End of June and July 4th Weekend in Missouri

Sorry for delay yet again, it seems I never get the chance to work on the blog like I wish I could and I've been working on this post for 7 weeks. (The date above says July 16th but I finally published this post on August 30th!) So, a lot has happened since the last post. Brody is 9 months and 8 days old and we have no clue where the time has gone! Here's a recap of fun events during July of 2009.

On June 26th Brody started wearing his cute size 12 month pj's at 7 months old. The pj's are already starting to get tight on his torso...his belly is getting huge! He also learned how to dance standing up on this day thanks to Daddy and managed to crawl up into his little seat and then onto the love seat. He's such a monkey! :) My Mom and Dad celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary this day as well ~ Congrats!

Both pictures below were taken June 28, 2009. Brody fell asleep on our morning walk and I couldn't help but get a picture. Aubrey and Brody posed for a birthday picture to send to Brody's Godfather, Chris 'T-Bar' Allred, who is currently on his second tour overseas, this time in Iraq. Brody's onesie says 'Life is good when you've good a Godfather like mine." Happy Birthday Goddad!



On July 2nd Brody learned how to 'High Five' during breakfast, then we finished packing for our very quick trip to Missouri. We left at 1pm and actually drove all the way through to my parents house in Glasgow, arriving at 11pm. Not sure if we will ever try that again during the day! On the 3rd and 4th we hung out on the Missouri river with my mom, dad, oldest sister Melissa, her husband Michael, and their boys Kale and Evan and my middle sister Heather, her husband, Kent and their daughters Hadley and Layne. I was worried Brody wouldn't do well with a lifejacket on or on the boat, but it didn't phase him a bit! He loved splashing in the water and got very upset when he put sand in his mouth! :) Heather and Kent had all of us out to their house on the 4th to grill and shoot fireworks...it was a great time! Brody slept through the wonderful firework display and Daddy and Grandma Sherry's animated commotion of Tony Stewart winning the NASCAR race! I was very excited that my Godmother, Tonia, was able to join us for the evening and meet Aubrey and Brody! I miss and love her very much! Another great visit with the Monnig clan in Glasgow, and as always, too short!

Brody's first time in grass! We won't put Brody in our yard
yet due to the over population of red ants.

Brody and Pawpaw David in the Muddy MO!

A grandparent sandwich! An exhausted Brody with Grandma Sherry and Pawpaw David.

My mom, sisters Melissa and Heather, and myself doing the Mississippi Girl on the sandbar.

Aub and I right before Aub decided to ski for the first time in three years.
He did amazing until my hat blew off and my dad went back to get it! Aub had to let go of the rope and get up again. All was well for a while until he skipped across the water on his back and did a few flips. Luckily he wasn't hurt too bad!

My nephew Kale

My nephew Evan

My niece Layne

My niece Hadley

From left to right: My mom, sister Melissa, myself, nephew Kale, Tonia, sister Heather

In front: My nephew Evan and niece Hadley

Another sad goodbye with Pawpaw David and Grandma Sherry.

We are off to Slater! July 5th and 6th we were in Slater visiting Aubrey's family. We had a great time visiting with Grandma Robyn and Grandaddy Mike, Aub's middle brother Lon, his wife Carmen, and their son Van, and Aub's youngest brother Whitney, his wife Risa, and their daughter Lauren! Aubrey's Aunt Linda, Uncle Phil, cousin Jenny, her husband Chris and daughter Reece all came in to visit too, as well as Gramps and Great! It was the first time since Christmas that we were all together with the new babies and so exciting to see how they have all changed and grown; especially seeing them interact with each other. Brody had a great time out in Grandaddy Mike's shop with all of the John Deere tractors and spending time outside in the wonderful weather with Grandma Robyn! Another quick but great visit with the Venable clan! We reluctantly headed back to a very hot and humid Mississippi on the July 7th and spent that night in Blytheville, Arkansas.

Four generations! Brody got very excited for this picture with his Great-Grandpa, RV Drummond, Grandma Robyn Venable and Daddy!

Brody playing with his cousin Lauren. If only we knew what they were thinking

or trying to say to one another! :)

With my sweet nephew Van!

The three Venable cousins ~ Brody, Van and Lauren! I couldn't get all of their faces in this shot, but we had to see what they would do in the pack n play.

Aubrey with his brother Whitney and daughter Lauren!

Van's ornery little smile!

Sweet Little Lo!

The cousins: Risa with Lauren, Carmen with Van, Jenny with Reece and Me with Brody
It was so great to have all of the babies together!

Two Weeks Full of More Firsts

Momma got me this cute onesie "My Daddy Flies Vipers" and we went to see Daddy at work!

Wish we would have known he was high-needs before we bought the swing and that high-needs babies don't like mechanical arms! June 17th, my last day in my swing that I barely swang in!

Of course I'm a stud, with and without the spiked hair! :)

At Magowah Gun and Country Club.

No, we didn't have another baby, that's Brody's girlfriend Lydia!

Do you like my mohawk?!?! Momma thinks it rocks!

My ornery little devil face! :)

Relaxing after a long, hot day at Magowah!

"Momma, I want the camera!"

"If I try a sweet face may I have the camera?"

What a fun day at Magowah! I'm whipped!

The reminents of my first teething biscuit! It was yummo!

"Hey, check me out! I just climbed up on my chair all by myself and stood up!"

"Look Mama I can stand up and hold on with one hand!"

Good thing Daddy is a great spotter! :)

Sorry for being almost one week late posting! Brody's three thirty minute naps have made computer time non-existent lately, along with a busy weekend and it being a night week for Aubrey. Many new firsts since over the last two weeks to share so here goes! His personality blossoms more every day!

On June 14th Brody began shaking his head from side to side as though he's saying 'NO'! Yes, he is told 'NO' quite often all ready so I knew this mimicking was sure to begin. He enjoys shaking his head this way while laying on his back and kicking his feet! On the 16th he figured out how to open the door under the kitchen sink ~ I still need to get Aubrey to put the hooks on the doors from the inside so we aren't calling the Poison Control Hotline soon! The 17th Brody ate his first real peach and loved it! The 18th was Brody's first day ever without taking a poo ~ the next day wasn't so much fun. I was super excited on the 19th when he 'danced', my explanation for rocking up and down while sitting, for the first time and we also started attending 'Mother Goose' at the public library. Last Saturday, June 20th, we went to the annual catfish fry/gun shooting at Magowah Gun and Country Club for Aubrey's squadron. Brutal is the only word to describe the heat but we had a great time letting Brody have watermelon for the first time and I spiked his hair! We actually stripped him down to his diaper because he was so hot and covered in watermelon juice, sunscreen and sweat. Pictures are above from this day! Oh, he also picked up a live millipede on the kitchen floor and attempted to devour it but Daddy caught his hand in the knick of time!

On the 21st Brody and I woke up and gave Daddy lots of hugs for Aubrey's 1st Father's Day! Aubrey and I are getting each other a massage at local spa for our respective days, but haven't gotten those scheduled yet! Anyway, we had a great day celebrating Aubrey for the amazing Dad that he is! I also gave Brody his first teething biscuit while Aub was outside mowing the grass. Daddy doesn't do well with the mess so we do messy things while he's not here! :) Brody turned 7 months old on the 22nd! How fast the time has gone by, it is absolutely bitter sweet!

This past Tuesday Brody started dancing in his exersaucer. He despises being in it unless one of us is sitting next to him so I sat there and started applauding when he began to move his legs as though he was running. Well, he loved my excitement so he kept it up and I kept telling him to dance and clap for him ~ it was awesome!

Yesterday Brody decided to climb into his chair and continue to stand up all by himself! I was closest to him so I made Aub get the camera then we switched spots so I could get pictures. He's been trying to climb into his chair for a few days and was finally successful!

Two other fun notes this week, when Aubrey gets home Brody will crawl to him ~ absolutely melts both of our hearts! :) And, sometimes when I clap for him he will come over, grab my hands in his and clap my hands together for me. He's just a riot!

The videos take forever to upload on the blog so my goal is to get them on YouTube this weekend. We have quite a few now! :) Hope all of you are well!

Is it a bird, a plane? Nope, John Deere Man!

Look I can hold up the wall without breaking a sweat!

Even John Deere Man needs a little sleep every now and again!

Aubrey and I had a fun morning turning Brody into a superhero, or at least our version of a little superhero! May we introduce John Deere Man! I had out a John Deere handkerchief that Grandpa Mike got for Brody and we decided to tie it around Brody's neck like a cape. We had the best time flying him around and I finally came up with 'John Deere Man' for our little superhero. I'm sure Aubrey and I got more of a kick out of it than we should have and one day Brody will be devastated when the pictures surface, but we only do it out of pure, unconditional love! We laughed so hard tonight looking at the pictures that I almost cried!

Brody continues to amaze us daily with his new achievements, silly personality, physical strength, dare-devil behavior and curiosity. This past Tuesday Brody started pulling toys out of his favorite laundry basket while standing up and taking small items out of his toy cookie jar. If given the chance I think he would stand up by the laundry basket all day long. He will let go with one hand from time to time and put his free hand in the air reminiscent of a bull rider and Aub and I will start counting to 8. A few times he's made it that long before he plops down on his tail and stands up again in a flash.

We lowered his crib mattress as low as it can go last weekend (even though he still sleeps in a pack n' play in our room, he does take his naps in his crib) and I turned around today and he was standing up somehow, peering over the front rail with a smile on his face. There are no rails for him to hold onto to pull himself up in the front, he just pushes amazingly hard with his legs and almost leaps to stand up on everything! Yesterday Brody learned how to walk back and forth holding onto the loveseat too. He's just a blast and makes us laugh!

I have three videos to upload from this past week, the videos take forever to upload so hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to work on them.

Crawling, Talking & Grandma Sherry

I love my sweet potato puffs!

Sleeping on Grandma Sherry, look at my big belly!

I look like my Daddy when he was my age and getting some love from Mommy!

Mommy & Grandma Sherry were putting my clothes away that don't fit anymore. Obviously the hat is too small but made for a great pic!

Hi Everybody!

Brody & I celebrating Tony Stewart's first win an as owner/driver last night! :)

Aub & Brody in his size 12-18 month pj's.

Last week was wonderful! Brody crawled for the first time on Tuesday, June 2nd, at 6 months and 10 days old. Aubrey and Brody were playing on the floor in Brody's room that evening when Aubrey moved his fingers on the floor to entice Brody to move his hands forward and it worked! Aubrey immediately called me into Brody's room so I was able to see his second attempt!

Brody will only high-tail it across the floor for something he really wants like one of our cell phones or the remotes to the TV. He's still getting the hang of it and crawls about three or four feet before sitting to take a rest. He crawls with a 'hitch in his get-along' as Aub says. Brody learned to push with his right foot to sit up from his tummy, so when he crawls, his right foot and left knee is on the ground. A few times this weekend he crawled with both knees on the floor so hopefully with time he'll figure out! :)

Brody is also saying 'Ba' and 'Ma' and his little personality is blossoming! He is ALL boy, already mischievous and boisterous! Brody loves the pool and tomorrow morning we will begin the children summer reading series at the library on base. He loves books, we read three times a day for about 15-20 minutes, so I think he will enjoy listening to others read and being around other babies.

My mom also came down for a quick visit this weekend and we had a great time! My mom learned first-hand how Brody is more wild than ever and such a monkey, all he wants to do is climb! She also did a great job putting him to sleep with pat-a-cake! :)

Welcome & Atlantis in Columbus

Welcome to the Venable Family Blog! My hope is to update the blog weekly so our family and friends have the opportunity to watch our little man grow up and get a glimpse of our life in Mississippi! So, enjoy, hopefully I will figure out all of the blog stuff soon!

Today Brody is 6 months and 10 days old! This morning Brody decided to climb up his exersaucer/jumper and while doing so lost his balance and hit the right side of his eye on one of the metal supports. The incident however did not scare him that bad as he tried to climb it again about 10 minutes later. :)

The NASA Boeing 747 carrying the space shuttle Atlantis from California back to Florida made a refueling stop at Columbus AFB earlier this afternoon. Luckily Aubrey called to let us know so Brody and I were able watch it land with Aubrey...very cool I must say! We also got a picture of Aubrey and Brody in front of one of the T-38's! :)