No Fear

Billy and Paula had a big cookout at their house for Memorial Day. We made it back from Kansas just in time for the party. The food was delicious...but Brody didn't care about the food. He just wanted to get in the pool! He spent almost the entire time there in the swimming pool. Their pool is already nice and warm, so it was fun to swim with him.

Billy had a few games/contests for us to play and even had prizes! One of the contests involved diving off the diving board. When Brody saw everyone going off the diving board he wanted to participate too! He kept asking me to go down there, so I finally took him. After teaching private swim lessons for so long, I fully expected to have to lower him off of the diving board by his hands into Tyler's waiting arms. I can't tell you how many times I treaded water for 1/2 a lesson waiting for a kid to jump off the board (and these kids were way older than Brody). Well...that wasn't the case with my son. He walked right up there and jumped off without even thinking twice! Yikes! I'm REALLY gonna have to watch him this summer around the pool. He has no fear when it comes to swimming. Here's a video of him jumping off the diving board into his uncle Tyler's arms.

The rest of the weekend...

We spent most of the rest of the weekend in Kansas just hanging out with Mike. Brody was so happy to get to spend so much time with Daddy. This is a picture of when he told Mike to lay down with him on the floor. Then he just laid there staring at Mike! So sweet! Saturday night we put Brody to bed, played some dominoes, and watched a movie. Brody slept in until 8:30 on Sunday morning...which meant that we all slept in too! It felt great!

While I was fixing breakfast I noticed Caleb and Brody sitting really still on the couch just staring out the window. Caleb finally asked Brody what he was looking at and Brody replied, "Trees." lol! There's only ONE tree out that window and then miles of open fields. I guess he liked that tree!

Sunday afternoon Grammy came over to watch Brody while we went to Hutch. We ate at Chili's and then went to see Indiana Jones. None of us were overly impressed with the movie. It was just ok. Kinda strange that there were aliens in an Indiana Jones movie! We drove home in yet another hard rain.

Monday morning we headed back to Texas by 10 am. I was VERY EXCITED that this was the last time I'd have to drive away from Kansas and leave Mike behind. Next time he'll be coming with us!!

We wanted to leave in time to get to Billy & Paula's house for their Memorial Day cookout! We made it just in time...even with stopping 4 times for Brody to go potty! (sidenote: He stayed dry the entire trip home and waiting until we got to Billy & Paula's house to go #2! Yay Brody!!) I'll have more pics and (hopefully a video of Brody jumping of the diving board) soon!

Made it!

We made it safely to Kansas on Friday night. It was a tense ride from Wichita on. There were MAJOR storms in the area. On the radio we were listening to a storm chaser who was tracking a tornado and a thunderstorm with tennis ball sized hail! We were about 15 minutes ahead of the storm as it was traveling north east. Brody woke up when it started raining really hard (around midnight). He was excited about all the rain and kept telling us that his window was wet (on the outside)! Caleb, Audria, and I were all very tense during this part of our drive. It was raining so hard that Caleb couldn't see the road 5 feet in front of us! Audria could see the white line out her window, so she was holding the steering wheel and keeping us on the road while Caleb was controlling the pedals. We were VERY happy to drive into the shop at our house where Mike told us that the tornado and hail were going to stay south of us. Whew!

I waited until we were 10 minutes from our house to tell Brody where we were going. I asked him if he wanted to go see Daddy. His eyes got so wide (especially for 12:30 am) and he said, "DADDY?!?!? Daddy's house?!?!?" He was elated to see Mike when he opened the door to get Brody out. Needless to say, his excitement made it hard to get him to go back to sleep. I don't think we got him to bed until 1:30 am!

We were all really tired. It had been a loooong drive after a full day of work. We were sitting upstairs in the entertainment room talking when I decided to go downstairs and get Brody's jammies. As I was headed down my feet slipped on the stairs and flew out from under me. I fell backwards and slid down several stairs before stopping. I could hear the sound of feet scurrying across the entertainment room above me and within seconds Mike was beside me. Thankfully I fell backwards (not forwards onto my belly)...so I just came away with a bruised tailbone, sore neck and back, and a few rug burns on my elbows. I was also given orders from Mike to never do that again...and to hold onto the handrail while going down the stairs!

This morning Audria and I are going to pack up some boxes while Mike and Caleb finish up a few of the little things that are left on Mike's to-do list. I'm sure Brody will follow them around since their jobs will involve tools and outside while Audria and I will just be using packing tape ;)

Working Out

This has been a fun workout week. Last week I started going to the gym with Dad. We try to get there by 5:30 every morning. This week we took an aerobics class almost every day. We liked all of them except for the yoga (I've never been a big fan of yoga). We did Body Pump on Tuesday & today and on Wednesday we took a class called Cardio Kickbox. It was so much fun...and such a good workout! It'll be really fun when I'm not carrying around a big baby and can workout as hard as I want! Not much longer....

Today I'm 34 weeks pregnant! So only 6 more weeks until my due date! Everyone keeps telling me that they don't think I'll make it that long...which probably means that I'll be a week late ;) lol

Caleb & Audria are going to KS for the weekend and invited Brody and I to ride along with them. I learned my lesson and haven't told Brody yet that he's gonna get to see Daddy this weekend. I think I'll just let him figure it out when we arrive. I got a bunch of boxes for free off of Craig's List yesterday, so I'm gonna try to fit a few of them in and Audria and I can get started on packing. Sounds fun, huh?

Cousins

Saturday evening some of the family came over to Daddy Steve and Namaw's house to celebrate Namaw & Ann's birthday and a late Mother's Day. The kids were so excited to get to see each other. Brody talked (with anticipation) about Collin coming over all day long. The kids spent most of the evening playing oustide. Isn't this the most precious picture ever of Collin talking to Brody? After dinner Lauren and Katelyn wanted to go swimming. This meant that Brody and Collin wanted to go swimming too. Thankfully, Lauren is old enough to tote the boys around in the pool. I can guarantee you that there was no way any of the adults were getting in that cold pool!
The kids, on the other hand, couldn't get enough! Brody would get out (shivering from cold) and we'd try to wrap him up in a towel. That would last MAYBE 30 seconds before he was headed back to the water. I have a feeling that he'll be asking to go get in the pool all day every day this summer (like he asks to go to the park...or just outside in general right now)!
When Lauren and Katelyn decided to get out we were finally able to get the boys out and warmed up.
It's so much fun to watch the kids play together. I'm so glad that our boys will get to grow up with their cousins! It will be fun to watch the friendships that form over the coming years.

HE DID IT!!!!

Brody went poop in the potty today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think it really scared him at first, but then it was party time! We called Daddy on the webcam to tell him, ran to find Daddy Steve & Namaw and tell them, and then got fruit snacks as a treat! Only those of you who have been in my shoes know the immense excitement I felt when I heard those plops! :)

Big Boy Pants

Yep. Training is underway. Brody has started asking to go to the potty more lately, so I decided to just go for it and put him in big boy pants. I'm sure some of you remember that we tried this before, but he wasn't ready yet. At the time he would go on the potty...but he wouldn't tell us he needed to go until AFTER he went in his pants! So far...this time is totally different!

Last week he had a few accidents in his undies and I took it pretty slow. I'd put the undies on him in the mornings and then put a diaper on him for his nap. Then he'd end up in a diaper the rest of the day (probably just because I was tired and didn't want to worry with it!) This week has been awesome so far! He's been asking for his "big boy pants", so that helps keep me motivated. Both yesterday and today he went all day long without wetting his pants! He even stayed dry during a 40 minute roomtime (all by himself in his room) and during nap time!

Today I was brave (or crazy) and took him to the bank with me in his undies (and clothes...of course). This wasn't a quick trip thru the drive thru. We had to go inside and finish setting up our new bank account...so it took a while. I started getting nervous when we were in the banker's office and Brody wanted to drink my water. Before long I notice him doing the potty dance. I quickly excused ourselves and rushed him to the bathroom. I was so proud as he did the potty dance waiting for me to help him get his pants down...and then he went in the potty! Yay! Of course he flushes and says, "Good job, Brody! Proud of you!" So cute!

Yesterday on our walk at the park he learned the joy of peeing in the woods (one of the many times it's nice to be the mom of a boy)! Dad informed me tonight that I can also check the library bathroom off the list. He said that Brody started to use the urinal...then peeked under stall and told Daddy Steve that he wanted to go in there instead. lol!

I've heard that potty training can sometimes be 1 step forward and 2 steps back...but right now I'm just thankful for that 1 step forward! Now if he could just figure out the poopin' on the potty... Any tips?

Friday Firehouse in Temple

Guess where Brody convinced all of us to go Friday morning in Temple? Yep...the park! He even had the birthday girl (Ann) climbing on the playground equipment. Caleb and I went with Grandmommy on a walk around the park and when we got back we found that Brody had made a new friend. The little boy and Brody took turns riding the bike and pushing each other. They had a lot of fun!
Caleb, Audria, Tyler, and Ann left after lunch time. When we put Brody down for his nap we told him that he was going to get to do something fun when he woke up. Dad grew up with a guy (David) who is now a Deputy Fire Chief. When Brody got up we met David at the fire station for a tour. Here's Brody and Deputy Fire Chief David.

David had a fireman's hat for Brody along with a sticker badge, some pencils, a coloring book, and some trading cards! The real fun began when we went out into the garage. There Brody had the attention of all the firemen and was able to climb on and inside of every vehicle in their garage! Here he is "driving" one of the big fire trucks.

Fireman Lance let Brody try on the headset inside of the pumper truck. It's the truck they use specifically for fighting grass fires.
Don't ask me how, but he convinced them to pull the pumper truck out of the garage...
and let him spray the water hose! It was a hot and humid day, so before long he had his hand in front of the water hose...then his feet. I have to admit that the spray felt really good!
Cindy, Ginger, and McKenna came over before dinner. Cindy made Brody a really cool box car. Then she worked up a sweat pushing him around and around the house. Brody was just laughing and laughing! She even drew a gas pedal and brake pedal for him and gave him a paper plate for a steering wheel. Needless to say...this box came home with us. Now we just need Cindy here to push him around!
Even though our reason for being down in Temple was heartbreaking, we really enjoyed all the time we got to spend with family. I'm sure Daddy Ken would be happy to know that we were still laughing and having fun with the family that he loved so much.

Thursday in Temple

While we were in Temple for Daddy Ken's funeral, we tried to do a few things to take our minds off of our grief. Brody was very helpful in keeping us entertained and smiling. On Thursday morning he convinced Daddy Steve, Caleb, & Tyler to walk to the park with him. One of his latest obsessions is buckles. He wants to make sure that any buckle is buckled together. It makes it hard to put on the back pack if you don't know that Brody snuck away to hook all the straps together!

The guys walked down by a creek and found a bush full of honeysuckle. Daddy Steve let Brody taste it and he kept saying, "Like it!" and "Good!!"
My ever inventive brothers found a tennis ball in the bushes and decided to play a match using their flip flops as tennis rackets!
The guys had to take showers after playing so hard and then it was off to the church. Grandmommy's church made a WONDERFUL meal for all the family before the funeral on Thursday. They even sent her home with an ice chest full of leftovers!

Here's a picture of Daddy Ken's brother (Uncle Guy) trying to convince Brody that it would be more fun to go back to the family life center and eat lunch than to go to the courtyard and play on the slide. Good luck with that one!
Grandmommy, Dad, and Cindy
After the funeral we all went back to Grandmommy's house. McKenna was in a really good mood. How could anyone (especially Grandmommy) resist smiling along with her?!?

I had no clue that I would also be part of the entertainment! The blindingly white blurr in the bottom right corner of this picture is my belly. For a little while everyone sat around just watching my belly and laughing every time the baby would move. He was being really active and my belly was rollin' around like the ocean tide!
Of course Brody didn't let Daddy Steve forget the most important job. Mowing! The weather cleared up on Thursday, so after Brody's nap it was time to mow!
Sharon and Sheila brought fajitas and fixin's over for dinner (they were delicious!!!) All the "kids" sat in the sun room to eat. Before long Brody convinced Tyler to go outside with him. We all watched as Tyler and Brody would spin around and around and then try to walk across the yard.
By the end of the day we were all exhausted. Without me even asking, Caleb and Audria offered to rub my feet!!! Then Audria said, "Do you need me to massage anything else?" I couldn't turn that down...so I got a back rub too! What a relaxing end to a loooong day.

To induce or not to induce?

Yesterday I had an appointment with my midwife. She informed me that I'm measuring big (by 3 weeks) and that she thinks he's gonna be a big baby. She asked me how I felt about being induced early so that he wouldn't get too big. Of course I had this appointment the day after watching The Business of Being Born, a movie that my dad rented thru Netflix. It was a good movie, but it made you want to do everything naturally (except I wouldn't go so far as having our baby at home!) She wants me to try to get another sonogram in the next few weeks to give her an estimate on the baby's weight. After reading up on it, it looks like studies show that the "guesstimates" on the baby's weight via a sonogram are just that...guesstimates! Being off 1/2-1 pound could make a difference between a "normal" size baby and a big baby....and a "normal" labor or one that's induced unnecessarily. I guess the positive side of being induced is that we'd get to have the baby during our current insurance year (our deductibles start over July 1st)...which is something we've been praying would happen.

Either way, I'm glad that we didn't have to decide yesterday what to do! We'd like some time to think about it...and to hear opinions from our readers out there (I KNOW y'all have opinions about this...so let us hear them!!!)

My Boys

I thought Mother's Day would be a good day to share a few pictures with you of me and my boys (meaning Brody and the new baby). I had Dad take these pictures over 3 weeks ago. Then I had a few framed and surprised Mike with them when we went to visit. I was 29 weeks pregnant in these pictures. Motherhood has brought me so much joy over the past 2 years. I can only imagine what the next 50 will bring!

Get Up!

Yesterday we went to the funeral home around 11:00 to view Daddy Ken's body before the visitation. We tried to prepare Brody for the fact that Daddy Ken would look like he was sleeping when we got there. We talked about how Daddy Ken is in Heaven now with Jesus...but I know Brody doesn't understand.

When we walked in Brody said, "Shhh. Daddy Ken sleepin'." Everyone was in tears when we saw him. Brody didn't like the fact that everyone was sad. He went and got a klenex and started wiping the tears from my eyes while saying, "Mommy sad?"

After awhile I think he started getting a little impatient about the fact that Daddy Ken was still "sleeping". I was holding him standing by the casket and Brody wanted to "touch him". So I let Brody hold Daddy Ken's hand. Then Brody started saying, "Get up! Get up! Get up Daddy Ken! Get up!" It made me think of the times in the Bible that Jesus raised people from the dead. Can you imagine how awesome it would have been to be there and see him perform the miracle of bringing someone back to life?!?

Here is a link to the obituary on the funeral home's website. The funeral is today at 1:00 pm. Please continue to pray for peace for the family and that the funeral will glorify our Lord and Savior.

Tears

Daddy Ken died this morning.

Dad, Mom, Brody and I headed to Temple as soon as we got the news. I'm at Grandmommy's house right now (Brody's taking a nap) and everyone else is at the funeral home.

Before his nap Brody kept looking for Daddy Ken. He'd point to the chair that Daddy Ken usually sits in and say, "Daddy Ken at?" I didn't really know what to tell him. He finally came up to me and said, "Daddy Ken at work?" (I guess he thinks that's where everyone goes when they're not at home.) I just started crying. He doesn't understand that he'll never see him again. It's hard for me to believe I won't get to sit and talk with him again, or hug him and kiss him, or that he won't get to hold our new little boy. I really didn't expect this. I know that he hadn't been doing so well...but he was such a strong man! Several times doctors had told him he was going to die and he'd prove them wrong. I just expected him to prove them wrong again. I guess I didn't let myself imagine the possibility that he wouldn't recover.

He may not get to hold our new little boy, but I can take comfort in the fact that he is in Heaven right now loving on Baby K for me. I know that he is now without the pain of cancer that was eating away at his body...and free from the pain of his broken hip. I'm so happy that he is now in the presence of our savior, Jesus Christ, yet at the same time it's hard not to be selfish. I miss him here on earth!

Loooooong Day

This morning was wonderful. Mike brought Brody to our bedroom around 7:30 am and Brody jumped on the bed and said, "Mommy, pancakes?!?" So I got up and made pancakes :) Then we just laid around and played with Brody and talked until it was time for church.

Here are a few pictures of us after church. I love it when Mike fixes Brody's hair for church...it always looks so cute!!! My boys are so cute! I can't wait until there's a second little boy in Mike's arms too!


After lunch the dreaded time was approaching. The time to drive back to Texas...and leave Mike behind in Kansas. I packed up our stuff while Mike spent as much time as he could with Brody. It was a painful, tearful goodbye. It's so hard to hug and kiss Mike and know that it'll be the last time I feel his touch for weeks, maybe even a month or more! I finally just had to get in the car and drive away.

It was a loooooong ride back to Texas. Brody was great on the way to Kansas...but I don't think he liked being in his carseat one bit on the way to Texas! He slept MAYBE 1.5 hours out of the 8 hours the trip took us. Most of the rest of the time he spent crying, whining, and screaming! I was at my wits end by the time we arrived at my parents' house! It was definitely worth it to get to spend over a week with Mike...but I'm very glad that next time we make the trip I won't be by myself!!!

Saturday

Today Mike got to play in the Yeakel Memorial Golf Tournament. Before he left Brody wanted him to look at pictures one more time. He loves looking at the pictures of him as a baby...especially the one of him on a mower in Lowes at 2 days old! Brody and I spent the rest of the day cleaning house, cleaning out the basement, and working on putting the house on the market. By the end of Brody's nap time I had a Kodak Gallery album of the house ready to send to interested buyers and the house listed on Craigs List.

Mike did really well at the tournament. He even got Closest to the Pin on one of the holes (out of 96 players)! He won an autographed polo (framed in a shadow box with a plaque) from the OU coach (don't ask me his name). Woo hoo! lol. Since we're not OU fans he sold it to one of the other guys there who really wanted it and made a little money :)

Mike got home not long after our babysitter, Ashley, arrived. Then we headed out to dinner with our good friends, Chris & Teri. We had a fun and very memorable evening with them. Everything was going smooth until the waitress was putting the waters down on our table and the beer on her tray slid off and spilled all over Mike (and his white shirt)! Let's just say that we didn't really want to go out anywhere else after that. Mike stunk like beer and his clothes were a mess!! So we headed back to our house for some ice cream and cards. It was fun just to hang out. We're really gonna miss them!!!

WINDY Friday

Today was soooooooooooooooo windy!!! We had gusts around 55 mph and a steady wind in the 40's all day! It was crazy! Mike was really wanting to put trim up on the house...so I did a lot of praying. He was up on the extension ladder trying to hang long boards in 40+ mph winds. I think he got a pretty good workout! Brody was disappointed that he couldn't go outside to watch Mike...but I think he would've blown away like the tumbleweed.

Wichita Fun

After getting to see our little boy at Baby Waves, we headed over to Luke and April's house for lunch. Luke used to work with Mike at Sterling College and has since moved to Wichita. They have 2 girls (a 5 year old and a 15 month old). All of their toys were pink...but Brody still found something to play with. Did you know that a toy hair dryer can also be a drill? The screw was loose in the hair dryer, so Brody convinced Luke to get out a screwdriver so he could fix it. I think Joanna just wanted her hair dryer back so she could fix her hair ;) After a delicious homemade lunch, we headed to the sporting goods store where Mike and Brody were in heaven with all the golf clubs! Brody did not want to leave the putting green!
He was happy when we arrived at Home Depot...until we made him get off the mowers and go inside!!
When we got home he played outside with Remington and the water hose until it was time for bed. I just love this picture of him giving Mike a kiss as he heads off to go night night! So sweet!!

Sneak Peek

Today we got a sneak peek of our baby boy. Mike, Brody, and I went to Baby Waves in Wichita for a 3d/4d ultrasound. It was so cool! The bed I was laying on was so comfortable (almost like a recliner) and there were nice chairs for Mike and Brody to sit in while we watched the sonogram on a big screen TV. The sonographer was really nice and said that she'd been doing sonograms for 27 years!

It is AMAZING the pictures that we were able to see of our little boy! We got DVD of the entire session, black & white prints, color prints, a diaper bag with lots of formula/diaper samples, and a CD with almost 100 pictures! Here's just a few of the many pictures we have.

Notice how his brow was furrowed in the picture below? I think he was starting to get annoyed with all the prodding from the sonographer!
In the picture below you can see his hand, leg, and foot that were all up by his head! It's amazing how flexible little babies are! He is so crowded in there!!


After she finished taking all the necessary measurements the sonographer asked Mike and I to guess at how much the baby weighs. We guessed a little over 3 pounds (this would go along with what Baby Center says he should weigh for as far along as I am). We were a way off. She said that he's already 4 1/2 pounds!!! Yikes! She predicted another big boy (Brody was 8 lbs 8 oz). Can you say OUCH!?!?

We did get another good picture of his boy parts...but it was so clear that I'm afraid I might be arrested if I were to post it online ;) lol! Besides...I think I've shown enough of those pictures that he'll be more than embarrassed later on in life!