Catching up...

So there are lots of things I've wanted to blog about but I haven't really had much free time on my hands and when I do I try to spend my time cleaning house, doing laundry, or eating breakfast or lunch, ha!  Or I am just plain too tired to get on the computer.

Brady is keeping me busy, busy these days!  I can't imagine what it's going to be like once he's mobile...

So this post is going to be all over the place and mostly for our memories/record book.

A little over a week ago (April 19th), we went to a gender reveal dinner for some of our closet friends.  We were so excited to find out that they were expecting & even more excited to find out they are having a BOY!  Brady and Carter will be best of friends.  AB and Jones have been friends since they were little boys and now they will have their own boys growing up together.  We can't wait to meet baby Carter and take family vacations together!

Excited mom and dad!

It's a BOY!!!!

Brady fell asleep during the cupcake reveal but he says "yeah for blue!" haha

Did you eat a bird?! ;)

I had to take the dogs to the groomers last week...they were wayyy over due.  I ended up getting them a summer cut, as a lion cut.  Ha!  It was interesting taking 2 dogs with a baby in the backseat...Coco decided she should ride with Brady in his seat.

Loaded up, ready to go

Last week while waiting for the dogs to get groomed, we had a lunch date with Miss Grace and momma Robyn.  She is a little over 2 months older than Brady and just precious!  She would just giggle at Brady and reach out for him.  And of course, I always enjoy chatting with Robyn.  Much needed girl talk and mommy time out :)

Look how sweet Grace is and look at Brady...hahaha!  I told him it's not nice to cry on dates!

Last Friday was a bit of a dramatic one.  I found a baby bird Thursday on our back patio...it literally had just hatched.  I hate seeing animals, birds, insects, anything suffer but I wasn't sure how I could help it.  Thanks to Google, I made it a make-shift nest and put it back near the nest I thought it came from.  Some little swallows built a nest behind one of the speaker boxes right by our french doors so I was guessing it came from there...well after a few hours the "mom and dad" did not rescue the poor thing so when AB got home he just dropped it back in the nest.  Well...the next day...I found it on the patio again but this time dead!  I was sooo sad!!  AB said since they didn't care to take care of their own child they can no longer "nest" here anymore!  Haha so I guess the nest will be knocked down after summer.

And to top off the bad news, we found out that AB's beloved dog, II (Deuce) had to be put down.  He got Deuce while in college so maybe 8 or 9 years ago.  It was a sad day!  So to try to cheer us all up, we decided to go out to dinner Friday then did some shopping.  Of course, it wouldn't be a night out without a blow-out diaper and a flat tire on the stroller.  Ah, life is funny!

Last week, we went out to the field to see daddy and go for a tractor ride.  Always puts him to sleep...

Look at those thighs!!

We had a pretty low key weekend, which was much needed.  Saturday morning, AB took Brady shopping for my mother's day gift so I had the morning to myself.  I made a trip to Wal-Mart and cleaned house in between making king ranch chicken and sopapilla cheesecake for a good friend of mine who recently had her baby almost 3 months early!

Dressed by daddy and ready for a day out with him :)

And random but Brady recently started taking a pacifier...sometimes.  He keeps wanting to suck his thumb which I'm trying to discourage and amazingly he has started taking a pacifier.

He has also started noticing the dogs more...

Well, I think that some what catches me up on what's been going on...I can't believe tomorrow will be May!!

Mimi's Birthday Weekend

My mom's birthday was on Thursday of last week so Friday we loaded up and headed to Houston for the weekend.

 Just can't leave home without Scout or Sophie...sweet hands holding on while on the way.

Normally, what takes us just a little over 3 and 1/2 hours took us FIVE hours!  Yes, five hours!  Brady is not a fan of the car...he is fine as long as he is sleeping but he fits his sleep while in the car seat and loves to scream when not sleeping.  So between downtown traffic, a torrential downpour, and a screaming/crying baby - we wanted nothing more than to get.out.of.the.car!  We made it to my parents and we had take-out from one of the best Italian places around.  It was a nice low-key evening.  And Brady slept so great that night (only woke up once), but mommy and daddy kept waking up to check on him...ahem.

Saturday, I really wanted to go to IKEA but it is a good 40 minutes from my parents so we decided against it.  Instead, mom and I left the boys at home and went shopping.  We stopped at Macy's for a facial from Origins.  My face looked and felt amazing afterwards, wish I would have taken a picture.  My face has been out of control since I had Brady and since I'm nursing and have used Proactiv for years, my mom thought it was time for a change.  I am excited about my new skin regiment and so far I'm seeing great results!

We met the boys (AB, my dad, & Brady) at Wings 'n More for lunch.  Yum!  Then mom and I did a little bit more shopping because she lives where they actually have decent stores, ha!  Should have seen me in the grocery store...I miss a good H-E-B!

Saturday evening, Madyson and Maddox came to spend the night.  And we AB cooked mom's favorite meal, bbq chicken.  I also made this coconut cake.

 

We had such a great time and as always it was bittersweet to say goodbye.  I hate that we live so far away...a weekend is never long enough with Mimi and Papa.

 

Brady did okay on the way home, not as much screaming but when he did scream it was brutal.  We stopped twice to get him out and get some fresh air.  One of our stops was in Hillje at Prasek's for some jerky, sweet tea, and crackers, yum! 

Happy Birthday Mom/Mimi...we love you so very much!!!

Strawberry Lemonade Muffins

So I had some strawberries that were on the verge of going bad and it just so happened that around the same time, I got an email from Southern Living titled "40 Fresh & Juicy Strawberry" recipes.  Bingo!  I went through all of them looking for one in which I had all ingredients on hand.  I found one, decided to start baking around 10 last night - I had plans on baking them earlier in the evening but let's just say we had an emergency bath instead for my sweet B...anyhow, took the first batch out of the oven and I'll be honest thought "hmm, kind of disappointing!"  Ha...well 2 or 3 more muffins later, I was in love.

They are super easy to make and taste so good.  When I first whipped up the batter, I was thinking this can't be right.  It is very dough like, just a tad moist which makes the baked muffin so light and fluffy!  I didn't measure my strawberries either, just cut up what I had & tossed them in.  I think it has a perfect amount of lemon, just a hint in each bite and the sugar on top makes it!!  Because I did not have self-rising flour like the recipe called for, I substituted with all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.

Here is the recipe from myrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour OR 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour with 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 

• 1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Combine flour and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
2. 2. Stir together sour cream and next 4 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently fold strawberries into batter. Spoon batter into lightly greased 12-cup muffin pans, filling three-fourths full. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over batter.
3. 3. Bake at 400° for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 1 minute; remove from pans to wire rack, and cool 10 minutes.

 

 
 Perfect in the morning with a cup of coffee or a late night snack - or both, all in the same day.  Yes, I speak from experience...do you know the muffin man?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Today I'm linking up here for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

Here's what I'm loving...

I'm loving the rain thunderstorm we had earlier this week.  It has been a good while, probably 6 months or more since we've had rain such as we did Monday.  Our rain gauge showed we got over 4in of rain.  Perfect napping weather!

Our pool was filled to the brim.

I'm loving all the veggies our garden is producing.  Lots of green beans, yellow squash, & cherry tomatoes.

I'm loving Brady's My Pal Scout.  It sings, talks, & all of it is personalized.  You hook it up to the computer & pick the songs you want, your child's name, & your child's favorite color, food, and color.  There is a girl version who is purple & her name is Violet.  Brady's little friend Grace has Violet.  I love when it says "I love you...Brady!"  We play with him all throughout the day and Brady kicks his hands and feet with excitement - it's precious!  Definitely one of our favorite toys!

I'm loving this season of Bethenny Ever After.  I love Bethenny Frankel!  I think she is hilarious and I'm so excited Ellen has decided to give her own talk show coming in June!

I'm loving these strawberry-lemonade muffins I made late last night.  I needed to use up some strawberries before they went bad and had everything on hand.  So what if I ate three or four as they came out of the oven...

I'm loving this bbq donut, so fun!

Source: allphotos2.bloguez.com via Nancy on Pinterest

I'm loving this song this week.  It's been on my heart all week.

But mostly today, I'm loving this man...he works so hard for our family and is always looking out what's best for me and Brady.  He is an amazing daddy and there is no other person I'd rather spend my life with!  Love you AB!!

Happy Wednesday!

4 Months

Brady, you are four months old today.  And here is what you've been up too...

- You weigh 14.5lbs

- You wear a size 2 diaper

- You wear mostly 3-6m clothes, some 6m depending on the brand

- You are still nursing about every 4 hours, sometimes you go 5 hours

- You take 2 naps a day, normally one long one (2-4hrs) and then one short one (1-2hrs)

- You now nap & now sleep at night in your crib (mommy hasn't accepted the fact that you are probably officially out of your moses basket - I loved having you sleep next to me for the first 3 and 1/2 months of your life!)

- You are still on Zantac and we recently upped your dosage.  You take 0.8mL in the morning & in the evening and it has done wonders for you!  God bless zantac & Dr. Baber!

- You still aren't a huge fan of the carseat & I'd like to think you are getting better but I can't really say that's the case.

- You recently found your feet.  As in you reached for them & put those sweet, little toes in your mouth.  You did it while sitting with daddy and he thought it was so funny!  I got it on video.

- You still do fairly well in your exersaucer and jump-a-roo.  You also love your play mat and can scoot yourself around almost 360 degrees.  Those things have been lifesavers while trying to get dressed, cooking dinner, & just needing some free hands time during the day.

- You can now really support yourself really well while on your tummy.  You just hold your head up and look all around.
- You can grab things and pull them towards your mouth and put them in your mouth.

- You still enjoy the Mobywrap but not like you did, which makes me sooo sad!  I'm hoping it was just because you were done being out & about that day...

Everyday gets more and more fun with you!  Your little personality is starting to show & we absolutely love it.  You recently (about 2 weeks ago) found your voice and the babbling started.  Palm Sunday (April 1st), we were in church and after everyone stopped signing you continued to just carry on, daddy had to eventually take you out.

You have started to notice and focus in on things.  You love anything with a bright, colorful pattern.  If someone has a busy print on their shirt, you will just look and study it for a good while.

You can be very serious!  If you don't know someone or aren't real familiar with them, you normally won't smile for them instead you will just look at them with this intent stare.

You make the funniest faces.  You have also started smiling and "talking" more and more.  And just being plain CUTE!

You are still a morning person.  I love the mornings with you.  You always smile, coo, & look at the light coming in through the blinds.

You have started to notice the dogs more, especially Coco since she is pretty much always by your side.

In the last week, you have started sucking your thumb!  Mommy is not a fan of this & tries to put other things in your mouth instead.  You don't do it all the time but I find you doing it when you are getting sleepy, hungry, or when you are fussy (like after bathtime).  I'm hoping this isn't a habit that is going to stick around...

You are a drool monster.  I think your two front teeth are really trying to come in.  You always love to be biting on something or someone. 

Since you were about a month old, you have consistently wake up at midnight, 4am, and 6am for feedings but just last week, probably last Monday or Tuesday, you finally decided you would start sleeping somewhat through the night.  A typically nighttime routine for you is a bath, one last feeding, daddy reads you a book, and then either you fall asleep while nursing or daddy will rock you to sleep.  You normally go down between 9:30 and 10 and sleep until 4am.  You nurse then go right back to sleep.  You then sleep from 4:30ish until 8am.  We attempted to "sleep train" you shortly after you turned 3 months, it was short-lived because mommy & daddy did NOT like the cry-out method.  Thankfully, you have decided on your own that you would start sleeping through the night.

I think it's fair to say that you love your mommy!  I can walk into a room & talk and you will whip your head around to find me.  When I am getting dressed you will follow me from one side of the room to the other, almost never taking your eyes off me.  I can admit that I absolutely love it & my heart just melts when I talk to you & just to light up!!!  But you are also pretty smitten over your daddy.  You love to sit with him in the recliner and you also love to sing with him.  Daddy created a playlist for you on the iPod & daily he takes you into your room and y'all listen to music together while he sings to you.  Daddy also loves to dress you.  Saturday mornings are y'alls mornings together.  He gets you dressed, takes you to the taco place, all the waitresses hold you & gawk over you, y'all normally stop by the donut shop to get mommy donuts, & then back home.

This past Saturday, you attended your first wedding reception.  We danced one song together has a family! :)  I believe it was a George Strait song at that.  You weren't so sure what to think of all the people.

 

Brady Allen - you are the light of our lives!  We can not possibly imagine life without you.  You have brought so much joy into this world.  I pray daily that you will grow up knowing Jesus and that you have a heart for him.  I also pray that you will be a kind, loving, and giving person.  You are so very special to us and we hope we can give you a life that is filled with so much love.  The days go by so quickly and I don't want to miss a moment.  I can't think of a better job in this world than being your mom!  We love you more and more with each passing day...

"The LORD your God is with you,
   the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
   in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
   but will rejoice over you with singing.” 

Zephaniah 3:17

*updated now with pictures of him in his crib