P-A-R-T-Y

We had a joint party for the girls last weekend. I decided that since their birthday's were so close it would just be easier! We had it at a new place in Ruston called Party Galaxy. They have one HUGE jumper that has about 5 different activities in it and then one smaller one for smaller kids. The kids had a blast! We played music and they jumped. Mallory was totally cutting a rug at one point (I think she learned her moves from Sid the Science Kid)!!!

The girls had their well visits this week and both are growing like weeds! Alyssa is still in the 98th percentile and is off the charts in height. Mallory is in the 50th percentile now....big improvement from the 10th she has always been!!! Noah is growing just as fast. He moves ALL of the time! I can't believe I will be in my 3rd trimeter at my next doctor's appointment! Time is FLYING by!!!

Last weekend was also Kool Kids. Kool Kids is a children's consignment sale we have twice a year here in Ruston. I totally racked up! I was able to find bedding for Noah and a TON of outfits! We found a twin bed for Alyssa (since we moved her to the playroom) and matresses. That was the only thing I found for the girls. They really didn't need much. I also made some money!!! I sold all of the girls summer 0-24month clothes, Mal's bedding, and the stroller & carseat we bought when we first got Alyssa. I really did well!!! We changed the girls rooms all around while we had Bryan here to help too! Mallory now has a big girl bed & Alyssa's old dresser and we moved all of her furniture into Alyssa's room for Noah. Alyssa is now in the playroom. We decided to do that since she spends most of her time in there anyway! I will have to post pics when we get everything finished. I really like the bedding I found for Noah. It has airplanes on it. Trey has always been fascinated with airplanes so I thought it would be perfect. We tried to find golf bedding but just couldn't! That was the only sports theme I would agree to! I mean, I know he is a boy but he is also a baby! Hopefully my LAST baby so I still want it to look like a nursery. He can have sports theme when he gets older!!! Anyway, I will post pics when we have everything put together.

Baby Noah

Mallory pointing to the screen that had Noah on it.

Sweet baby Noah

Not so sweet baby Noah!!!

We had our big ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and took the girls with us so they could see Noah! Mallory LOVED it! I thought I would share a few pics from that day.

SNOW

We woke up this morning to white everywhere! I promised Mallory last night when she went to bed that if there was enough snow we would build a snowman. Even though we all have runny noses I decided that since it NEVER snows like this we had to play in it for just a little while. We had fun. We ran in it and Alyssa ate it and we built a snowman. It was fun while it lasted.

Lady Techsters Game

We took the girls to a Lady Techsters game Saturday night and they had a blast! I thought I would share a few pictures. Mallory is obsessed with "the dog" AKA Champ. Alyssa just loved the band and watching the ball get thrown all around the court. Tomorrow is Mallory's 3rd birthday! I can't believe my baby is 3!!!!! We are having a small family party for her tomorrow but are doing a combined party for both girls at the end of the month. I am sure I will have some birthday pictures to share later in the week!!

OUCH PART 2

So, I went home from having my appendectomy Sunday evening still in a lot of pain. I have never had surgery or a urinary tract infection before so I just assumed the pain was normal. Well, I had no appetite and what I did eat came right back up. I had to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes and could hardly go. By Tuesday I was running a fever and in SEVERE pain! Trey called the surgeon and she had me come back to the hospital to have blood work done. Well, my white blood count had gone from 13 when I left the hospital to 19. Then I went to the OB to get examined because I hadn't felt the baby move. Let me just say I was so bloated that I had to wear a maternity shirt I was wearing at 9 months with Mallory!!! The surgeon came down to examine me in the OB office. She felt around and said something was definitely wrong. The OB tried to listen to the heartbeat with the doppler but couldn't find it. He then pulled out the portable ultrasound machine to try to see the baby but couldn't find it! Talk about FREAKING OUT! He then tried to check my cervix but couldn't get to it because my bladder was so enlarged. He had to drain my bladder and got 2300 ml of fluid. That is equivalent to 2.5 liters of coke!!! That is about 800ml more than he has ever seen in anyone! Let me tell you - I felt SO MUCH better after he drained my bladder. I could actually walk by myself again! We then went to have a regular ultrasound and he found the baby and everything was great! My bladder was so distended that they think the baby had moved behind my bladder! We actually found out we are having a BOY!!!!! We are SO excited! The bad news was I had to go in the hospital to get a catheter. I also needed some antibiotics. Well, my white blood count went down but I am still having some bladder issues. I was released from the hospital today with the catheter and will go back Saturday to have it removed. PLEASE PRAY that I can go to the bathroom on my own!!!!! The urologist came to see me and said that because my bladder was so distended that it stretched it and will take several days to get back down to the normal size. We are just praying that everything will heal and work properly soon!

OUCH!

So Friday afternoon my right side, back, and front of leg started hurting. I called Trey and he said to just monitor it. Well, it got ALOT worse. We called my OB and he said it was probably round ligament pain but if it got worse to go to the ER. Which at that time it did seem like it. It wasn't unbearable pain until about and hour later. It was EXCRUCIATING!!! We went to the ER and they ran some blood work, tested my urine, and gave me some pain meds. After 2 doses of pain meds I was still in severe pain. They said it was round ligament pain and sent me home with some meds. Well, I was miserable the entire night. I was vomiting and the pain meds were not working at all! The next day we called my OB again and he met us at his office to examine me. BTW - I have an awesome OB!!!! Anyway, he examined me and said there was no way it was round ligament pain that it had to be either my appendix or kidney stones. So he made sure I wasn't dilated and checked the baby and sent me to the ER. He called them and told them exactly what tests he wanted ran. After being there for 5 hours they told us I was going to have and emergency appendectomy. So, the surgeon came in to tell us what she was going to do and I went into surgery about 10:30pm. The surgery went good. She said my appendix hadn't ruptured but was inflamed. She had to do an incision instead of laproscopically because I am 17 weeks pregnant. They also decided to do an epidural instead of general anesthesia because of the baby. So I spent the night in the hospital and woke up the next morning with a urinary tract infection!!!! UGH!!!! I have never had one before so this is new to me! I didn't know what was going on. In fact, I have never had surgery (except for a DNC) or even been to the ER before this!!! My OB came by to see me at the hospital yesterday and treated me for the UTI. Right now that is what is hurting me most. I am sore from the surgery but the pain from the UTI is worse! I went home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I can't drive for 2 weeks and can't hold the girls for at least 1 month! That is going to be HORRIBLE! I will have to have someone here with me when they are here because they don't understand that Mommy can't hold them. Trey is bringing a doppler home from work so we can check the heartbeat everyday until I am completely healed. Anyway, if you think about it please say a prayer for quick healing!!!

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas! The girls were much more into it this year. We really emphasized this year that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and that was the reason for the season! Mallory would run around the house singing happy birthday to baby Jesus! It was really sweet!!! We drove around and looked at Christmas lights and she kept asking to see baby Jesus. She LOVED looking at the lights! Anytime we would come to a house with lights she would yell "STOP"! She LOVED opening presents (a little too much)!!! Alyssa enjoyed the presents too! We had Christmas 4 times this year so they were overwhelmed with gifts! We all loved spending time with all of our family!

Next year at Christmas we will have a 6 month old to add to the mix!!!!! We are really excited and are hoping to find out what we are having in a few weeks when we go to visit Dylan & Mary in Hot Springs. My doctor will not do the ultrasound until I am at least 21 weeks (and I can't wait that long)!!!!!! So far everything is going well. This pregnancy is very different than the first. I am growing MUCH faster this time than I did with Mallory! I was VERY sick during the first trimester so I lived on Zofran. All I can say is MIRACLE DRUG!!!!!!

Anyway, we are back into the swing of things. Everybody is back at school and doing great! Next up will be the girls birthdays! We decided to do a joint birthday party this year since their birthday's are so close and we invite pretty much the same people! Well, I think you are pretty much up to date for now.

Papa Simpson's Farm & Playhouse Disney Live

Yesterday Alyssa's school took a field trip to Papa Simpson's Farm. We had so much fun! She took part in everything! The only thing she didn't want to do was pet the stinky pig (I didn't blame her).
Friday we went to Playhouse Disney Live. We had a great time. Our power was out all that morning from the storms so the girls & I camped out at the Ramsey's because they had power. The girls really liked watching Mickey, Little Einsteins, Winnie the Pooh, and Handy Manny.
We took the girls to Giant Candyland at our church Wed night but I forgot my camera. They had fun. They don't really understand the game yet but we would hand the cards to Mallory and she would find the color we were supposed to go to. When they finished they got to jump in the bouncer then have some pizza. My girls LOVE pizza!!!
Saturday we went to the fall festival at Temple and had a great time. Unfortunately when I went to take the first picture my batteries were dead and I didn't have a spare set! Mallory was Minnie Mouse and Alyssa was a princess. We were a little disappointed because there were no ponies this year. I dressed Mallory up as a cheerleader for her school party Thursday. Anyway, other than that we are just trying to stay well. It seems like every week for the last month someone has been sick!!!

Day with Daddy

Mallory spent the day Saturday with Daddy. My mom came over and we went shopping with Alyssa. I knew we would be gone all day and even though one of Mallory's favorite phrases is "I want to go shopping" I knew she would not make it through the day! Trey decided to take Mallory to Lincoln Parish Park. They packed a picnic lunch and picked up some bread to feed the ducks. Mallory had a blast! They had fun eating and the ducks actually ate out of her hand! Trey said they were walking by a birthday party and Mal through a HUGE fit because she wanted one of the balloons!!!! Trey said as they were walking away a little boy ran up to them and gave her one of the balloons. After that they met up with the Rhodes' and flew a kite. Then they went and fed the fish. She had a great time! She told me ALL about it when I got home! Alyssa was the perfect shopper. She did not cry or complain once!

Go Dawgs!!

Yesterday was the first Tech home game. Since it rained most of the morning I decided not to go with the girls but we went out for lunch so I put the girls in their cheerleading uniforms. Life is busy here! Both girls are in school which is nice. They surprise me daily with the things they are learning!!!

Gymnastics

Mallory started gymnastic Tuesday. She did GREAT! She wanted me to hold her at first but she soon warmed up to the teacher and followed instructions pretty well! The month of August was really busy so that it why I didn't have any posts. We started off the month by going to San Antonio with the Ramsey's. We shopped, golfed, ate, and went to Schlitterbahn. We had a blast! We got home on Monday then I left Thursday to go to the beach with some friends. All girls and no kids - it was great! We stayed on the beach (or at the pool) ALL day! I downloaded pictures this morning and saw that Trey taught Mallory how to play the wii while I was at the beach. I had to include a picture of that! Then the last few weeks we have been getting everybody ready to start school. Alyssa has been back in school for a couple of weeks and Mallory starts next week. We are looking forward to the weekend because Bryan, Christine, and Mr. B are coming to visit. We decided to go and buy a bed for the playroom so visitors actually had somewhere to sleep! I guess that is all for now - I will try to be better at posting!

Bryan & Christine's Wedding

Last weekend was the big wedding! It was SO much fun! We arrived in Dallas Wednesday evening and got to stay at B&C's new apartment. Thursday the guy's played golf then that evening played whirlyball(I have no idea what that is) and went bowling. The ladies went to eat dinner then went to Christine's lingerie shower. I had so much fun hanging out with all of Christine's friends! She has SO many close friends!!! Friday all of the ladies went to get mani & pedi's then had lunch at Breadwinner's cafe (YUMMY). Friday night was the rehearsal and dinner. They had the dinner at Maggiano's. The food was wonderful and all of the stories shared about them were even better! Mom & Mike came to Dallas Friday to keep the girls for me during all of the festivities. That was SO much help!!! Even before the wedding while we were waiting for the wedding to start there would have been NO WAY I would have been able to hold both of them still and quite for 20 minutes!!! The wedding was perfect. The reception was AMAZING! It was by far the nicest reception I have ever been to! It seriously looked like something off of TLC's Platinum Weddings!!!! When they arrived at the reception they immediately started their first dance. It started off slow but then the music changed and they danced to several different songs. It was hilarious!!! If you have ever seen TLC's Rock the Reception that was what it was like! We spent the rest of the evening eating (yummy food), dancing & visiting with friends and family. They had a candy bar for party favors. You got to fill a bag with whatever candy you wanted then they had stickers with a picture of them holding up a sign that said thank you to seal it with. Everything was wonderful!!!! I did not take one picture the entire weekend so I stole pictures that other people have posted!!!

Future American Idol???

New York

So I was finally able to post pictures from New York. I am at Bryan's waiting on the guys so I had some time to spare. The first day we got there we went to a Yankee's game. It was great - a little cold but great! The second day it POURED all day! We had to quickly find some rain gear. We went to the today show and were on TV! We then walked around town and scoped everything out. The third day Trey went to the US Open all day and I was at the spa from 10:30am to 4:00pm. It was WONDERFUL!!!! I then shopped on my way back to the hotel. The fourth day we went to the statue of liberty and went to The Lion King that night. We also ate at AJ Maxwells for dinner (they are ranked the 6th best steak in the US). The Lion King was by far my most favorite part! It was amazing! The fifth day we went to eat the beast blueberry pancakes ever! We had to wait a while and it was about 45 minutes away from our hotel so then we went to the Empire State Building. That night we ate at Kittichai which is a Thai restaurant. That was our first time to eat that kind of food but we both loved it. It was a very swanky place! The last day we had to search around for a suitcase for Trey since his broke then we ate at Bubba Gumps while watching the end of the US Open. The trip was wonderful! The travel was not so good because the Atlanta airport was closed because of bad weather so we were stuck on the runway for 3 hours. When we finally made it to Atlanta we had to stay there overnight because we missed our flight. We finally made it home a day late around noon.

4th of July

Our SS class had a 4th of July party at Ruston Brick (which is now across the interstate from Temple). Temple always has a huge 4th of July program with fireworks. We were in the perfect spot! The kids played in the kiddie pools the entire time. It was wonderful! Trey & I actually got to visit with our friends while the kids played.

First Haircut

We took the girls to have their first haircut today. They both did GREAT! I had her cut Alyssa's first because I knew if Mallory saw her sit there then she would do the same thing. I was right! They just got a little trim. I don't know why I was dreading it so much - it was nothing!

Popsicles

Well, we finally made it back from NYC. We had a great time! The traveling was not fun but the city was wonderful! I will post pictures as soon as I have time to go through them. The week before we left we went to my Dad's for my Grandmother's 81st birthday. He decided to give them popsicles for the first time. They LOVED them! Alyssa wasn't quite sure what to do with them at first but quickly caught on.

Trey & I have been married for 8 years today. On one hand I think time flies but on the other hand I look at everything that has happened in our lives over the past 8 years and feel like it should be more like 18 years!!! I am tremendously blessed to have a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally. I know that can be VERY hard sometimes but he is always there for me!

My BIG girl!

Alyssa is officially in a big girl bed now. We went from the crib to a double size bed! She started climbing out of the crib and I was so scared she would fall on her head. When she finally goes to sleep she is sleeping GREAT in the bed - just when she goes to sleep! She plays for at least an hour and pulls everything out of her drawers on her dresser and then climbs on top of her dresser! I have got to figure something out about that!!! A couple of days ago the girls were really quiet so Trey went to check on them and they were in Alyssa's room on the floor putting ALL of the ponytail holders on their TOES! It was hilarious!!!!!

We are leaving Wednesday for New York!!!! I am SO excited! Trey woke up yesterday with an upset stomach so pray that it will GO AWAY!!!! I don't want him to be sick while we are on vacation because it is jam packed full. Wednesday night we are going to a Yankees game, Thursday morning we are going to the Today show then that afternoon we are going to the Dave Letterman Show. Friday is Trey's US Open day while I spend the day at the spa. Saturday will be our tour day and that night we are going to The Lion King. Sunday we are going to the Brooklyn Tabernacle then Monday afternoon we come home! Whew - we are going to be SO busy! So if you think about us please pray for safe travel (because I DO NOT fly well) and for my Mom while she is with the girls for 5 nights! I will post pictures when we return!

Bryan & Christine's Shower

Visit with Friends and the Zoo

Last week we went to the Monroe Zoo with our MOPS group. It was fun. The kids got to feed the giraffe. Mallory loved it! She just stuck her hand up there and let that HUGE tongue grab the carrot out of her hand! They got to pet a couple of animals and we went on a boat ride too! The week before that Megan and Jolie came over with their kiddo to visit. We had a great time catching up. A couple of posts ago I put some pictures up of Alyssa getting under her sheet. Well, I the other day she started screaming during her nap so I went to check on her and she was INSIDE her matress. She pulled up the binding on the side and climbed inside!

We went to DeRidder this past weekend for Bryan & Christine's shower. We had a great time! I will post pictures later!