We welcome our newest family member!

We welcome our newest son Logan, who is healthy and adorable! Welcome Logan Roo!

BUSTED!!!!!!

It was a quiet evening in the Smith house, well as quiet as it ever gets with an 18 month old. Against our better judgement we got in the mood to arrange our presents under the tree. Brady did such a good job at Carter and Will's house this weekend and did not bother any of their presents so we thought it would be okay. You have to wonder when it gets too quiet with the little guy, it usually means he is in to something. So, as I was saying it was a quiet night in the Smith house right before bed, and look what we caught in the act! I thought this photo was perfect. The look on his face is as good as those darn photo radar pictures we adults get!

the littlest angel

this important ornament is at the top of the tree where it will probably be every year we have curious little mitts around the house. my grandma betty gave me this ornament years ago. every christmas we would read the story of the littlest angel and then i would hang the ornament on grandma betty's tree. last year the ornament was given to me since i now had a little person to pass the tradition on to along with the book. i read the book to brady last year and hung the ornament with care. this year i have already hung the ornament but plan on reading the story to him christmas eve, keeping one of the many traditions that my grandma betty started alive, as promised. this year that littlest angel takes on a whole new meaning to me. one of good memories, love and happiness that i will cherish forever.

a good day with friends

today we spent a much enjoyable day with friends watching the CSU bowl game and thank god, they won. the holidays always make me pause and think how lucky brian, brady and i are to have lots of wonderful friends and family that surround us.

change is coming

Some of us will be last to know, but change is coming. We have tried our best to explain to Brady what is about to happen but he is only 18 months old. In only a few days we will be welcoming the newest member of our family into the world. As I sit and read to Brady, one of our favorite pastimes lately I can't help but think where will I find the time to handle two? Where will I find the time to do all the things I currently do with Brady with Logan? How will I find enough time every day to make sure they both know how loved they are? I know I will love both of my children, but how can I possibly love Logan as much as I love Brady? All I want is the best for both of my children and I am sure that every parent has felt the stress and anxiety of welcoming the 2nd. So if any of you have any tips or ideas to make this a smooth transition please let me know I will welcome all comments and tips!

the story of the singing snowmen

My Grandma lives on in spirit this holiday season. She gave me these singing snowmen four or five years ago. I put them out every year, I think they still have the same batteries in them from when I got them. Needless to say in the past they have not been able to exercise those vocal cords very much. Who would have known that this year we would have to listen to "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" multiple times a day. Brady will play with them forever and sing and dance along with them. It makes me smile each time I see him playing with them, because I know that my Grandma would have gotten a big kick out of it. PS Grandma can you get ready to share Logan sooner rather than later because I am really uncomfortable.... If I know you, you will make me wait until the 26th to hold him, but at least I know he is in good hands up there.

ooooh the weather outside is frightful!

It feels like we moved to Illinois! With a high of 15 degrees today and a low of below zero and snow falling all day......... needless to say the Smith's decided to not try and venture out today. We stayed in and played, colored, put together and destroyed our train track several times and watched the Bronco game. Mommy decided that she was going to bake those cookies after all. What are the holidays with out any cookies? Not to mention my excuse to indulge is quickly coming to an end with my due date 13 days away. So Brady helped mommy make some cranberry gelatin candy canes and ginger bread shaped treats (very sweet I must say.) We also made cornflake Christmas wreaths and frosted sugar cookies. Yum Yum! I promised Brady a cookie when he woke up from nap for being so good and helpful while Mommy baked this morning and from the looks of him when he was done, we will say he definitely enjoyed it. Now we are hunkering down for a warm evening inside. So much for that barometric pressure Meghan...... it hasn't worked yet!

taking the ba-hum-bug out of the season

So this year it is no secret I have been feeling a little on the Ebeneezer Scrooge side of the season for many different reasons. I was hoping that by putting up our Christmas tree I would get a little more into the mood. It has worked a little however it has brought on a whole new set of problems. Brady loves to pull ornaments off and bring them to mommy and then say elcome (Brady language for welcome.) Then there are the cats who constantly mess up the tree skirt and eat the fake green pieces that come off and then get sick. Funny how much your life changes in a year, last year we didn't have to worry about Brady getting into the tree. Enough of my negativity, I guess I am entitled a little being 37 weeks pregnant and still wondering how I am going to get everything done and give Brady the perfect Christmas that any little guy deserves. I know he still too little to understand anything that is going on so it is just me that will know if things are less than perfect. So if any of you are feeling a little on the ba-hum-bug side this year remember one thing. All the wonderful things that you have in your life and it is not about what you give or get but all about what you have!

daddy or santa?

So we set out today on a little adventure. Daddy agreed to help out Santa at one of his Keller Williams offices. Santa has way to many places to be all at once so Brian suited up for the cause. When we got there he was calling Brady's name and Brady was looking around for Daddy but could not find him. Finally Daddy gave him a little help as to his location and needless to say Brady is not a big fan of the man in the red suit. It even took him a little while to forgive Daddy later even when he was in his street clothes. At least we found out now before we stood in the hour line at the mall only to find out Brady would not sit on that Santa's lap either! Maybe next year! Tis the season! HO!HO!HO!

natural born salesman

I recently gave Brady an old cell phone to help aid with his obsession of mommy and daddy's. Now he walks around here talking on it all the time. I had to share with all of you because it is one of the many things he does right now that will make me stop and smile every time I see it. Love your silly personality peanut!

Just so all of you know when he says "hewoa", it is "hello". Wish I knew what else he was saying.

thankful for all the little blessings in my life

as we stood in front of my dearly departed grandma's house with the famous turkey i began to think about all the things i have to be thankful for. one is my wonderful family. even though we are dysfunctional we are still functional and who is perfect anyway, or for that matter who would want perfect. life's little imperfections make us who we are and are what create some of the best memories. looking at this picture now i can't help but think how lucky i am to have this wonderful little boy in my arms who at first was not to sure about the turkey, but was definitely curious. i am so lucky to have that little turkey in the oven too, although he is not looking to be so little anymore by the size of my stomach in this picture. if my belly button was a turkey thermometer then this little turkey would be done. like my first little man he will want to stay in there for as long as he can until i tell him it is time to come out. i am thankful for everyday god gives me with my family and friends for each day is truly a treasure. i love my life and i love to wake up every morning to see what it is going to bring me next.

thankful for snow....finally!

not really sure what this is?

mommy & daddy what is this?

daddy throwing little snowballs at me

getting a little more adventurous

completely covered and cold time to go in!

so we finally got some measurable snow here in denver after a long spout of unseasonably warm and dry weather. after a couple days of company and a nice afternoon nap today, we decided to venture out in the white stuff that brady woke up to this morning. all day he has been looking out the front window saying, "whoa". we bundled him up although i am a slightly unprepared mommy we have now winter boots, must get on that immediately, so our time was cut short outside because i was afraid his feet were too wet and cold. i know this isn't really his first snow, but in a way it is. last year he was too little to really appreciate the stuff. daddy carried him out and set him in the snow as he bent down for the first time and stood up to look at his snow covered mitten he said, "whoa" again. he was definitely baffled as to why he was having such a hard time walking in the stuff, we reassured him that will come with experience. it is finally beginning to look a lot like christmas here.

thankful for daddy

so i am totally copying a great idea off of my friend meghan. i can't help it she is full of so many! she started the thankful for blogging and i thought what a great idea the week of thanksgiving! brady and i are so lucky to have daddy in our lives. our unsung hero who gets up every weekday morning and goes to work to pay for food, diapers and fun. we don't tell him often enough how much we appreciate him. i know how much he would love to be at home with us everyday and how much he misses out on by not being able to. he is mister fix it around this house, constantly doing projects and when he is halfway through one i always am finding some other little thing i need fixed. truth being told he likes to do projects, but i don't think he would ever say it out loud. he is the best barbecue man and last night proved to be a pretty good smoker too! love to eat anything this man cooks, that is one of the reasons i fell in love with him over 6 years ago. he is always making brady and i laugh even if the situation is a serious one. i could go on and on and bore you all, so i will stop here and leave some stuff left unsaid. let this be known we are so thankful that daddy is our daddy and in our family, i know we could not make it with out you. love you daddy!

what a beautiful day to be at the park

we have been so blessed lately to have warm days into november here. brady loves to be outside and especially loves to go to the "ark" brady language for park. we had such a great time playing with our friends today and enjoying this last little bit of warm weather before winter finally settles in (if it ever does this year). a friend of mine has been blogging about things to be thankful for. so today i was thankful for nice weather, good friends and swinging of course!

WOW!

Daddy got the Christmas lights put up on Sunday while Brady and I spent time with family before they left town. When we pulled up to the house that night everyone in the car rolled down the windows and said "WOW!" When Brady got out of the car and went to investigate what daddy had done to our house he said, "WOW!" and continued to say it for the rest of the night. One of life's cutest moments ever. He really is going to enjoy all the lights during the holidays this year!

finding comfort in moments of sorrow

friday was a very emotional and difficult day for me. we laid my grandma to rest. most of the day i kept thinking to myself how sad i am for brady and for baby boy smith II in my belly that they won't remember their GG. they will know her only through the stories and pictures that we share. my heart ached most of the day because she was such a remarkable lady and had so much to share with my boys. i know I need to trust that i will be able to pass all of that along and let her memory live on for generations to come. while we were having my grandmas reception i couldn't help but notice brady in the corner of the family room playing with his papa (great grandpa adkins). i stopped and paused for a moment and then began to smile. even though he has lost the opportunity to grow up around one of his great grand parents and there is no way to replace her. he does have other living great grand parents that he will be able to learn from and share moments of his life with. a special thanks to all of my family and friends that day that helped me with brady so i could have time to grieve. i couldn't have made it through with out you.

another angel called home

early this morning god decided to call another one of his angels home. while i feel at peace knowing that grandma is no longer suffering i also feel great sadness and loss. i know she is in a better place now with her husband and her mom and dad. i know that she is much happier and is looking down on all of us right now trying to help us through this in her own way. i keep thinking if i sit still long enough i may be able to feel her comforting touch that i remember as a little girl. i am sad that i won't have my thursday ritual anymore of packing up brady and the car and heading over to GG's to visit. i am sad that brady did not get to say goodbye to his GG. i am sad that the little man in my belly will never get to meet her. i am sad that i will not get to see my grandmas little kid at christmas face wheeling through my hospital door after i give birth because she is so excited to hold the baby. my faith tells me that she will be here for all of the things to come in the future and will be watching over me and her great grand children every day. in a way i feel blessed i have my own personal guardian angel now. all i can do now is remember all the good times with grandma and when i am having a bad moment as a parent remember her words of encouragement every thursday. she would always tell me what a good job i was doing with brady, words i most definitely needed to hear. i will remember the home made mac and cheese she would make me, and yes it was better than the stuff in the box. i will remember that i got to watch soap operas with her, long before i should have as long as promised to cover my eyes when things got a little heated (if you know what i mean) between people. i will remember running through the sprinklers in her front yard, playing in her gardens and back field when i got to go stay with her on summer days. i love you so much grandma and will miss you dearly so if you are listening to all of this blow me a kiss from heaven i could really use it right now.

one tough old bird

it seems that my grandmother has inherited some of the spirit and toughness of the many birds she feeds at her small wildlife refuge at her house. she has encountered yet another speed bump in her long list of ailments lately. after a surgery to remove a stomach ulcer and the loving care of the extremely gifted nurses and doctors in the icu unit at luthern, she appears to be getting better. the doctors and nurses all keep reminding us that she has a long road ahead of her and a lot to over come given her current condition, but she is fighting and this morning we were told that her white cell count is down and that she is starting to over come the infection in her abdomen. it was wonderful news to get this morning since it has been my first call of the morning for the last couple of days to call the hospital to see how she weathered the night. it is never fun to see someone who has been a part of your life, well for as long as you remember lay in a hospital bed with a breathing tube in them. this is something that i hope i won't have to see much longer or ever again for that matter. even though the doctors say that she is pretty out of it though i love that when i go and hold her hand and talk to her about brady how she tries to talk although she can't and raises her eyebrows and moves her hand a little to let me know that she can hear me. i love my grandma very much and has much as i don't want to see her suffer anymore i am not ready to let her go either, i guess no one i ever ready for that. i know she is trying to stay here for something. whether it be for the family or something else we don't know now, but i know that when god is ready it is out of all our hands and he will call her home to a better place that we can only dream of. we love you grandma.

more book please!

If you are wondering if these are some of the books we have been reading lately you would be correct, but the significance is we read all of these in a row in one night. Most nights we read two or three books, but this night we read ten in a row. We would finish one and then say "all done". Brady would then crawl off of the chair go to his book cupboard pick out another book hand it to me and then crawl back up into the chair (which I must say is still a lot of work for the little guy) and sign more and then say "book". This continued until after book ten mommy said "all done" and redirected his attention to something else. I do have to say I am so excited that he is taking such an interest in reading and in books. He absolutely loves them. I guess all that reading I did to him at one and two months old is finally paying off. We already have one smart cookie but he is getting smarter every day.

we voted

aaaah the feeling of election day. my husband refused to do a mail in ballot because he likes the feeling of going in on the day of super tuesday and voting. little did he know he would finally catch what brady and i had just a little later than the rest of us. but those of you who did not make it to the polls for various excuses you still have a couple of hours, and if my husband can make it feeling awful from the flu then anyone can make it. i love the feeling you have when you walk out after voting. the feeling that your voice does matter and you had a little stake in history...... what a great country we live in. oh yeah brady had his first voting experience and he was so good! he sat there and drank his milk, said a couple words (i did not understand) in his inside voice and we were out of there. no lines, no wait and cheat sheets in hand to remember all the things on the ballot this year. can't wait to see how history will play out over the next few hours but i will say i won't miss the ten phone calls a day and the one to two visitors a day to our door reminding us to vote..........

Halloween 2008 with the Smith's

We sure did have fun with Brady this year. Our little Spider had lots of fun going to Boo at the Zoo, the Grant Ranch Trick or Treat, the Party at Auntie Ree's work, visiting GG at Dialysis (must say he was the hit of the show there) and of course Will and Carter's party which included some trick or treating! Daddy got lots of Candy! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

daddy day

well i finally did it, i let go....... only because i had to...... i was very ill.......but it all turned out okay and both of them survived. so now that i know i can watch out daddy.... there may be more of these to come. brady and daddy ventured up to fort collins yesterday without mommy for the rams game. mommy was up most of the night with what we will call a stomach bug. so i mustered up the energy to pack the snacks and the rest of the diaper bag and waved goodbye from my pillow. i was really too sick to worry all day, and needless to say brian called on his way home and said what a great day he and brady had at the game. a lesson for me, that it is okay to let go and i should do it when i am feeling good, so i can do some fun things for me! thanks daddy for giving mommy the day to nurse herself back to health :)

the mom who didn't get the memo

so let me start by saying there is no picture to this post mostly because of my shear embarrassment. brady and i are still both getting used to this school thing, apparently i need to find where they keep the announcements of what is going on the next week. as we drove to school this morning i was thinking how sad it was that brady did not attend on fridays because i figured the kids would be dressing up that day. oh to my surprise when we got there. i took brady to his room only to discover that he was the only child without his costume on. my heart broke. i know he is only 16 months and does not know the difference, but i felt pretty bad. i went back at 12:30 for the trick or treat parade and pumpkin hunting in the patch. he had a great time doing both and we just said he was a football player since he had his football outfit on today......... needless to say the teacher did tell me that it is portrait week next week, you can bet i won't miss that! at least i learned this tough lesson now and not when he was six years old and would have been traumatized when he was the only kid not dressed up. sorry little man, mommy will do her best to make sure this does not happen again.

why you shouldn't carve your pumpkins too early......

Mr. cute spider was looking cool and then it looks like the bug killer may have gotten to him.

Obama, If I was old enough to vote, I would vote for you!

Go Bama! That is what we say every time we see you on TV. We stop to watch all of your commercials and especially stop to watch you when you are speaking. Brady is only 16 months old, but if we was old enough to vote, I am pretty sure you would have his.

first day of school

with all of his items properly labeled and all the things on the school list checked off, i think we might be ready to venture out the door. my anxiety about today has been mounting for sometime. like any parent wondering if i have made a good choice in schools, is now the time to do this. on top of all of this brady has been having a lot of mommy separation issues lately and i really don't want to damage him for life by forcing him into this too soon, so i can have a few hours to myself to you know get some stuff done. i want him to be social and experience new things and new friends but if you know me i am a control freak and wonder if anyone can do as good of a job as me, not that i do that great of a job........... after all i am still learning and will be for the rest of his life on how to be a good parent.

i digress.....

we loaded in the car and headed off. all the time i was wondering how angry brady was going to be at his mommy in the next fifteen minutes. we checked in and i gently removed his coat, but before i could finish he was on his way to hang at a table full of toys with the other kids. i walked over to the table kissed him on the head and said goodbye. i cried all the way down the hall and out to my car. i cried, brady did not. i rushed home to start all of my chores for fear that i would not be able to finish all of them before the school called and said to come get him early, we have been having that issue at my MOPS group lately....... i got all of my chores done though and i have to say that the silence of the house well it was quite weird, not sure that i liked it too much, but i am sure over time i will get used to it.

when i went to get him, miss carly his teacher said he did well for his first day, cried a couple of times but when she redirected his attention he was better. he also cried every time miss carly tried to leave the room. he got to sing songs and do an art project and play on the new playground and most of all he made some new friends. he survived so i survived. we will try it again next wednesday, hopefully it goes as well as this wednesday....... oh my little man is growing up, what is a mommy to do?

hangin at the pumpkin patch

pumpkins, ponies, hay stacks, a really cool log cabin and lets not forget the red wagon. what is the facination with kids and little houses anyway? we visited the famous farm pumpkin patch on bowles with grandma and grandpa smith. i was so happy that they got to partake in such a fun little adventure with brady while they were here. given they live so far away these moments are treasured. brady was not a big fan of the pony, while he found it interesting he sure was cautious and kept his distance. i wonder if he was thinking what a big dog that is??? the log cabin was by far his favorite area. we played there for several minutes, peekabo through the shutters in and out the door, close the door, close the shutters, open the door, open the shutters...... i could go on and on. finally we took a ride in an old red radio flyer wago to pick out our pumpkin and then we left. oh what fun we had at the pumpkin patch!

breaking all the rules, well because you can.........

there are very few times we get to break the rules.......and well not get in trouble.......that is until well grandma and grandpa leave and then reality sets back in. as much reality as you can get when you are sixteen months old. brady knows that mommy and daddy's cell phones and lap tops are off limits. yesterday i looked over and saw grandma letting brady play with her laptop and shortly there after she allowed brady to play with her cell phone. i warned her that we don't let brady play with those things but was told that is what grandma's are for......... i remember when i was a child and how much fun i had when i went to my grandparents house. ice cream at ten o clock at night was okay and watching soap operas was okay too, except for when i was warned to close my eyes and not peek...... this week having grandma and grandpa in town has brought me back to childhood and reminded me it is okay to break the rules every now and then and be a kid. sometimes i am too strict with brady. i need to remember to loosen up and let him explore things in life. objects are just objects and can be replaced, but memories and experiences well that is what shapes a person and we should all be allowed to stumble now and then or do something we are not supposed to because that is how we learn. so...... thank you grandma and grandpa smith for grounding me this week..... you have undoubtedly helped me to be a better parent to our little peanut.

how do you eat your oreo's?

how do you eat your Oreo? it is funny how everyone develops their own special way of doing things. sometimes you wonder where they even learn some of the things they learn or if they were just born with their special little quirks. everyone has their own special ways of eating Oreo cookies. brady showed us his the other night, he just separated the cookie and licked all of the frosting out first and then proceeded to eat the actual cookie. i sure did not teach him this and neither did his daddy. funny how little cute things just happen. cheers!

the tac-ter

what constitutes a favorite toy? maybe the factor that we never put it down, except to eat and go to bed. it is the first toy we look for in the morning and one of the only toys we really put up a fight for if asked to hand it over. we roll it here, we roll it there, we roll it everywhere. we don't like people to ride in it. if someone puts the farmer in he is promptly removed. brady is the only person to drive the tractor. if the front bin is up in the air we very precisely move it to the down position touching the floor. we sure do love our tractor. heaven help us if we ever lose that thing. i was trying to remember the other day if i had a favorite toy that i could not part ways with and aside from my cabbage patch dolls i can't really think of any. i guess i will have to ask around my family and see if they remember anything......... until then we will keep plowing at the smith house with our very special green tac-ter.

telling HOPS all about it!

it is no secret that the hour of four o clock in my household, well lets just say is my least favorite. the dog begins her begging period, which i must say is quite annoying. our dog lives for food and well even after we feed her, she still thinks she is starving. brady needs my undivided attention at this time every day. i need to start thinking about dinner, prepping it and cooking it, because brady needs to eat no later than five thirty..... undoubtedly the phone rings....... i usually will tell HOPS about 5 times from four to five to go lay down, or hit the road, or sit. brady always follows suit with "hops and then a bunch of gibberish i have yet to figure out", he does all of this with such a serious look on his face and pointing all four of his fingers at the dog, we haven't quite figured out how to just point the one. in the midst of the chaos, i must say that this moment always does and always will make me laugh. it is an everyday reminder that i must start watching everything i do and say because my little sponge is absorbing everything i do.

sharing your favorite season

It is no secret that fall is one of my favorite seasons. The smell of the leaves, the crisp air, pulling on those snugly favorite sweaters for the first time. This year Brady is old enough to share in some of the magic of the season. We have gone out and picked up some leaves, waved them in the air, crunched them in our hands and of course even tasted a couple. We all know everything must enter the mouth to get the full affect these days...... As I watch him I wonder what season he will pick as his favorite when he gets older and what he must be thinking as he experiences these things for the first time. I often wish I could go back to the magical first experiences of something so simple as a season.

so much to say ........ all of the time

If only we knew what all of this meant, he sure does. We are probably promising to buy him a Porsche Boxster when he turns sixteen every time we say yes during one of these long talking sprees!

our little artist

More sidewalk chalk please! This little guy may just be the next Picasso for all we know. He sure does love coloring with crayons, but by far his favorite is sidewalk chalk. It is so much fun to watch him pick our different colors and scribble all over the place. I often wonder what is going through his mind. Sometimes he seems so serious when he is drawing his lines and scribbling and others he looks care free and like a complete natural when it comes to his creations. He is also discovered how much fun it is to color his skin and his mommy's skin with the chalk. Most of the time there is more chalk on Brady and his clothes than the sidewalk by the time we are done, but we sure do have fun! One last little note, if you don't want to do sidewalk chalk, then remember to not walk him over yesterday's creation, because if we don't stop and get out the chalk again then we throw a temper tantrum right there! We could color all day everyday!

Go Rams!!!!!

Brady loves to go to the football games, but daddy does have some work to do.... because Brady loves to sleep at them. The last two have been during nap time, who am I kidding Brady does not really have a nap time!!! He always manages to fall asleep here though.... funny the kid can sleep through loud cheering, cannons booming, carters new found whistle (thanks Teri Castledine!), but he can't sleep in the peaceful quiet of his crib at home! Go Rams!

oh where, oh where has my little angel gone?

well today was a trying day for me, that might even be an understatement. my little angel has gone somewhere and i can't seem to find him! brady and i have had our fair share of trying days but today was the topper. i can't seem to do anything to keep him happy, aside from holding him or giving him 100% of my attention. i can't even look out our back window at the birdies at the restaurant without him freaking out. what's that i can't color while i eat my breakfast? well then i think i will just throw a tantrum right here in my high chair. mommy if you think you are going to talk to the insurance company right now while i am eating my lunch or check your emails well, you are mistaken, you need to sit right there and watch me put every last piece of grahm cracker in my mouth and if you even blink, well i might freak out. tonight we went outside to do sidewalk chalk, it was time to come in and we just threw a temper tantrum right on the front porch. if you live within three miles you may have heard this episode. i couldn't help but cry tonight when brian got home. i feel like i am doing something wrong as a parent. i can't stand to hear my child cry or worry about him bothering others so i always try to be attentive to his every need no matter how silly it may be. some would say that is my down fall and now his. i am sure this is just the start of what will continue through the toddler years, i just hope that i learn how to handle it better than today. maybe some tougher skin or ear plugs are in order?

uh oh

Well I must say I knew this day would come. Since we use "uh oh" in our house more than no, Brady has now adopted the phrase and made it a part of his vocabulary. Yes it is cute to hear him say it maybe one or twice, but 50 times in a day gets a little old, but I guess one could say that is probably close to as many times as he hears me say it. Turn about is fairplay I guess............ uh oh!

Why kids turn out the way they do

I was given an interesting article by a family member the other day. Lord knows I am one of those parents that is always searching for the best answer or best advice to raise our son into the best he can be. The headline for the article was "DNA discoveries reveal why even the best parenting doesn't always have the results experts promise." That immediately caught my attention. The article stated in about thirty percent of children their DNA coils carry a glitch. This specific glitch is on that leaves their brains with a few dopamine receptors, molecules that act as docking ports for one of the neurochemicals that carry our thoughts and emotions. The article states that lack of these causes an inability to avoid self-destructive behavior, and children that are lacking these are unable to learn from their mistakes. It also stated in their findings that children with a sweet temperament are the least likely to emulate their parents and the lessons they teach, while fussy kids are the most likely to do so. I have a really hard time believing all of this, although some may be true, I still think that you as a parent play a crucial role in the development of your child. I can see how genetics may factor in, but I also think that you are a role model for your child. They watch everything you do and listen to everything you say. Some kids may react differently to parenting style than others, that is called personality. All us parents (especially first time ones), are looking for the perfect parenting answer and the truth is, there isn't one. A dear friend of mine who I call for advice often always has said to me "there is no right way, you just have to do what works for you." For that quote and you know who you are thank you, I remind myself of that everyday when I think I am doing something the wrong way. Here is my advice for the world..... Get up every morning and start your day fresh with your child. Do they best that you know you can everyday and remember along the way that you are human and you are going to make mistakes..... The good news is we are the only parents our children have and they don't know if what we are doing is right or wrong, and realize that you are going to learn how to be a parent along the way through trials and tribulations. Our children need love, attention, patience and understanding. If you give them this everyday the world will be a better place.

Monk Email

So we all have gotten the famous monk email from a co-worker or friend. Brian thought it would be funny to expose Brady to it the other morning. Brady mostly just stared at the screen utterly confused as to how this monkey, like the ones we see at the zoo, were talking to him. At one point he looked a little scared. If you have never experienced the monk email, click the link below.



http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail/Default.aspx?cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=7c1a7d1117ed4a8fa9f201bacbee8aec-274222759-KC-5&ns_siteid=ns_us_y_monk_email_careerbuil_