Put Your Toys Away

In Rome we live by railroad tracks. Oftentimes at night we hear them blow their horn or toot their whistle. Chris and I have come quite aware of a steamy vs a diesel based off Bradley's favorite television shows (Thomas, Chuggington and some new movie we found on demand).

Recently one night Chris heard the toot of a whistle. The next morning he informed me we had a steamy chug by. Sometimes the blows from diesels wake Bradley up on tears. We just tell him it's Thomas saying hi (even though he was a Steam Engine).

Near Chris's office there is a small number of trains parked. My favorite is a dark green and black one, written in yellow is the word "Adirondack." I'm sure there is something else written on there too but Adirondack is the only prominent thing I can remember. She is very shiny and clean, unlike the others. I told Bradley we needed to name this engine so we did, "Addy." I didn't think he would remember but yesterday we drove by her and he said, "Look, Mommy, it's Addy." Oh I love the childhood memories we are building.

As a fan of trains we have the Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway for Bradley. We find the engines all over the place, no matter how hard we try to contain them. Constantly we are telling him to put his trains away or doing so when he's not paying attention. Bradley can literally play with these trains for hours. He loves books about trains, playing with them, he recently got a train that blows bubbles for his birthday. It's a fantastic gift for a fascinated child, a rather annoying one for a parent because you are unable to turn off the sound, at least that we know of. Regardless he loves it and the baby does too. The wonder in their eyes and imagination that projects is amazing.

Today I was driving in Utica and saw railroad tracks along the way. There were baggage cars sitting on the side. They've been there for an awfully long time. I notice I see these cars lying around and all I can think is put your toys away, shouldn't they be somewhere else? I'm not sure why cars are out in random places but they look out of place where they rest other then to amuse the eyes and imagination of my precious three year old.

First Day of School

Bradley went to his first day of nursery school today, he's too young for pre-school. He meets with his class Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-1:30. Today was a little shorter because it was the first day for them. He absolutely loved it! Bradley had no separation anxiety and didn't even get his coat or back pack off before trying to run around the entire room to play.

Typically they ask the parents to stay outside the classroom because of the separation anxiety, but like I said, he did well and they said I could leave. I got to the car and cried a little. Then was confused what to do. So....I went home and cleaned a little.




When I got back to the classroom, there was five minutes left before class ended. I peeked through the little window and saw Bradley running around and laughing. They had a little tunnel set up and the kids would crawl from one teacher at one end (Ms. Alguire) to the teacher at the other end (Ms. Barker). Bradley could hardly wait until his turn. He'd go in one end and crawl out the other laughing and giggling to get back in line for another turn.

At the end, they had all the kids sit together on the rug and then they opened the door for the parents. Bradley didn't even move until he saw me, just smiled for all the parents taking pictures. Once he saw me he got up and ran and giggled. Then he headed right out the door without his coat or back pack. We of course got it, put it on.




I turned to Bradley and asked if he had fun....his answer, "Yeah."

"Can you say thank you to your teachers?"

Bradley ran back to the door of the class room and yelled, "THANK YOU!" Waved bye bye and we left. He's been on cloud nine ever since.

A Big Belly

Today I start my 8th month of pregnancy. We are naming our little girl Amelia (which means hard working). This pregnancy has been just that. Who knows what the coming weeks will bring right now, but the doctors think it's a possibility I may go into pre-term labor. We definitely had a scare yesterday and we'll see what happens. I'm only 31 weeks right now. If I can hold out for six more weeks that would be great.

People I don't expect to hear from have told me to slow down, but honestly I don't think I'm doing too much at all, regardless I've taken my list of 30-40 things I hope to accomplish in a day (I never do trust me on this one) and have cut it back to about 20. I have two callings in church, one is a very big one and the other not quite as large. Regardless I'm doing my best and have slowed down with that work as well.




In the meantime, I'm tired, trying to drink even more water then before and enjoying my toddler. He keeps a smile on my face and me on my toes. He loves his dog and is a good eater, inventor and overall just a good boy. He starts nursery school tomorrow and picked out his own folder for school (it's a Toy Story one). He's going to be a great big brother. I'm very proud of him. In the meantime, the rain has us watching more movies then I want and the chill in the air has the oven baking goodies. Even though it's difficult sometimes, I love this life! :)

A Christmas Story

We were given a snow suit for Bradley from a close friend of ours. It fits him well, with the exception of the sleeves being a little too short. Don't worry, he has the next size for a snow suit from his Uncle Chad and he'll get that fairly soon.

It's always quite a challenge to get him in all his snow gear.

Once he's in it, he reminds us of the little brother from "A Christmas Story."

Sometimes Bradley gets so flustered with the snow suit that he'll give up and just lay on his back in the snow until someone comes to get him.

He's a funny little man and makes us laugh every day. :)

Almost One

Our little boy is almost one year old, next week to be exact. He has grown and changed so much it's amazing. Of course he isn't the only one who has grown up a bit. Chris and I both did too. We went from carefree craziness to slowing down with the family life, which is much more relaxing, I think.

Since many people have been asking us what to get Bradley for his first birthday party (which will be on Saturday, August 22nd from 1-3), I have made a list. I do update the list as soon as I know of something someone has gotten him, that way we don't have multiples. The list is located on the left hand side of the blog and I included the place where I found the item, of course it can be purchased anywhere.




Here's the agenda, as far as I know....Thursday, August 20th - Bradley's actual birthday. We are going to have a little family celebration, just Chris, Bradley and myself. We are going to go to Friendly's and eat dinner and get Bradley some icecream. He LOVES icecream (definitely taking after his daddy). We will also give him a present that day. I'm hoping every year we can have a "family party" before his actual "friend/family party." I have also gotten this wonderful idea from a friend of mine, which is to write a letter to Bradley on his birthday every year and when he's old enough, give him a stack of letters from his mom. I'm hoping I can get his dad into it too, but I don't think Chris is that into it, I'll have to ask.

Saturday, August 22nd - his first birthday party with cake, candles, lots of presents and some of his friends and family. We already have the party favors done and presents wrapped. We're just waiting on food and cake, which it's too early for that stuff right now. We are pretty well prepared for it.



Monday, August 24th - Bradley's one year check up. Probably not very fun.

Thursday, August 27th - flying to California. There's a wedding to attend and possibly another first birthday party with Chris's side of the family. I don't have a confirmation on that one yet, but I'm trying to get one, soon I hope.

Monday, August 31st - fly home and hopefully relax a little.

It's going to be crazy but it's going to be fun. I can't wait for his birthday party and see all of his presents! All is welcome on August 22nd, let me know ahead of time if you are coming, so I have a big enough cake and enough food! Remember I'll keep his list updated and if you need more ideas let me know.

The Joys of Motherhood

Recently I have been thinking of the joys of motherhood. I LOVE that I stay home with my little boy and get to see him grow. I wouldn't want to miss it for the world. Bradley knows: nose, mouth, eye. You say them and he will take your finger and point to yours. We are still working on him trying to point to his own, however he doesn't like anyone touching his hands.

As a mom I am absolutely enthralled with almost living a second childhood. Many of you know, as a kid you can't wait to grow up. As an adult sometimes one may wish they savored the moment just a little more. As a parent, I most certainly love my child enjoying experiences I never had, enjoyed myself or thought about but never tempted.

I try to take Bradley with me almost everywhere. Shopping at the mall is ok, because normally we meet up with my best friend and her two kids. Bradley loves the beach and two days ago was actually trying to "jump" over the waves, according to his daddy. I wish I was there to see it, but I was enjoying a much needed break. The baby loves icecream and every once in awhile we take him out for one. If the weather is nice on a Thursday we head to the farmer's market for some fresh fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping together. I have been taking him with me on this adventure more times then not lately. For anyone who is aware of the early toddler years, this can be quite challenging. Not only are you trying to get the things on your list but entertain a young boy (in my case at least). I find I talk to him a lot while shopping and make funny noises when pulling things off the shelf. Now when I go alone to the grocery I make the same swoosh noises or clunk noises I do when I'm with the baby. Once I notice I do this habitual act, I quickly turn to see if anyone saw or heard. Unfortunately sometimes my actions don't go unnoticed.



The grocery store adventure yesterday brought about new surprises and risk taking. As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed an available race car shopping cart. I quickly snatched it up and even though it took me about five minutes to buckle the baby in, the buckles obviously weren't working right, I was bound and determined to make this work. Right away Bradley loved it. He started turning the wheels even before he was buckled. As I was pushing my wide load through the store, this proved to be more difficult then I could imagine. The cart felt heavy and there are no quick easy turns, but very wide. If I came to a stop because I needed to grab something off the shelf, Bradley would turn the steering wheel fast and hard, indicating he was ready to go. The race car made the trip fun for all of us but of course by the end Bradley had enough of it. I did get some sympathy from a mother who loved the cart but said she struggled moving it and eventually decided it wasn't worth it for her kids.

With Bradley wherever we end up, he ALWAYS puts a smile on my face. Yesterday my little comedian tried driving with his feet. And yes he had no socks on because he takes them off and tries to eat them. He most definitely makes the best facial reactions which makes Chris and I laugh. He really is the best kid in my book. All in all Bradley enjoyed his car ride and I think it's another go for the next time.

Pure Satisfaction

At my first ultrasound with Bradley I knew I was in for it when the technician exclaimed how active my child already was. She also said she had "never seen a baby so active early on in pregnancy like this. " My best friend, Renae, and I looked at the monitor and at seven and a half weeks pregnant, it most certainly looked like he was doing cartwheels, somersaults and any other acrobatic act found in the circus of my uterus.

Bradley's first trip to the pediatrician, as a newborn, only confirmed what the ultrasound technician previous found months earlier. "You are going to have your hands full with this one. He's going to be very active." I looked at my child, he was only days old, maybe a week. How on earth could they tell this? Eleven months later I now chase Bradley at a high rate of speed. Not only does my son crawl faster then a speeding bullet but stands on his own and is learning to take his first steps by himself, a little more courageous every day. I can only imagine he will be running faster then the speed of sound shortly.

One can only guess how difficult it can be to keep up with our little bundle of joy. Two nights ago my husband and I adopted an idea my best friend and her husband strive for. Every night before going to bed, they pick up the house. By the end of the night, it's clear cleaning is the last thing on our mind, but we tried it the first night and it made the next day much easier.

Last night I was very tired and reluctant to follow through with the new rule, but I pushed myself to do it anyhow. The baby was fast asleep by eight. Chris was at school and then he'd be at the gym following his night class. I struggled even more knowing I was on my own without the extra hand to help in the endeavor. About half an hour later a friend of mine stopped by to drop off a shirt. As we sat and talked at my kitchen table I looked around and was very pleased I didn't feel like I had to explain why the dishes weren't done, kitchen still a mess, crumbs from animal crackers trailed throughout the house, juicy cups strategically placed or a sea of toddler treasures scattered like gold on the ocean floor. Instead I sighed in relief as I enjoyed time well spent with a new friend.

Everything Blue

This past week at the local grocery store blueberries were on sale, "Buy one get one free with your Price Chopper card." After little contemplation I decided, why the heck not? Earlier in the week I had been craving blueberry muffins and never before had I made them from scratch. I love to cook and bake so I thought it would be a wonderful new baking adventure. Now mind you these little containers weren't the standard small size normally sold at the grocery but quite large, you know the larger strawberry size containers, which reminded me of my childhood.

As a little girl I remember my Aunt Claire and Uncle Neil taking my brother and I blueberry picking. They talked it up and it was going to be a fun adventure. Hours later I hardly had any blueberries in my bucket. I ate a lot of them and I'm pretty sure I had a tummy ache. While at the grocery store I reminisced about what it must have been like in fields picking blueberry after blueberry for hours on end.

As I was unloading the groceries, and the baby, I came to the realization I really did have a lot of blueberries. I needed to do something. The next morning, Friday, I made blueberry muffins as I planned. The only problem was the recipe called for only one cup of blueberries, which really wasn't as much as I thought it was. Regardless the recipe only made twelve muffins and they were delicious. Chris referred to them as blueberry cupcakes all day. Between Chris, Bradley and me we ate about five of them. The remaining seven, although an odd number, we gave to our neighbor Carol, who was more then pleased to have homemade muffins.

The next morning I was determined to use up more of those blueberries. We hardly eat pancakes and I thought it would be a great way to get rid of some of the fruit. I pulled one of our dining room chairs up to the counter and had Bradley stand on it. In my mind I thought it would be fun for my almost toddler to help me cook breakfast. Bradley's idea of stirring the pancake batter was dunking his entire hand in the bowl and squishing it with his fingers. Good thing his hands were clean and it was just us eating the meal. After cleaning up his little mess I thought he would enjoy putting the blueberries in the batter, instead he was taking handfuls of blueberries and shoving them in his mouth. I was dreading future diaper changes. Turns out things weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be.

Sunday I decided to make more blueberry muffins, this time sending the remaining treats with Uncle Brad. I still have almost a full container of blueberries left. Although I think we are blueberried out, I may try one more recipe of something blue.




To Die For Blueberry Muffins (www.allrecipes.com)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

A Step in the Right Direction

This week has been a very good one for the Campos Family. Bradley has taken his first steps, at almost eleven months old. These are the only ones we have on video, that we could catch anyway. They are his actual first consecutive steps. We can now get him up to seven in a row at times! Enjoy!!



On top of everything else, Bradley got his first hair cut today. I've only put up a few of the 25 pictures I took! He was a doll and they said it was the first time a baby didn't cry and was cooperative!




Bradley was a little shocked to be getting his hair squirted in the beginning but he was ok with it.


And he was fine with the cape and just watching Lisa (my hairdresser) cut his hair in the mirror.


Some parts toward the end he was squirmy but other then that he was great!


Lisa would stop every once in awhile to give Bradley a squirt in the mouth of her water bottle which he loved!


Shortly after this picture she used the clippers and Bradley didn't mind one bit. He was such a good boy.


He was so good we got icecream afterward. Don't you love the big boy haircut and cute messy little face! He looks so grown up!

My Beautiful Angel

I am most definitely partial to my little boy. If you were to ask me I would say he is the smartest and funniest little boy ever. I love and adore my son. He makes me laugh and yes sometimes cry, but this week he has grown in leaps and bounds. He shows me continuous love and forgiveness for burning dinner or taking his toy away. He is my angel because he has changed my life forever and for the better.

This week Bradley is definitely showing favorites, choosing Mommy over Daddy. The doctor said today, at his nine month well visit, "He's going to be an early walker. I give it a month then you're in trouble." My little man is growing in leaps and bounds. The thing is when a day is tough, he now gives ME a hug and will put his head on my shoulder. Today he'd give me a slobbery kiss on my cheek and then hugged me some more! I LOVE THIS!!! I know once he's older he probably won't want the hugs from Mommy or kisses, so I'm taking them as much as he'll give them to me. I am SO LUCKY to have him in my life. I do thank Heavenly Father for my little angel. I wouldn't want life any other way!!

The First Year

So far I absolutely love the first year of my son's life. He has taught me much in the ways of being a mother, I couldn't ask for anything better. This is a video I took of him yesterday while he was crawling out of the bathroom. I tried to get it while he was banging on the toilet and laughing but by the time I got everything ready, he was crawling out of the bathroom. It's about a minute long. I hope you enjoy it. I promise this week I'll have another good point to bring up other then a video to brag about. I'm definitely one of those typical mothers who takes lots of pictures! :)

Bradley's Week

Let me tell you Bradley has had a week that I just can't believe! My little bundle of joy is growing up, is VERY active, getting into everything and is well....just read on....

Sunday - went to church. Bradley was quiet during the passing of the sacrament, however was VERY interested in the trays. After sacrament he decided he wanted to stand up and no longer take his bottle. He would turn around and "talk" to the people behind him. My whole sacrament meeting was trying to apologize to people and pay what little attention I could. Ask me what church was about and my answer is....I have no clue.

Monday - I went to the gym. When I got home, he was choking on something he found on the floor. We chalked it up as fuzz or something.

Tuesday - Bradley pulled himself to the standing position and was holding onto the coffee table. He fell, hit his lip and cut his eyelid. I called the doctor they weren't worried, said he may swell a little and he may have his first shiner. Pictures are on Thursday. Of course this happened. Mother in law called, asked if she could live with us. I ran two miles at the gym. Came home from the gym to see Bradley stained in purple and Daddy with resolve in his hand. Apparently Bradley spilled Daddy's cherry coke all over the carpet, papers, magazines and himself. Daddy found him slurping soda off the end table. It was Bradley's first experience ever having soda. Bradley was very cranky. Mommy was cranky and tired.

Wednesday - Cranky baby. Had very poopy pants, have no idea what it was from, probably the fuzz. Daddy went to change his diaper on the floor, I was there to help in anyway. We lifted the poopy diaper and noticed, Bradley poop was smeared on our carpet. Resolve works wonders.

Thursday - The sweet little angel wouldn't take a morning nap. I tried to cuddle with him in our bed with his bottle. Bradley held his bottle to his mouth, drank some then stuck it in my mouth. He's very good at sharing with Mommy. Bradley continued to share with me until his bottle was empty. After about an hour he finally took a nap. Went to get pictures taken at Sears. Bradley cried. After he was settled and comfortable it was hard to even get him to smile once. Lucky for us we got a discount.

Oh the challenges of being a mother. I absolutely love them, although I am VERY tired right now, and it's not even 8:00pm.

My Selfishness

Well pretty much since the miscarriage I have decided I'm going to focus a lot more on myself. I'm going to be selfish. Pretty much I'm going to the gym all the time, I've lost three pounds so far, I've been changing my eating habits and I've been tanning. I just got my hair done again and I'm looking forward to taking time to myself everyday. I definitely enjoy it, there's nothing more then that. I still want to lose twenty to thirty more pounds. I am also halfway out of the military. I've been released from ROTC and my unit is working on discharging me as we speak. I have made several goals for myself, my personal trainer at the gym wanted all of us to and at one point or another I'll post them, but not today. I also have written a story, true story, and at some point after much revision I'll post that too. But pretty much I'm focusing more on myself and I love it. I have been going to the gym almost every day (except Sunday) and doing whatever it is during the day to make myself feel good. I want to look rockin' this summer and it makes me wonder if I really want to start trying for our other baby in June or wait just a little longer, not much longer though.

Of course Bradley is still my little angel and he's growing in leaps and bounds. Currently he still pulls himself up everywhere and scoots to where he needs to while holding onto something, like the coffee table or couch. He also crawls like a big boy now and before I know it he'll be walking. He says, "Dad," "Dadda," "Mom," and "Mama," plus "Hi," but of course he doesn't know what he's really saying. Right now he prefers mommy over daddy and crawls to me, pulls on my pant leg when crying, will pull himself up my pant leg and just want to be held or played with. I'm so lucky to have a little angel like him and he truly is my little angel.

Chris is doing well, he has been studying a lot. I'm VERY proud of him. He now says he's hit his stride in school. I am very proud of him and very lucky to be his wife. I couldn't ask for a more patient husband then him and even though he drives me crazy sometimes in the middle of all of it he makes me laugh. I love him very much and wouldn't want any other husband.

Wonderful Vacation

Well trust me when I say I definitely have more pictures to add, I just have to download them. But here are pictures from our trip that came off either my phone or Chris's phone...

Day One...

We went from Oswego to DC and stayed at the Grand Hyatt. Now I had been taking care of Bradley all day and was anxious to go. I also had been cleaning our house all day so when we left for a six hour car ride, I was wearing a t-shirt and old yoga pants. When we arrived at the hotel needless to say I was WAY underdressed, especially since we just parked behind a corvette! That night we had room service and went to bed. The next day we took Bradley swimming for the first time and took pictures, which we will add to this blog later. Then we saw the sights. We went to the Lincoln Monument, WWII Memorial (which brought me to tears), National Monument and the Treasury Building. From there we drove to NC and arrived at Chad's house. Bradley didn't take any naps while we were sightseeing, well for maybe fifteen minutes tops. But he was very pleasant.



Day Two....

Chad said he wanted to take us to the drop zone where he skydives from. We thought this was ok. He told Chris he had to wear sneakers and Chris told me I had to wear sneakers. I was embarrassed because I thought I looked like a geek, capris and sneakers. Oh well. Turns out Chad was going to throw Chris from a plane and make him skydive. I didn't have to wear sneakers at all! Well it was too windy so we ended up going to an indoor wind tunnel, which teaches you how to skydive. When you are pregnant you can't do this either, but Chad had Chris do it and we have pictures and a video of it too. Although the video we can't post online. It was great. Bradley became a little grumpy but was too interested in seeing people fly through the air tunnel to sleep.

Day Three....Monday.....

We went to Camp Leguene and picked up Uncle Rudy. He took us to a Mongolian BBQ and had lunch. From there we went back to Chad's house and relaxed. Uncle Rudy (Chris's brother) met Bradley for the first time. He thinks he's a great mix of the both of us. Bradley was too interested in staring at Uncle Rudy to sleep. We think he was confused who daddy was at first.

Day Four....Tuesday....

We all went to the Asheboro Zoo. We forgot our camera so ended up taking lots of photos from the phones. Bradley went on a child's jeep ride, where you put in a couple quarters and it moves back and forth. He was scared at first but then enjoyed it. He LOVED the ducks and pufans (kind of like little penguins). Even though we had the stroller everyone took turns holding him and enjoying time with Bradley. Bradley definitely skipped his nap this day too. There was so much to see. Rather then walking ALL the way back to the beginning of the zoo we took the zoo bus. Bradley fell asleep in daddy's lap and his head on mommy's arm in a matter of seconds. He had such an awesome day.

Day Five....Wednesday....

Mexican was called for! We ate lunch at this great Mexican restaurant where Uncle Chad tricked Chris into speaking Spanish. Chris was trying to order and was doing a great job. I ordered chicken fajitas and the waiter asked if I wanted chicken or pollo. I was the only one who understood they were the same thing. After lunch we went to the Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville where Chris, Rudy and I went on a simulated ride in order to see what it's like in a HMMMV and helicopter, which we already knew but it was fun anyway. From there we went to the actual museum part and got a bit of history of the Special Operations section of the Army. Bradley thought the manequinns were real as he smiled at each one we went up to. Bradley again was way too interested to sleep.

Day Six...Thursday....

Pretty much the boys stayed home and Chad and I did errands around Fayetteville area. When we got back all we did was hang out and watch Star Wars which I enjoyed. Bradley did take a nap this day.

Day Seven....Friday...

We said goodbye to Chad and wished him luck in Afghanistan. My brother leaves in about a month for another year, well we hope it's only another year. We drove Uncle Rudy home, said goodbye. From there we drove to DC again and stayed at the Double Tree hotel. We all got dressed up and went to a VERY nice dinner that overlooked the DC Skyline. Our hotel was right across the street from the Pentagon. The wait staff was very nice to Bradley and he very much enjoyed the apple juice and pasta and bread they gave him. Chris and I both ate meals with shrimp and lobster in them. My mouth waters just thinking about it. After that we went back to our room and went to bed.

Day Eight....Saturday....

Chris got up early and headed to the gym. After the gym Bradley and I went swimming and Chris watched. The pool was on the fourteenth floor and overlooked DC, it was nice but the water felt cold. Bradley loved his little floaty. After swimming I went down to a cafe in the hotel and got us sandwiches. Bradley slept in our room with daddy. After we ate, we went to the Holocaust Museum, where I discovered four of my family names have been recognized as rescuers in the Holocaust. I'm not sure how yet, but I'll find out. I bought a couple of books and I am MORE than excited to do family history now, plus help Chris with his. Talk about motivation! From there we drove home and got home VERY late.

Sometime during the whole trip Bradley cut his bottom teeth, both of them! The poor boy was miserable for a day (the day Chad and I went and did errands). All Bradley wanted was his mommy and that made me feel very loved, but at the same time restricted me from being able to pack, etc. But it all worked out and Bradley is a bit happier now. We can feel his little teeth, they just have to finish pushing through!

Overall the trip was WONDERFUL and I was sad it had to end so soon and we had to say goodbye to warm weather and family.

Creepy Crawly

So as I am typing this blog, my son is sitting in my lap, watching everything. Who knows how well this will turn out. As for this week. I was feeling great until about an hour and a half ago. Now I'm back to feeling sick. But I'm making it through.

I am very excited about our trip on Friday. I just hope it comes soon! It feels like the time is creeping by, which doesn't make sense because there is so much to do.

The past few days, when I get a free chance I have been reading one of my books, The Secret Life of Bees. As of right now I am HOOKED on it. I absolutely love it! I want nothing more right now then to find out what the heck is going on and if this fourteen year old girl is going to finally open up to someone.




Now for the creepy crawly of it all....Bradley, at six months, is crawling everywhere! It's a low crawl with his head up and he just goes wherever he pleases. We now look at him one minute and the next minute he is lost. Chris said his heart sank one day when he couldn't find him, turns out he made his way into the closet.

It's absolutely amazing to me to see how much my little boy is growing. We have most definitely included a video of him doing his creepy crawly and soon we know he's going to be a little mad man crawling like crazy.

Bradley Growing

So we have a quiz on the side of my blog and a baby ticker on the very bottom. For some reason I couldn't get the ticker to fit all the way on the side.

Pretty much Chris and I are realizing how fast our little boy is growing. He's not driving a car or anything but he is growing fast and a little faster then we thought he was. We are posting a clip of our son, this was from last week. He was playing with the keyboard and successfully programmed some sort of sounds we couldn't get off the computer for about a day or so. He's going to be a computer nut just like Daddy.

A few days ago Chris was feeding the baby, well it turns out Chris put his food on the tray for the highchair. Bradley had just learned how to dump out his toys from a little bucket he has, so he was imitading the same concept. All I heard was, "Bradley!" When Chris told me what happened all I could do was laugh.

So I have a very hard time swallowing pills. The doctor had given me chewable prenatal vitamins. Yesterday was our first day taking them (before I was taking Flinstones). First off the container is hard as all heck to open. They say they are child proof, well they are adult proof too. Chris even had more of a difficult time opening them then he thought he would.

After they were opened we took a sniff....citrus....I asked Chris if he wanted one. He declined. I took my chewable for the day and thought, "It's not so bad." Then it hit. The citrus flavor quickly changed to something bitter and chalky. I couldn't even swallow this! It was horrible. As I choked it down I was reading the label. "Take with a full glass of water." Of course. No wonder why they wanted you to douse your mouth with a liquid substance.

This morning as I was staring down the bottle I realized it said something about your bowel movements and urine. Apparently it's not uncommon for them to change color. Great I wonder if I'll have purple poop.

Throughout all of this, it reminded me of how my mother would force me to choke down my dinner. I was normally just a hotdog and beans type of girl. It was my favorite. A couple years ago in school I had to write a very short piece about food, which I'm sure needs editing, but the choking of the pills reminded me of this piece.

Enjoy.

The Worst Pork Chops Ever

I sat there and stared at the meat soaked in what my family thought was a delicious sustenance. The pork chops stared back at me, daring me to eat it. Everyone was gone from the table except me, the princess plate, the pork chops soaked in tomato soup and the hopeful and willing rescuer the dog, named Brandy. My booster seat was pushed close to the table, with me in it. I felt the world caving in as I watched my brother playing outside in the warm Georgia evening weather.

Chad was tossing a tennis ball against the brick exterior and then catching it. Every once and awhile there was a loud BING ringing against the glass window. "SORRY MOM! I MISSED THE WALL!" He yelled through the window followed by his goofy smile showing his missing six year old front teeth.

"Mom, can I go outside and play with Chad?"

"When you finish your supper."

"But Mom, I'm FULLLLL" I emphasized full in my whine, hoping to win her over.

"You hardly ate anything. Finish your meat."

Finish my meat? Is she crazy? Does she know this is torture and how horrible it tastes? "But Mom," I continued to whine. "The meat is too rough!" I used to say the meat was too rough when it took forever to chew or it was overcooked.

"Jenna, the meat isn't too rough," Mom argued.

Then it dawned on me like a ton of bricks, Brandy was patiently waiting, for any drops of food. As quietly as possible I picked up a piece of the tomato soaked meat and hung it over the table. Brandy, a medium sized mutt, attacked it as a piranha would attack fresh meat, I almost lost a finger. Glancing in Mom's direction she had no clue, the plan had worked and Mom was oblivious. One piece was down and several more to go. I reached again for the next victim while Brandy was anticipating her next treat, ready to go and on her feet.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

How did she know? She wasn't even in the same room as me! I put the meat on the table and then casually flung it off with my hand, the dog leapt for it.

"JENNIFER MARIE!"

She used my middle name! I'm really in trouble now! Where is she? How does she know these things? "But Mom, I dropped it!" I tried to emphasize the word drop.

"Don't 'but Mom' me, eat your dinner!"

I put a piece of the rough white tomato meat in my mouth and began to chew. Again that four year old brain of mine was on fire. After chewing and chewing, I would spit the meat into the paper napkin Mom placed at each of our settings. It was a great plan except the napkin was tearing and it would be noticeable. There had to be another plan fishing around my head somewhere. I shoved the last couple of pieces in my mouth.

"Mom, I'm done! See?" I showed her my plate, napkin crumpled on top and my mouth full of meat.

"See that wasn't so bad was it?"

"Nope," I tried to choke out as much of the word as my chipmunk cheeks would allow.

"Go throw the napkin away and you can go outside with Chad."

I pushed myself away from the cryptic chair of torture, the dog close at my heels and headed toward the trash to throw away the contents of my napkin and mouth.

"And don't even think of spitting the meat out."

She knows! I threw out the napkin, walked passed my mom showing her the contents of my mouth and headed for the bathroom. With the exception of a small amount I spit the other white meat in the toilet and flushed away my dinner. Walking passed my mother again I showed her the remains in my mouth again and headed outside, Brandy still on my heels waiting for her final reward.