::This May Be a Long One::

So, I know I posted on Saturday and I haven't since...sorry! Busy me! However, I forgot to post some things from Thursday night. My mom kept Brant while Brandon and I went to the Brad Paisley concert with some friends. It was so much fun! Brad Paisley is my favorite! Here are some pictures from that:





Then, on Monday night Brant started showing me what I taught him on Saturday...Uncle Bryan, you will be so proud. Here is a video from that:




And today, we went to the doctor for our follow up appointment about our ear infections. Turns out they are not completely healed yet, so we are on our second round of antibiotics (third if you count the mis-diagnosis of strep). So, if this doesn't knock it out, which we will find out when we go for our NEXT follow up appointment, then we will resort to a round of three shots in three days. After that...well we haven't talked about that because we are hoping that will not be needed. Dr. Loventhal seems pretty confident that this should knock it out though. So, that has been our day. He is having a blast at school. Loving how he leaves me in the morning, no tears, just waves bye bye. And he has started to at least TRY lunch before he decides he doesn't want it! So, things are on the up, just pray we get rid of this ear thing!

Love to you all!

Super Saturday!

Today at the playground we had tons of fun! We went and played on the slides and drove our pretend car at the wheel. We also had tons of fun playing in the sand and laughing with Daddy! Here are some pictures from our outing. Right now we are napping and then we are all gonna watch some college football and grill some steaks!

GO DAWGS!
Here is me and mommy!

I like to slide all by myself too!

Look at me driving my car!

I love to laugh with Daddy!

I love to get sandy and dirty!

::New Video::

Not as long, but so cute! Had to put it up for you guys! He's such a talker now! Love you!

::What a Great Day!::

Today was a great day for many reasons! It was the first day I was able to eat anything with substance and keep it down. It was the first day Brant ate all of his lunch at school! It was the first day Brandon has felt better. And sadly enough...it was the first day that Brant has been bitten by another child! YIKES!

Lots happened today and it was such a full day. Brant played outside and showed me how he goes down the slide. He got to finger paint with his friends and played in the water to wash it off! I got to go in and play with him on my break and he was so lovey dovey! It was fun! Then when it was time to go home, he didn't even want to leave with me. That I must say was sad for me...but at least he is enjoying school!

They asked me to come in at 8 in the morning so that means it will be an early one for us. Have to wake Brant up before 7! Off to bed I go!

Love to you all!

::As the World Turns::

So as it turns out, apparently I have given whatever bug I had to my caring husband. Now, not only am I not fully well, but he is under the weather, and Brant is spending the night at Mimi and Pawpaw's to hopefully evade this bug.

Lord have mercy on us all. Between being exhausted due to not eating hardly anything in 4 days, I am retiring to bed after taking care of BA and then off to work again tomorrow.

Gatorade could be my new crash diet whenever I wanna look 10 lbs lighter.

Love you all!

::Sorry for the Delay::

So the reason I haven't posted in the past two days is because since 2:00pm on Friday afternoon my best friends have been my bed and the toilet...aside from my loving husband who has attended to my every beck and call. I don't know what I came down with but as soon as I got to work on Friday I began throwing up. After the third time I decided it wasn't going to pass and I scooped up Brant and headed home. Luckily, Brandon was home for the day because of a cancelled concrete pour, long story short they didn't tell him they cancelled it and he was at work at 3:00am on Friday all by himself and decided to take the day off since no one was courteous enough to give him a call. So, I was home, hugging the toilet and he took care of Brant. We carried on that way until my parents came over yesterday to pick up Sammy. They decided to take Brant home with them so Brandon could get some things done around the house and I could get better. 24 hours later and I still don't feel quite right, but I figure I better get up and try to do some stuff to see if I will be able to make it at work tomorrow.

Here are some more pics from the other day. I don't like posting without pictures! Then its just me, and me alone, without my adorable son, is boring! Oh yeah - I forgot to say GO DAWGS! Granted...it was W Carolina, but still its a W!

::On the Upside::

Well, today was our last day sick at home. He woke up with fever but it broke mid-morning and he hasn't had fever since, Praise Jesus! He still was very ornery and hasn't been sleeping very well, but other than that and the enormous amount of snot he is getting rid of he's great! We even got the chance to go outside and play in the water after it rained!

Here are some pictures from today! He looks better!

We are going back to school tomorrow...so many teachers are out they practically said I had to come back! So - we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Brandon has to go and pour concrete at 3:30 in the morning so I am going to get off here so he can go to sleep! The light really bothers him, he's a very particular sleeper!

Love to all!

::Today::

Today was a little bit better. Still has a pretty harsh fever, even with the Motrin round the clock. We ran to the school today to get our pictures taken. It was mandatory for me to get it done by the end of the week, and if I didn't get it today, it would have to be done at the photographer's studio on my own time. Being that I don't have a lot of that, I thought it was a good idea to go ahead and run there to get it done, and then Brant could have his done like he was supposed to anyways. So yay for looking tired and sick in our photos today!

I will make sure you all see them when we get them!

Brant and I will most likely be at home again tomorrow. Rather him get all the way well before we go back. With his fever anyways, we can't go back, but I still think without it we will stay at home!

Love you all - thanks for the prayers!

Quick Update

Not going to write much now because Brant is taking a nap, so I am not far behind him. Just wanted to let all of you know who were wondering, once again, sorry Lori that my phone is the WORST at my house. But Brant has a double ear infection, that means one in both ears. Long story short, they never should have treated him for strep, and now we have an ear infection. I love my Dr. though, I got to see Brant's this time, and he filled me in on everything which I will write later.

Love you all - he is okay, just fussy and still very very hot. Pray he gets in a good nap. Rest is the best medicine right now...and its the hardest for him to get!

::Sick Again or Still?::

That is the question. Are we sick AGAIN, or did we never really get over it in the first place, so we are sick still?

Anyways...Brant is in bed after a long day. He woke up last night with a high fever. This morning when he woke up it was not there. So he and I went to school as planned, it being Monday I knew that lots of teachers would be out and I would be needed. I let them know up front that Brant could quite possibly develop this fever again and that I wanted to be notified immediately should that occur. (yes I said that exact thing...ha!)

So, before nap time he was getting hot so I went and gave him some Tylenol, yet another advantage of being at the same place he is (thank you Jesus). He slept all of 45 minutes. I knew something was up. That was at about 12, at about 3 his teacher came and found me and let me know his temp was at 102 and the thermometer didn't even beep. So, needless to say our little guy had to go home. Brandon left work right then, being the caring and loving father and husband he is, for real, and came to pick him up. I had a meeting after work, so I have just arrived home after going to CVS to pick up some Pedialyte, a nose syringe, and some more Motrin.

I will be calling the doctor ASAP in the morning to try and get in. I just want to try and get this knocked out before it gets bad. I am not dealing with this sickness thing to well. Although, I am having to be a big girl about it since Mom is outta town and Brandon's mom is like more than 2 hours away. Sometimes its hard to believe that I am the Mom now!

Love to all! I will update you tomorrow!

::Weekend Fun::

This weekend has been lots of fun so far, except for the fact that my Dawgs just got beat, and beat bad. The score does not depict how awful that game was. We need to fix some things or our SEC season is going to be a bust.

Aside from that, Friday was a good day for Brant at school, as you can see from the pictures. He fell on the playground though, and that was the worst. He has a bump on his head, a bruise under his eye, and his nose is so scraped up. He took it like a man though, I am told, and didn't cry until someone ran over to him and babied him! Go Brant!

Brant is so funny when I go into his classroom to teach Body Basics. He doesn't understand why I am paying so much attention to the other kids too. He wants his mommy all to himself! But he usually gets better as time goes on.

I went out to dinner for Brant's teacher, Alyssa's, birthday on Friday night, so Daddy and Brant had boys' night in! They said it was so much fun. Brant was making Daddy laugh all night with his "Uh Ohs!" Also, Brant has started to say "ball" as well. Its so neat to see how school is teaching him so many cute things and how being with the other kids makes him want to do more things! Now if we can just get him to eat!

Love to all...Have a Blessed Sunday!

::Better Day::

Today was surprisingly okay. Brant only woke up once last night, and it was really before I was good and asleep, so I was able to put him back to bed and get to sleep without much trouble. This morning he didn't cry when I dropped him off, another plus. He played on the playground today and I was there, but he didn't latch onto me. He played and every now and then would come show me something...it was great!

He still only slept one hour at nap time though, so I am not sure what is up with that. Mimi and Pawpaw came by tonight to drop off Sammy and he was happy to see them. Sammy wasn't so happy to see them go however. His heart was racing and he wanted nothing to do with us for about 30 minutes. I guess until he came to terms with the fact that they really weren't coming right back.

Anyways - all is well. Brant is asleep. Tomorrow is Friday and I get to teach PE. Brandon is picking up Brant from school tomorrow. And I have my dog back for a week!

Let me know how your week has been! Love you all!

And Lauren - I am sorry but my video uploader is not cooperating. I will have this video up asap! PROMISE!

::Better Late Than Never::

I always say better late than never, although being late is one of my biggest pet peeves. However, I just got around to empyting my flash drive onto my home computer and I found pictures from my family's summer vacation. I thought that I could post some since I didn't have any new material on Brant. As you can see from our shirts, we went over the fourth of July week and spent it at the beach. We had a blast. I posted during our stay in Destin, and I am sure most of you enjoyed the video and pictures of Brant. If you haven't seen them, go back to my posts from July and you can find them. Pretty good stuff I must say. All of these pictures have Brant in them, since the blog really is about him right?

Brant had a good day at school today...it was the first time since he was sick that he hasn't cried when I dropped him off in his classroom. That was good. And when I went to his room during my break, his teacher, Ms. Alyssa, who is the greatest might I add, along with Ms. Marie, told me that he ate some pineapple at lunch. Surprise number two. Right at that moment, my son decided to wake up, after only one hour of a nap. That was not a good thing because by 6:30 when it was time to go home I had one tired boy in my hands. He cried all the way home, inconsoleable. Once we got home BA already had the chicken ready, and he DIDN'T WANT IT! Can you believe it? We couldn't! We decided to try the bath, didn't work. So, at 7:30pm our son was in the bed and asleep. I will post tomorrow to let you know how that works out!

Let's all hope for a better day tomorrow, or at least better END to the day. But it will be, because our family gets to babysit Sammy, my parent's dog, who used to be my dog, for a whole week! I am so excited to have my little guy back for a visit! I'll make sure to put some pictures up of he and Brant since they are such good friends now...Sammy lets Brant pet him! YAY!

Love to all!

::We love Holidays::

Check out my Labor Day outfit. I wasn't sure what kind of Labor Day our family was going to have. Brant didn't have a great night, and we were supposed to go and cookout at my brother's house, but we didn't because Brant was off. Well, Brandon went to Home Depot to get some stuff for the yard so Brant and I decided to play outside. Sure enough, he's had a great day. We put on our Braves hat, hopefully to bring them some luck, and we headed out. I put some water in the pool to warm up today so after his nap he can play in it! We played outside with the hose and our tricycle. He had a ball! As of right now, Brandon is changing the oil in our cars as he waters the yard, which we found out Brant isn't too fond of the sprinkler! I just put Brant down for a nap, and I am about to go and run some errands. That is why I love holidays, although I do wish I had known Brant would be fine today and we could have gone to my brother's...although, we couldn't have been so productive!

Just thought I would show you some pics of my garden. None of my doing, as of now all I have done is water them. They are really pretty and it made me happy to be outside today so I thought I would share them with all of you!

Below is a video of Brant today during our inside playtime. It is so funny! This is his new thing!

Love you all!

::A Great Day::

I am excited about today, and the reason is two-fold. Today, first and foremost is Danielle Lindeman's 24th birthday and we are all going to ESPN Zone to celebrate. Secondly, and near and dear to my heart, it is the SEASON AND HOME OPENER UGA FOOTBALL GAME! Go Dawgs! I called my brother last night to make sure that he had his car flags ready last night and how jealous I was that he was going. He does pay lots for those tickets though, so I guess I can let it slide! I told him if he didn't want to go to the Troy game this season that I would take the tickets if he wanted me to! He got a big laugh. I didn't get to go to ONE game last season, not his fault but mine, and I hope that I can attend at least one this year. So, in short, we will be at ESPN Zone at 6 pm for kick-off cheering on my beloved Dawgs!

Oh yes - and thanks Lori for the signature idea. Drumroll please....

::Back in the Swing of Things::

We are all healthy again. Still taking the antibiotics, but back to normal. Brant has returned to school this week, and has had two wonderful days. His teachers camera is broke, so no pictures yet. They are fixing it though. Good news, I have signed Brant up for another premium service at school. It is called the photo enrollment program. For a nominal fee, in my opinion, we will get a cd each month with 50 pictures on it and then 2 large scrapbook pages to put in a book with his name engraved on it. How awesome is that. Each month I will be able to post pictures and show you things he is doing at school. It is going to be lots of fun.

Also, keep me in your prayers. I have started doing PE, or Body Basics, as we like to call it at the school. I taught my first classes on Friday. All it did was make me miss PE and confirm that it is my passion and my calling. Needless to say, my attitude at school these past few days has been anything but upbeat and I am SEARCHING for things to be negative about. That is not good at all, and definitely affects how the kids act as well. Pray that I have an attitude adjustment and that I learn to be "joyful in all circumstances." Also pray that if I am to find a PE job starting in January then I will. My contract is only binding, if you can even call it that, until December. Mainly it is my word that is holding me there, but as a Christian I feel that I need to uphold my word, although that is not the common occurance at this school among the teachers. We have people quitting left and right, which is another reason I have become frustrated. People just decide not to show up for work when they quit. No notification or anything, that is just wrong to do people that way! Anyways - since I have made this explanation longer than I meant to - just pray that I find contentment in my situation and that if I am to find a PE job for January that I will.

At least being there with Brant so far, I have seen how they love him and care for him and I would be confident leaving him there and going elsewhere. I love his teachers and I have gotten to know them! That is a plus!

Until next time, hopefully with pictures once I find my charger!

::New Video as Promised::

::Last Week::

These two pictures sum up last week for Brant without having to use any words at all! I think that he is doing much better. Still has a little cough from all the drainage, but other than that we are on the upswing. We will be going back to school this week and probably having to get used to that whole idea again. A week with MiMi will do that to you! Hope all is well with everyone. Sorry that it has been a while since my last post, but this week has been a long one! YAY for Labor Day next week!

::Sick Babies Are NO Fun::

Not that I am mad at him, but having a sick child is hard. This week hasn't been the smoothest due to the fact that Brant has been a little under the weather. He has had a fever of like 101 - 102 for the past 48 hours, and the poor little guy has had it. We went to the doctor today and they did a strep test, which came back negative. But she said due to the fact that he had tons of puss in his throat and that he was exposed to it at school, she decided to treat him for it anyways. So now, we have a really fun antibiotic to take twice a day. Other than him being miserable and Brandon and I being tired, we are doing great!

Here are some pictures from this weekend. Brant got out and helped Daddy cut the grass and work in the yard. He loved it! He followed him everywhere. It was so hot though that we just hung out in our diaper!

I guess we need to teach Brant that you don't have to mow the rocks!

This was Brant after Daddy stopped. He didn't understand why the fun was over!

A new video, more current, as my sister requested will be posted soon. Hope all is well with everyone and we hope to see you all soon!

::Just For FUN::

Hope this makes all of you smile today. I found it a couple of nights ago on my computer and it made me happy and sad all in the same moment! He grew up so fast. This is when he was 8 months old.

::Flowers Don't Taste So Good::

Brant is having a great first week at school. He is learning how to play with other kids and hopefully soon he will be learning to eat lunch! I really think he has enjoyed getting out of the house everyday. At least in the morning when I ask if he's ready to go to school, instead of crying, he runs to the door and starts beating on it! And now when he goes to his room, he lets go of my hand and starts to play instead of clinging and crying. So, progress is definitely happening, and for that I am excited.

The part I am not excited about is how exhausted me and Brant are at the end of the day. We get home and after dinner it is basically time for him to go to bed. Not a lot of time to play with Mommy and Daddy, but we will get used to that and do fun things on the weekend to make up for it.

Today after we got home, Brant and I explored the backyard. First we made a stop at the marigolds by the fence. He liked to pick them and see if they tasted good. He found out they did not!



Then, we went to our path with rocks and tasted a few of those. The picture below is one that I thought he was tasting a rock, which I thought was funny. Turns out it was a dead flower with individual petals that flaked off...oops!

As you can see below, he did not like the taste of that, and the petals stuck to his mouth. I had to help him get cleaned up before dinner!

Brandon met one of our neighbors tonight. Said he seemed like a nice man with a nice family. They are the ones who are trying to sell their house though. He offered to help us move or take boxes, or even let BA borrow the lawn mower if he needed it. I was proud of BA for being so neighborly.

Funny story and then I'm done. So, most of you know that the couple we bought the house from is elderly, and when I say that, I mean the man had to use a walker and his wife told him what to do. Been married 47 years. My guess is they were in mid to late 60s. So we found out from our neighbor, that NO LIE, the couple's parents live across the street. Can you believe that? That would be like in 10 or more years, my Nanny living across the street from my parents. Just seems sorta funny.

Hope this finds you all well. Love to all!

::MOVED IN::

We are officially moved in and now Cherokee County residents. BA, Brant, and I are pretty exhausted, but loving every minute of it. We still have boxes and bags everywhere, and we are in not much of a hurry to get them unpacked. Brant and I start school tomorrow full time, and it is going to be a big transition. I think Brant will do well, at least I hope, because all the change is coming at once. Just get used to it all at the same time. He has had a bit of a cold, and he hates me because I have been suctioning his nose like non stop. But other than that, we are all just peachy!

Hope all of you are well. Till next time...

The Arnold Family
2055 Greenhill Pass
Canton, GA 30114

::Today at School::

Today was Brant's second day at school. He had a blast. Ms. Alyssa said he didn't even cry once! YAY! In his discovery report, this is a report that gets sent to my email every afternoon highlighting what he did and learned that day (along with pictures), was a picture of him playing outside with his friends. It is the picture above...Brant of course is in the blue shirt playing at the table!

There will be other things as well, like journal reports, which I will receive once a week which will be totally personal to him discussing something he accomplished or may need work on! It is the neatest thing. God really has blessed me with a creative and intimate place for Brant to be!

Also - there may be a chance that I will be moving to Pre-K instead of 2 year olds. Not that I don't love the twos, because I really did. But there was an opening and they considered me first! Kinda neat how when you make the right choices, even when they aren't the most fun...such as, taking a job working with Twos when it isn't my first choice because this place would be so cool for my son to be, God honors your decision and works things out for the best!

Love to all...

First Day Behind Us...

Brant had his first day today, and did relatively well. Didn't like the drop off time, but what one year old does. Five minutes later I peeked unto his room and he was climbing on top of the tunnel! That's my boy!

Mom came and picked him up before lunch. I decided to let him ease into this whole "school day" thing. Mom said he crashed the minute they got back to the house! We will be going back on Wednesday, because we are closing on our house tomorrow! YAY! Please pray that all goes smoothly.

Love to all!

PRAYER!

I am asking all of you to keep the Leino family in your prayers. Some of you know about the family and some don't, but they have a blog that I have a link to on mine. It is called Isaac Leino. If you do not know their story, then please go visit their blog which you can get to from mine.

Their son, Isaac, past away today. He was a fighter to the end and I have learned so much through both of the parents', Patience and Jordan, faith. Their blog never ceased to amaze me and bring me encouragement, even through their struggles. The next few days will be extremely hard for them, as I can only imagine. Every time I look at Brant I wish that they were able to experience this, and Lord willing, one day they will!

I can say this though. I have been forever touched and changed through their life. Their faith and prayer life and sheer strength in the Lord will forever remain in my memory.

Sweet Isaac is with our Lord now. Running, playing, and smiling down on all of us. Thank you Lord for your sovereignty and your perfect plan for our lives. I chose the picture above because that is the way I will always remember Isaac and the influence he had on thousands of people around the world! He was a miracle from the beginning and, to me, he always will be!

To God be the Glory!

SCHOOL SHOES::

IT'S OFF TO SCHOOL TIME!

I wanted to let everyone see my new shoes! Mom would have taken a picture of me in them, but her camera isn't here! I get to go to my very first day of school tomorrow...but MiMi is going to pick me up before lunch so I can ease into my first full day!

Everyone pray for me and my mommy so she can feel that this is what she is supposed to do!

We love you all - BRANT

JOB!

I haven't signed a contract or anything yet, but I believe that I have found job. It is at a private school for young children called Foundations for the Future. You can check out their website at http://www.foundationscorp.com .

I really enjoyed being there and meeting the teachers. Brant will go with me and I am so excited about the opportunity for him to learn from a teacher and learn to be in a school setting. Interacting with other kids is going to be so much fun for him, of course, after he gets used to the routine...which could take a while!

I will be a teacher in the 2 year old class, and they are so cute. Really precious. I have a couple days next week to go in, paid of course, and decide. They call it a "working interview." So - I will let everyone know.

Thanks to all of those who have been praying for me. I really feel like this is going to be a great opportunity for Brant. And as all of you moms out there know (and I am beginning to find out)...we will do anything for our children! It makes my decision so much easier to know he is going to be in such a neat place!