Vacation

Braden and I went with my parents to Madeira Beach, FL last week on vacation. Madeira Beach is south of Clearwater on this strip of land that is surrounded by the ocean on one side and the bay (Tampa Bay) on the other side. It was such a nice relaxing week. We went to the beach everyday and and out to dinner every night. Braden did awesome every night at dinner (which is surprising for a 17 month old who hates sitting still for any amount of time!), but the last night he got a little annoyed with his high chair and refused to sit in it!

Braden loved the beach! We were worried that the sand or waves might bother him, but not a chance! He dove right in and never looked back. He wore a tube and floaties and he got really brave and would fuss at us whenever we would touch him in the pool or ocean. He is VERY INDEPENDENT and likes to do things on his own.

We learned a couple of things about Braden this week: He is fearless, flirty and friendly! He never flinched when the waves would hit him in the face and it didn't bother him a bit on Friday night when there were fireworks going off all around us! And I mean literally al around us! Every 15 feet down the beach someone was setting off fireworks not to mention that each small strip of beach puts on their own firework celebration and the bay shoots off fireworks also! He also went crazy every time a female would come around him! Trust me he does not discriminate when it comes to age~ he flirted with the 50 year olds and the 5 year olds! He lays his head on his shoulder, turns in circles in front of them and smiles and giggles while batting his eyelashes at them! I am not kidding! I even have it on video to prove it!

Here are some of our pictures from the beach!

While the husbands away.....

the wife will get lots accomplished! This week I got lots of stuff done while Brad was working in NC. I thought I would share a few of them with you. Oh, by the way Brad has no idea that I painted 2 rooms while he was gone this week. I want it to be a surprise for him when he gets home tonight! AND I MUST GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO CHAD & LORI AND MY PARENTS BECAUSE WITHOUT THEIR HELP I WOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN THE ROOMS PAINTED!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Y"ALL ARE THE BEST!!!!

Our bedroom

Braden's playroom

I also completed a couple of scrapbook pages.

Pretty Flower

Daisies are my all time favorite flower. This is one of the plants that I got for Mother's Day this year and I wanted to share its beautiful bloom with you!

Heading to the beach!!!!!

On Saturday morning, Braden and I will be heading to the beach with my parents for 7 whole days! I am sooooooooo sad because Brad will have to stay here because of his new job, but I am also soooooo excited to get to the beach and catch some rays!

I really should be packing and folding more laundry right now, but instead I have been looking at pictures of Braden's first trip to the beach. They are so precious that I thought I would share my walk down memory lane.....

We went to Amelia Island, Fl. and had the best time. My mom and Brad's mom went with us and it was a great trip! I can't wait to post the pictures from our upcoming trip!

Parent's Cutest Kid Contest

Last night while I was "surfing the net" I checked out the Parents Magazine website and I came across the Cutest Kid Contest. I saw it in my magazine last month, but I completely forgot about it. Yesterday was the last day to sign up so I squeezed Braden in in just the nick of time!
Be sure to check out his link and rate him and recommend my cutest, most handsome, sweetest baby so far (I don't want to discount any future children I may have)!

Hi Honey! We miss you!

Brad is out of town this week for BB&T training in Winston Salem, NC and Braden and I will be leaving Saturday for the beach. Two weeks away from Brad is going to be sooooo hard!

Ok, Brad when you see this know how much we miss you and love you and can't wait to see you Friday night! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

On the Move.....

Tonight after dinner Brad and I took Braden outside to play in the yard before bath time. He was so cute running around and squealing in this high pitched squeal to try to get the neighbor's dog to bark! I told him to sniff one of the flowers and then he kept sniffing the flowers about 20 more times! He is so precious!

My Daddy

I know that you have all heard me say it a million times before, but I have the BEST parents! I have been so blessed to have not just one spectacular parent, but two!

I think that I have been Daddy's little princess since the day that I was born. My daddy has doted on me and praised me and encouraged as long as I can remember. There has never been a time when I haven't seen my daddy when he hasn't given me a hug and kiss and told me that he loves me. And not only does he tell me, but he shows me. My daddy will drop anything to help his family. There aren't many dads who you can trust to take as good of care of your 17 month old as you do either. My dad is really special. He is extremely charismatic and has never met a stranger. This is something that I really admire about him since I am shy when I first meet people. My dad is pretty good at taking jokes when we all tease him also. I think that my confidence and self assurance comes from my dad. I think that he built that in me as a father by empowering me to believe that who I am and what I have to say is important and that it matters. My dad has always listened to my opinions and respected them even if he didn't agree with them. He also always told me that I was beautiful and I think that every little girl needs to growing up hearing their father praise both their outward beauty and their inner strength. My father is also an incredible husband. He is affectionate and loving towards my mom and I think that is important for a child to grow up seeing as well. I think that I had a firm foundation in who I am because my parents were always devoted to each other. My daddy is a teddy bear! He wants you to think that he is a grizzly bear, but he is really the kindest, gentlest and sweetest father that I have ever known. My daddy is also one of the most generous people that I know. My dad makes every holiday fun! He gets just as excited about Christmas as we did when we were little and he is still the one who gets the most excited, though I am a very close 2nd! He ALWAYS begin packing for vacation 2 weeks before we leave! My dad is very passionate about what he does! My dad's excitement for life is contagious! If he is mad you know it and if he is happy you know it! He wears his heart on his sleeve and his feelings on his face! (Boy, that sounds kind of like me too!) A few weeks ago when my mom and I were gone to the mountains, we were talking about what a great daddy my father has been and my mom said, "He is a great dad, but he is also a great man". I think that statement was one of the most powerful statements that I have ever heard. My Daddy is a fantastic father, a great man and my hero.

I love you Daddy!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a really busy and really fun Father's Day weekend. On Saturday we went to Brad's brother's house to see his family. It was nice getting to spend time with Brad's family. Braden loved playing with all of his older cousins! After we left Chris and Dawn's house we went to Brad's parents' house and grilled hamburgers.

Braden & Cooper

Truett, Berkley, Cooper & Braden

Emma & Beau

Sunday morning I woke up early and made Brad french toast for his traditional Father's Day breakfast. After I cooked I got Braden up and we took Brad his breakfast in bed and gave him his gifts. After church we went to my parents house for Father's Day lunch! We made the guys ribeyes and king crab legs! It was soooooo good! My brother did a great job grilling the steaks and the crab legs were so huge! After we ate, we played a game of poker. Of course my dad went out first! He always goes all in when he gets tired of playing. Braden woke up and my mom wanted out of the game so bad so that she could play with him, but we all kept giving her the pot so she could't get out! Chad won and Brad came in 2nd and we had a great time! Brad said that it was his best Father's Day ever and I reminded him that he has only had 2, but I'm glad that he enjoyed it!

Happy Father's Day

Brad sporting his new jersey

Watermelon Fun

Mommy doesn't even know the mess I'm about to make!

This evening while I was cutting up fruit for our visit to Chris and Dawn's house tomorrow, I let Braden sit on the counter. He is a super picky eater (just like his daddy) and I am trying to encourage him to try new things. I read this article that said that one of the best ways to get picky eaters to try new things is to let them cook with you. Well Braden isn't old enough to cook with me and I technically was not cooking, but I thought that if he sat on the counter top with me he might become interested in at least trying the fruit! The first thing that I cut up was cantaloupe and he actually tried a piece on his own, but spit it out. When I started cutting up the watermelon I gave him several pieces like I did with the cantaloupe and he would try to feed them to me which he thinks is really funny! I always say "yum, yum" and he would giggle, but not try any. He finally tried a piece of watermelon, but then discovered that it was much more fun to squeeze all of the juice out of the watermelon than to eat it! I was really proud of him because he actually ate 2 small pieces! When I was finished cutting all of the watermelon for our visit tomorrow I let him squish around in the rest of the watermelon! He had the best time squishing it through his fingers! Needless to say, when he was finished squeezing all of his pieces of watermelon we headed straight for the bath!Here, try some Daddy!

Ooh! It feels so squishy in my fingers!

Look at the mess that I made! But Mommy doesn't mind because I'm so cute!

Passion Wins 5 Straight Games!!

Passion finished out their season with 5 straight wins! Now they are onto the tournament! Way to go and good luck guys!

Johnny & June

Morgan....Johnny and June is on my playlist, but it sounds more like the chipmunks singing! It is hillarious! I don't know what happened, but it's on here. Check it out, it's the last song on the playlist!

No You Did Not

My mom and Brad cannot believe that I posted the story about Braden pooping on the floor. I told my mom that I bet that half the population of kids has pooped on the floor before or at least 1/100th of the population of kids! Her reply was "Y'all (Chad & me) never did"! So if anyone would admit to pooping on the floor or knows someone who did, please let me know so that I can calm their fears of scarring my child for life by posting this humiliating, yet super funny story!

Don't be ashamed.......Leave a post......No one else will know!!!! This is a "safe place" for all!

Way To Go Passion!

I just wanted to give a shout out to the Passion softball team! They won all 3 of their games this week. In fact they run ruled all 3 games! Way to go guys!

Blizzard Braden

My house used to be clean! It was clean a year ago. 6 months ago. Even 3 months ago it stayed fairly clean. But not anymore. It takes Braden literally no time at all to destroy a house! We have worked with him on picking stuff back up, which he does, only to pull it back out 5 minutes later. Thursday Braden stayed at my parents' house , so I had the day to clean! Which I have to say I was pretty excited about! So I swept, I mopped, I vacuumed, I dusted, etc. You get the picture. The house looked pretty good. Brad got home around the time that Braden did, which I was thankful for so that he could actually see what I had been working on all day. Brad left to go to his softball game and when he returned two hours later Blizzard Braden had struck! There were toys pulled out, plastic lids all across the kitchen floor, pots and pans scattered everywhere and he even POOPED on my clean floor! YES, I SAID POOPED!!! After I gave him his bath, he loves to run around naked. Usually he goes and gets a diaper for me, but instead he just ignored me and ran into the living room. So I went to get the diaper and as I am walking back (30 seconds later) I notice something that resembles poop in the kitchen floor (that I had just swept, mopped, cleaned on my hands and knees 5 hours earlier). I called Avery in the kitchen just knowing that MY child would not do that and it must be the dog, only to discover that if Avery did that she was VERY sick! All of a sudden I hear a "fluff" also known as a fart and I looked at Braden and he was pooping in the living room! AHHHHH! The phone rang and I picked it up on my way to grab Braden and wrestle the diaper on him and it was Brad. I said, "Your son just pooped on the floor"! He said, "On your newly cleaned floor?". I just had to laugh! Of all days the days to take a dump on my floor, it had to be the day that I had just cleaned it! So....I am learning to care less about what my house looks like and more about surviving the Blizzard! I can't remember, but I think that I read some quote before that said something like, Your kids will never remember or care what your house looked like, but they will remember how much time you spent with them. So my new focus is going to be less on trying to keep my house clean and more on creating quality time and meaningful experiences with Braden.

However, this doesn't mean that I am comfortable with my house being a disaster, but just beware that when you come over it might look like a blizzard tore through our home!

I love you, my little blizzard boy!

Tag...You're it!

Sarah just tagged me and gave me directions to share five unimportant things about myself. Like there is anything unimportant about me! (you're better off if you don't respond to that statement!) So here goes!

1. I have a great fondness for ladybugs. This is mainly due to the fact that when I was little my brother's nickname for me was ladybug. When I would get upset about something, he would say, "What's wrong ladybug?". But it was in a real drawn out way like Layyydeeeebuug!

2. Over the Georgia State Patrol Post on the access road beside I-20 in Conyers there is a pole that sits on top of the station that is lit up. There is also a similar pole on I-285 on the way to my Granny's house. When I was little I named each pole. The I-20 pole was my good friend "Blinky" and the I-285 pole was my good buddy "Lighty". I used them as points of reference when we traveled. I knew that if I saw "lighty" I was getting close to my granny's house and if I saw "Blinky" I was close to home. I liked to announce their names on all of our road trips and much to Brad's protests I still do! Yes....I realize that I am a very strange person!

3. Open containers in refrigerators makes me sick! Also, uncapped beverages or uncovered cups in the refrigerator grosses me out! It makes me think that germs are flying all around in the fridge! UGH! However, most mornings I make Ovaltine and stick it into the freezer to chill and that doesn't bother me. I guess I think that the germ particles are frozen in mid-air!

4. I HATE celery! Now I know that Hate is a strong word, but that is truly how I feel about celery. I've never met a stalk that I liked! I despise the texture. The smell makes me want to vomit. And the taste is the worst of all! Actually, I think that it is the ONLY food that detest!

5. I cannot do a cartwheel. My mom even tirelessly tried to help me when I was around 9 or 10, but I just never ever could. It is a probably a combination of the fact that I am clumsy and too stubborn to listen!

So now that I been tagged, I am tagging Michelle, Krysti, and Brandi! Your directions are the same as mine (5 unimportant things about yourself) and I can't wait to read them!

Nobody Cooks Meatloaf like Momma

Sunday morning I picked up my mom for our overnight trip to Dahlonega. My eyes were red from crying when I picked her up because Braden was crying when I walked out the door to leave him for 2 days. After many questions from my mom about being sure that I was ok to leave Braden and a delicious breakfast that my dad cooked, we hit the road. On our way to Dahlonega we stopped at the North Georgia Outlets and they have some really great stores! one store called Hartstrings had some really great children's clothes. Sunday evening we feasted at The Smith House. It is a restaurant similar to the Dillard House where all of the food is brought to the table family style. We ate roast, fried chicken, ham, turnip greens, mashed potatoes, okra, sweet potatoes, corn and more! We were so full when we were finished eating that we walked all around town , even though the shops were closed! We even spent some time sitting on gliders in the front of a furniture store that was closed for the day! When we got to the hotel room we were still so full that my mom and I attempted to exercise! We spent most of the time laughing at ourselves and our very sharp moves! We were supposed to stay up and watch The Next Food Network Star at 10pm, but my mom fell asleep on me around 9:15. So I fell asleep a little before 10 and then she woke up at 10:15! By then it was too late for me!


On Monday we woke up and got ready for the day. We walked around all of the shops and it was such a beautiful day. We ate at The Crimson Moon Cafe that was featured in Southern Living a few months ago. They had THE BEST SALAD that we have ever tasted, but their meatloaf was horrible! Nobody cooks meatloaf like Momma! I don't think that I can describe just how bad the meatloaf was. It was a really good thing that we ate the delicious salad or I would have been really disappointed. However, the atmosphere was great. We sat on this 2nd story porch that overlooked the square. It was a really pretty view. Before heading home we stopped in and bought ice cream to get us through the car ride.


Every year my mom and I try to take a trip together, but we haven't since Braden was born. This trip wasn't as long as our other trips have been, but is was just as much fun! I always have the best time with my mom and this trip was no exception. When we got home we were both super tired~ we thought that Braden was the one wearing us out, but he wasn't with us so now we think that we are just old!


By the way, let me give a shout out to Brad and my dad for taking care of my little man. Braden was very spoiled when I returned and I know that he didn't miss me a bit! I think the homemade cookies, trip to the park and new truck probably helped! What a lucky kid!

Me and my mom at The Smith House

Our delicious salad The Crimson Moon Cafe!!!

Our view from The Crimson Moon Cafe