Whoa

Seriously. It isn't just me who thinks these 3 look A LOT alike, right?

I'm lucky Drew is my mini-me otherwise I'd be really upset!

My Thoughts on the Royal Baby

I have been so excited for Kate Middleton and Price William to welcome their second baby. I was hoping they'd have a girl and was so excited when it was revealed the baby was a girl. Yes, it's a lot of silly hoopla for the birth of a baby...but she's a princess! What girl {and heck grown woman} doesn't wish to be a princess. I did have a few thoughts as I read story after story online about the little as-yet-unnamed princess.

1. Yes, Kate looks AMAZING. She had a baby and 6 hours later is in heels, make-up, hair fully blown out. I was lucky to be able to get my thoughts together after both babies, let alone my looks. Yes, she had a team help her look gorgeous. I'm sure she's smiling and thinking about getting home and into her sweatpants. And I also think she's loving the hell out of her mesh panties and hoping she took enough pairs home from the hospital. {If you've had a baby, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.} She's a duchess and someday will be queen, but she's still a regular woman, am I right?

2. OMG that baby is precious. But please {PLEASE} I hope her name isn't Alice like the bet makers are saying. Charlotte, Emily, Elizabeth, yes. Alice, no. I get that it will be something traditional. I don't expect a Piper or Tatum. I guess after George I can't get my hopes up...

3. I can't stand the way Brits dress their baby boys. I am probably in the minority, but I hate john-johns. George is totally adorable, but I am not a fan of knee socks and buckle shoes on boys. Put that kids in a Carter's t-shirt with bugs on it and some crocs!

4. I think Kate put a longer blanket on Baby Girl and held her lower to hide her tummy. Ha!

Were you all about the baby hoopla? What do you think her name will be?

Show & Tell Tuesday: How We Named the Kiddos!

I'm linking up with Momfessionals again for another Show & Tell Tuesday. I really liked this topic: How we picked our kids' names.

Trent Joseph {Here's his birth story}

Man, Brent and I fought over naming Trent. We always knew a boy would have Brent's middle name {Joseph} and a girl would have mine {Kathleen}. But our first born was 'Baby Boy' from 20 weeks onward, and we couldn't come close to agreeing on anything past xx Joseph. Names we discussed included Miller, Brewer, Rylan, Drew, Carson...to name a few. But nothing even made the short list when we went to have him. I was pulling for Miller, and I honestly can't even remember what Brent liked. Probably Drew. Because he wanted to call him D.J. {Gag}

Having the last name Gurley makes it challenging to name kids. For a boy, Brent knew it needs to be a strong name to offset the tease-able last name. I didn't like anything beginning with a 'G' {sounded too cutesy}, and I wanted a name to not be in the Social Security's Top 100. {If you don't know, roughly every spring the SS Administration will publish rankings of names from the previous year. You can search by state, you can look at as far out as top 1,000, you can go back over 100 years, it is so fun!} Brent thought that was a dumb requirement. I thought Drew Joseph a.k.a. D.J. was stupid. You can see where we stood.

Then...he was born!!! I just knew after the agony of labor and pushing for almost an hour and a half, Brent would give in, and Baby Boy would be Miller. Well, apparently stitches in your hoo-ha get you exactly...squat from my husband! So we were back to square one. 

At night on July 1 {more than 24 hours after Baby Boy was born}, we were still stumped, and Brent decided it was time to get serious. So HE started looking at the SS Administration page. One thing to note is the resemblance between Baby Boy and Brent. We got so many comments on how they favored each other. So Brent randomly threw out the name Trent {#312}. Hmmm... I started marinating on that name because it seemed like a way of naming him Jr. without actually having him be a Jr. When I was nursing Trent in the middle of the night that night, I looked at him and just KNEW he was Trent. It was perfect, just perfect.

Well. Enter the dream squasher...my husband. The next morning, he decided he wasn't that fond of Trent anymore. Was it too cute to have them be Brent and Trent? NO!!! He looks like you, he's your son, let's go with it! Brent decided the 'fair' thing to do would be to flip coins. Trent {my fave} vs. Drew {his fave}. The winner of that would go against Carson {a name neither of us absolutely despised}.

As he pulled out a quarter to start flipping, I started crying. My baby just couldn't be Carson or Drew. HE WAS TRENT. When I told Brent why I was crying, he gave up and said 'Just fill out the birth certificate paperwork.' And I did! I might have promised Brent that we'd name our second baby Drew, but I was lying if we were to ever have another boy, so I hoped for a girl next!

Drew Kathleen {Here's her birth story: part 1 & part 2}

If you thought naming a daughter would be easier for my husband and me given how we ended up naming Trent...well...you'd be wrong. 

It seemed in the 3 1/2 years between our children, we got pickier about our requirements. Still couldn't be in the top 100, still had to be careful to make it not too cutesy when paired with Gurley {nothing starting with a G or ending in an 'e' sound to rhyme}, and now we knew we liked 1 syllable names. We did figure out we liked boy names for girls. Yes, Drew was on the list {not even in the top 1,000}, and quite a high contender, but was it THE name? We weren't sure. Alex, Sam, Tate, Ellis {the one 2 syllable name I liked}...other names I really liked that Brent wasn't sold on.

So when labor began on January 2, we went to the hospital for the second time with an unnamed child.

January 3 rolled around, and we were taking a walk up and down the halls of the hospital pushing our little unnamed girl in her basket, and we looked at each other and said 'Well, should it be Drew?' And that was that! Brent got his way and Trent's leftover name did indeed become our second born's name. Thank God we had a girl!

It was definitely a challenge to name our babies, and I don't foresee it getting any easier for any future children {Yes, Brent, there'll be ONE MORE...maybe}, but at least we will know what we're getting into!

{Busy} Weekend Recap

We had a very busy and very fun weekend! I love busy weekends because I think it keeps us from getting bored and irritable. Am I the only one who can get annoyed being home too much on the weekend? {grin}

We started Saturday by inviting Bumblebee to breakfast.

Don't tell Brother, he still doesn't know! #littlesisterlikesbrotherstoys

Drew and I started a 'Parent-Child' swim class at a local YMCA. Our friends Dez {and Foster} and Susie {and Reid} are doing the class as well. True to form, Drew LOVED being in the water. She splashed and splashed and got everyone really wet. That girl is our water bug for sure.

Mamas and babies

 The many silly faces of Drew and Allena

Saturday afternoon we went to a Frozen themed birthday party. I had a stroke of genius when I remembered my *FMIL had bought the kids snowman shirts at Christmastime.

Me with Olaf and baby Olaf

Baby Olaf was worn out! {And loves herself a clutch to carry around}

Today was Mayer's first birthday party. Another year that went by too fast. I took a ton of pictures as official photographer {of course none of my family or my sister's family}. The party deserves its own post, but I decided to share my favorite picture of the party.

Don't even think about taking some of my cake.

*fabulous mother-in-law

Is It Just Me...

...or do I have a Mini-Me?

Baby Beau!!

Drew is beyond excited to announce the arrival of her future BFF.

Beau Christine

September 8, 2013

7.2 pounds, 19 inches

Already beyond loved.

Baby Beau's Shower!

I co-hosted a baby shower for Kristen and Schuyler and their baby girl, Beau, who is due to join their family in a few weeks! We did a twist on a fiesta theme, and I think it turned out awesome.

Let's start with the dessert table, shall we?

I made sopapilla cheesecake and it was a hit!

Lots of drinks

I loved all the decorations which were the brain-child of one of the other hostesses. She should really plan parties instead of being a CPA! I made the pom-poms...they looked like crap, ha.

Kristen made me promise to only put pictures of her on here where she looked good. She didn't say anything about looking silly!

Beau got so many gifts. And I could have died over some of the dresses. I might have plotted ways to steal them for Drew.

Ready to welcome their little girl

Hostesses and Mama-to-be

I am beyond excited for Beau's arrival. Drew is ready for her future BFF to be here so they can start playing and plotting against us. {grin}

A Spoooooky Party

I realized this weekend I never posted about Trent's birthday party! Shame on me. We celebrated with a spooky party because this kid loves to be scared. No clue where he gets it, but hey, it made decorating easy, so I was all for it!

The cake, made by yours truly

No, your eyes do not deceive you. There is a '5' on the cake. Trent had an insane meltdown in Target over buying that candle and not the '4' because the '4' was yellow. {Can't we pretend it represents my favorite color and not my age? Okay, kid, you win.}

I also did cupcakes with adorable spooky toppers.

And I borrowed some of my mom's Halloween decorations. See? Easy!

3 preggers...sitting in a row.

Due in October, September and July...or so they all thought. {grin}

Presents!

After opening presents...trying out the TMNT masks. Boys. Oy!

  My sister makes cute babies!

Schuyler agreed. {Can't wait to see him become a Daddy!}

I had no good pictures of singing. Boo.

Our first family picture in MONTHS. #momfail

P.S. - Isn't Drew's onesie adorable? B didn't understand why I spent money for her to match the theme. Men.

The hit of the party!!  The slip 'n slide from wonderful godparents!

Blair donned a pair of Trent's underwear and joined in. And then it turned into hose time. I love these 3 together. Can't wait to see all 5!

Chilling in the tub with a new toy from mom and dad completed his day, don't you think?

We woke up the next morning to find out one of my co-workers (due in mid-July) got a surprise in the early morning. Now her little guy, Jaelyn, shares Trent's birthday! Love!!

Randoms

• It is beyond awesome to see Trent starting to interact some with Drew. She is fascinated with him and just stares at him if he is around. He, on the other hand, does not find her interesting in the least.

• I haven't had a chai in almost a week because of our thrush diet. I am dying. BUT...I haven't seen thrush since Tuesday. Dear Lord, please let us be over this hurdle. Amen.
• Feast your eyes on my Staypuff Marshmallow. Our newest sleep aid is the Baby Merlin Magic Sleepsuit. It is a transition out of the swaddle and so far, so good. But seriously - the look is pretty hysterical.

• Is it just me or is it a little awkward when Trent gets one of my romance novels off the book shelf and wants to use it as something in his imaginings?
• I know y'all are probably sick of me saying this but seriously. Seriously.

• I told y'all Mayer was fat. {grin} I think it'd be hard to argue which baby is bigger, but Drew is 6 weeks older. My sister is 3 for 3 for chunkies! His rolls are delicious.

Updates Galore

BP3 - My newest nephew has a name. 

Mayer David

Drew's Weight - We had a check-up yesterday for Drew's weight. She gained 8 ounces in 12 days which is on the light side but normal. She did drop another percentile category, but her doctor doesn't seem concerned. I wasn't ever really concerned. I did talk with 2 lactation consultants and they agreed with me that she was gaining just fine for an exclusively breastfed baby.

The doc does think Drew and I have thrush. Boo. I swear - between reflux, weight gain issues and this...we are tackling all the BF issues! I had no problems with Trent. It seems to be a pretty mild case, so we're starting with a pretty mild treatment. If you come to my house though and see me topless, you'll know why. {grin}

6 Week Postpartum - I had my 6 week OB follow-up this week as well. Everything seems to be going good in the physical recovery; I'd say I'm recovered (whoo hoo). Emotional is a little less peachy keen. I am still confident I am 9,020,102 times better than I was with Trent, but I'm still toying with the idea of talking to someone. I have good days and bad days and, right now, the good days greatly outweigh the bad, but it'd be nice to be proactive and keep the bad days to a minimum. My OB (who is wonderful, I cannot say enough amazing things about my practice) gave me the name of a woman who specializes in post-partum, so we'll see if I give her a call.

I had every intention of taking a picture of both kids all looking cute for Valentine's Day. It didn't happen. I am just proud that I got 20 gifts together for his class, presents for his teachers, presents for each of my kiddos and a present for my husband.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

He's Here!!

Baby Boy Patnode

February 11, 2013 @ 4:34 pm

8 pounds, 2 ounces

20 1/2 inches

I predicted he would be 8 pounds, 2-3 ounces - I am a genius! He is their biggest baby yet...but still smaller than both of mine!!

As per usual, he is nameless. Let the debate begin.

Patty also tested positive for GBS, so she'll be in the hospital until Wednesday. I hope to get to go up there, but given Drew has yet to take a bottle that seems unlikely, so I will probably see him at home later this week.

Patty also pushed only 1 time! She certainly knows how to have babies. {grin}

Our hearts are full - just in time for Valentine's Day!!

Craziness

The last few days have been really interesting around here...and not because of having a newborn in the house!

First, I never blogged about Hagan having baby Luke. He arrived on November 21, about 2 1/2 weeks early due to Hagan having pre-eclampsia. Well, over the weekend he got RSV and spent several days in the hospital. At one point, there was concern that he had a bacterial infection in his blood and potentially had meningitis. Luckily, he didn't but RSV is bad enough for a 7 week old! He is home now and doing good! But as a reminder to all moms, we must be diligent in keeping everyone clean. When Trent comes home, we strip his clothes off and wash his hands and face. We are also washing his blanket and jacket really frequently and pumping him full of vitamins! Ashlee wrote a great post on AMB about germs and staying healthy.

Luke getting sprung!

Then Patty started having contractions. Then she started swelling. Then she went to the doctor where there was protein found in her urine and her blood pressure was elevated. She was monitored in the hospital for a few hours and got released to go home on bed rest for awhile. She is only 35 weeks pregnant, so we need BP3 to cook a little longer!

So the Swope girls really need to settle down!!! And if anyone wanted to pray for my sister and cousin and their boys, we'd sure appreciate it.

Trent's Big Boy Room...Oh the Drama

I'm consumed with decorating Trent's Big Boy Room and redoing the nursery.  Trent's BBR is the priority because we want to move him soon to get him used to it before Baby Gurl's arrival (Aunty K Dub christened her with a new blog name.  It's totally perfect, huh?).  Plus, I think it's a little more exciting to decorate a room for a child who has a personality and can let you know what they want.  BUT...it can be a little dramatic too.

First, I found the perfect quilt for our truck loving little boy.

But, alas, it only came in a twin and we're putting a full bed in the BBR.  Ugh.

So then I found a great quilt that is more neutral.  I did buy this, so I at least have this purchased!!

The plan with this was to get truck sheets.  The perfect pair that had lots of different types of trucks...sold out before I could order.  Sigh.  

I have a set of sheets that at a minimum will be a backup set (bought by my fabulous MIL or FMIL), but it's all construction trucks, and as soon as T saw them, he asked where the garbage trucks were.  We're contemplating trying to make sheets.  Crazy?

Next up, paint.  The Big Boy wants a green room.  Green is for sure his favorite color, and I think it's adorable he has a favorite.  My FMIL and I had decided on some samples to start with and she surprised us with them (along with T's sheets), so of course, we got painting.

Happy little painter

And yes, we did let him do all the initial painting (my job was clean-up)

Our initial 4 colors...'BL' is my favorite at this point

I already have ideas for a rug and certain things to go on the wall, can't wait to get them ordered but am trying to not spend ALL our money in one month...

To say this is a project is an understatement but SO much fun.  Of course I say that with the majority of the work ahead of me.  Brent and I have already argued about how to clean out the closet (there are baby boy clothes in there which Brent is adamant we get rid of because he is DONE having babies...which prompted me to almost burst into tears because I am NOT done...but maybe we should have this baby first?!?!), and I still have to actually clean out the room and closet, paint the room, move all the furniture into it, and decorate it...after finishing the plan.

And then?  Onto Baby Gurl's nursery!  Oy!