It has been a while.....

Yet again....I have failed to post as often as I would like! Today, I stayed home with Brody because both of my parents are sick. My Mom was home all last week and she went to the doctor and they said she had bronchitis and gave her some medicine. Well....my Dad started to not feel well on Friday and they were both in bed all weekend long. I called them yesterday and my Dad said he was going to take my Mom to the doctor this morning because she wasn't getting any better. So, they went this morning and my Mom got some stronger medicine to hopefully kick the bronchitis and my Dad got some meds too since he has a sinus infection. My Dad said he is starting to feel better, but I am going to stay at home again with Brody tomorrow just to give my Dad another day to recouperate! I guess it is that time of year for sickness.....I just don't want Brody to get it!

Today, I decided to go see my friend, Rawan, who had a baby boy on January 2nd. I have been meaning to go see her and it just hasn't worked outso far. Her baby boy, Nicholas, is so tiny and cute! I forgot what it is like to hold a newborn! Brody definitely looks more like a little boy than a baby compared to him. It was funny to see Brody's reaction because he has never been around a little baby before. I was holding Nicholas and Brody kept looking at me, and then looking at him and when he cried, Brody started to make noise too. I am not sure if he was jealous or just curious but it was pretty funny. I took a few pics from today! Look at all of Baby Nicholas' hair! :)

Brody going for the tag on Nicholas' bib. He is in love with tags....on everything!!!

This is his look when I tell him no....I love it! He was heading for her outlets!

This time I told him to be gentle with the baby....same look! :)

Brody has now officially taken about 4 steps on his own, but he of course would much rather crawl. He has just now started to wave, but that is pretty sporatic and he waves at himself mostly! We are working on that. We are also working on clapping. He kinda clapped tonight just once, but for the most part, just looks at Ted and I like we are crazy when we start clapping! The freaky, paranoid Mother that I am is alwasy fearful about him not meeting his milestones, but I have to remember that Brody might not do things at the same pace as other babies. I do plan on talking to his pediatrician about his development at his 12 month appointment next month. Just want to make sure we are on track and there is nothing to be alarmed about. Being a mother is worrisome and I know I will continue to worry about him for the rest of my life!


This past weekend, Tab came down and we had to run a bunch of errands on Saturday. We picked up the cutest little outfits for little Miss Mallory Mae on Saturday. I swear, they have the cutest little outfits and since she will be here in June, most of the outfits we bought her are little dresses! SO CUTE! I can not wait to see her in them. It was so much fun to shop for a little girl! I told Ted that with our next one, I know that we will have another boy just because I want a girl so bad now! But, I wanted a girl with Brody but I can never imagine not having this little guy in my life now! So, everything works out the way it is supposed to! :)

Crazy Days!

So this past week has been pretty rough! I have worked late every night and I still have to go in this weekend (at least I am thinking I will, but still keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to). We have Ethan this week so Ted was doing alot of the running around, picking up the kids, feeding them, and entertaining them until bed time. On Wednesday, I only saw Brody for about 5 minutes because I didn't get home from work until 9:00 pm! UGH! Atleast there is a light at the end of my tunnel. The project I have been working on gets submitted on Monday so that will be a huge relief. And it is just in time since Ted has to leave on Monday for South Carolina. Atleast he will only be gone until Friday. It is pretty rough when he is not here trying to get everything done....but such is life! Ted keeps reminding me that if/when we have another kid, it won't get any easier. I understand that and I am prepared (atleast I think!)

Yesterday morning when I was taking Ethan to school, he said he wasn't feeling that great. I asked him if he thought he could make it through the school day and he said he thought he could. I told him if he felt really bad to go to the nurse.

Well....he made it through the day but when Ted picked him up last night, he had a temperature of 103. We gave him some Motrin and he chilled out for the evening. This morning, when I went to wake him up for school, I asked him how he felt and he said he didn't feel good. I took his temp and it was 103.7. No school for Ethan! I gave him some more Motrin and he went back to sleep. Ted stayed home with him today and I took Brody to my Dad's. I called Ted around 9:30 and he said his temp was 99 so that was a good sign. About 3:30 today, Ted calls me and said he was taking Ethan to the ER because his temperature was 104.7!! 104.7!!!!!!!!! OMG! I couldn't believe it. I left work and met them at the ER. At first, I thought maybe something was wrong with our thermometer. Well, not the case. When he got to the ER, his temp was 104.3. They gave him some tylenol, tested him for the flu (which came back negative) and then they figured he had bronchitis. They gave us some meds and an inhaler (he is barking like a dog) and sent us on our way. I just took his temperature about 30 minutes ago and it was 100.2. Hopefully, he is on the road to recovery.

I do have a fear that Brody could get it because I read up on bronchitis (yes on the internet, which is never really my friend) and they said it was contagious. I am working from home tomorrow and will have both of the kids with me so hopefully, Ethan will be feeling better and will not give it to Brody. But, if Brody gets it, he gets it. He has yet to get sick in his 11 months of life.....which is pretty crazy, so I am sure he is due for something. I am actually so surprised he hasn't been sick yet. I was sick at one point and so was my Dad and he didn't get it. Hopefully, he has a powerful immune system. I am keeping my fingers crossed on that too!

Since I am on the sick topic, we have officially put Brody on the waiting list for daycare. There is this really awesome place right outside of my parents neighborhood that my neighbor takes her two kids to. I have heard great things about it so even though I am super duper nervous about Brody in daycare, I think it will be really good for him. It is extremely convenient, especially for when Ted is out of town because my parents can walk there to pick Brody up. The daycare closes at 6 and I know most days, I will not be able to get there by 6 so it will be nice for my parents when they need to pick him up for me. I have already cried numerous times at the thought of someone taking care of Brody besides me, Ted or my parents. And since he is on a pretty strict schedule, I have already asked for the schedule for the class he would be in so I can start preparing him for the transition. I think it is time for Brody to have some socialization and be around other kids. Of course with that will come sickness. But we are truly lucky that he has managed to stay healthy for this long!

I initially wanted to only put him in daycare part time, but this place does not offer part-time and since we have to pay for the whole week, he will be going atleast four days a week (I haven't decided about Fridays yet.....I still want to be home with him on Fridays). We have told my Dad that he can go pick him up whenever he wants to so we will see what happens. There are about 10 people ahead of us, but we didn't want to enroll him until June anyway so hopefully, the timing will be perfect.

This blog is pretty much all over the place, but since I haven't blogged in over a week, I have much to say! Brody has taken a few steps on his own, but of course, he has defaulted to crawling because he can get where he wants to go much faster. We are also working on waving, which he has yet to do. I am trying not to freak out about that because most of the information I have read says he should be doing it by now. Sometimes, he does clench and unclench his fist when we are waving to him, but I wouldn't call that an official wave.

Here are a few pictures from last weekend. We celebrated Tab's husband Kevin's big 4-0 birthday! The second pic is Brody giving Daddy a big wet one! He is so cute.

Here is a nice picture of Brody's future in-laws! :) I keeping joking about the fact that I have already arranged Brody's marriage to Mallory Mae, although everyone thinks that might be a little too much like incest. I keep reminding them that they aren't blood related! :) And, Kevin has already said that she won't date......EVER!

I Won and Funny Videos

So...I have been battling with our insurance company for the past couple of weeks over the medication that Brody takes for his reflux. He has been on this medication for the past 3 months and when I went to get it filled for the third time, my pharmacy told me that it was no longer covered. I called my insurance company the next day, was told it was a miscommunication error and that it was covered and that my pharmacy could refill it in a couple days, allowing the error correction in the system. My pharmacist called as well because she didn't quite understand what they were talking about and was told it was not covered. I then called again the next day, and during that hour phone conversation, was told it was covered for children up to 24 months and then was later told by someone else that it wasn't covered. After all of that, I filed an appeal and wrote a 2 page letter explaining the fact that he had been on this same medication, which has been working, for the past three months and now all of the sudden it wasn't covered. Apparently, they took this medication off the drug list as of 1/1/09, but was I informed? NO! Finally, I got a letter in the mail yesterday saying that they were covering this medication for him until next January and that they were sorry for any frustration this has caused! Thank the Lord! I am glad they finally covered it because it was such a hassle. But....all is good now! :)


Yesterday, I went with Tab and Kevin to their doctor's appointment and got to see little Mallory Mae on the ultrasound. They found out for sure it is a girl! :) She was moving all around and had her legs crossed at one point. So cute!! :) I am really happy for them! I know they wanted a boy, but they are just as excited for this little girl. We then went and picked out her furniture and decided on bedding. She is halfway through and Mallory will be here before we all now it! :)


Last night when we got home, I took the following two videos of Brody. The first one is him feeding himself. He is so funny when he does it because he hasn't quite mastered how to take the spoon from his mouth yet. He absolutely can put it in, but then just chews on it. The second video is of him in the bath. We have this little fish that will spray water. The other night, I was spraying it on him and he was laughing so hard. Although he didn't laugh quite as hard, he was still laughing at it. I wish I could just bottle up that little laugh of his! It definitely brightens my day! :)

Brody and the Toy

So Brody has this toy that my parents got him for Christmas. It is the one that you push the button, or turn it and an animal pops up. Well...he can't stand to have any of them open. The minute they open, he immediately shuts it. I got it on video below....it is hilarious! (I was trying to get him to say Uh-oh on video, which is his new favorite word, but of course, he wouldn't do it).

At the end of the video above, he started reaching towards me. Well...he was reaching for my hand to bring it to the toy and open the animals up again. Watch below......Although, he did shut his finger in one but he recovered quickly!

Not much else is going on. It is just Brody and I right now. Ted left on Tuesday to go to Hawaii....poor him, right?! He is supposed to be back next Friday, but he might have to leave again on Sunday for a week. We are not sure yet. I had to go to Colorado on Wednesday and I got back yesterday. The weather was actually much better than it was here......it was a record high of 62 on Thursday! I thought I was going to have to bundle up when I went, but I didn't need to. I had never been to Colorado before...it was very nice! Pikes Peak is right outside of our office there so I got to see that at sunset. Very pretty! :) I joked about getting a domestic passport since it looks like I will never be going overseas anytime soon. I have been to two states that I had never been to before in the last couple of months....Colorado and Washington!

My neighbor gave me a book last week that he wanted me to read. We are on complete opposite ends of the political viewpoints (as so it seems with me and most of the people I hang out with, including my husband). It was called the Lone Survivor and was written by the lone survivor of the Navy Seal team that died in Afghanstan in 2005, Marcus Lattrell. I read the entire book on the plane ride there and back and thought it was an excellent book. There were a few points where I had to shake my head at what the guy was saying about the liberal media and liberal this and liberal that, but the story itself was really powerful! I would definitely recommend it to anyone. I was not fully aware of the training Seals have to do and could not even comprehend what this man went through.

Other than that, not much else is going on. I hope everyone has had a good weekend!

I am such a non-blogger!

I have not been real good about keeping up my blog lately. Not sure what is going on.....but I am going to try and do better! I have been working alot lately and when I get home, normally we feed Brody and then go to bed. So sad....but that is our life now.....especially during the week!

Brody has been changing more and more everyday. His vocabulary, or what one would call his vocabulary at this age, is expanding. He imitates certain sounds I make and he has started to say "Uh-oh!" and "Ha-do" which I think is hello. When we say hello, he says ha-do. It is pretty cute. I tried to get it on film, but of course once I pulled the camera out, he stopped.

Nothing new to report on the walking front. He is still standing independently more and more, but he has yet to take a step by himself. He is walking around the edge of his playard. I have to say....the playard is the best thing ever invented! Now that he is on the move, it is hard to keep him contained into one space. I felt bad originally about putting him in there, but I have come to realize that it is good for him and me. I am able to get things done in spurts and he is able to play with his toys independently. We bought my dad one too and we both love it.

We had Ethan this weekend. He went with Ted on Saturday up to Charlottesville so Ted could get some of his tree stands out of the woods in his hunt club. They rode the 4-wheeler. He said he had a good time. He is becoming such a little man. Sometimes I look at him and can still see the little boy that he once was. He is getting so grown. It is crazy to think that he was at one point Brody's age!!

Tab came down and we went shopping for baby stuff. She wasn't able to find anything, unfortunately, but she still has time. I am going to go up to her next appointment when she finds out for sure what she is having. The last ultrasound they had, the ultrasound tech said that she was pretty sure it was a girl. Of course, once I heard that, I had to go get some pink stuff! :) I can't wait to see her little baby! It is really exciting!!!

Anyway, here are some random pictures taken over the last week. I also updated my picture on the side of Ethan and Brody. Two handsome boys......

Christmas is over already?

Okay...I have been pretty bad about posting pictures from Christmas so here they are. We celebrated twice....once with my sister and then once with my parents on Christmas day. I can't believe how bad I have been about posting pictures!! It is pretty sad!

I did find out some good news this week. Tabatha had an ultrasound and they are 90% sure she is having a girl! YAY! A little girl to spoil! They are having another ultrasound on February 2, which I plan to attend, where they will find out for sure. She will be 20 weeks then. I am totally going back to pre-arranged marriages and keep joking about how Brody is going to marry their little girl. At this point, her name is Mallory Mae! So cute! :) I can't wait to meet her, but we still have a little while until she comes! Plenty of time to spoil her rotten! :)

Now that I have shared that, here are some pictures from Christmas. Enjoy and have a great week! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hello All! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanakkuh , and a Happy New Year! I have not posted since before Christmas so alot has happened.

Brody and Ethan had a good Christmas. We decided to go to my parents house on Christmas morning to have our traditional christmas breakfast with mimosas! It was very yummy. If there is one tradition that I never want to go away it is christmas breakfast. My mom makes a yummy sausage and egg caserole and hash brown casserole. As always, it was yummy! Brody went down for a nap and then Ted went to get Ethan from his grandmother's house. Once they got back, Ethan opened his presents. He got some pretty cool stuff, including this huge nerf machine gun. It shoots like 100 darts one right after the other. He had a good time playing with that with my neighbor's kids over the weekend. He also got this robotic dinosaur, which does things on command. When we got home that night, he was playing with it around Chloe, who absolutely hated it. She was barking like crazy and was even showing her teeth. The dinosaur is about 2 feet tall, if that, you wouldn't have thought it would have frightened her. But she is such a wuss when it comes to smaller animals....or things that look and act like animals.

Brody had a pretty good christmas too. He got many toys, which is now overpowering my living room. I even left some at my parents house and we haven't even put together the big toy that Ted and I got him. We have decided that we are going to make our dining room his play room. We don't have a dining room table in there now and figured that we really would never use it so we thought that space would be a good place for Brody's playroom. I talked to Ted about putting a TV in there somehow, because he of course loves him some TV! He took his first steps, with the walker, over Christmas too. He walked to Ethan with it, but hasn't done it since. Of course, when I try and get him to walk to me with the walker, he just gets down and crawls to me instead. He figures he can get there faster that way. He is also talking more. He of course says Da-da all the time (no Ma-ma yet! UGH) but has started saying "doy, doy, doy" and he says something resembling "hello!" It is so cute.

We went to my neighbor's house for Christmas Eve which was fun....and then went to my other neighbor's house for New Years Eve. My parents watched Brody New Year's Eve, which was a good thing because I was pretty intoxicated by the time that midnight rolled around. I went with a few of my co-workers for a drink after work (which was pretty hectic this past week) and then just continued drinking when I got home. Needless to say, Ted and I didn't wake up until 10:00 on New Year's Day! It was nice to actually sleep in, but of course it didn't feel like sleeping in since we didn't get to bed until real late!

I am working from home this morning, but Ted is on his way home and I have to go into the office today. Too much to do.....so little time. We are so swamped at work right now it is ridiculous. And there doesn't look like there is an end in sight!! I guess I can't complain because it does give me some job security! Especially since we just lost a really big contract in New Mexico. Since my department is in charge of obtaining new business, hopefully if they do cuts, we will be the last in line! At least that is what I am hoping! :) But can't really worry about that!

Well...I hope everyone had a nice holiday and has a great 2009! 2008 was pretty good (since Brody was born) so I am not sure if 2009 can top it! :) But.....hopefully it will be a good one!

I will try and post a few pictures from the past couple of weeks later. My computer is acting up right now so I can't access my pictures!!