buckle your seat belts...

and get ready for a BUNCH of pictures. Quite possibly the cutest pictures you have ever ever seen.

Daddy and Brody at the zoo

getting a better view of the giraffe!

big brothers riding the rhino

bryce really loves to pose

so stinkin handsome

taking my bog boys for a ride at the farm!

mommy and toder

i love this baby!

bryce could not believe that moms know how to drive a 4 wheeler...

riding around in the model A

bryce (posing again) with his great papa in the model A

going on a sunday drive...

he wanted me OUT OF HIS WAY!

baby braxton is my love

look at that DIMPLE!

this sweet little baby is 14 weeks old. he is rolling from his tummy to back, he is sitting up so well in the bumbo chair, he coos and sings to me and smiles at everyone. he sleeps from about 8pm to 7am and eats like a champ. he is perfect and precious and so insanely easy.

i love his guts!!

bluebonnets at the farm house!

speaking of special needs...

http://www.morganswonderland.com/

how neat is this place? we cannot wait to take the kids! i know brody will enjoy it more as he get older for sure...but how super fun that we are so close to a place that is really taking some major leaps and bounds! they have a sensory area for autistic children, the rides are ALL wheelchair accessible and they even cater to service animals. we are thinking about making reservations to go very soon while the weather is still nice...let me know if you would like to join :)

special special special

I have written this post about 5 times now...deleted it and then started over. I just cannot find the right words (i know....gasp). I have discussed my opinion of the phrase "special needs" before. Quick recap on that...What child is NOT special needs? Every kid I know has a unique personality which makes it necessary to care for them each in different ways. Some kids have medical needs, others have snazzy attitudes, some are harder to potty train, some bounce off the walls, some have trouble learning to read etc. etc. Point is...ALL kids are different. They learn, play, eat, sleep, poop, walk, talk, color and share DIFFERENTLY.

So...to the point. Sometimes when I am bored (ok let me clarify...bored is a word I use for...when I should be doing something else that I do not feel like doing) I browse other blogs. A blog that I check occasionally tracks the life of a premature child. This precious and SO adorable little boy has several developmental delays (he is along the same lines as brody). I read a post of hers that really got me thinking...the phrase special needs bothered her a little. She did not feel comfortable admitting her son was special needs. She felt like his needs were difficult and explained to her readers the extreme amount of attention and work was necessary for him. For some reason...this annoyed me. God has gifted us with the most incredible journey. The opportunity to love on someone He designed just for us. Now dont get me wrong...in NO way was she complaining at ALL. But the fact that she was reluctant to admit her son had "special needs" made me just think think think. If someone came up to me one day and said "hey I talked to God and he said you can press this button and all of Brody's issues (medical, developmental etc.) will disappear" i would throw up on his button. Brody has changed our lives in the most amazing way. Maybe I am the crazy one...maybe I am the one that just pretends like he is perfect (and this is mostly because i TRULY believe that he is)...

All I know is that I hardly consider Brody to any more special needs than Bryce. Each of his milestones are just THAT much more exciting, even when he does accomplish them a year "late". I have some more thoughts on this that I will save for later...but for now...Thank you God for creating all my kids just the way they are. I would NOT have them any other way.

oops...one more

oh i love this little man so much. he is just a bowl of adorable.

weekend pics

Brody is now 18 months! He loves loves loves to go to birthday parties...because they have

CUPCAKES!!!

Brody eating lunch at the big boy table with his friends

still eating...even after everyone else was done :)

All the big brothers watching on...

My sweet little man

Cass and Amber loving on Bryce and Braxton!

cute pictures make everything better

Brody loves to sit at the big kid table now!!

Bryce got to climb the rock wall before his surgery...because he said he is a "man now"

learning the rules before his climb...

Braxton Lee. Seriously. He is my love.

good news and not as good news

The good news is that Bryce's surgery today was a success. He had tubes put in this morning at 11:30 and was home watching cartoons in my bed by 2pm. The doctor said that there was tons and tons of crud in his ears and that we should notice an IMMEDIATE change in his hearing and even with his speech. He had mucus built up behind his ear drums and fluid on the outer portions of his ear drums as well. Before he left this morning we all prayed together...he wanted to pray for himself and this is what he said "Dear Jesus, Please come to my surgery. Amen" Am I maybe the most blessed mommy in the world? I think its possible.

The not as good news is that Brody had a visit with the gastroenterologist to discuss his continuing reflux issues today...The doctor has decided that he wants to do an endoscopy on him ASAP to determine if there are any issues with his surgery site. Brody will have to be put under for the scope. Not my favorite thing. Bryce did great at that today...and Brody has been under before with no issues....but its just no fun when your little men have to deal with anesthesia. I ask for prayers over Brody in the next week or so in healing whatever is going on in there. I pray that his surgery does not have to be corrected or redone. I will call to schedule the scope tomorrow...so updates on that to come.

This has been a very, very expensive past few years for us medically. It seems like at the rate we are going...we may as well wake up January 1st and fork over $20,000 (that is what we pay each year with premiums and deductibles). That does not even include prescriptions and office co pays! Thank goodness God handles our finances! Health Insurance is something that I will never fully understand. Health Insurance is something that I want to punch in the face.

going under the knife...

hey friends...keeping up with the mcelhannon's is preparing to go under the knife! yup you heard it. we are getting a facelift. so pardon the dust over the next few days while i schizophrenically try to determine which direction i want to go with it. last time i did this (as some of you may remember) i almost lost everything...therefore nearly losing my mind. hopefully this time i can do it with less crying, yelling and panic attacks :) i will let you know when the look is finalized so you can stop worrying about me!!

PAST DUE PICS...

MEN WEAR BOXERS.

THEN THEY GIVE EACH OTHER A KISS...
SNOW DAY!!!

Catching snow on his tongue

Trampoline Hair!

MARBLE SLAB FIELD TRIP!!!

things that make me feel better

1. justin
2. bryce telling me that mama me lives in his heart
2. brodys big sloppy sappy delicious kisses
3. braxton smiles
4. my new lap top
5. seeing my moms beautiful urn everyday
6. friends that eat junk food with me, let me have extended playdates at their house and generally just enjoy the crazy that i am
7. preschool (several things here....every single staff member there, the prayers they devote to us, the crazy love for all of us, the precious super awesome teachers my boys have etc.!!)
8. chili from chilis with my besties
9. mon and wed night abs and legs class with april
10. texting heidi (and our new forming book club)
11. trashy reality tv
12. prayer...and really really truly understanding its power
13. healthy kids
14. klove
15. the way God uses me
16. knowing kelly will be back in 2 days
17. the baby bouncer
18. friends with babies
19. Gods plan...eventhough it never makes sense right away
20. the fact that pool weather is slowly approaching
21. trampoline time with the big boys
22. justins 4.0
23. wheat free waffles
24. union 28
25. empty laundry baskets
26. panera bread
27. laying in bed with 4 really really cute guys
28. brodys feet
29. my dad working in texas
30. bryces precious interpretation of my moms death...and how he remembers such adorable things about her
31. crawfish
32. margaritas
33. new hobbies
34. date night
35. FBC Boerne

march 2nd

today is a day that i have been dreading for quite a few weeks now. on this day one year ago, i lost my very best friend. the day was just like any other...i talked to her several times throughout the day, while i on my way to the zoo with friends, when i got in the car to leave so i could tell her how much fun bryce had, while i was making dinner at home...and then after 7pm she stopped answering her phone. i called her and called her because i wanted to tell her about a show that was about to come on...i just assumed she had gone to bed early because she had not been feeling so well that day. i was really bothered at how unsettled feeling i was by her not answering the phone. i just couldnt figure out why i had this sinking feeling in my stomach. and then at 10pm i had made justin a glass of milk and we were getting ready to get in bed. finally my phone rang and and it was my moms cell phone calling me...but it was not my mom on the other end. it was a a stranger calling...a man...a doctor...calling to tell me the news i had been praying not to hear. my mom had passed away. i remember holding on to that glass of milk and not hearing a word that he was saying. i was dizzy and lost feeling and i just wanted to throw that cup across the room. the rest of the call is a blur. the rest of the night was a blur. i had to pack us all up and head to houston...to plan a funeral for my favorite person in the whole world. i had to make phone calls that were unbearable. just all very unfair. i feel very sad that she was taken from me...i still needed her and so do my kids. i feel angry that God wanted her with Him instead of me. but i feel honored to know how very much i needed her...but He needed her more. her purpose here was much greater than just me, she touched the lives of so so so many. she was a mom to tons of people and a friend to even more. what else was her purpose? why did He get her before i was done with her? someday i will know...
so today i just have this sinking feeling (it actually started yesterday) as i look back on this year without her. she has missed so much. i know she is with me...but its just not the same. she has missed birthdays and christmas and my pregnancy and braxtons birth. she does not get to hear bryce and kiss brody and hold my precious new baby. she was not at my baby shower, she missed bryce dancing at the christmas program, she is not here to talk to me about my days and help me solve lifes mysteries. i am reminded today of just how LONG she has been gone. i dont like today. i have prayed and prayed for strength and courage and i have given God my sadness and my burdens....but today is just a day to be sad. and i am ok with that.

Fatty McDaddy

Yup...I gotta Fatty McDaddy on my hands. Braxton Lee had his 2 month check up today and he is 13lbs (75th percentile). Bryce was a little stringbean and well Brody was obviously on the smaller side...so its so fun to have a little chunker on my hands. When the nurse pulled his legs out to give him his shots (boo hoo i know) his little hambones were rolling with fat chunks! LOVE IT! It was a perfect appointment. He even behaved. Not often in my mothering lifetime have I taken children in without there being a "problem" "issue" "something we are going to watch" "specialist referral" or " follow up"....it was always the ears and asthma and reflux with bryce and well you know the story with brody. But this man, this strong handsome adorable man, is doing great! Perfection.
Today was a beautiful snow day in the hill country...COLD...but beautiful. Bryce played outside catching snowflakes on his tongue for about 10 minutes before he came inside and demanded hot cocoa :)
I have some pics to post, but will have to do that later because I have 3 little boys that want dinner. I better get on that...

mcelhannon happenings

BRODY is 17 months now...I know how time flies. He is a chubster, a laughing champion, an eating machine and a loving/kissing/hugging/flirting little muffin. His evaluation for ECI was completed last week and check out these results: Social/Emotional Skills @ 18-20 months, Cognitive Skills @ 20-21 months, Adaptive Skills @ 18-20 months and Communicative Skills @ 12 months. So we are doing great. He is ahead of the game in most areas and now we know where our focus should remain. His fine motor skills are on top of the game (he is now using utensils to eat!) and we are continuing to work on our gross motor skills (walking). If you have not noticed...It is FEBRUARY...which means you have been staring at our little man all month long on your Down Syndrome Association Calendar! It is still not too late to order one. Check DSASA.org for more info.

BRYCE starts TBall in a few short weeks. He is very anxious and is already starting to ask when he will get to start playing football. Soon enough buddy. We are still having a few problems with hearing...continuing ear infections prompting another appointment with the ENT in mid march. Hoping they will go ahead and get tubes on the calendar so we can throw away this dumb nose spray and get on with our lives.

BRAXTON is a doll. A precious little burrito that is delicious and scrumptious and all those other yummy words that make you want to eat a tiny little baby right up. He is cooing and LAUGHING andd smiling so much. He is napping well and eating well and sleeping about 7 hours at night. I am blessed and rested and happy to be a mom of 90 milllion boys :) I am cherishing my time with him since I know he is going to be my last little snuggle bunny. He has a Dr. appointment on Tues. so there will be more updates on him then.

JUSTIN is doing great in school. He got an A in his first class and is currently beating the pants off of his second class. This ambitious man in still working 70 hours a week, taking 5 week classes back to back to back, dealing with the stupid Toyota recall nonsense aka GM govenrment conspiracy :) AND still finding time to date me and love on our boys. I really love that man. He spoiled me rotten for valentines day and has taken me on several fabulous dates lately.

OTHER happenings...the one year anniversary of my moms death is approaching. I ask for your prayers during this time. I feel that I was definitely robbed of a few steps in the grieving process because of illnesses, pregnancy and a thing called LIFE that never stopped...so I am trying to grasp on to the healthy parts of this emotional time. However, what my mom wanted me to do was be a good mommy and wife and be a strong leader...and that is just what I will continue to do. She did NOT want me to be sad or depressed...she was so proud of my strength and I will NEVER let her down.

During this time I also ask that all my loyal readers continue to pray miracles upon the beautiful Layla Grace. visit http://www.laylagrace.org/ for more info on this little angel.

My Dad is currently in route to the Houston Rodeo on the Salt Grass Trail Ride! If you live in Houston...look for him in the parade on the 27th! He is part of the award winning Wagon #13 The Desperados (totally fitting name I know!) and is beginning his week long party fest in Catsprings today.

Ok that is it for now...please enjoy a few pics :)

bryce helping with the laundry...

sweet little man in his church clothes...

my 3 silly little man

thank god its over with

a few of you did not get to see me while i was gigantically preggers for the LAST time. so here it is folks...embrace it because i will (thankfully) never look this way again. it is such a beautiful thing from the outside...but not so beautiful thing while its all going on. the important part of this is the end result and that is my handsome little burrito baby braxton lee!

my little burrito

this baby is amazing. i love his guts so very much. look at those little LIPS! YUMMY!
he is such a sweet little sleeper...so peaceful and precious. he is now a little over 6 weeks and i could not be happie with how he has blended right on in to the mcelhannon craziness. his big brothers are loving on him sooo much and i am just so stinkin proud to be his mommy.