Bird catching, getaways & the BIG DAY (surgery)

Good morning! I guess I am getting an early start to my day seeing that it is 7am. Last night Ryan and I had the chance to get away and go to dinner so my Mom and sister stayed at our house with the boys and we stayed at theirs. I guess you could call it a house swap (minus the kids for us). Anyways Ryan and I had a wonderful late dinner. We got off to a late start because one Ryan had to work and two because just as we were walking out the door a bird knew into the house. Yes, you read correctly, a bird flew into our house! Ryan yelled words that are expectable for the blog and we were both cracking up hysterically chasing the bird around downstairs to get it to fly back out the door. Unfortunately the bird flew into the foyer area and ended up in the boys room. As opposed to chasing the bird back downstairs Ryan was trying to catch the little fellow using a towel. It was by far the funniest thing I have ever seen him do. I had Reece in my arms and had just sat him in the bed to watch the entertainment I grabbed the camcorder just as the bird flew over to me and started flapping around on my back under my shirt…I screamed bloody murder and was no help in the bird catching process. My sister then came in with a sheet to try and help the situation. My Mom was holding Jason and within minutes he got scared and started screaming (also very funny but sad). Eventually after the bird had flew up my shirt, scared the daylights out of Jason and landed in bed with Reece, Ashley and Ryan were able to trap the bird in the corner using the sheet as a net.


If only I had the whole thing on video we would be on Americas Funniest Home Videos. I haven’t gone back to watch what I did record because basically I turned on the camera and before I knew it the bird was on my back, so I don’t imagine much good footage is there except me screaming.
In other news, I think the boys are starting to feel better. Jason seems to be back to his old self and Reece is coming around. He still has a nasty cough and congestion from the sinus drainage. This morning my eyes are watering like crazy and I have sneezed a billion times, but over all still feel pretty great. In fact, I am going to get a massage today. Hallelujah because it is certainly needed after the job search and sick babies this past week.
The next two weeks are a little jam packed with excitement too. This next week we are leaving for our very first family get away. Some might call it a vacation, but I know nothing about taking two 10 month old babies is a vacation. We are leaving Thursday night for San Antonio. Ryans brother, Trevor, has his Air Force graduation over the weekend. Our plan is for Ryan to work Thursday while I pack up the car and get everything ready and then after the boys have had their bath and dinner we will put them in the car around their normal bed time and start the drive. Hopefully when we get there either Ryan or I can set up the pack in play and co-sleeper and transport the kids right from the car to their beds. (yah right, wishful thinking). Friday morning it looks like the festivities start at 7:15 so we will be up early early! I talked with my fellow KAMOM’s about traveling with kids and they all suggest me attempting to go back to the hotel so that the boys can at least take a solid nap and stick to their normal schedule best I can. Hopefully that will happen will a little cooperation, but who knows. Like I said nothing about this will be a vacation. I am however excited to get to get out of the house and really hope to get the boys pictures at the Alamo. Not that the Alamo is all that exciting (to me at least), but it would be cute to have in their one year scrapbook. We plan to leave Saturday afternoon and head back home so that we have at least one solid day before the BIG DAY.
I refer to the BIG DAY as Reece’s surgery day. I am not sure why, but yesterday I got a call from TCH confirming his surgery and I had in my calendar and on my appointment card May 5th, but apparently it is May 3rd, which is the Monday following our San Antonio weekend. I already know that week is going to be a long week. I would imagine Reece will be in some discomfort for a few days to follow the surgery. (Reminder this surgery is to correct his hypospadias penis) With that being said I am putting a feeler out there that on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I would love extra hands around to entertain and play with Jason. I assume Reece will be fussy and would expect the nights to be long which means Mommy is going to be pooped. So if family or close friends would like to come over and either take Jason for a walk outside or just come and play on the floor with him that would be great! He is going through a stage right now where he wants your undivided attention ALL THE TIME. He gets really jealous if somebody is holding Reece and loves to get into everything. So if you would like to help me out during the week just email me or give me a call!
Ok well I better check in on things over at my casa and see if my Mom and sister are ready to run away yet…

Clothes For Roman German Matthew ;)

A friend of mine is stationed in Germany with her husband and is expecting a little boy named Roman in August! Long story short, Germany has a very limited selection of clothing and baby assessories so my friend, Keeley, had her Mom come out and get our hand-me downs! I am so excited to know that all of my boys cute little clothes are going to somebody who is thrilled to recive them. You would be surprised how hard it is to find people to take hand-me downs. While I was pregnant I was all about getting anything somebody had already used and reusing it. Especially when it comes to clothes because babies only where them a handful of times and before you know it the outfit you bought two weeks ago is too small. So yay, I am very excited Kelley can use them. I have tried giving them to others and they would say no which blows my mind because most everything still looks new and a few things still had the tags!

When Kelleys Mom and sister came out to the house to pick up the clothes I got the biggest kick out of her little sister (who is four) refering to Roman Matthew Barr as "Roman German Matthew Barr". How funny is that!?! Here are a few pictures Kelleys mom took while visiting of the boys that I thought I would share.

Thanks for the picture Kelley! It was so nice to meet you and Hannah!!!

Under The Weather & Kidneys

The boys have been a little under the weather since Saturday. I was certain that Jason had an ear infection because he has been SO fussy and up all hours of the night. As for little man, he hasn't been too miserable other than a bit of a runny nose. Well I was wrong. I took the boys to the doctor yesterday mainly for Jason and while I was there I had Reece checked out too. Jason was fine other than a little sinus drainage. Reece however has a double ear infection. I would have never of guessed!
In other news I received some clarification in regards to the MRI and ultrasound we had done earlier this month ordered by genetics. I had posted about this that we were told that the MRI came back clear and the ultrasound for the kidneys was fine other than Reece has one horseshoe shaped kidney. When we got the call the nurse made it sound like it was no big deal at all and when you come into the office again we can answer any questions you may have yadda yadda ya. So yesterday when we were back in the office our doctor was going over the report and clarified that he has one horseshoe shaped kidney. By one they mean that literally he has one functioning kidney (not two) and it’s oddly shaped. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE KNOWN WHEN THEY CALLED! Oh well...so what does that mean? For Reece right now it means nothing. Basically his left kidney is horseshoe shaped, but functioning properly without any known blockage. As for his right, it is present but too small to function. The doctor said that there is nothing to worry about at this point, but down the road it would be advised that he not play any contact sports because if his left kidney was injured he would go into renal failure and would need a transplant (who ultimately would probably come from Jason if one wasn't available...but I don't even want to talk about that because its not an issue right now.) Anyway that is that and it is what it is. When I told family some were very supportive and others made it seem like without football, baseball and basketball he was doomed. Give me a break! There are plenty of other activities for him to take part in and the beautiful aspect to it all is he is still healthy and will live a fairly normal life.
So for now we are battling the cold. Let's hope it goes away soon so we can start sleeping through the night again. Haha is that selfish?

On this day...

On this day last year I was checked into Clear Lake Regional Hospital with two little munchkins tucked away inside of me about to eat a nasty hospital grilled chicken sandwich. Yummmmm....Look how far we have come since then. Two special little boys full of energy!

Mommy Is Going To Work!!!

So I haven't really blogged this because it pertains more to me, but for about the last month (well 5 weeks) I have been on the job hunt! I have been to four job fairs (all of which didn't have positions open) and had my first interview aside from screenings at job fairs this past Friday. The position I applied for was a kindergarten teacher and honestly I didn't think I stood a chance because there was only one position open and I was told 80 applicants had applied. After my interview I felt pretty good that I would at least be considered. I got the call yesterday afternoon and was offered the job! So my job search is now officially over and the planning begins. My mind has been racing with fun activities and planning. So excited...and soooo much to do between now and Aug! Ahhh where to even begin?
As for the monsters, I mean boys, they are driving me insane. Both of them have colds and have been so fussy since Saturday. I tried to make them doctor appointments today just to make sure ears are clear but they were booked so we are going tomorrow.

Sounds Asleep!

Ha so the boys passed out in the stroller again. Too cute!

Hard At Play!

The boys just amaze me how far they have come in 9 months. Everyday it seems as though they do something new that captures my heart. Just watching them play makes me so happy to see one crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything he can get his hands on while the other flips and flops and rolls from one end of the room to the other. As the boys were playing yesterday while I was blogging I came across the bear that I took Reeces picture with when he came from the hospital on August 9th. That bear made Reece look like a midnight snack...oh how the roles have changed!

Pretty big difference! To think that Reece was a month and half old nearly when that first picture was taken is incredible. He didn't even weigh 5 pounds yet. In about 8 months he has gained nearly 10 pounds. A 14 pound 9 1/2 month old baby sounds tiny, but he is growing bigger every day!!!

Here's a few more pictures of the boys hard at play yesterday.

Big Boy Foods

Jason is now eating some big boy foods. He is eating third foods and also starting to nibble on soft foods like mashed beans, scrambled eggs, yogurt, baby mum-mum crackers and graduates!

Bath Time Giggles (MUST SEE!!!)

Ok I can't get the link to direct post the video onto the blog but you have to watch this video. SWe had the water bugs in the bath tub last night and never have I see them laugh like this together. Just click on the link below and it will redirect you to the video.

Bath Time Giggles

PS ignore the dirt looking bath tub I promise its clean...LOL just 40+ years old and stained! Eh, what can you do?

Good Morning Lil Sunshines!

The boys are so darn cute in the monrning when you go to get them out of bed. I just love walking into a room full of smiles! Lately their sleeping habbits have been pretty good. We went for 7 days striaght of sleeping through the night even though there were a few 9 & 10 o clock bed time fights. Other than that they have done pretty good. Last night was another solid night and the two nights before that Jason had been waking up.

I am loving their big boy PJ's now. They aren't little babies anymore...my oh my how time flies. Here are my little morning bugs. These were taken last week. I happen to be standing there while Jason pulled up on the side of the brib into a standing position for the first time.

Crawfish Boil

On Sunday we went to a crawfish boil that Ryan’s mom and boyfriend hosted. My parents ended up going with us and we had a great sunshine filled day. About the time the boys started to get fussy we stuck Jason’s feet in the pool and next thing we knew my dad jumped in and before long we were all swimming around. My kids are so fearless when it comes to water. Jason always tries to put his head under and they both kick and splash like crazy. The boys had so much fun getting to swim. It makes me look forward to summer time even more (minus the blazing hot sun). The boys also got to see Granny Jean who they haven’t seen since December. We were told over and over again what happy babies we have. For the most part they are both happy little boys. Here are some pictures from our day.

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ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz

I took the boys for a walk the other day then rolled them into the house to watch Einstein while I started dinner since they were so content in their stroller. I guess Jason was a little too comfy. Haha

Sitting Up FINALLY

Reece is officially sitting up now without support! Yay. We are now working on getting to go from a sitting position onto his tummy on his own. It won't be long and he will be up on all fours and chasing Jason around!

The Hervey Visit!

Last week my best friend from college came into town from Mesquite with her husband Cole. It was soooo wonderful getting to see the both of them. It was a last minute trip when they both found out that they were off work so they decided to come see us. I would LOVE for Melissa to live closer! They came in on Tuesday and we stayed up late talking and catching up and on Wednesday we went to the park with the boys. Maybe it’s just me but don’t the two of them look like they are ready for a kid? I am trying to convince them so that we can take family vacations together when they are older. Oh yah and it needs to be a girl so they can date when they are older. Prearranged marriage for sure…I can’t think of better in-laws for J & R!

TCH Report For MRI & Ultrasound

Ok so 1.5 out 2.0 of the boys are sleep...in other words Reece is out and Jason is in his bed but not crying and so sleepy so I am hoping to do a little updating before the madness starts back. I really don't even know anymore what all I have shared so let’s get down to some of the big events first. Reece had his MRI and kidney ultrasound last Thursday at Texas Children’s. We have been awaiting the results and yesterday the doctor called to let us know that for the most part all turned out good. His MRI of the spine and brain came back perfectly clear. The ultrasound however showed that he has a horseshoe shaped kidney. What does that mean? Honestly, I don't know. The doctor said it’s a fairly normal genetic abnormality which doesn't appear to be causing him trouble so we will talk more about it at his next check up which is at 1 year (ahhh one year!) So praise God again for wonderful news and for Reecey once again proving us all wrong. That little stinker is such a tough little guy.
Ryan went with us to TCH last week and Reece actually did better than I thought he would. Ryan fed him at 9:30 before he went to sleep and I got up with him at 12:45 to feed again since we knew he couldn't have anything else after 1 except clear liquids. I was worried that in the car ride downtown he would cream the whole way because he was hungry, but that wasn't the case. He went to sleep like a little trooper and was all smiles up till it came time for the IV in his foot to sedate him. We had to hold him down while they poked around on him which he hated. He was screaming and crying so hard. It was so sad, but once they gave him the medicine his eyes closed and kind of rolled back in his head and then he was out. The MRI took about 2 1/2 hours and when he went back to get him he was still sound asleep. Once he was awake he was really drowsy and took about 3 ounces of apple juice before heading downstairs for the ultrasound. That was really the extent of our day. It turned out not to be as bad as I thought it would be. Now if we can just survive the surgery in May. Bless his sweet heart...on the positive side of things he has nearly reached the end of his medical journey I am pretty sure (10 months later...). However I won't complain. I feel that despite all of our trips here and there and all of the little things don't add up to be all that bad. So many others have gone through a lot worse. We are so thankful and blessed!
Make that 1.5 out of 2.0 sleeping babies now 1.0 out of 2.0…the big monster is screaming so I must tend to him and hopefully will be back to add a few more posts. Here are some pictures of my little cutie pie in the waiting area where he was screened. He had no idea what was coming. Ryan really wanted to get two of the TV’s for the boys room so that they would each have their own over their crib…how sweet would that be. I’m sure when my kids have kids flat screens will be built into all cribs…