Happy Graduation

Today my brother-in-law Charlie graduated from UAB with a degree in education. We am so proud of him and all he has accomplished. He has worked so hard these last four years.

My sister-in-law was so sweet to give him a graduation party tonight (even at 32 weeks pregnant). She did such a great job decorating and the food was out of this world delicious.

The New College Grad and his lovely wife...oh, and we can't forget about little Baby Owen - he'll be making his appearance in late June. Aunt Jennifer can't wait :)

Y'all know I'm not going to miss an opportunity to take a picture of my little family

This was fav! Chocolate dipped marshmallows with yellow sprinkles...YUM-O!!! Jessica fixed all of the food. We had so much and it was all so good!

Bryson and his Nana

He was mesmerized by the balloons, if you can't tell.

I made Bryson a little palate on the floor. He loves sitting up and playing with his toys. I kinda' felt bad that he was being the center of attention when we were there to celebrate Uncle Charlie's achievement

Bryson and Aunt Erica

Charlie - we are all so proud of you and this BIG accomplishment you have achieved. We are praying for the Lord to continue to bless you, Jessica, and Owen. And we pray you will find a job where the Lord can use you for His glory... We love you Uncle Charlie!

Show Us Your Life - Your Kid's (or future kid's) Names

This week's Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Korner is baby names! I love baby names! I was one of those that dreamed up baby names as a little girl. My friends and I would get together and compare names during slumber parties. It was so much fun! Clay and I loved looking at names when we first got pregnant (I looked alot before then. ha!)

We always wanted to use family names for a boy or girl. Our families are so important to us and it's nice to have something like that to carry on. Not to mention, I can't wait to tell or kids how we came up with their names!

Our Boy Name

Bryson Gregory

It's so funny how we came up with the name Bryson. I had never heard of that name until I met Clay. He saw the name when he was younger while playing a playstation game. Kinda' funny! It was actually the last name of one of the players he played with on a football game. I wasn't to keen on the name at first, but it started growing on me towards the end of my pregnancy. For the middle name I wanted to incorporate a family name. Clay's dad's first name is Gregory and I loved the way it fit with Bryson.

Our Girl Name

Addison Grace

I have always loved the name Addison. There is no family history with it, I've just always thought it was such a pretty name. The name Grace is a family name. It's my grandmother's name and ever since I was little I always wanted her name to be carried on because she is such a special person in my life and will never know how much she means to me. I spent many a summer's at her house learning how to bake and cook. She taught me alot!!!

Clay and I have always wanted 3 children. So I I'm not too sure what we will do if the next one turns out to be another boy. Maybe I'll be able to find something I like on some of the other posts!

Shopping, Book Club, Cinco De Mayo, and Biggest Loser

Today has been an exhausting day to say the least. Since our book club meeting was today I had several errands to run and a few things I was hoping to get accomplished without having the little man with me. I always LOVE having him around when I go out and about, but sometimes it's a challenge having a 9 1/2 month old on your hands who loves to talk really loud and every now and then has a few meltdowns when he doesn't get his way (I guess that would be my fault for spoiling him too much :) Not to mention, we don't really live that close to shopping areas (at least the ones I enjoy) so it makes it somewhat difficult...and i'm not lying when i say "going to town" is an all day event.

I left a little early so that I could have time to stop by one of my favorite places to shop for Bryson...The Children's Place. I absolutely love the clothes they have for Bryson's age. And I am always able to find some really good sales too. It was my first trip to the one out on 280 and I was really impressed. They had alot of great selections and my 15% off coupon didn't hurt either. Ha! While I was looking around I heard someone call out my name and when I turned around I saw my cousin Crystal. I've haven't seen her in so long and it was so good to catch up and hear about what is going on with her and her family. I miss seeing her very much and I hope we can get together more often.

I didn't have my camera with me so I was able to get any pictures while I was out. Bummer :(

I was making really good time so I stopped into Old Navy next door and found the cutest dress on sale for $15

I bought this one in a purple. I saw it on the manikin and thought it was a must have. I found a cute white tank to go underneath and I even thought about pairing it with some white leggins. I also saw this cute yellow dress that would be adorable to wear to the Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw concert next Friday. I didn't have time to try it on, so I think I might go back on Friday to see how it looks.
I met up with Mary, Dorothy, and Donna for the book club meeting at Jackson's in Homewood. Such a great little place. I had the pimento cheese BLT...yummy is all I have to say. We all split this dessert, the Cookie Dough Egg Roll. Y'all this was SO GOOD. I have never had anything like it before. I could have eaten both of those egg rolls by myself. I have issues with sweets. HA!!! We also picked out another book...

Dorothy has already started and it sounds like its going to be a good one. A real thinker. I hope I can handle it. I'm not a deep thinker!

Mary and I did some shopping together after our meeting. We found some great sales and I really need to go shopping with Mary more often...she always seems to find the cutest things. I had a great time with her! She is always alot of fun to hang out with and has become one of my good friends.

Clay and I took Bryson out for his first Cinco De Mayo dinner. We went to our favorite place, El Carreton. I honestly could eat mexican every day. Clay and I both had the steak supreme nachos...oh so good. I let Bryson eat the beans...

This picture is a little blurry...if you can't tell this little mess had beans all over him. He loved them of course. He was so good while we ate. I had several people come up to me and tell me how cute and well behaved he was. Those are some of the greatest compliments I enjoy from strangers during this stage of Bryson's life. I'm such a proud little momma!

So what did y'all think about the ending to the biggest loser last night? OMGoodness! I was very excited for both Stephanie and Sam.

I've loved Sam and Koli from day one and to see that Stephanie had finally found "love", I couldn't be more happier for them. This is becoming one of my most favorite shows of all time. I can't watch one episode without crying.

Hope everyone had a great Cinco De Mayo! We've got a busy next few days. So I will have lots to blog about :)

Nine Months

Bryson you are 9 months old today!!!

What have you been up too...

you weigh 21lbs on the dot (50th percentile for your weight)

you are 28 inches long (50th percentile for your height)...daddy was SO glad to hear this :)

we are using up your last pack of size 3 diapers

you are in size 6-9 month shirts, 9 & 12 month pants and shorts, and 12 month pajama's

you are eating 3 solid meals a day with formula in between. you love sweet potatoes, carrots, peaches, Hawaiian Delight (mommy loves that one to...ha!), banana's.

you've had some table foods: butter beans, green beans, potato soup from O'Charley's, and banana pudding. you've even had a taste of rock candy...thanks to your cousins Kelsey, Destiny, and Madison. And Aunt Erica let you taste some of her Coca-Cola Icee. What am I going to do with all these girls???

you have a squirty toy turtle that you LOVE to play with in the bathtub. Every time we give it to you, you automatically turn it upside down and put the turtle's head in you mouth. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

we found out today that you've grown out of your car seat and it's time for you to move into your booster seat. you are growing up so fast! it seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home and the car seat looked like it would swallow you hole! time it flying by!!!

you have one of the best personalities I know of for a little boy! you never meet a stranger...just like your daddy. i really think you are going to be a people person and I'm so excited! you are the life of the party and you always know how to make us smile :)

you nap 2 times a day, sometimes only once. they last about 30 minutes to 1.5 hours

you are still sleeping so good through the night. I have really been blessed that you have been such a good sleeper since you were 8 weeks. you have really spoiled me!

you talk constantly! you always have something to say...I wonder if you'll be like your Uncle Tommy and get into trouble on the first day of kindergarten because you talked to much? ha! you are getting better at saying mama-mama and dada-dada!!! and i love hearing you giggle

you just got your first bottom tooth last week.

you are obsessed with VeggieTales! your favorite one is The Big River Rescue. you watch it every morning after breakfast. i believe your daddy can quote every word and it makes you giggle every time. ha!

you hate socks and shoes. i spend more time trying to put them on and then you have them off in no time. i guess you are going to be one of those babies that won't wear any shoes and walk around barefoot all the time. good thing summer is around the corner.

you don't care to much about crawling. i'm not sure if you ever will and that's okay!!! i noticed the other day that you were trying to pull up in your crib. you'll be walking before i know it :)

I can't believe how much you've changed over the last nine months! you don't even look like the same little boy. you are growing up SO fast. how in the world can i make it slow down? i can't tell you enough how much joy you bring to my life!!!

Giveaway Over @ Be Thou a Knight

Shannon from Cary Hairbows is hosting the cutest giveaway on Lianna's blog!!!

Are these not the cutest hairbows you've ever seen? Even though I have a little boy, I still love looking at all the girly stuff. I have a few favorites and it's too bad everyone I know right now are having boys. My SIL would definitely be getting on of these if Owen had been a girl. ha!!!

All of these could be yours if you hop on over to Lianna's blog and get the details.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Big News

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GUESS WHO'S GETTING THERE FIRST TOOTH???

I can't believe Bryson is finally cutting his first tooth! During dinner tonight something told me to look in his mouth (I normally check a few times every couple of weeks) and there is was...on the bottom on the right!!! Of course I immeditaly started bawling and thinking that my baby boy is not a baby anymore. He's a BIG boy now!!! He hasn't really been fussy or upset. And I've never had to give him orajel. He just drools an obscene amount ALL the time for about the last 5 to 6 months. So we've been waiting on this tooth for awhile :)

I know he'll be ready for his daddy or PawPaw's steaks real soon!

New Recipe

I thought I would try out the recipe for Swiss Stuffing Chicken from Kelly's Recipe Blog. I've been needing another dinner for our rotation and I've looked at this recipe several times and thought it looked easy enough to try.

Well the verdict...

OMGoodness! Delicious!!! It was so good that my husband said he would like to have it again and that it would be something he would like on the rotation...Yey!!! Just the answer I was looking for.

I always get really nervous when I make a new recipe. Probably because it never turns out like the picture. ha!

I served it with corn I cooked on the stove and broccoli with cheese. This was what was leftover and it went with me to work tonight :)

This is the recipe I used...

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used the cutlets...they were on sale @ Publix)

6oz Swiss Cheese Slices

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1/4 cup White Wine

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 stick of Butter melted

1 cup Herb flavored Stuffing Mix (I used Stove Top Herb Flavored Stuffing)

Preheat oven to 350. Place the chicken breasts in a greased baking dish. Put the swiss cheese slices on top of the chicken. Mix together the cream of chicken soup, white wine, salt, and pepper. Mix together the melted butter and stuffing and sprinkle on top of the chicken and soup mixture. Bake for 1 hour!!!

Under the Weather

So Bryson has been battling a terrible cold for the last week. Cough, runny nose, fever, and congestion. Bless his heart he wakes up every night just coughing his little head off. I don't think he's gotten one good night sleep in over a week.

Yesterday when I got home from work I got him up and we had breakfast. Well...while I was feeding him I heard the dreadful wheeze. It's the first time I've heard him wheezing since last December when he was diagnosed with RSV. So I knew it was probably time to call his pediatrician. Of course she wanted to see us first thing this morning.

I was so glad we didn't have to spend too much time in the waiting room. When we got back to the room Bryson was in a pretty decent mood. Once his pediatrician came in she examined him and talked with us and diagnosed him again with bronchiolitis. Those of y'all that know me know I am so worried about Bryson being diagnosed with asthma due to him being born early and having some breathing problems right after birth (and it doesn't help that I work on the respiratory floor)...well, so far we are in the clear. Bryson's MD is not set on yet that he will develop asthma, but wants to continue to keep a close eye on him.

She prescribed him some albuterol puffs with the mask and wanted us to try that every 4 hours for a couple of days and then work our way up to 8 and then 12 and then only as needed. Albuterol is not a treatment for his RSV...it's just going to have to run it's course, but it will loosen up that nasty junk in his lungs and hopefully help him breath a little better at night.

It just breaks my heart to see my little boy so uncomfortable. He hasn't been himself in over a week...I just pray the albuterol helps him get some rest during the night...but then again I could have a wild monkey on my hands tonight. ha!