Radley's Surgery

On Friday morning, our precious little Radley had surgery on his kidney. Nana (Kenney's mom) came to our house Thursday night to be here with the other two boys while we went to the hospital at 5:30am.  It felt like forever before they finally had everything ready for surgery.  Around 6:45 they took him away.  I was really nervous and worried about the moment when they took him from me, but he was in my arms until I handed him to the anesthesiologist.  He wasn't hooked up to all kinds of machines and in a hospital bed; he was sleeping peacefully.  That made it so much easier for me.
Kenney and I waited and watched the monitor in the waiting room that showed the status of his surgery for about 3 hrs.  We were told the procedure would take 1-3 hours, but I didn't actually think it would take 3 hours.  Finally the surgeon came to talk to us and take us to recovery.  She said everything went really well and it was slightly more severe than they thought.  Luckily, everything went really smooth and they were able to repair his ureter.
Going to see him in recovery was pretty much as scary as I thought it would be.  At first they would only let one of us in, so I went in alone.  He was awake and had a horrible raspy cry.  Thankfully, it did not take him too long to calm down and go back to sleep.  The nurse also let Kenney come in and sit with us.  I pretty much held him for the next 3 hours.  Every time I would move or he would move he let out a pitiful little cry.  It was so sad to hear.  I just knew he hurt and was so uncomfortable.  Fortunately, that didn't last for too long.  By Friday evening, he was doing much better; I was amazed how quickly he turned a corner.  The surgeon said that's what babies typically do.  Friday night was a long night in the hospital with everyone coming in to check vitals and draw blood.  Kenney was at home with the boys because his mom had to leave.
Saturday morning brought some good news when one of the resident doctors said there was a chance we could go home later in the day; originally they told us we would not go home until Sunday or Monday.  I was hopeful, but didn't think it would actually happen.  Much to my surprise and relief, the surgeon agreed when she came to see him.  Within 5 hours they pulled the drain out of the incision, took out the IV, disconnected all the other cords, and we were discharged!  I was beyond happy to go home so we could all sleep better, Kenney would be able to study better for his test on Monday, and we would not have to worry about finding people to watch the boys.
Thank you to all who said prayers on our behalf and were thinking of us.  We are so blessed to have so much support and love from family and friends.  In 6 weeks we will have an ultrasound for Radley, and assuming everything looks good, he should never have any problems again!

The night before surgery without any idea of what the next day would hold.

Oh, I love this sweet little boy so much!!

Just too cute!  I was so worried he would never be the same after surgery.  I am happy to report that it seems he will be himself once again in a few days!

Cuddling with Daddy after surgery.  No one had the heart to even snap-up his hospital gown because it hurt him to be moved too much.  The white gauze/dressing is the incision area.

Finally 'alert' at 6:00 Friday evening.  Poor baby.

Moving around a little more and chewing on the pulse oximeter.  That stupid monitor beeped at us the entire time were were there.

So tired

He was so happy considering everything he went through.  I couldn't believe how he would smile at everyone.

Radley's visitors.  They raided the snack room, got some chocolate milk and a granola bar, and got to watch Spongebob.  The hospital was a pretty good place as far as they were concerned! 

Getting some rest

One sleepy baby once we got home.  He slept so much better on Mom & Dad's bed than in the hospital.

Sunday morning I put Radley in our bed when he was starting to wake up.  By the time he was truly awake, both his brothers had to come check on him.  It was really cute because Kyler climbed in bed and cuddled so sweetly right next to Radley.

The incision.  They told us to take the dressing off on Sunday.  It kind of made me nervous to have it off, but I guess it will heal better this way. 

Trying to Find A Rhythm

 I have been trying to find a rhythm even since Radley was born for dealing with 3 boys (or as Kyler constantly reminds me, "We have 4 boys in our house Mom.").  Every time I think we may have it down, I instantly realize I have nothing together.  These boys are giving me a run for my money.  Every day is so different I don't know how to get a head.  However, there are also times when I know that I am one lucky momma to have these 3 special spirits with me. 

Hanging out with Daddy

All 3 'watching' cartoons

Taking a nap in the big chair.  He hadn't had a dirty diaper for a day or two, and I was worried I would have a huge blowout mess everywhere.  Hence the white pad and the unsnapped outfit.

Sweet little hand.  Radley's hands are not nearly as long as Kyler's.

Building a tent/fort/tunnel with the cushions.  The couch continues to be a main source of entertainment.

So close to laughing!!

Who could resist that adorable face?!?!

Say What?

Damon, Damon, Damon... no clothes, saying 'Cheese', playing with cars, that's our boy!

Notice the big fat lip.  He busted his lip on the top and bottom.  It was pretty fat!  I don't think the kid can feel pain.  Just a few hours later, he was eating corn on the cob.  I even tried to cut it off for him, but he wanted to bite it off the cob.  Crazy kid.  He has not slowed down one bit.  It has been broken open once so far; I wonder how many times it will break open before it's healed.

So this is how Damon helps me with the laundry.  There is nothing in our house that is off limits.  Seriously, he can even reach the cabinet above the stove.  This is proof of the monkey we have on our hands.  I guess we're lucky so far we have only had busted lips and big knots on the head!

Shandi's Wedding

Radley had a lot of firsts this past weekend.  He went on an airplane, met lots of new family and friends, went to a wedding, saw the nations Capital, you know everyday things for a 2 month old baby!  Kenney never went on an airplane until he was 19, and all of our boys have been on one before the age of 1!!  Crazy.

Radley and I flew to Washington D.C. for my sister's wedding.  It was a LONG weekend.  I added it up and from Thursday-Sunday I got a total of 13hrs. of sleep!!  It was fun to make it for the big day and to see so many good friends and family members that live so far away, but we were busy, busy, busy!!  My mom was Superwoman; she had so much to do and somehow was able to get it done.  She had to do some major alterations to the wedding dress with very little time, and she made it look gorgeous.  We were making final finishing touches 15mins before we had to make it to the temple, but it was done.  I was so busy during the wedding that I never had a chance to take pictures. (thankfully I know the photographer pretty well, so he was able to send me some pics :)  Between all the diffenert activities and feeding a baby, I never stopped!  Although I was happy to be there for the wedding, I have to say the best part was flying there and back.  I was so worried it would be awful with a congested newborn, I loved being able to cuddle him and spend some one-on-one time with just Radley.  He was such and angel the entire trip.  Plus he helped to keep us all a little happier.  None of us could help but smile when we looked at him!

The 5 Girls

The happy & beautiful couple

All of my siblings (minus one sister on a mission)  I was glad Taylor was there to help make me look a little more normal in the height department!  He is 6'11"

The one picture I got with my camera right before we went in the temple.

SISTERS

The beautiful D.C. Temple

The group shot.  I was amazed how many people were able to come, espcially since none of the family lives on the East Coast.  A lot of people love Chris and Shandi

While we were gone, Kyler and Damon spend the weekend at Nana and Papa's house.  They had a lot of fun (Kyler and Damon, maybe not Nana and Papa so much).  They came to pick them up late Wednesday night.  Damon didn't go to sleep until around midnight and then got up with Papa for seminary at 5am!!  I'm sure he was not fun to be around that day.  Kenney was able to get there on Friday evening to help out while also getting our house ready to switch renters.  He had to come back home for Sunday because he had to pick us up and speak at church.  Needless to say, it was a busy weekend for all of us!   However, it was very nice to not worry about Kyler and Damon while I was away.  It would have been impossible to take them with me and entertain them while helping with the wedding.

Car seats are so much more fun when they are not in the car!  This is the boys playing in their seats waiting for Nana and Papa to come pick them up.

The boys couldn't miss the football game Friday night to watch Uncle Kaden play.  They even 'helped' paint the lines on the field the night before. 

The best part of the game is running on the field afterwards.

He works so hard to balance the ball just right to kick it, and then he misses!!

Hanging Out at Home

Our everyday life is nothing extravagant, but somehow the boys make each day exciting and different. They find new and funny things to do everyday, without exception. I do not find fun in a lot of the things they do (jumping off counters, wiping boogers on me, throwing everything in site, etc.), but they sure seem to enjoy doing them!  Here are just a few of the everyday moments Kenney or I happen to capture.

All of our boys love our bed.  Our full size bed gets smaller and smaller all the time.  It is no wonder that none of them are allowed to sleep with us, but they all find their way to our bed no matter what!

Radley of course sleeps the best when he is on our bed.  Go figure!

Damon decided to decorate Radley with stickers one day.  I would be nervous too Radley!

Poor guy.  Damon smothers him so much.

Kyler fell one day right into the corner of a dresser and got a huge knot on his head that bruised up pretty bad.  This isn't the best shot, but there are two lines down his forehead because he hit the dresser and the drawer.

Silly hats.  Kenney thinks it's funny when our boys put on hats because he thinks they look like girls.

This is the most 'masculine' picture of Kyler.

Cool Dude!

Damon's huge knot.  It wasn't even 2 days after Kyler hit his head that Damon did the exact same thing, to the exact same dresser.  It's not as if the dresser was just moved or something, it has been there since we moved here.  He almost broke the skin, so we were thankful that we did not have to make a trip to the ER.

Goofy Boy

Sleepy baby (notice the drool).  We took the boys outside to run around one night, and Radley just got too tired!  Our other two boys never did anything like this.  They would fight and fight sleep, but not this sweet little guy!