First Words

Brady is pretty close to saying his first word. What were your children's first words and when did they say them? I'll give $50 to the person who guesses what Brady's first word is. okay not really, but you can guess anyway.....

This just in...

It's been coming for a few days....the wakeful nights, the on-going crankiness, the excessive amounts of drool. It has finally broken through.....

Brady's 1st Tooth!!!!

It seems to have granted him some relief having it finally emerge. Which is giving us relief from the unusual crankiness he has been exhibiting. Now back to your local programming....

It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn Time

The leaves are falling down!!

It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn time

There's FOOTBALL all around!

Are you done singing now? Cuz' I'd like to hear the game, Mom.

Yoga pose

This is why they call it "child's pose."

Privacy Please!

So after recieving a comment from a random person, I'm seriously thinking about going private. It wasn't rude or anything, it just freaked me out that a 50 year old man is looking at pictures of my baby. So, if I you'd like to continue to view our blog, please let me know. So please send me an e-mail or leave a comment or mail me a letter or gimme a call, whatever you'd like to do. I don't want to exclude anyone that wants to keep up on our adventures out here. Thanks for watching, and I promise, this is the last post de jour.

Halloween 2008

We had a lot of fun this Halloween! We went to our Branch Party for some good chili and hotdogs. Everyone was dressed up quite nicely. Brady and Carl won awards for the cutest costume and scariest costume, respectively. Then we went trick-or-treating with our nieces (and their parents). Carl was so cute as he proudly held up his little froggy to the people at the doors (or sitting in lawn chairs on the driveway.) I love them both very very much, even when they are green.

Brady didn't think much of the pumpkin guts.

Carl is the Hulk (TV Version), Brady a Frog and I am a Couger Fan. (I was going to be a princess to kiss the frog, but none of my "princess" dresses fit)

The pumpkins we carved. So pretty!!

*I am really getting my blog on today!! don't worry, the baby is sleeping and the laundry is going.*

On the verge

I feel like I'm on the verge of failing in the area of discipline with Brady. Okay, so it's really only the start of the many years of discipline, but I think I'm not doing such a good job already. He has this natural curiosity for blinking lights and pushing buttons. Can you tell me, what has blinking lights and buttons to push? Okay, I'll tell you. The computer and its accompanying power strip.

It never fails. He sees the flashing light on the CPU and drags himself over to it. He has discovered the flaps (ours has flaps) for the CD-Rom drives and the buttons that go with it. He's been playing with the flap that covers the USB ports for a while now. I let him do it. What harm can he do? He's got it into his head that this is an okay place to play. I don't want him breaking the CD-Rom drives, or turning the computer off so I tell him "no" or "stop" (and sign) and move him. He looks up at me and grins. After moving him away from the tempting toy, he quickly scoots back to resume play. I say "Brady..." in my most stern and mothering voice. What does the little bumpkin do?? Looks up at me and smiles, acts like he's getting away from it only to resume play with even more vigor.

Today he spotted the powerstrip. Before I could realize what he was doing *Blink* off goes the computer. DAH!!!! Good thing I wasn't in the middle of something important. So what option do I have? I tell him "no, that was not a good thing to do" and remove him from the area. Again, play resumes.

Carl said he's put together that when he plays with the CPU, he gets attention from me. That is not what I wanted for my children!! I feel I spend LOTS of time with him! Heaven forbid I leave him to play while I clean, cook or check e-mail!

So, my son has figured out how to get attention from me. It's negative attention though. I didn't want him to do that. Now I don't know what to do. Do I let him play with the forbidden after telling him "no"? Do I put him in time out (which I don't think you can do that at 8 months)? Or do I just keep pulling him away and giving him the attention (all be it, negative) he's looking for? I really don't want to mess up my kids. I'm all for doing the hard stuff now so that down the road things will be easier. You know, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Please, fill me up with your all-so-experienced parenting advise....please?

Let the poor get poorer...

Ah, the Arkansasn Lottery. 'Twas not in existance until voters made their voices heard yesterday. They voted for Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3 to allow AR to have lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for college.

Let me start of by admitting that I have not fully read the arguments on the subject. I am just speaking on my own uneducated opinion. Please feel free to enlighten me with any other viewpoints. I'm just too lazy (I've got better things to do) to search and read everything there is about it. So there, disclaimer finsihed.

I don't agree with it lottery. Why? Well, from my point of view, it will be those that can't really afford a lottery ticket that will be purchasing them. Those that dream of having a big bag o' cash pluncked in to their hands to make their life better are those who are struggling to make ends meet. What motivation do the "well-off" people have to buy lottery tickets? If I were "doing just fine" I wouldn't give it a thought. The rich may fund a part of it out of entertainment, sure. I feel that the majority of the funds will be coming from lower-middle class individuals, hoping for their big break. I have an idea, why don't we NOT use our money (hard-earned or government provided) on a game of chance that sports the face of helping our community and just give directly to the source? Cut out the middle-man and all the hubbub. If 10,000 people spend $1 on a ticket each week, or month or however it works, that's $10,000 that could go STRAIGHT to the school. Let the lower-middle class use their money for something that has greater odds of helping them out, like healthcare, nutritious food for their families, or education materials to enhance the opportunity for your own (or your children's) government or private party-funded scholarship.

This is from http://arkansasmatters.com:

Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3
Creating State Lotteries to Support Higher Education Scholarships and Grants Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3: A constitutional amendment authorizing the General Assembly to establish, operate, and regulate state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for Arkansas citizens enrolled in certified two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Arkansas.
Support: HOPE for Arkansas, Arkansas AFL-CIO
Oppose: Family Council Action Committee, Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, United Methodists Against Gambling

What does this amendment do? The proposal would amend the Constitution of the State of Arkansas to establish state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for Arkansas citizens enrolled in two-year and four-year colleges and universities located in the state. The initiative specifically prohibits lotteries and the sale of lottery tickets except as provided in the proposed amendment, meaning no other entity other than the State of Arkansas would have authority to run a lottery operation. If passed by voters in November, the Arkansas General Assembly would be responsible for developing a framework of state laws to establish, operate and regulate state lotteries.

Put your finger tips together....

For more, more, more.

It finally clicked!! While on vacation (I know it's been a while since I've been home. Getting back into the swing of things takes a bit o' time) he started signing "more." It was a miraculous moment for me. I had been so close to just giving up the whole signing thing until he was 12 months old and could physically catch on, and I would see results sooner. Then "TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAA" the angels sang, light filled the room, and all was well in Zion. I was so estatic! Now he is signing "more" and "eat." I think he was doing "ball" today, but it looked like "more", so I'm not sure. It sure is great to know that your creatin understands you and wants to communicate with you.