Christmas is coming ...

I can't believe that Christmas is so close. I'm not done with my shopping (still have 7 people to go to be exact), I've only wrapped 3 things, haven't stuffed a stocking, haven't actually finished decorating the house for that matter, attempted to make truffles yesterday so that I could give them away to our community group last night, however never wrapped a single one up so I guess that means I'll be eating them all myself, I have laundry piled to the ceiling (yesterday Austin got out of the shower and was wearing a beach towel - does that tell you how far behind I am in laundry), we've been eating canned soup, chicken mcnuggets and frozen pizza for dinner this week oh and did I mention that it's 75 degrees here today so instead of doing all of the above, I spent the morning letting Braden crawl in and out of his new consingment find sandbox we recently bought him and walk through the muddy backyard in his rain boots. But, I have managed to listen to a heck of a lot of Christmas music and am still hoping that I don't miss out on any this precious time with Braden as he takes in all of the excitement of this time of year. We did take him to the Opryland Hotel last weekend to enjoy all of the lights and decorations. He LOVED it! Here are some pictures from the hustle and bustle of this time of year.

Examining the Christmas tree ornaments - notice the rainboots (yes, he is still wearing those boys) -
Sporting his Christmas pj's (Austin has a matching pair, okay just kidding) -
Look at the cute little elf toes on the bottom of these pj's -

Running around and thinking it's funny that I'm trying to take a good picture for the Christmas - card -
Loving him some train ride at the Opryland Hotel -
Free at last -
Our brutal attempts for portrait shots -
Peeking at the waterfall with daddy -
Being silly on the car ride home -

Braden was cracking up at this point, maybe his attempt to show me he didn't need his nap -

Well, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

8 Things...

Ashley tagged me, so here goes...

8 things I did today:
1. Took Braden to Monkey's Treehouse to play
2. Made dinner for a friend who just had a baby
3. Gave Braden his antibiotics for his ears
4. Attempted to mail a bunch of Christmas packages at the post office, but didn't have them packaged right and now I have to go back tomorrow...boo!!!
5. Took all of the cushions off of the couch and piled them up so Braden and I could crawl all over them.
6. Read lots of stories to Braden - his favorite Green Eggs and Ham
7. Talked to my mom and dad on the phone
8. Sat down with a cup of coffee and relaxed this morning b/c my baby didn't get up until 7:35 this morning...hallelujah!!!!

8 of my favorite restaurants:
1. Baja Burrito
2. Macaroni Grill
3. J Alexander's
4. Park Cafe
5. Chick-Fil-A
6. Malone's - a restaurant back home
7. PF Chang's
8. La Paz

8 shows I watch:
1. Good Morning America
2. The Hills
3. 24
4. Mad Men
5. The Office
6. Bringing Home Baby - only b/c this is the only decent thing on while Braden is napping
7. Can't think of anything...we don't really watch that much TV

8 things I wish (pray) for:
1. For Braden to know Christ and surrender his life to him
2. For wisdom as I parent my little guy
3. For my mom to quit smoking and my dad's back to be healed
4. For Austin and I to grow old together and watch all of our children grow up
5. To go to Italy and Greece
6. For good health for my family
7. To have more babies
8. For my dear friend Ginger to get pregnant

8 things I look forward to:
1. To watching my kids grow up
2. To going to Naples for 4 days with Austin in January
3. To my sister Shannon's wedding in May
4. To getting my nursing degree - okay this is a long ways off, but I still look forward to it
5. To Austin coming home every night
6. To naps with Austin on Saturday and Sunday while Braden is napping
7. To playing with Braden, spending time with him and hearing him laugh
8. To relaxing with my husband after Braden is in bed at night.

That's all...I tag Reese, Amanda, Jackie and Emily

Merry Christmas Braden...

After an interesting week, we finally discovered that Braden got a double ear infection and another tooth for Christmas this year. Thanks Santa! Of course I feel like a bad mom for not picking up on it sooner, but honestly I thought the fussiness and restless sleep was due to his tooth that was trying to come through, not an ear infection. Anyway, the little guy has been a trooper, but that explains A LOT about the past week. This is Braden's first ear infection, so I definitely feel blessed that he has been so healthy over the past 16 months. Oh, and a big shout out to antibiotics...hallelujah! Anyway, here is Braden when we went Christmas tree shopping last weekend. Yes people, we were that late with Christmas decorations:

Heat Wave...

So last week one day, it got up to a whopping 57 degrees, so Braden and I decided to stay home all day and play out in the leaves in the backyard. I mean, the little guy thought he had died and gone to heaven. Here are some pictures from this sweet day together...


Braden kept fake falling in the leaves...just like his father once did in the movie theater, the mall, pretty much anywhere to embarrass me back in the high school days.
Kissing "T" -
Officially an old man -
In other news, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both of our families, despite the fact that we have all been sick with sinus crud for the past two weeks. And today we will officially begin the Christmas decorating festivities at our house...well, after we all get a nap of course.

Fingerpainting...an attempt at least...

So I decided that since it's cold and dark outside and I'm trying to avoid going out in the afternoons so I don't spend money that it would be a good idea to attempt fingerpainting. Here's how it all went down:

Eager with anticipation - actually, he probably thinks he's about to get a pile full of Cheerios
"This isn't Cheerios, mom"
"Um, is this finger paint or body paint?"
Still not sure why this stuff is sticking to his hands -
"Ta dah"
"Get me out of here and give me some Cheerios"
Needless to say, the whole thing lasted all of 5 minutes and I'm pretty sure Braden didn't like it. I guess I'll put away the crafts for another day.

The stomach bug has hit...

and along with that came the first (of I'm sure more to come) episodes of vomiting in the carseat. Any ideas on how to clean off those carseat covers? Austin was covered in vomit yesterday from scrubbing so hard (well and from carrying Braden inside the house) but after an hour of scrubbing, we still can't get the darn thing clean. I'm mean the boy was really sick yesterday in the car which is so bizzarre b/c he was in the best mood before he threw up and in a great mood afterward. When Austin got home with Brady, he brought him inside and we took him straight to the tub, stripped him naked and started filling the tub with water. When Brady realized he was going to get a bath, he got this huge smile on his face and started splashing the water and playing with his bath toys. Huh? I mean you never would have guessed that the boy was covered in vomit just seconds earlier. Anyway, today I'm feeling so much better and so is Braden, let's just hope and pray that Austin doesn't get it before he heads out for his big trip to Colorado and Wyoming.

In more enlightening news, Austin got me a camera (and a day at the spa) for my 29th birthday last week so that explains why I have no pictures to post. I haven't had time to figure out how to use the camera or download pictures. Maybe next week will be less eventful...

Well, Happy Thanksgiving to all. I can't wait to head home and get some of my momma's yummy feast.

These boots are made for walkin'...and other happenings.

So I walked into Janie and Jack the other day and stumbled across this pair of rain boots for $11.99 and decided they would be a cute buy for Braden. I had no idea that they would become his new favorite item of clothing. Now I know we are entering the independent toddler stage (as expressed the other day when Braden gently pushed my hand away from him as I was trying to help him drive his little lawn mower), but I wasn't prepared for him to want to pick out his shoes every morning. He loves these things and would wear them with every outfit if I let him. He opens up his closet door, drags out those boots and carries them over to me, plops in my lap and says "shu, shu."
We've had a busy few weeks and here are some pictures to remember it by:

Visiting the Pumpkin patch at my parents house -
Coco (or To-To as Braden calls her), Poppa and Braden and I -
Enjoying a box of Cheerios -
Balancing or dancing or something of the sort at the Children's Museum in Lexington -
Playing outside with Austin in the new house we bought Brady -
Mowing the lawn alongside of Austin -

For Halloween, Braden was the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." I took him to Davis Kidd for the Halloween story hour in the morning, where he loved playing with the balloons and with the trains. Afterward we walked around the mall as I ran a few errands (yes Ashley, I was that other mom who had her kid dressed up in costume before noon on Halloween) :) We were supposed to head to a Halloween Party that afternoon w/ my moms group, but Braden ended up sleeping through that party...and we decided to opt out of trick-or-treating that night since Braden is a bit young to really understand what was going on and instead went to eat at Pei Wei. Here is my little spider all dressed up -
Playing with the balloons at Davis Kidd -
Later on that evening, we made some desperate attempts to get Braden to stand still long enough to get a few pictures in his costume. Of course none of this could go down without a few snacks and a sippy cup -
By this point in the evening, Braden is growing a bit tired of the photo session -
"Please no more photos and get this hat off of me, oh and I'll take another cracker while you are at it..."
"Much better" -

I must say that 15 months has been such a delight. Braden is growing into such a sweet child. He is still so cuddly, wanting to sit in my lap and snuggle and yet growing more independent everyday. In those moments where he will let me hold him and read to him, I find myself looking at how big he is on my lap and trying to remember what it was like to hold his entire body in one arm, or in my womb for that matter. How could he have changed so much in 15 short months. It's amazing that one little person can add so much joy to your life...something I never could have grasped until I lived through it myself. I truly cherish this sweet time in Braden's life and thank God for the immense blessing of raising this child.