"mmmmmmmmmhhh".....the sweet sound I hear as my lil' angel, Evan comes toward me for a kiss......love it, every single second of it, especially when even when he forgets to close his mouth and it is slobbery.  This is Evan's newest "word". 

He is getting so expressive.  Chris and I are eating it up!  His "favorite" word right now is "uh-oh" after he has catapulted something across the room or overboard.  We are having a time  fun trying to teach him that "it is not an 'uh-oh' when you throw something, Evan." 

Today, when Chris came home from work at lunch, Evan looked up at him and said "my dada"....so clearly, it melted Chris' heart!

Evan is scooting ALL over the place and FAST, it is amazing!! It is very interesting to Chris and I that we have babies that don't crawl, just scoot on their bottoms....I guess they prefer to face the world upright and head-on....I admire what that can mean!

Weaning.......not as methodical as it was the first time....with Brady I knew I was going to nurse until he turned one or it didn't work out for all involved anymore, whatever came first.  With that in mind, things worked out fine so I planned on wrapping it up at one when it is "safe" to replace breast milk and/or formula with cow's milk.  I gave my body one week for each of the four feedings he had at that point to adjust and dry up so I would not be in pain or get an infection or anything.  With four feedings, I started a month before Brady turned one...dropping one feeding per week.  I nursed him the last time the morning of his one-year-old wellness check-up, which was the day after his birthday, then discussed introducing milk with his pediatrician and we did it that afternoon and DONE...nursing was over....methodical, neat, orderly, just like I LOVE things and with no resistance from Brady!  I went into the arena of breastfeeding with Evan with the same mindset...."if it ain't broke, don't fix it", right?  Feeding has gone wonderfully with Evan, no formula needed.  He eats whole food GREAT!!!  I did not start the weaning process 4 weeks out as planned for a variety of reasons, things going on, etc. but I did start 2 weeks out thinking: we will end up about 2 weeks past turning one, big woop!  I dropped the afternoon (after nap) feeding first, gave it a week.  Then I dropped the late morning (after morning nap) feeding, gave it a week.  This was going fine..he was turning one and I had two feedings to drop....after dinner/before bed and first thing in the morning.  First thing in the morning feeding was going to be last.  Just as I was planning to drop the before bed feeding he started having a REALLY hard time with not nursing after he woke up from his afternoon nap....he would cry, like REAL TEARS not just fussing, and dive his head toward my chest with his mouth open, so sadly.  It broke my heart...this was new to me....too sad for me.  I thought he was just hungry as he was used to eating at this time of day so I increased his snack, that didn't change anything.  He sat in his high chair eating while crying with tears streaming down his face looking at me so sadly....it was like I was rejecting him or something.  I decided to nurse him after afternoon nap in place of the bedtime feeding...it is working.  It is still just two times per day and it is not associated with sleeping, since it is the two times per day when he wakes up...in the a.m. and after nap, this is good for later weaning...not needing nursing or ME to sleep.  He eats whole food so well that he seems to get plenty to eat at dinner to sleep fine at night and still sleep his 12 hours per night.  So for now, at one year and 2 weeks old, he is still nursing two times per day.  This is not exactly what I planned - "Many are the plans of a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails" Proverbs 19:21 - but it appears to be what he needs right now and it is not harming him, myself, or others in my family so I am still "doing my job" here in the Stidham household!  There is something sweet about him needing that special time with just his mommy still, I must admit!

BRADY MAC finished his first year of school......I can not believe it.  Tuesday was his last day of school - the 25th - and we all went up there for a picnic outside his school with his class.  It was fun but hard to believe his first year is already over...what a quick 9 months that was!  Our very first summer vacation is here...so many fun things in mind for summer.  Last night Chris gave Brady his "summer cut"...we did it last year for the first time.  It makes him look so "grown" to me...he is so handsome!!!

May Daze!!!!!!!!!!

May has been busy, busy, busy - and FUN for our family.  We had Evan's first birthday party on the 8th - in Atlanta so we traveled to the ATL on the 7th, had the party on the 8th, enjoyed some semblance of Supper Club that night, celebrated Mother's Day with a breakfast date at the Waffle House with my boys while Chris enjoyed church with his mother and then we celebrated the occasion with Chris' family on the 9th and then headed back home. 

The 12th - Evan's ACTUAL birthday.....my lil' angel is a whole year old..........WHAT??...Chris took the day off so we could have a whole day about Evan for his birthday....so fun!!! We took him out to breakfast at the Ranch House after we dropped Brady off at school, then we took him to the mall to enjoy his first carousel ride...the carousel conductor played a special b-day song for him so we got an extra long ride.  He really seemed to enjoy this.   Then we brought the little fellow home and just gave him some undivided attention from BOTH parents and just played with him and had lunch with him before picking Brady up from school.  After his nap, we took him out to eat to the same Mexican restaurant we went to the night he was conceived....I know he is going to read this one day and think - thanks, mom, that is way too much information!!!....and they sang to him and gave him some sort of special cinnamon/sugar tortilla dessert.  When we got home he had a cupcake waiting for he and Brady that I made and we put a candle in it and sang to him.  We had a GREAT day celebrating the littlest Stidham! 

Brady started his first ever one-on-one swim lessons.  We signed up for these lessons with Mr. Chaz at the YMCA.  I have been VERY proud of how much progress he has made with him.  Evan and I did his first Mommy & Me swim class...which was GREAT.  It was nice having an activity for just he and I and having that one-on-one time with him.  Such special time for Evan & I.

We have had a few fun end-of-year things going on at Brady's school...one of which was celebrating his "pretend" birthday.  Since his birthday is when school is out for Summer, his teacher gives us the opportunity to do a "pretend" celebration.  She makes a sweet little crown for the birthday boy or girl to wear for the day and the parents can bring something "special" for that day's snack time if they want to.  I brought some yummy chocolate chip cookies and juice boxes in for the class for snack time and then I read a fun book to the class.  It was nice to be a part of my big boy's school day!

I had lots of fun preparing personalized thematic party favors for both the boys' parties and getting family together to pool our money for one big gift that they will enjoy for years to come.  I finished up Evan's one year journal and now am going to commit to doing my best to keep a great journal of his doings, growing, and updates via my blog.  On the 13th, I took Evan to his one year well check-up and he received a good bill of health.  He is quite a big boy - 90th percentile in height at 30.5 inches, 30th percentile for weight at 21 lbs. 2 oz. and 95th percentile for his head circumference at 18 3/4 inches!!  Such a big guy! 

On the 13th we had Brittney photograph the boys for their 1 year and 4 year portraits.  She, of course, did a GREAT job! 

Evan added another word to his vocabulary "uh-oh"...so cute the way he says it with inflection.  He nows says "Momma", "DaDa", his version of Brady "Bray-ee", "bye bye", "night night", and now "uh-oh".  I love it!!  We had a blast at Brady's birthday party.  We had a fun, cooking birthday party for Brady on the 22nd at Super Suppers.  What a wonderful time!  Each little chef decorated their own chef's hat, wore aprons and made little personal pizzas, decorated yummy strawberry cupcakes (Brady chose strawberry everything), and then birthday boy, Chef Brady, made a yummy, homemade strawberry ice cream.  They had a fantastic time and proved to be quite talented in their cooking skills.  MiMi & PopPop and Poppy traveled from Georgia to enjoy the festivities.

It was very exciting to see Brady's face when we arrived home from his party with the surprise gift in the backyard for he and Evan.  We - along with MiMi & PopPop, Nonnie, Uncle Rich, & Poppy - bought Brady and Evan a great wooden playset for the backyard and had it delivered and assembled while we were at Brady's party.  He was VERY surprised...it was awesome!!I have to be honest now that May is coming to a close in the next week......WOW!!! While we have had a lot of FUN, it is nice to just be laying on my couch at the moment with my feet up and catching up on my journaling while my babies rest. It has been hectic and busy and I am ready for some down time (funny with a one year old and almost four year old to write that) and regular routine stuff. I am excited about summer vacation for Brady...his last day of preschool is Tuesday....and all the fun things that I am looking forward to doing with he and Evan this summer.

Things I want to remember about my sweet Brady:

• he wants to be a fireman when he grows up
• Chris and I were hugging in the kitchen and Brady comes running in saying "got room for one more?" and started hugging on us... LOVE it!!
• he is very into the weather....in the morning when we have the news on in the kitchen and he is eating his cereal, he gets very excited when the weather comes on and watches it intently.  When the 7 day forecast comes on the screen he is looking for which days have the sun graphic on it and which days have rain clouds on them.  After he intently watches, he broadcasts it to Chris and I.  This morning he informed us: "There are 5 clouds in the weather.  One in the West, one in Texas, one up North, one in America, and one uh....somewhere else."  Chris asked him if he was going to be a weatherman when he grows up and he said: "I would love to do that, Daddy."  So we discussed how maybe when he grows up he could be a weatherman on t.v. and he said "how can I do that?  I can't fit inside the t.v."  gotta love it!  we then continued to explain how it works and then he said he would practice downstairs with his "weasel" (his art easel)
• he is wearing flip-flops for the first time....and he LOVES them and feels like quite a big guy in them.  we were running errands a couple of weeks back at Big Lots and he found a Batman pair he wanted so now he is a big guy in flip-flops. 
• he is wearing sunglasses with purpose this spring as well.  Chris bought him a pair of Disney Cars sunglasses at Dollar General the other day and now he has to have them on when he is outside or in the van...looking at him in the mirror with his shades on is awesome. 
• he is obsessed with the word "SERIOUSLY?"  he says it OFTEN and with the right inflection and the right timing.  We discovered he picked it up from his Daddy.
• some of his favorite people right now are the Kims (are next door neighbors and dear friends).  Grayson is 7 months older than Brady and Olivia is 6 months younger than him....a true blessing for Brady and his parents as Chris and I really enjoy Amanda & Stefan's company as well.  We are constantly discussing how Brady is a Kim stalker because he has to know what they are doing and where they are at ALL times and he is ALWAYS asking about them.  "where are the Kims?"  "what are the Kims doing?".  Our favorite is when he referred to them a couple of times as his Kims.  "Mommy, I want to go see my Kims."  How endearing.  Then one day before nap while we were praying I was thanking GOD for friendships and Brady interjected with "yes, GOD, thank you for my Kims."  I guess it is official....they are HIS Kims!!

Some of the latest comments from my sweet Brady:

• every time he sees a cross now - since learning about Easter - he says "look, Mommy, there is the cross where Jesus died."
• we practiced riding his bike in front of our house the other day and he gets real nervous thinking he is going to fall, even though he, of course, has training wheels on.  I was trying to encourage him by telling him how to pedal and I said: "See bud, you are doing it...that is great.  When you know how to pedal and ride you can go wherever you want....you have the freedom to ride, to go...isn't that cool.?"  He said: "Yeah, Mommy, I am going to ride to the beach."  I LOVE it, a man after my own heart!
• after doing my usual tasks around the house with my dear boys...Brady looks at me and says: "Mommy  you are doing a great job.  You are my best Mommy."
• praying before his snack yesterday after school, unprompted, he says: "Thank you Jesus for my day.  Thank you for our blessings.  Thank you for my snack.  Thank you for dying on the cross for me."  PRECIOUS!!!
• Tonight at dinner when Brady was playing with his fork I said: "Brady put your fork down please." with a bit of an annoyed voice (this is something that has to be said OFTEN).  He said: "Mommy I need it.  Stop being grumpy, Mommy" without even skipping a beat or being funny.  Chris and I had to hide our faces to not laugh in front of him.

LOVE this boy!!

Easter Blessings

Easter is amazing to me.  I mean I LOVE Christmas...who doesn't?  How could you not?  The season is joyous, magical, festive, and just plain fun!  The reality of Easter is tough...thinking about what Christ endured - what HIS Father, our Father endured on GOOD Friday for US ME is phenomenal...absolutely phenomenal!    What Christ did on Easter Sunday for is nothing short of miraculous...I mean who else do you know that has risen from the dead?  Me....no one, just Jesus....just the son of GOD, just the Savior of the world, just MY Savior....Really??? "just"?  "just" doesn't cut it...."just" indicates "justice" and where is there justice when you consider all that Christ endured...blameless, HE who was without sin?

This Easter season while we had fun with Brady with all the parties, festivities, crafts, egg hunts, etc. I really wanted to focus on what Easter is....what this day represents.  I had a hard time with the wording...it is not pretty what our LORD suffered through...there is nothing romantic, magical, or mystical about being flogged, beaten, or crucified.  Explaining this to a 3-year-old is tough...you question yourself as to the extent of the details, the depth, how honest....but again, I don't want to romanticize it.  We had a few conversations come up as we discussed the fact that Easter was approaching. 

• Brady - "I don't want Jesus to die"
• Brady - "He came back to life?"  "When I die will I come back to life?"
• Brady - "Why did Jesus have to die?"
• Brady - "Jesus is in heaven?  I thought Jesus was in our hearts?"

Then we had a cool dialogue after Brady came home one day from preschool the week of Easter.  He told me the story of Easter.  "Mommy the bad mans killed Jesus and put a crown of thorns on his head.  This gave him a boo boo and he had circle boo boos on his hands.  They hurt him Mommy and it was very sad then they put him on a cross and he died.  The good guys rolled away the rock in front of the cave and he wasn't there, Mommy.  His friends couldn't find him because he rose from the dead....Jesus rose from the dead!"  I was so impressed by his knowledge and his retelling of what he learned from Mrs. Janey (who was thrilled to hear that he retained it and it made sense) and the toddler picture Bible that she used.  This led to great conversation in which we talked about Jesus, sin, inviting Christ into our hearts - in which he clearly stated "I have invited Jesus into my heart, Mommy" - I am not sure he is quite capable of truly understanding that yet so we will continue to have this open communication, prayer time, Church, and his Bible teaching in school, of course.  That is something only Christ will truly know.  Perhaps my prayer of Brady coming to a saving knowledge of Christ at an early age will come to be...perhaps sooner than I ever imagined. 

It is not enough to say Thank you, Lord, but without any other words - Thank you!!!

I DID IT!!

I ran a half marathon.......13.1 miles!!! It was hard as h#!! but I did it!!! I committed to this back in November and after a long 3 1/2 months or so on Sunday, May 7th I did it....completed a half marathon.  The training did not go as I would have liked....bad weather, no treadmill, injuries, illnesses, breastfeeding, work, nap schedules, husband's work schedule, preschool schedule, not having the schedule match-up with anyone to have a steady partner, etc....but I did it!!!  Did I mention that I did it???  I am still in shock at times!

It was a great location...Seaside, FL....GORGEOUS!!! A pretty flat terrain...perfect time of year for Florida...early March...perfect sponsors....Vera Bradley and Jim 'N Nick's BBQ......the best ladies anyone could ask to do this with and enjoy a weekend at the beach with:

Deana, Kerry, Brittney, Leah, Christine, & Dara.........love these girls!!!  I would have NEVER done this without them!

Sweet Brittney....a collegiate cross-country runner who encouraged me all along and came WAY down to my level to do this with me and, figuratively speaking, "carried me across the finish line" (although not long past mile 10 I thought she might have to literally carry me across).  What a GREAT girl, wonderful cousin, and - more importantly - fabulous friend!!!  Love her!!

Did I mention it was at Seaside, FL....the GORGEOUS beach!

We finally did it!

After 4 years, Chris and I finally went away over night by ourselves and it was MAGICAL!!! We attempted this a couple of times since Brady was born but life kept getting in the way....moves, lay-offs, pregnancies, breast-feeding, money, you name it!  I surprised Chris for Valentine's Day weekend by booking the perfect bed and breakfast...The Forsyth Park Inn in Savannah, GA.  We stayed there once...before we became parents and absolutely loved it and, of course, Savannah is one of the greatest cities in the country!  I arranged for the boys to be with Chris' parents.  I talked to his boss in advance for him to have Friday, February 12th off and I kept it all a secret.  He had no idea.  The Tuesday before I told him that we were heading to his folks on Thursday to spend the night and get the boys settled and then heading out of town for our first overnight trip without our kiddos on Friday morning.  He was definitely surprised!  We had so much fun....yummy food, great atmosphere (it even snowed on Friday night...first time in Savannah in 14 years), beautiful accomodations, relaxation, and PERFECT COMPANY!  I hope and pray it does not take another 4 years to go on a fabulous getaway with my man!

The best Valentine's Day EVER!!!