Brayden is 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's unreal....but my little baby that I just brought home from the hospital is 3! I thought staying home with this child would make time go slower..NOPE! It's been great though. It'll make you nutz at times, but it's been pretty great overall :)

This past Friday was his birthday. We are having his party this coming Saturday...along with Big Sis. I had not planned on doing much on his actually b-day besides letting him open presents. I wanted to save all the fun stuff and CAKE for this coming weekend. But that sweet little baby had other ideas :) He woke up on his b-day and I said "Happy Birthday"!! And he draws in a big breath and says "my birthday? I get CAKE! My balloons??" Well, it might have not been in my plans for the day, but it was now :) I wasn't gonna let that baby down. After I got the big kids from school I went to the store and got the "fixins" for rice crispy squares (aka "the cake") and a Dora/Diego arragment of balloons....that are now floating along the top of the dining room ceiling :)

As soon and Pop-pop, Grandma, and Daddy got to the house that evening...the fun was on. It was finally present time!!! Here are some pics of Brayden tearing into the gifts. Please note that he doesn't look at the camera for more than 1/2 a second (literally) so it is near impossible to get a shot of that sweet face. He does say "smile"...but it's while he's looking away. Rotten little toot :)

This is his birthday loot :)

He LOVES to plays with Bobby and Chanda's girl's cash register..so we HAD to get him one of his own!

Many years ago Kim and Gary had gotten Matt a Home Depot set of play tools. Brayden had been playing with the small remainders of thst once large set. So when we saw this play Black and Decker set at Lowes...for $4.00...we HAD to get it! And he LOVES it. He's currently standing beside me with his hard hat and tool belt on...but no, I can't get a picture cause as I continue to write this he's already at the other end of the house ;)

This is a car road/train track table. And it is a HIT! And I love it cause it keeps the mess out of the floor...Woo Hoo. It's a Win-Win!


He had a great b-day and we are so blessed to have this guy in our lives. Love you baby boy :)

**Side note - Just in case you weren't thining of commenting...please note that it sure does encourage us bloggers to continue to blog when we get comments. Even if all you write is "Hi"...we at least knew you read our blog. And by "our" I mean me and Jim's :) Now being tacky ;) Just need encouragement from time to time :)

A Funny from Natalie

Natalie just sent this one to me....

old lady & cops

An older lady gets pulled over for speeding...
OLD LADY: Is there a problem officer?
OFFICER: Ma'am, you were speeding
OLD LADY: Oh, I see
OFFICER:Can I please see your license?
OLD LADY: I would give it to but I don't have one
OFFICER: Don't have one?
OLD LADY: Lost it, 4 years ago for drunk driving
OFFICER: I see... Can I see your vehicle registration papers then?
OLD LADY: I can't do that
OFFICER: Why not?
OLD LADY: I stole this car
OFFICER: Stole it?!?!
OLD LADY: Yes, and I killes and hacked up the owner
OFFICER: YOU WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!
OLD LADY: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see
the officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car to call for backup. within minutes 5 police cars circle the car. a senior officer slowly approaches the car, one hand on his gun holster.
OFFICER 2: Ma'am, step out of your vehicle please!
the woman does as told.
OLD LADY: Is there a problem officer?
OFFICER 2: My deputy has informed me that you don't have a driver's license, stole this car, and murdered the owner.
OLD LADY: Is that so?
OFFICER 2: Would you open your trunk please?!
woman opens her trunk to reveal nothing.
OFFICER 2: Ma'am, is this your car?
OLD LADY: Yes, here are the registration papers
the officer is stunned!
OFFICER 2: I assume you have a driver's license then?
the woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer. the officer exams it and then sighs.
OFFICER 2: Ma'am I apoligize, it's just that my deputy told me you didn't have a license, stole this car, and killed the owner.
OLD LADY: Bet the liar told you I was speedin' too.
don't mess w/ old ladies!

Hope you all have a great day!

My Silly Boys

The other day Matt came up with a good joke...

What does a Spider do when it gets lost?
A "web" search

Not bad I thought :)

Day before yesterday (just me and him at home) Brayden comes into my room and stands in the corner and says "its no my fault". I ask "What's not your fault baby?". He then tells me "I cry...I hit me, I fall down, I make me cry *sniff* *sniff*". :) It's pretty bad when you just can't trust no one....not even yourself....poor guy :)


Side note: If any of you haven't already, hop over to Jim's Blog. He's put up a few new ones also.

Woah am I behind........

This may be long...I warn you...but I'm gonna try to hit highlights :)

As you all know we sold our home (in a record breaking 2 weeks..."record" for us due to the time of year and where we lived...just wasn't supposed to happen). Anyway, sold it to a great couple with 4 boys from Washington (state). We are all settled in into our new place and are really happy with it. Still have some pictures to hang and a few things to do outside, but all in all we are settled. As I write this, 6 deer are eating in the backyard. This is really neat. We don't have the view for miles like we used to, but so far I feel this is a good trade :)

I want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that had me in your thoughts and prayers. We FINALLY have answers. This whole roller coaster ride that started in June has come to an end. I had a diagnostic laporoscopy(sp?) 2 weeks ago to try and find the source of my pain...and they found it. And is is NOT cancer :) WOO HOO! That was the first thing my dr. told me as I was coming out of anesthesia "Merry Christmas Angie, you don't have cancer!" I have Interstitial Cystitis. This means that the protective inner lining of my bladder is "eaten" away in places. So I have "raw" nerve endings and cells. And it's all just very inf lammed and the raw nerves are what was causing the shooting pains and hot iron poker sensations....and the blood that was always present in my urine...TMI...I know! But now I'm good. I still feel occasional little pangs, but they aren't anything in comparison! I have to alter my diet to eliminate things like coffee, chocolate, acidy foods, processed meats, artificial sweeteners...theres more, but you get the gist. Plus I take a med 3x a day and that helps heal me up. So thank you everyone...thank you for thinking of me and for praying for me...I know it did the trick :)

We had a wonderful Christmas with all of our family and friends. Lots of travelling, but so,so worth it. My kids got spoiled rotten...as if that were any more possible :) But it is so fun to watch them enjoy what we got for them, along with everyone else's wonderful gifts.

Natalie will be starting up softball again in March, but for now...no sports for her. She is still doing awesome in art and piano and still loves them both! She's doing so much better with Math and has much more confidence. She's always been an all A student. So it was a real blow to her that Math in Jr. High was so much of a challenge. But she's back to a-b honor roll and we are very proud of her!

Matthew is in basketball and will have his first game on the 12th! He's pumped! Dad's not the coach this year, but Jim really likes the coach he has and is looking forward to being a spectator :) He had his UIL number sense competition right before Christmas break. So we don't know the results. But regardless, we are so proud of him for not only making the team, but sticking with it!

Brayden is....Brayden! I feel that "Brayden" should be a new entry in Webster's. Cause he's something else. He is 2...that's for sure!! His terrible twos hit very late in the 2nd year. He'd give the Tasmanian Devil on Looney Tunes a run for his money. He's like the Tasmanian Devil with Octopus arms and the screech of a holler monkey!! .......I'm NOT kidding either :) We do love that baby though. He keeps me on my toes...speaking of which...it's scary quite in the house right now...and I better go assess the damage...could be he has the Sharpie marker (again)...or he's standing on the table preparing to fly...you just NEVER know :)

Hope you have a fabulous New Year!