Movin' on Up!

One thing that is great about daycare is all the artwork Brady brings home. I love getting his latest "project" he's been working on & seeing how much is artwork improves from day to day, week to week, and month to month. These are some of Brady's creations when he was in his Infant 2 room. As you can see, he is quite talented.

How many children do you know that can make their own Rail-Road Crossing sign? I bet not many.
Red Barn? Just amazes me how he even left off paint where the windows and door should me. That is talent people, talent!!
This is my absolute favorite. When they handed me this one, I about fell over backwards. A robot? Seriously, kid? He is a genius. Obviously daycare is teaching him WAY MORE than Austin & I are.... He's even drawn the heart & little electricity thing.... Genius people! Genius!

Well, the thing is, he recently "moved up" in daycare classes. I have not been as happy with their curriculum. I think it must be more learning, less time for art. This disappoints me that Brady does not have as much time to make the beautiful things he was making previously. Here are just a few examples of what he's been bringing home lately....



I think it's a little obvious what is going on here.... These teachers in his new classroom do not know how to teach the arts..... at all. So disappointed.....

Brady's Little Chompers

In August, Brady "moved up" in daycare. This was a much needed change for him, because just about everyday we'd pick him up he'd have an "incident report" for biting other kids. The "bully" of the classroom got it the worst... I think Brady must have been making up for all the times the bully went after him. His teachers would tell us stories of Brady biting poor Elijah, being sent to time-out, and then when Elijah would walk by him, Brady would stand up and push him. I am not happy to say that Brady had become the new bully of the classroom, but his teachers assured us that it was because he was bored in his classroom & needed more stimulation. Apparently Brady had favorite books and toys, and if anyone touched them he'd attack.

Well, thank goodness he moved up to the "older" class. These kids weren't going to let him get away with him picking on them.... Well, except for one, kinda. Brady's "identical cousin," Jack started daycare the same time the Brady moved up and Aunt Molly insisted they be in the same class... I bet she regret that soon after. Molly would call me and say that JACK would be getting "incident reports" for biting.... but only after another kid would bite him.... And guess who it was that did all the initial biting? Yep.... Thanks, Brady.....

You'd never expect them to fight, would you?


Well, now it had now been months since Brady's last daycare bite (Cross your fingers!!) and Molly now just automatically assumes that Brady is the kid behind each bite. This is how the last conversation when between her & the daycare teacher after Jack's most recent bite mark.


Teacher: "Jack did get bit today, right on the tip of his nose."

Molly: "Oh no, by who? By BRADY?"

Teacher: (laughter) "No Molly, by a mosquito!"


Poor Brady has such a bad rap now...

Maybe he deserves the bad rap though.... almost a month ago Brady & I were at a baby shower for one of my good friends at work. Everyone brought their children & it was so fun to see them all interact. We had just started going to "playgroups" with people from work too, and its been so much fun. Well, Brady changed that quickly. One of the little boys, almost 1 year old, grabbed Brady's book (that was right in front of him).... I was watching Andrea open all her gifts & was not watching Brady.... but apparently I should have been.... he went right up to the little boy and bit his wrist so hard..... he immediately started crying.... I thought I was going to also! Brady immediately got put in time-out. It was the most embarrassing thing that may have happened to me thus far regarding Brady. Those bite marks probably stayed for a good 20 minutes, and I am sure he had a bruise the next day, though his momma assures me he was okay. But, since then, we've been kicked out of our playgroup..... oh sure, they say they, "haven't had any since", but come on? Everyone is afraid of Brady's little chompers!!

I will say, Brady (knock on wood) doesn't bite anymore.... well, at least not others. Now when he gets real frustrated and wants to bite, he bites himself. Yep, you heard it here first, folks. My son still gets sent home "incident reports," but now for biting himself. I'm not sure which one is better?

Just a little White Lie....

Today I spent the day with my mom. We had a day planned of going out to lunch & then going to see the new Harry Potter film. We were both excited, but, running late. We decided to eat at our favorite bagel shop for lunch, since they are much quicker than any restaurant.... Little did we know it would set us back much further than any "sit down" restaurant.

You see, we had just ordered and we were waiting for our bagel sandwiches to be ready. Mom was standing in front of a table, leaning forward & looking at an article that was framed on the wall. After she was done she backed up, and all the sudden tables and chairs went a-flying. It was quite bizarre really. We laughed about it a little, but then looked down. Mom's big toe had been completely sliced off on the top, and was bleeding like crazy. Apparently she had her toe underneath part of the leg of the table and it acted like a razor blade to her skin.

Well, we quickly left the shop, leaving our bagels behind (along with a few grossed-out customers), and went to the "doc-in-the box". We had just gone to the ER a few weeks ago with Brady to get stitches, and knew that they.... well, take a while. We figured this would be faster. We were wrong. Very wrong.

While waiting in the waiting room, mom had me send pictures of her toe to our family members so she could get a little sympathy. As you probably know, we have quite a big family... so she was getting very upset when nobody was responding to her very disgusting picture. She would even say, "Well what about Meghan? Meghan hasn't responded?" or "I can't believe Dad and Molly are in meetings and don't even care about me. I could be dead for all they know". As she continued to talk about how much her family didn't love her, she continued to take pictures of her toe, with "grosser" angles, to have me send again.

After we had seen the doctor over 2 hours later, we decided a different approach. I texted all my siblings, and my father, with this text:

"Does anyone know Mom's blood type? She needs a blood transfusion but is passed out and can't tell them"

Then the calls and texts came pouring in....

Molly: (She called, I ignored it, I was laughing too hard)
"Tell me if your joking"

Me: "Can't talk, in the middle of surgery"

Molly: "I am in an effing meeting. Tell me right effing now if your joking"

Me: "joking!"

Molly: "Not funny, at all"

Mom and I were cracking up in the exam room. We were literally crying with laughter, but it wasn't until people really started texting us her blood type that we really got rolling. Our personal favorite was short and sweet from Meghan...

"I believe it is O Positive"

(A minute or so later)

"Sure hope I'm right!"

(another couple of minutes)

"Is Dad available?!?"

That's when we thought we'd come clean. So, we missed Harry Potter, our lunch, and our afternoon, but we sure did have a good time.... for me, it was literally at everyone else's expense. Thanks guys! ;)

Make it or Break It....

As some of you remember from an earlier blog, I sometimes get... "carried away" with certain things... While I was pregnant with Brady, it was FarmVille... then I went through recovery... a hard, long, recovery... saying goodbye to FarmVille freed up so much time of mine, I didn't know what to do... Then I had Brady... and I became busy...

Recently we put the little guy into daycare full time. Not because I don't like to spend time with the little guy, but because my schedule is too erratic to be put in daycare part-time. Well.... this has cleared up a lot of time in my schedule recently.... Unfortunately... that does not always mean good things...

I was walking through Barnes and Nobles a couple months ago and saw a sign for "Secret Life of an American Teenager".... promoting the new season.... and what did I think? "Oh, that must be a good show!".... So.... you see.... I started to watch it... and watch it... and watch it... It was disgusting... just like FarmVille all over again.... Except it had one thing that FarmVille did not... an ending... Well... at least on Netflix.... I am now a devoted follower every Monday night... and I cannot get enought of Ricky, Amy, Ben, Adrian, and Grace... they have become my friends.... at least one day a week....



But who would fill the void the other days of the week? Well, once I told people that I liked Secret Life, everyone told me that I should start watching Make it or Break it... also an ABC Family favorite... Of course I would not start watching this show... that is NOT what I needed in my life...

But... I gave in... and I am now in another addiction. Now I spend my days off work with my new besties, Kaylie, Payson, and Emily... too bad that Lauren just won't go away. The thing is... my friends now need help.... their future is at jeopardy... you see, I still have 4 episodes left until I am "caught up," but the show is at risk for a 3rd season.... Why anyone would cancel this show is beyond me... I've even got Austin hooked on the show...



Well... Our only hope is Make it or Break it winning a Teen Choice Award... So, what was the first thing I did? Get on the website and vote for my shows... What was the response? FAIL..... I got a message saying I did not meet the "age requirements" to vote... What?!? BURN....

Well, I am still going to have a TCA party... and I may or may not be 17 when I get on the website to vote.... and I suggest you all do the same...

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

When I was younger, I remember how upset I would get when I would be on the same plane with a child.... especially a child right behind me. I remember, vividly, thinking, "Why doesn't this mother control her child? Can't she see that her daughter is ACTIVELY kicking my chair?" I would think the mother just saw me as a "free pass" for her child to kick my seat since I was young... but if I was an adult she would "control" her child a bit more... How rude she was.....

I think my beliefs were a bit ignorant at the time...

Let me explain a bit to all you folks out there flying on the same plane with a child... First, I want to apologize on behalf of all of us with kids. Yep, sucks to be you, you have to endure a 1-3 hour plan ride with a crying, kicking kid. But that's the thing, after that, you're done.

My last flight (from South Carolina to Texas) was awful. We had an amazing time on vacation for a week... spending the mornings on the beach and the afternoons at the pool... Lots of family, lots of good times... but this will mess up a child's schedule... really, lots of things can mess up a child's schedule....

Let me reminisce a bit more.... When Brady was just 6 weeks old I flew from Nebraska to Texas with him. It was great. Everyone smiled at us and EVERYONE helped us. I would just look at something and at least 2 people would ask me for help... everyone was so sweet. Somewhere between then and now peoples attitudes have changed drastically.

Let's start my trip from the beginning... Once we finally GET to the airport, (obviously running behind because NOTHING quite goes as planned when traveling with a child...) Today we were running a bit behind because Brady decided to sleep until 9am, and we needed to leave the hotel at 9:30... there was NO WAY I was going to wake up my child any EARLIER than he wanted on a day I was going to be traveling with him the whole day.....

We return the rental car, check in, and just have to get through security....

Did you know that when going through security a 15 month old child also has to take off his shoes? Yep... so in the middle of undressing myself for security, I am also trying to hold my child, and undress him, while also breaking down the stroller. Then I have to try and put this stroller up on the security belt while everyone watched me, while still holding Brady. Do you know how many people offered to help? Not one.

Finally, we get through security, oh, but wait, they have to do testing on Brady's milk, which may have some sort of deadly chemical in it... and while they are testing it Brady is screaming for his milk.... the milk I was trying to hide from him and give him on the plane to calm him down.... So much for that idea... had to give Brady the "chemical free" milk right after this.... glad to know it's safe...

After going through boarding, I once again have to break down the stroller to gate check it.... and once again, no help. Why don't I just set Brady down to do all these things you ask? Because he is 15 months old... he's mobile, very mobile.

I finally sit down with Brady on my lap, I pull out the books, crackers, and toys that I have brought to entertain him for the flight. I am excited that he is being so good, eating his crackers and letting me read to him.... Then.... the flight attendant says over the intercom that we will not be able to take off for another HOUR due to weather delays...

So, all my treats, books, and toys were not going to last. Before we even took off Brady was squirming and crying and doing everything he could to get down so he could play.... Could I really blame him? However, this does not make anything better.... I was obviously struggling. The plane finally took off.... Brady started kicking the lady's chair ahead of me, I grabbed his legs and repositioned and repositioned but all he wanted to do was kick that chair. By this time I had the worst headache ever and I was almost in tears... Whenever I tried to move Brady's feet so he couldn't kick he would scream on the top of his lungs and starting thrashing around (and consequently hitting the guy next to me...) To me, I had one choice, continue this or let him kick the chair.... I gave up. I let him kick the chair, only for about a minute.... until the lady sitting there turned around, looked right at me, and glared. It was just what I needed to break down into tears. It was my 16-year-old self glaring right at me... but in a 60-year old woman's body... It was awful.

I spent the next 45 minutes holding my son's legs down so he would not kick her chair, kick the man beside me (or his hot coffee on his tray-table), while he screamed, and screamed, and screamed. I hope your happy lady.... Now not only is your plane ride miserable, but everyone around us has the same awful experience... Well, except for me... because I am the one who has it easy... the one that is just sitting back relaxing and not "controlling" my child, right?

Hair Today, More Tomorrow

So, many of you know that my child was born without hair. There is no facts to spruce up to make pretty.... the kid was born bald.... super bald.... I still have not seen a baby at my new job that has as little hair as Brady did when he was born.



I knew that Brady would be bald before he was born. It has been a long-standing joke that I didn't get MY first haircut until I was 5 years old... and my uncle used to call me Uncle Fester. Neither of these facts I am proud of, but they are just that, facts.




Austin once took Brady to the doctor and, kid-you-not, somebody asked him, "Oh! Do you shave your kid's head too?" (the person had their child with them as well, just about the same age as Brady). He seemed somewhat confused when Austin said no. Seriously? Who shaves there kid's head this young? Brady's been begging for hair since he was 4 months old.... even asking us for a custom toupee made from his daddy's hair.... and while we were at it... maybe hook him up with a little 'stach...



Well... Recently there has been some major differences in Brady's hair department... and I am tired of people not recognizing it. I want people to quit telling me that my 15 month old son doesn't have any hair.... or ask us if we shave his head, or tell us that we "better make sure we have some sunscreen on that melon", or anything similar... And people won't NEED to tell me that... because I am proud to announce, Brady has HAIR!!!

Mile High Club

Bridget was our nanny for Brady from August to December of last year. It was great..... She sent me text updates continually throughout the day..... pictures..... and if I had a question about his day I could call her at 10pm and ask her..... Austin & I were so grateful we wanted to do something BIG to thank her..... if you know Bridget at all.... she LOVES Taylor Swift..... So.... we bought her tickets to see Taylor tomorrow in Omaha.... It was great..... see Taylor & sees the Omaha family in one trip..... since she hasn't been back in a long time..... and We could bring Brady with us for the weekend to see everyone too..... my plan was genius....

Or so I thought......

We left EARLY this morning...... woke up Brady at 5:30am for the trip to the Good Life State.... I was a little sad that Bridget was only sitting next to us from San Antonio to Houston and not all the way to Omaha.... especially because I knew it would be more "challenging" with Brady waking up 3 hours before his normal wake up time......

However, Brady was not doing too bad.... considering..... the short flight was only 56 minutes long.... we could survive that, right? Well, as we started to descend Brady INSISTED on going to his Aunt Bridget..... and Bridget was more than willing to take him.... even asking him, "You love me more than Aunt Molly, right?" and teaching Brady to shake his head "yes". (Brady is somewhat annoying in how much he likes his Aunt Molly... and screams hysterically when he has to go to ANYONE else.... especially his momma)....

Well, in the middle of teaching Brady this new trick, I saw it..... just a little bit of drool coming out of his mouth..... just like he used to do when he'd spit up a little when he was younger..... but before I could process exactly what was going on.... he started..... he started vomitting.... not just spitting up.... but full fledged vomit all over his Aunt Bridget and mom.... okay, mostly his Aunt Bridget.... I grabbed a sweatshirt I had brought and started cleaning up the mess as quick as I could but before I could even get to his mouth he continued to vomit... over and over and over again.... everywhere.... the lady on the aisle seat was in complete disbelief..... just starring at us with her mouth open.... People started looking from behind and in front of us.... then.... just when we thought it couldn't get worse..... it happened.... the smell took over.... and then Bridget and I started gagging while trying to clean up the mess.... I feared that The situation was going to turn into the pie scene in Stand By Me.... and nobody could help us because the plane was now landing.... we had used all our resources to try and clean it up.... but gave up.... there was too much.... we decided it s best to just try and cover ourselves up with any extra blanket or piece of clothing avaiable..... to protect the sanity of those around us.... and our noses....

Needless to say.... Bridget was very glad not to have to sit by us on the plane from Houston to Omaha.... but I am pretty sure the people sitting next to each of us wondered why we smelled of vomit.....

Oh wait.... is that not what the Mile High Club is?

Baby Fever?!

I recently started a new job.... For those of you that know me, I have been working as a nurse on a Neurosurgery floor since we moved to San Antonio last July. Before that I was working on a Neuro/Orthopedic floor in Omaha.

Well... I am doing something different now... much, MUCH different. I am working on a Mother/Baby unit. I am currently still on orientation, but I will be taking care of Moms & their babies after they deliver. I am super excited about the types of patients I will be working with. It is such a "happy" environment... much different from the broken bones & very sad cases I was working with previously.

The most frequent question I get when I tell people where I am working is, "Doesn't it make you want to have another baby?!?" It is awesome seeing all they babies & seeing how precious they are at such a young age. I still am in awe that Brady was ever that young.... and when I come home & see him walking around and eating solid foods.... it makes me sad to think he is growing up so darn fast. However, I also think about how fun he is & how much he makes me laugh and proud with each new thing he has learned... but, I can't stop thinking how nice it would be to have such a little baby again... and eventually have a little sibling for Brady to play with...

But... there is a second side to my job.... it isn't just the cute, little, innocent babies.... it is the mothers... who, are happy for the most part.... but are in pain, exhausted, and have many long months ahead of them.... of being sleep deprived, pain, and coming off their pregnancy hormones.... and I remind myself that I am not quite ready for that again. :)

Measles?!?

Brady sleeps very good throughout the night. We are very lucky of this. One bad part of this, however, is the days I work I do not get to see the little guy at all. He sleeps in until 7:30 or 8am, long after I have gone to work. This means Austin has the job of taking him to daycare on these days.

A few weeks ago after Brady ate dinner I wiped his face with a baby wipe. He had eaten Mac & Cheese and had gotten it all over his face, head, hands, arms, etc. Well, after wiping his face & head I noticed he got a few red bumps on him... I thought he must have just been a little sensitive from the wipes & being out in the sun all day (we had gone to the zoo), and put him to bed. That night was awful. He was up crying all night. This is not like Brady at all. He sleeps silently for 11-12 hours per night with no problems... so being up for 3-4 hours crying is definitely not like him. It was dark, and we didn't really turn on the lights... I did give him some Tylenol & we thought he must be teething because he went to sleep about an hour later. The next morning, (while I was at work) I got several texts messages from Austin... starting at 9am... I did not see them until 1130am.... They went like this...

8:40am "I don't know what to do about Brady. He is super cranky right now."

9:16am "Rejected at daycare. can't come back without a note from the doctor. Not sure what to do about class."

10:30am "Hello?"

10:52am "Hello? It looks like he has the measles."

After I received these texts, I got off work early (since it was a huge week for Austin is school, he needed to be there). I got home... and this is what I saw...



Oh my!! My first thought was "You TRIED to TAKE him to daycare like this?!?" haha. But, Brady seemed okay otherwise. He was a bit cranky, but still playing with his toys and what-not.

We took him to the doc & found out that it was an allergy to Penicillin.... that he had just finished a 10 day course of!! Since he was not even taking the antibiotic anymore, we did not even think this could be the reason!

Anyway, I guess you cannot take your kid to daycare if it looks like he has the measles.... Apparently, it scares the other parents quite a bit.... On the bright side, I felt like we got a glimpse in the future on what Brady will look like in 15 years....

Firsts!!

This post is a bit late.... but Brady turned one!!! I cannot believe how many "firsts" he's had in the past year.... First Day...

First girlfriend... (and yes, him a Chloey ae still going strong... even through the long distance... I guess that is what happens when your first date is in your undies...) First tanning booth.... First time getting beat up... (by his "big" cousin Liam) First Bonnet (and first embarrassing picture).... First Smile (and he still smiles like this... and it makes me smile every time I watch it!) First house.... (miss you Omaha!!) First friend.... First Swim... First wig & facial hair... First time giving the finger... First helmet... First Christmas.... First Spanish lesson (also first wave and first dance)


First Boat Ride!!


First... (actually first 1-8) TEETH!


First time Painting!!


First Snow.... (yep... that's right folks.... rounded up all the snow in San Antonio to take this picture....)


First Steps!!!


First Swing!



and First Birthday!!! (of course, he shared this day with his cousin, Jack, born just 8 hours earlier!!)


And.... I am not allowed to post any more pictures, so I guess that's it!! :)

HAPPY Valentines Day?

Valentines Day for Austin & me consisted of me spending the day with Brady, and Austin staying late at school studying. I have no complaints of spending the day with Brady, but Austin seriously did not get home until about 10pm. Needless to say, we did not have anything planned. He has been somewhat "stressed" with Law School (Why, I do not know... seems like it would be pretty easy to me) and didn't have much time to do anything but study anyway....

The following day, however, I decided to surprise him.... not with anything sappy or romantic... but with beer, burgers, brats, and a cake. For those that know me, I hardly ever buy beer.... this is mostly because if I buy it, I hardly get any of it. So, me having a cold beer open for Austin when he walked in the door was a BIG DEAL... and having brats & burgers was even better. I was going for the "Wife of the Year" award.

However, things hardly ever go as planned....

You see, having a child, it makes it a bit tougher to grill burgers & brats and make sure he isn't getting into trouble inside the house (have I mentioned that Brady started walking on his 11 month birthday? It complicates these kinds of plans.) Well, to put it lightly, I burnt the hell outta all the burgers & brats. I was so disappointed thinking my "Wife of the Year Award" was going to get taken from me...

However, Austin was so excited to have not just BEER, but MEAT also... so he ate it all up & told me how much he loved it, and me. I was feeling rather grand. You would think having a burnt meal would be the worst part of Valentines Day, right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

After dinner we went on to dessert. I made his FAVORITE kind of cake, German Chocolate, and even splurged & bought little candy letters to spell out "I love you." So cute. It was great....

Until about an hour later... When Austin started to get violently ill. Yep, you read it right folks... instead of giving my husband a "great, quick meal so he could hurry up & study", I gave him food poisoning. Apparently we waited a day or so too long to freeze the ground beef that I had bought the week before....

So, instead of my husband getting extra time to study, I have set him behind over a day while he recovers from my poisoning. Why didn't I get sick, you ask? I didn't eat it, it was too burnt!

I always do what I'm asked....

Some of the people who read this blog are my friend on Facebook. As you may recall, a couple weeks ago I posted a picture of my husband.... It looked like this:


My dear husband did NOT find this picture "entertaining". He was actually quite upset with me for posting it on Facebook for "all the world to see." AND.... he is in the middle of trying to get an internship for the summer and thinks this picture will affect him getting one. WHAT?!? If I were an employer I would think this would give someone an extra boost to get employed!! And... if you can't joke around, then who wants to be an attorney anyway?

Well, this reaction from Austin really made me sad... because I had so many other great pictures of him I still wanted to post on Facebook... GREAT pictures too... pictures like these:





It is also too bad because I had a GREAT idea for a Christmas picture for next year too... but I think if he wouldn't allow that picture on Facebook, he probably won't let us send this one to all our friends and family....

The Belated Christmas post....

So, I don't know why I waited to long to post anything about Christmas.... maybe because we were enjoying quality family time? Maybe because we were traveling to New Mexico to meet Ashley, Brady's cousin just a month older than he? Maybe because I was just too darn lazy? Yes, I think so.

So, since I have waited so long, I will just give you the basics, and then let you look at some pictures of the holiday.

We spent Christmas day in San Antonio at home, and then went to Grandma & Grandpa Mac's house so Brady could enjoy his first Christmas opening gifts with the extended family. Though it was neat to see Brady play with the wrapping paper (wasn't tooo interested in anything else yet...) my favorite part was the present we gave to my little sister, Bridget. She has been Brady's nanny since Austin started school, and we are VERY thankful for that.... though she loves hanging out with Brady, we know she wants a "real" job that she went to school for.... so we wanted to give her a big thank you present. If you know Bridget, she is obsessed with Taylor Swift.... Seriously.... it is kinda creepy... so we surprised her with tickets for Taylor's opening show (in the USA) in Omaha the end of May.... she was shocked. It was awesome.

Merry Christmas!!


Brady's new baseball toy from his cousin in England, Alexis! (He DID like this one!!)


My OTHER favorite part of the holiday was flying to New Mexico & surprising Austin's mom, AKA Nana. She was there spending the holiday with Austin's brother, Wes, and his family. He had a baby girl, Ashley, just 5 weeks before Brady was born. It was awesome to see the two together and see their similarities & differences.... I can't imagine Brady being as smart as Ashley in just 5 weeks.... but we will see!! :)

Ashley!


Cousins!!


More Cousins!


Quality Time with Aunt Jaime


Nana, Brady & Ashley


Nana with her boys & babies


Grandpa Bob with the kids


Wes with Ashley & Austin with Brady