"I Love to Laugh...HA, HA, HA, HA"

Weekend Fun!!

This past weekend DeDe and Nanna came for a visit. It was so much fun! They arrived Friday afternoon and left Saturday afternoon. Saturday we went out for brunch and ran a few errands. James Bradford was a superstar and such a trooper at the restaurant. Here are a few pictures from this weekend.

It was such a nice visit. Thank you so much for coming to visit!! Cant wait for the next one!

Mommy's Super Star

Grandma found this onsie for James Bradford. It was so fitting as he has been our little super star sleeper!!!

Thanks Grandma!!

4 Month Check Up

Today we went for James Bradford's 4 Month Dr. Appointment. I was so excited about going and seeing how much he had grown since his 2 Month Appointment. Sure enough he has grown (as if we had doubted!!)

James Bradford weighed in today at 16 lbs 4 oz!! (75% percentile) and measured 25.5 inches long (75% percentile).

He had a great checkup! Dr. Wilson said he looks great and seems to be doing well.

I was so proud to be able to tell her that he is sleeping through the night and that he is still nursing. Although the nursing has gotten harder. Unfortunately he seems to prefer the bottle most feedings.
She said we could start him on rice cereal and baby food at any time we want now. But we have decided to wait a little bit longer.

It broke Mommy and Daddy's heart when he had to get his vaccines today. He was not very happy. He cried - he cried hard, and it made mommy want to cry! When we got home he got a bottle and some Tylenol. He fell asleep in his mamas arms. Instead of moving him after a rough morning, I decided we would take a nap together. He slept for about an hour - and I even slept some!



We were so proud of our super star patient. I still cant believe how fast these first 4 months have flown!

4 Months!

Happy 4 Month Birthday James Bradford!!!

It is so hard to believe that our sweet baby boy is 4 months old today! It literally feels just like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. With the blink of the eye is already 4 months old!!

He is such a happy baby. Here are some things that he is doing these days:

-He loves to play on his play mat. His favorite toy is his duck (pictured at the bottom of the pic)

-he is sleeping through the night - woohoo. Most nights sleeps consecutively from 7:30pm - 6am

-sometimes while bottle feeding he sucks his thumb at the same time

-He loves playing in the bath. (And loves it that Daddy is now the bath giver since Mommy cant do it right now)

-His bedtime routine begins at 6:30 pm with his bath and is then followed by lotion and getting in his pjs. Then Mommy reads him a story from the Bible and a book. He then gets his bottle and mommy sings and prays with him. His favorite song is "Hushabye"

-He loves music. Pandora has become one of mommy's best friends.

-He loves to talk and smile.

-He is so patient with his mommy. He loves wheel chair rides!

Monday we have his 4 month check up and I'll update you on his stats. But here is a picture from today. He was playing on his play mat with his Mama and Grandma. He had on his snowflake outfit, because its been so cold here. MDO was even cancelled at the beginning of the week, so he only got to go today!

Hope y'all have a nice weekend!

Top 10 in 2010

Several blogs that I read did a post called "Top 10 in 2010", I thought I should copy! So here it is, my list:

Top 10 Most Memorable Memories in 2010 (in no particular order, other then number 1!)

10. Finding out I was pregnant - January 4th
9. Traveling to Pasadena to see the Tide win their 13th National Championship! Roll Tide! - January 7
8. Going to NYC to see one of my besties from high school. - January 14
7. Celebrating my Grandmother's 80th Birthday at the Lake. - May
6. Date with the Grinnell girls to see the Sound of Music - August
5. Breaking my leg at work - December 21
4. 4 Fabulous Baby showers! June, July, August, September
3. Trying to sell our house, didn't sell - making it work for a family of 3
2. Celebrating our 3rd anniversary
And the the #1 memory of 2010 . . .
1. Having James Bradford!!! - September 14

Doctor Update

I was getting tired of writing about my injury so I had to do a couple posts not really related to my injury. But I could not, not journal about some of the hospital stuff!!

**Warning, there is a picture of my leg, if you get wheezy you may want to skip this post**
My all time favorite visitor was of course my baby!! I went 24 hours without seeing this little guy. I am so thankful he was able to come see me. Definitely by far the best medicine. - See that leg all wrapped up . . .

. . . well this is what the inside now looks like. 8 screws and a plate later.(Reminds me of those 'Erector Sets' my brother had growing up) I will forever beep as I go through metal detectors - guess Ill be going for the pat down at the airport from now on!

And here it is - my leg. Count them if you want - or I can just tell you - 17 staples and 3 stitches (one hiding) Unfortunately, I'm going to have one nice scar=( (please, excuse the hairy leg!)

Monday we went to the Doctor and received a grand report. Everything is looking good, although it will be at least another 6 weeks until I can put any type of weight on it. But that sounded better then the original additional 8-10. They removed my staples and my stitches. The guy that removed them all actually went to high school and Samford with me, so that actually calmed my nerves some while they were being removed. It actually didn't hurt! - Just a little pinch each time, not to bad!

The Dr. cleared me to start outpatient therapy, rather then in home. Woohoo! So I start Physical Therapy out of the home next week. Which will be nice to get out and get fresh air at least 3 times a week.

If you ever need an orthopedic doctor, I have a great recommendation! (hopefully you won't ever need one, but let me know if you do!) The Dr. did a fabulous job - plus he is young and handsome! (Sorry single friends, he is married else I would try to work my magic!) He understood my want and need to nurse James Bradford again and to be able to get around and care for him - as he has a wife and they are expecting their 3rd child. Also, he told us that he thought about us over Christmas and wondered how we were doing, adjusting and where we were living. I just thought that was so nice and showed concern for his patients.

Well that's all for now. Hope I didn't gross you out! Over all I was happy with our Dr. appointment! It made for a good start to the week!

Look Closely . . .

Do you see those little polka dotted legs on the right side of the photo?! Yes, thats my little James Bradford!! I'm nursing again!!! Even in a wheelchair!!

Thank you all for your prayers. They were heard!! And I'm so happy to be nursing again!!

First Day of Mother's Day Out

Today was James Bradford's first day at Mother's Day Out.

Last spring we put him on the waiting list to go to the MDO program at our church. We were so blessed to get off the waiting list and him start this January. He will go 3 days a week. Our original plan was that I would drop him off at MDO and my mom would pick him up. And those would be the 3 days that I work. Little did we know this leg thing would happen. But MDO is going to be extremely helpful and give both Cory and my Mom a break from babysitting James Bradford and I.

That morning we had his school bag all packed - diapers, check! Bottles, check!, Formula (unfortunately no breast milk right now), check!, Change of Clothes, check! A friend of mine gave me this adorable bag with his name monogrammed on it. Perfect for MDO!!

Mom and I loaded up (I couldn't miss his first day!), and when I say loaded - you really have to load me up with this leg!! We parked close and mom carried James Bradford and I used my walker. It was a lot of of fun to see friends and to meet his teachers. They all seem really sweet! After we dropped him off I was exhausted!! - a 2 hour nap was had (yall know I hate to nap!) - A walker is hard work, I have a new appreciation for people who use them!

Mom picked him at 1pm. He did great! I was so proud of him!! He even brought home a progress report.
Yes, I realize it says "John Bradford" but its ok, they will get it right next time!

I am so proud of our big boy!!

**sorry for the quality of the photos. Bringing my camera was the last thing on my mind, so we settled for shots on the camera phone**

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year & Lots of shoulders to lean on

You would think being cooped up these past few weeks, that I would have more time to blog. Where does the time go?! Well my days go by quickly - my leg is in a continuous motion machine for 6 hours a day - yes you read that correctly 6! I also have in home physical therapy 3 times a week and 24/7 care means lots of visitors! Plus a battery on the computer which doesn't hold charge long - means it must be plugged in - ugh, what a pain!! haha!

Anyways - since my last past where have we been? We have been flooded with love and support from family and friends. Food, Flowers, Cards, Phone calls, Emails, visits - wow how we appreciate them all. Thank you so so much!

On Tuesday when we told family about what had happened, Cory's mother and Nana dropped everything to spend Wed - Sunday in Birmingham taking care of James Bradford. Their help was much appreciated and they even cleaned our house and took down our Christmas tree. It was great that they were here so they could take care of James Bradford while my mommy came to be at the hospital with me. There is nothing like a mommy's love when you need it- and I needed her!

David and Laura also were heading out of town to spend Christmas with Laura's family, so they generously gave up their home for us to stay at. We were unable to go home because of the steps in our house. So we moved into their house!

Christmas was just another day for us. Although it was a white and beautiful Christmas. It was snowing. Although I didn't get to enjoy the snow, Sabrina was able to get out and about in it. Debbie, Nana and James Bradford came over for the day. We had a good day. Layed around most of it, and watched movies, and I got lots of good cuddle time with the baby. It was definitely not how I pictured James Bradford's first Christmas - but it was a memorable one and I look forward to next year being an extra special Christmas for him!


On Wednesday we moved out of David & Laura's house. We still of course couldn't go home because of the stairs. A family friend of my parents - generously offered to let us live in their basement. (little did they know we would actually take them up on that fabulous offer!) So Wednesday we moved in - with the help of two of Cory's close friends that came in from Nashville - Jamie and Robert. It was so nice of them to come down and a special time for Cory to spend with his buddies.

We are know living in a fabulous basement that is bigger then our own home. Its so spacious and is easy for me to get around in the wheel chair. Its great - We all basically have our own room, James Bradford sleeps in the music room, Cory loves the TV room with the comfy leather chairs, and I have the play room where our bed is set up. We are so blessed to have such sweet and generous friends to open up their home to us. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Good Bye 2010, Hello 2011! And how did we spend our new years - dancing the night away of course! Yeah right, I wish!! I went to bed at 7:30 and Cory wasn't to far behind me. I saw 2011 the following day! And I was fine with that.

2011 though has started great. My sister and nephews arrived first thing Jan 1. They brought a burst of fresh air to my life. Cory got to get some work and house stuff done while Ellen and the boys helped me with James Bradford. It has been so much fun having them here. The boys have been a big help and great entertainment. One day we set James Bradford in the bumbo on the floor and Davis (4) showed off his super cool dance moves. And the cutest thing yesterday - Isaac (2.5), sang him Jesus loves me several times. Oh how the sound of that sweet little voice melted as he sang to my baby at nap time.

And last by not least, most importantly my sweet husband has been a fabulous help. He is such a wonderful husband, daddy and nurse. He has taken on a lot. He has basically become "Mr. Mom". He is now in charge of James Bradford's bedtime routine which includes a bath, feeding him and putting him down, and if he wakes up in the night attending to him. And not just bedtime routine, anything else he needs during the day - bottles, diaper change, clothes change - the whole thing!
He also has been a fabulous nurse. He has taken care of me since the moment he stepped through those emergency room doors. Changing my bandages, helping me pump, bathing me, taking me to the bathroom. Helping me up and down. Reminding me to take my meds, waking up in the middle of the night when I need him - wow he has taken on a lot!


And of course - what an amazing husband - its a miracle he still loves me through all of this. (Just kidding, but really!) He has listened to me cry, complain and yearn for my mommy to be with me. He is helping me keep sain when I think I am going to go crazy. He does it all, husband, friend, daddy, and nurse - I love you Cory!

I am so thankful for the outpouring of love and all the shoulders to lean on. I am forever grateful for all of you. Thank you Thank You!