Thanksgiving 2011

This year my brother and his wife weren't going to make it home for Thanksgiving anyway, so my mom and other 2 siblings took off to lands unknown....not really, but they did head out to "greener pastures". That left my little family to attend only one Thanksgiving day feast instead of the annual TWO we usually go to. After cleaning like a crazy person despite not having any company staying with us, and making my contributions to dinner on Wednesday and Thursday, we were off to spend some quality family and turkey time with the Waite's! Of course, I had to capitalize on the extra bodies around and get someone to take a family picture of us before the gluton-ness eating began. Let me tell you, Ry had already begun eating and taking away his precious crescent roll was not even an option, and Brody in his typical 3 year old way was doing anything but smiling or even LOOKING at the camera. So, if you can find JUST ONE good one out of all these, that's one more than I could find. After the 5 minute 'photoshoot' it was time to EAT!!!! Oh my, it was so delicious! There was good food and good company and it was just enjoyable being with one another. My family dug in and ate like we usually do...Trevor overate and felt like bursting, but still managed to cram in 2 pieces of pie. I ate my fair share, but left enough room for me to snack on food for the rest of the day. Brody in his latest eating fashion claimed that it was all yucky, but then ate it at a VERY slow pace. Ryder got his shirt stripped and stuffed fistfuls of food in his mouth. I mean, EVERYTHING that was placed before him was gobbled up until he out-ate his brother that is 2 years older than him. I really don't know where he put it all. It was quite a day, and as Brody said to everyone (because he refused to say thanksgiving for some reason), "Happy Turkey Day!"

Halloween 2011

Before Thanksgiving comes I figured I better get a post and pictures up of our Halloween this year! We woke up to a really nice day. Probably one of the nicest Halloween weather I can remember. I decided I wanted to make the day a little extra special for our family, so I was going to prepare a Halloween dinner.

Me and the boys, along with our nephew Aftyn ran a few errands and got some things I needed for our fun dinner, and at each store we went in Brody told the cashier's "happy halloween!" He even earned himself and Aftyn a sucker at one store.

We spent the rest of the morning playing, napping, making dinner preparations, and waiting until it was time to join the annual Halloween Parade! Of course, we had to hit some bumps along the way. It can never be that easy or that simple for me to do nice fun things for my family. I had made a cheese ball, but shaped it into a headstone and grave. It turned out really cute and Brody enjoyed helping make it. But I got a phone call....I left the room.....Brody thought it would be fun to make a moat around the cheeseball, so he surrounded it in water! Now I can laugh about it, but then....well then.....I was SOOO mad! It was not my proudest parenting moment. I just felt so deflated. Like, "why do I go to the extra trouble to do something nice, and it just gets destroyed or makes things harder?" Brody was in so much trouble. Sometimes I read other people's blogs and they seem like such "nicer" parents than me. They probably would have handled it better than I did. Seriously.

Moving on....I was able to salvage most of the gravestone cheeseball, and despite threatening that no parade and no trick-or-treating was going to be in his near future...Brody did get to participate, and I did end up having an ok night.

The parade, like usual, was nothing too big, but my kids love it. They think they are so cool to walk around in their costumes and have people wave and honk to their cute little selfs. Aftyn came with us too, and it was fun having the 3 boys together. Once again though, we had a few problems. Costume malfunctions with Brody's chaps caused us to be at the very end of the group just trying to keep him together. Plus, with basketball practice just having started that day Coach Waite was gone and it was me vs. 3. Call me crazy, I know.

After Trevor got home and before trick-or-treating we had our Halloween feast. It was a mummy pork tenderloin, baked potatoes, gravestone cheeseball, and bats and pumpkins jello jigglers. Kinda a lot of work, but fun for everyone else. Pretty tasty too.

Trick-or-treating was the most fun ever this year. I imagine it'll just get more fun as the kids get bigger, but it was great this time! We did go to a few houses besides just the grandparents. Ry just stood next to Brody the whole time, but Brody was the only one really collecting candy and he had practiced (a lot) saying, "We are here! Trick-or-Treat!" Who wouldn't want to give those two stinkin' cute kids all the candy they had? Man, they were cute. One lady dresses like a witch and had "brews" homemade rootbeer to hand out. Brody wasn't too excited about it until he drank it and then he said it was "yummy, and tasty, and GOOD!"

Overall, despite a slightly hectic day, FUN Halloween! My kids got just enough candy for them to have a few pieces now and again (and some for mom and dad too), but not so much to rot their teeth out. Brody insisted on being a cowboy because he remembers being one last year, and the giraffe costume Ry wore is my favorite costume of all so not only did they like their costumes, they looked dang cute too!

Carving Jack-o-Lanterns

Roughly 6 years ago Trevor and I had a pumpkin carving contest. He won. Maybe because he won by carving "will you marry me?" into the pumpkin, or maybe because I said yes. Take your pick. I already enjoyed the tradition of carving pumpkins, but this just made me hold it a little more dear to my heart. Trevor probably never should have asked me to marry him that way because he doesn't particularly like to carve pumpkins, but I make him each year.

Truthfully its not like I have to drag Trev kicking and screaming to carve pumpkins, but I am met with some resistance, and a little grumbling each time. Although we didn't buy pumpkins until 3 days before Halloween, and everytime I mentioned needing to get some, Trevor really didn't complain any more than just a little eye rolling.

I would definitely say we had more fun making our jack-o-lanterns than any before. Brody of course got into it. He made the choices for what mom should draw as our 'pattern' on his and Ry's pumpkins. For Ryder, this was the time of his life. Last year he was so little that he just sat in his bumbo on top of the table and watched, but this year he got to get down and dirty in all the pumpkin guts. And boy did he!

When Brody was this age (and even now) he really didn't want anything to do with the guts. He liked taking the tools and poking them into the skin of the pumpkin and he would scoop out some guts, but touching them? Heck no. Too gross.

Ryder thought the guts were the best part. Evertime we threw some into the big bowl on the floor he would use the scoop to pull them back out. He even took it upon himself to taste test the pumpkin. More than once. More times than we could count really.

We stripped down the boys to just their jammie pants but quickly realized that was a mistake. We should have just had them naked. Especially Ry. He was covered. We were smart enough to just sit on the kitchen floor and the mess was easily mopped up afterwards, but my gosh....it was SUCH a mess! It got so bad that Ryder would nearly do the splits everytime he tried to stand up. So nasty!
When everything was all said and done, we all had a great time. The pumpkins were not perfect, definitely done by ameteurs, but cute anyway. Trevor's pumpkin said Trick or Treat (for like the 3rd year in a row), I called mine a Dracu-lantern, Brody had said he wanted his to "have eyes wike me, and a mouf wike me, and a nose wike me..." so his got a cute little face to match his cute little face, and Brody wanted Ryder's pumpkin to have a bat so a bat is what he got. And the only challenge after the clean-up, was keeping Ryder from touching the lit candles inside the pumpkins.
After our jack-o-lantern adventures on Sunday, it was on to trick-or-treating Monday!

The Newest Addition

But no, its not the one you are thinking. There would be no baby plans in our near future. But our living room got a new addition. One that Trevor has been practically drooling for ever since we got married 6 years ago. You see, we received a really nice (but not flat screen) new tv as a wedding gift. In my opinion, even larger than necessary. I guess that comes from the female perspective. Trevor and his wishful electronic thinking.....would say other wise.

(before pic, with the tv we loaned from fam until we got a new one)

Over the years as the prices of flat screen televisons have become more reasonable we've debated getting one, but we just really couldn't justify it when we had a perfectly good tv at home. We kept saying well, if our breaks.....

Wouldn't you know that it did. With a sly grin on his face Trevor said, "shoot. guess we'll have to get a new one." We did look into just repairing ours. Its like a relic. A dinosaur. No really....the cost of fixing it wasn't worth it. So guess who's flat screen dreams came true? Yep. Trevor's.

I always have had a stiputation that if we got a new tv that I would get a new entertainment center. We looked. EX-PEN-SIVE. Even at wal-mart! I don't know if its the couponer in me or what, but I just couldn't bring myself to buying one.

Then I remembered my mom had this old hideous and heavy dresser in storage. I asked her if I could have it. Trevor just could NOT see my vision for the avocado oil base painted dresser. He thought it would look dumb. But with his elbow grease and some serious paint stripper we got down to business.

After that I painted the whole thing a flat greenish-brown. Once it dried I worked in sections putting on a thick layer of elmer's glue. When that got a little tacky I did a coat of satin dark red. When it dried the elmer's glue had the same affect that crackle medium would but for a FRACTION of the cost (thank you pinterest for the idea).

When my new entertainment center was in place, with the tv, and things hanging on the wall again, I just sat back to REALLY look. The change took some getting used to, but I really think it turned out great. Even my skeptic (Trevor) liked it!

Little Dude making Big Steps

I never want to be one of "those" moms. You know the kind that thinks their kid is a prodigy or something? My boys are the best, to us at least, but they aren't perfect and we are totally aware. I am not one to say Ryder is talking simply because he's been babbling mamamadadadabababa for months now. I also would not say he is walking even though he has circled the furniture while holding on, or because he'll walk behind a toy with wheels. Even when he started taking 3 or 4 steps I wouldn't call it walking. Attempting to walk, yes. Actually walking, no.

Until about 2 weeks ago....

Part of me says FINALLY, at 13 months you're walking! The other part of me says, SIT DOWN NOW! I am not really ready for a toddler. I want my baby for a while longer!!!!

But he's doing it. Everyday his steps get more and more sure. If he falls in the middle of the floor he can get himself back up to standing without any assistance. If we say, "Get up, buddy!" he knows exactly what we are mean, and he does it. He is choosing to walk as his main means of transportation as opposed to crawling. He even thinks he can run, but his legs just aren't quite ready for that.

Its fun to watch Ryder LITERALLY following his brother's footsteps, but it feels like one milestone down, many more to come....less and less baby more and more big boy!

2011 County Fair

Oh how I love when the fair comes. To me, the fair is more than just the auctioning of livestock and the fun of the carnival rides. To me, the fair signifies the beginning of the fall. That means weather cooling off, time for baking, and friday night football games. In fact, I distinctly remember being in highschool at the football game and seeing the lights of the fair and just waiting for the game to be over so we could all head over for some fun.

I could NOT wait for the fair to come this year! Last year I had Ry during the fair weekend and then was way too sick after to make it to it at all. This year was going to be different. We were going to enjoy the fair, and you better believe that we did!

Nearly every lunch and dinner was eaten at the fair and we probably consumed more navajo tacos than should be allowed. After being rained out and a little bit sick one night, otherwise engaged at a certain lil dude's bday party another night, we were bound and deteremined to get use of the tickets we bought for the rides because there was a strict NO REFUNDS policy on the final night. The result: one pretty thrilled 3 year old going on carnival rides for the first time ever, and a 1 year excited by the lights and noise but pretty mad he wasn't able to partake in the fun as well.

We were sad when the fun left town, but our pocketbook probably appreciated it!

Ryder's 1st Birthday!

If I was a better mom I wouldn't be a week and a half late posting about Ryder's birthday celebration! We had the fair, football games, work, shopping, and all the everday living stuff that has kept us busy, and me late on posting. It may not seem that long ago to you, but I swear my memory of Ry's big day has already faded some. Sad, but true.

Ryder woke up bright and early to a house decorated with banners, balloons, and hanging tissue paper flowers in a white, yellow, light green, and light blue color scheme. He made the appropriate oohs and aahs so the time spent up late the night before seemed totally worth the trouble.
I was out of stuff to make him special birthday chocolate chip pancakes, but being that he IS only ONE I didn't think he would care-or remember-so much. His daddy however couldn't believe I wasn't making them (maybe because he wanted some? I'm not sure....) so he ran to the store and got the stuff for me to make them. Of course they were a big hit and a huge mess, but oh well, nothing is too good for the birthday boy.

The cake and decorating had been done the day before, so the morning and afternoon of Ryder's birthday were spent doing a few last minute things for that evenings pizza party along with some lunch and quality time at the fair.

Pizza and breadsticks were picked up and brought home from Little Caesar's in Show Low that I just warmed in our oven for the party. The pizza was probably one of Ryder's favorite parts of the day. He LOVES it! Not only was Ry surrounded by his parents and brother there was also most of his grandparents and a few aunts and uncles. So much love in one room for that one sweet boy!

After the yummy dinner we thought we'd wait until we weren't so full for cake, and open presents. As usual, way too much! Spoiled? Um, yes. Because Ryder still chooses not to walk we bought him a toy that is meant for him to walk behind in the hopes that it would inspire him to do it on his own eventually. Everything else he received was from everyone else. There were lots of noisy toys (boo) and toys that will help him learn a thing or two.

Ry was pretty interested in opening gifts, but Brody was even more so. He "helped" Ry open everything and lucky for Ryder, Brody also "helps" him play with them too. In fact, everytime Brody plays with one of the new toys Ryder lets out the most loud ear-piercing scream with his legs stretched out in front of him stiff as a board. The noise is beyond description really. It makes you ALMOST wish that there was something similar to a bark collar that he could wear....(hehehe)

After presents we stripped Ry down to just a diaper knowing the mess that would ensue as he ate his caterpillar cake. He liked the cake OKAY. I don't know if he was just tired from the long day, but he didn't really seem to want the cake all that much. He even cried in his highchair for a while. I think he enjoyed his pizza more than his cake!

After getting hosed down in the kitchen sink, putting on jammies, and having a bottle it was off to bed for our sweet little ONE YEAR OLD! It was a fun day. A long day. Ry won't remember it so I don't know why we go to all the trouble, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

2 boys. One is 3. One is 1. Its a pretty fun time!

Growing Bigger and Stronger

There are definitely some good things about having your kids around the same time of year. One is that all the clothes that fit Brody fit Ryder at the same time. They are roughly the same sizes during the same seasons so I have had very few things to buy for Ryder (poor second child, I know). The other beautiful thing is, I can schedule their yearly wellness check-ups at the same time. Instead of making the 90 mile round trip twice, I only have to make it once. Granted, having to plan one birthday party and make a cake and then turning around and doing it so soon again doesn't leave much 'recovery' time for mom, but the benefits of them being born around the same time far out weigh the disadvantages.

So over to the the pediatrician's office we went on Monday. Brody was scheduled for his 3 year wellness check-up, and Ry was scheduled for his 1 year wellness check-up. I knew Ryder was due for shots (4 to be exact) and was prepared for his screaming. What I didn't know we were going to have to do was take Brody to get his blood drawn because now the dr.'s like to do that yearly to check for lead poisoning (?) and a couple other things too I think. Brody was pretty tough through it all and only whined for about a second when they put the needle in and that was it.

Besides doing the lovely shots, they got examined, weighed, and measured. This is always something I look forward to because I love seeing how much they have grown and how much their growth stacks up against the kids their age. I see them with my own eyes everyday and know that they are growing, but its nice to see it written down. AND its definitely nice to hear from the pediatrician that your kids are as perfect as you think they are.

Brody's 3 year stats:

Height- 38inches - 59%

Weight- 34.4lbs. - 74%

Ryder's 1 year stats:

Height- 30inches - 57%

Weight- 24lbs. - 68%

Both my boys have averaged out some, so I was surprised to see that their weight was up again for their age. I was really REALLY surprised that Brody's weight was higher for his age than Ryder's was because Brody has become a finnicky eater lately that I have to constantly tell to 'take another bite' or 'eat your dinner' or 'chew your food', while Ryder polishes off all of his food and feels that anybody else's food left within his reach is completely fair game.

Overall, our boys are growing great! Bigger and stronger each day. The doctor seemed to feel that the progress they are making is right on track, if not better, so we must be doing something right!

What We Remember

Where were you on that September day? I'll bet you know exactly what day I'm talking about without me even saying it was 10 years ago today. September 11, 2001. Other wise known as 9/11. Our modern day Pearl Harbor. Only on a larger scale. Hitting our mainland-something never done before. Something I don't think most Americans believed anyone would even DARE do to us.

So where were Trevor and I when our country's safety was compromised? He and I were both clear across the country in our little Arizona hometown. I was 16. A junior in highschool. Sleeping in the comfort of my own home when the first towere was hit. I absolutely hate waking up to an alarm beeping at me. Its the quickest way to make my day start off bad. I always have my alarm set to the radio. My radio went off nice and early and in my groggy state I remember not hearing music, but hearing news of the tower being hit. They weren't sure what had happened. Was it a plane malfunction? I don't think my naive self even really knew what the World Trade Center was at the time. I walked downstairs in my pajamas to find my step-dad sitting on the edge of the couch watching the t.v. The t.v. and John being downstairs that early wasn't normal. I sat on the arm of the couch and watched quietly with him. If I remember correctly I was up just in time to watch as another plane crashed into the second tower. It was the craziest thing to be watching. We couldn't even look away. I remember saying so many times that I needed to get ready for school, but I just couldn't stop watching. At some point, in a daze I imagine (because I don't even remember doing it), I threw myself together and got to school. There in the hallways all of us kids were talking about what was happening to our country. I don't remember much about any lessons that day. Probably because there weren't lessons being taught. There were t.v.'s on in the classrooms. They were our teachers that day. I remember specifically 2 of the 7 classes. One was my American History class in the morning. We watched the t.v. and I thought, "I am watching American History happen in my history class." At some point in the day while we were watching the news I remember specifically watching footage of firefighters on some ground level of a building and we kept hearing these loud crashes. We didn't know what they were at first until the news explained that it was people jumping from the buildings. I couldn't even imagine the horror they must have been going through to make them choose to jump as a better option. Later that afternoon I sat in a darkened psychology class. It was normally a rowdy class. Not then. It was quiet. It was shock. That's how most of the day was spent. Quiet. In total disbelief. I may not have been in NY at the trade center, or in Pennsylvania at the Pentagon, or in one of the crashed airplanes, but I felt the sadness. I felt like I was directly attacked. It was scary.

Trevor was 18. He had graduated highschool a few months earlier and was working on the grounds at the school. He and 2 other guys were working when another worker came down to them to tell them that the first tower had been hit. They worked for a few minutes more and then decided to head up to the shop to watch what was going on. Once they were there they watched the second plane crash. Trevor's co-worker had previously been in the airforce and once that second plane hit the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "It's Osama Bin Laden." That was not even a name Trevor knew at the time. Unless you knew politics or were involved in the military Osama Bin Laden was not the household name at the time. This day is the day that he became more known to us. Terrorists or terrorism is not something we really had heard of before this time.

It's been 10 years. I can't imagine how those families feel that have lost loved ones that they were never even able to give proper funerals to. I know I still get sick when I even think about the hatred those people must feel towards the U.S. enough to want to hurt so many innocent people. I can't believe that my own kids will someday sit in a classroom with history books in front of them, and read about something Trevor and I have lived through and have distinct memories of. Someday I may even have a grandchild come ask, "Grandma were you alive when 9/11 happened? Do you remember about that day?"

Thank you to people who served and fought for our country then, before then, and now. Your sacrifices, and your families sacrifices are more appreciated then I think could ever be put into words.

Letter to Ryder

Dear Ryder,

Before this week is over you will be ONE! How is that even possible? I have heard from so many people to enjoy your kids because it goes by so fast. They were not wrong. It has gone by so fast! Even though your first year of life was 365 days long, just like your brother's first year, yours seemed to go by twice as fast! Seriously. I'm kinda sad about it. It makes me wonder if we have a third baby if his/her life will go by 3 times as fast?

Wow, so much to say about you little man. You fit our family perfect. I love having a baby in our home, and its sad that you are quickly learning and growing and becoming so much less our baby.

Its safe to say that you are more challenging to me. I think when I really look at other people's kids, you are not challenging at all, so I don't know if its because I have two of you wearing me out or if its just that you do things way more differently than your brother.

Speaking of differences... I know that I constantly compare you to Brody. I want you to know (obviously not now, because you are too little, but someday...) that I don't compare you to make either one of you feel like you are deficient or lacking in some areas while the other one shines. I do it for two reasons. One, after having kids I have seriously lost some brain molecules or something. I have a hard time remembering who did what and at what stage. By writing it down and comparing I can keep it together! The second and biggest reason I compare, is because I've been told that every child is born with their own distinct personalities. My Brody Boy and Ry-ry are no exception to this! You both are your own little individuals and I love to see how you learn differently or how you handle situations.

Ryder, you are the typical 2nd child. You are much more relaxed at about everything. Your brother would tend to just do things without a second thought. He walked, got teeth, everything, without much trouble. You little one are a little different. Its just like when I had you. I was dialated 5 weeks before you came, I was ready, you were ready, BUT you needed a little nudge. I had to be induced before you would come. You-I KNOW- are ready to walk, for example. You hold on to the furniture and walk around it, you love when you can walk behind the basket with wheels on it and go all over the house, but you just don't want to walk. Today your dad even stood you up and let go without you realizing it and you stood their for quite a while....until you saw he wasn't holding you and you immediatley sat down. YOU CAN DO IT!!!! I guess you'll just have to be nudged.

You still just have 2 teeth. That doesn't hold you back from eating. If we get sub sandwiches for dinner I get a footlong and have it cut into 4 pieces. I eat 2, Brody eats 1, and the other one usually gets wasted, until now. I decided to try letting you eat some. You ate a WHOLE piece to yourself! That was more than Brody ate! Hahaha. You never slow down when it comes to eating. Your dad thinks he may have to get a second job to support your eating habits! If this is how much you eat now, we can only imagine what it'll be like with you as a teenage boy.

I have noticed lately that you seem to be a critical thinker. You see Brody's legos and you try to fit the pieces together. You can't do it, but somehow you know they should fit. We also have a ton of wooden blocks. There is one particular piece shaped kind of like a doughnut and another like a long cylinder. You will work and work until you can make the cylinder piece fit into the whole of the doughnut piece. Another toy you've recently discovered is the barrel of monkeys. You dump out the monkeys and then put the monkeys back in, but your favorite part is trying to make the lid fit back on the barrel. It amazes us that you know these things.

You aren't saying any words but you do like to mimic us. You'll make noises or faces that we make to you. You wave hi and bye. You don't say our names but you seem to know who we are talking about when we say dad or mom or Brody. You love to play peek-a-boo and games where we chase you all through the house.

Ryder you are such a joy. You make us all laugh. People stop us all the time to say what a cute little boy you are, and we have to agree! Happy Birthday big little boy.

Projects are like Childbirth

I have heard people say that the reason women ever go through childbirth more than once is because your mind and body kind of forget all the pain that it went through. This is not the case for me. I remember childbirth. Very. Well. I think the reason I ever even contemplated any children beyond Brody is because I got distracted, I guess you could say, by how cute and fun and sweet he was. That distraction made me think that I could do it again. It wasn't all that bad. Then came Ryder. Things were great up until labor and once again I was telling Trevor that there was no way I could do this! Let's be honest though, at that point, you have no choice. You have to go through with the labor. You began the pregnancy process, you gotta finish it out. Then that sweet little one comes and you realize that he is your end result. He (or she I guess for people besides me) is what was worth making your body hurt in ways you didn't even think were possible. And you look at that baby and think, "I would totally do it again...SO worth it!"

I totally TOTALLY can liken my home projects to childbirth. I seriously think halfway through every project 1: I'm never doing this again 2: I cannot finish this! Its hard, I hate it, and I'm tired 3: I realize I have no choice. I started it, I have to finish it. Then just like when my boys arrived and I have that end picture I love it. I love all my completed projects and I am proud that I can say I did them, but I am always amazed at the amount of work I put into it!

In July my project 'bug' hit. I was in the mood for some change. I refinished my table and loved it (it only took me 6 years to actually do it). That led to me paint my hutch a sleek cannonball black. I think these changes turned what I would call my amish dining room look into a much more sleek and pretty dining room look.

Next came my built-in bookshelves and mantle. We've only lived in our house for nearly 2 years and I've never even put stuff onto the shelves because they were too narrow for most books and I just didn't know what to do. Finally a couple months ago I scoured my house for books and pretty things that would fit. Its a work in progress, but I think it turned out fairly well (besides the bottom two shelves staying empty because my kids yank everything off them). But that project 'bug' was making me itch, and filling the shelves just wasn't enough. Rather then wait another 4 years like I did with my table, I decided (with a gentle shove from Trevor) to re-do them as well. The mantle got stained to match the table. The shelves not only got painted a pearly white, but I backed them with that paintable wallpaper that looks like wainscoting(also known as bead board). End result? Shocking. I mean really. I have to take a few days to get over the change before I can decide if I like it. Its been a few days...I love it!

All of this was done from about mid July to now. Oh, and I might have painted my laundry room as well....and painted picture frames and put them up...and other minor things.... So I think my project 'bug' has almost left me. I only am looking to perfect my projects. Things might need touch-ups, or edges roughed up...That kind of stuff. More fun and less stress stuff. I think I am taking a much deserved break from big projects for a while.

Brody's 3rd Birthday

Last Monday, August 15th 2011, was our little Brody boy's birthday. I woke up and looked at Brody (who had crawled in the bed with me after Trevor left for work early in the morning) and just thought, "3 years ago at this exact time I was at the hospital and had been in labor for a few hours. I was on my side clinging to the rails on the bed anxiously waiting for an epidural." During the whole day I'd stop at different times and remember exactly what I was doing at that exact time three years earlier. Am I the only mom that does this? Is it as clear as yesterday for you too?

Once Brody's little eyes opened up he said, "g'morning mommy!" in his usual chipper morning manner. I replied with a big "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROD!" He smiled so big and said happy birthday back to me and then we got up and began our birthday celebrating.

Brody's other birthdays have fallen on the weekend and we've all been home the whole day, so it was really weird just having me and the boys and no daddy, but I knew I would try to make it as special as possible. First things first: Brody woke up to balloons, streamers, and happy bday signs. For breakfast we made it a little more special than normal by having chocolate chip pancakes, and Brody's even had 3 candles in them for him to blow out.

(besides the 'oohhing' and 'aagghhhing' Ry-ry made when he saw the decorations, the pancakes were his favorite part of all the festivities)

The morning and early afternoon were spent playing with Brody's newest cousin, Aftyn. They played in the dirt, watched movies, and had an indoor picnic complete with the Cars shaped macaroni and cheese (brody's favorite).

After Aftyn had left and Trevor had come home from work it was time for the big unveiling.....

A "TRAMP-O-WEEN!!!!!"

Trevor and I have been wanting to get one forever and boy were we right on the money with how much Brody would love it! We played and jumped until we were all red faced and sweating from the sun beating down on us (ry missed out on the fun because he was napping).

Once we were back inside Brody had a few more little things from us to open and with each present he would ask Trevor while he was opening it, "Dad what's in dare?" in the most excited voice! It was so fun watching him be so happy and excited.

Not long after that we had visits from Brody's Grampa and Gramma Waite, Red Gramma, and Aunt Taylor. Of course, he was more spoiled by them! And he had to show them all his trampoline out back. We tried to get a picture of us, but it seems he has been cranky on all 3 of his birthdays! I guess he takes that whole "its my party and I'll cry if I want to" thing seriously!

We wrapped the evening up with big pieces of tractor birthday cake and lots of love all around. Brody is one lucky little boy to have so many people love him so much, and we are so lucky that we have him to love.