The Journey Has Begun: March 2010

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Technical Difficulties

For some reason I cant download pictures so I will have to catch up later. I am off to bed.

Braden is 17 weeks today! Can you believe it-I have taken sooo many pictures but I am not on my computer-I have pulled these off facebook-so I haven't even posted his St Patty's Day pics or his 4 month old pics. Mommy is falling behind!! But I will post them very soon!!!

Not much has been going on the past two weeks. Just getting up and going to work and coming home and taking care of my little man. Here are a few pictures of him-he just makes me smile every time I see his toothless grin!! And he is grinning all the time.

This time last year I was probably in SHOCK! I found out that I was pregnant! I can remember praying every night that I might one day have a child with my wonderful husband. OH I never thought it would turn out like this! I am so overcome with love, joy, and excitement, yet I am so scared. Just pray for our country and for those that we call our leaders. I just need to remember that God is in control just as he was with me and Brad. It wasn't His timing when we were trying to start a family some 5 years ago-He knew that we had so much more to do and wanted us to spend more time with each other and with Him. I can't imagine doing this all on my own-He knew when the time was right for us to have our Lil Boy Braden and just look at this innocent little face-those cute little cheeks make me want to eat him up!!!

I take him as much as I can to jog when it feels good outside. He loves it-it just wears him out-two laps and he is calling it a day.

Braden was so excited here to go out to eat with some of our BEST friends!

His first ride on the escalator! Yes that is right-not elevator-Brad had that boy strapped in there so he would not fall out-we went to the Galleria and walked around after we ate-Braden is enjoying the ride...

Here are some of our BESTEST friends-Cindi-Luke-Jayce and Ayden

They were behind us on the escalator. Jayce had the BEST seat on top of the stroller!!! Look at Ayden holding on for dear life!! haha

Here is Braden in church this past Sunday-he loved listening to our Praise and Worship Team-he just cooed. Then when Pastor Kevin started preaching we gave him a bottle and he was out! If you look closely you can see a sweet little tear coming out of his eye-how precious!!

Braden is learning how to yell and sound like a car (lips sounds like a motor..bbbb) I don't know how else to explain it-ha. He is just growing up so fast!!! Gran says this is a PawPaw face-he is Growling at somebody!!!

What is he doing at 4 months:

your eyes are still blue-I just love them they are so BIG!!

He weighs in at 16.4 pounds

He is wearing size 2 diapers

He is wearing 6 months clothes

He can laugh out loud-did this last week and it made me so proud I almost cried

He finally found his feet-he was with his daddy last week and found those BIG feet of his

He still sleeps in his swing it all starts at 7:30pm and he wakes around 2:30am for diaper change and a feeding but is back to sleep in less than 1o minutes. Gets back up around 5 but then I have to get him in the car by 6:30am if he stays at home with Daddy he sleeps until around 8 or even 830am. Cant wait to start cereal to take out that 230 feeding!!!

I nurse you in the mornings, when I get home around 5/6, before bed-during the day he gets one breast milk bottle that I pump while I am at work and the others are formula

spits up A ALOT

loves to play in bouncy seats, watching lights and listening to music

stayed in the nursery day care for the first time and had fun---

he got HOT so they had to take his sweater off but other than that I am pretty sure he liked it

stay with Jayce and Ayden every week day with Mrs Brenda-she is the BEST sitter ever-I can text her and she gets back to me in no time-and I don't think I get on her nerves-or so she hasn't told me yet-hahaha

He loves to try to carry on a conversation with you!

You are pulling mommy's hair

And you love rubbing daddy's bald head-it feels funny to you!!

He LOVES his Daddy and Mommy!

AND WE LOVE HIM MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

INNOCENT FACE AND HANDS

LISTENING TO MOMMY TALKING

THIS IS BRADEN'S FACIAL EXPRESSION WHEN I TOLD HIM

I HAD TO GO BACK TO WORK FULL TIME!!!!

CHUBBY CHEEKS

I FOUND MY HANDS

LOOK AT THOSE FAT LITTLE FINGERS

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

Rolling Over, Parties, and Best Buds

It has been such a long time since I have posted things on here. I am a terrible blogger-there I said it! But once Braden goes to bed I say to myself okay now is the time to clean the house, wash clothes, put up clothes, and blog even if it is a small post or just pictures. But guess what I do-go to bed myself. OH how I love sleep. Braden is such a good boy-he sleeps so good. We start the whole process around 7:30pm-bath-lotion massage-lst feeding put him down around 9 (at the latest) and he sleeps until around 3am on average. Last night for some reason he woke up at 1 but if he does that he goes right back to sleep after a diaper change and a small dose of nursing.

Let me catch you up on what has been happening-

Braden has been trying really hard to roll over.....

He made it but guess what...

He might not ever do it again-daddy accidentally-kind of-not on purpose turned his back for about 5 seconds and Braden ROLLED off the ottoman onto the hard wood floors.

ATTENTION BRADEN IS OK! No scratches-no bumps no bruises! My boy is tough!!! This is actually what he did all the way to the doctor just to get him checked out.

SMILED!

The past couple of Saturdays Meredith and I will go on long runs since we have a marathon in two weeks. So we usually go around 8am and I get back by 10 or 11am. This is what I come home to-

my boys passed out on the couch!

Braden got to go to his FIRST PARTY this past Saturday. His BESTEST friend Jayce had his 2nd Birthday party and we got to go play-well I should say somebody got sleepy and needed to take a quick nap-but we had lots of fun. These are the two little boys that Braden gets to hang out with all day every day. Jayce is two and Ayden is 7 months-they are Braden's BESTEST friends! I can't wait until they can talk to each other-God knows their daddy's will be getting them to flirt with all the girls at the parties--boys will be boys!!! Here is the only picture we got of Braden at the party-it was cold and we forgot his toboggan so we had to borrow Ayden's.

Look at his CUTE train cake-Mrs Brenda made it

(Braden's sitter-Jayce and Ayden's Nana)

This is Jayce

Ayden is behind him in the red jacket.

More later this weekend!!!

Monday, March 8, 2010

MOMMY AND ME MONDAY

Hosted by Kry styn

Here are a few pictures of just me and Braden. I don't have that many-they are all of Daddy and Braden. But I will cherish the ones that I do have. Next photo shoot is Mommy and Baby photo shoot. I need some good pics. Most of these are when he was 10 weeks or younger.

41 weeks pregnant with Braden Daniel Cox

Less than 20 minutes old.

First bath

First time out in the

jogging stroller-7 weeks old

Mommy whispering,

"I heart you forever!!!"

Don't let your fears about tomorrow steal your joys of today

Friday, March 5, 2010

FULL TIME MOMMY, WIFE, DAUGHTER, MANAGER and FRIEND (i hope)

The title says it all-I started back to work FULL TIME this week and it has been hard. Well with the exception of Tuesday I had to stay home because Braden was diagnosed with RSV and was not feeling well at all!!! And it has been tough-getting up in the middle of the night to feed Braden, then up at 5am to get ready and feed him before I leave, drive one hour to work, work all day, try to get caught up on all the things that piled up over the course of my absence, drive one hour back home, feed Braden, cook dinner, give Braden a bath and put him to bed, and then me and Brad have some time together. By that time I am beyond EXHAUSTED! How does one do it with more than one baby/child? How do you do it with four children-KIM? I have so much respect for my mom and Janice-three kids each-Kim with four! AMAZING!!! I can't imagine having twins!! Just roll me to the mental institution because I would go CRAZY!!!Look at my precious boy-there could not be a better boy in this world!!! SORRY-but there can't!!!

Even when he is fussy he is the best baby EVER!!!

I have been working out-not every day but I try to do some thing at least 3-4 days per week. I went to ZUMBA yesterday morning and a class that we have called PX119. And when I rolled out of the bed this morning at 3pm to get Braden I didn't think I was going to be able to walk. I hurt so bad! I have also been running a little. Meredith and I are running a half marathon April 3 at Wallace State Community College. I CAN NOT WAIT! We have decided to get together every Saturday morning and do our long runs together. Last Saturday we ran 5 miles out in Fultondale around the Target parking lot. IT WAS COLD! But after the first mile we warmed up quickly! Tomorrow we are supposed to run at least 7-if I can walk-I should be even more sore tomorrow! GREAT!!! Braden will stay home with Brad. I just have to wait until he gets home from Hoover

For those of you who don't understand how a firefighters schedule works it is like this -or so my husbands is like this:

Friday he got up at 5:15am and left for work and will not get off until Saturday morning between 7 and 8am. So he works 24 hours there. He would normally leave from Hoover and go directly to Warrior where he would work Saturday until 6pm. Then come home and not return to Hoover until Monday. But he never works the weekends at Warrior so he will not return to work until Monday morning and start the process all over. When he goes to work-I do everything with Braden-get him up and ready for Mrs Brenda-drop him off-pick him up and get everything ready for the next day drop him off but Brad will pick him up and then pretty much keep him the next day. He might take him to Mrs Brenda's if he needs to do some work around the house-or workout. Especially this summer if he has to do some yard work he will take him to Mrs Brenda's but go get him really early on the days he is OFF!

I sure miss my little buddy while I am at work. Especially when Brad sends me cute little pictures like these! He loves his glow worm!!!

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend! It is supposed to be beautiful. After I run I plan on getting me some more running shoes. But it all depends if Braden is well enough to get out of the house. He stayed at Mrs Brenda's today but he is still coughing and wheezing-and we are still giving him his breathing treatments.

More later this weekend!