The after party....

Aunt Shell, Uncle Scott and Mommy

Lucas enjoyed the visit at Nana's too!!!

Jumping over the creek....

Hanging out in the backyard!

After the fabulous retirement party, we all went back to Mom and Marc's to hang out some more. Marc's family had come up from Sullivan so it was great to see everyone and just relax. We actually ended up staying for the better part of the evening, and since the boys weren't there, we weren't being rushed! So, it was a nice time and great to see everyone! The kids loved playing outside with Uncle Scott the most!!

Retirement Party Surprise!!!

The party planners!!!

Olivia and Daddy

Olivia and Mommy

Uncle Scott with the crazy kids...who appear to be dancing in his lap!

Dancing machine!!

Now, that's better!

The retirement cake....beach themed with their very own loung chairs!

Mom's priceless reaction after having Scott come around the corner!

I don't think she let him go for about five minutes!

Tha happy...retired...couple enjoying their party!

Nana taking time to enjoy Lucas!

Paw Paw, Beth and Daryl

What an amazing day....we are extremely excited that this went off without a hitch! Beth, Shell and I had planned a surprise retirement party for Mom and Marc, and it went just as planned! We got up this morning and got ready at the house, and much to our surprise, Mom called to see what we had planned for the day. So, it was really difficult not to spill the beans, but she really had no clue what was going on. She simply mentioned that Beth was coming into town, so would probably want to meet Lucas. So, we planned to stop by there a little later in the day....knowing full well we would already be together for the party! So, the call went smoothly and I managed to keep everything in tact! So, later that morning we made it to the party to help Beth decorate and everyone was supposed to be there at noon, and then they would be arriving around 12:30. So, all of their family and friends were there, and Beth did a fantastic job of getting them there for their "lunch date." She did wonderful and boy were they surprised!

It was perfect! They walked in and the kids were about jumping out of their seats. We had told them that once they got here to yell surprise! So, without missing a beat, the second Kaleigh saw them...all the way across the room...she yelled surprise as loud as she could. And, she was the only one!! :-) It was the cutest thing, but as they continued to walk across the restuarant, everyone else stood up and yelled surprise too! So, it was perfect and the looks on their faces were great! They were excited to see everyone and you could tell that they honestly did not have a clue!!!

So, they made their way around the room to give hugs to everyone, and as they made it to the last group of friends, all of a sudden Scott had walked around the corner where he had been hiding and said, "So, what did I miss!?" The look on Mom's face was priceless!!!! The tears started flowing and it was a good thing Scott was so close and going in for a hug, cause she almost fell to the floor! She was soooo surprised and it was a perfect celebration! Marc got a little teary eyed as well, and it was definitely a great moment! It truly couldn't have been any better!!

Surprise party for Mom and Marc, with an even better suprise to have Scott home to help them celebrate! Although we were having a great time, we were still missing Adam and Sarah and wished they could have been there as well!!

Meeting Uncle Scott!!

The kids saw Uncle Scott and immediately took off after him!

Hugs, hugs, and more hugs!!

Grandpa and Scott! Don't tell Mom and Gma and Gpa were able to see him off the plane!! :-)

Lucas was so excited to meet Uncle Scott for the first time...so excited he couldn't stay awake any longer!!!

Uncle Scott getting to hold Lucas for the first time...he seems to be a little more excited about it than Lucas apparently!

Mommy couldn't resist a picture with the kiddos and Uncle Scott!

Look at the baby, look at the baby!!

Aunt Shell and Uncle Scott hanging out by the pool!

Scott decided to hang out with all the kidlets while they were eating...can you imagine what conversations were taking place at this table!?

Today was such a great day! Uncle Scott and Mathus were coming home for Mom and Marc's surprise party, so we went to meet them at the airport. We were feeling quite guilty knowing that Mom and Marc didn't know they were coming, so they weren't there to see him off the plane. Nonetheless, we had the best of intentions, so hopefully they would feel the same way! Regardless, we were going to take advantage of having them all to ourselves, at least for tonight. The plan was to come back to our house for the evening with some friends and just hang out and relax before the festivities tomorrow. So, that is what we did. Some of our friends made it over and we cooked out on the grill and just visited...all night long. In fact, even though Lucas was not even a month old, Mommy managed to stay up until 12:30 tonight!! But, that was all I could do. It was great to see them, but there would be more visiting tomorrow!!

Our first official doctor appointment....

Well, it had been almost a week since Lucas had pooped so I called the doctor again. I called on Tuesday because I was worried, so I told myself I would last until Friday before calling again. So, this morning bright and early, I called Dr. Baety to see if he wanted us to come in and he did right away. He wanted to check to make sure his belly wasn't hard and that everything was okay, but he assured us it was normal. In fact, he said he could have told us this over the phone, but just wanted to check him out first. But, it is normal and he said he could do this for the first six or eight weeks just until he gets on a more routine schedule. He said his own daughter would go once every seven days, but it was routine that on the seventh day, they knew it was coming. So, that made me feel a lot better, but I would be even better after he poops. It's crazy what you wish for when you are a mother...I was hoping and excited to change a poopy diaper! During his visit, he got weighed and was actually up to 9 pounds and 2 ounces already. So, he is a growing boy and that was something else they wanted to check to make sure he was still progressing. So, it seemed all was well! And, just what the doctor ordered, he pooped as soon as we got home and didn't stop for the rest of the day. I stopped counting!!! Yeah!!

A Familiar Face....Kathy!!!

Big Boy Lucas drinking from a bottle for the first time!

Olivia just got up from her nap, so wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but then was so excited to see her Kathy!!

Kathy was in heaven with her Olivia and now Lucas...we were all hoping she could take care of him too!!

Of course she had to bring something for Olivia too!

Bright eyed Lucas!

Today was a big day for both Lucas and Olivia. We started the day with Aunt Shell and the kids coming over to visit and Shell getting to feed Lucas with a bottle for the first time. He was either so hungry that it didn't matter, or he is going to be just as great with his transitions as Olivia was, cause he drank the entire bottle with no problem at all! He was a pro and drank four ounces in no time. I did run the bottle under warm water to try to get it room temperature first, so not sure if that will be how he prefers it, but I didn't do that with Olivia. I didn't want her to get used to the warm milk in the event we were out somewhere and wasn't able to warm it. So, we'll see how he does! Today, he did fabulous! Such a big boy!!

Later that afternoon, Olivia was napping and got a visit from her favorite sitter, Kathy! It was so sweet cause Kathy held Lucas for a few minutes before we woke her up, and she wanted to be the one to wake her up. But, Olivia was so out of it that she just kind of gave a quick smile and back to sleep she went. I am not sure she really knew who it was at first cause she was kind of in a daze. So, we let her sleep for a little while longer and then tried again. This time she got really excited and knew it was Kathy! They were definitely glad to see each other, and Kathy commented on how big she was getting, especially next to Lucas. So, we visited for a while and Kathy bought them each a gift, which was so sweet. Olivia loves her purse and of course wouldn't put it down all night! It was a great visit and now Olivia wants to go spend the night with them so she can see the rest of the family! We sure do miss the Brady's!!!

Looooong days....

The past two days were spent mostly in bed with Lucas. We have had very long nights and were up quite a bit, so we were trying to catch up on our rest during the day. I got a lot of medical "paperwork" done today in bed, as well as watched two movies and paid bills. So, needless to say it was a lazy day. I did however call the doctor to inquire about what do to about some congestion that Lucas seems to have going on. You can hear it when he breathes and although he doesn't seem to mind, it is preventing him from getting good sleep. So, I called and they didn't really need to see him and simply recommended some over the counter nasal spray. In addition to the congestion, I called cause he hasn't pooped in three days and he is squirming around quite a bit like his belly is hurting him. So, I wanted to make sure everything was okay and he didn't have any issues going on. Much to my surprise, they said three days was fairly normal, but to call if he doesn't go within the next few days. So, again we simply tried to get caught up on some rest and relaxation!

Funfilled Day of Visiting!

Grandpa and Lucas

He was keeping an eye on Daddy tonight!

My sweet little family!

Too cute!

Olivia loves to hold her baby brother...at least for a few minutes!

Today was a busy day filled with many visitors, and this time we were actually the ones to go visit! It was nice to get out of the house for a bit too! We started by going up to Oak Grove to visit Nana and her friends at work. Of course Lucas got passed around quite a bit, but he never seemed to mind, he was quite content the entire morning. Then, we went to Aunt Shirley's for lunch and met Paw Paw there for a few minutes too! Kim and Rachel walked over to meet him for a little bit as well, and it was wonderful to see them since it had been so long.

Afterwards, we went to Gma and Gpa's house and met up with Grandpa too. We had a nice visit with them too and managed to get several good pictures of Lucas with them.

Later that evening, I managed to get away for a few hours to have dinner with the girls. We went to Monical's and although I was thinking of the kids all night, it was really nice to get away, with the exception of one message we received from the boys. Tim had gone over to our house to be with Shane and let the kids play. So, they decided it would be funny to send me a video of Lucas crying frantically. It was so sweet of him and they got a really nice close up of his face, but even more funny was they did it cause they knew it would make my boobs fill up! And, they were right! So, it was pretty funny and clever on there part, but really just made me want (and need) to get home to feed him! Regardless, it was a nice evening with the girls!!!

Sprinkler Fun!

Olivia is definitely ready for the pool to open, but the sprinkler will have to do for now!

Daddy had to get her started and used to the water!

Mommy and Lucas

After Sully's birthday party today, we headed home and since it was still hot outside, we hooked up the sprinkler for Olivia. She is still a little hesitant to just run through it and get her head wet, so Daddy had to help out a little to get her used to it! Then, it was time for a relaxing evening and getting in our jammies!

Happy Birthday Sully!

Mommy and Sullivan

Many of the kiddos playing with the balloons!

Happy Birthday Sully!

Today started out with breakfast in bed, which was fantastic! It doesn't happen very often, so I definitely took advantage. I think Shane may have been feeling a little guilty considering I have not been waking him up at all during the night feedings with Lucas. I know he had to get back to work and get up early, so I have been flying solo in the evenings. So, the surprise breakfast was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it! After a lazy morning, I got both kids ready to go to Sully's birthday party. Olivia was so excited to see the rest of the kids and enjoyed the circus party they had for Sullivan. It was at the Lake Camelot clubhouse, which gives the kids plenty of room to run around. So, they had fun and Sullivan had a great day!! Happy Birthday Sullivan!!

Happy Anniversary!!

All the kids eating out on the picnic table, since it was a beautiful night!!

Today was Shane and my six year anniversary. We didn't have much planned today, considering we knew we couldn't get out and do much since we are on a feeding schedule with Lucas. However, I did manage to win the best wife of the year award, because Shane actually went golfing this morning. I could not believe he went, and I wasn't sure if it made me the best wife, or him the worst husband for even asking to go. Regardless, he went while I cleaned the house all morning. Afterwards, Shell and Tim came over to watch the kids while Shane and I were able to get away for lunch. It turned out to be a pretty good day and we did manage to get a lot done in the four hours we had away. We started with lunch at Bar Louie's, which we hadn't been, so was great. It wasn't quite nice enough to sit outside, but the inside was pretty neat anyway. After lunch, I asked Shane if we could go to Jones Bros. to get my rings cleaned, and he said he had planned to take me there anyway to pick out an anniversary present. In his mind, he wanted to buy me something with the kids' birth stones, which is exactly what we did. I fond these cute little "baby rings" to put on a chain. They were so sweet and eventually I am going to get both our stones to add to it as well, but it was a great surprise! After Jones Bros. we went to the Great Escape cause we have been looking for patio furniture and he wanted to get the needed chemicals for the pool. Then we went for ice cream and headed to Kroger for some food to grill out. We made it home just in time to feed Lucas, and then had a wonderful cookout and rest of the evening with the Erxlebens! It was a nice little outing for Shane and I, and hopefully we will find some time to do again soon!

Officially getting the pool open!!

Notice all the gross stuff falling into the water!! It didn't quite go according to the plan, but it was open!

The kids were going through all the toys in anticipation of one day being able to swim!!

After our pictures today, the Erxleben family came over to help get the cover off the pool. It was quite an ordeal considering we have never done this before, but Daddy and Uncle Tim did a great job. They did however manage to dump quite a bit of the gross water from on top of the cover into the pool, but nonetheless, the cover was off and the pool is officially open! Now, we just need to figure out how to turn the water blue instead of green! :-)