Nursery Changes and Homecoming Parade!!

Sometimes I get in this mood where I want to just do something creative or get something new for the house or rearrange the furniture....aaaaannd I got in one of those moods this past week. I didn't do anything drastic, but I did make a few changes to Brody's nursery.

When I was in college, my dad made me this cute little bookshelf to use in our apartment. It has followed me from apartment to apartment, room to room, and has been painted about 3 or 4 different colors. Well, I pulled it out of the storage room this week, slapped a new coat of paint on it, and VOILA! A cute new shelf for Brody's room!

Also, my friend Kindra from Dallas made these letters for Brody about 3 months ago, and I finally got them hung this past week! I think they look so cute above his crib. You can't really tell by the picture, but they are stained wood with little baseball embelishments on them. And we have them haning with little peices of twine. She did such a good job - thanks Kindra!

Today, Brody and I went downtown for the El Dorado Homecoming Parade. We found Aunt Kristi and Uncle Terry, Shellie, Bill and Vickie Evans, Leah, and some other people we knew, so we parked the stroller there, and enjoyed the show!

When the parade started, I got Brody out of his stroller and he sat with Kennedy and all of her friends. He was definately lovin' all that attention.

Christian was in the parade too! I didn't even realize that it was him unti he was nearly past us, so this was about the best picure I could get. He did so good.

Just a little update

Last weekend, Tara and Ryan were in from Little Rock and Tony and Carrie were in from Fayetteville, so we all went out to eat at Abe's with Dad and Karen. It was yummy as usual. Brody always enjoys his time with his Aunt T and Uncle Ryan.



Brody's sleep routine is still going great. I havn't forced it in any way - he has totally decided to do this on his own. Right before I put him down, we still rock for a minute or two while we say our prayers and sing a couple songs. But when we are done, he always "reminds" me that he wants in his bed. How lucky am I to have a 1 year old who decided to do this all by himself? Very lucky.

Haircut, Shots, 4wheeler and MORE!

Brody and I had a great Thursay (well, mostly). We got up bright and early and met Dad and Karen for breakfast at Johnny B's. We feasted on waffles and bacon and all sorts of yummy things that are bad for you...but it was soooo good. It was pretty cool out this morning, so we actually had to pull out our light jackets when we first left the house. Yay! I LOVE fall!! And it looks like Brody does too...

Then, we headed to Charlie's Corner for a haircut. Brody did pretty well for the most part. He sat still about as long as a one year old could be expected to sit...then we bribed him with a lollipop.

After the haircut, we had to go to the doctor to get Brody's shots. Never a fun thing, but he didn't even cry! He gave the nurse a look like, "What in the world did you do that for??!!" then he went back to talking and playing. I was so relieved. We have never left there on immunization days without at least a few tears. When he woke up from his nap a few hours later, it was a different story. His little leg muscle must've been a bit sore, b/c he was limping around, pointing at his thigh, saying "My boo boo." We got a washcloth and turned on a good movie, and he milked it for all it was worth. However, I was able to get a few grins out of him....
Once Daddy came home from work, we loaded up Brody's little four wheeler and went to MiMi and Papaws to play and eat supper. He had a blast!!



When he was tired of riding, he played with Chasie a bit....

Then headed to his new swing!! As high as he likes to go on this thing, I think I have finally found my future roller coaster buddy! I think it made Brent's stomach queezy just watching him twist and turn and fly everywhere. But Brody loved every minute of it...

Could It Be?????

For the past 19 1/2 months (give or take a few days) I have rocked Brody to sleep. Or at least held him while he went to sleep in some form or fashion. He used to fall asleep in my lap taking his milk while we watched TV at night, or I would lay him in the bed beside me and hold him in the crook of my arm while he fell asleep, then I would take him to his room and lay him in his crib. But for the past 5 or 6 months, we have gone into his room, sat in the rocker, read a book, then turned down the lights and rocked until he fell asleep. Sometimes it would only take less than 10 minutes, but he always fell asleep in the rocker, then I would transfer him to his crib. I know, I know, some people say this isn't the "best" way to do things, but it worked for us, and I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed our "night-night" time for the last year and a half.

So, on to this week. We have followed the same routine. Bath, book, lights out, rock, rock, rock......when suddenly Brody sits up in my lap, points to his crib, and says "Bed". Now, he has pulled this before, resulting in me following his commands and placing him in his crib awake at which point he falls to peices and screams until I get him out. So, at first I just kept rocking him thinking that he would go on to sleep. Well, he kept pointing and saying "bed". So, I got up and laid him in his crib, gave him his cup (bad habit, I know), kissed him goodnight, and left the room. HE NEVER MADE A PEEP. Just rolled over, drank a little milk and passed out. This was Sunday night - he slept until I woke him up at 7:00 to get him ready for daycare. Then again tonight - I, of course, just thought it was a fluke, and after getting him ready for bed tonight, we sat in the rocker, and he immediately pointed at his crib and said "bed, bed". So, I just laid (is "laid" the correct tense?) him down again, kissed him goodnight and walked out. I heard him fuss for maybe 30-45 seconds, then he was quiet and went right on to sleep. Could it be that he is really wanting to just go to sleep on his own?? I mean, I hope so, b/c I figured the transition would be MUCH more difficult. I know that one day if and when Brody has a little brother or sister, it will be nice to not have to spend up to 30 minutes (some nights he likes the rocking part more than the actual falling asleep part) getting him to sleep at night. So, maybe this is the beginning of the end of me rocking him to sleep. Is it crazy that I am a little sad???

I just thought he looked too cute Sunday morning all ready for church. He wasn't really in the picture taking mood, but I managed to snap one anyway. Doesn't he look like a big boy?

Our weekend

Brody and I spent the weekend at Cassie's new house in Wynne visiting with her and Shelby, and Alicia and Will rode up with us. It was great getting to see them again, and the kids had so much playing together. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Brody brought Shelby her birthday present, and he wanted her to open it first thing Satuday morning when they woke up.


Then they took turns pushing each other in the baby stroller. (Will was still asleep)

On the way to Jonesboro for a day at the mall!
Playing in the "playplace" at Chick-Fil-A. He surprised me by climbing all the way to top by himself!



Cassie had to help him down the slide the first time, but after that he was a pro!

Shelby's daddy is the football coach at Wynne, so we took the kids to a game Friday night. Brody loved it.

Dancing during the halftime show.
TOUCHDOWN!!!!
He got a little sleepy toward the end, and needed his sippy and some hair to rub.....he though Cassie worked well for the job.

Just the 2 of us

Brent left for Palm Beach this morning for work, so it's just the two of us for a few days. Well, actually it won't be b/c we are probably going to be at Noni and Brooke's at night. Anyway, here are a few pictures from our morning.

On the way to church, eating a waffle and being silly:



On the way home from church....what a little angel....

19 months old

Well, my little baby boy turned 19 months old on Thursday. It just seems impossible that he is closer to 2 now than he is to 1. WHAT?? 2 years old??!! How in the world does time fly by so fast?

He is at such a fun age right now. He is doing so many new things that I can't keep up with it all. He loves to be outside running around. For him, the hotter and sweatier he is, the happier he is....lol.

I have really started to see alot of his Daddy coming out in him recently. For one, he definately has his daddy's temper. If he can't get the lid off of something, he will throw it across the room and have a little meltdown. If he is ready to go outside, and I tell him we have to wait until after he eats lunch, he falls into a puddle of tears by door. We are working on this, but geez, how do you teach a one year old patience? Another one of Brent's characteristics that has really come out in Brody is their "concentration face". Notice Brody's tongue in the next few pictures. Yes, Brent will do this too when he is really concentrating on something.

Eating - He still eats pretty well, although he is beginning to get a little more picky than he used to be. He has recently discovered a newfound love for bread. Any kind of bread - garlic bread, toast, biscuits, muffins, rolls, hamburger or hotdog buns - he loves them all. If I let him, he would just eat the bun and not the meat inside. He also has discovered how much fun it is to dip. If we are out at a restaurant, he wants to dip his chip in salsa, his cucumber in dressing, or his fry in ketchup. But he has gotten bad about wanting to just eat the salsa, dressing, or ketchup, and not the food, so we are having to cut back on the dipping alot.

Stats - At his 18 month checkup, he weighed in at a whopping 26 lbs and was 30 1/2 inches tall. I can't remember the percentages exactly, but he was right in the middle for weight, and a little on the low end for height. But we already knew that, right? He is still a little short and squatty. They say that you can double their height at age 2 to see about how tall they will be as adults.....well lets just hope he grows alot in the next 5 months. Because right now he would only be just over 5 feet tall. Poor thing. I was hoping he would have a little of his Papa Don and his Uncle Ryan in him, buuuut it's not looking that way.

Overall, he is in great health! A few colds and bugs here and there, but I guess that is to be expected with a toddler just starting daycare. I just can't get over how much fun he is right now, and I can imagine that it will only get better. He is definately the light of my life, and I love spending every minute that I have with him. I have found that the hardest part of being a mom is having to leave him on the days that I have to work. Therefore I am a little (okay, a lot) stingy with him on the days I am off, but I guess that is a perk of being his mommy. I can be as stingy as I want. At least while he is little and not begging to stay with Papaw so he can ride fourwheelers, or stay with Noni so he can spend the night with Brookie (as he calls her), or go fishing with Poppy. So, for now, I am taking advantage of him being all mine (and Brent's).

BROOKE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Today was Brooke's 5th birthday party at the church playground. Mom also rented one of those Jumpy Castle things, which was a total hit. Brody even loved it! And the big kids did awesome looking out for him when he was in there.

I think he stayed on his belly more than his feet.

So, Aunt Tara to the rescue!!!

If we took him out, this is where he stood until we put him back in.
Until cake and present time, of course!! This was the Barbie Princess that Brody gave Brooke. He also gave her a Hanna Montana guitar purse on her real birthday Wednesday.

Licking her cake topper....

Just a few pictures I took tonight of him "fishing" in the living room.