Happy Halloween everyone!  We had a fun-filled day here, starting off with a visit to a fall festival at a nearby church.  The highlight was of course the horses, although Riley didn’t want to ride by herself, so I hitched a ride with her.

After the festival, we came home for a much needed nap, and then it was time to get ready for the highlight of the day…trick-or-treating.  I'm sure it’s no surprise what Riley wanted to be for Halloween!

 

Our favorite people joined us for a night of fun!  From left to right, Hannah Montana, Handy Manny, Dora & Mickey Mouse.

The cutest little golfer you’ve ever seen!

And pumpkin!

Of course Braden wasn’t as interested in the festivities!

 

We trick-or-treated our hearts out!  Note: the Dora wig didn’t last long.

After our friends left and we’d finished dissecting through the candy, Riley decided she wanted to pass out candy at our house.  We weren’t prepared with candy, but she was more than willing to pass out her candy.  I think her favorite part of the whole evening was standing in our driveway handing out candy!

Happy Halloween!

It’s been one month since we’ve been blessed with the newest addition to our family.

At one month, you:

• are enamored by your sister! Her silly need to be in your face at all times with sweet words always calms you down. She is always very concerned about your well-being, checking in on you each morning, and constantly asking where you are if not in her sight.
• are going through a growth spurt, nursing all.the.time. Sleep is still very sporadic – some nights you sleep for 4 and 5-hour stretches, some you are up every two hours.
• wear a size 1 diaper and fit into size 0-3 month clothes.
• love to be held. We have spoiled you and cave when you are crying to be held!

This adorable blanket was a gift from my cousin Jennifer...thank you so much Aunt Jenni!

We love you so much baby boy and look forward to seeing what next month brings!

Lots of fun at the pumpkin patch this year with our good friends and family!  The weather was perfect and a good time was had by all.

Love this picture – ride ‘em cowgirl!!

Christopher & Riley…there was NO hesitation when Christine asked the 2 kiddos to kiss, should I be worried?!

Obviously Braden wasn’t a fan of the pumpkin patch, but look at that proud big sister’s face!

Lots of blogging to catch up on…promise to have updates soon.  I’ve been pretty busy, though I can’t imagine why…

This is what we heard as we were standing in the kitchen - Josh getting a bottle for Braden as I was gathering things I needed with me at the hospital. As soon as I heard "he's heavy", my heart stopped for a minute and I thought..."how does she know that?"! Well, I ran around the corner, and there was Riley, the proud big sister, carrying her brother...only 10 days old! She had picked him up out of his swing and was carrying him under his arms. I quickly scooped him up from her arms and explained to her that it's not safe for her to carry her brother around as she could drop him. Her response? "But I didn't drop him, mommy!"

What a whirlwind of a week we have had! After being released from the hospital following Braden's birth, I started having severe headaches. After spending last weekend in agony with the headaches, I went to my doctor on Monday. Turns out my blood pressure was high, so the doctor prescribed some medicine and sent me home. I felt better for a couple of days, but bottomed out on Thursday...started feeling dizzy, blurry vision, headaches back. It was late in the afternoon so the doctor sent me to the hospital. Upon arrival, my blood pressure had sky rocketed. I was admitted to the hospital on Thursday night and was finally released Saturday afternoon. The doctors are thinking I had a case of "post partum pre-eclamsia". I never had problems with my blood pressure during either of my pregnancies, so this was very puzzling. I am now on a double dose of the original medication the doctor prescribed.

The hardest part about all of this was having to be away from my family. Josh was a rock and held down the fort while I was away. We were also lucky to have my sister-in-law and nephews visit - the cousins were a great distraction for Riley and Debbie was a huge help as well! I also couldn't have gotten through this ordeal without my mom. She stayed with me at the hospital until 1 am the first night, making sure I was settled before she left. Since Josh had to be at home with the kids and trasport them to school and the doctor (Braden's 10 day follow-up), she stayed by my side through all the testing and kept me company over the two day stay. Thank you mom!!

I am so relieved to be back at home and spend time with my family. I'll be back soon to post more pictures of the kids.