The Penguin and The Lion

Isnt he such a little man!

Ok- I scare myself!

My adorable Penguin!

Hes penguin waddling sideways....

Have you ever seen a cuter penguin!

What a ham...that should be the next costume!

Well, its been a month now since Brads been deployed and 2 months more and a few weeks possibly to go. Bradley misses him so much(as do I very much). Its not everyday but he randomly shouts for him when he sees his truck in the driveway thinking hes home. He also randomly says "I want to talk to Daddy" or reminds me as hes reminding himself "Daddy still at work, Daddy still Bye-bye's" It breaks my heart so bad. One thing Bradley always does on a daily basis is pray for his daddy. Every night we say our prayers which include keeping daddy safe. Tonight out of nowhere at the dinner table he said "bow your head mommy" as he was folding his hands together and said "Lets say prayers" and he said our night time prayer at the dinner table! God is good and that is the best blessing to me as a mom. I know I can easily get overwhelmed and frustrated with him and I forget to see all the wonderful things in his little heart! So as we miss Daddy we send him care packages and sometimes it creeps up on me so we have to do a little photoshow to get some pics taken to include. This was Bradleys idea though, b/c earlier that day he found his winter hats in his drawers and put his lion hat on and roared and scared me (I had to act scared)! So here is the story of the penguin and the lion unfolding in pictures!

My Smiley Face Stinker

After we got home from the beach my little stinker picked right up where he left off. Creating Mischief. Recently I found a key jammed into my paper shredder which now I will have to replace. So yesterday as I am unpacking he sneaks into the toiletry bag and gets out his toothpaste and brush. Then a few minutes later I caught him in the bathroom like this! I normally keep the toothpaste up high and when it is time to brush his teeth since he is in the "I want to do it myself" phase I have to oversee him putting it on his brush then take it away. Brad will get a kick out of this as he says "Well, nothing gets past you MOmmy." Im sure its nice for him to think his son is in good hands, haha! Ive attached a video of him being caught!

Surf City, NC Trip

Playing Chase with David
Grandpop taking him in Deep

How cool can you get eating a cereal bar? Bradley COOL!
Swimming Surf City Style

How Perfect

Our Runner

Full of Life

Were back from the beach again! Bradley had so much fun with his cousins Matthew and David. I had so much fun too because, can you believe this....not one single fight! They were both so good with Bradley, they took care of him, played chase and wrestled and all sorts of male bonding was going on. Which is awesome since Bradley is about to get his world rocked in October! Brotherly love; we cant wait :) he had a few firsts on this trip to the beach too. Bradley finally let Grandpop take him into the deep ocean and he loved it. He also taught himself (with Matt and David's encouragement and expertise on their Tony Hawk Bikes) how to ride his tricycle. Prior he has almost had the pedals down but would always get annoyed and went faster doing it fred flinstone style. So proud of him! Now I just need to get him potty trained! A mother can only wish it would have happened in a different order. Enjoy the pics!

Still Going and Growing Strong!

Say "AHHHHH"

Fishy Face

Hi Everyone, Bradley and I are still here. I have just felt very overwhelmed lately with terrible two issues and just putting too much "running around" on my plate. Not that that is going to stop me since I am going to the beach this Wednesday- Saturday with my Dad and Step-mom. My nephews, Matthew and David will be there too so Bradley will be plenty occupied and have tons of fun! I have been able to talk to Brad on the phone several times and he is doing Great. Keeping busy and tired seems to be his routine also. Bradley gets to talk to him on the phone too and the both just love it! They talk about bad guys and superman and dinasours and a whole bunch of "guy" talk! Its so funny! My belly is growing at a rapid rate. I am 6 months pregnant with 98 days to go, but whos counting right? I started to get those gosh awful charlie horses again in my legs at night that I got with Bradley too. No fun at all! We still have no names picked out for our boy but for those of you who know us does that really surprise you! Im sure we will choose a month before hand and then lock in the middle name as we are filling out the birth certificate! Heres a few pictures. Bradley is a great photographer now and still doesnt like to be on the picture end of the camera so I had to start funny faces to get him to smile for Brad. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Happy Belated Fourth Of July! Faith and Freedom...

He loved his flashlight on the beach!

How Handsome!

Twirling Tea Cups! Warning- Dont try this pregnant!

Posing before he drives off!

Well, I must say I feel so blessed this fourth of July! I have a wonderful husband who is deployed and fighting for our nations freedom. Its easy to forget about 9-11 but to me it is still very relevant. Brad is making sacrifices for our nation because Freedom does not come FREE, and those who think it does don't deserve it! In all my excitement over the fourth I still didnt take Bradley to see fireworks on the day of the fourth. In Myrtle we took the kids to a place called "Broadway at the Beach" for amusement rides and then a small fireworks show. The ride part was great but Bradley didnt care too much for the fireworks. He buried his head in my shoulder and wouldnt look at them. When they were over he looked up in the sky and said "Yeah, all done!" as he clapped! What a little goober! What really made my actual fourth is hearing from Brad. He called in the middle of the night on the fourth to wish me and Bradley a happy fourth of July and tell me he was Proud of Me! How sweet considering I felt it was the other way around! Here are some pictures of our night of fireworks and rides! We set some off on the beach too and Bradley thought those were different. He said "Wow, Cool, I not scared of Fireworks mommy!" So, I anticipate next year for him to be very mature about them and hopefully Brad can be with us! Also, Remember God this fourth of July...Our nation was founded on Independence Day based on the bible and God's principles. You can only truly have Freedom with God in your life! "I will be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified or discouraged; for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go." Joshua 1:9. Let this be your Shield of Strength that sets you free! God Bless!

Myrtle Beach July 09

This is what a week at the beach does to a 2 yr. old

He says "I LOVE THE OCEAN"

My oldest bro, Nathan, aka Bubba and me 6 months pregnant

Giggling with his Cousin, Allison

Who says you just relax at the beach? Its Work!

Carefree Summer Days!

Catch me if you can!

Surfing for Daddy! Look how he fell asleep in his stroller (his hand)

Splashing Away!

Our big vacation at the beach was fun but bittersweet since Brad couldnt share it with us. Bradley was hesitant the first day and we had to bring a big tub of water up for him to cool off in the sand and play. He wanted nothing to do with getting near the shore. Then we just sat with him and by the end of the week he was walking through waves up to his chest without falling! I even caught him jumping and splashing saying "I love the Water, I love the ocean." He experienced many first at the beach too, first boogy board ride, first time holding a fireworks "sparkler", first amusement park ride, and he won a game and got a prize and said "I Won!" We both enjoyed our family so much and I loved catching some rays and just seeing Bradley so happy at the beach! My family has more pics I think, my mom took some of me and Bradley at the beach but it is hard to get him to sit with anyone for a posed picture so the above is what I ended up with! We are glad to be back home but since he loved it so much and summers seem to go by so fast I think I am going to take him 2 or three days again this July when my Dad goes to Surf City, NC. Beach here we come again!