Busy Times...

I have been slacking on the blog but we have been up to tons of fun! We are trying to be creative with in door activities so hear are a bunch (probably too many) of pictures showing what we have been up to lately!

Christmas card pictures: As you can see Addie did not think this was a good idea at first. She eventually decided it was not so bad! It was too funny.
Chuckie Cheese: Addie thought this was great. This was her first time that she was old enough to play games. She loved the pizza and all the games - she did great. Every time we drive by there now she asks to go play. She loved the horse ride, we had to do that several times.
Gymnastics: The Friday after Thanksgiving, Jason and I were able to take Addie to gymnastics (since we were both off). I tried to get some pictures but they did not turn out very well. Addie loves gymnastics! Just plain silliness 1:The first picture is what I found when I went to get her up from her nap (I guess she did not sleep as long as I thought! Stinker! She put her shoes on and was attempting her shirt - over her pajamas.
Just plain silliness 2: I don't even know what to say about this picture! She is so crazy. Winter hat and a pull-up. Newport Aquarium: Addie thought this was great. She loves anything to do with animals.

Making, baking, and icing cupcakes: This is one of Addies new favorite things to do, helping mommy cook. She loves to help stir and have her hands in anything. I think eating the finished product might have been a little more fun! Just too cute!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

TAG & Thankfulness!

I have been tagged by my friend, Blair. Here's what I have to do....

1. choose the 4th picture folder on my computer.
2. choose the 4th picture.
3. explain the picture.

4. tag at least 4 people to do the same.

So here it is....

I love this picture because this was Addie's favorite pass time. She would stand or sit just looking out the front door it made her so happy (if it was only that easy now!) She would watch for birds, squirrels, cars, whatever she could see. I took this particular picture to capture the ponytail. She, for some reason, does not like to have her hair pulled back. I think it looks adorable but I guess she does not like how it feels. She looks so little. I know she is still young but I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She will be starting preschool this coming August, which is just crazy!

I TAG:

1. Kate
2. Erin
3. Suzanne
4. Kelly

We are headed to Newport Aquarium with Addie on Wednesday morning so I will be posting some hopefully cute pictures of our trip!

Thinking about this time of year and Thanksgiving being right around the corner I thought I would share with you what I am thankful for, so here it goes

1. I am thankful for my wonderful husband. He holds our family together and supports me through everything. He is such a blessing in my life and Addie's. He is a wonderful husband, father and friend. We have been working really hard at setting goals for Christ and he is such a great example for our family. He pushes me and himself to be better everyday - what a special thing to experience with your spouse. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband.
2. I am thankful for our precious daughter, Addie. She has taught me so many things and she has only been in my life for two years. Going into parenthood, I really believed that it was going to be a certain way and that I could control our day to day things just on my own. She has shown me that is not so true. I can not control anything, I am not the one in charge but God is in charge. The ability to understand Addie and her individual personality - by the grace of God, is what has really changed my life. God has given me the tools I need to be a successful mom for Addie (though I may not always feel that way, it is true). God gave me this precious gift, He will also give me the wisdom I need to raise her. It has taken me some time to accept that truth. But because of Addie I have grown in my faith and understanding of Christ, for that I am thankful.
3. I am thankful for baby #2! Jacob is such a blessing. I was talking last night with Jason about how excited I am to meet him. I can't hardly stand it. I remember being excited to meet Addie for the first time but not like this. I believe the second child is that much more exciting because you know the love that comes with it. I had no idea how much you could love this little person until he or she arrives. Since we have Addie and have had that experience, I feel like I have a better understanding of what is to come! What a gift to be blessed with 2 children.
4. I am thankful for my family. I am surrounded by a group of people who love me no matter what! Thank the Lord! I am sure that I can be hard to get along with sometimes. They are a great support and I can't imagine life without them. I am very excited to spend the day with most of my family on thanksgiving - we are going to have such a great time together.
5. I am thankful for my 2 current Bible Study groups. It is so nice to be apart of groups of Christians that have the same desires that I do. Our goals are not to glorify ourselves but to glorify God. It is such a blessing to have friends that understand where I am coming from, friends to pray with, friends to support each other, and friends to challenge me and help keep me accountable. Over the last few years I have done a lot of growing in my faith and these two bible studies have been a great wake up call for me. I have been challenged in more ways than I can mention, for that I am thankful.

I am sorry for the ridiculously long blog! I challenge you to think about what you are thankful for and really think about the meaning of Thanksgiving. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope you take the time to think about life and what it should really be about.

Addie Singing the ABCs

It took about 4 months to get Addie to do this for the camera! Jason bribed her with candy, I guess whatever works. You will need to turn the music down at the bottom of the blog to be able to hear her!

Addie's First Sleep Over!

Jason and I were very excited to attend our friends wedding last night. I decided to be a little less wimpy and let Addie sleep over at my sister's house. Thank you, Jessie! All was well, we went to a beautiful wedding, eat wonderful food, and enjoyed being out of the house. We got home about 11:30pm and I was off to bed! I felt so weird to not have my baby at home (the first time ever). Jessie said that Addie was doing great and talking up a storm. They went to bed around 9:00 (my nephew, who is five, Jessie and Addie all slept in the same bed - I wish I could have seen this!) Addie woke Jessie up because she was tossing and turning in the bed. Jessie thought she felt warm so she woke Addie up and took her temp., which was 103. Oh my gosh! I got the call about 4 in the morning that she was in our driveway. What a great sister! She drove 30 minutes to my house and did not call until she was there. So much for sleeping in! :-) Addie was fever free this morning but it has continued to rise as the day goes on. She has done this to us before (this is the 3rd or 4th time) she runs a high fever with no other symptoms. I am not sure what the deal is. Last time it go to 104.5, I hope it does not get that high - that was scary. Other than the fever, she is pretty happy and eating so I am not sure what to do.

On a more fun note, we had a wonderful time with Addie last weekend. We went to the Zoo for some trick-or-treating, she got her first haircut and we went to Huber's Farm. Jason was off on Saturday so we took advantage of the extra time together. Here are a few pictures of all the fun!

Addie's First Haircut~

She did very well but if you look closely she is eating a bunch on M&Ms in that yellow box. Once she got those she was very happy! Thank you MeMa for a great new haircut. We love it.

This picture was taken before the candy. She was not too thrilled. These are pictures for Huber's Farm. She had a great time. It was well worth the drive! This is Addie with her Papa Dave. Addie's first hay ride. I think this was her favorite part of the day. She did not want to get off the tractor. May the hunt begin for the perfect pumpkin. She looked forever - it had to be round she told us. Are you kidding me - a perfectly round pumpkin - we did our best.

The winning pumpkin and proud Addie.

Jacob is moving up a storm. He kicks all day long! It is funny how quickly you forget about this kind of stuff. It is so fun and exciting to feel him moving in there all the time. I am feeling like he might be a soccer player! :-) Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Jacob Alexander Bragg!!!!

Jason and I are proud to announce that we are having a BOY! We could not be more excited. Baby Jacob is looking great! They pushed back my due date to March 5, 2009 - bummer! It actually works out great because of the school year. I may not have to come back at all once Baby Jacob arrives. In two of the three pictures he has his hand by/in his mouth - just like Addie. We have several ultrasound pictures of her sucking her thumb. I keep thinking about my life and where we are, WE ARE SO BLESSED! We have a perfect little girl and a perfect baby boy on the way. I am just amazed at God's grace and love for us. Please pray that Baby Jacob will continue to be healthy and that Addie will adjust well to being a big sister. I know that they are going to be great siblings and friends. We can not wait to welcome our new addition!

The Wind Storm!

Oh, how thankful I am to have power again! We were out of power for 5 days. I really can't complain because it was not too bad - until we ran out of hot water. Then we headed to my moms for warm showers and tubby time for Addie. The next street over is still without electricity so we are counting our blessings. We spent tons of time outside, going to the park and zoo. It has been nice having the extra time off from work - schools were closed all week.

We were lucky because we did not have any damage to our house. All over our neighborhood were trees on houses and fences, along with wind damage to gutters, siding and roofs. We were pretty fortunate. We did have a branch from a tree in our front yard land on our power lines - connected to our house. We called LG&E and it stayed like this until yesterday afternoon. I am sure our neighbors were thrilled because we had to drive through their yard to get out of the driveway. The fire department came by several times and closed off the street. It is hard to see but one of the lines is down so low that only small cars could make it under.

What a storm! Addie did well and only asked to turn a light on about 50 times! We tried to lay her down early so she would fall asleep before it got too dark. She loved spending the extra time outside and loved all the chicken nuggets from McDonald's! We are a little tired of going out to eat and are looking forward to a home cooked meal tonight, after I go to the grocery! I will keep you posted, we are off to the doctor on Monday. It is already time for the ultrasound. We are so excited and can hardly wait to find out what this precious baby is going to be!

Busy, Busy, Busy.....

We have been very busy! I started back to work, which has been an adjustment on all of us. Addie, however, has taken it pretty hard. She actually started climbing (falling) out of her crib the second day I was back to work. She cried in bed "more mommy, more mommy". That about killed me! Since her new discovery of being able to get out of the crib we headed to the store for a toddler bed. Needless to say we had some rough nights. She told us that she did not like her new bed and then slept on the floor the first night, poor baby :( This has been going on for a couple weeks and Jason and I thought it was getting better but the last two nights have not gone so well. I am not sure why but she gets up, runs to the gate - as if she is looking for us, then runs back to bed (she did this pretty much all night last night). What a stinker! I am sure she will adjust soon. Here is a picture of her cute little bed. She received many new toys for her birthday and she loves playing with them. The first picture is a motorized jeep - which she loves! She drives all over the place and laughs the whole time. This is a dress-up outfit that she was given and she loves this too. She puts it on and then checks herself out in the mirror. Too funny!
We also signed Addie up for gymnastics. Jason takes her on Fridays - when I am at work. I hate to miss it but it has turned out to be a great activity for them to do together. She tells me that she gets to jump high, swing high and tumble! What fun.

I want to say thank you to everyone who said a prayer for me regarding my job this year. I really appreciate it. 2nd grade is a huge improvement and I am so thankful for the change! I have a couple stinkers but that just comes with the job. :) I hope everyone has a great week!

Thank You!

I just wanted to say thank you to two of my good friends, Jennifer and Abby. They both nominated me for The Smile Award! We are in a playgroup together and have become great friends because of it. I have really enjoyed the time we get to talk and enjoy each others company and children. I appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement. I am so blessed to have a great circle of Christian friends and moms. They both love their children to pieces, it is fun to experience that with other people. Thanks girls!

I realize that I have not blogged since Addie's birthday but as many of you know, we are approaching the first week of school! Busy, busy! I am looking forward to this year because I have been placed in 2nd grade - really looking forward to the grade change. My kids were sooo excited at our open house, which is a big change from years past. Please keep me in your prayers! I am trying very hard to start this year with a positive attitude. I had a very frustrating year last year and I just pray that this year will be better. I have done a lot of growing, spiritually, over the last few years and I am so thankful for all the amazing things that are going on in my life. I am working very hard at not sweating the small stuff and relying more on God and not myself. What a blessing to really grasp all of God's love for us, it is much easier to let things go when you truly believe that God is in control!

I also want to say thank you to my wonderful husband. As you all know, I do not mix well with pregnancy! The person who came up with the phrase morning sickness, is crazy! I do not get just morning sickness - mine is all day sickness - literally. Jason has stepped up to the plate and has helped me so much. He comes home from work and takes over. Feeds Addie dinner (I am not cooking right now), plays with her outside, does the laundry, picks up around the house, and he even headed to Walgreen's at 10:00pm to get my nausea medication! I wanted to try to make it with out taking anything I did not have to but it was time. I am down 7 pounds and counting (it was 18 with Addie and I know that is where it is headed if I don't start taking it). He has been a saving grace, I am so thankful that he is so helpful and understanding! I love him dearly!

Addie is doing great! We are so thrilled to announce that Addie is going to be discharged from OT in about 2 weeks. She has been in OT for over a year and she has made such great progress. When we started therapy she could not eat solid food without choking on it - very scary! She eats great now - like a typical 2 year old. She had the best OT ever, Shelly was great! Very patient and informative. She was a blessing to our family and we are so thankful that God choose her to work with Addie. It is going to be bitter sweet because we are going to miss our weekly visits with Shelly but we are so thankful for that Addie is doing so much better.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Birthday Party Fun!

We had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday, August 2 (Addie's actual birthday). We had about 40 people (all family, except a few). We have such a close family! My dad, Grandpa John, Aunt Bev and Uncle Dan, and Uncle John and Aunt Sheila drove all the way from Columbus, Ohio (four hours one way), just to celebrate with us. A lot of family lives about a half hour away and they all came in too, how great is that! We set up a little water park in the backyard (3 baby pools, a sprinkler, a slip n' slide and water guns). This was great because all the kids were entertained the entire time (12 kids to be exact)! Addie had a ball and kept saying "Addie's party". I guess she wanted to make sure we all knew that this crazyness was all for her (like we could forget!). Jason and I took her to the store and let her pick out the theme for the party and with no surprise, Dora was the winner! So we had a Dora cake, Dora hats, Dora plates and a Dora table cloth (we are crazy, we know). As I was preparing for the party I kept telling myself that next year I am going to tame this down because it gets pretty expensive and overwhelming but once the party started it was so much fun! Addie had such a great time and it was all worth it. So needless to say, next year will be just as crazy and fun! The new baby is due in February so I have to start being creative for entertainment because there will be not water park in my backyard in February! Bummer! Here are a few pictures of the party.

This is a picture of Jeffrey (my nephew), my dad and Addie.
Jeffrey, Jessie (my sister) and AddieThe backyard!Addie opening gifts...Look at those nice silver shoes! They have been worn everyday since. :)Eating birthday cake. Yummy!Addie was a little concerned because a sprinkle (from the cake) was on the ground. Why can't I eat that?
These pictures were not taken on her birthday - I just think they are adorable!

Thank you so much to all our family for everything. We are so blessed to have such a loving and supportive family. We are thankful for each and everyone of you. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week. Love you.