Sappington Spot

B's 1st Haircut

2012-01-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

I've been holding off on Brady's first haircut. The front/top wasn't very long and I kept hoping it would catch up to the back. I gave in after my sister so kindly told me that the back of Brady's hair looked like a "rat tail" and that I needed to cut it. Sweet, right? Brady was a champ during the haircut. Big brother was getting a cut at the same time, so he was watching him and did wonderfully. My New Year's resolution. . .to buy a set of clippers and learn how to give a boys haircut!

The Before

The After

Campin' Out

2012-01-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not brave enough to really camp out with these little guys yet. I'm gearing up for it soon, but this will have to do for now. . .

Love this sleepy grin

Family Fun Days

2012-01-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

The warm weather we have had in January has given us the opportunity to spend some time outside as a family. We feel blessed because Roger is off work most Fridays, so we are able to go and enjoy activities with the kids. A few weeks ago we enjoyed 70 degree weather at the zoo. Last week we took our first trip to the Botanic Gardens (which was fun, but I'm looking forward to seeing the real blooms come spring!).

Still working on smiling for the camera :)

Running outside=Happy 3 year old boy

Edwards Christmas

2011-12-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day we loaded up the minivan early, packed lunches for the boys (since they are starving after church and we didn't know if there would be any drive thru's open!), and headed to church. Roger actually preached Christmas morning at the Regenesis Church. The Regenesis church is an African refugee church that partners with Pantego and meets in one of its' buildings. Most of the church members are from Burundi, Congo, and Rwanda. The service is conducted primarily in Swahilii, so Roger preached with a translator. It was sweet to witness how our brothers and sisters in Christ worship in their language through song, dance, and even acting out the some of the Christmas story set to music. Colin may have been a bit confused, but it was a good learning experience, right?

We left church and headed to my parents' house for quick naps and more Christmas fun! We stayed a few days and enjoyed just hanging out with the fam.

This may be the only family pic from all of Christmas!

Colin helped pass out the gifts-he was a really great helper considering how anxious he was to open his gifts!

My mom picked up this cute singing/dancing Abominable Snowman because C has been obsessed with him after watching Rudolph a billion times this Christmas. Brady was quite intrigued.

My sweet grandmother and her baby, Gizmo.

More of the Edwards' crew

Uncle Taylor very patiently doing stickers with Colin

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus that night

I received the Christmas apron in the "Dirty Santa" gift exchange--I thought it was way better than the Justin Bieber singing toothbrush that we added to the mix!

My lil' Supermen!

These jammies were a big hit. C wants to wear them every night and heaven forbid the velcro that attaches the cape should come undone!

Taking off. . .

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's. . .

Also had some fun times with the random Christmas tree glasses

And EVERYONE wanted to wear them :)

Even sweet B :)

The Night Before Christmas (and the day of!)

2011-12-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve and day as a family. We went to Pantego's Family Christmas Eve service and had a wonderful time worshiping in a "kid friendly" environment. The children's choir sang, students acted out the Christmas story, and there were glow sticks in lieu of candles-genius! Rather than leaving quietly, the service ended with confetti coming down to the tune of "Celebration." So cute to see all the little ones dancing and cheering for the birth of our Savior! Christmas morning was fun-Colin was pumped to see new toys and Brady was as excited as a one year old could be-ha ha!

LOVE these two little men-such sweet smiles and giggles!

Tacky Christmas

2011-12-19T14:02:00.000-08:00

My mom's extended family had a "Fa la la la la" competition this year, which translated into a tacky Christmas get together! My Aunt Brenda (who is fabulously creative and talented in her own right) challenged everyone to come dressed for Christmas, bring a talent, skit, game, etc. We were completely entertained by all the skits, but I have to say, my brother and his girlfriend, Ginny, were hands down the winners. They went ALL OUT-detailed costumes and a skit with rehearsed/memorized lines. AND it was HILARIOUS. We definitely have some new Christmas memories!

The Graham Clan included Cindy Lou Who, Charlie Brown, and Cousin Eddie

My brother and Ginny as Jim Bob and Darlene

Robin was the crazy Target lady

My crew acted out "Go Tell It On The Mountain" with the help of some "extras" that I recruited on the spot!

(you can spot my arm directing the kids on the right!)

Brady has a star pinned to him--clearly he was the "Holy Light" in the song :)

My cousin Katie (who has an actual talent)sang for us in her tacky Christmas sweater and matching red stirrup pants-love it!

Carson read a section from Merry Christmas Charlie Brown

Colin was a little unsure of my brother's costume-here you see him hanging on to Aunt Robin and pulling back from Taylor!

Sweet B playing with Gramps hat

Santa Claus Pics

2011-12-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

We went for the all out "Santa Experience," this year, taking our picture at Bass Pro Shop. Colin had a great time looking at ALL the animals, boats, fishing poles, sharks, and guns! First, the Sappington Santa Claus history. . .

2011: Brady was not having it. . .

2010

2009

2008

And a few more snapshots of our little field trip to Bass Pro:

Christmas Party

2011-12-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

The three year old "Frog Class" celebrated Christmas in style! I had the privilege of attending and helping with C's class party. The mama's did a fabulous job of coordinating lunch, decor, games, and crafts for the cutie kids. Colin was most excited about the Chick fil a nuggets the moms served for lunch?? I guess he's easily impressed.

The other mom's and teachers helped me with Brady. The party was right in the middle of his lunch time, and as you can tell, Brady doesn't miss any meals. He ate his lunch on the go and was content to watch all the activity!

My contribution-the craft! Snowmen ornaments :)

This was my "example" ornament for the kids/moms to see. :) I had to have one for each of my boys!

C with his sweet teachers!

"C" is for Cookie (Decorating that is)

2011-12-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

What is Christmas time without cookie decorating? We spent the other morning cutting, baking, and decorating cookies with seven kids ranging in age from 5 to 9 months. "Crazy" would be an understatement. Despite the chaos we had a fun play date hanging with the Roaches, Rhodes, and Bailey's. So thankful for these girls and their sweet kids!

Gingerbread cookie + Star Wars = happy 3 year old boy :)

Cooper, Keira, & Colin

A few days later we made our way over to Grammy's house, where there was more cookie decorating! As I am writing this, I am slowly realizing why I'm still having to work so hard at the gym. . .ugh.

Notice the cookie that is completely COVERED in green sprinkles?? That's what happens when mommy's ODC kicks in and she gets consumed in decorating the candy cane cookie with alternating white and red sprinkles. C took advantage of free reign with his sprinkles!

Enjoying a green sprinkle snack!

Movin' On Up

2011-12-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

Brady's first birthday also signaled a change in the Sappington family driving arrangements. . .that's right, Brady is a forward facing big boy now! My pediatrician informed me (which I may have heard already) that "they" are now suggesting keeping babies backward facing until 2 years old-whaaaaaatttt?!?!?! I'm sure it is safe, but I cannot imagine doing that until age 2! Sorry doc, we already turned him around and he loves it! Our first forward facing ride:

C received a big boy car seat "upgrade" as well.

Happy 1st Brady!

2011-12-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

December 9th, our little Brady-boo turned 1 year old. I know everyone says this, but I really cannot believe he is one!! Brady has been such a joy to our family. A few things we love about you Brady:

Your HUGE smile.
You crawl FAST-I've never seen a baby move like you do!
You are an amazing eater (you "out eat" your brother)
Your sweet chubby cheeks-really, all your chubbiness is adorable
You smile at everyone (making yourself quite the attraction in public places)
LOUD, loving to squeal and laugh
You have a funny giggle when you are tickled about anything
When I sing to you at bedtime you try to "sing along"
You adore your big brother, Colin, and even though he sometimes tortures you, you are always looking to see what he is doing
You love to "wrestle" with daddy just like big brother
You are a mama's boy-always looking to see where I am and holding up those sweets arms to be held

We had a great family day celebrating our sweet B's birthday!

Cake Balls-YUM. Thank you Maw Maw for bringing these in from your special bakery in Alvin!

B's special cupcake

Not so sure about all this fuss. . .

Wait a minute. . .I think I like this party stuff now!

Getting some sugar from great g-ma

Happy B-day Gram!

2011-11-30T14:53:00.000-08:00

Gram's birthday is November 29th, so my family had a post-Thanksgiving/birthday party get together. We went to fabulous burger place at the Shops at Legacy and topped off the evening at the gigantic Christmas tree. As you can guess, the latter was more for Colin's benefit than a birthday treat for Gram. Happy 40th Grammy-we love you! :)

A little "Golden Tee" action

Happy Birthday Gram-maybe someday the grandkids will take a good picture for you!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

This year we headed down to Houston for our Thanksgiving festivities! We had a blast playing, hanging out, and eating! We took a little field trip to Galveston to see the outdoor light display at Moody Gardens-the kids loved it and had so much fun.

The first afternoon/evening upon arriving is always CRAZY because the kids are so excited to see one another. They PLAY hard, stay up late, and finally crash. My nephew, Austin, and the dog, Cooper, were equally exhausted.

Turkey Prep :)

My lil' turkey. This was actually B's first Thanksgiving!

The kids table-warm weather allowed them to dine outside

Colin and Dawson are best buds. Here are the cutie cousins on the way to see the Muppet Movie!

Bailey lovin' on Brady during the Christmas light tour

By the end of the tour both little men wanted to be with daddy :)

You've Got a Friend in Me-Halloween!

2011-11-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween Colin declared he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear. Mommy had some other costumes in mind, but C was pretty clear about what he wanted. Colin said, "I will be Buzz, mommy will be Jesse, daddy will be Woody, and Brady will be the Alien (which he pronounces A-E-EN-no "l").

I hated to break it to him, but the Disney store had jammies on sale, and they do not have "A-E-EN" jammies, so Brady was destined to be Woody. (Let's be honest, that was mommy' s plan all along!) We embelished C's jammies with a few Buzz accessories from the internet and added an old cowboy hat to B's ensemble (which he refused to wear the entire night) and we were done. Yeah!

We went to dinner and trick-or-treating with some friends from church as well as some friends from Fort Worth. C was just getting into the candy action when he got sick all over the driveway at house #2. Yikes! We managed to keep him clean and cleaned up the driveway as best we could. After making sure he was okay, he wanted to keep going. I think the thought of all the candy motivated him. Always an adventure, right?

Woody & Buzz!

B getting some love from Ryan after he was tired of being in the stroller

C's friend Isaac from Fort Worth-another Woody!

Isaac, Brady, Colin, Graham, and Cooper

Aggie/XO Reunion Weekend

2011-10-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend some of my best girlfriends from college had a get together in Aggieland with all of our families! It is so fun to see these dear friends, husbands, and kids. None of the mommies wanted to brave the ballgame with kids (plus, it's way too expensive to take kids to a football game that you wouldn't even be able to enjoy!), so we went to campus early and let the littles take in all the pre-game activities. After the morning activities we went to watch the game on tv, visit, and let the kids play. We are all spread out now-1 in Bryan/CS, 3 in the DFW area, 1 in Austin, 2 in Houston, and 1 in Nashville. Needless to say, it was a small miracle that most of us were able to make it!

The Fam-my Aggies in training!

Roger was a great sport. I told him he didn't have to wear maroon, but he wasn't allowed to wear his Longhorn shirt :)

The girls with the lil' girls. Mine were off with daddy.

Colin enjoying the blow up slide and obstacle course

This "real" race car was a promo for Nationwide-Colin thought it was so cool.

Future Ags in the making

We went on a tour of the Chi-O house to see the renovations since we lived there. I turned my back for a few minutes and the next thing I knew Colin was wrestling Brady on the floor of the dining room-ahhh! What's a mom of boys to do?

Laura and Marci visiting/watching kids play

Cutie-pies having a picnic

Brady loved Korie's husband, Kirk

Attempting to get a picture with the mommies and kids. Everyone was DONE.

The crew-Suzy, Tiff, Laura, Marci, Korie, and myself

Not the greatest pic, but so cute I had to include it-Suzy's two and C had a blast at Fuddruckers.

So thankful for these friends!

A Little Bit of Cute

2011-10-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

A few funny shots from around the house lately. We had been watching the World Series (sigh-so sad!) when Colin put my headband on and said, "Look, I'm the talker guy!" Maybe we have a sports broadcaster in our future. . .

Our little Brady is getting so big and has a mouthful of teeth coming in-the drool stain in the pic shows how he looks most of the time these days! Covered in drool (but still pretty sweet if you ask this mama!).

Crawling everywhere and into everything.

Big Tex!

2011-10-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some kind friends, our family received free passes to enjoy the State Fair of Texas this past week! Roger and I loaded up the kids after naps and headed to Dallas to enjoy the fun. There were several factors that made this little adventure great:

1. Going on a weekday (yeah for a small crowd!)

2. Can you say PERFECT weather?!?

3. The kids were in great moods and loved taking in all the excitement (dogs shows, all kinds of animals, acrobats, & parade!)

4. FOOD-enough said.

5. I have to mention the FREE part again!

6. The look of absolute SHOCK on Colin's face when Big Tex began "talking." It is still making me laugh!!

A few memories of classic State Fair of Texas FUN. . .

The Children's Medical Center Barnyard was awesome-such different animals than the normal petting zoo. Colin LOVED it. Feeding the emu.

Four Horned Goat-who knew???

C was clearly diggin' the "real" potato chips

Not exactly sure how he felt about Big Tex

I heart my boys

My Favorite Time of the Year!

2011-10-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Fall is my favorite time of the year. The weather is cooling, football has started, pumpkin bread is baking, and I can pull out all of my favorite soup/chili recipes that I save for "cooler" weather! This past weekend we had a great family day out at the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch. We had beautiful weather and almost had the place to ourselves. Colin knew exactly what to do this year, and even helped Brady pick out a pumpkin! :)

Fun on the Hayride

Picking out the perfect one

Helping Brady

Brady loved the pumpkin-so funny!

We took about twenty pics of this pose and this was the best one we were able to get-ahhh!

Neighborhood Buddies

2011-09-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Our old neighbors, the Rogers, came over to play the other day. Our boys were both born within a few months of each other, so I love to swap stories with Rachel and ask "is such and such normal?!?!?" They are sweet friends and we miss having them right across the street! We were able to catch a couple of funny pictures of all four boys together.

Levi, Luke, Colin (sweaty!!), and Brady

Lately. . .

2011-09-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

We've been spending a little more time outdoors lately with the (somewhat) cooler temps.A few fun shots from our lives lately. . . .

C trying out his new scooter-still working on this skill!

So cute!

Brady watched the action and enjoyed his crackers

Daddy had to work one Saturday so the boys and I went to the park for a picnic and what turned into a little adventure in the mud/dirt. Colin thought the mud was wonderful-this pic is from the camera phone, but if you look closely you can see the dirt on his forehead and shoes. :)

While B was taking his nap the other morning, Colin and I went on a "safari" in our backyard. And yes, he was still in his jammies-the preferred attire of explores everywhere!

Posing with all the animals he found in our backyard :)

We had a little "get out of the house" trip to Target the other day. I was intently studying the furniture cushions I needed for our kitchen chairs, and looked up to find Colin doing a little organizing! He took all the plungers off of the endcap and lined them up-he was very proud of himself. This little boy is his daddy's child!

(again the camera phone!)

Topped off our outing with a couple of treats-a snake from the dollar bin and a slurpee! These are the simple memories that I love the most about being a mommy.

Brady is really crawling and getting around now. The thing he likes the most is playing with the cabinet doors under our television, weird, right? He is a BIG boy-wearing 12 and 18 month size clothes. I put this 12 month outfit on him the other day, but I think it's already too small. He reminds me of Tweedle Dum/Tweedle Dee with that belly! :)

Here he is enjoying a little "face time" in our closet mirror (don't mind the toilet in the background-he he!)

Colin's Wild Birthday!

2011-09-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we celebrated Colin's 3rd birthday! I know all parents say this, but I still can't believe he's three already! Colin started to understand the concept of "birthday," last year, but this year he was ALL about it. The birthday fever started on Thursday at school, where his teachers and classmates celebrated with the cookies and "special" Lighting' McQueen napkins C had picked out on his own. When I picked C up from school he ran up to me and shouted "Happy Birthday Colin!!!" Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Woodson explained that during roll call that day the students had said "Happy Birthday Colin," in lieu of "here." Oh my goodness-he was LOVIN it! Of course, he also was the line leader and got to wear a special crown all day-what fun!

Smiling b-day boy with his teachers

We started Colin's birthday morning at home with a good dose of sugar and a round of "Happy Birthday to You." Maw Maw and Dawson came in early to hang out and help us celebrate.

Our family and friends helped us party it up at C's jungle/safari themed party at our church. We were blessed to use our church's indoor playground designed specifically for toddlers-yeah for easy entertainment!! Colin had a great time playing and seeing all of his friends.

The smiling birthday boy

Some of our WILD decor

Playin' around

Cousin Dawson being silly

Grandma Mary and Grammy

B getting a little banana snack from daddy

Maw Maw and Paw Paw

Giraffe a Laffe Limbo Game!

Daddy doing what he does best :)

Luke going on a safari with his binnoculars

Doing a little exploring of his own. . .

Jodi and Grace

Janet and Kate decorating binnoculars

Carson and Colin

Sweet Simon and his mama, Julie

Gramps entertaining Brady

C and Aunt Robin

Ginny and Grace

Some of our church friends-Sydney and Arie

So, check out the big kid on the left!!! Uncle Taylor had a good time too!

Kate and Colin

Safari friends-C and Isaac

These are probably C's favorites. . .all the cousins!

1st Day of School!

2011-09-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Our first day of school was this past week at preschool. This year is a little different for me as a parent. Last year I was able to work at C's school and peek in on him all the time. Dropping him off for the day was a new experience for me (and maybe just a teeny bit emotional too?!). Colin was a champ though-he seemed a little nervous as we were walking in amongst the mobs of preschools, parents, backpacks, napmats, and strollers. Who wouldn't be a little overwhelmed by that though? He gave me a kiss and a hug and went straight into the class and started playing. When I picked him up from school and asked if he had a good day he yelled, "YES!!!" So, I guess we'll definitely be going back! My little man on his first day:

Saying goodbye/crushing little bro

A Special Grandfather

2011-08-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

My sweet grandfather, Bruce, passed away this past week. Bruce married my Mimi when I was nine years old. My grandmother asked me to be her bridesmaid in the small, but special ceremony that was held in my parents' living room. What a thrill for a little girl! I knew I liked Bruce then (mostly because I knew he loved my grandmother and she was crazy about him), but I didn't know how special that day really was. You see, I gained a grandfather that day. Technically, Bruce was my "step" grandad, but as far as I am concerned he was the real deal.

Bruce inherited quite the crowd when he married into our family--three sons, their wives, and eight grandchildren! He always loved each of us and treated us as his own. I have fun memories with my grandparents. . riding on horses at the ranch, going to Mexico while Bruce was working there, and eating Mexican food at Two Senoritas on every visit to Mt. Pleasant. Bruce and Mimi attended all the special moments in my life (as well as all the other grandchildren!) and he was always encouraging and loving towards us. Colin LOVED Bruce and was always thrilled when we went to visit. I will miss him dearly.

My grandfather had Alzheimer's, a disease that took him from us very slowly. I am so thankful that he knew Christ as his Savior-now there are no more tears, pain, or sorrow. One of my favorite scriptures was read at Bruce's memorial service and it fits my grandfather perfectly:

Philippians 2:3-11

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
⁶ Who, being in very natureGod,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!

Such a Godly man and special father, grandfather, and great grandfather.

My dad and his two brothers with my grandparents

Our wedding day

Hanging with baby Colin at Two Senoritas :)

Bruce showing C the cows on the ranch

Colin's 2nd Birthday party

C wearing Bruce's hat

Our last visit a few weeks ago-Bruce loved babies and Brady was no exception!

Adventures in Alvin

2011-08-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

We took a long weekend to go visit Roger's family and be a part of our nephew, Dawson's, 4th birthday party. C gets beyond excited to see everyone-makes me think maybe our house is kind of boring???? :)

Quality time with Maw Maw and C's favorite-the trains!

Pool time with the cousins

Paw Paw sold his motorcycle and replaced it with a Jeep. . .

C was excited to go for a ride!

Happy 4th Dawson!

Going down the slide with Aunt Lindsey

Bailey and the boys

Grandaddy (Roger's dad) was there too!

Mini Reunion

2011-07-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

At the end of July we met up to swim with two of my besties from A&M/XO days, Whitney and Marci. I love these two girls and their families. It is such a joy to see our growing families. After swimming we headed back to the house and put all the kids down for naps so that we could actually talk in complete sentences! Although we don't get to see each other nearly as often as I would like, every time we get together I feel like we are back in college again-lots of fun and lots of laughing!

The Girls

The kiddos-Miles, Caroline, Colin, & Brady (Baby Jenkins #2 is due Feb.'12!)

A little huggin-don't think Caroline was too excited about it :)

Potty Training 101

2011-07-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

So, this past week we began the big potty training experiment! I opted for the "3 day method," which for us turned out to be more of a seven day method :) I must admit day 1 and day 2 were NOT FUN. I had to remind myself that Colin had to have accidents in order to learn how to do it. Let's just say we did our fair share of "learning." The worst of it was at the indoor playground at lunch on day four (after he had just gone fifteen minutes beforehand!). I just about had a meltdown as I tried to pull him (protesting) out of the play area, with Brady in my arms while trying not to let every other parent realize what had happened.

I must say though, candy and stickers work quite the magic when it comes to potty training. I highly recommend using both (even though my sister (the nurse) says I shouldn't use candy, what does she know anyway???). We have phased out of the candy reward system, which is a good thing for our whole family. For some reason, mommy and daddy felt a need to reward themselves with candy quite frequently too! Colin is doing well going potty. It is so nice to change half as many diapers in a day!! Here are a few pics of him modeling his new undies-they were quite the hit!

Ethiopia

2011-07-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

In July, Roger had the privilege of leading a team from Pantego to Ethiopia for a week and a half. We missed him so much, but were glad that he could take part in what the Lord is doing in Ethiopia. The team partnered with local churches in Ethiopia to help share the love and grace of Jesus Christ. This was a busy group. They worked to provide a medical clinic that saw 200 local patients, ministered with home-based orphan care, and worshipped with several church plants in Ethiopia. Pantego has an ongoing partnership and ministry in Ethiopia and more trips will be returning next year. Soooooo, I'm already thinking next year it's my turn to go!

One of the participants on the trip also happens to be an amazing and talented photographer.(http://selahstudiosphotography.com/) She is responsible for these great pics!

The Team

Worship at a local church

Roger working with some of the local pastors

Traditional Ethiopian home

Talking to the team. . .

Having conversations with the locals. Roger's great friend since high school, Kyle, is on the right with the backpack strap in his hand. Kyle lives in Alvin, but came on the trip with the team. He is a teacher and chose to spend part of his summer across the ocean. Single ladies. . .he is available!! Seriously though, Roger was really excited for Kyle to be a part of the trip.

PRECIOUS.

Always time for a little fun.

Our Pastor, David Daniels, ministering to some of the locals

Fireworks and the Fourth!

2011-07-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July was a great distraction for us. . .we were sad that daddy couldn't be there with us! I was thankful because there were lots of hands on deck to help with Colin and Brady. We spent several days swimming, boating, and enjoying our annual 4th of July traditions. Uncle Taylor even let Colin hold his first sparkler. I think C enjoyed it a little too much. We may have a little pyromaniac on our hands!

My dad and Grace in the "boat parade"

Action shot of Carson

My mom's bff, Joel, and her husband Tommy holding B

Fishing break

My brother, Taylor, and Grace

Our first sparkler. . .oh, what have we done???

My Aunt Brenda and mom

Sweet Peyton

The newest addition to my parents' family, Jett, a sweet, wild, Cavapoo. He's keeping Peyton young!

Helping Hands

2011-07-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

So with Roger gone to Ethiopia for a week and a half, I had to enlist the family to help us out! Colin and I (and maybe even Brady!) needed some distraction to keep us from missing daddy too much. The afternoon Roger left, my cousin, Jodi, and her kids came over to hang out and have a sleepover! Here's Brady getting a little attention from sweet Grace.

Fun with the Fam

2011-06-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Roger's mom, sister, and her three kids came up to visit and hang out. Colin LOVES his cousins. It is always non-stop chaos and activity when they are around and he enjoys every minute of it. We packed in the fun-Cars 2, swimming, the zoo, and bowling-a first for Colin!

Cars 2-Colin and Dawson in their matching Lighting McQueen shirts

C's first bowl with a little assistance from dad, Dawson, and Austin. The little ones loved it because we cheered so loud and got excited for every bowl. Colin told his daddy on his turn, "you can do it daddy!" Precious.

Swimming in the backyard and a little grillin' out! Brady watching all the activity.

Three silly boys. . .Dawson, Austin, Colin

Maw Maw and B

Roger and his sister, Lindsey

The boys at the zoo. . .Bailey, the one and only girl cousin wasn't feeling well enough to go.

We love you Bailey!!

Sprinkler Fun!

2011-06-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

We introduced Colin to a favorite summer time tradition. . .running through the sprinklers!

Construction Zone!

2011-06-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

Colin went to his friend, Luke's, 3rd birthday party. Luke's mom did a great job providing construction toys/games for the boys to play with and decorating accordingly! Happy 3rd Birthday Luke!

Moving Day!

2011-06-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Memorial Weekend was moving weekend for the Sappington's! We are moving to be closer to the church where Roger serves. After looking for a new home, we were feeling a lot of pressure to find the "perfect place" -the right price, the right schools, the right floor plan, etc. Unfortunately, all of these things were not coming together for us. Through some friends at our church, we have found a rental home that we are really excited to be in right now. It is a great "family" home, with lots of storage and space-yeah!!! Most importantly, it has a laundry room and a dishwasher, both of which were absent from our sweet seminary housing-wahoooo!!!! We also love the area we are in-great parks, trails, and lots of things to do! Roger and I feel like the Lord has blessed us to be here.

After a weekend of moving we switched Colin to his big boy bed! I should clarify by saying that he is sleeping on the bottom trundle of his twin bed. I figure it's easier for me to make it up and he won't roll very far if he falls out at night! :) The big boy bed was a long time coming, and Colin loves it. Brady is also adapting very well to having his own room and crib. No more pack n play for this little man-yeah!

Roger does not one to see one of these again for a long time!

B's first afternoon nap in his new room-I think he adjusted very well!

C's first afternoon nap in his new room. . .check out that blanket. It was Roger's when he was a little boy. Colin calls it his "daddy's blanket" and loves it! He will not sleep with a sheet, but he has to have that blanket!

My favorite part of C's room-these bookshelves! We still have some things to do, but we are already feeling at home!

Last Day of Preschool

2011-05-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Thursday was our last day of school at Travis Avenue CELC. Colin, Brady, and I have all had a great year. I cannot think of another job where I could check on my children at anytime, nurse my youngest, and teach children about Jesus. The Lord truly provided this for our family during this season.

The first day of school VS.

The last day of school.

The silly smile hasn't changed, but he's definitely grown up!

Mommy, Colin, and Brady on the last day of school

B with one of his sweet teachers, Ms. Donna

The baby room had "Splash Day" :)

The 2's Jumped in the bounce house and had a picnic

Lovin' that cupcake!

Sea World

2011-05-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

We took a "mini" vacation and family trip down to San Antonio. We took Colin and Brady to Sea World. Colin was all about it. . . .he was into everything we saw. It's so much fun to see kids get excited to see things for the first time. We then made a little quick trip to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort which was A-MA-ZING. I love that place and could float the lazy river all day! A big THANK YOU to Grammy and Grampy who joined us and helped make our "little" trip a lot easier!

Gotta have a Shamu pic!

Sweet cheeks

Dad attempting to respond to a work email with B swatting for the phone!

Enjoying the water park in the Sesame Street Area

On our way to swim. . .I love this picture, Brady lights up for his big bro!

Our little linebacker

I put a pair of C's old "crocks" on Brady. . .this was the imprint the shoe made on his little chubby foot!

Enjoying the beach

Playing in the lazy river

Another First

2011-05-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Brady started eating cereal recently. He's not too sure he likes it though. :) I'm sure he'll warm up to the baby food more quickly :)

"C'mon mom, this stuff does NOT taste good!"

It's Pajama Time-Jamma Jamma Jamma

2011-05-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our good friend, Karen Brodie gave Colin and Brady these cute matching jammies. Colin is definitely going through a difficult phase right now when it comes to picture taking. . .here was my best attempt at getting a picture of the boys! Oh well, at least they were having a good time.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was crazy and full! This was our first Easter at our new church home, Pantego Bible Church. It was great to celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord where we know God has called us to serve. We are so thrilled to be a part of everything God is doing at Pantego.

We started our morning with Easter baskets and then went on to church. The boys were both a little sick with runny noses/coughs so we decided we shouldn't take either to the nursery. We didn't want to miss the service on Easter Sunday though, so we took our chances and took the boys into the main service. What an adventure. Everything was great through the worship-we were kind of thinking we had things under control. . .then the sermon started. Colin started wiggling around (of course) and would only get still when we bribed him with the candy from his Easter basket. Then came the total meltdown. . .Colin's foot/leg went down into the crack of the stadium style seat. He immediately started wailing, but his sandal was stuck and I couldn't lift him out until the kind lady sitting behind us took off his shoe and Roger whisked him out into the hall. A few minutes later Roger returned with a distraught Colin who would only be comforted by mommy. Of course, all the drama was taking place as our pastor is explaining the meaning of the gospel and resurrection. Note to self-we are definitely not ready to take kids to "big church" yet!

After we recovered from the drama, we loaded up the family and went to Plano for our annual Easter lunch with my family, and our close family friends, the Brodie's. We have had this tradition for as long as I can remember!

Easter Goodies

Just a little excited for the CANDY

Once again attempting to get a good shot. . .

My precious chubby boy. . .maybe we should rethink horizontal stripes on this one!! :)

C checking out the bunny at Easter

The Brodie/Edwards/McCoy/Sappington kids and their kids!

Brodie Crew

Edwards Crew

Play Time

2011-04-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just a few shots of Colin and Brady "playing" together. I'm looking forward to more of these cute moments!

Dressing Brady up in his cowboy gear

Crazy Cousins!

2011-04-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

Maw Maw, Paw Paw, and our nephew, Dawson, came to visit for the weekend. Colin and Dawson are almost exactly a year apart. They have a great time playing together and being silly boys. They had a blast one evening turning out the lights in C's room and playing with the flashlights. The giggles and laughs coming from the room were too cute!

Maw Maw and her two munchkins enjoying some grub

Paw Paw taking the guys for a ride in the wagon

Best Buds

Brady boo-all smiles

Enjoying a smiley face pancake at IHOP :)

Attempting a group pic. . .

Fun at the Children's Museum

Weekend @ Grammy & Gramp's

2011-04-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Roger had a big paper due recently, so I loaded up the kids and we went to visit Grammy & Grampy. We had a big weekend of fun including the lake, cousins, and a little road trip to visit my grandparents.

Our first night, Grammy & Grampy babysat for me so I could go to dinner with a good friend from high school. I came home to find the babysitter and the baby asleep. :) Dad barely opened his eyes when I took this pic.

The next day cousins Carson & Grace came over to play!

And Colin helped mow the yard. . .

He also worked on his artistic talents. . .apparently he likes to "create" in the nude! Grampy had to chase him around the house to get him in his diaper and PJ's!

The boys with their Great-Grandad

Brady getting some kisses from Mim me :)

Adventures in Parenting

2011-04-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: the following post is not meant for those with weak stomachs.

It seems as a parent that some weeks are just more "adventurous" than others. A few weeks ago three of us in our home had a stomach bug-definitely an adventurous week. I (with the help of my kinds mother in law) did nine loads of laundry in one day from all the puke sheets--lovely. Last week the Sapp's had another adventurous week. It went a little something like this:

1. Monday: take B to the doctor (he's fine, just a cold). Proceed to doughnut store with Colin and Brady for a special treat. Mommy wolfs down a couple doughnuts, but C isn't too interested in his doughnuts-this should be my first clue. C proceeds to drink a lot of milk. Standing up, getting gear together, C throws up all over the doughnut store while I apologize profusely to the store owner. I thought the other customer at the counter was going to lose it too. Yuck.

2. Thursday: at a Mexican food restaurant for lunch with the boys, my mom, and sister. Mom suggests putting Brady in his bumbo so he can see us. (I happened to have had it in the car) Brady does well for a little while then proceeds to repeatedly push himself up from the bumbo. Finally, I realize he must have a dirty diaper that is bothering him. "Dirty" would be an understatement. As I pull him out of his bumbo my mom and my sister both gasp and say "gross." Poop is EVERYWHERE, including in the bottom of the bumbo chair. Thank goodness for extra hands. I quickly carried B "superman style" out the door while mom grabbed the chair and was right behind me. Our waiter held the door open for us! Oh, I prayed not too many people in the restaurant noticed what was happening. Of course, I had to clean him up on the floor of the minivan. Gross.

3. Sunday middle of the night: spending the night at my parents lake house during the somewhat crazy thunderstorms. Electricity goes out. Colin wakes up in the middle of the night and falls out the twin bed. He hits his mouth/tooth on the floor. Major crying/drama ensues. Everything is so dark I have to crawl on the floor and feel around to find him. Thankfully Grammy soon comes in with a flashlight. Colin is so worked up that Grammy offers him ice cream at 5 am thinking that the cold from the ice cream and spoon might help the swelling on his lip! :) Brady wakes up during the drama as well. We end up kicking my parents out of their king size bed so that I can sleep in it with both boys. Crazy.

The bloody lip was the only adventure I documented with my camera (thank goodness, right?). Of course, Colin had pictures this week at school!

This pic is really weird, but you get the idea

Looking very dapper for school pics, minus the fat lip!

And in case you're interested. . .the damage from the thunderstorms

My Roly Poly 4 Month Old

2011-04-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

Brady is now 4 months old. We have yet to go to our official four month check up, but as of right now he is weighing in at 17.5-18lbs! He is my little "roly poly" boy. This is a little different for me because Colin was never like that, but I love it! Someday he will have a fit when he sees these photos, but I don't want to forget this cute stage.

Sunday Best

2011-04-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

I snapped this picture before church on Sunday morning. Brady all dressed up in his Sunday best. :)

Neighborhood Buddies

2011-04-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

We spent some time this week hanging out with our neighbors, the Rogers'. Both sets of brothers are just a few months apart in age, so everyone has a good time playing. I'm so thankful to have a friend just across the street who can help me talk through the craziness of disciplining and raising a lively two year old boy!

Brady chillin' with his buddy Levi

At the Children's Museum-Luke and Colin driving the "ambulance"

Every little boys favorite-the water guns!

No Boys Allowed (kind of)

2011-03-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attended our church's women's retreat. It was scheduled to be a two night event, but I wasn't quite ready to leave Brady overnight for that long. (Brady doesn't love to take a bottle, sometimes he totally refuses it. . .trying to work on that!) The ladies at the church were kind enough to make an exception to the "no boys/no kids rule" and let Brady and I come out to the retreat for the day on Saturday. Everyone was so kind and gracious and I had a lot of extra hands to help me hold him! The blessing that came from the weekend was connecting with some great girls in my small group. A few of us are going to be meeting for prayer and accountability. Such a praise! I think most moms need other mommies to encourage them in their walk with the Lord-I know I appreciate it so much. Below is a shot that Roger snapped of Brady and I before we left for the retreat.

Brady, my little chunky monkey

Getting some lovin' from Pam, the retreat coordinator!

Around the house. . .

2011-03-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Just a few random shots from around our house lately. . .

Colin is enjoying coloring more and more lately. I love this because I can put him at the table to color while I finish up dinner and not have to worry about what he might be getting into in the other room!

Brady is all smiles these days

A little snuggle time

Daddy attempting to read the Bible with C at night. . .sometimes this is quite the task with a wiggly two year old!

Latest activity? Playing the "drums"

Three Months

2011-03-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

April 9th our sweet Brady turned three months old! We had a few pictures taken to document Brady's three month b-day and capture a few pics of the brothers together. Our pastor's son (who is a senior in high school & majorly talented) took these shots for us! www.grantdanielsphotography.com

Fun Day with Aunt Robin

2011-03-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

My sister, Robin, works as a nurse, so occasionally she will come over to Fort Worth on her days off and hang out with us. The other day we had quite the marathon "fun day" with Colin. Our day started with the Children's Museum, then Chick-fil-a for lunch, and topped off with ice cream for dessert! Doesn't get much better than that does it? Thanks for hanging out with us Aunt Robin-we love you!

Attempting to get a picture of the boys in their overalls. . .C just wanted to play with my hair

Checking out the gigantic Light Brights with Aunt Robin

Doing a little shopping. . . .

Sitting in the dinosaur footprint

The perfect way to end a fun day-chocolate ice cream!

My Swagger Wagon

2011-03-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

So, I'm learning to "never say never." Growing up I always swore I would NEVER drive a minivan. This weekend we purchased a family friendly, you guessed it, MINIVAN-ahhhhhhh! Practicality and affordability trumps the cool factor when you have a family with little ones! I must admit though, I really do like my car and it is going to make traveling with little ones so much easier. Can I tell you how excited I am for my little guys to have their own AC vents in the backseat during the hot Texas summer? Yeah! In honor of my new "swagger wagon" I had to post one of my favorite videos . . .

And a pic of my very own (not a Sienna, but same thing, right?). . .

Pretty in Pink

2011-02-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

Colin's preschool had "Pink Day" in February. Let's just say it can be a little difficult for a mommy of boys to pull something out of the closet to wear for pink day! Thankfully, I was able to find a cute, inexpensive pink and white stripe shirt for little man, and I thought he looked "pretty/handsome in pink" :)

There's a Snake in My Boot!

2011-02-27T22:31:00.000-08:00

My parents went to a fundraiser this past weekend for an event they attend annually. The theme was "famous couples," so mom decided they would go as Woody and Jesse from Toy Story. Well, as you may have guessed, Toy Story just happens to be Colin's favorite right now. He asks to watch Toy Story at least five times a day and he is constantly playing with his Woody and Buzz figurines. I can't tell you how many times I've heard him ask, "Where's Woody's hat????". When playing with Buzz Colin yells, "To Infinbedee (infinity) and Beyooond!" It's all pretty cute. So you can imagine how excited he was when he saw two of his favorite things together. . . Woody&Jesse + grandparents = excited kid.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-02-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

The chorus to "Changes," the old David Bowie song, has been stuck in my head recently. The past year has been one of many changes for the Sappington family. . .selling our home, moving in with parents, changing jobs, getting pregnant (an unexpected blessing), moving to a new city, starting PhD work, seminary housiEditng, having a baby, et cetera et cetera. The Lord has been faithfully guiding us through these changes. . .giving us peace when we felt anxious, providing when there was need, and hearing our prayers every time we called out to him. . .which I can say was often. One of our prayers since Roger and I married has been that Roger would be called to serve in a church where his gifts/talents could be used of the Lord and for His glory. A few weeks ago, Roger was called to serve as the Global Impact Pastor (a "cool" name for missions pastor) at Pantego Bible Church in Arlington, TX. When I read the job description back a few months ago I thought, "this position sounds like it was written just for Roger". Pantego is a great church and we feel so blessed to be apart of the church and what the Lord is doing there. We are so thankful to God for His work in our lives and for this latest, exciting change!

Grandparent Fun

2011-02-21T19:24:00.000-08:00

Maw Maw and Paw Paw came into town to visit and we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the zoo! Colin was in heaven-animals everywhere and tons of attention from Maw Maw and Paw Paw. I heart the Fort Worth Zoo-great entertainment & fun! We're so thankful for grandparents that are willing to make a long drive to come visit. . .we love you!

Anna's Pink Party

2011-02-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

We went to celebrate our friend, Anna's, 3rd birthday. Anna had a "Pinkalicious" party that was absolutely ADORABLE! Anna's mom, Ashley, is so creative and did a great job planning and decorating. I was taking mental notes. . .although with two little boys I guess I'll only be planning "blue-licious" parties for now-doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it? :)

Sweet Birthday Girl

The boys wore green and the girls wore pink to the party. This was the best pic C would give me :(

I think Colin was fascinated by all the babies in carriers!

Colin and Kate listening to Mrs. Jerry read "Pinkalicious"

Cotton Candy AND Bubbles-what more could a kid ask for?

Mrs. Jerry lovin' on Colin-Colin lovin' his candy from the pinata!

Other than pj's this was the first time I was able to dress the boys alike, so I had to take advantage of it and take a family pic

My Valentine's

2011-02-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day from the Sappington's!

My sweet Valentines-how I love them!

Thank goodness I snapped this pic of Brady early in the day-immediately after I took it he proceeded to spit up all over me and his Valentine shirt-ugh!

We had some friends from school over to decorate Valentine cookie

Sweet Isaac was more interested in scraping the icing off with his fingers

Another sweet, messy little boy!

Brady's Two Month Update!

2011-02-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

Brady turned two months old on February 9th-I feel like he's been apart of our family forever now, so it's funny to me that it's only been two months. Little man is growing well and had a great check up. The stats:

Height: 22 3/4 in. (50%)
Weight: 13.4 lb. (80%)
Head: 16 in. (55%)

As you can see from his weight, we are long passed the feeding issues we were experiencing in those first few weeks-Brady has definitely gotten the hang of it! Brady is cooing and smiling a lot now and we are enjoying every second of it!

Snowed In!

2011-02-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

Four days of snow and ice and daddy being home-what fun (at least the first two days it was fun, right?!?). The crazy weather was a great change of pace, but by day three we were slightly stir crazy. We even ventured out to IHOP for dinner one evening and surprised C with "pancakes for dinner!" Needless to say, he thought that was fantastic. A few pics of how we entertained ourselves. . .

A view of the street-totally covered!

We played with our neighbors across the street. . .clearly little Luke was not in the mood to have his picture taken!

Red cheeks and a funny face after playing outside

This is what you do when you've been stuck inside for four days :)

Fort Worth Stockshow & Rodeo

2011-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

We decided to take advantage of Fort Worth life and ventured out to the famous Stock Show and Rodeo! We went the last week of the rodeo and right before we were iced in for four days-so thankful we were able to get the trip in before the crazy weather hit! My mom and sister were troopers and came along for the fun. Colin had a blast taking in all the animals and sweet Brady was along for the ride-we will definitely be returning to this fun annual event.

Checking out the chickies

HUGE Cows. These were being primped for the show and when I say primped I am not exaggerating. There were hairdryers going, spray paint cans to enhance the color, teasing and hairspray for these beauty contestants. . .who knew?!?!

The petting zoo

Not a fan of the llama

Cowboy Colin-the photographer had the bandanna, hat, chaps, and rope on hand-he LOVED it!

Looking at roosters and rabbits with Aunt Robin

Thankfully Brady was a good sport :)

Brady-Boo

2011-01-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

Sweet "Brady-Boo" (Colin's nickname for him) is six weeks old today. He is filling out and starting to fall in to a bit of a routine. Unfortunately, his routine in the late evening involves a lot of fussing/gas/burping/etc, but we're working on that! Brady is definitely more cuddly than his older brother-his favorite place is to be in someone's arms, which is very sweet as well as challenging at times. He'd love to sleep all night being held in mommy's arms if I would let him. :) He is starting to coo and talk and we've had a few smiles, but I've yet to catch any on camera. Here are a few shots of our little punkin' I took this morning in a sweet nightgown that a friend gave us.

Love that baby boy!

Starting to pout-ready to be held again :)

Around Our House

2011-01-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

A few funny pictures of Colin playing lately. . .

Colin aka "Bono"

He asked me for the hat and sunglasses. . .born to be a rock star?

Dr. Sappington

Reading to Baby Brady

Touchdown Brady

Colin's latest thing is wearing baseball caps-he even wants to wear them for naps!

Watching some morning cartoons

Hot Chocolate and Marshmellows-perfect on a cold day!

Ready for bed

Christmas Part 2

2011-01-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

I finally got the Christmas decorations down, so I thought I might post some belated pictures! The holidays were a bit of a blur for me--a newborn seems to demand a lot of attention. It's amazing how you forget what's involved with a newborn once it's been awhile. We enjoyed the rest of Christmas day visiting with family in the area and introducing Mr. Brady to everyone!

Meeting Great Grandmother Mim-me for the first time!

Robin and Bruce-modeling her gift from the white elephant gift exchange

C loved the airplane Mim-me got for him. She had three boys, so she knows how to shop for little boys!

My Uncle Jay & the fam: Lauren, Carol, & Jayson

Edwards crew

The Sapp's

Due to Brady's December arrival, we were unable to make our normal trip down to Houston to celebrate Christmas with Roger's family. Thankfully, Houston came to us! We celebrated Christmas with Roger's family in Fort Worth.

Grandaddy and Dee Dee

Colin checking out his new Dr's Kit

Brady received some UT onesies. . .I'm going to have to go get some A&M gear for him to even things out!

C chillin' with his Grandaddy

Maw Maw and Paw Paw came in the next day as well. Paw Paw met little Brady for the first time.

Maw Maw with the boys-C insisted she wear one of his hats!

Checking out the Potty Time Elmo

Brady just observed :)

Maw Maw stayed and helped with the boys for almost a week-I was very spoiled to say the least. Here she and Colin are snuggling and watching a movie. Thank you Maw Maw!

Christmas Eve & Day Part 1

2010-12-25T12:49:00.000-08:00

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas from the Sappington's!

Pictures with Santa

2010-12-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

Our first real outing with Brady was going to have pictures made with Santa Claus! Brady, of course, had no idea what was going on, but Colin had been preparing for this day for a few weeks! Colin had been saying "go see Santa, mall" for awhile. Roger and I had been talking about how nice Santa is and how we don't need to cry when we see him. Fortunately, while I was waiting in the Santa line with Brady, Colin and Roger just happened to run into Santa and Mrs. Claus when he was on his way to picture area. I think his little preview broke the ice just enough to prevent a total meltdown during picture time.

I love this picture and the nervous smile on Colin's face.

2009 & the meltdown!

2008

A few pics from while we were waiting

Pre-wardrobe change :)

Loving the fake snow

Nurse Robin

2010-12-25T10:08:00.000-08:00

My "baby" sister, Robin, graduated last week from the University of Arkansas with her degree in nursing! We are all so proud of Robin for her accomplishment. The nursing program at UofA is small and difficult to get into--Robin worked hard all four years to keep her grades high in order to become a nurse. Unfortunately, her graduation/pinning ceremony was only a week after Brady's birth, so we did not get to make the trip to Arkansas. Here is a picture my mom took from the ceremony. Congratulations Robin-we're so happy for you!

Our Favorite Christmas Gift

2010-12-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Our precious Brady Stephen arrived at 2:01 p.m. on Thursday, December 9th. He weighed 7 lbs. 5oz. and was 19 inches long. We are loving spending time with him and getting to know our new little man.

I am terribly behind in posting because the past two weeks I have been in what I like to refer to as "breastfeeding bootcamp." I'll spare you all the details, but to give you an glimpse of our schedule, the lactation consultant helped us and put me on a slightly rigorous plan. . .feeding Brady every 1-3 hours/pumping every feeding/and supplementing with bottle every feeding. Needless to say, it was kind of crazy for awhile, but Brady is doing much better and gaining weight.

Colin loves his brother, "Brayee," as he says his name. He always wants to kiss on Brady and hold him. Colin is a little two year old boy though, so we are constantly having to remind him to "be soft" or "be gentle." Here are a few pictures from Brady's arrival and a few snapshots of the first two weeks of his life!

The Before: preparing to leave for the hospital

Oh those pouty lips! Brady was none too excited too be here at first!

Snuggling with daddy

Meeting Grammy

Meeting Maw Maw

Roger did GOOD. . .he surprised me with birthstone rings for Colin and Brady! Blue Zircon for Brady's December birthday and Blue Sapphire for Colin's September birthday. I LOVE it!

Looking a little swollen, but very happy :)

Meeting Grandma Mary too!

Colin seeing Brady for the first time. . .

Sweet kisses for his baby brother

Gramps trying to protect Brady from his rowdy big bro :)

This t-shirt was a gift from Aunt Lindsey-thank you!

Our family of four. . .I am very outnumbered by boys all of a sudden

Packing up for the ride home

Apparently Brady was not too excited about his first car ride

Our cousin Grace came over to meet Brady

First bath!

The Hamilton Girls and The Sappington Boys

Brynlee, Kate, Colin, and Brady

Aunt Robin finally made it home fryom UofA to see Brady!

"Glubs"

2010-12-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

Last night we took C out to look at a few Christmas lights. Roger bundled up to go outside and put on his gloves. Colin immediately became obsessed with daddy's "glubs" as he pronounces it. Today I picked up a set of hat and gloves for C at the store (which he insisted on wearing while we finished shopping). Since we got home he has wanted to play (inside) with his hat and "glubs." Too funny the things toddlers get into!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-12-06T14:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday was Roger's birthday! We celebrated by going out to dinner with our special Grandma Mary. Mary and Roger worked together for many years, and he even lived at her house for a few months while we were engaged and Roger was trying to save money! I always like to tease Mary that she is the reason we were able to go on a honeymoon! We had a fun time eating mexican food and catching up. I was hoping that Brady might make an early arrival on Roger's birthday, but no such luck :) Roger, on the other hand, has a lot of work to complete before Thursday, so he was more than happy not receive that kind of "present"! Happy Birthday Roger-we love you!

Roger and our Mary

Grandma Mary brought Colin this "Cars" ball which he has been playing with constantly!

Brady's ETA

2010-12-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor yesterday for a weekly appointment. Brady's due date is actually December 14th, but as of right now we are planning to induce on Thursday the 9th!!! Unless Brady arrives before then (which I am still praying for!) Thursday is THE DAY! Please keep us in your prayers!

Random Shots

2010-12-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

We've had a few entertaining moments around our home lately and I thought I would post a few fun pictures.

Colin's favorite toy over Thanksgiving??? Playing with the POOPER SCOOPER in Grammy & Grampy's backyard. YUCK.

Did you know that a pooper scooper can make a great a rake, a pony to ride, or a baseball bat?

Roger called me into the hallway to see Colin's car creation. . .

Judging from the neat line of cars he must have a little of his daddy's "Type A" in him :)

All bundled up to run to the doughnut store with daddy on a Saturday morning!

Pajama Day at preschool-he's all about the cheesy smile right now

Thanksgiving Program

2010-12-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Colin had a Thanksgiving program at his school the week before last. Let's just say that the 2 year old class accomplishment was getting all of the kids to stay put on the pieces of tape on the floor! A few of the kids sang--occasionally :) Colin mostly stared at the crowd-he had one moment where he sang and clapped for himself. They were cute though (of course) and all the parents loved seeing their children on stage!

What's up with this smirk?!?!

Getting a little hug from dad

A little WWF with his friend Isaac after the program!

Thankfulness

2010-11-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

As Colin is getting older and understanding more and more, I thought I would take the opportunity to teach him about being thankful for the things God has given us. This theme obviously comes from the month of November, Thanksgiving, and focusing on being. . .thankful. Genius, eh? :) So, I put a little clothes line up in the kitchen and presto! we have a teaching tool. A few of the things our family was thankful for. . .

I'm thankful for those two precious gifts sitting at my table :)

See the little drawing of the purple coffee mug? That's right-mommy is thankful for coffee! Colin kept talking about how "mommy's tankful for coffee." Ha ha.

Colin added several things to our list. . .dinosaur toys, doggies, apples, walks, picnics, our house, and family.

The Name Game

2010-11-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Baby Sappington is due to arrive mid-December, so we (meaning I) decided we needed to take some action and give this little boy a name! Roger and I have gone back and forth with names. There were a few considerations in our thinking. . .we'd like to have a bible name for his middle name, (like Colin's middle name, Samuel), but we're not adamant about it. I want a first name that is "different," but not too different (no Hollywood star crazy names thank you very much!) There were also several family names in the mix as well, but not one that we just "had" to have. Sooooo, in my efforts to narrow down our list I made flash cards and we played a little name game the other evening. Here is what it looked like when we started:

We did a lot of shuffling, shifting of the cards, saying the names out loud, etc. After sleeping/praying on it we narrowed down the list!

The winner: Brady Stephen Sappington.

Now we just have to sit back and wait for little Brady to arrive-only 1 month to go!

(Disclaimer: this could change if our little man arrives and we decide he doesn't look like a Brady!)

Where the Wild Things Are. . .

2010-11-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

Colin has enjoyed going to preschool this fall and making new friends. If we ask him who his friends are at school he immediately responds, "ISAAC!" Colin is slightly obsessed with Isaac and they seem to be good buddies. Last week we went to the zoo with Isaac and his mom, Allison, who also happens to teach with me at the preschool. We had a fun time seeing all the animals and chasing after two crazy two year old boys!

Checking out the rhinos

Love the kangaroos. . .Isaac told his mom "I need to go down there to the grass" :)

The goat attempting an escape

Boys are always looking for a ride. . .either the safari car or the komodo dragon sculpture will do

Four Years!

2010-11-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

November 4th Roger and I celebrated our four year anniversary! I am so blessed to call Roger my husband and I thank the Lord for him each day. We had a quick weekend getaway at the lake and enjoyed some time minus our favorite two year old (although I missed him even for that short amount of time!). I had to write about just a few of the things that I appreciate about my man. . .

His genuine love for Jesus Christ
The way he unashamedly shares Jesus Christ with the people he crosses paths with
Early in the mornings I often find him praying or reading his Bible
The way he plays with Colin (chasing, golf, t-ball, jumping, and more chasing!)
The many ways he sacrifices his needs/wants for our family
How stinkin' smart he is (truly, a photographic memory, makes me so jealous!)
How patient and understanding he is with me (especially during these past few months of pregnancy when I can act CRAZY!)
How he still has fun and will act like a little boy and laugh and laugh over the goofiest things
His love for good 80's movies/music
The many many many ways that he cares for our fam. . .too many to list!

Here are just a couple of pictures from our date night. . .

Me at 33 1/2 weeks (this one is for you, Alison!)

Rog and I "out on the town"

Colin the Builder

2010-11-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

Colin spent Halloween weekend with Grammy and Gramps in Plano. Halloween afternoon Colin decided he wasn't going to take a nap, so we decided to forgo the church fall festival (knowing how exhausted he would be) and trick or treat around the block in my parents' neighborhood. We had not talked/prepped C for trick or treating, candy, costumes, etc, so I wasn't sure how he would react. I had nothing to worry about because after the first house Colin realized he was getting "caandieeees!" (as he pronounces candy, always with a big smile on his face), and he was totally into it. We had fun walking "Colin the builder"door to door and watching him take in all the excitement.

Ready for the fun. . .

The first house. . .

When you're two and cute everyone lets you pick out your own candy!

The last house of the evening. . .getting some candy from Gramps and running inside to dig into the goodies!

Relaxing with a lollipop and watching the Rangers! Life is good :)

Around Our House Lately

2010-11-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

Just a few fun pictures from the activity around the Sappington house in November!

Enjoying a beautiful afternoon at the park after preschool

Colin and his friend, Simon. Simon had a Star Wars themed birthday party-C's first introduction to Darth Vader. As you can see-it was a hit! C loved the "Dart Bader" mask.

My little conductor playing with Geo Tracks

Our nighttime visitors-they walk across our back porch like they own the place!

The Bath/Bed Routine is exhausting these days, but the boys enjoy every moment. Playing in the water (don't worry, the water is turquoise from one of those color tab things)

After bath and jammies, they love to play/wrestle/jump in and on both beds

Neighborhood Buddies

2010-11-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Colin loves to play with Luke, our across the street neighbor. Last week Luke came over to hang out for a little while and I got a few cute pictures of the boys. Luke's parents just had a baby two weeks ago-little Levi. We are excited for Levi and Sapp Baby 2 (we still don't have a name!) to be friends as well.

Colin checking out baby Levi (who weighed a little over 9 lbs at birth!)

Playing tee ball with a little help from daddy

Too sweet. . .I love this picture. Colin coughed and Luke reached over and grabbed Colin's water and held it for him! What a thoughtful 2 year old!

Silly Boys! :)

Fun on the Farm

2010-11-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago Colin and I went to visit my grandparents while Roger was out of town preaching at a church in Nacodoches. We had a relaxing weekend hanging out and exploring the farm! Colin couldn't wait to see everything (as evident from the pictures in his pajamas!). Thank you Mimi & Bruce for hosting us for a few days-we had a great time!

Excitedly checking out the horse first thing in the morning!

"Driving" the mule (he started honking the horn-it made all the cows go crazy b/c they thought it was feeding time!

Tractor Time

We also went and checked out the local park!

Colin was all giggles when we picked up Gizmo, my grandparents' dog, from his weekly beauty appointment.

Trying on Bruce's cowboy hat

Mimi, Bruce, Colin & Gizmo

Two Year Stats

2010-10-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

We finally went to Colin's 2 year check up this week. He was so excited to be there and kept saying "doctor's obbice" (office) to our pediatrician. All went well until shot time and then we had a major meltdown. Thank goodness for the lollipop which magically seems to make everything better! Colin's current stats:

Weight: 27.8 lbs (50%)
Height: 34 inches (50 %)

So our little man seems to be "average," but only physically speaking, of course! :) Roger and I were actually thrilled that he moved up to the 50th percentile--the last couple of check ups he was in the 30th. We also went today and had his 2 year portrait taken (thank you Janet for the portrait tip!) Here's our 2 year old cutie:

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took part in our annual October tradition-going out to the pumpkin patch! Colin has been learning his colors over the past few months, so naturally we asked him, "What color are the pumpkins Colin?" C's response: "Rrrrrange," which sounds like a pirate when he says it. I love it. :) We enjoyed the great weather, pumpkins, a pony ride, petting a few animals, and pretending to drive the tractor!

There were three tractors on the farm and Colin had to test drive each one

His first pony ride-a little nervous!

Getting the hang of it

Jumping in the bounce house with daddy

Going for a ride in the barrel (you should have seen me trying to get in and out of this thing with my baby belly-ugh!)

I couldn't help but reminisce a little. . .the past 3 years of taking our little punkin' to the patch!

2008

2009

2010!

Theological Dodge Ball

2010-10-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Friday night Roger played in the seminary dodge ball tournament. He was on the team made up mostly of guys from the housing department. . .every time the team won they would yell, "Eviction!" What?!?! :) These guys are all seminary/PhD students/ministers etc. . .but the dodge ball tourney was proof that even these guys are just little boys at heart. The "Detroyers" (as they renamed the team after deciding that "Housing" didn't sound too cool) ended up winning the tournament! Roger and the team were so excited. Colin soaked up every second as well. He stayed up past his bedtime, but it was worth it. This morning he woke up saying, "Daddy, dodge ball, red team!" Needless to say, he loved it. I guess this sort of thing is just genetic to boys!

Roger with his biggest fan (a tired fan though!)

Our friend, Jonathan Watson, going in for the kill

Roger in his "ready for action" stance

The SWBTS Dodge Ball Champions!