Baby Numero Tres!!

So.  We found out shortly after our trip to Hawaii (which took place back at the end of April, but I have yet to blog about) that we are expecting out third little nugget!  SUPER exciting news.  We have been pretty anxious over the last few months to find out the gender of this one.  I felt a little worse in the first tri than I did in my first 2 pregnancies with the gals, so a BIG part of me has been thinking "boy".  Plus, Avery can't stop talking about wanting a "baby brudder", EVERYONE in both of our families would LOVE to add a boy to the grandkid/niece mix... so... boy talk has been pretty normal around these here parts.

A great friend of ours (Angela Yancey, our FAV L&D nurse in the world/ wife of B's great college buddy) called us down into Dallas to do an early sonogram to find out the gender, because at my doc we weren't going to find out until almost 22 weeks along!  AH!  We have been praying for a boy for quite a while and basically just... NEEDED to know :)

So... on Wednesday, August 29th, we found out that we are expecting ....

Yes.  That is correct...another girl.  It will be 3 girls for the Bradford Familia... expected end of January 2013.  Woohoo!! Bring on the craziness & girl-drama!  :)  3 sisters... I can't lie...I'm pretty pumped to experience a lifetime of the 3-sisters dynamic, especially since I never had a sister myself!  And, I hereby declare my public permission for B-Rizzle to add a few man-outings each year!  Poor guy will NEED some extra man-time in his life :)  Best daddy ever.  And I have no doubt that ALL of his daughters will be completely in love with him for their wholllllle lives. :)

The Silly Gilly Gumble.

A few months ago, Avery became totally enthralled with scary stories. I literally have NO clue where this came from, as I am not a fan myself... especially when it comes to the munchkins. However, Avery created this scary story of her own that she would share with us ONLY while huddled on the couch, hiding underneath a big blanket w/ a flashlight. Goofy child. (Video coming soon. Child loves to perform.)

The main character of said "scary story" is a Silly Gilly Gumble. What is that, you ask? I have no friggin clue. But Aves & Cam talk about it all the time. Aves tells stories about it. They say that it's at our front door and they run & hide from it. Well...apparently, its scariness has worn off, because a couple of days ago as I was eavesdropping on the girls' naptime chatter, I heard them talking TO the SIlly Gilly Gumble. They were comforting him and telling him that it was okay, his mommy would feel him all better. Then, C-Lil dropped something, Aves asked the SGG to pick it up, and Cameron SHRIEKED with excitement, "Oh! THANK you Silly Gilly GUMBLE!!"

Toddler imaginations are quite hilarious. Always entertained around here :)

Fathers Day 2012!

The more life I experience, the more aware I become of what an amazing dad I have.  The Randster has been SUCH a massive blessing to me and to my bros.  He loves us so fully and tells us CONSTANTLY.  He taught us so many important life lessons, exemplified a life that honors Christ and loves people. He has served and provided for his fam with JOY for as long as my memory goes back. I am so thankful for the love, confidence, joy, passion, generosity, and kindness that he has taught me :) Love you sooooo much pops!!

On to my hub... B Riz is a special dude. A super awesome daddy.  Our little ladybugs are so BLESSED to get sooo much time with their daddy :)  He plays with them, wrestles with them, snuggles with them, reads to them, tucks them in at night, eats dinner with them, helps them with their prayers.  He teaches them how to throw and catch, disciplines them when it's needed, laughs with them, sings with them, dances with them...

He loves his daughters completely and I'll venture to say that they will NEVER have to wonder about the truth of that statement.  :)

I'm SO thankful for a guy who is such a tremendously AWESOME father to my babygirls! Love you B riz. You are the #1 man in our lives and you make all your girls super happy! :) Happy Fathers Day!!

5 Year Anni!!

B-Rizzle and I have been married for 5 terrific years :) Craziness. It has seriously been the bomb. Back when we were dating we thought life together would be absolutely perfect (minus a couple of annoyances that we'll live with until the day we die, ha)... despite all of the warnings that marriage is such "hard work". I'll agree 150% that it takes constant maintenance to keep the marital bliss workin', but man... I am super pumped about how FUN and enjoyable the past 5 yrs have been.

We celebrated the day by hanging out with our girlies all day long and then got a babysitter to head out to dinner & a movie that night (one of our fave things that we NEVER do anymore!) Loved it. Ps- Snow White & The Huntsman was pretty good...just fyi :)

Brian is the absolute perfect partner for me. I was never a believer in finding the "perfect person", I just figured you fall in love and make it work with someone as long as you're compatible and calling on Jesus :) Well... over the past 5 years, I have come to appreciate Brian more and more and more. He stretches me where I ABSOLUTELY need to be stretched. He has challenged certain beliefs of mine that most definitely needed to be challenged. He has neutralized some of my extreme characteristics and tendencies. And he handles the annoying parts of me with SUCH gentleness and love and grace that I literally can't believe he hasn't snapped on me at some point. I love that man beyond words and LOVE being married to him, making decisions with him, raising a fam with him, road-tripping w/him, hanging out with him every day... he's my bestie, my fave, and the person I trust more than anyone in the world! Love you, Boo. I look forward to the rest of our life together with SO much excitement and thankfulness. You are awesome and I love you mucho. Thanks for EVERYTHING :)

We Have Visitors!! :)

Magen & Aaron arrived yesterday for a little weekend visit. The girls are superpumped to hang with their buddies! They still talk about being flowergirls in their wedding back in March. They were totally diggin some Princess Storytime last night.

So was Aaron. Obvi :)

Averton is THREE!! :)

My leetle first born munchkin is now a 3-year-old. Cressy. GOSH I miss her little baby moments, her baby noises, her mis-pronunciations of a million different words, her hilarious toddler grammatical errors... but I am loving watching her become a big girl. My first born, I love you so so so so so soooooo much :) Had SO much fun celebrating you today and making you feel super special.

We started the day off with breakfast cinnamon rolls (as Aves calls them), made cupcakes (her fave), opened presents, went to Gattitown (per the bday girl's random request), and got frozen yogurt! Terrific day letting Averton boss us around :)

At Aves' party (a couple weeks after her actual bday!), she kept throwing her arms up in the air & telling us "Mom! Dad! This is the best birthday EVER!!" It SO was NOT. But she SO thought it was :) And that is 100% all that counts. We played at the playground, grilled on the egg, ate lots of watermelon & cupcakes, then splashed it up @ the splashpad & played in the pool. The kiddos were WIPED out afterwards...just the way we like it :) So thankful for a healthy angel nugget to celebrate 3 years with. Pics to come.

Guests @ Averton's Partay:
-Mommy, Daddy, C-Lil
-Big Poppy (Nonni in spirit!)
-Nana & Papa
-Aunt Amy
-Kelly & Carson
-Casey, Greg, Tatum, & Hank
-Alicia & Noah
-Jenny, David, Jake, & Sophia
-wayyy too many cupcakes
-scorching sun
-an unacceptable # of flies. ew.

HAPPY THIRD AVERY NICOLE CUTIE PATOOTIE!!

Floater.

Welp. It finally happened. Cameron released the dreaded floaters tonight during bathtime. It scared the CEE ARR A PEEEEE out the littles. They spotted them, jumped to their feet and huddled in the corner of the tub screaming...LITERALLY screaming as if they were about to be eaten alive...until I was able to scoop them up... haha. Don't worry, I SWIFTLY rescued them from the nastiness and rebathed them. Hilar/Sicknast. Ohhhhhhh little babies. You never know what to expect :)

Have you ever locked your kiddo in the car??

because The Bradfords have! When we pulled into our driveway after a fun Easter Camping wknd, we both hopped out, got CamCam and then when I closed Cam's door, our car did a weird beepy thing and went on lockdown. WEIRD. Thank goodness Shrek was keeping Aves happy for the next 20 minutes until our friendly McKinney firemen arrived to save the day! :) THey were super super sweet with Aves and really gracious to ME about locking my CHILD in the friggin CAR! haha... couldn't let that little gem slide by without some documentation. I'm sure Aves will use this one against us for the rest of our lives. We love you little nugget!!

God TV

One of the coolest moments I've seen on major network television... Last night we got to watch live as a dude fell to his knees to worship his Father. Thanks, Colton Dixon, for sharing that moment of worship with the massive nationwide erican Idol audience. Really super cool.

To Blog or Not to Blog...

We're all alive and doing super well over here at the Bradford Casa... I just haven't been taking the time to blog about it :) after numerous conversations that just randomly occurred with different groups of friends, I kind of staged my own personal blogging boycott. I just hear so often about how Facebook and Blogs are PRIME territory for amazing devoted super terrific females to compare themselves to the "Supermoms" and "Superchicks" of the world. It frustrates the LIFE out of me that the Evil one has the capability o take something as simple as a blog to create unrest/jealousy/self-loathing in the souls of God-serving and Jesus-loving ladies. Ya know? Anyway, after many a convo I found myself feeling kind of disgusted and totally turned off to the thought of typing up a post about my life. I asked myself, 'Why in the WORLD would I risk becoming a stumbling block to another gal?' Not that my life is glamorous by any...ANY means :) I have just been knd of battling that thought process. But then there's the other part of me that totally loves keeping track of the little things... Being able to go back and remember different phases of life/marriage/parenthood, remembering the little ways God has worked in our little life! Little moments of joy... And I think, 'I shouldn't let the Evil one steal my joy... There is no guilt where the motivations of the heart are pure...right?'. Ugh. I still don't know. But I DO know I have family who miss their little Bradford updates. So... An update on the last couple months and perhaps a return to my Life&Heart Virtually Documented are in the works. Time will tell. Still questioning the whole issue... But... I'll exit w a super happy thought... YAY FOR SPRING!!