HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Who says Halloween is only for a day?!?!? Our plan to trick-or-trunk got changed when we got a phone call from the Bender's!!! Bender's=FARMING!!! Braxton was SOOO excited to go drive the combine!!! All I kept hearing was 'mom, you ride with Alan, and I will ride with Jordan, I'm big and can go by myself '....oh man, he doesn't want me already:( We skipped nap and rode for hours...he even drove-seriously drove on his own! Jordan would point, and away Braxton would go in that direction!!! He worked so hard, he fell asleep!!! So, nap began at 4pm...3 hours late:/ So, when we woke him at 6pm, you can about imagine the monster we had on our hands...Note to self...DO NOT SKIP NAP!!!

I can into the living room Sunday to find him shooting his horse:/ (But really, look at that stance)
This was the rig Braxton got to drive!!!!!!

...and this is what the result was after driving...I swear he normally fits in his bed!

Our little Tiger..or Lion as he says...he really wanted to be a lion, so I may have told him he was:)

Give him what he wants and he will be your best friend! He LOVES Jessica (Pelster)

He was running away from "Gene Werner"..but first he had to chase him and tickle him with his tail...

Grandpa Johnny Bob, Gramma Sherri, and Braxton (that is what he calls grandpa!!!)

..and Aunt Kelly

Grandpa Bobby John, Grandma Jody, and Braxton (his new name for this Grandpa) What is really funny, is that while we were pregnant, and didn't know what we were having, when I mentioned boys' names, Brad kept saying, "let's name it "johnny bob, or bobby john if it's a boy"...well, thank God he was kidding:) NO offense guys...love your names:) Dad was pretending to throw him into the air and he was giggling so hard!!! He even got a horsy ride from dad, my favorite ride as a little girl!!!

This is a little of what we brought home from the farm...REAL CORN!!!

Grandma Debbie & Braxton

Uncle Dillon and Braxton...this is my 'little brother' who is almost bigger than me!!! I interrupted his basketball game with a buddy, he wasn't impressed. Guess I'm not that cool big sister he once thought I was:(

Trick or treating at Uncle Lyle's...he was giving kittens away...Brad was a fun hater and we left without one:(

I'm not even kidding..these 2 were dancing to 'boots with the fur...down low...bla bla bla"...but HOW CUTE!!! Check out these moves! They were totally insync with each other!!! (all you single ladies...Uncle Lyle is single...29 years old...great personality...yes, I am really pimping him out on my child's blog!!!)

Great Grandma Korth and Braxton He told her his ABC's, so she gave him MORE candy...so much candy that she reminded us we could freeze the candy bars for later...

I will take what I can get for a family photo:)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Fire Fighter Braxton...

At school Braxton got to talk about Fire Safety. When I picked him up he was the only still wearing his hat! He said he was going to be just like his daddy:)

I call it a tiger...he says lion...easiest to not argue with a 2.5 year old!!!
We got Cousins Kenna & Carson to come over for a sleepover! They had SOOO much fun together!! Braxton was a bit territorial of his things, but all in all, did quite well!

The kiddos brought their sleeping bags..which caused a problem for little man, who does not have one yet...(although I think I heard Santa may be bringing him a camoflauge one!Shhh) But, Gramma Sherri stopped by and had a great idea of a pillowcase!

He just HAD to be in the middle of the kids...

Our town has volleyball subdistricts tomorrow, so they moved Trick-or-Trunk and trick-or-treating to tonight! So, I'm sure more pictures to follow soon....

Apple-tight

Oh joy...the tent made it back upstairs in my kitchen! Oh how I've missed this big ol' thing laying around:) Braxton just loves to play in it, but it takes up so much room! He found a new way of playing with it...upside down and sideways!

Friday night I picked Braxton up from school, and we went on a date to Pizza Hut:) Brad was down in Red Cloud--getting things ready for hunting season--so it was just us 2. When we were leaving, they had them lovely vending machine things right by the door..clever...so I let him get this .25 cent thing...I call it a thing because that's what it is! Braxton first called it his penguin, then bird, then owl, now it's a tiny birdie...It's so cute, but I wish I knew what it was..anyways, this little creature goes EVERYWHERE with him! And I mean EVERYWHERE---the bathroom, breakfast table, lunch table, outside, and nap:) Look closely in his right clutched fist:) This is at nap time. Notice the jammies on as well-I wear lounge pants whenever I possibly can, and he thinks they are my 'jammies', so at nap he always wants his 'jammies' on too:)
Saturday night Braxton got to spend the night at "Grandpa Bobby's and Gramma Jody's" He has renamed my dad I guess:) We went to a friend's Halloween Party...good times had by all

We have Bumble Bee Kelly, PA Jamie, and Me the Firefighter

I'm not too creative on ideas for costumes...can ya tell?!

HILARIOUS!!! People come up with such great ideas! Alan off the Hangover was the best!! If you haven't seen the movie, than you will not find this funny, if you have, you are laughing your buns off right now! This man looked legit!!!

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Oh...the reason for the Apple Tight heading...SO, when I went to get Braxton this morning, Jody was telling me that she told Brax he needs to get an 'appetite'...my little man who still doesn't each much. So, when I get there, he tells me, " I wanna eat sumfin, I wanna eat an apple tight at gramma's".... By the sounds of it and looks of it, I'd say Braxton had a great time there! He's been telling Brad stories all day about the backhoe, and forks, and skidloader, and scooping gravel...I guess this is the closest he will get to living on a farm:)

Show & Share

Braxton had his first "Show & Share" at school today!!! He was SO excited when I told him he got to take 'one' toy to show his friends! Of course, he wanted to take all of his tractors, but we narrowed it down to just a skidloader:)

He is SO into stickers right now! He puts them in the strangest places, though!?
He had to take 'grandma's skidloader'...Gramma Sherri gave him this months ago, whether or not it is to 'borrow' or 'keep', he always refers to it as "Gramma Sherri's skidloader"...p.s. hope Gramma S isn't expecting it back:)

We were playing hide and seek, and I opened the tent door to this!!! AHHH!!!

BuCkEt LiSt

I guess you could say I've always thought it would be fun to do a marathon!!! I know, I know!!! NO ONE takes me as a runner, and let me be the first to tell you, I AM NOT! But, I have been attempting jogging for awhile now. There was a Run, Walk, & Roll event hosted by the Columbus Hospital, so it was a great chance for me to get started with runs! They had a 1mile, and a 5K...since I'm "new" to this, I just thought the mile would be fun, later realizing that I actually can run 5k (S-l-o-w-l-y), it was too late to do...but, the mile was a GREAT experience, and it was perfect for my very first race!!! Keep in mind, I haven't ran since high school...10 YEARS AGO...I am quite proud that I haven't quit or chickened out!!:) I have a lot of great friends who run 5K, half marathons, and even marathons, so I really envy them..someday maybe I will be at the half marathon..but for now, I'm just aiming towards a 5K for my next race! I had a good friend tell me how addicting it is...and I get it now! I CANNOT wait to do it again! I was curious how it all worked...there are people at the start holding up the 6minute pace signs...yea...I kept walking..next, 7minute sign...yep, kept walking again...finally found my spot...the '9minute pace' sign...just what I like to see--:) I have to say, it was totally differenet running against 400 people, than it is by yourself around the town of Lindsay at 10pm! Braxton was feeling much better Saturday morning, so him and Brad were great supporters for me at the finish line:) I love my boys!!!!!!!!

Braxton & me before the race
Braxton thought this was a really cool thing! He kept telling me I had to take it home with us:)
---Just so ya'll know, I know I'm a dork..anyone can run a mile...but it's a big accomplishment for me!!! ;)

I don't feel good Momma...

Throughout the night, Braxton was up more than his usual..which was my first thought of something being suspicious...and the fact that he wanted to 'hold my hand' at 3am...was another. Because of the rough patches thru the night, we all ended up waking up later than we needed, so we were rushing to get out the door--I thought he seemed warm, but he sleeps with 33 animals, and 12 blankets, so I didn't think much til he said, "I don't feel so good Momma", and he showed me his sad face and started to cry:( I took his temp, to see 101.4 and 101.2 in his ears...So..of course today was our turn for 'snack day', so we still dropped off our snacks, and headed to the shop to rearrange our day. While he calmly sat there while I did some calling, yep, you can about imagine what happened next...the flu set in:( Brad and I have learned to stay calm, and Braxton didn't even cry, he just got more sad:( (Don't worry, I scrubbed, wiped and sanitized the shop over and over!!!) He hasn't gotten sick since about 10:30am, but he is miserable. He's sitting at 103.5 right now for a fever, and watching a truck movie--which seems to be making him a little less sad. Really, if you could see him, it's So heartbreaking how sad his voice even is

~No one has been sick at school or daycare, so leave it up to us to start the flu~Sorry Ya'll!!

He is drinking water, which is good..but can you see how pink his little cheeks are:(
He has taken a nap from 11:30am-2:30pm, and another from 3:15pm-4:30pm...wonder what the night will lead to....

Going to bed last night, all seemed great...Daddy and him loaded up all the tractors and were heading them to bed after a long hour of farming:)

...and THIS is why I was determined to drop snacks off! I wasn't about to have 30 basketball, (yea, I know-pathetic--they turned into baseballs sort of instead of basketballs!)footballs.....

...flowers and butterflies all around my house all weekend long! Don't worry..we sent carrots and dip for the healthy part!

Hope everyone has a great weekend...And stays healthy:)

WANTED: 2 year old boy!!

WHY? Why didn't someone tell me how much EASIER things are with two 2 year olds?!?! HAHA:)

Today we had Logan come over for a play date! I think his daddy was thrilled so he could get out to the fields, and mommy was excited to get to go to work...and I was THRILLED Braxton would have a ''buddy" for the day! Winner winner all around!!

Luckily Braxton has almost 2 of everything!!! It made sharing so much easier!
If you look closely out the 3rd window pane..you will see what they see! (a skidloader!) Yea, Logan is standing on a book, but he IS just that much bigger! Logan is about 8 weeks younger, yes, younger than Brax...our runt:)

I just L*O*V*E this!!! Look at all them toys surrounding them! They drug out EVERY toy in our house...and toys I forgot we had...they found:) SO FUN!!!

I didn't really know how nap was going to work...considering every where I wanted to lay Logan, I heard, "momma, that's my bed, momma that's my couch, momma that's my floor"...AGGHHH!!! Child of Mine!!!!! Finally, I gave in...Braxton got his ultimate wish!--he went to nap in "MY" bed, and Logan got the cars couch, and ALL were happy!!! Look at how sweet he is!!!!
I'm baking some fun cutout cookies, it is Braxton's turn to take snack tomorrow..so we will make it a fun/healthy snack (not sure what the healthy part is going to be yet:)

This is SO fun...I feel like a stay-at-home mom right now! Two kids sleeping, I'm cleaning and baking...ah..no one burst my bubble, as I know staying home isn't always this easy! But, I'm ABSOLUTELY LOVING IT RIGHT NOW!!!!

Check out this stud rockin MY bed!!!

Who's Birthday?!??!?!

(check out the bed head!)

We had to run to Albion to get some totes so we..I mean, I (Amanda) can pack away all the things in the camper:( It's going to be a sad time this week when I have to pack the camper away, knowing it'll be at least 6 months till we see it again:( When we got home from church we skimmed the adds. It was so cute watching Braxton look at the add for Bomgaars...he held only a partial page of the add--you bet, the page with ALL the tractors, trailers, toys, etc! The entire way there, he asked, 'do we get to go to the John Deere store and get me a toy momma?' Considering he was good in church...he picked out a semi with trailer, and a 'escabader' on it. He even wanted to 'wait till we get home momma and open it den'. He was so proud to call grandpa bob and tell him ALL about it!
Randomly, I opened a box of cereal to find an Unwanted Spongebob! Those of you who have seen this cartoon totally understand why I say "unwanted!" Anyways, Braxton spotted it, and I told him he could play with him for a bit...seconds later, he had the little toy turned over and was 'burpping him momma!'....hmm??? Where did that come from?!? And soon after, Spongebob found his way into the trash can...just seemed to jump right in there:)

It's like it was his birthday today! Aunt Kelly showed up for a surprise visit! They made a tent as you can see:) Always fun when Aunt Kelly shows up! (She is no longer Aunt Keldy..it's now Kelly!)

Then....our friend Barry brought over a backhoe!!! I thought it was for Braxton...but as you can see...well, you see!!! (OH MY...look at all them toys in this picture!!! How embarrassing!)

Typically Braxton doesn't eat much, and STILL often wakes up through the night..so before bed we try and give him a 'snack' to hopefully fill his little belly for the night! Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't! He was SO proud of his 'apple carmel', that I finally remembered to buy! I LOVE this cheesy little grin! (pardon the unmatching jammies that Dad put on him!:)

While Braxton took nap today I cleaned/rearranged/tossed things/organized the storage room. We have quickly noticed lately how we are really running out of room in every room of our house..even the storage room is too small. After today, though, I do feel like I made some more room for more junk...Spending all day in the storage room, I came across a lot of things, and thought about many things, too....

I find myself really thinking about many things lately, so stop reading..because here comes the rambling!!!-----------

Okay, warned you , and yet, here you still are reading...

*Do I really need to keep the 10 large totes of Braxton's baby clothes around?!? I feel selfish! He practically wore a new outfit everyday of his life until age 1...I feel that I should give them to someone to use...but yet I hoard them in my storage room that I don't even have room for!!!

*I look at the 2 large Christmas trees in the storage room, and my 6 pencil trees?! Really Amanda!!! 8 trees?!?!?---on that thought, November 18-20, Lindsay is hosting a Festival of Trees, at which a friend and I will be decorating a tree for it! (wonder where we will get a spare tree from?!?) SO, mark your calendars...it's SO Fun! Vendors, crafters, food, and much more!

*There is a sweet little voice at 10:07pm saying, 'momma, I need wotion on, momma! MOMMA!!!'...and it makes me smile at HOW SWEET he is!!! Everyday I look at this AMAZING little man in my life and SMILE and wonder how we got so lucky!!! Despite the middle of the night awakenings, and the whiny little spats, I'm right now hearing, "mom mom momma, where you at?"... I LOVE IT!!! I LOVE hearing MOMMA come out of his sweet little mouth! At the supper table tonight, he surprised Grandma and Grandpa Busselman by saying his ABC's! He did GREAT! He skipped a few letters, but it was adorable! I wish so badly that I could stay home with him ALL DAY and do the stay-at-home mom thing, but I know that just isn't possible. But, if I did stay home, I know deep down that there is NO WAY he would know as much as he does! Daycares are wonderful for kids!!!
(so, his hands were sticky from the apple--that's what he was wanting--:)

So, while I may not remember to wash his hands off, I know I'm not mother of the year...but I am pretty proud of my 2 1/2 year old! By all means, I am not taking all the credit...Brad is SO great with him. For months these 2 boys of mine have been planning the deer hunting trip! I really think Brad is more excited at this point! I will admit, I'm jealous, but watching these 2 do things together melts my heart:)

Okay, enough random thoughts here...Have a great week!

CONVOY
I call it a convoy, he calls it, 'a garage with a open gate'....kind of makes sense what he sees, eh?!

Braxton is ALWAYS playing with his tractors, and farm equipment, but last week he got to play with the REAL things! We rode with Al Bender in the combine for hours! Al even took it out of auto-steer so Braxton could drive!!! He (Brax) learned so much....he learned how to 'chill in a combine', how to eat the heads off teddy grams...how to eat just the peanuts, and not corn candy...oh...let's see...let's just say Alan had just as much fun as my 2 year old!!! The memories are amazing!
???Braxton wanted pancakes for breakfast...and decided he wanted a "B", like him! (School has taught him his name starts with a B, and he recognizes B's all over the place!!! SO cute:) So, this was my pathetic attempt at a B...sad, I know!!!!! *I thought it was super cute that he asked for this, because when we were little kids, my mom would make letters and designs for us with pancake batter, too:)

We found another purpose for our bench..'it's my little tiny table momma'... He carries his couch into the kitchen every morning now and has breakfast like this...if that's what it takes for him to eat, I'm ALL FOR IT!!! Who needs rules?!?!?