Oh happy day!!!!

My blog website at work is unblocked!!!!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!

Even though I will be getting busier at work since tax season is gearing up, hopefully I can update during my  lunch hour or breaks....stay tuned, hopefully this isn't a temporary lift of the blockage!!

Happy 8 Months!!!!

Happy 8 Months to Brooks!!!!

Our little man is growing up so fast!!

Weight: 19 lbs. 8 oz.
-he army crawls every where and is quite quick at it!!
-babbles a lot, especially when he is tired
-sleeps on his tummy now
-waves bye-bye
-stilll not a fan of baby food, you will eat it at least once a day but would prefer your bottle instead
-he loves playing with his brother
-we are all learning how to share, Brooks attacks Cade for anything he has b/c he wants to play with it
-sits up well by himself...no more support!!! he can even get from a sitting to crawling position in no time
-always happy and smiling
-loves to explore, very curious
-he will grab anything you put within his reach
-starting to pull up on arms and legs to crawl
-puts EVERYTHING in his mouth
-has 2 teeth on the bottom

Project "Big Boy Bed"

Monday night was the first night Cade spent in his big boy bed. We started off thinking that he would sleep on the bottom bunk with the trundle pulled out in case he rolled off. Then Cade didn't want to sleep underneath the other bed so we had to un-do the bunk beds and he wound up sleeping on the bed that had all of the railings around it.

He did great the first night. I laid next to him until he went to sleep and he only woke up once.

Night two was not so great....I laid next to him again and then he woke up FOUR times that night. He kept waking up and then when I would go in there he would pat his hand on the bed and say "C'mon, lay down, night night" I mean how cute is that??!! But I realized then that since I was laying down with him to start off he would wake up and not see me there and think I left.....so...

Night three was tonight. I didn't lay down with him I just read him a story and rocked him which was such a sweet moment. I love that little boy so much!!!!! It took me 45 minutes to get him to actually go to sleep. We said our prayers twice for a "good night sleep in his big boy bed". Hopefully they will be answered!!

Updates will be coming...here is a pic from his first night in his big boy bed :) He is growing up too fast...I hate it and love it at the same time!! He looks so tiny in that big bed!!!

Camp Trip

This weekend Daddy had a guy weekend at Uncle Tommy's camp and called me to bring the boys out for a little while during Saturday afternoon. We took a short drive and really enjoyed being outside together. Cade really had a blast playing in the water, riding 4-wheelers, boat riding, catching fish...Brooks slept most of the time but he woke up in time to enjoy some time playing in the leaves. I am sure this is the beginning of many weekends "at the camp".

Enjoy the pics....

This is what Brooks did most of the time.....

He did not like it when he figured out that the fish lived in the water.....

I couldn't resist this picture....how cute right??

He is saying..."Where did the 4-wheelers go? "

Helping dad row....

And Brooks woke up to play with the leaves.....

Cade loved the 4-wheelers and wanted to ride all 4 of them.....

And then he tried to eat them.......

Update

Everyone is feeling much better around here. We still have the runny noses and occasional coughing but the kids have been fever free for 5 days now....Yipee!! That means we have about 15 to go before the next sickness hits :) Here are some pics of the boys enjoying the weekend....we spent a lot of time outside since they were cooped up inside all last week.

Playing with bubbles and grass....

First meal in the big boy high chair....

A little rain can't keep us inside......

Playing in the tupperware cabinet....why is this so fun??!! I love it!!

ER visit....

Tuesday night was eventful to say the least. The boys had a great day, hence my last post....then they got up from their naps, both still feeling lousy, but ok....we ran some errands and got home ready to make dinner and Cade became very fussy. I tried to turn on Mickey mouse....he would not watch it and we all know when Cade doesn't watch Mickey there is something wrong!! All he wanted was for me to hold him...then suddenly I realized his little hands were freezing and fingers were slightly blue, he was burning up every where else, he was upset but wasn't crying like normal, he started hesitating breathing and would cry in between, then he started shivering and shaking....this is when my heart started racing!!! I gave him his breathing treatment, called Josh and told him to meet me at the ER, threw the kids in the car, got a bag of stuff together quickly with necessities and took off. I focused my mirror on Cade so i could see him...he was still a little frantic but his breathing was slowly improving. As I passed ethe pediatric clinic that we go to I realized his pediatrician was still there and since the hospital we have to go to is 20 minutes away, I decided to stop. At this point it was 5:20 and her office closes at 5:00...so we got lucky!!!

Yes, I was the crazy momma rushing her child in after hours banging on the window for help!! Luckily his doctor and her nurses know us well since we practically pay her mortgage with as many times as we go to see her...she was so sweet and let us in and did a full check on him. His oxygen level was good and his breathing had settled, although he was still not feeling well at all, poor baby!! She looked in his ears and saw some infection beginning so decided to go ahead and treat him with an antibiotic that would cover ears and pneumonia. She said if he starts vomiting you need to go to the ER but he should be fine. I thanked her about 20 times...have I mentioned how much we love Dr. Talbot??!! She is so awesome!!!!

So we left and got our medicine filled, went back home, and gave cade the antibiotic. I started making dinner again....then he got fussy again. Luckily Josh got home and was able to help me. Cade was still attached to my leg though....about 5 minutes later he starts vomiting!!!! Red and green Gatorade...he hadn't had an appetite all day so it was basically just liquid. My immediate reaction, per docs orders, was we are going to the ER...with no argument from Josh was left the house with pj's in hand, bottles, blankets, luckily I had a bag thrown together from our earlier scare and we were off!! Can I tell you how fast my heart was beating??!! I get so scared about stuff like this, I know God is in control but it is so hard to know what to do in situations like this!! I knew vomiting was a sign of pneumonia, but he had just thrown up his medicine so I was worried about how bad it was. Luckily both boys slept on the way there. I had my little freak out moment, shed a few tears said a few prayers, gathered myself and we were finally there....got Cade out of the car and he puked two more times all over his clothes....once again it was a nice green color from his gatorade...ew!!

We got checked in, they said our wait wouldn't be long and we got settled in out little spot among all of the other snotty, coughing, sick children....I can't tell you how much ER's completely gross me out!!! We waited about 45 minutes to get his vitals checked and talk with the nurse to give her the low down on what was wrong. He checked out well which meant our wait would be longer since his condition wasn't too serious.

Meanwhile, we had to figure out what to do with Brooks bc I hated exposing him to all that sickness when it wasn't necessary. Luckily, once again we have some great friends, and Tommy's parents were able to come and get him. They live just around the corner from the hospital. Poor baby, he was feeling lousy too and had a low grade fever so they took him and gave him some meds and put him to sleep as we waited for another TWO and A HALF hours!!!!!

As we waited, Cade got a burst of energy, he ate some cheese its, a french fry and drank some juice and kept it all down, he played on the iPad, walked around and explored the hospital, waved at people and loved to go to the hand cleaning station and get hand sanitizer...he finally crashed at about 11:45 pm and about 10 minutes later we were finally called to a room!!! By this point he no longer had fever (first time since Saturday night), his breathing was the best it had been since Sunday and he was comfortably sleeping. We got him changed out of his clothes that were covered in puke, into a cute little gown....(see below) how pitiful does he look??!!

We waited on the doc and they checked him out but by that point he really was feeling so much better and sounded great...the conclusion was that it was either the medicine on an empty stomach that made him sick or all of the congestion/cough/sickness that just made him get sick. It's so hard to tell at that age since they can't communicate what hurts and when. We decided to stick with the plan of meds and breathing treatments. Luckily it didn't seem to be anything serious. We went and picked up Brooks and got home by 1:30 am....what a night!!!

Cade slept until 9 am that morning and took another 4 hour nap...I think his little body was just worn out!! His fever has completely gone away and his breathing has improved. He is still pretty cranky, but that's expected.

Brooks started with a 102 fever yesterday and coughing more...so fussy and sleepy. Hopefully he will recover quickly and it won't turn into another ER visit!!! Although Brooks isnt anywhere close to how bad off Cade was.

So despite my last post about everyone on the mend...we are still working on getting there. This RSV virus is nasty and so many children have been affected by it lately!! It is scary bc one minute they can be fine and then they go downhill so quickly and judging when the symptoms are too bad is a hard call to make!! My theory is if i am not sure, it's better safe that sorry!!!

I will try to update if anything else exciting happens....one more pic...this was us in the ER...me enjoying my cuddle time with my buddy!! They have both been extra cuddly the last few days and I have loved it!!!

The RSV Monster.....

So after my post of such a great weekend...Cade starts running a high fever of 103, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, wheezing, fussy, not sleeping, you name it, he had it!! I can't say I knew it wasn't coming b/c it had been exactly two weeks from us being at the doctor which was a record for us from the past few months. So, Monday morning we were in the doctor's office to find out they both have RSV which is a respiratory virus that is NO FUN and basically has the same symptoms as the flu!! They have no energy, are fussy, achy, soar throat, as well as the above symptoms I listed. The worst part is, it is a virus so there is no treatment. Basically you treat the fever with Advil and Tylenol and then we use this bad boy below for our breathing treatments to help control the cough and wheezing....

We have had this since Cade was a baby and we use it often. Pretty much anytime the weather changes Cade has to get a few puffs at least once a day. The doc says they have an increased chance of being diagnosed with asthma when they have these issues starting so young but they don't actually diagnose it until 2....his wheezing has gotten better over the last few months so we are hoping we can stop using this thing soon!!! I guess the little face on the end is supposed to make the kids more willing to "enjoy" the treatments.....not the case....they still scream bloody murder!!

So we have had some fun days with both of them being sick....both wanting mommy at the same time, very fussy, not great appetites, lots of Popsicles, unending snot and slobber, constant Mickey Mouse (I am pretty sure I have every episode memorized), puzzles, no sleeping....yesterday I finally just put them both in the car and went for a drive b/c I could tell they were both sleepy but neither would stop crying....WHEW!! On the bright side I get lots of cuddling and they make you feel very loved and needed when they are sick like this. Last night Josh and I had to split up sleeping with each baby b/c both of them had to be propped up to sleep and not choke on their snot or cough to death (not literally, just an exaggeration). I had Cade who woke up at 4 AM!!!! and luckily Brooks slept until 6:30 but apparently he was tossing and turning all night to get comfy. So not much rest for us around here lately!!

These kids are worth it though. I really wouldn't rather be doing anything else right now. At times you want to pull your hair out when the non stop crying won't end or you don't even have enough time to pee on the toilet before someone is either following you or crying b/c you left. Poor Brooks has been scooting all over this house trying to find me at times just to hold him...poor baby!!

These days have not gone by without some memories though.....

Cade had a love affair with a sucker at the doctor's office on Monday. No really, I have never seen anyone eat a sucker like this before. After every lick he would smack his lips and follow up with a "MMMMM". By the end of the sucker he was seriously about to fall asleep, we still don't know if it is because the sucker was so good or because he was just that tired but It was hilarious, the doctor got to witness that part!! After he was finished with his sucker he went back up to the desk and asked for "stickers"...that boy....how do they learn this stuff so early??!! The girls at the front desk were even amazed that he cared about stickers..."We have never seen a child so young care about getting stickers, that is so adorable" which of course got him a bonus sticker for being so cute :)

Cade has started using a new word....he will do something not so nice to Brooks and then he will bend down and say "Sorry" and then give me the puppy eyes ....like that makes it ok. I have to admit the first time I witnessed it, I knew Brooks wasn't hurt so I laughed a little but it has come down to Cade getting into trouble....which in turn causes more crying!! There has been a lot of crying these last few days....

We have also had to work ALOT at sharing.....I was hoping because they are so close in age this issue wouldn't be as big of a deal but gees, it is starting younger than I thought and it is worse than I imagined. Even Brooks gets into it and will practically climb on top of Cade to get what he wants back from him...it didn't take him long to figure out he is going to have to be tough!!
Here are some pics of the boys....

Brooks has started waving to everyone...so cute and he has been doing this for about a week now but yesterday we went to my office to get my computer and he was waving at everyone....such a little heartbreaker :)

You can see Cade still has the "sick eyes"...poor buddy!!

Did I mention this chair has become my BFF? It is the only place I can comfortably hold both of them when they have their mommy "freak out moment", and it rocks (literally and figuratively), so if I am lucky one or both will fall asleep!!

and here is the proof that it works :)

And this wild man....as long as he has tylenol/advil in his system he is still going 90 to nothing......

Luckily the boys are on the mend and hopefully we will be back to normal (temporarily I feel sure) by tomorrow or Thursday.....well aside from the coughing, the doc said that could last up to a month....yipee!! People keep telling me they are going to have rock solid immune systems.....maybe one day theirs will kick in, until then....I will be enjoying my sick baby cuddle time :)

As a side note, just a few quick stats from the doctor visit..... Cade weighed in at 29 pounds and 11 oz and Brooks was at 19 pounds and 12 oz.

Great Weekend

If you have noticed me slacking on my posting that is because my work blocked my blogger website!!! UGH....apparently they had a new "blocking" update where they blocked pretty much all of the websites not relating to our job....but yet they expect us to work 12 hour days with a required one hour lunch break during tax season....can you tell I am annoyed??!! Anyways, I could go on and on about that but let's just get to the point...I will be posting less often b/c I will have to do it from home and well you all know I don't have any spare time when at home with these crazy kids, but I will try my best to work it in as frequently as I can.

Now for the real reason I am posting....we had a great weekend and wanted to post some of our fun pics!! Daddy actually was gone most of the weekend duck hunting so Saturday we stayed at home all day cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, watching lots of Mickey Mouse and playing inside and outside!!

The boys were great for the most part aside from being hungry or tired. Cade helped me "clean" some, and shortly after would put his slimy, snotty little hands back on the mirror or window I just cleaned :) Brooks made his way around the house army crawling to try and keep up....he got to play in the laundry basket and even got into the bathroom trashcan one time...luckily it had just been emptied! Cade tried to feed Brooks dog food (don't worry I caught him just in time!!), we blew lots of bubbles, took a walk around the neighborhood, Cade pulled Brooks in the wagon up and down the street on the sidewalk and took a couple of rides in the cozy truck.

I always love weekends like this when I feel like I get so much accomplished and still have great quality time with my boys!!!

They are really having so much fun together now!! Brooks constantly laughs at Cade and Cade loves to entertain!! These are the moments I have waited for since I knew they were going to be so close in age....and this is only the beginning!!! I am so thankful for my two precious little boys!!

Heaven's Little Drummer Boy

I previouisly  made a post about Tripp and his mom Courtney Roth. Sadly, Tripp went to be with Jesus this past weekend on Saturday morning while he was in the arms of his mommy. It is a bittersweet blessing, for he is no longer suffering but I know that he is truly missed by so many people here. He impacted so many lives in his short 2.5 years that he spent on Earth.

For me, he taught me to be so grateful for every second I get to spend with my healthy children. In the moments where I think my day is bad or I can't take any more I remember how his strength was so admirable and his joy was so touching regardless of his pain and suffering. Courtney's dedication to taking care of him so well, every second of her day....what and amazing example of a mother's unfailing love for her child.

You never know when God will change your circumstances for the worse for his purpose beyond your understanding, which means we need to try to be grateful for the moments we have. I believe that Tripp's suffering was for a greater purpose that we will never truly comprehend but it is amazing to know that now he is suffering no longer drumming away in heaven with Jesus and all the angels. Please keep his mom and family in your prayers in the coming days, weeks and months. I cannot imagine the pain they are going through as they grieve their loss and try to redefine their lives without his presence.

And the national champion is......

This picture describes the feelings of many devoted LSU fans as a result of the game last night.....yes that's right AL defeated LSU in the national championship 21-0!! It was a painful game to watch, however the better team won last night and congrats to them!! There is always next year......despite the outcome we still love the LSU tigers and we will always bleed purple and gold!!!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!

Geaux Tigers!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

Tonight LSU plays Alabama in the national championship in New Orleans....hopefully tomorrow they will be National Champions!!! Cade says they are #1....Papa is a BIG Alabama fan but even he is cheering for LSU tonight...I guess he has a little bit of a reason since he did send two daughters to school there!! (of course that may change if there is an upset and Alabama pulls out a win)

I had to share my two cuties all dressed in their LSU for game day!!  I mean seriously how cute are they??!!!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

Gage's 1st Birthday

This weekend we attended Gage's first birthday party. Most of you probably know that Heather and Tommy are very close friends of Josh and I, like family, known in our family is Auntie Heather and Uncle T. We are thrilled that Gage, Cade, Brooks and soon to arrive, Mason are all BFF's....ha, ok well at least we are all hoping they will be BFF's one day!! :)

A short little history lesson...Josh and Tommy were roommates and BFF's in college, Heather and I met in high school and became roommates and BFF's in college as well. We all four met at the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) at LSU one night playing capture the flag the summer of 2003. Josh and I began dating, two weeks later Heather and Tommy began dating.....in November 2006 Josh and I got engaged, two weeks later Heather and Tommy got engaged...in June 2007 Josh and I got married, two weeks later Heather and Tommy got married!!n See a pattern??... the last two were planned on purpose :) Hey, we had to keep the pattern once it started!! We weren't able to plan the kids out as well BUT we are so blessed to have our kids so close together and all boys, the years to come will be a lot of fun and filled with so many memories I am sure....Cade was born April 6th, Gage on January 4th, Brooks on May 24th and Mason is due on February 8th of this year. If you didn't do the math Cade and Gage are almost exactly 9 months apart and Brooks and Mason will be almost exactly 9 months apart making both siblings 13 months apart.....so hey at least we are still keeping some pattern...right?? even though the kids were not planned by any sort of the imagination, both of our second round of children were a surprise to all of us, but wow, such an amazing blessing!!! Auntie Heather and Uncle Tommy are so special to our family and we cherish their friendship so much!!

Anyways...back to the party and the man of the hour.....Gage's birthday party was in Denham Springs at Heather's parent's house. It was a cowboy themed party so we all joined in an participated dressing as cowboys and cowgirls....here are some cute pics from the party....

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY GAGE!!!!

The Gould Family....we can't wait to meet little Mason!!

BFF's!!

How cute is this??!!....

Family pic with the Bday boy (minus Brooks, he was sleeping)

Dani was quite the cowgirl!! She is a pro on the horse!!

Presents and cake.....

And of course...paper is always the favorite present!! (You can barely see but Gage is sitting in the chair that Uncle Josh made him for his bday)

Gage LOVED his cake!! Dig in buddy!!

 Andi and Grady riding the horse....so cute!!

Cake face....

Cade's first horse ride.....looking like a pro already....

Brooks and Noah even got in on the horse riding action (ok so maybe it was just for the picture....they didn't really ride the horse :) )

Family pic....Brooks was a little unhappy....

What a precious little cowboy :)

and of course the group kid pic....(missing Wyatt and Keniann)