Ten Months & Pre-K!

I will probably cry before I'm done with this post. Sigh.....here we go.

On Sunday, July 24th, my little man turned ten months old. Do you know what that means? Less than two months until his 1st birthday!

This cannot be right! I just can't believe how FAST this past year has flown by!

Here are a few cool facts about Brantley.

-He can crawl faster than the speed of light.

-He loves to take off down the hallway to big brother's room to play with toys.

-He can pull up on anything, and is beginning to let go for a few seconds.

-He WILL NOT watch TV!

-Says, "Mama" "Dada" "Bye Bye" (while waving) and "Kitty"

-Eats anything you will give him! Some favorites are: tomatoes from the garden, steamed carrots, green beans, squash & zucchini, yogurt bites, and Kix cereal.

-Sleeps with Mommy most of the time, but is starting to use his bed sometimes.

-He gets REALLY mad when Robert tells him "no"!

-He is scared of loud people.

See? Robert got onto him about licking the table at Logan's :) Mean Daddy.

Now, onto my big baby.

Brody got into Pre-K!!!!!!!!!! After nearly two months of an agonizing wait (ha!) we got the call that he got in. The program that he will be attending is state-funded, so they take the students based on financial need first. We are by no means rich (I'll reiterate, by NO means) but my husband does make pretty decent money, so we were very nervous about him being accepted.

He starts on Monday, and we are all so excited! He needs to be in an environment like that so badly. His little mind is so sharp, and while I do work with him at home, he needs more! He needs interaction with other kids his age, and more than anything, he needs to learn to follow directions. At home, he tries to bend and test the limits of our rules.

I have a feeling it won't be very long before I get a little note saying "Brody had to go to time-out today". :) He is such a mess.

So, my babies are growing......way too fast.

Our Big Boy & Independence Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! We had a great time hanging out at my husband's uncle's house with a whole bunch of family. Great food, entertaining firework show put on by the cousins, and of course, great company!

Here is a picture of my boys and my niece Bryna on the 4th, all dressed up in their patriotic attire!

Brantley had his nine month checkup today. He was nine months old on June 24th.

He weighed a little over 26 pounds (97th percentile) and was 30 inches tall (95th percentile). His head circumference was also in the 90th percentile.

He is a BIG boy!

Father's Day- Belated!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Father's Day!

My husband is so great to us and I know he would do anything in his power to make sure we are taken care of.

So here's a cyber toast to the real men in the world. Here's to the men who work to support their families, the men who take their kids fishing, teach them to ride bikes and play baseball, build train tracks and get beat at Candyland even when they cheat. Here's to the men who bathe stinky little boys (or girls) and change poopy diapers, all the while trying not to puke. Here's to the men who babysit several nights a week so Mommy can go to the gym to get rid of babyweight ;) And especially, here's to the men who are there because they want to be, even when they don't have to be.

I'm so thankful that one of these men belongs to us. I don't know where I'd be without my other half!

The Cicadas

I'm sure everyone has heard or seen something about the cicadas that are everywhere this year. They only hatch every 13 years, and this happens to be the year.

Brody is terrified of them! We don't have any at our house, but he will not even go outside to play at my in-laws' house.

Poor little guy.

Don't Be A Dummy! Do Your Research!

You are the #1 advocate for your child(ren). Do your research before you turn them forward facing in their car seat!! I cringe every time I see someone who has turned their baby too soon.

Although the "law" is one year AND twenty pounds, that is NOT the safest option. The longer your baby rear faces, the safer they will be!

People give so many lame reasons for turning their babies around. For example:

* They are much more content when they can see what is going on around them.

* I don't like to see their legs bent up. They don't have room to stretch out.

* It's just more convenient to put them in a forward-facing seat.

I've even heard people bragging about how advanced their baby was due to forward facing before age 1. How uneducated can one be???

Come on, people. This is a little LIFE you are responsible for. Why in the world would you not research these decisions before you make them?

You can watch a video here that explains why you should practice extended rear-facing.

The "REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF"!!!

Two posts in one night? Yes!

So, if you've been reading my blog, you know about the "really important stuff" going on in our lives that I haven't been able to openly discuss. (Not on the internet, anyways!)

Well, now that the "really important stuff" is over, I can pass the good news on to everyone!

Robert has "officially" adopted Brodyman!

Isn't that great? As of May4, 2011, Robert is his legal father. We even sent off for his new birth certificate. I can't wait until we get it back!

I can't even describe how relieved we all are that it is over. Now we don't ever have to worry about anyone trying to hurt him in the future. He will be happy and loved and never put into any danger by his parents.

Of course, Brody doesn't realize what happened. He doesn't even know that there is anyone absent from his life. He was that young when everything transpired. He has always thought his last name was the same as ours, and now it really is! :) :) :)

One day we will tell him the truth. I think he deserves to know, and I definitely don't want him to ever think we've lied to him about anything. He can form his own opinion about all of this when he is older, but no matter what, he will know who has been there.....and who hasn't.

I could rant for hours.......make that days.....about absent parents, but I won't. I just wonder how some people even look themselves in the mirror.

Things change....people change......

Does anyone ever notice how your circle of friends grows (and diminishes) throughout your life?

It's really just a cycle, ya know? It's good and it's bad. You meet new people and acquire new life interests and sometimes it's just plain hard to remain friends with the people who have been your friends in the past.

I know people think that I don't make enough effort to keep up with old friends, and truth is, I really don't. I wish I had more time to do just that, but I have TWO little people who depend on me for everything. I have a house to keep up, and with four people living in it, that's nearly a full-time job on top of the full-time job of being a mommy. I'll admit, I'm usually behind on this house-keeping task. I also keep up with and make sure all of our bills are paid on time.

I also like to make a few minutes a day for me, whether it be computer time, or gym time, or park time, or just watching TV. Let's not forgot my poor husband. Gotta squeeze him in there somewhere.

It's exhausting!

Thinking about all of this makes me SO thankful that we are financially stable enough for me to stay home with the kids for another year. Adding a job into the middle of all of that responsibility makes my head hurt just thinking about it!

Therefore, don't hate on your friends if they no longer make their friends a top priority. While it's awesome to have friend time every once in a while, family comes first! Well, in this family anyways.