Sunday, June 28, 2009

Weekend in Review: Pictures

kisses from Gigi & Aunt Lada
Long Lashes, just like his daddy
Gettin' some lovin' & food from Poppa D
Uncle Jeff trying his hand out at a feeding-- he did GREAT!
Starin' at Gigi during his bath
He loves his kisses from his Auntie Lada

Weekend in Review

This past weekend was one of most fun by far since having little man, mostly due to the fact that my family (minus Meg) came in town to visit! They showed up Wednesday and left this morning. Drew and I always lay in bed after their visits, exhausted from late night talks and games, but yearning for even a few more minutes with them-- it's such a sweet thing to be close to your family members!

Thursday we enjoyed some time with my mom's brother's family; the girls stayed home and talked and watched Brayden, while the boys went golfing. Friday we all kind of just hung around the house , and Saturday was filled with birthday parties, Wii contests, blacklight bowling & more baby time. My family hadn't seen Brayden since he was born, and this time he's so much more social that it was really fun watching him interact with my family members. Drew and I think he's a bit of a ladies man, since he LOVED talking and hamming it up for my mom and sister. Dad and Jeff got in on the action too though, and both fed Brayden bottles on more than one occasion. Brayden even doused Jeff with a nice round of spit up right before they left-- indoctrinating the youngest into what it's like to have a baby around :)

My goals for the week include completely cleaning the house again, as well as steaming the carpets. My carpets are DISGUSTING, and I feel really gross laying Brayden down on the floor, even if he's on a blanket. We'll see if I am able to get to everything. Oh, and we're on to round 2 of dropping down to 6 feedings; I held off after I realized I was changing his schedule in the middle of my family coming into town, and didn't want to overwhelm him. I'll keep you posted.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wordless Wednesday... sort of...

I don't normally post wordless wednesdays, but I don't really feel like posting man words, so I will just give you my favorite pic from today.

Monday, June 22, 2009

A Happy Belated Fathers Day & Weekend in Review

We were too busy yesterday for me to even attempt a short shout out to the 2 best dads in the world-- my husband and my own Daddy! I love them both so much and they are such great examples of what a father should be.
This is one of my favorite pictures of my 2 boys together;
Brayden LOVES his bedtime stories with his daddy,
and is starting to get into the pictures in the book. Doesn't it just melt your heart?

This weekend was an errand weekend in anticipation of my family's visit this week. Friday we did take a few hours out to visit some of the homes in a local home show that the local home builders association puts on. Not like we can afford 5000+ square foot homes, but hey, it's fun to at least get ideas for that dream home that lurks in our far away future (maybe).

Saturday I started the day off with a bang and got my hair cut. Not just a trim mind you, it's a full blown cut. The past year, in gearing up towards being a mommy and not having time to do anything but breath, I just had my hair guy do simple trims. The result was VERY thick, same length hair, with split ends to match. So I got about 3-4 inches off, plus the ends feathered and layered. I felt like a new person! And it's just in time for the horrid heat wave that has hit the south! After getting my hair cut we went to Toys R Us to try out convertible car seats. First, let me say, that if money were no object right now, we'd be getting a van. Civics were not created with a family in mind, and those car seats are about as big as the back seat. BUT, we live in a real world, and we just need to make sure expenses are as low as possible right now, so the Civic will have to suffice. We tried out the Evenflo Triumph Advance and the Evenflo Titan Elite. We actually liked both, and they fit (barely!). A lot of people have recommended the Britax car seats but they are SO much more expensive, so I am still not sure what we will do. We're not sure which weight limit we should get, but we're thinking we need to get as much as possible, especially for height reasons, since our little man really isn't such a little man. After car seat shopping we enjoyed some Scholotzky's pizzas (they have pizza madness on Saturdays-- $2.50 for all of their pizzas and they are YUMMY!) and then headed home for a nap. Drew took care of Brayden in the evening so I could run errands (grocery shop). As a side note, Saturday was the first day that we dropped little B to 6 feedings; it seems to be going OK. This morning he woke up at 6:20, so I am trying to figure out if that was a fluke or if we need to go back to 7 feedings for the time being. We'll see.

Sunday was church & more errands. Sunday evening we had some friends over for dinner (they cooked, which was nice!) and a good game of Catan (I won!). All in all it was a great weekend and we are anxiously anticipating Wednesday, when Brayden will get to see his Gigi, Poppy, Aunt Laura & Uncle Jeff for the first time since he was born!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

One Year

Isn't it amazing how much can change in just one year? As I have listened each day to the powerful story of Molly Mutz (click HERE if you haven't listened yet; I promise you, it will change your life!) I have pondered how my heart has changed over the past year.

Most of you who read my blog or who know me well know that Drew and I tried with all of our hearts to get pregnant the minute he stepped off a plane from Kuwait. However, it was not in the Lord's plans for us to conceive right away, and quite frankly it made me mad. I went through grief, anger, jealousy (as many around me became pregnant and gave birth to precious babies)... you name it, I probably struggled with it. I really think my lowest of lows was when I found out about Molly. I really wrestled with the fact that someone who loved the Lord, would provide a safe, loving home, would be given a child only to be asked to give her back just days later. Or why God would give a couple who fights all the time, lives in less than ideal conditions and can't take care of themselves much less a child, would be granted life in the same breath. To human minds, His ways don't make much sense, yet there is a plan and purpose for every single thing he allows to happen. Yes, God allows pain. But were it not for the pain, our hearts and minds would never be transformed. We would grow calloused to how Mighty and how Faithful our Savior really is. I know now, that had I gotten pregnant right away, I don't think I would have cherished how truly precious life really is.

Perhaps this post seems a bit unorganized, and quite frankly I am not sure I could organize all the thoughts I've had as I have listened and pondered Molly story again this week. I just needed to lay out there what has been on my heart. I am so grateful that Becca and Jacob have graciously shared their story with the world so that we may all be moved by little Molly Ann.

PS-- Becca has also cowritten a book titled "A Symphony in the Dark". Drew ordered it for me today and I am so looking forward to learning even more from this precious little life.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Weekend in Review

I really think that my weekend in review posts may become a permanent fixture of my blog. Not so much because I want all of you to know everything we do, but it's a way to document some of the fun things we're doing with Brayden these days.

We started out the weekend on Thursday afternoon with a sour note for little B man-- 2 month shots :( He actually did really well while we were at the doctor's office, and I think due to complete exhaustion fell asleep not too long after the shots. That afternoon and evening, however, were less than enjoyable by everyone in the family. Little B was NOT happy, and let us know about it. He really wasn't that hungry either (which is very much NOT like him!), so I just held him and let him fuss on me. By the next morning he was back to our normal smiley magoo man! Brayden also measured in quite nicely at 13 pounds and 24.25 inches long (75th and 90th percentile respectively). The doctor made the comment that breast feeding was going quite nicely... yes, yes it is! Now if only we could get rid of this stupid "45 minute intruder" I might be able to say that we have the perfect baby :)

Friday & Saturday we had Drew's dad come up for a 2 day visit to see Brayden and for him and Drew to celebrate Father's Day (they took a few hours to go fishing). Saturday we went out to Pea Ridge battle field. Drew's dad is an avid civil war buff, so this was right up his alley. They were celebrating heritage days, leading up to the 150th anniversary in 2012. They had all kinds of skillsman (is that a word?) and women weaving and sewing (one lady was making lace by hand which was quite interesting).


Sunday was B man's first visit to the church nursery and he did GREAT (ofcourse he did great!?!?! Did you have any doubt?!). Drew and I were so happy to be able to go to a church service without lugging the huge infant carrier and then worrying during all of the silent parts that our child would be "that one" that screams. LOL. He hasn't come down with a cold yet, which was my biggest fear. During my pregnancy we helped out in the infants classrooms, and Drew and I were amazed by the amount of parents that would drop their children off for childcare with what was CLEARLY NOT allergies. It's unbelieveable. And while I really would like for my little man to not become ill, I can't shield him from everything in the world, including germs, so to the church nursery he goes.

I finished up the weekend with another photoshoot. Some of you already know this, but for those of you who don't, I've started taking photography sessions for friends & family. It's not bringing in anything significant, but it gives me a hobby, and brings in a little bit of "blow money." Ofcourse, I save most all of my blow money anyway; my goal is to convince Drew to go halvsies with me on a big screen TV and new entertainment center. So far I've been working on him for over 4 years with no luck, so I could be saving for quite a bit longer.

And that, my friends, was our weekend.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

His Cuteness


2 month old shots (photos that is... actual shots are tomorrow!)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Weekend in Review

This was our first weekend that we haven't had anything on the agenda and it was JUST US... ahhhh... such a nice feeling! Not like we don't like our friends and family, but sometimes it's just nice to have a bit of family time.

The weekend started off great since we have found a way to rent movies for free. Just google "redbox discount codes" and you will come up with message board posts about different codes you can use to rent from redbox for FREE. AND, you can use different cards to use the same code. We watched 2 movies for free this weekend-- and we found a redbox even closer than Walmart, so we are THRILLED.

Saturday started off with a house fire down the street. I had gone out to put mail in the mailbox and noticed practically our entire city's law enforcement down the block. I had heard sirens, but didn't think much of it till I saw smoke coming out of a house. It turns out some of our white trash (I have people to back me up on the fact that this family is indeed white trash) neighbors left a lighter out and one of the 4 kids that live there got a hold of it and caught a mattress on fire. NICE. It also turns out that living conditions in the house were so horrid that all 4 children are now in custody of DHS. DOUBLE NICE. The lady that lives there told the news that her brother was cleaning his room out and that's why the house was in shambles... ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?! These people have 3 foot piles of garbage (literally, not just junk) on the side of their house that has probably been there for, oh I don't know, 2-3 years! The garbage problem has actually had Drew and I thinking that they may be drug dealers/makers/etc, but ofcourse, that's pure speculation combined with disgust whenever we see their yard and/or them (hygiene is not a top priority at their house).

Later Saturday morning, we drove around and found a few garage sales. Brayden needs a few more pieces of clothing and fortunately for us the LAST garage sale we hit had TONS of baby boy clothes. I got a bunch of name brand stuff for $1 a piece and some of it even had the tags still on! In the afternoon it was so pretty that we decided to take Toby down to the lake. Brayden was pretty sleepy, but I couldn't resist pulling him out of the stroller to try out the water. Every time I would put his feet in the water he would start crying-- it was the funniest thing! Eventually he got used to it, but it still wasn't his favorite, which is surprising since he LOVES his bath! Maybe when the water warms up a bit more he won't be so hesitant to dip his feet in.
Last night we had some good friends offer to take care of Brayden so we could go on a much needed date. It was our first date night since my mom left, and our first date where we weren't EXHAUSTED from having a newborn (BTW: Brayden has slept through the night since last Monday, and 4 of the mornings, including this morning, I had to wake him up!). We were both craving mexican so we hit up a local mexican restaurant, went to JCPenney's for some more Brayden clothes, and topped it off with some Shake's. Penney's had sent us a coupon for $10 off a $10 or more purchase and so I was hoping to find a cute outfit for little B. I hit it up big, finding a white polo and blue searsucker pants outfit that was already marked down 60%, so I got the entire outfit for $5!!!! I was PUMPED! I can't wait to take pics of him in it!!! Here's a pic of of the outfit; isn't it the cutest????


Quick sidenote: Did you know that American Living, a new line at Penney's for kids clothes, is made by Ralph Lauren? Yes, it is the same outfits as any Polo stuff you'll find at Dillards, just without his name and the Polo man on them. They have REALLY cute stuff, and Penney's is always running sales, so if you like that style of clothes you should check it out!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Our Chunker Wunker

Today as I was strolling through a garage sale, a lady approached the sidewalk with what appeared to be a very young infant (in my guesses a 3-4 week old at the oldest). All of the ladies holding the sale gave the traditional "oooo and ahhh" and then asked the mommy how old her baby was. I was an innocent by stander but must admit that I was eavesdropping into the convo a bit. The mommy replied "Oh, he's getting so big, he's almost 4 months and he just hit 10 pounds!" I nearly dropped the car seat that was holding my own chunker wunker (mind you, I now have to hold that thing with both hands because it's nearing 30 pounds of plastic and flesh!). Little B is 4 days shy of his 2 month birthday, and is around 13 pounds. Therefore, he is now officially referred to as our "Chunker Wunker."

2 days old 8 weeks old

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

A Fun Afternoon in Pictures


"What can I say? I'm a serious guy"
"Don't forget me! I like to play too!"
"Hey Guys! Check out this Bumbo-- it's GREAT!"
"Oh my goodness! I just can't get over this Bumbo!"
 

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