Top 5 Photos

I am so excited to be participating in the Quarterly Top 5 Photos.

1. Tickles from Daddy

This is one of my all time favorites of B. He was being tickled by his daddy and was burying his face into his shoulder. I can still hear B's sweet laughter when I look at this picture.

2. Mr. Attention Man

This picture was taken at my Mom's 60th birthday party. He entertained everyone at the party with his witty self.

3. Foot Prints in the Sand

This picture symbolizes so much to me. B's footprints, a bright open future, and the beauty of His creation.

4. Brainwashed Big Boy

This picture is bittersweet. It makes him look like a big boy and reminds me that time is moving and I need to keep up! It sure is sweet to see him in orange and blue.

5. My doll

I think B looks like a porcelain doll in this picture. Look at his face- I can't get enough. Oh and I think this is as close to pink as we may ever get- so I enjoy this picture alot!

Multitude Monday 863-898

I am thankful:

Monday, June 20, 2011

863. for B's excitement of wearing a backpack and a glimpse of what is to come in the Fall when he starts Mother's Morning Out

864. for B doing an amazing job at WeeVBS with long hours of 8-12:30

865. for the chance to hold little babies of the parents volunteering for VBS

866. for getting to watch B through the window play outside during VBS- he is such an independent little guy

867. for the new blinds providing better sleep for B

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

868. for B's adoration of the High School Guys that were playing ball with him at VBS

869. for B having a blast at WeeVBS and staying happy during the long hours!

870. for a morning to talk and laugh with adults while taking care of the little babies

871. for B napping from 1-4 which allowed me to nap for a good bit too!

872. for Wright's deli and the yummy homemade food

873. for my Dyson Vacuum Cleaner

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

874. for the long awaited arrival of Amy and Caroline

875. for the opportunity for B to learn to share his toys

876. for a night out of the house with Amy and time to talk face to face and not on the phone!

877. for our giddiness when we saw Derek Jeter and his girlfriend at Coldstone

Thursday, June 23

878. for the Hyde Park Fountains and Playground- feel like it is the one bug free place in Tampa

879. for Bradford and Caroline being on the same nap schedule

880. for a pregger friend visiting that wants to nap as much as I want to- too!

881. for our sweet helper at Chick Fil A

882. for Bradford telling the lady "Thank you" unprompted

883. for Daddy meeting us for gelato in St. Petersburg

Friday, June 24

884. for Bradford jumping off the side of the pool to me

885. for Bradford's enjoyment of the pool today

886. for a friend who love sports the same if not more than me

887. for B and Caroline hugging and kissing all throughout the day

888. for Hubby getting Caroline to eat her first hot dog!

889. for Bradford and Caroline's excitement right before bath- running around naked :)

Saturday, June 25

890. for Amy and our talks about parenting

891. for Baby Anderson and Caroline getting to be a big sister in December

892. for Amy's laid back trip and the relaxing days we had

893. for Hubby adventuring out with B to a park in downtown

894. for Hubby making delicious Shepherd's pie and B enjoying it

Sunday, June 26

895. for the rain and thunder outside as I got to sleep in

896. for all of Hubby's help when I wasn't feeling well

897. for B's three hour nap and my time to read a book and relax

898. for my friend sharing her talents with me

Visitors!

We have visitors coming tomorrow and we are thrilled! Amy and Caroline booked their flight back in February and we are so excited that the time is finally here! For the next four days we will be playing, swimming, monogramming, sleeping, watching Auburn brainwashing DVDs, eating and laughing! I know B will enjoy having a playmate all hours of the day!

Look at these two back before we left Atlanta- Caroline was 6 months and Bradford was 5 months

Here we are at the Anderson's in April for the Easter Egg Hunt- Caroline is 16 months and B is 15 months

Chopped

We have had a fabulous weekend celebrating our daddy, Bradford Sr. I feel like we have a different kind of Father's Day than most as we are far away from both of our dads. So once the card and gift are in the mail- I only have one Dad to focus on! I decided to make an agenda for our Father's Day and had it posted around the house when Bradford Sr. got home on Friday.

Friday started off with getting to open a present(Auburn vs Alabama DVD and Auburn Baby DVD) and grilling out sausage, hot dogs and yummy corn and watching the DVDs.

Saturday Daddy got to sleep in and then we headed out for lunch and to pick up his Father's Day gift. Wwe had to drive to Clearwater to pick it up so it was an anticipating car ride to where and what we were doing. I found a guy that made cornhole sets and bags for a pretty decent price. I just got him white ones and we bought paint(orange and blue of course!) and will design them however Hubby wants! He also got to go fishing off of the pier during high tide but only caught catfish. Saturday night we got the sweetest babysitters- they were sisters- and headed out to dinner at a restaurant we hadn't been to yet- Maddogs. It is an English type pub place and Bradford Sr. enjoyed their special for the night- swordfish! After dinner I had bought tickets to a play downtown- "Motherhood"- Not exactly a "Father's Day" kind of play but it had good reviews and ended up being really funny. The venue was adorable- See the picture below- we are in the balcony on the left-I have one hand up and Bradford has two. The show posts these pictures to facebook- so that is how I got it. I loved our seats and look forward to going back to see another play.

Sunday we had BIG cinnamon rolls(Bradford Sr's favorite) and headed to church. After church we put B down for his nap and Bradford was given his Food Network Challenge.

Not sure if you have seen the show Chopped- but they give chefs several ingredients that must be included in the dish. They have a set time to make the meal and then are judged on what they made. Bradford Sr. and I love to watch this show and often talk about what we would make. So I was excited about this task for him as I knew he would enjoy the challenge. However, I feel like Bradford had an even bigger challenge as we didn't have alot of ingredients in the pantry and fridge like the show that has an assortment of ingredients to use. We agreed that he had 45 minutes to make the meal.

Here is Bradford about to find out what ingredients he has to use:

Here he is after:

The ingredients were:

Vidalia onion, whole wheat angel hair pasta, and parmesan cheese

He got to work fast.

Sauteing the onion with bacon and sausage while the noodles are boiling

Putting basil leaves on top of the pasta

Starting to plate the meal with 4 minutes to go!

He made salads while the pasta was baking- Mine is on the left and his is the ranch one on the right

He had the meal and salads done with 40 seconds to spare!

He titled his dish- Cajun Pasta Bake. It was super yummy. He was his biggest critic as he said it needed a little more seasoning but I cleaned my plate! Even Little B enjoyed the meal and had leftovers tonight for dinner. I really enjoyed this idea and if you have a husband that loves to cook- try it! Clean up was my duty but I didn't mind since I didn't have to lift a finger for the meal!

Multitude Monday 815-862

Monday, June 13, 2011

815. for B laughing while Daddy and I swat at mosquitos and then him swatting at the air to help "get the bugs"

816. for B continuing to laugh when I smacked him on the forehead to get the mosquito off

817. for friends coming over to play with us so we could be lazy and stay in pjs

818. for Job's happy ending

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

819. for B's crossed legs and hands in his lap while he waits for the Hot Dog dance to come on

820. for B's independence in wanting to read books on his own

821. for my house

822. for friends commenting on blog- such an encouragement

823. for a fun day in Lakeland with the Darch's and the feeling of having a second home there

824. for B taking a three hour nap so the girls could play Dutch Blitz for three hours- my eyes hurt!

825. for a date to Chick Fil A with Little B for dinner and the fun we had just us two on way home from Lakeland

826. for exciting news of friend moving to Atlanta!

827. for being honest with hubby about something I didn't want to be honest about(paying way too much for something)

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

828. for B waving and saying "haay" to everyone we passed in Target- Mr. Social

829. for church friends watching our kids to give the moms time away

830. for low key dinners at home

831. for the Ipad that Bradford got through work

Thursday, June 16, 2011

832. for B having a great day despite having had four shots

833. for lunch with a high schooler and the energy and refreshment she brings

834. that a high schooler wanted to wear and borrow some of my clothes :)

835. for Ranger and B playing the harmonica for each other over the phone

836. for Hubby requesting dinner out and a nice break from the kitchen/house

837. for starting a book Tuesday and finishing it today-Little B wanted to read his books independently so I went and got my book and read while he read- never too early to model sitting and reading!

838. for Hubby moving room to room with me as I did chores so we could talk and catch up

839. for news of a sweet friend being preggers!

Friday, June 17, 2011

840. for Bradford being kind to Jack and giving him hugs and kisses(last playdate he threw a train at his head! not on purpose I don't think but was scared we might not be invited back!)

841. for the humble feeling when B says "poot poot" after he poots or hears someone else

842. for my mom having such dear friends

843. for someone commenting on how I am finding the good in all things- yes- this is working!

844. for seeing a familiar face at Publix and chatting about upcoming church events

845. for a fun kick-off to Father's Day Weekend- grilling out and watching new Auburn DVD

Saturday, June 18, 2011

846. for B's attachment to Daddy ALL DAY LONG!(its like he knew it was his special weekend)

847. for Hubby's excitement for his gift- cornhole

848. for sweet babysitters that swept B away when he started crying as we left

849. for throwing aside the budget and enjoying our night out!

850. for winning a prize at the play as I was the only one in the audience pregnant

851. for Hubby laughing along with the play "Motherhood" even though they made some low cuts at Dads

Sunday, June 19, 2011

852. for B saying "God" when I asked him if he wanted to go to church and learn about Jesus(I ran to tell Big B what he said as I was amazed and he said he had taught him the God we Love you Song earlier that morning)

853. for pausing and smiling and thinking- YES- when my child was signing more and saying "Jesus"-Yes- we need more Jesus always.

854. for a morning to worship and be still in His presence

855. for Hubby picking out fun paint colors to paint his cornhole set

856. for Hubby's excitement about cooking lunch-Food Network Challenge/Chopped Show

857. for Hubby's intenseness in the kitchen

858. for B sitting on Daddy's neck and giving him kisses

859. for Hubby installing blinds in B's room to help make it darker

860. for yummy warm peach cobbler out of the oven

861. for an awesome weekend of celebrating Daddy Bradford

862. for my dad and his tender heart for everyone

Multitude Monday 758-814

I am thankful:

Monday, June 6

758. for B and Noah playing together and giving each other hugs

759. for the news of Margo's engagement and her sweet and perfect fairy tale!

760. for a Godly woman to call on for wisdom and her realness with God

761. for not feeling like the house has to be perfect for company coming

Tuesday, June 7

762. for my nephew, Quinn, and his 5th birthday

763. for Amber watching B while I went to the doctor

764. for the little boy in my belly and a healthy report at 24 weeks!

765. for the safe arrival of Nanny and Mom

766. for B pointing to Nanny at dinner and saying "Na-na"

767. for B making it through an hour dinner at the Colonade and eating really good

768. for a walk with Mom along the bay

769. for Job crying out for a mediator- He needed Jesus!

Wednesday, June 8

770. for B leaning over to Nanny at breakfast to give her a kiss

771. for B enjoying the fountains at Hyde Park

772. for the birth of Mary Charlotte!

773. for Nanny always talking to B

774. for B cuddling with Ma C on the floor

775. for B dancing and entertaining Ma C and Nanny

776. for Husband knowing me perfectly

777. for my mom and Hubby's friendly banter

778. for the strong breeze off bay during our walk

779. for B singing along with me before bedtime

780. for Hubby and I sticking to our nightly plan of reading through the bible

Thursday, June 9

781. for my mom sitting outside with B to play with his water table

782. for lunch at Chick Fil A and for them taking expired coupons

783. for my mom and Nanny being flexible with B's fussiness(molars are coming in!)

784. for Nanny keeping B entertained in the backseat(taking his shoes on and off)

785. for the sweet memory of B running back and forth kissing my mom and Nanny

786. for time to rock on the front porch with Nanny while my mom strolled B around

787. for Hubby teaching Nanny how to make a taco(apparently she had never made a taco before! hilarious)

788. for Mom burying her face in the pillow to hide her laughter

789. for Mom's love for sewing/smocking and helping make another outfit for B

Friday, June 10

790. for the memories and time with my 93 three year old Nanny

791. for getting to honor my grandmother with using her maiden name for baby number 2 and telling her in person!

792. for deciding on baby boy's name: Hampton Dodd

793. for a friend giving me free reign to design her child's shirts

794. for B letting me know he was ready to take a nap

795. for Hubby trying to talk me into being spontaneous

796. for UPS being able to ship my Nanny back her walker that she left here!

797. for B waving and saying hey to our wedding picture

798. for yummy egg sandwiches for dinner made by Chef Hubby

Saturday, June 11

799. for B's alph alpha this morning

800. for B walking up to all of the dogs at the community event and giving them kisses

801. for an hour for me to relax in the shade and watch B and Hubby play at the pool

802. for B asking to call his grandparents and naming each one in a picture

803. for B talking with his grandparents on the phone and being funny

804. for an evening with Josh and Katharine and the similarities we are facing at the same stage in life

805. for the two boys on their daddy's shoulders as we walked to get ice cream

806. for my child's memory- I am amazed.

Sunday, June 12

807. for B saying "chuch" when we walked in

808. for learning about the preschool program at our church

809. for B napping during lunch while Hubby and I enjoyed a nice lunch

together at home

810. for Hubby swimming out in the ocean to save Bailey- she couldn't find the ball and wouldn't come back in

811. for Hubby cooking an amazing baked ziti for dinner

812. for B saying cousin Caroline's name, Caro, when he was talking to her on the phone and then on skype with her

813. for Hubby home to help me kill mosquitoes that follow us into the house or car! They are everywhere.

814. for my brother being back from El Paso and not having to return there to work! He got a job in Columbus, Georgia!

I am so excited about reaching 800! Notice that a big announcement is in here. Feel like those who actually read my blessings should be the first to know big news!