Finally!!

Finally have the new blog up & running! Check it out:
www.bamabrood.blogspot.com

ENJOY!! :)

Moving On

Sadly, this will be my last post as a “Murfreesboro Momma.” Greg & I will be moving out on Saturday, and I will start a new blog as a "Bama Mama" for our Alabama adventures (stay tuned for the link).

I wanted to pay tribute to our house on Foundry Circle, as it has been such a spot of growth & happiness for us. We moved in in February of 2007, and I was 3 months pregnant with Nate. They say you always remember your first love….well, I feel that way about our first home.

There are SO many things I will remember….in no particular order:

-Bringing both kids home from the hospital

-Having Abby sleep in our closet as a newborn b/c she was grunting so much (don’t judge me; I was exhausted)

-Watching Nate do “ski arms” running around our coffee table

-Both kids running to the back door every night as they heard Daddy come home from work

-Building forts

-Greg falling asleep EVERY night on the rug after dinner, while the kids jumped all over him

-Converting Nate’s room from a nursery to a “big boy room”

-Seeing Nate at the top of the stairs, waiting for me, every morning & after every nap

-Taking “first day of school pictures” by the front door

-Christmas 2009 here – the first Christmas I’d been in my own house on Christmas morning. Abby was 6 weeks old and our families came to us.

-Handyman Bob – did a lot of repairs/updates over the years and saved our marriage in the process J

-Listening to Greg cuss about the grass, constantly

-Becoming an expert painter after painting almost every room in the house

-Cooking dinner downstairs and hearing the kids play hide-n-seek upstairs

-Closing the garage door and playing in the garage during winter

-Watching Elmo, the Wiggles, and Toy Story on repeat

-Spending countless hours at my “scrapbook station”

-Witnessing both kids’ first steps (Nate’s – in the living room, wearing a soggy diaper and Abby’s – in the kitchen, wearing her zebra pants)

We really lucked out in landing in this neighborhood (as Greg likes to remind me…HE found it)! I have grown to love so many of my neighbors as best friends, and my kids have been equally as lucky. I will miss our driveway parties (after the kids go to bed), stomp rocket contests, the bike gang, playing outside every day and always having an adult to talk to/commiserate with, having a 3^rd child in Mallory, waterslides & waterblaster fights, and being able to call up a neighbor at 11 pm to come sleep here with Nate b/c I was going into labor with Abby (thank you Stacey!).

We make our friends. We make our enemies, but God makes our neighbors.

-G.K. Chesterton

I was not completely thrilled upon finding out back in 2005 that we were relocating toMurfreesboro, TN for Greg’s job. To be honest, I’d never heard of the place. And of course I was sad to leave NC….the only place I’d ever known. I’m happy to say though, I have really loved living in Murfreesboro, for so many reasons….

-The proximity to Nashville

-Our kids were born here

-The friends we’ve made

-Our neighborhood

-The greenway & all the parks

-Kohl’s! J

-My BFF

-Some of our favorite restaurants: Goodness Gracious, Miller’s Café, Five Senses, Ahart’s Pizza, and Pfunky Griddle

Dear First Home,

Thank you for all the memories. You will always hold a dear place in our hearts. We’ve loved you hard, torn you apart, and attempted to fix you up. We’ve killed your grass, worn out places in the driveway, and laughed our hearts out inside your walls. You truly are one-of-a-kind.

Love,

Murfreesboro Momma

R.I.P, Rosie!

Today, we say goodbye to a beloved family member....

"Rosie" has been with Greg almost as long as I have (minus about 2 months)! He first got her in October of 1999, and she has served us well. Actually, we were both getting a little sentimental about her last night. That car has been through so much with us! See below though, it was time....
We weren't sure Rosie would even make the 4 hour drive to Tuscaloosa, so we decided this was the time to trade her in. And luckily, my parents were ready to get a new car, so we are buying their old one! It's a red Honda Accord, and since my Dad is OCD about cars, it's in mint condition (Love ya Dad!) :)
We gave Rosie quite the send-off this morning, as Greg will take her to "junkyard" (as Nate calls it), tonight. And as Greg drove away, Nate yelled "Bye bye you junky car!!"

R.I.P Rosie!!!

Friday Funnies

Abby was serving me "pretend" drinks, which is usually milk or juice. This time, however, was different...

Me: Oh thank you Abby! What did you bring me?

A: Coca-cola!

Heading into the car one morning…

N: When I come outside and it’s hot, my brain feels crumpled up.

Me: Why’s that?

N: It’s from the sun. It has bad vitamins in it.

After putting on his new pirate costume….

Nanny: Nate, what’s your pirate name?

N: Pirate Givens!

Nate’s new way of introducing himself to kids at playgrounds now is “I’m Nathan. I'll be 4 in Alabama.” HILARIOUS.

I left the kids inside for a minute while I took out a bag of trash. When I came back in….

N: Mommy! Come here! Abby is soooo in trouble!

Me: What did she do? (as I see her hiding behind the coffee table)

N: She’s not pulling all the puzzle pieces out. She has something that belongs to you.

(I walk over to find her pulling every Kleenex & wipe out of the diaper bag)

Me: Abby! That’s a no no!

N: I told her no but I’m not mean enough.

For close to 2 years now, Nate has had two imaginary friends. He says their names are Gaudy & Horsedoe, and they are parrots. He does not talk about them much anymore, but this week, he brought them back up when we getting in the car to go run some errands...

N: Mommy, I brought Gaudy & Horsedoe with us!

Me: Oh good! Where are they?

N: In my lap. Gaudy is a Mommy and Horsedoe is a Daddy.

Me: Will you let Abby play with them?

N: No, they’re very little. Abby might eat them.

Party Time!

We decided to have Nate's 4th birthday party a little early this year (like, a month!) We wanted to do it up real big, before we move and he has to leave all his friends :( We rented out a bouncy place, called Jumper's Playhouse, and it was such a blast! Nate got to celebrate with his neighborhood friends as well as his playgroup friends and some extended family as well. He is quite a popular little guy!

After an hour of jumping, running, and sliding, we moved to the “party room” for pizza, drinks, cupcakes, and presents in the throne chair. The party theme this year was SPIDERMAN, and Nate could not have enjoyed himself more! He got some awesome toys & is SO lucky to have so many wonderful friends (who we will dearly miss)! Than you to all that came to celebrate our little man turning 4 – we love you all!

Before we'd even pulled out of the parking lot, "Captain America" insisted he put his mask on. I love this age! He is SO into dressing up/superheroes. Super cute!

(And btw, when did my little angel boy get old enough to be (almost) 4?! This makes me super sad. Crazy how quickly he's growing up and changing before our very eyes. He is such a special kid and we just love him to pieces!!)

Friday Funnies

One morning, on the way to the gym….

N: I love going to the gym!

Me: Well, I’m glad to hear that. Why do you like going to the gym?

N: Because I get to watch movies.

Me: Well I hope you play some too.

N: I play first and then I find a friend to watch a movie with and snuggle.

Mallory was telling/teasing Nate that she already bought his birthday present….

N: What did you get me?

Mal: I’m not telling.

N: I can guess what it is. I have a really good brain.

N: Mommy, do you know what happened to my toothpaste?

Me: No, what happened?

N: The top broke off. I hate that.

Me: Why do you hate it?

N: Because it keeps falling off. I just hate it so much. Can we get a new one?!

20 Months

Abby Reece is 20 months old today! Crazy that her age now has a "2" in front of it. As usual, she has kept us on our toes this past month. She is into anything & EVERYTHING....as curious as they come. Some highlights from her past month:

Our neighbors decided to shoot off fireworks both July 3^rd & 4^th, and Abby was not a fan. Well, the first night they started so late that she was already asleep, and managed to sleep through them. But on the 4^th, Greg was shooting some off and poor Abby had a DEATH GRIP on me the whole time & was burying her face in my shoulder. Pitiful. When I did put her to bed though, she managed to sleep through the finales. Praise the Lord!

Abby is doing lots of singing these days:

1) My personal favorite, her “Happy Song.” It’s real high-pitched and she just sways back & forth and says do-do-do-do. This happens many times a day.

2) Something that resembles her “ABC’s”

3) Her version of “Old McDonald” which goes a little something like this “E-I-E-I-O” (over and over and over) J

4) A song that N learned at school, called “A Tootie Tat”

Abby’s vocabulary has really exploded this past month. I made a list (big surprise) and she is close to 30 words! (Nate was still a bit mute at this age, so 30 is really huge to us!) Some of my new personal favorites:

-night night

-Elmo (pronounced “Mel-Mo”)

-mine

-baby

-no no

-thank you

-boo boo

-backpack

-bubble

-Nate

Abby is already such a little mommy!!! She love love loves babies, especially Baby Cole pictured below. She loves to get right up in his face and love on him. (And sometimes poke his nose & eyes, oops!)
Like Nate did at this age, Abby has started hiding in closets & behind curtains when she is dropping a load in her diaper. And when I go in her room to get her at naptime, if she has a poopy diaper, she’ll point to it and say “poo poo!” (Like, get this thing off me already. It’s disgusting!) I don’t think she’s ready for potty-training quite yet, but at least we’re headed in the right direction already!
Miss Priss had her first timeout this month. She was playing with N and all of a sudden he starts screaming. She had bit him on the calf….broke his skin & bruised him!!! It was bad. Surprisingly, when we put her in timeout, she stayed on the mat! And in true drama queen fashion, pouted pouted pouted.

Another thing we’ve really noticed this month is how fearless our “baby” girl is. I remember Nate being super shy around any kids his age, especially older kids. Well not Abby Reece. She can hang with the best of ‘em. I think she thinks she’s 5 instead of almost 2. She just marches up to big kids when we’re playing at the mall or a park, and starts playing with them. And surprisingly, she’s usually received pretty well. I love it.

The kids have really gotten into playing hide-and-seek lately, and Abby is pretty good at it! She loves to hide in the closets with me and say “Shhh” and whisper. Then when/if Nate can’t find us, she’ll starting saying “Bruba” real softly. Too cute! Other favorite games:

1) Chase Nate

2) Hide under a blanket with Nate

3) Ring-around-the-rosy with Nate

4) Peek-a-boo with Nate

5) Playing the “spinny game” in the computer chair with Nate

Are you seeing a common theme here?! Yes, Abby adores her brother and nothing makes me happier than to watch the two of them play together (for 5 minutes…then someone is usually crying)! J

Abby Reece, you are sweet & sassy and we think that is a perfect combination! We love you!