Preschool Graduation

We are so proud of our little graduate. Harper has spent the last 4 years at FBA. He has learned so much and I am forever thankful for the nurturing he has received there. They had a Kindergarten graduation ceremony, but since he will go to Kindergarten next year we told him it was graduation from FBA. The kids ceremony was precious and included singing, scripture reading, and awards. Harper recited, "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe" 1 Timothy 4: 10.

 Waiting on the ceremony to begin....

Memorial Weekend

We started off our Memorial weekend by having some friends over to swim and cook out hamburgers. It was a little overcast so we spent most of the time in the hot tub. Nothing says Memorial Day like burgers, babies, and bomb pops!

We ended the night by going to our friend's housewarming party. The theme was 90's Hip Hop. We finally found a babysitter so I set off to Goodwill at 3pm (the day of the party!!) to look for a party outfit. I found some Guess Jeans, Cole Hahn sandals, vest, and fanny pack along with matching ridiculously clothes for Cam. We got dressed for the party and were heading to The Woodlands when I pulled up the evite on my phone...AND realized it was a 90's Hip Hop Party!!! We looked like nerds, so we drove straight to Goodwill and found some spare of the moment Hip Hop gear and headed pack to our house to get some shoes. I am pretty sure Cole Hahns are not hip hop! Cam's oufit was pretty awesome, mine not so much! But mine did come with an extra treasure, a used kleenex in the pocket of the pants!! Gross. My friend Angela is super talented and just started an event planning business. Her housewarming party did not disappoint! There was even an airbrush company there to make my "Woo-Tang" party hat!

After church on Sunday we headed up to the ranch. It was probably our last time to go before it gets HOT! It was honestly the first time that I did not dread going. The boys are at a much easier age and it was a lot less work than usual. We went on many rangers rides, played with Uncle Casey's new dog Deets, fished, and went coon hunting. Harper was in his element-He fished for 5 straight hours!! And only caught 2 fish. I love that he enjoys fishing so much because it is the one activity that truly teaches patience.

The ranch means playing hard which equals eating great and sleeping good. Everyone loved Cha-Cha's spaghetti....

Hudson in his signature eating position!

Cam shot two water moccasins while we were fishing. This is the closest I have ever been to a snake. The only kind of snake I like is a DEAD snake!

Go Seminoles

Harper is developing into quite the little ball player. I have not gotten to watch him as much as I would like to, but the few times I have, he has played well. My dad watched the little boys last night so my mom and I snuck away and watched his 7:30 game. This season is over and he is already missing it! I guess we will play again in the Fall:)

The Pool

We did it, we put a hole in the ground!! The pool project is officially complete. It has been a fun project to oversee. Harper could not wait to do a cannon-ball, so you will see some "green" looking water in these pictures. Our entire family has had so many fun times in the pool already. I am really looking forward to making more memories this summer...and saying cool...and tan! 

We had one little incident that involved a trip to the emergency room for Harper. Thankfully we avoided stitches and saved his chin with derma-bond glue. 

Eyes

My brave Mr. Hogan underwent surgery last Monday. Tomorrow marks one week post op and I am happy to report he is doing fantastic! Surgery was a wee bit overwhelming for this mama, but I am so thankful for modern technology and medicine.

Last Sunday we loaded or unload the car....not sure if we put as much stuff in the car as we had to take out in order to just take ONE kiddo for a couple of days! Cam, Hogan, and I headed to West U to stay with family while Addy and ChaCha stayed at our house with the rest of our crew. We planned to spoil Hogan on Sunday before surgery the following day. We made sure to stop by Pappasitos for Cinco de Mayo and then we had ice cream for dessert in Rice Village.

 Once last look at the right eye...

We let him stay up late and got in lots of snuggles before we put him to bed, but Hogan had other plans. He did not want to sleep in the pack n play...and since we were guests in a home with two other families we did not want him to cry. So Cam and I took turns sleeping with him all night...longest night ever! So we were all a little cranky when we woke up.

Hogan couldn't eat or drink anything before surgery, this was the worst part!! He did good, but surgery did not begin until 9:30 and we arrived at the surgery center at 7:45!! It was awful. It made me think of the starving kids all over the world. Hogan had the saddest/maddest cry, and he could miss a few meals...trust me!! It made me think about the mamas who have to listen to their children cry and don't have any food to feed them:(

Anyways, we were happy to finally get taken back to our "room" but then once again it was a hurry up and wait game. Why is it always like that at hospitals/doctor's offices? Hogan was getting hungrier and louder by the minute and my anxiety and nerves were getting frazzled. Thankfully Dr. L came in and went over the game plan with us.  The next thing I knew they were taking Hogan from my arms and walking into the operating room. I handled it better than I thought I would. I think I was just worn out from holding a crying kiddo. We prayerfully waited in the waiting room for 2 hours.

A nurse called us back as we waited to get the report from Dr. L. He said everything went well and that  Hogan would be waking up shortly. We were escorted into a lounge right outside of recovery. I mean right out side of recovery...we could hear everything going on in recovery....like Hogan screaming for a solid 25 minutes before they came to get us! I lost it, mama bear came out. I was not a happy camper, there is nothing like hearing your baby cry and you can't get to him. I was crying furiously when they finally came to get me. They say you come out of anesthesia like you go into it. He was screaming when he went under because he was taken from me so he came out the same way.

I immediately held him while the nurses attempted to unhook him from the machines and IV's. He was screaming "Off" he did not want to be attached to anything. They gave him morphine to calm him down and I think that may have made things worse.

After about an hour in recovery they discharged us. Hogan slept peacefully in the car for the majority of the way home. He was still pretty drugged so he would sporadically wake up and cry. I was looking forward to the next few days. That may sound strange, but I was excited about just spending time snuggling Hogan and not having any one else to take care of. I had the glider moved downstair so I could rock him and take it easy..HA!

Hogan threw up most of the afternoon after arriving back at the house. I assumed it was from the morphine. It was way more hectic than I thought, so I asked my mom to stay the night. The following morning he also threw up milk all over the freshly steamed carpet! He took a nap in throw up too:( Let the craziness begin, there was no time for me be sick! Thankfully my mom stayed so that I could go to the doctor because my cold had turned into a sinus infection.

We headed back to Houston for his post-op and Dr. L suggested we see our pedi if the vomiting didn't stop. Thankfully it did and I woke up throwing up the following day! Lovely.  Stomach bug confirmed. So Hogan did have the stomach bug on top of having surgery :( What a trooper!

Hogan and I did not share the stomach bug with anymore else, but I did shared my cold and sinus infection with Huddy. So they say it takes a village, and it sure does. The next few days were a blur after that. Hampton was in Kingwood with my mom for a week, Hudson spent the days with ChaCha, Cam was on call, and Maria babysat while I slept off the bug. What a week!!!!

So we were all reunited yesterday, just in time for Mother's Day. I am not sure if the hardest part is behind us or not. Hogan can not run, jump, swim, or participate in any rough play for another week. Ummm, he has THREE brothers and our pool was finished this week!!

This picture was taken on day 10-still red but looking better!