A Whole Lot of Happiness

I should probably be stressing more now that nursing school and clinicals are back in full swing and even more so with a week of exams ahead, but I'm not. Guess reality hasn't quite set in yet, oh well.  Instead I spent the weekend enjoying time with Josh, Hunter and the girls, fit in a little impromptu photo sesh and relaxed and pigged out during the Super Bowl and in general just soaked up the kids happy giggles and smiling faces.

I am so blessed to be a mother to these beautiful little beings. I'm so grateful to be surrounded with all of this love and happiness! My kids are truly my greatest joy.

Stockings were Hung, Christmas Carols were Sang

Christmas Break Recap

-Hunter had his first school Christmas Program! He did an awesome job up on stage and the show was great! A big thanks to the family that came out to watch him perform :)

-The girls hit their six month milestones and are now sleeping in their cribs and eating solid foods! They have also become quite a bit more vocal! Avery is babbling "dada" and Elleigh is babbling "mama."

Elle has a hard time staying awake after a full belly :)

-I am happy to announce that I survived finals week despite everyone in the house getting sick, several studying set backs and the Hub's impromptu surgical procedure. Four finals, four days and four A's. #BOOM ...... but how could I not succeed check out my dedicated study partner!

-We obviously had a few extra stockings to hang our Mantle this year <3 

-Hunter spent a great deal of time scoping out his present stash while enduring the Christmas day count down.

-The kids got (even more) spoiled. The girls had a great time watching their brother open his gifts (and theirs). 

-I very much enjoyed my few weeks home hanging with the kiddos! There was a lot of cooking, crafting, and cuddling. There are now a few new recipes in my cookbook :)

Riding the train at the mall together >>

Never a dull moment with these two! All smiles even after getting four shots each at their 6 month check up >>

Snuggling with my sick munchkins who weren't feeling well >>

Puppy Chow Cookies!!! Yes, they were Ah-mazing! >>

Before/After of my Christmas "K" decor >>

-Josh and I discovered the girls' are jumper fanatics.....and not picky where they sleep ;)

-Elleigh got her first TWO teeth! Avery is still working on hers.

(Right after her very first one popped through) >>

I kept my word and spent as much time as I could giving the kids as much of my undivided attention as possible. It is really hard to do this during the semester with one or two big exams a week and a crazy clinical schedule. I also tried to make either a new dinner or "family favorite" each night of the week, since Josh does the majority of the cooking during the school semester when I am hid away in basement studying. 

Thankful

I have a LOT to be thankful for this year!

God has blessed us with three happy, heathy, beautiful, AMAZING children! They are my world.

I am in an awesome BSN program, with some truly incredible instructors. Their knowledge and experience is invaluable and I couldn't have asked for better mentors. I am so blessed to have found a career that is really a passion and makes me feel whole.

I have a wonderful husband without whom, non of the above would be possible! He always puts us before himself and works so that I can pursue my passion! He is the kind of husband and father that I would be proud for Hunter to grow up to be.

I'm thankful for a having a true best friend. Someone who will listen to hours of my rambling, and it always willing to offer sound advice without judgement.

Also we have some outstanding relatives who go above and beyond every week to help us where they know we need it the most. They never ask or expect anything in return, just simply give from their hearts. How lucky we are to have such genuine family.

Lastly my wonderful parents, quite possibly the most selfless people I know. There is really no way to properly thank them for the rock they've been in our lives.

Turkey Dinner #1

Sprint Cup

Beautiful day at the races!!!

The cloud overcast was awesome, made it just the right temp!

Had SO much fun people watching with my bestie!! You can tell there was a bit of a breeze, lol.

The hubs and I

My husband and my awesome SIL (can you see the resemblance?) 

October

Hello & (almost) Goodbye October!

The school semester is 2/3 of the way complete! I'm on my last week of med/surg clinical rotation (whoo too) then it is on to mental health clinicals, and finals!

The girls are now 4 months old as of October 3rd and they are climbing the growth charts just like their big brother!!

Avery weighed 15lbs 15oz (89th percentile) and was 25.8" long (92nd percentile)!

Elleigh weighed 15lbs 8oz (83rd percentile) and was 25.3" long (80th percentile)!

Which is crazy considering they were three weeks early and twins non the less!

October is definitely one of our crazier months due to family birthdays and up coming holidays but this year seems to be busier that usual, and for good reason...BABIES! Some very good friends of ours welcomed their handsome guy into the world on October 12th, and my husband's cousin and his wife just celebrated the arrival of their beautiful boy this past Friday the 19th!! 

This past weekend we took Hunter and the girls to the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin on Saturday! It was a nice change from the Auburn Fair that we usually attend, we were a little burned out since it is the EXACT same each year. Then on Sunday we took some family and friends to the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in KC, the weather couldn't have been more perfect, and it was a fabulous afternoon of people watching with my bestie :)

Last but not least I have every intention of taking the kiddos to Boo at the Zoo this weekend!! Baby costumes X2 = to die for cuteness! Pictures will be posted this weekend! We are also hoping to make a trip to KC to visit Josh's cousin and meet their newest family member! Very excited as snuggling new babies never gets old. 

Goodbye Summertime!

Summer is over, school is in full swing, and life is BUSY! Between Josh and myself in school, Josh working, guard drills, an active toddler, two 3 month olds, holidays/birthdays, and family events it gets a little crazy! Now that fall is creeping around the corner things are only getting more hectic.

A recap of August:

-School started and I got first rotation OB clinicals (YAY!!!)

-Hunter got a viral URI and shared...with both girls and me, which resulted in I believe four doctors visits!

-We finally got a Dx for Avery's respiratory condition...Laryngomalacia. Dr. Cooley saw her for her 2mo appt and thought she had tracheomalacia. After some pretty scary breathing events we decided to have her see an ENT to determine if there was something (like Asthma) in addition to her tracheomalacia. Well, not sugar-coating the PA that saw her at the ENT office was an ass. He was over  an hour and a half late to the appointment and did not even do a physical assessment on her!! He just said, yep, it's tracheomalacia and she will grow out of it. Then when presented with her additional symptoms he cut Josh off and said, she's fine (mind you he never looked at her or did any examination),  don't come back unless she is turning blue. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy with that. I obviously insisted that they actually evaluate her, so back to the ENT. Second time around we got a different diagnosis (although very similar) he said that she has Laryngomalacia and that in his past 20+ years of practice he had never actually seen a case of Tracheomalacia.  There is no needed treatment and (like I already knew) she will grow out of it by 18-24 months old. The ENT said she was too young to determine if there was another competing respiratory issue like allergies or asthma making her worse at times. By worse I am not describing how positional changes can worsen the sound, I'm meaning rapid respirations, stridor, and retractions. Not fun. Hopefully these subside soon!