Introducing Bradee Lynn...

SHE'S HERE!!!!!! Just under 2 weeks early, born October 25th at 5:15pm. She was 7 lbs and 13oz and 20" long!!! AND PERFECT!!!! The doctor said she's perfectly healthy!! PRAISE GOD!!!! That's what I've (and many of you - thank you) have been praying for!!!! She is a perfect angel!!!

Here she is from yesterday!! Isn't she beautiful?? (Yes, I'm biased, but she really is!!!!)



There is absolutely no denying she's a Boyd - especially in this picture!! She looks JUST like her daddy and Grandpa Boyd!! WOW!!! It's unreal!!! :)


The first family picture!!! I cry every time I look at it because I see the tears in Mike's eyes and I see how much Shannon went through!!! It was a hard labor for her. 15 hours of tough labor and over 2 hours of pushing. But she did it all by herself without any drugs!!! Shan, you're AWESOME!!!!!

Here are some pictures from today!

Here she is with her Grandma (Pat - Shannon's mom)!!! She doesn't look TOO happy does she?!?!? :)

What's a matter punkin? You look like you smelled something bad!!!! LOL!!! :)

The very proud (and tired) parents!!!!! :)

Shannon said she's Mike Tyson!!! It was hard for her, bless her heart!! Her eyes are black and blue today from pushing so hard. They were swollen and starting to go down now!!!

Sis - I think you look gorgeous!!! I'm SOOO proud of you!!! You did it exactly like you wanted to and brought your precious daughter into the world (and gave me my first niece!!!!) I love you!!!

And here she is - just as beautiful as can be!! So soft and sweet!!! How I wish I could be there, punkin, to kiss those soft cheeks!!! I'll be there 30 days from today. It seems like a lifetime!!!!

And anyone who knows me, knows I have a weakness for baby toes!!! So of course I had to have a picture of them!!! Can't wait to kiss those piggies!!!!! :)

Happy "Birth"day Bradee Lynn!!! You are loved by so many people and our prayers have been answered!!! xoxoxo

A Thousand Words Thursday

(In memory of Mason's first lost tooth! It was the exact same tooth that Syd's losing!!!)

My baby....

...has her first LOOSE TOOTH!!!! WAAAA!!! I know it's silly, but to me, that's the last sign of being "little"!!!!! I just can't believe it!!! Mason started later than this so I was really surprised.

We were sharing an apple and she started crying saying her tooth hurt. I looked and sure enough - loose!!!! She BAWLED!! I think it was a combination of pain and fear. She didn't know what to make of her tooth being loose!!! Poor thing! But then she got all excited and called everyone she knows!!! LOL!!!

(Caution - unattractive picture that I will probably be killed for when she's older!!! LOL!!!!)


But we capture everything else on camera - thought we might as well get this. If you click on the picture, you can see of the two front teeth - the one on your left is poking out a little bit.

*Sigh* Where has my baby gone?!?!?! I'll be sure to post a pic once it's out!

A Thousand Words Thursday...

Me and my baby bean...

Seeing Sarah and Julia made me think of this picture and knowing EXACTLY

how she is feeling!! And I can't wait for Shannon to have this!!

It's like nothing else in the world!!

(And of course for you too, Mike. But it's impossible to describe how a mother feels

after she brings her child into the world!!!)

So precious...

Syd and I went to her school last Tuesday night for a Writing Workshop!! They taught the parents how to allow the kids to write how they hear things and not to spell things for them but to ask them what sounds they hear in the words. They showed the kids how to draw a picture on the left and write about it on the right side.

This was Syd's first entry that night. It warmed my heart and I know how Mike and Shannon will feel about it!! :) Sydney is SUPER DOOPER excited about getting a girl cousin. How I wish the kids could grow up near each other. But we'll make the best of it!!

The two pages...


Here is Syd and Bradee holding hands. Syd on the left and Bradee on the right. Note how they are holding hands and how Bradee is dressed like a baby and Syd like a kid!! :) I love her details!!!

Her entry reads "Bradee is my friend. Me and her hold hands at the park." (Let me tell you how hard it was not to correct the "me and her"...lol!!!!!)

Love it!!! :)

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

Well on a Jet Blue plane, I should say!! :) WE ARE GOING TO FLORIDA!!!!!!! :) Mason, Sydney and I are going to FL for Thanksgiving!!! Bradee is due November 5th, so even if Shannon went late (sorry Shan), she will still be here by Thanksgiving! :) Rex always goes hunting over Thanksgiving, so the three of us are headin south!!! Here's the coolest part (this trip was MEANT to be)!!! Rex drives by Dulles on his way to hunt, so he is dropping us off at the airport Wed night. We were going to stay until Sunday, but saved about $300 to stay till Monday (twist my arm...lol). The kids are off of school from Thursday through Monday - so it's PERFECT!! Rex is picking us up on his way home Monday morning!!! It's literally perfect. So then, we called AMEX (our biz credit card) and we had enough points to save us $700 off our tickets - can you BELIEVE that? When all was said and done, the three of us are going to FL for $290!!!!! Isn't that awesome??

Now, if we can just stand the wait until 11-26!!! :) Well, we are getting ready and the kids and I started a countdown!! It's made it real and fun to count down!!!

Sydney writes in a journal and here is her entry tonight!! :)

(It says "Us in the plane on our way to Florida. I hope we have fun in Florida.") :)

We are so excited!!! We have a very exciting event before that (Bradee's birth of course), but we can't WAIT for 11-26!!!! :) We were blessed to go to FL for their wedding and to go again in the same year!!! YAY!!!

A Thousand Words Thursday...

If you don't know Rex and Sydney, this is going to look strange to you (maybe it does anyway - lol)!!! These two have a very special and kooky relationship. They are constantly goofing around!! I have NO idea how they even discovered this "thing" they were doing!!! Syd is SUPER flexible and she's always twisting herself into weird positions!! :)

Anyway, this picture made me smile today. It just captured something for me. Look at how she's looking at him. Warms my heart... There were actually a bunch of these pictures and they were so silly, but this one was my favorite!

Ok, so much for the picture speaking for itself...lol...but you have to admit this one needed to be explained!!! ;)

Sorry, but I have to brag for a few minutes...

Anyone who knows me, knows how VERY proud I am of both of my kids. They are both amazing kids!! That's not the brag though... ;)

I knew Syd was going to do well in Kindergarten. She is so smart and really advanced for her age. She's been reading for a while now (maybe 6+ months)!! She amazed us by just picking up a book one day and saying "I can read" and SHE COULD!!!! :)

Well last week her teacher called us at home. Unfortunately I wasn't home so she talked to Rex (man, I always miss the good stuff...lol)! Apparently her teacher decided to have her reading skills tested. We didn't even know she was going to do that. She went and sat down with the "tester" and the woman opened the book and Syd took off. She said she never hesitated, just started reading and doesn't use her finger to point at the words. Well, it turns out our little girl is already reading at...an END of SECOND GRADE, beginning of THIRD GRADE level!!!!! WHOA!!!! We knew she was doing great but we had no idea it was that far. I could have absolutely burst with pride!!! :) WOW!!!!

So her teacher went on to say that she believes Syd will end up in a gifted program just based on how she learns - she picks things up very quickly and retains a LOT!!! Whether that happens or not, who knows (I never wanted my kids to be in a gifted program but I also would never want to hold them back)! Regardless, we didn't share this news with her or Mason, because we don't want them to know. Everybody knows she can read and that's all they need to know. I don't want to put any pressure on her or make Mason feel any less than he is (if that makes sense)!! Sooo, if you see them - PLEASE don't talk to them about it!!!! :)

The teacher went on to say how much she adores having Sydney in her class and that (even though she shouldn't say it), she's her favorite. She said how Syd is so kind to the other kids and will sit and help them if they get stuck on something. She said Sydney just brightens her day and she loves it when she comes in!! I imagine she walks in everyday with a smile on her face!! :) My girl has the sweetest soul! I pray she never changes!!! I'm so proud of her!!!!!

Anyway, thanks for letting me brag. I can't help it!! :)

Here are a couple pictures of her before school one day last week!!! She looked so darn cute!! :)

Love you my beautiful bean...