Brody's 1st BirthDAY

The day of Brody's birthday we started like every normal day. Get up, get dressed

(but in our Birthday Boy shirt compliments of LeAnna), and off to "school" we go. His morning was just his regular routine. But when we (Brody and I) got home, Daddy was already home and waiting to spend the afternoon with us! What a nice surprise for the birthday boy! A few weeks before Brody's birthday I was trying to decide on something special we could do for him on this special day. I was thinking along the lines of Chuck E Cheese, but thought he would be a little to little to enjoy it. A friend at work had told me about a place in Frisco that is fairly similar to Chuck E Cheese but has a better section for kids his age. It is called Wiggly Play Center which is based off of the show The Wiggles. I was really looking forward to this for Brody. I knew he was going to have fun and especially playing in the ball pit I knew they were going to have! Well, we were not impressed! There were kids EVERYWHERE! Yes, I know that is to be expected especially since Brody's birthday falls during Spring Break. But where were the parents??? There were 6 - 8 year olds in the infant room. Maybe they need some extra staff to help regulate if the parents aren't. There was a group of about 4 "big" kids who were trampling over Brody and another little boy trying to go down the only slide they could go down. At one point the other mom got on to those kids to watch out for the smaller boys. Maybe I am being a little over protective and I know when I was a youngster I am sure I did the same thing. Being on this side of it really opened my eyes to always keep a watchful eye. I do think Brody had fun, he just still might have been a little to little for the Wiggly Play Center too. Maybe next year! Oh yeah, and no ball pit either!

Mommy helping me go down the slide, while Daddy is at the bottom to catch me!

Riding a mechanical horse. This was pretty fun! You can't tell by his face, but he did like this!

Enjoying my first Jamba Juice on the way home! He LOVED it and knew exactly how to use the straw!

We were thankful to be able to spend the afternoon with our birthday boy, even if it didn't go quite as I had it planned in my imagination. It was good to spend a beautiful afternoon together as a family.

12 Month Stats:

Weight: 21 lbs. 1 oz (23 %tile)

Height: 28 3/4 inches (18 %tile)

1 Year Well Check

We had Brody's 1 year well check the day before his birthday and all is well. He cleared all of our doctor's one year milestones and our pedi gave us a tip for something to work on for his 15 month well check, pointing. We are starting to demonstrate pointing and I really think he is already starting to catch on (since I am so late in posting this). He got two stinky shots and cried a little bit, but he is still a champ when it comes to those nasty needles.

He weighs 21 lbs and 1 oz (23%tile)

He is 28 3/4" tall (18%)

The percentages definitely increased from the last visit, and glad he is healthy and growing! Brody is looking more and more like a big boy. Now that he is one, we are officially parents of a toddler! Eeek! :)

Gavin Turns One!

Our dear friends Brooke and Steve celebrated the first birthday for their first born, Gavin, on March 5th. They hosted a small get together with lots of their family and a few friends the next weekend at their home. Brooke made the cakes and they were delicious!! We were lucky to share Gavin's first birthday party with the Long family and what a great afternoon it was! Gavin sure racked up in the toys and clothes departments!! He is such a precious little boy with a fantastic personality and who loves to dance!! Here are a few pictures from the party.

Brooke and the Birthday Boy

Amber and Teagan

Let's open some presents

Cake Time!!

These boys are going to be T-R-O-U-B-L-E when they get older

Our Little Ball Player

You are all witness to the baseball prodigy that is Brody Journey Lewis...

Step 1: Place the ball on the tee

Step 2: Square up with the tee

Step 3: Keep your eye on the ball and swing

Step 4: Look good doing steps 1 through 3

Step 5: Smile for the camera

Birthday Traditions

Mr. Man's 1st birthday is just around the corner!! YIKES! I do not feel ready for a 1 year old, but anyway, that is beside the point. I am looking to start a annual birthday tradition, but I am not sure which idea I want to implement.

Have you heard of a good one? Do you have an idea you use yourself?

I would love to hear some of your ideas!!

A Spring Afternoon

Last weekend was the first gorgeous Spring afternoon. Brody has always loved being outside and last Saturday he was able to spend lots of time out doors, well in the backyard to be a little more specific. He enjoyed walking around and throwing Rocky's red ball. I am really glad that the weather is finally getting nice enough to be able to spend time outside. Just wish these temps would last forever!

We also spent some of the day with my mom, sister and grandpa.

Bounce House FUN!

A couple weekends ago we spent the better part of a day in Arlington to celebrate our niece (and Brody's cousin), Bella's 4th birthday. At her party, there was something there that Brody has not seen or experienced...A BOUNCE HOUSE! When all the (big) kiddos were inside, we snuck out to put Brody in the house so he could enjoy it with out getting trampled. He LOVED it. He mostly crawled around and wasn't quite sure what to do, but at one point he was trying to make it bounce with his hands! Too cute.

HAPPY (BELATED) 4th BIRTHDAY MISS BELLA!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

This is what happens when an (almost) one year old gets locked in a utility room while mommy is putting in the laundry. And these pictures were after I had already picked up the massive amount of hangers about 4 times! The Gatorade bottles were and added bonus this time. This is the instance where you just have to laugh!

I could not ask for a more precious son! I would have cleaned up the hangers 400 times if I needed to. I love you baby!

Doggy Door Fun!

This looks like a fun game I could play with mommy and daddy. Maybe, just maybe I can stall and put bedtime off just a little bit tonight.

Hmm, I wonder if there is a way for me to get outside?

Let's see, if there is a way for me to get this open I could possibly escape to outside.

Thinking about it...

Here I go! No turning back now!

Uh-oh! Where did Brody go???

There he is!! Outside and free!!

It worked! I am so happy to be outside! What a FUN game this turned out to be!

Daddy is trying to get me to come in. I don't think I am too interested in that.

Hey Rocky! Want to come out here with me? We can play and it will be real fun!

Let me see if I can open this all by myself

Peek A Boo!

Thinking about coming back inside...

Haha! Tricked you! This is too much fun!

Mr. Man is 11 months

How can this be? How is it possible that I am planning a first birthday party? I cannot fathom how fast this year has flown by. It has been the best year of my life, thanks to this amazing gift from above! We are counting our blessings every minute of every day and are extremely thankful to have such a wonderful, happy, fun-loving son. Brody is 100% boy and in to EVERYTHING! I wouldn't have it any other way. We do not sit still for one nano-second with this little munchkin.

Here are some of the things about Brody at this point in his life:

*Loves to open doors - cabinet doors, pantry doors, doors to the bedroom, doggy door, etc.

*Loves to push things, even if it is an object that doesn't normally get pushed around - we had to hide his wagon because all he wanted to so was walk over to the wagon and start pushing it.

*Loves his wagon!

*Walking walking walking walking and some more walking!

*Just started wearing shoes and is doing great with them

*Loves to shake things such as water bottles, any toys that rattles in the slightest bit. He thinks it's hilarious

*Likes for daddy to lay him down for naps and for bed time. He fights with mommy, so we cry it out for most afternoon naps...about 1-2 minutes.

*Says dadda all the time. Occasionally says momma and yeah

*Babbles a lot! I think more than the average boy. Loves to hear himself talk

*He is not afraid of new people - a great thing, but could potentially be a bad thing too

*Happy all the time, loves to laugh and thinks the most random things are hysterical

*Likes to be tickled - laughs so hard he gets the hiccups every. single. time.

*Still in a size 3 diaper

*In between 9 months and 12 months clothes - he has such a long torso

*Wearing a size 4 shoe

*Has 5 teeth

*Takes 2 naps on weekdays and 2-3 on weekends

*Sleeps 12 hours on weekdays 6pm to 6am and 12-15 hours on weekends --LOVE this!

*Starting to get the sippy cup concept

*Eats anything and every thing and a lot of it! He always wants what we are eating, even if he has just finished his own meal

We love this child so much, more and more every day. They say each stage just gets better and better and is more and more fun and it is so true. Brody has a great personality and makes us laugh constantly. He loves to play and is good socially with other babies, for which we are thankful. It is truly amazing how much he has changed, grown, and developed in his short life. I cannot wait to see what the next 11 months have in store for us.

Harvey Lee Lewis

For the record, this is my second post in 1 month, which I think is pretty outstanding and shows that I care about this wonderful outlet. So my dad came to town and it was a very manly weekend. For those that don't know, my dad lives in L.A. Last time he saw Brody was in August, so there have been many advancements with the little man since then. I was very pleased that Brody had begun to walk, so grand dad could see that. My brother came over for most of Saturday and brought Brody's cousin Bella. It was a fun day in the Lewis household! My dad is obsessed with tex-mex and barbecue, so living in California it is kind of hard to get the good stuff (though as a side note, I enjoy southern California mexican food as much or more than tex-mex). Anyway, we always treat him to both while he is here at least once. This time it was Chuy's, Rudy's, and Mi Cocina. My dad suffers from the Lewis' heartburn gene, so he got about 2 hours of sleep Saturday night because his chest and throat felt like it was on fire... sometimes, Tums and Prilosec just aren't enough.

Sunday was a good day because we went on the Cowboy's Stadium tour, which is like $17 and well worth it. It was my dad's first time to see the completed stadium and so he was pretty excited. We had season tickets back when they were winning Super Bowls in the early 90's, so he is a pretty big fan.

It was a short trip, but we were happy to have him and glad he was able to see Brody. Til the next time...