Labor Day

This is late, but better late than never, right?

We headed east (a little) to a small town outside of Shreveport for the long Labor Day weekend. Gabe has an uncle, Jerry, who lives out that way and my MIL wanted to spend her birthday weekend with the family at Jerry's house. We are so glad we went. It was our first time to visit their new home that they spent so much time building, painting, and decorating. It is just gorgeous and so relaxing! Gabe's cousin, Sunny, (who we have not seen since our wedding) came by to visit and meet our precious Brody. Her name couldn't fit her more perfectly. She is such a positive, happy girl...we wish she lived a little closer so we could see her more often.

Sunny, Brody, Gabe

Attempted a tractor ride, but Brody wasn't having any of it!

We (or just about everyone but me) had a blast on the four-wheeler. It looked like a lot of fun, but not sure it was the best thing for me to ride being so pregnant! Next time for sure!

Brody's first ride with Jerry and Bella - LOVED IT!

Daddy and Brody

Chris, Bella, and Angela

Brody and Bella played croquet. Well, sort of.

We hung out on the porch and outside a lot.

Brody and Bella spending quality time together

Sunny and her dad, Jerry

We ate some delicious food and had great conversation. A few of the girls took a side trip to Shreveport to do a little Sunday shopping and had a great visit with one of my MIL's sisters and her family. They have two beautiful daughters who are in college (Baylor and Missouri). Turns out one of them is a sorority sister of mine! Kinda fun!

Overall we had a fabulous time. Brody was having so much fun he didn't want to take naps and/or sleep at night. He LOVED every second of being out side and riding the four-wheeler. We are so thankful for the generous hospitality of the Journey family.

Can't wait to go back soon!

Hey Good Lookin'

Wearing daddy's sunglasses (and no pants)!

Party Time

I am hosting a party at my house and you are invited to come!
Wednesday, September 29th at 6:30 pm


Central Jewelry Buyers will be at my house to buy your gold and silver. They were recently featured on "Home and Lifestyle Television," Channel 5. www.homeandlifestyletv.com
http://www.centraljewelryrefining.com/

Come mingle, snack, and drink with us while you make $$$!

This is a fun and easy way for you and your friends to sell your old, used, broken jewelry/ flatware/ class rings/ old wedding rings/ watches/ anything Silver or Gold for cash!

It's Come & Go, very laid back so kids are welcome- no need to get a babysitter!

I went to a Silver & Gold party in July and people were leaving the party with cash in hand. One lady left with close to $800!!

We hope to see you here and can't wait to see your excitement as you walk away with some extra shopping money!

If you can't make it for whatever reason- give your things to us, in a bag with your name, and we will sell them for you and send you your cash!

Email, call, or send me a message on facebook if you are interested in coming. Bring a friend, neighbor, or co-worker! The more the merrier!

Are You Ready...

...for some football?

Brody is!

Brody has his Cowboy gear, just need to get some Red Raider gear for this upcoming season. He looks like such a big boy in this picture!

PACI

Dear Dearest Pacifier,

Thank you for all the moments when you have helped soothe my son. These times may have included, but are not limited to the following: after getting hurt, helping to fall asleep at night, muting a fussy baby in a quite place, and sometimes just because he found you in the toy box or saw you on the counter. Well, we have really enjoyed our time with you in our lives, but it may be time for you to pack up yourself along with your other paci friends and move on out. This is not my decision, nor is it the decision of my husband, Gabe. The power lies with my one year old son, Brody, for this is the 3rd time he has fallen asleep with out you and does not seem to notice. One of those times he cried every time you were offered to him.

Anyhow, we will see what the next few days hold as far as your future is concerned. We may try to keep you around for a little bit longer for emergency purposes only.

I will not miss washing, wiping, and sterilizing you. I will not miss searching for you around the house when we have 15 of you and cannot seem to find one! I will not miss frantically digging in my baby bag for you while my son cries for you. And I will not miss buying replacement paci's, especially since every time I buy replacements your price has increased.

You have helped us greatly for the past 17 months. I am slightly sad to see your departure is near since this means that my son is continuing to grow up into a little boy. First it was departing with the bottle, and now it is your turn. Next up, the crib.

Thank you dearest paci for your saving graces, but I think your time is coming to an end. You will be missed (for the most part). I have included some pictures of your time with the Lewis family as a good-bye gift. Please, take care.

Sincerely,

Lindsay

Swimming

This is actually an under-statement, but Brody L-O-V-E-S water! He loves it when it comes out of a faucet and a water hose. He loves bath time and loves to go swimming! It has become very normal for him to cry when "water time" has come to an end, even at preschool. They tell me he cries every time it is time to go inside. To feed in to his love, we bought a blow up pool for our backyard. And man does he love it! We wonder if the fact that his Zodiac sign is a Pisces "The Fish," has anything to do with it??

Here are some photos of him in the pool we purchased for him (and baby #2 - beginning next summer). It is big enough for Gabe or I to be in it with him. A nice way to cool off in the TX heat.

Curly Q

Look at these curls! It is five million degrees here in Texas, but we just cannot bring our selves to chopping these curly locks! Obviously the more humid it is, the more curls you see. This is what I would consider a humid/curly day.

A Talking Machine

Brody is starting to talk more and more. I am loving listening to his little voice. Of course I think he is the smartest thing EVER, but I am his mommy so I am allowed! It is amazing how much he has grown, changed and developed these past 16 months.

Here is a list of the words he is saying to date and using in the correct context:
Thank you (my fav) "taan choo"
Milk "mal"
Snack "nak"
More "ma"
Elmo "Melmo" (so cute!)
Dog "daaaaaaawg"

Sock "ock"

Shoe "shhhhhh"
Juice "uice"
Bear "baaarr" (new this week)
Ouch "owww"
Duck
Truck
Vroom vroom
Hot
Bye bye
No (doesn't say too often)
Uh oh (first word besides momma and dadda)

Guest Post

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Thanks Brody! What a helper! While "typing" this he said and waved bye-bye to the iPad and gave it a few kisses. Towards the end he must have been getting frustrated because he started yelling at the computer!

All that hard work must have taken a lot out of him and really worked up a thirst! He drank the rest of his milk in no time!

The Fourth

We had a low key and relaxing Fourth of July weekend, and were we glad to have an extra day off!!! It was really nice to have a weekend with absolutely no plans! We knew we wanted to see fireworks, which was the only thing on the agenda for the whole 3 days! We spent part of Sunday over at a friend's house so our kiddos could play and so the adults could visit. Hamburgers, potato salad, great company to chat with, and 2 adorable one year olds made our day perfect, while ice cream and fireworks made the night even better!

Look-a-like?

(Brody - 14 months)

Ok not really, but we thought it was funny with the hair and all...

Lately

It has been a busy 2 months for us celebrating many birthdays, a couple out of town weddings, and visiting out of town family!

We drove to Florida for Gabe's cousin Beth's destination wedding in late May. It was a long commute, but well worth it! Brody was amazing on the road, there and back! The DVD player was a hit and also a huge saving grace! This was Brody's 2nd time to a beach, but the first time for him to really enjoy it! Here are some pictures of the lovely wedding weekend.








































We drove down to the Houston area to see Gabe's grandma (Mam-maw), and were able to stay at his uncle's house and visit with them as well. She had never seen or met Brody so it was wonderful experience. She has a disease that affects her muscles, she is all there but it is extremely difficult for her to do anything that uses any muscles in her body such as speaking and turning her head from side to side. Luckily she is in a wonderful home where they are taking awesome care of her! Brody was a little nervous getting close to her but we were able to snap a few sweet moments. Gabe's cousins are young and loved hanging with B-man. They played dress up (that's what you get with all girl cousins) and drove him around in this cool wheeled contraption!



















Then I took a trip up to Nebraska for my cousin's wedding. This was my first time to ever spend one night away from Brody. This. Was. Painful!!!! I knew he was in the great care of his daddy, but I was so sad to leave him. It was a very low key trip and gave me plenty of time to rest and not do a whole lot. But I was glad to get home! Loved seeing my NE family and will get back up there soon!

Tag, You're It!

Months ago, I was "blog tagged" by my dear friend Kelly, and I am just now getting to it. Whoops :(. With this tag I am supposed to say 7 things about myself. Let's see if you knew these or not?

1. I am terrified of thunderstorms. I get a sick feeling that my home is going to catch fire from the lightening.

2. I do not eat any type of seafood, not even shrimp! It's a head thing...and I am perfectly fine not eating it.

3. For a while I was really enjoying going to the library and checking out books. I started reading when I was pregnant with Brody, and now I am glad to be able to read for free! I am one of those with a library card for my own personal use and I am proud of it! Just wish I had more time to read.

4. I am a reality tv junkie! I love So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, all of The Real Housewives shows (except Atlanta), Tori and Dean, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, The Hills, The City, Big Brother, The Bachelor(ette), Project Runway, The Amazing Race, and Kendra.

5. I am a coupon clipper! Why not save a little money here and there? Grocery store, restaurants, retail shopping....doesn't matter!


That's all I got 5/7 will have to suffice! Wonder if you learned something about me????

Brody's Scary Sickness

Gabe has not been traveling much for work lately, just a few times a year. Well one of those few times, we had a challenging yet sort of scary couple days with Brody. He developed an extremely high fever that didn't really seem to break with Tylenol and/or Motrin. Once the fever reached 103-104, wasn't eating (which is not normal Brody behavior ecen when sick), he had thrown up, and all he wanted to do was be held (which again is not normal Brody behavior even while sick), I called the nurses line at our doctors office and they told us to go ahead and come on in. Before we got there, his fever had reached 105. While there he threw up again...this time all over me! Yuck! But it didn't bother me at the time, all I wanted was to make my baby feel better. The doctor drew blood, conducted strep and flu tests and gave him an antibiotic shot (for an ear infection). Our doctor said he illness was not related to the ear infection. All of the tests came back clear so the diagnosis was a virus, but he wanted us to go get a chest x-Ray first thing the next morning to rule out pneumonia.
The next day, I took Brody to his appointment for the x-Ray. Being pregnant, I couldn't be in the room while they took the x-rays. I had to stand outside and listen to my sweet baby cry due to the loudness of the x-Ray machine. Heartbreaking!! I stayed home from work that day since Gabe was out of town. Luckily my mom was available to help me out. Not sure I would have survived without her help. It is exhausting taking care of a baby that is sick, but it was taken up a few notches with how sick he really was. Fever still 103-105 all day that day and we ended up putting him in a lukewarm bath to try and break that fever!
Gabe came home the following day when Brody's fever was finally manageable. Late that evening we started to notice some redness on his face. The next day it had spread to his whole body. So we called the doctor again. While waiting for their phone call back, Gabe had talked to someone at work who had experienced the same type of thing with his daughter. He "diagnosed" Brody with roseola. We googled it and seemed to be accurate symptoms. Once the nurse returned our call
after speaking to our doctor, he was officially diagnosed with roseola.

Main Symptoms of roseola:
High fever for 2-3 days
Once fever breaks, the child breaks out in a rash that can last for a few days
There is nothing you can do for this virus, it has to run it's course. Roseola cannot be diagnosed until the rash appears. It is highly contagious while the child has fever. And it is found mostly in children 2 and under.