3 Month Hiatus

There really hasn't been a huge reason for not blogging. Just lack of time or patience I guess. Plus we put all of our photos onto Guy's computer and I just don't get on that much. I am a little sad to not have documented things during Austin's first year. He turns 1 next weekend. There is so much to say and think about! His birthday is also the same day that my mom's journey began. Lots of memories that will resurface over these next few weeks and months. But for the sake of saving memories, here is what has happened these last few months.


December: we had lots of family fun and Christmas parties. Guy has 2 weeks off during Christmas so we spent a lot of time at home! Guy is a really good cook and he made most of our meals during his off-time. I bought him a cook book for Christmas and it's still working to our advantage!

January: this is the month of birthdays. Guy, Braylen and I all celebrate our birthdays in January. Which leaves us full of bday outings, parties, cavities from cake and ice cream and lots of extra naps from exhaustion. Guy and I go to Beninhana's for our free bday dinners and this year Braylen came with us. He was so polite to the chef and to the other guests at our table. He even got to pick out a Benihana birthday mug. It's quite ugly but he loves it.

We also went to New Orleans to celebrate Guy's grandmothers birthday. She turned 90. No big deal. Mommy I is the sweetest, most southern little lady and we love going down to visit her. She had a cocktail, sit down dinner at this fancy restaurant called Ralph's at the Park. Super fun. I always love an excuse to exchange my comfy clothes for a pretty dress. Braylen got to ride the street cars so he was pleased.

Once the Meiman's returned home from Charlotte (for good!), we celebrated Christmas with my family. It was fun to have an extended Christmas weekend!

The last weekend of January we spent with friends at Great Wolf Lodge for the annual YL retreat. So fun. Great worship, great time with friends and our kids. I ruined Braylen's chances of riding a big waterslide last year, when I "accidentally" took him down a huge one. He will NOT go down one again. Which is a bummer because Guy and I love them. Actually, thanks Ben and Maria for watching our kids so we can go down the greatest waterslide ever! #kidsatheart

February: to continue our birthday events, we were sooo busy in January that we had Braylen's bday party in February. Our nonstop need to plan parties and have fun, has gotten a little out of hand. We had the brilliant idea of using the YL inflatables to celebrate his 5 year milestone. Although it was so fun to see all of the crazy kids jumping and playing, it was super overwhelming and stressful to plan it outside our house. I'm not sure why I thought it would be easy. I'm surprised that Guy didn't launch a blow up through the window. We had the party at Master Provisions and invited lots of family and friends from Kid's Academy. Despite a snow storm from that morning, lots of friends still showed up! We served Gumbo, taco soup and chili with crackers, fruit, and veggies. Of course we had a Batman cake and birthday cookies. We also had a little hot chocolate "bar." If you ever have a winter party (which if you celebrate Christmas, you do!), you have to serve this hot chocolate. It is so good and was such a great drink to serve during a snow storm.

Valentine's day came and went, but the boys had matching clothes and looked cute.

Austin had his final physical therapy appointment in February too. He started seeing his therapist in July 2012! I'm so excited to have seen all of the progress he has made.

March: guess what we're celebrating in March? That's right. Another birthday. But hopefully I'll have another post for that special day. And then another post with how to lose all of these extra "birthday/cake/ice cream/party pounds" that I've accumulated these last few months.

What's a post without pictures?! Thanks for checking in our family.

Snow angels and sledding at grammy's and poppy's!

Braylen's BFF Kaleb

This kid loves his pacifier! 

Apparently, so do I.

Thankful.

So funny! 

Batman birthday!

So blessed. As much as I would like to have a "no presents bday party" the kids love seeing their friend open their special gift. So sweet. 

If you do want to ever buy my oldest a gift, please just give him fancy clothes. He loves to dress up.

Sam Davis couldn't wait to cut the cake. haha!

Austin got a little present too that day. 

Valentine's day buddies. 

Braylen had the flu this week but losing his tooth was a major highlight. 

My sweet boy. Blue eyes for days.

Austin at PT. His last visit!

Braylen's friends!

Happy almost spring! 

Squirmy Braylen

Life with a 4 1/2 year old is pretty awesome. Braylen is becoming quite the young man. He is sweet and hilarious and energetic, all at the same time. He definitely went through a growth spurt this spring/summer. I started to notice this little growth spurt when he requested the chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-a and he would devour the whole thing plus fries. And then he would eat some of mine. He is a little over 42 inches tall and weighs about 50 pounds. Giant. He is not easy to carry up to bed after falling asleep in the car.

As much as we have talked about my mom's situation around him, he has not asked about cancer or what it means. He knows that maw-maw is sick and he loves to ask about her or to make sure she is doing ok. He just painted a wooden train for her that he said "would help her feel better." So sweet. He's very sensitive and caring of others. And despite having a few tantrums here and there, he's surprisingly polite and well-mannered. The other night, he randomly invited our waitress from O'Charley's to go to school with him and meet his teachers. He said she would like school.

I hate to admit this but he LOVES watching TV shows and movies. It is so easy to turn the TV on and go about caring for Austin or relaxing or finish chores. But he also loves to play in his room with all of his toys and could stay up there for hours! He has finally started to enjoy painting and coloring, but he would rather play in the dirt with his shovel. It's been so hot outside so we've been staying indoors more than usual.

This summer Braylen has learned how to swim by himself-with no swimmies! He can swim underwater with goggles, swim on his back, and jump off the side and swim to the ladder. He can also do a flip into the water. He's crazy. Once he did a running flip into the water and I about had a heart attack. He's done a few "accidental" dives too. He has pretty good form actually. He can ride his bike without training wheels now but is still a little shaky on it.

A few funny/sweet things he has said lately:

"Mom, you smell like a squid."
"Excuse you, squirmy."
During his prayer with my mom- "God I love maw-maw and hope she feels better. And God I hope I can go on an airplane and go to a festival."
"Austin, you are the cutest little boy in the world."
"That is so cool."
"That is embarrassing."
"Nice mom. Real nice."
"Austin is freaking out again!"

For some reason Braylen has this awesome "yee-haw" voice. Here is a video of it. It's hilarious.

He is still very cuddly and says that Guy and I are his best friends. Mommy is his best friend and daddy is his buddy. He loves Austin so much too. He tends to smother him hugs and kisses. He adores Guy. I just love seeing their relationship grow. I have a special relationship with my dad but I'm excited to watch Father/Son. Braylen is always talking about daddy and how one day he will be just like him. As much as I wanted to have a baby girl, I am SO very excited to raise a house full of boys (Guy included). :)

Getting Ready for Baby

We have 9 days to go until the arrival of Baby Brother. We have a few names picked out but we cannot decide what his name should be! I think it might be kind of fun to wait to see what he looks like! Braylen keeps saying his name is Frosty Shoes. Goofball.

Braylen and I took a walk to the park this morning. It's climbing into the 60's today and I am hoping to walk this baby right out! Hasn't worked yet, but I did love my time with Braylen. We held hands the entire way. He said things like mom, you're my best friend. I love you so much! He also tried to protect me from the barking dogs of the neighborhood. He said you stay over here and I'll walk here because you don't like dogs and I do. ha! I just treasure this time with him! I wonder how bringing a new baby will change the dynamics of our family but I'm excited too. Bray says he is going to help change his diaper and teach him to play baseball.

We've been working these past few months around the house getting everything ready for the baby. Back in December we switched Braylen into Guy's office/guest bedroom and moved Guy's stuff down to the unfinished basement. Braylen's old room is the nursery again. Braylen's room is awesome! We finally have a place to store all of his toys and he loves playing up there. He spends at least an hour or so every few days just playing by himself. And he's sleeping in a twin size bed. He's so big!

The nursery is coming together. We have everything ready for him. Clothes washed, diapers and wipes ready, blankets folded.......Just waiting on his arrival. I still need to hang up some picture frames and buy a lamp. I found this really cute, very big picture frame from Babies R Us. It was originally $40 and marked down to $8! It was an FAO Schwartz theme so I just removed the weird picture and will add something of my own. The matting is a cute blue and white stripe. I decided on a yellow/gray theme for the nursery but really it's turning into whatever I have around the house and whatever I see in the store that is cute and cheap. There are some teals, light blues, and and navy's mixed in too. I recovered a few pillows in yellow and gray fabric, and I'm hoping to sew some curtains but I'm not going to worry about it. I still need to finish the ones for Braylen's room! I finally finished my nursing cover. I had bought the material from JoAnn's forever ago but since the store was closing, they weren't ordering more items and I needed some boning for around the neck. Hobby Lobby finally restocked their's and I was able to finish it. It's a little time consuming to make it but fairly easy! And since Baby Brother is due during the first round of NCAA tournament, I just had to make him a UK burp cloth. I've also packed a UK sleeper as his going away outfit. You can be sure that the game will be on if UK is playing while I am delivering. If the baby comes early, maybe I'll just decide to take him down to New Orleans next month for the Final Four. What do you think Guy???? :)

Pillows

Nursing cover

Burp cloth

I just finished a pinterest project that I've been wanting to work on. I love using Pinterest! It's awesome! I have saved so many DIY's and recipes, that I'll never get to them all. But this one caught my eye because Guy and I both grew up in different states. I thought it would be cute to have in our house. I think it turned out great! And Guy loves it! The pic is from my phone so it's a little blurry but you get the idea.

Happy Wednesday!

38 Weeks

In two days, I will be 38 weeks. These past nine months have gone by very quickly, but this last month has been slow. I've enjoyed lots of activities with my family which has made these last few weeks "bearable." My sister's family came into town last weekend for a visit and it was awesome to spend time with them. My super cute nephew, Kaleb, was so much fun to be around. I miss them so much! Jess and Kaleb will be up here for a whole right after the baby is born. Can't wait!

I know this is just my second time, but I just don't like it! You can seriously ask any one of my friends and family. I guess I complain about it, but I like to think I'm just being honest. Guy will say, how are you feeling today? And I'll tell him exactly how I feel. I'm tired, my back hurts, and I've had hearburn all day long. I'm not one of those mom's who totally bond with their baby right away either. I had a hard, unexpected pregnancy with Braylen and then it took me a good 4 weeks after he was born to really connect with him. I was over the moon to have a son, but the complete uproot of my life had me struggling. Being pregnant this time, however, I have been much more accepting of things. I knew the heartburn, back pains, swollen feet, restless nights, etc was inevitable. And I've been asking the Lord to prepare my heart for the drastic change once the baby gets here. I'm such a creature of comfort! I love "me time" which is so sinful but I always try to protect it. You definitely don't have any extra time on your hands with a baby! But, for the past few days, I'm actually starting to feel excited to hold our son, to see what he looks like, and to be a family of 4. I guess now is a good time to start feeling that way since he'll be here in 2 weeks. :) Thank you Lord for slowly changing my heart.

Movement:
He's still moving like crazy. It's been pretty painful at times. He's supposed to be around 7 pounds right now but I'm sure he's bigger. His head is in the right spot, so I've been feeling lots of kicks to the ribs.

Weight Gain:
Up to 40 pounds. Bah. Most people have been so sweet to say that I look great for how far along I am. I try to take the compliment but I just hate being this big. It really sucks! I'm nervous that the weight won't come off as easily as the first time but I'll just need to kick butt in the gym.

Sleep:
I'm up and down constantly throughout the night. I usually just wake myself up from all of the snoring, drooling, and sweating. Oh and I burp every single time I roll over to my other side. I seriously do. Nothing glamourous about being pregnant. :)

What I Miss:
Wearing normal clothes, crossing my legs, working out, drinking Coke, sleeping on my back and stomach, riding roller coasters and jumping on trampolines. I don't really get to do the last two very often but I miss them anyways.

Cravings:
Lately it's been milk shakes. Anything chocolate-like the Chocolate Devotion from Cold Stone. I don't even like Cold Stone but that particular mixture is seriously amazing. Ice cubes, hummus and pretzels.

Symptoms:
Heartburn, back aches, swollen feet and fingers. I've actually been pretty light headed today but I've just tried to drink my water and have rested a bit more. And I don't want to jinx myself, but I think the baby has dropped a little more so I've had less heartburn!

Big Brother Sayings:
Braylen loves to hug and kiss his baby brother. When I ask him what he's going to look like, he says a big, scary monster. He also says that his name should be Frosty. Today, while I was resting on the bed, he asked to see my stomach and pretended to be the "doctor." He told me how big I was and that he could hear the heart beat. He tells me everyday that my stomach is "so big!" He's really going to be a great big brother. Praying that the two of them love each other and become great friends. :)

Life Lately

Valentine's Day party at school

Happy Mardi Gras! 

Baseball practice outside

The sock hop at preschool. It was "too loud" for Braylen

He's a dancing machine at home

Last weekend before a wedding

If Beyonce can wear heels while pregnant, so can I!

I wore flats. 

Stayed home from school the other day because he's been sick

Pretty soon we'll be a family of 4! Can't wait! 

Happy 4th Birthday!

**This was supposed to post yesterday on Braylen's actual birthday!

Today is Braylen's 4th birthday! He is growing up so very quickly and I keep telling him to slow down. :) He says "but mom, I'm going to be a big brother!" Today we are having a little party with some friends and family! He has requested a train party this year. One year ago, we had a Mickey Mouse party. How quickly time has gone.

Last year's party!

Braylen brings so much joy to our lives! We are so thankful for him and thankful that God brought him into our family, during a time that was so unexpected. It's hard to imagine life without him.

Things that Braylen loves right now:
1) Being silly-he's actually quite hilarious.
2) Saying "mom (or dad), I love you so, so, so much." and then saying "gross" when we kiss him.
3) Playing drums to the Beatles with Guy. He plays them on beat.
4) Playing basketball and baseball.
5) Beating everyone in Candylane, Go fish, and running up the stairs.
6) His new Vtech mobigo.
7) Miss Tami and Miss Eli- his preschool teachers at Kid's Academy. He LOVES preschool and last week he was Star of the Week.
8) Wrestling.
9) Helping us cook in the kitchen.
10) Playing with trains.
11) Listening to Veggie Tales and singing every single song.
12) Talking to his baby brother in mommy's belly (Braylen has named him Potty Pootie and Rudolph).
13) Telling us EVERYDAY that he "wishes he could go camping with Gretta."

Happy 4th Birthday Braylen! 

We love you so, so, so much! 

Playing Catch Up

For the past month and a half we have not had wifi. And our macbook is weird and it wouldn't let me connect through the cable...so I haven't been able to or had the time to go to Panera and upload pictures/work on the blog/sell things on ebay/keep up with our budget/you get the picture. Does anyone know how to use icloud by the way? I have pictures that say photostream on my phone but I'm not sure where they are streaming to. They don't seem to be on my computer.

Anyways. Here are two fun things that happened that I just didn't want to miss writing about.

**Thanksgiving.
We missed my sister's family and baby Kaleb while they stayed in Charlotte, but we enjoyed seeing both sides of my family and spending the day with the Domec's. We always see a movie on Thanksgiving night with my dad's side and for the past 2 years, they have picked a kid friendly movie so that Braylen can come with us. This year we saw the Muppets and it was really cute! Pretty funny too. My mom's side usually has our get together the day after or on Saturday and I am so thankful for that because we don't have to rush out of there. We ended up staying for a while at my aunt's house, ordered pizza, and watched the UK game. This year we made Caramel-Pecan Pie with homemade pie crust and Braylen helped us. He loves being in the kitchen. My mom usually makes this pie and it is soooo good. We also made Pumpkin Cake and it is always delicious.

**Babymoon to New Orleans
We like to visit Guy's family once or twice a year down in New Orleans so we snuck in a trip on the first weekend of December. Braylen stayed with grammy and poppy (Guy's parents) so it was a nice trip just the two of us. One last little getaway before we become a family of 4. We flew standby which is always a nightmare but we eventually made it down there. We enjoyed seeing family, cute baby Ava, and eating much food as possible. :) One of my favorite places to eat down there is called Zea's. It was especially good now that I'm further along in my pregnancy and everything tastes delicious. But the real reason for our visit was to go to a Saint's game!!! One of my good friends from high school's husband is on the coaching staff for the Saints! Seriously. She is that cool.  She offered to get us tickets to a game and we were like, um yes please!

My love for the Saints is obviously because I am married to Guy, but I really do like this team. When Katrina hit and wrecked the city a few years ago, it had an impact on Guy's family too. His grandma stayed with them for months as well as another couple who stayed for a few weeks. After everything "settled" down, the Saints actually won the Super Bowl and it was so amazing. It was like a huge victory for the city! It was really emotional for everyone connected to Katrina. We took a last minute trip to New Orleans a week after they won the Super Bowl and the city was seriously crazy! People were so excited! And it was during Mardi Gras so we saw Drew Brees in one of the parades.

*If you've never gone to Mardi Gras, you should totally go! It is so much fun! It is so not like "girls gone wild" unless you visit Bourbon Street-which we never go to. 

So back to the game. Kelly graciously offered us tickets and told us that we could go on the field for pre-game warm ups! Wow. I am pretty sure that if no one was watching, Guy would have ran sprints around the field out of pure joy and excitement. It was awesome being so close to the players and coaching staff. Even the owner came by and rubbed my belly. :) He said you've got something poking out of there. Can you believe the owner actually says hello to the fans?  Mike Brown, take some notes! We took some amazing pictures and had the best time.

The Saints killed the Lions and after the game, we went to the post-game after party! The families of the players and coaching staff are invited and you needed a special bracelet to get in. We saw a few of the players and Drew Brees wife and Coach Peyton's wife (or ex-wife....drama.). When we were leaving the parking lot in Kelly's car a few people actually stopped us for an autograph because they thought there was a player in our car. Oh I forgot to mention that I almost met Will Ferrell. He just didn't hear me yelling his name.

We had the best time! It was a perfect, much needed trip for the two of us. I am so thankful to be married to my best friend!

 On the field! 

Will Ferrell! So close to meeting him! Not sure what I would have said. I love you? You're hilarious? 

Pierre Thomas!

Drew Brees!