RaeAnn posted this video on her blog (along with a few pictures from our visit yesterday afternoon). I just had to steal it to show y'all. Brody and Cheyenne were having so much fun dancing to music on Scott & RaeAnn's cell phones!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Daddy Enthusiasm
After work yesterday Brody and I went to visit RaeAnn and her girls. Brody had been asking for "Chey" (Cheyenne) ever since RaeAnn went on maternity leave. He used to see her at least once a day and they love playing together. It was so cute to see how excited they were to see one another! They played chase around the house, shared toys, and danced to the music on RaeAnn's cell phone! I got to hold sweet little Cheryl while we were there. Brody was excited to see the "baby", however, he immediately started pointing out her body parts! We'll have to work on that. Babies don't like their eyes poked out by a 1.5 year old!!!
After we left RaeAnn's house, we headed home. As I was stopped at the (yes "the"...as in there's only one) stoplight in town, Brody suddenly (in a very high-pitched, excited voice) screamed, "DADDY!!!!!!!". I thought, "That's strange. Maybe there's a truck at the gas station that looks like Mike's?" I was surprised to look over at the gas station and see Mike getting gas in his truck! I wouldn't have noticed him there if Brody hadn't pointed him out! So, of course, we made a detour to the gas station so that Brody could talk to Daddy for a minute. I love how excited he gets to see Mike. I see that enthusiasm every day when we hear Mike's truck pull up the drive. Brody starts saying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" over and over as he runs to the back door to wait (very impatiently) for Mike to come in the house. I need to get that on video.
After we left RaeAnn's house, we headed home. As I was stopped at the (yes "the"...as in there's only one) stoplight in town, Brody suddenly (in a very high-pitched, excited voice) screamed, "DADDY!!!!!!!". I thought, "That's strange. Maybe there's a truck at the gas station that looks like Mike's?" I was surprised to look over at the gas station and see Mike getting gas in his truck! I wouldn't have noticed him there if Brody hadn't pointed him out! So, of course, we made a detour to the gas station so that Brody could talk to Daddy for a minute. I love how excited he gets to see Mike. I see that enthusiasm every day when we hear Mike's truck pull up the drive. Brody starts saying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" over and over as he runs to the back door to wait (very impatiently) for Mike to come in the house. I need to get that on video.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Boy or Girl?
It's less than a week until SUPER TUESDAY. No, I'm not talking about politics. I'm talking about our BIG SONOGRAM!!! It's scheduled for Tuesday at 9:30 am! Now's your last chance (hopefully...I'll be really bummed if the baby won't show us if he's a boy or girl!) to make a guess.
Do you think we're having a BOY or a GIRL?
Make you guess in the comments section.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Weekend with the Greats
Friday afternoon I dropped Brody off at Chris & Teri's house on my way home from work. He got to play with their 4 kids until Nancy picked him up after she got off work. Then Nancy and Brody drove to Plains, KS for the weekend to see Grandpa & Grandma Brown! She said they had a great time and that Brody was good for them all weekend. Since I wasn't there, I can't really tell you any stories behind the pictures she took...so I'll just let the pictures do the talking.
Cowboy Brody with Grandpa Brown
Grandma Brown blowing bubbles for Brody.
Brody on top of a tractor tire.
I think they sent Brody out to check fence for them. "Hmmm. If I can crawl thru here does that mean that the cattle can escape too?"
Mike's cousin Derek was in town and stopped by for a visit on Saturday night.
Brody giving Grandma Brown a kiss "goodbye".
Cowboy Brody with Grandpa Brown
Grandma Brown blowing bubbles for Brody.
Brody on top of a tractor tire.
I think they sent Brody out to check fence for them. "Hmmm. If I can crawl thru here does that mean that the cattle can escape too?"
Mike's cousin Derek was in town and stopped by for a visit on Saturday night.
Brody giving Grandma Brown a kiss "goodbye".
Monday, January 28, 2008
Weekend in Wichita
We had so much fun this weekend...but it went by WAY too fast! We spent the weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Wichita.
There was a beautiful view out our window of a big pond with lots of ducks walking around on the ice and floating in the frigid water!
Friday night we ate dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill. Where I tried calamari for the first time! I was surprised that I really liked it! Of course, it was fried...and there's not much that tastes bad when you fry it! The whole dinner was really good and we left there stuffed! After dinner we did a little shopping and then stopped by the grocery store. Since there was a microwave in our hotel room, we wanted to get some popcorn...and of course we needed ice cream too ;)
Saturday morning we ate a wonderful breakfast at the hotel before we headed out for some shopping. We even made a trip to Carmax to drive a Durango and an Explorer (we're not sure which one we'll end up going with...but we know that we won't be able to make it much longer using the truck). We were really impressed with our experience at Carmax. It was the best car shopping experience we've ever had!
For lunch we decided just to eat at the food court at Towne East Mall. We settled on Metro Grill and were sooo impressed!!! It's a stand set up in the middle of the food court with 2 guys working at it. The owner seems like he would fit in on the streets of downtown Boston. He would yell at people in line, "Talk to me!" and then they would holler their order to him. The sandwiches that we got were delicious! I've never eaten so good at a mall food court! I'd go there again just for the experience of eating at Metro Grill!!
After walking around the mall (and making a few purchases), we headed to the Warren Theatre to see The Bucket List. What a good movie! It made us laugh and it made us cry. I'd definitely recommend it!
Then it was back to the hotel to get dressed for dinner. I think it's fun to get dressed up to go out...and Mike always looks so hot!! We called ahead to Redrock Canyon Grill and were told to be there at 7:35. When we got there, we still had to wait 45 minutes...but that was better than 1 hr 45 min. that people just walking in the door had to wait! We found seats at the bar and the time passed quickly as we talked. I had salmon for dinner...the best salmon I've ever had!!! Boy was it good! The only bad thing about dinner stemmed from my desire to dress up! I had worn the same dress a few weeks earlier to church...with the same hose. Well...I think my belly has grown enough in just a few weeks that I can't wear hose anymore! They were digging into my belly making me pretty uncomfortable! It's a good think the food was so good and my date was so good looking or I may have just gone to the car and stripped them off! lol
Sunday morning (after eating another great breakfast), we enjoyed being lazy at the hotel and watching TLC (something we miss very much since we don't have cable)! We hung out at the hotel until check out time. As we were about to leave, we decided to take a walk around the pond. I'm so glad that we did! Not only did we discover a beautiful waterfall, there were also some cool shops on the other side of the pond! Here's a picture of Mike in front of the pond with our hotel behind him.
There was a beautiful view out our window of a big pond with lots of ducks walking around on the ice and floating in the frigid water!
Friday night we ate dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill. Where I tried calamari for the first time! I was surprised that I really liked it! Of course, it was fried...and there's not much that tastes bad when you fry it! The whole dinner was really good and we left there stuffed! After dinner we did a little shopping and then stopped by the grocery store. Since there was a microwave in our hotel room, we wanted to get some popcorn...and of course we needed ice cream too ;)Saturday morning we ate a wonderful breakfast at the hotel before we headed out for some shopping. We even made a trip to Carmax to drive a Durango and an Explorer (we're not sure which one we'll end up going with...but we know that we won't be able to make it much longer using the truck). We were really impressed with our experience at Carmax. It was the best car shopping experience we've ever had!
For lunch we decided just to eat at the food court at Towne East Mall. We settled on Metro Grill and were sooo impressed!!! It's a stand set up in the middle of the food court with 2 guys working at it. The owner seems like he would fit in on the streets of downtown Boston. He would yell at people in line, "Talk to me!" and then they would holler their order to him. The sandwiches that we got were delicious! I've never eaten so good at a mall food court! I'd go there again just for the experience of eating at Metro Grill!!
After walking around the mall (and making a few purchases), we headed to the Warren Theatre to see The Bucket List. What a good movie! It made us laugh and it made us cry. I'd definitely recommend it!
Then it was back to the hotel to get dressed for dinner. I think it's fun to get dressed up to go out...and Mike always looks so hot!! We called ahead to Redrock Canyon Grill and were told to be there at 7:35. When we got there, we still had to wait 45 minutes...but that was better than 1 hr 45 min. that people just walking in the door had to wait! We found seats at the bar and the time passed quickly as we talked. I had salmon for dinner...the best salmon I've ever had!!! Boy was it good! The only bad thing about dinner stemmed from my desire to dress up! I had worn the same dress a few weeks earlier to church...with the same hose. Well...I think my belly has grown enough in just a few weeks that I can't wear hose anymore! They were digging into my belly making me pretty uncomfortable! It's a good think the food was so good and my date was so good looking or I may have just gone to the car and stripped them off! lol
Sunday morning (after eating another great breakfast), we enjoyed being lazy at the hotel and watching TLC (something we miss very much since we don't have cable)! We hung out at the hotel until check out time. As we were about to leave, we decided to take a walk around the pond. I'm so glad that we did! Not only did we discover a beautiful waterfall, there were also some cool shops on the other side of the pond! Here's a picture of Mike in front of the pond with our hotel behind him.
Here's one of the ducks Mike captured landing on the pond.
Staci in front of the waterfall.
I had been looking forward to eating Chicago style pizza all weekend. We were saving it for Sunday lunch in case we had leftovers and wanted to take them home. Well, as we walked around the shops by the pond we stopped in William Sonoma. Not only did we love everything in there...we also LOVED the guacamole dip they had sitting out to sample! As we left there, all we could think about was Mexican food!! So we decided to forgo the pizza in order to eat guacamole and fajitas at Abuelos.
I think that Mike and I both have a lot of working out to do in order to make up for all the food we ate this weekend...but it was definitely worth it! Those of you with kids now how hard it is to enjoy a good sit down meal when the little ones are with you! I guess we got a few months of sit down meals in this weekend!
It was so wonderful to spend time alone with Mike without the distractions of every day life. I didn't think it was possible to fall more in love with him...but this weekend I did! Thanks, Mike, for giving me such a memorable birthday weekend! I love you!
Friday, January 25, 2008
28th Birthday
Today was a great birthday! I love the fact that I was born in January of 1980. It makes my age so easy to remember! I just add 20 to the current year...so this year I'm 28! I never realized how nice this would be when I was a kid! lol
I had a pretty low key day at work today (in fact...no one there even remembered it was my birthday...besides RaeAnn who sent me an email). Brody took a long nap for me when we got home (so I took one too)! Then Mike called and asked what I wanted for dinner. What else but my favorite southern meal? Fried chicken, corn, fried okra, gravy, and biscuits! So he stopped by the store and then came home and made me dinner!! He also made red velvet cake (which we ate after Brody went to bed)! Brody did help me blow out the candles! As soon as Mike started putting candles in the cake Brody was saying, "Blow out?!"
So after Mike sang "Happy Birthday" to me (I don't know why Brody didn't join in and harmonize?), Brody helped me blow out the candles. Of course he wanted to do it again and again...but he'll just have to wait for his birthday. 28 candles creates a lot of smoke in the house! lol
Mike also gave me a wonderful birthday present! I'll tell you all about it after this weekend (well...maybe not EVERYTHING about the weekend ;) Let's just say that Nancy is going to take Brody to Plains to visit her parents...so Mike and I have the weekend alone! He has it all planned out and I'm really looking forward to it! Tune in Monday to find out what we did!
I had a pretty low key day at work today (in fact...no one there even remembered it was my birthday...besides RaeAnn who sent me an email). Brody took a long nap for me when we got home (so I took one too)! Then Mike called and asked what I wanted for dinner. What else but my favorite southern meal? Fried chicken, corn, fried okra, gravy, and biscuits! So he stopped by the store and then came home and made me dinner!! He also made red velvet cake (which we ate after Brody went to bed)! Brody did help me blow out the candles! As soon as Mike started putting candles in the cake Brody was saying, "Blow out?!"
So after Mike sang "Happy Birthday" to me (I don't know why Brody didn't join in and harmonize?), Brody helped me blow out the candles. Of course he wanted to do it again and again...but he'll just have to wait for his birthday. 28 candles creates a lot of smoke in the house! lol
Mike also gave me a wonderful birthday present! I'll tell you all about it after this weekend (well...maybe not EVERYTHING about the weekend ;) Let's just say that Nancy is going to take Brody to Plains to visit her parents...so Mike and I have the weekend alone! He has it all planned out and I'm really looking forward to it! Tune in Monday to find out what we did!Thursday, January 24, 2008
Our Beautiful and Adventurous Daughter!
Today is our wonderful daughter's birthday! I remember just a few minutes after she was born I got to hold her. Thus began a journey filled with love, fun, adventure, and oh so many blessings!Not only is she a dedicated Christian, loving wife to Mike, caring mother to Brody, great sister and daughter - I could go on and on... but she is also an adventurer. She has climbed many more 14,000 foot mountains than I have, been to tropical islands I have not been to, and even made Internet friends from around the country!
I am so proud of our wonderful daughter, Staci! Happy Birthday Staci!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
TGFSIL
Thank God For Sisters-In-Law!
I don't naturally have the best fashion sense. I'm so thankful that God blessed me with sisters (in law) that are fashionistas! Over Christmas, Audria took me shopping for some new maternity clothes. I think it's important to feel like you look cute when you're pregnant...otherwise you'll just feel fat all the time!!! Anyways...it's awesome to go shopping with Audria. She would send me to the dressing room and then just keep bringing me different things to try on! It was awesome! Audria is also the person that introduced me to hair rollers and taught me how to use them (now I don't always have to wear my hair straight)!
Ann recently helped me tremendously in the hair department. She introduced me to something that I absolutely LOVE! I know that some of you have had one for years...but I got my first CHI this past December. It's amazing how much different my hair feels and looks when I use the CHI. I decided to take before and after pictures today to prove my point. Just look at my hair (the lighting is bad so my face looks terrible...but that's not the focus of my pictures)!
BEFORE using the CHI:
AFTER using the CHI:
I don't naturally have the best fashion sense. I'm so thankful that God blessed me with sisters (in law) that are fashionistas! Over Christmas, Audria took me shopping for some new maternity clothes. I think it's important to feel like you look cute when you're pregnant...otherwise you'll just feel fat all the time!!! Anyways...it's awesome to go shopping with Audria. She would send me to the dressing room and then just keep bringing me different things to try on! It was awesome! Audria is also the person that introduced me to hair rollers and taught me how to use them (now I don't always have to wear my hair straight)!
Ann recently helped me tremendously in the hair department. She introduced me to something that I absolutely LOVE! I know that some of you have had one for years...but I got my first CHI this past December. It's amazing how much different my hair feels and looks when I use the CHI. I decided to take before and after pictures today to prove my point. Just look at my hair (the lighting is bad so my face looks terrible...but that's not the focus of my pictures)!
BEFORE using the CHI:
AFTER using the CHI:
I'm sure Angela and I will have some good shopping together in the future...but the last time we went was full of events that deserve their own post! lol
Not Quite
I don't think he's quite ready. We geared up for potty training this past Saturday. Brody wore big boy underwear all day (with the plastic pants over them so his clothes didn't get messy). Every time we put him on the potty, he'd go (he even pooped a little on the potty one time), but he wouldn't ever tell us that he needed to go. He had a couple of accidents in his underwear...and it didn't seem to bother him.
I think he's ready physically...but not mentally yet. We'll keep letting him go each day, but we're not gonna push it yet. From everything that I've read, if you train when they're ready...it should only take a few days. I'd rather wait until he's ready than deal with months of messes!!! I'm just glad that he'll use the potty! (As Paula pointed out on my last post...Brody's gonna love these posts some day! lol)
Oh...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my good friend, Megan!
I think he's ready physically...but not mentally yet. We'll keep letting him go each day, but we're not gonna push it yet. From everything that I've read, if you train when they're ready...it should only take a few days. I'd rather wait until he's ready than deal with months of messes!!! I'm just glad that he'll use the potty! (As Paula pointed out on my last post...Brody's gonna love these posts some day! lol)
Oh...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my good friend, Megan!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Help Needed
ANYONE that has ever potty trained a child....
I need your opinion!!!!
In the past week Brody has started asking to go to the potty. We've had a little potty chair sitting by the toilet in the bathroom (just for him to get used to seeing it) for a month or so now. He used to sit on it (with his diaper on) and make grunting noises. It was pretty funny. Now he wants to sit on the potty (with both his diaper and pants off) and he actually pees!!! Every time he's asked to go potty...he's peed in the potty. The strange thing is that he'll look at me, grab the front of his diaper, and say "poop!". Then he'll run to the bathroom and (after I help him get his pants off) he'll pee on the potty. He hasn't pooped there yet.
The big question: Brody is only 17 months old. Do you think that we should start potty training? One friend told me to run with it while he's not being stubborn about it and she said that I should buy big boy underwear and put him in those. She said it'd be messy...but that pull ups are too absorbent and that it wouldn't be a big deal if he peed or pooped in them...so they wouldn't work as well as undies. What did you do? What would you do differently? Do you think it's crazy to start potty training him now? Once we put him in undies...is it bad to put diapers on him to go out in public or to work?
I guess I can just use any advice you can give me!!!!!!!
11 Posts of Christmas
I finally finished posting about our Christmas vacation in Texas. I posted some of them out of order...so just in case you missed any of them...here's a link to each post:
- Caleb and Audria's New House
- Couples Christmas Party
- Christmas at Ron and Jan's
- Christmas Eve in Temple
- Christmas Day 2007
- Spinning Games
- Lifelong Friends
- Genghis Grill
- Park with Daddy Steve
- Ginger is in Labor
- Last Sunday
P.S. Shauna - I've now completed your challenge and can go back to giving my posts titles without numbers in them! Whew!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Baby #2
Today is a both a happy day and a sad day for me. First I'll tell you the happy side. My co-worker, RaeAnn, went into labor last night. In fact, she left work early and headed straight to the hospital! She got to the hospital around 7:30 pm and her baby was born at 12:01 am this morning. I was excited to hear the baby's name because Scott & RaeAnn had been keeping the sex of their baby a secret! My guess had been "girl"...and I was right!
Cheryl Faye was born at 12:01 am on January 15th.
She weighed in at 8 lbs. 11 oz and was 21.5" long!
After work today, Brody and I stopped by the hospital to see Cheryl (and Scott & RaeAnn...of course). She is so precious! She was sleeping soundly. I just love watching a sleeping baby! Brody liked looking at Cheryl too. He kept asking for the baby. Here's RaeAnn showing Cheryl to Brody.
The sad news is that the birth of Cheryl brings about the end of an era. We are getting ready to move to Texas and I currently have less than 6 weeks left at work...the place I've worked for over 7.5 years! RaeAnn is now on maternity leave (for 6 weeks)...so we will never work together again :( I'm really sad about this. She has become such a good friend to me. We've spent hours together talking about lots of things in life (not just work). We've been pregnant together (twice now) and our children (Brody and Cheyenne) love playing together. In fact, Brody asks for "Chey" every morning when he sees her pictures on RaeAnn's desk. It makes me sad that they won't get to play together every day anymore...that they won't grow up together...or grow up even remembering each other! I guess it's just one more reminder that our time in Kansas is running short and that life is about to drastically change. I'm not sure if I'm ready!!!! Ok...I'm gonna stop now so I don't start crying (like I did last night when I found out that Cheryl was born and told Mike that it was the end of an era)...oops...too late...
After work today, Brody and I stopped by the hospital to see Cheryl (and Scott & RaeAnn...of course). She is so precious! She was sleeping soundly. I just love watching a sleeping baby! Brody liked looking at Cheryl too. He kept asking for the baby. Here's RaeAnn showing Cheryl to Brody.
The sad news is that the birth of Cheryl brings about the end of an era. We are getting ready to move to Texas and I currently have less than 6 weeks left at work...the place I've worked for over 7.5 years! RaeAnn is now on maternity leave (for 6 weeks)...so we will never work together again :( I'm really sad about this. She has become such a good friend to me. We've spent hours together talking about lots of things in life (not just work). We've been pregnant together (twice now) and our children (Brody and Cheyenne) love playing together. In fact, Brody asks for "Chey" every morning when he sees her pictures on RaeAnn's desk. It makes me sad that they won't get to play together every day anymore...that they won't grow up together...or grow up even remembering each other! I guess it's just one more reminder that our time in Kansas is running short and that life is about to drastically change. I'm not sure if I'm ready!!!! Ok...I'm gonna stop now so I don't start crying (like I did last night when I found out that Cheryl was born and told Mike that it was the end of an era)...oops...too late...6
These pictures were taken this past Sunday when I was 15 weeks 2 days pregnant. Any guess as to what that number 6 has to do with my pregnancy? (See the bottom of this post for the answer.)
"Mommy? When will the baby be able to play ball with me?"
The baby is definitely growing!!!
Did you figure it out? 6 is the number of inches I've gained in my waist since I got pregnant! Not too bad...yet!
"Mommy? When will the baby be able to play ball with me?"
The baby is definitely growing!!!
Did you figure it out? 6 is the number of inches I've gained in my waist since I got pregnant! Not too bad...yet!Monday, January 14, 2008
150 bpm
It's so amazing to hear the beating heart of the baby that's inside me! Even though we hear it almost every day (now that we have a doppler)...every time we hear it we are in awe of the miracle God is knitting together in my womb! We thought you might enjoy listening too.
If you're using a Mac...you won't be able to view the clip above. Here's a link you can follow to download the clip and hear it: Click Here to Download
Friday, January 11, 2008
15 Weeks
Today I'm 15 weeks pregnant! I just felt the little one move! I'm kinda surprised to feel him/her this early (this is a few weeks before I felt Brody and I've already been feeling this one for a week or more)...but the movement is still really light. We ended up buying a doppler on Ebay (it was cheaper to buy it new on Ebay than to rent it) so that we can listen to the baby's heartbeat whenever we want. It's so neat! The heartrate is usually between 140 and 155 bpm. If Brody is awake when we listen...he wants us to do it again and again. Even a 1.5 year old thinks it's cool! I'll try to remember to post my belly pic after Mike takes it on Sunday so that you can see how "fat" I'm getting ;)
*Shauna challenged me to start the next 5 posts with a number...we'll see if I can rise up to the challenge! lol
*Shauna challenged me to start the next 5 posts with a number...we'll see if I can rise up to the challenge! lol
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Number 4
Today Brody's 4th tooth broke thru his gums. That's right...I said 4th! He now has 2 front teeth on top and 2 front teeth on the bottom. When I went to write the new tooth down in his baby book, I noticed that the "average" age for the top front teeth to come in is 7.5 months....in 5 days Brody will be 17 months old! I looked at all the other teeth and the "average" dates that they come in and it looks like most kids have 16 teeth by now! I'm hoping that the old wives tale is right and that "the later teeth come in, the stronger their roots are".
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
TWO!
We arrived back in Kansas on Monday evening. We had a wonderful time in Texas with friends and family. I will post about our Christmas Vacation over the next few days...but I'll be backdating them to when the events actually happened (so they'll be posted before this post on my blog).
We arrived back in Kansas to snow covered ground and COLD weather! When I drove in to work this morning it was TWO degrees outside! Not 22 or 12...TWO!!! Brrrrrrrr!
We arrived back in Kansas to snow covered ground and COLD weather! When I drove in to work this morning it was TWO degrees outside! Not 22 or 12...TWO!!! Brrrrrrrr!
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