18 Months / Halloween

Whit is 18 months old today! Dr. Smith, our pediatrician, is retiring so today was the last day we will see him...I tried as much as I could to hold back the tears, but Dr. Smith is the sweetest man and was the perfect doctor for me during this young stage of children.

Whit's stats are as follows:
Weight - 27 pounds 1 ounce
Height - 32.5 inches
Head - 19.25 inches

Since Whit is my youngest I obviously view him as a baby. However, I am realizing that he is no baby! His little gut is going away, he understands and follows commands, and he is fiercely independent. Now if we could just work on a few more words then life would be a lot easier :)

We love to trick or treat around here and our neighborhood always comes together to throw a fun and laid back block party. Hot dogs, hay rides and lots of little ones running around make for a fun night.

Kate was a bride, or as she would tell you she was a "beautiful bride."

Daddy was the groom. However at the last minute he talked Kate out of having to dress up in a suit. She just told him that to be her groom he had to kiss her and dance with her...Jason said "deal."

And Whit...well he was supose to be a part of the US Army...but it was so cold and to be honest I was more concerned about him being warm then with him dressing up so we sported the camo pants but not the camo tshirt. He didn't care, he still got to eat lots of candy!

Where I Belong

This song is by Building 429 called Where I Belong. I heard this on the radio the other day and it has become the cry of my heart. How I long for these words to truly be the desire of my heart.

Chorus:
All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong

(not sure how to share a song on here so I just made a random slideshow and used the song in it...enjoy!)

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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Old Baker Farm

We had a first around here in the Brantley family. Kate went on her first field trip and I went along as a chaperone. I realized as I stood around and met the other moms and kids in Kate's class that this would become the norm as there will be many more field trips to come in the next 12+ years. We took 15 four year olds to Old Baker Farm and we had a great time.
Nichole and I have been friends since 6th grade and this year our girls, Bella and Kate, are in the same class. It goes without saying that this dynamic makes school and field trips more fun (for Kate and for me!!).

Mrs. Johnson's Four Year Old class. Spending 3 hours with these kids made me realize that there are a lot of sweet children in Kate's class this year. I just hope the other moms can say that too after spending 3 hours with Kate! :)

Put a little BOUNCE in your day today!

Football / Fat Lips / Fellowship

We took Kate to her first football game the other night. Our neighbor, Michael, plays for Briarwood HS so we went to see him play. Kate felt so special when we saw Michael and his teamates we know before the game heading to the locker room and they all came to say hello to her...it is just really sweet to watch your child in complete amazement and excitement. Kate had a blast shaking shakers, yelling GO LIONS, and watching the band and cheerleaders. And to top it all off we got to watch Michael make an amazing touchdown catch!

Poor little Whit was being helped down the steps by his sister when he took dive... he cut his lip up pretty bad on the inside and it is by far the most blood we have dealt with over here. His lip by the end of the night was so fat that it hung over his paci when it was in his mouth :(
Jason and I really wanted a patio in our backyard to have friends over and hang out on. Of course like all good home projects it got a little out of scale and I ended up with the fireplace I always wanted. But Sunday night when our Life Group was meeting out there, enjoying the beautiful weather and each other it made it all worth it.

Sweet Baby Boy

(Our neighbors built a flagstone patio and you better believe Whit was a huge helper in the whole process!)

I did weekly/monthly/yearly posts about Kate and poor Whit has definitely gotten the short end of the stick. So here is a post all about this sweet little boy. Whit is officially 17 months old and I can hardly believe it. Whit has been babbling for a while but he now is saying words that are actually associated with things. Every dog he sees he says "woof", he loves "balls", we love to 1,2,3, "GO" and when we are very upset we scream "mama!" Whit has only had 4 teeth for forever but this past month he has gotten 8 more teeth! Needless to say we have had some tough days. He is fiercely independent, even more then Kate. He would roam our whole neighborhood if I would let him. If there is dirt or water within a mile of him he will find it. Whit has the most contagious smile and laugh and he is such a joy. At the end of most days I am completely exhausted from trying to keep up with him. Just recently he has started being VERY jealous when mommy holds another baby. He gives the best hugs, high fives, and open mouth kisses. Whit loves his big sister and copies everything she does. He loves Lucy and really for that matter all animals. Everyday I am fascinated with what he understands and comprehends. Whit is the sweetest little boy and eveyday he melts my heart.

4K Preschool and Soccer

Kate's first day of 4K preschool was last week and to say that Kate was thrilled that school was starting back is an understatement! Kate has been at God's House Kindergarten since she was two and I just love the teachers and staff there. We feel very blessed to be a part of this school!Kate with her teacher Mrs. Johnson!
We also signed up Kate to play soccer this year. Homewood does it right... one night, 30 minutes practice and 30 minutes for a game! I want Kate to play sports and be involved in things but she is just 4 and I am not looking to book my entire week with her activities so this fit perfectly with what I wanted for her. She really did great but lets just say that I will be going to get a soccer ball tomorrow so we can practice a little this next week before our next game!

Surprise!!! Napa Valley 2011

Last Wednesday Jason came home and asked me to look at an email he was sent. It was a boarding pass with my name on it and it was for Birmingham to San Fransisco! We had been talking about taking this trip in October for forever and I was so excited that he finally booked it. With closer examination and Jason flat out having to actually tell me...the trip wasn't booked for October but for the very next day!! Jason had arranged all the details of the trip and had arranged for the kids to be taken care of. Needless to say it was one of the sweetest things he has ever done.

Napa Valley is so beautiful and is just breath taking! Jason surprised me with a hot air balloon ride at dawn...
Then we spent the rest of the time touring wineries, tasting wines and learning more about wines then we ever dreamed possible. We had so much fun!!!

Then we got Rick at Regusci Winery. We hit it off with him and since it was somewhat quiet around the winery Rick took us to the cellar and let us go barrel tasting! It was really cool to drink wine out of the barrel before it gets bottled.

Then we headed to San Fransisco!! Great city and glad we went and experienced it.

Unfortunately, there was so much fog that you couldn't even see the Golden Gate Bridge.

No worries, because there is always Alcatraz. Many of you may not know this about me but I love prisons and prison shows. Lockdown, Locked up Abroad, Gangland...I am addicted. So I was super excited about this part of our trip! Something is just fascinating about a prison to me. Our last day we spent driving up and down the cost...17 mile drive. Jason was excited about this day because he got to finally see Pebble Beach. And I became okay with this because I found my new home. Right beside Pebble Beach is the cutest, quaintest little town of Carmel. So I was trying to convince Jason to move there where he would be able to play golf at Pebble Beach everyday! Unfortunately after pulling a flyer on a house that was for sale and the price tag being $4.5 million, all my arguments lost steam.

Even with the fog, the coastline was beautiful and we enjoyed our time together. We ended the trip at a great little restaurant called Moss Distillery where you can bundle up under blankets, sit by a fire and enjoy a good meal and drinks.

Jason got huge brownie points for planning this trip! It was a great time to reconnect, have real communication and a lot of fun together. Until next time...

Fort Morgan 2011 continued...

in no particular order, we...

...ran around and explored Fort Morgan...


...spent quality time with Pop...
... learned how to do a cannon ball...

...got new goggles from Mimi and Pop that we absolutely love...

... was scared of the waves and wanted someone to hold him...

...but then Pop came and made it all better...

...loved paying in our pool on the beach...

...practiced our baywatch run...

...celebrated Kate's FOURTH birthday...

... was SUPER excited about the sparkly shoes given to us by our cousin Hannah...
...had some great pictures taken...
...spent some quality time as a family together...

...and can't wait to do it again! Thanks mom and dad for a great and fun week with the whole family!