Looong Weekend Recap!

We had a great long weekend. I wish every weekend was three days!  My brothers and my sister-in-law were all in town for the weekend so spent a lot of time with them and my parents. It is rare that all four "kids" and families are in one spot, so my parents had several things planned for all of us.

Saturday- Every one, except for my sister, her husband, and little baby Noah, headed to the lake. Oh! How I love the lake!!! I could spend every weekend there. This was Brady's second time on the boat and he did really well. He was a little nervous at first, but once I got on, he calmed down. Then he discovered the steering wheel. Baby loves to drive!!!! You couldn't pry his little hands off the wheel. He even fell asleep twice sitting behind it. Ha! We left a little earlier than normal because a thunderstorm was coming.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at my parent's house until we went to eat at a hibachi style restaurant that night. This was Brady's first hibachi experience and it was fun to watch him. He wasn't crazy about the fire and wasn't in the best of moods, but I think he liked the food.

Quick story: Brady was STARVING and WORN out by the time we got to the restaurant! The chef was cooking right in front of us and Brady was so hungry, he kept trying to reach and get the food off the grill. He kept signing eat! He just didn't understand why the food was right there, but we couldn't eat it. It was so so funny!

Sunday- We met every one at a little cafe in a little town outside Murfreesboro for lunch after church. There were 12 of us plus two little ones so we had a packed table. It is a meat and three type cafe and is  so good! Caleb, Brady, and I all headed home and took a nap before going back to my parents house for a cookout. We had great food and all sat around the fire just enjoying the company. Brady was a wild man and just soaked in all the extra attention!

Monday- We spent the morning at home just the three of us. We had a birthday party to attend, went to Lowe's, enjoyed a happy hour milk shake from Steak and Shake, and went to the grocery store. We spent the rest of the afternoon at home getting some things done before the Bachelorette tonight!!!!

We had a great weekend. I am a little sad to see it end!  Hope every one enjoyed the long weekend and a Happy and safe Memorial Day!

Babysitting Noah!

We babysat baby Noah last night while his parents went on a date night. They went to a concert. I think they had it planned before Noah was even born. Ha! And even better, I had already agreed to keep him. It was so fun having a "little" baby around, but I can say for sure I am not ready to have one all the time yet. Noah is so so so sweet, though!

Brady thought he needed to push Noah in the swing. He wanted so much to help take care of the baby.

Brady climbed up on the couch, said baby, and reached out his hands. So I helped him hold Noah. Brady grabbed hold and thought he was so big!!! Noah thought, why are you letting him hold me, he just tried to poke me in the eye! Ha! Ha! Then when Brady would realize Noah was crying he would push him back into your arms. Then as soon as Noah was quiet, he would motion to hold him again!

This is mostly how the night went. Whoever was holding Noah, Brady wanted to be right beside you. I think it was part helper and part jealousy.

It was so fun to hold Noah and watch Brady interact with him. I think Brady is starting to figure it out. Noah was super easy to take care of, but I had to keep an extra eye on Brady. Before I knew it, he would be all in little Noah's face and space. 

When Caleb got home, I was attempting to fix dinner. After about 10 minutes of Brady running around and yelling like monster and Noah wanting to be held upright so he could see the monster, Caleb said, "THIS is not ideal!" It was so funny! We both agreed 15 months was a little too close of an age difference for us!

BUT, we love both boys very much and are so thankful for each of them!!! It just may be a while before Brady has a little brother or sister. Ha!

Our Weekend...

In Pictures!!!

We stayed pretty close to home all weekend and had a great time!

We also had Caleb's parents over for a belated Mother's Day dinner, but I didn't take any pictures.

A boy and his toy

Brady has this toy tractor. He also has a life size one, but it is at my mom's house. He rarely sees it because he is WAY too small for it, but doesn't really think he is. Anyway!

I was watching him play last night while I put away his clothes and saw him playing with this small tractor. I thought how sweet! He loves his tractor.

And then he preceeded to do something I did not see coming!

He put the tractor down on the ground.

Stood Up.

Threw one leg over to the other side, straddling the tractor.

Sat Down.

He sat on it to play with his other toys.

He steered the tiny steering wheel.

Pushed the singing button.

Scooted his feet to make it move.

Looked up and laughed at his brilliant plan to ride the tractor!

It was hilarious to say the least.

At least he knows what its for, big or little!!!!

Organization

I basically got sent home from work to day due to a nasty red, swollen right eye. After a few "Oh My Gosh's" and "Are you o.k.'s", the nurse practitioner hesitantly looked at my eye and "unofficially diagnosed" pink eye. She can't really diagnose me because I am not a patient, just an employee. So out the door I went. I decided to keep Brady at daycare, so I could have time to nurse my eye back to normal with out him sticking his finger in it.

Which leads me here, alone and trapped in my house! This is something that NEVER happens to me anymore and I am a little thrilled about it.

I am usually a really organized person, but Brady often makes that impossible. Before Brady was born, I had his room and closet so clean and organized. Now it stays a disaster area.

I took this as a great opportunity to get his closet and room back into shape.

I am very hesistant to show you the before picture, but I will show it anyway. We have decent sized closets, its just, that is all the storage we have except the garage. So, I have to keep boxes of clothes Brady has grown out of in his closet. This can cause a huge dilema! I try to do the best I can.

Before:

After:

It is still not ideal, but it is so much better. Now if we can only keep it this way!

This is what Brady thinks about.....

Time Out!

Like all kids, Brady enjoys his share of disobedience. The biggest thing that gets him in time out is hitting and biting! It is so difficult to teach him that these things are wrong! Because he has been hitting when he hears "no", we have tried to refrain from spanking until he stops associating the two. That leaves time out as the punishment of choice. Brady absolutely HATES it!  That seems to be a good thing! As much as I hate to see him so upset, I secretly have to laugh at how upset he gets about time out! The picture says it all! 

Weekend in Kentucky

We spent the past weekend in KY for my brother Drew's graduation from UK. We had such a great time and ate some great food. We stayed with my brother, Cameron and his wife, Lauren. They were such sweet hosts. They kept us fed and happy the entire weekend. Brady provided most of the entertainment. I am so glad we were able to make the trip and visit with every one, but it is always so nice to be home!!! I think Brady missed his bed the most! He took a 2 1/2 hour nap, was up for 2 hours and went to bed for the night and slept until 6:30 the next morning.

Here are some pictures of our weekend!

This is outside the restaurant we went to on Friday night. Brady enjoyed being outside much more.

Brady, Caleb, Cameron, Mom, Drew, Me, and Gary (Lauren must be taking the picture)

Mom, Drew, Julie(Drew's girlfriend), and Gary

Brady was not thrilled about getting his picture with the graduate! Ha!

He was a little suspicious of the cap and tassel.

My mom, Lauren, Brady, and I took a long walk. We took a break to swing for a little while. Brady loved the swings. They have a really nice park right downt the road from their house. Not gonna lie, I am a little jealous of that!

Brady sitting by the fire pit. Combining fire pits, blankies, and 16 month olds is not good for nerves!!!

This was right before we headed home. Brady is the best cornhole player ever! He would take the bean bag, put it in the whole and just start clapping! So cute!

We had such a great time! Thank you Cameron and Lauren for letting us stay with you. Congratulations Drew! We are so proud of you!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I am so blessed to be called mama by this sweet little boy and to call this lovely lady mama!

I was blessed with one of the greatest moms!  She has always been there when I needed her, even when I thought I didn't! She was tough when I needed it and soft when I needed it. I really don't know where I would be without the love, direction, strength, compassion, drive, and faith of my mother! 

I am also blessed to be the mother of such a wonderful little boy. He is so sweet and loving! I can't imagine life without him! I am so thankful for him every day, even when he is less than his perfect self!

I also have a wonderful mother-in-law that would do anything in the world for me. And 2 living grandmothers that are so loving and generous to me and my family. There have been many other "mothers" in my life whether they be family friends, teachers, co-workers, or Godly women in the church. I truly believe the world is a better place because of mothers!

I hope every one has a wonderful day and has taken a little time to appreciate all the "mothers" in there life!

Just call him Hoover..

Last night a giant bag of M&M's fell out of the pantry. The bag burst open slinging M&M's across the floor. Immediately, the kitchen was filled with the pitter-patter of a certain tiny munchkin, checking to see what was happening. Within seconds he was stuffing his sweet little face with the bright chocolatey goodness. As the colorful stream of chocolate dripped onto my kitchen floor, I had to laugh and take it all in. For a single moment, Brady was in heaven and so was I!

The Great Flood

This past weekend was pretty low key around here. We spent most of it at my parents and trying to avoid the flood of Nashville. Luckily, we didn't have any damage. Many others in our area and the surrounding areas were not as lucky. So many of these families do not have flood insurance and have lost everything. I am not sure how they are going to bounce back from that. Just keep them in your prayers! Here are some pictures of the flooding in Nashville.

This is inside the Opryland Hotel. I have spent many nights here for various conventions and Caleb and I started our honeymoon here. This really breaks my heart!

This is outside the Opryland Hotel and in the parking lot for Opry Mills.

This is downtown Nashville on 2nd Avenue.

I just can't believe this happened. I am so familiar with these places. I went to college in Nashville and have so many close friends there.

Please just keep all these families in your prayers!

Home Improvements!

For the past 16 months we have kind of slacked off on home improvements and projects. When we first moved here up until Brady was born we had a long list of things we wanted to improve around the house. We managed to get a lot done. BUT, once Brady was born not one single project got  touched, completed, or marked off any list. It is not like we have let things get trashy. We have just maintained rather than improved.

So, now it is time!!! Time to get back into the swing of things and get some things done. We have gotten off to a great start, but we still have a ways to go. There are still so many things we need/plan to do.

Here are some pictures of  some things we have gotten done. (minus pictures of the landscaping because I am waiting until we put down mulch, but we have been busy working in it nevertheless.) The pictures are of some of the smaller things on the list.

I framed this picture of Brady and put it up in his bathroom. I haven't been able to find that "just right" thing to hang in there. I think this works perfectly!

I bought these 3 pots and planted these flowers, with the help of my mom. She is much better at the flower thing than I am.

Brady is smelling the flowers. It is so stinking cute the way he does it!!!

We got Brady this chair so he has somewhere to sit on the deck. He loves it!

I found these plates at T J Maxx. I have had this stand hanging for over a year(possibly 2 years) with nothing in it. These plates are so cute and match my kitchen perfectly. I was thrilled to find them and they were pretty cheap.

This is just some of the little stuff I have accomplished.  I have some bigger, not huge, but bigger things to complete. I will try to post as I finish them.