randommmm

Q: What have we been up to this week?
A: A whole lot of nothin!!! Which would explain the lack of blogging.

We've been snowed/iced in for the past 2 days, which means 2 LONG days for mommy. When Braidy cannot go outside he goes crazy. He is 100% an outdoorsy kid. He's asked 23,875 times just today to "dumpa dumpa" which means JUMP. We even go look at the trampoline covered in ice and snow, but still, he wants to "Dump!". Hopefully soon we'll be able to head back outside...lord willing. Cabin Fever around here big time. Today, Braidy and I are camping in the living room. Tent, fire, and all! I think i'll take a nap in the tent momentarily!


Last week John was coloring (he love love loves to color!) so of course Braidy wanted to also. John was great and shared, and Braidy decided to eat the black marker. At least they are washable! John is getting really good at drawing, maybe he'll take after his Uncle Todd...he has quite an imagination and can tell you a big long story about what is taking place in his picture.



Braidy and I also made a few trips to the park to see the Quack Quacks since there were a million of them. We fed them some yucky fiber cereal that Ryan didn't like and hopefully they liked it. Braidy went down the slide about 72 times all by himself, usually on his tummy. Fearless I tell ya!


In case you haven't heard, a couple weeks ago (while I was out of town at a baby shower, mind you) daddy turned Braidy's crib into a "toddler bed". The first week was pretty rough but it's gotten much better! MUCH! Braidy only gets out a couple times a night before he falls asleep. Once asleep, he's asleep...until we hear a knock at his door in the morning! A couple days this week, I've gone into check on him and i've found some funny sights:



Last Friday, Ryan's weigh in was 259. I have yet to hear about it this Friday (today), but he was guessing it'd be about the same since he's only gotten to run a couple times due to the wacky weather we've had.

Stay warm. Oh yea, Braidy got his nose pierced!

Marathon in 2010

In order to increase accountability (at least more than me), we're sharing Ryan's New Year's Resolution to the blog world. For the past year he has been working out regularly, but he's ready to take it to the next level. His goal for 2010 is to run in a full marathon, and I have no doubt that he will accomplish this. Since the bank pays for their employees to workout and lose weight, this has kickstarted this goal into full gear. He is also taking part in a contest within his bank, and the winning team gets $$$, which is also great motivation. The teams get points for working out and pounds lost...so he's definitely pulling his weight with his team. His goal as far as weight goes is to get down to 230 pounds by March 31st. As of January 1st, his starting weight was 271. Last Friday (1/15/10) he was down to 262 (-9!!). Friday weigh-in updates will be coming. He is doing this for his boys, and what better reason could there be? He wants to be around to watch them graduate, go to college, get married, have kids, etc. I, personally, am so proud of him for setting this goal and going for it. He gets up every morning at 5 to head to the gym and run 5 and 6 miles a day. I cannot wait to cheer him on (from the sidelines, of course) while he runs his marathon. I will be his biggest cheerleader there. I love you, Ryan! We are so proud of you and we are behind you 100%!!! It will be so neat for the boys to read this years from now to see just how much their daddy loves them!

eighteen

Our sweet baby boy is 18 months old today. That's half way to TWO!!!! What?! It's crazy to think my teeny little baby is well into "toddlerhood". And what a fun fun time this is. Every minute is something fun and exciting with this little guy. He LOVES to make people laugh, and I will say he's pretty good at it. Without giving away my "Current 18 favorite things about him" I will get onto my list.

1. My most favorite thing he does right now is "the face". Luckily I got a picture of it, because it's hard to explain. But everytime he does it, I cannot help but laugh. He sucks his lip up into his nose and does this squinty eye thing. I am not sure where he learned it, but ever since it's gotten a good reaction from people, he does it on command. What an entertainer you are, Mr. Braidy!

2. I love how he sings his ABC's. Well, not exactly sings, but he will say "A, B, and then a bunch of jibberish letters", but pretty well in tune with the ABC song.

3. I love how he totally inherited my sweet tooth. This kid might turn into an "M&M" at any second. He loves them. He calls them "emna"...close enough. They work very well for bribery too. Basically anything chocolatey, sugary, sticky, he loves.


4. I love that I think he will be easy to potty train. We have started the potty training phase. Not really training, but when I ask him if he needs to "TT in the potty" he'll run in the bathroom and 75% of the time we'll have a success. Yes, and then he'll get an "EMNA"! Really I am just glad he shows some interest in the potty. That will do for now. He's young, there will be plenty of time for serious potty training...but the sooner the better. Diapers will not be missed by this mommy.

5. I love his dance moves. I think he must have gotten his dancing skills from his mother. He just tilts his head to the right and just kinda bobs. Awkward but Adorable all at the same time.

6. I love the sound he makes for a kitty cat. Picture a very high pitched, "MAAH". And his sound for a horsey. He clicks his tongue like horseshoes trotting along.

7. I love that he still LOVES to read books. We read at least 3 everyday during the day at home. Then one before bed...if I "forget" he'll point and say "OOK!" He got a bathtub friendly book for Christmas and last night he was "reading" it to John and I. He would talk talk talk talk and then turn the page, and talk talk talk some more. We thought it was a great story!

8. I love that he is a kisser. This kid kisses EVERYTHING!!! He kisses momma, daddy, John, Scout, characters in a book, his giraffe on top of his armoire, his big giant teddy bear, Elmo on the bubble bath bottle, pictures on my phone, anything and everything. He's definitely a lover, not a fighter. I love that he will be playing on the floor, drop his toys, walk up to me, and give me a little kiss. AANNDD then he will be back to playing. Melts this momma's heart.

9. On that note, I love his poor pitiful fits that he throws. They don't happen too often, but they happen. He has the most pitiful cry and pouty lip ever.

10. I love when he wakes up in the morning. We'll lay in bed until we hear "Dadeeee, Mommmmmma," and we are greeted with the biggest, sleepiest smile in the world.

11. I love that he still wants me to rock him before bed. Even though I know it's because he just doesn't want to get in his bed, I still cherish that time. Sometimes he'll fall fast asleep, sometimes he'll do "the face" and make me laugh so hard I cry, sometimes he will just stare at me and pretend he's asleep until a giant smile creeps onto his face. I love this time. Before I know it he will be too big to fit in my arms and on my lap. I love that he points to the rocker and says "GOCK"...aka, Rock.

12. I love that he's a little guy. At the same time, I'd LOVE it if he'd decide to become a good eater. That would be great. He isn't the biggest fan of eating. Hopefully it's just a phase and soon he'll be growing and growing!

13. I love that he is happy with pretty much anyone. He seldomly shows any separation anxiety which makes life alot easier!

14. I love that he has started to watch a little Elmo. Before now he showed ZERO interest in the TV, which is a good thing, but occasionally, a few minutes to clean up here or there while he watches Elmo is nice. It may just be 5 minutes, but 5 minutes is better than no minutes. At the same time, I love that he doesn't care for TV much...he's much too busy to sit still for that long!

15. I love that his vocabulary grows daily. He repeats anything he hears. We hear new words he knows all of the time. It's so fun to hear him say his brother's name, which is a pretty new one. He says "DOHHHH" like John ALL of the time, and I'm pretty sure John loves it too!

16. I love that he has a MOUTHFUL of teeth! He currently has 16 teeth! WoW! His last "eye tooth" just broke through the other day. I think he's ready for his first steak!

17. I love watching him "speed walk/run". He can get somewhere fast. He arms kinda flail in all directions and his little feet just go go go. I'm amazed he doesn't get tripped up more than he does, maybe he's going to be a coordinated little thing!

18. I love HIM! He is such a sweet man. He bring so much joy and happiness into our family. I love that God chose Ryan and I to be his parents and John to be his brother. I love the little person that he has become and is becoming. I can tell even now, that he will be a gentleman, that he will have a soft heart, and that he will love people. I love that about him!

SA Town!

We spent New Year's in San Antonio visiting my dad and Jan. We arrived on New Years Eve, ate some dinner and got to do some fireworks. It was super windy and FREEZING so we made it quick. We decided to call it a night when Poppa caught the grass on fire. HA! Luckily he had some water nearby, or else I'm thinking it might have gotten out of hand with all that wind!


I kinda stayed up until midnight with my hubby. By kinda I mean, I fell asleep and woke up as the last minute was ticking by. I still got my New Year's kiss, and that's all that really matters. New Year's morning we woke up to do presents with Poppa and JJ...man, they were good to us. The boys got spoiled again, as did Ryan and I.



We played, and ate, and played and ate some more. We fed the deer, went on a "hike", and just hung out.


That night we went to the RiverWalk and had dinner with some friends.


Saturday was the TECH game. The adults went and left the boys with a babysitter. We went tailgating for a while before heading into the Alamo Bowl. What a game! IT was awesome! We sat on the first row of the club level...about 10 rows in front of the infamous Gerald Meyer's box! Needless to say, there were cops at the door and around the seating part. He looked REALLY tired! HA! The seats were awesome (minus people wanting in and out of thier seats 87,000 times since we were on the end), the game was great, and what a good outcome! GO TECH! Unfortunately we had to head back to the LBK on Sunday. We had a wonderful time and cannot wait to go back! As much fun as we had, I think Scout might have had the most fun of us all. She got to roam free the entire weekend. I was REALLY nervous at first that she would run away, but she proved me wrong. She would go and explore, and hear her name, and come right back. I guess she knows she has a great family that loves her alot! I think she's sad to be back where all she has is a flat backyard! We'll definitely take her back next time!