Happy Halloweeny!

Our family LOVES to dress up for Halloween. It's a favorite time of year for us! I usually start planning our costumes very early, but, this year I had pregnancy brain and I didn't come up with anything I was willing to put the time, money, and effort into. Soooo...I decided that only the girls would dress up this year.

A friend of mine had a pea costume and offered to let me borrow it. Thanks Sharon!
Another friend helped me come up with the "Princess" idea. Thanks Lea!









The pea costume was free and the princess costume was only $20~which I didn't mind spending cause I know she will play dress up in that gown about a hundred times over the next year, so it was money well spent. And there you have it~ the girls were instantly transformed into "The Princess and the Pea"
Aren't they darlin'?
We went over to a driveway bash in our neighbor-hood.
Here is the hostess
"Thyme" and a few other friends dressed as the "Spice Girls". Too Cute! The weather was VERY nice. Not too cold or hot. We all just hung out in the driveway munching on goodies and talking. It was so much fun for Brooke to play with her friends and Bailey just snoozed while she was passed around.
After a while, we decided we better go out for some trick or treating. But only a half of a block later, Bailey declared that she was hungry, so I headed back to the party house to nurse her. Penn, Brooke, and a few others went to a couple more houses and then agreed that it was more fun back at the party. We stayed until everyone was gone and we finally left with some fond memories and with plenty of candy.
We all had a very Happy Halloween!

Pizza and Pumpkins

I love fall and all things surrounding it, so even though I just gave birth a little over a week ago I couldn't imagine missing out on the pumpkin patch this year.

Sooooo, we dressed the girls in their pumpkin shirts and headed out for a day of fun.
Due to the gestational diabetes, we stopped going to Pizza Pro many months ago and my hubby was sure missing it. We decided that today would be a great day to go. We stuffed ourselves with yummy salad, pizza, and dessert for lunch! Then, headed to Clanton to the Grand Ole Pumpkin patch. We met some friends over there and had a great time.

First, we rode the tractor train. The tractor lady looked at me and said, "It is REALLY bumpy! Are you sure you want to ride?" I know she thought I was pregnant by the looks of my still protruding belly and crazy for riding, but I rode anyway. It was pretty bumpy and if you go and are pregnant I wouldn't suggest riding it.

Next, we just kind of explored a bit. Posing on the hay bails and checking out the official looking tee pees.
We decided to go check out the horses just for a little looksey, but when Brooke saw the others riding the ponies she decided she wanted to ride too! She absolutely loved it! She's a little cowgirl at heart and wanted to ride again and again, but at $4 a whirl we had to say "NO"!
After we finished riding the ponies, we visited the inflatable park.
Brooke wasn't much into jumping, but she does love those giant slides. Mommy wasn't up to sliding with her this year, (I didn't want to pop a stitch) so daddy took her while I nursed Bailey.
Finally, we loaded up everybody on the hayride to search for the "bestest" pumpkin ever. Brooke liked them all, but they were too "heady" (heavy in her language) for her to pick up.
We finally agreed on "the one" and got back on the hay ride to find Miss Brooke and me a sweet treat. We ended the pumpkin patch experience with a yummy cupcake and then headed back north.
What a great family day filled with pizza and pumpkins!
Oh and...It was pretty close to dinner time, so we decided to meet at O'Charley's. OK~so you know we go there all the time cause kids eat free right? Well let me just tell you that my husband ordered AND received a free chicken tenders meal for Brooke and a free chicken tenders meal for Bailey. Oh my, the kid is not even 2 weeks old yet! The waitress just kinda rolled her eyes. Boy, the Bullocks sure do like to get free stuff!

We're Home~Let's Celebrate!

What an amazing and exciting week it has been surrounding the birth of Miss Bailey. Mimi, Nana, and Grandpa came to town to take care of Brooke and Big Ted and to meet their newest Granddaughter. They all have been holding down the fort while Bailey, Penn, and I were staying at the hospital. Thanks y'all!
Of course, Bailey has continued to be the most perfect baby ever. :-) She is so sweet and cuddly~poops a lot though! She is on a great nursing schedule~eating every 3 hours during the day and every 4 at night. I pray that this will continue into the coming weeks.
My pain level, however; has been a little less than perfect! Days 2-4 Have been quite uncomfortable. I had this serious burning sensation in my side and could hardly walk. When discussing this pain with one of my nurses she made up some off the wall reason of why I felt like that and suggested that I walk more!!! She said it wouldn't go away unless I started walking laps around the hospital. She must have been dipping into the hospital stash of pain meds...cause she was HIGH!!! As if I was going to walk laps when I could barely move with out screaming. Needless to say, she was NOT my favorite nurse. I even reported her to the head nurse cause she was totally crazy.(Not just for saying that, but for lots of other stuff she did too.) It surprises me to know she earned a nursing degree at all! Well, her name is Theta or something like that...if she is your nurse~Beware.
Enough hospital talk, we are home now and all is well.
And...Today is our 5th wedding anniversary. Yay us! This year I really wanted an anniversary band, but I settled for the next best thing...a Dyson.
I chose this one, because I know that Penn will be doing most of the vacuuming and he said he didn't want to push around a pink or purple one. I got it a little early since the baby was coming and it has been awesome! Penn and I were able to celebrate last week just as a couple. We went on a "hot" date to J. Alexander's (that is where we had our 1st date) and the Clement's kept Brooke for us! Thanks y'all! We needed that. It was a nice time.
Anyway, we still needed to celebrate some more, so we had a double celebration tonight~Bailey's coming home and our anniversary!
We had a jambalaya cookout.
It was complete with cake and champagne too.
Bailey slept through the entire thing, but I know she was glad to be a part of it.

It was so nice to think back over the last 5 years and to see how God has blessed our family in so many wonderful ways. It has truly been amazing.
Thank you honey for being such a great father, provider, friend, and lover. You're my lobster. I love you tremendously!
Also, thank you mommy for the sweet card and anniversary money~Penn and I will do something special with it! :-)

Happy Birthday Bailey!

Happy Birthday Bailey! Today was my sweet girl's birthday and hasn't it been a glorious day!! :-)
Penn and I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to arrive at the hospital for 5:00AM. I was a little on the cranky side(as I am usually in the AM) and pretty tired and a little anxious all rolled into one. Penn was a little of the same, but after we were on our way, we both simmered down a bit. By the time we arrived at the hospital, all our our nerves seemed to be in check and we were escorted to a holding type room. Here I am before I dressed in my hospital gown! I know, I know it's scary big! The nurse was pretty nice and got all of our paperwork completed. She gave me a couple of different types of meds and an IV. (which bled a lot and made the nurse's hands shake~I have a feeling that IV's are not her strong point!)

Then, Dr. Hudson came in and checked on us and said that we were right on schedule for a 7:00AM c-section. Yay! I was thinking~the faster I get this over with the sooner I can meet my Bailey and eat SOMETHING good! (I know~I seriously have a food addiction problem! I have to work on it!)
Anyway, it was a relief that we were going to stay on schedule, because the lady in the holding room with me got pushed back a couple of hours due to an emergency c-section for twins!
The nurses had a shift change and my new nurse~Nurse Stacey Pickle came in. She was so awesome! I absolutely loved her. She went over a few things with us and then Penn and Nurse Pickle walked me down to the surgery room. There we were met by the surgical team. Penn had to stay outside while the nurses and doctors did some more prepping. The anesthesiologist came in to give me a spinal block~ for c-sections they use these instead of epidurals and then they laid me down on the table. They stripped me down and washed me up. I felt so naked just lying there all exposed. And if you didn't know about my crazy stomach, it was once again acting up and looking all distorted. All of the people in the room thought it was pretty interesting. I guess it is always fun for the medical folks to see something out of the norm.

Finally, Penn was allowed in the room and the doctor started to cut me open. I felt great this time. I remember with Brooke I found it difficult to breath, but with Bailey I had no trouble at all. The only thing that was uncomfortable was the smell of burning insides. When you have surgery and start to bleed, the doctors just cauterize the area and it stops the bleeding, but yes the smell is terrible and the thought of it is pretty bad too!

And then, after about ten minutes of pulling and tugging~my sweet little Bailey arrived into this world. It was 7:31AM.
She weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. They didn't show her to me right away, but I could hear that child wailing. Oh my, she sounded like a full grown cat screaming and choking on a hairball. I thought to myself~that can't be my sweet baby making all that ruckus. She didn't let up for a while and the nurses even commented, "Looks like you've got yourself a screamer!"
I'll have to admit it was a little worrisome. My future passed before my eyes and all I could see was LOTS of sleepless nights!
I asked Penn about her ears and he checked and said they were little and cute. Whew! ~I was worried because of a nightmare I had a couple of weeks ago!
In the meantime, a general surgeon came by to look at my stomach and decided that I would definitely need some follow up surgery, but it was too extensive to try to attempt it with only a spinal block, so they sewed me back up with 4 layers of stitches and one row of staples.

After a little while, (it seemed like forever) I got to sneak a peek of my baby and oh was she absolutely the most precious little thing I have ever laid my eyes on (She was not crying and quiet at this point! ;-) All of her features were just so tiny and perfect. Her head was shaped so pretty and she even had some dark hair. I was totally in love!
We went back to the room and the nurses gave her another bath in the sink. She was very cheesy. That's what they say when they are covered with the white vernix stuff. I had to wait a while to nurse her because her breathing was a little fast, but when I did she latched right on like a true pro. It was so nice to have her finally here and in the room with us, nursing her, and just checking her out. It was such a pleasant experience!
The rest of the day was filled with sweet visitors that came to welcome Bailey into this world. I was running on love and adrenaline and I continued to feel on top of the world.
All my prayers were answered and I couldn't be a happier mommy. And I can say the same for my sweet Bailey's daddy too. Have I mentioned what a great dad he is?



Thank you Lord for another sweet girl!




The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy! Psalm 126:3

The Last Saturday

Today was the last Saturday before Bailey arrives. We had a fun filled day packed with parties. This morning, I went to Ashley's baby shower brunch while Penn and Brooke went to Hallie's 4th birthday party. Hallie's party was a costume party and Brooke dressed up as a bee. There they had a blast looking for candy and eating cake. After each of the parties were over, we met back up at Becky's house and then headed home for a couple of hours.
Penn and Brooke rested while I went and had my nails done. I have to have them looking pretty for the baby's arrival!
When I returned from my manicure, we headed out to Montevallo to Braxton's Fall Bash. There they had lots to eat, pumpkins to paint, a huge inflatable, a treasure hunt in the hay, a hay ride and much more. Brooke had so much fun really just playing on her own. It is so nice that she is at the age where she can entertain herself. I visited with my old teaching buddies and Penn watched the LSU/Kentucky Game with the guys. We ended up staying at the party for 5 hours because the game went into triple overtime! Sadly, the tigers lost and we headed to the next gathering.
We dropped Brooke off at the church and then went over to the Rakestraws for dinner. We were very late due to the game, but there was still plenty of visiting and eating to be done. Did I mention how I indulged in eating quite a few mini candy bars throughout the day and then had way too much yummy dessert after dinner? I have really been bad with my blood sugar this weekend. My will power is shutting down! It's OK cause Penn is wanting an 8 pounder on Monday. By the looks of my tummy I would say its a 12 pounder, but I am sure she will be somewhere in the 7's.
Today was lots of fun! It is going to be very different adding another member to the family this Monday, but I'm sure before long we won't remember life without her.
I have to get to bed now, (I am so tired~been gone all day from 10AM to 10PM!)so I can get up for church tomorrow. It will be my last day at church for a couple of weeks!
Can you believe Bailey will be here in less than 36 hours? How exciting!

Weekly Ultrasounds and NST~Week 34-38

Today was my last check up before the c-section on Monday. For the past 5 weeks I have been going to St. Vincent's each Thursday for an ultrasound and NST. Each week~THANKFULLY~everything has been looking very good! It seems a waste to go downtown and spend all those hours at the doctor's office for them to say all is normal, but it is surely better to be safe than sorry.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I an so excited about my sweet Bailey being born and I just pray that everything will go smoothly with her birth. I want her to be very healthy and I would love to feel good after her birth. I want to feel strong and able to nurse her. I want to be the best mommy possible. I pray for all these things each and every day. She is already such a blessing to our family and we can't wait for her to be here in our sight!
"Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened for you: For every one that asks receives; and he who seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened."
-Matthew 7:7-8

Playgroup turns "2"

Today the playgroup turned "2" It is hard to believe another year of getting christian women and their kids together has passed. It is sometimes hard work getting mommies to willingly participate, but it pays off in the end to know that in the past 2 years we have enjoyed the company of over 60 different families at more than 50 events! Isn't that great?
So of course we had to celebrate by having a special birthday party! This year it was at Chuck E. Cheese in Vestavia. I think it is a great place to go and play~especially when it is not nice outdoors. If you go to their website, they have lots of incentive charts and rewards for good grades that can be traded in for FREE tokens. Also, if you join the e-club, you get lots of freebies and huge discount coupons sent to you via email. It really is quite a good deal. But remember mornings are best when it is not so crowded.
Anyway, back to the party! Penn baked a cake and Brooke and I decorated it. We brought treat bags and handed out attendance awards. The kids and mommies all seemed to have a blast using up all their tokens. After playing a while, we had some lunch. During lunch, some of us enjoyed seeing the mouse sing and dance and do its thing. Most of the kids joined in to dance and sing too, but my little Brookie is NOT fond of those types of characters. She is quite a little daredevil and not scared of much, but dressed up characters is definitely not her thing. (I hate that for her.) After lunch, we enjoyed some cake! (Yes, I did have a small piece and it was super yummy.) We played a little more and then cashed in our tickets for some great prizes. Brooke had a bad habit of putting in a token and walking off, so she only won about 100 tickets. She wanted a princess crown and a bracelet, but that would take 300 tickets! What to do? Well, Miss Ella saved the day and graciously gave us her leftover tickets(Thanks Ella!) and then the sweet lady behind the counter just gave us the stuff that Brooke wanted even though we still didn't have hardly enough!
It was a good time had by all. We headed home for a long nap. (We had to get a good nap so that we would be refreshed for Jackson's "cars" birthday party tonight!) Happy 3rd Birthday Jackson!
We love you! And your party was super fun too! Thanks for inviting us! :-)