One Going On...?

Brody is going to be having another birthday in a little over three weeks, and today I find myself wondering if he is turning two or twenty this year.  This past week he suddenly decided to call us "Mom" and "Dad."  What?! Where did that come from?  Who taught him that? Certainly not me! I love hearing him say "Mommy" and "Daddy."  It's one of my most favorite things to hear, along with his uncontrolled laughter when something opens up his giggle box and hearing him say "I love you" (which sounds more like "I yuh you").  It literally came out of nowhere and I'm hoping it will vanish into thin air soon.  For now, he teeters between the two titles so we haven't altogether lost the cuteness, but I'm worried.  I'm worried that all too soon he will be too cool to call us "Mommy" and "Daddy."  And that, my friends, will be a sad day for me. 

But it's not just the shortened names that makes me feel like I went to sleep last night and woke up years later this morning.  This afternoon, while Brody was playing with his cars and trucks in the family room, I decided to sit down for a few minutes to watch a TV show I had recorded days ago.  As I began to cry along with one of the characters in the show (I can't believe I am even admitting that...how embarrassing!), Brody stopped what he was doing and stared at me.  Then, he shrugged his shoulders as he threw his hands up and asked, "What's the matter?  What happened?"  He was genuinely concerned for me and it was precious.

I'm proud to say that he is a tender-hearted and kind little boy.  Believe me when I say he is ALL BOY, but he also has this sweet spirit about him.  This morning I went into his room to wake him up, but he was already awake and sitting up in his crib.  His blanket was balled up in his lap as he sat there quietly petting the top of it.  I smiled at him and said, "Good morning."  He whispered, "The dogie is sleeping" as he continued to gently pet his blanket.  I took a peek underneath the covers and found his stuffed dog, Belize, snuggled inside. 

I guess my point to all this randomness is that Brody is growing up...fast.  But at least he is growing up to be a sweet little guy with a heart for others.  I can only imagine how God will one day use him.

Belize

(A gift for Brody from Wynni and JimPop, bought in Belize on our cruise last October)

Humpty Dumpty

Brody completed his first set of swimming classes today!  He had been a part of the "Tadpole" group at SeaVentures each Wednesday for the past 3 weeks.  Ms. Lili taught him and the other kiddos how to blow bubbles in the water, kick their legs, float on their backs and stomachs with assistance, and jump into the water.  Brody had no hesitation to going underwater.  In fact, it seemed to be his favorite part!  He always had a big smile on his face after being dunked or jumping off the edge into the water as we sang "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!".  Although, I will admit, when I say he jumped off the edge of the pool I mean he stood there, and as I counted to three he would bend his little knees while I pulled him in.  So maybe it wasn't perfect, but my goodness he rocked his first swim class!  This momma is proud!

A Weekend with Wynni and JimPop

For me, the most tedious task of blogging is sorting through pictures, selecting those that are "blog worthy", editing the selected few (yeah, right), and uploading them to the post.  And, I'll admit, sometimes when I have something to post about but have lots of pictures to go along with the idea, I procrastinate.  The following is no exception.   

A couple of weekends ago my parents came for a short visit.  We packed a lot into one weekend (especially considering we had a toddler in the mix); but I, for one, enjoyed every minute of it.  Sadly, because I didn't post about it right away I have already forgotten what were probably some of the best parts.  Someone get me some B12 stat because this 20-something year old is all too quickly forgetting even the best of moments! 

So, rather than what would have probably been a rather wordy post, I'll leave you with mostly just pictures and bank on the fact that pictures are worth a thousand words.

FRIDAY: Atlanta Braves vs New York Mets

 We drove down to the game a couple of hours early to avoid traffic which gave us the stadium mostly all to ourselves.  Brody could not have been happier since this freed him to run around without having to hold Mommy's hand.  He thoroughly enjoyed exploring Turner Field. 

"Heard this was your favorite player, Uncle Chad!" (Dale Murphy's number)

"This one's for you, JimPop!" (Hank Aaron's number)

"And this one is for me when I grow up."  (Jason Heyward, #22)

Last year:  On April 5, 2010, during Heyward's first Major League plate appearance and Brody's very first baseball game, Heyward hit a three-run home run, estimated at 471 feet (144 m), off of Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs.

**Rewind**

**Fast forward**

This year, instead of waiting for Heyward to hit a homer, Brody waited patiently for his very first Major League baseball during batting practice.  He was yelling, "Eddie! Eddie!" (He heard another girl yelling at Eddie in the outfield to throw her a baseball and thought he would give it a try.)

Before we knew it, his cute little self was spotted and one of the players tossed him a baseball (hit by Eric Hinske)!

He was star-struck by Homer as he latched onto his finger.  We literally had to pry Brody's hand open after taking this picture.  I'm pretty sure he would have held on all night!

As luck would have it (not that I believe in luck), it began to rain a few minutes before the game was scheduled to start.  Thunderstorms with damaging hail and possible tornadoes were headed our way.  We waited for an hour and a half until they finally postponed the game.  Even though we didn't get to see the Braves play that night, we had a TON of fun.  And the best part is, we got free tickets to go back in May and do it all over again!

Saturday: 75th Annual Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park

Though we were less than impressed with the festival since there wasn't much for a toddler to do, Brody managed to have a lot of fun.  He rode the carousel over, and over, and over again.  This was his very first carousel ride and I'm sure he won't let it be his last.

He must of run up and down this hill a dozen times.

And he showed this popsicle who was boss.

Did I mention we were less than impressed?

SUNDAY: Our Neighborhood Pond

After Jonathan left for a business trip, the rest of us set out for an afternoon walk around the neighborhood.

Looking for a rabbit.

Looking for airplanes.

This picture reminds me of my childhood.  I was always jumping off of something into those very same arms.

My mom is always behind the camera which leaves us very few pictures of her. Isn't she beautiful!

Brody's first time sitting in a tree.  He liked it for maybe 20 seconds.

Brody gave his Wynni a dogwood flower that he had found.....

....And tried to push his JimPop on the bike. But he quickly realized he had taken on more than he could handle. 

The weekend was a blast but much too short.  And since Brody gets pretty much anything he wants when his Wynni and JimPop are around, we (once again) found ourselves going through what I affectionately call "grandparent detox" that Monday afternoon.

Bunny Business

First of all, THANK YOU to all of those who have been praying for and sending "get well" wishes to Brody.  He is feeling much better, though not quite up to par.  He is still taking 3 of the 4 medications that were prescribed to him.  Thankfully he completed the round of steroids yesterday morning.  Having a 'roids baby run around at full throttle, NON-STOP, without naps has been tiring to say the least!  I'm pretty sure he could have smashed Mark McGwire's home run record if we'd just put a bat in his hands. ;)  On the flip side, the extra boost of energy made for an exciting and memorable Easter as Brody ferociously rushed around the backyard to see what the Easter Bunny had left behind. 

You see, after Brody woke up from his nap yesterday, he came down the stairs to find Bunny tracks leading from the front door to our backyard.

So he followed the tracks to the backyard (making a mess with each paw print as he went); and, to his surprise, discovered the Bunny left some eggs in our yard.

And would you believe what he found inside?!  Gummy Worms!  Yummy Gummy Worms!

After hunting for and successfully tracking down all 24 eggs, he discovered something else that silly Easter Bunny had left behind: an Easter basket with his name on it....filled with toys of all kinds!

Jonathan's favorite toy was the bubble gun.

But I much preferred the Legos, and thoroughly enjoyed building Brody a house for his little town.

It was an enjoyable and memorable day...at least for Jonathan and me.  And so that one day Brody can remember the day too, we captured it all on film. 

Before I end this post I must take you on a little detour.....Even though Brody had so much fun hunting for eggs and playing with all the toys in his basket, it didn't trump the excitement of airplanes flying overhead.  He gets excited every time he hears one, and yesterday was no exception.  Uncle Josh would have been proud!

We hope you all had a HOPPY Easter too! I'd love to hear about any fun traditions you have for this special holiday!



***If you liked the Bunny tracks and want to re-create them for your little one all you need is some baby powder and a paper plate.  Cover the plate in the powder.  Make a fist with your hand and dip the side of your hand in the powder, then onto the floor.  Take three fingers and make the "toes" on each print.  Super easy. Super cheap. Super fun!  Enjoy!

4 Excuses...

...for why I have not posted recently: 

1. My parents came to visit this past weekend....prior to them coming I was getting ready for them to come, while they were here I was hanging out with them every second I could, and since they left I have felt overwhelmed by the hundreds of pictures I took to help me document the weekend.  (Check back for that post once I have calmed down and narrowed down the selection!)
2. Working. Documenting. Blah.
3. I've been worried about and praying for Brody's Uncle Shane and Aunt Jessi. 
4. Brody has me worried.  He has had a cough for over a month now (for which he was given an inhaler to use as needed).  As of yesterday afternoon his cough became persistent, coughing every 5-10 seconds.  Last night his breathing became labored, he was wheezing, and I was hearing a crackling noise as he expired.  He couldn't stop coughing, so he didn't get much sleep...and neither did we.  I took him to the doctor this morning and he gave him a (costly) cocktail of drugs to help determine if it is allergies or asthma.  We should have a better idea by the middle of next week. 

So forgive me for not posting recently.  I will be returning soon...with pics from the weekend with my 'rents, swimming adventures, and birthday party planning.  Try not to pee in your pants from excitement! :)


Update: I took Brody back to the doctor the following week and his lungs were clear, per Dr. Reisman.  He told us that since he has been in to see him a few times for wheezing and because he reacted so "beautifully" to the cocktail of drugs, he suspects Brody has asthma (though he will not commit to that diagnosis yet).  We are to continue 3 of the 4 medications (2 of which we can discontinue in a couple weeks) and see him again in June for a more final diagnosis.  We are praying for God's healing, but understand we are so blessed to have an otherwise healthy boy.  Being in the pediatrics field has helped me keep some perspective on all this. 

Hideous Hillside Makeover

I'd had about all I could stand of the hideous hillside staring me in the face each time I looked at our backyard.  Though I've always been thankful that our view is not of other peoples' homes, I haven't been too happy with the way our community left the hill behind our house.  They neglected to attempt any form of decent landscaping but rather opted for the easy way out...throwing grass seeds all over the hill and letting them grow where they would while red clay peeped its way through the holes where seedlings never survived. 

 Where's Waldo?

So after nagging politely asking Jonathan several times to help me make the hillside look better, he reluctantly agreed to help me tackle this project (within hours of arriving back home from Memphis this past weekend...what a saint!).  After some research on google, we rented a tiller from Home Depot and bought some creeping phlox from Lowe's (we always buy flowers/plants from Lowe's because if the plants die within a year, for any reason, you can exchange them). 

What we thought would take a couple of hours ended up taking two days.  To say we didn't know what we were doing would be an understatement.  Jonathan tilled the ground while I fished out all the rocks and weeds.  Sounds simple, right?  Not when rocks and weeds somehow keep multiplying.  It was a nightmare that we couldn't shake.  We had taken a good chunk of the grass out of the hillside already so we couldn't just walk away from the project, which is what I think we both wanted to do at that point. 

So by the time we had finally finished tilling and clearing the bottom 3 feet of the hill (which took us well into the second day) we decided we did not have time to clear out anymore of the hill.  So I began to arrange and space out the plants for an easy transfer to the hill.  (I guess you could say being a cheerleader helped with the "formations." Haha) 

While I did that, Jonathan (and Brody) were busy cleaning out the weeds and grass that had accumulated in the tiller.

Though the hard part was over, it wasn't smooth sailing from there.  Each hole we dug for the plants  only produced more rocks...some of them enormous!  I have never seen so many rocks in my entire life!  But we chugged along and before we knew it (yeah, right!) we were finished. 

Finshed for the time being, that is.  Our goal is to continue up the hill, chunks at a time.  Creeping phlox is a flowering ground cover that will eventually take over the entire area we cleared out.  As it grows larger each year, we will divide each plant and plant new ones farther up the hill.  (Which will require the whole tilling and clearing rocks process again...oh my!)  But eventually our hill will be a beautiful display that looks something like this (only better!)...

Image taken from here.

I just love spring and I love planting flowers.  There is something therapeutic about it.  But my favorite part is spending time with the hubs, improving OUR home together.  And this year was extra special as Brody got out there with us.  He enjoyed playing in the dirt, mud, and water hose...especially since we were allowing him to get as dirty as he pleased all day long. 



I only wish I had captured a shot of his entire body covered in dirt at the end of the day.  I didn't think of it until I was showering him off and mud covered the floor of the shower. Oh well, I guess the image of his muddy diaper bottom is a special one for only Jonathan and me. 

Memphis

This weekend we flew to Memphis, TN. 

After landing at the Memphis airport, Brody was so excited to be able to look out the large windows at the airplane we had just flown on.  Who needs Disney?!

"But why did y'all fly to Memphis?"

Because Thursday, April 7th,  was opening day for the Memphis Redbirds (The St Louis Cardinals' AAA team) and we wanted to be there to cheer for Brody's Uncle Shane.

Wait!? Are you telling me Uncle Shane is here?

Seriously!?  MY Uncle Shane?!

That's right, Big Guy!

But it wasn't just the 3 of us who just had to be there to see Shane play ball.

Brody's cousins came to watch their Uncle Shane play too....Haleigh, Collin, Lauren, Luke, and Cameron!

Grandma Johnson and Aunt Jenny were there too!  (And Aunt Jessi, of course)

The boys really enjoyed looking for Uncle Shane on the field. 

But for Brody. it was a toss up between watching baseball and admiring his new baby cousin Haleigh.

We were so proud of Shane who played an amazing game. 

 As one article described, "The five hit performance from Robinson set a career-high which included a double and three RBI along with two runs."  (See the full article here) 

It was a long game and a late night, so we slept-in the next morning before meeting the family for brunch at Blue Plate Cafe.  With full bellies, we began exploring Memphis.  We drove 5 minutes over the bridge into Arkansas to say we visited, walked down Beale Street, and found a bounce house for the kids outside of the FedEx Forum-home of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sadly, my camera battery died at the bounce house.  But, there wasn't much more to our weekend since we had a flight to catch the following morning.  We arrived at our gate an hour early and since the Memphis airport was small and relatively empty we let Brody freely wonder up and down the terminal.  He watched as planes took-off and landed, he ran as fast as he could while screaming down the echoing hallways, he attempted long jumps with his daddy, and he waved to a pilot in the cockpit who spotted Brody staring at him out the window. 

The plane was relatively empty too so Brody got to sit in his own seat which was nice because I had the opportunity to finish a book I have been trying to finish reading for awhile now.

(Tear-jerker!)

All-in-all the weekend was nice.  Brody really enjoyed spending time with family.  He felt like a big boy around the cousins and really took a liking to Collin.  Jenn, if you are reading this, make sure you raise Collin to be a good boy because I am almost certain Brody is going to tag along with him at family gatherings. :)

One final memory from this weekend.....

Any guesses as to how high Jonathan's "baby fever" rose to this weekend?  :)