Christmas Round 1

We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Brad's family here at our house.  We had a total of nine adults and five children.  Braylon had a hard time keeping his hands to himself and wasn't interested in opening presents, but other than that, it was a fun time with family.

Brad brought home the fire truck from work.  It was a big hit with the kiddos.

We went to feed the cow but the boys seemed more interested in playing in the leaves.  Braylon was rolling around in them.

The kids spent a lot of time outside riding Brady's cool four-wheeler.

It's a BOY!

So as most of you know by now, we had our gender ultrasound yesterday and found out we're having another boy.  But, what some of you may not know is how emotional it was for me.  It doesn't help being hormonal and extra sensitive during pregnancy, but I was actually very sad when I found out it wasn't going to be a girl.  Don't get me wrong, I feel very blessed with the miracle of life growing inside of me, and SUPER excited for Braylon to grow up with a brother.  But on the other hand, I dreamt of dressing up a little girl, teaching her to throw a ball like her mama did, braiding her hair, and decorating her room, and all those dreams were shattered.  I guess the Lord just has HIS plan for us all, and I am thankful He has given us the best gift I could ever ask for!

Today, I'm feeling much better about it all and cannot wait to meet the little guy!  I revealed the gender to some of my closest friends today by having them spray silly string.  Once they saw the blue string coming out, they shouted "IT'S A BOY"!  It was fun and exciting to see everyone's reaction.  I think they were all hoping for a girl too, but were still thrilled to find out it's a boy. :)

They voted for their favorite girl name and favorite boy name before the big reveal.

Angela, Patricia, and Hayley's reactions were priceless. 

Braylon got a kick out of the silly string!

Hudson was the winner.  Sorry honey, no one voted for "Barrett."  Even the ones who couldn't make it voiced their opinion, and they all liked Hudson the best...  We shall see what it will be in the end.

Forest Glen

Today we had a playdate out at this place called Forest Glen Camp.  They do summer camps, ropes courses with zip lines, retreats, and all types of group events out there.  It is a beautiful place nestled back in the woods with rows and rows of pine trees.  It has a beautiful lake and a nice playground for the kids to play on.  We did some cookie decorating, coloring, and a craft inside this big cabin.  Then the rest of the time we played outside.  Braylon loved it and so did I!  It was such a nice day!

Daddy's New Tractor

Brad got a new tractor that is enclosed, so Braylon can now ride on it with Daddy.  Braylon calls it the "big tractor", and will ask to ride on it.

Sorry you can't really see the tractor but this is the only picture that turned out well.  I'm sure there will be more pictures of the tractor to come.

Cookie Exchange

Braylon and I went to a cookie exchange party at my friend Lauren's house.  They got to decorate their own Christmas cookies and enjoy lots of yummy goodies.  We had a good time playing and visiting with friends.



Braylon got really excited when he found this guitar in Gage's room.  He brought it out to the living room and said "GUITAR!" Then he strummed it while sitting on the floor.  It was too cute and reminded me of his Uncle Blake, who introduced him to guitar!  Maybe it's time for Braylon to have his very own just like his Uncle Blake :)



Visit with Aunt Bonnie

My sister, Bonnie, came over a couple days ago and it was cute to see Braylon interact with her.  He loved playing at the park with her, and even asked her to swing with him. :)

He had a ball playing in the leaf piles at the park with Alexandria.  I'm sure the landscapers didn't appreciate that too much.  I had to drag him out of there to go to lunch.

Big Boy Bed

It is so strange, and still a mystery to me as to why, but Braylon has not been sleeping well for the past month.  It came out of the blue.  He would cry when it was bedtime, and would get out of his bed and lay by his bedroom door.  He would fall asleep on the floor by the door, so we would have to force our way in to put him back in his bed.  Then sometimes, he would wake up through the night and go lay back by his door on the floor.  The kid was stressing me out with his short naps, waking up in the middle of the night and waking up before the crack of dawn.  Plus he was sleep deprived, which made for an unhappy baby.  Needless to say, I got tired of it, so we decided to try out the "big boy bed."  He already had a twin bed in his room, so we put in the safety rail and tested it out.  Thankfully, he LOVES it and now we don't have any issues with him getting out of bed or crying at bedtime.  He loves his new bed so much, he will even go in there on his own throughout the day just to play on the bed.  Thank you Lord for answering our prayers....now if only we could work on the hitting and obeying thing.... :)

Thanksgiving Break

We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of activities to keep us busy.  We spent Thanksgiving day at the Brandons, and Braylon loved playing with Luke and Tate.  The next day we took the boys to the Dallas Zoo, then while they napped, Emily, Dar and I got some Christmas shopping done.  Saturday we spent most of the day visiting my folks, my brother and his wife.

 

Braylon & Hoss

This week, we all were battling some type of ailment, except for Braylon (thank goodness).  I had the flu, then Brad got it.  Even Hoss was having issues.  He wasn't wanting to put any weight on his back leg.  Brad and Braylon took him to the vet Monday and found out he has hip dysplasia.  Poor thing!  There's nothing that can be done except to just keep him as comfortable as possible with medication.  I explained to Braylon that Hoss is hurt and that we must be gentle with him.  I must say that Braylon has been so sweet, and caring towards Hoss since then.  It is so special to see the bond between them.

This wasn't staged.  We were playing outside and Braylon just sat by him and was giving him hugs.  It was so sweet.

Trip to the Woodlands Mall

We started off the morning with donut holes (kolache for mom), then went to the gym.  From there, we headed straight to the mall with friends to shop, play, eat, and most importantly, take pictures with Santa(the BEST Santa by far).

 

This kid LOVES donut holes.  He stuffs his face like he hasn't eaten for days, as you can see here.

I wasn't sure how Braylon would do with Santa this year, but he loved him!

Braylon loved riding the carousel with his buddies, Maddie and London.

 

These are the moments...

...I wish I could capture more of.

Snuggles!!  I never get to capture moments like this because I'm usually the one taking the picture.  I have made it my goal to get in the photo with my little man more, because he is just growing up too fast!

We went to go see the cow, then all of a sudden, Braylon laid down and looked up between the trees and said "sky."  He laid there for a minute or two just looking up at the sky.  I loved that moment, because we rarely see Braylon this calm.

Last night we went to PF Chang's for Melissa's birthday.  It was a great night with some amazing women I have been so blessed to meet. 

Left to right- Angela, Melissa(the birthday girl), Hayley, Rachel, Erica, myself, Leigh Ann

Here's what our little stinker has been up to lately....

Making a mess with trash bags

Cruisin' with sippy cup in hand



Feeding Ribeye, the cow




Wearing Daddy's boots around the house

Halloween Party #2

On Halloween night, we went to London's Halloween party, then on to a trunk-or-treat.  Braylon had a great time at both!  The trunk-or-treat was at a local church, and they had games, a bounce house, putt-putt, hay ride, and of course, lots of treats! 


London and her buddy, Braylon



Making friends with Spider Man in the bounce house.



He loved this putt-putt game, because when the ball went in the hole, it would shoot back out.



Braylon got to see his favorite baby-sitters, Suzy & Tyler, who had their own fishing-themed trunk with treats!