Kidney stones - Round 2

After two days of the pain getting worse, I had a very painful, sleepless night.  I once again visited labor and delivery, and I was admitted for a few days.  I tried to be tough, and the pain quickly got out of hand.  My baby girl is completely fine and this must be a little girl drama.

Benton is 2!

 

 We had a great time celebrating Benton's second birthday!  It was a day full of playing, eating, and having a great time! 

 

The birthday boy, Benton, opening and playing with his new toys.

 

 

Of course, Ryland and Reed had to be right in the middle of the gift opening and playing.

Pink! Pink! Pink!

 

I am starting to think pink.  I have spent a little bit of time looking at nursery bedding, and I am in the decorating zone for the nursery now.  I ordered the bedding and curtains today, and I found the chair and artwork this past weekend.  I love the bedding, and I can't wait to see it in person.  We are using the dark brown crib again, so it will look a little different than the photo.  I picked a different sheet, so we will not have the grey color thrown in the mix.  I am getting excited!

Shooting

The boys are very interested in guns since they went hunting with John Chris.  After lots of talking about guns and shooting, John Chris pulled out his old BB gun.  He let the boys shoot at a target in the backyard, and they had the best time.  Reed is still too young to understand aiming, but it didn't stop him from trying.

 

 

Ryland is super into it, and he talks about shooting the target.  John Chris explained some basic gun "rules" and talked lots about safety. 

 

After they each had a turn, they would run out to look at the target to see where it was hit. 

Homework

 

Ryland had a small "homework" assignment for his preschool.  He colored and glittered a card stock pumpkin and then cut it out.  I made an extra copy for Reed, so we could all work together.  It was fun to craft and talk about fall and Halloween.  The boys are getting so darn big.

Buddies

Reed was thrilled to have a friend over to play this afternoon.  His buddy, Travis, came over for some playtime fun.  They completely destroyed the play room, but how can you be upset with those happy faces!

Brothers



 

It was beautiful outside today, so we stayed outside a little later into the evening.  John Chris and I set up chairs in the driveway to watch the boys play.  It was humorous to watch them take turns filling up the wheelbarrow and dumping it into piles.  They were chatting back and forth, and it made us so happy that they are friends.

Wow!

When I was going through Ryland's school folder, I saw this cute certificate.  I asked him what it was for, and he told me he was a sweet kid.  It warmed my heart to see that he was as sweet and kind as his teachers tell me.  I am so proud of him.

Date Day

It was a gloomy day with a sky full of rain clouds, but we still thought we would venture to Dallas for a little football.  Lizee stayed home to play with the boys, while Emily, Jeffery, John Chris, and myself headed out for a little bit of fun.  We knew we were going to get wet, so we stopped in to purchase ponchos.  Even though it poured, we had a great time laughing, visiting, and watching football.  LaTech lost to Army, but it was fun to have a day with grown ups. 

Firecracker Soccer

Ryland has completely changed his thoughts about soccer.  He was all about tearing up the field with his friends.  He did a great job defending the goal, taking the ball down the field, and having an awesome time.  He couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was this time.  We are happy to see this change in him, and the ride home was much nicer this go around.

 

 

Rangers game

John Chris had great seats for the Rangers game, so I couldn't let a little pain get in the way.  We had family in town, so we all loaded up for a fun evening at the ballpark.  We expected to make it about half the game, but the boys were having a blast. 

 

 

Love that smile!  Ryland was really into the game and atmosphere was perfect for him.  He cheered, danced, and had an absolute blast.

 

Reed hung in there to the end, which was around 11:00.  I am sure the sweets helped keep him going.  We had a wonderful evening, and the Rangers won!

Labor & Delivery Triage

What a day!  I signed the boys in at school, dropped off a bunch of birthday goodies for Reed's teacher (since I volunteered to be room mom), immediately went to a curriculum meeting for Ryland, ran out to my truck to return a phone call, ran back in the church for MOPS, two hours later, I sped to MiChula's to pick up teacher lunch, and headed back to church to deliver the food.  At this point, I am running crazy, but the pain I have been having over the past two weeks had gotten to a debilitating state. 

Well, without going into details, a potty break uncovered an issue that had to be addressed immediately.  After a conversation with my doctor's nurse, I was told to go to the hospital.  I spent the afternoon, night, and next day at Baylor in labor & delivery.  I had kidney stones.  I could not believe that I suffered through the pain and didn't realize it was something bigger. 

Pallet time

The boys love to sleep on a pallet together.  I was such a sucker tonight, and I caved even though it was a school night.  John Chris was out of town, and I was just plain worn out and lazy.  After baths we got comfy to watch an episode, and the boys were asleep in 10 minutes. 

Checking on Baby

I went in for my monthly visit to check on the baby.  I mentioned that I was in pain and had been uncomfortable for the past few days.  The doctor assured me that the baby was fine, and an ultrasound confirmed that she was happy.  I love the second shot of her hand and foot.  I just can't wait to hold her.

 

Firecracker Soccer

Ryland started soccer this Saturday, and it was an experience.  He complained about everything.  "The sun is in my eyes.  I have a headache.  I can't breathe.  The bugs are biting me.  My arm itches.  He took the ball from me.  He won't share the ball."  Oh yes, it was that awesome.  All of the complaints came with all out crying, drooling, and snot.  He cried and screamed while he was on the field and while on the sidelines.  Absolutely ridiculous.  We stayed to cheer on the team, but we are going to have to chat on the way home. 

Yellow Day

 

It was yellow day at school, and I just love the boys in yellow.  They are little sun shines and their smiles brightened my day.

Boys weekend

The boys headed to Louisiana to have some fun in the country.  I was a little shocked when I received the picture of their catch.  That is a big gator!

 

 

Ryland & Reed walked through some thick, yucky mud, and they loved every moment of it.

 

Showing off a snake.

 

Brotherly love.  Reed helps Ryland clean off his cap.

 

The camp has a huge tree that all the guys got inside just to see how many people would fit.  It held 15 guys.  The boys were amazed at the huge tree.

 

CHCS First Day

The first day of preschool went very well.  Ryland and Reed were excited to play and learn with new friends.  Ryland was all grins, and Reed was all about seeing his classroom.  They both went in without tears and with smiles on their faces.

Sleep confetti

Ryland's teachers sent an envelope with instructions to open the night before school started.  Ryland opened the envelope to find this cute rhyme and lots of confetti.

 

 

 

He was very excited to try out the sleep confetti and excited about his first day. 

I just love Chapel Hill Children's School.  They make everything so stinking special.

"Mint" to be

The boys and I were getting ready for the first day back to preschool, and we put together these little teacher gifts.  While we assembled the gifts, we talked about new teachers, new friends, and lots of new fun.  Mint soap and gum with a cute tag, "You are mint to be my teacher".