M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The week of April 7th my dad was going to be in Orlando at a car wash convention, and he asked all of us around the first of the year if we wanted to go. We all said no we had too much going on. Then my mom and I were talking on 3/30 about how my dad asked her to go, but she did not want to go and have nothing to do all day by herself. I told her if I could get off work I would go with her and we could go to Disney World. The next day I told my sister we were going, and then she decided to go with her two girls. So we booked everything on 3/31 a week before we were going to leave - crazy! :) We had an amazing time. The weather was perfect and none of us got a sunburn, which could be from the SPF 50 baby sunscreen we all had on! :)

On Monday, April 7th my mom, Amy, Haylee, Jamison, Bryson and I flew out of Tulsa at 7:25 a.m. into Atlanta, and from Atlanta to Orlando (my dad flew down on Saturday). The babies did so good on the flights - they mostly slept. I was really nervous how they would do, and that people would be cussing us for having screaming babies. But, everyone was great - I think we may have even gotten some special attention because of them! When we arrived in Orlando at 1:00 p.m my dad picked us up (Monday was his only free day at the convention) and we headed to Magic Kingdom! We were there until it closed at 11:00 p.m that night. I will just have to tell you I have not been there in 21 years, but it is still so amazing and so family oriented. Bryson and Jamison got to go on everything with us except three rides. He would get so excited his little arms and legs would get to going and he would get to squealing. It was so much fun to get to watch him take everything in. I know he is only 9 months and will not remember the trip, but trust me I took lots of pictures and will remind him how much fun he had as he gets older! :) The only thing Bryson did not like were the fireworks, he was trying to climb out of my dads arms and jump to me - poor baby! But, there are not words to describe the firework show - it is unlike anything I have ever seen! We did not get back to our Hotel until after midnight that night.

On Tuesday we went to Animal Kingdom all day until they closed at 6:00 p.m. This place is so cool. Me describing it does not even do it justice - the animals and sites...breath taking! It is 100 times better than a zoo! We took our picture with Flick from a Bug's Life, and then headed off to Africa. The park is divided into sections - Africa, Asia, Dino Land, Discovery Island, and maybe one other I am forgetting (we did not make it to the one I am forgetting). We first went on a safari bus tour. We saw so many animals it was amazing. I have pictures below. Then we walked on some trails and saw different animals. We rode a train over to a petting zoo, and the kids were so cute. Bryson got to pet a goat and a donkey. He was so funny he would pet it and then look at me and get so excited. The park has a parade that was really fun to watch and the characters would come up and play with the kids. Of course Bryson was sacked out during the parade. Then on our way out we went to watch the Lion King show - so awesome! There was so much going on during the show Bryson was just so into it. He kept wanting to stand on my legs to watch and dance, and then when one of the characters would come near us he would turn around and grab my neck! :)

Wednesday we went back to Magic Kingdom all day and tried to finish the park - no way. You need like three days at that park and two at each of the others. Bryson did get to mack on Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle. Amy and I got in line with the kids, and I did not want to stand in a separate line by myself for Bryson to meet "manly characters" like Goofy, Donald, and Pluto. So, I decided he was going to be a lady's man and flirt with the princesses. We waited in line for over an hour and almost missed the nightly parade. Bryson was so cute - he kept grabbing the flowers on Belle's dress and was just flirting with the princesses - they were cracking up at him! Haylee was so funny she just knew they were the real princesses from the movie. She called Sleeping Beauty Snow White, and she corrected her, and Haylee said well where is Snow White I want to see her! It was too cute. Amy told her Snow White was busy getting ready for the parade we were about to watch, and then she was satisfied.

Thursday we went shopping at the mall, and then flew home that night. We got back between 10 and 11 p.m. We all had so much fun, and were sad to have to leave so soon! Below are some pictures from our trip. If you want to see all of them you will have to come by!!!

This is the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom it hosts A Bug's Life show.


Crocodiles on our safari ride.

More animals on our bus ride.
Needs no explanation - Cinderella's Castle

Bryson checking out some animals at Animal Kingdom.

Jamison hamming it up.

Mack Daddy with the ladies!!! :) His shirt even said Ladies Man!

Chillin on the ferry boat awaiting Magic Kingdom!

I took these pictures after we got back. Bryson got a ton of stuffed toys, a t-shirt, and of course Mickey Ears! Can't you tell how excited he was.

My favorite picture - he is posing for me!

Here is a video of the "Dreams Come True" Parade that takes place during the day at Magic Kingdom. For some reason this would not let me download the other videos of the firework show. Enjoy!!!

Catchin' Up

I am so sorry I have not posted anything new lately. Things have been crazy busy at work and home. Plus we just got back from a trip (more on that later). I pretty much missed his 8 month b-day and he will be 9 months on Friday (I know he is getting so old and big). We went to a b-day party a couple of weeks ago, and there was a 3 week old baby there. Every one kept saying don't you miss Bryson being this little, or don't you wish you had another one like this? I thought I would miss him being so tiny, or have the new baby syndrome. But honestly, I enjoy him so much right now I would not go back if I could. He is quite the mama's boy, and such a happy baby! He is doing so many new things it amazes me. He is not quite crawling, but somehow the child manages to get from one side of the room to the other, and does not roll over to get there. We took him to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and he weighed 20 lbs 2 oz and was 29 1/2 inches long. He has the longest legs - I don't know where he gets them! :)

Here are some pictures of him playing outside at his cousin Ty's birthday party. He loved the rocket swing and the slide.

Whoa!! Mama get me out of here before I loose my oatmeal! :)
Hold on to me Granny Faye, don't let me fall!
They have a rabbitt and Bryson just got a kick out of it! He kept sticking his fingers in the cage and when the rabbitt would come near he would pull back real quick and start cracking up. Uh, mom the rabbitt is looking at us weird.
Our friends Julia and Steve Soules came over one Friday night. Julia was holding Bryson and reading him a book. He started getting sleepy and the light was in his eyes so he took the book and held it over himself with his hands and feet to try and block out the light. It was the funniest thing.

Peek-a-boo!
He loves this lion rolling thing. It is supposed to help him with crawling, but instead he likes to lay on top of it and roll over head first to the other side. Brian likes to toss it at him and make him laugh.
The video below is the most adorable thing. It combines a lot of things into one. It is really dark so I hope you are able to see it. His grandma Cheryl is teaching him animal sounds. He is dancing to his lion rider. And, I will ask him how big is Bryson and he will hold his arms in the air while I say soo big! So cute!

Happy Easter!!

This was Bryson's first Easter, and I was so excited. Brian and I even went shopping together to get him an outfit. We could not agree on anything at first - everything I picked out was too girly looking. We finally agreed on this cute khaki sailboat outfit. He even got a new pair of dress shoes that were too big and kept falling off, but oh well he looked cute anyway. Here is a picture of him modeling his outfit for me!

This was the first Easter Sunday Brian has been off since we have been married so it was nice for Bryson's first Easter we all got to be together. We went to church Sunday morning at our church in C-ville, and then the rest of the day was non-stop. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Earp's first and had a delicious dinner. And Bryson got some outfits and toys from the Easter Bunny.

Then we went to my Aunt Tracy's to watch the kids hunt Easter eggs. They had not eaten dinner yet, and so we ate again with them - yes I was about to pop but it was too good to turn down! Bryson got some more toys and outfits from my family. He also got a spider-man toddler feeding set.

After we ate and the food settled it was time to hide the eggs - my family prides themselves on hiding the eggs in weird places and in hard to reach places. Bryson had a basketball Easter basket (of course) and he had fun hunting the eggs. His cousins or aunts would find them for him and we would go to pick them up and he would get so excited. At first he would wait for me to pick it up, but then he got the hang of it. As soon as he would pick one up he would sit down and it would go straight to the mouth. He did not quite get that there was more eggs to be hunted - he was satisfied with having one! :) Below are pictures of our hunt.

It is a good thing I have a tall mama that can help me get the eggs out of the trees! :)
This was the most adorable picture of him with his basket. He was too pooped to go on hunting, so he just played with all his eggs! He racked in $8 in quarters - that might buy half a gallon of gas when he starts driving! :)
I don't know why this picture is smaller than the others, but here he is again with his basket.
Here he is loving on his nana at the end of the day! And, no that is not a bruise on his forehead that would be the signature mark of his nana. It drives me crazy - she leaves a big lip print on his forehead and then I have to scrub like crazy to get it to come off! This leaves him with a very red head and very mad at me!
We had a great Easter with delicious food and great family! Thank you to everybody for the food and the gifts for Bryson!

Good Morning To You!!

So, Bryson woke up Friday morning with major bed head. I guess he was sweating so much his hair just went all over the place. We got a major kick out of it. At first Brian did not believe me that I did not put gel in his hair. His cousins Taylor and Drew were there and they could not keep from laughing. Bryson thought better to laugh with them than get laughed at, so he was all giggles! :) I was running late for work that day, but I could not leave without catching a few shots. Brian kept trying to swipe it down, but it would not go. Here are a couple pictures.




Sunday morning I woke up to a handsome smiling face (Bryson's). It was like he was just watching me sleep instead of the other way around. It was so precious. He rolled over and saw his daddy still sound asleep, so he decided to scoot over and lay on his pillow. When he got tired of waiting for his daddy to wake up (or quit snoring) he started smacking him in the head. It was so funny. I was laughing so hard when Brian woke up and was just startled to find little man on his pillow. I managed to get a shot before he woke his daddy up. My two fellas!
Here he is after Brian finally woke up and got out of bed. He was so proud of himself. This picture makes him look like such a big boy.
So word to the wise, if B-man stays the night with you watch out for flying arms!

I've Been Tagged

I also do not usually fill these things out, but I was tagged by the mother load and so I will answer it:

What time did you get up this morning? 6:21, but my alarm was set for 6:30 - I hate waking up right before the alarm. Of course I decided I would lay in bed until 6:35.

Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, but I mostly wear jewelry from New York & Company. I love the big earrings and necklaces. Although I have decided not to wear them around Bryson because he tends to pull on the ol' ears.

What is your favorite TV show? Since the whole frickin writer's strike I have found new shows - hope I can keep up with the old favorites. But, I absolutely could not live without Greys, Army Wives, Desperate Housewives, Brother's and Sister's, Cashmere Mafia, One Tree Hill, A.I., Dancing with the Stars, Snapped (something about wives killing for money...I mean come on). I know I am leaving some favorites out, but you get the picture - I love tv.

What is your middle name? Dawn

What food do you dislike? Seafood, but I love salmon.

What is your favorite song or artist at the moment? I like Mark Schultz (sp), I am not normally a big music person I just listen to whatever is on the radio.

What characteristics do you despise? lying, judgemental people, fake people, people that do not take responsibility for their actions - it is always everybody elses fault, people that are just mean for no reason at all. People that make you feel small and talk down to you, and people that constantly talk about money. UGH!

Favorite item of clothing? Flip flops and yoga pants

If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Disney Land or Hawaii, but I would have to go minus Brian because he won't get on a plane.

What color is your bathroom? Our bathroom is a tan color, Bryson's is white with orange and black accents (Go Pokes), and the guest is black and white.

Favorite brand of clothing? Before pregnancy Limited, now whatever does not make me look like I am still pregnant.

Where would you like to retire? I guess in OK since all my family is here.

Most memorable birthday? My 19th because that is when Brian proposed.

Favorite sport to watch? Cowboy Basketball!

Favorite quote? I can't really think of one off the top of my head, but most of my quotes come from movies or tv. My favorite one right now is...I must tell you, you have bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I wished to never be parted from you from this day forward. - Mr. Darcy (Pride & Prejudice).

Are you a morning or a night person? Night person, but I am not cranky in the morning.

What did you want to be when you were little? Teacher - I quickly learned I do not have the patience.

What are you today? Client Relations Manager

Your favorite flower? Not a big flower person, but lilies are nice and smell great.

What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Easter - Bryson is going to look so cute.

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I never understand this question, why would I want to be a crayon? I guess the color would depend on my mood and today I am feeling pink!

What is your pet peeve? toilet seat left up; when you are talking to someone and you can see them tuning out, and leaving a baby in a dirty diaper (uh, hello do you want to deal with diaper rash)! Oh, also waking up right before the alarm is about to go off.

Favorite soft drink? I don't drink pop

Favorite restaurant? Chili's - my family does not let me pick restaurants anymore.

Favorite day of the year? 2 days - Christmas and B-mans' b-day.

What was your favorite toy as a child? My mimi (blanket I carried everywhere), a little doll I got when I was first born, and Amy and I loved our can-cans after church. We used to run around our house in our slips and can-cans - sometimes we dressed Tyler in them too!

Summer or winter? Summer!

What is under your bed? Probably my dog right now, and the top part to my bed that Brian has never finished putting together. You would think marrying a guy that works for Lowe's would mean he was really handy with fixing things and putting them together...uh no.

What did you do last night? Watched Selection Sunday with Brian and played with Bryson.

Favorite smell? Bryson, he always smells like the person he has been around that day.

What are you afraid of? Lots of silly things and then some big stuff. I am desperately afraid of water - I watched Jaws too many times as a child (yet, I would like to vacation in Hawaii - makes no sense); big dogs (and I have two - again makes no sense); bringing Bryson up in this crazy world and him not getting saved or learning right and wrong; like most others I am scared of losing people I am close to.

How many words did spell check have to correct? 4, and it does not recognize Bryson for some reason.

What/Who inspires you? My mom-that woman has more patience than anyone else I know; Bryson - he makes me want to be a much better person.

Tag at least two people to fill this in with their own answers. Okay all my blogger friends have already filled this out except maybe Jenny. So there you go - Jenny.

Patty Cake, Patty Cake

So, Bryson has learned to patty-cake with his own hands. He has been taking my hands and clapping them together. It was so funny he was sitting down at my mom's house and just kept clapping and talking and my mom and I started the patty-cake song and he just thought he was something! :)

Here is a picture of him and his Nana. Notice the dirty face...we finally found some veggies he likes - squash and sweet potatoes. Figures he would like the sweetest veggie (probably from all those cookies and brownies I ate while I was pregnant and before nursing him)! :)

Here is a video of him performing his version of patty-cake! And, yes it is still light outside and he has his pjs on. That would be because his daddy watched him all day and did not bother changing his clothes.

2nd video...notice the hair. His nana just can't leave it alone! Also you will see him going for our shoes. I swear the boy has a shoe fetish (sp?). He will go straight for the shoes in my closet or on my feet and try to eat them. I guess because they smell so good! :)

Bryson loves American Idol. He will not take a nap if I am watching it. He has now started clapping every time he hears the audience clapping - it cracks me up.

Precious Mommy Moments

I was listening to the radio on my way in to work one day and moms were calling in and sharing their precious mommy moments with listeners. We all have those moments where your child does something so precious you just look at them with tears in your eyes and thank God for blessing your life with something so sweet and innocent. Well, I do not have the courage to call into a radio station...I would be one of those people that fumbles over her words and you end of becoming the butt of some jokes!! :) I do however have some precious mommy moments that occurred last week.

When I get home from work my evening is non-stop until B-man decides to finally give it up and fall asleep. He usually falls asleep around 8:00 - 8:30 and then he wakes up around 10:00 p.m. to eat one last time before bed. So, last week I was on the phone with my friend Jaime and I was sitting on the floor with Bryson watching him play. He has this toy that he loves to play with, and he decided he did not want to sit any more so he reached for me. I picked him up and put him in my lap while I was still sitting on the floor. Then he reached for the toy. It was so cute he wanted to play with the toy while he set in his mama's lap. He kept hitting the buttons on the toy and then looking up at me to see if I saw what a big boy he was. It may seem trivial to some, but it was so cute the way he was sitting in my lap and playing with his toy and then looking up at me to make sure I was paying attention.

Every night I read some books to Bryson, and he loves the pop-up books or the ones with flaps. Usually he likes for me to read him this Safari animal book that has the animals faces covered by their hands or a tree. I was reading the first page and Bryson lifted up the flap at the exact moment I usually do and then he looked at me with this huge grin. I thought no way has this baby caught on to this book, so I went to the next page. He did the same thing he pulled the flap down and looked up at me. It just amazed me. Just when you think they are just babies they do something so grown-up and you realize how smart babies really are and how they catch on to things.

So now every time I grab that book he gets so excited he starts pounding on the cover until I open it, and then he can't wait to peek behind all the flaps.

I could not share these moments without some precious pictures of my little man. I love the picture below. Brian says he looks like Red Skelton (sp). He was 4 months in this picture.

This is him getting all clean before Hunter's birthday party. Check out the do. I cut his little "Donald Trump" hairs as I liked to call them (you know the little baby hairs that are longer than the rest and stick out well over their ears and neck). He may need a real haircut before too long because it is getting really long.