Some Truly Sweet Pictures of Truly

The black and whites are from the hospital and the others are 2 week pictures that I took myself at home. Not professional, but respectable and totally sweet. Sorry taken so long to get them up. Have been super busy...especially with the holiday. We are housing 11 people for Thanksgiving and it is GREAT!!! It is the 1st time in over 10 years that my mom has all her kids together for Thanksgiving. We have a house full of kids running around and playing and it is a blast. We even made it to the France's for Thanksgiving dinner and got to spend the day with even more family. Not too shabby for a bunch of Louisianian's celebrating the holiday in Texas.

I wish you could see more of the gown Truly has on in these. It was specially made for our children by Madison's sister Alex. Kegan came home in it and so did Truly. It is a beautiful gown and we plan to wear it as often as we can. Kegan never got much wear out of our pretties from Alex becuase she spit up so badly. Truly does much better, so we are breaking them out and having fun!!

This dress is one handed down from Alex that was made for her girls. Truly looked like a little sleeping angel.

The two previous pictures I posted just because I when I saw the picture of Truly, it immediately reminded me of this one of Kegan. So here they both are for comparison. Note that it took Kegan 3 months to chub up enough to compete with Truly at 2 days old.

This is Truly all packed up on our first outing.....to the doctor. Four days old and hate the carseat already....still does today.

Kegan showing Truly the art of rocking while watching TV. Notice that Kegan has reclaimed her slumber-bear, so thankfully Truly got a sleep-sheep for a gift.

This is what you look like after convincing Daddy to run around in the rain with you and then indulge in peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.

Aahhhh! The peace of a good swaddle. I love these things. They sure make life a lot easier!

Truly Madilyn Flowers has Arrived!!!!

Wednesday morning, November 4th, I had a doctor appointment and everything was ok, but my blood pressure was still borderline and I was starting to spill protein in my urine which meant the Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH), was getting a little worse, but still not horrible. The kicker was that my cervix was still completely closed and the baby was still high, which meant all the contractions that I had been having were doing nothing and meant, they probably never would......I hate it when the doctors are right. I was really hoping for a vaginal delivery this time, but conceded to another c-section. Funny thing was that my contractions really picked up once we got to the hospital, but I wasn't fooled, they had been doing that for weeks. We went back to the OR about 1:04pm and we had our little suprise at 1:30. They tried to fool us by saying we had some extra parts, but when I asked "really, it's a boy", they said nope, another girl.....we were so happy. I think we were both secretly hoping for another sweet girl since our first one is turning out sooooo good. She is a chunk compared to Kegan. She weighed 7lbs 15oz, and is 19in long. She has a head full of dark hair too, just like her sister did. Weird how we make dark headed babies. Kegan for sure didn't stay that way since she is now quite the cotton top.

Since Aaron works at the hospital where we had Truly, he stopped by a lot before and after the surgery. He even picked up Kegan and brought her home and fed her and put her to bed by himself. He is such a great brother. Mom and Dad were racing on their way from Louisiana and got to the hospital about 8pm....I think. I had a Demerol epidural infusion going that was making me very loopy. I was so happy to have that thing gone by morning. Kegan was so excited to meet her new baby sister that afternoon. She was soooo cute. She held Truly all by herself and would pat her and say "shhh-shhh". When Madison would try to help, she would say "stop, no Daddy". Miss Independent.

By Friday morning, I was done with hangning out at the hospital and begged for them to let me go, so I had my staples pulled and we were out the door with our new little one by 10am. It was nice.

Ready to go!

Going in for number 2 baby! It was funnier then, guess you had to be there?

Dr. Holmes caught a fish, wait a minute. No, that's just our baby girl!!!!

Cheesy Baby!

Ahhhh! Success!

Proud parents of two sweet girls! Our sweet little family!

"Hi Truly"

Truly came back from the nursery with a mowhawk. I don't know about some of those nurses.

Beautiful sunny day to come back home.

Chillin with mommy in my new pad.

Halloween Bee

Our Halloween started the day before with Kegan getting to wear her costume to school for the day. That evening they had Fall Festival at school, which we went to for a little while. It didn't start until 6:30, which is the start of Kegan's bedtime routine, so she didn't last very long. One good things from it was an older girl in her class showed up at the same time wearing a bee costume and had on the wings and antennae, which Kegan refused to wear that morning. But, after seeing the older kid doing it, it was the coolest thing ever and we have now added the antennae to her play toys....she loves to wear them. Kegan won a whole 2 liter of Sunkist at one of the games and double dipped on all the candy. Even indulged in a little popcorn, which her mom was happy to finish off.

Pretty Bee without her wings.

Check out this tutu! Isn't it pretty!

Halloween night our friends Brooks and Mandy joined us with their little girl Laura Beth. Even though Laura Beth is only 4 months old, she fit into Kegan's costume from last year, so they loaded the two trick-or-treaters in the double stroller and off they went to get some loot. I did not go and stayed home on the porch in case we got some kids at our house....which we didn't bummer. Madison said Kegan was pretty funny and would say "trick-or-treat" all the way up to the houses, but then would just quietly wait for her candy. One house she put her basket down and went in double-fisted to grab her own candy, and at another one shut the door on the lady as soon as she gave out the candy.....a little rude, but guess it worked. We'll have to work on that for next year.

Wearing her whole outfit for the big night!

(as you can see, the ribbon on the bodice of the suit didn't make it past the day at school, oh well guess this is only a one time wear thing)

Our two little monsters posing with Brooks.

Ummmmm! now to enjoy the loot!

The next morning Kegan started walking around the house saying "cheese", which usually means she wants some snack cheese. Took us a while, but she was wanting us to take pictures of her, I guess because we had taken so many over the last couple of days. It was so cute, she kept moving around the house and posing in different places and saying "cheese". Here is some of her recent work from her portfolio.

Mom! your butt is ruining my shot!

How about here Dad!

Oooh, and here?! I like it!

Lazy and Bored!

What have I been up to the last two weeks.... Madison officially started work with Harrison, Walker, Harper on the 12th and so far it has been great! Definitely turning out to be a change for the better. The Wed before Madison started there, we started Kegan back at daycare full-time, and boy was she happy to get back to all her school friends. She is the "princess" there and she knows it. They spoil her worse than grandparents I think. Madison really took it hard sending her back, but he is really thankful to have a job too.

To add to all of our recent drama, Friday the 9th, I ended up leaving work that morning for contractions that were coming every 6 minutes. I tried to sit down and behave myself, but they just kept coming. Since I was only 35wks pregnant, I got 3 doses of terbutaline, and while it stopped the contractions, it made me feel like I was running a marathon on speed for the next 4 hours! I was all jittery and anxious. It was amazing to not have contractions though. I felt great that evening. Forgot what it felt like to not have my uterus tense all the time. It was temporary though, so I spent the next two days on bedrest. Woke up Sunday morning with cramping contractions every 3 minutes so back to the hopsital we went for more terbutaline, this time it didn't stop the contractions completely, but did make them less intense. The next day I saw my doctor and he said he wouldn't stop the contractions anymore, which should have made me a little suspicious....it turns out he wasn't really worried about them since they were doing nothing to dilate my cervix or bring the baby down, so chances of the contractions turning into real labor was very unlikely.

That night we went to the U2 concert which we had been looking forward to since April. I was so glad to be able to go. It was awesome! A little uncomfortable with all the walking and contracting, but Madison was sweet and rubbed my back when I needed it. I somehow had it in my head, that if I was going to do all this contracting, I was going to do whatever I wanted. Not the best idea. Just made me really uncomfortable. So much that by Thursday night I though I was in real labor. I even called mom. Nope, by morning contractions lightenend up and became irregular. I was so frustrated! Went to see doctor again this Monday and still no dilation, just lots of contracting. Blood pressure starting to climb and getting more swollen. My hopes of a VBAC are dwindling.

I hate not being at work and not having a baby in my arms, but I know the longer I keep this baby cooking, the better. Oh, and speaking of cooking, I almost tried to cook the baby out. I learned that cooking is dangerous in your 9th month and should be avoided. While cooking french toast for Kegan and I, I burned my belly. I wondered if CPS would get me for fetal abuse.

Mom and Dad came over this weekend for some moral support, knowing that I am getting pretty depressed with all the ups and downs of worrying that the baby is coming too soon, then, the nevermind, it's not. You just get to sit and be off work and when you try to do anything productive get very uncomfortable with all the useless contractions. Uugh! Mom and Dad are sweet to me. Thanks for driving all that way to help me put my mind at ease!

Now for the good stuff! Here is Kegan the wonderful growing big girl!

This was Kegan running in our backyard on her trails her Daddy cut for her during all their quality time while he was off of work. After her first official day back at daycare you can see she still had energy to burn. I was working late so these two videos are ones they sent me so I didn't miss them so much.

This video was from the Saturday morning I was on bedrest. Kegan and her Daddy went out for a run in our 50 degree weather and had a great time. Kegan is turning out to be quite the runner. Guess she sees her Dad doing it all the time, so it just seems like the right thing to do. It makes us proud. Hopefully she will continue to like it since we do too. Thank you to cousin Kelly for the jogging suits. As you can see they work great!

The Offer is Finally In!

Madison officially got his job offer in today and we are thrilled to accept it. I am so proud of him! He never let this whole ordeal get him down and immediatedly got to work job hunting. He even managed to complete a huge list of "honey-do's". How he has managed to get all this done with Kegan at his feet is beyond me. He is an amazing man. I can't even do clothes with Kegan at home. Madison will start work Monday with the new company and is saddest to have to take Kegan back to daycare. Funny, when this all started, we were saddest to take her out of daycare, and after almost 4 short weeks are now sad to send her back. Not like the two of them weren't two peas in a pod before, but now they are really suckers for each other. I manage to get some lovin' every once in a while from Kegan, but most kisses and hugs are Daddy's only. He even took the initiative to start on some of Kegan's potty training by buying her pull-ups and a little potty. They picked it out together....so cute. Maybe this was God's way of reminding us to cherish the time we have with Kegan. It is impressive to realize how much time we spend away from her at work. She is such a wonderful little girl. Love you Madison!

Madison's Hard Work Paying Off

A bit of good news came through yesterday. Looks like one of the companies Madison interviewed with is sending him an offer. Seems like a really great company to work with and we are so excited to have found something this great so soon. Thanks for all who have helped out with the prayers and encouragement. This company is offering to pay our COBRA premiums so we may get to keep our current insurance until after the baby arrives....whew! We haven't gotten the entire job offer in the mail yet, but we are very optimistic that it will at least be comparable to what he had with MEDCO. We will keep you guys updated. Looking forward to getting back to semi-normal, at least for a little while before the baby arrives. Then back on the roller coaster.

The Chaos Continues....

So after another 2 weeks, we had our lives very unexpectedly turned upside down. Madison was laid-off from his company. The company had been doing lay-offs for a few months, but after 7 years of loyal service, we naively considered ourselves safe!! ha,ha. September 11 Madison and I were carpooling becuase his truck was in the shop. I then dropped Kegan off at daycare so I could go to my OB appointment, Madison went to work, just like any other day. About 11 I got a text saying that the VP who was in charge of the Friday lay-off ritual was there.....I suddenly got a sinking feeling. I didn't hear anything else about it until 12:30 when Madison came through the door to tell me the bad news. His manager drove him home since he didn't have his truck and he didn't want me driving to Dallas worrying. It was awful. His company had never planned for a major lay-off and are handling lay-offs more like firings. There is no severence, no job search assistance, no warning, just get to keep your PTO, turn in your phone, we are shutting your computer off in 30min, heres a box, take your time, but hurry and get out. Sort of left us numb feeling like we had done something wrong, but we were assured we hadn't.

On the bright side, friends, co-workers, and family all rushed to our aide. Madison got phone call after phone call with job leads, encouragement, and prayers. It was amazing! Thanks to everyone who came through for us. The saddest part was pulling Kegan out of daycare. She loves it there. We have been sending her back about once a week when Madison goes on interviews and she has lots of fun.

Madison and Kegan have been enjoying lots of quality time at home and are getting a lot of projects completed between playing and job searching. I get daily video or picture updates of what they are up to. I've been trying to work extra some to help out with finances, but at this point in my pregnancy that hasn't been easy. I do good to just get my 40 hours in each week. Madison has been staying positive and is really working hard at finding another job soon. We are muddling through the land of COBRA and insurance mess trying to figure out the best way to go with a baby on the way in less than 2 months. It is an emotional rollercoaster, but with God, family, and friends, we are making it through just fine with our chins up. I am blessed to be married to such a wonderful man who sacrifices so much for our family.

Here are some pictures and videos of the fun they have without me.

Fun with Daddy in the park after a long run! It was in the low 60's and this is what daddy thought Kegan should wear. She was freezing, but having a blast still. She insisted that she get out of the babyjogger and run. She ran about 1/4 mile with her Daddy in Crocs, so we have since purchased some appropriate running shoes for her which she loves.

Kegan practicing her big sister kisses on Laura Beth

On their first day at home this was my morning greeting from Kegan at Daddy Daycare. Daddy made muffins....yummy!

splashing is so much fun

monkey gets a bath in the kitty box lid.....hey whatever works!

Kegan insisting on holding Laura Beth who is almost as big as her. She is super sweet....the both of them.

Trip to Grand Isle

So to finish up our every other weekend trips, we went to Grand Isle to visit my family. Water-loving Kegan had a blast. She could have stayed at the beach all day if we let her. She is not intimidated by the water by the least....sort of scary for us, but definitely not for her. It was her first experience with floaties and she even didn't mind going past where her feet could touch and floating along in the waves.

Daddy walking Kegan out into the water. How sweet is this!

Kegan had a blast having the waves break at her feet.

Here comes another wave!!! Whoo-hoo!

Nanny Jennifer had 2 sets of floaties, but each set had a lame side, so each girl had a partially deflated floatie. Still worked. All was good.

Ava with her hair blowing in the breeze as she collects hermit crabs

Hey Kiki, check these out! Kegan called them bugs.

Look Kiki, you throw them back in the water like this

But Ava, this method works much better! Dump!

Ring-around-the-rosey!

Kegan helping Nanny Jen keep an eye on those crazy boys

Boogie-boardin' Evan!

Boogie-boardin' Boogie!

Daddy giving instruction to our little surfer girl

Mommy packing her beachball under her shirt!

Who needs Sea World! A porpoise decided to come and play with us for a very up-close and personal view of it. I don't know who hung on to Madison tighter, Evan or Kegan

Random Kegan catch up

Pawpaw's hat!

This was a really cute day. Kegan found a camouflage hat in her Daddy's stuff and brought it to me saying Pawpaw. So funny that when he visited a few weeks back, he was wearing a camouflage hat and she remembered. She picks up on so much!

Kegan sending me sweetness while I am at work and missing her. She accidentally hits her knee at the end of the video and says she has a bobo.

Apparently Mom's gardening gloves make cool racing gloves. Helps you to ride really fast!

Watch out Sterling. I'll run you over. She is starting to ask for help a lot too. Sort of sounds more like "hop".

This is hilarious. A few weeks ago, Kegan discovered that she can fake sleep. She started off faking sleep at the dinner table while out with Paran, Daddy, and Mommy. She then proceeded to try to keep the game up, but decided she was hungry too, so started eating and drinking with her eyes closed. She even had the waiters cracking up at this. She is so funny.

Kegan's Ear Tubes Take Two

Way back on August 17th, Kegan got her second set of ear tubes. Her first set lasted almost a year before one fell out and the other clogged. She immediately had 2 ear infections, so she was on the schedule for another set. She was such a great patient. They took her in for her surgery at 7:15 and we were home by 8. The hardest part was her asking for cereal all morning while she pointed to her diaper bag. A reluctant Kegan trying to decide why all the other kids are dressed just like her

Finally breaking loose and starting to explore

What is this thing?

The coolest thing was a bubble blowing Stitch. It quickly ran out of bubbles. You can hear her say that the bubbles are wet when one busts on her head.

Wow? these look so much cooler while you are drunk from anesthesia.

A little more awake and popsicle number 3.

kegan had a record 3 popsicles at the hospital. It was the only thing that kept her from crying while she was all confused coming out of the anesthesia. Once we were home, she begged for her milk and ate 2 eggs over easy....it was supposed to be me and her Daddy's breakfast. I worried abou her eating solids so soon, but figured if she hadn't puked the 3 popsicles up yet, she was good....and she was. Aunt Sherry came by later to watch her while Mommy and Daddy went back to work and she was like nothing ever happened. Thanks Aunt Sherry for staying with me.