Trunk or Treat

On Sunday, we headed to church to attend Trunk or Treat. It was super crowded when we first arrived and I was a little apprehensive at first but it was super organized and we had a great time. We started out in the gym where we enjoyed hamburgers and hotdogs. Then, after our tummies were full, we headed outside for the Trunk or Treat portion. There were a ton of vehicles lined up and Little Love quickly caught on to what she was supposed to do. She loved going up to each vehicle and saying "trick or treat" in her sweet little voice. After her treat bag was full of goodies, it was time to play. There were lots of bouncy houses and a little train that Little Love just couldn't wait to take her turn on. It was such a great evening with my little Snow White and Sleepy!!



My beautiful Princess Snow White, the Fairest in the land :)



She thought it was so neat that there was another Snow White there!



smiling in front of one of the trunks decorated with Memphis gear, Go TIGERS!!



riding on the train

All I got

This is the only picture I was able to get before we headed to church for the first time on Sunday! Too bad that Littlest Love was just not having his precious little outfit!! Actually, he was just more than ready to eat :)

Scare on the Square

On Friday we headed out to Collierville for their annual Scare on the Square. Although we don't currently live there, both of our parents do and since we grew up there, a ton of our friends were going. We got there right at 4:00 when it started and I was so glad we did. By time we were done around 5:00 it was packed! It was such a gorgeous night so I am sure that is one of the reasons it was so crowded. We had a great time with our little Snow White and Sleepy, (who fit his name well by sleeping the entire time we were there)!

Little Love was quite the pro walking up to all the stores saying "trick-or-treat" in her precious little voice. She had a great time walking around the square and then afterwards playing all the fun games and doing lots of crafts. It was such a fun evening and I am so glad we decided to go.

School Harvest Party

Today was Little Love's Harvest Party at school. Since she was sick earlier this week she was able to go today. I was actually glad it worked out this was because Nana and I had plans on Friday morning and it was nice to only have to take 1 kid, and she was able to attend her party.



Love my little Princess Snow White. Nana found her this costume after much anticipation on my behalf because I had not been successful up until H's birth. I was so glad when she ended up finding her 2 costumes that fit her and looked like the Snow White L loves and adores. We also found her some little red sparkly shoes from Target to round out her costume and I decided to sponge roll her hair on Thursday night! So fun to doll up my little girl!!



These were the treat bags we worked on for her class. I made a quick trip to Michaels on Monday and was so glad they had everything I needed since I was so late getting started. We filled them with candy, pencils, stickers, play-doh and much more. Little Love and I had a great time stuffing and decorating them for all of her friends!

4 years

Happy Birthday Cooper! I can't believe it has been 4 years since we were blessed with your short life. A lot has happened in our life in the last 4 years and we know you are watching over us from Heaven. We miss you every single day and especially having H here now, it makes us realize all the more what life would have been like with you in it. We are so happy though and feel so blessed for all the Lord has provided for our family.

You would be so proud of how great a big sister L is to sweet H. She just loves to dote on him and play Momma. She is always helping me with him if he is crying and loves to help feed him and change his diapers. I know you would love them both and I look forward to the day we are all reunited again.

Daddy came home with some flowers for you today and we went by the cemetery to bring them to you. This was the first time that brother has been there to see you and Mom and Dad had to make sure we told him about about your special life and the ways in which we have been changed because of you.

I love you, my precious first born and know you are having a fabulous big party celebrating with Jesus today!

Late celebrations

Little Love and I finally had the energy, well I finally did, to make Clay his birthday cake. I actually decided to make him some special red velvet cookies instead of a cake because we both decided the last thing we needed was a whole birthday cake around the house! I found this recipe a while ago from Paula Deen and decided to change it up a bit in order to use Clay's favorite cake mix, red velvet. They turned out super yummy and have since been eaten or thrown away because we just couldn't leave them all around here or they would all have been eaten, which wouldn't have been a good thing for either of us!!

Little love was a huge help rolling them in the powdered sugar for me and enjoying a little sugar along the way. I ended up making some cream cheese icing and placed 2 cookies together with the icing in the middle as a sandwich. I am sure they were about a thousand calories each but they were oh so good!! Definitely a recipe I will be holding on to.

1st bottle

Yesterday, Clay decided to try a bottle with Littlest Love. I know he has got to take one before I head back to work and I decided it was now or never. We waited too late with Little Love and she NEVER took a bottle so I knew we would have to start early with H. Of course, Little Love was just ecstatic because that meant she could finally help feed her Baby Brother. She was so precious and just sat there for the longest with Clay feeding him.

Priddy Farms

Tonight we headed out to the pumpkin patch at Priddy Farms with our Sunday School class. We had been planning this little get together even before H was born and I was really hoping we would all be able to attend as a family of 4! We haven't been back to church yet and I had planned on us trying either tomorrow or next week so it was so nice to get out and see everyone we have been missing for the last few weeks.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous with a high in the 80's when we got there and cooling off to the 60's before we left. The fun started with a hayride out to the pumpkin patch where the kids were able to pick a pumpkin. Little Love really enjoyed this part and although H and I stayed back and weren't able to witness her joy, Clay took lots of pictures for me to see.

There was a really great playground area for the kids and tons of ride-on toys to play with. This kept the little ones entertained until it was time for dinner. We had originally planned a bon fire but since it's only rained maybe twice in the last few months, there is currently a burn ban going on. We decided to bring charcoal grills and cook hot dogs on that instead. Probably safer for all the little ones that were running around anyways.

We enjoyed hot dogs, chips, and Little Debbie snacks for a treat and then played more until it was time to pack up and head for home. Little Love tested Clay's patience on multiple accounts and H and I missed most of the fun while we were in the car feeding during dinner time but, it was nice to get out and enjoy each other's company and show off our Littlest Love!

Update

Well, the ultrasound today was negative, they did say that H's number was on the high side of normal but that it wasn't enough to consider him for surgery. Thank the good Lord! I can't imagine my Littlest Love having surgery, so glad that is not the problem. On another note, he is still miserable and has vomited twice today. He also has cried so much and just seems like he is in pain. I am going to call the nurse back at the pediatricians office in the morning and demand they give him something for reflux to see if that will calm him some. I would not be worried about the vomiting if it didn't bother him so much but he seems to be in so much pain it is just so heartbreaking to watch.

What a day!

Today was quite the adventure. I have noticed H for the last couple days having some pretty violent spitting up / projectile vomiting after feeding. It's not every feeding but has increased as much as three times a day in the last week. I had mentioned it casually to Dr. K at our 2 week check-up but since he had gained weight so well, neither one of us thought much about it. Well, I know with my medical background that this could be a sign of pyloric stenosis so I made a call to the Pediatrician earlier today and got in for a quick visit. I saw Dr. W today and he agreed that we may need to investigate thing further and he ordered an ultrasound to follow-up that we are scheduled for tomorrow. Of course, the bad news is that H can't eat 4 hours before which means he will be starving by time we get there but hopefully they will take us on time and we won't have to wait long.

When we got home from the doctor, Clay and Little Love were just waking from an afternoon nap and since I was so tired from not getting a nap that afternoon we decided to run and grab some dinner to go. We went to Humdinger's and enjoyed some yummy fish taco's before heading back to the house. Little Love enjoyed her grilled chicken and rice although I think her favorite part is that the kids meal comes with a juice box! Luckily, H slept the entire time we were gone but he was ready to eat again when we got back home. I fed him and was trying to get him to burp good, in hopes of not loosing everything he had just eaten when he decided to throw-up all over me. I am talking in my face, on the couch cushions, the floor, soaking the both of us, oh and Little Loves new doll. She went ballistic. Crying and screaming that her little koala bear was ruined. She was so stinkin sad, it just broke my heart. While I was trying to comfort her and explain he didn't do it on purpose. Then, I just had to laugh because I didn't even have time to turn him around this time and just decided we both needed a bath. I promised Little Love that we would wash the doll and dry it before she had to go to bed. That worked thankfully. I was definitely glad I had made that appointment earlier in the day because if there was ever a doubt that his vomiting was projectile, this just confirmed it!

I decided to strip H down to bathe him and just like the little boy that he is, he decided to pee all over me, the counter, and the floor right when I was in the middle of his bath. I just started laughing again and Clay asked me what was going on and then helped me clean things up, again. Then, since H still hates baths for the most part and had lost everything he had eaten previously, he was acting as if he was starving so I decided to feed him and put him down for bed. Well, Clay heard Little Love say she wanted to stay in H's room with me to feed him so Clay wasn't watching her. I assumed he was and when we both realized neither of us were, Clay found he in her room playing with her finger paints. On a coloring book that is but of course some of it was on her jammies, the floor, her new rug and on her hands and face. Initially I was irritated with Clay because I thought he just wasn't paying attention to her but then I just got over it. I know things like this are going to happen and I am just glad they were washable!

The Box

Back in the summer of 2006, I went on a beach trip with my girlfriends from college. We shopped till we dropped at the outlet malls and spent a fortune. I would say that 90% of my purchases that year were baby clothes for Cooper. I was 19 weeks pregnant when we went on the trip and so naive about what those following months would hold for me.

When I got home from the beach, I purchased my first bottle of Dreft and got to work washing baby clothes. I hung them up on little hangers and placed them neatly in the nursery to be. Of course, if you've read my blog very long, you know that pregnancy was not meant to be. After delivering Cooper at just over 25 weeks and shortly there after learning of his congenital heart defect, that lonely room upstairs took on a new meaning. It wasn't until Clay and I were packing up our old house in preparation to move that I finally packed all of Cooper's things away in a box. It also held all of the things from his Memorial service and a multitude of cards that I received from so many friends and family.

After coming home with my 2nd son just 2 short weeks ago, and seeing him wearing his precious brother's coming home outfit that never was able to be used 4 years ago, I knew I wanted to get the rest of his stuff from that box. I actually didn't realize how much stuff I had purchased and when I talked to Clay about getting it from the attic he questioned me and said he hadn't mentioned it because he wasn't sure I wanted to use any of it.

Actually, it makes my heart so happy to be able to put these precious clothes to use. I love seeing things that although were originally purchase for my first son, worn by the miracle boy we have at home with us. I look at it as just one more way to keep Cooper's memory alive and now I just wish I had purchased even more!

Happy Birthday Clay!

Today Clay turned the big 30! We had grand plans for a sushi lunch while Little Love was in school but I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night and I think after 2 1/2 weeks the adrenaline is slowly running out so I stayed home to nap while I had the chance. He was at his brother's anyways so at least he didn't have to lunch alone. We are planning to go later this week to make up for it. We are going to dinner tomorrow night with family and then may try and catch a movie if I can stay awake long enough. I think we'll take Littlest Love with us since I still haven't given him a bottle yet but we will just see.

I really wanted to try and surprise him with a big birthday party but it just wasn't in the cards this year. Financially, we didn't need to spend the money and since I wasn't sure when H was going to arrive, I just didn't have the time. Clay has been fishing around for weeks trying to make sure I wasn't planning anything so it wouldn't have been easy if I had. Maybe another year!

I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful husband and father. Happy Birthday Clay Walker. Love you so much!!

Gibson's

This morning we all headed out to enjoy some yummy donut's from Gibson's. I haven't been there in ages which is a miracle considering it is just around the corner from our house! I had planned on us trying to all go to church but I am just still not able to get moving very early in the morning and I didn't want to be stressed trying to get there on time. Hopefully, we will try again in a another week or two. So, after sleeping in this morning while Clay got up with Little Love, I thought a family breakfast was in order. Little Love can really put away some donuts and Clay allowed her to choose whichever one she liked from the case when we got there. Of course she chose one with sprinkles but amazingly, she didn't eat much of it and decided she just wanted a chocolate one so Clay got back in line to appease the little Princess. I enjoyed a blueberry cake donut, probably the worst choice calorie wise, and Clay enjoyed 2 chocolate donuts.

Afterwards, we headed to our local Farmer's Market to look around but they weren't open on Sunday. We ended up just looking at the little floral shop that is connected to it since it was open and Little Love picked out a miniature white pumpkin that she just had to have. It was such a gorgeous morning and I love being able to spend this precious time with my little family of 4!











Oh and yes, when I woke up, Little Love had been playing dress up with her Daddy and insisted on wearing her Princess dress-up to breakfast, so we obliged. She is wearing her Dora jammies beneath her dress and her Sunday shoes! Typically, I would NEVER allow her to leave the house looking like this but I have chosen lately to just pick my battles. It makes her happy and she is only 2 1/2 once :)

School Days

Little Love just can't get enough of Baby brother before leaving for school! They are going to be the best of friends in no time!!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness day. Four years ago, I had no idea there was a day to commemorate things such as this but oh how times have changed. To think back on how much my life has changed and been impacted through all the ups and downs pregnancy wise in the last 4 years just blows my mind. As I type this, I am holding my precious 2nd son. I am relishing in all that comes along with having a newborn and couldn't be more grateful for all the Lord has provided for me. I am thankful for Cooper's short life and the way his time here on Earth changed me in so many ways. I am thankful for the pregnancy struggles we have been through, as I feel I am a stronger person and better mom because of them. And more than anything else, I am brought to my knees over all the goodness and mercy I have been shown through these last 4 years. When I think of the spiritual and physical changes that I have been through I can only relate them to one thing. Thank you Lord for my 2 precious miracles here on Earth and the fact that I know without a doubt we will all be reunited with Cooper in Heaven one day.

Psalm 139:13-16. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.

A day at the park

Today I met up with Clay and Little Love at a local park for a picnic and to allow Little Love to run around and burn some energy. Clay had already taken her by Davis Kidd to play with the choo choo trains earlier in the day while Littlest Love and I got ready for the day. I packed us a yummy lunch of deli sandwiches and chips with some fruit and cookies for dessert. Deli sandwiches were what I craved more than anything while pregnant and was unable to have so we have definitely had our share in the last few weeks.

Little Love all of a sudden has an aversion to the slides and does NOT want to slide down them for anything. She was climbing on all of the playground equipment but would not get near the slides. Not really sure why and what that is all about but Clay said she was like that the last time her took her to a park. She used to be my little daredevil and still is for the most part but maybe she is just going through a little phase.

Littlest Love is hedging on becoming a bit spoiled lately and although we fed just before walking out the door and he was sound asleep in his carrier in the car, that didn't last long. He started to wake and cry just as we were finishing up our picnic lunch and when I headed to the car to see if he wanted to eat again, he just fell asleep in my arms. Wasn't really feeling the carseat and just wanted to be held I think. I do believe he is going through a little growth spurt this week which I believe I remember Little Love doing at 2 weeks. Eating more frequently during the day but still about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours at night. I can handle the frequent daytime feeding as long as it doesn't carry on through the night! I think 3 feedings is about my max I can physically handle. :)

He is still doing just beautifully and Little Love just can't get enough. She had a little stomach bug or something like that earlier this week and missed school on Wednesday. I also haven't allowed her to hold him since then so I am pretty sure her arms are aching by now. I just didn't want to risk H getting sick at such a young age. I have done some super heavy duty cleaning around here since Tuesday and am now in need of a Target run to replenish my clorox wipes and Lysol!!

2 weeks

Today was Littlest Love's 2 week well baby check-up. I was anxious to see what he was weighing since we have been exclusively nursing and I always have worried that my babies weren't getting enough. Well, boy was I wrong. H weighed in at a whopping 6 lb 10 oz and was 20 inches today!! That is more than a pound and a half gain since we left the hospital and 1 inch in length. It way surpasses his birth weight which is where you want them by 2 weeks. I was so pleased as was Dr. K. He gave H a glowing report and said all things checked out just fabulously. I love how Dr. K always listens to my babies hearts first, he knows our history and quickly will say, "his heart sounds great!" I am so thankful for a growing, healthy little boy, just wish he would slow down a bit!





I love these pictures of both of my kids. L is so in love and just can't get enough of her baby brother!!

Sneak Peek ...

On Friday we had newborn pictures taken with the fabulous Elizabeth Wiggs. Head on over to her blog and check out her amazing work. It was a long day that began around 2:00 and didn't end until just after 6:00 but the shots I have seen so far are priceless and way worth all her hard work. I actually had a great time just snuggling my little boy all day and watching him pose in all sorts of fun ways. We did have one little incident where he peed on me but hey, what do you expect from a 9 day old that's not clothed!!

Only time will tell

Today was the BIG day. Clay took his LSAT! I know that he is so glad it's over with and to be honest, I am too. Thankfully, my mom came out early to give me a hand and help out while he was gone. I dropped him off this morning just before 8:00 at the University of Memphis and then the kids and I headed to Chick-fil-A to pick up some chicken mini's for Little Love, by request, and then we headed home. Nana came over just after we got back and was a huge help. I was actually able to be productive getting some laundry done, booking Little Love's 3rd birthday party and getting somewhat organized. I can't believe it's already time to be thinking about my Little Love turning 3 but it is. We are having a little party at Build-A-Bear this year with just a handful of her friends. I know it's somewhat of an expensive place for a party but I decided to let her choose where she wanted to celebrate and although I have loved doing home parties the last 2 years, they are a lot of work. I figured with a new little one this year that she may need a little more attention and this is where she chose. After Build-A-Bear, we are going to head down to a new pizza place in Collierville and enjoy cake and pizza.

Hopefully we should know something pertaining Clay's score by November. Just praying that the Lord's will is done and that we will accept whatever He has in store for our family in the future.

Giving it a try

Today we decided to try out our cloth diapers on Littlest Love. I bought some tiny one's to use when he was little bitty so I thought I would give them a go. We purchased the "G diapers" and so far I like them. I got a lot of diapers from our church family as gifts so I am still using a lot of the newborn one's we got from them but once we run out, these are the plan. We'll see how it goes.