Who They Are Now

I know, I know, I know. I've been slacking in the blogging department and I have so many things to catch up on, but I started with my favorite!!!

(This was the best group shot!)

If I said that these past few months of my life have been the hardest of my life so far, it would still be the biggest understatement. It's tough being a parent, I think I say this every "Who They Are Now" post. I don't know if anyone else is having a rough go at it or if it's just us, but WOW! If someone would have told me what parenting was REALLY going to be like, I don't think I would have had the courage to try...BUT I'm so glad no one told me! (I probably wouldn't have believed them any way.) AND, every day I remind myself not to compare my home, my kids, my life to anyone else's...I had three kids in a matter of 18 months and I work full-time away from home. It's rough. We're in a "baby coma" sort of speak and every day we are inching our way out of the haze into the sunlight. BUT it's not all gloom and doom...I am so grateful for this experience, daily I am reminded how strong I am and that I can do hard things. I amazed at my ability to love and I am in awe of the love Heavenly Father has for me. So uniquely and tenderly HE has blessed me and guided me and inspired me.

Brinkley Jada--30 Months

I can't wait until that day she has a baby girl of her own and I pray she is just like her!!! She's independent. She's funny. She's so strong willed and tender. She's delicate. She's lovable. She's passionate. She has an opinion and there's no changing her mind. She loves dirt!!! She could dig for hours in a sand box if you let her. She loves popsicles in the bathtub. She has this funny way of getting excited about something, she says, "Ohhhhh," and tips her head down and lifts her shoulders up. It's precious! She loves candy, gum and lip gloss and I use them to bribe her to do most things. She's a nail biter and will even bite yours off if you're not careful. She loves dressing up and singing. If you say, 'sing me a song,' she'll make one up, "La, la, la, laaa, laa." She has a good ear for music....at least I think she does, because I really don't have one. But on the way home from church she'll start signing songs that she learned that day in nursery and I can totally figure out what they are, but usually not by the words, but by the tune. She loves to pray and in church when you say, Fold your arms, it's prayer time," she starts praying out loud. They mostly go like this, "Heavenly Father, food, Amen." She insists on doing things herself and probably says, "I do it," at the top of her lungs like 50 times a day. She loves birthdays and presents or anything new that you call a present. I spent the week before Brady's birthday convincing her that is wasn't her birthday. She's a cuddler and she still loves blankets. A blanket and some cuddling time can usually solve a majority of her meltdowns. She's fearless and friendly. She's so full of life and love and we are so grateful she's ours!

Braxton Reese--30 Months

(P.S. He does not consider picture taking one of his favorite things.)

Oh, he's a big tough guy. He loves to swing things and throw things...anything. I say the following statement to him multiple times a day, "Braxton we don't throw dinosaurs at the TV or at people!" I just switch out the word "dinosaurs" for pretty much any object in our home on any given day! When we're in the car and I stop at a traffic light, he screams, "Goooo mama!" I always explain to him that we have to stop on the red lights, but he doesn't care, he likes to go, go go. He can be pretty tough and rarely gives in when there's an object that both he and Brinkley want. But recently he's understanding more about taking turns and can easily be calmed if you let him know that he'll get it in 5 minutes. He's such a love-bug and by far my favorite person on the planet to get a hug from. He means it when he hugs you. Ask him for one next time you see him, he won't disappoint! He loves friends and going to friends' houses. When we're driving away from the homes in our neighborhood he always says, "Go there mama," he wants me to turn to a friend's house before we pass all the homes. He LOVES riding his bikes on the back patio. He's an amazing bike rider especially for how young he is. His bikes have training wheels on them but he can navigate around things and turn on a dime. He's just such a big boy. He's a very good communicator and can express what he wants easily. He loves the color orange lately, mainly because that's the color of daddy's basketball. But his favorite sport is baseball these days. Without any prompting he found a small piece of PVC pipe in the backyard and a golf ball and asked me to throw it to him so he could hit it. He hits the ball about every 10 pitches and loves every minute of it. He a joy and a pleasure to be around.

Brady Cameron--12 Months

From the day this angel entered our lives he brought such peace with him. I know I've said this before, but I KNOW for certain our family needs him, as chaotic as it all is, he's keep us closer to God. He has the happiest disposition and the biggest smile. He's lovable and easy going. Friends and family have told us a million times how lucky we are to have such a great baby....and believe me, WE KNOW. The moment we found out we were pregnant with Brady, David and I laughed out loud. There was no other emotion, we were jubilant, scared, but joyous. And Brady has never disappointed. He rarely cries and is calmed easily when he does. Teething has brought some of our saddest moments with him, but he's handled it all pretty well. He currently has 4 teeth. This is so funny, he has the bottom two center teeth, and the next one to his right on the bottom and then he has his top tooth to the right of his front teeth (which he doesn't have) if that makes since. It's Hilarious! BUT as I am typing this his two front teeth are about to pop through! At his 12 month visit he was 22 pounds, 12 ounces, 50%, and he was 31 inches, 90%. He loves balls and books. He hasn't had a bottle since he was 11 months and two weeks, we broke the twins at 17 months, so we think we're getting better! He still isn't walking, but he's an awesome crawler and pulls himself up on everything, and walks along furniture. He's discovered that he can get into just about anything he wants. He goes to sleep at night and for naps so easily and wakes in such a great mood. I just can't say enough about what a wonderful baby he is. I pray his sweet disposition stays with him his entire life, because if he brings others the same joy he has brought us in 1 short year, this world will be so blessed!