Halloween, Cereal, and More

It's been awhile and lots of little things have happened! Parker is now 5 months old! The Sleeping Report: Could be better, but not too terrible...most nights. Parker is a GREAT baby though. He's easy going and happy most of the time. He started eating Rice Cereal on his 5 month birthday. He seems to like it (despite the picture) and already is trying to munch on anything we are eating. Braelyn just can't wait until she can feed him and he can eat real food. She's already wanted what he's eating, I have a feeling that will change once we get into pureed veggies. He's also started rolling around and easily gets off the blankets and mat. I expect to find him under a table some time soon.

Braelyn had a blast on Halloween, despite my loathing of the "holiday". She went as a ghost. I was hoping for the nice "Casper" type ghost, but the face paint Brandon and Stacey applied to her made her more of a scary "give mommy nightmares" kind of ghost. This years costume was actually homemade. I dusted off the sewing machine (yes, I own a sewing machine) and did a very bad job of hemming her sheet. But to the casual observer, it looks fine. Let's just hope Martha Stewart doesn't get a glimpse. Once T&T'ing was over, Brae and Brandon came home to help hand out candy. I really think that Braelyn enjoyed this just as much. She stood at the door with two fist-fulls of candy just waiting for the door bell. Anyone lucky enough to get her candy, got much more then the allotted 2 piece max. She wasn't scared of any of the costumes (wish I could say that same...I mean, nobody young enough to Trick or Treat should know who Jason is...).

I've talked about Halloween and Cereal...I guess this is the "more" part :) Brandon and I are just doing more of the same. Thanks to Parker becoming somewhat predictable, I'm getting out of the house more often which makes me a happy gal. Brandon has started taking Braelyn to school and will be taking Ponytail lessons from me very soon. Though if it was up to Braelyn she'd just move her hair out of her face every 5 seconds rather then have her hair up. I'm still cooking and trying lots of new recipes (mostly from Robin Miller). I'm dreading going back to work and fear our family will starve once I do. That's all I can think of for now. Hope everyone is doing fabulous! I've added more October and November pictures to Snapfish. Links on the side -->

Just Rolling Along

It seems that updating this more then twice a month, might be a bit ambitious for me. If it means anything, I do think of doing updates at least twice a month :) I'm hoping once I start back to work (in Jan) I'll have more time to update.

Braelyn's school started their curriculum this month and I'm excited to see all the work she will be bringing home. Her school has web cams, so I often watch during the day. I might have taken it a little far though when I called the school the other day to ask why Brae didn't have her blanket during nap time. (It was under her cot and they covered her up after my call). The age of technology...a blessing and a curse. Brae amazes us daily with what she is learning. We are quite proud that she can spell (not write..yet) her name, mom, and dad. Aunt Stacey gets to spend lots of quality time w/ Brae on the way to school and has a new story everyday. Recently Brae told Stacey that she needs to shop for a new convertible. Brae doesn't think Stacey's car is cool enough. Brae is still trying to talk me into getting a truck. Who knows why though. We've been getting a lot of rain here lately (not a shock...it's summer in Houston) and we got out a little last weekend. Braelyn had lots of fun playing in the puddles, but was still concerned about getting her dress dirty. Also, blue crocs...her idea, not mine. Not a battle I wanted to fight...that day.

Parker is now 3 months old! He doesn't go to the doctor this month but I'm guessing he is around 13+ pounds and maybe 25 inches. He's sleeping better, but still getting me up at least once a night and early in the morning. He is a very happy baby though. He is smiling, talking, and laughing most of the time. He also started rolling over from his back to his tummy this week! Exciting yes, but now we just can't leave him anywhere we choose. I'm trying to decide if I should get him a Bumbo. Feel free to share thoughts and advice....

Brandon and I are doing well. Brandon's birthday is Friday. Thanks to the combined help of Stacey and Nana, we will be escaping the house without the kids. I can't wait. Not sure what we are doing, but I'm sure we'll spend most of the time talking about the kids. There will also be some wine and dessert involved too (At least for me). It's been a LONG time since I've had a whole glass a wine. It's hasn't been a long time since I've had dessert.....though it needs to be.

I've uploaded many more new kid pics to snapfish. We've tried some new recipes last month but nothing to really get excited about. The one I would love to share isn't online, just in the cookbook. I don't want the Food Network coming after me for unlawfully publishing a recipe (not to mention I'd have to type it in...).

Love to All!

How the Long Weeks Fly By

Parker P. (which is one of the many names we call him) is 9 weeks old! It's amazing how time flies by so slowly. I barely remember life without Parker but yet, it seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home. It's part of this time phenomenon that makes it so hard to believe that my little one isn't sleeping more in the night. It feels like he's been here forever and should be sleeping and potty trained :) However that is not the case. I long for the days when I'll get.. O' say 4 continuous hours of sleep. I actually have real doubts that I can sleep for more then 3 hours at a time now. I can't wait to actually test that theory. Anyway, Parker went to the doctor and got 4 shots! It was all I could do not to cry as loud as he did. It totally broke my heart. When Braelyn goes to the doctor for shots she gets ice cream. But since Parker is too young for ice cream, I got his share. Ice cream definitely helps. As of last week, Parker weighed 11 lbs 4 oz (75%), was 22.5 in long (50%) and has a 90% head. I feel he's grown a lot this week though, so who knows what he weighs now. I just can't wait for him to get into him 3-6 wardrobe. I'm already tired of 0-3 clothes :)

Braelyn.....is three and a half. Anyone who has ever had a 3 year old knows that really all I need to say about her. She is constantly making us laugh, but I don't think she knows why. A few days ago we were dancing and she tells me to "Shake my booty". It was quite a proud moment. She is also very in tune with her feelings and told her daddy that "He was giving her a headache". At those moments, laughing only encourages her, but it is near impossible not to laugh. It does really make me think of the things I say to her, because more then likely she'll say them right back to me later. She's also getting into the "What" and "Why" stage of her life. While daddy was changing Parker's diaper, then inevitable question of "What's that?" came from Braelyn. Stacey and I were in the other room listening to Brandon's answer. I was hoping it would be a serious and straight forward answer......then I remembered it was Brandon answering the question. His reply to my very impressionable daughter...."Frank and Beans"....followed by his "Coin Purse". I'm hoping Braelyn is not scarred for life now and will one day ask the question again...to me. I'll tell her the correct answer "Hot Dog and Buns". Just kidding.

Nothing really new to report for Brandon & me. I have been cleared to exercise again....and I'll try to get on that just as soon as I get some sleep. I have been cooking a lot more and Rachel Ray has been replaced with Robin Miller as my new favorite. I think I'll add a links thing on the side of the Blog with some of my favorite recipes. We also do a lot of Dream Dinners and that is really great.

Hope all is great w/ you. My goal is to update the Burdine Buzz twice a month. Enjoy!