BR at 16 Months Old

Brantley Rae at 16 Months Old:

Weights: not sure but I'm thinking 19 lbs

Heights: around 30.5 inches tall

Clothes: size 12 months       Diapers: size 3       Shoes: 4.5

New Words: Thank you "tay tu",  Please "me" (she signs this one at the same time so we know what she means. I'm just glad she's attempting to say words), All Done "aw dun" (this isn't a new word but she's pronouncing it much better. She actually puts the "n" sound on the end of "done". So cute), Up "bupbup". There may be another one but I can't think of it.

What has Brantley Rae been up to:

•  Well she loves to run around the house and chatter about I have no idea what. It's so cute to hear her little feet on the hardwoods and her little jibber-jabber. Precious!
• She's becoming more interested in baby dolls.
• Her hair has been growing like crazy. I have to put a ponyttail holder and a bow in it everyday (the bow is optional, ponytail is a must).
• Loves to look at books but doesn't like to sit still long enough for me to read one all the way through.
• She has been eating so much since she was sick a few weeks ago. I'm not kidding you! She can put some food away now, especially if it's something she really loves.
• Favorite Foods: Blueberries!, strawberries, cantaloupe, hot dogs, Dave's Deli's turkey and cheese sandwich (she will eat over half of the sandwich), CHEESE! (still her most favorite), milk, water and juice,  Waffer Cookies (thanks Bebe!).

FYI: BR in the bottom right picture looks SO much like me when I was her age. My parents can back me up on this one.

The older she gets the more fun she gets because she is interacting with us a learning SO many new things. Recently, she and her Daddy have started playing hide and seek. SO cute! Chase will hide and the BR will do find him. He jumps out, she laughs and wants him to do it again. Haha!

• She is also learning to be a little bit defiant at times. It's really not bad, but sometimes I have to pop her little hand/leg or try putting her in timeout. Timeouts don't work all that well yet. I mostly just remover her from the "naughty" situation and distract her as best I can. So far this approach has worked pretty well.
• The above picture captured the facial expression that I get a lot these days when I ask her to do something she isn't sure she wants to do. She's so stinkin' cute that sometimes that face wins. haha! I'm not a big pushover but sometimes I do give in to her cuteness. 

So that's Brantley Rae's 16 month posting. She is wonderful! Chase and I are truly blessed and thankful for her precious life. We thank God daily for putting her in our care. I hope that I will always be a good mother to her and make the best decisions in her life. Life is so great!!

It's Official...

the "Coming Soon" sign is in the yard!!

I've spent the past couple of weeks putting together a blog with information about our house. Please share the link with anyone you know that is looking to buy a house in the Bluff Park area of Hoover, AL. Click on the picture below to visit the house blog.

http://2320farleyroad.blogspot.com

We plan to have the house actually listed sometime over the next week. Chase and I have a few things to do around the house over the weekend so good weather and a happy, cooperative little girl are essential.

House Update

I'm so excited to be able to say that a "Coming Soon" sign will be placed in our yard sometime tomorrow afternoon. Now that the new roof is on, it's almost time to have the house on the market officially. There are a few little things that we still need to do but the process of listing begins tomorrow. I'm SO pumped!! I wish you could understand the excitement in my typing! I'm not sure how fast or how long it will take for our house to sell, I'm just super excited that we are taking the next step to moving into our "forever" (or at least a long time) home. 

 This is a picture of the back of the house with the tin just on the back. I actually haven't taken a picture of the finished roof from the front of the house. Maybe tomorrow once the sign is in the yard.

Click on the photo for more information about this house.

Super Sunday

Yesterday was WONDERFUL!! When we got home from church and lunch, Chase decided that instead of working around the house he wanted to go do something fun. I couldn't believe my ears. He never wants to take a break and do something fun, because he's keeps himself WAY to busy with work and doing things around the house. In his defense, he's been working like crazy to get our house market ready and we're almost there. Finally!!

So, we decided to go to the Zoo. It was SO great! I loved out little family outing. Yesterday was our first time to go to the Birmingham Zoo since they opened Trails to Africa. I was surprised at how nice it was. I'm happy to be a member of the zoo because it's a great place to go and teach Brantley about all the animals.

 It was SO hot but we had a great time!

We saw so many animals and they were all so great. We actually got to see the lions train and be fed. It was really cool! The trainers actually said that they are hoping the female lion is pregnant but they aren't sure yet. I think it was be really cool if she was to have cubs and we would get to see them grow for about 2 years before being sent to another zoo. Neat!

So, yesterday really was a SUPER Sunday and I hope that we'll get to have more "fun family" days soon.

Brantley's Got a Brand New "Do"

A week or two ago I discovered that BR's hair is finally long enough to go up in a little waterspout ponytail. It's super cute and way better than the disheveled mess her curls can get in on their own. Fixing her hair is already a process, even at 15 months. We pretty much don't go anywhere without wetting it and combing out the knots. We also add a bow or a ponytail to tame the curls. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE her curls! I'm just looking forward to the day when her hair is long enough to do something else. I know it's going to be gorgeous!

BR at 15 Months

I can NOT believe I'm so late on doing this post. Things have been pretty crazy around here. I just haven't had the time to blog, so now I'm going to try and make up for it.

I didn't take any pictures this month that were especially for her 15 month blog post so this is just going to have to do.

Brantley Rae at 15 Months Old

Weight: 18 lbs 15 ounce - Height: 30.3 inches

Clothes: 12 months - Diapers: Size 3 - Shoes: Size 4.5

Teeth: 2 on top, 2 on bottom

New Words: shoes "seews", socks "ox", truck "cuck", "hot" (with her hand up and palm towards whatever is hot), up "bupbup", "baby". I'm sure there are a few more but I can't think of them right now.

Brantley has been sleeping through the night for a few weeks, which is wonderful for all of us! She's still a pretty good eater but will not let us feed her anything with a spoon or fork. She wants to do it all by herself and even given the opportunity sometimes she still won't try. Stubborn!

This post is horribly documented but Brantley has been sick since Wednesday. Chase and I ended up sick over the weekend as well. We missed out on parties and other fun things this weekend, which is a total bummer. Brantley seems to be feeling a little better and so are Chase and I. Hopefully we'll be back to health in another 2-3 days. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Mess Makers

 This is who/what I'm up against every Tuesday and Thursday. It's wild and crazy around here with 2 messy toddlers running around and pulling EVERYTHING out and not putting ANYTHING away. haha It's okay though because they're cute and we're having fun!!

Looks Like Grandma

 Chase brought this picture home from his Dad's house last week. At first glance you might think that it's a portrait of Brantley but really it's a picture of Chase's mom when she was about BR's age. I teared up a little bit (okay a lot) when I first saw the picture because I'm just so amazed at how much Brantley looks like her late Grandma Donna. 

Brantley was named after her so it's perfect that she look so much like her.

These pictures will be printed, framed and hung up in our house (and at PawPaw's house). I can't wait! Thank you, Beverly, for pulling the portrait out of the basement and showing Glenn the resemblance. This means so much to Chase and I and ultimately Brantley, one day, when she's old enough to understand.

Cookout with the McMahans

A few Saturday's ago, we went over to the McMahan's house for dinner. Brantley and Mason haven't seen each other in a while so it was great to watch them play together again. They are finally at the age where they actually played together some and not just around each other. It was SO cute!

Chase and I had a great time talking with Dave and Robin. They are a great couple and we hadn't ever gotten the chance to just hang out with before. Hopefully we'll get together again soon!

Thanks for having us over guys!

Mother's Day 2011

This Mother's Day was really special and fun. We went to church that morning and then went hiking with my parents at the Preserve. It was extremely HOT and we didn't have as much time as we needed to complete the whole trail. We unfortunately had to turn around before getting to the sliding rock.

Brantley did pretty good in the backpack but she was definitely ready to get out and run around when we got back to the car.

We had a great time and I hope we can do it again soon. Spending Mother's day with my mom and my daughter is just the way it should always be! Love!!

Alyssa's Dance Rectial

Alyssa dances at Corkie Belle Dance studio. She did a great job! Brantley LOVED watching all the girls dance around on stage.

I took this video of Brantley because she was dancing to almost everyone of the dances. It was super cute! I guess we'll be signing her up for dance in a year or so.

I'm glad we were able to attend the dance recital this year. Alyssa is precious and did a great job!!

Happy Girls!

What a Week

Sorry for the blogging hiatus, it's been a crazy week here in Alabama. Last Wednesday there were some horrific tornadoes that tore through many cities in our state and destroyed many families homes and lives. I have been praying for all of those families that were affected by last weeks storms and can not imagine what they are going through as they begin to put their lives back together and lay family members to rest. My heart goes out to all of them. 

I lost a friend from high school in last weeks horrific storms. 

She, Jennifer Leonard Jones, will be missed by so many people that love her dearly. Jennifer, I know that I will see you again one day when I walk through the gates of heaven. Thank you for all the special memories we made during high school. There were so many good times and much laughter when we were together. You will never be forgotten! 

 Photo: Jennifer and I playing in the playground set at Chick-fil-a sophomore year either before or after a wrestling match.

Jenn's husband is still in critical condition in a hospital here in Birmingham and needs our continued prayers for healing and comfort during this extremely difficult time in his life. My thoughts and prayers are with him daily.

On a totally different note, Brantley turned 15 months old last Thursday. I have the words ready but I just haven't made the post yet. We go to her 15 month check-up tomorrow morning so I'll do the post when we get home. Sorry for the delay. 

I hope that everyone is having a good week. If you are able to get out and help with clean up then I encourage you to do so. If you can't physically help then donating is a great way to help out those in need right now. 

Thank you to everyone who has been helping the families over the past week. Keep it up everyone! Putting these families lives back together is going to take a long time but we are already off to a great start. I saw this morning on Twitter that a FEMA representative said "Alabama has done more in a week than Katrina relief did in six months." Way to go! We are Alabama!!

God bless everyone! Have a good Cinco de Mayo everyone!