Cutest pictures ever...

My friend Erika took these pictures when Greyson was 8 days old. She was so sweet to pack up half of her studio and cart it over to my house so that Greyson wouldn't have to be out of his bili light for too long. These are some of my favorites.

Merry Christmas...

It's easy to celebrate Christ's birth when holding my brand new baby boy!

The hospital, milk allergies and the Twilight cast...

Unfortunately our little man has had a rough first couple of weeks. First, he had really bad jaundice and had to be on the bilirubin lights for 9 days. This wasn't too bad, but we barely got to hold him and the nurse had to come to our house each day and take his blood which is always sad. Then, on Wednesday when we were getting ready for bed we noticed Greyson had blood in his stool. Our pediatrician told us to bring him to the ER where we waited for 11 hours through the night until they finally admitted us. It turns out Greyson has a milk allergy. They put him on a special (and really expensive) formula and he's doing better. The doctor said I can try to breastfeed again, but not for 2 weeks because I have to eliminate all dairy and soy from my diet. That might not seem too hard, but trust me it is! We'll give it a try though. I'd rather be able to nurse him than feed him that expensive, stinky formula!

While we were at the hospital, they put us in the pediatric cancer wing because Greyson is so young and they didn't want him near any contagious kids. Before we knew what was wrong with Greyson I just couldn't help but feel so bad for the parents and families with terminally sick children. My heart really went out to them. If all Greyson has is a milk allergy, then I feel blessed.

I know this is random, but since we happened to be in the cancer wing we had some unexpected visitors - Esme, Carlile, Rosalie and Emmet from the Twilight movies. They were visiting the kids and teenagers and stopped by our room. It was actually a nice break from everything else we were going through. They were sooo nice and seemed genuinely interested in us and actually spent 10 minutes talking with us. Before they left they gave me an autographed book from Stephenie Meyer. Kinda cool.

Introducing...

Introducing Mr. Greyson Brock Hickman. Our little Christmas present decided to come 18 days early this year! He arrived on Monday, December 6th weighing in at 7 lbs 11 ounces and 21 inches long. He has a little jaundice so he has to lie under the bili lights for a few days (that's why there's a funny light in the pics), but other than that we're great!

He gets to wear these awesome shades while sunbathing under the lights

Our little Christmas present!

I was watching Beauty and the Beast with Kaitlyn and it was the final scene where Belle and the Prince were kissing. Katy was wondering why they were kissing.

I said, "oh, they love each other a lot like mommy and daddy".

Kaitlyn responds, "yeah, but you and daddy are married so you don't love each other anymore".

I was laughing hysterically. Probably true in a lot of marriages across America.

Guess who I saw today...

Stephenie Meyer! I knew she'd been attending my church (at a different time) for a couple of months but I hadn't seen her yet. Today I was walking out of the restroom and almost ran into her family. I didn't talk to her or anything because I didn't want to be annoying. I'm sure church is the last place she wants fans following her around - at least I wouldn't. She's a very pretty lady and I probably wouldn't even have known it was her if I didn't know she was in town. I heard, not firsthand, but from a good source, that a teenager approached her at church and asked for her autograph and that she replied, "sorry, I don't sign autographs on Sunday". Good for her!

Now if only I could run into some of the cast around town...j/k
(They're filming all of the indoor scenes in Baton Rouge - apparently big tax breaks here)

The Pumpkin Patch...

I was so excited to volunteer for Katy's first pre-k field trip to the pumpkin patch. This was by far the coolest pumpkin patch I'd ever been to - and good thing too because it took us an hour on a school bus to get there! They had this huge trampoline jumping thing, a hay ride, a zip line, a hay maze, a petting zoo, face painting, a pumpkin patch and a story area where they teach you everything you ever thought you wanted to know about pumpkins! It was a lot of fun spending the day with Kaitlyn and not having Lex tag along. As much as I love Lex, she can be a pain in her big sister's rear sometimes!

This is the boy who seems to have captured my Kaitlyn's heart! She talks about him all the time and they even hold hands (a lot of the boys and girls do, but still)!

Kaitlyn's BFF who is also goes to our church

Just got her face painted and won't smile for me!

Here's that huge jumping thing. Not really a trampoline, but don't know how to describe it.

Dear Thief...

Dear Thief,

I was having a wonderful time enjoying the weather and playing with my children at the playground today, until you crept out of nowhere and stole my purse right off our picnic blanket. Feel free to keep my fake leather purse from Target, my ten year old wallet, $30 in cash, canceled credit cards, disabled cell phone, diapers, wipes, gum and chap stick. I'd appreciate it if you'd return the pictures of my children, my keys, and my sense of safety, which you've replaced with a sense of paranoia, distrust and vulnerability.

Crime happens everywhere and I was obviously mistaken thinking my purse was safe within eyesight at the family playground. I've never been subjected to much crime, but since moving to Baton Rouge I've been in a hit and run, my car has been broken into, there was a shooting 5 houses away from us and now my purse was stolen. As if the bugs, humidity and swamps weren't enough!

Yours Truly,
The naive, trusting, pregnant woman you stole from today

P.S. I hope you get caught on the gas station surveillance camera trying to use my gas card.

Feeding the Ducks...

We fed the ducks today. The girls had so much fun. I was scared to death of them. Seriously, one of them bit my hand trying to get my bread. Well, I guess it was more of a snap since they don't have teeth.

That big goose on the right was so aggressive!

So thoughtful.

I was so scared to let Lex feed this guy. I'm such a wimp.

Cute girls at the park! It was a great day.

Sweet Kaitlyn...

My sweet Katy turned 4 almost a month ago! She was sooo excited for her birthday this year. Unfortunately, papa had to be in DC on the big day, but Kaitlyn was still spoiled because Grandma was in town! Later in the week when daddy came home we celebrated with all her friends with a party at Gymboree. She had a blast and felt so special, which was my birthday wish for our little princess!

Check out these adorable balloon clips my friend Jenny made for her!

They had the kids pretend they were sugar cookie dough getting rolled out by a giant rolling pin. They loved it!

Katy also had her first day of pre-k. I was hesitant about her doing pre-k 5 days a week, but now that we're having a baby soon I'm so glad we signed her up. Kaitlyn really is a social butterfly and loves to learn. Everyday this summer she would wake up and say, "where are we going today" or "who are we going to play with today" and "what's next". She really thrives at school, which is good because I just can't keep up with the girl! I thought Lex would miss her, and she does, but she REALLY enjoys having mommy to herself all day! Enjoy it while it lasts sis!

Happy 6th Anniversary...

That's right, 6 years ago today (it was on a Friday the 13th too) Jared and I were married in the Oakland, California temple! 6 years, 5 different addresses, 4 states, and 2.5 kids later he's still the best thing that's ever happened to me!

*Good thing we're not superstitious. We're celebrating our 6th anniversary on Friday the 13th!

What are we going to do with a...

BOY!!!

That's right, our little boy is due on Christmas Eve! We're really excited to mix it up a bit after having two girls. Although, I have no idea what to do with a boy! Katy came to the ultrasound with us and when we told her it was a boy she looked at us like, "duh, I told you that already"! It was hilarious.

Surprise!!!

Baby #3 due CHRISTMAS EVE.

Apparently Kaitlyn will not accept another sister. She told me the other day that she prayed to Jesus and told him to make the baby a brother and not a sister. I told her that two sisters might be a lot of fun. She responded, "I have enough fun with one sister."

Katy drew this picture of her and her "baby brother."

Lulu and the bottle of wine...

This is my favorite kind of yogurt...

It's so delicious that I drive a little distance to the nearest Whole Foods to stock up. Today, while I was putting yogurt in my cart, Lulu reached her devious little hands out of the cart and picked up a bottle of wine. Now, to my credit, they put this display of wine right next the yogurt in a way that I could not move my cart away from it. Anyway, before I could grab the bottle from Lex, she smiled her little devious smile and threw it at my feet! I happened to be wearing flip flops, so luckily the shards of glass didn't cut me. I did, however, have wine all over my feet! I was sooo embarrassed.

New construction...

Try getting Lex to take a nap with this 10 feet outside her window! I can't wait until they're done building houses across the street!

A day of firsts...

Today Kaitlyn gave her first talk in primary! She had memorized her whole talk, but of course when she got up there she acted like she needed her daddy's help. She did such a good job though, and I just stood in the back beaming and trying my hardest not to tear up. She's pretty close to a perfect child (lately) and I'm so proud of her. I just can't believe she's already giving talks in primary!

In other news, Lulu had her first full day in nursery. It seems like I've been waiting for this day forever! I knew she wasn't going to do well. Lexie pretty much hates any adult that isn't me. She barely even tolerates Jared. Luckily, we have good nursery leaders who understand that some kids just need to cry it out and didn't come looking for me after 10 minutes of crying. Anyway, at the end of church I went to pick her up and she was huddled in a corner with her head buried in a blanket, clutching a baby doll. Apparently, she wouldn't let anyone touch her or comfort her and if anyone even looked at her she would break down crying. This might be a long adjustment period for her! Poor little girl!

Newest member of the family...

My little sis just had her first baby! He's the cutest little thing ever and I can't wait to hold him. Here's my newest nephew Ethan! Congrats Kendra!!!

The best smoothie ever...

Lexie hates vegetables. I mean hates them. Ever since she was six months old she has gagged on anything green. That's why I was ecstatic to read about this green smoothie on my friend's blog. I was a little hesitant at first, just because of the color, but it really is delicious. Now my kids drink several servings of leafy greens each day! There's several ways to make it, but this is what we like to do. Start by filling the blender with 2 cups of water, add about 1/4 cup of juice or some sweetener, then fill the blender to the top with collard greens or turnip greens. Blend. Then fill to the top again with leafy spinach. Blend again. Now I add two bananas and a handful of frozen berries. Lastly I add about 1/2 cup of low fat yogurt. Blend again. The fruit and yogurt help mask the taste of all the leafy greens, yet keep the smoothie healthy at the same time. My friend Tasha is the one I got this recipe from. Her post has a lot more information, see here . I don't think I've made a salad in the last month!

My day in court...

I have watched way too many episodes of law and order. This is why I was so nervous to go to court today. Back in August I was in a hit and run accident and today I finally had to go to court to testify. The ADA called me the day before and kind of prepped me and told me where I needed to go, but I was still extremely nervous. I just kept having images of some Jack McCoy type yelling at me and making me cry on the stand. I was so scared that I had a horrible sleep last night and I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep. Jared said a prayer for me and offered to go with me, but I reminded myself that I'm an adult and I'm not the person on trial - so I went by myself. I won't write all of the details, but I just wanted to mention how sad I was sitting in the courtroom. As I walked in the sign on the door read, "All men must have pants around their waists and shirt sleeves tucked in". I'm so naive because I thought to myself, "who would come without wearing pants"? The room was filled with about 45 people waiting for their hearing. Looking around me I could see how poor, uneducated and mislead all of these people were. I watched about 10-15 hearings before my turn to testify came up and while all were adults, most could not read or write and had no job. Finally, it was my turn. I had talked to the ADA earlier and agreed that I was not filing a civil suit and in return Mr. Moore plead guilty. His sentence seemed light - but I wasn't there to see him be punished. I just wanted him to admit what he did. He ended up with about $200 in fines, 24 hours of community service and was ordered to take a defensive driving course. I'm just glad it's over and hope I never have to testify in any kind of trial ever again. My heart was pounding the whole time and it was extremely uncomfortable to have that many accused criminals watching you at once. I felt like everyone kept staring at me and that I had forgotten to wear clothes that day or something. Hopefully, Mr. Moore has learned his lesson and won't be leaving any more women and children stranded on the side of the road anymore.

The big three-zero...

Happy Birthday Jared! Today Jared turns "30". Remember when that seemed so old? I'm just glad I have a couple of years before I have to come to terms with not being in my twenties anymore. So far Jared's taken it quite well!

I love you Jare Bear and am so grateful for all you do for your girls! Our favorite part of the day is when we hear your car pull up into the garage. I do have to say that you're a pretty lucky man to come home to three girls who absolutely adore you and spoil you with more hugs and kisses than most know what to do with. Happy 30th babe!

bum cracks...

I went to get the oil changed in my car this week. I took my car to this speedy oil change place where you don't even have to get out of your car. I pulled up in the garage and the guy told me to pop the hood. I couldn't find the lever to pop the hood so I got out of the car and squatted down so I could find it (I knew it was hidden under the steering wheel somewhere). The mechanic was standing right next to me obviously ready to help the girl who knows nothing about cars. Right when I found the lever Katy yells, "mom, you have a little bum crack"! Yes, the mechanic heard and probably saw and yes I was very embarrassed. Stupid low rise jeans.

Who dat?

Go Saints!!! Let's be honest. I don't watch football. I don't claim to be a fellow Louisianian. I thought that when people were saying "who dat" they just had horrible grammar. However - I am so proud of the Saints and so happy for our state! Go Saints!!!

Pre-K camp out...

I now have 24 witnesses that Jared snores! Ya'll might think we're crazy, but in order to register Katy for Pre-K we had to camp out in front of the elementary school for 17 hours. Yes, you read that correctly...17 hours. Down here in the great state of Louisiana each elementary school has one or two pre-school classes that accepts 18 kids each year. The bad news is that that it's open enrollment for the whole city. We are zoned for one of the best schools in Baton Rouge, but since it's such a great school you have people from across the city who camp out overnight to get their kids into our pre-K. Therefore, in order for Katy to get into the pre-k at the school we are zoned for Jared and I had to camp out in front of the elementary school for 17 hours. Let's be honest, Jared did most of the camping. I got in line at 3:30 pm on Monday afternoon and was the 14th person in line - meaning there were only 4 spots left and registration didn't even start until 7:30 am the next morning! I only stayed until 7:00 pm and then Jared took over and actually camped outside in line like he was a groupie waiting for concert tickets. I relieved him at 6:30 Tuesday morning to finish waiting. As soon as he left I was informed by many others that Jared slept better than anybody else and that he snores profusely. I'm so glad I finally have 24 witnesses that my husband snores, because he is in denial and always says (and I quote) "I don't snore, I just breathe loudly".

Anyway, there was a news team covering the little pre-school camp out so I thought you might want to get a glimpse of Jared and me. You can't see either of us very well, but we're in the background in a couple of shots. Jared is wearing his blue rugby warm-ups and I'm wearing a brown and creme striped sweater. I'm so glad it's over and that our little girl got in!

Click here for the video

Trip to New Orleans...

Well I've never been to New Orleans and I'll just be completely honest - I've never really had a desire to go. However, since we had family in town and they came all this way, we thought it would be fun to make the one hour drive down there. It ended up being a lot of fun, but I think I'll only go back if I can leave the kids at home. It is a fun city, but it is definitely a dirty city and there are a lot of things in plain sight that I don't want my children to see, smell or hear!

It's creepy enough walking through a normal graveyard. Imagine walking through one where all the bodies are buried above ground...

We took a carriage ride through town. It was the perfect way to see a lot without having to walk with the kids.

This is a beautiful Catholic church in Jackson square

The architecture was amazing

Lastly, we went to Cafe Du Monde for their world famous biegnets (it's a fancy doughnut covered in powdered sugar).