Family Pictures

Thanks to Nicole at Nicole's Pixie Dust
for her amazing work!

Please know that it was seriously freezing cold when we were taking these pictures, and I later found out that poor Brayden had an ear infection. What a trooper! Do I get the "Mother of the Year Award" yet? Well, my kids should at least get the "Most Amazing Kids" award. They are pretty great!

{I love you little rascals!}

{Click on the pictures to view them larger}

The Real Meaning of Christmas...

I'm emotional as it is, but that really brought a tear to my eye, or maybe several.

I'm definitely going to make a point to have Kennedi watch this. Isn't this the real reason for Christmas? Maybe she should know this.

Whoot Whoot!!

He did it...

{Sorry the quality is poor, I did it with my cell phone.}

Way to go Bugaboo!!
Boy, do I love you!

Dancing Queen

Kennedi danced for her very first time this past weekend at Novemberfest. She did such an amazing job and she looked absolutely georgous!

Here are some before showtime pictures...

Emma, Ellie and Kennedi

{Kennedi's cousins}

Kennedi & Mommy

Isn't she cute?

Showtime...
Dancing to Itsy Bitsy Spider

{She's the third one from the left}

And after...

I think I'll claim her and keep her. And this little rascal too...

I did it!

I made it TWO whole weeks at my new job and this is what I've managed to do so far...

1. Only get 15 paper cuts, seriously.



2. Traveled to Idaho.

3. Be welcomed by a group of great Engineers!

4. Have my Business Membership to Sam's Club paid for by the company.

5. Made it to work by 7:30 AM EVERY morning {which is a result of getting up at 5:30 AM}.

6. Survived the first week with a terrible, nasty, dreadful cold!

{It's the 5:30 AM mornings!}

7. Get holiday pay for Thanksgiving AND the day after {and get off at 1:30 PM the day before}. This job ROCKS!

8. Laughed so hard at this hilarious email that it made me cry. And I'm still laughing about it almost 24 hours later.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Mixed emotions...

I'm having a real tough time deciding how I feel right now. I'm SO excited to move onto something new, but yet I'm SO sad to end a part of my life that has forever changed who I am.

As I'm typing this post I struggle to keep the tears from dripping down my face. My days at Sunshine Terrace are quickly coming to an end and I cannot express how grateful I am to everyone who has been a part of my life there. I have made a lot of friendships, not only with co-workers, but with residents, family members of residents and especially my mom and sister. I know a lot of people say they couldn't work with their family, but I have to say I have been one lucky person to be with them almost every single day and to be able to talk with them when I needed them most.

{Thanks Mandy and Mom for all your support, encouragement and love!!}

My door at Sunshine Terrace will soon close, but I strongly believe that I have so many doors ahead of me that have and will open. I cannot thank everyone at Sunshine Terrace enough for the great support the everyone has given to me.

I owe thanks to everyone single one of you...Dan, Courtney, Trina, Jennifer, Vivian, Sasha, Cody, Carolyn, Doug, Kris, Jan, Debbie, Kallee, Michelle, Edd, Cindy, Lisa, Leanne, Diane, Sharee, Konie, Rod, Shawna, Margee, Angie, Karmon, Trevor, Danny, Erin, Karina, Lyle, Heidi, Sue, Cheryl, Nathan, David, Chris, Paula, Char, Johnson, Rebekah, Alyce, Todd, Justin, Nancy, Ashley, and e very single resident. The list could seriously go on and on. I have learned so much from all of you and it is truly a blessing to have known each one of you.

I also have to thank the rest of my family and my friends for the support they have given me. This decision was one that I made on my very own and I have had such great support from everyone! I definitely could not make it through everything I have without the support of all of you.

Goodbye Sunshine Terrace Foundation. I will miss you.

Hello J-U-B Engineers!!!

Black Eyed Brayden

I have nothing more to say other than I think Mom is more worried about it than Brayden is.

I feel terrible!

We were supposed to have pictures taken tomorrow. Nice huh?

{Oh, and a side note...This picture was taken right after it happened, so it's now had time to blacken up some more.}

It's {was} your birthday...

Shout hurray!
Happy happy {belated} Birthday to my baby boy!!!


1 year stats:

25 lbs. 10 oz {95%}
30" long {58%}
Just in case any of you are wondering, yes...he's a BIG boy. Just call me super mom. Oh, and don't make me mad at you, 'cause I'm real strong!

Sorry that it has taken me forever and ever to get Brayden's birthday and party pictures posted. I had some issues with getting them off my camera. {But really, I've just been super crazy busy and haven't had time to really try.} Now that things have slowed down, here they are...finally!

This was Brayden's actual birthday. Due to the fact that I had to work that day and we didn't have his party until a couple of days after, I tried making the day a big deal, as much as Kennedi and I could by ourselves. So I decided to get us Wendy's for dinner, he LOVES chicken nuggets!

All the kids {I hope} had a good time at Brayden's party. They seemed to enjoy playing Twister. His party theme was polka dots, so I thought Twister was a good idea.

This was his AMAZING birthday cake. I was really concerned about how it was going to turn out, but it turned out great! I was so glad.

...and as expected, Brayden didn't dive into the cake, he much preferred the ice cream Grandpa Eberhard was feeding him. {Silly kid}

He got lots of fun presents for his birthday and loves them all. He {as well as Kennedi} loves to ride his new four wheeler around. He's even gotten the hang of pushing the red button to make himself go all on his own!

I tried to be the mom I've always wanted to be and bake some cupcakes to take to Brayden & Kennedi's day care for his birthday. I thought they turned out pretty alright, and they said the kids enjoyed them. {They probably don't know any better though.}

Thanks to the Jensen and Eberhard clans for making Brayden's first birthday such a special and fun one!!

I've been thinking about some of my favorite things about Brayden that I could list, but in all reality the list could go on forever. BUT, I do know that it's kinda fun to share a few things about him, so here they are...

1. EVERYONE knows how mellow this kid is, I'm one LUCKY mom!
2. He picks the marshmallows out of the lucky charms and eats them first. {I know this is normal for kids to do, but for a ONE year old?}
3. The way he naturally crosses his feet when he's sitting down.
4. He never gave me ANY problems when I took him off the bottle. {The binkie may be a different story.}
5. The way he loves his sister and misses her when she's gone. They really are the best of friends.
6. His first {and only} word is Mama.
7. His BIG blue eyes.
8. The way he smiles when I go pick him up from day care is the best feeling in the world. He's always so excited.
9. I know I have a best friend for life.
10. He's my baby boy and always will be.
    
    
    

Dang!

I know my kids are cute...

{click on pictures to view them larger}

But dang! How much cuter can they get?

P.S. I know I'm a little behind on Brayden's {BIG} day, but I PROMISE I'll be getting the fun party pictures up soon!

{Along with his one year stats!}