December!

It has been a crazy December and we haven't even made it to Christmas yet :).  I love this time of year so much but there is always a small part of me that is ready for it to be over and slow down :).  I also won't miss the crazy sickness that comes with this time of year.  Both boys had a staph infection, Luke had some crazy allergic reactions for weeks following that, and Carson is now dealing with RSV.  Hopefully this all passes soon! 

I officially went back to work right around Thanksgiving and it has been crazy busy!  Unfortunately, my territory is now huge so I am getting used to being back to work and traveling.  I have traveled every week since I have been back which has been pretty tough.  I miss these boys even when it is only one night away! 

Here are some pictures of our crazy, busy, fun December!
  

Seeing Santa went exactly how I imagined :)....C wasn't phased by it and Luke was NOT a fan!  We went to the new golf store and of course Luke was in heaven!  Sweet Carson is getting so big!!  He is such a wonderful baby!!  He is always just so happy and rarely cries! 

The highlight of our Decemnber!!!  Natty and Dennis got MARRIED!!!  It was such a beautiful wedding!!!  Camp Lucy was such an amazing venue and of course she was such a beautiful bride!!!!  We had such a wonderful time celebrating!!!!

It was SO fun to get all the girls together....the crazy ice storm attempted to rain on our parade but we all made it and had SUCH a wonderful time!!!!  It was also a great adult weekend away...my sweet parents were so nice to keep the boys and be up with them all night long :)

Congrats again to the Graham's!!!!  We had such a wonderful time!!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful thanksgiving with everyone!  We got to celebrate a few weeks ago with the Bullard's and then with my family. The kids all had a blast!!  It is always so fun to get the cousins together.  We also got to see some family that we hadn't seen in years! 

Sweet cousins!

Luke has never been one to smile for the camera but all the sudden he was obsessed.  He followed Rebecca around and just kept saying more and would give the biggest smile. 

Nana and Papa with the kiddos! 

Love this sweet boy :)

 

18 months old!

So crazy to think that Luke is already 18 months.  He becomes more of our little man every single day!  We had his check up but no shots thankfully!  He is now at the age that he recognizes the office right when we get there and remembers the shots he had.  When he was going through all his allergy testing he had a rough week with a few blood draws and it has left him petrified of the office :(.  We definitely had a major meltdown the entire time we were there.  It took two of us just to get him undressed and on the scale.  My doctor reassured me this was pretty normal for this age because they can remember...but it definitely makes for a long visit.  I think we were all sweating by the time we left.

Here are his 18 month stats:

Weight: 24lbs 12oz ~ 58th %

Height:  32.75in ~ 62%

Things he currently loves:
-Running everywhere...my favorite thing is in the morning when I take him out of his crib and his little legs start going....straight to the kitchen of course at full speed.
-Fire trucks, buses, airplanes, trucks...we got him some cute little PJ's with all these different forms of public transportation on them and he loves them!  He will go around and show everyone the fire trucks and planes.  Most days he fights me because he wants to wear that to school.
-Lawn mowers...he REALLY likes when the guys come to mow our lawn.  He follows them around every window.  He really likes the leaf blower....he followed right behind them at my parents house and just keep saying more, more!  I'm sure they love having a little shadow help them :).
-He also still does this with the vacuum...he is obsessed with the vacuum!  I really think he just likes all the things that make really loud noises.
-He is also just now into Mickey which is nice because it will give us an occasional 20 min break although I think I will forever have the song stuck in my head...it is very catchy:).
-And of course he still loves bananas, golf, balls, and slides.

He is great with Carson!  He is getting more and more interested in him everyday.  I just can't wait to see these two boys running around playing together!  We just love them both more everyday and can't imagine our lives without them!  Here are a few pictures of the boys!

Sweet boy cuddling before bed, LOVED the tree at the Galleria...kept saying "WOW"

Love this sweet face :)...he will give us this little half, crooked smile that just melts you

Visit from the Bullard's

Granddad, Mo, and Aunt B came to visit us this past weekend (we missed you Uncle E)!  We had such a wonderful time with them and the boys were definitely sad to see them go!  We spent the majority of the weekend trying to convince them to move here....maybe one day :).

We had such a fun weekend!! The weather was absolutely perfect so we grilled steaks Friday night and we made Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.  We fried a turkey and for our first time doing this alone it was surprisingly good!  It was touch and go there for a bit!    Here are some pictures from the weekend.

These boys just loved seeing everyone!!  Only Granddad can get these boys to nap with him like this...just so sweet! 

We also made time to take them to the Arboretum Saturday morning. They still have the pumpkin display out so Luke had a blast!

It was beautiful as always there!

So many pumpkins!

Thanks again Bullard's for driving down to see us!  We absolutely loved having you all here!!  We can't wait to see you guys again soon.  The boys miss you already!!

 

2 months old!

Carson just turned 2 months old.  We had his check up and shots and he did great!  He is definitely growing like crazy and getting chunky.  He is so much fun and so sweet!!  He is slowly starting to sleep a little more which is nice!  Although, daylight savings did a little number on Luke....we have had 3 days and counting of him waking up ready to party at 445am.  That comes WAY too soon after being up with Carson.  I think I have finally just accepted that he is, and probably always will be, our early riser.  Here are Carson's two month stats.

Weight:  10lbs 10oz ~ 15th%
Height:  22in ~ 11th%
Head:  15th%

Luke keeps us busy as ever.  We have really experienced more of Dallas since he was born than we ever have.  It is so much fun to take him somewhere new and just see the excitement in his eyes.  I just love being able to experience it all with him.  We went to the arboretum with the boys last weekend and I loved it.  I'm kind of embarrassed to say I had never been there.  It is so beautiful....I love flowers so this was right up my alley.  Luke is still big on his pumpkin obsession so he was literally in pumpkin heaven!!  I honestly have never seen so many pumpkins in one place.  He had an absolute blast!  We will definitely be going back there soon.  Here are some pictures of the boys!

Had a blast!

Sweet boy is growing!  Don't judge...but we already have our tree up :)...fitting that Luke is wearing Halloween PJ's while helping me decorate since we put it up so early.  He absolutely loves it though so totally worth it :).

Crazy hair day at school again...he didn't really know what to think about it.  He is also really into the vacuum for some reason.  He wants me to vacuum everyday and same thing when we go to my parents.  Our floors have never been this clean! 

Halloween!!

Luke and Carson had a great Halloween!!  Luke has absolutely had a blast this fall.  He loves pumpkins and the fact that he gets to see them every single day!  We have a minor meltdown every morning going into school because he can't stay outside with their little pumpkin display. 

Carson is getting bigger and bigger!  He is such a great baby and so laid back!  I am just loving my time home with him.  It is going to be really hard to go back to work in a few weeks. 

Here are a few pics of the boys enjoying the Fall!

Luke at his Fall festival at school with his friends.  Don't judge that he isn't dressed up....he is VERY particular about what he wears :).  Loves the park by our house!

My sweet skeletons trick or treating!  Luke did great....he ran behind Chase and T the whole time.  I think he was just excited about all the pumpkins on the porches and didn't really get the whole candy thing, but either way he loved it! 

More celebrating!

This sweet boy is growing so fast!!!  He just gets sweeter everyday!  Aunt Rebecca came by to meet him while she was in town!  Can't wait to meet his Uncle Jeff at Thanksgiving!

Obsessions continued...

Luke is so funny with the things he loves. He has had some pretty strong obsessions, as I'm sure all kids do.  We finally got over coffee cups and we have moved on to bananas, pumpkins, animals, books, golf and public transportation.  Yes, public transportation...really of any kind.  He loves taxis, buses, boats and most of all....airplanes.  They tell us at school he just stares into the sky and points at every plane.  They always put on his little sheet his favorite thing of the day.  When I picked him last week it said "Luke was really excited to see the Dart bus"...so random.  Sweet papa took him to Addison airport to see the planes!  He had a blast!

Here are a few pics from the airport, the pumpkin patch and the farm!  He had a fun weekend.  I guess next weekend we will take him to the Dart Station :).  

All bundled up watching the planes, got to walk and see them all, followed by a little golf that afternoon. 

Fun at the pumpkin patch....until we had to leave!

Luke had a blast at the Owens Farm!  He got to feed the goats and see lots of pumpkins and tractors.

Sweet boy is so alert!  We are even getting some sweet smiles now :).  Love these boys so much!!

One month old!!

One month stats:
Weight:  7lbs 12oz ~ 3rd%
Length:  20 3/4 ~ 10th%
Head:  4th%

Carson is one month old!  Some days it feels like it has flown by and others it doesn't!  We are really enjoying our time with our boys!  Carson is such a sweet baby and Luke has adjusted great so far.  We have had a few really long nights with Carson but we know sleep will come soon enough.....hopefully :).  You forget how hard days are without sleep and how rough those few first months can be...I need to come back and read this as a reminder when I get baby fever again!  (Although I still think I may have one more baby/pregnancy in me....:)

Carson is more alert and more awake every day.  I love how he will just stare up at me when I talk to him...just melts my heart :). He gives little half smiles all the time...probably still gas smiles but still the sweetest thing ever!  He has rolled over a few times from his tummy to his back but I think it is by total accident and typically freaks him out but he has great head control :).

Luke is more active each and every day!  He is still on "go mode" the second he wakes up!  He is talking more and more every day with new words :). He is going to be a chatty little guy!  He still LOVES books, bananas, golf, food, trucks and now, of course, Carson.  It's really sweet that he will look around for him every morning.  He still hates getting dressed, getting his diaper changed and getting haircuts.  Here are a few pictures of the family and some of the newborn pictures we had done.  

Just love these sweet boys!

Love how the newborn pics turned out.  Here are just a few of them...

A few more pics

Two weeks old!!

Little Carson is 2 weeks old!  We have had so much fun at home with our boys! Luke is really sweet with his little brother and has adjusted great so far.  Carson has been such a great baby and sleeps pretty good!  We are definitely exhausted with two and try to catch up on sleep whenever possible.

Here are his 2 weeks stats and some pictures of our boys! 

Weight: 6lbs 6oz ~ 4th% 

Height:  19 1/4in ~ 4th%

Head:  34in ~ 13th%

Sweet boys!

Love :)

So sweet!

My sweet boys!

I am having so much fun being at home with sweet Carson!!  I was just telling Erika before I gave birth that I didn't think I missed the newborn stage and loved Luke's age but I completely forgot how incredibly sweet this stage is!  I swear I could lay with him on my chest and cuddle all day long :).  Maybe you just appreciate it more the second time around knowing how fast it goes by.

He is such a sleepy little guy! He has been so great and pretty easy so far.  We are crossing our fingers he stays like this and he's not just still in the foggy stage of being born.  He eats about every 3 hours then typically goes right back to bed!  Brent and I switch off shifts so we are both feeling somewhat rested. I am so lucky to have Brent's help for some of the late night shifts...thank goodness!  I feel like this time around has been easier but maybe it's just because I am more comfortable.  That being said...having two kids is definitely a game changer!!!  By the end of the night we are worn out!  We have kept Luke in school while I am on maternity leave so that helps out during the days.  I get a greater appreciation for stay at home moms everyday!!

Here are a few pictures of our sweet boys! 

A few more pictures from the hospital and 1st days home

Just so sweet :)

This pretty much sums up his passions right now...food, books, & golf!

 

Carson Reid Bullard

Our sweet, handsome boy Carson Reid Bullard was born on September 4th at 4:25pm.  He is itty bitty just like his brother Luke!  He weighed 5lbs 14oz and was 19in long.  He is such a sweet baby!!  We honestly couldn't be more in love!!!  I can't wait to watch my sweet boys grow up together.

 

Our first few days as a family of 4 have been wonderful!  The Bullard's stayed in town over the weekend to help out with Luke.  That was such a HUGE help for us.  The 1st few nights at home are always the hardest so having someone help out with our active little boy was a life saver!

 

Luke was a little hesitant around Carson in the beginning and wouldn't really acknowledge him but he is doing better each day.  I still think he is probably thinking that someone will eventually come and get the baby and that this is temporary but the more he is here the more he seems to be warming up to him.

 

Here are some pictures of our family!!

Proud parents :)

Proud grandparents

 

Lots of people came to meet Carson.  The last picture is a side by side of Luke when he was born and Carson.  They look so much alike!!

First weekend at home :).

15 months and "1st day of school"

Luke turned 15 months old on August the 19th.  He is growing like a weed and keeping us busier than ever!

Here are his 15 month stats:

Weight:  22lbs 15oz - 48%
Height:  34 in - 57th%
(Or somewhere right around there....I forgot to write it down)

Below is a picture of him at the doctor for his 15th month check up and shots. He handles shots like a champ and always has thank goodness. I would take these over a haircut any day!  He still FREAKS out when we get his haircut....such a beat down!

 

 

 

I always love seeing every one's adorable back to school pictures. I don't think I truly appreciated them until I had a kid. Well Luke's school gave us this little gem of a picture of Luke on his official 1st day of this year. He has obviously gone all summer but this is when the big kids start so they consider it the "1st day". Never a good idea to take food away from this kid then try to snap a pic. You will get this every time :). They are doing a re-do needless to say!

 

Loves, loves, loves books! 

Little play area at the Galleria because it's way too hot to do anything outside :).

We always get excited for football season and cooler weather...especially since we will be adding a sweet baby boy to our family!! Wednesday the 4th is the BIG day!!!  We can't wait!

38 weeks and trip to the zoo!!

We are officially one week from baby day!  So crazy to think we will have two little boys soon.  We are so excited, nervous, anxious, ready.....and already tired :).

We wanted to take Luke somewhere fun before his life totally changes.  We went to the zoo and he had an absolute blast!!!  It was a really quick trip considering I was about 38 weeks pregnant and it's August in Texas, but I'm so glad we went!  I really thought I would go into labor right there and was completely out of commission for the rest of the day but Luke loved it so totally worth it!!! Here are a few pics from the zoo and the 38 week update.
 

You would think this would be the "after the zoo, I'm exhausted pic"....nope, it was on the way there :)....sweet boy was a little out of it for the 1st half of the zoo.

 Doesn't know what to think about the gorillas!

Saying goodbye to the elephants...and all the other animals. 

 

We only did half of the zoo so we will have to go back and see the rest after #2 comes.  Good thing he doesn't really know that he missed a ton of the good animals.  They are very smart in separating all the good animals so it forces you to walk the ENTIRE zoo to see them all.  I was done when we walked passed the dippin' dots stand....I figured that was a good way to end the trip.  I can't believe they still have those!  They are so good and Luke loved them!

 

I was actually pretty impressed with the zoo.  If you get there early like we did parking is easy and you don't have to walk too far and the zoo is nice and clean.  I think you can even bring some of your own stuff in.  We saw some people with coolers.  We will definitely be back when it gets cooler!

 

Here is the 38 week update:

How far along? 38 Weeks...1 week (at most) to go!!

How big is he his week? Length of a leek...weight of a watermelon.

Best Moment of the Week?  Date night with Brent.  We went to Urban Crust in downtown Plano.  Saturday was a long day for both of us but it was nice to get out for one of our last possible nights out before the baby.  They have great pizza too!!

Trouble Sleeping? Yes...I am waking up a lot in the night

Miss Anything? Wearing normal clothes and feeling normal 

Movement? All the time!

Food Cravings? Still sonic drinks and spicy food.  We can also add Dippin' Dots to this list...I drove to a random mall for these one day only to find out they have them much closer to my house!  I'm kinda over having cravings...I will get something in my head and will go crazy until I go and get it. 

Belly Button - In or Out? The top part pretty much stays out the whole time now....it did this with Luke too.

Symptoms?  Constant Braxton Hicks!  All day...everyday!

Wedding Ring - Off or on? On, but it comes off the second I get home.

Happy or Moody? Not moody....just pretty exhausted all the time.  Thank goodness I have Brent around to help with Luke....he will wear you out in NO time :).

Looking Forward to? Meeting our sweet baby boy in a week!! And, of course, the sono Friday.  I am anxious to see what they say he weighs and compare to how much he really does on Wednesday.  I always wonder how accurate this is.  They said Luke would be a pretty big baby (around 8lbs) and that was pretty off.

37 weeks!! Officially considered "full-term"

I honestly can't believe I am 37 weeks!!  My doctor said if I haven't had him by Sept 4th she wants to induce.  I'm REALLY hoping this happens on it's own because I just feel like there is something about going in to labor naturally like I did with Luke, but I have to admit, it is comforting having a goal date.  So crazy how fast this pregnancy went by!! We are getting so excited to meet our sweet boy!! We can't wait to see how Luke will react to his little brother.  We have tried our best to talk to him about it and prepare him but I don't think he really has any idea what is coming :).  Here are a few pics of Luke and the 37 week update!

 

 

 

Fun at Nana and Papa's!!  Luke is now REALLY into books!!  I have to say I love this because he will just sit in my lap and read with me.  So incredibly sweet :).  He has never been much of a cuddlier until recently.  He will now come up and give me a hug and blow me kisses and it just melts my heart.  Such a sweet little boy!

Sitting in Toby's dog bed (neighbor's dog).  This is after he chased him around for an hour.

 

He is semi-obsessed with dogs....he definitely does not get this obsession from me :).  My friends rudely call me the "dog hater"....which I am not at all by the way!!  That being said, I wouldn't call myself a dog lover either!  Luke absolutely LOVES dogs....of any shape and size.  He is not remotely scared of them...which makes me even more nervous that one will get annoyed with him because he will just get up in their face.  I guess I should appreciate he likes them and isn't scared but he is just going to have to stick to hanging out with the ones at the pet store because they aren't coming home with us :). 

 

Here is the 37 week update:

How far along? 37 Weeks...2 weeks (at most) to go!!

How big is he his week? Swiss Chard??

Best Moment of the Week? Double date night with Brent, Jen and DK. We went to Fearings for a nice night out to celebrate before the baby comes. Such a great meal and nice to enjoy a night out.

Trouble Sleeping? I am waking up more and more now but I think it's because my mind is racing at night.

Miss Anything? Wearing normal clothes  

Movement? All the time!

Food Cravings? Sonic drinks and spicy food 

Belly Button - In or Out? The top part pretty much stays out the whole time now....it did this with Luke too.

Symptoms?   Really bad headaches and constant Braxton Hicks! I seriously feel like I have them all day, everyday!

Wedding Ring - Off or on? On, but it comes off the second I get home.

Happy or Moody? I've been more emotional lately. I have had a few days where I am sure Brent thinks I have gone a little crazy. Thank goodness he is a understanding husband....and it helps we have gone through this one time before :). I feel like I've been MUCH better this time around...but he may not agree.

Looking Forward to? Meeting our sweet baby boy in a few short weeks!!  And, of course, the sono Friday.