Rain, Davey Ramsey, and Tubes...Oh My!

Little man had a four hour nap one day!  The hair says it all.

Being the cutest thing during bath time.  He loves his baths! 

Nick got the flu toward the beginning of the month.  He was down for a few days, and by Friday, Nick decided Brayden and I needed to have a Mommy/Son date night.  I had had a long few days taking care of both of my boys, and then I went and burned dinner.  I wanted to cry, and Nick told me to head on out with Brayden, and he'd fend for himself.  Brayden LOVES cole slaw at 155 in Ore City.  So, we decided to go there.  He was cute as could be.  He wanted to sit in my lap to color, so, of course, I let him.  He enjoyed telling everyone around us "Hi" and ate more food than me.

The next day, Brayden and I headed to Texarkana to go hang out with Bibi, Harpo, and Sassy.  We went to the Texarkana Home & Garden Expo, and Brayden got to meet the Red River lion.  He was not too sure about it.  We went to some furniture places to look for Sassy some couches and what not.  We also went to Pizza Inn and Lowe's.  Overall, we had a great time!

Daylight Savings started and I bribed Brayden to be in a good mood at church by giving him doughnut holes.  :)

And, it's been raining....a lot.  We love the rain.  Truly, we do.  When you own a landscaping company, rain is a good thing.  However, so is sunshine.  We've been petitioning God for some sunshine as of late.  Brayden and I made sprinkle sugar cookies one evening to brighten up the day because it was so dreary and gray outside.

This is what Brayden does every time I cook dinner.  I love him dearly, and I'd love to hold him, but since he's 30 lbs, it's hard to hold him on one hip and cook.  Plus, I don't want him to get burned by anything on the stove.  I'll try and cherish the moments now, because I know there will be a day he doesn't want me to hold him anymore.

Nick and I had the privilege to go hear Dave Ramsey & Chris Hogan speak at EntreLeadership in Dallas on March 13th.  We went down the day before and treated ourselves to a nice dinner at Texas de Brazil.  We stayed across the street from the church so we were able to walk there the next day.  EntreLeadership is for small businesses.  It was AWESOME, and we both learned so much.  It has inspired Nick, and we are hoping this upcoming season will be our best yet.  We also had the opportunity to go to a small-ish (around 100 people) lunch Q&A with Dave & Chris.  We learned a lot from them in that short one hour lunch.

That weekend I did a little craft project with the help of the hubby.  I wanted a place to display Brayden's artwork from school.  Here's what I came up with.  Nick cut the wood from some leftover cedar he had, and I painted the words and hung the line.  The artwork is all Brayden. :)

We had a day of sunshine last week.  Brayden and I took advantage of it while we could.  He's looking so tall these days.  PJ and Friday gave us this little slide for our yard since their grands are too old to play on it anymore.  It has been a huge hit with Brayden.   He can climb up it on his own now, and he's working on sliding down by himself.  Too cute!

This past Friday (the 20th), Brayden finally got tubes.  He also had his adenoids removed.  The people at ETMC took great care of him.  I was very concerned because he was not allowed to eat after midnight the day of his surgery.  We were the first ones on the list, so we had to be there at 6:30am.  We got there (in the rain, of course), and they took us back.  He was supposed to go at 7:30am, but that time came and went.  The power had gone out the day before and not everything was quite ready for little man's surgery.  I was so worried he was going to be "hangry" due to no food since dinner the night before, but he, amazingly, did really well.  But they worked as quickly as possible, and he was headed back around 9:40am.  They came and got us right around 10:30am.  He did great, but didn't come out of the anesthesia very gracefully.  We got him home, and he took an hour nap before he'd even wake up for something to eat.  After that rough patch, though, everything seems to have worked great.  Sassy came up to spend the day with us, and help out with the little man.  He enjoyed her pancakes for lunch.  He took another nap that afternoon (around 2 and a half hours), and woke up feeling well.  Thanks everyone for the prayers!  I think this surgery will help solve all his ear infections and congestion problems.

 The next day, we went to celebrate my Dad's birthday.  Brayden helped him open presents.  We got him the newest Night at the Museum movie.  Sister got him a drone with a camera (nothing too sophisticated, but something fun we can play with)!  And Mom got him a saw he'd been wanting.  We went to eat at Big Jake's in Texarkana, and enjoyed spending time with each other.

I did my first ever Baptism on Sunday.  I was very nervous, but Chelsey and I got through it.  So proud of this sweet girl.  She was baptized on her 10th birthday!

We also had Movie Night at the church that night.  It was exhausting, but fun too.  We watched Big Hero 6 while the adults watched God's Not Dead.

Some cute random pictures from yesterday.  Brayden learned at his Bibi & Harpo's that it's fun to completely empty cabinets out.  And Brayden received this cute shirt from Don Don (our pastor's wife, Donna) on their trip to Germany over spring break.  It says, "I am Oma & Opa's little prince."  Hopefully, once Brayden really starts to talk, he'll call Nick's parents Oma & Joepa.  Donna saw it and decided Brayden needed it.

THE SUN IS SHINING, and we are working hard!

Dates, Snow, and Family...Oh My!

February was cold this year.  I'm tired of the cold.  I want sunshine, and sand, and all things warm (not hot).  For now, we'll continue to eat soup.

Pretty sure Brayden had a growth spurt.  He was sleeping a lot at the beginning of the month.  As in 4 hour naps and having to be woken in the morning after sleeping for 12 hours straight.  Any taller, and he won't be able to fit under the countertop that sticks off the peninsula in our kitchen anymore.

Busy little bee in the kitchen.

Joe & Melanie came over for dinner one night.  Nick & I have a garden this year, so he and his dad cut potatoes to prep for planting them later in the month.  Melanie and Brayden played, the pups chewed bones, and we all enjoyed the fire.

My sister is awesome and gave Nick & I a "Date Night" for Christmas this past year.  We dropped Brayden off with my family, and we headed to Texarkana.  We ate at Fuji's (my favorite!) and went to see American Sniper.  It was a very touching movie that left me in tears more than once.  We didn't take any pictures of our night out, but it was wonderful!

On Saturday, February 7th, Nick, Brayden, & I headed to New Boston to have some fun with my Mom's family.  Since my grandmother passed away, it's been a while since we all gathered together.  We ate a lovely lunch and just enjoyed everyone's company.

Brayden fell asleep on the way home, and he let me cuddle him after getting him out of the car.  It's rare this happens these days, so I cherish every minute of it.

Just a few pics of living in the country. :)

When I put him in bed, his head was at the opposite end of the crib, he had socks on, and he was covered with the blanket. Sleeps like a wild thing!

A little boy who had a fun Valentine's was, of course, Brayden.  He had his first Valentine's party at school.  It was too cute!  "He" gave his classmates applesauce punches.  I saw the idea on Pinterest to put tags on them that said, "You're my main squeeze!"  I decided against that because there's only one girl in his class. :)  So, the tags just said, "Happy Valentine's Day!  From Brayden".  At their party, their class got to go join the one-year old class do enjoy pizza and cupcakes.  These kids are too cute and are going to be a blast growing up together.  I forgot to take pictures of Brayden opening his Valentine's gift from us, but he got sidewalk chalk, Duck Tales, and a sucker.  He was a happy little dude!

Valentine's is probably one of my least favorite holidays.  I mean, I love my husband.  I don't get all mad if Nick doesn't send me flowers and chocolates.  I'm happy when he does send me flowers or candy, but I also tell him not to blow our budget to send me those things.  This year, he was awesome and got me a massage, pedicure and manicure at Treasured Moments.  I'm holding onto them for a special time to use them.  Nick asked for Carhartt bibs, and he's worn them a lot!  He did surprise me this year though.  He told me that Brayden was going to spend the night with his parents, and we were going out on Friday.  He didn't tell me much other than that I needed to wear comfortable shoes (no heels) and wear a jacket.  He subtly dropped hints during the week.  I deduced it was a concert and outside.  He mentioned it was in Tyler.  On Friday, he asked if I had any clue as to what we were doing.  I told him from what he told me, I was thinking it was a concert at Stanley's.  He asked if I knew who.  I guessed Luke Wade, and I was right!  Luke Wade is from Dublin, Texas, and he competed on "The Voice" this past season.  It was a lot of fun!  However, I'm older than I once was.  There was an opener, and Luke Wade started at 10:30pm.  We'd been on our feet since 8:00pm because Stanley's is pretty much a standing room only venue.  Around 11:30, we left for home.  Husband did a wonderful job on making Valentine's special for me.  :)  AND, we ran into a friend, Megan Cumbee, that we met when Nick & I first met at Texas Baptist All State Choir.  I love seeing those friends.

There were A LOT of people there.

Earlier in the day though, I helped Nick build a trellis at a customer's house.  A couple that works together, stays together. :)

We met up with Joe, Melanie, & Brayden for lunch at the Hot Link Joint on the 14th.  After lunch, Nick, Brayden, & I headed to the feed store for some things for our garden.  Brayden got to see a few baby chicks there.  Then, we headed to Nick's cousin's house (Tim) because he had just received chicks for his farm.  Brayden was not too sure about these little creatures, but it was fun to go see them, just the same.  While Brayden was down for his nap, Nick & I soaked up some Vitamin D by planting our potatoes.  We're hoping they aren't rotten with all this rain we've gotten.  Let's hope the sprout up soon!  And to celebrate that it was pretty enough to be outside, husband made yummy elk burgers, and we ate dinner on the back porch.

President's Day was rainy.  The guys didn't work, but Nick, Brayden, & I headed to Henderson to Nick's aunt's house.  Aunt Patsy & Uncle Bobby are wanting a sprinkler system, and Nick needed to do all the measurements.  We had some delicious stew that Aunt Patsy made and enjoyed spending time with her.  Uncle Bobby had to be out of town, and we missed seeing him.  Even though it was cold and rainy, Brayden got bundled up and went to go see the cows.  He loved it!

Crashed as soon as we left Aunt Patsy's.

Brayden had yet ANOTHER ear infection that we found out about on February 20th when he woke up from his nap with a 102 fever!  I had to dash to get him into the doctor, but we made it.  They started him on antibiotics, and I thought he'd get better rather quickly.  Negative.  He must be immune to amoxicillin now.  He started Cefdinir on Monday and that helped tremendously!  He has surgery scheduled for tubes (and possibly adenoids) on Friday, March 20.  I pray to be done with these nasty ear infections after the surgery.  This last one was horrible!  His fever spiked every four hours, he was congested, waking up every 1-2 hours at night, and wasn't eating much, which is saying something for Brayden.  We had had plans to meet some of Nick's family at Bass Pro in Garland on that Saturday, but we felt it was best to stay home with munchkin and make sure he was as comfortable as possible.

Monday, February 23rd, sleet hit.  Two days later, snow hit.  It was pretty snow too!  Brayden loved the sound it made under his shoes.  We walked all over our land.  We went to see the pond which was full.  It started melting on Thursday.  We've now had a beautiful snow, lots of rain, and I am ready for spring and sun!

Husband did a good job on picking out some Muck boots for me.  They're not "Muck" brand, but "Western Chief" form Tractor Supply.  I believe Tractor Supply has sold out of them in Mt. Pleasant because quite a few ladies rushed to buy some. :)  Nick is starting fashion trends.

Our little jail bird trying to break out.

Not a fan of the clothes to go see the snow.

Nick doing some snow angels in the front yard.

I love their happy faces.

Helping Momma cook chili for the cold, snowy day.

We got out of the house on Friday and went to eat fish with Oma & Joepa at 155 in Ore City.  Brayden's favorite is the cole slaw. :)

My Mom's birthday was February 27th, and we celebrated on the 28th.  We all headed to New Boston.  Dad & Nick kept Brayden while Mom, Sister, and I headed to Texarkana to do some Easter dress shopping.  Something we haven't done in years!  It was a success all around.  Then, we met up with the guys for dinner at Olive Garden.  With the way the weather was, Mom's present didn't arrive on time, but I was able to take it to her the next weekend.  We had a marvelous time!

There goes February, now let's tackle March.