From the mouth of babes

We are still trying to figure out what the heck to do for Blake's 2nd birthday. Yeah, nothing like waiting till the last minute. Brad asked Blake yesterday what he wanted to do for his birthday and his reply was "Mall". Brad said you want to go to the Mall for your birthday?? And he said yes.
Just me or is he so cute?

Catch Up

Its been an entire week since my last post...there just isn't enough time in the day. Where do I start? Brady has continued to have a cough and rattle in his chest. I finally decided it had been going on entirely too long and took him back into the pulmonologist on Friday. I expected to get an antibiotic and be on our way. Or not. Brady is not aspirating anymore, which is great. His lungs are sounding clear, which is great. (although still on breathing treatments twice a day) However, his symptoms and from what the swallow study showed, the doctor is fairly certain he is still having issues swallowing properly, even with the thickener added. The formula is getting trapped in his esophagus when eating, causing the cough and rattle. He is hopeful Brady will outgrow the issue, which typically happens between 6-9 months of age. We will repeat the swallow study in 3 months and if he has not improved, we will have to do a bronchoscopy, which involves having to be put under. And depending on what that showed, possible surgery. If Brady's symptoms become worse or if his weight does not pick up as much as we'd like, we'll have to do that sooner. As a mom, the thought of having to put my little baby under anesthesia terrifies me. I am praying Brady outgrows this. Keep him in your prayers as well. Fast forwarding through the weekend, we had Brady's 6 month check on Monday. He weighs 15 lbs 4 oz and is 26 1/2 inches. He is long and lean. Again, we are praying Brady starts packing on the pounds. This poor little guy has been through it and I am beyond ready for him to be healthy. The great news is however, aside from the feeding issues, he is a happy and thriving boy and is meeting all of his milestones. This smiley boy lights up Brad and I's lives.
Saturday our good friends Diana and Steve that we hadn't seen since before Brady was born, came over to visit and see the boys. It was a gorgeous day outside, so we loaded up the boys in their favorite stroller and we took both our dogs to our favorite park.

We had an awesome day running around and visiting with friends. That night we met my parents for dinner and Blake said Grandma for the first time, which totally made my mom's entire weekend. Sunday morning we had Brady's 6 month pictures done and I can't wait to get those back!
Here is Blake goofing off on Sunday.

He is such a ham. I can not believe in less than a month he will be turning 2. Time goes by so quickly. He is getting so big and is so smart. Saturday he recited the entire ABC's all by himself! He was pretty proud of himself, just like his momma and dadda are of him too! This coming weekend, Brad's brother is returning from his time in the Air Force in Germany. We can't wait to see him and look forward to a fun weekend with the family!

Meet Mr T

Trent Levi was born at 6:06am, weighing in at 7lbs 11.2oz, 20 inches long and in all reports I've received he is absolutely perfect! From the pictures of my sweet nephew, I have to agree. I am so proud and happy and excited to be an Aunt. I have been beaming all day long. It kills me to be so far away and I want nothing more than to hold that sweet boy. Congrats Adam and Marlene! We love you and look forward to meeting our nephew/cousin soon!

And this is when you would see Brooke LOSE it

So imagine you are 40 weeks pregnant and you've been going around for a little over a week knowing you have a set date when your baby will make its entrance into the world if it decides not to on his or her own sooner. You plan mentally, physically, every way, for the baby's arrival on said date. You are told to be at the hospital on that date at 6am, so you don't get any sleep the night before, because how can you? Then when you call to check in at 5 am before heading to the hospital to meet your beloved baby for the first time, they tell you, sorry, we're all full, but try again later. Um, what?! That is what happened to my sister-in-law today. Not sure how she kept it together, because, in that instance I would have absolutely lost it.
Good news however is after a visit to her doctor this afternoon she went into labor on her own earlier this evening. HOW EXCITING IS THAT?!
Stay tuned to meet our newest addition to our family!!!! Aunt Brooke is VERY excited!

Happy 6 Months Brady!

I tried desperately to snap a picture of Brady today to capture his 6 months in the world, however, he is teething. Hardcore. The smiles were few and far between today, which is really rare for this sweet smiley thing. This was the only picture I could get with his smile and of course his eyes are closed. Just my luck. We are having professional pics taken next weekend so hopefully we'll get some great shots then. Brady's 6 month birthday is technically tomorrow, however tomorrow is a really ridiculously exciting day for our family, and I don't want anything to take away from that. Even Brady's 6 months in the world. More on that exciting stuff later...
So 6 months... Where. Does. The. Time. Go? Really??? It feels like yesterday this little guy arrived and now he's half way on his way to being a one year old. I look forward to each of the stages he will hit and him growing more and more, but at the same time I so desperately want to hold on to his babiness. These past 6 months have been amazing and filled with more love than I ever thought was possible. I have to admit I asked myself a few times before Brady was born...will it be possible to love this boy as much as I love Blake? My mom told me, it just is, don't worry. And boy, was she right. Brady has been such a joy and is such a sweet natured, happy, smiley, easy going baby. Seriously, if anyone just makes eye contact with him, he'll give you the world's sweetest smile. Enough to turn around any bad day one might be having. This poor guy has been through a lot though in his 6 months and for pretty much half of his life, spent it being very sick. Because of all he's gone through, he's on the small side for weight, but I am confident he'll eventually catch up to his brother. Brady is a smart boy and I know wants to grow and become big and strong so he can chase after Blake. Brady is sitting on his own (although not for long periods), is a pro at rolling over both directions and is working on his first teeth.
Happy 6 Months Bray-Bray! Your daddy and I love you with all our hearts! Thank you for bringing us endless smiles.

My Heart is a Million Times Full

(I was trying to snap a picture of Blake this morning and this is a second before he tackled me)

I know I am a very capable person. I'd like to think I'm a good mom. So why is it I always get a bit of anxiety when I find out Brad has plans taking him away from us for the day and its just me with both boys? What is the worst that could happen? They both melt down at the exact same time? So what? I can handle it. I need to let go of the what if's of the world and just learn to take things as they come and be confident in my abilities that I can handle whatever may come my way. Brad had a golf tournament he was playing in today and left this morning before the boys woke up. I've mentioned a time or two before on the blog that Blake is a daddy's boy through and through. When dad's around, I become chopped liver. At times it bothers me, but I try to not let it and I know its really a good thing. Brad's an amazing dad. Amazing. And Blake adores him. I am so grateful for that. And it also helps with having some of my attention needing to go to Brady...Blake doesn't get jealous of my divided attention. But when daddy's around, I don't get all the one on one quality time with Blake I would like. I don't get hugs and kisses thrown my way because those are reserved for daddy. Today was different. Today was mommy's day. And Blake embraced it with all his heart and now my heart is overflowing with love and happiness. I didn't know if I could handle taking both boys to the park without an extra set of hands, but I decided I was quite capable and threw my fears out the window. We half walked, half jogged to the nice park about a mile from the house. Brady was a little angel just hanging out while I got to play on the playground with Blake and kick around the soccer ball together. (Blake is a natural athlete already just like his daddy.) We played and played until we were both a little worn out and Blake didn't even put up a fight when it was time to head back to the house for lunch. We ate and then played some more and now both boys are napping. I got more hugs and kisses today than I normally get in a week and I bonded more with Blake than I have in a really long time. I couldn't love this smiley, giggly, silly, blonde hair, blue eyed boy any more...yup, my heart is a million times full!