Tina Dump

This morning I headed back to the gym for aerobics class. This time I took the class rather than taught. It took a lot less brain power...and I got to talk to the ladies more :) It was fun! Then Tina went with Brody and I to the dump where I had to unload a ton of junk/trash from the pickup. {This must have been the most memorable part of the day for Brody because all day he's been saying, "Tina dump!" lol} After the dump we hung out at Tina's house for a little while before picking up her daughter, Summer, and going to lunch at Sonic. Any of you with toddlers know how incredibly slow they can eat a hamburger. Summer was in a hurry to get back to school (they were watching Pearl Harbor in her drama class) and well, let's just say that Brody was not in a hurry at all! Tina and I were laughing at all of Summer's not-so-subtle comments about the length of time it was taking Brody to eat a jr hamburger!

As we headed home I was thinking about how good it has been to get to see all my old friends at the gym again. Now I'm gonna miss them even more when I'm back in Texas!

Tonight was awards night for AWANA at church. Brody got the giggles for some reason. Every time they announced a kid's name he'd start giggling so hard! It was the contagious laugh that had everyone around us giggling too! I guess that's better than crying.

After church, Jed and Michelle came over to hang out and play cards (and of course eat ice cream)! We played a game called 7-up (no...not Heads Up 7-up! lol) that was really fun. We need to play it more so that we don't forget about it!

Tuesday

When I looked at the weather before we left Texas, it said that it would be in the 70's this week in Kansas. What I forgot was that in Kansas it still gets cold at night (30's or 40's) and MAYBE reaches the 70's by late afternoon!!! I'm wishing that I brought shoes other than sandals and a few long sleeve shirts for myself! I guess Brody was trying to tell me that he was a little chilly too. This morning I looked over and saw this: He was laying in the sun covered up by a hand towel from the bathroom!!! I'm glad that I packed him a few sweatshirts and a jacket!!

Brody really misses Mike when he's at work, so today I told him we'd meet Daddy at the park for lunch. He was VERY excited and kept asking for lunch time! I told him it would be after room time...so he wanted room time right away! lol

You'd think I'd have figured this out by now, but I really should feed him lunch BEFORE we go to the park. Once we get to the park there's no way to get him to stop and eat a good lunch! Mike scarfed down his lunch so that he could go play with Brody. I ended up feeding Brody his lunch when we got home from the park.


After work Mike and Brody mowed again. For days Mike has been telling Brody that they could mow again on Tuesday. This morning he told Brody that after his nap they would mow. As soon as his head popped off the pillow this afternoon he was saying, "Daddy mow?!?!?" I was glad that Mike was already home from work and ready to take him outside! If he hadn't been home yet I'm afraid I would've had a major meltdown on my hands!

Golfin' with Daddy

When we got home from seeing Daddy at work it was time for lunch and then naptime. Mike told Brody that after his nap and after dinner they would get to play golf together. This was plenty of motivation for Brody to be excited to go down for a nap! While he was napping I cleaned out the shop. The shop looks great now...but my back is killing me!!!

Brody woke up from his nap saying, "Golf with Daddy?!?" Mike was helping with a high school golf tournament and wanted me to bring Brody out there after dinner. He said by then he'd be almost done and ready to play some golf with Brody. So we ate dinner and headed to the golf course.

Mike borrowed a golf cart from one of our friends which enabled me to go with them and watch (there was no way I had the energy to walk around the golf course)! Brody was soooo excited to get to "drive" the golf cart with Daddy. One of the high school golfers, Kramer, played the first hole with Mike and Brody. On the first hole I realized that there's NO WAY we could take Brody to a professional golf tournament right now! He was a chatter box the entire time!

I like this picture because of Brody's expression (that I couldn't catch perfectly). Every time Mike would drive the ball off the tee Brody would say, "WOW!!" in a loud whisper voice! It was so cute :)
Brody's turn to hit off the tee. I'm shocked at how good his hand eye coordination is! I think it's better than mine!
Putting with his putter.
Getting a few tips from Daddy.
He had so much fun golfing at the golf course! I hope that it's something that my boys can enjoy together for years and years to come.

Back to work

Not really...but I did get to go back to the gym and teach an aerobics class today! I was glad to see that I could pick up where I left off (except for the fact that I'm a lot slower now with this huge boy inside me)! A few people joked with me about the fact that I left a job working at a gym to take a desk job and now I've gained a lot of weight! lol.

Brody was a little shy at first, but it wasn't long before he remembered what his jobs were at the rec. He asked Junior for the key so they could go upstairs and sweep the gym floor. He even remembered which door he was supposed to go unlock! RaeAnn didn't take Cheyenne to daycare this morning until lunch time, so she and Brody got to play together. Junior played with the kids for a few hours while RaeAnn and I visited and followed them around.
I even got to show a few people the ropes at the gym. RaeAnn was in the other room and the people that came in hadn't been in for a while (so they had no clue that I have moved). It was fun showing them around and made me miss working at the gym.

After we left the gym we stopped by Mike's office. Brody was so happy to get to see Daddy! He was even able to convince Daddy to climb up a TALL ladder.
The ladder leads all the way up to the roof of the school!
When we left Daddy's office Brody talked about going on the roof with Daddy all the way back to our house!

Sunday

This morning Brody was very excited to go to church. When he was all dressed and ready to go, he headed towards the door and sat down to wait on us.

After church Mike's mom, Grammy, came over to our house for lunch. When Brody went down for his nap, Mike and I headed out for a date while Grammy stayed to babysit. Mike and I got to see the movie Leatherheads, eat at Chilli's, and do a little shopping. It was fun to have time alone with each other.

It sounds like Brody and Grammy had fun while we were gone. I think he was able to convince her to go outside and play golf for hours on end! Grammy also left us with several mornings worth of muffins! Yumm!

Daddy Time

Friday Brody and I went to Mike's office for a visit. He had fun exploring the huge office and playing in the empty computer boxes. After we left Mike's office, we headed to the grocery store. The food situation at our house looked pretty scarce. I opened the fridge on Friday morning to find condiments...and that's about it! The pantry also looked really bare! I'm wondering what Mike has been eating! Brody and I wanted to make sure that we all ate good this next week...so we stocked up at the store.

When Brody woke up from his nap, Mike was home from work! He woke up calling for Daddy and saying, "Daddy...mow?" When we were at Mike's office he'd told Brody that they would mow after Brody's nap. Brody doesn't forget a promise like that! So they headed straight outside to start mowing.

Brody was soooooo excited to mow! Every time he saw me watching them he'd look at me and grin ear to ear!

Today we spent part of the morning just playing upstairs and watching "big boy cartoons" aka home improvement shows. Then we headed outside to help Mike on a few projects. Mike moved a ton of limestone up to the house for landscaping while I spread mulch. Brody was busy following Daddy back and forth and then hitting golf balls for Remington to fetch.

While Brody was napping we saw storm clouds rolling in. This is what it looked like by the time he woke up!

It rained hard for most of the evening and we even had some hail! (Don't worry Ron & Jan, your car was in the shop!) Thankfully, the hail was pretty soft and didn't seem to do any damage.

Brody went to sleep talking to his stuffed animals about mowing with Daddy :)

Safe and Sound

Brody and I made it to KS last night around 8 pm. Brody was awesome on the trip. When we left Daddy Steve & Namaw's house he said, "Daddy's house in Kansas?" I told him after his nap. So he immediately went to sleep and slept the first 2.5 hours. Then he woke up asking for Daddy. I told him after dinner. He played with his toys in the back seat and talked until we stopped for dinner around 5 pm. After eating an entire hamburger at McDonald's, I made him a special cup of ice cream. I put half milk and half chocolate shake in his sippy cup so that we could get back on the road (and I could have a milkshake without him wanting some of it in the car)! Worked like a charm. He drank on that for the next hour!

Mike called when we were almost home and said that he was just about to leave the golf course. We ended up beating him home. Brody was so excited to see Remington and the kitties...then he just wanted to see Daddy. I told him to wait on the porch while I took our stuff inside. He stood on his tiptoes looking down the road for Daddy's truck. I wish I had it on video when Mike pulled up the drive. Brody ran thru the yard towards Mike while Mike ran towards him. Brody was laughing the whole way with his arms reaching up towards Mike. It was so sweet! He was so happy to be in Daddy's arms! Then the first words out of his mouth were, "Daddy golf?!" So he and Mike stayed outside playing golf until it was too dark to see.

It was sensory overload for Brody inside the house. He had to explore every room and got excited over toys he hasn't seen in 2 months. We finally put him in bed at 9:30 (really late for him) and he went right to sleep.

This morning he wasn't too happy to see Mike leave for work. In fact, he's been playing in the room by the front door all morning just waiting for Daddy to get home and mow (Mike told him they'd mow after work).

GROSS!

Today Mom was at a client's office, so it was just me, Brody, and the dogs at the house. Brody had been playing in the living room when I suddenly realized that it was quiet (not a good sign). I found Brody sitting on the stairs. The dogs were at the bottom of the stairs watching him. He had both dog bowls and was chowin' down on dog food! YUCK!!!!! I know that most kids try it at one time or another...but it's still not something you want to find your kid doing! So we learned a new phrase today, "Dog food gross!" I immediately took him upstairs to wash his hands, face, and brush his teeth.
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On Monday Brody fell asleep during roomtime. This was a first! He crawled up onto the twin bed that's in the same room as his crib and crashed. He slept for 2 hours...and then didn't take an afternoon nap. It happened again yesterday! This really messes up my work schedule...so today when I took him up to his room for roomtime I told him "no sleeping"! He looked at me and laughed like I'd just told a great joke! I listened to him over the monitor while I worked and he was up there playing. I also kept hearing him say, "No sleepin'!" After awhile it suddenly got quiet. I ran upstairs and opened his bedroom door. He was laying on the bed and quickly pulled the stuffed animal off of his face to look at me. Then he started laughing! I said, "I thought I told you no sleeping!?!" He laughed so hard he was crying!

4 more nights!!!

I only have FOUR more nights of sleeping all alone!!!! FRIDAY Brody and I are driving to Kansas to visit Mike for over a week!!! I can hardly wait!!!

Little Helper

Yesterday Brody was Daddy Steve's little helper. As soon as he woke up Daddy Steve asked him to help put together a picnic bench. Since it was still cool outside, they set it up in the kitchen.
"I get to eat breakfast here?! Cool!!"

After breakfast they headed outside to work on Daddy Steve's '66 Mustang. Daddy Steve put a step ladder by the hood of the car so that Brody could help work.
When Brody saw Daddy Steve get his toolbox out...guess what Brody wanted to do? Yep. He had to go inside and get HIS toolbox!
"Hmmm. Daddy Steve asked for a screwdriver. Should I let him use mine or give him the one out of his toolbox?"
Once they got the car fixed, Daddy Steve put Brody's carseat in the back of the Mustang and they went crusin'. I think Brody likes the deep rumble of the Mustang and the wind blowing in his face (there's no a/c so they ride around with the windows down). We even got to ride in the Mustang to church this morning! We felt like we were back in the 1960's...

We made it!

I officially made it thru tax season for the very first time! I actually had a lot of fun with it. I think Mom may have been a little stressed...but hopefully I helped to ease some of the burden. I learned a lot this year, but I still have soooo much to learn! Now we're on to the every day tasks of reconciling bank statements, filing quarterly reports, and trying to make sense out of the mess some businesses call "bookkeeping"! Again, I have a lot to learn! I'm glad Mom is such a patient teacher.

More importantly, the countdown is now on for when Brody and I get to see Mike again!!! Only 8 more days until we're in Kansas for a week long visit!!! Brody and I are VERY excited! Today Mike was talking to Brody on the phone and asked if he wanted to go play golf when we get to Kansas. Brody got very excited and promptly told me, "Mommy...go Durango...see Daddy...GOLF!" He even got my tennis shoes out of my closet and started trying to put them on my feet! I tried to explain to him that he would get to play golf with Daddy but that it's many naptimes and nigh nights away from now. He didn't understand. When we got in the car to go get dinner he was so happy. When we pulled back up at Daddy Steve and Namaw's house he burst into tears and cried, "Daddy's house! Kansas!!" I carried him inside where he proceeded to cry at the door until I got Mike on the webcam. Then Brody was happy talking to Daddy. I understand. Talking to Mike makes me happy too!

Turkey Hunt

Mike and Chris have been getting ready for Spring Turkey Season for a few weeks now! They've been out scouting several times, put up a feeder, and knew exactly where they wanted to go when the season opened. This past Friday they met early in the morning to beat the turkeys out to the field. Mike said they both had a turkey by 8 am! They cleaned the birds, cut up the meat, and were back at work by lunch time! I can tell from the expressions on their faces in the picture below that they had fun together! (Thanks Teri for taking a picture for me!)

Since they had two permits each, they went back out yesterday afternoon in search of the two big Toms they had seen while scouting earlier in the year. While it wasn't one of the "Big Boys", Mike came back with the bird they called "the Ghost". He weighed 21.2 pounds! Mike said, this guy never travels with any other Toms and has been very elusive. Look how big that bird is! I think the plume of feathers on it is beautiful!

Brody loved looking at the pictures of Daddy and his turkeys. I wish he was there to get to see them in person!

Saturday Visit

Yesterday Daddy Steve, Caleb, Audria, Tyler, Ann, me, and Brody went to visit Daddy Ken and Grandmommy. We left at 8 am and didn't get home until midnight! As soon as we got there Daddy Steve, Caleb, Tyler, and I left to go see Daddy Ken at the nursing home. Audria and Ann got to work deep cleaning Grandmommy's house while Grandmommy took on the task of playing golf outside with Brody.

A lot has happened in the life of Daddy Ken in the past few weeks. After being admitted to the hospital, he was really improving. Then one evening a nurse was helping him to the bathroom and he fell and broke his hip. This was a HUGE setback which resulted in surgery, pneumonia, and a UTI! This has made recovery/rehab go much slower than we had hoped. On Friday they moved him to a nursing home and on Monday he'll start rehab. They'll be working on his hip, his speech, and his balance. They still have him doing breathing treatments to help with the pneumonia and this will probably continue for several weeks.

When the guys and I arrived at the nursing home we found him laying in bed still in a hospital gown. He doesn't have any strength in his legs...but his upper body is as strong as an ox! He's always been a little ornery...so when he said he wanted to arm wrestle me I didn't turn him down. I was SHOCKED when I realized that there was no way I could beat him! I was using all my strength and wasn't even budging his arm! He didn't look like he was even trying! He just smiled and said that no one has ever been able to beat him. He doesn't have very good control of his hands yet, so he still needed our help to eat the lunch they brought him. After his lunch he wanted to take a nap so we left to go back to Grandmommy's house.

Brody was excited to see the guys and had them playing in the front yard as soon as lunch was over!

When Brody went down for his nap it was the girls turn to go see Daddy Ken while the boys worked! Grandmommy had a honey-do list of things that needed to be fixed around the house, so the guys started tackling that list as soon as we left.

I was surprised to walk into the nursing home and see Daddy Ken sitting in a wheelchair (dressed in sweats) in the lobby! He said that he was tired of the bed and was trying to get out when the nurses found him. They bathed him, dressed him, and then wheeled him up front. I think he was happy to see these pretty girls walk in the door.

It was a beautiful day, so we wheeled him outside to visit. He enjoyed sitting in the sun for the first day in weeks!
It was nice to get to visit with him and meet the people who will be caring for him. I think that Grandmommy was very encouraged when she saw him yesterday afternoon. The nurses told us several times that we should expect to see dramatic improvements in him over the next few weeks. They said it takes about a week for all the meds to wear off that he'd been receiving at the hospital (some of them made him kinda loopy).

They guys were able to check off most of the things on Grandmommy's list and the girls thoroughly cleaned her house...so all that was left was to make sure that she was well fed before we headed home! We took her to Texas Roadhouse for a delicious dinner. It was fun to sit there and eat a nice meal, talk, and relax. She told us some neat stories about things she remembered from her childhood...and of course we were entertained by Brody.

We didn't leave her house until 10 pm and we were all tired when we got home...but it was worth it! We just wish that Namaw and Mike could've been there with us...

Bump on the Noggin'

Tuesday evening I heard a loud thump in the kitchen and then Brody was screaming crying. Daddy Steve and Namaw were in there with him, but I still had to run in there to see what was wrong! When I picked him up this is how his head looked!!! Apparently he was in the downward dog position when his feet slipped out from under him and he crashed headfirst into the kitchen floor! Ouch! I've never given him any Motrin or Tylenol for bumps on the head...but after he told me for the 10th time that his head hurt and to "kiss it Mommy"...I gave him a little pain reliever before bed.

Here's what his head looks like today (3 days later). Pay no attention to the scrapes by his mouth. We have no idea how he got those. What can I say...he's all boy!

"Helping" Daddy Steve

On Friday's post I commented that Brody was outside helping Daddy Steve wash the cars. I headed out there to take a picture and this is what I found:




So maybe he was more interested in getting his clothes soaked and the concrete washed than he was in washing the car...but I did get some proof that he was helping Daddy Steve...

He even got down on his knees to make sure the entire vehicle was dry!

Nothin' Hotter

All the 2 year old girls out there need to close their eyes and cover their ears!!

There's nothing better than a guy in a pair of wranglers! Put 'em on a boy with a blonde hair, blue eyes, and dimples and it's irresistible!!! I don't think I'll let Brody leave the house in wranglers when he's a teenager. It's too dangerous!!!

Without a Doubt

Today I had the privilege of being a practice patient for Paula. She doesn't normally do OB sonograms, but in the past few months she's had to do several. She asked if I'd come in and let her do a sonogram on me so that she could work on getting her machine set up correctly for OB patients. She didn't have to ask me twice! Do you know a pregnant woman that'd turn down the chance to see her baby?!?

The baby is head down with his bottom and feet up in my ribs. That explains why my ribs get sore from the constant kicking! He was being shy and every time she tried to get a good profile picture he'd turn his head and look down towards my back. So we didn't get any good pictures of his face. Paula did get an amazing picture of his "package". I can tell you without a doubt that our baby is a boy. Check out this picture! (It's an underside view of his bottom, his legs, and in the middle are his boy parts.) See this sweet little leg and foot? This is what I feel kicking my ribs during the night.
Here he is waving for the camera. You can see his arm and his hand.
Here's a picture of his hand. The four fingers are curled over (you can see his nails!) and his thumb is more towards the bottom in a shadow.

It was fun to get to see him again and I think it helped Paula figure out a few more things on her machine! My back was a little sore after laying flat for so long...but not to worry! Do you remember how Mike gave me 2 gift certificates for an hour massage at Christmas? Well I scheduled one of the massages for today at 2:30. It was wonderful! I wish I could get one every day! I'm glad that I still have one more to look forward to. Thanks Mike for such an amazing Christmas present!

Busy Week!

We've had a busy week this week. Not only is it tax season (need I remind you that I'm working for a CPA now?)...but Brody and I have been busy visiting with family this week too!

Wednesday Angela went out to lunch with us. It was cool and rainy, so we went to the mall. We ate in the food court and then let Brody play in the toddler play area. He had a lot of fun! Angela had her 12 week appointment after our lunch. They did a sonogram and told her that their baby looks healthy! Praise the Lord! Thursday Mom needed me to go to GG's to pick up/drop off tax return stuff for clients. Ann called and wanted to go with us and eat lunch with GG and Sissie. Ron & Jan and Julie, Katelyn, & Collin also met us there for lunch! The boys are just 2 months apart and both have blonde hair and blue eyes. All of the residents were asking us if they were twins.
Yesterday Ann called me after she got home from GG's and told me that she didn't have to work today. She asked if I wanted company during my doctor's visit this morning. I had to go in for a THREE hour glucose test (fun)...so of course I wanted her to come! That sounded a lot more fun than sitting in the waiting room by myself for 3 hours! Isn't she sweet to think of doing that on her day off?!

Brody woke up this morning just after Ann arrived. I was surprised at how he was dressed when I went into his room. Some how he'd gotten his arm out of his sleeve, twisted the shirt around, and then gotten his arm back thru the arm hole. What do you think? Is this the style with kids these days and I'm just outta the loop?!?

The time at the doctor's office flew by since Ann was with me. We had fun talking the whole time! Then we went and turned in all my paperwork for pre-admission at the hospital and got a tour of the maternity ward. I was STARVING by the time we left (I had to fast and hadn't eaten since 5:30 last night)! We went to On the Border for lunch and by the time our chips and salsa arrived I was shaking, sweating, and feeling faint! I think I got food in me just in time! I'm glad I didn't pass out on her! After lunch we stopped by Caleb's house. He told us that he had a coupon for a pedicure (I hope Audria didn't mind him giving it to us!!!) So then we were off to make our feet look beautiful!

We got back to Dad & Mom's house to find that Brody was taking a nap, but had been entertaining Daddy Steve all day (it's Dad's Friday off work). Right now they're outside washing the cars together. I guess I better go take a picture ;)

Daddy Ken Update

After they admitted Daddy Ken to the hospital on Monday, the doctors agreed that he needed to go from there on to an assisted living facility (rather than home). They told Grandmommy that it would help him to recover faster...and keep her from hurting herself by trying to catch him when he falls! He was doing really well on Wednesday. Grandmommy said that he was even walking faster than she could (still using a walker)! Then Wednesday night he called her to tell her that he fell when he went to the bathroom (with a nurse helping him) and that he'd broken his hip. We were all so saddened to hear that he had experienced such a setback! Last night they did surgery on his hip by the best doctor in the area. The doctor told Grandmommy that everything went really well but that he'll need to stay in the hospital a while longer before moving on to assisted living. Please continue to pray for his recovery!

Mommy's Old School Playground

Daddy Steve took Brody on a walk up to the school where Staci, Caleb, and Tyler went to elementary school. They have a brand new playground there with four or five slides. Brody was in giggle heaven!

Daddy Steve followed Brody around giving him suggestions on how to climb up on the towers and slide down the slides.

Brody thought the funniest thing was to throw rocks on the slide and sweep them off again. He really got tickled doing that!

It was such a beautiful evening! Daddy Steve and Brody had a great time together!

Brody Under the Lights!

Uncle Caleb invited us to come to his softball game on Monday night, so Staci dressed Brody up in his official baseball outfit. He looked just like a real baseball player and he looked so cute. Staci was really tired and so she decided to stay at home and rest. That meant Daddy Steve and Namaw got to show Brody off at the game.

Brody watched Uncle Caleb's softball team hit the ball over and over again. Daddy Steve held Brody up behind home plate for the first 4 innings. Brody was enthralled and would say "Hit!" over and over again and when they hit it he would giggle.

Some people in the crowd said that Brody was a real baseball player.

Brody even offered to give an autograph to one of his fans!

Brody started hitting the ball himself during the last few innings. He had so much fun he wasn't ready to leave. But once he got in the carseat he made himself comfortable - taking off his muddy shoes and relaxing. Brody really enjoyed watching the game and then getting a lot of attention from the fans!

And Brody got to stay up past his bedtime!