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". 

 

What a drive!

I had a very interesting drive today.  I ran into a complete highway shut down in Trophy Club when the CareFlite helicopter sat down right off of Hwy 114.  The wreck looked horrible, and the wreckage was unrecognizable.

 

 

Just a few short miles down the highway, I ran across a Kia on fire on the service road.  At this point my short trip had completely made me forget all about what I was doing.  I immediately had this overwhelming feeling of relief.  My rough morning was all of a sudden put into complete reality.  It wasn't so bad after all.

Bike riding

We have been taking the boys to the neighborhood park to practice riding their bikes.  We wanted an open space with enough grass to break the falls.  The first day started off pretty rough with lots of crying because Ryland couldn't immediately ride without training wheels.  Reed gave up too, and he headed to the swings and slides to play. 
The second day of practice was a little better, but it still ended with frustrated tears.  After about a week of practicing every day, Ryland was riding pretty well.  He had moved to the concrete sidewalk and only had one tough fall.  Reed was learning to peddle and seemed to enjoy it much more. 

Birdhouses

It was time to do some inside crafting since the temperature outside was over 100 degrees.  The boys painted two beautiful birdhouses, and we talked about birds, homes, and blessings. After they dried, the boys picked out the perfect tree in the backyard

 

 

 

They look very welcoming.  It was really sweet that the boys wanted to hang them beside each other, so the bird family could be close.  Awwwww.

It's a GIRL!

It is confirmed.  It is a baby girl!  I had my big ultrasound appointment today at my doctor's office, and it is now official.  I still can't wrap my head around the news.  I think this is shock.

 

If you "mustache"

Ryland's buddy, Charlie, was spending the night, so we thought we would eat pizza for dinner.  We ended up at Aleda's for some fun shaped personal pizzas.  The boys all selected pepperoni snowmen.  While we waited on the pizzas, the boys played with pizza dough.  John Chris and I would tell them something to make, and they would shape the dough into their interpretation.  The mustaches were the funniest.  I love these boys!

 

CHCS Summer Enrichment

Ryland attended Chapel Hill's Summer Enrichment program this week, and it was a great chance for him to brush up on learning and the school routine.  He had a great time and made these adorable Texas themed pages.

 

 

While Ryland was at school, Reed had great one on one time with Lizee.  They ran errands, cooked, and played. Thanks for a great week, Lizee!

Toe injury

I was eating dinner and catching up with my MOPS mommas at our first Third Thursday of the year, when I got a text from John Chris.  He stated that his toe was hurting even worse than earlier today, and he was about to drill a hole in it to relieve the pressure.  I took a few minutes to think about what he is about to do, and I realized that I just didn't feel comfortable not being at home while he operated on himself.  I told the girls that I should probably call it a night. I could only imagine that he was at home with the electric drill, and the boys are his surgery assistants. 

I made it home in time to supervise, and the boys were already in bed.  The electric drill was plugged in and ready to go.  Gosh, I know him too well.  It all ended well, and he was able to finally ease the pain.

 

Another look

We headed back to Stork Vision for the second gender ultrasound.  We had a different ultrasound tech, and she immediately said that we were having a girl.  My first reaction, "WHAT?"  I think John Chris and I both were in shock.  She easily pointed out the three white lines and no penis. 

So now we are clueless.  After we examined both sets of ultrasound pictures, we can definitely see the three white lines, but we just don't want to get really excited about it until we have confirmation.  We will wait until I go back to my OB before decorating the nursery.