FCCC Baby Shower Pics

I never got around to posting any of the pictures from the shower at the Freede Casa back in February! Shame on me, because it was SUPER cute, and the hostesses were some super important ladies in my life! Here it is (was):

Introducing: Missy -aka- "Puppy"

Brian stumbled upon an ADORABLE little black lab pup about 2 months ago and couldn't help but to bring her cute little whimpering butt home to the Bradford Casa. We resolved ourselves to clean her up, feed her, get her checked out, and find a suitable and loving home to send her to. Well um...we found the PERFECT home...right here with us :) She and Kerbey have become BFFs, no lie. They play together in the back yard NONstop all day long. They each eat out of their own bowls but take turns with the water bowl. They snuggle up close in their bed every night. When Missy gets in trouble, she scurries over to find comfort nuzzled up in Kerbey's side. Kerbey has potty-trained Missy, taught her how to sit, how to play tug of war, how to dig holes in our yard (we're working on that one)... basically, we just could NOT bear to remove Kerbey's new best friend from her life. She would be crushed.

So...here's introducing Little Missy "Puppy" Bradford! Aren't they presh!?

Avery's FIrst Zoo Adventure (kind of...)

Last week, Brian, Avery and I took a trip to the zoo here in Tyler, like we've been meaning to do since we moved here a year and a half ago! I was thrilled to have the opportunity to get some sun (which I desperately needed, as you will see in the pics). Here are some pics from out little adventure :)

Nesting...FINALLY!!

We are AT HOME IN TYLER for the weekend! WOOHOOOOO! It has been FAR too long since we were able to just relax and enjoy our home together for an entire weekend without loading up the car and heading out of town. And we're pumped about it. We worked out this evening, came home and enjoyed some of Brian's DELISH gourmet pizza, and now we're just lounging on the couch...in our pjs...enjoying some QUALITY March Madness action.

Our plans for the wknd consist simply of hanging out at home, playing with the dogs, trying some yummy new recipes, cleaning, organizing, and enjoying eachother's company! I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my weekends with...and I am SO excited to be able to enjoy this one at home :)Just thought I'd spice this post up with a pic of my fav person in life :)
Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

Baby on Board!!!

Exciting baby news!!

Our good friends Jacob & Micaela are expecting!! yahooooo!

and...

Our good friends Justin & Kendall are in Ethiopa AS WE SPEAK picking up their baby boy, Ewan...who they have been waiting on for OVER A YEAR!!! Super. Pumped.

Bordo and & Gina are prego!! Bryce is gonna be a big bro! They totally lied to us on Sunday morning about it too...and Bordo's face turned PURPLE when we asked about it... good sign of a good man- a TERRIBLE liar :) Congrats to all of you guys!! We love you and you're in our prayers!

Random Sidenote: I just found out that a girl I played soccer with/went to high school with is due the day before me and they're naming their little girl Avery too! Weird.

Cake Bakin'

So I broke down at the gas station the other day. I had to grab some milk because we were out (I can't live without my daily glasses of milk!)...and as I made my way to the drinks...my eye caught a DELICIOUS looking box of yellow cake mix! So anywho- I broke down and bought it and have been planning on baking a layer cake and icing it with yummy chocolate icing! I wanted to do some kind of mini cake in some kind of fun shape. I have a giant heart cookie cutter, so that's what I went with and um...it was...fun :) But it definitely doesn't look all that awesome. I was thinking that it would prob look WAY better if I dressed it up with some strawberry slices or something...but I don't want to waste my strawberries :)

So all that to say- I love to bake, and I always think, "I could totally do that," when I see awesome decorated cakes. Um... apparently it's a lot harder than it looks to make a cake look super impressive.

Still tastes DAAANNNNNG good though :)

Baby Letters

Painting Avery's letters for her wall... and having a blast doing it. BUT- hoping it actually looks okay once it's all up there! I'm done with the "A", but it needs a little something else...still workin on it :) I'll have pics before too long :)

Mutton Bustin'

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

I have discovered my new fav part of the Houston Rodeo. Mutton Bustin' has replaced the "Hard Luck" competition as my FAV entertainment of the night! If you have never seen 5 and 6 year olds strap on a helmet and some chaps, hop on the back of a sheep, and hold on for dear life is the sheep sprints across the arena, you MUST check out the video below. Because it is HILARIOUS. And SO adorable :) And PS- The kids volunteer to do it, so no one is forced....I was slightly concerned about this initially.)

To Shampoo or NOT to Shampoo?

Okay... so I used to be a daily hair-washer. With as much as I workout/play outside/sweat, I figured it was just DISRESPECTFUL to those around me to go a day without a good shampoo. Well, in the last couple of years I have learned to refrain from the daily dose and have embraced more of an every-other-day approach to hair-washing. (I learned this from one of my fav college roomies who washed her hair MAYBE twice a week...the little grease-ball). Anyhow- I have found that for me, despite a teeny bit of extra grease factor, less really IS more when it comes to shampooing. My hair stays a bit shinier, sheds less, and feels thicker and healthier when I skip on the shampoo every other day or so. Check out this article and decide for yourself!!

Soapbox

So I had a training assessment tonight with a traumatized woman. She joined the gym a few months ago and injured herself pretty badly while stepping off the treadmill. She's 61 and was already SEVERELY uncomfortable in the gym with all of the "young fit kids" that work out at Premier.

So anyway- she started out really defensive/closed off/straight faced...out of embarassment. But we eventually broke the ice and she was able to see that I was there ONLY to help her. I was pumped when I finally got her to smile and let loose, and then all of a sudden- she started CRYING on me! She said she was just SO appreciative and SO happy to feel comfortable and ABLE. It was so sweet.

That is ABSOLUTELY one of my favorite parts of my job. I LOVE doing sessions with people who feel completely uncomfortable and nervous to be at the gym...so much so that they are willing to risk their health just to NOT be embarassed by how out of shape they are.

This lady 100% needs to workout, and needs a trainer's help to do it, for the sake of the rest of her life! She has probably just heard TOO many times people whispering about "how fat that lady is", "how gross she looks", "how do people let themselves get that way? ew!" blah blah blah...

SAD!!! How about, "good for her! She's trying to make some changes!" So think twice before you comment about someone else that you know NOTHING about. It can be really traumatizing for them. And can have a terrible effect on their health. :( It breaks my heart! And believe me, I've been guilty of it (unfortunately)...but I have become SO much more aware of how ignorant that kind of thinking is. And how NOT nice.

K- that's my soapbox, and I'm off now :)

Calling All Moms...

Okay all you mommas out there, I need your help! Brian and I are finishing up with all of the things we'll need for Avery's arrival. I've been scouring Craigslist for the last week, but I'm not totally sure what I should even be looking for. One of the things that we DON'T have yet is a baby swing. We have a little rocker swing that sits on the floor, but we don't have a big swing that she can lay in and swing front/back or side/side and listen to soothing music. We've been told that this is a MUST bc it's great sleep-time for baby :)

Are there any other items that you ABSOLUTELY would not have been able to live without? I'm talking 100% essentials here, not just GREAT products that were pretty helpful, but... you know when I mean. If you could only have one or two things...what would they be?

Alrighty- enlighten me!

Pudge!!

Pudge is an Astro!!! According to my hub, it's official. However, according the Astros website, his "officialness" is still impending and DEpending on the results of his physical.... so basically,
Pudge is an Astro!!! And I'm pumped about it :)

D-Tizzy

First off- Happy bday to Bethany & Kayla!!! :)

Spent the weekend in Dallas...sort of. Here's the breakdown:

Friday-3/13

Headed to Dallas to meet up with Kayla/Nug/Lance/Heather, then realized that Hurst is not Dallas, missed the movie, headed to Denton, back to Dallas for bday dinner with the gang, and back to Denton again to stay the night with Noah & Kayla (not Agan).

Saturday-3/14

Woke up, went to grab some brunch with hubling bc Noah apparently does not eat...he keeps not ONE morsel of food in his apt. Headed back to Noah's apt, showered up, watched Tiger finish his round and headed to Irving to meet the Freede/Agan/Girod clan for a Hotel Bday Party! Thoroughly enjoyed red velvet cupcakes, opened presents, chatted, laughed, ate some delish "gourmet southwestern cuisine", almost ate some ramen noodles instead (long story) and then left Dallas. Decided NOT to leave Dallas, stayed with Brian's sis Amy instead, slept GREAT.

Sunday- 3/15

Woke up, ate YUMMY breakfast at Barbec's (yummyyy beer biscuits!), chilled with Ames, drove to McKinney to drop B off at the golf course, and headed out to kill time until 630. Went to the coolest mall ever, tried to see a movie but none of the times worked, so bought a couple books, did some reading, did some shopping, ran some errands, got lots of pregnant-girl attention, looked @ baby stuff, then picked Brian up again to head to Tyler.

FUN weekend. LOVED seeing Nug/Cody, Kayla/Lance, & Dougie/Vickster! AND Noah/Kayla (not Agan). AND Amy Lynn Bradford :)

But...good to be home.

Oh, and btw- LOVING this sunshine!

Off to Dallas...

...to see Kayla & L and Cody & Nug for their b-days! Plus...I haven't seen Kayla since the bump really started bumpin' It has been NON STOP RAIN here in Tyler for the last 3 days and it's showing NO sign of slowing...so throw up a prayer for some nice weather by Monday!

Everyone have a terrific weekend!

The Office

Brian and I have rejoined Netflix for the sole purpose of catching up on The Office. So far, we are through Season 2...and I absolutely cannot get enough! The show is hilariously awkward, and I pretty much love everything about it. It's clean (for the most part), it's awkward, it makes me chuckle and cringe all at the same time... Michael Scott could NOT make me feel more sorry for a person! Today is a super rainy yucky day and I'm PUMPED about it because it means more time with my friends at Dunder Mifflin!!! Bring it on :)

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Kind of awesome? Yeah....I thought so too :) I love bargains.

American Idol **Spoiler Alert**

YAY!!!! Matt AND Anoop are in!! Those AI Tricksters...they had B and me super bummed when we realized that there was only 1 spot left in the Top 12 and our 2 fav guys were left....

...and then Simon broke the TERRIFIC news that the Top 12 will ACTUALLY be a Top 13!! YAY!

Hump Day Happenings...

Today has been a GREAT day...and for many fantastic reasons :) It started with the weather... AWESOME. The sun was shining bright with few clouds to get in the way, and we reached 80 degrees here in Tyler, Texas!! That's my kind of weather, my friends. So, Brian and I sat in the back yard and played with the dogs for almost an hour, then played with our newly-discovered sprinkler system (which Kerbey is IN LOVE with, btw... Missy is another story, but maybe it'll grow on her). I'm pumped because maybe now our yard won't be brown and so crunchy that I can't even handle walking barefoot on it. Brian fertilized and watered the yard, attempted to deal with our weed-infestation, and then went to work out while I took a niiiice long nap! Talk about a TERRIFIC afternoon with the hub!

Today was also a super tremend day at work. I had 7 clients and was done by 11:30am!! If I could have it my way, I'd be booked all morning/every morning and be done by lunch time...but alas- I'll just enjoy my Wednesdays as that is my only perfect workday :) Hey- I'll take what I can get!

I spent my post-nap afternoon preparing some of Vickster's (aka-Mrs. Freede's) famous Apple Bread...but with a Bradford twist. You see, Brian and I have fallen in love with our juicer all over again. We realized that we have totally neglected our vegetable consumption (prob due to my terrible pregnancy cravings for carbs, chocolate, & cheese) so we've dedicated ourselves to one glass of yummy fruit/veggie juice a day! All of the shavings from the various fruits & veggies can be used for all kinds of things (Brian makes awesome omelettes with them)...but I have wanted to try to sneak them into bread or muffins for a while now...so tonight is the true test! I'll let you know how the bread turns out....all I know so far is that it smells DELECTABLE!

OH! And to top off my Happy Hump-day...my hub came home from the gym with a dozen red roses!!! And they're GORGEOUS! I love my hub <3 Now- it's time for some spinach/artichoke dip appetizer and eggplant parmesan for dinner. My hub is the best chef I know. How lucky am I!?

Baby Shower #2: Austin, Tx

I have been SO looking forward to heading to Austin for the weekend! On Friday, as soon as Brian finished his interview (we'll let you know how it went as soon as WE know!), we planned on packing up and heading to the ATX for some quality time in a quality PLACE with some super-quality people :) We ended up getting to Austin much later than we had anticipated, which was perfectly fine bc Nug hooked us up with a place to stay!

I must say that Code-Code and Nugling have done a great job decorating their cute little Round Rock Apartment. Brian and I LOVED the location, and the bed was ultra-comf too :) Thank you Nug for hosting us, hanging out, and just being awesome. I love you and miss you already!

Saturday morning found Brian and me at Barton Creek Mall. We indulged in some good ol' CPK (yummmm!), did a small amount of shopping, and then headed to Banana's for the shower! Our hostesses were the bomb and supplied us with delicious snacks, cute decor, an awesome diaper cake, and even some POOPY diapers!! We had a grand old time chatting, playing, and laughing the day away. We ended with some delish dinner at Chuy's with Nug, Cody, Riles, & Tbabe. It took forev, but it was GREAT to spend as much time as possible with some ppl we love!

Brian drove the entire way home while I slept most of it, so we were able to wake up in our OWN cozy bed on Sunday morning! Thanks hub, I LOVE YOUUUU :)

Thanks sooooo much Banana, Moo, & Tbabe. We absolutely loved the shower and LOVED getting to see all of you guys! Avery loved it :)

Teresa's IMPRESSIVE diaper cake :)
My pretty hostesses <3

Magen's home-made poopy diapers

Yeah...we had to smell them and guess what they were... YUM.

Two of my fav boys!!