I am thankful for...

11 months with this little guy! That is right! Brady is 11 months old today. He is such a big boy these days. He is completely weaned off the bottle and breast milk. He drinks whole milk or water out of a sippy cup. He is eating pretty much anything we eat. He LOVES yogurt, bananas, mac and cheese, and green beans. He does NOT love peaches, pears, or pineapple. He has 4 teeth and 4 coming in. They have all broken the skin, they are just little nubby teeth. He is still taking steps, but prefers crawling. He thinks walking is hilarious though!  He is a HUGE momma's boy! It is bad, ya'll! I can not put him down if I am around, but I secretly love it. He says ma ma, da da, book, and hi clearly and regularly. He will sometimes mimic my words, but it usually only happens once. He waves bye, shakes his head no, and dances all the time. He will give kisses and love and if you are lucky he will blow you a kiss. His favorite songs are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Roll the Gospel Chariot, and Old McDonald. He hates being told no and throws a little temper tantrum when I tell him. He is still a huge flirt and loves to play.

 He is so much FUN!

Each month brings new and exciting elements to his little life. I love watching him grow and  develop. I can not imagine my life with out him. I hope and pray to have many many more months and years to watch him grow.

We love you little monkey and thank God for you each and every day!

Baby Steps!

Brady took two little steps last night for the first time on his own. I thought I would be a little sad when he did this. I wasn't at all! It was so sweet!!! He stood up and just took two little giant steps towards me. Of course, I screamed and he fell right into me. But he took two steps!!! He has been pulling up, cruising, and standing on his own for a while, but when it is time to go some where without holding on, he would rather crawl. I mean he is a speed demon with the old faithful crawl, so I don't blame him.  He is still perfecting the steps and it will probably be a few days or weeks before he really gets it down. I am so proud of him! I am so thankful to have a healthy baby boy!

Happy Fall Sunday!

Trick-or-Treat

We took Brady out for his first trick-or-treating on his first Halloween. It was A LOT of fun, but a little stressful too. We drove most places, so getting a sleepy dinosaur in and out of a carseat was challenging at times. But is was worth every minute! And Brady made out pretty good on gifts.  Every one was so excited we came by. This little boy doesn't stand a chance. We may need a bigger house come December. Ha!

Happy Halloween! Brady in his Halloween pajamas!

Getting ready to leave. We didn't put his costume on until we got to the first stop. He wasn't thrilled with putting it on, so we didn't take it off until we were finished.

We went to Caleb's parents house while it was still daylight, so we were able to walk to some places. It was really cold. When I put the covers over Brady's hands he would sit so still. He didn't move his arms until I took them off. So funny! He got tons of goodies, just for him!

We loaded up and made a few more stops. We didn't get Brady out at my sisters because he was sound asleep. I just couldn't! But she spiked his hair back up. It had fallen on the walk. Then we went to my parents. Brady had a bag of goodies waiting for him there, too.

Then my mom and I loaded up and drove around her neighborhood. My grandmother and uncle live in that neighborhood so we had some special stops to make. We left Caleb and my dad at my parents house for this trip. UT football was on and we were winning, so they were over the trick-or-treating!

My grandma, Brady's great grandma, got him an extra special treat!

He LOVED it!

He started to cry when I took him off of it! Ha!

We finally made it home with a ton of treats and a very sleepy little dinosaur. Thanks to everyone who got Brady something for halloween. It really is too much. He is such a blessed little boy to have so many people love and spoil him! I guess Caleb and I will have to eat all the candy so he doesn't get too spoiled!

Happy Halloween!

Safety!

One of the most important roles we have as parents is to protect and comfort our children. We are their safety, we are their home. When Brady is scared, he wants his mom or dad. When we are there he is comforted and safe.

But...

 How do you provide security to your child, if you yourself do not feel secure?

Well, that is exactly how I have felt over the past couple of weeks. You see our home was broken into a little over 2 weeks ago. Our home, on a quiet street full of houses, was broken into. We aren't exactly sure what time it happened. We think it was mid-day. We aren't sure how many broke in. We think it was a couple. We aren't sure how long they stayed. We think it was a matter of seconds. We aren't sure why they choose our house. We think it is because no one was home. We aren't sure why they didn't take more. We think they got scared. We don't know a lot, but we have a lot questions. Questions that are likely to never be answered.
They kicked in the back door, breaking the door frame. They didn't break anything else. They went through our drawers, cabinets, rooms, and closets. They moved our mattress and took 4 items we are aware of. My camera, a radio, a shotgun that was my husbands grandfathers which had been left to him, and a box of bullets.
We are so thankful that nothing more was taken, that no one was injured, nothing other than the door was damaged, and that we weren't home.
However, something was taken that I am not sure it will ever return. They took our security. They took the feeling that this is our safe place. Our place of rest and relaxation after a long day has been comprimised. I no longer feel as safe as I once did. I feel naked! I feel as though I will never really be able to come home without feeling the need to look over my shoulder. There has been a lack of peace in our home over the past few weeks. That is such a horrible thing to have to write. Your home should be filled with peace. It is where you rest, eat, stay warm and dry, relax, laugh, and so much more. We have fixed the door and done a few other things to try to bring a feeling of peace back into our home, but it has not fully returned. I am not sure it ever will completely. I know it can, will, and did happen to me.

I have avoided writing this post. It could be because I didn't believe it or didn't want to believe it. But it did happen and we are recovering. We are sleeping a little better and beginning to be less on edge at every noise. We have done a lot of praying for peace and comfort. We are thankful and blessed in so many ways!

10 Months!

(I have no 10 month pictures, I will post why later!)

Yesterday, Brady turned 10 months! WOW!!! He is doing so great! He is pulling up on everything and cruising around tables, chairs, couches, etc. He can let go and stand without support for several seconds. He is very proud of himself when that happens. We are working hard on using a sippy cup, but still have some work to do. We have started one glass of whole milk a day and will gradually switch him over. He is also transitioning away from baby foods. He can say mama and dada. He can dance, wave, clap(sometimes), pat the Bible, high five, and give love(hugs). He is such a momma's boy and follows me every where I go. I can't believe he has been in our lives for 10 months! He is so sweet and fun! We cherish each and every day with that sweet baby boy!

A Great Saturday!

Today, we all loaded up and went to Disney on Ice! We met my sister, her husband, and their nephew there.  I went a few years ago with a few friends. We absolutely LOVED it without kids! So, I knew this would be something I would have to experience with children.  That year it was Disney Princesses.  This year was Celebrations! It was so great to get to take Brady. He is still a little bit too small, but I think he got it. He would get excited every time a new character came out. It was a little long for him to stay interested, but he did really good. I just made sure to have plenty of snacks. Oh how I love puffs! If you ever get a chance to go to one of these, I highly suggest you do it. It is SO fun!!!

My sister, BIL, and Brady

Some of the Pricesses!

Minnie in her Valentine's Dress!

Brady watching the show.

Mickey and Minnie at the end of the show.

Oston and me

Brady in the baby backpack. Caleb loves that thing.

Afterwards, we all went out to eat and made a special trip to Super Target to look for Halloween costumes and such. It really was a great day!

Disney on Ice, good food, Super Target, and time with famly = Awesome day!

9 MONTHS!!!!

Here we are again. Another month has come and gone. Brady turned 9 months on Wednesday. So what is so different about 9 month olds? Well.....

9 month olds

Eat Big Boy food.

Pull up on EVERYTHING.

Race Daddy around the house.

Say Mama, All the Time!

Crawl super fast.

Get into anything and everything.

LOVE their mama.

Don't let obstacles get in their way.

Brady is learning so much every day! He is SO MUCH fun!!! He has changed an enormous amount over the last couple of months. We love him so much and can't imagine life without him! Happy 9 months baby boy!!!

Bumps and Bruises

With new developments like crawling and pulling up comes a lot more injuries. Brady is ending up with a lot more bumps and bruises than I care for. (Really one is more than I care for.) Our little fearless baby is not afraid to let go of whatever he pulls up and the result is usually a bump and/or bruise. It breaks my heart! I never knew someone else getting a bruise could hurt me so much. It hurts me deep in my heart to hear that painful cry! Here is Brady's most recent battle wound.  

This was after he got over it. Can you see his forehead? It wasn't as bad in the morning as I had anticipated, thank goodness! I just hate so much to see him hurting and he doesn't understand why. I know there will be many more bumps and bruises, but I don't think they will ever get any easier to witness.

In a Box

I just thought I would share this picture of Brady in a box. He sat in it for about 5 minutes before he wanted out. So cute!

ZOO!!!

Caleb, Brady, and I loaded up and went to the local zoo this weekend! Brady usually has an entourage every where he goes, but this trip was just the three of us. We had such a great day! I know he won't remember it, but I think he really enjoyed it anyway. He really reacted to any animal that was moving and the ones we could get up close to. The others he didn't really notice. Brady did so good the whole day. It was hot, crowded, and tiring, but Oh So worth it. We will have to make this a yearly trip for sure.

Me and Brady petting the goats! This was so fun with Brady! He loved that they could walk right up to us. He even grabbed the big goat's antlers (I think that is what goats have) and shook it. We are going to have to work on being gentle! Ha!

Brady in the bamboo forest! The bamboo section is by far my favorite part of the zoo! I kept telling Caleb I want a house made out of bamboo!

Brady flying like the birds at the zoo!

Family photo at the giraffes! They are back there somewhere. Not a great picture, but it was the last animal we saw.

This was Brady after we saw all the animals. He was so exhausted!

Next year, I am sure his entourage won't want to miss this and we will welcome each of them along!

Staying at home vs. working outside the home

Long Post!!!
To work outside the home or to be a stay at home mom is such a HOT topic for mothers. I remember watching an episode of Oprah on the topic and the mothers were yelling opinions at each other.  I knew when we found out I was pregnant that I would most likely fit in the working outside the home category due to various reasons.  I was o.k. with that. However, it didn't leave me without concerns. I still often have concerns, even though my mom worked outside the home and both my sister and myself turned out great by a lot of standards. But we do have a GREAT mom! Anyway, my concerns... Before Brady was born my list of worries about going back to work went something like this....

1. He would be more attached to the babysitter than me.

2. I would miss every milestone.

3. Someone other than his mommy would know him the best.

4. I would miss him terribly every second!!!

5. I would be so busy between motherhood, work, housework, and being a wife, I would fail at all of them.

6. There would be enough time to spend with Brady or Caleb.

7. I would have to depend on someone else to care for him and they would do things differently that me.
8. He would grow up to be a mass murderer or addicted to drugs or some other horrible crime I can't even think up.

9. It would go by too fast and I would regret working.

10. I would have jealousy towards moms who could stay home.

I didn't say they were all logical, but I was concerned that they would all happen and it would be because I chose to work outside the home!

Well, I can honestly say now 8 months into this precious little monkeys life that all the worry, all the concern was (for the most part) for absolutely nothing. It isn't always easy, but I truly believe that it has been for the best for me and Brady!

And as far as the things I was so worried about well I will just address those individually.

1. Brady LOVES his momma and his daddy for that matter. He lights up every time I come into view. It doesn't matter whether I just went into the other room and came back or have been gone all day. As soon as he spots me he gets the biggest grin and giggles.

2. To date I have not missed one single milestone! I may not technically see it first, but I see it develop as much as anyone. I think I had the wrong impression on how this worked anyway. It isn't like one day they are a blob and the next day they can sit on there own. It develops over time. The development of the skill is way more exciting to watch anyway. And I see new developments every day!

3. No one will ever know him the way I do!!!

4. I do miss him, but it is tolerable.  I am also thankful for a little time away! It also makes coming home so exciting!!!

5. I still feel this way. My house is NOT always clean, the laundry is often not done, my husband is neglected from time to time, I occasionally get overwhelmed at work, and sometimes I have to take Brady to his grandmas to get caught up on the weekends. This is by far the hardest thing for me to balance. I hear stay at home moms say the same thing, so that is comforting.  I have to tell myself it is o.k. to fail sometimes. AND I know Brady feels loved! Refer to # 1 on this list!!!

6. I could use a couple more hours in the day, but luckily Caleb and I both LOVE spending time together as a family! It doesn't really matter what we are doing.

7. I still struggle with this daily! Some things I can let go, but others, well that isn't so easy. I try to choose my battles and just let whoever is watching him know what I expect. I often end up feeling like the crazy mother. But some things are really important to me and I am trying to do the best I can without someone else contradicting every thing I do. So I am still working on this one. This is a huge struggle for me to deal with and the one that usually makes me say things like I am quitting tomorrow. Ha! Haven't quit yet, not sure why I still say that.

8. Check back in about 20 years to see about this one. Ha! I did decide that this was going to be more about the way we raised him and involvement in his life and less about whether I stayed at home or not. We shall see.

9. It goes by super fast. Faster than you could ever imagine! But I don't regret helping provide for our family when we need it. I also enjoy being a dietitian and I worked hard to be one.  It gives me a little break from all things housework and mommy, which is good for me. It has also helped Brady interact with others.

10. I can honestly say I have NO jealousy towards stay at home moms. That is her choice! I did not make that choice. I may or may not make that choice in the future.  They have to make different sacrifices to do that and I make mine to what I do. IF they are happy and feel that is what is best for their family then Great for them, but for me, at this point and time, it isn't. Whichever you choose, It is the hardest job in the world and we are all just trying to do our best.

I love my son and I love spending as much time as I possibly can with him. I also love seeing him interact with other children and family members. He adjusts easily to knew situations and people. He does wonderful in bible class. We can leave him in class and not worry about him.

We all just want the best of both worlds and want the absolute best for our children! So whatever you decide to do, rest assured in your decision. There are benefits and sacrifices in both instances. All that matters is that our children know they are loved and there needs are met. The rest falls into place!