Favorite Photo Friday #40

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve, all my family goes over to my grandparents house in the evening. This year I was super excited because Bryson would be joining us. I must admit, B looked so cute in his outfit! It took him no time to join in all the fun and play with his cousins. He got some great gifts (Incredible hulk blanket & towel, slippers, potato head, airplane, truck, car, dvd, clothes) and we all had a good time. We weren't in the car 5 minutes on the way home before he passed out. Once we got home and put B in bed, it was time to setup all the gifts. I think daddy had too much fun putting the train table together. (Kris, I told him you said not to spend too much time on it.)

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Christmas Day

I was so excited when I went to bed the night before that I wasn't sure if I would get any sleep. Thankfully I did but we woke up before Bryson since my parents, brothers, sister and mother in law were coming over to watch B open his gifts. He wasn't too sure what was going on as we had him sit in his chair to open gifts. He quickly caught on and even started shaking the gifts before he would open them. It was worth everything in the world to see the excitement on his face and to hear all the noises he made. Santa got him a Thomas the train table. Daddy and mommy got him clothes, Cars blanket, bath towel and toys, 2 trucks, potato head set, CD for the car, books. Grammy got him a motorcycle powerwheels and bookshelf. Pops and Oma got him a play kitchen, pj's, DVDs, toys. He also got a spiderman scooter (Uncle Garrett), Thomas DVDs & puzzle (Aunt Caitlin) and a mini skateboard. He made out and needs nothing for awhile! My dad, brother and Shane put the motorcycle together while my brother and sister put his kitchen together. We had many projects going at once and he couldn't figure out what to play with first. Around noon we headed over to my parents to eat. He was hard prying him away from all his new toys. He has already rode his motorcycle many times each day and has cooked us lots of meals in his new kitchen.

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. This was definitely the best Christmas ever. It amazing how much joy a child can bring into your life. I'm also so glad I had Friday off work. It has been a nice relaxing four days. I want to thank my parents for the laptop they got us for Christmas. It's so nice to be able to sit on my porch and blog while watching B ride his motorcycle around the backyard with daddy.

Fun in the leaves

Favorite Photo Friday #39

Bryson at Dino World

Our family photo for our Christmas cards

Out of about 20 different poses, this is the only one where he was actually looking at the camera.

Bryson's visit with Santa

Favorite Photo Friday #38

Daddy pushing Bryson around in a play stroller

Bryson's latest obsession

Nick is not the only fan of spiderman, Bryson is also.

Some sweetness

10 month "Gotcha Day"

Today is 10 months that Bryson has been in our arms. Hard to believe that in two months, it will of been a year. We had a very busy weekend. We went to my sister's soccer game Friday night. We hadn't been there 1 minute before Bryson decided to get hurt. He saw the girls kicking the ball around and yelled "ball" and ran for it. Of course he fell on the track and hit his head, but it didn't slow him down for long. Didn't get to see too much of her game as I was chasing B around.

Saturday my sister and I took B to a Santa Fest & Parade. He had decided his wasn't going to nap that day, so he wasn't in the best of mood while waiting for the parade to start. Once it started, he was so excited. He was dancing to the music and waving at all the little girls (I think we will be in trouble one day). B also had his first candy cane, which he very much enjoyed. That was until they threw sweet tarts his way, then he tossed the candy cane aside.

Sunday we went to a birthday party, then my parents came over for dinner. After dinner, we took Bryson to this house where the owner goes all out decorating with lights. B was pretty amazed by it all. He especially liked the train he got to ride, but we couldn't make him understand that he had to keep his hands inside.

Pop & Bryson

Pop, Oma & Bryson

My sister & me

Favorite Photo Friday #37

Bryson's first Thanksgiving

Every year for Thanksgiving, we drive 2 hours to Shane's grandmother's house for the day. We all had a wonderful time and stuffed ourselves on great food. Bryson of course had fun playing and getting into everything. He also had fun playing with his cousin Destiny whom he adores.

Bryson & Destiny

Kissin' cousins

Favorite Photo Friday #36

Bryson in mommy's boots

Happy Thanksgiving

This year I have so much to be thankful for. The most important thing being Bryson. This has been the greatest year for me yet because I became a mommy and Bryson became a part of our family. He is by far the best thing that has ever happened to us. I still remember the feeling and heartache of thinking we would never get the chance to be parents. It is amazing what roads our lives can lead us down. I will be forever grateful for being led down the path to Bryson. Who would have ever thought that we would just have to fly across the world to find "our son." Being a mommy is the hardest job I have ever had, but when he leans over to kiss me, you quickly forget all the kicks, screams, bites, tantrums, etc. Even after being home over 9 months with B, I still find myself watching him in complete amazement that he is all mine. He fulfills us, he completes us (don't get me wrong, I want another, but I will save that for another post on another day). Bryson, I love you more than words could describe.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sea World

On Saturday, my mother in law took us to Sea World along with Shane's grandmother. I wasn't sure how Bryson would like it since our visit to Universal Studios wasn't too successful. He loved it though! We first went to watch some dolphins and he kept squealing over them. He has recently learned the word ball, so he called all the ornaments throughout the park, balls. We saw several shows and the first one he loved so much that he sat the entire 30 minutes. I couldn't believe it. Of course any animal he saw, he called a kitty because all animals are kitties or moos.

Grammy & Bryson

GG & Bryson

Bryson flirting

Daddy & Bryson watching the dolphins

Favorite Photo Friday (Monday) #35

Bryson & daddy playing

Favorite Photo Friday #34

The thing you can't see Bryson staring at, is pigs! We went to a small fair and he sat and watched the pigs forever. He even tried climbing in the cages with him. I hope there is no pig farming in his future!

9 months Gotcha Day

Today is 9 months Gotcha Day. It's hard to imagine that he has been with us for 9 months. Each week he grows, does new things and surprises us in many ways.


I got a call from his GI specialist last week. One of the biopsies from his endoscopy came back and he has H-Pylori. She also tested him and he is lactose intolerant. She has put him on 2 more medications, for a total of 4 now. I am so happy that I kept pushing this issue. I knew in my gut and heart that something wasn't right with him. I am also glad this wonderful speech therapist kept pushing the issue as well. Now that we have all these answers and results, it explains so much. Like the way he has acted and the way he has been eating. It is going to be a long road with his eating, but one day he will eat like a normal child.


Tanya and Oliver were staying at the beach near us for the weekend, so we drove out Saturday afternoon to visit with them. The boys were cute together, especially when they kept closing themselves in the bedroom and giggling at it. This time Shane came along and it was nice for the 4 of us to be able to talk about our experiences. It was also nice to sit back and talk with Tanya while our husbands chased after the boys.

Favorite Photo Friday #33

I know, he is 2 and still has an occasional bottle. Right now, it's his security with everything going on.

Bryson's birthday party

We had Bryson's 2nd birthday party on Sunday at a local park. We had a great turnout and I am so grateful to everyone that came and spent the day with him. I can honestly say, I don't think Shane or I had Bryson more than a few minutes the whole day. He was off running around with friends and family. It was kinda nice to not have to chase after him for one day. He received lots of wonderful toys and clothes. He had fun opening all the gifts, but he really enjoyed playing in the wrapping paper and tissue paper. The aftermath of it is still sitting in our game room. Since he missed his first birthday, we gave him his own cake and it only took him seconds to figure out what he was supposed to do with it. I also had a pinata and he very much enjoyed hitting it. Overall, it turned out to be a great day and I think he had lots of fun!

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SBP revealed

1. Mandy your SBP was Tricia
2. Debbie your SBP was Penny
3. Penny your SBP was Mandy
4. Kris your SBP was Tracey
5. Tricia your SBP was Terry
6. Tracey your SBP was Kris
7. Becky your SBP was Stefanie
8. Terry your SBP was Debbie
9. Stefanie your SBP was Becky

Bryson's first pumpkin carving

Last night daddy & Bryson carved their first pumpkin together. Actually,daddy did most (all) of the work. Bryson put his hand in the pumpkin once and quickly pulled it back out. He did not like the way it felt.Hopefully next year he will be more interested.

Our latest hospital visit

Bryson's eating issues have continued for the past 2 months. At the recommendation of his speech therapist, we went to see his GI specialist last week. She thought given everything that has gone on, it would be best to have an endoscopy done. She said if she couldn't find anything through that, then they would put a PH prob in for 24 hour monitoring and we would have to stay in the hospital. We had this scheduled for Wednesday. We arrived at 9a and of course they were running behind so he didn't go back till about 12:30p. Needless to say we had a tired and very hungry boy by then. Since he couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before, we hadn't had anything either and were starving. The procedure itself was quick and she ended up putting a PH prob in, so after recovery, it was off to our room. He was all over that floor of the hospital, in the playroom, in the outside area and back again. He finally crashed at 6:30p Wednesday and I crashed shortly after. The doctor came in Thursday to discharge us and said that thet ests show he has lots of reflux. She has put him on 2 medications. I hope they do the trick and that things improve soon.

Happy Halloween

Sorry I am a little behind on posting about our weekend. We had a great Halloween. I was so excited to get Bryson in his Incredible Hulk costume and start our night. My mom and sister came over and we all took him trick or treating. He quickly got the hang of it and even tried to take more candy out of the bowls people were holding when they opened the door. His basket started to get heavy and I tried to hold it for him, but he refused to let anyone touch it. No costumes scared Bryson. He would even point and laugh at the scary ones. We just took him around the block before we decided to call it a night. It was pretty chilly for a typical Halloween in Florida, so we came home changed him and sat in our driveway to give out candy. He loves smarties candy, so he took everyone he found in my bowl of candy and stuffed them in his pockets, jacket and hands. Finally around 9p, we decided to go in and he crashed as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Last Sunday

Last Sunday Bryson had a busy, but fun filled day. Early in the afternoon we went to a pumpkin decorating party given by one of my mommy groups. Bryson had way to much fun decorating his pumpkin with stickers. I actually had to take the stickers away from him. When we got home, he was showing off his pumpkin to everyone. He was so proud of it.

Later that afternoon, we went to a birthday party at our local bounce place. Bryson had a smile non-stop till we walked out of there. He had so much fun. We also got in there to jump and bounce with him. He has so much energy and he thought he was much bigger than he is. I was exhausted half way through the party.

On Bryson's birthday, we let him open a two gifts. One was a lawnmower from his grammie. The other was a basketball hoop from us. He is getting the hang of gift opening. I can't wait to see how he does at his birthday party on Sunday.