Brody's 1st Birthday Party

Sunday we celebrated Brody's 1st birthday with family & friends. His actual b.day was Jan 5 but I was not organized & did not get around to planning something til after his b.day. Anyhow, it was so much fun & I am so thankful that we have so many close friends & family that were there to share this special time with us. He got so many wonderful gifts! Among the traditional 1 year old gifts he got some trucks & "boy" toys BUT he also got a vaccum & a kitchen set! I dont think his daddy knew what to think with these gifts, but I am going to raise him so he does not know the difference between "his" or "her" work! He loves the swifer so I already think cleaning the floors is going to be on his chore list! It is so hard to believe he is 1! He is learning & changing every day, discovering new things, observing & processing...its truly amazing. His vocabulary just keeps developing too! Soon he will be putting words together! He is definately my son! :) His favorite activities these days are to play in toilet water, try to eat Maggie's dog food & empty any drawer or cabinet he has access to. Needless to say it keeps us busy! I am off tomorrow & hope to take Brody out in the snow to play! Thank God for Wednesdays! I cant wait to see what he thinks!

TGIF!

Thank God its Friday!!! It has been a long 2 weeks. Last week, Brody was sick with the stomach flu. This was discovered on Monday after he had to go to the hospital for an echocardiogram. {He has a heart murmur & has had one since birth, so Dr. Arzon just wanted to take a better look at it to make sure it was nothing to worry about. We had our f/u apt already and everything is ok but needs to watched. He has a small hole in his atria septum-the wall b/n the 2 atria. Dr. said most of the time as babies grow this will close on its own. We have to go to a Pediatric Cardiologist to have him follow the case. A little scary but I feel comforted with Dr. Arzon & her nature to be very very thorough.} It was a long test & my patience were thin - I dropped Brody off at the sitters house & within the hour she called b/c he had thrown up everywhere. THAT was the start of a long 2 weeks. Brody was down almost all week & as soon as he started to feel better I started feeling bad.





Last Saturday we had dinner plans with our friends Andrew, Amanda, Jay & Elizabeth and all our babies. We had not gotten together since Andrew & Amanda's little guy, Drake was born & now he is 6 mo old!! It was past due! Well, I made the night - a night to remember - because I threw up at the dinner table! NICE! Classy too -because I had not yet mentioned that we went to Jay & Elizabeth's house b/c they had won a Gourmet dinner for 6 at a March of Dimes auction...I dont think the cheifs took this as a compliment! UGH!





So, this week Matt was sick & I was down - but now its Friday!!! Brody has spent lots of time with G'ma Carol & Papa Steve this week as they have been a god-send! I also have to thank God for our sitter Carrie! She has been wonderful & even made Matt & I dinner the other night! We are so lucky to have her and Brody squeals in delight when she comes to pick him him, immediately saying "bye bye".





I have to admit that He brightens our days even when we are under the weather! I swear he said "Papa" last night -adding it to his other words "mama", "dada", "ball", "do" - for dog, "dat", "NO NO NO" (love this one!) "HI" and "bye bye". He was on TV this past week - WAND, The picture of the week contest. Unfortunately he did not win - but to me he will always be #1. The picture I entered was taken last summer at a field of sunflowers near our house. My mom & her friend Diane helped me take them. Enjoy!

Inspiration to start my own family blog

I have been thinking of creating a family blog for sometime now & never made the time to check into it. Unfortunately I have been home sick all week with the stomach flu? female probs? not sure really!? SO, I decided to get one set up. I have several friends with blogs/web pages and really enjoy catching up with what their families are up to on a regular basis. A friend of mine, from my good ole SIUE days, has one and although we have not talked much in the past 10+ years (omg its been that long!) I feel it has help us get reconnected this past year. Unfortunately she had a tradegy hit her family and although she & I do not talk often she is in my thoughts & prayers daily. Her blog has helped me & many others feel connected to her during such a terrible time. I feel like I can reach out to her without overwhelming her, check in to know she is ok & made it through another day/week and just let her know I am here...so, Betsy - if you read this thank you for the motivation - you have been an inspiration to me! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I am going to!