Blogs by Boggs

June 2010

2010-06-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

First things first, a little catch-up:

Cody is learning to swim and after two weeks of lessons is doing absolutely FANTASTIC! He's ditched the water wings and is swimming underwater almost the entire length of the pool. What he doesn't have down yet is treading water and getting his head high enough above water to take a good breath to keep going. But, those things aren't stopping him. His lung capacity is amazing.

Oh! And he's reading. HE CAN READ! Brilliant! He still has a year before he'll start school too!

Natalie is getting better about being in the water, but still isn't too thrilled with swimming. She prefers running and climbing right now.

She's the happiest baby until you do something that upsets her (like making her go to bed or get down from whatever she's climbed onto) and then she has the WORST temper. It's really interesting to watch her. I'm just glad that, even though she has a temper, she definitely is easy to please. People are always asking me if she smiles 24 hours a day. Yep! Pretty much!

She says: dada, doc doc (papa doc), ry-ry (ryan), duh-da (bubba), out, go go, die die (bye bye), hi, hey, hello, uh-oh, Pee-Pie (Peek-a-boo), da do (thank you), Di Dow (sit down), see and EAT! She points (this goes along with "See!", follows (some) directions, tries to dress herself, rocks her baby and asks for and gives kisses.

Okay, now for a couple of stories - I took the kids to see my mom in Sachse on Friday. She's the finance director for the city and recently the fire truck that she "bought" arrived, so we needed to pay "Grandma's Fire Truck" a visit. Cody was a little leery of it at first. (No hesitation from Natalie, of course.) I suspect that Cody thought the truck was going to drive away if he got in it. We eventually were able to convince him and I'm sure he's glad he climbed up in that huge truck!

Saturday, Cody and I had a date to go see Toy Story 3. This was the first time that he and I did something like this, just the two of us, and it was so great! He thought it was hilarious and I so loved getting to watch him giggle (so did the people sitting next to us). Afterward, Cody suggested that we have ice cream. Being the awesome mom I am - I, of course, agreed. So that was part of our lunch. Popcorn and Mr. Pibb at the movie. Ice cream for dessert.

Seems healthy to me!

The Wedding!

2010-05-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

This one isn't about the kids...okay, maybe a little.

Of the three people who actually read this blog, I would guess that only two will be interested in this post...on the other hand, you were there...so maybe not.

LORI AND KYLE GOT MARRIED THIS WEEKEND AND IT WAS WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND SO EXCITING THAT I HAD TO WRITE THIS ALL IN CAPS!

Now, here's the "behind-the-scenes" perspective - shout out Theresa!

Thursday, we spent the afternoon and late into the night packing the U-haul with everything that we'd need to decorate at the wedding site. We rolled silverware and started making the first version of the programs (a second was designed, because we had no time to make anything complicated). By midnight, we were losing people and had only gotten 22 of the programs done.

Friday, we got up early, grabbed breakfast at the hotel and headed back to Lori's house to drive the U-haul over to the Greenbranch, where the wedding and reception was held. That place was beautiful and I HIGHLY recommend it if you're having a wedding in the Bryan/College Station area - especially if it's outdoors! We got everything we needed to do that day done by about 3 and broke to get ready for the rehearsal that night.

After the rehearsal, we had a amazing dinner at Christopher's in Bryan. A lot of the guests spoke about Lori and Kyle and how great they are...I think Jimmy's was the best. He has the interesting perspective of having lived with both Lori and Kyle. Jimmy doesn't get nervous about talking in front of groups, he just doesn't like to, but always manages to have the right thing to say. I think it's funny that he seems to do better talking to large groups than small. My "speech" was just welcoming Kyle to our group of loud-mouth Brady spouses (it seems to be a pattern). It was a really late night. Jimmy walked the hall with Natalie almost the whole time. We probably should have left, but it just seemed too sad to leave your own sister's rehearsal dinner early!

Saturday came early, but I think we all had so much adrenaline that it wasn't too hard! Jimmy was going to go play golf, but we slept until 8 and thought he'd just go see if his mom needed help. THANK GOD HE DID THAT. There were a lot of things going on and she was really appreciative of having him there to put to work.

Lori's new sister-in-law, Sarah, and her family honored Lori with a bridesmaid's brunch and then we headed over to get our hair done. I'm always anxious about those sorts of things. I never know what to do and I'm always afraid I'll come out looking like I'm wearing a helmet. BUT - I was really happy with it. I had the girl cut my bangs and she curled it, doing her best to spray it enough to hold. Amanda (Queen Matron), Meredith and Laurie (two of my fellow lower-levels) had their hair done, as well and all looked really beautiful! Amanda and I were the last to leave the salon and we were really cutting it close. We were supposed to be back at the Greenbranch in 20 minutes and still had to go back to the Amanda's hotel to grab baby Grayson, Josh and their stuff. I still had to do my make-up and we both needed to get dressed. Of course, these things always work out and we got there with plenty of time, took pictures and then had about an hour and a half to just sit.

That's when Lori's nerves kicked in. Not too bad though. But it was just the typical "okay, now it's happening, everyone will be watching me, woohoo" kind of butterflies. Kyle seemed a little on edge, though I know he'll never admit to it. He just seemed anxious and not his usual smooth self. No worries though.

Ceremony time! It was beautiful. I teared up and let my chin quiver. It was just so great to finally see them get married! I mean, these two have been dating off and on, secretly and openly for at least 10 years! I think we all had some nervous excitement going on because we've been anticipating it for so long!

The reception was the best! (I even danced - well, my version, anyway!) I really enjoyed getting to see everyone and having a really great reunion of "the guys" from Beaumont. The core group of guys have all gotten married and started having kids and it isn't often (hardly ever) that we all get to see each other. It's fun how things never really seem to change. Those guys are so sweet and have always made me feel like I have a bunch of big brothers.

All four of us were in the wedding and Natalie and Cody were great! All night we kept hearing about how adorable our babies are and stories about what they were doing during the ceremony. We're so proud of them!

Well, as you can see, I don't have any pictures at this point, but I so wish I did. I can't wait to see them!

Quite a month!

2010-02-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

This month, we've had two trips to the hospital with our babies. Natalie's was a couple of weeks ago when our pediatrician said "She's dehydrated and we need to admit her to the hospital." I wasn't really worried, knowing that getting her hooked up to an IV would solve that problem. I was very distressed about how sick she was though...she couldn't stop throwing up and she just kept looking up at me like "Mommy, why is this happening? Make it stop!" We cried together during the car ride. She stayed for two days and finally, after a week, got her appetite and ability to keep food down back.

Then, Saturday night, Cody woke up at 10:30 crying...screaming for us. He said his arm hurt and he was scratching like crazy. I lifted his shirt and his whole body was COVERED in hives. So many, that on his right side, under his arm and across his chest, it was just one, big, swollen mass. With the lights on, we could see that it was all over his face, arms, scalp, ears and down his legs. Now, this one, had me scared. We gave him Benadryl and after Papa Doc came to stay with Natalie, took him to the ER. This may have been over-kill, but we had no idea what had caused the reaction and worried what would happen if we did nothing and his breathing changed. So, we went and they gave him a steroid and sent us home. He woke up the next morning completely fine...and we still don't know what caused it.

Both of my babies are healthy now...PHEW!

Happily, we went to buy Cody's T-Ball gear this weekend. He got his first pair of cleats and batting gloves, a new (metal) t-ball bat, socks, pants and a bunch of practice balls. He is so happy! He wants to wear the gloves and cleats all the time. Jimmy told him that he was going to wear his shoes down, but how much damage can he really do at four years old?

Speaking of - CODY WILL BE FOUR THIS MONTH!! Wow! And let me tell you, if he only understood the concept, he'd be counting down the days. He has big plans for when he turns four - riding a motorcycle, skiing, snowboarding...every other sentence out of his mouth is "when I'm four...." Grandad freaked him out a bit the other day. He said something about Cody being four and Cody said "I'm not four. I'm three." I pointed out to Grandad, that Cody is obviously concerned that he may have missed the BIG DAY and assured him that he's not four - YET!

We've decided for his b-day to take him back to Great Wolf Lodge. He's been twice and talks about it all of the time. We were going to go sometime soon anyway, so decided that, instead of a party, we'd knock-out both birds. He doesn't know that he'll be going...we've decided to wait until the day we're going and give him a new swimsuit and a card telling him about the plans. He's going to be so excited and we can't wait!

Now, Miss Nattie - she's saying "Dada", "Ry-Ry" (Uncle Ryan), and shaking her head when we tell her no. We think she's also picked up "Hey" and she waves hello and goodbye. Oh! The best is when she blinks her eyes to show you her "pretty eyes" - taught by Nana - and dances every time she hears music. She's still giving me kisses - grabs my face with both of her hands and pulls me to her mouth - and she's started making a kissing sound. So sweet!

She loves food and smacks her mouth after every bite! She'll eat anything and we have to distract her to get her to stop eating. Still a big girl. At 9 months old, she's 28 1/2 inches and 22 pounds...still above the 90th percentile, but seeming to slow in her growth. Thank goodness, because she's been in 12 month clothing for 2 months already! We have a closet full of adorable summer outfits that will never have the tags even taken off! Boo!

Well, those are the highlights - lots to do coming up...hope we can get some sleep!

Sweetheart Angel Girl & Goofy Goober Boy

2010-01-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

aka Nattie Bug and Cody Bear

Natalie is almost 8 months old and within the two weeks prior to Christmas she decided that she was tired of sitting around, so she learned how to: Sit up, Crawl, Pull-up, Walk along the furniture, Clap and Wave. She is now letting go and trying to balance herself. This only lasts seconds, but it seems that success in this arena happens quickly. We wonder if she'll be an early walker like her Aunt Lori and Grandad (both at 7 months). Cody walked at 11 months, so technically he walked early too, but she has even more motivation to get to wherever her big brother is! She definitely loves to go for assisted walks around the house.

She really is an angel and LOVES to cuddle and give kisses. She's given kisses since the day we left the hospital (seriously, I have a picture and she wasn't trying to suck my face off!) She will now grab my face and pull it to her mouth. It is the most slobbery, sweet thing ever!

Cody is getting WAY too big too. He's still a little guy compared to other kids his age, but seems to be so smart and wise. We can already see that he's going to be a challenge for us. He will live up to our dreams of him being smarter than us. He's been writing his name for a few months now and has tons of fun at his school two days a week and "Nana School" on Wednesdays. He knows all of his letters and numbers and Nana is now teaching him how to read. They're in the early stages of that, but he's definitely learning to recognize words. He got a LeapFrog Tag reader for Christmas and has really impressed us with all that he knows! The games on it are great for reading comprehension and word and letter recognition. (That's my little mom product plug.)

Everyone who meets him loves him - recently, one of his teachers told Jimmy that they love when he comes to her class because he'll go behind the other kids to clean up, saying that they didn't do it right. He can't stand for things to be put in the wrong place!

He's also ALL BOY! He still loves sports and usually won't wear anything but football jerseys. He likes talking about gross boy things and I've had to start telling him "Cody, we don't talk about those things." It's not a big deal except when he goes on and on....

Natalie and Cody love each other so much! Cody told me today that "For Christmas I prayed to God, Thank you for my baby sister." He loves buying clothes for her too...it's really hard to take him to a store because he just runs around grabbing clothes to show me! (He loves buying for himself as well - at least he's not selfish!) Natalie enjoys watching him play and when he gets close enough to her, she'll reach out to him for a hug. It is so sweet...she'll just lay her head on his chest and smile really big. Of course, Cody gets a kick out of her adoration.

So far, my babies are off to a great start! I know they'll have rough patches in their relationship, but I hope that we will always have a special family bond!

Oh yeah - and Jimmy and I are great too! Our 5 year anniversary is this week!! It's gone by so fast!

I still want a Hula Hoop!

2010-01-01T21:15:00.000-08:00

It's over again. This is the saddest time of the year, isn't it? Luckily, I have TONS of photos and some great new cowboy boots to enjoy!

This Christmas was the first one that I've ever woken up in my own house. EVER. Seriously, we moved to Beaumont when I was a baby and went back to Abilene every year for Christmas. There were a couple of years that I was in Beaumont and couldn't leave, but I stayed with Jimmy's family then too so that I wouldn't be alone. Then, we moved to Dallas and started alternating Christmas between Abilene and Beaumont. This year, now that Jimmy's parents live up here, they decided to have Christmas in Dallas! God must have been happy about this too, 'cause he sent us SNOW! A White Christmas in Texas? Global warming, schmobal warming....

Natalie's first and Cody's fourth Christmas were pretty great. Cody even told me "It was the best Christmas ever!" Not sure where he heard that, but cool! Santa brought them a kitchen with lots of play food and pots and pans. Cody also got the Batman Cave and all of Batman's "friends" (you know, The Joker, Penguin, etc...his poker buds). Natalie got cute clothes and lots of things to chew on.

Jimmy and I decided not to exchange gifts this year...saving to pay off my car and our 5 year anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks...we didn't miss the gifts at all! I thought it was funny on Christmas Eve, because I couldn't decide if it was better to be a kid waiting for Christmas or a Mommy. They felt the same to me! So great!

So, now, 2010 has begun. The only event we anticipate this year is Lori & Kyle's wedding in May and perhaps a ski trip with the Brady Bunch next Christmas. (Please, oh please???) I'm happy to have my beautiful family to spend time with and make me laugh. I pray that your new year is as blessed as I believe mine will be!

Talking and Tickling

2009-08-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

Well, Natalie's 3 months old now...and she's changed so much! I'm really trying to cherish everything that's going on right now. Looking at how big our Cody is reminds me of how fast it goes. (It's okay if I say it...but I don't need anyone else reminding me.)

So, in this video, you'll hear me laugh at the beginning. Of course, she was talking up a storm and then, as soon as I turned on the camera, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Does that mean anything? Am I seeing into her future?

She eventually went back to talking to her doll. And then she let me get her laughing on video too. She's already REALLY ticklish!

It's so great!

2008 Complete!

2009-07-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

I just finished up my 2008 photobook. Actually, when it comes in, I'll be adding stickers and captions to some of the pages, but at least all of the photos are in and it's on the way!

I love Blurb! I just realized that I can customize and create layouts...I think I'll be abandoning Picaboo...if I can figure out how to put in better backgrounds! Blurb is WAY cheaper!

Woohoo! Please take a look, if you'd like - WARNING! It's 156 pages....nevermind, you can only view the first 15 pages...UGH!

The Brady Family

2008

By Cody - age 2

Book Preview

She's here!

2009-06-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows this already, but Natalie Ellen Brady was born on May 21, 2009. She was 9 lbs 11 oz, born at 6:47am (c-section) and almost 21 inches long.

She's beautiful and Cody loves her so much! (He's going to be as annoying as his mommy about giving kisses...)

Here's a video I took yesterday. She's almost a month old!!

Cody is 3!!!

2009-04-02T16:58:00.001-07:00

My baby boy turned three years old on March 30th! I can’t believe it!

We had his party on Saturday at a bounce house place and were so happy to have so many people there!

Cody at his 2nd Birthday!

Cody's 1st Birthday!

Cody's BIRTH day! (Well, less than 24 hours after he was born, at least.)

"Lifesong" - Calvary Baptist Church, Beaumont, TX

2009-03-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

My dad, Robert Boggs, is a singer - has always been - and since moving to Dallas, I haven't had the chance to hear him sing like I used to...so, it was really cool when he sent me a link to a video of him singing in church one Sunday. If you've ever heard him, you probably agree that he's fabulous...Enjoy!

Blastball & Elmo - February 28th

2009-03-02T14:29:00.001-08:00

After at least a year of playing ball in the front yard, Cody is finally old enough to start playing on a team. It’s kind of a pre-Tee Ball version of baseball called Blastball. Kids ages 3-4 hit off a tee and run one base (although, I believe they’re going to go ahead and add in the other two bases). The base honks when you jump on it and when you “catch” a ball you’re supposed to yell “Blastball” (not sure what the point of that is).

So, here’s how the first practice went. Cody was so excited when we told him, the night before, that he was going to play ball with other kids. He woke up Saturday morning and immediately remembered our plans and didn’t stop asking to go play ball until we actually arrived at the field. That’s when it fell apart. He got nervous. We walked up to the field, he saw the other kids and immediately asked me to hold him. Jimmy walked him through the gate, which didn’t make him happy. Cody is the smallest one out there. Not only is he not quite three (will be at the end of the month and before the official games start), but he’s small for his age. I believe there’s one other 3 year old (with the same birthday, in fact), but all of the kids seem to a foot taller. Cody is also not an aggressive kid. He seems to be outgoing, playful and fun, but in new situations or with new people he gets shy. His first time up to bat, he refused to hit. We let him go back to the “outfield”, where he watched balls roll by him and at one point let a ball roll onto his shoes and off again, never budging. The other (older) kids were going after the balls and I think it freaked him out. In fact, when we got back home and were talking about it, Cody even mentioned that he let other people have a turn. We had to explain that sometimes it’s his turn. Anyway, once all of the kids had hit, and Nana showed up to give him a little coaching, he was much happier to hit and did a great job! The bat is too long for him, so we’ll get him one that’s his size and hopefully that will help him out a little more. Once practice was over and we got Cody back home, it was clear that he enjoyed it and he’s looking forward to playing again!

Later, that same day….

Just before Cody’s nap, we told him that we’d be going to see Elmo after he woke up. (Cruel, I know, but it does seem to get him to go to sleep more quickly.) This was especially exciting for him because he had seen a commercial for Sesame Street Live and loved it.

“Ah! Look, Elmo! Is that Cody’s Elmo? That’s a sweet Elmo!”

I knew after that reaction that we needed to get tickets. When he woke up from his nap, he was ready to go and talked non-stop the whole way there. I told him that we’d get cotton candy, which I’m sure he didn’t have a clue about…didn’t seem to matter though, because then the excitement was about getting “hot candy” and seeing Elmo. Before the show started, he ate his Hot Candy, danced to the music playing and giggled a lot. Once the show started - nothin'. He got very quiet, wouldn't eat or talk. When we left (with a spinning Elmo flashlight, program and Elmo balloon - courtesy of Grandma) he talked the whole way home and cried to go see Elmo again. Looks like he loved it and we'll have to make this an annual event! Yea!

To Pau Pau's house we go - golfing

2009-03-02T14:28:00.002-08:00

For Valentine's Day, we went to see Gran and Pau Pau. Once again, it was all about golfing and driving the golf cart. Pau Pau was impressed by his ability! Ha!

We also got to take Cody fishing at their lake house on Lake Fort Phantom. Cody was over it quickly and freaked out by the fish Gran caught. He found a broom and seemed to enjoy sweeping more than anything!

The big day will be....

2009-03-02T14:28:00.001-08:00

May 21st! ...Maybe...Ugh! Here's the deal, my doctor is moving his practice and wants me to deliver at a different hospital and apparently scheduling is not so easy. They're supposed to call in a week or so to confirm, but until then I'm to "pencil in for the 21st".

Now for the deets: She's a "big girl" according to the nurse - which my doctor wasn't too thrilled about her saying. She is big, but not in a dangerous way. Cody was 9lbs 2oz, so it's nothing to be concerned about. The doc just thinks that she'll probably be a 9 pounder too - even though we'll be delivering a little early. I'm happy that she'll be big (yes, a c-section makes this easy to be happy about). I loved that Cody was so strong and "independent" very early on. He was lifting his head the day he was born and rolled from his stomach to his back (multiple times) at three weeks! He could sit up in his bumbo chair earlier than most and we weren't so worried about neck support, since he was lifting his (giant) head and turning it by himself. So Cody was born in the 90th percentile, but has consistently been in the 10th for his height since then...poor tiny boy. (Still in the 90th for his head, though!) We expect him to grow a lot in high school - that seems to be a Brady boy trait.

Anyway, baby girl looks great. According to the sonogram, she's already 4 pounds measuring in the 32nd week, but I'm actually 28 weeks! That doesn't really mean we're off on our calculations, just that she's on track to be big like her brother! Oh yeah! And she already seems to have lots of hair! Cody was born with a little and lost it until he was about 18 months. Maybe this means she'll actually keep some and look like a little girl!

We got the BEST video of her yawning! I wonder what this says about her? In Cody's final sonogram, he was flapping his little arm like he was waving at us. You think she'll be a calm one? Cody is definitely active!

Look who’s updating her blog!

2009-03-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

I know, it’s been a while. Although, I have a feeling that updating this thing is only for my benefit. One day, I’ll print these posts out and put them in a book for posterity….

Okay – so going back to Halloween. A little trick-or-treating, but not much on the actually night. The majority of the festivities were at church.

Thanksgiving. A lot of eating. First time to have Thanksgiving (or any holiday) at our house, although, I still avoided having to do the cooking. Nancy (Jimmy’s mom) made most of the food and Jimmy fried the turkey. Fried turkey – by the way- is the ONLY way to go! I made sweet potatoes with marshmallows. I used the holiday marshmallows, so they had green Christmas trees and red stars, which all melted together, but yummy! Cody called them “green mash-pototoes” and asked for them multiple times in the days that followed.

So, wait – backing WAY up. We’re going to have another baby! I neglected to update here, because 1. I’m not good at it. (I can’t even keep in touch with friends in email or on the phone.) And 2. I told people at work first (so when I started pudging out, there wouldn’t be any speculation) and then wanted to wait awhile to tell the world…which I finally did on Facebook, in person and on the phone, but just never made it back here.

We’re having a girl this time and we’re really excited! To be perfectly honest, we would have been thrilled with another boy, though. Cody is so awesome and we already have the “stuff” so it would have been super easy for us. But, instead, we’re just going to have the perfect little family and we’ll get to experieince the joys of both! Cody is 3 (almost), so he kind of gets the whole “baby sister” thing, but at this point just asks where she is…he’s settled on she’s sleeping, will be here soon and that most likely she’s imaginary. A couple of weeks ago, on his way out the door one morning, he said “Come on, baby sister. I walk you to the car” and pretended to hold her hand all the way to the car. So sweet! We’re optimistic that he’s going to be a great and loving big brother.

I’ll be going to the doctor tomorrow for a (final) sonogram and the doctor will go ahead and schedule the c-section. I had to have one with Cody (many reasons), so we’re not going to risk anything this time and just put it on the calendar. Right now, my due date is May 27th, but we’ll likely have the baby between the 14th & 21st.

Christmas was split (as usual). This was an Abilene year, so we were there on Christmas Eve and day. Cody fell in love with Pau Pau, who took him to the golf course on the golf cart and of course, raked in the presents from all of this grandparents. Tons of cars – he was in heaven!!

That brings us a little closer to what’s going on now. My mom is living with us, as she’s just started a new job in Sachse and is trying to sell her house in Beaumont. It has been interesting, but so far pretty good. The only frustration is that I’ve been in limbo as far as getting ready for the baby. And I’m not a limbo-er. I’m just ready to have the room set up and ready for our baby girl to be here. Not to mention that I need to buy a TON of stuff (everything we have is far too boyish). I’ve decided to make our bedding and so far Nancy is doing it. I feel bad about that - I need to figure out how to get it done without it being her burden. Skill is what I lack.

There are a couple more things to report, but I think I might make those individual posts…do you think it will happen? We’ll see!!

My Monkey

2008-10-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Our church had a Family Fun Fest & Trunker Treat on Saturday. Of course, we took Cody in his awesome monkey costume! He wouldn't perform for anyone else, but we did manage to get him to act like a monkey for a picture. I think his favorite part was riding the ponies. He wanted to do it twice, but we only had time to do the hayride and he'd been talking about doing that all day, so we couldn't miss it. On Sunday, when we turned into the church parking lot, Cody said "There's no more candy." And then, walking up to the building, Cody pointed to where the ponies were the night before and said something about riding them....I told him that the ponies had to go home and he understood. This kid doesn't forget anything! I can't imagine that we'll actually take Cody out on Halloween, but this was better than trick-or-treating anyway!

Baseball in the Fall

2008-10-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first wonderfully cold day of the year. We took advantage (and gave in to Cody's sweet request) and went outside to play ball. Papa Doc says he's either going to be an awesome baseball player or be burnt-out by the time he's old enough to play. He's quite the athlete and refuses to wear anything other than baseball or football "shirts"!

This is video of our evening...it's couple of minutes long and pretty cute!

Cody Classics

2008-08-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Cute video we took of Cody on Sunday. Please forgive my annoying voice....and yes, he put his hat on that way by himself. (I'm not sure where he saw someone do that.)

Also - notice his black eye! He ran into a shelf at daycare. It's a first!

He's so much fun!

I like John Mayer too! (And Thriller was my first album.)

2008-08-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

Day 1 at Echo and I've been inspired to blog - and blog about something other than my gorgeous boy! I met these guys from Windsor Crossing Community Church, one of AD's projects. They seem to be really fun - even though they're trying to take credit for my Regent University hip bag (that's what I'm calling it). I know that only a couple of people will understand this post and only one will probably actually read this...oh well! (I found Monty Hobson's blog - he's one of the guys from Windsor - and he apparently is a John Mayer fan and has a post about the Michael Jackson "Thriller" album. So crazy that I would meet him today and find out almost immediately that we have things in common!)

Anyway, as I drove home today from the Echo Conference at Watermark Church here in Dallas, I realized that it is so cool that I get these opportunities. I mean, I spend almost everyday at work thinking about churches and how they desire to use what God has provided for them to reach people in the world. I research churches that have asked us to write proposals and churches where we've just completed work. I learn about them and what makes them special. THEN, I get to do things like go to church media conferences and meet other Christians, and in this case, fun, young, goofy, energetic, real Christians. The best part is that, because these are conferences for church leaders, I get to spend time in worship and hearing the word of God as a part of my work day! Like on a Thursday evening! Or a Friday morning before my day really starts! That is so cool!

It just makes me wonder again, why me? How did I get the chance to grow up in a Christian home, marry a wonderful Christian man and work for a company where I'm surrounded by other Christians? Why am I so lucky? I thank God for his blessings!

Okay, speaking of thanking God. Today Cathy suggested that I pray with Cody every night and start the prayer with a "Thank you God for..." Cody's only 2, but I gave it a shot. After we read our story (Veggie Tales Bible stories) and sang a few songs (tonight's hits: VeggieTales theme and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"), I told Cody that we should pray and thank God. He started with his dinnertime prayer ("God is great. God is good...etc...) Then I said "Let's thank God for baby (his bear) and I thank God for Cody." He said "Thank God for Mommy." I replied, "Thank God for Daddy." Cody finished our prayer like this "God for my books. God for my piggie [bank]. God for my cars."

It seems that he got the point! Amazing!

Yes, I realize that I've, once again, posted about Cody - but it was just too cool of a story to not talk about!

My sweet boy!

2008-07-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Cody and "Stuey" have to share Nana's new pillow. They both love it - but Cody usually wins the battle over who gets to lie on it.

Today I thought I'd share some other recent funnies from Cody:

He had a lot of fun at the Roughriders game last weekend and keeps talking about it. In fact, three days after the game he pretended to be a "baseball man" and wanted to go see "the clouds that go pop" (fireworks to you and me)!

Last Monday, Jimmy came home from work and Cody met him at the door with "Daddy, did you go to work?" Jimmy said yes and Cody responded "Did you hammer the house?" Apparently, he remembered a couple of weekends ago when he asked where Daddy was and I told him he was outside working on the fence. To add to that - yesterday Jimmy was replacing more of the fence and Cody told me "Daddy boom the fence."

And finally, Cody and I were driving home one day last week and he pointed out the clouds and an airplane in the sky. Then he said "Uh uh, Airplane! That's not nice! No No! Mommy, tell airplane 'No no'!" I asked him "what did the airplane do?" and he said "Airplane fly into clouds!" So rude!!!

The Lion King

2008-07-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

Ryan was in town this weekend and, once again, cracked us up with an impromptu movie scene re-enactment. This time, it was from "The Lion King". Cody thought it was funny and even laughed after the fifth time (in this video). It makes me laugh every time I watch it!

July 4th!

2008-07-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Okay...I'm posting again! It's the Fourth of July and we've already had a BIG weekend! My dad came in Tuesday night and last night was Kaboomtown in Addison where we get to watch the city's airshow and fireworks from the hangar across the street from our office. Acoustic Dimensions (where I work) caters dinner for all of us and we spend the evening hanging out. The coolest part is seeing all of the dad's I work with in their element...being Dad's. I really love getting a glimpse into the real lives of these funny, smart and awesome people.
Yesterday was Jimmy's birthday too, but in true Jimmy fashion, he didn't want to do anything or even get any gifts. Kind of let down for me, but he really doesn't seem to care. OH! Here's something funny! I completely forgot that it was his birthday this morning and finally remembered on my way to work! When I called he said, "It's okay. You're only the 5th person to remember." I'm so terrible!!
Today was uneventful, but fun - we all slept late - even Cody! Of course, he didn't go to bed until about midnight last night and was up at 6:30 and Jimmy had to convince him to go back to sleep - but when that was done, he slept until 10! We then met up with Jimmy's parents and Amanda and Ryan and headed over to Ikea. Lots of walking a little buying...late lunch...and then back to the apartment to swim in the pool. By the time we got out, Cody was exhausted and hungry. In fact, it was his idea to get out of the pool!
All of that - and we still have two days left! Woohoo!!!

Is it ever too early to start decorating for Christmas?

2007-11-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, Jimmy and I bought our Christmas tree (artificial) in October and decided to go ahead and put it up. We had some friends over a few weeks later and they thought we were totally weird.
This year, I've been champing at the bit to get ready for Christmas (only 3 gifts remaining to purchase and 5 to wrap!), but haven't forced the issue for fear of mocking.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow...I plan to have a winter wonderland by Sunday evening. The only problem is, I HATE dusting around all of the snowmen and santas. But, it's time for Cody to start experiencing the joy of the holidays and all of the beautiful red and green that goes with.
He's already pointing out every snowman he sees! It's so great.
Christmas number 2 is around the corner! I can't wait!!!!
Now, where's the best place to buy some of those lighted deer for the front lawn....

Jumping on Bandwagons

2007-07-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

So...here's my "blogspot". I have myspace and friendster accounts too. Neither of which do I keep up with.

Do people change?

Here's what I've learned today:

Boys who like girls can still like Hanson, Bette Midler, Erasure, Wham! and Boy George. Whodda thunk it?