9 Month Checkup

Brody turned 9 months yesterday! He is getting to be such a big boy! Today we went for his 9 month checkup and he's right on track.

He's still a little guy. He weighed 18 lbs 2 oz (10-25th percentile) and was 27 in long (1oth percentile!) So he's just probably not going to be very big.

He had to have blood work done so they can do some standard 9 month tests and he was such a big boy! It wasn't just a prick in the foot like they do when they are newborn. Oh no, it was a big needle with the little tube thing just like they would use on an adult. The only reason he even cried was because we were pinning him down, not because she stuck a huge needle in his arm. He didn't even notice the needle. Now he looks all cool like he just donated plasma with his little armband on. For those of you in the B/CS area, you know what I'm talking about..that cheesy commercial where the guy is in the hot tub with some girls and reaches for a drink so you can see that he just donated plasma that day and THAT'S why those girls are in the hot tub with him. Well, Brody is reaching for his favorite toy..THAT's how cool he is!

He is doing so many things these days. He says mama and dada and knows what he is saying. He loves to say mama when he wants something..and that makes it VERY hard not to give in. When he wakes up in the mornings he pulls his bumper down so he can see out of his crib. Its quite a funny site..he looks like he's in jail. His crawling is getting better. He still army crawls but is getting very fast and is starting to push off with his feet. He can stand very well by just holding onto something, be it a finger, a knee or the couch. I have a feeling it won't be long until he's pulling up. He does so many new things, its hard to name them all. And let me tell you, he's a comedian! He definitely gets that from his daddy. You should see them together..they're a hoot!Here are some pics of our funny boy!

Early morning

Trying to watch tv instead of play w/ my toys

I love this used toy you bought me for $7, Mom!

But I REALLY love this clothes basket more!

Getting all cleaned up!

Such a cutie!

Did mom mention that I like to make funny faces and show off my teeth?

All smiles..most of the time.

Whatchu talkin bout, mama?

Creative Juices

When I was pregnant with Brody, I knew that I didn't want his room to have a theme. At least not the kind where you go to Toys R Us and blow your budget buying a million matching pieces. I wanted his room to be decorated in photos (duh!) that I took of him and him with our family and friends.

When I found his bedding, I loved the colors because it was all different shades of blue with various textures and patterns. It did happen to have sailboats on it. (But they are cool Nautica sailboats) Still, we only bought the bedding and not all the accessories...I did not want it to look like the Nautica Sailboat Collection threw up in his room.

Well, when he was 2 months old, I found this AWESOME board for $10 at the Roundtop Antique Fair!!
I loved the distressed paint job and vintage feel it has. And the big crack in it just gave it even more character. So I snatched it up, thinking SURELY I have somewhere I can put this in his room. Well, when I got it home, I realized the only spot for it was the same wall above his dresser that I was saving for canvases of him. For 7 months, this awesome piece of art stood behind Brody's bedroom door, waiting for me to decide what to do with it. In the meantime, the wall above the dresser remained bare, waiting for a masterpiece of some kind to be hung upon it.
Well, the wait for both is over. A couple of months ago, I finally decided what I wanted to do. I found a way to use the sailboat board and still have photos on the wall. I FINALLY actually tackled the project yesterday! Check it out!

I bought a spool of twine at Lowes so it would look "boatish." Matt helped me use a big staple gun to attach the twine to the back and we made Xs across it. The vintage sailboat painting is a cute backdrop to a photo collage. And I'll be able to swap photos in and out as he grows and starts learning new people. I love the final result! What do you think?

Time for a Brody update!

It probably hasn't been too terribly long since the last Brody update, but I feel like he is doing so much these days, it was definitely time for one.

He is ALL OVER THE PLACE! He has decided to start trying to crawl..finally! However, he doesn't get up on his hands and knees. He does sort of a wounded soldier crawl. His legs are straight out, board stiff while he uses his arms to pull himself forward. And its not one arm after the other. He sticks both out in front and just pulls. Its hilarious! I recorded it...however, my video camera is being retarded and won't let me put it on the computer.

Everyone tells you that your life will be turned upside down when you have a baby. So I was pretty prepared for that. I don't think I was quite as prepared for how life would change once you have a crawler (or semi-crawler)! He's into everything..nothing is safe! No piece of dirt on the floor escapes his wandering eyes. I don't really want to baby proof the house because I want him to learn "no" and learn what he is and isn't allowed to mess with. But there's just some things that HAD to be moved for safety reasons.

He is also saying "da-da." At first we think it was just something he was saying randomly because he learned how to do it. But now I definitely think he knows what it means and always says it when he sees Matt or wants him. Its very cute! He's talking like crazy. Da-da is the only definite word..but he never stops rambling. If he wants my attention if I'm in a different room (since he doesn't seem interested in saying Momma) he will kind of yell in a playful way. He's learning how to communicate his wants and needs. It definitely makes things easier. We're teaching him sign language for the basics...more, drink, all done, etc. I kind of slacked off for a while and am trying to pick back up so he'll learn them soon. He's been doing some sort of hand signal that he thought was waving, but after he had his snack today, I think it might mean "drink." And its very similar to the drink signal. So that would be awesome if he was already signing! However, it might mean that he is thirsty all day long because he does it a lot!

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's more that our little rascal has been up to. He goes for his 9 month check up in a couple of weeks so I'll have an update then I'm sure. I feel bad that I don't even have any new pics of him to post! We have been so busy with the wedding and then editing photos, that I haven't even take any pics of my baby boy. I will post some soon, promise!

God's Perfect Plan

*This post is not meant to be sad or to make anyone feel sorry for us. It's meant to give God the glory for His perfect plan for our lives and how he uses trials in life to draw us to him.

2 years ago today our lives were turned upside down. We found out on September 18, 2006 that we were pregnant. We found out on October 3 that we lost our baby.

Many (most) of you know the story and know it was a NIGHTMARE for us.
We sat in the ER for hours...
when I was finally brought to a room the hospital lost power...
then they couldn't help me because the generators hadn't kicked on...
I went back for an ultrasound and they wouldn't let Matt go with me...
Without Matt being by my side, they tell me that I have an ectopic pregnancy and the baby wouldn't survive...
Meanwhile, the another ER doctor is outside the room telling Matt that if its ectopic, I might die...
Then they tell me they have to rush me to emergency surgery...

You get the idea...

I survived the surgery (obviously) and recovered well. It took longer for the emotional healing. But let me just tell you that I can't think of a time in my life when I felt closer to the Lord. I needed him so much to comfort me and give me hope. Matt and I were constantly in prayer that the Lord would heal our pain and that He would give us another baby.

As amazing as the Lord was through all of this, it's sad how in times of need, we run to the Lord and cling to him to help us with the BIG stuff, but in our everyday lives, when things are going good, we don't seem to lean on him as much. I constantly struggle with leaning on him just as much today, when times are good, as I did 2 years ago.

After 9 months of trying to conceive again, we found out in June 2007 that we were pregnant. We realized that this baby (Brody) was conceived about the time that the first baby was due in May. We thought that was neat :)

Had God allowed that first baby to continue to grow and survive inside me, our lives would look a lot different now. That baby would have been born before Matt graduated college, which means I wouldn't have been able to stay home with the baby for the first 7 months of it's life. To some, that may seem trivial, but it was very important to us. But there was no way that I could have quit my job at that time.

And I'm sure God had even more reasons for taking that child from us. Maybe just to humble us and get us on our knees before him. Whatever the reasons for His plan, they are perfect.

When our sweet Brody Boy was born in January, we were overjoyed, to say the least. And having been through this may have had some affect on the way we cared for him, especially as a newborn. We may have held him more than "the books" and other mothers say we should, spoiled him a little more, etc...but we are so grateful for this child and wanted to soak up every ounce of sweetness from him. Don't worry..we've definitely gotten better and he's not totally rotten.

This was meant to be an encouragement to the couples out there who are trying to conceive or who have been through something similar. The Lord truly knows what he's doing. He knows why He does the things He does. We could never try to figure His reasons out.

Psalm 121:1-2
I lift my eyes unto the hills,
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
The maker of Heaven and Earth.

Wedding Weekend

This past weekend was my little sister's wedding at Toledo Bend Lake. It was absolutely gorgeous and we had a great time. It was a long week of preparation, but very well worth it in the end. She asked me to be her matron of honor..and her photographer! So it was quite a task. Don't worry, I didn't stand next to her in my bridesmaid's dress holding flowers in one hand and snapping photos with the other. I shot all the photos I wasn't in..and Matt and Leigh Ann shot everything else and the ceremony. And they did a great job!

We got to stay in a lake house on the water for a few days before the wedding and got to enjoy some time playing in the water and just relaxing. It was a great little getaway. I can't believe my baby sister is married! She looked so beautiful...just look at her! I'm giving you a sneak peek before all the photos are edited.

Mr. and Mrs. Chase Bell

Shell Bell and Me

Our New Family!

Matty and Me took a break from shooting and got a quick dance in

Cole hung out with Brody at the lake house this week. Here Brody is trying to comfort him. Apparently he does this a lot..Leigh Ann has a similar picture on her blog from a different incident with Brody trying to comfort Cole.

Matt caught a fish!

And here's our sweet boy just being himself!

When I edit the photos, I'll let you know so you can see how beautiful the entire ceremony was. It was a perfect day..perfect weather, beautiful setting and full of so much joy.

Congratulations Shell Bell and Chase. We love you!

*And in case you were wondering, this was a very casual wedding..so the groomsmen wore their shirts untucked and the dads wore khakis.

Check this Out!!

I'm not going to tell you what it is..you just have to go Check it out!

Aftermath

I'm late on my aftermath of Ike post. We've been dealing with, well, the aftermath of Ike. Bryan/College Station didn't really see much damage or affects from the storm, but those we love have really been through a lot. As you know, my parents are from the Beaumont area. God really had his hand on their home AGAIN...and they had no damage to their home. They had a tree fall in their backyard and demolish their fence, but that's it. However, houses next door and across the street weren't so lucky.

A long time family friend lives across the street from my parents. He and his family had evacuated and returned home to a treen through his house. My dad walked through the house with him for the first time when he got home. As they walked into their son's upstairs bedroom, my dad said it was a very "sobering" moment. The tree that had smashed their house had falled directly across their son's bed. If they wouldn't have evacuated, their son would be dead. The 3 men, including my dad, who walked in on this site were really shaken up by it. My dad said he will never stay through another storm again. Thank you Jesus for sparing the life of this young boy and for allowing his father to know they needed to leave town.

Brent and Leigh Ann came to Bryan and stayed here a couple of days. They have no power or water, but were able to go stay with some friends this week so Brent can work. They have no damage to their home either and should be able to get home as soon as the power and water are restored.

Other members of my family have some damage to their homes, but nothing devastating.
Thank you Lord for keeping our families safe through this. There are so many who have lost everything and have no homes to return home to. Our church is full of evacuees with heart wrenching stories and weary hearts. It has been such a blessing to see our church body in action as we work to provide shelter, food, ears to listen and shoulders to lean on for these courageous people.

Since we had a lot of time on our hands with a storm headed our way and family in town, we hung out at Matt's parents with Brent and Leigh Ann. Here are a few photos from the weekend.