Trick or Treat ...

This October has been sort of ... bleh. And of course to make it go out with a bang, I came down with something yesterday. A sore throat accompanied with body aches and 103 fever. Gross. 

I managed to get in a little nap this afternoon and was able to go Trick or Treating with my kiddos. Nights like these make me feel extra thankful - all of the running and giggles and candy-eating ... it is all just great. 

As much as I love doing the matchy-matchy costumes with the boys, it seems as though each one had a mind of their own this year. Kollin thought he wanted to be a (insert one million costume ideas here) until I found this Race Car Driver one at Target for $6. Decision made. Kolt, who pretty much eats, sleeps and breaths football was a Football Player. Shocker. 

Kruz begged me to find him an Alligator costume and when that didn't happen he ended up as a Baseball Player. Note: He was also a Cow for the Fall Festival at our church last weekend. Cutest.Cow.Ever. Kohen was a monkey because he loves Curious George and because we already had the costume from when Kollin was little.

Khloe was just along for the stroller ride. 

The One I Worried About ...

Kollin prayed her into this world ...

Kolt asked every single day when she would be here ...

Kruz constantly talked about all the things he would teach her ... 

Kohen? My KoKo just didn't get it. The whole baby concept. Sure, he pointed to my belly and said "baby" about a thousand times a day. Me and every other person we saw had babies in their belly. Seriously, he had no clue what was coming. 

And in all the times we have added to our family, I have never felt so guilty as I did this time around. Kohen has remained such a needy little guy. He is no hurry to be independent, no hurry to pick playing over snuggles with me, no hurry to be a Big Kid, no hurry to dress himself, no hurry to be like his Big Brothers. Lets just be real here, the kid is a Mommas's Boy, attached to my hip. There ain't no way around it.

The baby of the family always endures the most changes when a new baby comes. More than likely they'll get kicked out of their crib, their paci gets yanked from their possession and potty training will hit them like a ton of bricks. In the past, I have always been so adamant about having these jobs accomplished before a new little one arrives. Moving Kohen out of the crib and into a twin bed about killed me. In fact, after the crib had been disassembled to be refinished, I put him into a Pack-N-Play for like a month because I just couldn't stand the thought of him in such a gigantic bed. In a bed that appeared would swallow my Momma's Boy right up. As far as the paci and potty training goes, he's sucking on one right now and is wearing a diaper too. 

Baby steps. 

So last Wednesday the boys came bursting through the doors to meet their Little Sister. I was facing my worries, how was Kohen going to react to seeing his Mommy holding a baby? Kohen came in and asked for his Daddy. His Daddy. I was shocked and a little broken hearted. He hardly even acknowledged me, much less the baby. He didn't cry when it was time for him to leave us either, another thing that had plagued me for weeks - how was Kohen going to be about leaving his Mommy again? 

We came home Thursday afternoon, I came through the doors just wanting to hug him and snuggle him and he ran right passed me and reached up for Travis. The next few days were just like that, I think he was mad at me y'all. I have been preparing myself for him to scream at the sight of me holding Khloe and him trying to push her out of my arms. And I got the exact opposite, I got the cold shoulder. And it kind of made my heart ache a little. 

It wasn't until Monday, when Travis left to work, that he finally came around to me. He crawled in the bed with me that morning and we cuddled. We shared a bowl of cereal for breakfast. He reached up for me to hold him and I snatched him up so fast. 

It wasn't until Monday that he acknowledged his Baby Sister. He climbed onto the couch and started patting his lap, asking for "Baby" over and over. He held her, smiled at her, jerked her paci out, shoved it back in her mouth, "sssshhhhh"ed her when she started to cry, let her tiny fingers wrap around his and tried to pop her in the head with her bow. 

She started to fuss and Kohen rubbed her belly and then he started to sing to her. To hear his sweet little voice calm her made my cup run over. He loves her, I thought. He's not going to try to hurt her, he actually likes her. After a good ten minutes, I had to pry her away from him and it's been that way ever since Monday. Kohen asks to hold her every morning, every afternoon and every night. And if I can, I let him take her in his arms and sing to her. 

Splish, Splash ...

Kohen loves the bath. 

Not so much the getting bathed part, but the playing part. I was sitting in the bathroom reading while he played and looked up to see all these glorious moments passing me by. I put the book down and just watched him for a little while. I grabbed my camera and snapped, snapped, laughed, dumped water on his head and snapped some more.  

Here's to Wednesday!

A Grateful Big Momma, A Blessed Little Lady ...

I love that you guys love me. And I say that oh, so humbly. I smiled from ear to ear when a reader posted on my Facebook that she was patiently waiting on this post.

I smiled, I laughed and I got to work posting. 

We had Miss Khloe Ruth's showers this past weekend and well, I am one grateful Big Momma to one blessed Little Lady. 

Saturday, some of my close family and friends gathered at my Momma's house. I missed not having any of the folks from my Daddy's side of the family or from Travis' side, but every one who was able to come made the day super special and unforgettable. 

My Momma, MawMaw and one of my closest girlfriends Heidi decorated beautifully, had delicious food and some great games. It was just perfect. 

To say my Momma has been planning this shin-dig since the very day we found she was a she is no exaggeration at all. She put so much time, effort and sweet, precious Pinteresting into planning this thing - thank you Momma! You are THE best.

The food was everything I asked for and more. There was loads of fruit and veggies, which I'm still snacking on. All of my favorite dips, chicken salad sandwiches and the most delicious cake ever by my favorite Cake Girl - Mrs. Aimee Baker of Bakerz Joy.  

As for the games, I swear these either make or break a shower. Heidi is so good at hosting and picking out just the right fun!

 For the first one, I waddled around modeling a tray of baby goodies, things like diapers, wipes, baby lotion, a rattle, teething gel and such. I disappeared for a few minutes and Heidi asked everyone to write down everything I was wearing. Haha, it was a good one. Someone even wrote down my pink bra, guess I should make sure I'm not leaning over so much. For the second game, titled Daddy Knows Best, she asked Travis 15 questions about babies/Khloe/kids in general. I, of course, had to answer what I thought he would say. Turns out according to Travis, our kids take naps until they're five. I wish. And just for laughs, here are the questions, his answers and mine. Remember though, I was trying to answer in the mind of a man. Looks like I didn't give him enough credit ... 

1. How many diapers does a baby need each day?

T: 5

K: 4

2. How many do you change?

T: 0 Monday through Friday, 2-3 when I'm home

K: 2 when he is home

3. How many hours does a baby sleep per day?

T: 10-12

K: 14-16

4. When does a baby sleep through the night?

T: 6 months

K: 1 year

5. When does a child stop taking naps?

T: 5

K: 4

6. When does a baby start eating solid foods?

T: 6 months

K: 6 months

7. What made Kelsey nauseous/sick with this pregnancy?

T: When the boys were sick, throwing up

K: Bacon, coffee, everything with a smell

8. What foods did Kelsey crave?

T: Gezzos and Starbucks

K: Gezzos

9. How long do you think Kelsey will be in labor?

T: 30 minutes

K: 1 hour

10. Who was right about the gender of the baby?

T: I wasn't. We were both skeptical

K: He wasn't, I knew it was a girl

11. Who is the more strict parent?

T: I am

K: He is

12. Will Khloe be born with a lot of hair?

T: Yes

K: Not really.

13. What do you think Khloe's personality will be like?

T: Outgoing and tough

K: Calm and sweet.

14. Who will she look like?

T: A mix of me and Kelsey, but mostly like Kruz

K: Kruz

15. What will be the best part about having a girl?

T: Daddy-Daughter date nights, spoiling her and never spanking her

K: The Father-Daughter wedding dance

And of course, there was the opening of the gifts! We received tons of diapers, wipes, a fabulous monogrammed hamper, some super cute clothes, pacifiers, a beautiful piece to hang in her room and loads more! I also had three adorable little ladies to help pass out all of the goodies.  

Here are some of the special ladies in my life I was able to snag a photo with.

And there was this one guy there. He's kinda one of my favorite little people ... 

And Sunday, the sweet church ladies showered us with gifts all over again and another delicious cake. 

Thank you, thank you and thank you to everyone who has given to Miss Khloe, said prayers for her and all the precious words of wisdom I have heard. You guys are so special to us and I can't wait for you all to meet Miss Khloe Ruth!

 ^"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy ..."

Philippians 1: 3-4 (NLT)