26 Candles on the Cake

I'm 26 today! Mom and Joshua came down Wednesday and left after church today. They kept the babies on Friday night while Bruce and I went to New Orleans. It was my first night away from Sullivan ever and it went well. She had plenty of breast milk in the freezer and I pumped every four or five hours while we were gone. Even though we missed the babies like crazy, it was a much needed break. Bruce and I had a wonderful time; we ate lunch at Johnny's (po-boys), dinner at Joey K's (as seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives), beignets at Cafe Du Monde and had Mother's (pretty sure everything there is delicious, but we had po-boys again and shared a bread pudding) for lunch before leaving on Saturday. So yeah, our trip was mostly about food, sleep and the chance to hear each other talk...that's what excites us these days.

I had two doctors appointments and a dentist appointment while Mom and Joshua were here to watch the babies. I'm happy to say I am doing well and came back with good reports from all three appointments. My dermatologist did say that I had about seven or eight moles I need to watch and if they change they will need to be removed. Oh how I wish I had never gotten in a tanning bed! I quit tanning right before our wedding and vowed to never get in another one for as long as I live. I could care less these days about getting a tan from the sun; with so many easy, safe ways to "tan" now, if I need color I'll figure something out. The dermatologist and I also discussed a problem I've had since Sullivan's birth. I've had a really bad case of keratosis pilaris on my thighs and back of my arms. (Think red goosebumps that won't go away) Why? I don't know, I had it when I was 12 or 13 and it's back now. I can't do anything major until I quit nursing and for now the course of treatment is exfoliation and using Dove body wash. I'm hoping it will help, one of the perks of leaving puberty behind was leaving this condition behind. I wasn't expecting to have to deal with it again as an adult.

The dentist said my teeth looked great. Yay! I was sure I'd have a cavity or two. I ate a lot of M&M's while nursing Sullivan in the middle of the night when she was a newborn and I never brushed before going back to sleep. (A sugar buzz was the only way I could wake up four or five times a night!) He was running a great special on bleaching trays and bleach. So I used my birthday money to have a new set of retainers made. I know, I know, I'm a wild woman! For whatever reason, my teeth have shifted a good bit since I got my braces off 12 years ago and last year Parker ate the retainers I had made to help that problem. So these will be hard, clear retainers that will double as bleaching trays. I can't wait until they're ready! I also splurged and bought a new pair of blue jeans (I've dropped a size within the last month - yay!) and new make-up.

Weight loss goal update: I didn't hit my 10-pound goal, but I did lose five pounds in six weeks. I'll take it! I'm on a roll now and know what I need to tweak to make it happen. It's become painfully apparent that losing weight at 26 and after having three babies is harder to do than when you're 19 and have endless free time to go to the gym. Oh well, no pain, no gain right? Or I guess in my case, no pain, no loss.

Sorry this was a long post. (A lot of times, I blog more for myself than others. As busy as we stay it's really easy to forget what life was like a year ago or even six months ago and this helps me remember exactly what was going on.) It was a great weekend and I spent my actual birthday doing what I love to do most - spending time with my husband and my babies. Life is so good and I thank God for every day and every year He has given me. I look forward to everything my 26th year will bring!

One of my all-time favorite pictures! I love you babies!


Enjoying a night out, just the two of us. (Sorry the picture is kinda' fuzzy!)

Sullivan, my brother Joshua and my Mom before church.


Sullivan was the only baby really up for taking pictures, but we tried.

Thanks for the delicious cake Mom! She brought this down from Huntsville from my favorite bakery.

A couple of pretty pictures we took walking around after dinner. (The Pat O'Brien's shot is for you Pops!)


These kids were awesome!

A must if you're ever in New Orleans

Sullivan at Five Months

While O and K napped this morning I got my camera out and took a few pictures of Sullivan. She is five and a half months old, growing so fast and I needed some new pictures of just her. Sullivan has a blast bouncing in her jumperoo and I got a lot of sweet smiles from her today because she was having a good time.

I took Sullivan in for one vaccine this afternoon (we follow Dr. Sears' schedule, so we make these trips monthly) and my big girl didn't even cry! Not a tear, nothing. I couldn't believe it, I've never had a baby not cry after a shot. The nurse weighed her as well and she weighed in at 18.10 lbs. She did have her clothes on and a diaper that was a little wet so I'm guessing she's actually 18 pounds and a couple of ounces. Our little breastfeeding team is as strong as ever and I'm happy to see she's thriving.

Sullivan has the best personality, loves to be held and cuddled and is adored by her entire family. Kathryn is especially fond of her and will sometimes stop playing and just walk over and kiss her for no reason at all. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. She's rolling, reaching, babbling up a storm and trying new baby foods every few days. So far she's had apples, bananas, sweet potatoes and rice cereal. She's eating one two and a half ounce container twice a day. Sullivan's giggle is contagious and her smile lights up a room. We are blessed! Here are pictures of our baby girl at five months.

She likes to smile for the camera.

Spending time with Daddy after getting her shot. Isn't that pink camo band-aid cute?

Bouncing is fun!

When I went to rinse off Sullivan's paci this morning, I came back into the living room to find this. K had put this headband on her baby sister. I guess she's teaching her to accessorize.

Broccoli, Beans and Other Healthy Things

Sorry I don't have any pictures today, but I had to share the good news. Today at lunch, the kids ate almost all of the broccoli I fixed for them. We're making major strides here people! Lately I've been steaming their broccoli or green beans and then tossing the veggies in a hot skillet with a little evoo, a tiny bit of kosher salt, pepper and a dash of cajun seasoning and they love it. Well, they like it much more than plain veggies for sure. Making the transition from pureed fruit to whole fruit was easy, it's getting them to eat the healthy green stuff that's more of a challenge. Anyone out there have any other creative ways to get your little ones to eat their veggies?

The Right Fit

If you're like me, finding clothes that fit can be a challenge. I have a huge chest (and it's even larger now because I'm nursing), an in-between regular and petite leg-length, a long torso and now a "mummy tummy." Believe it or not, I'm actually less critical of myself and my shape after having babies than I was before having babies. I mean I look this way because I was blessed enough to have the three sweetest babies ever! So at the end of the day, I'm not too discouraged about it. The way I see it, I'm still losing weight, this is my shape for now, what can I do to flatter this shape? I found an amazing website today that not only helped me identify my shape, but dress it as well.

Here's the deal:
Go to myshape.com, go to the "style me" tab, then the "body shape" tab and select the "what's my shape" option from the drop down box. It took me about 30 minutes to enter in all of my answers and measurements, but so worth the time. Once I was given my shape (I turned out to be a "P" - big bust and small hips) I can shop different stores in only the clothes that are designed for my shape. You can sort by designer, price, etc. Some of the clothes are really pricey, but I also found tons of clothes under $50 and many pieces under $30.

I love finding pieces that fit just right and this makes shopping so much easier! (Especially since I do 80% of my shopping online). Anyway, I thought this was too good not to share with everyone. Happy shopping!

Let's Play

I'm pretty excited that all three babies are starting to play together. I never leave O and K alone with Sullivan, but it won't be long until she can take care of herself and keep up with them. Sullivan is fascinated by her big brother and sister; Kathryn and Owen love to entertain her. It's a win-win for everyone! Here are a few pictures from this week and from the 4th of July. I think we're taking the kiddos to the splash pad down on the beach again this weekend. I'll make sure to take my camera this time so I can post the pictures. They had a ball last weekend and I kicked myself for not having my camera charged. Hope everyone is having a great week.

Playing together while Mommy got ready to go grocery shopping. I felt brave yesterday and took all three babies to the grocery store; it was exhausting, but went smoothly.

"Hey sister, I like your outfit." Sometimes I can't help myself and I have to put them in matching outfits.

Kathryn loves to color. Owen likes it for a few minutes and then finds something else to get into. I probably say "color on the paper only" about 50 times a day. They're bound to get that concept eventually...right?

He loves "nanoos" so much. This was the first time he'd had a whole one all to himself.

Grandmama with her grandbabies. We had such a good time while she was here, the babies loved playing with her. She bought them a choo-choo train made of blocks that they've barely put down since she left.


Because you have to eat a cheeseburger on the 4th of July.

I love her big smiles!

She's fabulous!

Mommy and Sullivan