Brody's favorite Christmas present

Here's a picture of Brody's favorite Christmas present - the shirt!!!

Yes, you are reading the shirt correctly. Brody will be a BIG BROTHER this August - around Aug 18. How many of you just said - it's about time?? I am about 10 1/2 weeks right now and we are very excited.

We found out early December but waited until Christmas day to tell our parents and of course they were surprised. We wrapped up Brody's shirt and took it to my mom's house first. Once we had opened most of the presents, this small "popped" up and we had Brody go sit with NiNi to have her help him open it. Our excuse for him opening the present there was that we ran out of time for him to open it at our house. Here's NiNi's expression.

We pretty much did the same thing at Nana's house and here is her expression.

So far, I haven't been sick which I wasn't with Brody either. I eat lots of small meals and am VERY tired. All I want to do is rest. I sure can't wait for the 2nd trimester to come when my energy comes back. We have had 2 doctor appointments with sonograms so far and everything looks great and the heartbeat is strong. We go again in a few weeks for another sonogram - my doctor loves doing sonograms. Hopefully, this time around she'll actually get to deliver this baby. She's a sole practitioner and was out of town on my due date so her backup took care of me. We haven't 100% decided if we are going to find out ahead of time the sex of this baby or not - it was so much fun not finding out with Brody so I'm leaning towards the same with this one. However, it sure would be easier to plan....

Brody doesn't quite understand what is going on right now but I'm sure things will change in a few months when mommy starts getting BIGGER!!! Here's a picture of our new little peanut about an inch long.

I'm sure there will be lots of updates on the new addition to our family, so keep checking back.

Brody's girls

We have been so blessed to have been able to find childcare in our home for Brody since he was 6 months old. When I had to go back to work in March 2007 from maternity leave - working 5 days a week - God led us to a lady who did daycare in her home. It was a Christian daycare - her husband was the music minister at a church in Jacksonville so we were very excited. She only had one other boy she kept who only stayed PT and she had her own boy who was about 6 months older than Brody. It was a great situation because it was only about 2 minutes from our house. She was great and loved Brody. When Brody was about 6 months old, her and her husband felt God was leading them to a church in Macon, GA. We were very sad but knew God would lead us to the next person to keep Brody.
Here's Brody's first daycare - Beth.

We were praying for someone to come to our house and watch Brody. We just weren't ready to put him in a big daycare. It was a great day when April Lee decided that she could come to our house and watch Brody. I have known her family all of my life. My family and her grandpa, grandma, dad, and uncles (when we were all much younger) would all take vacations together so we have a close bond with the Lee family. April was wonderful with Brody and it was great to be able to let him sleep in in the mornings so he didn't get in the routine of 6AM rising on the weekends. As a result he doesn't wake up until around 8:30 - 9:00 now which is GREAT!!!

Brody and April

Well, April took off during the 2007 summer for about a 2 month mission trip over seas, but thankfully TaTa (Aunt Tara) and mom were available to come to the house and watch him since they are teachers and off through the summer.

TaTa and Brody when he was about 2 months old.

NeNe and Brody Easter 2008

When April returned from her mission trip she actually took some time off of school and was able to continue keeping Brody. We were so excited. It's amazing how God always seemed to bring us someone to watch Brody just when we needed it. April continued watching Brody until the Summer of 2008 when she took a harder load at college and couldn't continue. Thankfully, Brooke Outler had just graduated high school and would be going off to school in the fall so she was available during the summer to watch Brody. She was great and full of energy. Brody loved her and even learned to say her name but of course it sounded like Book. It was so cute.

Brooke and Brody

When Aug 2008 came around, we had NO idea who was going to keep Brody since Brooke was heading off to school and April couldn't work her schedule around my 3 day work schedule. At the last minute, Kristin Carr called me up and said she was available to help out until she found a job and passed her boards from hair school. Whew - just in time. She watched Brody on Tues and Thurs and April ended up keeping him on Mondays. It was a great schedule. They would go up to the Chicken House once a week, take him to the park, take him to the mall, and wherever else they needed to go. They said he was already really good - I sure hope so. Brody would always tell Jason and I who he saw that day - usually Emily White was in the mix. He really never knew who would be picking him up out of the crib that day. Thank goodness he adapts well.

Kristin, Emily, and April - the 3 Amigos.

I say all of this, because April has now gone away to school out to Graceville, FL. We are very proud of her and wish her the best. Her last day with Brody was Dec 30 and it was definitely a sad day. She had kept him since he was 6 months old and people at Target and the Chicken House thought he was her child - which I know she got tons of looks - not a great way to pick up a guy (sorry April). Enjoy every minute of school because it won't last.

God is continuing to bless us because we put Brody on the wait list at Sonshine but he still hasn't gotten in - however Jessica Horton, who I also taught in Sunday School when she was in the youth department, decided to take a break from college for a couple of months and was looking for somewhere to watch kids in their home. Coincidence?? I don't think so - God is really looking out for us. She has been wonderful - she keeps Brody very active which is a big help so he is exhausted by naptime and takes great naps.

Jessica - his latest sitter.

I know this was a long post, but I feel so blessed to have been able to find in home childcare for Brody for 2 years now. God is so good!!!

First Dentist Visit

Today was Brody's first trip to the dentist. Yes, I know he's only 2 but actually books and doctors suggest you take them at 1 - I wasn't about to do that. I was even skeptical at age 2 because I didn't think there was anyway he would let the dentist look in his teeth. A previous coworker of mine raved about Dr. Fraser's office in Orange Park so I thought we would give it a try.

For the past week, we have been telling Brody that he was going to visit the dentist and that she would want to look in his mouth. He would then open his mouth and say AAHH. So, I thought this was a step in the right direction.

Here's a pic before we walked in.

As we walked in the door, he of course had to play with the toys - like any other boy. They called his name and we headed back (not without "borrowing" a lego so a tantrum didn't break out). The hygenist took us on a tour of the office and all the rooms. It was definitely very kid oriented - tvs in the ceiling and bright colors everywhere. Brody didn't care much about it though - I think all we wanted to do was climb and run. We finally got to our room and he sat in the chair for a little while and I tried to get him to lay back in the chair and watch tv but he didn't want much of that.

Straining to see what was on the ceiling - Dora!!! I'm sure one day he'll appreciate a tv on the ceiling.

Once the dentist came in, I had to sit in the chair and hold Brody (not a restraining hold) so she could look at this teeth. He actually did the AAHH for her so she could count his teeth. I was very impressed because he usually gets very shy and just says NOOOOOO in a great whining voice. Dr. Fraser was very impressed with his teeth - white, no bad discoloration, and that he only drinks water and milk. The only bad thing was that there are no gaps in his teeth so she prepared me that he would more than likely need braces later in life. Of course he had to inherit my teeth - straight now but not without a lot of orthodontic work to achieve that. Why couldn't he have inherited Jason's straight teeth - no braces?

They then put a little flouride on his teeth and explained that since we are on well water he can actually have flouride toothpaste once or twice a week even though he isn't a good spitter yet. Is that a good or bad thing? She also said that we need to start flossing his teeth. How in the world do you floss a 2 year old's teeth??? This is going to be a chore.

On our way out they give him a goodie bag - he picks out his toothbrush and he picks the color black - stickers and huge balloon. He was so happy and was telling everyone bye on the way out.

Of course we went to Target afterwards to buy the floss things the dentist recommened and also picked up a singing Thomas the Train toothbrush that he didn't want to let go of. Hopefully this will help in the process. However, he is very good about letting us brush his teeth so I can't complain at all. One visit down and MANY more to come.

GO GATORS

The Singley household is so excited for the Gators 3rd National Championship. Brody was born in 2006 when they won their 2nd National Championship so of course he is a Gator baby. He actually stayed up through the 3rd quarter last night - I'm sure he would have stayed up longer if we let him but 10:30 was late enough. Here's a couple of pictures of our Gator night.

Brody loves Albert.

Here's Brody's new song. Sometimes he says Go Tebow instead of Go Gators. It's the cutest thing ever.

A Day at the Zoo

Last Saturday, Brody and I went to the zoo with Kelly and her 2 1/2 year old son Bradyn. Kelly and I grew up together and her husband and Jason grew up together so it's pretty neat that our 2 boys are close in age as well. Brody and Bradyn have both been to the zoo, but Kelly had never taken Bradyn so we thought it would be a good day for the 2 boys to play together. We decided to take the wagon so the boys could ride together and wouldn't get so tired. They did great and it was such a monkey see monkey do. If Bradyn did something - Brody had to do it as well. Here are a few pics from our day at the zoo.

Yes, Brody does look terified of the merry go round, but he really did have fun.

New Year's Eve

Since before we had kids, which seems like forever ago, we have always tried to get together with other couples for New Year's Eve. It used to be a nice restaurant and then back to one of our houses for games to ring in the new year. Things have definitely changed now that we have kids - something easy to eat (kid friendly) at our house, watching the kids play, trying to play a game ourselves while keeping an eye on our kids, and then most not seeing the new year ring in.

Here's Mark enjoying New Year's - feeding his little one - boy how we have changed.

This year was pizza at our house but we did have chocolate fondue - that was something special! We hung around and chatted - of course watching football - and then tried to play a game - ESPN Scene It. Of course the guys mostly played and a few of us girls tried to answer every now and then.

Lance enjoying the riding toy.

We started out with 13 people but by midnight we were down to 6. Brody and Bradyn had a blast playing basketball until midnight. This was the latest Brody has ever been up and Bradyn's bedtime is around 8:00 so he was about to fall out by midnight. They did great though.

Taking a break from basketball to play with Keith.

Bradyn WAY past his bedtime.

We bring in the New Year with great tasting Non Alcholic Sparkling Grape Juice - even Brody and Bradyn tried it.

A Singley Christmas

The Saturday after Christmas we headed out to Jason's Aunt Joyce's house in Green Cove Springs (about an hour away) for our Singley Christmas gathering. She has a lot of land for the kids to run around and play so they always have a blast. It definitely was a strange this year without Jason's dad. We found ourselves thinking about him a lot.

We sat around and ate and then it was time to head outside to play. Brody loved playing ball with the big boys and playing with their dog. He thought he had to hug the dog everytime he saw her. Jason then thought the kids would have fun pulling them around the yard in the wagon with the tractor. Of course they had a blast. Here's a few pictures of afternoon.

Granny with all the great grand kids (minus 2 who were sick).


Jason and Baby Cale.

Brody doesn't get to do this with our dog Allye so he thought it was great.

Brody wasn't so sure why Connor was in his seat - even though this is Connor's toy.

We were definitely in the country.

Christmas fun through the eyes of a child.

DISCLAIMER - LOTS TO BLOG AND LOTS OF PICTURES!!! (as with most of us bloggers)

Jason and I knew Christmas this year would be a lot of fun with Brody being 2. We set no alarm and just let him wake us up. Thank goodness he's a late sleeper- he didn't wake up until around 9:00. Jason and I had the video set up on a tripod to capture his face when he walked in to see what Santa had brought. His face was so cute as he looked at the massive basketball hoop sitting in our main room and then looked at us. I can only imagine what he must have been thinking since this is what we had mentioned to him to tell Santa that he wanted - nothing like a little persuasion.

We watched him play basketball for about 15-20 minutes. It's a little tall for him now but he'll grow into it and I'm sure he'll be making the shots before too long. He's actually made a few shots and when he does he gets SOOOO excited. Now this basketball hoop actually should be outside so I'm sure it will be a sad day when we have to move it out. Santa also brought Brody a new Thomas the Train tricycle. He still needs some practice on how to pedal.

We finally moved on to the stocking and he loved pulling stuff out of it. Jason wouldn't let me wrap stocking stuff because he says that Santa doesn't wrap. However, I always remember Santa wrapping ( I guess I was just nieve about the whole thing). I explained that my stocking stuff still needed to be wrapped. I guess this may end next year because how do you explain how Santa wraps some and not others??

Santa brought us all new hats this year.




Chocolate covered popcorn for breakfast. It doesn't get any better than that.

The paper war. Brody had a blast.

Brody wasn't too excited about the clothes at first but he soon started handing each piece of clothing to us and saying "like pants", "like shirt". It was so cute. He also had to have EVERY piece of paper off of the box - we could not move forward unless that was taken care of. We finally got through all of mine and Jason's gifts and most of Brody's by 11:00. Jason got mostly clothes and I got accesories, charger for our counter, and a BIG camera bag to hold both our video camera, new digital camera and extra lense. We then headed off to my parents for lunch and presents.

Brody was getting into the present thing by this time. Mom and Dad got Brody a Black and Decker work bench. He absolutely loves it. He also got clothes and a few more toys. We then ate steak and twice baked potatoes. This has been a big tradition in my family for quite sometime. We don't do the traditional Christmas meal - we need a break after Thanksgiving. We sat around with them until around 3:30 and then packed up for the beach to visit Jason's mom.

We also all got new chairs even Brody. He loves that it has cup holders.

Thank goodness it's about a 40 minute drive because this was Brody's nap for the entire day. He was such a trooper. After the traditional dinner at Nana's, we opened presents. Brody actually passed out presents to everyone. It was the cutest thing because you would think that as a 2 year old you would only want to open, but not Brody - he passed out every present and even put his in a pile to open. Nana and Poppy gave Brody a guitar. Brody loves to play Poppy's guitars and he loves playing his. He came with a stand and everything. He also received a harmonica and he learned pretty quickly how to play and he serenaded us for the rest of the evening. Brody also received a REAL set of golf clubs from Nana and Poppy. He has broken all of his other clubs so he was in desparate need of some. There's a putter, driver and wedge in a golf bag with stand. It's the cutest thing ever. Thank goodness he didn't realize what it was when he opened it because Nana may not have anything still in one piece if he got a hold of them.

Cousin Wendi pretty excited about Brody's new guitar.

Here's his new clubs but thank goodness he didn't realize what they were.

Acting like Spiderman in his new Spiderman PJ's.
As the tradition goes, we always play a game on Christmas night. So Brody played his guitar or harmonica for us while we played our game and we left around 11:00 with Brody STILL awake. He was so good with not having much sleep. Brody never ceases to amaze us.