Summer Fun Rewind ~ JULY 3RD & 4TH CELEBRATIONS

This year for the 4th of July we had two different celebrations. The first celebration was on Friday July 3rd. We wanted to take Noah to see the new Ice Age movie because he is very much into dinosaurs and this Ice Age was all about dinos. We also wanted to hang out with my Mom and Sis so it worked perfect for us to head to the Arlington Highlands to watch the movie and then eat dinner. After dinner we were going to go to the downtown Arlington area to watch fireworks. But, as we were waiting to sit and eat we realized they were going to have fireworks there at the Highlands. My Mom lives about 3 minutes from the Highlands so we were like 'Mom did they have fireworks last year'? Her response was 'Yes, but I thought it was b/c it was a new place.' So, thankfully we stumbled apon the fireworks and didn't have to drive to downtown. We sat outside on the patio at Gloria's and ate. The service was horrible and we thought we would be able to see the fireworks from out seats but we could not because the building blocked them. So, while I ate the rest of the fam walked about 6 feet to see the fireworks. So all still worked out well.

Notice the napkin tucked into his shirt. Not sure where this came from b/c I have never done that with him before.

On July 4th we did our celebrating with a group of our friends. We had a cookout and went swimming over at Julia's and Corey's house. We had so much fun and Noah especially liked driving Emma's pink jeep. Once it got a little dark and before the official fireworks started Julia had some left over sparklers and Brian pulled out a little sack of "fireworks" that a drug rep had left at his office.

Noah enjoying his sparkler. I love that smile.

All the kids and adults watching B light the chicken and tank fireworks. They basically made loud nosies and shot fire out the rear. Most of the kids seemed to like it but if you look closely Kylee has her ears covered. Notice all the big kids are at the back and our brave babies are right up front.

All the kiddos laying out to watch the official fireworks.

Summer Fun Rewind ~ SWIM LESSONS

One of the first things we did this summer was swim lessons. Thankfully we have a good friend Jody who does swim lessons at her house. We did these swim lessons a couple of years ago but could only do one week because of vacation. Last year we did not even get to do swim lessons because of our vacation. That being said I was nervous about how he would do in swim lessons. We really have not been in the water much and I am so not a swimmer. Also, we were right in the middle of potty training him. Then, the time of his swim lessons was from 2:20 to 3:00 which is right during his nap. I knew it would be hard especially when on the way to swim lessons the first day Noah asked when he was going to take a nap. Despite all of that, Noah loved his swim lessons. He did great going in and once home he slept like a champ. A couple of times I had to wake him up at 6:00pm! Because of Mrs. Jody's rules I did not get to see what he did each day. I would ask him each time "What did you do today?" He always said "I went pee pee in the potty." So, I don't really know as far as swimming but I was proud of him for using the toilet and not going in the pool. We did get to go on the last day to see how good he did.

Noah is 'monkey walking' which he loves to do.

Kicking those swimmers!

I have tried to get him to do this with me but he will not.

Noah with Mae. Mae was not normally in his class but because of the rain and them going out of town she had to be. Which explains the not so happy face. Her nap time was cut short and it was cold in the water. The kids were shaking from being so cold. Notice that Noah has a treat in his hands. After swim lessons Jody would let them get a treat. The first couple of times Noah chose a little toy but then he found the gum. Noah doesn't understand that you chew gum for an extended amount of time. He would chew it and then swallow, so I let him have gum for swim lessons but that was it.

Noah and his awesome swim teacher Mrs. Jody.

25 WEEKS

I have waited to update because I wanted to write in a happy mood, this has been a rough week.

On Tuesday I went to Dr. Payne's office for my 24 week 5 day appointment. He said the baby looked great and was weighing 2lbs. WOW! I wonder how much he will weigh by 30 weeks. Here are a few of the amazing pictures he took with the sono.

I love this profile picture. You can see him and what he looks like so well.

I did not get to post this right after we found out that we were having another boy. Every time I go see Dr. Payne he says "Do you know what you are having?" I say yes but check and make sure. He printed this off for me and said I don't think there is any doubt.

After he does the sono on my belly he does an internal sono. This is always the most scary and this week I had reason. My cervix had shortened from 2.9cm (the measurement last week at Dr. Emmet's) to 2.5cm. He said my stitch was still holding but there was a lot of funneling. So, he sent me to HEB hospital and said to see him on Thursday. He also mentioned Mag. if you have ever had mag. you know that is no fun. So, I went to HEB and was monitored for a while and I was having contractions so they gave me a shot of Terb. After that shot of Terb. my contractions completely went away. They sent me home with orders for a Terb. pump and a home monitor system.

The first picture is the home monitor. I put the middle part on my belly for one hour twice a day. I then put the middle thing back on and send the info it gathered over the phone. The nurses read it and give me a call. They can tell me if I am having contractions or not. It is quite annoying but it also if very reassuring when they call and say no contractions. The second picture is my Terb. pump. It has a little blue tube that connects to my leg and sends .05ml of Terb. all day. Every 4 hours I get an Auto Dose (pictured) that is .2ml. The good thing is if I need more I can give myself a Demand Dose so, I don't have to go anywhere to get it. It isn't bad and I have already adjusted to the side effects of Terb. The hardest part is not getting tangled up in it.

So, today I had to go back to Dr. Payne and I got a good report. Praise the Lord. I prayed so hard today because he said if my cervix was to my stitch he would put me in the hospital. I knew all my friends were praying and it felt so good to know I was covered in prayer. Dr. Payne said I looked better than I did on Tuesday. My cervix is still at 2.5cm but I had actually improved instead of getting worse. That is such and answer to prayer because I was contracting a lot more today.

Here is a picture of me getting a sono from Dr. Payne.

One last picture, my ever growing belly at 25 weeks and one day.

What we do for free food

One thing the Read's love is free food. Last year my sweet friend Kathy told us about an awesome deal. July 10 is Cow Appreciation day so in honor of that Chick fil a celebrates it by giving away a free meal if you dress like a cow. Here is the best part you don't have to dress up fully to get a meal. All we do is print off the ears, dots, and sign from the website and pin them to us. It is very easy and not to embarrassing. Like Brian always says "You control your own embarrassment."


Noah and Dada enjoying dinner at Chick fil a. The good thing is Chick fil a has enough good things on the menu that you can go for lunch then dinner and have something different each time.

Noah and Gabe before Parker and Cayden arrived.

Noah and Gabe with the cow. Noah is so excited. Can you tell!?!


All the boys.
I spread the word this year of how great this deal is. Cayden, Parker, and Gabe joined us after the movies at Chick fil a. I tried but could not get all of them to look at the camera all at once. We had so much fun. It was a little crazy obviously with five boys and a very crowded Chick fil a. At one point in time the boys started singing 'Old MacDonald had a farm and on that farm he had a cow'. It was too cute and then some lady near us complained that they were too loud. Our reaction was first, they are two and three year old boys what do you expect. The other was if you don't want you lunch loud don't come to Chick fil a on free food day, duh!


Angie and I trying to take a picture of ourselves in our cow stuff. Unfortunately once all five (Gavin was hanging out in his bucket) kids were there we didn't get anymore pictures of the mommies.

22 weeks 5 days

I know I have not updated about this pregnancy in quite awhile but I think part of it is where I am at. I am still at a very critical time in this pregnancy. The month of June was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. I really should not of been pregnant during June I just can not handle it. I spent the whole month of June begging God not to let this baby die (not that I have quit doing that but it was a little more irrational). Thankfully, June 3rd/ Ethan's day, June 10th/ our anniversary, and June 29th/ Noah's birthday all came and went without anything happening.

So, now I am 22 weeks and 5 days. This baby boy (no, we still do not have a name) is doing very well. Dr. Payne said I have a very beautiful perfect baby (which is always good to hear from a specialist b/c they tend to find every little negative thing). This little guy is growing fast and is already bigger than Noah was at this same time. He is weighing 1 lb. 3 oz.

Here is the best picture I could get of the sono picture.

As for me, I am seeing Dr. Payne and Dr. Emmet every other week. Thankfully, I get to see a doctor every week; although arranging childcare has been a pain. I am so thankful to my friends who have been so willing to help keep Noah. I am doing fairly well. This is my first pregnancy at 22 weeks that I have not been on bed rest and with having a toddler I am very tired. I am getting the 17p (progesterone) shots weekly. They are somewhat painful and I am hoping the nurse will move the shot down so the pain will go away. I have been having a good amount of braxston hicks(sp?) contractions so Dr. Emmet has put me on Procardia . It is actually used for heart pain and is a smooth muscle relaxer. So, I get way low blood pressure (93/50 which is pretty low since normal is 120/80) and much fewer contractions. Now, I am just waiting and praying. I am still in a very scary time since my main problems with Noah began at 25 weeks. But, I am very excited about this little guy coming I just want him to take his time.

Whew! Look at that belly. I am much bigger than I was with Noah and I am carrying this baby higher (which I am hoping is a good thing).

Noah is 3 years old

I can not believe Noah has turned 3 years old. I am still overwhelmed by how much he has blessed our lives. We went through so much to get him here and know that it was all worth it. Noah is so sweet, funny, and a blast to be around. He is full of energy constantly playing but he will sleep until 9:00 or 9:30 and take a 2 hour nap.

Here are a few fun facts about Noah.

* He subs the letter b for the letter v. So for example he asks if he can watch a "moobie".

* He has started to say "I lobe you" all the time to me. This is huge b/c I remember years ago my girlfriends writing on their blogs about their kids doing that. I would get so sad b/c Noah wasn't saying it yet.

*He makes lots of funny comments to things like: "That's totally wicked", "Okay, lets do that", "That's cool", and "I have to be funny"

Favorite Foods: crackers, meat (not really sure about this one I think he means the lunchable jrs), cheese

Favorite Places: Waterpark, Chuck E Cheese, pool

Favorite TV Shows: Phineas and Ferb, Dragon Tales(this is new from a video we rented)


Favorite Toys: Dinosaurs, cars, motorcycles


Favorite Color: red


Favorite Books: Dinosaurs


Favorite People: Gabe, Mae, Blake





I am excited about: Pooping in the potty, Going to the waterpark


When I grow up I want to be: A big boy

14 weeks

Okay, I have run out of excuses for not blogging. I do have to say that since I posted last I have been going to bed on average around 8:30 every night. I also have spent most of my days feeling very sick. The first trimester of this pregnancy has really knocked me down. Thankfully, I have begun to feel better. I think part of it is getting out of the first trimester and also not taking DHA. When I was pregnant last all I had to take was good ole prenatal vitamin but now they want you to take a DHA pill. When Noah was on formula it was a big deal for him to get DHA. The vitamin that Dr. E told me to buy came with the DHA pill separate. So, one night I forgot and just took the prenatal pill. The next day no nausea, hmm I thought. The next night I decided not to take the DHA pill again no nausea. I told Dr. E what I thought and she said it could be a little of both to give it a few more weeks and try the DHA pills again. But, for right now no more nausea. YEA!!!!!!!!

Now, on to the surgery. I knew getting pregnant meant I would have surgery around this time. It really was not as bad as I thought. I have only had one really really bad contraction (which reminded me that I actually have to have this baby and go through that again -- uggh I had kinda forgotten about that part) I have had to be on bed rest since the surgery and until Monday. That has been tougher than I thought it would be. I spent 7 weeks in the hospital on bed rest with Noah so, I thought one week at home would be a breeze. I don't know why this is different but, all I have wanted to do is exercise. Brian went last night to work out and I wanted to say no you can't go I am going. This is rare b/c I am not a big exerciser. I haven't had any trouble sleeping and I did finish a book I was reading so those are good things. I just am ready for Saturday and Sunday to be over.

Next Friday I go in for a post op check up and my 15th week check up. Dr. E said she would try and look for the sex. I am so excited I hope the baby will work with us so we can find out.

Noah and I in the hospital bed. He actually did much better than I thought he would. I think it really helped that he got to sleep in and then take a good nap thanks to his Aunt Ashely helping out.

My first belly picture. I know it doesn't look very big but boy it feels like I got a lot bigger a lot faster this time around.