November/December

Sorry, I haven’t updated this in a while. I am going to get better at it!
November
We actually didn’t have a ton going on in November besides Thanksgiving gatherings. Here are a couple of the highlights:
I turned the BIG 27 on 11/11. Jon and Brayden took me out to lunch. I went to the midnight showing of New Moon (2nd movie in the Twilight series). I hadn’t ever been to a midnight showing of any movie before, so it was quite the experience. I came home from work and slept from 7pm-10:30pm. I am so glad that I took a little snooze before going otherwise I would have been dragging at work on Friday. We went to my friend, Sarah’s wedding on the 21st. It was great catching up with a few of my college friends! We had Thanksgiving in Marshalltown with Jon’s family on Thanksgiving Day. Jon and I both had to work on Black Friday, so Brayden had a slumber party with Nana. We had another Thanksgiving on the Saturday after with my family.
December
We started off December with the Reidy/Knipp Christmas in Independence. We were able to get together with some good friends and play Pepper/Euchre.  Jon and I both had work cancelled on 12/9 due to the snowstorm. We just got back from a great weekend up in NE Iowa. Jon, Brayden, and I drove up to Decorah on Saturday. We went swimming in our hotel, ate at Mabe’s, and watched a few college bowl games. On Sunday, we went to Cresco for the Schoeberl Christmas. It was so great to see family!!!
Plans for the rest of December include a doctor’s appt on 12/23 including an ultrasound. Jon’s mom will coming down and his brother will be coming over for Christmas Eve. We will be heading up to Ogden afternoon on Christmas day through Saturday morning. New Year’s Eve, we plan to go to my friend, Lisa’s wedding!!!
And that wraps up our 2009!

Big News, Anniversary, Pumpkin Patch/Halloween, SICK, haircuts...

OK... We have had a very busy month!

Big News!

Brayden is going to be a BIG BROTHER in May! Jon and I found out we are expecting just before Labor Day!! Our due date is May 12th. Happy Mother's Day to me!!!

2nd Anniversary!!

Jon and I went to WICKED for our 2nd Anniversary! It was fantastic! Uncle Josh came over and watched Brayden. Uncle Josh tuckered Brayden out!! We will have to leave Brayden with Uncle Josh more often!!!!

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween...

We went to Howell's Pumpkin Patch. This was Brayden's first time going to the pumpkin patch!! Grandma Sue came down and went with us. We all picked out our pumpkins and are carving them tonight (Well, Jon and Brayden are...)

For Halloween, Brayden is SPIDERMAN!!!! He is SO cute in his costume!! It has padding to look like muscles in the arms and chest. AND it has a little mask!!! I think we will have to get him some silly string to squirt on people.

SICK...

Well, our house has had a bunch of sickies. Brayden started it by getting Croup two thursdays ago. Then Friday, I started feeling a sore throat coming on and some congestion. Little did we know, Brayden and I ended up with some form of the flu and I am JUST NOW feeling better. Brayden and I both still have deep coughs and stuffy noses. Jon has a sore throat and has been pretty congested too. This mixed with morning sickness has been NO FUN!

Haircuts!!!

Brayden got his hair cut!!! So did Mommy!!! I cut my hair for Locks of Love and Brayden cut his so Mommy wouldn't pretend to put his hair in pigtails anymore!!! Daddy also got a haircut last week.

That is all for now! Can't believe November is just a week away!

Almost October

The Hawkeyes are having a great season!!! Beat UNI, beat ISU, beat Arizona, and beat PENN STATE!!! Cyclones only have one loss... TO IOWA!!

Alright, enough football for today.

I have been battling a little bit of the flu bug, so I have been keeping pretty low key around here. Jon and I have both been keeping really busy with work.

Brayden has been a little silly billy lately. He has learned how to dip a french fry in ketchup. He is not a double dipper. He also knows how to dip a tator tot in ketchup. He throws the tot in the ketchup and grabs as much tot and ketchup as humanly possible. Needless to say, we have to take a bath after dipping! Brayden got a stool from his Godmother, Andrea, for his birthday. He likes to climb on it. This past week he figured out how to climb on it and then onto the couch. Luckily Daddy was there to catch him as he stage dove off the couch and into Daddy's arms.

We went to Boone and Ogden yesterday. Brayden and I saw Grandma Sue and Great Gma Jean for a little bit and then headed to Dad and Julie's to watch the Iowa game. Julie picked Jon up in Ames--he and Josh watched the ISU vs Army game. Jon, Brayden and I stayed at Dad and Julie's. We stopped to see Great Gma Shirley in the hospital in Boone on our way home. She had hip replacement surgery a week ago.

Busy week ahead... Bunco on 10/1 here at our house!! Half day on Friday and then we are heading to Ogden for dinner with Great Gma Jean and Grandma Sue. Can't wait for roast beef, mashed potatoes, browny-bear gravy, CORN!!, and all the fixin's. Nana is coming down Saturday with Bailey! Fun weekend ahead!

September--Football Season!!

WOW… September already!!
The first week(s) of September have been nothing short of amazing! College football began!! Thursday, Sept. 3rd, we went to Ames for ISU’s season opener against N. Dakota State. Being a hawk fan, I didn’t think I would enjoy the game much, but I did. After all, I love football!! Jon and I dropped Brayden off at Grandma Sue’s after work on Thursday, went to the game, picked Brayden up and drove back to WDM. We both had Friday off since our daycare was closed. We all slept in, cleaned, did laundry, and left for Waterloo around 1:30pm.
Friday night, we went to Mike and Anna Lind’s annual keggar. We played some intense games of Pepper with Jason and Amanda, Shane and Susan, Dean and Emily, and Jon and Erica. We all had so much fun!
Saturday, we watched the Iowa and UNI game… C’mon IOWA! You gotta play better than that! Your fans want more from you! Saturday night Jon had his fantasy football draft at the Hosch’s. All the couples and the kids got together and played. It is like a daycare center when we all get together. Kids EVERYWHERE!
Sunday, Jon, Brayden, and I went and visited Jon’s grandma Mary. We took her to lunch at Bill’s in Independence and Brayden played with her teacups. He was so funny! He kept walking from her linoleum to her carpet and would put one foot half on each and look at me like, “Mommy, there is something different feeling!” We then drove to one of my college roommate’s weddings in Cedar Rapids. Congrats Bret and Maria! After the dinner portion of the reception, Brayden was cashed out. We drove to Shane and Susan’s for the night. We put the kids to bed and then the adults played Pepper—obsessed? I think so!
Monday morning, the guys played golf and Susan and I took the boys (Brayden and Jackson) to breakfast and then to a petting zoo. While I was driving on 380 into CR, Brayden started screaming. I look back to see that he has cut his eye with the sand shovel he was playing with. I panicked a little bit, pulled over on a side street, and gave him lots of hugs and kisses! (Side note: I freaked out because there was blood… I’m just pleased with myself because I did not throw up or pass out). The boys were zonked out by the time we got to the park, so we turned around and went back to Shane and Susan’s house. Susan and I put in Twilight—yes, I think I have her hooked now! We ordered some Pizza Hut and headed home. I helped Sarah with some pictures that evening at the Art Center and our weekend was officially over.
We have had a long/short week. Brayden now has 12 teeth. He had the top four and bottom four since May, but he decided to get 4 molars last week. His poor gums are so swollen that he gags himself every once in a while.
Last night my slow pitch softball team played our first tournament game. We won! We play next Thursday at 7:15pm. NFL kicked off yesterday as well! My Steelers won their season opener against the Tennessee Titans, but my favorite player, Troy Polamalu, left the game with a knee injury!
We are heading up to my dad’s tonight for dinner and hanging out. Finally get to have his infamous smoked chicken, potatoes, etc on the grill!! I’ve been talking about it for a LONG time! We are spending the night there and Jon and I are heading to the IOWA vs ISU game tomorrow morning at 5AM! Brayden is going to spend the day with Grandpa and Julie! Sunday, we are heading up to Independence for the Reidy/Knipp Family Picnic. 

Getting Organized--Fun Snapshots

Ok, so before I share what we have been up to, I think I am going to "organize" my blog. I would like to start a few designated days... such as "Memory Mondays" and "Silly Saturdays." I haven't decided for sure, but I thought it would be fun. A friend of mine has a fun blog. She does "Wordless Wednesdays" "Fatherhood Fridays" etc. I'm still thinking about it, so it's not finalized yet. I just know that we are not THAT interesting to actually write paragraphs and paragraphs on a daily basis. :) If you have any ideas, let me know!!

What a RAINY week! Blah! My slowpitch softball was cancelled on Thursday. Even with all the rain, we were able to get two wagon rides in!! Brayden loved it!

Friday night we went over to Sarah and Lance's to play with friends Ella and Ava. We had a blast. Brayden LOVES climbing stairs and they have some perfect carpeted ones going down to their basement. Brayden decided to climb 4 or 5 of them and then jump--yes, JUMP-- down them. I can just imagine what my face looked like! I was terrified. Brayden wiggled out of my arms and darted back to the stairs! He was laughing and excited to do it again!

Saturday we did some cleaning (like always) around the house. After Brayden's nap, we headed to Cedar Rapids for Jackson Murphy's 1st Birthday party! It was really fun! There were lots of kids there and Brayden had so much fun playing with all of them! I will post pictures soon. Blogger is having technical difficulties....

Weekend in Waterloo

Brayden, Jon and I headed up to Waterloo Friday afternoon. We went to the Columbus High School football scrimmage. The football team did a dedication to Jon's dad, Rick Schoeberl. It was a nice dedication. We also were able to see the brick that Brad, Kathy, and Ethan got in memory of Rick.

We saw several friends and even some family members which always makes for a great weekend. We got to meet the newest member of the family... Bailey. Bailey is a brown and white cocker spaniel. She is a little sweetie and everyone loved her, except Rosco. Brayden definitely didn't like when Rosco barked at Bailey. It scared him.

When we got home, we rested and played and Daddy went golfing.

I heard a crash in the kitchen and this is what I found:

Busy, Fun (Fast) Week

Jon finished up his slowpitch softball season on Monday. Now our Monday nights can be spent grocery shopping, going for wagon rides, doing laundry, or playing outside!!!

Jon's birthday was on Wednesday, and I have a really great story about it!! Tuesday night, I made him cookies to take to work for his birthday completely forgetting that I had a food day on Wednesday. When I got to work, I realized I had forgotten to bring something for food day. I decided to get some soda since I didn't make any food. I went to Target "to save a couple bucks" and that I did until I headed back to work and got a speeding ticket! (hence the FAST weekend)

Thursday, Penny (our daycare provider) was sick. She finally got the flu that all the kids had. It was my turn to stay home with Brayden. I had such a great time hanging out with my little man!! We went to the Iowa State Fair from 9am-11am to see Daddy. He was working at his employer's booth. We shared some of those amazing chocolate chip cookies and then headed home. Brayden and I had a picnic lunch on the deck. We took a nap together and headed to the swimming pool. Brayden wanted NOTHING to do with the water this time, but still had a great time.

Above: Brayden at the Iowa State Fair for the first time... eating a warm chocolate chip cookie! Below: All tuckered out from a long day: Fair, Pool, and a lot of playing!

Friday, I pampered myself with two chick flicks. :)

Saturday, we went to Josh's for a cookout/hangout. It was fun to see all the kids and friends. We went to church Sunday morning and out to brunch to celebrate Jon's birthday.

Here we are tonight, sitting around. Jon got a Flip video recorder (pocket sized video recorder). We have been testing it out. Once we have some good videos, I'll be sure to post them.

And it's AUGUST already

Daddy, Josh, Brayden, and I went to the zoo on Sunday Aug 2. It had been a while since Mommy had actually walked around at the Blank Park Zoo. Brayden loved the animals! (So did Uncle Josh and Daddy!) Brayden (with Daddy's help) got to feed the giraffe a cracker. He loved it.

Brayden and Daddy feeding the Giraffe. (below) Mommy and Brayden looking at the lion (above)

Wednesday night after work Jon, Brayden and I went to the ARL to look at puppies for Nana. Wednesday night, Brayden got sick so Daddy stayed home with him Thursday and Friday. Jon ended up getting sick too, and then it was my turn. Now, we are all better (Thank God!) and took a little trip to the mall to get Brayden some shoes! We went to Stride Rite. $69 later, we have a pair of shoes that Brayden actually likes!

Brayden's 12 Month Stats

12 Month Update: 31.25 Height 90%, 28lbs 10oz Weight 98%, 19 5/8 Head 100%
July 18th Brayden turned 1!

End of July ALREADY

Nana's Birthday!!! We met up with Nana at Granite City on the 31st to celebrate her birthday!! Uncle Josh, Great Aunt Connie, Great Aunt Jane, and Great Grandma Mary were all there to help celebrate. Brayden showed everyone how he can walk.

Jon, Brayden, and I headed up to Ogden for Ogden Fun Days. We watched the tail end of the parade with the McConnell's and then walked around at the park. It was not what I remembered at all. There weren't any carnival rides or anything! SO, we headed out to my grandma's house and talked to her and my Great Aunt Marilyn and Great Uncle KayDon from NC. We headed home so Brayden could nap, which he didn't do. We had an early cook out with family and headed back to Des Moines. Uncle Josh watched Brayden so Jon and I could go to the Farrell's Party where they announced the winners! I watched my team do final testing at Farrell's. All of them finished!! One of my girls was in the top 6!!! One of my guys won the $1000 grand prize! It was really exciting!

Galena

Jon and I had a great vacation with the Murphy's this past weekend! Jon and I left home Friday around noon. We made a quick stop in Williamsburg to shop. Our trip to Galena was a bit exciting. 1 wrong turn + heavy rain/storm + driving down a closed road that was partially eroded away from the heavy rain with a drop off to the river/railroad tracks = safe arrival in Galena followed by a few beers and a game of pepper.
Saturday, we relaxed, went for a walk, fished, and did some shopping (Jon opted to go golfing with Shane instead).

We headed back relatively early on Sunday—both of us missed our little guy quite a bit.
Brayden had a great time with Grandma Sue. He visited Connie, Great Grandma Jean, and some of his friends at the nursing home. He was spoiled rotten the whole time!!! He went on a few walks, went swimming, and explored Grandma’s house.

We have an exciting August planned so far! We are heading back to Ogden for Fun Days on the 1st. Jon’s 28th birthday is on the 12th and he gets to work at the state fair 9-4 on the 13th at the Social Security Booth. We will be heading to the state fair one of the days as a family. We will be heading up to Waterloo on the 21st for the Columbus dedication in Rick’s honor. We have a wedding and Jackson Murphy’s first birthday party the last weekend of the month. What a fun month ahead!

First Steps

Well, some more good news!! We took Brayden to the doctor on July 22nd. He decided to walk the whole time. He didn't just take 5 steps, he walked from the check-in desk to the mirror to the play area and then to the room. The doctor thought he had been walking forever. I can't believe he was only cruising around furniature one day and now walking like a big boy the next! Brayden is spending the weekend with Grandma Sue in Ogden. Jon and I are heading to Galena, IL with the Murphy's!!

Next week is a busy week for us. Jon plays on a men's slowpitch softball league on Monday nights. Thursday is my brother, Mike's birthday. Friday is Nana's birthday. We are going to meet up for dinner in either Marshalltown or WDM. A bunch of my friends are going to be back home in Ogden during Fun Days! Saturday, Aug 1st we are heading up to Ogden for the Fun Days festivities and to see some good friends. Can't believe July is almost over!!

July 21, 2009

This was my due date a year ago... thought I would make a little post today. ALSO, we have some great news!??!?!?! :) Brayden took 5 steps on his own!!!

Just had to post a picture of Brayden and Daddy the first time we went to the WDM Aquatic Center. I'll post more after our weekend getaway!

Summer 2009

I have tried doing a blog site before, but it just didn't work quite how I wanted it to. I have been putting pictures and stuff on Facebook, but there are several friends and family not on facebook so I thought I would try this again! (Also, I am not great at website building, so I am going to keep this pretty simple)

July agenda--
Saturday was Brayden's first birthday! He had so much fun with his friends and family! We had a BBQ and cake and spent all day outside enjoying the beautiful weather.
Brayden's 12 MONTH appt is on the 22nd. We are heading to the Galena area with the Murphy's on the 24th and possibly be up in Ogden during Fun Days (July 31st-Aug 1).

Check out Brayden's 12 month pics: www.sarahmcconnell.zenfolio.com