Brady's First Hospital Visit

Friday turned out to be a very eventful day & night for us. Brady woke up from a long nap in severe pain on his bottom. I discovered a very large abcess on his bottom and called the doctor. The doctor met me back up at his office and told me it was very likely Brady would have to have it surgically removed and it quite possibly had a staph infection. YIKES!

Long story short, we took him to Texas Children's Hospital Friday night and by 4:30am Saturday morning were admitted. The surgeon came in and gave us all of the details and set us up to have surgery sometime during the day Saturday.


Here is Brady Saturday morning after a very traumatic experience getting his IV put in. After 5 times, they finally got it in and Brady could get some rest. This would begin his fear of anyone in the hospital wearing gloves...

Saturday was a long day. We waited for a very long time to be called in for surgery. Brady needed a bath though, so Grammy & Yaya gave him a sponge bath which made him feel much more clean!

To try to calm him during our time in the hospital, our sweet nurses gave us this little car to push him around the hospital in. Notice the IV pole which had to follow us wherever we went too. What a pain!

Around 9:20pm Saturday we were called in for surgery. Brady had not had anything to eat since 2:00am that day. The surgery was very short and helped remove the staph infection. We were told by the surgeon that he had a fistula which had been infected by staph. He placed a temporary drain in which we will leave in for 7-14 days then go back to have it removed.

The above picture was right after surgery when Brady FINALLY got to have a bottle. It was his first time to have apple juice and he LOVED it! Poor baby.

We were released from the hospital Sunday afternoon around 2:30pm. Brady is so happy to be home although he is not completely pain free. The pain he feels now is nothing like the pain he had with the fistula.

Throughout this weekend we have had so much love and support from family and friends. We are so blessed!

The King Of Everything!

After our long morning at the doctor's office, we had our normal Friday trip to ChickfilA. While we were all in the play area, Luke met two new friends and had a great time playing with them. During their introduction to each other they asked Luke what was on his forehead.
He replied "it's my marker".
They asked, "Who did that?"
He replied, "God did it!" "He is the King of Everything."
The one little boy said laughing..."I know that!"

so cute how kids talk!

Brady: One Year Check Up

STATS:
Weight: 23 lbs
Height: 31.25 inches

Brady checked out to be Aok! He got three shots today and one toe stick. None were fun, but he did survive! Dr. Decker gave me some helpful tips on how to get Brady off the bottle since he REFUSES to drink milk from a sippy cup. So, we will be working on that within the next few weeks. I want to be sure not to throw to many adjustments his way right now though since he just started Mother's Day Out.

I must say that Luke was a champ today while we were at the doctor's office. He was so good in the waiting room (1.5 hrs) and was very polite to the nurses and doctor. He even got a flu shot and was very brave! I was extremely proud of Luke today. His behavior was exceptional!

Brady's First Day of Mother's Day Out

Yesterday was Brady's first day to go to Mother's Day Out. He is going to be going on Monday & Wednesday from 9:00am to 2:00pm. Above is a picture of him yesterday before we left for school.


This is him with his teacher Mrs. Linda. She is a really sweet spirited lady. She is very nurturing and mild. We can't wait to get to know her better as the year goes on. There are three other children in Brady's class...all of which are BOYS! It should be a fun year!



This is a picture I took from outside the classroom door. Brady was fine, but still unsure of what was going on. He had a good day for it to be the first time he has ever been left like that before with anyone other than family.

Here is Brady's Daily Schedule:

9:00-9:15- Welcome/Table Time
9:15-9:30- Snack (Nursery Rhymes)
9:30-9:45 Diaper Changes
9:45- 10:15- Outdoor Time
10:15-11:00- Learning Time/Craft
11:00-11:30- Wash Hands & Lunch
11:30-11:45- Diaper Change
11:45- 12:15- Story Time/Bible Verses/Music
12:15-2:00- Nap time
2:00- Go Home

Time to Party!

Brady's first birthday party was August 15th. We had a pool party at Caleb's parents house (Yaya & Papi's). It was a duck themed party. We put 200 ducks in the pool along with 5 more duck floats. The cake was a duck and the party favors were rubber ducks. We served bar-b-que sandwiches, chips, grapes, and watermelon.

Here are the pics which were taken by a good friend of mine at Deliberately Chic Photography.


This one is my favorite of all so I had to put it first in line! It was also used as his thank you note.

Below are a few more of him alone that I just love!

His cakes were made by Joy Farmer at the lovely "Cakes by Joy" as always they exceeded my expectations!

As you can see below, he enjoyed them too!

So much that he had to be hosed off...

Couldn't resist posting this picture. Amy and her sleepy baby boy Noah.

Brady opening his presents. He got lots of really cute clothes and toys!

including this one...


Another sleepy friend of Brady's! I guess the party just wore them out!


The Allens

Yaya, Brady, & Papi

Papa, Brady, & Grammy

Brady & GG

Grammy & B-ball!

Kaykay & Papi

First Day of School 2009

My big boy could not wait to get back to school today! He has been asking all week when it will be time to go back. This morning he woke up extra early ready to go.
He ate breakfast, helped me pack his lunch, and waited till time to head out.


Here he is in front of the playground at school. He is so excited to get to play outside today!



Once we got into Luke's new classroom he hardly even skipped a beat. He walked right in and started talking to his little friends. He was a little shy with his new teacher, Mrs. Alyssa, but I am sure that will only be for a short time.

Here's Luke's class schedule for this year:

9:00-9:15- Welcome/Table toys
9:15-9:40- Circle time
9:40-9:45- Potty Break
9:45- 10:00 Table Work
10:00- 10:30- Story & Snacks
10:30- 10:55- Playground/ Wash hands
11:00- 11:25- Chapel (Wednesday)
11:25-11:30- Potty Break
11:30-12:00- Projects & Centers
12:00-12:30- Lunch
12:30-1:15- Clean up & Rest
1:15- 1:40- Music
1:45-2:00 Pack up & go home

It should be an exciting year! Luke's teacher was his teacher's aid when he was in the one year old class, so he already knows her.

Side note: Brady is also going to be attending Mother's Day Out this year as well. Today was supposed to be his first day too, but he has had a stomach ache so he didn't get to go. Hopefully he will be better by Wednesday.

Happy Birthday to Grammy!

This post is a little late since my mom's birthday was August 12th. We celebrated her birthday late since she was on vacation on her actual birthday. Our family along with my parent's neighbors went to eat at Buca Di Bepo, a family style Italian restaurant. It was a lot of fun and the food was wonderful!

Luke helped Grammy eat her dessert!

My crazy sister Lindsey making a weird face.

Papa & Luke played Batman while we waited for our food.

Me & Caleb

Me & mi madre!

The Party People!

My Baby is ONE Today!

Believe it or not...Brady is one today!

Here's a little recap of how he spent his birthday...

Breakfast in bed...

Lunch at Chick Fil A!

Nap on the car ride home.

Park for some birthday pics after nap!

WOW! This year has gone by really fast in one way and slow in another. Here's how... I can't believe last year at this time he was just being born...on the other hand, I can't believe I have not slept through the night for a whole year! Yep, that's right, Brady still insists on waking up each night at all different times. The absolute latest he will wake up is 6:30am which is actually nice! I said I would never ever ever have a baby that woke up like this, but here I am. I am speechless!

Now on to the things I LOVE about this little guy:

He is SO friendly! He is always good for a smile. He wakes up happy and goes to bed happy. He will go to anybody and nobody is a stranger. I love that about him. I like to call him "Mr. Friendly"

He has learned how to do "Indian" which is super cute. He does it a lot. I think it's his favorite thing to do. His best trick!

He is a biter!!! YIKES. I don't think he bites to be mean though. I think he bites because his little teeth hurt. His crib is history! He has teeth marks all over it. I am hoping this is just a stage he is going through... we will see!

He is SO tough! I can not even begin to count the amount of times this little guy gets tossed around by his big brother each day. In his short time on earth he has already suffered a black eye, badly cut finger, cut chin and goose egg on his forehead. Not to mention the countless other "smaller" injuries! This guy has been through it all! Most of it at the hands of Luke. Even so, He sheds a few tears and goes on about his day.

He is a 100% momma's boy! I only thought Luke was a momma's boy until Brady. He gives momma's boy a new meaning. Not in a bad way, but a sweet way. He truly lights up when I come home from being away from him. What a little sweetheart he is.

Mr. Personality likes to get his way. If things don't go his way he throws his head back and arches his back. If he doesn't like something you are doing he will definitely let you know real quick!

His current vocabulary consists of Mama, Dadda, Bubba, and I think he may have said Uh Oh today but I am not sure yet.

He is officially a forward car seat rider too! We switched him around last week. He just laughed in his seat as soon as he realized what was going on. I have never seen anyone so happy to ride frontwards. He can now see where we are going instead of where we have been!

I can't end without mentioning his big brother Luke. Luke has had a year of changes and adjustments, but all in all has handled his little brother really well. He loves to play with him, even if he is a little more rough than he should be. He loves to hide from him and scare him. He loves to let Brady chase him. He misses him when he takes his nap. I can't wait to see their relationship grow.

Lastly, Brady still has his nickname "B-ball". Most of the time he answers to this even over his real name. Luke gave him this nickname soon after he was born and insisted that we call him this. I think it is extra cool for that reason!

Thank you B-ball for bringing such joy to all of our lives. We love you so much and are so proud of the way you have grown!

Stay posted for birthday party pictures coming soon!!!

On a Hot Summer Day...

...you should go to the splash park!!!

The boys and I spent the afternoon today at the splash park in Pearland. It was the perfect treat to beat the heat!


I got them to stand still for more than a second!!!



Brady's acted like he had been here lots of times before- although this was his first time to a splash park. He jumped right in like an old pro!

Luke enjoyed sitting on top of the water falls! As we all know- he loves the water, so this was right up his alley.
What a fun afternoon we had!

The Children's Museum

Today we met our friends Charlene & Lily at the Children's Museum. The above picture is taken right out front of the museum. I love the big kid statues!


Here are Luke & Brady waiting to go explore!



Luke & Lily right in front of the kids train.


Luke at the grocery store with his basket of goods! All veggies as you can see... until he found where the steaks were!

My little artist!

Brady enjoyed playing too in the play area.

All smiles!

Brady loved the chicks.

Charlene, Brady and I enjoyed a puppet show put on by Luke and Lily. Luke is on the left as the squirrel & Lily is the gator on the right. They did a great job!

We had a great time. The museum was really cool and fun for kids of all ages. When I asked Luke what he liked best he said "looking at the animals" and when we go back he wants to eat lunch there too! We will definitely be back again!