Not only is today Valentine's Day but it is also catch up on the blog day. I am going to play catch up with pictures.
This year we had our first white Christmas in Charlotte since 1947! Here is Brigham enjoying his cozy coupe as the snow started.
Here it is on December 26th. Brigham was very unprepared clothing wise for such cold weather! This coat is a little too small and I think it is actually a girls coat because I noticed flowers on the tag when I took it off him. Poor thing. The hat was also a little snug but it kept him warm and I was a little better prepared for our 2nd snow.
I had to get a picture of Christmas lights and snow! Definitely may not happen again for a very long time.
We spent New Year's eve at home with Daniel and Katelyn. After putting Brigham to bed, Katelyn and I watched Mark and Daniel play Call of Duty Black Ops until about 11:50pm. I think we ended up just reading while they played. We rang in the new year with Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve and then Mark began to really complain of abdomen pain. He had been feeling bad since the night before and just as Daniel and Katelyn were about to leave, Katelyn suggested it could be his appendix. So at 12:45am we got in the car and I drove him to the VA Hospital in Salisbury. It was about 40 minutes away. We got there and they did some x-rays and ran some tests and it was determined that he was severely dehydrated. They told him to drink lots of water and to come back on Monday if he was still in pain. We were home by 4am and that was after a stop at Wal-Mart. I would be happy to go to the VA Hospital any time if we can always get in and out so fast!
For Mark's 30th birthday I surprised him with 3 days at a cabin near Pigeon Forge with some friends and family. The surprise didn't go off as I had hoped because I had to tell him about the surprise the day we were leaving so that he would definitely go because he was still in pain and extremely nauseas. Originally the reason we were going to go to the mountains was to meet my aunt and uncle for a couple nights and the day we were to leave Mark told me he wasn't going to go if he still felt bad. He later told me that he would have gone anyways. So who knows. I was disappointed that I put all the work into a great 30th birthday surprise and it didn't get to go off as I hoped but either way Mark was surprised. Everyone met at our house at 1 and we drove to the cabin. Five minutes after leaving Melanie and Kenny diagnosed Mark with gall stones. Everyone had internet on their phone so at some point or another almost everyone was researching gall stones as we drove. Daniel said he had a cure that included drinking a drink made with grapefruit juice and some other things. Mark woke up on Monday feeling a tiny bit better and after his birthday dinner at Johnny Carino's we stopped for some epsom salt and he drank a glass of epsom salt water when we got back to the cabin. Before bed that night, he passed most of the gall stones. HALLELUJAH! Tuesday morning we all packed up and headed home. We all had such a good time and have declared that it needs to become a yearly tradition. I got 3 pictures the whole time we were there. Two were of the view from one of the decks and one was of the cabin name. I wish I would have gotten pics of people in our balcony hot tub, playing the Wii (super mario bros 3 was the star of the show and everyone took turns playing), meals together, ect. Those that were there were: Melanie, Kenny, Madison, Daniel, Katelyn, Nate, Scarlett, Carolina, and Mark, Brigham, and myself.
On January 9th and 10th we got more snow! It was then coated in ice and the city was shut down for nearly a week. I still didn't have a good coat for poor Brigham but he did have a better fitting, better looking hat to wear this time. I put lots of layers on him to keep him warm for the 10 minutes we were outside. The kid loves eating snow. Whenever he would see it on the car, ground, anywhere; he would reach out to get some to eat.
This is the second time that Brigham has fallen into his toy box reaching for a toy. The first time was a couple months before and funnier but I didn't get a picture of it so I jumped at the opportunity when I saw this scene unfolding.
Here is Brigham doing one of his favorite things; playing on the phone and sitting in his rocking chair. I love seeing him rocking in his chair and he sits in it often.
He has also turned into a bit of a picky eater. He isn't a fan of fruits (except mandarin oranges and squeezable apple sauce) or vegetables or meats. He will eat them occasionally but not regularly. He does love mashed potatoes. They are also great for helping him learn to feed himself with a utensil. When we have potatoes they end up all over him and anything surrounding him. It is always fun to watch! He also loves pasta and spicy foods. He is such a funny boy.
On January 24th he had a doctor's appointment for his 15 month well check. We were a month behind so he was 16 months for the appointment. Here are his stats:
Height: 31 1/2 inches
Weight: 23lbs 4oz
Head circumference: 48cm
He loves milk, water, protein shakes, and Clif bars. I am so grateful for Clif bars because at least he is getting some nutrients since he won't eat those fruits and veggies!
On the night of the 24th we had fhe at Nate and Scarlett's. They had clams they brought back from their weekend in Florida. They were nice enough to share with everyone. I of course couldn't bring myself to eat them. Brigham was eating a chocolate brownie Clif Z bar and once he saw the cocktail sauce for the clams he had to dip his bar in it. We tried to keep him from ruining his Clif bar but eventually gave up. Well that crazy kid loved it so much that he couldn't get enough and I have never seen him eat so fast.
Last week Brigham began stacking his blocks completely on his own. He has always brought his blocks to us for us to build a tower for him to knock down. I was so excited when he began doing it all on his own. He was able to stack all of the big blocks before it fell. It has been so fun watching him. He is such a good kid and so much fun! He is cuddly and sweet. He doesn't say any words now but will shake his head yes and no and he will say no sometimes. When he is thirsty he will take your hand and lead you to the refrigerator and when he is hungry he will take you to the pantry. We miss him saying amen at the end of prayers but someday he will be talking so much it drives us crazy. ha ha.
Brigham has gone to nursery at church 2 times now and he does so well. He loves it in there and I love that he is in there. I miss him a little but it is so nice being able to stay in YW the whole time and also Sunday School.
As for Valentine's day this year, I made Mark this little padding thing for his XBox head set and gave him a card. He wrote me a really sweet email and made a steak dinner. Daniel and Katelyn came over for dinner with us and the boys then played Back Ops for a couple hours. Lucky for us they ended at about 8:45 and we had the rest of the night with them.
Here it is on December 26th. Brigham was very unprepared clothing wise for such cold weather! This coat is a little too small and I think it is actually a girls coat because I noticed flowers on the tag when I took it off him. Poor thing. The hat was also a little snug but it kept him warm and I was a little better prepared for our 2nd snow.
We spent New Year's eve at home with Daniel and Katelyn. After putting Brigham to bed, Katelyn and I watched Mark and Daniel play Call of Duty Black Ops until about 11:50pm. I think we ended up just reading while they played. We rang in the new year with Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve and then Mark began to really complain of abdomen pain. He had been feeling bad since the night before and just as Daniel and Katelyn were about to leave, Katelyn suggested it could be his appendix. So at 12:45am we got in the car and I drove him to the VA Hospital in Salisbury. It was about 40 minutes away. We got there and they did some x-rays and ran some tests and it was determined that he was severely dehydrated. They told him to drink lots of water and to come back on Monday if he was still in pain. We were home by 4am and that was after a stop at Wal-Mart. I would be happy to go to the VA Hospital any time if we can always get in and out so fast! 
On January 9th and 10th we got more snow! It was then coated in ice and the city was shut down for nearly a week. I still didn't have a good coat for poor Brigham but he did have a better fitting, better looking hat to wear this time. I put lots of layers on him to keep him warm for the 10 minutes we were outside. The kid loves eating snow. Whenever he would see it on the car, ground, anywhere; he would reach out to get some to eat.
