Sanders Family

5 months

2011-05-05T15:12:00.006-04:00

She is so much fun! Already has her 2 bottom teeth and her dexterity is full force..grabbing things and putting them to her mouth. She loves to stroke my face while she nurses and she is in LOVE with Daddy and big brother. It is also so fun to see how much she loves mommy and how she always has an eye on me when others are holding her.

8 weeks already?

2011-01-15T12:13:00.002-05:00

I have a bunch of back blogging to catch up on, but I thought i would post these pics of Bray and Aislyn ( for Amy). She is such a joy and is miss smiles now. She has adorable dimples and a gorgeous smile. She has slept through the night (8 hours) twice within the last week. She is an amazing baby and we just love her to pieces. Nan Singler took these photos while we were there for her grand daughter's b-day party. She is starting a photography business. Thanks Nan =)

Baby Blessing

2010-12-26T16:06:00.002-05:00

Aislyn's blessing took place at the Bunnell ward 9am meeting on 12-26-10, the day after Christmas. We were blessed to have close family memebers come and attend and participate in giving a name and a blessing to our newest addition, Aislyn Kate Sanders at 4 weeks old. Those who participated in the circle of the blessing were, Faron ( giving the actual blessing), Arlen Sanders ( Poppy), Lynn Todd ( Papa), Adrein Sanders ( Great Uncle) , Chad Sanders ( Uncle), Rick Singler ( family friend), and Bishop Trowell. The blessing was beautiful and mentioned growing up strong inthe church, knowing her Savior, and one day meeting a young man worthy to take her to the Temple and to be married for time and all eternity. Faron did a beutiful job and the Spirit was strong. Aislyn looked beautiful wearing the gown me and my two sisters wore. This was so special to me and I almost cried getting her dressed that morning, imagining how my mother felt putting me in that same dress. I hope her daughter can be blessed in it one day too.

The pictures after the blessing didn't go as i planned. It was cold and windy outside, so we decided to take pictures outside the chaple. Unfortunately the rest of the family didn't get the memo. Faron's parents and little brother came down for Christmas and her blessing, but we didn't get any pictures of them with her. She was hungry, so these are the ones we did get. After church she was already out of her dress and we went to Granny's huose for lunch and cake where she slept the whole yime, so we didn't take too many pictures.

Our Family

Gramie and Papa with BraydenGramie and Papa with AislynAunt Debbie, Uncle Chad, cousin Brianna and Aislyn ( Faron's brother)This is the beautiful and tastey cake we got from publixAislyn passed out in Daddy's arms.

Family and friends attending the blessing:

Erin, Faron and Brayden Sanders
Lynn and Donna Todd ( maternal grandparents)

Arlen and Brenda Sanders ( paternal grandparents)

Faron's Brothers: Eric and Issac

Chad( Faron's brother), Debbie, Brianna, Brandon Sanders

Adrien Sanders ( faron's Uncle)

Cassandra "Granny" Waddoups ( Aislyn's Great Grandma)

Bertha and Joe Sigfried

Rick and Nan Singler

Rob Fries ( Faron's best friend)

I think that covers everyone who came especially for that day. Thanks for making it so special!

first full day at home

2010-11-23T14:44:00.001-05:00

we were lucky to have Faron home with us , he had to go back to work on wednesday, so we just hung out around the house and enjoyed our new baby

Brayden took to his role of big brother without difficulty, he loves to hold her.

"Aunt" Shandra and Aislyn

Daddy loving his baby girl

Bray feeding Aislyn for the first time

Like I said in a previous post, had we not gone in early for delivery on the twentieth, she would have been born in this day.. so grateful that we didn't have to wait!

Going home

2010-11-22T23:30:00.000-05:00

Aislyn Kate

Day three in the hospital brought us more visitors and another great day with our healthy baby girl. Brayden stayed with Gramie and Papa the first two nights in the hopital. The nurse mid-wife decided I was doing great and could go home that day. So, we planned on having Brayden come that evening with my parents. Before Faron arrived that morning, Aunt katie stopped by and saw Aislyn and I before work. Other friends that visited were Rob and Charity and Manny and Heidi.

We were waiting to see Dr. Orezzoli to come and see Aislyn. He had been off over the weekend and another doctor was covering for him. He was running behind and said we could be discharged without his seeing her, and we would just see him in one week. We decided to head out that night, so got our stuff together. Before we left Aislyn had her hospital pictures taken. These are not what that use to be. They turned out so cute! And we had fun dressing her up. Gramie and Papa arrived with Brayden and we visited for a while. Once we were all packed and everything was in the car we put Aislyn in her coming home outfit and took some pictures.

We left our nurses with some baskets of candy as a Thank you and were out the door and ready to have our Big Brother Party once we got home. I was both excited and nervous to bring Aislyn home. It's been awhile since I've had a newborn and my first time taking care of two kids. But thankfully I have a fantastic husband who is so hands onwith the kids and was such a great help.
We wanted to make brayden feel excited about the baby coming home, without it be all about the baby, so with my sister's suggestion, we did a "big brother" party and picked up a cake on the way home. We had gotten a gifts from bray to the baby and a gift for bray from Aislyn and the exchanged them after we had cake.

Aislyn was awake just a little while we were home and never cried. She just snorts and grunts to let you know she needs something. She is such a calm and sweet baby.It felt awesome to have her at home and the first night wasn't bad. I only had to get up once with her that night and was up early the next morning. It was fun to have her already home on the day I was supose to deliver her( tues 11/23/10).

Day 2 in the hospital

2010-11-21T12:56:00.001-05:00

First time getting dressed up

Day two brought lots of vistitors. Uncle Chad, Grammie and Papa and Brayden, Shandra and Skyeler, The singlers, Granny and Aunt Linda, and my co-worker Heather all stopped by to see Aislyn and congratulat us.

Granny's number 19 Great Grand child... she loves her Granny

Aislyn with uncle Chad

The proud big brother

I was feeling so much better after a shower, real clothes, and makeup! I was moving around so well on my first post operative day.. I even made the bed! lol The mid wife came in and said " I guess you'll be getting out of here early!" Thanks to pain meds and knowing what to expect.. this was the easy c-section of all.

Aislyn with mommy and daddy

Aislyn did great breast feeding right away on day one, but day two she got very sleepy and was hard to wake up to eat. But we learned some tricks and were able to get her latched on and eating well. She mostly slept, ate and pooped, on this day. She had her bilirubin drawn and was weighed that night and was down from 8lbs even to 7lbs 7 ounces. her bilirubin level came back perfect. Daddy went home for a better sleep in a real bed, instead of the back breaking recliner and Aislyn went to the nursery where she was well cared for by past co-workers of mine. I had a great nurse, Sarah, who I use to work with on Pediatrics and slept pretty good despite the IV driving me crazy. I will have more sympathy for my patients in the future.

Introducing Aislyn Kate Sanders

2010-11-20T17:16:00.006-05:00

8lbs 20 inches born at Halifax Health at 1040 am 11/20/10

after 1st bath

first family photo

my boys and my new princess

Halloween 2010

2010-11-15T09:49:00.003-05:00

Well superman was the original plan, but due to two costumes that didn't fit right we came across plan B: CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!!! He fully embraced his character and came up with this pose on his own.

Brayden and skyeler or "wonder woman" : Brayden says to Skye " get down.. and pose"

We went trick or treating in a beautiful neighborhood in flagler and it was perfect weather and the kids had a blast! I was a witch but haven't seen pictures of myself yet, so we'll see if I add them ...lol. Brayden and Skye were adorable and holding hands most the time. It was a successful Halloween =)

35 weeks Photo shoot/ 4yr old pics of Brayden

2010-11-15T09:23:00.004-05:00

These were taken towards the end of october, I think the week before halloween. Faron's cousin Kenyon was nice enough to drive up and take pictures of Bray and I. I think she did a beautiful job. Thanks Kenyon!

Baby Shower for Aislyn Kate Sanders

2010-10-10T11:26:00.007-04:00

Door sign

Table decor

The wishing tree: everyone wrote a wish for baby and placed it on the branches.. the finished product was super cute and will be treasured.

The "rump' cake.. was a hit! Made by wendy from work

Diaper cake made by Shandra and food done by my mom and her friend Bert/ Publix

some of my Family that came

Tons of gifts!! So grateful! And me at( 2 days shy of) 33 weeks

opening gifts, the travel sytem in the backround from my MIL Brenda, Granny, and SIL Debbie

I am trying not to cry, but failed... A poem about a blessing bonnet that turns into a hanky that you save and give to your daughter on her weddnig day as the " something old"

The bonnet made by my mom's friend Bert-- she also made me a beautiful blanket and burp cloths

Cherry Blossom Crib Bedding from my mom and my aunts

Melissa,Kim, Erin, And Shandra... friend from Halifax Peds

Family and friends at the shower

Sunday, Octyober 10,2010 : Baby Shower

Thrown by Shandra Greenwood and Donna Todd (mom)

For Erin Sanders and up comming arrival Aislyn Kate Sanders to be born via c-section November 23,2010

I had a blast and it was an absolutely beautiful shower thrown by my best friend and my mom. Theme was pink and green and the pictures don't even capture all the little details. I hope to have more pics soon to add. A huge thanks to my friends and family who came and all the gifts we recieved. We are so happy to welcome this sweet little baby girl into our lives!

Games played: How big is her belly- winners were Lynn Stolte and Melissa Nichols

Everyone wrote messages on diapers to a funny surprize when we are changin her the first few weeks. Also the wishing tree where messages were written withe pink flower pens on scalloped squared antique damasked print paper taht were pink and green with an "A" stamped on them and then hung to the tree branched on pink ric rac ribbon. So cute!

Also, evryone was to bring a book in lue of a card, and there were stickers that stated " This book is A gift for Aislyn Sanders from_____ and they wrote a message and put it in the book.

Cake made by Wendy Morris

Brayden's 4!

2010-08-23T11:25:00.000-04:00

soon to come....

It's a girl!

2010-07-12T10:35:00.002-04:00

July 8th we went to the doctor's office after a failed appointment( they scheduled my appointment on a day they were closed!) on the 5th due to the 4th of July holiday weekend. Faron, and Bray came along. As soon as the ultrasound tech touched my tummy we had the perfect shot that this baby was a girl. The us tech asked if we wanted to know and she confirmed it.. GIRL! So ,we were all very excited. The rest of my appointment went well, and baby looks good. We will have another us next month as well. It's always fun to see our baby girl =)

We are still deciding on a name, but we have plenty of time for that. I am 20 weeks tomorrow, so half way done! It's going pretty fast now.

14 wks and 6 days Ultra Sound

2010-06-09T09:42:00.003-04:00

June 7th, monday, we went to my doctor's appointment and had an ultrasound to check my cervix and see the baby. My doctor mentioned last time that they may be able to determine the sex of the baby at this visit , especially if it was a boy. So Faron came with me, just in case. It was so nice to have him there with me. He hadn't been to any of the previous visits or had the chance to see the baby via ultrasound. So this was the perfect time, because it's starting to really look like a baby.

Everything was fine with me and then we got to the baby and I just get so nervous. You want everything to be okay. Then we saw the baby moving around and we heard the heart beat (148) , so it was perfect. It's like you can breath because you know the baby is doing fine. I think we both got teary eyed. It just makes it so much more real to actually see your child .

Then we asked if she could look for the gender. She gave a us a warning that this early things could be wrong, so don't go and buy anything or paint the room just yet. We totally agreed. We weren't putting a whole lot of stock into it, but excited just the same if she was able to tell. So,she got to where she could see and before she said anything it popped in my mind popped "girl" and Faron later told me the same thing. Then she said .. " If I had to say today, I would say girl." So... we could be seeing PINK in the future! I'm trying to not concentrate too much on it though, because if it turns out that it's a boy, I would be just as thrilled. But I think we have been thinking girl even before I was pregnant.

Either way, it was a fantastic day. We are just so excited baby is healthy and doing so well. We go back July 5th for the confirmation of the gender. So excited! Will keep you posted.

Brayden's Big News!

2010-05-21T04:44:00.003-04:00

"There's a baby in mommy's belly!"- Brayden A. Sanders 3yrs old

We have been blessed with a child on the way due December 2, 2010. Due to being a repeat c-section, the baby will come a week early which falls right on Thanksgiving this year 11/25/10. So...give or take a day and that should be when our new arrival is here. We are all so very excited , especially Brayden. He loves to look on babycenter.com with me and see how big the baby is getting each week. He even got to see the baby at one of my ultra sounds. He is going to be such a wonderful big brother!

We found out by a fluke of taking a test just because ( with no expectation of being pregnant) on March 22. What a nice surprise it was to see two lines on the test..even though I had to double check the box, because i thought that that meant negitive. What a nice surprize to find out the oppisite.

April second we had a wonderful day at the Orlando temple with my parents and my sister Amy and brother in law Chad. It was such a special day for our family ... so we thought it the perfect time to shar ethe news with them in there. The spirit was so strong and I was very emotional. Later that day we called the rest of our siblings and Faron's parents and spread our news and joy with them. We also officially told Brayden that night and the above quote was his reply. He is just so excited. Easter was a few days later and we went to Jacksonville and stayed the night and had a wonderful time sharing our excitment with my relatives.

Brayden at a wonderful Easter and we tried to watch and enjoy as much as Conference as we could. It was so fun having all my siblings together at once. Amy and patrick came into town with their families and it was so nice to be with one another. I love me neices and my nephew and it was so fun watching them all together.

I will post pictures from that week as we had a lot to celebrate. We celebrated my neice Annie's 1st birthday ( which turned out so cute!) right before Amy and the crew flew back to kansas! Thanks for sharing her day with us guys!

I will try to keep this thing posted and up to date more often. I have an ultra sound the first week of june and I'll be 15weeks, and there is a chance if the baby cooperates that we could get an idea of what the sex of the baby is.. especially if it's another boy. So, just another thing to look forward to!

Long Time no post

2009-09-19T20:47:00.005-04:00

I guess it's time to update on what we've been up too. I have so many pictures to post! I need to post startig from Christmas '08! Can we say SLACKER! Man..hopefully I can be better about posting.

I started my nursing orientation the end of July and I have been trained on Mother Baby for 2 weeks, then I went to Pediatrics for about a month, then I was in the new part of the hospital on adult medsurg for 2 weeks, and this week I finshed my time in the Pediatric emergency room. Then I go back to my home base of Peditrics and then nights. I am starting to feel more confident and like I know a little bit of what I am doing.

It's been nice to be on dayshift. I have more time with Brayden. We have been avid beach goers throughought the summer and we like to frequent "lets Play" a play place in town. We also go to the park a lot and we get movies every week. This week we got some Disney classics. I have to say it brings me back, because they were some of my favorites when I was a child. Brayden LOVES Peter Pan.

August: This was a fun month for us..BIRTHDAYS! I will post seperate post for those, but I turned 27 on the 11th and Bray turned 3 on the 23rd! We went to Disney on my b-day and we had a Chocolate Factory party for Brayden. It was so fun, because he chose what party he wanted. He still talks about his party.

September: My mom and dad both Retired. We went to my dad's retirement party that they had for him at amtrack...He had been there for 34 years! Conrats mom and dad! Yesterday the step aboard their cruise to Alaska and the end of the month will be their b-days!

So here are some cute beach pictures from mid August. Sometimes we go by ourselves, but the best beach days are with Skye and Shandra, because we both have buddies :)

(so..I flipped the pics before and still they came out like that..but I'll just have to change it later.)

It's official!

2009-06-12T09:51:00.003-04:00

I passed my state boards!!! I'm a Registered Nurse in the State of Florida!!!!!!!!!!

Jessica Erin Sanders, RN

I am eternally grateful to my Father in Heaven and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I could have not made it through any of this with out the constant guidence of the Holy Spirit. I know my prayers and those of all of my supportive friends and family's were heard and answered.

Thank you to my loving, incredible Husband. He has been my biggest cheerleader! We both cried tears of joy when I called him with my results this morning. He even stopped by with gorgeous flowers ( yellow gerbers and white daisies! Love them!) and a card. Things are going to be so much better for our family because of this new career.

Another thanks to my Parents, my sisters and my brother. I have such an incredible family, and the best nurse in the world as a mother. My dad has told me I should do nursing since high school...I finally listened ...lol.

I tested on wednesday june 10th. It took me about an hour and 40 minutes and after 75 questions my test shut off. It was over. I was relieved and terrified all at once. 75 questions in the minimum and 265 is max. usually 75 means you either passed or you did really bad and failed. I had convinced my self over the last 48 hours that I failed...hoping that I hadn't but kept thinking.."what if?" Thankfully I was wrong and I passed =)

Thank you to all of my family and my friends. And to my favorite little guy of all.. my Bray Bray. This is all to make his life better. I love him so much. I had to sacrifice missing a lot of being with him to make it happen, but I know he will appreciate it in the end.

Special Day

2009-06-06T19:32:00.003-04:00

Today our newest addition to the Sanders Family, our niece Brianna Kay was sealed for time and all eternity to her Parents, Chad and Debbie. It was such an honor and blessing to be able to be there for the sealing of their daughter. Her adoption was finalized last week, sealed today and her blessing will be tomorrow. It was such a reminder to when Faron and I were sealed and how our Family is eternal. I think I often forget when we are out and about in the world and those things consume us. It was just so nice to be in the Temple and to feel the Spirit and to be apart of such a special day. It has been a long road for them and I know that Chad, Debbie and Brandon couldn't be more grateful for their newest addition to their family!
* And a big special thanks to Uncle Issac and cousin Kenyon who watched Brayden during the sealing. Thanks guys!

Afterwards we had lunch at Perkins. Faron's brother Eric and his family came as well as Aunt Tina, Mia, and Kenyon. Of course Granny was there and some other special friends of Chad and Debbie's. The best part was that Faron's parents and his youngest brother Issac were able to come. It was so nice to see them!

At Perkins Brayden tried opening the emergency door and set the alarm off...FUN times!

The boys and everyone else continued over to Port Charlotte, and I headed back to Palm coast, because I am working Sunday and Monday. I'm sad I can't be at the blessing and spend more time with my in laws who I don't get to see very often . But I am thankful that Faron is able to spend time with all of his brothers and that Brayden gets to be with his Poppie and Grandma, and Granny! He's such a lucky boy! He has so many people who love him dearly.

(I'll add a picture when they get sent to me)

Pinning Ceremony

2009-05-22T22:52:00.004-04:00

DSC Nursing Graduates 2009
Me getting my pin

Jen and I enjoying the ceremonyOfficial Grads...Finally! Jen and Erin
Me, Shandra, and Skyeler
My little fam

My dad, Bray and I

My favorite nurse, mom, and I

my baby bray and I on the way to Dinner with my Friends and family

I want to Thank Katie and Jack, my parents, Granny, Aunt Linda, Shandra and Skye, and Faron and Bray for coming to support me. I wish I could have invited my extended family but we were only given 8 tickets and it was on a Thursday night, so I just thought it would be really inconvenient for them,so we are going to have dinner together in June.

This was my night. I am glad it's over but it still hasn't hit yet.

2 year and 7 month old pics from March 2009 "Photo shoot"

2009-05-22T22:49:00.001-04:00

Graditude Of a Graduate Nurse

2009-05-05T23:50:00.005-04:00

Horray! 2 years of nursing school came to a close today! I passed my final and made a B+ in the class. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for listening to my prayers and helping my continually along the way. I could not have made it with out the constant guidence of the Spirit.

I also want to thank all of my family and friends who have been such a huge support to me! I especially have to thank my boys for putting up with my absence from our home and my mood swings from my odd sleeping and studying habits! I love them with all of my heart and soul and could have never made it through this with out Faron being such an incredible husband and Father! (I LOVE you!)

So I am giddy and thrilled to have this be over! I was officially hired to work as an RN on the Pediatrc unit that I currently work on as unit clerk. I am so thriled. I love this area of nursing and am so blessed to already have a job, especialy in these hard times! All I have to do is pass my boards and then I can start working as a Nurse. I hope that I will be able to take them within the next 3 weeks!

I don't think it's completely sunk in yet....I am a Graduate Nurse! I have my Pining ceremony on Thursday May 7, 2009, so I will post some pictures for you soon!
THANK YOU!!!!!

Shandy Baby

2009-04-11T02:56:00.007-04:00

www.shandybaby.com

Shandy Baby has expanded to an online children's and baby boutique! We offer fun and fresh designs for children and mom's. We offer a variety of baby gear, clothing, accessories, and gifts for mom's and their little ones. Many of the brands we carry have been shown off by some of the cutest babies in Hollywood!

We are constantly adding new products, so save us to you favorites, and check back often!

Shandra and I are really excited with this new venture and we truly appreciate your support.

Love our site? Then add us to your blogs favorite links and help us spread the word about our fabulous new baby and children's boutique!

It's been a while

2009-02-07T12:01:00.002-05:00

I am extremely behind on our blog. Thanksgiving and Christmas were great. I didn't really take any pictures of Thanksgiving, but I have a lot from Christmas, so i will back track and post those later.

I am in my last semester of Nursing school!!! Hooray! It is overwhelming to think I am almost done. Things are going well though. I am still unsure of where I want to work, but I still have time for that. I am just putting it in the Lord's hands for now.

Today we are trying to potty train Brayden. He looks so cute in big boy undies! I hope he will catch on quick. We are just trying to take him every 1/2 hour. So far we are off to a slow start, but hopefully he will pick it up and we will see success.Brayden is doing great. He is so cute and always saying the cutest things!

January 10, 2009 our family suffered a great loss. My Mema passed away. She was the sweetest woman anyone could ever know. I am happy though that she is no longer in pain that she is in the presence our our loving Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. She lived her life following Christ's example and I know she was prepared and ready to return home, even though this was sudden. I am so grateful to have been able to spend Thanksgiving with her, and to have been able to say I love you and my goodbyes to her in the hospital. I am grateful for her example and her love and she will be truly missed until we can all be together again.

January 20th , Farona nd I celebrated our six years since our first date. it's crazy that we have been together for six years. April will be 5 years of marriage!

well.. more posts and pictures to come.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-03T08:37:00.005-05:00

oops! someone fell off!

Brayden and I met up with Aunt katie, Jack, his daughter Sydney and Travis for lunch on Halloween. The boys just so happened to be wearing there halloween t-shirts. They were sooo cute together! The waitress asked them "what are you going to be tonight" I told Brayden .. say "cowboy" and he did. Then she asked Travis and he said "A cowboy!" Katie immediately said.. no... you are going to be a brown M&M... and he goes.. "No mommy...I want to be a cowboy!" Now my sister had paid someone to make him a M&M costume.. and no he;s saying he wants to be a cowboy! It was too funny! She told me later that she had to pretend that Brayden called and said he was going to be a brown M&M and then Travy says " Mommy.. I want to be an M&M!"

Kids! What are you gonna do! Travy pants sure does love his Bray Bray.. and vice versa!
having fun!

We celebrated Halloween in Rob abd Charity's neighborhood. They had games and a coostume contest in the beginning. Brayden won "Funniest" ... go figure. I said it was because they didn't have one that said the cutest. He was scared because of this old lady in a skeleton costume. That kind of ticked me off. I told know why she was participating with the kids. Anyhow... the fun begain with Trick or Treating. Brayden would run wi=th the other kids to the door. I would meet up with him and help him get his candy. He kept wanting to eat it on the spot.He is hillarious! He even gave this older couple hive fives! What a cutie! It was a fun time

.
our little stud!Brayden on the golf cart with uncle Robbie.. or Uncle "Bobby" as Brayden likes to call him

Our little Cowboy!

2008-11-03T08:18:00.006-05:00

The Saturday before Halooween we went to our Trunk or Treat. Bray looked so cute as a cowboy! He would say "yeehaw!" and "iddiup" . Now, not only did he talk the talk, but he walked the walk! He was walking all bowleged. We were like "how does he know how to do that?" But we figured he liked looking at the chaps.. and that caused him to walk like that. He had lots of fun and got to see his "brothers and sisters" ( our babysitter' S kids). Man he loves them! We had rootbeer and funnel cake and Brayden was actually interested in trick or treating. He did so good. He loved being able to get his own candy out of the bowl and then put it in his own pumpkin.

Brayden and Brick oh and he liked to eat his candy too! Here he is eating is "pop"..."mmm good" he says and then offers us a taste. Shortly after this was taken, he takes the sucker out of his mouth, and leans down and over and gives his Daddy a big kiss on the cheek! SOOOOO stinkin cute!

Fall Festivities

2008-11-02T07:42:00.008-05:00

Two Saturdays before Halloween we went to a "pumpkin Festival" I had been wanting to take Brayden to see pumpkins for a while and so I talked it up all morning. He would say "punkins!" So.. when we got there.. I said where are the pumpkins? And the response was.. oh.. they ordered some but they couldn't get them on time.. so there are no pumpkins. HA! Well, just our luck, but we had fun anyway. They had a hayride to take you to pony rides and a maze, and bounce houses.

Brayden had fun on the hayride... I think this was his first one. His buddy Manny kept him company. He is Faron's best friend Rob's son. He Is the best friend to Faron and he has the sweetest wife ever.. Charity. It was a nice day spent with them! We got off the hay ride and Brayden and Manny rode the ponies and did a hay maze together. They even got to see the K-9 dogs from the police department and Brayden had fun petting him, though he was timid at first. It was a hot Fall day of Fun with the Fries' Family. Thanks guys for going with us!

Brayden's Halloween shirt courtesy of Grammie... the little ghost lights up.. so cute! He loved it!

on the hay ride with Manny
petting the "doggie"Pony Ride
I love this!!
Sooo.... since we didn't get to see pumpkins at the pumpkin festival....mommy got some pumpkin's on Wednesday before Halloween, when they were on sale, and decided we should paint some pumpkins! Brayden LOVED it! In fact he didn't like it one bit when it was time to stop and go and clean up....I'll have to make it a tradition I guess =)

Happy 2nd Birthday Brayden

2008-08-29T17:00:00.011-04:00

Happy Birthday Brayden!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby! It seems like yesterday that he was just a tiny little baby in my arms.. now his legs hang over mine when I rock him! We are so thankful to have such a sweet boy. He is the best thing that has ever happened to us! We Love you Brayden!

Brayden first thing in the morning.. Super happy It's his birthday!

I think I sang or said Happy Birthday to Brayden all day! I would ask his how old he was and after some hints... he was saying "two, two , two..." He even got it into a little song and dance. Faron took Bray to the park while I finished up some stuff, then we loaded up and headed to the Party.It was a small family party. Our plans for the zoo didn't pan out due to Tropical Storm Fay.. (it was flooded.) We ended up just having it at my sister's house( Thanks for all your help Katie!). It was just Katie , Jack and Travis, my parents, and Faron's brother Chad and nephew Brandon, who drove like 4 hours to be there.. THANKS guys! It really meant a lot to us!

Not so happy on the way to the party.... nap opportunity missed ..

Singing a different tune when we arrived at and Katie's and he was given his birthday balloonsHe LOVES balloons! Thanks Aunt Katie and Grammie and Papa!The Birthday stash! and that's not even everything!

It was off to a rocky start for me in the morning, but it really turned out to be a great party. My dad made this awesome shrimp and pasta dinner and the cupcakes were awesome! I had a lady at work cut out 2's and I made the little cupcake picks.. . I was happy how they turned out.We did learn that we are not going to try to do anything big parties again , until he asks for it... it just leads to disappointment on my end.

Travis' party favor Trying to figure out hot to use the "blow out" Wrong end buddy!Travy!
Lots of playing before dinner was ready
What???? It's my birthday!
Let's Party!
Cupcakes!

The shirt came off ( by brayden's request... which was a smart move!) and it was time to dig in!

I touched up some of these pics b/c I thought they were sooo cute! I think they turned out pretty good!

Brayden and Travis had a ball playing and eating cupcakes. They didn't always want to share at present time ( both were going off of a day with out naps), but managed to still have a blast together.I love this one! Opening presents..........
Travis breaking Brayden's new Car's couch that Grammie and Pap got him
The "hit" of the party... this is the coolest toy! Thanks Uncle Chad and Brandon ( Debbie too!)

We ended the night with a "Rave" in our living room. We had some glow sticks that I bought, and brayden accidentally dropped the bag and the box opened and they became partially activated.. SO... we had to use them. We turned off the lights and put on some dance music and jammed out with our glow sticks. Brayden had so much fun.. when I turned the lights back on.. he was yelling.. "lights off!" I guess it will have to become a family tradition ... haha

Thanks to everyone ... Brayden got so much nice stuff! He LOVES everything!!! Along with lots of toys , he got tons of clothes from us and Katie and Grammie and Papa, and Aunt Amy and Uncle Chad and Emily sent Brayden the cutest PJ's... thanks guys( We loved the card too)!

We really appreciate all his cards in the mail.. he had fun looking at them.. and the money was nice too! Oh.. and thanks for all the Birthday calls.. it was so nice to talk to everyone!

Storm Update

2008-08-21T09:44:00.003-04:00

well... thankfully , things ahve changed a lot since yesterday. It is only going to be a tropical storm. Brevard( Cocoa Beach ) county is soooo flooded! We are still under a flood watch, and the worse has not come yet. But we are all fine. Faron didnt have to work today, so it is noice to have him home. Brayden is probably goignt ogo crazy by the end of the day , due to the fact that we will be indoors most of the day.

We did lose power off and on arounf midnight last night. Hoipefully we won't lose it anymore. They are expecting strong winds and lots of rain as the eye comes over us in the afternoon.

A storm's a brew'n!

2008-08-20T09:48:00.002-04:00

Tropical storm Fay seemed like no big deal. We had some rain going into work last night, and this morning had a downpour on us to the car, but no rain on the way home. I guess it has decided to leave our state via Daytona Beach ( where I work.. thank goodness I am not back until sunday!) then it is going to wade in the Atlantic at a rediculously slow speed, build and build until it becomes a catagory 1 then it is projected to reenter out state via Flager or St. Augustine.
Okay so we live in Flagler county! We are 8 mionutes form the beach! SO... who knows what will happen. The made thing is to worry about flooding , losing power, and tonados. Yikes! We ahve been so blessed to rnot be affected by the storms, especially in 2004. So I guess it's our area's turn. Just keep us all in your prayers. I'm sure everything will be fine. But is going to take a long time to move into Jacksonville, so basically the eye will be hovering over us for a while. You know I am no expert, but that is what I've been hearing.

We will keep you updated!

Oh and in other good news... Shandy Baby recieved it's very first sale at our new store... www.shandybaby.etsy.com
I am so excited! It only took about 2 weeks, and we have just been trying to get it together still.
But I am excited. I love to create things. It is so satisfying! Oh and I start school back on tuesday ....ughhhhhhhhhh. It's been nice having a break =)

Growing up sooo fast!

2008-08-14T13:59:00.001-04:00

Brayden 8-13-08 already 23 and 1/2 months old!

I haven't been a very good blogger. We are surviving the about to be terrible 2's...which have already started with tantrums and bad attitudes, but for the most part Brayden is such a sweet little lover. He is getting sooo big! He 's about 29 lbs and at the last Doctors visit over a month ago, he was 3 feet tall! His birthday is just around the corner! I can't believe my baby is going to be 2! I just celebrated my 26th birthday on Monday! Crazy! I am closer to 30 than 20 now.. yikes! Well.. I had a great day . I went shopping for craft stuff and had lunch with my friend Shandra, and then I came home to find roses and a card , along with my wonderful husband. I have to brag on him. He is so wonderful to me. As you all know I have started a side business with Shandra and it is slowly but surely coming along. We both love making things and are pretty good at it =) We sell the hair clips I make at a consignment store, and in the first week she sold 7 of them.. not too shabby, seeing as she isn't a huge establishment. She is a pleasure to work with and we really appreciate her for selling our items in there. She also is selling our burp cloth sets and some art clip magnets we've made. Okay.. I digress, but Faron has been so supportive of my taking over the dinning room table and working on that instead of cleaning. He is really my best friend and I love that he is so supportive of me =) Anyhow... We dropped Brayden off at my sister's b/c my parents were going there for dinner, and they watched Brayden over night at there house. We went to Bone Fish grill and had yummy appetizers, and then saw the Dark Knight... very good! I was grabbing Faron's arm the whole night! Very suspenseful!
Oh and I got gift cards from my boys and one from my sister Katie, and money form my parents and my Mema! Thanks guys! Oh.. and we did cheese cake and had candles and sang.. before we left my sister's. We had a lot of fun.

I have a million pics to post.. will do it soon.

our little crib climber/jumper

2008-07-03T16:04:00.002-04:00

(Poofy moorning hair!)
here are pictures from a few days ago. He loves to get into the crib and just jump. Today I took him to "the jumpy place" in South Daytona, and he had a blast. I am so mad at myself though... I forgot my camera! We will definately go again... so keep your eye out for pics at a lter date.

Well.. it was toddler time which was nice, only up to age 5. Most of th e kids were about brayden's age. It is a big indoor area with inflatables. I think there were about 8 of them. They were so much fun. We especially loved the slides more than anything! Yes.. I said we... I did everything he did. It was a goog motivator to get in shape. I felt like I was draggin. A lot of the moms just sat and watched but I was there full force. We did have one fiasco. I heard this mom complaining to anothr mom about her son. I didn't really hear what she said. That same boy came in to where brayden was jumping, and I had just gotten out, and wanted Brayden to come too, but he wanted to stay in. So when the older boy came in Brayden tried playing with him. He was fine. Then I couldn't see Brayden( there was a center peice that you could jump on) and I saw the other boy kind of rough housing, so I moved over to see Bray and he was laying down and laughing, and then the boy jumped od the center peice and jumped and then jumped onto brayden... like his feet into my baby's tummy. I yelled so loud at him to get off of my child, and I scrambled into the jump house and he ran out and his mom yelled at him and said "That's it" and she walked out with him. Brayden was crying, but he was okay. He didn't even want to leave the jump house. So... that was kind of crazy. But the rest of the time was fun. Brayden was getting tired and was upset when he wasn't getting what he wanted , right when he wanted it, but, agian nothing new. So, we left when it was over, and we went to Sinic for lunch.

We have all been sick with sore throats and a cough, and it's just now getting worse. I think brayden was coughing, and not chewing he food completely, and he ended up throwing up.Thankfully we were parked and I was able to help him with out too much of a mess. He was so cute, I kept asking .."are you okay?" and he would throw up, and then smile... and say "okay".
Wow.. what a doll baby I have at times. He took a long nap, and he ate a good dinner and had a good bath. So now we are watching "Cars" and just relaxiong in our jammies.. even though it's on,y 5:30pm. Ha! It's just the two of us tonight anyhow, and I am tired. Faron is at a race.Well.. I better get back to watching Cars...

What we've been up to...

2008-06-27T19:41:00.003-04:00

I know.. I know.. it's been a long time since I have posted anything. I have just been really busy!
Lets see... since I last posted I finished my second semester of nursing school with a high 'B' ( 10 people failed... so I was pretty stoked with my grade.) That was a really time consuming and mentally challenging semester. I was so happy for it to be over!

I had a total of 5 days off, and then I started into my third semester, Mental Health/Psych. I have to say I really enjoyed this class. It was so much less time consuming, but it was packed into a short six weeks, so it was alot to learn quickly. We had a total of 2 test and a patient care plan, and that was all our grade consisted of. I loved my clinical experience. I was a little nervous to be working with these types of patients, but I really came to enjoy my time with each of them. It was not physically draining, but emotionally exhausting at times, because you really have to use your mind. You have to think before you speak and you are always assessing behavior. Our whole group really came to love the people we were so blessed to serve. If anyone needed a kind word and attention , it's these patients.
Well, the six weeks litterally flew by, and I finished 6/20/08. I came through with an 'A'. I was so very excited!!
It's been nice to not have to do anything, and to be at home with my boys. With my work schedule, I still only have Brayden the weekend and two days out of the week. We ended up doing some shoping one day, and the next we were lazy and spend time around the house, but we did manage to go to the park for an hour. Man was it hot! He had fun. He mostly wanted to play with anything that wasn't a play thing, trees, sticks, climbing stairs, but not going down the slides. He's so funny. We definately have an active child, and he loves to be outside. We really wish we had a fence! It would be really nice. I think next Thursday we are going to go to the jumpy place. It has theinflatables indoors, and on thursdays it has a "toddler time." So, only 5 and under are allowed, which would be perfect for my little guy. I'll have to let you know how that goes. I am pretty sure he will love it, because he is really into jumping. right now. He takes our hands and says "I jump!" And we lift him up and jump. He also loves to get into his crib, hold onto the sides and jump. So, I think this place will be a little bit of heaven for him.

So, in Brayden news...
* He turned 22 months on 6/23/08
* He climbed out of his crib for the first time 6/7/08--- toddler bed in the near future ( he hasn't done it upon awakening since, but frequently does it while playing.)
* He loves to climb up the changing table, then dives into the crib from there
*Climbs onto the arm of the couch, stands up and then procedes to jump off and land his backside onto the back cushions of the couch---Completely freaks me out... a BIG "NO NO", but he insists on trying to do it still.
* LOVES "Finding NEMO", "CARS", and "TOY STORY."
* 6/25/08 started to poop in the tub again. I quickly rushed him from the tub onto the toilet. So my big boy went poo poo on the potty! YEAH! Too bad it wasn't because he said "Mommy I poo poo" and then I put him on the toilet. We are going to begin the venture of potty training soon. I think he is ready.

Alright... well... in other news... Even though I am out of school for two months, I am still really busy. My friend Shandra and I have started a business. "Shandy Baby" . It is a children's boutique. we handcraft all the items and we started going to children's boutiqes in town to get our name out there. We got really good responses from the 3 that we visited. We even got our first order! So, we are totally excited. It's something that we LOVE to do, so if we can make some money of it, even better. We are just starting out, but if you want to check out website www.shandybaby.ecrater.com I 'd love to hear what you think! ( Prices are a little high, because we are selling wholsale to boutiques, but if you are interested in anything, we can do it for a cheaper price.) Our items make really unique baby shower gifts and can all be personalized =)

We have three girls at work that are about to pop, and have done stuff for them, and it's been a great motivator for us to get this up and going.

I will post pictures tomorrow. I am sure that I have tons to share.

The sweetest thing

2008-04-28T19:05:00.000-04:00

Yeah!
4-11-08 So cute!
saturday 4-26-08 Striking his best model pose
beautiful blues
our little "stud"

FUN TIMES

2008-04-27T23:00:00.003-04:00

Well.. I have to say Farona nd I had a lot of fun on Saturday. My dad came and got Brayden and we went down to Altamonte Springs and ate at Bahama Breeze. We ended up getting a few appetizers and side salads. Very tastey! From there we went on to Orlando to SAK comedy club. It is an improv club ( the show is very simular to "Who's line is it anyway") that is Family friendly... so no bad words =) It was so much fun. We laughed a lot. It was so nice to be out on a date with my hubby. Then we went back to my parent's house and decided to just stay the night, so we wouldn't have to wake Brayden up from the middle of his sleep.

So... that was our day! Yeah... fun times !

I know I have not been blogging much and my blog has been absent of pictures. I have a bunch of cute ones from 2 weeks ago. My sister Amy and her fam came to visit from Kansas and we took pictures of the 3 cousins and we got some cute ones of all of them together and some really cute ones of Brayden. So... stay tuned. I will try and put them up this week. I have a busy week ahead. I have a test tuesday, a oral presentation thursday, wedding rehersal Friday, and I am in my friend Heidi's wedding on Saturday. Then next wednesday is my final, and I am done with school.. yeah!!! But my freedom is short lived, because I start back to school on the 14th ... just one week off. But the summer course is only 6 weeks, then I have 2 months off. Yeah! I really can't wait!

Happy Anniversary!( 4 down... eternity to go...)

2008-04-24T19:05:00.000-04:00

Four years already??? I can't believe that it was four years ago today that I was sealed for time and all eternity to my sweet husband! I have to tell you, he has been the best husband and friend I could have ever hoped for. I take him for granted alot, but, he does so much for me and really takes care of me =) Since I have started back to school, he has been an incredible support. I can't express how much I appreciate him for that. And he has exceded my expectation of him as a father. I always knew what a special daddy he would be, but man... he's awesome! The bond that him and Brayden have is incredible. I am truely thankful for the love and time he spends with our son. Thanks Babe!
Well.. I had clinicals all day, so we are going to have pizza and a movie. When I got home, there was a dozen red roses with four pink gerber daisies( he says " to represent our four years of marriage) mixed in. Saturday we are going to actually celebrate.I'll let you know how it goes.

Spring Break

2008-03-11T16:07:00.010-04:00

Last week was a much needed break from school. I was able to have Brayden most of the week. We had so much fun together. We went shopping one day, and we went to the Park. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera. He started to get sick Thursday, so Friday was spent at the doctor, but it's just a head cold, and today he is much better.

He is the most darling child. He has done some adorable things this week, for instance. We were watching tv and all of the sudden I didn't see him , and I asked Faron "where's Brayden?" I started down the hall to his room and I said it again. Then I hear this playful "MAMA!" SO, I go into his room, and he is sitting in the rocker, in the dark, just waiting for me to rock him to sleep. When I saw him, he just started laughing, and and kept saying "MAMA" and laughing. It was too cute. Then the other night I had rocked him and layed him down, and usually he just goes right down and reaches up for his blanket, and snuggles and then he's good. This time I thought I could hear him talking. I went and listened in on the monitor, and he was just talking away. Then as if he knew I was listening.. I hear "mama" ... "Mamma"... "MAMMA!!!" I go in there and he's stands righ up and he just cuddled with me and I rocked him some more, and then he was fine after that. He is just so matter of fact. I love his personality.

His favorite demands these days are " I want cookie!" and the other night we had pizza and he surprized us with " Daddy, I want pizza!" He still loves his baby einstein dvd's and he loves, loves, his board books! He says "Bookie." His little voice is so cute.

This week I have been able to bond with my litle man, like we use to, and I had so much fun. I get the best love from him. I love that he is so genuine and affectionate.

I think I only have 6 weeks left of school. I can;t wait. Then I get a week off and then I am right back at in. I'll be taking psych. I am excited about it. I think I will enjoy it. Then I get a month break, and then It's just 2 semesters to go! I just can't wait to be done!

Family Reunion

2008-03-11T16:07:00.006-04:00

Saturday was the Todd Family reunion. My parents had come by our house Thursday night and stayed over night in their motor home, so they could take Brayden up with them on Friday. My sister Katie was sick, and she asked if they could take Travis too. So.. they got double trouble! Two one yearolds'.. watch out! My mom said that when Travis came to the door, Brayden ran and climbed in her lap and started crying. I just don't think he was expecting to see anyone else, and it took him off guard. It only took a short while for them to start having fun. My mom said on the way up that were having a screaming match... you know to see who could yell the loudest. I am sure Grammie loved that one! We came up on Saturday, since I had to work Friday night. We got there around noon, and it was so nice to see everyone. The food was awesome, as usual, and they time I was able to spend with family was great.

Brayden and I with Mema

The boys just wanted to RUN... the whole time. They had a bunch of land to just rome around. They loved Shiloh's dog Dakota, and made frequent trips to the fence to see him.

Travis and Aunt Shi ShiBrayden, Erin, Shiloh and Travis

That evening once we were home, my parents stopped by to get some stuff, and the boys played some more. It's hilarious to watch them. One would leave one toy and the other would dive to claim it. Travis especially loved Brayden's car. We'll have to make sure he gets one of his own for his birthday coming up =)

This picture is hilarious. This is Brayden doing his two favorite things.. watching Baby Einsteins (Mesmerized!) and playing with his belly button. He is absolutely obsessed with playing with it! He goes "be ba.. bee baa" That is Brayden for belly button.

PERSONALITY

2008-03-03T17:12:00.000-05:00

Brayden 18 months old ( plus 1 week )

Sunday March 2, 2008

Brayden is absolutely hilarious! He makes some of the funniest faces. He just gets all this energy from nowhere, and can just play for hours! Brayden was so funny the other night. He was insistent on a bath. He started to climb in the tub fully clothed, so I had to stop him, and I said.. okay.. we need to get undressed first. So, I get him down to his pants and diaper, and he walks out of the bathroom. I get him back in there, and get him down to his diaper, and the same thing, he runs just outside the bathroom laughing. I call his name, and he finally comes back in. I get him totally undressed and am ready to put him in the tub, and then he looks at me and lets out a big laugh and just takes off running, butt naked! The boy ran across the entire house! I was able to capture a picture, and the look on his face says it all!

We kept my friend's baby about 2 weeks ago, and I wasn't sure how Brayden was going to do. He often gets very jealous when I hold her. But Faron was with me, so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. He actually did very well. I had her in Brayden's old bouncy seat, and he was so cute, he came right up to her and pointed at the fish and showed them to her while saying "Fishy.... Fishy". Then after a little bit, he decided he wanted a tun. I took her out, and he just plopped himself down, and made himself at home.

Here are just a few more fun pictures showing off Brayden's vibrant personality.

catching up

2008-02-27T16:17:00.007-05:00

Brayden did great on Sunday in Nursery. I was with him the first half, and then went to Relief Society, but I was told he was good. So, Amen for that. I know he can be a little rough, so I worry. These pics below were taken last week. I love these jammies. They just sum Brayden up. They say "Trouble's my middle name." I really think buying jammies is my new obsession.. for some women it's shoes.. for my it's baby PJ's. I just can't pass up $3.25 PJ's that use to be 20 bucks!

I have to say...I promise my child doesn't live in PJ's despite my new found love of buying them! I think almost every picture I put on here, he is in PJ's. I was thinking about why that was, and I came to the conclusion that it is because I don't see Bray til 5pm. After I get him settled and fed, I give him a bath. Then we play, and that is usually when the camera comes out. Therefore, he's already in his night clothes.

Well.. thank goodness I cleared that up for everyone! HAHA.

Just a shot of my little guy chill'n at the computer

Alright... to catch everyone up. Faron had a wonderful opportunity last week. He got there awesome FREE passes to go to the races. He went Thursday through Sunday ( The 500 was Sunday) . He had so much fun. He lives for racing, so I was so happy he was able to go. He got some really awesome pics of the cars and had some close encounters with drivers, being merely feet from them.

Brayden so excited to wear his Daddy's Daytona 500 hat

I got my hair cut on the 12th. I cut about 6-7 inches off. The picture of me isn't the best period. But it really doesn't show the cut off too well either. I will have to take a better on this week, but as per Amy's request, it is posted. I absolutely love it though. I think I will go a little shorter next time, but it is really nice being able to pull it back, as well as having a cute style.

Alright, VALENTINES DAY! It was great. I got Brayden a few things, but his prize possession was a balloon! He was going to town playing with that thing!! Unfortunately I forgot to get a pic of him with it.

I had clinical all day, but I had a nice surprise waiting for me when I got home. I had these gorgeous flowers and two cards from my boys. I was very surprised! I loved them. What a great husband I have! Brayden got his daddy the James Taylor greatest hits and some chocolate. I got him a new pillow. He told me not to get him anything, because his gift to me was kind of to both of us. Now, I was completely satisfied with flowers, and we had gone to Outback the night before. I'm pretty simple.. flowers + food = happy girl. I was quite surprised to open tennis rackets and tennis balls! I thought that was a sweet gift. They opened a really nice public tennis area just down the road. Every time we go by, he'll say to me, "we should start playing tennis". Now we just need to figure out what to do with Brayden, and we can go and try out our new stuff =)

Brayden's gift to us....

He keeps us on our toes =)

You really can't read it but his shirt says " Future Heart breaker."

A year and a half already???

2008-02-23T17:52:00.002-05:00

My baby is 18 months today! I really can't believe how time has flown by. He is talking a mile a minute, though we can't understand it all just yet. I love him sooo much!! I have taken him to nursery the past two Sundays, and sat in with him. He has done really well. His babysitters daughter is in there, so he feels right at home. Tomorrow will be his first official day! Yeah for me! I can acutally enjoy church again =)

Mr. Bean?

2008-02-18T09:06:00.003-05:00

I was going to try to put up some Valentines pictures, but I can't find them. Instead I started looking at old pictures of Brayden. This one just cracked me up! He totally has a Mr. Bean look!

I can't believe that Brayden was ever this small! Time truly flies!! In five days he'll be 18 months! Even though I miss him being small like this, I love the age he is at. He is my buddy and gives his Daddy and I, the most unconditional love! ( except when he doesn't get his way.. haha!) I am so thankful for my sweet boy.

The joys of motherhood.

2008-02-04T17:30:00.000-05:00

Okay... so I had let Brayden eat his applesauce by himself. That was a distaster, but he has to learn sometime , right? Anyhow.. he was in need of a serious bath. I got him in the tub with no hesitation. He is laughing having a good time. I got him all clean, and he was just laying on his tummy and he was splashing while we were talking, like he loves to do, and then out of the corner of my eye.... I see something floating. It was like slow motion... "noooo!" I only have one word for you.. "Poop".

He has never done that before. I guess it had to happen sometime. He was just giggling. I hurried and got him out and re-washed him. I then donned some gloves and cleaned up his mess. I had just read about this, so I knew how to handle it. Lets just say.. lots of cleaning, toys included.

Well. Lets just pray it doesn't happen again.

The group picture

2008-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Around the house

2008-01-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

Look at how our boy's getting! I just thought he looked so cute in this outfit. What a big boy!

SO in recent news. I have started back to school. I think it's been a full 2weeks. It definately feels longer. I passed my first test .. woo hoo! Load off my chest. It is just so much stuff. I find myself finding it very hard to get focused. I hate that I am a procrastinator. I really like nursing, but I would much rather be a stay at home mom, so I am sure I lack a little motivation. BUt I feel really fufilled when I do well, and I really like serving others. It's not always a pleasure, but is rewarding. So... in even bigger news.... I.. just Erin Sanders... got to meet Dr. McDreamy!!! Yes, Patrick Demspsey came to the unit I work at (nascar sponsered) while he was here driving with the formula one races( yes he's a race car driver.. who knew?) Anyhow.. Super nice guy. I even got to stand by him in the group picture with his arm around me. Faron gives me a hard time. It's just cool to meet someone famous. He has nothing on my baby! Besides that not too much happening. Brayden is getting so big and talking so much. He is repeating thing slike crazy. We are working on the alphabet and numbers right now. He'll repeat back to "K" and we only go to three in counting. But hey! It's a start. I am preparing myself for how much he will start to do in the next few months. I miss having a little baby, but honestly I kind of like this age better, because he has his own personality. He just gives these awesome hugs and kisses. YOu just know he loves you! What a gift! We are truly blessed! Here's some pics of our little man just playing around the house.

Tough guy! I just know he's thinking "I'll do whatever I want to do okay!"

engrossed in his video

Alright.. faron called me at work and told me that Brayden had wandered into the bathroom and decided to hop in the bath to play with his bath toys....Clothes and all!Fortunately there was some left over water( just a tiny bit), so it was that much more fun. He loves bath time and frequently signs it while enthusiatically shouting out.."BATH!"
What a cutie pie! He grabs any bag, in this case my scriptures, and says "bye bye!", he knows when we leave we take the diaper bag, so he associates the two. It's very cute.
Oh.. I have to brag.. all jammies shown in these pics.. the GI joe and teh camo above are from old navy. Igot them on a super sale, for $3.50 a piece.

all smiles

2008-01-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken on January 2, 2008. It get sharder and harder for me to get cute pictures of Brayden, because he is so mobile. So I was thrilled to get him "posing" again =)

He is at this stage where he is doing so much now. He is at the beginings of really starting to talk. He says to me in the store two days ago "Mama! Mama! I want Daddy. I want tickle tickle Daddy!" I had to listen a couple of times to make sure that that was what he really said. I had to call faron right away. I knew that would make him feel really good.

This was brayden playing around yesterday 1/9/08

It has been nice being out of school. I am some what dreading going back. But.. it's just something I have to do. I start back on tuesday. I am going to get my books today. I had brayden all ready and then he was getting really cranky, and I realized it was nap time, and that it would be better to wait. So, hopefully I will get out of here by noon. I have enjoyed my three days off in a row every week. I keep thinking.. "do I have to go to work tonight?" And then I remember, I have 2 more days off. When I am in school, I never feel the break of my days off, so it is nice to just lay around the house and play with brayden.

I wish I had more interesting things to say, but nothing comes to mind. I hope everyone is having a great new year!

Cute Boy

2008-01-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

caught "talking" on the phone 12/30
new hair cut .. what a stud!
in motion New years morning 1/1/08

weee!
I have tried to post this several times now. It would post it, but fo 12/19, instead of 1/1/08. So, I am trying again.

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T05:19:00.000-05:00

Wow! 2008!!! Gosh.... I can't believe that 2007 is at an end! I mean.. where did the time go? I really think each year goes by faster than the next. I guess we just get trapped in routines of daily living and before you know time has flown by. I realize this by looking at our sweet little baby, who is no longer a baby. He is the little person with a distinct personality. I was looking at him today and he just looked different. He looks so grown up now with his new hair cut!

We brought in the new year with some subway and watching a SNL special on tv. I ended up taking a nap after Bray went to bed, and then got up at 11:45 and we counted down and had a nice kiss and a " Happy New Year!" shout =) It was nice to be home with my boys. We really know how to party!! haha!

Well, I am sure you are wondering about Christmas. It was wonderful! We started off our celbration of Christmas on the 22nd by going to Disney. It was very crowded and hard to navigate through the park with our large group, with out losing someone, but we managed. And it was quite chilly...burr. We had a lot of fun. I think the kids all did well. We didn't get to go on too many rides, but Brayden get to ride Dumbo, the Pirates of the Carabean, and It's a small world. As well as play at toon town and go through Mickeys house. He fell asleep at the start of the Christmas parade and woke up at the end. He loved watching the Country Bear jamboree, and at the end he met Mickey! I think all the kids did really well. I was really proud of each of them for doing so well. Our family stayed the latest, and left during the fireworks. this was a very good thing, because we missed all the crowds. But I was sad to not see them. It was so cloudy we couldn't even view them as we walked out. Oh.. I forgot to mention how gorgeous the castle was! They had it all lit up and it just looked like diamonds everywhere. Very pretty!

Christmas Eve, we took family pictures, had a 1st b-day party for Emily ( the girl made out with lots of stuff!!) and then had an incredible dinner and yummy deserts!! We ended the night with presents to the kids from Auntie Katie, and Pj's from mom.

We decided to drive back home so that we could have Christmas at our house in the morning. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep soon after I put Brayden to bed. I awoke around 12:30 am realizing I still had to wrap presents! Yikes.. so we got up and did all of that fun stuff. Faron and I had a lot of fun wrapping presents. i think it was my favorite thing about Christmas this year. We just had fun hanging out and were excited to see what Santa would bring and how Brayden would react to his presents.

Apparently Brayden was a very good boy this year, because most of the gift under the tree were for him, and Santa brought him a Climber for Christmas =) He was very excited once he figured out what it was, and waisted no time at all trying it out.

I opened his gifts. He was more interested in playing with his new toys. Faron filmed it all on the camcorder, and fun was had by all.

We arived at my parents later that morning, and did it all over again. The car that Brayden got from Grammie and Papa, was a big hit! Travis was too cute. He was already playing in it before we go there and when Bray went to check it out, he closed the door and said "go!" to Brayden. It was hillarious. I think I know what to get him for his birthday =) Emily even enjoyed the car. It was definately a hit with the kids.

I have to say we had an incredible Christmas with a wonderful family to share it with. It was so nice to have Amy and Chad and Emily down. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Katie for the Disney tickets!! That was so generous!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you will have a very Happy New Year!!

Family Fun

2007-12-20T20:53:00.000-05:00

Last night was fun times had by all. My sister Amy and her cute little family flew in last night. We went to my parents' house and had foil dinners done on the grill.Yummy! Katie and Travy were there too.It was so cute to see the kids all together, even though Emily had to go to bed shortly after their arrival. Brayden and Travis were really cute together. They were running up and down the hall and giggling. Brayden gets a little jealous I think. He was lightly hitting Travis, I don't know why he was upset, but for some reason he wasn't being nice. It was too cute because I said "Be nice" and then Travis says to Brayden "Be nice". He is talking so good now. It so crazy how fast these kids are growing. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

My mom's house looked so nice and decorated for Christmas. And my dad had lights up on the house. (Good work dad!) It really did feel like Christmas having our family together. The only thing that would make it better would be having my brother Patrick and his family with us. It's been over a year since I have seen them, and they haven't even met Brayden yet. They will be missed =)

Brayden decided last night that he wanted to spin. Then that was all he wanted to do. My dad was holding him, trying to get him to calm down for bedtime, and then he would let him go, and within seconds he was spinning again. I'm telling you he has a one track mind =) It's so funny. I love that he has so much personality. I think he was just in the over tired stage, because he fell asleep as soon as we left.

Today I had a little time to my self. I dropped Brayden off at his sitter's house .He was so happy to see his "buddies" her kids are so good with him. It's such a blessing that our Bishop's wife Tammy watches him. She is super mom of 5 beautiful children. She is so good with Bray and he has so much fun with her 2 youngest. I went from there to Walmart to get a couple things, and by 10am I was ready for bed! But I prevailed and did some dishes. Then I decided I better get started on my little craft project for miss Emily. I made her a Tutu for her 1st b-day party, or pictures, or dress up.. which ever her parents choose to use it as. I am 1/2 way done, and it is rather adorable. And was surprisingly easy to make. I am excited to give it to her and see her expression. Hopefully she likes it =)

Good luck to miss Morgan tomorrow! I am so excited for Miss Carly's arrival! I know you will do great! You will definately be in our prayers. It seems just like yesterday you were calling me to see if you should take a test! haha! Man.. time flies!

It's beggining to look alot like Christmas....

2007-12-19T08:59:00.002-05:00

First, I will apologize for being a slacker when it comes to blogging. I honestly just get so busy. I will try to do more now that I have a little more time.

Well.... it is feeling like Christmas at the Sanders. We got our tree up the first week of December. Brayden Really likes the lights. We really had to decorate it modestly due to the active nature of our sweet child =) Nothing breakable could be placed on the tree. I got some pine cone ornaments and some organza garland and ribbon, and that has decorated our tree. Well.. and lights.. you've got to have lights (luckily it's a pre-lit tree... very easy ) Brayden loves the pine cones. He is constantly playing with them. He likes to pull the garland off the tree, even though he has been told several times " don't touch". But, all in all, he's been very good with it. Now when he sees another tree somewhere, he gets all excited. loving the lights

Our tree

I got some Christmas pictures taken, though he didn't want to stay still for too long. here are some of the good ones..

This Christmas is going to be fun. The three grand kids, (all 1years old! will be together! Happy Birthday Emily!!!) Amy, Chad, and Emily are flying ion today, so it really is beginning to feel like Christmas! I am so excited to bake and make candy when Amy gets here. She is so good at getting that done. Our family Christmas gift is to go to Disney. That will happen on Saturday.It should be interesting. Travis is 19 months, Brayden is almost 16 months, and Emily turned one yesterday. Hopefully that will all be even tempered and have a lot of fun.

Enjoying playing with the wrapping paper

I pretty much have shopping done. I took Brayden to meet Santa for the first time yesterday. He really didn't know what to think, and was on the verge of crying. But he prevailed, and the tears were held back. We got the slightest smirk out of him. And I bought the ridiculously over priced pictures, because it was his first experience (we didn't visit Santa last year) I had to buy them, even if they weren't that good. I think he'll look back 20 years from now, and laugh at them, so it's worth it.

He has been a pretty good boy this year. The past few days have not been a treat. He is getting some teeth in , and has just been uncomfortable, which = CRANKY. We have also been blessed with a new phrase... " I want!" He really is a doll baby though. He is trying to talk so much more and is doing so many fun things. He likes to twirl and dance now, and has in the past months began to sing. Particularly the "Mama" song. It goes a little something like "mama... maaaammmaaa, mama mama maMA." I think you get the gist. He was even singing it in his sleep a while ago. I feel really special to have my own song =)

Well, I took my final , and had my last day of the semester on the 11th. I made it through with a solid 'B', which I was ecstatic to receive. I am overjoyed to have almost 5 weeks off! I really don't know what to do with myself. It is nice to be home with Brayden and be a mom.

I am so excited for the Holiday and very thankful that we are all healthy. During the week of Thanksgiving Brayden was really sick with Bronchitis, and I then got the same thing. Faron then got a tough of a stomach bug and so did I for a night. Wow... that was a rough week! Then to top it all off, the same day of my final, that night actually Faron went to the urgent care with abdominal pain. Long story short, he was sent to the Emergency room, and admitted in the wee hours of the morning. He was there Wednesday through Friday. Thankfully after many test and assumptions, it was just gastroenteritis. Bless his little heart. He was a trooper! It was his first time ever being in the hospital... but he survived and did really great. We are glad he is home now and feeling much better. I want to Thank everyone who helped us out and kept us in their prayers! We have an incredible family !! ( friends too!)

I think those are the main highlights .. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

2007-10-21T08:50:00.006-04:00

This was posted November 7, 2007
(the date keeps comming up wrong)

Clap Happy

2007-10-21T08:50:00.005-04:00

Brayden clapping(I thought this was a cute picture. This was taken this past sunday after church.)

I's funny how clapping and "Patty Cake" can turn that frown upside down!

Nothing too exciting going on. I am just busy wityh school, as always. I am always tired! I swear.. no rest for the weary.I had my first day of hospital clinicals. It went well. I really liked it. I really need to be studying, but I wanted to post some pictures.

This is Faron... I wonder where Brayden gets it from?

Brayden didn't want to cuddle with me, so he went off and did his own thing, even though I knew he was tired. I was watching tv, and looked to see what he was dong, and he had fallen asleep half way on the bean bag chair.. too cute! I swear he can fall asleep anywhere!

Happy early Halloween!

2007-10-21T08:50:00.004-04:00

"I love my mummy" t-shirt
Bray and daddY--- BEST BUDDIES
Our little lion
mommy and her lion cub
Papa the pirate with Brayden and Travis ( <-- also a pirate, but the costume was too hot)

We went to The Fall Fling on saturday night in Deland. It was a lot of fun. Travis was there, and Katie stopped by after work, and of course my parents were there, being that my mom is incharge of the event planning and my dad is Bishop. We almost didn't make it. Brayden was having some high temps due to teething, but thanks to tylenol and motrin, he was feeling much better. Faron still wanted to stay home( being the great dady he is, and worried about his little guy), but as soon as I put Brayden in his costume.... it was all over from there. he was just too cute, we had to go. Brayden did great. He was a little stunned for the first 20 minutes, because of all the poeple, and mostly because of Papa's scary costume. By the end of the night, he was running all over the place! We all had a lot of fun.

2007-10-21T08:50:00.003-04:00

Brayden loves books, especially ones with lots of pictures

There is no stopping this kid... he's a climber!

"look ma... no hands!"

Playing in the pampers box... who needs all those expensive toys?

2007-10-21T08:50:00.002-04:00

Brayden and Papa on Mom's b-day 9-29-07
mom and dad at Faron's b-day party 10-11-07Playing with my new toy 8-30-07
14 months old 10-23-07
Trying to open the door ... caught in the act Little "Linus"

Evil CanevilATV BABY! YEAH!! Our little dare devil
BATH!

MMMMMMMMpassed out...

Brayden climbs on and up onto everything now!!! He's a monster =)

More pics to come

2007-10-21T08:50:00.001-04:00

busy busy busy

2007-10-21T08:50:00.000-04:00

I know it has been a while since my last entry, but I unfortunately do not have free time anymore. I am already half way through my first semester of nursing school. It's going pretty good so far. It's definately different than other clasees I have taken. They teach you to be a "Critical Thinker"... I am not a critical thinker, well not by nature. So.. I have had to learn a completely new way to think,study and do things. I have started to adjust. I think I am figuring it all out.

We started clinicals last wednesday at the nursing home. It's crazy how fast time flies. They have you do a lot of documentation and a database for your pateient, which isn't very fun (it about 15 pages long). I barely had time to finish it with my resident. But as far as actually care giving goes.. It was fun. I got a long very well with my patient. SO, I am very excited to get more experience. This week I feel very behind, and am trying to play catch up to get everything done. I have my care map due tuesday, and my test Thursday. This program is really time consuming. You pretty much have to put all your time into it.

I have had days already where I just want to quit. I want to be at home with my baby, and just be a Mom. But thankfully for my wonderful husband, he motivates me to push on, and that now is the best time to do this, while Brayden is so little. It is still hard, because, Brayden has now become a "Daddy's boy". It is bitter sweet, because I love seeing their sweet realtionship and the love they have for eachother, but I am use to him being "Mommy's boy". Some days I see him for a total of 15 minutes. It's tough. But it is only two years, and I do have the most amazing husband who is an incredible father to Brayden, and a big supporter of me becomming a nurse. I really have to thank Faron for picking up both roles. I know it is a lot at times, but I know he loves it too. Those boys are sooo cute together.

Brayden is RUNNING all over. You know it really does amaze me how unsteady they are when they take their first steps, and it seemed like forever to get him to walk, and now, he litterally runs EVERYWHERE! It goes by so fast! Brayden is clapping now. I know that doesn't sound like a big thing, but I have tried to teach him to clap for months and months. He just didn't want to do it. Faron said they were driving home the other day, and he just started doing it. It's so cute now, because when he first wakes up inthe morning, even half asleep, he starts to clap. Silly guy!

Little bray is a daredevil! He recived an ATV toy for his birthday. Two nights ago, I look over and he is standing on the seat, and letting go of the handle bars. He is balancing himself, just standing on this thing on 4 wheels. If he could say the words, I think that this would have been a moment of " Look Mom no hands!" I immediately grabbed him from it, and he was immediately trying to get back on. SO.. I have decided, we are going to have our hands full!

Brayden is talking a lot. Some things you can't figure out, but his favorite words right now are : "Daddy", "Mama", "mom" , "Buddy", " Hi" , "bye", "Bath", "Kitty", "Cat", "Doggie", "Ducky", "Boo"--> (papa taught him that) and he said "Papa" for my dad last week. So, he is getting a pretty good vocab going.

I tried to put up some pictures, but it wasn't letting me. I need to go and study. But I will say October 11th was Faron's birthday. I tried to give him a surprise birthday dinner party. I had family and friends meet at a Japanese steak house in Ormond. We had Granny watch Brayden, and he thought that we were just going to dinner and a movie, you know, just the two of us. I think he probably figured it out, even before we got there, because I had to stall for a moment. Then when we pulled up, he say my mom's new car, then his Friend's truck, and etc. I tried to play it off, as he asked me questions. Both of us trying to hide our big smile and laughter. We finally made it inside, and everyone was seated in the middle of the restaurant, so he saw them before they saw him. So, the "SURPRISE!!" was a bust. But he had fun, and dinner was good. That saturday night we went to My mom and Dad's and they did a dinner for him. We had cake and appple pie too. Yum! Brayden had a lot of fun with them. Like I said before, I taught him that day to say Papa, and my dad actually got to here him say it. Now I need him to say "Grammie" , I think that one will take longer. We watched "We are Marshall", then called it a night. It was a nice weekend.

Alright.. I will work hard to get some new pictures up, and I hope it won't be a year before I write again. =)

trying to catch up...Here are some highlights of the past month

2007-09-11T14:18:00.000-04:00

8-25-07 The Birthday Party

We thought this was so cute! He is actually sleeping like this right before we woke him up the morning of the party.Brayden excited to see all of his presents from mommy and Daddy ( some from relatives from out of town too), but mostly ecited about the wrapping! Little did he know the many gifts that would await him later on that day!
The party was held at Granny waddoup's house. We did at Baby Einstein themed Party, with lots of bright primary colors.

The Baby Einstein Cake

loving the balloons!Stunned as everyone sang "Happy Birthday"

He was really tired due to the fact that he took no nap that day. So he had just thrown a fit of crankiness, right before we put him in the high chair and sang to him. I put his cake in front of him, and normally he grabs at food right away. It took him a minute, but then he quickly realized what to do. By the look on his face, he's not sure if he's allowed or not.Enjoy watching him "take the cake"

Time for presents!!!

"opening" up gifts. Actually mommy and daddy opened everything, and he played with a couple of balls he got, and the paper.

Brayden and Travis playing together

THE BIRTHDAY BOY!!!

Well, the party was a success. I was running low on sleep, and running around town getting last minute stuff. I was of course late getting things decorated, and was finishing up everything while guest arrived. I had issues with the cake, and a couple of other things, but all in all, it worked out fine. I really didn't see much of Brayden because everyone else was enjoying him. We had so many friends and family come! I feel so blessed! Faron was such a big help, he grilled out in the hot sun, over the hot grill, and the food was so good. Thank you to everyone that contributed in any way! He had so much fun! Once he had a nap and we got home, he had so much fun going from toy to toy. He got clothes, big toys, small toys, money... The kid made out!

Again.. Thank you to everyone!

8-23-07 BRAYDEN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday!I was in my second day of nursing school, so Granny kept him that morning. His Party wasn't until Saturday, so we celebrated by giving him a much needed haircut! He was sporing a little mullet, so we thought it was time.With his new big boy hair cut, we then went to the mall, and got his one year old pictures taken at Sears. He was a bit of a cranky pants, so it made picking a picture much easier! We bought the first one she took. It turned out really cute! I'll have to post it later.

The big 25!!!!
My sister Katie, Brayden, and I
Me with Brayden sleeping on my chest, holding my gifts from Faron

My birthday August 11th! It was a lot of fun! I got wonderful things and had wonderful company! And lots of great food! Thanks to everyone for you love and generosity!

Busy week = very long blog

2007-08-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

Well the past week has been very busy. Last Friday ( the 3rd) I had my nursing orientation. I was a little nervous not knowing what to expect, but it turned out well, and I am starting to feel excited. I originally signed up to be in evening classes, thinking it would be better for child care, but when Faron and I discussed it, we really felt like it would be better over all if I switched to days. Thankfully on monday I called and it just so happens that another girl wanted evenings, so I was able to switch. It is so wonderful how the Lord steps in and helps things go smoothly.

Well, that day I was also expecting two of my girlfriends from college to come into town, so I was rushing about Daytona, trying to make it home on time.I had met my mom to pick up Brayden, because she had watched him Sunday night while I worked. Faron left Sunday for his last class, so he was gone for the whole week, and I needed someone to watch Bray. So we had lunch, then ofcourse I had to do some shopping, then I ran to the college to get my schedule changed, and then ran home... all this with a child in tow.

I swear I am always running behind. I guess I leave too many things until the last minute. I had been cleaning that morning to finish up some stuff, and still didn't get everythign done, so I was hoping to beat them, so I could finish. But.. I was unsuccessful. I pulled up and they were standing at the door. It was so wonderful to Julie and Sarah Ann for our anual get together at my house. I guess it pays to live less than 10 minutes from the beach.

It's funny beacuse I forgot to tell them that we painted the house. The completely drove by it, and found it only by counting streat numbers. OOPS. It give Faronm and I such motivation to get our house in shape when they come. I must say it is finally feeling like a home. We put up some adorbale pictures of Brayden and some decorative items that had been waiting to be put up for quite some time. My goal is to make our little house look like a Beach Cottage. It is really getting there. We put 2 adriondak chairs in the front of the house and a bunch of pretty flowers, it looks adorable. I will post some pictures. It sure beats what it looked like 3 years ago! Yuck!

Well that Tuesday we drove to Jacksonville to pick up our final guest... Morgan. This was especially special, because I hadn't seen her in almost 4 years! She was my very first roomate at Ricks college. Once we got there it was nice to have 4 out of the six girls togther. It was have only been better if Abb and Steph could have been there! I swear we have such a special friendship. The second we get together, it's like we never left eachother =)

Our reunion turned bitter sweet, when I began to have car problems. To make it short and sweet, I had to pull off onto the first exit I saw and thankfully, there was an auto parts store! (Another time the Lord was watching out for me!!) Basically My breaks had locked up, and the tires were smoking. If I would have waiting any longer it would have started on fire! Scary! Julie and SA went in the store, and came out with this guy that had a shop around the corner. Okay.. just to set the scene... Ghetto! Not the best part of town. But this guy was really nice, and even saved me like 60 bucks on parts, and didn't charge too much for labor. We eneded up going to there "shop", which was basically a yard with a trailer truck bed. We had to wait awhile for them to get the part .. not comfortable in 90 degree weather with lots of masquitos. Brayden was such a champ the whole time!

Once he got the part, the job was done quickly, and as it was getting dark we were able to get out of there. I was so happy to leave that place. But I am thankful that "Street" was there ( yes that was our machanics name.) So... what a nice way to start off SB 2007!!

Wenesday morning we went to Flagler beach with brayden in tow. We didn't stay too long, but had a fun time in the sun!

We dropped off Brayden at my mom's and then went to City walk to meet up with Faron. ( He was staying at a hotel there for his classes.) Before dinner we actual stopped by the Orlando Temple, so that the girls could see it. It was funny too, because we randomly ran into my dad! We all took some cute pictures, then headed off to dinner. We ate at Buba gumps, which was sooo good! They even sang "HAppy Birthday "to Morg and I and brought us out sundays. It is a really fun place. Afterwards we stopped to go "surfing" ! Totally Tubular!Then we went to Pat O'briens for a dueling piano show. I am really glad we went b/c we were the only people participating and singing along. The one guy really liked us, but I am not too sure about the other one. The point is that you request songs, and they duel each other on the piano, and they sing and leave blanks for the audience to sing and fill in the words. Us on the other hand.. sang all the words ( if we knew them) and were extremely off key. But was had a blast!

The next morning, we went crabbing, and only caught a couple small ones, but morgan got to have the experience and see a what blue crabs looked like.. so it was all good. After that we headed to St. Augustine beach, and had a lot of fun, though my phone got soaked by the high tide and is dead now b/c of it =(

Friday, SA and Julie had to leave, so we drove our seperate cars and spent the afternoon in St. Augustine. We got old timey pics done... so cute! And had some candy and ate lunch. It was a nice way to end out trip. Morgan is here til Tuesday. So my mini vacation is still going on.

11 months and counting

2007-07-24T10:50:00.004-04:00

I have tried twice to post this blog.. Brayden just came up to the computer and turned it off.... so, I will write more later. Aparently he wants to go and play =) I took the B&W pics on the 25th. He looks so grown up! And you've got to love those curls!

Sleepy guy

2007-07-24T10:50:00.003-04:00

Brayden and I had been running some errands last week, and so he missed his usual second nap.I was getting ready for work and Faron had just got home from work, and was making dinner. I was feeding brayden, and then he acted like he didn't want anymore. He was just sitting there looking around, and looking so tired. The next thing I knew, I say him slowly sliding to the right, and his eyes fluttering. It was so stinking adorable. He just passed out right there in the high chair.

These were of Brayden earlier in the day on July 20th , before he took his first steps. He was just crusingaround the house, wall to wall.

a little angel...

10 months

2007-07-24T10:50:00.002-04:00

Here comes Trouble! Last week we were sitting , and watching tv while Brayden was playing with some toys. Then all of the sudden we look over and he has dived into the toy basket! It was so funny, so ofcourse we had to document our son just chillin' in the basket, totally content =0)

Here are some pics from the end of June through July. Brayden's 10th month!

He loves the computer
our little climber
....and the exit!
Ta DA!

Peekaboo!

Who couldn't love this little face!!!???

One step at a time...

2007-07-24T10:50:00.001-04:00

Friday was a big day for Brayden ( 7/20/07). He and I were playing with his big bouncy ball, and I had it just a little bit out of his reach. I said "walk to mama" .. "get the ball" and sure enough.. he did! Brayden took two full steps all by himself. So our little boy is on his way to walking. He did it one more time for me about an hour later. I had called Faron, ecstatic, and he was thrilled to hear the news, because we have been trying to work with him, and he has been seriously cruising the house( as long has he has something to hold onto). He came home and congratulated Brayden right away, and then said " show Daddy how you can walk" and sure enough he walked two big steps for his Da da!

We packed up the car and drove to Palatka that night to meet up with my parents at my great Aunt Bessie's house. Mema and BB and Ron were already there, and we were to have a big dinner together. Well, we got to town, knowing the vicinity in which she lived, but not the exact address. So, I called my dad, and he couldn't tell us either,so we called Aunt Bessie's and of course... no one was home. We finally got directions after calling a few people and driving around for 15 min. When we got there... no one was home! We were a bit annoyed.. but shortly my parents arrived and then everyone else. There had been a miscommunication to when we would all be arriving. So.. it was rocky start, but ended up a fun night. They all had so much fun with Brayden and we had sooo much food! It was all Delicious! I was trying to hard to stay Low Carb, but Aunt Bessie made bananna pudding ( my fav!) and dad made pound cake, plus strawberries and whipped cream to go on top! So.. as you have already guessed... My diet was shot! I indulged and it was soooo worth it!!! Man my family can cook!

Yesterday marked 11 months old for Brayden! I swear I look at him and think.. "who are you?" "Where's my baby?" He is such a little man! It is amazing how fast time flies. SO.. this month I will be putting in long hours into my baby book for him, as I have been totally lazy! And only written in it once. But I do keep track of milestones and other important things.

Faron's friends watched Brayden for me yesterday b/c Granny is out of town and I had to work two nights in a row. SO, when he went over there to pick him up, they were visiting, and he said Brayden took 4 steps in a row! Now that is getting somewhere!!! He is growing up so fast! He is pretty much on all table food and is losing that baby look. It's scary, but exciting.... We have a Toddler!

Brayden's 9th month

2007-07-24T10:50:00.000-04:00

I know these are old.. but I wanted to catch everyone up... I will do one for the 10th month that he just completed yesterday! Yes.. we have an 11 month old!!! Crazy!

Getting around... and into it all!

2007-06-30T15:16:00.001-04:00

Brayden is at the beautiful age to where he is crawling everywhere and on the verge of walking. We call him our "Bulldozer" because he dives, crawls and climbs over anything in his way.

He has no fear!

Brayden is getting more and more independent. He wants to go everywhere in the house, and get into anything and everything that he shouldn't. Due to this love of exploration, he has learned the meaning of the word "No". I often find myself saying "NO,NO,No!" Following by a quick "Don't touch it", when he is getting into something he shouldn't be into. The other day I was unloading the dishwasher and Brayden came in as usual and tries to touch the plates and silverware. I quickly tell him "no" and a moment later my son responds back. With gusto, he bellows out "Doe, Doe, Doe! Don touchit!" Faron was in the other room and said " I think he's mocking you!" Sure enough he was! Later on that night he said it about three more times. It was hard not to laugh, but I guess when someone hears something over and over again , they are bound to say it back! It's amazing how quickly their vocabulary expands.

Here are some "No" moments...

Standing up on the chair and pushing it across the floor. He also loves to play with the wheels and frequently bumps his head when trying to stand up underneath it

Eating my camera case, or anything else he can get his hands on

Picking stuff up off the floor

Okay... This was a funny example. Apparently there was a roll of paper towels sitting on the table next to him, so when I left to put something away in the Kitchen, I came back to find this...

Look at this face! He seems so proud of himself!

He is so curious! He often ventures over to our curtains and stands up on the glass to look at the cats. He loves them! When he sees them he squeals with delight. So it didn't come as a surprise when we saw him giving our cat Lana a kiss through the glass! Talk about melting your heart!

Like a duck to water....

2007-06-30T15:16:00.000-04:00

Brayden had his first dip in the pool last thursday at our friends house. Faron and Brayden went over for a party, while I was at work, so I missed his first time in the pool. But thanks to my wonderful husband, he took these beautiful pictures! So it really feels like I was there.

Brayden has such a blast with bathtime, he must have been beside himself with excitment once he got into the pool. Faron said he had so much fun and wasn't one bit afraid of the water.

I had to share these pictures. I thought they were too cute! This little guys is just growing, growing, growing! Saturday we woke up, and decided to go to the St. Augustine flea market. First we stopped off for breakfast at Shoney's. Once we were there, we remembered why we don't go there very often. It is packed with people ( usually not the cream of the crop) all wedged in a line around the buffet. The people are reaching over you and commenting on everything... I was having a hard time not getting irritated. All this was after we waited a good ten minutes before the hostess had seated us without letting our waitress know we were even there.

Anyhow.. the food was pretty good, and Brayden was such a champ. He had breakfast before we left, but while I was eating, you would have never known it! He was like a little baby bird! He had a little bit of chicken, biscuit,pancake,melon,ect. I was really proud of him, because I try to give him table food at home, and he does alright, but most of the time I end up wasting food. So, I was obviously pleased by his adventurous appetite. The flea market was hot, but it was still fun just being together. And it was a good way to walk off our breakfast =)

Sunday was really nice as well, because we had church at 9am , for a special combonation meeting (with another ward that we share a building with while ours is being renovated). We rode up with Faron's Granny, and got there early so we could get a decent seat. They ended up reasigning the boundries of our two wards, which everyone had been anticipating. It was a pretty historic day, and just another testiment of how the church is growing, especially in our area. I for once didn't have to work that night, so it was so nice to come home and just do nothing. We just hung out together and enjoyed time as a family. It can't be any better than that, right?

Our Little Man...

2007-06-27T23:31:00.000-04:00

An introduction to our family

2007-06-27T23:16:00.001-04:00

We are just getting started with our blog. We thought it would be a fun way to keep in touch with everyone. I know I feel like I know what is going on with my friends and family that live far away when I read their blogs, and so we hope to acheive the same thing with ours.

Faron and I celebrated our third anniversary in April. It is hard to believe that it has been that long already! We reside in Palm Coast, where Faron works for the Flagler county Property appraisal office. He is going on two years there, and is succeeding beautifuly with his certifications. He will complete is last class in august. I am so proud of him. He really loves his job and is very good at it.

August is a very exciting month for our little family. I start back at school, and begin the nursing program! I am very nervous and excited. This is going to be such a wonderful thing for our family. I am ready to start my path to an actual career. The other big event is Brayden's first birthday. we are absolutely bewildered at how fast the time has flown by. He is the absolute joy in our lives. We are so impressed with him on a daily basis!

Faron and I have these moments, where we just look at eachother, and one of us will say " Can you believe we made him?" or " Is he really ours?" Then we just smile, at the thought that he is ours forever! He is 10 months old now, and into EVERYTHING. He is so curious about everything he comes in contact with. He has 8 teeth , and is 30 and 1/2 inches tall, weighing in at almost 23lbs! He is our big boy! He is such a bulldozer! He has no fear. Unfortunately that adds up to some boo boos every now and then. He is a good tempered baby though. We have been very lucky to have such a happy, beautiful child!

Well... we hope to fill this page with thoughts and happenings of our family, along with lots of pictures! We hope you will enjoy it!

p.s.

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