February 28, 2012

{Video of the week} A typical drive

Bradley loves to talk. A few weeks ago, we met Jeremy for lunch. Afterwards, Bradley had a lot to say. The drive from Jeremy's office to our house is about 20-25 minutes. B talked the e.n.t.i.r.e. drive.This is about a minute of that drive.


You may need to turn up your volume to hear over the driving noises.

February 21, 2012

{video of the week} Pure joy

Want to hear what pure joy sounds like?? Just get Parker to play with Bradley.

February 20, 2012

LOST

LOST PILLOWCASE


Last seen before bed on January 28, 2012. His name is pillowcase. He is white with thin white stripes. Fits a normal size pillow. Police suspect he went missing between the hours the 12 am and 4 am while owners were asleep. No broken entry. Foul play has not been ruled out. Laundry has since been done; house has been searched.

If you happen to come across the missing pillowcase, please contact us immediately. We fear he has run away to a king size bed and will not be able to handle such room.

Thank you for your concern and thoughts during this continued search.

February 17, 2012

What to do?

I think our dog, Parker, is anorexic.



Now, before you start laughing, roll your eyes, and exit my blog, hear me out.

Parker counts calories obsessively. I feed him every morning. However, if I happen to feed him more one morning than others he will still eat only the amount he normally eats. Also, if Bradley feeds him a lot of his food one day, Parker won't eat any of his own.

He also spits up... a lot.

Then, there is the fact that he's really skinny. Our vet keeps telling us he is at the bottom of the range for his weight and that he can't afford to lose any. We've tried everything to make him gain weight and he just won't give in.

And so I've decided that he's got to have anorexia.

----------

Update: Since writing this post I googled anorexic dogs to see what came up and if I should take Parker to a pet psychic. Warning: do not google anorexia in dogs. It basically says that Parker has 6 months to live. (Seriously, I think WebMD and PetMD are trying to take over the world by making us all paranoid. Classic Gaslight situation.) Parker dying from this is hopefully untrue since every year at the check-up the vet raves at what good condition he is in. Plus, he's been weird about food since we got him, and so this is not a sudden change.

Here's some more examples of his food bizarro traits:

He cannot eat if you are in the room.
He also cannot eat more than one or two kibbles at a time.
To eat, he must put the food in his mouth, walk across the room, drop the food, and then he can eat it. It makes a mess and takes him forever to eat.
He also will not eat 95% of table scraps. This trait is quite annoying when you have a son that likes to throw food at your dog.

So all in all. I'm thinking we need to call in a pet psychic for sure.

February 16, 2012

Dr. Bradley Johnson

 
 photo credit: {two} chics photography

BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A DOCTOR!!!

This would be what he screamed at Jeremy, me, the photog, and her daughter the minute we put the stethoscope around his neck. I proceeded to tell him that being a doctor was fun and noble. Jeremy told him he could do whatever he wants. Bradley then quit crying and started playing with his drums.

February 15, 2012

Update in 15

I realized the other day that I have not given you an update on Bradley in a while. So here's the latest:


1. B is extremely helpful. He'll hold his seat belt buckle for me while I get the straps around his arms. He grabs his own towel, washcloth, shampoo, and body soap for bath. (It is so cute! I'd get a video, but he's usually nakey while doing it.) He pushes in the chairs at the dining room table after meals. He cleans up all the balls from his ball pit when he is done. He really likes to help when he knows how. Typical oldest/only child he is indeed.

2. When B wants to go outside, he'll either bring me his shoes or ring the bell like Parker.


 3. Bradley is very independent and tries to be like me and Jeremy. If we have a utensil in our hand, he must have one in his. If I am eating a grilled cheese, he must have MY grilled cheese even if he has his own.

4. He loves, loves, loves to be chased. He'll run to Parker, go "yayayayayyaya" really loud, and then run away. If you want to hear pure joy, you should hear him and Parker playing. (Hint: video coming next week!)


5. He and Parker share a lot of things. Parker's bed. Parker's toys. Bradley's snacks.

6. Bradley says "here you go" if he is giving you something or wants something. It's really cute and means that I obviously say that to him a million times a day... which has now been made perfectly clear to me. (Missed the video? Click here to see it!)


7. He gives lots of kisses and hugs, own his own, and on demand.

8. When asked, he can point to his belly button. He will also point at yours when asked.


 9. He loves his blanket.

10. He has a couple tiny tantrums a day. These usually happen when he's tired and because he's frustrated that we aren't giving him what he wants or not understanding him. His tantrums are him flinging his body on the ground and rolling onto his back while squinting to make it look like he is crying. The nursery worker this past week was like, "so that's what that is. Good to know." Yup. He's still working through the nursery too.

11. He moved up to the Toddler room at church. So far he sits in the workers arms while "watching all the other kids play" which is basically everyone else bringing him/the worker toys and trying to play with him/them. I'm thinking he's figured out that he's got it good and is messing with us all.



12. B's favorite way of getting around is a full on run. It's quite scary. I'm thinking that Xanax is in my future.

13. He loves to dance and sing. Yo Gabba Gabba is still his favorite show.


14. Bradley loves the park.

15. Bradley really likes his shape toys except he will only put the red and yellow ones in it which he does quite well. I just wish the other shapes and colors got a chance.


There's a little glimpse into what all he's doing. This age is definitely a blast and keeps us on our toes.

February 14, 2012

{Video of the week} Dance Dance / Here you go


You should know that B is saying "Here you go" when he is handing me an item.

You should also know that what you see Parker doing is what he does all day long everyday.

You might also note that B has some mad dance skills. Beware ladies. ;-)


This video shows that B also says "Here you go" if he wants something.

I've come to realize that obviously I say this phrase way too much. Unfortunately, it is a habit that is too late to break.


February 13, 2012

Our Love Story: Survey

There's this linky party going on over at Mrs. to Mama in honor of Valentine's Day. Since Jeremy and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day, I figured this would be a fun way to kinda take part without really taking part. (I expect flowers and chocolate a lot more than one day a year. Ha!)


How long have you and your significant other been together? 
We've been together since college. We dated my freshmen year, his sophomore, broke up six months in and then picked back up about two years later and have been together ever since.  

How did you meet?
We met in high school. I was really good friends with his sister. One night, I spent the night with her and noticed him for the first time. I took a picture of his leg that night. I still have it.
 
How long have you been married?
4 and a half years. We married on July 7, 2007 at 7 p.m. Cliche?? Yup. It was my mom's idea and Jeremy didn't want to ever forget the date. I just went with it. But seriously, never marry in the South in July. It's tortuously hot. You should also avoid August.

Where did you get married? Big or small wedding?
We were married in our hometown, Thomasville, GA. It was an average size wedding.
 
Do you have any nicknames that you call one another?
Oh man. I don't think we've ever shared this. Jeremy calls me Nader. The story goes that we used to try to come up with the most annoying pet names ever to call each other. So Nader was once Pumpkin that turned into the Pumpkin-nader (like a superhero of sorts) which was shortened to simply Nader. It's so southern. So not me. But one that I wouldn't trade for anything. I love it. I call him Turtle because he has the tendency to move at a really, really slow pace. When I am mad, turtle becomes Tortoise.

Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
I love his ability to make me see outside of myself. He stretches me each and every day. I love that he can make me laugh at any given moment. I love that he cares for Bradley and I so well with such love, grace, and purpose. We are really blessed by him.

Tell us how he proposed?
I was out with some friends. We had dinner and then went to see a play. When we were done, we went back to our place to watch a movie. I walked in to the apartment where a pointy stick hung from the ceiling with instructions that I was to pop every balloon in the living room. Now, I am terrified of popping balloons. And popping 100 balloons with all your stuff inside of them is very painful. But one balloon made it all worth it when my engagement ring fell and Jeremy got on one knee and asked if I would marry him.

Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
Did you know that flowers are half off the day after Valentine's?? Yeah, that's our kind of thing.

Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
I love just hanging on the couch and snuggling.

Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day.
I'd like to tour Europe. Take a month or two off work and just see it all. We are of the mentality of "do it big or go home."

Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
We really don't plan anything for V-Day. We might watch a movie and do a little necking and exchange love notes. Other than that, we will probably be in bed by 10 p.m.

Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
Nope.

Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Commit to work at it each and every day. We are in this until we die so we might as well work at it and make it fun. And communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially when you have kids. I probably communicate more with Jeremy after B then before. It's so crucial to our every day functioning as a collective unit. 

Show us a picture of what love means to you.


photo credit: {two} chics photography

February 10, 2012

I think I can

 "Mom, I can figure this out on my own."

"Just give me a minute to think about how you do it."

 "This piece connects to this piece..."

 "Ooo. I remember that this middle strap is important!"

 "Oh. I need this one too."

 "But what to do with it??"

 "I think I might eat it."

 "Oh! It goes with this piece!"

 "But how?"

 "Now, what are you doing??"

February 9, 2012

The day I went Antiquing

A couple of weeks ago, Megan and I got the brilliant idea to go out in a monsoon to look for antiques.

I've always liked the idea of an antique. It sounds unique and seems to hold a lot of history. But in reality, it really freaks me out. Old things smell funny and I really have this unnatural fear that whoever owned the item died inside of it and still lives there. So basically, all I want an replica of an antique.

But somehow Megan convinced me that I needed to go check out this antique shop. And so we went.

Now, when you enter a building that smells like old and water is literally dripping down the walls, you should turn around and go home to pray. Megan kept saying, "I think this might be the intro to a scary movie." I think she was right. If you would like to produce such a film, please let us know. We've lived to tell the story as shown below. Please take all warnings seriously.

When you see an entrance that looks like this, you should also run home.


When you are possessed by the demons that roam the antique shop you are visiting and enter through the scary cement hole to find this, you should run.


Seriously, an antique knife sharpener next to dangling wires should be a warning. If for some reason you continue to look, this should make you scream while running.


For they have come before and lost the battle with the spirits.

And when you do run outside to this, breathe in the fresh air and know that if you can survive the antique shop, you can survive a flood.


The End.

February 8, 2012

{video of the week} My future soccer star

Taken two weeks ago.

PS No one was hurt in the filming of this video.

February 3, 2012

Daily Photos {part 3}

Need to play catch up? For Part 1 and to read what the heck these daily photos are all about, click here. For part 2 and to see more awesome photos, click here.

And now on to the Part 3!

I've got to be real. This challenge has kinda stressed me out. Towards the end, I was really struggling to remember the challenge and then to try to get the right photo. So all in all I'm still debating on whether or not to participate in February's. I like the thought of it, but then I know it will turn into March and then into April.. and before I know it I'll be doing a 365 day challenge. And that just seems like a commitment I'm not ready to make just yet.

Either way. I did January! And so here are my final photos.


SOMETHING I MADE:
One thing I love about B's room is how easily it will and is growing with him. I've added to his mantle and his gallery wall since his first birthday. (I made most of the art in both pics.)


How much fun are these ice cubes??


LUNCH:
So I randomly ran into a friend while B and were out and we ended up eating lunch with her. (Hi Rebecca!!) We were chatting away and trying to keep B from throwing his book across the room that I completely forgot to take a picture of my meal. It was Chick-fil-A and very delicious.


I might possibly be in love with our living room lamps. I might have also told B that in a brawl the lamps would win. I also might have been teasing him... but hopefully we will never know.

INSIDE YOUR FRIDGE:
I am seriously OCD about a things have places in our house and those things must always be in there place or on their way to its place. This is definitely the case in our fridge. I clean it out weekly and pretty much drive Jeremy nuts by my insistence of order and reason to the organization of food. (Can you believe I got married?? And, btw, have you seen the Pinterest quote about how OCD should really be CDO because that would be the proper order?? Yeah. I could have been the first to say that quote.)


Our garden is blooming!! It's blooming early which is probably since it is already summer outside. I seriously put B in shorts the other day to play outside. Shorts in JANUARY! Crazy...


 ME AGAIN:
Yes, I am that white.

And there you have it. The final photos. They definitely were not as good or thought through as the others, but hey, I did it, right??

********

P.S. To look at other fun January Photo Challenge pics, scoot on over to the House of Smiths. Today's post is part of her linky party. So if you have done this challenge, you should totally join it!