Happy Mother's Day

So today was my 2nd Mother's Day being an actual mother. Three years ago I celebrated my first but to be perfectly honest I had nothing to celebrate.....yet. We celebrated a little boy that wasn't born yet. We had no idea what we were in for. I can't imagine life without Braxton. I know all moms say that but it is true. Today was my 2nd Mother's Day to truly celebrate. It was a day worth celebrating. This morning I woke up before the boys and went for a walk. When I arrived back at home Brandon and Braxton were up and watching t.v. We got ready for church and when we dropped Braxton off in the nursery there were NO TEARS!! This made the next 2 hours so much more enjoyable. After church we all went to Aunt Lisa's for a delicious lunch and then we went to Dottie's for a nice dinner. It was a beautiful day in every way.
I also want to pay a tribute to my mom. This Mother's Day marked the 11th one that I celebrated without her. After she first died, for several years actually, it was a sad day. I used to dread the day. I felt I had been cheated and although we always have done something every Mother's Day I felt after she died that there was nothing for me to celebrate. My mom was gone. The past 2 years have not only been a day for me to celebrate because I'm now a mother but it's given me another day to reflect on how great a mother I had. I realize now that the day isn't for mothers but ABOUT mothers. I had an incredible mother. My time with her was very short but I learned so much from her and saw what a great mother is and all that a mother can be. I know that I am a mother that wants to be just like her mother. And of all the things that I regret my mother has missed out on for the past 11 years not meeting Braxton is what I regret most.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Check out the video of Braxton groovin'. I don't even know what he's dancing to. It was on the radio when we turned it on and Braxton went at it. I apologize for the angle you'll have to watch it. I haven't figured out how to rotate video yet!

Justa' Swingin'

Yesterday afternoon, one week after the playset was delivered, Brandon put the swings and slide up. Braxton had a ball. I think I pushed him in the swing for an hour. He sat very still and held on just like a big boy (he's still not 2!) and everytime I asked if he wanted off he'd say "No". When he finally got off I stood behind him as he climbed up into the fort and then he just sat at the top of the slide. He seemed afraid to go down. His foot slipped and down he went with a crash landing at the bottom. He sat just for a second and then laughed and got back up. Then he climbed back up and did it again. This went on for quite some time. We had a great time and are evry happy with the way it turned out. Hopefully, you all can come and play on it soon. It has so many great things to play on.

Thursday we are having the yard fenced in. I'll let you know when that is done!

Backyard Jungle...Take One

First off, I hope you didn't fall out of your chair when you saw I posted twice in one day. I'm on spring break so I have just a little extra time on my hand. I really need to start doing more posts because there is so much going on.

We ordered Braxton a swing set last week. When we looked at it on-line the description said that it took 4 weeks for delivery. Brandon wanted me to go ahead and order because he wanted the thing together and finished before it reached 100 degrees outside. Well it didn't take 4 weeks...it took more like 4 days. Brandon has been working on it a little every night and he got the floor finished on the clubhouse part. Excuse the blurry picture. I had to act fast!!

Looks can be deceiving...

Sunday was Easter. It was wonderful and despite the weather report that it was going to be cool it turned out to be a beautiful day. We woke up (Braxton woke us up) about 7:15 and we went into the dining room to see what the Easter Bunny had left. Braxton had a great basket. It had some cars in it, a Tupperware cake taker (just like Grandaddy's), a movie and SOME MARKERS!! Braxton has really gotten into crayons and markers and they are normally the first thing he goes searching for regardless of where he is. Crayola has this wonderful line called Crayola Wonder. The markers only work on the specific paper. So no more marking on skin, carpet or clothes. You can look at the picture and see Braxton's face when he saw his markers.

After church, which we didn't get to attend because we had nursery downstairs, we went to Grandaddy's house where the Easter Bunny had stopped as well. Another great basket full of clothes, toys, a really cool firetruck, and chocolate. All the family came over about 3 o'clock. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed catching up with each other. Grandmama seemed to be having a good day. This news in itself seemed to brighten everyone's day! After we ate, we went outside to walk around the garden and for an egg hunt. Braxton's egg hunts consist of tossing the eggs on the grass and watching him pick them up. He was very entertained and was incredibly proud of himself for every egg he found. Half-way through the egg hunt Braxton looked at Grandaddy's basket and noticed that HE had all the eggs while he himself only had about 3. So he switched baskets. So although it looks like Braxton has found a lot of eggs it's really the basket that we were using to "hide" the eggs.

Smart "egg", right?

Mr. Tin Man

This was too cute. I had to post it.

Bear Has Surgery

The pictures I've included are one of me about the age Braxton is right now. In my picture I'm 2 so Braxton is just about 3 months younger. I am shown with my "pillie" which I absolutely adored as a child and to this day still do. News Alert: Braxton has a "lovey" too.

Meet Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear originated in New York at a lovely facility called FAO Schwartz (you may have heard of it) and arrived via Grandaddy after a trip to the Big Apple to see Uncle Chris last December. When Bear arrived in North Carolina he was just slightly bigger than Braxton and he could hardly get his arms around him. Over the last year and a half Braxton has grown to adore Bear or "Busch" as he calls him. On most mornings Braxton gets out of bed and has Busch in his arms. On most mornings he takes him out the door with him and in the car to Maw Maw's. And lately Bear even has been going inside where he spends the majority of the day in the closet shoved in Braxton's cubbie because he is not machine washable. I just told someone this week that I might have to request another Busch because I thought he was feeling awfully thin around the neck and did not expect him to make it until Christmas. This afternoon I felt a hole. Busch had to have surgery. Braxton could hardly stand the 5 minutes it took for Grandaddy to sew him up. Braxton does get it honestly. My pillie has been sewed up so many times I can hardly remember. I still have, however, all the "insides" from the previous pillies.

Maybe I can talk Chris and Ali into bringing another Busch to North Carolina when they come in May?