Happenings in the New Year

New Year's Eve

       This year we spent New Year's Eve with a few of our closest friends, the Demming's and the Cobia's.  We went to eat mexican food and had a great time!

Phillip, Ben and Brandon at dinner. 

 

      Afterwards, Brandon and Phillip were nice enough to stay with the kiddos ( and watch football, which I know they didn't mind!) while Sheree and I went down the street to the Demming's house for a little bit. We had a lot of fun hanging out with several of our good girlfriends!

Sara, me, Laura, Shelby, and Sheree.

 Lifegroup Brunch
       Every year our lifegroup gets together to celebrate the new year and eat brunch together.

    I want to express how special our lifegroup is to Phillip and I. One of my favorite things about living in Tennessee, are our sweet friends from church. It is so neat to have a group to be able to walk through life with as we grow in our marriages, raise our kids, and simply enjoy being together. For Phillip and I not having family in the same town, this group of people have become like a second family to us. 

Sara, son Jax, Laura, daughter Sadie, Emily, and Tamara and her daugheter Olivia. 

             Sara, me, Laura, Jax, Sadie, Tamara, and Olivia.

              
               Some of the guys, they look thrilled to be taking a picture while eating! Phillip wasn't there because he was kind enough to stay home with Brody who had an ear infection that day and didn't feel well. I did bring him a plate of food home!

                           Paul, Matt, Lee, Ben, and Steve.

                      Me and my dear friend Sheree. Her family is moving to Alabama in February!
                    It is a good job opportunity for Brandon and we are excited for them, but we will
                    miss their family so much!

"Better Homes and Gardens" Creamy Carmel Pecan Rolls

      Every year I always make "Better Homes and Gardens" Creamy Carmel Pecan Rolls. I usually only make them once a year because they take quite a bit of time to make. Once you make them they are delicious! I decided to share the recipe, and took a few pictures in the process of making them. Enjoy! Also, here is the link in case you want to look at that recipe online.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/yeast-breads/creamy-caramel-pecan-rolls/ 

ingredients

• 1-1/4  cups  sifted powdered sugar
• 1/3  cup  whipping cream
• 1  cup  coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1  tablespoon  ground cinnamon
• 2  16-ounce loaves  frozen white bread dough or sweet roll dough, thawed
• 3  tablespoons  butter or margarine, melted
• 3/4  cup  raisins (optional)

 1. Grease two 9 x 1-1/2-inch round baking pans; set pans aside. For topping, in a small bowl stir together powdered sugar and whipping cream; divide evenly between prepared baking pans. Sprinkle pecans evenly over sugar mixture.

    2. In another small bowl stir together brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll each loaf of dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with brown sugar-cinnamon mixture. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

                                       

3. Roll up each rectangle starting from a long side. Seal seams. Slice each roll into 12 pieces. Place, cut sides down, on topping in pans.

4. Cover; let rise in a warm place until nearly double (about 30 minutes). Break any surface bubbles with a greased toothpick.

 5. Bake in a 375 degree f oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown (if necessary, cover rolls with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully invert rolls onto a serving platter. Serve warm. Makes 24 rolls.

Brody is Four Months Old!

Brody turned four months old on December 26. Here are some of the things that have been happening in his world since turning four months.

• He now rolls over when on his belly. He doesn't roll from his back to his stomach yet, just belly to back. 
• He really enjoys tummy time now and holds his head up and pushes up with his arms quite well. Over the past couple of weeks when he is on his tummy he has been moving his legs a lot, almost like he's trying to move his body but can't yet.
• He loves his Bumbo seat. I put him in it and put toys on the tray attached to it. In the past couple of weeks, he has figured out that he enjoys pushing the toys off the tray and on the ground. 
• He got a "Baby Einstein" DVD from his Aunt Ruby ( my sister Jamie) for Christmas. He loves it! When I put it on for him ( usually when I am busy cooking dinner) his eyes don't leave the screen.  I really like the "Baby Einstein" DVD's because they are very educational. I try to keep the TV off a lot of the time when he is awake, because he gets very distracted by it but I do enjoy letting him watch " Baby Einstein." 
• Brody is very aware of his surroundings. He always knows where Phillip and I are in the room.  He will look at us almost to make sure we are there with him, and when he realizes we are present, will continue with what he is doing. 
• He is also very aware of a person's tone of voice. If I change the tone of my voice he will immediately look at me in a puzzling way.  It is interesting how much my voice, mood, and expressions influence his. 
• When we go to a place that has a lot of activity ( ex.the mall) he wants to be out and about looking around and checking things out. When I went to buy running shoes, I took him in the store in his carrier. He looked around the store and started fussing. I took him out of the carrier and he started laughing and cooing with the salesperson.  He is quite the social butterfly.
• Brody loves people. He is very content and enjoys being held by just about anyone. He of course reacts the most to people that talk to him and coo at him. Last Sunday night at Lifegroup one of our friends, Paige, held him the whole time and he was just as content as he could be. 
• He can sit up while supported, but not completely on his own yet. 
• Brody is a great sleeper.  He has been sleeping through the night since he was roughly about 10 weeks old (beginning of November).  He goes to sleep at around 7:30-8 p.m. and wakes up between 7-7:30 a.m.the next morning. During the day he naps from 8:30-10:00/10:30 a.m. and in the afternoon roughly anywhere between 2:30-4:30 p.m..  He does good if he gets in an hour and a half nap in the afternoons.  He is so tired in the afternoon I usually have to let him cry for a while before he goes to sleep. 
• We read several books to Brody every day. He has gotten to the point where he touches the pages when we are reading.
• Brody got his first ear infection this past week. I took him in to the Dr. because he had around 100 temp. two nights in a row, and had a runny nose and was coughing. Turns out he had an ear infection in his right ear. Our pediatrician put him on an antibiotic and it seems to have helped.  Respiratory Syncytial Virus ( RSV) has been going around at church among some of the kid's. We stayed home most of the weekend with Brody to give him time to get well and so he wouldn't be at risk for catching RSV.
• When I took Brody to his four month Dr. appointment, we discussed when we should start introducing baby food. He suggested that we start rice cereal now, and then around six months start introducing other baby foods. When we first gave it to him, he looked very confused and wasn't too sure about the texture or the taste of the cereal. He has now gotten to the point where he opens his mouth about half way when I put the spoon in it. We have been giving it to him about 2-3 times a week. It usually is a messy event when we do give it to him, and we always do it right before he gets a bath. 

                      

•  The toys that are his favorites are ones he can chew on, ones that make noise, are colorful, and that light up.  He loves his "Baby Einstein" exersaucer. When Phillip's parents were here at the beginning of December, Brody's "Big Daddy" put it together for him. He can sit in there and be preoccupied with the animals on it for quite a while.  

•           Brody hanging out in his swing! He doesn't hang out in his swing as much as he did when he was smaller, but when I am getting dressed in the bathroom I will put him in the swing in my room. He enjoys playing with the toys on the tray.

Snow Days

   Monday, January 10 we woke up to a white sheet of snow covering the ground. At our house, we got 3-4 inches. The ground, sidewalks, and street were all completely covered with snow. It was a little icy on the driveway and sidewalks, but the streets weren't too bad. Taking the dogs for a walk was interesting, they are never sure what to think about snow. It is also kind of funny when they slip on the ice.
    Since I am from Texas and we rarely got snow growing up, I will always get excited about it.  I took lots of pictures of the house and put Brody in his bumbo for a photo shoot. He has seen snow before, but this was the most he had ever seen. He looked at it from his bumbo, but probably was more concerned with why we were outside in the cold.
    The first couple of days the snow was beautiful and it was exciting having it around.  After four days of it, I think everyone was getting tired of it and ready for it to melt!

First Blog Post.... Brody's First Christmas

          I have decided to become a member of the blog world for the first time. I don't do scrap books, so I thought this was a good way to record some special moments that we have as a family. It will also be a good way to record sweet Brody's special moments starting now at four months old.  For all of our friends and family that are reading this that live out of town I had you in mind when deciding to start a blog. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it.

      

    Christmas 2010 was one of the most special ones I've ever had. It was so wonderful having Brody there for his first Christmas. He turned four months old on December 26. These past four months have been some of the most special months of our lives. 

  

    On holidays we rotate families that we visit. This year we were with Phillip's family for Thanksgiving, and my family for Christmas. Christmas with my family took place in Florence, Alabama at Uncle Keith and Aunt Carole's house. My mom's whole side of the family gets together for several days to celebrate. There were 18 people total this year.  Brody and I went to Florence on Tuesday before Christmas, and Phillip came on Thursday. Mom and Dad ( Marmie and Poppie to Brody) were there, Uncle Keith, Aunt Carole( newly elected Judge in Flo-town) cousin John, Mimi, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Paula, Cousin Stephanie and her boyfriend Renner, Cousin Shelley her husband Rob, kids Ryder and Caden, and my sister Jamie and her boyfriend Cal. 

        

      We had a great time on the days leading up to Christmas, we did last minute Christmas shopping, took Brody to visit Santa, played the Wii, board games, and some Christmas games Aunt Paula made up,  ate lots of wonderful food, threw the football, and overall simply enjoyed being together as a family. After being together, it made me reflect on how thankful I am for my family. God has blessed us in so many ways. I am so thankful to have a wonderful extended family and the greatest husband and son! I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us!

It was extra special this year having the two new babies there. Cousin Ryder and Brody are only a few weeks apart. This picture is of them hanging out in their bumbos.

Cousin Shelley, Ryder, me and Brody

                                     Cousins eating lunch at "La Fonda."

                            Brody with his Marmie and Poppie on Christmas Eve.

                                     The whole family on Christmas Eve.

                                  

                         Brody with his great grandma Mimi on Christmas Eve.

                          Brody with his Marmie opening his presents from Santa.

                                          

Brody loved his first Christmas!! Merry Christmas 2010!