Summertime when the living's easy...

Look really closely to see this baby frog in our back yard!!

Bray Enjoying his pool....

He got a little burnt this day...opps, sorry bray baby!!

This was at my dad's company picnic at Tanglewood. Brayden really loved this chocolate icream that his zanny was feeding him!!

Youngest sissy sal, she's so pretty!!

Bray in the car with his blankies, "bluie, and other guy"!

Father's Day 2009

Happy Father's Day to All the daddies out there, especially my dad and my baby's daddy!

This could be a hard day for lots of people out there. I know not all dads are perfect or even a part of their children's lives and that makes my heart hurt for people like this.

My dad was not and is not perfect...however he did A LOT of things RIGHT.

Reasons I love my dad:

-He hugged me, and still does
-He told me he loves me, and still does
-He tried to fix my hair and put bows in it when mom was gone, doesn't anymore, I don't really wear bows
-He cheered me on in all my endeavors, and of course still does
-He modeled Christ-like love for me, my sisters, and my mom
-He played with me
-He protected me
-He studied with me
-He talked to me
-He disciplined me
-He "interviewed" my boyfriends--which were only about 2 or 3 since I dated Steven for 6+ years and got married




He rides a Harley, yes and he loves his Grandson!

As the article in the newspaper said back in 1983, "He's more than the man that came to dinner" and that was so true! I am so lucky and blessed to have a loving and involved father like the one I had. If everyone could have a daddy like you I think the world would be a lot better place, and kids would be on the right track! I love you daddy. Love your Emidy

Now this brings me to praise my husband, who is also my baby's daddy. (The reason I am referring to him in this manner is because this is how he told our youth group that I was pregnant...."I'm gonna be her baby's daddy!" Funny moment!)

I love Steven for many reasons and he is definetly a lot like my dad in many ways...he is not perfect, but pretty close!

Reasons I love Steven as a Daddy:

-He is more than the man that comes to dinner
-He is involved
-He plays with Brayden
-He feeds, clothes, bathes, changes stinky diapers and all of the above
-He does whatever he can to help out and love on me and Bray
-He provides for us
-He makes time for Brayden
-He stays at home alone with Brayden (some dads don't do that with little ones)
-He strives to put Christ first
-He models Christ-like love to us
-He hugs, kisses, and wrestles Bray
-He tells Brayden that he loves him
-He does a WHOLE heck of a lot of things I think a lot of men don't, which I believe makes Steven more of a man
-He got up in the middle of the night to feed Brayden
-He cup fed and syrigne fed brayden for me in the first fews days of Brayden's life
-He does a lot, he is a lot, and he means the world to me and I know to Bray.

I believe that there are some things baby boys just can't learn from mommies. Don't get me wrong, moms mean a whole lot to babies. But for example I can't teach Brayden how to be a man, I'm NOT a man and I don't know how to be one. So, Steven I am glad this is your job and one you are willing and wholeheartedly doing a great job. You are a great dad, and its so fun to see you doing this natural "job"! I love you and appreciate all you do for our family.

Now for a little picture action of Steven at work being a daddy!

Playing on the couch.....

Working on tech skills...

Snuggling after an early morning feeding....

First moments as a daddy....

Sleeping on the couch....

Not afraid to push that stroller....

Helping Bray eat...

Playing at the park!!

Shoulder Ride....

Sledding in the Kitty littler box...

O summertime how I love thee (sometimes)...

Today was a great summertime day. We went to a picnic at Tanglewood. Played, ate, and ate some more. Took naps in the nice AC and topped off the day by going to the pool. However all this was done on this HOT summertime day without our Steven, husband and father, and that just made it half the fun. I love my husband and I love to spend time with him (Quality Time is my love languages.) If you don't know what that means click here to learn more about Gary Chapman's 5 love languages! (It could change your love life or marriage!)

But since Steven is a youth pastor most of his summer days are spent hanging out with Youth (duh) or going away on trips. And today was the start of one of the 4 weeks that he will be gone this summer. I know this is not bad considering how often some men, husbands, or fathers travel but it just makes it even harder for me since this is my SLOWEST time of year, being a teacher and all. Anyways I guess I am thankful that this year I don't have a four week old baby by myself to get up with in the night and nurse. Now I have a 1 year old to play with all day!!! I'm also sad that Steven wont be here for Father's day, however once again I am also very thankful he is not fighting the war in Iraq or Afganistan...I can do 4 weeks!!!

Love you Steven and we BOTH miss you!!!



This picture is totally unrelated to this post....I just like it! (I do have some from the summertime picnic I just haven't uploaded them yet.)

Rolling over already....Sept 9th

I have to admit I am a pretty proud parent. This week Bray has learned to roll from his tummy to his back. But I also have to admit that its because he sleeps on his tummy which pediatricians do not recommend since the risk of SIDS is higher when babies sleep on their tummies. This has been an inner struggle for me the whole time...doing something I knew was not the "best".

I did not plan on Brayden sleeping on his tummy...actually when my 14 year old student, (who became a mother 2 months before me) told me she put her baby to sleep on her tummy I was shocked! For the first couple weeks Brayden could sleep anywhere anytime. At about his fourth week of life he was getting a little harder to get down for naps during the day. One day I was at my parents house and I left and went to the gym while my mom was watching Bray. She put him down for a nap and when I came home I went to check on him and what did I find...my little baby sleeping soundly on his tummy. I was like "Mom! You know they are not supposed to sleep on their tummies!" She of course said yes but that me and my two sisters all slept on our tummies. (If you were born during the 70's or 80's like me, that was a time period where doctors told mothers to let babies sleep on their tummies.) So anyways after this nap where Brayden slept great we slowly transitioned him to sleeping on his stomach. We learned that Brayden actually wanted to be and liked his tummy better. At night we would lay him in his crib on his back for a while. He would be fine and so we would let him lay there for 30-40 minutes. Eventually he would start "talking"...we would come in flip him over to his tummy and his eyes would literally shut. Now when we lay him down on his back at night he immediately starts fussing or "yelling" at us--and I believe this is his way of saying come turn me over. Anyways, all this to say that I have learned as a parent I decide what is best for my kids. Sometimes you just have to do what works. Brayden sleeps great on his tummy, takes good naps, and sleeps through the night. So ultimately yes I am doing something that is not recommended, however I think if I did what was recommended, I think I would have a baby who never sleeps!!! My life as a mother would be a whole lot more stressful and crazy if he did not sleep well. Ultimately I just have to trust God that my little Bray will be ok, and God already knows the whole course that Bray's life will take.

All this to say...babies who sleep on their tummies roll over sooner then babies who sleep on their backs. Last weekend I was looking through my own baby book where my mother chronicled that one night she had to get up with me two times because I had rolled over and could not go back to sleep. It was so funny because that next week I had to do the same thing with Bray. At 4 am one morning I heard him talking...and I thought hmmm, this is odd. I went in and I saw the cutest little face staring up at me. I was so shocked I ran back into the bedroom and called for Steven to come here. Of course Steven thought something was wrong and I had to calm him down. It was so cute to see little Bray there in his crib looking up at us! We were such proud parents. (Its amazing at how you get so excited about such little things!) Congrats Brayden on your accomplishment. (Now you just need to learn how to get back to your tummy so we don't have to get up in the middle of the night! :-)






Brayden doesn't get tummy time, he gets back time!



He loves splishy splashy time! All wrapped up!

3 months already!

Wow, I cannot believe I have already been a mom for three months. The time has flown by and I have learned so much. I have absolutely loved every (mostly every) minute of motherhood to my precious baby boy. Things I have learned:

-That I no longer come first--Brayden's needs take precedence to my own. If I am hungry, but its time for him to eat, he gets to eat first.
-Patience-Not to wish each stage away just so he'll be at the next
-Time management-how to get ready in less than 20 minutes or how to look decent without taking a shower
-How to do things with one hand
-Unconditional love-Even through all the crying, spit-ups, middle of the night feedings, diapers, stressful moments, moments of not know what to do I love this boy with all of my being. It doesn't matter if he has been crying 1 hour straight I would still do anything for him. I truly cannot express the love that a parent has for their child, besides unconditional...and just think, how Christ loves us even more than we can love our own children!

Brayden is now three months old and he is doing great! He in about 25 inches long and we are guessing somewhere around 13 lbs. He weighed 11 lbs. 10 oz at 9 weeks and we have not weighed him since. He is sleeping through the night (praise God) and has been since about 8 1/2 weeks or so. He is smiling and giggling at us now and it is so fun to see his personality coming out. He loves looking at people and bright lights or colors. Papa Rick Reed can get him to talk the longest and it is so cute to see. Here are some recent pictures of Bray around three months!