I could open my pelvis in a relaxed way. And again, in this position the excitement of the room again increased 10 fold. I knew he was getting close just based on everyone’s reaction. I was so excited and relieved, but the pushing was the most intense thing I have ever experienced. Finally his head started crowing, but 2-3 times as the contraction went away, the crowing stopped. Then for 3-4 more contractions, he crowned and stayed, a little more and stayed. I remember during the contractions during crowning there was no way to ignore the urge to push. But when that urge went away, I felt so helpless and my patience was gone! Everyone said I could push anyway, but I couldn’t, I needed that contraction…so it was a HUGE relief to feel a contraction again with only maybe a 10-15 second break because I NEEDED to push! Here, contractions one on top of each other were very welcomed! Major encouragement surrounded me and they let just me and my body do the work!

Finally at 9:57am, I pushed my baby boy out and he was lifted on to MY CHEST FOR ME TO HOLD! Something I have never had before, a baby delivered onto my chest! He was here and he was on me, first! We had some blankets to keep us warm and my doctor patiently waited for his umbilical cord to stop pulsing and Richard was able to cut the cord, another first! I was exhausted, but I did it. He was here and on me! I held him for a little while, tried nursing, but he had no interest, yet!

Shortly after I delivered the placenta, along with a huge blood clot. If I remember correctly it was probably 6-8 inches in diameter. And thus the reason for my bleeding. I asked to see the placenta, something just interesting to me and Dr. Dickerson pointed out how unique it was to have the umbilical cord attached so far over on the side like it was! He said it causes no problems, unless it was over just a little bit more, it was just rare! Hmmm! Interesting!

Shortly after this, I was curious, let’s weigh my little baby boy! 8 lbs 8.3 oz and 21 inches long. Time to take a shower and get back to my big boy! J