Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!!!!

Okay, so those of you with little kids that watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will get the title! Bryson's birthday party was Saturday, July 19th and it was completely Mickey Mouse Themed. He met Mickey Mouse this year, so I thought this would be a good theme for him, plus he loves his huge Mickey Mouse stuff toy he got at Magic Kingdom! The party turned out great, and thank you to all who came to help us celebrate! Here are some pictures of the party and Bryson playing with some toys he received.

His nana and papa got him this car - crazy because I had one when I was little. The boy is tall, but not quite tall enough to touch the ground in this car! He likes to stand up and honk the horn at the dog - poor Mason! :)

His favorite thing to do with the car is get in and shut the door and then get out and shut the door. He will continue to do this over and over and over again!
He also received this baseball toy box that he loves to sit inside of. I have it in his bedroom right now and he will walk up to it and hit it, and then walk over to me and to show me he wants to play inside the toy box. So, I put him inside with a bunch of balls and stuffed animals and try to get his room cleaned up and organized from all his gifts. If I get out of eye sight from him he starts yelling! :)
Here are pictures from his party! Poor little boy - we had the party at 11:00 because my dad was supposed to be leaving for Louisiana right after the party, but he did not leave until yesterday so we could have had it later in the day. Anyway, 10:00 is usually around the time he takes a morning nap, but with everything going on he just would not lie down for a nap. He did not fall asleep until 3:30. He did pretty good, but you could tell he was tired and a little cranky. He even got his little hand smacked for hitting Jamison when she was helping him open up a present - again I kind of blame his dad for teaching him to hit in the first place! :)

We had two different cakes at the party - one that we bought that was vanilla cake with butter cream icing, and then my mom made a homemade chocolate cake with homemade icing in the shape of Mickey's face and ears! This picture does not do it justice because it was so cute and at the end of the day all that was left was half of each ear!

Bryson's own little cake for him to dive into along with his very own Mickey Mouse plate!

This was taken right before he tried to grab the flame - luckily I blew it out before he could get to it!
And, you can't have a Mickey Mouse party without sporting the cool ears! My little man makes these ears look good! :) Oh, and the icing on his nose and the football icing patches under his eyes was done by his nana not him.
This was Bryson's doing - he looks so tired in these pictures! He had icing everywhere - in his hair, ears, up his nose, in his diaper, and all over the front of him. He was feeding me some of his cake, and I was doing pretty good to stay clean until he wanted to give me kisses and then my entire neck and part of my cheeks were covered in black.
Jamison had her some cake too! Right after Bryson got done taking a bath it was her turn! Check out her faux hauck (sp?) - soooo cute!
We had a great time with eating, jumping in the jupiter jump, opening presents, eating cake, visiting, and swimming! Thank you again to my mom and dad for letting us invade your house for the party. Thanks Kelly for the party supplies! Thank you to everyone who brought food and helped to prepare everything. My niece Taylor was a huge help in putting all the food out! Also, thank you Mom and Cheryl for helping me decorate! Thank you to my wonderful husband and brother-in-laws for putting up all the tables, chairs, and gazebo. Oh, and my brother Tyler told me he read my blog and I have never mentioned him in any of my posts - so Tyler thank you so much for making it to 30 minutes of your only nephew's 1st b-day party! :)

OOK WHO'S 1!!!!!

No, I did not forget the "L" in look - that is how Bryson says look! :) My beautiful baby boy turned into a handsome little man on Friday July 18th! With his new haircut he definitely does not look like a baby anymore. Everybody called him Friday to tell him Happy Birthday, and he would grab the phone and put it up to his ear and smile really big and then immediately hand it back to me. When I sang happy b-day to him that morning he just clapped. It was so cute!

So, to celebrate his big day we decided to let him sleep in (probably more for us than him)! Then we headed off to the aquarium in Jenks. We pulled into the parking lot at 12:38 p.m. and we were pulling out at 1:48 p.m. For those of you who know my husband - you do not mess around. You get in, get what you came for, and get out. He did not hurry us though, but Bryson really did not get into a lot of the exhibits so we did not spend much time at each tank. Plus, it really is not as big as what I thought. We would have liked to have gone to the zoo, but neither one of us really wanted to sweat that bad.

After the aquarium we went and ate at Los Cabos on the Riverwalk - it was sooooo good! We even ordered Bryson his own kiddie meal - quesadillas, rice, and beans. Then we went home for a long nap before we went to Nana's house to decorate for the party!

I bought him this onesie that said "1st Birthday" on it, but only one person noticed it! My poor mom washed that thing three times over the weekend, because I thought I bought this thing and by golly he is going to wear the heck out of this weekend. He wore it Friday, Saturday at his party, and to church on Sunday. He looked so precious.

Here are some pictures from our trip!

Bryson and daddy checking out the turtles.
The turtle area had a little window that little kids could look in to see the turtles under water, and it did not take long for Bryson to find it! We could not get him to leave. When we walked away he just kept pointing back at the turtles.
Bryson and momma checking out the otters and beavers.
Huge shark!

His favorite thing at the Aquarium was the fake pelican near the bathrooms. He kept walking over to it and talking to it - too funny! He also really liked the turtles.

Happy Birthday little man! I love you more than I could ever express - you are my sunshine and the light of my life. And, I am so glad I had you!

1 Year Ago Today...

Like I mentioned in earlier posts it is funny to think back to where I was a year ago today. One year ago from right now (7/17/07 4:30p.m.) I was walking to my car at work and Rudy (my co-worker) was helping to my car, and he had just said "now Brian can take care of you if you go into to labor on your way home right?" I just laughed and thought I really needed to get in my car then. I kid you not - as soon as I set down in my car my water broke. I did not know what to do. I tried calling Brian three times, but he did not answer because he was at work and thought I was just calling to chit chat! I could have killed him. I got lost on my way home from work (hello - I go the same way everyday)! I called my doctor and she told me to drive home and get my stuff and then head to the hospital. I walked in my house almost 45 minutes later (it takes me exactly 20 minutes to get home), and remember my water broke when I was in my car so I am soaking wet. My dog is just following me everywhere - so gross! Brian finally gets his butt home and we head to the hospital with my mom and Amy following. Of course we get caught in the after work traffic while I am having contractions 4 minutes apart. I could not squeeze the "oh crap handle" any harder. We get to the hospital a little after 6:00, and then they make me wait in the waiting area for 20 minutes for a room because they were completely full. How come no one explains that part in your childbirth classes? I finally get into a room during the "Bonus Round" of "Wheel of Fortune." The nurses start asking me all these questions like from a scale from 1-10 what is your pain, uh 4-5. The next question I heard as "on a scale from 1-10 what would you like it to be," "uh can I say 0." She looked at me really funny, and Brian informed me later she had asked me "on a scale from 1-10 what can you handle," and I had said zero. :) I was cracking up...a couple days later! Then the nurse in training asked me if I wanted any drugs or an epidural and I told her that I would like to wait, and she said "you know it is going to hurt." REALLY - I AM NOT AWARE OF THAT! :) Thankfully I got a new nurse at shift change and she was a godsend! She was Amy's nurse when she had Haylee, and my family knew her. I did not know her, so it was not so weird with her seeing my "good girl." The anesthesiologist on call was the one we had met in our childbirth class, and my doctor was on call that night. I was so thankful that God had supplied all these wonderful women to help me through this important time!

Of course, little boys like to do things on their own time and pace and he decided not to arrive until 7/18/07 at 5:09 a.m. But, I thank God every day for this beautiful gift he blessed me with! I also thank him that my water did not break during work or in front of Rudy because I would never be able to live that down! :)

I am taking a vacation day tomorrow to spend with my little man, so I will not be able to post anything about him turning 1 tomorrow. Did I mention he turns 1 tomorrow?!?! But, I promise to post b-day pictures first thing next week!

I have to add a picture of his new do!!!

New Do...

Last night Bryson's Aunt Becki came over and cut his hair. I felt really bad because he had just fallen asleep, so he was cranky when she was cutting it. And then the poor little guy - I had to hold his head really still when she did his neck and ears. She did a great job for him to be moving so much. I think she only missed like two hairs. She was cracking me up because she kept saying she should have worn a mask so he would not know it was her and not like her anymore. I promise Bryson still loves his Aunt Becki. He even went right to her when she was done!

I think I shed a couple of tears, and when he fell asleep I kept rubbing his head - I know I am a sapp! After everyone left Bryson kept rubbing his head and letting out a cry. He looks like such a little man now and not a baby anymore! I have to take a double take when I look at these pictures. I already miss the little curls behind his ears.

Here are some before pictures.

Love those waves!

Here is the whole process - he had to have the baby crunchies in his mouth and he kept throwing these plastic balls to everyone sitting around watching!
Haylee was such a big help in keeping him distracted.
Amy put some of his hair in a ponytail so Becki could cut his first curl for me to keep in his keepsake box.
Bryson's first curl.
And, here are the after pictures - he just looks so grown up. Tissue please! :)

Not sure he liked it after seeing it! :)

Here are a couple of videos of the process - poor Becki was just following his head jerks everywhere!

And, here is proof my husband is a bad influence on our child. You can see where he gets the punching thing from.

Happy 24 + 1 week B-Day Amy!!

So this is a little late, but Happy Birthday Amy. On July 9th Amy J turned the big 2-4, and she tells all of us this is the last birthday she is celebrating. Uh, hello wait until you are told you are now in your late 20s and then you will wish you were 24. :)

Amy is one of those women you hate because she is naturally beautiful, has great hair, and whether she is wearing t-shirt and jeans or all dressed up she always looks good! She can throw her hair up in a clip or ponytail and she looks like someone at a salon fixed it.

She can always make me laugh, and if you do something stupid - well she is always there to laugh at you! :)

She would do anything in the world for you with no questions asked. We have been close since I started high school, and we have remained close since! I love you Ames!!!!

This is Bryson and Jamison's first time to meet!

Amy, Haylee and Jamison - Easter 2008
Magic Kingdom 2008
Animal Kingdom 2008
I am so proud to call you my sister and friend, and Bryson is so blessed you gave him the best gift ever - a best friend (Jamison). I am so glad I have someone else to compare notes with! You are a beautiful young woman!

3 Days!!

My little man will be 1 in three days! I am having mixed emotions about this - on one hand I am loving the stage he is in right now. He is so much fun (I'll explain more later). Then on the other hand a part of me is like he is not a baby any more - I have a toddler! It is really weird to think back to what I was doing a year ago this week - all big and pregnant and walking everywhere trying to get him to hurry and come! When I think back on the first week after his birth - those days could not have passed any slower! I just kept telling myself if I can get past the first week I am good - I am still telling myself that today! I still can't believe I have this beautiful baby that is turning into a handsome little man (I am a little biased)! :)

The past month has been so busy and crazy! Bryson got another ear infection during the week of the 4th of July, but he still enjoyed the fireworks. I was kind of scared he would not like them, but he sat there and clapped and every now and then I would hear him say "boom."

He is talking so much and getting his own little personality. Did I mention he is now a walker?!?! Yes, he started taking steps back and forth to people around 9 1/2 to 10 months old and then when he turned 11 months he got brave and would walk back and forth between furniture. Well, last Monday (7/7) he started taking off and has not stopped since! He has totally got the drunk man walk going on - and he will get his hands out to balance himself. It is so funny.

Here are a couple of pics of him in his new swimsuit - Brian had to remind me not to call it a bathing suit because that is what girls wear! :)
He loves to swim, but does not fight me to get out (I love it)! He just has not been able to go very often because out of the past 6 weeks he has had ear infections for four of them.
His daddy has taught him to punch, which he has been doing for awhile now. But, now he will punch and say "Pow." He will also punch someone when they try to give him kisses, which I have started to get onto him and Brian for. His first word besides dada and mama was "ball," which is more like "ba." We can not go anywhere without him seeing something shaped like a ball and he starts yelling "ba, ba, ba, ba." It could be a dinner roll, an orange, or rolled up socks - it is all ba, ba, ba. He also will hand me a book and say "bu, bu, bu," and climb up in my lap for me to read it to him. On 7/7 we were loading him up in the car and he saw some birds fly off and he pointed at them and say "ook." I said did you say look, and he says ook. Then I said can you say bird? And he concentrates real hard with pursed lips and says "bur." He amazes me.


He is really into pointing at things, so I will ask him where daddy is and he will look at him and point. When I ask him where the dog is he will do this little bark "ar, ar" and then point to Mason. On momma - he will point to me and then lay his head on my arm or chest. It is so precious. He has also discovered his belly. I will ask him where his belly is and he will raise up his shirt and point to his belly. He will also rub his head when you ask him where his hair is.

Saturday night we were picking up the house a little bit, and I was putting his toys in our ottoman and he grabs this tiger from "Kung Fu Panda" and starts hugging it. I walked out to put some towels up and the next thing I know he has crawled inside the ottoman, and is "reading" his little monster book. I was cracking up. When he finally got out of it he decided to use the lid as a slide and climb up it and slide down.

Look how shaggy his hair is. He is actually supposed to be getting it cut tonight. Pray for me because there are way to many firsts happening this week for me to deal with - first b-day, haircut, etc.
Things are going to be so crazy with putting his party together, but I am really looking forward to it. We are taking him to the aquarium in Jenks on his birthday. Brian and I have never been so we are really excited.