Soon to be Big Brother!

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

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!

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!

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

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,

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

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!