Merry Christmas 2008!

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends! We had a wonderful Christmas with both of our families this week. It's always chaos, but I think I'm learning to just embrace the chaos and be thankful that we live close enough to both of our families to get to spend the holidays with them. Brennan enjoyed Christmas much more this year (even though he still had no idea what we were doing), he at least didn't sleep through the whole thing. He enjoyed playing with all of his cousins and wouldn't sit still for a minute so that I could take a good picture. How do you moms do it? My son is a maniac and the days of easy picture taking is officially over...I think it was over a few months ago, but I have just started to embrace this reality. Here are a few photos...

Am I really 30???

30 sounded so old to me all of my life...now that I have arrived and I'm glad they're saying, "30 is the new 20" because I don't feel old!!! My girlfriends from college surprised me on Friday night with an awesome evening of progressive dinner and the best surprise was my friend Katie coming all the way from Tennessee to celebrate with me. She brought her 4 month old son Oliver and he is just the sweetest little boy! I was so glad to finally meet him, love him, and kiss him!!! Thanks again Katie for making my birthday extra special. My family also celebrated with me on the 13th having a yummy brunch. Then Steven took me out for a fancy dinner. The weekend was full of eating and I think I gained 30 lbs to match my age. Oh well...that's what the new year is for right?...dieting!!!
Here are some recent pics...

Christmas Tree and Ice Cream Cone

Do you think Brennan liked this ice cream cone???


We don't really need to put up our Christmas Tree this year do we? We can just take pictures in front of the one at the mall!!!

Dancing with Addison

I watched Brennan's girlfriend Addison on Monday and we had a little dance party...here is a pic and a video. They were really cute!


Sorry...I'm having trouble uploading the video...I'll keep trying but it's not working.

Go Panthers!!!

All I have to say is 10 and 3!!!

Sorry for such a large photo!

This is Brennan's 1 year picture we took a few weeks ago. I can't figure out how to make it smaller...any suggestions all of you blog pros out there? I think it's pretty cute though. Now it's time to take a Christmas photo...that should be interesting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice Thanksgiving weekend, especially since the Panthers won today!!! It's never a dull moment with that team. I didn't get to take many pictures, but here are a few. We are thankful for each of you!

Thankful for so much

Thanks to all that read this blog and are interested in our lives! That seems silly...but I know those who do truly care about us and Brennan. I have been trying to reflect on all of our blessings during this time of Thanksgiving. I thank the Lord for all of our friends and family and how much joy they bring to our lives. We've been doing well...just staying busy with work, school, and raising a one year old. We are looking forward to being with our families for the holidays! Here are some recent pictures of my man on the move!


Will we ever get a good family photo with all of us looking and smiling? Probably not for a while=)

My Pumpkin's a PUMPKIN!

OK, I know it's not original or creative, but I think Brennan is SO cute in his pumpkin costume! Here's a sneak peak. We are going to a parade in our neighborhood this afternoon, so I hope to get some more cute pictures...but he's a treat for today!

Brennan's Date with Addison

My one year old son had a date with his girlfriend Addison today. They were so cute...they held hands for at least five minutes as we power walked through the mall!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Last week we had a blast when we got to go to a farm to pick out a pumpkin, take a hayride, wander through a corn maze and pet a lot of farm animals. Brennan had a great time with his cousins. Here are some pics from the day...

The Big 1st Birthday Party!

Well, it's been a week, but I'm finally getting a chance to put pictures from Brennan's birthday party up. It was a very nice day of chicken, hot dogs, cake, and presents! Brennan didn't want to smear the cake in his face even though we gave him every opportunity. He had lots of fun hanging out with his cousins and friends.

Brennan's Blackberry

Brennan's favorite toy is mommy and daddy's phones...here is a video of him talking on the phone and doing some weird thing with his nose and lips. He starts around 35 sec. so be patient!

Full day of Birthday Fun!

Brennan had a very active and full birthday on Thursday! It started with a play date in the park. He loved swinging and sliding and picking up sticks. Then we headed to McDonalds where we ate chicken nuggets. After his nap, Steven came home and we went to Monkey Joe's. He loved it! Then back home for pizza and cake and presents! It was a nice day to spend with my now 1 year old! I can't believe it! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I'll post some videos when I have more time. They seem to take forever to upload. We're excited about his birthday party tomorrow with all of our family!

Happy Birthday Brennan!!!

You will wake up this morning and not know it is your birthday...you won't remember today except for pictures you see...but I will always remember how blessed my life is because you are my son! I love you Brennan!

Brennan's Birthday Eve

I can't believe my baby is turning one tomorrow! I can remember one year ago (yesterday) when Steven and I packed up to go to the hospital because I was being induced in the morning. We talked about how crazy it was to think we would be bringing home our baby the next time we slept there. It was a very surreal evening. We knew our lives were going to change forever. I can't believe we actually slept that night...but we did. We were so thankful to God for allowing us to carry this baby and knew what a miracle it is to have a healthy pregnancy. We checked into the hospital at 7am and quickly got hooked up to all of the machines. I remember waiting and waiting and waiting some more. I was having contractions, but my doctor said, "no pain, no gain, no baby" and my contractions were not painful. So around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, the dr asked if I wanted to come back tomorrow and try again, or if I wanted her to break my water to help things along. I didn't think about that for one minute...I was not going home without my baby on the outside! So after a few painful contractions I quickly got my epidural and then waited, waited, and waited some more. Finally Brennan was born at 1:39am! Both of our parents and Steven's sister Lindsey held on strong to meet their new grandson and nephew. He was perfect! It was such an exciting moment! What a year it has been! I have loved every minute of being a mommy...even the hard ones! God truly blessed Steven and I with our son Brennan Waddell and we pray we have many more years and memories with him! I will post more tomorrow on his BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Aunt Lindsey!

Happy Birthday Aunt Lindsey! We enjoyed celebrating last night with you! Have a fun weekend with your friends. Thanks for loving Brennan so well this past year!

Happy 30th Steven!

We celebrated Steven's 30th Birthday yesterday with our families. Brennan had a great time at Red Robin eating burgers and fries and his daddy's birthday cake. He can't wait till his own birthday cake! The best part of Brennan's night was when he got home and was playing with Steven's birthday balloons! See the video below!

Breezy in the Park

Brennan had a great time playing on a real playground for the first time last week. We met our friends Isaac and Katie and had a ball. Brennan was really interested in following the big kids around, but he also had fun climbing on the equipment. These are the only photos I took, because I was a bit nervous to get too far away because Brennan is fearless!!! He thinks he's 5!

Apples and Cooler weather!!! Hooray!!!

Every time I open the refrigerator Brennan will run towards it and tries to touch everything inside. You would think, after opening it at least 20 times a day that this would get old...but no, he still wants to run over there and check it out. Yesterday after we got home from the grocery store he found an apple in the drawer and started taking bites while I wasn't looking. I thought it was pretty cute.



We got to wear long sleeves today for the first time this fall! Brennan wasn't too sure about it this morning. He kept looking at his arms and biting his sleeves.

Friday Night Lights

Brennan went to his first South Point Football game on Friday night. He loved clapping and cheering with the crowd! He also loved playing in the grass and dropping daddy's phone through the bleachers!