a few more houston things

so this weekend was the first time that i have been back to houston since my moms funeral....11 months ago. i really cannot get a grasp on how long that has been. it seems like just last week that i was able to talk to and hold my mom. 11 months is just a devastatingly long time and it makes me sick to think of all the things she has missed over this time. being in houston left this yucky bubbly feeling in my tummy. as i drove around our neighborhood and the surrounding areas it just gave me butterflies. being that close to the place where she raised me and loved me most of my life was just yucky. i was able to make it through the trip without losing it...but it was hard to ignore the anxiousness that was filling my chest.



thankfully i had good people to surround me and pour their love on me. it was great to see everyone...although i could not help but feel cheated that she was not getting to enjoy all of our company as well. my friends were sucha HUGE part of my moms life. 90% of them called her mom too and she was just one of those moms that they trusted and shared their lives with. kristens mom is very good about loving on me in a mommy-ish way and letting me know that she is there for me. my boys really enjoyed her and i am just positive that she was eager for a nap as soon as we left :) i am sad i didnt get more pictures of everyone from the trip and especially birthday boys cliff and chris or a picture of bryce and mr. kim walking lucky! here are a few that kristen got from their chuck e cheese trip...

bryce showin kiki that money!!

racing time!

bryce and his bff mark

stuck like chuck!

there are so many fun things to report (like our big houston trip!) but the most important thing going on right now is that...Brody has moved to a gated community :) He no longer has free reign over the house because he is a little trouble maker!!

I have to admit that I am unsure why he is naked here...I mean I know it was after bath time, but I guess I just caught him in route to a naked time snack? Hmm...either way he was stuck and not too pleased about that! He definitely gave the Ericksons a run for their money this weekend as he tried to get into all their goodies! Our trip was such a success...the drive was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Braxton got some great cuddling time in with Sandra...Brody had some man time with Mr. Kim aka Mr. Kiki (lol) and Bryce was lucky enough to squeeze a chuck e cheese trip in with Kristen, Kevin, Ben and Mark! Not sure who had more fun though...Bryce or the big boys. Pictures on this adventure will be up soon. The Bridal Shower for Jenn was great. I was so honored to be a part of such a special day for her. It was big time fun to catch up with all my friends, it had really just been way too long.

Braxton is really doing great. He celebrated his 5 week birthday yesterday which is special to me in a big big way. 5 weeks is the age that we got to bring Brody home...so this age is very precious to me and reminds me of how far Brody has come and how blessed we are to have had this past 5 weeks at home with Brax Man. Braxton has just been floating around in cloud nine like a sweet little infant should...but little Brody had struggled so much by this time. He had endured medical procedures that my other children will never have in their lifetime. I am so blessed for the health of all of these smelly little men...and so thankful for how far we have all come.

this week

I am co-hosting a bridal shower this weekend for my friend Jennifer who is getting married in march in the dominican republic. her shower is going to have a tropical island theme to go along with her destination wedding...so i put together these cute little thingys that will go on the food table. i hope she likes them :)

This has been a very busy week for Brody. He has learned to climb into cabinets...he takes everything out of them and throws the contents all over the floor and then sits inside the cabinet like a crazy person. He is now standing on his own (without leaning on anything) but I cant catch him doing it with the camera! Brody starts his first music class tomorrow...we are so excited to do something special just the two of us!

Bryce had a field trip to HEB this week. They got to tour the stoor and sample lots of yummy food! Now I know this first picture does not make it look like they were really having the time of their lives...but they really did have fun :)

pictures

A few weekends ago when we had our ever so precious relaxation time at the river house...some super special friends made an afternoon visit! It was so fun to eat some yummy food, let the kids wear themselves out with sword fights by the river and a marshmallow roast! They were able to stay for awhile and then leave in time for all the kids to pass smooth out on the way home :) During the visit Kelly got some amazing pictures (Mustard Seed Photography).

sweet cozy braxton

loving on kelly


loving on mallary

some action shots of bryce

very serious

bryce and hudson...doing man stuff

lots of pictures!

Brody testing out Bryce's new scooter on Christmas morning
Daddy playing with his new toy that pop pop got him!!

Bryce and Pop Pop playing at Bass Pro

Braxton Lee McElhannon on Day 2

Big Brother Bryce holding his new baby!

He was SOOOO excited :)

This is what happens when you let Pop Pop babysit....Brody ends up in a box...

and again in a box...but this time in the garage

we have been blessed with lots of meals from mops friends and church friends...bryce and brody have REALLY been enjoying the dessert part of this blessing!

hooray for chocolate pie!

Bryce's preschool had "Moms and Muffins" on Thursday. They put on a performance for us and then we all had muffins together :)

Cooking Chicken Jalapeno Pinwheels at the Apples of Gold Bible Study

Having fun in the kitchen at Bible Study

More friends having fun :)

mommy of three

so far so good. i am surviving. i have not mastered this...i am not all organized...i dont have all the logistics figured out...but i am definitely surviving.
current challenges
1. drop off and pick up at preschool...carrying the baby carrier AND brody and his preschool bag while trekking across the FBC campus is tough. the stroller is just as big of a pain so lugging them seems to work better right now. this is tricky. my arm muscles should look great soon.
2. teaching brody that kissing does not involve teeth...it hurts braxtons head
3. getting in and out in the rain. this is NOT good for us.
4. sleep of course
5. managing the calendar. life did not stop because i had a baby and i am just getting back into the swing of things.
these are all so minor. we are blessed that these are the only "problems" i can come up with. the boys are all really adjusting well. we are having so much fun figuring out this new part of our lives. braxton is really rounding out the family and we feel so preciously complete.
speaking of complete...justin has had his vasectomy. it was not his favorite moment of his life. he is now fully recovered...but the first few days were not so friendly. he is glad he did it, but says he would not be having any other procedures related to that area :)
the apples of gold bible study has begun. we made it out the door on time...we got there in one piece and even in the rain we all survived. i even had makeup and "real" jeans on (this means i have graduated from maternity pants). this 6 week study i have joined is a nurturing program for women...we will cover marriage and parenting as well as weekly cooking sessions. this is going to be such a great study for me...i have really missed my mom and this is a place where i can connect with older moms who can guide me and love on me. none of them can replace my mom of course, but it will be so nice to have some experienced moms mentor me. this past few weeks i have struggled just a little with the loss of my mom...i just really want to show her this sweet new baby that i made. i want her to love on him and kiss and cheeks and i want her to hug me and tell me how happy she is for me. i really really just want to hear her voice. her approval was very important to me...and its weird living life without her commentation.
ok i have some pics to upload, but i am going to "sleep" instead of doing that...i promise to post later!

chubby

sorry my posts have not been very "meaty" lately. i have been pretty busy running around after these action packed boys! it is around 4:30pm right now and i am almost positive i have not sat down today. i love it though...i feel great...refreshed...excited...and completely filled (and fulfilled) with purpose. between braxton's feedings and poops, i have pushed brody around the house in his new tricycle three hundred and ninety seven times, i have pulled him out of the bathroom where he had stuffed a roll of toilet paper down the toilet (again), i made paper caterpillers with bryce, forced everyone to eat leftovers, done 3 loads of laundry and put "most" of it away, posted two things to sell on ebay, confirmed justins vasectomy for thursday, ordered band aids for a mops project, ordered birth announcements, vacuumed the kitchen...and then vacuumed it again after the boys ate lunch, read grovers bad awful day twice, found braxtons belly button thing that fell off before brody found it and tried to eat it or something, made a tent in bryces bunk bed and many other mommy/wife type things. a few things i have NOT done today is brush my hair ( i did put it up in a cute clip though), eat lunch, make bryce put on real clothes (he is still in his boxers) or check the mail (its been awhile). Life is full of adventures right now...everyday is something new. It is definitely not the same ol thing day after day. We have been getting out of the house often, I have been a breastfeeding champion, 90% of the time I get out of my pajamas and put make up on (which brax is only like 12 days old so thats pretty darn good!), but best of all we have just been having so much fun. School starts back up tomorrow so we will be on more of a normal routine...but I have to say these last few weeks of free time have been just amazing. I am so thankful and blessed for my gifts. I am so proud my mom taught me how to be a good mommy before she moved to heaven... I feel undeserving of what all I have been given.

One extra exciting thing that happened this week is Brody moved to a "big boy chair" at the kitchen table. He got a booster seat the other day and is now enjoying eating off of a plate with the rest of the crew :)

By the way...those are not teeth in the picture...its cheese lol!
He is so proud and excited!

Man Stuff

I just HAD to add these in here. Bryce received a "shaving kit" from Daddy this year for Christmas. They reall enjoy their MAN TIME :)
Bryce has been such a sweet boy lately. He is such a good big brother and is really becoming so mature. Recently he has started saying some pretty fun stuff...when he is happy with me he says "thats my girl"!!! I flipping love that. He also told me yesterday that he was so proud that my stomach was not as fat as it used to be...he said "mom you are going to be pretty again, i just know it" thanks buddy lol.

uppercase living stuff

My sweet friend Julie Scheidt has me hooked on some new decorative stuff. Uppercase Living! Here are a few things I have ordered. I have lots more that I have not put up yet because I plan to put them on painted boards....and well...obviously I dont have time to be crafty quite yet! I will post those later on...

This is in Braxton's pirate room

This is pretty self explanatory :)


And THIS awesome thing was dropped off by Santa! We took Bryce's super cool Batman Halloween picture that Kelly Simmons with Mustard Seed Photography took and had it made into his own personal "fathead" for his super hero room! I am telling you Uppercase Living is my new favorite thing :)