What have we been up to?!?

OK. I am NOT a fan of long, wordy posts. I like short and sweet with lots of pictures. But, I gotta break the rules on this one...mama has some catching up to do!!!!


it's been a crazy summer already! I do wish I could document every little detail of our exciting lives, but it's just not possible!! I'm not that great at time managing to begin with. We have had a fun filled month and our summer is off to a great start! I am going to catch up on this one BIG post, with an exception of one SPECIAL post for my sweet, precious ONE YEAR OLD! Yep, my baby girl is now a one year old. More on the SWEET party and SWEET girl later....for now, here is her last month day picture sitting in her crib.

12 months

******************catching up now**********************

Mothers Day!
such an emotional and important day for me. We went to church with Tiffany, and let me just tell you...I am ready to spend every Sunday there...and then some! I love it. The message was powerful and that church has so much spirit! Afterwards, we had a cookout at mom's (and of course my favorite mother in law joined us).

I feel so honored and blessed to be a mother. I am so not worthy of the two beautiful children I have. I don't deserve them. period. They are so precious, perfect and they make my world go around. Being a mother defines who I am. Right or wrong, it's true...and I make no apologies for that. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's what I was put on this earth for. It completes me and it does define me. I strive to be the best mama I can be to my kids, and I fall short a lot of the time. I yell, I get frustrated and I also fall on my knees and ask for better days. Everyday is not perfect, but everyday is a gift...and I want to remember that and treat it as that as much as possible.

I have the best mom anyone could ask for. She is my best friend and has been for as long as I can remember. She is beautiful, inside and out. She is such a selfless person, putting everyone before herself. She is my hero. And I am so blessed to have the BEST mother-in-law ever! She is so easy to talk to. She has great advice, she is a great cook and raised the best MAN I have ever known!

**I also had Muffins with Mom at Brayton's preschool. It was so cute. They had candles on the tables with assorted mini muffins :-) He made a picture of me and this is what he wrote on the back:
My mom has brown eyes and black hair
My mom likes to clean up (bless his heart, guess it's what I do in my "spare" time, ha!)
My mom looks prettiest when she's going to a wedding (we've been going to a lot of those lately)
My mom is funniest when she tickles me (it's his favorite, the boy LOVES to be tickled)
I love my mom because she plays with me (and THIS is what matters most in life!)
Love, Brayton

We had to guess which belonged to us without seeing the childs name, of course I guessed right!
Mrs. Wendy also read the sweetest book. I think it was called "Hold on a little tighter." I don't thing there was a dry eye in the room.


We've had the LAST day of pre school. So bittersweet. The last day was celebrated with an ice cream party. Mrs Wendy also gave out "awards" with a candy theme. Of course, anyone who knows Brayton knows that he is a people pleaser and wouldn't DARE think to get in trouble at school (or church)...now with me, it's a whole other story! ha! He is also sweet, sensitive, super smart and a GREAT friend (am I braggin' or WHAT?!) Well, I am not the ONLY one who thinks so! Mr. Brayton was presented with the Mr. Goodbar award. Because he is "an overall GOOD BOY...a good student, a good friend and a good person...always willing to help out when needed." That makes a mama proud, real proud...and real emotional! After school Jeremy, Charley and Michael came home with us to play.



Mrs. Wendy and my boy :-)

He learned so much from her, she is wonderful!

Last day as a Pre Schooler...BOO HOO!

Charley, Meredith, Brayton, Michael, Jeremy, Katie,Olivia
Noah, Liam, Peyton, Gracie and Abby.
The Busy Bee's

My good boy with his "Mr Goodbar" award.

He stood for his picture at this same spot 3 years ago :-(

The boys after school

We've started a new activity...KARATE! He is thoroughly enjoying himself, maybe a little too much. Hopefully the discipline will come later. For now, he wants to show any and everybody his new "moves." I love the Doe-Joe (is that right?) we go to. It is Christian based and the instructor is wonderful! We'll see how things go. Once soccer rolls around we'll stop karate. I don't want him to be too tired, especially with kindergarten!
(pictures to come SOON!)



We had a very, very special party for a very, very special girl. I can not believe it has been a year already! I don't know what we ever did without our little princess. She is such a blessing and a little ray of sunshine. Here's a picture for now, but I will dedicate a separate post for her birthday!







Bling, Bling!
Somebody got some bling for her birthday! You know Ge Ge was about to have a fit over this. It's not that I didn't want them done...time just slipped away so fast, plus I didn't want to be the one to take her! So, Ge Ge, Pa Pa and Aunt Debbie Jo took my girl to Dorchester Jewelers 2 hours before her party! They say she did great, even reached for the lady to hold her after it was done! They gave her a little bear for being brave. I wanted pearls, but we have to wait 6 weeks for those. We had no other choice but diamonds. It took a while for them to grow on me, but I like them now :-)...and for the record: SO DOES DADDY! He wanted them done!

We've had an impromptu trip to Pennsylvania...on an AIRPLANE!
We were actually planning a summer trip to PA all along. We were going to drive up and visit all of Frank's relatives. However, things happened a little differently. Franks grandmother (his dad's mom) passed away. He was going to fly up for the funeral to be there for his dad. Then at the last minute (night before) we decide we should ALL go and get our trip over with. I have only flown ONCE in my lifetime, and didn't think I'd be flying again anytime soon, especially with two kids. It happened so quickly I didn't even have a chance to get nervous. We had to be at the airport bright and early, so were up and ready to go at 5am! Brayton was excited!

It was a huge success and super, duper easy! The flight attendants and other passengers couldn't get over how well behaved the kids were (am I bragging again?). Flying for 3.5 hours vs. driving for 13 hours...WOW! I loved it!!! Not sure if I'll ever be able to make that drive again.

Daddy was feeding her coke to keep her happy :-)

Once we got there, we visited lots of family. It was great! We stayed with Uncle Tony and Aunt Barbara. They had 2 granddaughters (Jenna & Krista) and an indoor pool, so Brayton was in Heaven. The weather was awesome...59!! We got a nice break from the heat!

We visited Pappy who is 95 years old! He is such a cutie and he is a little spunky to be 95! Pappy is Frank's moms dad. He showed Brayton the basement, his garden and gave the kids a little cheese corn puff snack that they LOVED! He showed Brinlee his talking bird. He was in the yard watering his roses when we pulled up.

This is the house he lives in. Nana (Franks mom) grew up in this house...and so did 95 yr old Pappy! Pappy's family built this house for $6,000.00. I think that is so neat and cool!

Bless his heart, he always stands outside and watches us drive off.

I am so happy we got to see all of our family!

While we there we hit a neat-o theme park that has free admission and free parking AND was featured on the FOOD NETWORK for it's tasty food! Can't get much better than that! It's called Knobles. Very family oriented and fun, fun, fun! They had some pretty awesome roller coasters that Frank and I got to try out, too! The Twister was an older, wooden roller coaster that gave me whip lash! For real!

Frank and Brayton mining!

1 year check up

When we got back from PA Brinlee had her 1 yr well check. I hate shots. I know they are necessary, but I feel so helpless. She is a little peanut for sure.

18 lb 11oz

29 inches

10th percentile

But she's perfect :-)

WATER PARK!

We have yearly passes at the water park! YEE HAW! Brinlee has no fear. I was hoping I'd be able to sit at the edge while she played peacefully with her toys in the shallow part....WRONG! That girl wants to RUN all over the place and does not want me to hold her hand! She's a handful!

We've had playdates, water balloon fights, popsicles and sprinklers. And, we're enjoying the free movies at the Azalea Square. We are having a blast (and going crazy at times) and wishing it would last a little longer......

pool party

The tacky tattoo uncle Jr put on her while I wasn't looking. He thought it would make me mad, but it made me laugh!

enjoying the pool

the neighborhood possie...minus 2 or 3 more...

Lots of rain=Lots of MUD!

Just a swingin'

water balloon fight!

RUUUUUUUN!

summers are good for sleeping in, too :-)

One last thing, Brinlee said "Brayton" this past Monday night. I was on the phone with my mom and she heard...so I FINALLY got a witness. She said it very plain and out of nowhere!

She also likes to sit in this chair (which is in our foyer) when she goes poo poo. Maybe I'll be lucky and have another one potty train early :-)

See. Told You. One LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG post!

Happy Summer, Everyone :-)

Accident filled week

OK, so last week was kind of rough around here. First off, poor little Brinlee fell out of the back door on Wednesday. That sounds awful, I know. I hate to admit how it even happened. She likes to stand at the back screen door and watch Brayton play. It keeps here busy and entertained and it's perfect for me because it's in the kitchen. I always keep the back door latched, always! So, long story short...Brayton went outside and she followed behind him. I wasn't quick enough, and PLOP...she fell out and scraped her pretty little nose and head all up! It was pitiful and I felt like crap over it!!!!! She's a tough cookie, cause she didn't cry long at all. I was more worried about her head and didn't even notice her face until later. We're keeping it doctored up, but I think it'll stick around to make an appearance in the birthday pictures.

You can barely see it here, but it is pitiful!

So Friday rolls around and little Mrs Priss gets a hold of the sunblock. Everything goes in her mouth, so you guessed it...she swallowed some sunscreen! I freaked and called Poison Control and they told me it was nothing to worry about. She only got a little taste. Brayton and I called her Coopertone for the rest of the day :-) He thinks its so funny when she gets into things. Crazy Kids :-)

8 years of marriage and a preschool graduate!

Well, this week has been somewhat emotional for me. It's the last week of preschool. Next year, Brayton will be going into the big world of PUBLIC ALL DAY BIG BOY SCHOOL! I will have a kindergartner. Old Fort has been so good to us. I'm going to miss those Tuesday and Thursdays. I am going to miss my mommy friends that I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past 3 years. I will miss walking him in and hugging him good bye every morning. There's a lot I am going to miss. It's hard to believe that he started out there in the 2 year old class with Mrs. Belinda....seems like yesterday. I am NOT looking forward to kindergarten at all...but we'll keep that a secret from Brayton. I am definitely hyping it up for him! Where has the time gone? I remember signing him up for Childs Day Out. It was such a huge decision for me...I didn't think I was ready to let my baby go. We've definitely had our ups and downs with it, but mostly ups :-)

So today was his end of the school year program and GRADUATION! It was so precious. I'll try to get a video on here. Of course I was a bit emotional. Thank goodness Aunt Tasha watched Brinlee for us. It made it easier to sit back and enjoy the program without trying to entertain her. She's a great baby, but I didn't want to take any chances!!! Thank you, Aunt Tasha!! They had THE sweetest slideshow with baby pictures of all the kids, plus pictures from all that they have done through out the year. It was a tear jerker! We had a pizza party tonight for the graduate. I think I'm making a bigger deal of this whole thing than he is! ha!

"Kindergarten here I come, here I come".....it was so cute, but totally brought tears to my eyes!

"Pledge of Allegiance"

We're missing Daddy in this picture :-(

Brayton's PAR-TAY!

AND....I have been married 8 years TODAY! I am convinced that I am the luckiest woman alive. I am so in love with my husband and he is truly my best friend. I am such a better person because of him. He is the BEST. Period. He is the best at everything he does. He is a wonderful husband, father, son and friend. He is a hard worker and has a heart of gold. He meets no strangers and he is a good 'ol boy! He's a great cook and a great soccer player. He is a handy man and a jack of all trades. He is a giver. He is not a fighter. He is tough, yet sensitive. He is the man of my dreams and I thank God everyday for him....Happy Anniversary, Frank.......I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Good morning, babies!

This is how my mornings start...it's the best and I love it!

Brinlee awakes with smiles, hugs and kisses and is ready to start the day.

Shortly after, Brayton wakes up and requests that Brinlee and I come in his room for "snuggle time" and "tickling". These two wrestle around and eat each other up for about 15 minutes.

On the weekends, this ritual includes Daddy as well. I love these little moments soooo much! We are in for a rude awakening next year with kindergarten.....agh, it breaks my heart to think about it....sniff, sniff...

berrylicious!

It's that time again!!! We were so ready this year to pick strawberries! Brinlee slept thru the whole thing but Brayton was on a mission to find the biggest, reddest, juiciest strawberries in the field.

It wasn't hard either...they were EVERYWHERE! Not picked over at all...beautiful and perfect!

he did a little "taste testing", too!

It was Brayton's turn to have Mr. Sniffles. Each week a different child from his class takes Mr. Sniffles home. Mr. Sniffles comes with a book you must read to him every night, a tooth brush, and a journal. Each child gets to journal about their visit (and of course we take pictures, too :-) Brayton insisted that Mr. Sniffles ride in his own booster seat, thank goodness we have extra :-) They picked strawberries together, had a play date with Jeremy at his pool, and had a lemonade stand during our yard sale.

I've already made my favorite strawberry dessert! I'm not sure what you call it, but it consists of angel food cake, sliced strawberries, crushed pineapple and whip cream...layered up and yum! yum! GOOD!!!

Grandpa came to help!

sleeping peacefully! She does love her some strawberries, though ;-P

what am I going to do when she outgrows this infant car seat? It makes things so much easier when she's sleeping, and she seems to do a lot of that when we get in the car!

My Farmer

I love spring time and all that it brings....longer days, the smell of fresh cut grass, cook outs, the sounds of birds and crickets chirping, sprinklers and Popsicles, gardening and yard work!! We did a garden last year and Brayton really enjoyed it. He was excited and ready to get started this year, too! I think the boy will end up living in the country on lots of property...maybe he'll be a farmer...it does run in his blood. It was hard to wait until Good Friday to plant, but we did. Can't wait for some fresh fruits and veggies!

hard at work, he takes this gardening business very serious!

The next day after planting we found an unwanted visitor in our garden.....

YUCK! Brayton officially can no longer play in the woods!!

11 month cruiser!

WOW time flies! I am pretty slack with stayin' up with this blog business, too! Julie...I don't know how you do it...anyhow, I'll try to catch you up...


First off, baby girl is 11 MONTHS OLD! Seems like I just posted her 10 month picture.

11 months
My grandma can't stand those big bows in her hair...so I took one with out it, too :-)

I know she doesn't NEED them, she's beautiful either way...but they are FUN, and she doesn't seem to mind them, either ;-)


Her birthday plans are officially in place...I can't believe our baby will be ONE YEAR OLD, has 8 teeth and is WALKING!!! That's right...baby girl is cruisin' around the house now! And she gets into EVERYTHING!!! She loves to climb, loves to eat paper and loves to scream, fun stuff! She's been taking "steps" the entire month of April, but by the end of the month she had it down pat! She's is so precious...I want to just eat her up!


She claps her little hands and is so proud of herself. She likes to play "spit", too...well, you know....with her tongue and stuff. It's cute, not gross! She doesn't eat baby food anymore and it's actually kind of tough to find things to feed her that she likes. Everything is new to her so at first she is just unsure and spits it out. She loves turkey and cheese! And let me just tell you....she is a MESS when she eats!! I forgot all about that stage. She rubs her little grubby hands all in her hair and everything.


Brayton has been enjoying this weather and is practically living outside. He has two new friends that moved in across the street and he thinks he needs to be with them all day. If a sprinkler is on...he is going to get WET!

He LIVES!

Happy Easter!

We have had a very eventful and busy weekend!

We had company Friday night (grandma, Amber and Daniel) and Saturday our festivities began....

We started with Breakfast with the Bunny (Eggstravaganza at The Ponds) on Saturday morning. Can you believe Brinlee wasn't even afraid to sit on that bunny's lap? Poor Brayton only got 2 or 3 eggs and with all the running he was doing they fell out...he was NOT happy, and I felt so bad for him. Luckily a nice lady passing by overheard our conversation and offered up a few eggs :-)

Then, Saturday evening we had a wedding. Congratulations Jenny and Andrew! They are so cute and I wish them all the happiness in the world. I did the pictures for her, and let me tell you...it wore me out!! I completely understand why photographers charge so much to do weddings now! Although it doesn't help that I'm out of shape, ha! ha!
Anyways, here are just a few of my favorites...





Brinlee stayed with mom and stayed away from me for 6 hours!!! That is a LONG time for my little peanut! She did great, but she did bully her cousin around.

Check this out...





poor Haven! Brinlee tried to take a chunk out of her forehead! That little Brinlee, she LOVES to bite... and the bad part is, she laughs about it. She thinks its a game...and to make matters worse, you've got Brayton laughing, too. He thinks it's just hilarious! I really don't think she understands what she's doing, at least I chose to believe that ;-)
We are working on "no biting"!

On Saturday night when we got home, Brayton was lying in bed and full of Easter Bunny questions.

- Is he a REAL bunny or a character?

- Is he a man dressed up?

- Is he BIG?

- Does his mouth move like ours?

- Does he watch me like Santa?

- Where does he live?

The list goes on... Anyway, I decided to avoid this topic and direct our conversation to the TRUE meaning of Easter. He knows all about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, but I thought it'd be a good time to remind him of the story. After a deep conversation and story telling, I tucked him in and told him to say his prayers.

He wanted me to leave the room, so I did. He NEVER does this....

I stood outside his bedroom door and the most AMAZING thing happened.

My precious, tender hearted 5yr old prayed to Jesus, and as he did, he cried. It was as if he truly got it...he took everything I had told him in and he was thankful. My heart felt so good.... It was a moment I will NEVER forget! I pray that my children will always live with Jesus in their hearts!

Sunday we got up, checked out our basket goodies and headed for church. Grandpa went to church with us, too. We had a big, nice dinner at our house and the family came over. We did a little egg hunt for the kids, but instead of Brayton hunting, he wanted to hide them from the little kids. He was the "coach" of the egg hunt. Ha! Ha! Let me just say that I have the best family and in laws ever!! I feel so blessed to have the life I have and especially the people in it. I love them all so much and they all mean so much to me. I am truly a lucky girl!!

Brinlee's favorite Easter basket goody is her "Praise Baby" DVD (I love it, too!) and Brayton's is his Star War man and peeps.

We sang "He Lives" in church this morning and I can not get it out of my head. I love it! We use to sing it in the church I grew up in...so it brings back lots of memories, and it's just so appropriate for today!

He Lives

I serve a risen Saviour; He's in the world today.
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He's always near.

Chorus
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair.
I know that He is leading, thro' all the stormy blast;
The day of His appearing will come at last.

Chorus:

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian! Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.

Good Friday....

This day means so much to me....I am so thankful that God sent His son to die for our sins and to give us everlasting life...what a sacrifice He made for us!

Matthew 20:19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.