Updates and what-not

Honestly, I don't know where to being.....hrmm...

• Brayden started Speech Therapy and Developmental Therapy back in Oct. Developmentally he has come a long ways. He now puts on his socks and shoes, takes his shirt off himself most of the times, and puts his pants on. He also is starting to point and recognize things in books or on the TV. As far as his speech, we are actually just starting that but it is going well. He now says puppy, momma, daddy, Aslynn, MiMi, Max, ball, baseball, wow, come here, hello, bye, i love you(somewhat), and car. We are working on getting his hearing tested. We have an appointment with Childrens Rehab but it isn't until Feb 16th and honestly I'm not waiting that long. So his speech therapist is seeing if she can get him in at her place and if she can't then we will get his Ped. to refer him to Children's Healthcare down in Birmingham which is where we took Aslynn when she was oh 6 wks old.
• Aslynn, well, she is a diva. Aunt MiMi cut her hair for the first time, I was in denial. What can I say. Shes pointing to objects that she either wants or recognizes. She can say momma, daddy, bubba, MiMi, Max, puppy, ball, oh no, ew. She is a little spitfire. She puts on her socks and shoes as well as Brayden shoes and everyone elses shoes. Girl likes shoes just a little. She loves her baby, she can say baby too.
• I recently joined the ranks of the unemployed and am starting the search again for another job. I got screwed pretty much at my old employer. I've enjoyed spending time at home with the kiddos for now :)
• My car, Bessie :), is almost 10 years old. Wow, I can't believe that. Shes got just a little over 112,000 miles on her but she runs as if she were brand new. Me and her have been through a lot. Like when a Deer side-swiped the drivers side, or when I hit a concrete corner and banged her up pretty good.

• My birthday is coming up and it is hard to believe that I am almost 24. Its more like I dont know where the time went from when I graduated highschool.

I'll leave you with a picture of the kiddos :)

Wordless Wednesday

New Adventures

My new adventure starts tomorrow. For the first time in forever I will be working my first 40hr/week job. I'm a little uneasy about it because I still long to stay home with Brayden and Aslynn. These past two weeks have be wonderful and I wish I could do it forever.

Another new adventure is speech therapy. Brayden has his evaluation tomorrow at 3 and we'll go from there. Brad and I both, along with others, believe that Brayden's first problem is his ears and that he could possibly need tubes. So I guess all we can do is see what they say tomorrow.

I also start school tomorrow. For the first time in 3 years I am a college student. Thankful to the goodness of my sister and brother in law this was possible.

So prayers that I survive working full time and being away from my babies, that Brayden's evalutaion goes well tomorrow and that I don't let anyone down in school.

Wordless Wednesday

Hello World!

So much has been going on that lately all I do is come home from work, play with my babies and go to sleep only to repeat the next day.

I have been working days at work now for about 2 weeks and I'm so thankful because now I get to see my children at night and give them their baths and their snuggles.

I also have registered for College yet again with the help of MiMi and Craig. Without their help and love I would not be able to. I'm just taking 1 class but that is what I believe I can handle and give my full attention right now and work and take care of my family.

I also have a 2nd interview at another company on Monday which I'm hoping works out. Not only will it bring me more hours and a constant schedule but it will also mean insurance for my family as well as more income...woohoo! Wish me luck on that because I really need it. I feel good about how its gone so far but we will see.

As far as the babies go Aslynn and Brayden both are trying to talk up a storm. Aslynn trying to talk has sparked Brayden into wanting to communicate more. Poor guy he tries his hardest sometimes.

Aslynn still only has those same 4 teeth but I'm not hurrying that one bit ;) She started walking around her birthday as well! Now she is a walking fool...she still has her sea legs sometimes but she tries.

Brayden loves loves loves to swim in Toni's pool now!! He is like a fish! I love it!

Happy 1st Birthday Princess

Aslynn Grace,

A year ago today you came into this world and have slowly evolved into the princess that you are. You captivated hearts and stole some the first moment they saw you. I know you stole mine.

This past year has been so much fun with you and with your brother. You two love each other so much. You just start giggling the moment he holds your hand.

You are so dainty and delicate in appearance but your inner strength shines through. You gave us a scare when you were first born. I guess you thought it would be a great joke to fail your hearing tests a few times. But we know now that you can hear just fine. The echo you have in one ear will eventually go away and all will be wonderful.


You started walking on me. That just means you are growing up into a little girl and not my baby.

I love you so much princess,

Mommy

Puppies galore

Ever have a serious, and I mean SERIOUS case of denial??

Guilty.

What exactly was I in denial about....my dog being pregnant.

Yes, she was pregnant, and as a matter of fact gave birth not but 24 hours AFTER I had accepted that she could possibly be pregnant and that we still may have a mere few weeks left.

HOURS left was the correct guess.

The puppies were born on May 20th while I was at work and throughout the night after I got home.

Can we say "oh holy shit!"

But alas, our sweet 2 year old Sophie is now the doting mother of 7 puppies who are now a ripe age of almost 4 weeks.

While yes the yelping and whining get on my nerves they are the cutest things I have seen puppy wise.

And another bad thing...

Puppy breath..

I.CANT.STAND.PUPPY.BREATH!


ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

My kitchen reeks of puppy breath....ewww

Happy Birthday sweet Brayden!

Two years ago today you blessed our family with your life. You have so many people that love you and would do anything for you. You are one very special little boy.

Each day I am thankful that you are a part of my life. You are my son, my creation.

I can't believe how much you have grown and changed and go through i your short 2 year existance.

I love you sweet little boy and I look forward to many years and many new things with you!!

Sweetest Angel

If you have a moment please stop over at the Freeman's blog because they need all your love and support.

http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/

Their wonderful little one pound miracle Kayleigh passed last night after an 11 month long battle.

Kayleigh and Aslynn were born on the same day so I think about them a lot when I look at Aslynn.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Brayden is healing beautifully! I have a few pictures that I need to upload of him in the healing process but work has taken over my life currently. Dr. Gray said that he should heal just wonderfully and that most will be hidden by his hair or the natural fold of his eye.
2. Aslynn babbles nonstop. Her current favorites are Mamamama and Babababa. She is also cruising the furniture and trying to stand on her own.
3. Brayden is sleeping in a big boy bed. I too need to post pictures of that. We started the transition earlier last week and while it was a little rough he now loves his bed. He loves his freedom of being able to just walk out of bed when he gets up in the morning and come into our room to snuggle for a few more minutes.
4. Me and the kids went and spent the day with NiNi and Craig yesterday and also made some stops at Aldi's and Papa Murphys for pizza for dinner.
5. Brad is the father of about 200 crickets for fishing right now and since it's brr shiver cold right now they are currently living in their cage in my bathroom. There was no way that they were going to be in the living room or the kitchen when I sleep with my door open..nope.
6. I applied to go back to school :)I've finally sat down and decided what I want to do.
7. I've chosen to be an EMT. Now ask Monica and that makes little to no sense since I don't want to be a nurse but essentially do the same things..I simply explained to her that while I can't do those things while a patient is calm and relaxed I could easily do it to them while they are in any other sort of pain that it wouldn't matter much if I honestly sucked. :)

So yea..8 will have to make do:)

Chicks dig scars...

I know this I just didn't want to have to use that phrase about my little man. Yesterday while Brad and the kids were at a friends house, their dog attacked Brayden. I got a call at work from Brad saying that he was taking him to the ER and of course being that my manager had to talk to him, by the time I got to the clock out clock to do so he had already done so for me. So off I rushed thinking the worst for Brayden.

When I got back to the ER and everything Brad wasn't with him, he can't handle all the gross, bloody things. So I went back there and calmed my boy as best as I could while they looked him over and everything.


He ended up having to have surgery last night and was in the very good hands of plastic surgeon Dr. Gray. He did very well throughout the surgery they said and was a trooper coming out of everything.


He has two gashes in his hair. One is about 2 inches long and the other is about 6 or 7 inches long. He has multiple bite marks all over his face. He also ended up with a few stitches on his right ear and on one of the bite marks.

His worst wound is his eye. The dog came ohaboutthisclose to his actual eye. He has a gash that is probably the length of his eye, its hard to tell with all the swelling but I got a good look at it while they were looking at it. The ER Dr. said that his eye looks good but to make sure he can see and everything that we need to follow up this week or next with an Optometrist.

He's back to his normal Brayden self with the exception he can't walk too well since he only has one usable eye right now.

Here are a couple pictures that I took this morning, I won't dare show you the pictures we have from the ER room.

Toofer picture

I took this the other day for grandparents and aunts and uncles alike ;) Its come through much more now but its still there.

My little girl is growing up so fast. Next thing I know she'll be walking and then it will be her birthday. or Vice versa :(

21 months later

I love this little boy. More than I could ever tell him or show him. I love him in a different way than I do his sister, which I love just as much just differently.

And just because I want to embarass him when he's older I had to post this on the internet. He was taking a bath the other day and was dancing and turned around and started shaking his butt at me. I couldn't resist getting my camera. :)

We are going to talk to his pediatrician about his hearing. I'm just not satisfied with his vocabulary. He only says a handful of words and he should be saying much more. He babbles just incoherently.

Toofers!

That's right, my little Princess has sprouted her first tooth. She doesn't look the same, it just adds to the cuteness that she is.

Geeked

I normally don't like to spend money unless it is absolutely necessary, but I had to this time. I set out and picked out a ton of ribbon and everything so that I can finally make Aslynn some more bows. I'm a nerd because I'm geeked about ribbon and crafts I know.

I did make a new blog though specifically for bows and other things I make for her just so I don't clutter up this blog :)

Ten on Thursday

1. Tomorrow I am going to pack of the kiddos and trekk to Monica and Craig's house. Poor Craig hasn't seen his Princess since Christmas and I think he's starting to have withdrawal. He even wooed me with his fabulous home made pizza...mmm good stuff. Plus it's aslo an Aldi run so I am super stoked about that.
2. Brad's sister had her spawn a week ago. Now if you had been reading and kept up with the story you would know how not thrilling this was. But she was clean and did get to keep the baby. But she has to appear in court soon for the two charges of possession so we'll see what happens with that. I hate to admit it but the little girl is starting to grow on me. I mean after all she is a baby and I'm a sucker for babies. But you can tell that she is mixed, she came out black.
3. I'm counting down the days to our purchase of a Wii and Wii Fit. I've already cut out the majority of my Caffeine Free Diet Coke out of my daily ritual, but I still allot myself no more than two, which I am hoping to cut out period. I've also cut back on my sweets and my portion sizes. I'm playing around with new Weight Watchers recipes.
4. Aslynn is almost to the point where she can sit up on her own! Woohoo. Atleast she's crawling so that makes up for the skipping of that milestone :)
5. These days my hair style has consisted of being in either a pony tail or curly. My straightener croaked while we were up in Michigan and if you know me then you know that my straightener is my bestest friend in the whole wide world. I've seriously missed that bad boy and know that once my tax return gets back I am investing in a new one. That one was 5 years old so I wore it out :)
6. Speaking of hair, I also need a good recoloring. Because I have the greatest hair stylist in the world, back in July she died my hair but was able to make it so that my roots weren't all too horrible. They are just now getting to that e'ghad look.
7. Brad still hasn't found a job job but he's been webmastering it for two companies. So that's brought us in a little income to get bills paid.
8. Brayden has taken a fondness to feeding the animals from his high chair. It's rather funny and we can't get made at him.

I'm running short of things...its the thought that counts

Michigan

Granted the reason we were in Michigan in the first place was a rather unpleasant one Grandma Garner gave us poor snow deprived southeners just that. Lots of snow. And I mean lots. I'm roughly 5ft tall and the snow came up to my knees.

It was beautiful. It sparkled like diamonds when the sun hit it. There was this sense of serenity all around Caro just because of the snow.

Motivation

Over the past two years I have gained a total of 75 lbs and lost 80lbs. I really wish I could say that it wasn't due to the fact that over the past two years I have been pregnant. I wish I could say that I lost those 80lbs and never gained the 75lbs.

Here in the next few weeks we will be investing in a Wii as well as Wii Fit. I'm starting a new way of life simply because I look at photos from when I was in high school, and thought I was fat although I wasn't and I miss that Brittni. I can do it. Its a far shot goal, but its still an attainable goal.


80lbs

That's my goal. Once I step on the scale and weigh myself I will make myself accountable for all of my readers to see. I dream to fit back into those American Eagle petite flares that I wore all throughout high school or that one pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans.

I can do it and I am.


"The most fattening thing that you can put in an apple pie is a spoon"

So I've made a new vow to myself to blog more. Now granted it may just be a picture and a few words but I figure that that is better than nothing.

As the previous post state about Aslynn, she is no longer with the immobile crowd. Just a few weeks ago she decided that she needed to keep up with Brayden. So a usual sight in our house is Brayden running around with Aslynn trying to keep up behind him.

She completely skipped over the sitting up stage and so we're trying to work on that. At 7 months old she weighs 16lbs. So she's still tiny.

Pimpin ain't easy

On the move

MIA

So I've been MIA for a little over three weeks. A lot has happened in those weeks such as an unexpected trip to Michigan for a few days. My only remaining grandparent, my Grandma Garner, passed away on the 16th. So thanks to the graciousness of Brad's mom and dad we packed up her van and made the 14 hour drive up Saturday night after I got off of work.

The kids were wonderful on both they way up and back home, of course there were the moments where they wanted out of the car seats but other than that we are both very proud of how the kids handled the ride.

I'll have plenty of pictures to follow of the snow and everything that is my past in Caro.