Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Dear Brantley ~

It's your second Valentine's Day! You, Asher, and Daddy are the best Valentine's I could ever dream of having! I can't even begin to tell you how much I love you, and that love grows by the day. You have the sweetest, most loving, amazing personality. You are so much fun! Today you took off walking even more, but you still keep reverting back to crawling. I guess you will just wait until you decide you're ready to give up the crawling altogether. You've been walking for months.. like 6 months... but you still keep going back to crawling. Today you walked more than crawled, though, so I think any day now you'll decide to primarily walk. 

You still love to push the dining chairs around. Your ride-on Mickey Mouse firetruck is probably your favorite toy. You love to pick up items in front of you on the floor and put them behind your back. You will do that over and over again with items until there is nothing left in front of you, then you turn around and do the same thing putting them back where they were. You are still obsessed with opening and closing doors and drawers. You pull diapers out and strew them across the room several times a day. Playing "Where's Brantley" behind my back is your favorite game. You'll stand behind me when I sit on the floor. I'll ask "Where's Brantley" several times, then you'll peek your head around me and smile real big at me. I exclaim "There he is!" and you start giggling. You also love for me to get on all fours and then lower myself to the ground. You'll climb over my back from one side to the other and land on your head, do a roll, and get up to go back over. You still like the song Skidamarink, but If You're Happy and You Know It is beginning to rank right up there. You enjoy riding on my shoulders, then doing a front flip to get down. Your favorite word is Asher. 

This morning Daddy went to meet another wounded warrior at McDonald's for coffee, so I cuddled in our bed with you and Asher. You were so incredibly sweet! You kept rubbing his hands and face, and you'd bury your face into his belly. You rubbed your face against him over and over again and just kept giving him love. It was absolutely precious. You have no idea how much you melt my heart. 

For some pics from today:

You wanted to help me vacuum this morning, but you didn't want to get out of my way in the floor. So I put you on my shoulders, and you rode there while I vacuumed.

Here you were pushing the dining chairs around:

And then mesmerized by the crystal in the curio cabinet:

Of course, I have to throw in the sweetness of your Daddy. He gave me an incredibly sweet card, an angel to go on my momma bracelet that represents the babies we lost while trying to conceive you (because it already has charms to represent you, Asher, and Connor), and these beautiful flowers. Take note, son. Learn from your Daddy. You don't want to be one of those boys who doesn't get something sweet for your girlfriend/wife for Valentine's Day. 

I Love You SO Much, Sweetpea!!!

Mommy

12-Month Wellness Check and Shots

Dear Brantley~

Today were your 12 month shots. I honestly think it hurts me more than it does you. I absolutely breaks my heart to see you look at me in pain with a look of "why are you letting them do this to me" on your face. I know it's for your own good, but it's still hard. You were 29.75 inches and 22 lbs 10 oz. After we got home I played with you in the floor quite a bit, and we had a blast with your Elefun toy that you and I love to play with together. You just giggle and giggle when we play with it. I love to see you so happy like that! Then we went to Kroger. They gave you a sticker while we were there, and while I was feeding you dinner tonight you took it off your shirt and started playing with it. It was your first experience with a sticker, and it was so cute! You kept trying to throw it, but it was stuck to your fingers. You would just laugh so hard and then try it again. You are so much fun! I absolutely adore every little thing about you!!!!!

I Love You So Much!!!

Momma

Oh! By the way, you are getting your fourth tooth in. I noticed today it has broken through. It's your second front, bottom tooth. So cute!

First Smoothie

Dear Brantley ~

You took your nap today at lunchtime, so in the afternoon you were needing a meal. You went to the kitchen and started getting fussy. Although you're not quite telling me yet what you want, I knew you were hungry. I looked to find something I could fix you for lunch. Everything we had that would not take a long time to fix was highly processed food that I just didn't want to give you (Spaghetti-O's, Vienna sausages, etc.). I knew that I planned to fix myself a green smoothie after I got you something to eat, so I decided I would fix you one, too. I just threw together a few things that would be good for you and that you are able to eat, but I had no idea how it would taste. Kale, apple juice, one apple, one carrot, two slices of pineapple, and greek yogurt are what ended up in there. You had gotten real fussy by this point, so I didn't know if it would calm you down. I put you in your "recliner" (aka bouncy seat) and handed your smoothie to you. You went to town on it!!! You seemed to love it! 

Today is Daddy's hobby day, so he had been out taking pictures. He came home as you were lying there, and he got a kick out of how much you seemed to love your first green smoothie. And I love the fact that you seem to be all about healthy eating! 

I Love You!!!!

Momma

Haircut and Shopping

Dear Brantley ~

Could I possibly love you more??? I never dreamed I could have this much love for someone. Today was our day. I was so excited to spend it with you! I was going to take you to get a haircut, then it was going to be just you and me all day. Daddy had trouble with his pain this morning, though, so I quickly knew our plans would have to change. I took you for your haircut (which you screamed almost all the way through...lol) and then I thought we would run to Wal-Mart real quick before going home. I realized I needed to run to the bank, post office, etc., also, so after doing all of that and before going to Wal-Mart I called to check on Daddy and Asher. Daddy was feeling better and wanted to get out of the house. I knew it would be difficult for him to get out and about with Asher, so I offered for them to join you and I. So we didn't quite get the alone time we were planning today, but it was fun nonetheless. You were such a perfect little angel all day, and so was Asher. 

Tonight Asher started crying, and you very plainly said "Asher" several times in a row. We were so excited! I had heard you do that before, but Daddy didn't seem to quite believe me. Tonight you proved it to him, though! I was so proud of you!

Stephanie Pack sent me a facebook message tonight to let me know that she got your cake finished for your birthday Sunday. It is SO cute!!!! She did an amazing job!!! Your party will be Crayola themed, but it's not going to be a big party. I had planned to have several kids your age over for it, but with Christmas and Asher's birth and everything I have just been way too swamped with stuff and way too exhausted to get everything ready for a real big party. So we will only have family here for it, and I'm stressing myself out over it all. We're going to have a great time, it's going to be a fun party, and everything will be wonderful. I can't wait to post pics for you!

I Love You So Much!!!!!!!

Momma

Not Quite Official

Dear Brantley ~

You took 14 continuous steps today! You're getting closer and closer to walking full-time, but you're still lacking some confidence. I expect it to happen at any moment, though. You've been taking steps for months. 

You and I got to spend a lot of time together today, and I absolutely loved it!!! I've been missing you so much! Although I love every second I spend with Asher, it's been hard to cut back on so much of my time spent with you. Today Daddy spent more time with Asher than he has been, and I got to love on you all day. You are such a sweet sweet sweet little angel. All I have to do is smile at you and you start smiling real big. You love it when I snap and dance. You love it when I turn on the hairdryer. You love it when I blow my nose. You love it when I do the airplane while feeding you. You love it when I say "Mmmm... Yummay!" after giving you a bite of food. You love it when I sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to you. Oh, there are so many things you love. Some are silly, some are sweet, some are unusual... But the one thing they all have in common is that I absolutely love them all!!

Daddy was saying today that it amazes him how you and Asher make him look forward to getting up every day. Someday you will understand what all your daddy has gone through and how difficult many days are for him. But getting to see you and Asher, watch you play, love on you, cuddle with you, and every other interaction with you makes him feel like life is so much more worth living. He loves you SO MUCH!!! And I believe it goes without saying that I do, too! :-)

I Love You!!

Momma

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

Dear Brantley~

We decided to stay in Paragould one more day and head back to Cabot today. Although you had a super cute outfit that was perfect for church, none of the rest of us had church clothes. So we stayed at Nana and Papa's while they went to church. After church we went to Chili's to eat with Nana, Papa, Nucle Zac, Nucle Jeremy, Aunt Tara, and Jax. We were waiting for our seat when I suddenly noticed you had two new teeth coming in. Your top two front teeth have broken through and are shining pretty. Just as I said it Daddy noticed, too. Then Nana was so excited for you and had to see. You're getting them all quickly now that you've finally started getting them. 

When we got home we had so much fun pulling out your new toys and beginning to put them together... and you had fun trying to figure out what to play with as we kept putting new ones in front of you. It's so exciting to see you discovering new things and trying to figure out how they work. 

Now on to getting ready for your birthday next Sunday!

I Love You!!!!

Momma

What Heaven Must Be Like

Dear Brantley~

This morning you got up at 4:45am and wouldn't go back to sleep. I was in the living room with Asher, so Daddy took you into our bedroom to give you a bottle and try to get you back to sleep. It didn't work. By about 8am you were cranky as all get out from being so sleepy. Around 8:30 I was nursing Asher in the recliner, and you crawled over, climbed up, and were fussing trying to get into the chair with me. So I put Asher in his sleeper that was next to me, and I picked you up and put you in my lap. You curled up to me but kept fussing. So daddy fixed a bottle and brought it to me. You took about one ounce and you were out! You slept in my arms for 2 hours. You would have kept sleeping, but we had to get you to sleep. As you laid in my arms sleeping so peacefully and putting all your trust in me to keep you comfortable and safe, I told Daddy that must be what heaven is like because I sure felt like I was in heaven. Hopefully I don't leave you to go to heaven until I am an old lady, but if I do I want you to always know that I will be right there with my arms wrapped around you at all times. Holding you in my arms is heaven, so in heaven I will always keep you wrapped in my arms.

I Love You More Than You Will Ever Know!!!!!!!

Momma