.westensee/smith visit...andrew's surgery.

.shortly after we got back home from our month long summer vacation, we found out the gender of baby #3.

.i went into that office convinced it was a girl....andrew said, "its going to be a boy" on our way to the appointment.

.sure enough, ultrasound tech went to check and said, "babys hand is down at its privates" and i said, "GREAT, it must be a boy than"....sure enough, little man moved his hand and there was our answer.

.BOY.

(.this is how we started our facetime conversation with gma/gpa telling them what we were having.)

(always, always, always had his hands in his face)

.i was still in shock, but im anxious/excited to see if this baby will be more like brooklynn, more like parker, or completely different. i am beyond excited that we actually have a name before even heading to the hospital. this has NEVER happened. we were tossing names around, and i heard a name that i liked, but changed the ending a bit to something i loved...and it was a name andrew didnt totally shut down from the moment it left my mouth.....a few days later he used the name in our family prayers, and i knew that was his name. he uses it every time he prays for him. (he tries to tell people different).

.before debbie and heather were coming to help out for andrew's surgery...we made a goal to get a few things done around the house. the front flower bed wall, the garage shelves (built and organized) and parkers room finished. we got it all done. thank goodness. we need to start making some goals to get done before this next baby comes and we have more company.

 (home depot is exhausting)

 (back of my van...LOVE my van)

 (yes, this 10 ft board in my van)

 (my hubby did SUCH a good job)

 (finaly got my bathroom closet organized)

 (ahhhh, organization)

 (Parker's room...which will soon be arranged differently)

.about 3 weeks after coming back home from vacation, andrew had surgery. THANK GOODNESS for his mom/sister for being so willing to fly in and take care of the kids while i took care of andrew. i literally didnt make one meal, clean any of the house, change one diaper, bath the kids, feed the kids....nothing for 10 days. debbie and heather had the kids happy, they took them places, they fed them, they made dinner....everything. i was completely spoiled. it helped so much knowing my kids were taken care of, to be with andrew and give him my full attention. 

.i took andrew in for surgery....we did the paperwork, we waited for a bit. than they called him back to get him ready for surgery. shortly after they called me back as well to be with him until they wheeled him into the O.R. i was extremely impressed with how quickly things were moving and how fast they were getting him ready to go. his anesthesiologist came in to go over everything, before wheeling him back...he asked to look in andrew's mouth and andrew said "let me take my gum out"....his anesthesiologist freaked out and said since he had gum in his mouth it was going to push the surgery back 1.5 hours....and stormed out.

.over a piece of gum. 

.well it did, when they say "fast for a surgery" dont even chew on gum. surgery went longer than expected, but well. andrew took FORVER to get out of recovery. the nurse said he came from surgery soaking wet from sweating so much. they stripped him and got him comfortable, than he woke up and puked and than started getting chills. the nurse said, "he was a goldy-locks...just uncomfortable, hot, and cold...and i was just trying to get him just right"

.finally after waiting and waiting for him to get out of recovery they brought him up to his room where he whined and slept and slept and whined. he was SO out of it. . . i was going to go home for the night because he was just sleeping and didnt even know i was there, but as soon as i was about to pack up and head out, he complained of being in pain, and than was aware i was there. 

.than he would NOT shut up. he asked SO many questions, and told me over and over about his recovery and remembering he "woke up and said im gonna puke"....i slept on 2 chairs pushed together...let me tell you, if a pregnant wife sleeping on 2 chairs pushed together through the night doesnt spell out love...i dont know what does. he was released later that afternoon.

.recovery went really well. we would go out on short trips, just to get out for a bit, but he didnt last long. he got tired quickly, or uncomfortable.

.while we were at surgery the kids went to the childrens museum, mcdonalds, downtown san antonio, sea world, the grocery store (i didnt know my fridge could hold so much food, it was stocked!) and toys r us. the kids had a blast. i spent all my time with andrew...it was somewhat weird to have so much one on one time with him. we took naps together, slept in together, watched shows together. we even got frozen yogurt a couple of times (andrew craved it).

(this is what no makeup, and little sleep at the hospital looks like)

(childrens museum)

 (seaworld)

.the next week, andrew was doing SO well with recovery. debbie and heather were flying out wednesday evening, so on monday we packed into the van and drove to south padre island. it was a long drive, and we ended up staying at the hotel monday night. we left andrew at the hotel to sleep and relax and we took the kids to the beach. the kids LOVED it. i LOVED it. it was calm, quiet, warm, and barely anyone in sight. 

(look closely you can see my prego belly)

.tuesday we had breakfast at the hotel, we went swimming at the hotel pool, we went back to the island to get these cool tshirts made for cheap cheap for our kids, debbie took us out to lunch which was SO good and right on the water. we stopped for ice cream and drove home just in time to pick up thai food for dinner before the restaurant closed. 

.wednesday i went out with my girlfriend to get a pedicure (she had a baby 2 days later)... and than we went to lunch with debbie and heather before dropping them off at the airport. i cried when they left, one-because my kids were SO SAD, and two-because of how grateful i was for them coming and helping. it made this whole surgery go smoothly, and i just felt calm through it all. 

 (we went to huhot...all you can eat magnolian grill. kids were free...it was delicious)

 (for dessert we did smores with the kids there)

.thank you debbie and heather for coming! you guys are lifesavers, and my kids had a blast with their grandma, aunt and cousin. we love you guys!

.summer vacation- utah part 2.

.tuesday morning i took andrew to the airport early in the morning to head home and work while the kids and i stayed back for an extra 3 days to spend time with family. when we say early...i mean early. his flight left at 6am....so i had him there around 4:30. i came home and slept a little longer, than got up and got me and the kids ready to head to my sister's house to spend the day. (thanks debbie for always letting us use your pilot).

.tuesday was the ONLY day that worked best for me, older sister- ronnie, my mom, and my little sister-bre to drive an 1.5 hours south to brigham city and go to maddox for lunch. OH.MY.GOODNESS. maddox is a MUST and SO delicious. the rolls, the steak, the mashed potatoes...its all absolutely delicious. We loaded the car with 4 adults and 4 kids and drove south. it was a sight. on the way south, we stopped in roy to get ice cream at Burger Bar and drive past my mom's childhood home and stop at the cemetery and see my grandparents grave sight. it was a total blast. we order rolls to go, and spent the rest of the day hanging out at ronnie house. we didnt stay too late because i had to take bre, lehi and maverick back with me so they could pack and i could take THEM to the airport EARLY wednesday morning.

 .full car- (front) bre and me. 

.(middle) maverick (bres baby), dallin (ronnies baby) and Ronnie.

.(back)-parker, grandma, brooklynn.

 .enjoying rolls with raspberry butter.

.wednesday morning- i drove to the airport again (again, thank you debbie for letting us always use your car)...came home, slept a little longer. got ready to head to my sister's house again to hang out. i knew i wouldnt be seeing my mom for another 6 months and my sister even longer...so we spend most of the remaining time at my sister's house. we went shopping, we ate at zupas (YUM!) we went to the park, we played with chalk outside, we swung in the hammock, just enjoyed being together. 

 .ronnie taught brooklynn how to roll down the hill last year.

 .my mom is down this HUGE hill with b, kicking the soccer ball.

 .my cute mom standing in line at costco blending in with the other kids, getting a sample for my kids.

 .bubbles at aunt ronnies house.

 .swinging in the hammock with mom, parker, brooklynn, and me.

.thursday- we spent the morning with debbie and cousin lily. we took the kids down to the splashpad, than they played with play-doh outside with debbie, they played in the grass, they played with their spray bottles, they had lunch outside, rode bikes, etc. They just had a lot of fun with grandma and lily.

 .later that night, we went to my sister's to say good-bye. we had zupas for dinner (yes, im obsessed, and yes, i had it probably 3-4 times while i was there). of course i had to send a picture to andrew to tease him (nuts about berries, and Wisconsin cauliflower soup.) we went back to ronnie for a bit. i, cried when i had to say bye. my mom cried, and b cried ALL the way home because "she wanted grandma to come to our house" and she "didnt want grandma to be sad". we got home and i finished packing, and loading it up in the car. gpa got home from his work trip, and the kids stayed up late playing with him. 

.friday- we got up early (like 3am) and left the house around 3:30. I was nervous to deal with the kids on my own, and also deal with a layover. but i was thankful for the kids, they were great and slept the entire second flight, and was quiet and good the first. we grabbed jamba at our layover, walked to the opposite end of the of airport (where our connecting flight was)... i fell in love again with my phil and teds stroller, and was SO thankful we bought it. 

.our trip overall was LONG. we were gone for a month (me and the kiddos)...but we had a complete blast. we have realized we live a really far away from family, so our trips will probably be LONG every time we visit to make it worth it (to spend time with family, and to make it worth it financially). we also realize we will probably be driving in the future. flights are SO nice, but SO spendy when you have to buy 4 plane tickets. but we LOVED our time with family. we miss them dearly, but when we do get to see them, it makes it the time very very special. we are excited to see family in just 9 weeks and 6 days....when baby brother comes.

.thanks summer vacation 2014. you were pretty great to us.