The Long Family

Summer Fun

2011-09-18T17:45:00.001-07:00

Brenna's First Birthday

2011-09-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Fall is here

2011-09-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

Wow the summer has flown by! We have been so busy here. Bob has been traveling a ton with work so the days all run together for me with working and taking care of 2 kids by myself.

Bradyn has been playing soccer every Saturday. He seems to like it. Today is the last lesson for that. This is the 1st year for Tremont to have soccer lessons. He played baseball this summer and LOVED it. He could not wait to go to practice every week and then games on Saturdays. It was so fun to watch him play. That is all he wants to do in the evenings is go outside and play baseball! It is so fun watch him learn new things.

Little Miss Brenna decided to start walking at daycare on Tuesday at 14 months and 2 days of age! I was disappointed that I missed out on that but I guess that's what happens when you are a working Mom :( She has quite the little personality! Her hair is growing in the back and is curly-so cute! She can say momma, dadda, bro, and the newest word is baby. Plus she loves ducks for some reason and does this really cute quacking at this high pitched voice!

Both kids are in swim lessons. This is the 1st session that Bradyn is in the water without a parent. He has done super great and really likes it. Brenna loves the water too. She loves to splash!

Next week starts a music class that I signed both kids up for. Bradyn was in it last summer and loved it and asked to do it again. That boy loves music and I only hope that will continue to grow as he gets older.

We have lots of activities planned for the fall. Fall has definitely arrived because I had to turn the heat on the other night. Too chilly for me! Enjoy the pictures-there is too many to share in one post so make sure you check them all out. I am a little slow at posting pics so these go all the way back to July for Brenna's birthday and when my brother and his family came to visit!

Happy First Birthday Sweet Princess!

2011-07-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

Happy First birthday to our sweet little Princess Brenna Fayth! July 11th at 6:37am weighing in at 7lbs. 14 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long with strawberry blonde hair. You look just like your brother! I still remember that moment and always will. We were so anxious for your brother to meet you. He has loved you from the first moment and the love he shows to you has grown so much. He loves to make you laugh! Where has the past year gone? You are officially a toddler! The past year has been so much fun and joyful since you arrived into this world. We love you more than you will ever know. GOD has blessed us with a beautiful baby girl who is sweet and loves to snuggle and be silly. It has been so much fun to watch you learn new things this past year.

We celebrated by taking the kids to a farm park Saturday where the kids could feed the animals and play on the swingsets, etc. It was super hot but alot of fun. Brenna was so funny- she would point at the animals but did not want to pet them. Sunday we celebrated with my brother and his family who were traveling back to Utah and stopped in overnight to visit. We were so glad to see everyone. The kids had so much fun playing together-sure wished we lived closer and could visit more often!

Brenna, the past year has been wonderful with you in our lives. We look forward to watching you learn new things and growing into a beautiful young lady. Mommy and Daddy love you so very much (and so does your big bro bro Bradyn!) Hugs and kisses tootsie pie!

Busy Busy!

2011-04-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

My updating has been bad I know! Never enough hours in the day with work and everything that I want to do. Don't want to miss out on the time with the kids because in the blink of an eye they grow too fast!

Brenna has been busy growing and learning so many new things in the past week. She has learned to say Mama, clap her hands (too cute), wave bye bye and now has started crawling! Unreal! I thought that she was totally going to skip the crawling because she loves to pull herself up but has figured out the crawling finally! Of course, Bradyn is not very happy about that because now she can get her hands on any toy of his!!

I took Bradyn today to sign up for baseball. He is so excited. It is coach pitched and they will have a game every Saturday for the summer. Should be cute to watch! Can't believe that he's 4!

We have had some crazy weather here lately. Can't wait for it to be warm, sunny and no rain! Have seen enough rain this spring already.

Enjoy all the pictures!

Happy Birthday My Dear Sweet Boy!

2011-04-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

4 years ago today God blessed us with a beautiful and healthy baby boy! What a wonderful day it was! I can still recall being pregnant with you and the day you were born. What an exciting time in our lives! You have been a blessing to our lives and we love you more than you will ever know. What a fine young boy you have grown into. You are sweet, kind, smart and a super big brother. We could not have asked for a better child. We cherish every moment from the day you were born. It is so fun to watch you grow and learn new things. I love that you still love to snuggle! You are so patient with your sister and love to teach her new things. I hope that you have the best birthday ever! Happy 4th birthday Bradyn! Love Ya!

Hello from Snowy Central Illinois

2011-02-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Yes I know it has been a very long time since I have blogged! I must apologize! Too busy with working, being mommy to 2 kids and TRYING to maintain a somewhat clean house! It is almost impossible for me to manage! Oh well- I don't want to miss a minute of the kids growing up so it can all wait!

We got about 15 inches of snow Tuesday night-biggest snowstorm in 20 years here! I love being snowed in at home. It was a treacherous drive home on Tuesday but we made it. Thank goodness work closed early or we would have been stranded because they closed the interstate. Bradyn and I spent some time outside Wednesday-only about 30 minutes because it was sooooo cold-only 18 degrees-brrrr! I was disappointed because the snow had a layer of ice on top so it was impossible to make a snowman and a snow angel. Bradyn prefers to "scoop" snow instead of sled riding. Santa brought him a sled and shovel. He's only been on the sled twice! Our neighbor plowed our driveway open for us or we would still be shoveling!

Brenna is growing like a weed. Time seems to go so much faster with the 2nd child. She is 6 1/2 months old and has 4 teeth already. She sits up pretty well and is such a good baby. She LOVES to watch Bradyn and snuggle with him. She started swim lessons The beginning of January and loves the water! I was really surprised! She is not much of a baby food eater. She prefers her milk! She was 16 lbs 3.2 oz (50%) and 27 inches (87%) at her 6 month check up. She is tall like her daddy!

Bradyn will be 4 soon :( He told me a few weeks ago that when he is 20 he will still be my baby! I am holding him to that! He loves his sis and loves to entertain her. Now that she can sit up on her own he loves to sit and play with her on the floor. He is the BEST big brother! He is learning so much at school and is Mr. social bug. Can't take that kid anywhere without him knowing someone and he's only 3 1/2! (He gets that from his daddy!) He also told me one day that he wants to marry me when he gets older! He cracks me up! Him and Bob went to the Monster Truck show last night and Bradyn LOVED it! It was good bonding time for the 2 of them. Bradyn's mouth ran a mile a minute when he got home to tell me all about it. I have never been to one. Next year we plan on taking him to the one in St. Louis! It is a much bigger show. He even got a monster truck at the show last night and that's all he's been playing with today. He has set up his race cars and is running over them with the truck just like at the show!

I hope that you enjoy the abundance of pictures and I promise I will TRY to do a little better with keeping up with my blog!

The time has come

2010-10-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

The time has come for me to return to work. :( Since I did not win a million dollars while I was off I do have to return. Brenna is 12 weeks old today. So hard to believe-it sure has flown by! I have enjoyed every minute of my maternity leave (Even those first few weeks of sleepless nights!) It has been wonderful to spend the first 12 weeks of her life with her every moment of the day! She is a sweet and loving baby. She is very laid back and so much fun to be with. I really am going to miss her while I am at work.

I have also enjoyed the extra mommy and Bradyn time. It is amazing to see how much that boy has grown and changed. He is so sweet and kind and intelligent. He loves his sister and is so excited for her to start school with him this week. My first day back is Tuesday. When I told Bradyn that mommy has to go back to work and is sad, he said "well, you just need to have another baby mommy so you can be off work again!" He then says "Sissy is getting big so we need another baby!" O how I love that boy's thinking!

I love being a mommy! The joys that my children have brought into our lives is priceless. The endless hugs, kisses, snuggles and I love you's is so worth it all. I want Bradyn and Brenna to know how much I love them and how they have brought so much love to our lives. GOD definitely has blessed us with 2 beautiful children and I thank him each and every day for giving us the opportunity to be parents!

I really am dreading Tuesday-makes my stomach hurt to even think about it. I wish that we lived in a country where mommy's got a year off for maternity leave. I know that Brenna will be fine because she will be at a church daycare and will get the love that she needs while I am at work but it still makes me sad knowing that I will be away from her for so long. Bradyn has been there since he was 11 weeks old and I see how much that boy has learned and I know it is good for them but I just wish I could be with her til she was a little older.

We were able to make a trip to PA to visit family and attend a friend's wedding reception 2 weeks ago. It was nice to be home while the weather was nice. We usually are home when it's snowy outside. Bradyn got to enjoy the week with both sets of grandparents and spend tons of time outside playing which he loved. He even overcame his fear of dogs that week which I am so happy about. He was quite sad when we left the grandparents behind and cried several times on the way back. Both the kids were excellent travelers and never heard a peep out of either one of them.

We have a few fun things coming up this month with the start of fall. I hope that you enjoy the pictures!

Wow 8 Weeks Already!

2010-08-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

I think that time flies even faster when the 2nd child arrives! Brenna will be 9 weeks old on Sunday-so hard to believe. She is a super good baby just like Bradyn was! She has only been getting up once during the nights and for the past week she's been sleeping thru the night. She still sleeps alot during the day but her periods of alertness have gotten longer. It is amazing to see how much she has grown and changed in the past 8 weeks. She has definitely gained weight because her clothes are fitting much better.

We were lucky enough to have my in-laws here for Brenna's delivery so that they could watch Bradyn for us. This helped ease our minds as we were in the hospital. It is hard not having family close by. Bradyn of course enjoyed the time with them but on our last night at the hospital he had a melt down. He had fallen asleep in my bed for a nap and when I woke him so he could go home he cried because he wanted me to come too! Needless to say, wiht my pregnancy hormones being out of whack I cried too! Bama and Papa were finally able to get him out the door and when he was getting in their jeep he goes "I love my mommy so much" and had tears streaming down his face! He is such a momma's boy! Having the grandparents here instead of him staying with a friend made a huge difference for him so I am thankful they were able to come!

Big brother Bradyn has been SUPER! He has done much better than I ever expected! He is very attentive to her and is full of kisses for her. It is very cute to hear him talk to her. His voice is very soothing for her when she's crying. He tells her that she's cute all the time. So sweet that boy!

We took him for a fun outing a couple of weeks ago because he has been so good. We went miniature golfing for the first time with him and then enjoyed some ice cream after wards. He had a blast! Bob and I had fun watching him play.

My sister and parents were here recently for a visit which we were happy to see them. Bradyn loved having "new"playmates! I think he gets bored sometimes with just Bob and I. We went to Chuck E Cheese one night which was fun for all of us! That was the first night that Brenna slept through the nite and it was because she couldn't sleep while we were there because it was so noisy and bright!

My sister and I went to the mall one day which was fun because I hate shopping by myself. I got lots of good deals on kid clothing for this fall and next summer. Then my parents and us went to the Children's Museum over the weekend. There was a ton of stuff to do there and Bradyn had a good time.

Bob and I even got to go out one evening-thanks to my parents for the babysitting! We went to see "The Switch"- which was good. That's the first time out for us since last year so the babysitting was much appreciated!

Of course, we got a little spoiled by all of my Mom's homemade cooking-yummy! Thanks Mom!
We sure enjoy having the company!

We are back in the routine of things this week. Bradyn moved up to a new class at school so that is exciting for him! He has some new kids in his class so am sure we will hear lots of stories!

Enjoy the pictures!

Brenna is here!

2010-07-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

More Pictures...

2010-07-10T06:22:00.001-07:00

Soon to be Big Brother!

2010-06-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

My dear sweet Bradyn is about to become a big brother! He is very excited and wants to help with everything- which I hope continues when sister actually arrives! He is full of questions and has been entertained by all of his old baby toys that we have gotten out.

It has been kind of emotional for me- I am excited about the upcoming birth of our daughter but also worried about how Bradyn is going to do. He is such a Momma's boy and I don't want him to think that he is not getting the attention that he deserves. (Must be my pregnancy hormones!) It is amazing how a child can bring so much additional love into your life which is exactly what he has done and that love is about to double with the arrival of our daughter and I am so anxious to meet her.

We have been so busy this past month with trying to get things done. We took Bradyn to Grant's Farm the beginning of June in St. Louis and had a fun time. It is a wonderful place for families. Then we celebrated Father's Day with brunch at the wildlife park and visited with the animals afterwards. This has become our family tradition since the birth of Bradyn and we look forward to it every year. That same evening we took Bradyn to his first movie- Toy Story 3D. He loved it and enjoyed himself so much he wanted to stay and watch it again! It was a fun experience for Bob and I to see how excited he was.

Since then we have been busy working on the baby's room and cleaning the house. Bob did an awesome job at painting her room and putting up trim. All we have left to do is hang up some things.

We took Bradyn to a baseball game this past weekend- our team is an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinal. They had fireworks after the game. It was a nice evening for a game and Bradyn of course loved it. He was full of questions about the game and field! He is very inquisitive and asks some grown up questions at times.

Bradyn was looking at a bride figurine the other day that sits on my dresser and asked me "Momma- where did you and daddy get married?" I told him in a church in PA. He says 'When I get bigger and older I am going to get marred." I asked him which cute girl at his school that he wants to marry and he said "I want to marry you momma!" Cracked me up!!

The teachers at school have been trying to prepare him on being a big brother too which I think is helping. They told him that soon Mommy is going to have a baby to carry so he will have to walk and he told them "I will always be Momma's baby!" Yes, Bradyn you will always be my baby!

I will keep you updated on the arrival of our new baby! I can't wait to see what she looks like and to see how Bradyn does.

Just for today

2010-06-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

This is a poem that I read somewhere and wanted to share! It's a reminder to be thankful for the children in our lives and how fast they grow up in the blink of an eye. Cherish every moment!!

Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.

Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you came to be my son and how much I love you.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count stars.

Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that GOD has given me the greatest gift ever given.

I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and the mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.

And when I kiss you good night I will hold you tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank GOD for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day...

My Sweet Boy!

2010-06-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

Bradyn has become quite the little charmer with the girls at school!! (and he's only 3) This is happening WAY too fast for me!! He tells me he has numerous girlfriends!! There is proof too- our little town had their annual Turkey Festival this past weekend and that is where we live for 3 days. It is such a super small town event and of course the main menu item is TURKEY-YUM YUM!! While we were there each day there were multiple little girls coming up to Bradyn and waving and saying hi. Even while we were in church on Sunday (they have an outdoor service the last day) there was a little girl waving and flirting with him! My baby boy is WAY TOO YOUNG for this!!! It is very cute to watch him be all cute and shy about it though!

I know that it has been way too long since my last post! Sorry! We have been very busy here with work, home and trying to do some fun things with Bradyn before he becomes a big brother!For Mother's day we went to the Zoo it turned out to be a beautiful day and Bradyn LOVES animals. This past week we went to St, Louis over night and then took him to Grant's Farm- it is basically a wildlife preserve area and home to the famous Clydesdale Horses! It has become a yearly thing for us to do since Bradyn was born. Very family friendly and relaxing. This weekend we are going to a wildlife park for brunch and to visit the animals. This has also become a family event each year to celebrate Father's Day. I am hoping that the humidity isn't as high because this pregnant body has a hard time with that!!

We have also been working on the baby room and trying to get that finished before her arrival! Lots of things to get done before then0 not enough hours in the day!!

I hope to get some pics up this weekend when Bob gets home. He's been out of town all week in ND and I am clueless when it comes to downloading the camera!

Bradyn's 3rd Birthday!

2010-04-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Bradyn's 3rd birthday at Chuck E Cheese! What fun we had! Bob and I had not been there since we were kids ourselves so we weren't sure what we were in for. Bradyn had invited a few friends from his class but only his best little friend could come. That was ok because they had a blast spending extra time together outside of school. Peyton, his sister and his parents came to the party! The kids had so much fun. Bradyn and Peyton are 2 peas in a pod! They are only 5 days apart and have been at daycare together since they were about 3 months old and really have formed a friendship that I hope will last a lifetime! The 2 hour party turned into 4 hours!! I am not sure who was more tired when we left- the parents or the kids!!

It was an excellent place to have a 3rd birthday at. Bradyn talked about it for days after and wants to go back again!

Spring has arrived

2010-04-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

Type here...Here are some spring and Easter pictures- I know that I am SLOW! I will post Bradyn's birthday pictures later this week. We have been extremely busy here this past week and I have been exhausted. I have a child that wants to get up at 6am in weekends but not during the week. Funny how that works! So between late nights at work, early am risings and pregnancy I have NO energy left!! We really need to get busy with the baby's room because she will be here in about 12 weeks! Yikes!!

Dear Bradyn,

2010-04-07T11:45:00.001-07:00

My dearest baby boy this is a birthday letter for you! As I write this I have tears rolling down my face. You are now a 3 year old! I am not sure where the time has gone, it seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with you and awaiting your arrival. Your daddy and I could not wait to meet you and see what you looked liked! Wow, what a blessing you have been to our lives! The joy that you have given us each and everyday is unmeasurable. God gave us such a beautiful and loving boy. You are a sweet, charming, funny and kind boy. The laughter that you bring us each day is unbelievable. You seem to grow into a more loving person each day. There are so many things in life that we look forward to sharing with you. Watching you grow and change is so much fun but in the blink of an eye it goes too fast! You will never know how much love you have given us. We love you more than words can say! Our prayer for you is that you will continue to grow into a wonderful young man and achieve your goals in life! I wish that you have a wonderful 3rd birthday and always remember how much we love you!

I love you Bugs!

Love,

Mama

Blessed Easter

2010-04-07T11:25:00.001-07:00

I hope that everyone had a blessed Easter. We sure did! Bob's parents arrived on Wednesday and surprised Bradyn- he thought that they were coming the next day but they decided to come a day early so that they could go to his swim lesson. He was so happy to see them! So Bradyn had his swim lesson that night and did super great! He really has advanced!

On Thursday, Bradyn had his Easter party at school and he had a good time. I had to work late so didn't get much time to spend with the family that day. On Friday, I only worked half a day and Bradyn did not have daycare so Bradyn, my mother-in-law and me went shopping in the afternoon. I finally ordered my baby bedding so I am excited for that to come in. They didn't have it in stock. We had a good time shopping and Bradyn loved hanging out with Bama.

On Saturday, it poured down rain and so we thought the egg hunt in town would be cancelled but just when it was ready to start it stopped raining so they were able to have it. Bradyn got lots of eggs and a tin of candy. He had a lot of fun after he caught on as to what he was to do. He was so funny because when it just began he walked right past an egg and I said Bradyn you missed this one and he kept on walking and said "I don't want that one!" After that we went shopping again and I actually got the baby a few cute outfits- it's so different buying girl stuff!

On Sunday, Bradyn woke up and was excited to see whether or not the Bunny had come. He got lots of fun stuff in his basket! Then we went to church and came home and Bradyn took a nap. We then had an egg hunt at home and Bradyn had lots of fun with that- he caught on quickly that some of his eggs had money in them and so each one he would pick up and shake to see what was in it and then sometimes he would open them up to eat candy! It took him forever!! After that we played outside for awhile and then had Easter dinner. Bradyn opened up his birthday gifts from Bama and Papa Long and Bob's sister. He got a hockey net and sticks that he loves! He played outside for quite awhile until a storm blew in and the tornado siren went off. That boy ran as fast as he could to the house. He was so scared! Guess he got that from his Mama! I tried to distract him but that was hard to do! We had cake and ice cream for his birthday which did help a little with distracting him!

On Monday, Bob's parents left early in the morning. We are so happy that they came to visit and enjoyed having them here. Bradyn really misses them!

The best news of all for that week was that on Saturday a week before Easter I decided that Bradyn was going to try underwear while we were at home. He did super great and has been in undies ever since! He has had a few accidents which is to be expected but I am so proud of him. He is a little stubborn at times (He gets that from his daddy!) and doesn't want to take time out to sit on the potty but for the most part he had done great even at school! I didn't expect this to go as well as it has!

That is the news from here! I will post something special this weekend for Bradyn's birthday!

First day of spring

2010-03-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday was to be the first day of spring- however it snowed and rained here and was only 33 degrees! The day before it was 64- what happened?? I was really enjoying a week long of warm weather and then the weekend rolls around and it snows?? Oh well- supposedly we are to see warm weather again this week!

Not much happening here. My pregnancy is going well. The baby is starting to move a lot more so that is fun. However, she is a little stubborn because when I want Bradyn to feel her move she stops!!

We stayed indoors this weekend and got some spring cleaning done even though it's definitely not spring outside! Bob leaves for another trip tomorrow so it will be me and the little guy for a few days. Three weeks in a row of him traveling is enough for me. Bradyn starts swim lessons on Wednesday so I will be taking him. Oh what fun to see my prego body in a swimsuit!!

Bradyn's list of funny things continues to grow- there is never a day that he doesn't crack us up! I really wish that I could record all the funny things he says! This week at daycare he was playing outside with an older girl and told me that they were looking for dinosaur bones- I asked him if they found any and he said no- thank goodness!

I took him for pictures this past week and the whole way there he told me he was NOT having his picture taken and then cried for about the first 10 minutes we were there while drooling all over his sweater! I was ready to leave but we were the only ones there so the 2 girls were able to slowly get him to cooperate and I ended up getting some adorable pics. He meanwhile fell in love with the pretty blond photographer and was playing blocks on the floor with her while I was ordering pics. He did not want to leave and was quite upset that we did!! He has a thing for blonds because his little girlfriend at school is blond too! Oh my!!

He has started to tell me "Momma when I get big I go to work and when you get little you go to school!" and "Momma when I get big I wear undies and when you get little you wear diapers and I take care of you!" Too funny!

He woke up Sunday saying that he wanted to go downstairs to see what the Easter bunny brought him. He was quite disappointed when I told him he has a couple of weeks yet before the bunny comes! He is excited to have an egg hunt while Bob's parents are here.

That is the news from here. Have a great week! I will try to get some pics posted when Bob gets home!

Long overdue pics!

2010-03-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

I promise that this post is going to have lots of pics! We are finally all on the road to recovery in our household- yippee! It has been a VERY long winter filled with illnesses so I am looking forward to spring! I have seen and heard some signs of spring this week so I am convinced that it's right around the corner! The birds are out chirping and the sun is shining and it is to be in the 50's this weekend! We are doing a spring dance!!

Bradyn is growing every day and learning so many new things! He continues to amaze me and it is hard to believe that my baby will be 3 in a month! He is such a sweet mild mannered child and I hope that he continues to be that way. He can be such a charmer. He gets compliments on his behavior every where we go. He Sunday school teacher calls him a "doll."

He cracks us up everyday with something he says! He continues to think that he has a baby growing in his belly also and it is his baby sister! He talks to his belly and mine all the time! He told me that he is going to feed the baby milk and that his baby sister is going to wear a dress! From day one he has referred to baby as his baby sister and it turns out that he is right! I went for my sono on Thursday and the doctor is pretty sure that we are having a girl! We are looking forward to her arrival! Bradyn went with us and he was so excited to see the baby moving around in my tummy. The doctor gave him his own sono picture which made Bradyn's day! He was all smiles. He told me on the way home that he is going to buy his baby sister "baby dresses, hair pretties (he must have learned that at school) and baby dolls!" He is too cute! He was so wound up that night talking about the baby AND he still thinks that he has a baby in his belly also! He says "you have a baby sister in you belly and I have a baby sister in mine too!"

He had a date with momma Wednesday! We went shopping (it felt so good to get out) and went out for lunch. He did really well and probably ate the best ever at a restaurant! He was so excited to hang out with momma and he LOVES to go shopping (he definitely doesn't get that from his daddy!!)

A few cute other things that he has said recently; We were watching the Olympics every evening while they were on and he was really into it. He loves Apolo and recognizes him whenever he's on TV. He also loves to watch hockey. He told me that he is going to play for the Penguins some day- I told him to go for it!!

When I put lotion on him I always take off my rings and he has always asked me "Who get you those, Momma?" So I explain to him that daddy bought them for me and when he gets bigger and meets a very nice girl that he can buy her a ring and get married. He then tells me that there are 2 very nice girls at school- Jordan (who is a year older than him-going for the older women already!) and Audrey who is in his class! Too funny. He has also told me this week that Audrey is his girlfriend! Oh my starting at a young age!!

O where O where is spring??

2010-02-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

That is the question that I keep asking myself. And each is just colder and colder. I really need some warm weather sent our way! The past 2 1/2 weeks have been rough on this old body of mine! Started out with me getting pneumonia and with being pregnant it is even harder on the body! The first round of antibiotics didn't work so my OB sent me to see my family doctor. Now I haven't been there in 3 years so that tells you how often I am really sick. He wanted me to wait it out because my antibiotic stayed in your body for 5 days. Well when the 5th day rolled around and I was still miserable I called him and he started me on another on that I am still taking. This has finally helped me. That pneumonia really knocked me off my feet. The day I was at his office Bradyn decides that he needs to get sick and vomits all over everything and continued to do so the entire trip home (which was not short!) After multiple stops along the way to clean him up we finally get home and I get him bathed and settled in for a nap. I am a mess by this time because I feel like crap myself and now have a sick kid and Bob is out of town on a business trip. I really thought I was losing my mind!

Two days later I get what Bradyn had on top of my pneumonia. Now I really thought I was losing it!! I have never felt so bad as I did those 2 days. Thank goodness Bob was home by then and played mommy those 2 days! He was wonderful! I thought Bob was safe from the illness because a whole week goes by and he hasn't gotten sick until this past weekend and then he had the same bug all weekend! Poor guy.

Bradyn then starts getting a fever on Saturday with a little congested cough so I thought he was just getting a cold. Well it continued and then last night after work we took him to the peds after hour clinic and they swabbed him for strept which the rapid was negative so that is good news. However, with his fever he can't go to daycare so I am home with him today! Bob had too many meetings at work today that he couldn't miss. Bradyn's tonsils are all red and inflamed and he just looks sick. Poor guy is miserable. He was up quite a bit and so needless to say neither him nor I got a good nights sleep. I hope that he feels better soon! The Doctor told us that kids that are in daycare average 10 plus viruses a year with this being the worst time for them and then last from 7-14 days so they are sick half a year! I believe that is true!!

On a happier note, my pregnancy is going very well. I go for a sono on March 4th and hopefully we will find out what we are having. Bradyn is very excited about the baby and consistently refers to the baby as his baby sister! He has even told his teachers that he is getting a baby sister! He is funny.

That boy loves to come home and tell us about his day at school and who got put in timeout. There is one boy that he consistently tells us that he's in timeout. Poor kid is always in trouble. Bradyn is quite the story teller!

He can now count to 10 in Spanish and complete his alphabet without missing any letters. He has also been buttoning his own shirts. He is very good with his fine motor skills. He continues to bring joy to our lives everyday and I thank GOD for giving us such a beautiful boy!

When is Spring??

2010-01-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

I can't stand this cold yucky weather we are having! It is MISERABLE! Today we have had nothing but freezing rain all day. I had plans to go do some errands but I can't even get to my mailbox! UGH!

We are doing well here. Not much exciting happening. We did take Bradyn to his first hockey game since last year on Saturday and that boy loved it. Last year he really wasn't into it but this year was a whole other story. From the time he got up Saturday all he talked about was going to the game. He wanted to wear his cute Penguins Hockey outfit he got from Christmas (From Bama and Papa Ware) -oh did he look cute but of course good ole momma forgot to get a picture of him in it with my camera- next time! He wanted to take his hockey stick and puck with him to the game. I finally convinced to leave the puck at home because I was afraid that he would throw it. So off to dinner we went and then to the game. That boy was hypnotized! He never once moved the entire game even during the intermissions and asked a million questions about the game. It was unbelievable. The game went into OT and then a shootout and when it was over he STILL didn't want to leave! He wanted to watch "boys play more hockey"- now by this time it is 10:30pm WAY past his bedtime. I finally convinced him that the boys were going home to bed and we would come back again. So funny. Sunday morning he gets up and the first words out of his mouth were "I go see boys play hockey." I think I have a hockey boy on my hands! I still am amazed how much he was into it.

I am going to sign him up fro skating lessons. He has to be 3 so that is not too far away. I think that he will enjoy that and then he can start playing hockey when he is 4 or 5.

Not much else happening. All is going well with the pregnancy. I will be 15 weeks tomorrow and go back to the doctor on Feb 3rd. Have a great week!

Cute Things said by Bradyn

2010-01-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a post just for Bradyn! He has said so many cute things lately that I would like to share. His vocabulary is really picking up and he is putting words together really well.

A couple of months ago at church during Pastor's sermon Bradyn was playing with some toys and Pastor was raising his voice. Of course the church is as quiet as can be and Bradyn says "GOD being bad"

Mommy says "No, honey God is not bad- shhh"

Bradyn "GOD being bad" This went on and on about 4 times.Then finally he quit. So we leave church and Bradyn reaches out to shake Pastor's hand and teases him by not shaking it. As we are going outside Bradyn says "I want to shake GOD's hand!" He thinks that Pastor is GOD. Oh boy how do you explain that one to a 2 1/2 year old! Just recently after we picked him up from Sunday school we were walking down the hallway to go to church and we pass Pastor. Bradyn says "There's GOD!" Can't help but laugh!!

The other day he asked me where my food goes when I am eating. I said "to my belly"

He says "baby eat it, Baby hungry?"

Me "Yes the baby is hungry"

He says "Baby sister in my belly eats my food"

(He is hooked on getting a baby sister because his best little buddy at daycare has a baby sister!)

I show him my belly that is growing and tell him that there is a baby in there. He says "big baby in there, Mommy?"

Me "yes the baby will be big when it comes out"

He says "I have a baby sister in my belly!"

We went shopping the day after New Years. I promised him that he could ride the train if he was a good boy so he was all excited. Now when we got there the train was running. When we go back past it the train is not and there is no one around. Now this was on a Saturday afternoon. So we run into a security officer and ask him about it and he says that it is done for the season. The stupid mall just decided to stop the train in the middle of a holiday weekend afternoon. Needless to say I was upset and so was Bradyn. So Mommy needs to explain to him that the train is done and he needs to wait until Christmas comes again to ride it. Poor little guy starts having tears run down his face and his little lip comes out. He looked so sad. So I tell him that I will think of something special for him because Mommy was a bad mommy and should have just let him ride it right away when we got there. He looks at me with tears running down his face and says "You not a bad mommy, I love you, I give you hug" Oh boy the pregnancy hormonal person that I am starts crying! That boy knows how to melt my heart!!

Our other mall has a mini merry go round all year round so I promised him that I would take him there soon so he could ride that. I did buy him his own milkshake that day so he was pretty happy with that.

His newest thing is if Bob gets mad at him about something Bradyn says "I not bad daddy. I mommy's baby!" (He is sooo right!)

If you answer him with a "MMHMM" He will say "don't say MMHMM says yes" Not sure where he learned that one at.

We have really been working on potty training this week and he has done really well. He will actually tell you when he needs to go pee but he will not poop on the potty! So we are at Walmart last night and he says "Mommy do they have a potty"

I say "yes, do you have to pee?"

He says "yes" so off we go and he did pee. After he settled down over the thought of falling on the toilet. I convinced him that mommy would never let that happen. I was so proud of him. Hopefully he will be completely trained here in a month or so!

I hope that you enjoyed the post. Bradyn is growing into a fine young man. I treasure each and every moment that we spend together and I am thankful to GOD that he gave me such a beautiful, happy and healthy boy! Oh I love him so!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T05:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe that it is 2010! Oh how time flies when we get older! We were blessed with a wonderful 2009 and look for the same this year. As you all know we are expecting Baby #2 and we are quite excited about that! Things are going well with my pregnancy and I will be 12 weeks on Monday. Lots to look forward to this year!

We went to dinner last night and then rung in the New Year at home. Bob's parents came to visit on Wednesday so we are enjoying their company and of course Bradyn is having fun with Bama and Papa. I am cooking dinner today and we are having a few friends over so that should be fun. Bradyn is looking forward to a playmate. They have a 2 year old daughter. We will see how sharing of his new toys go!!

Thanks to all of our family for the wonderful Christmas gift! We had a great Christmas. Bradyn was really into it this year. The boy was sooooo excited that he was up at 5:30 AM! Now of course Momma and Daddy were NOT too happy about that but he was so cute that it was hard to be angry! I told him to crawl back in bed cause it was still night time and he said "NO, I go downstairs and see Santa" We have a loft that overlooks our family room and he went over to the banisters and was peeking through and said "Santa presents!" The boy is too smart! So down we went and the first thing that he wanted to do was make sure that Santa and the reindeer ate their food. He was pretty excited about that. We had a wonderful day with just the 3 of us.

I am going to post my Thanksgiving pics from when we were home to PA and then hopefully I can get caught up.

Much peace and happiness to all in this new year!

More Disney Pictures!

2009-12-27T16:52:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

This is a LONG overdue post and I apologize. I will try to be better in the new year! I am going to post some pics of our trip to Disney. We went there in November to celebrate our 10th anniversary and had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect and there were NO crowds. I will never go there again in the summer after this experience. It couldn't have been any better. It got a little chilly in the evenings but not bad. Bradyn loved it. He was so excited by the plane ride alone. He of course doesn't remember going there last year for his birthday. When we boarded the plane each time he would say "here we go" over and over and people cracking up all around him. Too funny!

We stayed on Disney property for the first time which is definitely the way to go. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort and had transportation to and from our hotel and to all the parks which was awesome especially when it was late at night when we were leaving the parks. It worked out great. We went to each of the Disney parks. Bradyn loved all the characters except for the ones that did not have their face covered (like Aladdin and the princesses) Everyone else he would run up to and give them a big hug. It is all the kid talked about for weeks and still does occasionally. He says he wants to go back!

We went to Mickey's Christmas party at Magic Kingdom one evening and that was fun. The parade was awesome. The Christmas lights at Hollywood Studios (MGM) are breathtaking and will leave you speechless. They have over 3 million lights up on the streets of America buildings and they are set to dance to music every 10 minutes and they make it snow. I could have sat there the entire time! We will definitely go back again this time of year!

Since then we have been very busy. Trying to get ready for Christmas and with work. Bradyn had his Christmas program at daycare a couple of weeks ago and it was very cute. He sang a song with his class and then 2 songs with the whole daycare. He stood up on stage waving and saying "Hi Momma" That boy cracks me up.

Bob and I celebrated our anniversary on December 18th and our good friends babysat so that we had a an evening out by ourselves which was nice.

I have to work a half day tomorrow and then we are going to an early church service which is for young children so that should be fun. I wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year! Remember JESUS is the reason for the season!

All my disney pics won't fit in one post so check back later for more!

Finally Halloween and end of fall pics!

2009-12-13T18:50:00.001-08:00

Swine Flu

2009-10-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, the swine flu has hit our home and has been awful. It has knocked poor Bradyn off of his feet since last Wednesday. It has been a rough road but I think that we are on our way to recovery- FINALLY! His temp has been as high as 103.7 which is scary. I was VERY close to taking him to the ER last Thursday because I thought he was dehydrated but then he started to drink again for me. Saturday he woke up with no symptoms and was acting totally normal so Bob and I went to the wedding that we planned to go to. Bob and I have only been out 4 times now by ourselves since we had Bradyn so we were happy we were able to go. We had a good time and Bradyn loved his sitter. It was one of his old daycare teachers that doesn't work there anymore.

However, on Sunday he had a relapse and woke up with a fever again. The literature on swine flu says that if kids have a relapse they are to go to the ER so off we went. What a joke that was! The doctor told us what we already knew- rest, fluids, Tylenol/Motrin and monitor his breathing. FRUSTRATING needless to say.

He had not eaten since SAT lunch until last eve. Today he woke up and ate cereal and lunch so we are on our way to recovery. However, he still has a fever and is a little fussy and now I have a sore throat and fever. UGGGHHH!

He was to get his regular flu vaccine today but that is on hold until his temp is gone which I am praying that by Thursday he is better. He missed his first field trip to the pumpkin patch today and Thursday is his Halloween party so I hope he is better then.

I am posting some pics from our family trip to the pumpkin patch. Enjoy! Hopefully by the next post we are all healthy again!

Oh the joys of a child

2009-10-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

I know that I promised to be better at blogging and haven't lived up to that promise- sorry. I will try to be better! All is well with us for the most part. Poor Bradyn is getting sick. He woke with a pretty congested cough today and now has a fever. UGH! I called the pediatrician and I am sure that they are tired of crazy parents calling concerned that their child has the H1N1 ! They really have no recommendations for a 2 year old other than honey for the cough and Tylenol for the fever. I pray that he feels better soon. He is napping now so that is the only reason I am getting this blog done. Usually he is on my lap EVERY time I am at the computer.

Otherwise we have all been doing well. Bradyn has been extra funny lately with the things that he says. That boy has brought so much joy to our lives! He continues to learn new things every day. Sunday school is going well for him. He still has issues of us leaving him there because he hasn't gotten adjusted to a new atmosphere yet and new kids so he's a little clingy on Sunday mornings but his teacher is good at distracting him so that we can sneak out. Bob and I have been enjoying that hour together by having coffee and reading a book at IHOP (I know it makes us sound old!) but it has been very relaxing for us both.

Daycare has been going well for Bradyn. He went on his first field trip a few weeks ago to the fire station and they learned fire safety so he had fun with that. He has been coming home everyday telling on the other children- it is so funny! "Momma- Dufus (his pronunciation of Joseph :) !) threw rocks today and went to the corner" He cracks me up. He has been saying "hey dude" in the car when someone is driving bad (not sure where he got that) and "O my gosh" so funny! Today I got him to sing a bunch of songs for me and got him on the video camera- he was into performing today!

Saturday, Bob and I have a wedding to go to so Bradyn's old daycare teacher is coming to babysit him. He is VERY excited to see her. And WE are excited to go out and have a little fun by ourselves. It will only be the 3rd time we have had a sitter so we will enjoy ourselves. We usually take Bradyn with us every where we go.

I will try to post on Sunday. Have a good rest of the week!

End of summer pictures

2009-09-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

These pics are LONG overdue-I know. It has been so busy here lately. The weather has been cold. Bradyn finished his swim lessons last night and now he has a 2 week break before the next session starts. He started going to Sunday school a few weeks ago and has really enjoyed it. He must really be listening because he asked me in church " Momma, where is God?" Too cute for a 2 year old. He is one smart boy.

I hope that you enjoy the pics and I am going to TRY and keep up with my posts better!

God has a plan

2009-09-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

This is very difficult for me to write but I think that it may help a bit with my healing process if I can express myself in writing. Bob and I found out that we were expecting baby #2 a few weeks ago and were ecstatic of course to give Bradyn a sibling. Bradyn was very excited too and kept saying that he had a baby in his belly just like Mommy. Too cute. Well I went in for a sono on Thursday and got horrible news that there was no heartbeat. There was definitely a baby there but no heartbeat. Of course the tears just started flowing from Bob and I both. I am thankful that he went with me. The doctor was very sincere and he had a very long discussion with us. I am thankful that I have such a caring and compassionate physician. I was 9 weeks along but the baby only measured to be 7 weeks and 3 days so the baby had passed about a week and a half ago. We are heartbroken. I had a D&C on Friday and I am thankful that I was able to have it done right away instead of waiting through the weekend. It has been a horrible few days for us. Physically I feel fine but emotionally I am a mess.

I know that God has a plan for us and I pray to him that he can help us through this difficult time and help to heal our pain. I would not wish this on anyone. It is a horrible thing to go through. It is difficult to understand why these things happen and only God knows why.

I am trying to keep myself busy and having Bradyn around is a great distraction for me. I thank God everyday for giving us him because he has brought so much joy to our lives. I hope that in time we will be able to move on and that God will give us another healthy child someday.

Please keep us in your prayers. I pray for all the women out there that have gone through this. I thank God everyday for giving me a loving and supportive husband and a beautiful child. If anyone has any advice on how to cope with this please let me know.

Fall has settled in

2009-09-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I have been bad about keeping this updated! I have gotten on facebook and so I haven't been blogging as much. I will try to do better. We have a had a great past few weeks. Bob's parents were here a couple of weeks ago and Bradyn had a good time with them. We haven't seen them for awhile so it was great to have company. We went shopping one day and went to the zoo one day. Bradyn LOVES animals and did not want to leave. It was a cool day but no rain so that was great.

This past weekend we went to the last home baseball game for our minor league team in town and they had fireworks after which they always have the best fireworks display. Then Saturday Bob raced his RC car and so Bradyn and I did some errands and then took him dinner at the track. On Sunday we went camoping. It was so much fun! Minus the rain. It decided to pour down rain Sunday evening and we had a hard a time getting a fire going and making dinner. It finally stopped raining and we got to enjoy the camp fire. We went fishing and Bradyn caught 4 fish on Sunday and 3 on Monday. Then he got bored with it. He had a great time and the weather was great on Monday. He slept really well in the tent. It was a great couple of days with the hubby and Bradyn. Plus Bob is an excellent cook on the campfire. He had lots of practice as a Boy Scout!

This week is going well. Busy at work yesterday. Today is my bday and so I am enjoying my day off. Bradyn has swim lessons tonight so we will go out to eat on Friday to one of my favorite places- OUTBACK! YUMMY!!!

On a sad note, there was a little girl in Bradyn's class at school that drowned on Monday. She managed to climb under the solar cover on the family's swimming pool and fell in. She was 2 1/2 and had Down's syndrome. She was a very cute little girl. Please keep her family in your prayers at this difficult time.

I will try to get pics up this week yet and get caught up!

Many Tears Shed

2009-08-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a very rough week for me. Yesterday was my friend Julie's visitation and today was her funeral. My eyes hurt from crying. Last evening when I was driving home from the visitation I saw a huge beautiful rainbow and it really made me think of her. Today the weather was to be cold and dreary and it has turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Her funeral was beautiful and truly was a reflection of her life. She was a remarkable person. Please continue to keep her family in your prayers.

There is one more angel in Heaven

2009-08-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Julie, passed away this morning. She fought a hard battle. I know that she is dancing in Heaven and can enjoy life again. She is pain free and that alone makes me feel better. She was a remarkable woman and I wish that everyone could have known her. She was a beautiful person on the inside and out. She fought cancer for 6 months and was strong every minute of her fight.

It has been a long rough and emotional day for me. I wish that someone would come up with a cure for cancer so no one has to go through what she did. My heart aches for her 3 children- especially the youngest one who is only 2 and won't remember hi mommy. Life is just not fair sometimes but I know that GOD had bigger and better plans for her!

Summer Pictures

2009-08-16T12:45:00.001-07:00

Treasure every Moment!

2009-08-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough 2 weeks for me. My friend Julie had a stroke last week and is now completely paralyzed on her left side. She finally came home from the hospital on Saturday so me and a friend went to see her. Neither of us was prepared! We didn't stay long because we couldn't control our tears. They just kept on flowing. She just turned 38 a couple of weeks ago and her youngest son just turned 2. Life is just not fair sometimes. I went back to visit again last night with a couple other friends. She was very groggy last night because they put her on some stronger pain meds because she's having so much rib pain. We had a nice long visit with her and her fiance. It is so heart wrenching to see her like this. Her prognosis is not good and they only gave her 10 days to live.

It has really hit home with me since we are close in age and have a son the same age. She is a strong remarkable woman and really has fought a hard battle. I am thankful for her friendship.

On a happier note- Bradyn is doing well. He is really into singing songs now. Every time we are driving somewhere he wants to sing. He can sing his ABC's (he knows them all), Itsy Bitsy Spider, The wheels on the bus and his newest on is Jesus loves me. It is the cutest thing. He sure is talking up a storm. We went to the pool a couple times this past week. He loves the water. He starts swim lessons again tonight. Our pool closes for the season on Sunday so hopefully we will get there one more time.

Yesterday at school he missed the last step and did a face plant on the floor. He has a huge egg above his eye and it's black and blue. Poor kid. It looks awful.

Bob and I are doing well. Keeping busy with everything. I promise I will try to get those long overdue pics up this week!

Can't believe it's August!

2009-08-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

It is a rainy day here for the first of August and chilly. Not you typical August weather. It is hard to believe that summer is almost over and the kids will be back in school soon.

It has been a fun week for us. Daycare was closed this week for the yearly shutdown week. Bob stayed home with Bradyn on Mon and Tues and then I had the rest of the week with him. We had fun and kept bust. It's great to have him feeling well again, finally. Wednesday we cleaned the house (Bradyn LOVES to clean!). Thursday we tried out our new pool in town. It was a lot of fun! They have a great kids section for his age and the weather was perfect. Friday we spent the day at the mall (the boy LOVES to shop- he sure doesn't get that from his daddy!) and then we went to the racetrack to watch Bob practice and we took him dinner.

I have a feeling that Bradyn is going to struggle going back to school on Monday after spending all week with us. He had so much fun at the pool so I think that's what we are going to do tomorrow as long as the weather holds up. We bought some little toys yesterday to take with us this time.

I hope that everyone is doing well. I am going to TRY and get back into my regular posting days. Bob needs to download some more pics for me so maybe I will get them up in the next few days!

The fall like days of summer

2009-07-19T14:09:00.001-07:00

The weather here has been cool the past few days. Feels like fall is settling in. Bradyn has had to wear winter pj's the past 2 nites!

We had a great week. Bob got one of his projects partially finished this week. We went to St. Louis after I got off work on Tuesday and spent the nite. Wednesday we took Bradyn to Grant's Farm which is such a fun place for kids (or adults like me as Bob told me!) It has at least one animal from 6 of the 7 continents. The weather was perfect and no crowds. Last year it was dripping hot and packed so the middle of the week was a good idea. Bradyn had a BLAST! He was so into it minus feeding the animals (Mom did that!) He did not nap while we were there but as soon as he was in truck he was out and slept the whole way home. It was a fun family day.

Thursday was back to work and the normal routine. Yesterday, Bradyn and I went to see my friend Julie that is ill. There was a benefit for her that we went to. It was great to spend some time with her. There was a ton of people there so I hope that they raised a TON of money for her and her family. After that we went to the R/C track to see Bob race. Bradyn loved that and was mad when we left.

Today we went to church and did a few errands after and we are hanging out at home. I have to go grocery shopping today which I hate.

Have a great week. Enjoy the pics!

BUSY BUSY

2009-07-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

That is what our week has been! Bradyn is finally feeling better and we actually have enjoyed some time outside this week! Work was crazy this past week because my doctor was going on vacation so we had a ton of people squished into our schedule and it will be the same the first week he is back. This week I am going to enjoy a nice slow week!

Bob was busy getting his RC car ready to race for a big race at the track only to have it cancelled because the track was too wet due to all the rain that we had during the week. So instead we did some work outside yesterday and today we went to the airshow with the Thunderbirds! We have seen them before but no matter how many times you see them they continue to take your breath away because they are absolutely amazing to watch. The weather was perfect cloudy but warm. It was a fun day out and Bradyn had fun.

Bob is off work this week because of work being shut down for the week so he has lots of house projects planned. We are hoping to take a trip to St. Louis this week too depending on the weather. I will try to get some pics posted tomorrow.

Have a great week!

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

Take a minute today and reflect on the true meaning of July 4th. Say a prayer to thank all of our military personnel that have given their lives to protect our freedom. Sometimes Americans take for granted all of the freedoms that this country allows and if it wasn't for our military protecting us day in and day out we would be without those freedoms. God Bless America!

I hope that everyone is having a safe and happy holiday weekend. We have been couped up at home today. The weather has been miserable - raining all day and cold. We were to go to a cookout and fireworks tonight but Bradyn has been sick since Thursday- AGAIN! I think that we have spent more time in the house this summer than out because of a sick child. He got sent home from daycare on Friday because of a fever. Bob took him to the doctor that day and he checked out fine- the Doctor thinks he has another virus (how many childhood viruses are there??I think that my child has had just about all of them:) ) He has had diarrhea and a fever off and on since then.

We did get to go to a cookout last night because at that moment he was fever free. We had a good time and got to see some fireworks. Bradyn had a good time too.

Today I have spent doing a good cleaning of the downstairs. Nothing like a fresh cleaned house- but I HATE to clean. It was a good day for it with the weather we have had.

Hopefully Bradyn will be feeling better soon. Have a great rest of the weekend and I will try to post some pics this week!

Chatterbox

2009-06-24T13:26:00.001-07:00

Wow, Bradyn's vocabulary over the past few weeks has been unbelievable. He is really putting words together to make sentences. It is so fun to hear him talk. He is constantly saying something! There are a few times that it is hard to make out what he is saying but they are few and far between.

Tuesday he told me at breakfast that 'Peyton is my best friend!" I was like wow buddy where did you hear those words from- amazing for a 2 year old. He had water day at school and when he came home he said 'Joseph dumped water on me!" Too funny. They started water day Tuesday and it's going to be twice a week for the summer and occasionally they will take the kids to the pool in town. For water day they have several of those plastic pools set up in the playground and let the kids splash around. He loved it. good activity this week for sure since it has been almost 100 degrees every day!!

He has started using the potty again at school a few times a day. When Bob and I are off in July that is going to be the week that we try the full potty training deal. Hopefully it will work. He is around some older kids in his class that are potty trained and so I think that will help.

We went to swim class Wednesday. Got some errands done around the house today and we went outside to play with the elmo sprinkler. Well it took me more time to get him ready than it was worth it. He would run around the are the sprinkler was spraying because he didn't want to get wet. He would only run through the water if I held his hand. So we lasted about 15 minutes and came in!

Thursday I got a call from daycare because Bradyn just wasn't acting like himself - he laid down on the ground and didn't want to do anything. He had a fever and runny nose and watery eyes and refused to eat or drink so I knew something was brewing. We ended up going to the doctor and he thinks it's all allergy related with a possible virus on top of it all. He started him on a nasal spray (oh what fun that is to do to a 2 year old!!) and singulair in addition to his allegra. Poor kid is just miserable with all this congestion. He is a little better today. Daycare got concerned because of everything that happened 2 weeks ago.

On a sad note I got some bad news about my friend Julie. Over the weekend she was having some numbness on the left side of her body so she went to the ER and they did a CT of her brain and she has at least 20 lesions on her brain now. She is having a extreme difficult time dealing with this news and so are all of we. When she was first diagnosed in Feb she had a CT then and her brain was fine so just in 4 short months this has happened. She has been getting chemo but it obviously is helping. Please keep her and her family in your prayers at this difficult time. She needs it!!

Have a great weekend and I am going to post the rest of our pics from our trip to NYC- they are actually from when we got to stop and visit our family in PA!!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

To all the Father's out there I hope that you had a great day! To my husband and best daddy in the world it was fun to spend the day together as a family. We went to church this morning and then went to the state wildlife park to eat brunch and visit the animals. It decided to rain this morning but by the time we were done eating it got nice and we were able to walk around the park. It got very hot and humid! Bradyn had fun looking at the animals and spending the day with daddy.

It has been a busy but healthy week. Finally!! Bradyn started his new class on Monday and did well. The 4 kids that were in his class all moved up with him so that made it easier. He clung to me like a monkey on Monday but didn't cry and then did great after that. Wednesday he and I did some errands and then he had swim class that night. The kid cracks me up sometimes- usually on a daily basis - Wednesday I was changing his diaper and he was kicking me so I said "Bradyn Long be nice" and he said "Mommy Long be nice!" He has gotten his last name down!!

Saturday night we decided to go the local baseball game - they are a minor team for the cubs- Bradyn did great the entire game! I was quite surprised. He loved watching the people and then they had fireworks afterwards. He sat and watched those like he was in a trance. It was a beautiful night for a game but very humid. It was fun.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Have a great week!

Getting Better

2009-06-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

Bradyn is getting better slowly- he has a horrible congested cough that runs with the course of mycoplasma. We went to the pediatrician on Monday for his followup and that's what he told us. His appetite has increased and he 's drinking fluids again for me. I ended up getting sick a few days after him even with being on antibiotics. I still have a sore throat but it is getting better.

It has been a long 1 1/2 weeks. I am ready for everyone to be feeling better so we can go out and enjoy the warm weather. We did get out to enjoy our little festival in town this past weekend. It's called the Turkey Festival because of all the turkey farms in town (I just learned that). They have carnival rides, craft shows, entertainment and lots of other little events. The best part of it all is the turkey sandwiches and strawberry shortcakes! Bradyn had a great time and the weather was great.

Bradyn moved up to the next class on Monday. He clung to me like a monkey but didn't cry. He was not interested in moving to a new class even though the 3 other kids that were in his previous room moved with him! He ended up having a great time. They are teaching them how to say their last names currently which Bradyn has caught on to but sometimes he will say his first name and then his best little buddies last name -too funny!

I am going to post the last of our NYC pics and then hopefully I can get caught up. Have a great week!

Scare of a Lifetime

2009-06-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

This week has been awful . Started out with Bradyn getting a fever Sunday night of 102. Monday he got up and was perfectly normal except for the fever. So I stayed home from work in the morning and called the doctor. They told me that Roseola and Fifth's disease were going around. So Bradyn ate great all day and drank (I thought enough) a lot. Bob came home and stayed home with him in the afternoon so I could work 1/2 a day. Same thing for him except his fever got to 102.5! Still acting normal. We went to bed and then Tuesday morning was a nightmare!

At 5:30am Bradyn called Mommy and I went to his room after grabbing the thermometer and he said downstairs and walked over to his bed and collapsed face down on his bed. I yelled his name and he didn't respond so I picked him up and tried to arouse him and he would open his eyes slightly and they were rolled back in his head and his limbs were limp. So I carried him to our room and told Bob to call 911. This brings tears to my eyes as I am typing. That boy is my baby and as I always tell him he will ALWAYS BE MOMMY's BABY! I of course was hysterical and Bob gave me the phone to talk to 911 (I would NEVER want to be a 911 dispatcher dealing with hysterical people like me) as he tried to keep Bradyn awake. The police FINALLY showed up (it really wasn't that long but of course at that moment it felt like eternity!) He really didn't do anything but stayed with us until the ambulance arrived. We have a great group of people that volunteer for that job in our small community. Bradyn and I went by ambulance and Bob followed behind. (We got to ride in a week old Ambulance- really not the way that I wanted to see the inside of it) We finally got to the hospital and Bradyn was given such great care in the ER.

When we arrived they got a blood sugar on him and it was only 34(Boy did we get IMMEDIATE attention then) A Doctor comes flying in with 3 nurse and they gave him 3 huge syringes full of dextrose and it really didn't do anything for him. So then they hooked him up to IV fluids and finally after some fluids he began to communicate with us. His temp was only 101. We spent about 4 1/2 hours in the ER and then they wanted to keep him overnight to recheck his blood sugar and run some labs on him. We finally got to our room and he slept A LOT yesterday afternoon. He ate dinner but vomited everything back up. We found out that he tested positive for MYCOPLASMA. Which explains everything. It is very contagious so we were put in isolation and then I called our Doctor to get Bob and I started on antibiotics also. What a long day!

Bradyn was a real trooper through the whole thing. They stuck his poor little finger 3 time for blood sugars and started an IV in the ER and he never even cried. He was pretty much out of it at that time. Finally yesterday afternoon he started to perk up a little and cried when the resident came in to check his throat. He had already been through the painful stuff- finger sticks, IV's and rectal temps! I just think that he had had enough! He slept through the night and I actually had to wake him this am at 7:30! I can't remember the last time that has happened! He ate great this am and was totally back to normal so we got to come home. He has 4 more days of antibiotics to go.

Being a nurse I think made the whole situation worse for me because of knowing too much. It was the scariest thing. I am grateful for everyone that kept Bradyn in their prayers. I thank GOD for taking care of him and healing him and blessing us with this amazing and wonderful boy!. GOD is amazing!

On a funny note and about the only thing that was funny through this whole situation is that while we were in the ER, after Bradyn became more alert and realized he had an IV he looked at me and said-"Mommy I want my thumb!" The bad mother that I am I was not thinking when the nurse put the IV in but she used his right arm which is the thumb that he sucks and he couldn't get to it!!

I will post an update later this week when things are back to normal!

Rough start to the week

2009-06-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well, the 24 hour bug hit our house this week. I was the lucky one of the group. It started last Sunday- Bradyn had a fever and was vomiting. By Monday morning he was fine and went to daycare. However, Bob who NEVER misses work got it Monday morning and missed work. By Monday evening he was feeling better. Not sure how it missed me!

Other than that not much else happening this week. Bradyn did start his next session of swim classes on Wednesday and did really well. We have had very rainy weather and strong storms this week. It was nice yesterday and rainy again today. Have a great week and I will post more pics from our trip to NYC!

Wonderful Vacation

2009-05-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful time we had in NYC! I absolutely love that place! There is never enough time to see everything! We started our trip off on May 19th we left Illinois and headed to White Plains NY which is where we stayed. We spent the night in Columbus OH and then headed to rest of the way on the 20th. The trip started out a little rough- I picked Bradyn up from daycare and for the first 2 hours of the trip he was extremely fussy. I thought boy this is going to be a long trip! However, after that he was fine. Not sure what that was all about.

We arrived safely in NY that evening and went to dinner. On Thursday, we went and did some sightseeing. Bob had never been to NYC. We took the train into the city and went to the Empire State Building. What a beautiful day it was to go there. There was not a cloud in the sky and the view was awesome. We bought a bus tour package on one of those double decker buses so we rode that around the city and got to see where a lot of stars live- including Jeff Gordon!! We spent some time in central park just walking around and enjoying the nice weather. Bob's parents arrived this day also so we met up with them when we got back to our hotel.

Bradyn was happy to see Bama and Papa!

On Friday, we didn't have much time to do anything because wedding rehearsal started at 2. So we decided to go to the mall and walk around. Then Bob went to the rehearsal and we ate lunch and did a little more shopping. Then Bob's parents took me to the rehearsal and they babysat Bradyn for us. Bob and I went to the rehearsal dinner at the Boathouse Restaurant in central park. What a beautiful evening it was overlooking the water. It was a neat place. We rode with another couple that was in the wedding party. We had a nice evening and it was only the 4th time that we have been out by ourselves. However, the trip back was not fun. The Indian priests and their wives lost their car in the middle of NYC. Yep that's right. We all packed into a minivan and drove around central park for a hour looking for their car at 10:30 at night. NOT FUN! We did eventually find it and headed back to the botanical gardens to pick up our car.

Saturday was the wedding ceremonies.They were at the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. It was a once in a lifetime experience. The morning ceremony was an Indian ceremony. Very neat to see. Then we had Indian food for lunch (the first for me0 it was very yummy!) then we went back to our hotel room to relax, shower and change clothes and Bradyn took a nap. Bob stayed with the wedding party to get pics taken. Then we went back to the gardens for the evening ceremony which was to be outside but they were calling for a chance of rain so they moved it indoors. Both ceremonies were beautiful and the reception was fun. The food at the evening reception was unbelievable. Bradyn was a real trooper all day. Several people commented on how he was an ANGEL! He was awake until about 11:30pm and then crashed. We got back to our room around 1am.

Sunday we would have liked to get and early start but we were exhausted from the night before so we slept in. We took the train into the city again and went to Ground Zero, Times Square and several other places. Ground zero is something to see. The pics on TV don't really show how big of an area was affected. It was really heart wrenching to see. There was a really nice museum there and a church that you could walk through that housed all the volunteers. Almost 8 years later it still brings tears to my eyes to think of everything that happened that day.

On Monday, we took the train into the city and got brave and rode the subway all day long. That is the way to go! We went to the Statue of Liberty and back to Ground zero because we had missed a few things there the day before. We went to central park to relax a little and Bradyn burned some energy off there. We went back to times square and ate dinner at Planet Hollywood. We really put some miles on this day!

Tuesday, we headed home. We spent the night in PA and got to visit with my parents, grandma, sister and Bob's sister and family. It was a short visit but we are glad we got to see everyone. We headed home on Wednesday. Bradyn did great on the he trip home. He was so tired he slept almost half the trip! He said he was going home to see"B, Belle (our cats) and my toys!" The kid went through toy withdrawal!

I took Thursday off to get caught up on laundry and get Bradyn back into his routine and Bob went to work. Back to work for me on Friday- UGH! We have just been taking it easy this weekend.

I have lots of pics to post - will probably do several posts to get them all up! Have a great week!

Time Flies

2009-05-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, this past week went fast! Sometimes there just isn't enough time in a day!! Sunday, Bob put Bradyn's new toddler bed together and Bradyn was very excited to sleep in his new "big boy bed." He did great Sunday and Monday and it has gone down hill since!! He has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming "my mommy, my mommy" over and over again at the top of his lungs! When I go in his room his is standing at the doorway and refuses to get back in his bed. So when it 2 am I will do just about anything to get my sleep! We have been sleeping on the floor! I will sometimes sneak back to my bed after he falls asleep but it is getting old very quickly! Bob went in one night and Bradyn wanted only mommy. One night I let him cry for 45 minutes and it didn't stop until I went in his room. So if any of you mom's have ANY suggestions for getting over this please let me know.

Wednesday was his last swim class for this session. He has really been doing well. We signed him up for the next session which starts in June. Bradyn and I had a lot of errands to do on Wednesday- we were in the car more than we were at home. Of course it had to be the day that it was POURING down rain all day! Not fun. We did our grocery shopping today.

We are leaving for vacation on Tuesday- YEAH! We are headed to NY for a wedding and sightseeing. I am so excited. We are driving so that will be a challenge for Bradyn . It's a 15 hour drive that we will split in to 2 days. Bob is in the wedding- his college roommate is getting married. Should be fun. I will post when we get back.

Enjoy the pics!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I hope everyone has a wonderful day! I am having a great Mother's day. We went to church this morning and then did some errands. Bob is going to cook me dinner tonight!

Yesterday we went to Chicago for the day and took Bradyn to see "When Elmo grows up" What a great show it was and Bradyn LOVED it. The music was great. The look on his face when Elmo came out was priceless! We went out to dinner afterwards at one of my favorite places- OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE-YUMMY! We came home then. It was a really fun day.

This past week has been very busy. Bob and I have a busy days at work. Bradyn has done well at daycare this week- thank goodness. However, he does have a little bit of a runny nose so I'm not sure what's going on. He may be getting some teeth. I sure hope he doesn't get infected ears again.

Bradyn had swim lessons on Wednesday. He did really well. He is actually starting to kick his feet in the water. This week is his last lesson but I think we are going to sign him up again for the next session because he has done so well. There is a 2 week break in between classes before the next session starts. He made me a really cute picture with a verse and his hand prints on it and gave me a potted flower that he had done at daycare. VERY CUTE and of course brought tears to my eyes.

Again Happy Mother's Day. Have a great week and I sure hope that our penguins win!!!

Another episode

2009-05-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

What a busy week it has been! I can't believe that it is May already! Time sure does fly when you have children! Bradyn had a good week until Friday. I got a call from his daycare DIRECTOR at about 10:30 Friday morning at work saying that Bradyn had BITTEN another child AGAIN! Oh my what distress my 2 year is causing me (What am I going to do when he turns 16 :) She at then time thought he had broken the skin so she told me she needed to call the other parent. It had been 4 weeks to the day that he has bitten! It's always on a Friday that he does it. It was his best little buddy again. They were fighting over a toy and my child pinned the other on the floor and bit his belly. She out Bradyn in time out and had a heart to heart talk with him and the child that had been bitten kept saying- "it's ok Bradyn it's ok!" NO it's NOT OK!!!! Turns out he didn't break the skin just scraped it with his teeth but still bad. Thank goodness the other mom was ok with it and is very understanding that kids go through this. The director told me that these 2 are inseparable so not sure why Bradyn is biting his best friend! I pray that he outgrows it soon. I told her that his teacher needs to separate them when they are arguing so that Bradyn doesn't do it again- she needs to keep a much closer eye on him.

Other than that Bradyn is doing well. He and I went shopping a little today and he loves to shop with Mommy. We have to go grocery shopping later which I hate! It is a beautiful day here so we need to play outside a little.

Have a great week and I will post pics later !

Hot weather

2009-04-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

It has been HOT here- in the mid 80's! I am not ready for that yet. It has crazy. Too hot to spend much time outdoors at one time. We have had a busy few days. Bradyn LOVES the nice weather and would spend all day outside if he could. Wednesday, he had swim lessons and did really well. He is really catching on to things and enjoying it.

Thursday was busy at work and Friday we took Bradyn out for ice cream after dinner- which he loved. The weather was perfect. Saturday I got to plant some flower seeds and clean my flower bed out. It looks great and of course I had some help! Bradyn loved helping! He has his own little tools and gloves and he put them to use. Bob had a birthday party to go to that evening and Bradyn and I went and got dinner and hung out at home.

Today we went to church, Sams and then to McDonald's for lunch and Bradyn actually ate pretty well. He's doing better with eating when we go out to eat. We are getting ready for our week to start tomorrow. Am sure I will be busy at work this week. We are to get some strong storms tonight again and rain the next couple of days. I love when it's hot outside and rains BUT not when there is a chance of tornadoes! Hopefully we won't have any of that but it is the season. Have a great week!

The terrible two's!

2009-04-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Oh my do I have a stubborn boy! My morning started out with Bradyn crying very hard for 45 minutes straight! He cried from the time that he got up until we left for daycare! Nothing made that boy happy. He was crying so hard that his nose was running and he was drooling because he couldn't catch his breath! It started out with the fact that he didn't want to take his pj's off, then he didn't want to eat or drink milk. then he didn't want mommy eating, he didn't want to go to daycare, didn't want to brush his teeth, then we get in the truck and we forgot to say bye to the cats so I had to bring Belle out and have her wave bye to him, then finally we are off to school BUT on the way there he forgot to make mommy coffee in his new kitchen and the crying starts all over again! I was exhausted BEFORE I even made it to work! Oh the drama of a 2 year old. And as I said before he is stubborn just like his daddy!!! Needless to say I was VERY happy to be going to work today!

Otherwise we have had a very busy week and a good week. Wednesday was swim lessons and Bradyn really did well. He is making progress. Thursday was a long day for him at daycare because I had an early meeting at work. We were busy each evening after dinner going to my friend's house to cat sit. Bradyn LOVED going to feed her kitties everyday. He still is asking about going to "Watch kitties" but my friend is home from her vacation.

We had a busy weekend. Saturday the weather was beautiful but we were busy doing chores. Sunday the weather was cold and rainy so we stayed home and hung out. The weather has been miserable this week so far but it is to be great by the end of the week.

Have a great week and I will try to get back to my regular posts!

Birthday Pictures...

2009-04-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Bradyn!

2009-04-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

It's official that Bradyn is no longer a baby he's now a toddler! He turned 2 on Thursday! It is so hard to believe! Wow how time flies- seems like yesterday that I had him! I still recall that very special day that he was born and will cherish it forever. He has brought us so much joy and love! He of course will ALWAYS be my baby. I ask him whose baby are you and he says "Mommy's baby!"

I got him the cutest cake to take to daycare on Thursday- it was an elmo cupcake cake with cool icing on it. He wore his elmo shirt and looked so cute! He was so excited to go to school. He really had a good day there and I got to pick him up a little early because I left work early. He was walking in from playing outside with 8 little girls! It was so cute he was holding their hands! He was the only boy! He was so excited to see me.

When we got home Bob's parents had just arrived. Bradyn was excited to see them too but was a little shy at first. It sure did not take long for him to warm up though. We celebrated a little that evening with the leftover cupcakes and he opened some of his gifts. Thanks to our family for all the wonderful presents. It was so cute every time he would open something he would say "Oh my!" Too funny!

Friday we spent the day shopping which was a lot of fun except that it was cold and rainy half the day. We took Bradyn for an Easter egg hunt on Saturday- it took a little while for him to catch on and then he was totally into it! He kept saying "more eggs". He got to see the Easter bunny there and surprisingly was not scared. We came home then and I finished his elmo cake. It turned out great! I could be a professional cake decorator (ha ha). We then went shopping at the toy store. We got Bradyn a kitchen and a toddler bed. I am anxious to see how he does in that. We colored Easter eggs when we got home and Bradyn had so much fun with that! He would dip his WHOLE hand in the cup to get the egg out!

Sunday we went to church and then made dinner at home. We had an egg hunt for him . It was very cold but he had fun. We then had his official birthday party. It was fun.

Unfortunately, Bradyn and I both ended up with colds from being outside on Sunday. We are both miserable. On Monday, Bob's parents went home and we were back to work. Bradyn did not want to got to daycare this week. Both days he said to me "No work Mommy" Talk about breaking my heart! I think it was a combo of not feeling well and having me home with him 3 days in a row. Today, he has his 2 year checkup so I am anxious to see how that goes and then swim lessons tonight. I will post a few pics now and then put up a slide show later so check back!

WOW What a Week

2009-04-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

I am sorry for the missed postings but it has been wild here! I will go back to my last posting- we had taken Bradyn to swim lessons on wed. While there he was really rubbing his eye and when we got home and after he had his bath I noticed that he had some drainage from his eye. Well, Thursday morning he woke up with a red swollen crusty eye! Poor guy! I was pretty sure that it was pink eye but I have never had it before so I was 100% sure. Well, I called into work and got him a doctor appt that morning. About 10 minutes after I called the doctor he started acting really fussy and lethargic and fell asleep in my arms which NEVER happens! So I knew something was up. I asked him what was wrong and he said his ear hurt- OH NO! So when we got to the doctor's office they checked his ears also and he had bilat ear infections and pink eye. The kid was MISERABLE! I felt so bad for him- he has never been so sick before. The doctor said that the one eardrum was ready to burst. Poor guy. So he got some antibiotics for ears and eye and he pretty much wanted to be held all day. Finally by 6 that night he was starting to play again. Friday his eye looked better and he had no fever so off to daycare he went.

I guess he was feeling so well on Friday that he decided to bite another child again not once but twice! OH my! I hope that is the end of it. That evening we went to the hockey game. Last time we were there Bradyn would not sit still so we weren't sure how this was going to go. He was great the entire game. He danced to the music and actually sat still for most of the game. After it was over he didn't want to leave- he kept saying "more hockey"

Saturday, we went grocery shopping and Bradyn was still talking about hockey. I told him that if the team makes the playoffs we will go see another game. I really miss not having our season tickets.

Sunday, we went to church and I got a lot of cleaning done around the house. Monday was back to work and then we had some trouble! We got home from work and Bob was going to the basement for me to get something out of the freezer and found about 3 inches of water in the basement! What a mess! So he discovered that our 3 month old sump pump decided to quit working and went to get another one. I decided to call the insurance company thinking I probably wouldn't reach anyone but it turns out that they have a 24 hour call center. So they recommended having someone come out to clean the basement to prevent mold and mildew. Bob got a new pump put in and by the guys showed up to clean the basement the water was gone so they sprayed it down and left a bunch of fans and dehumidifiers down there to dry it out. Now our basement needed cleaned out but this was not the way I wanted to do it!. We thought we were good to go until Tues morning when Bob got up and discovered that the hot water heater pilot lite was out and couldn't get it to relight because it was wet. So I had to call a plumber. We didn't know anyone so normally I would ask around at work for a recommendation but we needed someone in a pinch so I just opened the phone book and called the first add that I saw! I figured I had a 50/50 chance! Not really how I like to do things but not much of a choice at this point. So Bob took off work that afternoon and the plumber came only to tell us he recommended and new one! Turns out that he was a really nice guy so I did pretty good with my selection. He came back out on Wed to install the new one and the guys came back out to finish cleaning the basement since it was dry. It all worked out and our basement is cleaner than it was when we moved in!!

Yesterday was Bradyn's 2 year birthday so I will make a separate post on that as soon as I get his pics downloaded!

Windy central Illinois

2009-04-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am SOOO tired of the wind here. It is so flat here that the wind just blows and blows. A few weeks ago I wrote about our grill blowing over and being destroyed well now we have a piece of fascia that blew off of our roof. This is a piece of aluminum that is kinda under the edge of the roof. It had bee flopping in the wind for about a week and FINALLY came off yesterday. It was driving us crazy because it would hit the siding and was very loud. Bob THOUGHT he was going to climb on the roof himself last Friday and rip it off and put a new one up. Well, he had no traction on the roof and I told him that he needed to get down. I had all these horrible images of him falling off the roof. The are he needed to go to is 25 feet high! I told him that I was calling a professional roofer to come do it plus we need an estimate on our roof anyways because we need a new one this year! He is so stubborn sometimes (wonder where Bradyn gets it from)!!!

Bradyn is doing well. He got to see the Easter Bunny at daycare yesterday and got his pic taken with him. He said that he liked him. We did take him for ice cream on Sunday to our little place in town. Yummy! He loved it and didn't want to wait until we got home to eat it!! We went shopping this morning and he got a birthday balloon and crown at toys r us. He loved it! He will not let that balloon out of his sight. He is putting 4 word sentences together! He is growing up so fast!

We have swim lessons tonight so I am going to try and get Bob to post some pics for me.

Snowstorm

2009-03-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well the week ended with us getting snow! I thought that spring was here- what happened. We woke up today with about 5-6 inches of snow. Crazy! Yesterday it was cold and rainy then we had thunderstorms, high winds and lightening and then snow??? It is to be 58 tomorrow so we will see.

We had a busy week and I apologize for not posting on Wed. Bradyn and I did some errands on Wed. then he started swim lessons that evening. He did really well. Bob went in the water with him this time. There were a lot of kids in his class. He got a little daring and put his face in the water which is good. He LOVED watching the other kids!

Yesterday, Bradyn and I went grocery shopping in the morning and tried to get home before the bad weather came but we didn't quite make it. It was pouring down rain when we went out to my vehicle. I hate grocery shopping to begin with and then having to unload my cart in the freezing cold weather and pouring rain it not fun!

When we got home I did some chores and really got a lot done. We were to go for ice cream to our little place in town that has then BEST ice cream and is cheap but the weather was not meant for eating ice cream outside so we stayed home. We may go today. It is a tradition for us to go opening and closing day!

Today since the roads were so snowy we stayed home and I got some more chores done. Bradyn's vocabulary has really picked up over the past 2 weeks. It's amazing! It's so fun to hear him say new things. He has been really good at daycare the past couple of weeks so I hope that's the way it stays. Have great week. I will try to get some pics up later this week!

No no no

2009-03-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

No seems to be the word of choice for my child! He loves to say it! I took him to a lap sit at the library on Thursday and everything the librarian asked him was NO! He really wasn't into the books- the theme was bunnies. Then after she is done reading she always has some little crafts to make related to the theme. Bradyn was really into the crafts and then he didn't want to go home!

Friday was a busy day at work for me. That evening Bob, Bradyn and I went out to dinner. There was a get together for my friend Julie that has cancer. She was overwhelmed by the amount of people that showed up. It was great to see her. She looks great- you really wouldn't know that she is sick. She has lost all of her hair though and is wearing a wig now. I am glad that we were able to go.

Saturday, Bradyn and I went shopping and then came home to do some errands and play outside. I got him some sidewalk chalk and he had fun with that. Unfortunately, I got some more bad news about another friend of mine that I used to work with and still keep in touch with. She found out that she has leukemia- it is chronic but her white blood cell count is extremely high and they have her on meds to bring that down. She is a mom of 2 young girls. Please keep her in your prayers also because she is going to need them.

Today we wen to church and then worked around the house and watched the race. We didn't get to play outside because it rained. It is to rain the next several days but be warm. Have a great week!

Terrible Two's!

2009-03-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

Oh, the days of stubbornness and temper tantrums have arrived! Now, Bradyn is not yet two but soon. He has quite the little mind of his own! It has become a battle in the mornings to get him dressed! He wants to stay in his pj's (which would be fine if he didn't have to go to daycare), he doesn't like to get his diaper changed and then he doesn't want to come downstairs. Oh My! If the kid could wear ELMO to school everyday he would have no problems whatsoever getting dressed. However, Mommy will NOT allow him to wear ELMO everyday. I am almost tempted to get plain colored pj's that have no characters on them and then he would want to get dressed. My sweet mellow boy has become STUBBORN!

He has been good at daycare this week so far! YEAH! Instead of coming home with an incident report on Monday he brings home an "ouch report" The spring days have arrived and along with that comes boo boos. Bradyn fell going up a slide and has these 2 horrible abrasions on his head and black and blue marks around them. Poor guy!

Today we went to get his 2 year pictures taken at the mall. He did really well and I didn't think that you could see the abrasions which is good. I was a little nervous as to how he would act especially when I changed his outfits but he could not have been any better. He looked so handsome and smiled for every picture which then made it even harder for me to select the ones I wanted!

It is to be nice the rest of the week so we hope to get outside and play. Have a great week!

Time Flies

2009-03-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that it's Sunday eve already. We had a busy week and weekend. The weather was beautiful this weekend. Bradyn and I did some shopping yesterday and had a good time. We met Bob for lunch and then came home for Bradyn to nap. Then after nap time we went grocery shopping.

Today we went to church and then did some errands around the house and played outside which Bradyn loved. It was good to get some fresh air. He LOVES his swing set and his mower. Those seem to be his favorite 2 outside toys. He also played ball a little and surprised us both by kicking it. That is the first time we have seen him do that.

Unfortunately, Bradyn got in trouble at daycare on Friday (oh my starting already:) ) He came home with a note that he bit one of his friends and then tried to bite the teacher. Not good at all. They were fighting over a toy. Now, I know that this is a stage that some toddlers go through but why does it have to be my child??? If anyone has any advice on how to tackle this please share. I was so embarrassed to find out that it was his best little buddy Peyton that he bit. He has never done this at home and I hope that he never does it again. I am praying that this was and isolated incidence.

Not much else happening here. We have a busy week ahead of us. See you Wednesday!

23 months old

2009-03-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, how time flies! My baby will be 2 in another month. I can not believe it. It seems like yesterday that he was born. As I tell him, he will always be my baby no matter how old he is. I ask him "whose baby are you?" and his reply is "mommy's baby" It is so cute!

We were going to run some errands today but is very cold and very windy outside so we decided to stay home and get some things done. Bradyn slept until 9:30! He was exhausted. I think he is starting to go through the terrible two's because he has become very stubborn especially in the mornings. He refuses to get dressed for me and it has become this huge battle. (I told Bob- remember he acts like daddy and looks like mommy :) ) He wants to do things his way only and if I allowed him he would wear his pj's to school everyday! Wouldn't I get the mother of the year award??

Not much is happening here. Sure hope that the weather warms up. Gotta go get some things done while Bradyn is napping. Have a great week and see ya Sunday! Will post pics then!

Tornado Watch Season

2009-03-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

That's right- tornado watch season has begun! I love spring but not here in the midwest for that reason!. We have had incredible winds all day and severe storms through the night and off and on today. It is crazy! I like to watch it rain but not when you have to worry about tornadoes!

I love turning our clocks ahead an hour because I love when it is still daylight in the evenings when I get off work. It's a sign that summer is on the way. We all slept in this morning- could not believe it. That NEVER happens. We have been hanging out at home because the weather is horrible. Our grill took off and blew over on our porch and broke. Not sure what we are going to do about that. Bradyn's swings in his swing set have been going crazy in the wind.

Bradyn continues to amaze us each and everyday. The other day he was playing with his magnetic letters and says "A B C D E F G!" I was like what??? And he repeated them again! AMAZING! For a kid that is not even two yet it is just unbelievable! It's things like that, that tell me daycare is good for him.

We went shopping for his birthday last night. We are still thinking what we want to get him. so many cute things for his age. We then went out to dinner at OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE. This is one of my favorite places. It was yummy!

Have a great week!

Fun Day Out

2009-03-04T16:59:00.000-08:00

Bradyn and I had a fun shopping day today. The weather warmed up and we had fun shopping. It was still breezy and a little chilly but soooo much better than it has been. I got him a few things for his birthday and we went to the party store to pick out some "Elmo birthday" stuff as he calls it. The kid went bananas when he saw the ELMO balloons! It was so funny. Needless to say that he will be getting some balloons for his birthday!

Since we were out most of the day he did not nap except for about 20 minutes in my truck. He slept until 9 though so he had 13 hours of sleep! He must be going through a growth spurt. We are looking forward to the warmer weather we are to have this weekend so we can get outside and play!

Not much else happening here. Have a great week!

Getting closer to spring

2009-03-01T12:18:00.000-08:00

It's March 1st which means that spring is getting closer! I can not wait. Sorry that I missed my post on Wednesday. This week seems to have gone by very quickly. Busy with work and things around the house.

Bradyn has been doing very well with using the potty. He knows that he gets money to put in his bank each time he goes and he LOVES to do that! Sometime he knows that he has to go but will not sit long enough and then shortly after he gets his diaper back on he will go! He's still young so I am not really pushing it. I really think that if I had a week off work that I could have him trained.

He is getting VERY excited about his upcoming birthday! We are going to go shopping this week to look for some things. The weather is to be nicer on Wednesday and so we will venture out then.

We went to church today and are just hanging out at home now. Today was the first day that Bradyn walked to whole to the front of the church for communion and back. Normally he wants me to carry him but he was a big boy today.

Update on my friend Julie from work. Her prognosis is very bad. The doctor has given her a year to live. She started chemo last week and is already starting to lose her hair. Please keep her and her family in your prayers- thanks.

Have a great week!

Under the weather

2009-02-22T14:03:00.001-08:00

I thought that I was going to make it through the winter without getting sick but what was I thinking?? The yucky cold has hit me. I feel a little better today but I am tired of it already! I have only had it for 3 days and I feel for little Bradyn who had it for 2 weeks at a time. It stinks! So far no one else has got it and I hope that it stays that way.

Bradyn was a big boy at school this week. He pooped on the potty on Thursday and then peed on the potty Friday. He was so proud of himself. I think that it helps that his little friend Peyton is working on the potty training also so they compete with each other! He doesn't really have much of an interest in it at home. That's okay because he's still young. I have taught him to say that he's going to be 2 and he tries to hold up 2 fingers. He also knows that he's having an ELMO birthday. We went grocery shopping yesterday and as soon as we got to the store- he said "elmo birthday" like we were going shopping for birthday stuff. Too funny!

He slept until 8:30 today= 12 1/2 hours! Not sure why he was so tired but he hasn't slept that late in months! We stayed home from church today because of me not feeling well. We have just been working around the house and playing.

Hope you have a great week!

I gug you

2009-02-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

This is how my soon to be 2 year old says "I love you" It is the cutest thing in the world! He will give you a kiss, then a "ug" (hug) and then he says "I gug you!" What a sweet boy he is. This is what I look forward to when I come home from work everyday! He is at such a fun age and I enjoy watching him learn new things.

I had a very busy couple of days at work so I am happy to be off today. Bradyn and I went to a few stores and then I got my haircut and he sat in the chair and waited patiently for me. He was a good boy. He is finally starting to feel better- still has an occasional runny nose but the cough seems to be gone. Thanks goodness.

I hope that you enjoy all the pictures!Have a great week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a great valentine's day! We have been busy this week. Sorry that I missed my post on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the warm weather is over for now. It has been cold this week and we had snow AGAIN! UGH! Poor Bradyn has been sick again this week. He's had a fever off and on all week and terrible congestion and cough. We went to the doctor on Wednesday for his follow up from his ear infection and the doctor said to not be surprised if he gets another ear infection from this because he's so congested. I am praying that this doesn't happen. This virus can last 2 weeks! Poor kid. He is just now starting ti eat again- he just hasn't had an appetite.

The three of us went out to dinner on Friday for Valentine's day. Bradyn was very good which he usually is but he sometimes gets antsy. We had an enjoyable dinner together. Yesterday we just hung out at home and then today we went to church. We are watching the NASCAR race now. We are excited for the season to finally be here.

Here are the long overdue pictures that I have promised. Enjoy and have a great week!

Spring Fever

2009-02-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Well, spring weather lasted one day but it was great while it was here! It was 64 here yesterday and now is very cold and gloomy. Bob washed our vehicles yesterday which was much needed- they were both covered in salt. Bradyn got to go outside and play for a little while last evening. He had a lot of fun. He got to use his mower which he is hooked on and play on his swing set which he loved and did not want to come in even though his little hands were very cold. We definitely needed a nice warm day.

We haven't done much this weekend but I did get some things done around the house. Bob made steaks on the grill last night for dinner. They were yummy! Now that football season is over Nascar season has begun! We watched the first race of the season last night.

We went to church today and then came home and relaxed. Bradyn has been walking up the stairs all the time since the beginning of the week. He does really well. He also started saying "memail" for email because he knows that we go upstairs to check our email. He's so funny. He loves to sit on our laps when were are at the computer and look at different things on the screen.

Have a good week and I am going to try and get some pics up soon so check back!

Super bowl Champs

2009-02-04T16:59:00.000-08:00

Yeah! The Steelers one the super bowl. What a game it was down to the very last seconds. But we pulled through. Very exciting! Bradyn was so cute during the game he was repeating what we would say. "Ah Ben" was his favorite! He kept saying it over and over.

Bob left for a trip on Monday and got home tonight. We are happy to have him home. Bradyn kept saying all day "Dada cars" He couldn't wait for Bob to come home and play cars! They are actually downstairs playing now. I think that it is harder on Bradyn each tome Bob leaves especially now that he's older and knows that daddy is on a trip.

I had a busy couple of days at work. One of my friends at work is having some serious medical problems right now and I ask that everyone would keep her in your prayers because she is going to need them at this difficult time. I found out at work yesterday and I did a lot of crying. She's only a couple of years older than me and has a son who is 3 months younger than Bradyn so it just makes me think of myself. Last night I was crying and Bradyn goes 'Mommy crying- hug" The kid just knew that's what I needed. I pray that she gets a good prognosis after her biopsy on Friday.

Not much else happening here. It's to be in the 50's on Saturday so we might get our vehicles washed and get out and enjoy the nice weather. See you Sunday.

Tagged

2009-02-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

Scrappy Honesty

I was given this award by my friend Jen- Thanks!

The rules of the award are :
1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design
2.Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that
they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there is no prize but it is fun!
3.List 10 honest things about yourself

1. I love to cross stitch! I have been doing this since I was a teenager. I have many numerous
pictures for gifts especially weddings and baby showers.
2. I also love to scrapbook. This is a hard hobby to do with a young child because he wants to
"help" so I am behind. I have started a scrapbook for Bradyn from when I was pregnant
and that is all to further I have gotten!
3. I am a huge animal lover. I have 2 cats and would have several more if I could and I would
love to have a dog. I haven't convinced my husband on the dog yet! Maybe when Bradyn
gets a little older. Before I was pregnant with him, I volunteered at our no-kill shelter and
loved it! I need to get back there. Everyone should have their pets spayed or neutered to
help end the thousands and thousands of innocent animals that are euthanized each year
4. I have considered going back to school to be a Veterinarian and the only thing stopping me
is the fact that there is no way I could put an animal to sleep. If I could have a clinic where
I could do everything but that it would be perfect!
5. I love music! I took piano lessons for many years since I was a child until I graduated high
school and loved it. I also played the alto saxophone in school and was in the ensemble at
college. I wish that I could play more instruments. I would love to have a music room in my
house some day with a baby grand piano! I hope that Bradyn learns to love music also!
6.I love being together as a family and doing things together. It is fun to have Bradyn
experience new places and new things.
7.I am a huge hockey fan. Bob and I had season tickets for 6 years to or local hockey team
until Bradyn was born. I am sure when he gets older we will have season tickets again. We
still go to games occasionally but it's hard for Bradyn to sit still that long!
8. When I was in high school, I seriously considered joining the Air Force. I even met with a
recruiter!
9.I dream of opening a dog kennel some day
10. I wish that I was wealthy enough that I could be a stay at home Mom. However, I have
seen the wonderful benefits of having Bradyn in daycare and he is really advanced for his
age.

Now, I only know 2 people that have blogs so I am passing this award onto my blogger sister-in-law Michele!

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

Here we go Steelers here we go! We are ready for the big game and can't wait to see those Steelers win! We are all dressed in our Steeler attire and are having pizza for supper.

Not much new this week. We had NFL day at work on Friday which was fun. I wore my Steeler jersey and earrings. This was a real treat for us because every other work day we have to wear scrubs. It was a nice change. I have lunch riding on this game today with my doctor so I sure hope that my Steelers show their stuff!

We took Bradyn sled riding for the first time yesterday - FINALLY! I bought boots several months ago but never cut the tags off because we never got to go. It has been so miserably cold here that I was not taking that boy out. Yesterday it was in the 30's and was cold but sunny. We used our driveway as the track! Bradyn had a blast. He could not stop laughing. Guess it was good that we didn't shovel our driveway!

We went to church today and then we were going to go sled riding again but the driveway no snow in spots so that was out of the question. Bradyn is obsessed with his sled though so it's in the house. Yesterday after we were done, Bob wanted to put the sled in the basement and Bradyn cried so he ended up drying it off and leaving it in the house. Bradyn has used it to read books in and play in! So funny!

Have a good week. Sorry the pics are still on the camera so will post those later this week!

8 Weeks until Spring!

2009-01-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

I am so ready for spring. We have had quite a bit of snow this year which I don't mind at all but the cold temps have been miserable. I think that it gets colder each winter. I really want to take Bradyn out to play in the snow but it has been COLD- nothing higher than the teens. I bought him snow boots and the tags are still on them because we haven't been able to go out yet. Maybe this weekend - it is to be in the 30's.

Not much happening here. Bob is home this week which has been nice to spend some family time together. Bradyn sure loves to play cars with his daddy! That's all he wants to do. Today at lunch he looks over at me and says "ah bummer Mommy" What?? Where did he learn that at? We think it had to be daycare because we do not say that. Too funny. He has discovered the word MINE. Everything is MINE! If the the cats touch something of his he says "NO MINE" He cracks me up.

We are gearing up for the Superbowl this weekend. We will be cheering for those STEELERS! I sure hope that they win. That will pretty much be our weekend, we have nothing else planned!

Cold Again

2009-01-25T17:01:00.001-08:00

Bradyn is feeling better finally. His little nose is still running like a faucet though. He has been back to his normal self. He decided to NOT take a nap today or yesterday. He is stubborn sometimes (not sure who he gets that from :) ) I will post a picture of him last night at dinner- the poor thing was SO tired from not napping that he fell asleep in his food! Yes, that's right- he put his head down in his food. He was out from then on until this morning! He slept about 12 1/2 hours!

Today we got up and it was only 4 degrees and it was really snowing so we decided to stay home. I really wanted to take Bradyn outside but the high was only 10 so we stayed inside all day and played and got some chores done.

I took Bradyn to the lapsit on Thursday and he really enjoyed it. The theme was trains. The librarian read a few books and then there were train related activities to do. We will have to make sure we go to the next one.

It was a busy week at work for both of us. Am sure we have another busy week again ahead of us. I am going to post a few photos- I promise!

Have a good week!

Poor Bradyn

2009-01-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

Well, our week started off great with the Steelers winning on Sunday. We are so excited that they are going to the Super Bowl. Then on Monday, poor little Bradyn had a low grade temp at daycare. Bob picked me up from work with Bradyn because he had my car in for service and Bradyn screamed the entire trip home. Now this is not my child normally so I knew something was wrong. Poor little guy. We got home and had dinner then Bradyn got a tubby. Well, when I washed his ear he screamed. So I knew where we were headed. Thanks goodness our pediatrician has a peds after hour clinic that they are affiliated with so that parents don't have to take their child to the ER. We got a 9pm appt that night and off we went. It was snowing like crazy and the roads were terrible. Well, guess what? Mommy was right (daddy wasn't so sure mommy was right until AFTER the doctor checked his ears!) His little eardrum was flaming red. So now we are on antibiotics for 10 days and then we see our pediatrician in 3 weeks. I should have known that this was coming because he had a really bad cold with a lot of congestion for about 4 days before this.

Bob left for a trip on Tuesday and so Bradyn and I were by ourselves. I took him to daycare because he had no fever but I really wished that I could have stayed home with him because he just wanted to be held. He started feeling better yesterday.

Bob got home from his trip tonight. Bradyn and I went to the library for a lap sit. The theme was trains and of course Bradyn loved that. We look forward to the next one. We really don't have anything planned for this weekend. No pictures to post but I will make up for that this weekend!

Go Steelers

2009-01-18T13:26:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready to watch the big Steeler game today. We all have our Steeler gear on and are ready to go! I sure hope that we win. Bradyn is ready to watch "sootball" as he calls it!

Well, we set new record temps here this past week. It was MINUS 22 degrees on Friday morning! BRRRR! It was awful! I told Bob that anyone that chooses to live with temps like that all winter long is CRAZY! Luckily it doesn't happen very much here. It was 19 today when we went to church and that felt like a heat wave! Pretty bad when 19 feels like a heat wave! Thursday morning it was minus 16 and unfortunately I had to be out shoveling snow that morning because Bob was out of town and he won't buy a snow blower. So, I have decided that since I am home alone a lot, I am going to hire the neighbor to come plow my driveway.

Poor little Bradyn has a cold. He sure is tough. He looks miserable but is still playing his heart out. He isn't eating real well though. I am hoping that he feels better soon.

Hope everyone has a great week. Here we go STEELERS Here we go!

Below Zero Temps

2009-01-14T13:31:00.001-08:00

Yes, that's right we are to be @ a whopping HIGH of MINUS TWO degrees tomorrow! How exciting! I wish it was my day off! It was a high of 8 on Tuesday and I wore long johns under my scrubs and was still cold, how am I going to manage tomorrow??? I am so ready for spring. Well, we finally got some snow and now it's too cold to go out and play in it. I am actually glad that I had off today because we got about 6 inches of snow over night and it's been blizzard like conditions all day because it's so windy.

So Bradyn and I decided to have pajama day today and I am loving it! I got some chores done today and we have been playing. However, Mommy is not the buddy to play cars with, that's Daddy's job according to Bradyn. He ONLY wants to play cars with Daddy. Well, Daddy has been on a business trip this week and will be home tomorrow so I am sure that's all Bradyn will want to do tomorrow evening. We were going to go to a lap sit at the library but they called today and postponed that until next week due to the frigid temps we are to have.

Yesterday when I picked Bradyn up at school he had a picture of his class that was taken at the end of the year. This kid is soooo obsessed with that picture- it is funny. He carried it around all evening and could tell me who everyone was in the picture- he blew me away. I finally talked him into putting the picture on the fridge so now every time he walks by he stops and looks at it. He is so funny- he will walk by and stop and say KAYLA which is one of his teachers that he just loves- so cute. His vocabulary just keeps expanding daily and is unbelievable for his age.

Enjoy the few pictures and I promise one of these days my husband will get some video pics up for me!

Back to work

2009-01-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Well, not much new here. It was back to work this week after having 2 weeks off and boy was it hard! More for me than Bradyn! Every morning while we were home after he would get up in the morning he would say "rocky rocky mommy"- He wanted me to rock him for an hour or so and sometimes he would fall back to sleep. Well, of course I don't have that extra time in the mornings when I work so I was not sure how Monday would go. I did have a little time to spare so we did work that in. I will treasure that time with him because before I know it he will not want me to rocky rocky! He LOVES to snuggle!

I was not sure how he would do going back to daycare but he surprised me on Monday- he walked into his classroom and said Hi to everyone without a problem. However on Tuesday, he would not let go of me and so I had to have one of his teachers hold him when I left. Of course, both days it broke my heart!

Today, I enjoyed my day off and we did some errands. It is so cold and windy here that I hate to be outside so much with him but we did get a few things done. Back to work tomorrow and I am looking forward to the weekend.

Hope you have a good week and I am STILL trying to get Bob to post some pics!!

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T15:16:00.001-08:00

Wow, how time flies! It is 2009 and I can't believe it! God blessed us with such a wonderful 2008 and I am looking forward to another year of excitement and blessings. We hope that all of our family and friends are blessed also.

We celebrated Christmas today since we haven't been home. Bradyn was totally OVERWHELMED! He was so excited. He insisted on not only opening all of his presents but also all of ours! It was so much fun to hear him say something each time he would open a gift and to see his facial expressions. He played him self out with all of his new stuff and is now napping!

We are enjoying our last several days off before we have to go back to work. UGH! We have had a wonderful time off and really enjoyed spending it with family and friends.

Bradyn did well on our trip. He is such a good traveler. He finally said his own name. We were wondering when that would come. He does have a tough name for a kid to say. He has said so many new words the past couple of weeks- it's hard to keep track of. He is using a lot of 2 word phrases to express himself. So cute!

We rang in the new year by falling asleep before midnight (Yes both of us!!) Guess we are getting too old to stay up late! We ordered pizza and stayed home and hung out and enjoyed just being together.

I will have Bob post lots of pics that we took maybe later tonight on a video so be sure to check back. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho (that is Bradyn's way of saying Merry Christmas!) Maybe til next year he will be able to say it. We left Illinois on Monday and unfortunately we got a very late start because I worked late. We did not leave until 7pm and drove for about 4 1/2 hours. We spent the night in Indiana and then got up Tuesday and drove the rest of the way. Bradyn did very well and we had no bad weather, which was great!

We got rested up yesterday. We went to the early church service at Bob's church. Bradyn slept thought the entire service because he did not nap at all during the day! Then we went to the late service with my family and Bradyn was awake the entire time! It was 12MN until it was over. I could not believe it but he was so good at that service for it being way past his bedtime.

Today we celebrated Christmas with Bob's family at lunchtime and now are at my parent's house for dinner. Bradyn had a blast opening gifts. He would rip one open and say "MORE" without even looking at the one he opened! Too funny!

Bradyn blew the socks off of Bob and I this week- on Tuesday at the hotel he was playing with the cups in the room and I asked him how many cups he had and I said one and he goes "two, three!" He was correct. He must have leaned that at daycare because we haven't taught him numbers yet! Unbelievable for a 20 month old to be able to count to Three.

Enjoy the rest of Christmas day with your family and friends. Remember...JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON!

COLD ILLINOIS

2008-12-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

WE have had our low temps set in. UGH! It was minus 3 when we got up and hasn't warmed up much since. The wind is unbelievable. We had a few blinks in our power today but we are lucky so far! We had a horrible ice storm here Thurs night into Friday. I missed work due to the weather and Bob went in later. Bradyn and I hung out at home and got some more chores done. That kid LOVES to help me clean. I hope that continues!

Saturday, Bradyn and I finished up my Christmas shopping and Bob did his. He always waits til the last minute to START!! We then went to see the Christmas lights in the evening. Bradyn sure loved them. Some of the lights were out because of the ice storm but it was still nice.

Today we stayed inside due to the low temps. A lot of churches cancelled due to the temps but ours didn't but we didn't go. We are getting packed for our trip and lots of last minute things to do.

I am off to work tomorrow and then a nice and much needed vacation ahead! Yeah!! Have a great week!

Snowy weather

2008-12-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

We have had quite the weather here this week. Freezing rain on Monday which mad for a very long trip to work and then snow yesterday which made for a very long trip home from work. On top of all that it has been in the single digits here and we are to get MORE freezing rain tomorrow afternoon! When does spring arrive???

Other than the weather it has been a quite week. Busy today doing some errands, picking up some last minute Christmas presents and cleaning the house. Bradyn sure likes to help me clean. He gets out his little broom, dustpan and mop and follows me around the house- so cute.

He is really interested in my manger scene that I have under our tree. He likes to carry the animals around. His new words this week have been- sheep, donkey, baby Jesus and pocket! And it's only Wednesday!

Tomorrow is our 9 year anniversary. It is so hard to believe that we have been married that long. It seems just like yesterday that I was walking down the aisle! I am married to the most wonderful man and father. Bob is my best friend and I treasure every moment that we spend together. We are planning on just going out to eat when we are in PA for our anniversary so tomorrow I think that we will just order in and stay out of the nasty weather.

I am off to do some chores while Bradyn is napping. Have a good week.

Mischieveous child and sick cat

2008-12-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

It has been a very busy week. Bob got home Thursday (thank goodness)! I had sick cat all week to take care of and a child that has been into everything!! He's not even 2 yet!! Belle had been very sick and so Bradyn and I took her to the vet on Wed. This is the first time he has gone with me because I usually make those trips on Saturdays so Bob can babysit but this time I had no choice. The vet thought that maybe she had a virus but she could have eaten something she shouldn't have also (which she has been known to do on several occasions!) so we opted to try an anti-emetic and appetite stimulator because she had not been eating and lost a lb. Then off we went to my foot doctor to see the nurse for a follow up from my surgery. I will post a pic of my foot later. It is healing well and feeling much better-finally.

When we got home I gave Belle her meds and she didn't fight me too much. On Thursday morning I gave her the meds and she began foaming at the mouth so I of course was scared to death that something was majorly wrong with her so I called the vet. As I waited for a call back Bradyn decides that he needs to imitate the cat and spits his milk out all over his shirt and onto my tile floor and then took his little hands and rubbed it into my floor! Oh was I mad! I am already late to work by this point! Anyways the vet calls back and tells me this is a normal reaction to giving cats meds (???)

Anyways, Friday she was finally acting normal again and eating on her own. Thank goodness! She is back to her normal self again. I was really worried about her. Bradyn decided to get into my hand cream one night this week while I was in the shower. When I got out I heard him say "uh oh, oh no no no" and he was hiding under my comforter. His one hand was coated in white hand cream and he said "oh no wash!"

Saturday, Bradyn got to meet Santa! While we were waiting in line we asked him if he was going to sit on his lap and he said "NO" so we watched the other kids go and sit on his lap and by the time we got there he did fine- he wasn't so sure at first but did just fine. He says "Santa and Ho Ho Ho" every time he sees him! We then went to dinner- what an experience that was. Bradyn decided he was not sitting in a high chair so we got him a booster seat which was fine until the end of dinner when he managed to make his seat fall off the chair with him in it- he hit the floor with a big THUD. Bob gathered him up and he didn't even cry. Thank goodness he was not hurt but everyone in the restaurant hurt him fall! (those booster seats should have straps on them to tie them down)- next time we will be sitting in a booth with the booster seat!

He came home with an "ouch report" from daycare this week. He and his little friend were sitting the teacher's rocking chair and bumped heads and he ended up with a black and blue eye! Poor guy. We finished up our Christmas shopping last night and then went to church today.

Enjoy the pics and have a great week.

Brrrrrrr!

2008-12-10T04:56:00.000-08:00

It is VERY cold here- in the low teens! Then add the wind to it and it's even colder. I am not a fan of winter. We have been very busy here and so I apologize that I missed my last post. I am still trying to get caught up on things since we had been away for the holiday. Having Thanksgiving a week later this year has really messed up my schedule!

On Friday we got our Christmas tree- we always go to the same place. Bradyn had fun but it was soooo cold outside. We got it home and brought it in the house which he thought was pretty neat! Saturday, we got the tree decorated and it looks great! Bradyn tells the tree "nite nite tree" when I turn the lights off and when he gets up in the morning the first thing he does is goes and looks at the tree and says "hi tree hi"-so cute!

Sunday, we got most of our Christmas shopping done- yeah! Bradyn was a good little shopper again. Bob left for a trip again on Monday and won't be home until tomorrow so it's just Bradyn and I. I am hoping to get my Christmas cards done today. Am sure that I will have some help!

Bradyn has been eating really good for us for the past week. He must be going through a growth spurt because he's even eating his veggies- which never happens! He's been going potty for the girls at daycare again but not for me at home. Oh well, he's still young. He turned 20 months old yesterday- unbelievable!

I will try to get some pics posted when Bob gets home. I know that it has been awhile for that!
Have a good week!

Home Safely

2008-12-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

We arrived home safely after a 12 1/2 hour trip- 2 hours longer than usual. The roads for the last 3 1/2 hour part of the trip were very bad and no salt trucks to be seen! It was about 40 mph on the interstate. We are happy to be back home. Bradyn did great on the trip. He only fussed about the last 20 minutes- he had enough!

Tuesday was a busy day at work and of course we were exhausted from the traveling. Bradyn cried when I dropped him off at daycare which I kind of expected after he spent 6 days with us. He was fine once I left. Am sure he was happy to see his little friends. I left work early to go have laser surgery on my foot. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting- the lidocaine was to worst part. It actually doesn't feel too bad today but it will take 6 weeks to heal so I have a long time to go!

Bradyn is napping now and I sure could take one too but I have too many things to do today. It is hard to believe that Christmas is only 3 weeks away. Just not enough time in the day to get things done. Bradyn has swim lessons tonight and Bob will get in with him since I can't with my foot. It is his last class. I think we will wait until the spring for the next class. We are planing on getting our Christmas tree on Friday after work.

I am sorry today that I don't have any pics to post because we forgot our camera in PA but as soon as I get it I will post some.

Have a good week. See you Sunday!

Winter Weather

2008-11-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, we can never come home to PA without running into wintry weather! It always seems to happen right before we are ready to head back! And it is here today! Ice and snow later- just our luck! Looks like we will be driving through it our entire trip back to the Midwest!

Anyways, on Friday was our annual shopping trip! We are not early birds anymore and actually there really wasn't anything in particular we were going for. It is just a fun day to start our Christmas shopping. Actually, I had already started mine earlier- I am trying to do a lot more mail ordering each year. Bradyn was such a trooper! We got to the mall about 10:30 and left about 7:30 and he did not fuss once! He is such a wonderful little boy. He even took a good nap in his stroller. We did get some good bargains!

Saturday was a day of relaxation! I went with mu mom on a Christmas house tour. Bradyn sure missed me for the short time I was gone! Today we went to church with Bob's family. Our new little niece got baptized today. We were so happy that we got to be here for that. It's such a special day in her life! Bradyn was very good in church. He SHOUTED "amen" numerous times! His little ears are definitely listening to Pastor's words. So cute!

We are packing all of our "stuff" now and getting ready to head out in the morning. Good thing that our new vehicle has all wheel drive because I think we are going to need it. We were going to take Bradyn sled riding today but it is pouring down rain. Guess we will have to wait til next time. My brother-in-law came home toady to go hunting tomorrow so we got to see him. That was nice to visit with him.

Well, we will be back home for my next blog and I will get some pics up then. Back to work on Tuesday- I sure have enjoyed my time off. Have a good week.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

Today is a time to spend with family and friends and we are fortunate enough this year to be "home" for the holiday. It is great to be with our family. We had a VERY long trip. Bob picked me up after work on Tuesday with our new vehicle fully loaded and he had gotten Bradyn from daycare. So I changed clothes at work and then off we went. Our new vehicle rides so nice and did great through the snow! We left at 5:30 pm central time and got to PA at 5:30 am eastern time! Bradyn did really well. He watched 101 Dalmatians FOUR times without the sound. He did not like the earphones on his head! But he just sat and giggled and kept saying "Puppies" - so cute.. He is a belly sleeper so he was not real comfortable sleeping in his car seat. He would fall asleep and then 10 minutes later fuss and then fall asleep again. But overall he did very well. We stopped for dinner and then once for gas and that was it. We started to hit some snow around Columbus Ohio and then it got worse as we headed east and then we hit Somerset County and it was sleeting and snowing! Typical PA weather!!

We got to meet the newest member of our family-Mia. This is Bob's sister's baby. She is very cute and has lots of dark hair. Bradyn can say her name because we have been working on that.
He really isn't that interested in her but he did try to give her some blocks to play with!!

So we got some sleep yesterday and then last night we went to church with my parents. Bradyn was very good in church and then we stopped to see my grandma and she was very excited to see Bradyn. It has been almost a year since he has seen her. Today Bradyn slept in and then we had turkey at Bob's parents for lunch and then we are going to my parents for dinner. We did get to see my sister yesterday for a few hours which was nice but then she had to go home. Bradyn hasn't been afraid of going to anyone. He acted like he sees everyone all the time. My parents have an Irish Setter puppy and he really liked her which is unusual because he has been very fearful of dogs.

We are off to shop tomorrow but we definitely won't be early birds. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and I will have to post pictures when I get home!

Busy Busy

2008-11-24T04:30:00.000-08:00

It has been a very busy last few days. So much to do and so little time. I really wanted to get my Christmas decorations out this weekend but that didn't happen. We had so many little errand to run. Friday was a busy day at work. When I went to pick Bradyn up from daycare he was sitting in the rocking chair with his little friend "Nanna" is what he calls her. Her name is Savannah. It was the cutest and I wish that I would have had a camera. They are really good buddies. If you ask him if he wants to go to school he says "Nanna"! So cute!

Saturday I got some things done around the house and then we did some errands and went out for dinner. Yesterday, we went to church and then did some more errands. Bradyn so quite a few trees with lights on them while we were out shopping and he was very excited about them so it will be fun to see what he does when we out our tree up!

We are busy now getting ready to travel for Thanksgiving. We are excited to see a lot of our family. I hate packing and there are never enough hours for me to get it done especially because I have to work today and tomorrow. I did start some of it. I will try to post while we are away! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Oops I forgot

2008-11-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know I forgot to post last night- sorry! Last evening was busy and time just flew by. Bradyn and I have been by ourselves this week so it's always busy for me to get everything done in the evenings to prepare for the next day.

Anyways, I am SLOWLY getting used to my new vehicle. It rides really nice and is very quiet. Quite a change from my car! I was busy working Monday and Tuesday and then yesterday I took Bradyn for his Christmas pics. He really wasn't in the smiling mood but e did really well. They did get a few grins out of him. He looked so cute in his outfit. He was really patient while I was ordering the pics. We came home then and he took a nap and then off to swim class. He was so excited to go swimming but when we got there he wasn't really into it because it was actually kind of cold in there. The heat wasn't cranked up like it usually is. He kept saying "swimmy mommy" all week!

Yesterday I was watching Days of our lives and Bradyn really doesn't care to watch TV but for some reason he was interested in my soap and there was a girl crying on there and he said "crying mommy crying!" Not sure where he learned that word at! He is one smart boy!

Today Bob came home and Bradyn was happy to see him! But the poor little guy was asleep by 7pm because I had to get him up so early this morning because I had a meeting for work. He only got to see Bob for about a 1/2 hour.

Have a good weekend and I will be back on Sunday!

New Set of Wheels

2008-11-16T19:12:00.000-08:00

YEAH! I got a new set of wheels- Finally! After 19 months of traveling with a child in a 2 door sports car I have upgraded to something with 4 doors! My life will be so much easier. We got a new SUV yesterday. I feel like I am driving a house on wheels! It is really going to be hard to get used to driving it because all I have ever driven is a very small car. It is a nice change and of course Bradyn loves sitting up high so that he can see out.

Bradyn had swim lessons on Wednesday and Bob was able to go. He did OK but wasn't really into it so much this week because he was tired. That was the day of no napping for Mommy! We had busy days since then. Saturday was car shopping and today was church and then we ran to the mall afterwards. Bradyn was really good in church. Usually one of us ends up going out into the entryway during the sermon because he gets a little noisy but he was perfect today! He really enjoys watching the kids around us.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Bob is going out of town again this week for work until Thursday. It's always busy for me when he's gone because I have to make sure I am off work on time to get Bradyn. I am going to try and get his Christmas pictures taken this week and he has swim lessons on Wednesday again.

Enjoy the pics!

Gloomy weather

2008-11-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

It is very cold and gloomy here today. Looks like it could snow at any time. Bradyn and I went and did our grocery shopping today. I hate grocery shopping but I needed a few things so I just did it all today so I don't have to go back this weekend. He was pretty good but got a little fussy at the end because it was his nap time. However he's decided to go on strike today and NOT take a nap. He does this occasionally and it drives me crazy. Usually on Wednesdays he's a good 3 hour napper but not today! He just keeps on going! I don't know where he finds the energy. He usually doesn't get too fussy

So we are doing some chores around the house today. Nothing exciting but Bradyn does have swim lessons tonight. Bob and I have been busy working this week and really not much new.

Bradyn's new favorite word this week is HUG! He loves to give hugs and snuggle. I am trying to teach him what Santa says and he does it pretty good. I can't wait to see what he does this year when he sees Santa.

Hope everyone has a good week.

19 Months Old Today

2008-11-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe it but Bradyn is 19 months old today! I don't know where the time has gone. He has been a blessing to our lives! He is a really wonderful laid back boy! He is so much fun and we love to see him learn new things. He's like a sponge- absorbs everything we teach him!

Wednesday night was swim lessons and as always he enjoyed that. It is getting cold out now so it's not much fun to come out a 95 degree pool to 30-40 degrees outside but he only has 4 classes left and then we will take a break until spring.

Thursday Bob came home but it was late so Bradyn didn't get to see him but he was sure happy to see his daddy Friday morning. He's all about daddy after Bob's been gone all week. It is nice to have him home. We sure miss him when he's gone. Saturday we went shopping for a little while and then out to dinner. We all wore our Steeler gear in preparation for today's game! We had snow flurries yesterday and again today.

We looked at some cars last night and again today. I am so ready to trade my in! We are staying indoors this afternoon and watching the game and race. Hope everyone has a good week!

Another Busy Week

2008-11-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have had another busy week here. Can't believe that it is Wednesday already! I have been busy with work this week and Bob left for Canada on Monday so it's just the little guy and me.

Bradyn has really been picking up new words lately. He hears you say something a couple of times and then he says it. He speaks quite clearly for his age. On Sunday in church he heard everyone praying and say Amen and then he said it 3 times! The people behind us were cracking up laughing. We have really been working with him on praying before each meal. On Tuesday we were eating breakfast and just had finished praying when he says "Daddy, pray, Amen" he did this three times and wanted to keep praying for daddy because he wasn't home! So funny!

Today we had errands to do. I had to take him to daycare for a short time because they were doing class pictures today so I waited for him to get done with that then we did our errands. The girls at daycare have a bunny in their room. They said yesterday they let it out to run around with the kids and Bradyn was scared! He sat on the chair and pulled his legs up so the bunny couldn't touch him. Not sure why he is scared because we have 2 cats and they are both bigger than the bunny! They said he is a "ham" at school!

We our home from our errands and Bradyn fell asleep on the way home so he is napping now. He has swim lessons tonight so we are looking forward to that. It is beautiful out today but windy. We may go out to play later. I think it is to cool off later this week so it's probably our last warm day of the year!

Have a good week!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Halloween this year. Bradyn was a chicken! He looked so cute. If you asked him what he was he said "kickin"! He got to dress up in his costume on Thursday and go trick or treating for daycare to all the businesses in town. He came home with a HUGE bag of candy. The girls at daycare loved his costume.

We careved "mumpkins" as Bradyn calls them on Thursday night. He thought it was fun but wanted NOTHING to do with the guts. Then we lit them and put them on the proch and every time we walked by the door he had to stop and look out at them! Very funny!

Friday night we decided not to go trick or treating because Bradyn had so much candy already so we stayed home and answered the door for the kids. I dressed Bradyn in his costume and he had so much fun. He got so excited each time the doorbell rang- he would run to the door and couldn't wait to see who was out there.

The weather has been beautiful here this wekend- almost like summer is here again. I got some things done around the house and then we spent awhile outside playing. Bradyn is obsessed with his mower (he calls it a manow). He wants to take that thing everywhere! Yes, even in the house. It may have to get washed so we can bring it in for the winter. We went to dinner last night.

Today was off to church and then grocery shopping. Bradyn took about a 30 minute nap on the way home from church and has been on the go since then. We have another busy week ahead of us. Bob is off to Canada agiain tomorrow until Thursday so it's just Bradyn and I. It was nice to have Bob home for a week finally. He got to go to Bradyn's swim class on Wed and Bradyn enjoyed having him there.

Here are the pics that I promised. Enjoy!

Flurries in the air

2008-10-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, we had flurries here on Monday! Yuck! I am so not ready for that! However it is very sunny here today and nice. It's actually to be in the 60's for Halloween which is very unusual because it's always very cold when those trick or treaters come.

Bradyn's daycare is taking his class trick or treating tomorrow to all the local businesses in town. Am sure that he will have fun. He's going to be a chicken and I promise I will post pics later this week. I have no idea how to download our camera to the computer so I have to have Bob do that for me!

We have had a busy week so far. We went to church on Sunday and then did some car shopping afterwards. Yes, I am still driving a 2 door sports car with an 18 month old child! It is definitely not a family vehicle and I can't wait to get rid of it!! Bradyn is just getting too tall to get in and out of the back seat. It's time for it to go! Yeah!!!

I worked late Tuesday which worked out OK since Bob is home to pick up Bradyn. Tonight we have swim lessons which Bradyn is really enjoying this time around. Bob gets to go with him tonight and this will be the first time since he moved up to the big boy class.

Bradyn cracks me up sometimes with the things he says. He really does have quite the vocabulary for a an 18 month old. This week I put his mittens on him and he just stood and looked at them for the longest time and then he says "SOCKS"- too funny! He's probably wondering why Mommy puts socks on his hands!

Extreme Makeover wrapped up here yesterday. The house is beautiful! It was for a really deserving family. I actually work with the girls' spouse that had nominated the family. The little boy has a bone disorder that make his bones very fragile. It will be very exciting to watch it on TV. They were really pushing to get it done on time because we had such awful weather this past week and they were behind but it all worked out. I will let you know when the show is going to air.

Check back later this week for pics-I promise! Happy Halloween to everyone!

Windy Illinois

2008-10-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, the wind in central Illinois has kicked in! It feels like winter is here with that wind. There is a wind advisory out for tomorrow. That is what I hate about living here. It's way too cold and windy to go outside and play so we have been spending our time indoors.

Bradyn is feeling much better finally. He is still chewing on those hands and working on his teeth but he is not cranky anymore. Thank goodness! He had swim lessons on Wednesday and is doing really well. He will try to blow bubbles in the water and did a back float with his head in the water so he can get used to water in his ears. He did really well with that.

Thursday Bob came home and Bradyn was quite happy to see his daddy! He really misses Bob when he's gone now that he's older.

Today we went to vote (yes you can vote early in Illinois) this is the first year that we did that and it was great. No waiting in long lines! Then we went to the mall for a little bit and then out to dinner. We are watching the Penn State game now. It's nice to see the local games from home.

Tomorrow we are off to church and grocery shopping. I don't have any pics to post tonight but will try to do that tomorrow. Oh yes, my new niece has a name- Mia Grace! We are excited to meet her. They were to come home from the hospital today.

New Member of the family

2008-10-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

I am an aunt again! How exciting! My sister-in-law Kristin and her husband welcomed a little girl into the world today. Congrats to them. She is a big girl weighing in at 9lbs 1oz and 21 1/2 inches long. She has a full head of brown hair! Which is funny because Bradyn is 18 months and hardly has any! They haven't decided on a name for her yet. We can't wait to meet her next month.
We are doing ok here. Bradyn has had a rough couple of days. The poor guy has 4 teeth coming in and is just miserable which is totally unlike him. His poor little nose just runs like a faucet. His favorite word right now is "outside". The little guy just wants to spend all the time outside and it is too cold. It's only 50 here today and is to rain the next 3 days.
Bob is in Canada until tomorrow night so we will be happy to have him home for a little while. He said that it has snowed there this week- sure hope he doesn't bring that home with him!
The other exciting news here is that Extreme Makeover is here filming this week and it's to air in January. I really wanted to help volunteer but it's hard with working everyday. I want to drive by the house this weekend to check it out and see if I can see any famous people!
I hope that everyone is having a great week. Talk to you Sat!

Fall is here

2008-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Fall has finally hit us here in Illinois! It is COLD! Last night we took Bradyn to a hockey game. He did pretty well but was a little antsy at times. It is a little long for a kid to sit still so overall he did OK. He seemed to enjoy it for the most part. We are just glad that we didn't renew our season tickets because I know he wouldn't do well every weekend!

Bradyn has been quite cranky all day today from the time he got up! He is working on 2 molars and they must be painful. This is the first time he's been cranky with any of his teeth so I really can't complain. He spent about 1 1/2 hours outside playing today while I worked outside putting away my flower boxes. He needed the fresh air. It was cool but sunny. Then tonight we went to the race track to watch Bob race but didn't stay very long but it got COLD! I HATE cold weather!

Bradyn's swim classes started on Wednesday and he did really well. He actually stuck his face in the water to try and blow bubbles. This is a BIG accomplishment for him because he hates to get water ion his head or face in the bathtub so needless to say hair watching is a challenge each and every time! He is one of the youngest in this class because it's for 19 to 36 months.

Lots of errands to do tomorrow and then the work week starts all over. Bob leaves for Toronto on Monday so it's just the little guy and me again this week. My plan is to post every Wed and Sat so enjoy the rest of your weekend and I will be back on Wed!

The Beginning

2008-10-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

Here we go! This blogging is all new to me but I want to give it a try. Bradyn just turned 18 months old and I thought that this would be a good way to keep our family and friends updated on our day to day life since we live so far away from everyone. Wednesdays are my days off from work and I love having that extra day with Bradyn plus it's a good break for him from daycare right in the middle of the week.

He went for his 18 month check up and continues to be tall and thin like his daddy! He is 34.25 inches (93%) and 25lbs. 12.8 oz. (49%). He is growing like a weed and is soooo much fun! He has quite the vocabulary for his age. He really enjoys going to daycare and spending time with the other kids. It's good for him except when there is some sort of illness going around (colds, stomach bug, etc)!!! He is learning so much there and he's in a great Christian environment. They have even taught him to pray and he says "Amen" He seems to amaze us everyday. He is interested in the potty training thing (must have picked that up at school) and he's doing pretty well with that.

Bob and I keep busy chasing after Bradyn! Bob is actually in PGH this week at his Alma Mater CMU for work. He enjoys going back there every year. Bradyn starts swim lessons tonight. He moves up to the next class so we will see how that goes.

I will try to update this once or twice a week!