Everybody's Talking About It...

And I just watched it.

And they were right.

Truly one of the sweetest things in all of this last week.

(Remember to Pause the Music at the bottom)

What Makes This Boy Start Moving?

His Dog!!!

This is my favorite video that we've made by far, although it's also the wobbliest by far!

You have to listen to it with the volume, it makes the video even better! (Thanks, Hubbs for the song choice!)

I hope it makes you smile just as much as it makes us smile. My favorite part is the end when he's trying to sit down. He thinks really hard about it!!

+Remember to pause the playlist at the bottom!

More Daddy Time

(The first picture is blurry because I was playing with my settings, but it's so sweet, I had to put it up!)

Tonight, I kept Brady up so that Jeff could see him before he went to bed. Jeff asked if he could put him down to sleep, and of course I said yes since it usually involves a poopie diaper. Then, I heard over the monitor that he was reading him a book! How sweet?! Jeff only has limited time with the Bug now, so I know it's precious to him and I just loved hearing him do all of the voices. Brady kept looking at him like he was surprised everytime a new voice came out of him.... it was as if he was asking, "is that still daddy?"

Game Night at Sandra's

This weekend, Jeff took a much-needed break from studying to go to a game night with some of my "ex" co-workers. We had so much fun and actually stayed out way past our bed time - 12:30! We haven't stayed out that late since we were in college! 

We played a game called Backseat Drawing. Mom, you would LOVE it. Unfortunately, I am SERIOUSLY competetive and we did not win at this game. The idea is that you have to direct the 'chosen' person for that round how to draw something. For example, if I was the 'artist' for our team, Jeff (if he was on my team, which he wasn't) would have the answer and have to direct me how to draw a bicycle or something like that. And then everyone else on my team, and myself, would have to guess what it is before the other team does. (That's the rules in a nutshell). Well... get this. Becky, Jamie and I (all of us have an 'artistic background) were on a team with Sandra's husband, Kevin who is an engineer. In other words, we all knew how to build things and draw things. The other team was made up of Isaac, Becky's husband, Jeff, and Sandra. We thought for sure we'd win because Isaac and Jeff couldn't get through a paint by number correctly! Well, we were wrong. We got creamed!!!! 

Anyway, check out the game. It's fun, just don't play with me or you'll get yelled at when you don't draw something right. 

Here are some pics we took with our point-and-shoot camera. For some reason some of them are super blurry. 

I have no idea why Shasta's eyes look like an alien's. 

Jeff is wearing Cocoa's Doggles!

"Daddy Time" Can Make a Mommy Nervous!

I love the incredibly special bond that a daddy has with his child. Daddys are the fun ones... the one who come home from work and it's really special. They are the ones that take you out for donuts and let you have a coke with your breakfast. They are the ones that take you to Six Flags and let you eat Cotton Candy and a Funnel Cake in the same sitting. They are the ones that ride the scary rides with you and take you to see the best movies. They are the ones that play games with you, try to 'double bounce' you on the trampoline and....

throw you high up in the air.

Even when it makes mommy nervous.

Many Thanks!

Okay, so this post is going to have two parts.

First - I have to thank all of you who have been praying for us over the past few weeks. Many of you know that I have been SUPER anxious about this short season that Jeff and I are enduring at the moment while he studies for the BAR exam and I have been very vocal about needing people to pray for us. (Okay, pray for me). I cannot explain the sense of joy and peace that has been flooding over me these past two weeks. God has filled every single void that needed to be filled while Jeff is out of the house more than he normally is. He has given me a calmness of heart that I have never experienced before and has given me energy and strength to finish the day strong. Sometimes, when I find myself getting a little sad that we're not getting to spend as much time together as a 'family', I am reminded of this verse that the Lord placed on my heart a few weeks ago.

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you..." (Isaiah 66:13)

I know that it breaks Jeff's heart that he cannot play with Brady as much as he would like and that he's not getting to be home as much as he wants to... but he is working so hard. In fact, the Lord has used these past two weeks to show me how under-appreciated Jeff goes around the house. I'm so quick to think that he wouldn't know what to do without me here... but last week I was shown in a big way how MUCH Jeff does around here. I have been gladly trying to take over his duties around the house and I wouldn't have been able to say that without the prayers of all of you. I know that I have a problem getting irritated when dishes are left in the sink or the trash hasn't been taken out - and these past two weeks, I think I've only 'huffed' once and the Lord convicted me of it right there and then. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn, but to tell you that God is good. He is faithful, even when I am not. He is true to His promises and He has granted the "peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension" that I have never experienced in my life. (Philippians 4:7) My sweet friend,Kate, was right when she told me that God would use this time to reveal Himself to me in a new and real way and that He would develop friendships that I never thought possible... and I am already beginning to see Him work.

So thank you to all of you who have been so kind in keeping me occupied and to those of you who have been so faithful in your prayers for both Jeff and I. It seems so small, and there are much bigger concerns out there, but it has been such a blessing in all three of our lives.

Onto the second part of my post - patting my hubby on the back.



With all of that said in the first part of this post, I really want to emphasize that I know that everything that I have been "doing" has not come from me, but from above. I do not have the strength, or the patience to deal with everything around the house and a stressed out hubby who is doing his very best to be an active father, a doting husband and a provider all at the same time that he is studying for the Mother of all tests he has ever taken. Nevertheless, I do not expect any sort of earthly reward for the mere two weeks that we've gone through so far without a melt down on my part. (Which I am still shocked that this hasn't happened yet - another evidence of God reigning down on us). So I have to say that I was quite surprised when Jeff arrived home last night with pizza and a silver box in tow.

I would like to preface this with the romantic that my husband is... or was... or is, depending on how you look at it. When we first started dating, he wrote me love letters, showered me with all sorts of teenager-type gifts and took me on all sorts of romantic and incredibly thoughtful dates. Of course, as time went on, the romance didn't necessarily dwindle, it just changed. Now, I consider it romantic when I get a phone call in the middle of the day for no other reason than he was thinking about me. Or when he stops on his way home to get me a kit kat... or like Wednesday when he came home an hour earlier than he said to a messy house and an un-showered wife just because he missed us. Romance now if folding the laundry with me, getting up with Brady in the middle of the night, or offering to pick up dinner on the way home instead of me cooking something. There are no more grand gestures or expressions of love - and there is no need for that anymore... but it does not go unnoticed when it does happen.

Back to the box. I opened the Nordstrom box and there was a gift card inside with a business card next to it. I looked him, not quite understanding, and he simply said, "I want Sunday to be your day." Ya'll... the Hubbs not only got me a massage, but he made an appointment for me! He wants me to sleep in (yes, I'll be missing church) and eat breakfast in bed and then go to the spa and get a massage. Oh my gosh. I was shocked. I was in tears by his sincere thoughtfulness and his sheer generosity. This man has holes in his shoes and he is getting me a massage, and taking care of the Bug. I must say he knows me and he knows that if he and the Bug were here, I would not be sleeping in or relaxing... even if he made me stay in the bed. It just wouldn't happen. I have forgotten how to do it. It's beyond my control to holler a suggestion or ask if he needs my help when I hear Brady in the next room with him whining.

Anyway... so you will not see me tomorrow. I will be getting a massage... and loving my husband even more than I did yesterday and not because of the extravagant gift.... but because he knows me better than anyone else and better yet, because he is the most selfless man I know... especially when it comes to his family. And yes, I am bragging on him, I think he deserves it, don't you? I write this post not necessarily to show you how wonderful Jeff is, but because I know that those bad days are going to come when I am going to need to look back and be reminded of how I am feeling at this moment. I also write this because I want Brady (or let's be honest, his wife) to look back on this some day and see how extremely hard-working his father was.

Thank you, sweet Husband. I love you. More than you'll ever know.

George is Moving to Town!

There has been ALL of this 'hooplah' in the media lately about George and Laura's new house in Dallas and all the security and stuff that has to come with it. There was even a news feed yesterday that said they were going to have to gate their street and the Bushes were going to pay for it, of course. So, on my way home from picking up Brady yesterday, I decided to see where this new house was going to be, and what all the fuss was about.

I looked the street up on my phone and drove on out there. It wasn't very far at all, actually... it's just on an unsuspecting cul de sac and I have to tell you that it was already packed with cars. There were lots of construction workers running around, I'm assuming because they're technically going to be 'moving' next week... but there were also a lot of cars, just like mine, driving around and taking pictures of the President's new home. There were even signs that said 'no parking' all down the street.

After I took a picture (lovely, I know) I felt all giddy inside, like i had just experienced something magical. I kept thinking to myself, "It's just his house! What's the big deal?" but when I drove by... it was a big deal. I felt nothing short of sheer patriotism. I've felt the same way only on two other occasions throughout my life. Once, when I voted this year, and once when I met George W. himself. (If you want to skip this part, go right ahead... but I am going to unashamedly 'show off' for a second, here so bear with me).

George has a special place in my heart for a number of reasons. One, the 2000 election was the first election I ever voted in. Two, he was the Texas govenor, so automatically we have a connection, right? Three, his ranch was in Crawford and he would fly into Waco every now and then while we were there.... and all of the BU students felt so cool being so close to the action. Four, he is a born-again christian who is unapologetic for his faith. And lastly, my hubby "worked for him" for a summer in the white house. (I can feel Jeff jumping through his computer when he reads this and trying to grab my neck for writing that).

Let me back up... maybe saying he worked for the president for one summer is stretching it... he was a white house intern. (Yup, just like Monica Lewinsky). He technically worked for the harrowed Karl Rove. In fact, Jeff and I got engaged in D.C. when he was interviewing for the position. He absolutely loved it, I mean who wouldn't? You don't get paid and you work close to 80 hours a week for the whole summer.... but, you're at the WHITE HOUSE! I visited him twice the summer that he was up there, and the first time I visited, I got to go to the White House Lawn for a Marine I landing. We weren't even sure if George would greet anyone.... sometimes he waves and then goes on into the house. But we got lucky. He came by and shook every single person's hand. (I think they allow 50 visitors + media in for each landing). I actually had a conversation with the man about Baylor and Crawford. I 'introduced' Jeff to him as the Student Body President of Baylor... which I think he was extremely impressed by, if I do say so myself. He was so lovely... he really was. In fact, he went further down the line after meeting us and met a doctor from Waco.... came back to us and told Jeff that he needed to go meet this other man from Waco! I felt so patriotic. Yes, I even shed a few tears when the helicopter was landing, but luckily pulled myself together by the time he came around to talk with us. To put it simply, I was just awestruck.

Anyway... so THAT is why I'm so excited that George and Laura (and Barney and Mrs. Beasley) are moving to town. I can't help but wonder what it would be like to go to Mi Cocina and George and Laura (along with 6 secret service agents) are chowing down at the table next to you. Or what about going to that Whole Foods Market right there (Monica - you might bump into them) and seeing George and Laura deciding on which tomatoes to buy. I hope people will treat them well.... whether or not they agree with him, I pray that they feel welcome in the Big D.

A New Snack

So this afternoon.... when we were playing in the box and I was trying to fold laundry (right there, by the way), I reached into the dryer to pull some clothes out, turned around and before I could grab him, Brady had reached over into Georgia's food bowl, grabbed some of her food and put it in his mouth!!! Gross!!! Not only was I worried about what that might do to his digestive system, I was also worried about him chocking on those little pebbles of food! So, I pryed my fingers into his mouth and tried to dig the food out of the sides of his mouth. Just when I thought I had gotten it all, I see him chewing again... so I had to go in for a second time. He was not happy with me. I think I scraped the side of his cheek with my fingernail... but he got over it. It's much better than choking.

It's interesting that he didn't make any sort of face at the taste. Hmm..... I wonder if it doesn't taste so bad?

A Boy's Box

Brady was crawling around today and discovered Jeff's box with all of his BAR books in it by the kitchen table. It was about 6:15 and of course, I was looking for something to fill the last 15 or 20 minutes of the day while I attempted to fold laundry and get dinner started.... so we emptied the box and took it in the kitchen.

For a little while we played inside the box.... then we tried to climb on top of the box, and then we tried to pull up on the box... and then before we knew it, it was time for dinner! (Not before getting some pictures, though!) What a way to fill some time!!

Daddy Daycare

On Saturday night, I got to go on a "Mommy Night Out" to dinner and a movie. (We saw Bride Wars which was such a great chick-flick!) Anyway, it is kind of funny at dinnertime when there are like 8 of us and we all have our cell phones out on the table. Of course, mine rings halfway through dinner and it's Jeff - so ALL the girls at my end of the table were listening.

"What's wrong?!" I ask.

"Oh, nothing... we just wanted to say hi. We're in the wagon on a walk and then we're going to take a bath."

"Isn't it kind of cold for a walk?" I ask.... like any mommy would.

"Well, it's kind of cold... but he's got his puffy vest on. We won't be too long."

"Oh, ok, have fun."

I got off the phone and look at my girlfriends and asked, "Isn't it dark and absolutely freezing outside? It's 6:45 and they're on a walk!" They replied with the simple truth... 

It's Daddy Daycare. This is why a daddy is a daddy. They are fun. There are no rules... and they do things that mommies wouldn't do. This makes me love Jeff and the time that his little boy and him spend together. (And it helps that I get some girl time as well). 

When I was loading pictures onto my computer tonight... I came across these pictures that Jeff must have taken at their bath time! :) Too cute. Our baby is becoming more of a little boy every day.

Living with a Nine Month Old.

So, I've been kind of uninspired when it comes to photographs of my Little One lately. I got pictured out over the holidays, but was dying to get some "9 month" pictures of Brady. In hopes of doing so, I hauled my camera to our playdate at the mall and I'm sure the other Mommies thought I was so weird.... because I ended up with great pics of all the other kids, but not any noteworthy pictures of my own! (Feeling sorry for me, right?)

Anyway, we haven't been going anywhere special these days and of course, it's winter and everything is 'dead-looking' outside, so I had kind of given up hope of getting some fun pictures that captured Brady's personality at 9 months.... that was until the opportunity presented itself this afternoon!

Around 3:15, I heard the Bug waking up from his nap in the best mood... he was quite talkative to say the least. When I went in there, we were playing hide and seek and when I was laying on the ground, waiting for him to peek over the bumper to 'find' me, I thought... "this is it!" so off to grab my camera I went!

I think I got some fun ones! I also added some at the end of us trying 'real' bananas for the first time!  I'll put all the 'stats' and happenings at the end for those of you who are just in it for the pictures!

in this one, the Bug is out of focus, but i love it.

looking for georgia.

not so sure about the bananas

yuck! (he ended up eating all of them)

So at 9 months, we're at 19 pounds, 6 ounces. We're 28 1/2 inches tall and his head circumference is in the 40's somewhere. (He was moving around so I wasn't particularly paying attention to that number as much). He's crawling, pulling up, cruising and just now using a sippy cup.... but not for his formula. He isn't interested in that in the bottle OR in the sippy cup. Any suggestions? The doctor said not to worry about it too much, but I get nervous that he's not wanting more than 2 or 3 ounces a time when we were doing 8 ounces for times a day. I tried offering it in a sippy cup and we're onto the second kind... yet he doesn't want it out of that either! 

We got the okay to start trying some 'soft' table foods - so I did bananas today. I've tried stuff like crackers, bread and potatoes before.... but this was the first thing that didn't necessarily 'dissolve' in his mouth. He did okay after he got past the weird texture of it. They did kind of make a mess though - they got stuck on his clothes and stuff.... but Georgia sure had a fun time eating stuff that was accidentally dropped on the floor!

He is definitely a bundle of fun.... but a bundle of trouble too. He's starting to get into everything... and just yesterday he literally started to follow Georgia around. She's super sweet to him... but I can tell you was startled by the fact that he is moving. I'm trying to get a good video of the two of them together - but it isn't happening for me quite yet.

Playdate at Willow Bend Mall

This morning, in an effort to get out of the house and get the little Bug 'active', we met some of our friends for a playdate at the indoor playground at Willow Bend Mall. There are so many kids there.... and I was a little sad that Brady didn't want to get more energy out while we were there... but we did okay overall. I can't wait until our Bible Study starts up again so I can see these mommy friends more than once a month!

Hudson helping Anna with her toy

Miss Kyla taking it all in...

Mackenzie. I love this girl and her pink Uggs (not pictured). 

My Bug.

My Bug checking with me to see if it's ok to bang on the grapefruit.

Anna Hall playing with the huge grapefruit!

Brady also loved the grapefruit!

One of my very favorite pictures, EVER. 

Miss Kennedy Kate Brooks (I love her full name, don't you?)

Kate loves to hold hands.... and she kept trying to hold Brady's hands.

Baby Duke is HUGE!! (And of course I mean that in the best way!)

He was a premie and he's a month younger than B, but he's so much bigger!!

Pack and Play

I've been trying to 'train' Brady on the Pack and Play time for about 2 weeks now. Every day I try to put him in it right after he eats in the morning... that way I know he is WELL rested and WELL fed. How could he be any happier? It's normally his very best time of the day! He's been doing "okay" until yesterday when the instant I set him down, he started throwing his first 'temper tantrum'.

Oh my goodness. Kicking, Screaming, Crying for 10 minutes. (I set my timer, that's how I know). Before I took him out I made sure he calmed down. As soon as I came in there he started laughing and smiling at me (I knew that he was just fine in there!) So I was thinking that this is going to be a LONG haul trying to get him to do the Pack and Play over the next month or so.

But then today, it was like a dream. He played and played in there. He made the sweetest noises and he did it for (get this) 20 minutes!! I did the first 10 and he was doing great, so I added 5 more and then 5 more until I took him out! (I'd like to work up to 30 minutes, but I didn't want to take advantage of this wonderful attitude he was having today!) Yay! (I bet tomorrow it will be back to the temper tantrum!)

Boy, Oh Boy!

I came across these pictures tonight which were taken the week of Christmas and must have gotten lost in all of the Christmas hustle and bustle!!!

What a little BOY we have on our hands. He busted his lip open on the coffee table when he was trying to chew on it (something we've been working HARD to stop!) I saw him hit it pretty hard - in fact I think I was on the phone with my mom - and then he started crying pretty hard, but truthfully I didn't think it was one of the harder ones. I distracted him with some other toys and he was fine.

By the time I realized he was actually BLEEDING, he was totally over it!! Poor guy! (He looks like he's in shock, doesn't he?)