What Boys Are Made Of...

Random Fun

2011-02-01T20:34:00.004-05:00

This year was our last year at the Christmas tree farm...the real tree seems to be making us sick and we keep having issues with them falling over, so after Christmas we got an artificial tree for next year...it makes me sad...we love going to pick out our real tree.

Mountaineer gal.

Riding the horses at the Black Walnut Festival in Spencer.

Pappy spotting us in the parade crowd. Pappy and other Vietnam Vets. were the Grand Marshals of the parade. The 2010 Black Walnut Festival brought the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall...it was really nice.

Boo Boo and Bray

Painting. I have tried to chalk up Braylon's orneriness to chance and the fact that he is a boy, but as you can see from this picture L is just as rotten...could it have anything to do with their parents...surely not.

Riding a real pony at PaPaw's.

More Halloween, The Adults

2011-02-01T20:27:00.003-05:00

April and Miss L

Shaggy (Mark), Scooby Doo (Lydia), and Daphne (Paula)

They were so cute!

Andy scared several children.

Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall at Jeff and Angie's
"Infamous Dead Couples" Halloween party.

Halloween 2010

2011-02-01T20:12:00.005-05:00

It has been forever and I have loads of pictures since my last post. But in an attempt to get back into this without feeling overwhelmed, I am just going to hit the high spots until I get caught up.

Braylon, a ninja and Lydia (Scooby Doo)

Braylon and Miss L carving their pumpkins.

Braylon got into my Anna Nicole Smith lipstick.

This cracks me up!

L liked the pumpkins, but let her brother handle all the guts.

Our pretty, pink piggy.

Hilarious!

Campfire Fun!

2010-09-25T22:51:00.004-04:00

We only got one campfire cookout in at MaMaw and PaPaw's this summer. But Braylon made the best of it. He was in a silly mood, actually we all were. It was really dark when all of these pictures were taken so you didn't know what you were getting until you took the picture and then viewed it on the camera....

They turned out pretty hilarious!

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-10T16:48:00.004-04:00

Braylon was so excited to be starting Kindergarten.

Waiting for the bus.

As excited as he was, when the bus pulled in he got real scared. He cried and clung to my leg and even started shaking. But with a little coaxing, he got on. What broke my heart, was when he got to the top step and turned around to wave. With tears running down his cheeks he let out one last Maaaaammmma! I didn't want to let him see me cry so I held it together until the bus doors shut, then I cried. And then I thought about him all day and cried some more. But when he got off the bus at the end of the day, he was all smiles. He loves it!

Mommy/Braylon Days, Day One.

2010-09-10T09:05:00.004-04:00

The first day Braylon and I spent together before he started Kindergarten, we took Lando to the dog park and went on a scavenger hunt. The night before, Bray and I made a list of things he wanted to find on his scavenger hunt, it was as follows:

Bear fur
Deer fur
Deer antlers
Snake skin
A dead chipmunk

While there Braylon said, "you know what would be cool?...if we found a squirrelmunk...with the body of a squirrel and the face of a chipmunk!" We didn't find any of these things so we took Lando back home, met April for lunch, and then went to the park.

After the park we went to the open house at Bray's school. Notice the one glove Bray is wearing below...he insisted on wearing it in to meet his teachers. I was wearing a ring that Braylon made for me out of curling ribbon. We looked fabulous...I am sure that his teachers could not wait for their school year with us to begin!

Since we had no luck at the park, we went on a hike/scavenger hunt on the trail out at Prickett's Fort.

We didn't find the items Bray wanted, but we did find a few treasures.

We made it back to the car just as it started to rain. We hung out in the back and played with some of Bray's toy animals. He thought it was so fun and wants to play in the back of the Honda all the time now...even when we are at home.

I love this kid more than I can put into words! He is making me so proud at Kindergarten. I knew he would do fine, but I didn't expect him to love it as much as he does! He is always so happy about his day when he gets home and not once (so far) has he complained in the mornings about having to go. And even more surprising, from what I have been told, his behavior has been wonderful, although he is apparently a bit of a social butterfly!

Mommy/Braylon Days!

2010-09-10T08:41:00.005-04:00

I took the two days before Kindergarten off to spend with my little man. We had a blast! These pictures are from day two. We also spent almost 3 hours at the indoor playground at the Morgantown Mall...Braylon loves that place. I took a book and just let him play as long as he wanted to. After three hours he wasn't finished, but we had to get home to pick up Spider Pig!

At the Geological Museum in Morgantown.

Fossilized tree stump found in a WV coal mine.

Dinosaur skeleton found by a WV crew in North Dakota.

Bray took this pic of me...he is a pretty good photographer.

Busy, Busy Bee-killer!

2010-07-14T16:56:00.002-04:00

Braylon has a new hobby. He is in love with killing little bumble bees. He spent over an hour in the yard this evening finding and killing these things.

A few comments:

1. I hate bees, but about 22 dead bees into it, as Braylon continued to stalk the clover blossoms, I kind of started to feel sorry for them.

2. I was always terrified of bees (actually I still am)...In true Braylon fashion he is not at all scared of them.

3. So far this Summer Bray has been bee stung 4 times- twice at school, playing on the playground and twice while on his bee-killing adventures....and he still is not one bit afraid of them.

It's A Boy Thing!

2010-07-14T16:48:00.004-04:00

It is no secret that my son is a hoarder. He has a "treasure" drawer in his night stand where he stores his valuables such as balls of lint, popsicle sticks, rocks, feathers, gum wrappers, price tags, etc. But my most recent discovery (pictured above) topped them all. At some point-I have no clue when-Braylon sneaked into the kitchen, got himself a zip-lock bag, returned to the yard and filled it with deer poop, then proceeded to store the poop next to his bed for who knows how long! How do you respond to such a thing?

Father's Day 2010

2010-07-01T23:30:00.008-04:00

We had a great Father's Day weekend with both of our fathers, but I didn't get any pictures. Once we returned home, I did get to snag a few pictures of Braylon and his Daddy in the pool that evening. Braylon is so lucky-he has a wonderful daddy! Braylon's daddy has been away at a conference for a week. Bray has been missing him like crazy. On Monday, the first day he was away, Braylon told me on the way home from school: "Well, I told everyone that my daddy is going to be gone for a long time...longer than 20 days." Five days feels like 20 when you are five years old and you miss your daddy terribly!

5th Birthday

2010-06-06T13:27:00.002-04:00

We had his preschool graduation that evening so we didn't have much time. I opted for one of my favorite birthday traditions when I was growing up....pizza with a candle! We took him to Valley Worlds of Fun the day before and he had a blast, but I did not remember to take my camera.

Preschool Graduation, May 26, 2010

2010-06-06T13:02:00.003-04:00

The Graduate!

This was not just the part where he held up his sign (for that second he held it high above his head), this is how he held it throughout the performance, covering up his shy little face.

Again during the next song.

Now he did play the guitar where he was supposed to, but as soon as that part was over he even put the guitar in front of his face.

Getting his "diploma". Even though he did hide his face for much of the performance, he knew all the words and signs for the songs and did a wonderful job. We are so proud of our little graduate!

New Do!

2010-06-06T11:30:00.002-04:00

What makes you go from this hair...

To this hair?

Answer:

This hair!

Five For Friday

2010-06-04T01:46:00.004-04:00

1. I can not believe that my little man is 5 years old!

2. He went in for his yearly physical on Tuesday and got his "Kindergarten shots"...no more vaccinations until his teens!

3. He is 41 pounds and almost 44 inches tall (that is just 4 inches shy of 4 feet!).

4. This past year he has become a thief, pocketing small toys from preschool and screws/washers from hardware stores...just yesterday he had to return an item to a local hardware store and apologize for stealing.

5. This past year he has also become so smart and creative and independent! He has become more outgoing/less shy. And somehow he has made me love him even more!

BOY OH BOY!

2010-05-23T11:37:00.000-04:00

Let the Torture Begin...

2010-05-23T11:28:00.002-04:00

Meet Frogger McFrogamus.

He is the poor little guy that Braylon heard and then caught by our pool last night. Bray woke at 7:00 this morning, immediately put on clothes and begged, "can I go outside and play with my frog?" Besides a short break for breakfast, he has played with this frog all day.

Unique

2010-05-07T06:46:00.004-04:00

...thats one way to describe my boy!

Wednesday evening before bed Braylon wanted a snack. So we went into the kitchen on the hunt for something healthy. After I pointed out several options, Braylon put his hand to his chin, thought, then said, "no, I want something unique." What he settled on: Brie and crackers!

Things That Make Me Go: hee hee hee

2010-05-05T08:36:00.006-04:00

(Braylon showing me his seaweed at the beach. He collected more seaweed than seashells!)

When Braylon takes a bath, it is a process. First we have to pick out which plastic toy animals are going to join him in the tub. Then he plays. After about 15-20 minutes, I come in to wash him up. Usually we start with his face and body then wash his hair because that is his least favorite thing and he usually wants to put it off till last. The other night when I came in he said: "Lets wash my hair first. Lets get out of the swing of things for tonight, then tomorrow we'll get back in the swing of things." He cracks me up!

I have been meaning to post on here forever about some words that Braylon uses often, but just doesn't pronounce just right. I can only think of a couple right now, but if I come up with more later, I will add them...because I know there are more than just these two:

Igrupt/Igrupting= Interrupt/Interrupting

ex.: "Dad quit igrupting me, I was talking to Mom first!"

Meatiac= Maniac

ex.: "Did you see that meatiac on that motorcycle?"

He is so hilarious. I wish I could think of some more.

Silly Boy/Haircut

2010-05-03T12:49:00.004-04:00

Finally got that hair trimmed out of his eyes...had to bribe him with strawberries and cream. He looked so handsome I had to take a picture, then he decided to be silly.

I love this kid!

Smiling Mornings!

2010-05-03T12:34:00.003-04:00

I used to think no baby could be as happy in the mornings as Braylon was...until the SpiderPig came along. Every morning when I open the door to her room, her head pops up and she gives me the kind of smile that just melts my heart!

Most mornings she is content to talk and coo and play for a little while before she feels the need to call out "Mama" and/or start getting a little fussy.

If Braylon wakes up, he is not content for her to stay in her room to play for awhile...he thinks I should get her out immediately...if I don't, he joins her in her crib! And this picture shows the very smile I am blessed to see every morning...I hope it is for the rest of our lives.

Play Date with Paige

2010-05-03T12:29:00.003-04:00

The 'Rads came over Saturday evening for a play date. Although Braylon was tired and a little cranky, we had a wonderful evening. These two just crack me up!

Can't wait until this little gal (isn't she so sweet) and our SpiderPig get big enough to play together!

Grandparent's Tea

2010-05-03T12:21:00.003-04:00

Braylon is blessed to have wonderful grandparents who traveled two hours to come for Grandparent's Tea at his preschool on April 30th.

After tea Braylon wanted to take them to the Poky Dot to eat and then we went to Pappy's favorite place, Dairy Cream Corner, for dessert.

Later that night Braylon gave us a rockin' performance, which I am sure made their two hour drive all worth the while.

Bubble Bath

2010-05-03T12:12:00.002-04:00

Braylon gets to enjoy my jacuzzi tub way more than I do!

We let him have a few bubbles!

If you look up Ragamuffin in the dictionary...

2010-05-03T09:30:00.003-04:00

these are the pictures you would see.

I call Braylon a Ragamuffin or tell him he is "looking a little ragamuffin", quite often. I have realized that some of my "northern" friends are not familiar with this term, so I thought I would post this illustrative definition.

A Visit From Pappy

2010-05-03T09:16:00.005-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, Pappy came up to stay with us before his appointment at the VA. He played outside with Braylon for a long time. After coming in to rest for about 3 seconds, Braylon was ready to go back out. It was getting cool and dark. Pappy told him that he couldn't go back out because he didn't have any warm clothes. Braylon found him a scarf and a hat. When Pappy complained that he still couldn't go out because his ears would get cold, Braylon found a solution for that issue as well.

Easter 2010

2010-05-03T08:51:00.002-04:00

My babies!

Family photo during the egg hunt at MaMaw Helen's.

What a group. I hate that JoLee and Caden were not in it, but I had to take this before they arrived because these kids were all ready to get changed out of their fancy clothes.

The egg hunt at church.

Kindergarten Registration

2010-05-03T08:22:00.002-04:00

I can not believe my little man is going to be starting Kindergarten this fall.

Earth Day

2010-04-28T21:54:00.003-04:00

On the way home from school on Earth Day my little environmentalist said, "Mom, when we get home we need to put on some rubber gloves and get a trash bag and walk around our neighborhood and pick up trash to help the Earth." Although I was tired and had a million other things to do, how do you say no to that? So we put SpiderPig in her stroller, put WalMart bags on our hands (we had no rubber gloves), and walked around our neighborhood picking up trash....it was nice...I am glad he suggested it.

Of course, my son who is having more and more of his outgoing days and less and less shy days saw one of our neighbors outside and struck up a conversation. He proceeded to tell her that we had to go around and pick up all of the trash "in our community" because "our neighbors just throw their trash out everywhere and litter and that is not good for the Earth." Luckily, this particular neighbor found him humorous and laughed and said, "that is very nice of you."

Wordless Wednesday.

2010-04-28T20:44:00.002-04:00

Well, maybe one....ewwwwww!

Sluggy Sunday

2010-04-25T13:19:00.003-04:00

Braylon has been finding slugs in the yard today. He is keeping them in a jar. So far he has found three. Their names:

Mr. Slugerton,

Slugworth,

and Apple Pie

Bowling with the Hattens

2010-04-25T09:49:00.005-04:00

Braylon LOVES...

2010-04-25T09:39:00.001-04:00

being a big brother!

Little Old Men Are So Cute

2010-04-17T02:03:00.005-04:00

I think Braylon has been spending a little too much time around someone pretty old, like his PaPaw David?, possibly?.... A few weeks ago when he was talking about wanting to go visit John and Stephanie's new baby, Braylon asked: "Well, when are we going to meet that youngster?" Then Thursday when we were home sick together he told me: "Lets go color for a spell." He has quite the vocabulary, but sometimes I just don't know how he comes up with some of this stuff!

A Story From This Guy:

2010-04-17T01:52:00.002-04:00

Early Thursday morning I woke and could not get back to sleep, so I came out to the living room and eventually laid back down on the couch. Around 6AM I heard Braylon coming down the hallway and I sat up. Then we had the following conversation:

Me: Hey Buddy. How did you know I was out here?

Bray: I looked in your room and no Mama, so I thought you were dead, so I thought I would come out here and watch some TV, then I saw your head pop up.

Me: Oh

A Visit To Lydia's House...

2010-04-16T00:18:00.003-04:00

...is always lots of fun!

There is Nothing Like Christmas Morning!

2010-04-16T00:13:00.001-04:00

Kitten Mittens!

2010-04-02T16:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks Angie!

Christmas with Drew's side of the family.

2010-03-21T08:28:00.002-04:00

Braylon and his mound of presents from Boo Boo and Pappy.

L and her stack.

I love these pictures!

So cute!

Braylon, L, and Gramps on Christmas Eve evening.

(Braylon's cousins got a new puppy and he was in love!)

Christmas with My Side of the Family

2010-03-21T08:03:00.004-04:00

Christmas with MaMaw Helen.

MaMaw and her great-grandkids.

(Missing Noah and Aryka for this one.)

JoLee loves group pictures, can't you tell.

L, holding onto MaMaw's hand.

And passed out on PaPaw's shoulder.

MaMaw and PaPaw and their grandkids and great-grandkids.

Almost the whole Hanshaw crew...we were missing and are still missing our Noah!

Mom and Dad got Braylon a guitar.

and this...too funny!

Bray and JoLee at Mom and Dad's annual Anniversary breakfast.

Christmas with the Godamudder!

2010-03-14T21:14:00.002-04:00

Because she is the coolest Godmother ever, April adopted a Snow Leopard in Braylon's name for him for Christmas...the certificate also came with a stuffed animal snow leopard....

Braylon loved it.

And of course they had to play leopards immediately! April was the mama leopard, they had a few babies, and Bray was the daddy leopard. Here is the daddy with their prey...a snowman...because doesn't everyone know that snow leopard's favorite thing to eat is snow men? The funniest part was when Braylon (who watches too much discovery channel/animal planet) made April lay down on her side and let the babies nurse!

Goofin' Around

2010-03-14T20:57:00.002-04:00

Braylon loves to take pictures...rarely of himself, but I did come across these two treasures!

Sitting on Santa's lap...poor little Santa!

The first big snow of the year, we built an awesome snow fort!

Christmas with Friends

2010-03-10T21:43:00.002-05:00

Braylon and Paige

Braylon and Lydia

Don't ask me why he had to wear the mask...the same one that he refuses to wear outside in the cold, snowy weather.

He had to have a mo-hawk for school that morning.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2010-03-10T21:18:00.002-05:00

Braylon likes snowmen, but he doesn't care too much about building them. He likes to stand back and give his mama orders. This time he wanted a 5 tier snowman. He helped for about 1/3 of the first snowball.

One of Braylon's favorite things is to throw snowballs at his mama.

But Bray's very favorite thing to do when it snows is to eat it!

He is just so darn cute!

And he makes a pretty good snow angel.

The Perfect Christmas Tree 2009

2010-03-10T21:05:00.005-05:00

I am finally getting a moment to post some pictures. I can't believe it has been three months since I have posted anything!

Here are some pictures from our Christmas tree hunt (December 2009).

Braylon wanted this tiny little tree and got really upset when we did not agree to cut it down and take it home.

Here is the crew with the tree we did bring home.

Look at that face!

And then this one...again with his "favorite...most perfect tree". It was so hard for him to leave it behind.

Things Have Been Interesting...

2009-12-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

around here.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-10T06:18:00.001-05:00

What I'm Thankful For

2009-12-06T08:09:00.001-05:00

A couple of the many blessings in my life.

I hope to get myself in gear and post some more Thanksgiving pictures ( before Christmas!)

Giggles

2009-11-15T09:36:00.003-05:00

The last time we were at Mom and Dad's house, Braylon called for me and said "Bring your camera, you've got to get a picture of this!" And this is what I found.

And if a picture with a stuffed and mounted turkey isn't enough, here is one with a dead squirrel as well. Can I mention that Mom loves that D.J. did not take his mounted animals when he moved out.

Dad, Bray, and my brother, D.J.. They went on a coon chase the last time we were in Poe.

Our friend Angie sent this to Braylon for Halloween...it was a sucker with the mouth on the outside...Bray thought it was fabulous!

I have no idea!

Just one example of the things I find from my creative little genius.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-07T20:10:00.002-05:00

We had some visitors, Merlin, Warts, and Mad Madame Mim from The Sword and the Stone.

As usual, Lydia was adorable.

We trick or treated our house a couple of times.

Spiderman without the mask.

Bray, being Bray.

Here is the complete get up.

Spiderman and his web. As you can tell, Spiderman is pretty ripped, his web is not.

Sour Patch Kid

2009-11-04T12:41:00.002-05:00

First he's sour, then he's sweet. (I can't stand those commercials by the way.)

A couple of cute little stories, so I'll remember:

The other day we were eating dinner and Andrew said something such as "Eat Braylon, pretend that you are a squirrel." Braylon looked at Drew and replied "Are you into squirrels?" It was so hilarious.

Then later that evening when he was brushing his teeth, he paused, looked at me in the mirror and said "Mom, you're so lovely." It was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard!

He is such a squirt!

Pals

2009-11-04T12:37:00.002-05:00

Braylon and Lydia have finally been able to spend a little time with one another lately. Their parents busy schedules has made it difficult for them to fit in very many play dates since the summer. As soon as I download them to the computer, I'll post a few more of them together from Trick or Treat.

Every Day is Halloween Around Here

2009-11-04T12:18:00.005-05:00

For about the last month before Halloween arrived, Braylon has been very interested in pretend play...and loves to dress up to fit the part.

An "Eagle-Owl," so he named himself. He sticks feathers in his jersey and flies around capturing and eating his poor stuffed animal "prey".

Though I thought Bray and PaPaw were Batman and Robin, Braylon reported that they were "actually just a couple of bad-guy troopers".

I guess he is training to be the next Naked Cowboy in NYC when he grows up.

And lately, he has loved playing Santa. He dresses up, sits on our laps and asks if we have been good and what we want for Christmas...although he insists that our answers be toys that he has in his room...then we have to pretend to be asleep and he delivers them to us.

More Halloween

2009-10-31T10:11:00.006-04:00

There's nothing like pumpkin guts to say Halloween!

Our finished Jack!

Spider Man...check out that Spider Man crouch!

The Spider...the hat that came with the costume would not stay on her head and she was not a big fan of the spider headband.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T08:42:00.002-04:00

Look what we woke up to this morning!

We took these last night.

Our Boo!

Mothers of Boys

2009-10-08T12:21:00.005-04:00

Mothers of boys get to open their silverware drawer and find a stack of tags that have been cut off of their son's underwear (and collected by said son) placed nicely on their forks....Well, maybe not all mothers...only mothers of quirky little boys like mine. I love you Braylon and all of your kooky quirks!

Braylon and I are home sick today...he woke with "the gunk" and a high fever.

Old Car Blues

2009-10-08T12:04:00.004-04:00

I had no idea that Braylon had any feelings about/attachment to my Nissan Altima, until this occurred:

We decided to trade my car in before 1. Winter arrives and I can't get around and 2. It hit 100,000 miles. We took the new car for a test drive and spent about an hour in the dealership working out the deal with no clue from Braylon that he would be at all upset.

But when we went out to the Altima to clean out all of our stuff, Braylon's eyes filled up with tears and he asked, "Www, wwwh, what are you doing?" Then yelled "I don't waaaaant to leave our car behind!" and then the dam broke and he sobbed for a good 15 minutes. He accepted the Frisbee the frightened salesman gave him, but did not let up. He accepted the balloon the now horrified salesman quickly inflated, but still the tears kept coming.

He insisted on getting a picture with the car before we left it, but as you can see, even that did not make him feel any better. He fell asleep on the way home with tear streaks down his cheeks.

Drew and I love the new ride. Bray has accepted it.

That's My Baby!

2009-10-05T23:31:00.004-04:00

Can you get any cuter than this?

Paige and Braylon love on each other so much.

But I have to say, Paige was a little more into Braylon than he was into her this last visit....I have a feeling the tables are going to turn some day.

Ahhhh....aren't we cute!

Braylon has been so into playing football lately. He plays with me, he plays with Drew, he plays with MaMaw and PaPaw and with Boo Boo and Papaw, he plays with Lando, he plays by himself, he even pretends to play when he doesn't even have a ball. For Christmas he has asked for a football helmet of every NFL and college team he knows. He has been saying that when he goes to college he is going to play for the Mountaineers, then when he goes Pro, he is going to play for the Cincinnati Bengals. I tell him silly, Mama things like "I will cheer for you: 'That's my Baby'!" and that "if you get hurt I will run onto the field and kiss your boo boos." He already laughs, kind of rolls his eyes and says no to that second one and tells me: "No mom, the coach won't allow any mommies on the field." But he also tells me that he will fly me out to watch all his games...that he even plans to build me my own airplane. We have also been talking about him building me a house next door to him in whatever city he lives in...I am trying to get him to agree to it while he is still too little to understand the full ramifications of such a promise.

The Guys

2009-10-05T23:01:00.005-04:00

We have been enjoying another season of Mountaineer football! Check out this group of guys I got to sit with at the game! Braylon's Uncle Louie (a.k.a George III) came in for the Colorado game a couple of weeks ago.

Braylon and Papaw at the game. Braylon has a little popcorn kernel on his tongue from the yummy kettle corn Bray and Boo Boo have Papaw to buy for him.

Boo Boo gave up her ticket and let me go to the game with the guys but here is a picture of her and Braylon after the game.

Then these are from Papaw's Birthday early in September.

Drew jumped on Papaw to give him a crazy Birthday hug and Braylon had to join in on the mischief!

Heee Heee Heee

2009-10-04T03:03:00.002-04:00

He'll hate me when he is older, but isn't this hilarious!

Poor little guy. This was the first time he fell asleep in the car since moving up to his big boy booster-only car seat. He has done much better the last couple of trips.

Note: I should not laugh, because I sleep with my mouth wide open just like this.

Oh No! The Big 5-0!

2009-10-04T01:53:00.005-04:00

Mom turned 50 in August and we had her a surprise party on 8/22/09. It was a lot of fun!

We were pretty mean to her, and she loved every minute of it!

Bray, enjoying his cake and ice cream! It is kind of hard to tell in the picture, but if you look closely you can see that Braylon, who was supposedly being monitored by my brother, was eating his ice cream in a way only my Bray would dream up. He had brought some plastic bugs to play with prior to the party while I decorated...Well, at cake time, while I was getting pictures, I found him dipping a plastic bug (which had been who knows where) into his melting ice cream then sticking it in his mouth and sucking the ice cream off. He is so rotten, but you gotta love the chocolate ice cream face!

Boys Will Be Boys

2009-09-28T00:20:00.002-04:00

See this toad.

He lives by the steps at Mom and Dad's house.

He has developed this big belly by eating the bugs that come into the porch light at night.

Braylon loves him! He catches him every time we visit since he discovered him mid-summer.

I think it's pretty gross, but I am a girl.

This is what happens when Braylon gets a ball of yarn and him Mama says, "put that back!" But his MaMaw says, "he can play with it."

Mom and Dad have a closet between their living room and kitchen. Bray had this yarn wrapped around himself and this wall about a million times. When he was done, PaPaw had to cut him out of the tangle!

More Summer Fun

2009-09-28T00:09:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to do was to play in this creek at PaPaw Gene and MaMaw Helen's house. I loved, and still love, this little waterfall. And I have also always loved these flowers in MaMaw's flower garden, which lines the edge of the hill leading down to the creek bank.

Just like we used to, Braylon caught a little fish off the big rock at the falls.

This was the day after Mom's 50th Birthday party. I love this picture!

With all the work for the party, it was an exhausting trip for all of us. I love that Braylon used his balloon from the party for a pillow on the way home.

The Three Amigos

2009-09-12T09:01:00.005-04:00

Two years ago, when we were in Fairmont interviewing for jobs, we got together with our pals to celebrate Drew's birthday. We took this picture of Lydia, Braylon, and Paige or Bray and his girls as we sometimes call them. Anyway, we have made it a tradition and it is amazing to see how much they grow and change from summer to summer.

Drew's Birthday last year (2008).

And now presenting this years annual picture...Would you ever guess that they are now 2, 4, and 2? I think Stephanie may have gotten one of them semi-sitting together, but this was the best I could do.

Well, maybe this one is a little better...maybe?

Whats Been Going On...

2009-09-06T07:48:00.004-04:00

As usual, we have had a busy summer.

Here are a few random pictures from the last month or so.

Kayli, Kelsi, JoLee, and Braylon at the Hess Reunion.

Braylon showing his muscles.

On my 30th Birthday.... Mom and Dad had me a party at their house. Then a week or so later my wonderful, but sneaky, husband and friends (April and Paula) had me a surprise party. Turning 30 was a lot of fun! Thanks everyone!

The first day of preschool and daycare...August 3rd.

Camp Runaway 2009

2009-08-29T09:23:00.003-04:00

We had our 5th annual family camping trip in July this year because Mom and Dad are about to head out on a month long trip out west and will not be around the whole month of September. I have been so busy and such a bad blogger. I am so far behind, but there are so many fun things, I hate to just skip them all together. Hopefully, I'll get caught up...someday.

The whole Grandkid crew.

I love this one of this ornery bunch.

Braylon of course caught himself some frogs while he was there. Funny story: Since starting preschool, Bray has picked up a few words/phrases we would rather he not say, one of them being "poopy-head". After many attempts at redirection we finally just had to employ a if- you- say- it, you- go- to- timeout- rule. And for the most part the poopy-head calling stopped. But while at camp Braylon woke me one morning to show me that he had caught a new frog. He had the original in one hand and the new in the other. I said, "you named the other one Hoppy, what are you going to name your new frog?" Mr. Smarty-Pants replied, "actually, he named himself...he named himself Poopy-head, so I just have to call him that." Oh, what a stinker!

Two little stinkers...but they sure are cute!

Charlie Murphy

2009-08-16T23:06:00.003-04:00

Braylon has a new love. Meet Charlie Murphy. Braylon first met Charlie Murphy when my coworker Angie had us over to her house for a party. For Braylon and Charlie Murphy, I think it was love at first sight. They played all evening- a pretty equal match for one another's energy level. A couple of weeks ago after school Braylon cried to go back over to Angie and Jeff's house to play with Charlie Murphy. I told him that we could not just go over, that we had to have an invitation first. When I shared this story with Angie, she was gracious enough to allow Charlie Murphy to send Braylon (and his family) an invitation to come over for dinner and a play date. Braylon had a blast...actually we all did...good company, great food, and a little boy and a dog cuddling in a Snuggie...you can't top that!

Dental Superstar!

2009-08-01T09:33:00.004-04:00

Back in June, not long after he turned 4, we took Braylon to the dentist for the first time. He got a good report of "very clean, healthy teeth, with wonderful spacing!" I was very happy and proud. Especially of with how Braylon behaved while he was there. Being terrified of the dentist and hating anything having to do with teeth myself, I was shocked by how excited Braylon was about his visit. He did everything they asked as they cleaned his teeth and took x-rays, without a bit of fear. The only "issue" we had was that he would not quit pestering the hygienist about when the dentist was going to come check him. He could not wait to meet Dr. Sees. After it was all over they snapped this picture of him, which I thought was just to stick in his chart or something, but they actually had it made into a mouse pad and mailed to us. Pretty cool! I smile every time I sit at the computer...it totally cracks me up.

Zoo Trip

2009-07-30T06:10:00.004-04:00

Boo Boo and Papaw took us to the Columbus Zoo on July18th. We had a blast. I don't really have enough time to comment on each picture, but I at least wanted to get them on here. We have tons of animal pictures too, but I am just posting the people ones. Thanks Boo Boo and Papaw! It was so much fun!

Coon Hunter

2009-07-22T23:04:00.004-04:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I am not that crazy about hunting...I prefer critters alive...but my son on the other hand is very into the idea of hunting deer, birds, turkey, bobcats, squirrel, bear...at this point he thinks it all sounds pretty cool. But I have to say that thanks to PaPaw David's influence, he seems to be the most interested in coon hunting.

Braylon had just turned three the first time Dad took him coon hunting and Dad said that Bray had absolutely no fear of being in the woods in the dark. He took off running and Dad and Uncle Ronald had trouble keeping up with him...just barely keeping his bobbing head light in sight. Dad said that Bray thought he was supposed to keep up with the dogs.

This shirt, that Braylon wore the last time he went on a coon chase, belonged to my brother. You can see that it is very worn out and barely fits Bray. I think D.J. (who was very Gary Coleman-esque until about age 16) was 8 years old when he wore it. Love ya, Deej ;)

Pool Party

2009-07-22T22:46:00.002-04:00

Weeks ago (I have not had the time to be a very good blogger lately) we had a pool party. Mark, Paula, and Lydia, John, Stephanie, and Paige, and Angie and Jeff were able to come over and we had a lot of fun.

Bray loves his pool!
Bathing beauty, Paige

Swimming sensation, Lydia

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-22T22:42:00.002-04:00

I Wish...

2009-07-13T17:44:00.002-04:00

...I was on a beach somewhere. It has been so crazy lately...I feel like I can't catch my breath. Oh, what I would give to be able to relax and soak up some sun without a care in the world.

I love these pictures of my favorite beach bum.

This was way back in July 2006.

Summer Fun...For Braylon Anyway

2009-06-30T23:59:00.002-04:00

When we opened our pool (after the cover coming off mid-way through winter and not being able to get it back on) it was a mess! We had been invaded by frogs! My mom has a rule at her house that if a frog is near her pool it dies a quick death. Neither Drew nor I really wanted to massacre all these frogs (we captured 7) so we decided to put them in Braylon's plastic frog "sanctuary".

The poor frogs soon began begging for a quick, merciful death! Braylon loved them! And surprisingly they lasted almost two weeks. Over time 5 escaped, the remaining 2 were not so lucky. After we were out of town weekend before last and then very busy last week, we found them dead and crusty in the "sanctuary".

But before their demise, if Bray was outside, he had the frogs in hand. Here he is running through the sprinkler...frog in fist.

Getting a good splash, frog in fist!

Taking a rest...frogs in fists.
Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails...that's what boys are made of!

Chef Braylon

2009-06-30T23:37:00.004-04:00

Braylon loves to help me in the kitchen. He has been asking to make Rice Krispie Treats forever. We finally got to it a few weeks ago.

Here is possibly the rottenest little squirt in the world sneaking a bite of the butter we used to butter the pan. Please excuse the ugly purple night shirt Braylon is wearing in these pictures...he currently thinks wearing my "sleeping shirts" is really cool.

Melting the marshmallows was so tempting...

He had to take a quick taste.

Busted! (must have been good, check out that drool)

Oh, he just realized I was taking pictures of him...gotta stick that tongue out.

And now out the other side, for good measure.

Alright, back to business. Just like his Uncle D.J., in order for Bray to accomplish any task, he's got to have his tongue sticking out...that's how they focus. The Rice Krispie Treats were delicious! Everything Bray and I make together tastes so much better than what I make alone.

Girlfriends

2009-06-14T05:49:00.002-04:00

Braylon has always been into girls/women. But I was not prepared when he broke out the term "girlfriend" the other night. We received an email with some new pictures of our friends Jordan and Jadyn (this is Bray and Jordan above). I had Braylon to come look. He said, "that's Jordan, she's my girlfriend...I have lots of girlfriends." We talked about Lydia and Paige, then he said "And Carissa and Lindsey", two girls from the older class at preschool. I said they aren't your girlfriends, they're just friends, to which my little stinker replied: "Well, I am trying to teach them to be my girlfriends." Teach them! Oh, Bray.

This was Braylon's first kiss.

It is sad, but I can't remember exactly how old they were. Probably about a year and a half.

They were so adorable!

Spontaneous Cookout

2009-06-14T05:21:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite things to do when we are at Mom and Dad's is the spontaneous cookout. Dad built this fire pit and all summer long, rather than cooking dinner on the stove, lots of evenings they'll decide to just roast some hotdogs over the fire.

Last time we were down Mom called from town to say she was bringing home the stuff to have hotdogs for dinner...I immediately thought-fire pit. Turns out that wasn't what Mom had planned, but at my suggestion we "broke out" the firepit for the first time this summer.

My superhero nephew Caden was there to guard us.

MaMaw Edith and PaPaw Otto had us down for the worlds yummiest breakfast on Saturday. Homemade white syrup with biscuits...you can't beat that. MaMaw of course had fried eggs, bacon, and fresh applesauce, which was also delicious, but for me the syrup is the main attraction. It was always my favorite at their house growing up and at almost 30 years old, they still spoil me by making it especially for me when they know I am in town. And may I just refer back to this picture and say what is up with Bray's smile? He is in this phase right now where we either get this smile or his tongue sticking out anytime we want a picture.

Oh, yes. There is the tongue in this picture with Uncle Ronald and Aunt Carol.

Love this one of Mom and JoLee!

One More

2009-06-10T23:38:00.001-04:00

I forgot this one somehow...and I love this one!

Four

2009-06-09T23:28:00.006-04:00

What is it about 4 that makes kids feel like they are now so big, so grown-up? I remember when JoLee turned 4 everything was "I can do this, because I am 4 now" and even when Reanna was 4 I remember her classic "I'm 4, ya know" response to everything. Well, Braylon is no exception. At 38 pounds and 40 and 1/4 inches tall he now thinks he is about as big as you can get. All day his Birthday party day, and everyday since, it has been "I don't need help, I'm 4" or "She can't do that, she is a baby, but I can because I'm 4", etc. In addition to his new grown-up attitude, Bray is making us laugh daily with his ever growing vocabulary and imagination. This evening he reported that he takes his naps at "high-noon". And then while playing with his farm animals he reported that "the baby pig was nudging its mama." There have been countless little phrases or words that have made us giggle lately and also some temper tantrums that have had us at our wits end. But overall I see my baby growing up before my eyes and testing limits, trying to figure out exactly who he is. Braylon, I just hope that we have the ability to give you the guidance you need at this stage in your life...as it has been with every age so far, it feels like this is such an important time in shaping the kind of person you are going to turn out to be. I ask daily for wisdom and patience. But know that you always have our unconditional love.

A New Tradition...

2009-06-09T23:02:00.008-04:00

Second Annual Birthday Bowling. Again, like last year Bray's birthday party was not on his actual birthday. We asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate and he said "bowling" so I guess this has become a tradition. Check out the pictures from last year. I can't believe how much more grown up he looks. Braylon is definitely a creature of habit. If he does something once, he remembers regardless of how much time has passed. Like last year he had to use a pink ball. And notice the last picture...he had to lay on the shoe shelf when we finished our game, just like last year.

After the Party, Its the After Party

2009-06-03T01:56:00.005-04:00

As usual, I didn't get any pictures of the three of us during Bray's party, so that evening just before I crashed, I had Dad to take a our family picture.

Then Braylon wanted to take pictures of his Mama and Daddy.

Am I seriously going to let other people see these pictures?...Apparently so. Braylon, as you say, we are a kooky family. But we hope you grow up loving life, laughing often, living each day to the fullest, and knowing that your Mama and Daddy love you unconditionally.
Happy 4th Birthday Little...I mean Big...Man!

In this one, our talented photographer instructed us to "be mooses."
Then last thing that night Braylon had to go out and check the baby chicks one more time. Did I mention that since Bray conned Dad into bringing baby chicks to his farm party last year, he now thinks that he needs baby chicks at every birthday party...and of course Dad agrees...that's what Papaws are for.
These baby chicks were a little too grown-up for my liking...too many real feathers and not enough fluff...this picture makes me a little sick actually.

More of the Birthday Bash

2009-06-03T01:40:00.006-04:00

I did manage to get some pictures of some of the adults at the party too:Bray with the Mark, Paula, and Lydia.

BooBoo and Papaw.MaMaw and PaPaw...helping Bray check out all his new toys after the party was over.

My little brother. I was so excited he finally got his butt up to see our place.

Aunt Kandy and Sabrina and their new puppy.

Braylon and his Auntie April. April has a new puppy too...dear, sweet Rigby. But although I have taken tons of pictures of her with April's camera and even a few with Mom's camera, I have yet to get any on my own. Trust me though, she is adorable. Braylon is still trying to persuade April to name Rigby "Shine" instead.

Drew had to man the grill but there were enough other men drawn to the grill to keep him company. I missed some people. I wish I would have been able to get everybody...maybe at the next event.

4th Birthday Bash

2009-06-03T00:47:00.010-04:00

To culminate our incredibly busy holiday weekend, we celebrated Braylon's 4th Birthday on Monday, May 25th. He had a Star Wars party this year. It was cute...and Braylon loved it...that's what is important. And we felt so blessed to have so many of our family and friends show up to our house to make Bray's day so special. Thank you all!Robin of course made the "cool Star Wars" (R2-D2) cake, which as usual, was delicious.

We also had pina colada cake complete with a Darth Vader helmet.

And Mississippi Mud cake with this Darth Vader light saber candle. (Bray took this candle to school on his actual birthday the following day and they put it on his cupcake and let him blow it out.)

The kids decorated stars.

And I tried to make sure I got pictures of everyone...Well, at least all the kids. I love each and everyone of you grown ups too, but lets face it, the kids are just so much cuter.

I think we all know who this guy is.

Paige.

Lydia...who is getting to be almost as difficult to get a picture of as Braylon is. I had to do the trick and surprise to get this one. So worth the effort though, she is such a cutie!

Kelsi.

JoLee.

Isaiah.

Caden and Kayli. Don't these two look like they could be brother and sister? They are definitely best buddies. And they pose like pros.

Noah and Aryka.
As if the fact that I am turning 30 this year doesn't make me feel old enough, I have a nephew and niece who look like this. When I am around them I have to fight the urge to say "old people" things that start with "I remember when you were..."
Last year it was the musical Star Wars card that April got him. This year, this dalmatian from my Aunt Kandy and family, was Bray's thing. It was the first gift he opened and he refused to put it down the whole time he was opening the rest of his gifts.

D.J. and Jeni and kids got Bray this beach outfit, which he looked so cute in. He wore it out to play in the sprinkler. I got video, but no pictures of the sprinkler. The kids were so cute and they seemed to really enjoy running around in the water. Sometimes the simplest things in life are the most fun. We can't wait to get the pool opened up and get to play with all the fun things Lydia and Paige got Bray for the pool.

First Family Reunion of the Summer

2009-06-03T00:30:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday was Andrew's one and only family reunion....It is BooBoo's Dad's family...Drew's only still-living Grandparent. Gramps will be 75 in a couple of weeks.

Here is Braylon with Gramps. Braylon was very excited because Gramps told him that if his baby goats get into his garden he is going to send them to Braylon. I think Braylon has been silently praying for this to happen since Gramps made the threat.

Bray, Papaw, and BooBoo-trying to steal a kiss.

You can't really tell in this picture, but Braylon's actually-looking-at-the-camera, teeth, and dimple smile was all about an old tortoise shell he was wearing on his head. Gramp's brother had a collection of them and Braylon thought it was awesome.

Paige's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-06-02T23:24:00.006-04:00

Later, last Saturday Braylon and I headed to our friend Paige's 2nd Birthday party. Unfortunately, Braylon fell asleep for a much needed nap about 15 minutes before we arrived at the party. So, he was a little bit of a party-pooper the first half, just sitting on this basketball and refusing to talk or play. (By the way all of my pictures from inside this place had a yellow tone to them that I just could not fix so I just made them black and white)

But Paige sure enjoyed every second of her party!

I couldn't believe Bray just sat there with an indoor basketball court in front of him and wouldn't even throw up a shot.
The second part of the party was so adorable. All of the kids got to put on bright colored aprons (which they got to take home).
I had to pry Bray off the basketball and make him put on his apron at first...but then he started to come out of his shell.
After getting decked out in their cute little aprons, the kids were all given a bright, multi-colored cupcake and a dollop of icing to spread on it. Paige had to sample her icing right away. Can you blame her? (my pics from this part of the building were a little better so I left them in color).

After the icing, they had tons of different toppings they could choose to decorate their cupcakes.

Bray neatly stacked on one raspberry, one blue berry, one chocolate chip, 2 gummy bears and then topped it all off with yellow sugar crystals.
Paige thought they were good....
But Braylon apparently thought they were divine! Cool how he happened to be wearing a gold shirt and Stephrad set him up with a blue apron and a blue and gold cupcake. After eating all of his cupcake and playing for a little while, Bray sat on my lap while I was eating and watching Paige open presents and proceeded to eat my whole cupcake as well. Then on the way home he begged to have one of the ones the Rads sent home with us.

Busy Saturday

2009-05-31T22:38:00.002-04:00

We had a very busy weekend last weekend. It started early Saturday morning.

7:00 AM- Still with bed-head, sneak into candy...then when Mom gives in as I have already eaten over half of it before I got caught, sneak and give some to Lando just 2 seconds after Mom says "ok, you can finish that, but don't give any to Lando."

Around 11:00 AM- Get a call that I am going to be getting a special delivery and rush out to the front porch to wait.
11:10 AM- Birthday balloons from MaMaw and PaPaw arrive! I was so excited...thank you MaMaw and PaPaw!

1:00 PM- Dad is getting ready to leave for his friend Jon's wedding in Charleston...but he takes time to teach me how to tie a tie first.
1:03- I am finished with my lesson...I think that what I have done here is good enough and I am ready to move on to something else.

Braylon's Turn to Host

2009-05-27T20:10:00.002-04:00

Paige and her Daddy came to our house for a visit and to try out our new swing set a couple of weeks ago while Paige's Mommy was busy with commencement activities. They went down the slide and played in the sand box.

Then they came in for a little lunch.

They are too cute!

Preschool Jr. Graduation

2009-05-27T01:22:00.005-04:00

Braylon's Preschool Jr. graduation was May 15th.

Our Graduate was a little shy when the class first came out to preform their program in front of all the parents.

But the first song (Little Sir Echo) brought him right out of it.

I loved the sign language they did to Humpty Dumpty...Bray impressed us with his mad sign-language skills.

Braylon crossed the "stage" like a pro even pausing to look back and wave at his parents before accepting his "diploma".Miss Tammy and Miss Mary Jo...Braylon gets very sad when we talk about the fact that at some point this summer he will be moving up to Preschool Senior with new teachers...We love Miss Tammy and Miss Mary Jo!

Swing Set

2009-05-27T01:09:00.002-04:00

Thank you to Boo Boo and Papaw for Braylon's nice new swing set. There were a lot of man hours logged on this thing....it was a real pain in the tail to put together. Dad and Drew worked for two days straight on it, then Drew and I worked on it a little each day for a week, then finally a couple of weekends ago Papaw and Boo Boo and then Dad again helped us finish up. I don't think Andrew has ever been as relieved as when this thing was finally finished.

Bray trying out the "rock" climbing wall.

Finally finished. Braylon was insistent to his grandparents that he needed a curly slide. But once this thing was complete, he went down the slide once, swung couple of times, and then my boy's boy has spent the rest of the time digging up worms from the dirt around the play set and throwing rocks down the slide.
Even complete with marigolds in the flower boxes....just in time for Braylon's party this past weekend.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-23T08:19:00.002-04:00

We couldn't be both places at once, so thankfully our moms agreed to come to us. Drew took us all out to eat Sunday evening...it was a little windy.

What a smile, Bray. What a smile!

My new favorite picture of us. Braylon would only give me the charming smile above if I agreed we could make faces in the next picture. Gotta love boys!

Little Environmentalist

2009-05-18T17:15:00.005-04:00

Braylon told me on the way home today that "the polar bears are dying because we are not taking care of the Earth"...that he is "going to get a bunch of ice and take it to the polar bears so they won't die." Coincidentally, we are hoping to take Bray out to see the movie Earth this evening. I had seen a trailer for it months ago and thought he would love it and it is finally showing here. Early signs that he may grow into a tree-hugger.

I Love Spring!

2009-05-17T11:06:00.003-04:00

I have a Sweetheart who picks me flowers practically every time he goes outside.But sometimes that same Sweetheart turns into this:

I love you Braylon. Thank you for all the hugs and kisses, all the flowers, and all the smiles.

Oh, Life on the Farm is Kinda Laid-back...

2009-05-17T10:49:00.003-04:00

To be growing up in the city...well, West Virginia city....Braylon sure is a country boy. I like it that way.

Sunday Dinner

2009-05-17T07:20:00.003-04:00

Or should I say Sunday Feast...this is not some special occasion...MaMaw Helen cooks for the family like this every Sunday.

Lets go over this menu:
Cabbage rolls, the worlds best fried chicken, green beans (canned from her garden), rolls, baked beans, the worlds best macaroni and cheese, corn (canned from her garden), home-made dill pickles, the worlds best mashed potatoes, and gravy. Oh, and her famous orange Kool-Aid with pineapple juice to drink. The cook gets the head of the table. Well deserved.

Good food and family...In my book, it doesn't get any better than this. Braylon was all lovey on his Uncle D.J. this last trip. D.J. got tons of nice long hugs. Cousin Aleigha...I have never seen a little girl look more like her daddy than this one does...well except maybe Lydia...she looks a whole lot like her daddy too.
Braylon absolutely adores his baby cousin Amara. You can tell he thinks she is so cute that he would like to squeeze her. He is always touching her face and head...but he is so gentle with her.
He would be such a good big brother. And no question about it, he would love to have a baby sister. He has been asking me a lot lately if I have a baby sister in my belly yet or when am I going to get him a baby sister.

And here is our Jo. She is in this phase right now where she thinks Bray is the greatest thing in the world. She says she is a princess and Braylon is her prince. When she finds out that we are on our way down to Poe, Mom and Dad say that she lays on the couch and pretends to be in a deep sleep and waits for her prince to come give her a kiss to "wakeded" her. Braylon thinks that JoLee is pretty special too!

Congratulations April!

2009-05-17T06:58:00.004-04:00

We would like to congratulate April on her graduation (graduate degree) yesterday. We are so happy for you and so proud!

This picture was from April's 30th Birthday party a few weekends ago. I love it!

And here is Braylon with our friend Brad, who we don't get to see nearly enough.
Braylon had a blast at April's party. They had loose balloons and that was enough to keep Braylon happy and occupied for hours.

Beauties

2009-05-08T09:39:00.004-04:00

Speaking of Braylon's friend Jordan in the previous post, I have been meaning to post this picture we received at Easter. Our friends Meredith and Kevin welcomed their second baby girl to the family back in January. They are so gorgeous I can hardly stand it!

So Rotten

2009-05-04T23:31:00.004-04:00

Let me relay a conversation Braylon and I had in the car on the way home today:

Me: "Braylon, do not pour water on that sucker again..."
Braylon: "I am just trying to make more sugar."
Me: "You are going to make a mess in the car...if you do it again I am going to take the water."
Braylon: "Don't worry about it, Sweet Pea."

Thanks again for the "traveling sucker" mom...he needed more sugar!

This was a little booklet we had to do for "homework" a couple of weeks ago. I have been wanting to post a picture of Braylon's signature on here for awhile, but this is the first one that would show up in a picture. I think he does a great job, but I must admit that we got a card signed by our friend Jordan (3 weeks younger than Bray) and her signature blows Bray's out of the water.

Braylon being Braylon

Poor Papaw fell asleep in Braylon's room the last time they visited and Bray covered him with toy bugs and lizards.

Oh, and by the way, Braylon had acorns for lunch today.

Hot Lunch

2009-04-29T23:07:00.003-04:00

In nearly a year of preschool I have never heard from Braylon what he actually has to eat at school... Nearly every day on our way home, I ask: "What did you have for lunch today?", to which Bray always gives some off the wall answer. I have been meaning to take a week long inventory of what Braylon tells me he has to eat at school and post it on here, but I never seem to remember once we get home. Well, I am going to start with today's and then post more later.
Me: "What did you have to eat for lunch today, Braylon?"
Bray: "Dog bones. Miss Wanda loves to feed us dog bones. Oh yeah, and bathtubs."

Lucky for Braylon's school, I know that he is full of it!

Hair-Raising Good Time (More Bray and Paige)

2009-04-29T21:18:00.007-04:00

John, Stephanie, and Paige took us to play at a very nice park, real close to their house.

We all had a blast, even though the tunnel had a lot of static electricity.

Paige and Braylon...I know you will hate me for these pictures when you get older, but I just could not help it.

I love this one of my little man.

And this one of Paige.

My search for the "perfect picture" of me and Bray continues. Notice how one of his eyes was peeking open...this eyes-closed was not an accident. Oh, that squirt!

Stephanie and Paige

Group-slide!

Play Date With Paige

2009-04-29T21:08:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful play-date with this little darling the weekend before last.

After they had played with almost every toy in Paige's room, Stephanie and I took the kids outside while we waited on John and Drew to get back from playing basketball. The kids played on Paige's slide a little and played some ball, but mostly they drew with sidewalk chalk...as evidenced by Paige's chalk covered face above. (Look at how long Paige's hair is!!!)

Steph and I helped the kids draw pictures of each other and then Braylon came back and re-touched them to add the incredibly long eyelashes.

More Funk

2009-04-23T23:04:00.003-04:00

Another gross picture alert...we have had too many of these lately. I got a call from Bray's school on Tuesday that I needed to come pick him up because they thought he had pink eye. I could not believe how bad they looked in the six hours between when I dropped him off and when I came to get him. They weren't as bad as these pictures though. These were Tuesday night, when they were at their worst....so nasty. Poor little guy.

Sorry for all the yucky pictures lately. I have some very nice, cute pictures from our play-date with Paige to come soon....after I get back from Toronto.