Spenser & Stormy GARNER

It's hard to believe it, but my little brother is a MARRIED man! Not only is he married, but now he's practically a pro....he's been married over 2 weeks now. That must make him an expert, right? Seriously though, I cannot describe how excited I am for Spenser and his new WIFE, Stormy. The newest Garner family was married on November 21st. They had a reception that evening in Goodyear (i think thats where it was), and their second reception was here this weekend. Everything seemed to run smoothly, and turned out really nice. The wedding itself was really nice. I was lucky enough to go to a friend's wedding in August, but Spenser and Stormy's wedding is only the 2nd wedding I have been to in the temple since my own, and the first time for Trevor since ours. The ceremony itself is the same for everyone, but the guy marrying them can say a few things before, and he did such a good job. I really feel that he said things that he felt impressed to say, and not just a bunch of stuff he wanted to say. It was nice to get to re-hear those vows you take because you forget about them through all the hustle and bustle of the big day. Spenser and Stormy both seemed nervous....him more than her though...a few tears were shed by them and by some of us there. Overall, just a really really good ceremony!

That night was Stormy's reception. All along we knew that they had a movie themed reception. I could never wrap my head around the whole theme. I thought it was a cute idea and super fun, but I always think weddings should be ELEGANT. How was this supposed to be pretty? But it really was! I was so impressed! It was still fun, but it was so nice! Because you were supposed to feel like you were at the movies they had nachos, popcorn, and candy. They had a dj and a little music video that they made. It was really fun.

This weekend we had the reception here. It stressed my mom out, and she worried a lot, but truthfully I think it turned out GREAT! We were able to bring a lot of the decor from the first reception, but they were definitely not the same. I think they were equally nice. The only thing I think was a little disappointing, was that for all the invitations we sent out, a lot of people didn't make it to our reception. There were 3 different tournaments going on that made a lot of families be out of town, and its a really hard time of year to plan weddings, but we still thought there would be more. My wedding was kinda the same way, but we also didn't get married at the greatest time of year. I always find it surprising who ends up coming, and who doesn't. There are people that I thought would for sure be there that weren't, and then there were those that I never thought would come at all but did. Very interesting.....

I was asked at the first reception to give the newlyweds some advice on their wedding video. I was put on the spot and couldn't think of anything. I did end up telling them congrats, and to come home often, but I couldn't think of one other thing to say! Of course on our way home I thought of plenty things! So I'll give a little now: (this is something I am still working on and learning more and more) when you get married you are really two seperate people from two seperate families. There are things each of you have grown up doing a certain way, whether that be holiday traditions or just the way you load the dish washer... there are bound to be things you do differently. The thing to realize though is that just because your significant other does something different than you it doesn't make it wrong. Learn ways to compromise or figure out what works best for you two.

We love you guys, congrats again....and have fun on your honeymoon cruise this week (I am SO jealous!!!)

Life Before Baby

All the time I hear people say things like, "We don't know what we did with ourselves before (insert baby's name here) came into our lives." I never knew how true that would ring until I had my own kid. Every aspect of our life has been invaded with baby stuff! Even my blog that used to be funny and sarcastic has become more like a shrine of our little Brody. I really don't mind it all. I'm sorta glad that our world revolves around this sweet little guy, but every once in a while I feel like there is not one drop of me left for myself!

What does that mean exactly? Well, it means that my blog used to be fun and people commented, now its all about Brody everytime and no one ever comments....which then (this is so lame of me...)makes me occasionally pull out the pity card and think, "I have no friends anymore!" It also means that everytime we go to the store we get more excited about buying clothes for Brody than just about anything else there is to buy. And lastly-and this is my favorite thing of all-

It means not even going pee in privacy! If the door happens to get shut all the way we get to listen to a very upset little boy that feels extremely left out. He then sticks his face and hand as far under the door as possible. Instead of being annoyed that you can't even go to the bathroom in a little bit of piece and quiet you end up laughing and this face pressed against the floor peering out at you.

When we went to the valley for Spenser's wedding I decided to take a bath (something that NEVER happens, almost always showers), and apparently I didn't close the door all the way because pretty soon the door flings open and here comes the Brodester. Yep he decided to come for a visit. I just figured that rather than climbing out to get him out I'd just let him stay. This was all fine and dandy as Brody reached over the edge and splashed my water a little, but then he decided to be a little more brave. Brody began to hitch his leg over the side and join me. I gently pulled his fully clothed body out before it really got in. Before I knew it, Brody dove head first in the water! My legs caught him so he didn't completely crash, and it could have been worse.

Brody wins again. No privacy for mom, and he ended up getting stripped down and in the bath like he wanted all along.

15 Month Stats

Today was Brody's 15 month wellness check up. He has been 15 months for 2 weeks now, but we barely got in to the doctor today. I love going to these check-ups because I love seeing how much Brody has grown, and also seeing what percentile he falls in for his age group. Unfortunately for us, the doctor's office whole computer system was down. That meant we did find out his stats, but couldn't chart it on the computer and see where he was for his age.
As of today Brody weighs 25.8 lbs. That is up 2 pounds since his last appointment 3 months ago. He has also grown a half an inch, which puts him at exactly 31 inches tall. He seems to be growing well, learning, and changing each day.

Brody is still a pretty pleasant kids. He likes just about everything, but I'll give a short run-down of some of his favorites. He loves: balloons, mom & dad (of course), being outside, dirt, riding tractors with daddy, wearing shoes and anything on his head (weird for a little kid, but that's Brody for you), wearing nothing at all, bathtime, cuddling when tired, lights of any kind, bottles of things that he can organize, dogs, other kids, books, the list goes on.

The list of things Brody strongly dislikes is much smaller: food (that is when he is getting teeth like the current 4 molars), being told no, getting his diaper changed, and getting clothes put on (once there on he's fine, but before that....), and milk in a sippy cup (that only goes in bottles apparently).

Brody can do lots of things now too: run, climb, point out his head, eyes, ears, nose tongue, tummy, and toes when you ask where those things are, he nods yes all the time when he wants something, he says dunt, nop (sometimes dop), gog, and nononono which roughly translates to don't, stop, dog, and no-no (yeah thats right....no nice words like mommy or daddy) he tells my mom's dog to shush, Brody gives squeezes and kisses (our favorite!), and high fives followed by "pounding it" or knuckles as some people say.

I could go on forever about this kid, but thats all for now. Besides, I don't think anyone besides Brody's mommy and daddy really find this stuff remarkable!

Halloween 2009

I cannot believe that October has come and gone! Seriously, where was I? We have been so busy it seems that we didn't get to fully enjoy the month! I love fall, and especially October. Everything we did seemed a little rushed because we put things off to the last minute!

We didn't get Brody's Halloween costume until the week before Halloween. It wasn't that I didn't look its just that I never could find anything that I loved. Trevor is such a scrooge and all "bah-hum-bug" about holidays too that I felt a little discouraged. He didn't want me to spend money on something Brody would only wear one time for a few hours. He also kept telling me that Brody wouldn't remember it anyway. Finally after pouting about it Trevor said it was fine, I could go ahead and get a costume...of course, if you ask him he'll tell you that he never said I couldn't get a costume. Technically, I guess he didn't say NO, he just made me feel not so excited.

Less than a week to go I scoured Walmart, Walgreens, and Kmart in their VERY picked over Halloween section. We found a giraffe costume that was pretty cute. It was a 12 month size, but we thought it looked big enough. There weren't any sizes bigger in any costume unless I went really big. One plus side to waiting so long was that I got the costume on sale for only 9 bucks! Woot-woo.When we finally put Brody in his costume, it was a little more snug than we had hoped for! He couldn't walk very well because the seams were stretching in his feet, croch, and head/face areas. If Brody tried to look up it was so tight that it would make his eyes slant down like he was sad. It was hilarious to see him. There was a little Halloween parade that Brody and I walked in the morning of Halloween. We went by and got Julie and Kaitlyn and went together. The kids were given orange balloons and had a great time. Brody couldn't have been more content as I pushed him in the stroller. It was really pretty fun. After the parade we made a few stops visiting grandparents and great grandparents then came home, stripped off the costume, and resumed normal afternoon tasks.

As evening approached we finally sat down to carve pumpkins (yes, another thing we had put off because we were too busy). Brody sat on top of the table and "helped". He didn't really care for the guts of the pumpkin, but he was curious about how the pumpkin itself tasted. He had a little carving tool that he kept poking at the pieces we cut out and after a while he'd try those pieces out in his mouth. It was lots of fun!

That night we stayed in and passed out candy with Brody in his costume. Overall, a pretty fun Halloween!

The Little Chef

One of Brody's favorite things these days is "helping" and watching me cook. If something is on the stove he stands on his tip toes and begs for me to pick him up. Once he gets his way he'll smile and stare at everything going on. I ask him things like, "Should I stir it, Brody?" and since he doesn't talk he'll just nod his head yes. He gets the biggest kick out of it because he thinks he is helping me so much.

It doesn't matter what is cooking or where it is being cooked, Brody wants to be a part of it. If something goes in the oven Brody will stand at the oven window and press his nose all the way up against it to watch whatever is baking.

Last night we had beans and sopapillas (perfect for this dang cold weather the last few days), and Brody had to watch so I put him on the counter and he watched me roll out the dough for the sopapillas. A few weeks ago we made a cake for my mom's birthday and Brody sat on the counter then too. He watched as each ingredient was put in the bowl and then was lucky enough to have his first experience licking the beaters! He LOVED that part. It doesn't surprise me that he is so interested in what is going on in the kitchen because he loves to be in the middle of everything, but I am surprised that he does so well. When he gets to be on the counter he doesn't try to take a dive off, he'll usually stay just where I put him, and he does really well at not putting his hands into everything.

Maybe, just maybe, we have a future chef on our hands!

Seriously? Snow?

Dear Snow,

I know that each year you are bound to come, but let me tell you a few rules on snow ettiquette. One, there is a time and a place for you. It is not on this day October 28th. October 28th is part of FALL. Not winter. We are supposed to be enjoying the leaves crunching under our feet, carving pumpkins, and getting ready for Halloween.

Two, we are in Arizona. Not Maine, Vermont, Colorado, Utah, or any of those other places known for getting lots of snow. I repeat....we are in Arizona!!! Granted, we do live in an area of Arizona that gets snow, we do NOT get it this early, or at least, not usually.

Third, although some people may enjoy you, you aren't my favorite thing. I prefer the sun and warm days. However, I do realize that inevitably you will come but if I could put in one request....I would love for you to come on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. That's it. That shouldn't be too much to ask. I mean, you can't really have Christmas without snow, but after that I have my snow fix. I'm done. I don't need you anymore. This area does need moisture, but could you send the rain instead. I can deal with rain, I even like rain most of the time, but you snow...you can come as little as you want.

Sincerely,

taytum

Cutest little Girls

Okay, so do you remember when you were young and used to watch all the older kids? You know, the older siblings and their friends, or kids in your church, or even just older relatives? I seriously remember looking up to some of the girls my mom would teach at church and think I wanted to be just like some of them.

Well, last week was homecoming here and when I took Brody to the parade we ended up sitting with my Aunt Gina (said like jenna), she had some of her grandkids with her. At one point Kennedy and Avery ended up sitting by me on some steps and I could hear them talking. When I glanced over at them they were both staring at me. I said, "What are you two saying?" Both of them immediatley said, "nothing!" I tried coaxing them just a teeny bit and finally Avery burst out, "We said that you always look so FANCY!" I just about died laughing. I don't know what made them think I looked fancy. I had my hair pulled up and I did have pearl earings in, but I didn't look special by any means, but for some reason they thought that I did.

I have to say that those two little girls kinda made my day. I think that was quite the compliment!

Official Owners

This fine piece of dirt you are looking at is officially ours! That's right. We are the very proud owners of our very own piece of property!

It may not look like much, but we couldn't be more excited. We now own a little over an acre of property. Its a little more than we wanted, but we got a good price and we have been looking for over 3 years for something.

Trevor has been out on a tractor leveling and digging trenches and all of that hard stuff, while I have just sat back and pretty much watched. Brody LOVES to ride the tractor with his daddy. He also has really liked just getting down right dirty by playing in the loose sand!

Being in the small town that we are, we have people constantly driving by to be nosy and see what exactly we are doing. I guess you'll just have to wait and see!

Biggest Mess EVER!

The messes Brody creates each day just keep getting messier and bigger and much more of a pain to clean up, but the worse one ever just happened this last week.

In our kitchen we have all the cabinets locked with safety lock minus a few drawers and the cabinet under the sink where the trash can is because it can't be locked. Brody is allowed to get in the drawers, and I haven't had to worry about the cabinet, because he just doesn't ever try to get in it.

Well, the other day Brody was playing in the kitchen when I was in the living room and I heard the cabinet open. Sure enough once I walked in there he had the dishwasher soap and the regular liquid soap out. He loves bottles and arranging them, but I don't think its the best idea to play with cleaners so I took them away and told him no-no. Brody the proceeded to throw a little fit. He ran down the hall crying and yelling the whole way. I chose to ignore the tantrum and walked back to the living room. Just as I have sat down and started back to organizing stuff, I hear the crash.....

You see, under the sink not only do we store our trash can, trash bags, and soap, I also take the oil or grease we use when we cook and I pour it into a big V8 can (which is like 52 ounces) and then eventually throw it away.....so the crash I heard wasn't my trash can or soap, it was a full 52 ounce can filled to the top with oil spilling all onto my floor!

Oh my gosh! I cannot even express the panic I felt. Brody was covered head to toe in old cooking vegetable oil! My favorit shirt of his possibly ruined along with one of his cutest pairs of jeans! I just got mad. I kept saying, "Brody, this is a big no-no!"

I stripped Brody of his clothes and began pulling every paper towel left in the roll and throwing it on the floor in the hopes of seeping up some of the oil. Brody is now screaming at this point because he knows I'm pretty upset and I keep sitting him down in the same spot so that he won't track oil everywhere else. I call Trevor and ask him to please come home now and help me. All he can hear is Brody screaming and the panic in my voice.

Why the panic? Well, at the edges of our laminate wood floor we never finished it off under the cabinets. I realize that the yucky oil is not only all over the floor and Brody, but it is now sliding underneath these floorboards onto the old linoleom! I can't start a wash because Brody won't sit still and I can't stick him in the bath because there is WAY too much oil everywhere that I have to try and get up!

Luckily, Trevor was close by and he was able to come home and save the day. Brody is near hysterical and his breath is catching in his throat because he has cried so hard. While I start a bath and the wash Trevor does his best to get all the oil up, and then he has to move the stove and dishwasher so he can pull up the flooring to get the oil underneath. He begins to clorox every single board he pulls up and the floor underneath while I scrub Brody.

Trevor got the harder job for sure, but when Brody got out of the bath he was still cleaning and I had to try and keep that busy 14 month old boy out of the way. We finally stuck him in his high chair with crackers and yogurt melts and while Trevor kept spraying the clorox I began to mop the floor on my hands and knees to get up the now greasy crap that was tracked through the dining room. Once Trevor was done he had got the oil all cleaned and the underneath floor clean, but the grease was still evident so I had to get new mop water and clean that half. The worse part was I had to work my way forwards otherwise I would be in the grease myself, so I would mop a spot, wait for it to dry, and then go forward and mop more.

So one to two hours after the initial spill it was all cleaned, Brody wasn't crying, and my house didn't smell gross like old food. Someday it might be a funny story, but its still a little too fresh in the memory to be funny yet.

Family Pictures

Back in July we were lucky enough to have my cousin Denee take our family pictures. Its the first time that we have gone to have them done. Of course we have had the occasional picture of us taken at various events like Christmas, but never a time set up to have lots of pictures taken.

Denee was kind enough to think of us for pictures when she decided she needed more to launch her new website.I spent days before she was coming trying to find the perfect location. I finally saw this field that Steve Crosby owns and thought it was perfect. I knew that Trevor's parents had a bench that Trevor had built that would be perfect for the photos. The day of the shoot finally came, but it wasn't the most ideal of days....First of all, it was the week of the pioneer day celebrations, so we were busy and I felt like we were having to rush and fit in a time and she was also trying to do our other cousin, Julie's, family as well that day.

Finally, under a gloomy sky that was threatening rain, we went to the field.

As we walked into the field bugs flew up at us like crazy. Luckily, I did have some bug spray, but we didn't get it on us before we each suffered mosquito bites. Denee definitely got the worst of it and Brody came out with nothing.

Bug problem somewhat annoying, but we can deal....right?

Well, then the humidity of the impending rain and the slightly soggy field started to get to us, and I knew that I had sweat just dripping on my neck and along my hairline. So gross. How can she get even one good picture if we are sweating like pigs?

Then out of nowhere come 2 stray dogs! They start rolling all over the tall grasses. They are jumping and playing....that fine and dandy, except that it meant that Brody only wanted to watch them and they just wanted to be part of the picture! Agghhh.

All my romantic notions of this beautiful, lush, green field with a lone bench was diminishing by the second! Denee was so good too. She suffered tons of bites for the sake of her photography and she did it so quick. With a wiggly boy that was watching dogs she just shot one pic after another and I thought that if even one good picture came out of all this, it would be worth all the trouble.

Let me tell you, we ended up with a lot of shots. All of which were pretty dang awesome in my opinion. So if you are ever in need of a photographer in the valley area, you should try my cousin, Denee Ray. She has a new website set up and it tells you all the info you would need to hire her. http://www.deneerayphotography.com/

He's Engaged

It's pretty hard to believe, but my LITTLE brother is getting married!

The date has been set for November 21, 2009.

On that day Spenser Chance Garner and Stormy Carrol will be married for time and all eternity in the Mesa Arizona temple.

For those that haven't met Stormy, or think that it seems fast since Spenser has only been home from his mission for 4 months, it really isn't fast. S&S met at Eastern Arizona College before Spenser even had put papers for his mission in. So truthfully they have known each other for like 3 years. 2 of those years were spent thousands of miles apart.....but you should see the binders of letters that they sent during those two years.

Congrats to S&S on their engagement. Trevor only one sibling married, and I have none so Stormy makes only my second sister-in-law, and I'm really excited to have her a part of our family.

My Tough Mom

Okay, this is going to be long...so there's your warning...but also this is for mostly my own documentation purposes, and for those who have wanted the details on whats been happening with my mom.

Thursday, September 3, 2009:
My mom has a normal day. She goes to work, I even come in and take her check. She plays with Brody for a few minutes, and I leave. That night, as executive secretary to the school superintendent she is required to be at all board meetings, so she attends and doesn't get home until the evening. After a few hours of being home, she comes downstairs to tell my brother, Spenser that she really doesn't feel well, and then goes back to her room. Spenser goes up to check on her, and she is curled in a ball and shaking. It freaks Spenser out and he tells her that he needs to take her to the hospital. My mom is not one for going to the doctor at every little concern, and she definitely isn't one to rush to an emergency room. She tells Spenser that she probably just has bad gas, and he tells her that gas doesn't make you act like that. He calls our step dad at work and he says she needs to go to the hospital. So after much more persuasion and protests of, "I don't have any gas in my car..." Spenser rushes her to the nearest emergency room 30 minutes away. Before going he wakes our other brother up to say he's taking mom just so that if he or our sister wakes up they don't freak that everyone is gone. Mom stays busy the entire way there throwing up what Spenser said, "wasn't normal throw up....looked like egg yokes."

Hours and hours go by.....Finally a diagnosis.....her appendix is leaking. Unfortunately, this hospital cannot perform the surgery, and they have to take her in an ambulance to a different hospital 45 minutes away. John (my step dad) has arrived at this point and sends my brother home while he follows mom to the other hospital.

Friday, September 4, 2009:
Spenser gets home by about 5 a.m. I get a phone call from my mom about 8:30 that morning telling me that she just got out of surgery. I begin to just shake as she tells me all that has happened. Here I was sleeping the night away and my mom was SO sick! I know I couldn't have done anything but worry....but I still wish I would have known.

Me, Trevor, Brody, and Spenser go to the hospital just as they are getting ready to transfer mom from recovery to a regular room. She is exhausted, but okay. I even go get her a salad from Wendy's. She visits and jokes with us, and I show her all the things I brought from home, or bought at Wal-mart for her. Mom shows us the pictures of her insides and tells us that the doctor found a couple of other things that will need to be fixed after she heals from this surgery. She only has one ovary and it is way enlarged, as is her uterus. She is told she will have to undergo a hysterectomy (sp?). Not fun, but Mom is positive. She has been having some issues, so that is like a relief to know what has been going on.

On our way home I get a little emotional. I know people get their appendix out every day, but what if Spenser hadn't convinced her to go to the hospital, what if they hadn't found it soon enough, what if.......the list just goes on....

Saturday, September 5, 2009:
Load up Brody to go visit Mom again. Spenser and his girlfriend, Stormy have beat me there and are just leaving. Mom is SO sick today. Not at all like yesterday. She is extremely sick to her stomach. All the air that gets in when you have surgery is bothering her. She tried to just take oral pain meds so that she could come home today, but its not even scratching the surface of her pain. They continue to give her morphine. She always always worries about things that really don't matter, and today she tells me she is so embarrassed...the nurses must think she is such a wimp, but she really can't explain all the pain. They also start giving her meds for the nausea. This makes her sleepy and she can hardly keep her eyes open.

The worrying really begins. She just isn't someone who gets sick. She bounces back easily, and I have never in my whole life seen her look so bad. She looks half alive to me.

Sunday, September 6, 2009:
Pretty much the same as Saturday. What in the hell is going on? I don't go see her this day, but I am getting so frustrated that she isn't getting better.

Monday, September 7, 2009:
Kade and Taylor (my younger brother and sister) still haven't seen my Mom since Thursday night. I take them and Brody over to visit. She looks awful. The waterworks really turn on and I can't even keep myself composed while I am with her. Taylor tries to talk to Mom a little and Kade just sits silently and stares. We are all getting worried. She hasn't eaten anything since the salad I brought her. She had a blessing from my Aunt Gina's husband, and my Grandpa already, but Spenser arrives and gives her another one. Only making me cry more. We leave and I sob the whole way to the car.

That night I make dinner for the kids and Taylor says, "Do we have to go see mom tomorrow when I go to my dentist appointment?" I misunderstood her and told her that yes we could go see her and she says, "I don't want to. I don't like to see mom like that." Tears well up in her eyes and I know I'm not the only one that is so emotional.

About 2:30 in the morning Mom throws up....its a lot of throw up too. She hasn't eaten so all she throws up is stomach acid....2 whole quarts of it. The nurse just can't believe it. She feels awful for Mom and calls the doctor at home and he tells her to put a tube down Mom's nose to pump out the stomach acid.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009:
I call for the latest update and Mom tells me about the tube. It hurts and burns so bad, but she is grateful for the relief she gets from the nausea.

Taylor goes to her appointment and I go visit Mom. She feels a ton better. What a relief. I take Taylor to see Mom because I knew she would feel better about Mom seeing her look so much better. Things seem to be looking up.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009:
Finally after 3 days of tests, x-rays, katscans, and whatever else they have been doing we get an answer to why Mom hasn't been getting better. They have found a blockage in her bowels. Come to find out, the place where her one ovary has been gone for all these years has quite a bit of scar tissue. That scar tissue has grown over part of her bowels and is pinching it closed like a rubber band. All the air and pressure Mom has had from her surgery has been having a hard time escaping because of this blockage. The doctor just feels sick that he didn't see this when he went in the first time. He schedules a surgery for the next day. He already has a full schedule so she is only told her surgery will be sometime in the afternoon.

Thursday, September 10, 2009:
Its surgery day, part 2....I'm extremely nervous for my mom. I know things will probably go well, but surgery is always scary to me. I worry about something going wrong or them finding something worse. It safe to say that I am a mess. I cry all morning. I load up the Brodester again to go see my Mom before she goes in for surgery.

I walk into the hospital and this old lady at the information desk asks me where I am going. I am surprised at her tone of voice and wonder what the heck is going on. She tells me that as of that very morning no child under 12 is allowed past her desk. I ask her why and she says its because of precautions the hospital is taking for RSV. I am furious. I just drove 45 miles to be told I can't come see my mom. I had been coming for a week with Brody, but now I couldn't. Not only that, but the lady isn't even nice about it. Brody had walked a little bit away, and by the time I walked the short distance to him and picked him up I was sobbing. The lady said something and I told her, "whatever" and she kept talking so mean and I was so emotional that I just put my hand up and told her to "shut-up" as I walked outside.

I understand the precautions they are taking and why, but how stupid that you'll let a baby into the lobby with sick people and tons of germs, but he can't go to my mom's individual room. Luckily, my step-dad was there. He came outside and played with Brody for about 45 minutes while I got to visit with my mom. Had he not been there it would have been a wasted trip.

Mom is doing well. She just wants the surgery done and over with. Her voice is completely shot from the tube down her nose. Her throat and nose hurt so bad. I wish it wasn't so bad for her. She still hasn't eaten anything besides a little jello the night before and ice chips since friday.

At 2:30 she goes in for surgery. Everything goes well. She comes out of recovery and already feels more relief than she has had in days. The doctor thinks that this scar tissue problem might be the actual reason for all the pain that brought her in, not even the appendix. She did need that appendix out, but that probably wasn't the initial problem.

Friday, September 11, 2009:
Trevor drops me off at the hospital and I visit Mom for like 3 hours while he shops around with Brody. While I am there I am so relieved. This is the BEST my Mom has looked so far. She almost seems back to normal. She is craving food, joking, and ready to be home. While I'm there the nurses come in and take out the tube in her nose! Woo-hoo! This is major progress....

Spenser and Stormy come to visit, and bring Kade and Taylor with them. We all laugh and feel better and are SO GLAD that Mom looks good and feels better!

I go home pretty optimistic. Doctors say Mom should come home Sunday.

Saturday, September 12, 2009:
Maybe just maybe if we are lucky my Mom will get to come home today! I am awaiting a phone call. She had to take oral pain meds and wait to see how her basically empty stomach handles them. If she does well, I will get to pick her up!

Can't wait! So glad.

We have had so many phone calls from people concerned. We appreciate all the prayers. We appreciate those that visited my Mom in the hospital. Thanks to those that have brought meals by for the kids. And thanks to those that have sent flowers to mom. I appreciate every ounce of help and prayers sent our way. I know my Mom does as well! Thank you thank you thank you!

Curious Brody

This little one year old feels the world is here for his exploration! I guess exploring your surroundings is how you learn, but it sure makes for a lot of fun and messes at our house.

Brody is constantly pointing at everything, every little noise he hears makes him turn his head immediately, he peers around the corner to see what's going on, and he even bends down to look into the vents in our floor.

The last two summers we have had these annoying little black bugs. They are teeny tiny, but I hate them. They seem to never go away. They usually are found near open windows and my entryway, and even on my dining room floor. I can't figure out how they get in, but I almost think they get in through our cooler.

Well today, after Brody ate lunch I was wheeling his high chair, and passed one of these little bugs on the floor. I figured I'd kill it later because I wanted to give Brody a bath. After the high chair was put away I went to the bathroom to get his soap and towel. When I came out of the bathroom Brody was laying on his belly in the middle of the floor. This isn't normal for Brody. The last time he laid like that on his belly (besides when he rolls over in his sleep) was when he was immobile. Hmmm.....weird, but oh well....I figured he was playing.....

Then it hits me....thats where that bug was! Brody stands up and he's acting like he's eating something!!!! I pry his mouth open, and sure enough that little black bug is on the end of his tongue! AAAGGGHHH! So gross. Normally those bugs jump when you get near him, but somehow Brody managed to lick it up off the floor!

He's such a BOY! Bugs...dirt....and cars...

Whenever he gets caught doing something he just looks up at me with this serious face like, "What mom? I was just curious."

1 Year Older and Wiser too

On Thursday I took Brody to his one year wellness check up. As I drove to the doctors, I thought a lot about this past year and all that Brody has accomplished. It amazes me how much his little brain can soak up. I still believe that each stage of his life is as fun as the last. I keep hearing that one stage or another is better, but I don't think I could pick out one age as my favorite....they all are. As of thursday Brody weighed 23 lbs. and 2 oz. He started out such a big baby, but he is just evening out finally. His weight puts him in the 55% for his age. At birth he was 9 lbs. and 1 oz. Even though Brody has gained 14 pounds in the last year, I think that if he wasn't into EVERYTHING all the time, I think it would be more. His height at birth was in like the 96th percentile, but it has also gone down a little bit. He is currently 30 and 1/2 inches tall putting him in the 72nd percentile. And as for his head....lets just say its kinda big..... Brody still only has 6 teeth, but they seem to be growing in more and more. He walks everywhere, and tries to run, but his legs just can't keep up with him all the time. Crawling is rarely and option.

Still no talking from Brody. He knows exactly what we are saying, and he knows exactly what he wants, but he chooses not to talk. If we ask him where daddy is, or where mommy is, or even where is the light? He will point exactly to it. He knows when we say let's go bye-bye to head to the door because we are leaving. If we ask where his shoes are, he'll go get them. And probably most funny of all is when music comes on and we tell him to dancin dance, he'll bend his legs and move his arms.

Now that Brody is one, we have switched him to more table foods. He struggles a little with some textures, but he loves most everything. So far he really has liked cheese, fruit, hot dogs, spaghetti oh's, macaroni and cheese, and eggs. He doesn't hate, but tolerates: oatmeal, peas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and whole grain waffles.

Brody's current favorite things include: his stuffed turtle (as always...), food, the broom, other people but especially kids, dogs, mom, dad, wearing shoes, being read to, and getting into every single drawer that isn't kid proofed and pulling out the entire contents of that drawer.

Brody's current dislikes include: the dark, the thunder, sudden movements (he freaks for some reason), getting his diaper changed, not getting what he wants, being told no, sleeping in the car, and most definitely not shots.

He has just been so fun. I still cannot believe that my baby is one! It is so weird to think about how little he was last year in comparison to this year. It has just gone so fast.

Brody's First Birthday

It is hard to believe that a year ago yesterday at 3:05 in the afternoon the best thing to happen to Trevor and I entered into the world. That's right....yesterday our little Brody Jay Waite turned one year old!
The day was pretty relaxed. We put up some streamers and a birthday sign, and got ready for Brody's birthday party. We really didn't want to do anything too big, but you only turn one once, and a lot of our family is here and we knew they wanted to see the birthday boy. We ended up with a pretty good turn out. Trevor's parents, 2 of his brothers, my mom, and my 3 siblings all showed up for some hamburgers, hot dogs, and cake. I attempted to make Brody's cake, and I guess it turned out okay....but it wasn't exactly how I wanted it, so after putting the finishing touches on it, I had a little meltdown because I thought it was crappy. It's pretty lame to cry about a one year old's cake (that he isn't even going to remember), but I did.

We weren't sure what we wanted to do about the cake and Brody. I thought about getting a seperate one for him to dive into, and then I thought we would just skip it altogether, but ultimately we just cut a slice for Brody and let him dive into it with everyone watching. I had kinda wanted to do the cake with just Trevor, Brody, and I...but I felt like everyone wanted to see it, so we stripped off his shirt and went ahead and......BRODY LOVED IT!

Up until yesterday, we really haven't fed Brody very much table food, and definitely not much sweet stuff. He grabbed that piece of cake and began sucking the green icing all off. He was super excited. He would smile and kick his legs....it was messy but so fun.

I think Trevor and I would both agree that this first year of Brody's life has gone by WAY TOO FAST!