Katie's Bachelorette Party

We had Katie's bachelorette party on Friday, July 11 at the Hilton downtown in Baton Rouge. (Thanks Glenn for helping us get a deal on the room!) It was such an awesome night for all of us! We went to dinner at Capital City Grill, then went back to the hotel for her lingerie party and cake! Katie was very embarrassed by everything we did to her, but it was all in good fun and I think she'll remember the party for a long time! After that, we headed to Tsunami's for some drinks and a lot more fun! Congrats Katie! Hope you had fun on your last single night out!

July 4

For July 4, we went to Jason's (a guy Paul works with) camp on the False river. We had a lot of fun! Peyton ate watermelon for the first time and absolutely loved it! The kids all went swimming in a baby pool, then Preston went with Daddy in the river. Paul was a little too scared to go in the river! Preston kept trying to swim away from Daddy and do it by himself! He had a life vest on, but Daddy got a good work out trying to keep Preston near him and hold onto him because of the waves! Daddy's friend Johnny (who was in our wedding) and his wife Robbie were there with their 3 boys so we had a good visit with them as well. Jason and his wife were so sweet and made us feel at home! Thanks for inviting us; we had a great time!After leaving their camp, we headed home to rest for awhile and then it was fireworks time! The boys had a great time shooting fireworks with Daddy, though Mommy always gets a bit nervous watching them do all this! We had a wonderful July 4!

Helpers for weeks 3 and 4 post surgery

My helpers for the third week after surgery were Jennie and Haley. Haley came over Wednesday and Thursday to lend a hand and to entertain Peyton so I didn't have to pick him up as much! She brought her son Jacob to help with that. Babies do not usually "play" with each other too much; you know, they look at each other in fascination and make some sounds, but usually go their own way! Jacob and Peyton played wonderfully together! I've never seen such a thing! They followed each other all over the floor and stood up holding onto the same toy together and screamed at each other....in a happy way! Thank you so much Haley for all your help, I really appreciate it and Jacob is just too cute!

Jennie came up on Thursday of week 3 and spent the night until Friday! She is going to make a wonderful mother some day! She cleaned EVERYTHING she could get her hands on, had complete control of the kids, cooked us dinner, and still managed to be dressed all cute in her skirt and shirt! She's amazing! I was like, "Well, you make my job look easy!" She was such a HUGE help to me and I love her dearly for taking the time to come and help me when I really needed it! Thank you so much Jennie! I'll never forget all your troubles to come help me out! You have been such a wonderful friend to me!


On week 4, I thought I'd be alone and I was dreading it! I felt much, much better, but I still needed some help to be able to go as fast paced as my day usually goes. I was still weak so I knew I could not keep up with the kids' needs on my own! Thankfully, my good friend Julie came up on Wednesday and stayed with us until Friday. She brought one of her two beautiful girls with her to help entertain the boys! We missed seeing Jalyn, but we were so happy that we did get to see Rylie. I know it was extremely hard for Julie to take time away from her own family to come and see me and help me out and once again, I'll never forget that! She was a big help to me and I must say, her little Rylie is just one of the most beautiful little girls I've ever seen! No, I'm not just saying that! We took the kids to the sprayground on Thursday; I had been wanting to do that for awhile, but I cannot lift Peyton in his car seat yet! Since Julie was here, she was able to do that for me and I'm so glad we went because they all had a lot of fun!

I love all three of you girls and I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your troubles and the time you took from your own lives to help me when I really needed it! You girls are the best! I will not forget what each and every one of you did for me! THANK YOU!

Thank you to all our helpers through Sunday

I wanted to post a big, huge thank you to all my helpers from my surgery June 4 through this past Sunday! I really appreciate all the help, care, and concern that everyone has shown me and my family! I could not have been able to come this far without all of you! Thank you mom for cooking food for us so we'd be able to feed the kids! You are always the greatest mom in the world and always care enough to do whatever you possibly can. Thanks for coming up to help us for the day and trust me, we know if you could have been here longer you would have in a heartbeat. You're the greatest, as always! Here is a little thanks to all the helpers we had in order of when they came to help:

Thanks to Daddy for "running the house" and taking care of me in the first few days and the entire following week. I know it's hard to do a job that you aren't used to on a daily basis, but you did so well! I know you have an even greater appreciation for what I do on a daily basis and I am very thankful for that! Daddy was attentive, caring, and just plain wonderful to Mommy! What an amazing husband! I am truly blessed and lucky to have you! I really hit the jackpot when I snagged you up!

Next, I want to thank my cousin Nicole for all of her help on my surgery day and in several days/ weeks following! Paul could not have been so attentive to me without you taking the boys for us. I know adding another 3 to your 2 is not ideal, but you were wonderful and amazing to do that for us! We love you very much and appreciate all your help in those early days of surgery, in the week following by helping Paul out with the kids, and last week coming over to visit Amy and help her pass the time and watching the boys! Again, I am blessed to have a wonderful cousin who I can rely on when it really counts! So, thank you!

Brooke and Peyton

Third, we want to thank Nanny, my sister Amy! Of everyone, she had the most work to do for the longest period of time! Though you don't have kids, you could have fooled everybody! Nanny did an amazing and awesome job with all three boys, even when she was so tired she could barely stand, she never stopped helping taking care of me and the house and the kids! Nanny cooked, cleaned, did clothes, dishes, and managed to keep her sanity, most of the time...lol! You were wonderful Amy and I promise when you have kids one day, I'll be there to help you out as well! I owe you big time! I could not have been alone last week and you took time off work and everything to come and help me out and I will never forget it! I know how lucky I am to have such a wonderful sister! Lastly, but not least, (I should have more help later this week) I want to thank my brother Glenn, Uncle Glenn to the boys, and his girlfriend Racheal! They came up late Friday after work and stayed through Sunday on Father's Day to give Paul a break from the boys and help us out! Glenn, I have to say I was surprised that you actually changed a diaper, yes only a pee-pee diaper, but I'm so proud of you! Glenn and Racheal took the 2 big boys to Chuck E Cheeze Saturday and they had a blast! I heard more about it yesterday! They also took them to Cabela's and got Daddy a Father's day gift for us which was really sweet to do! They finished the day with ice cream for all of us! It was a wonderful treat to have you two visit the boys and take them away for a day! Thank you so much for holding the baby while he was fussy, those poor teeth, and for making sure that Mommy didn't have to hold him and hurt herself anymore than I'd have to this week! You two did great we were so happy for the visit and the time you put in to all our kids and helping with the dishes, etc.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It is good to know who you can count on when you really need it! We appreciate each and every one of you!

Second week post- suregery update

It has been 2 long and miserable weeks since my surgery now! The top is healing fine, as I said before, just soreness, but the tummy, once again, has been a not-so-good experience for me! As expected, to put it plainly, it hurts! It still hurts now! The soreness is a constant feeling and the pain is still there everyday! Since yesterday, Monday, I have been "on my own" due to lack of helpers and I'm not suppose to pick up the baby yet, but I don't really have a choice. My stomach is scaring me because after picking Peyton up all day yesterday it is starting to bulge; I'm not quite sure what it means, but I see my doctor on Thursday so I'll have some answers then. I am in a lot more pain from this also! This past week I threw up, fainted, and was having night sweats partly because I forgot to take my anxiety medicine and partly because I developed an infection. I am now on antibiotics and have resumed my medicine so that part is much better. I still am very weak, sore, and swollen, so I can't wait to put this all behind me and enjoy the "torture" that I am going through! I'll have week 3 update blogged soon once I see my doctor and have time to post about it!

Peyton is 9 months old

Mommy was still practically in bed for Peyton's 9 months, but I did get to spend some time with him. Nanny was here for his 9 month milestone and took some really cut pictures of him for me! Thanks Nanny! He continues to be a wonderful baby, but has more fussy days now that he is really teething! I don't know if you remember we posted he got his first tooth at 6 months that the doctor found and it was on the top. We were saying how weird it was that he got a tooth that early because neither Paul nor Preston did and it was on the top and both Paul and Preston cut their first teeth on the bottom. Well, it turns out the doctor was mistaken because whatever it was is no longer there, so he is still toothless, which makes him the latest of our kids to get his first tooth! We expect to be posting soon about his first tooth though because it seems like it will be coming out soon! He hs been biting everything! He even stands up at the boys' table and bites the side of it! Happy 9 months Peyton!

Surgery Update at 1 week

Today is exactly 1 week since my surgery. This usually means that there is still plenty of soreness, but also a lot of improvement. This is not the case with this surgery. Since the surgery I had been feeling a very slow, gradual improvement, until yesterday morning when I seemed to have a minor setback. However, after the pain I felt this morning, I don't think it was a "minor setback" any longer. This morning I felt like it was day 2 after the surgery!
What hurts? The question should be "What doesn't hurt?"
My "top" feels like someone took a foam bat to it and beat me over and over again...sore and unpleasant, but not too horrible considering the bat was "foam." As for my stomach, there are no words to describe the pain that I feel...seriously. I would say that it is unbearable, but since I'm still here struggling through it, let's just say that it must be one of the closest after- surgery pains to unbearable that you can get. Touching the skin on my stomach sends pains across to the other side of my stomach. I won't be able to stand up straight for 3-4 weeks and I have to sleep on my back with pillows under my knees and pillows behind my head to prop me up as if I'm in a recliner. After 1 week, I cannot yet get out of bed alone, or get up from anywhere alone, and on occasion, Paul still needs to help me get in the bed.
How does everything look? It seems like I'm going to love it....I mean after what I saw before this I don't know how I wouldn't love it, but right now it is all swollen and bruised, so everyone can ask me that again in about a month or two! For now, keep the prayers coming please....we really need them!

Also, Preston had to go to the After Hours clinic this evening to see why his arm hurt so much today. He's ok, his elbow had partially popped out of socket. They put it back in and he's good to go! He was excited about the sucker the doctor gave him for being a big boy! I said, "Your arm feels better?" He's so cute, he goes "Yes, the doctor fixed it."