Bee-kit, George, Mickey, Frog and Jake

All of this is what Owen needs to sleep with most nights. His Bee-kit (a monkey blanket my Aunt Debbie made him) George (a stuffed monkey my mom bought him while he was still in the womb) Mickey (a gift from me when we went to Disneyland) Frog (a gift from Aunt Les) and Jake (a small dalmatian beanie bay thing-we have friends who have a real dalmatian dog and Owen named his stuffed animal Jake, all by himself) We are away right now at some friends' Lake House in South Carolina and I did not want to bring all his "friends" with us. But, I have learned that when we travel if I can bring his "Bee-kit" and at least one friend, he sleeps so much better. This weekend it was Mickey's turn to travel with us! He does love that blanket, and I love that he loves something that is so personal and that was made with love just for him. It's one of those fleece blankets that you cut the ends to and tie. Even though he has his security friends with him, he is having a hard time these days when we travel when it's time to sleep. He has been breaking free of the pack-n-play (a very sad day in my life!) and we have been putting him to sleep in our bed and transferring him over to his bed later. With all that being said I have had the sweet pleasure of laying with him until he falls asleep. When I lay with him I have noticed two things...One, he sucks the bottom of his lip as a comfort thing, I think. Two, he plays with the ties of the blanket, almost unconsciously until he falls asleep. He is too precious during this time, and I have loved getting to know these things about him. We usually lay him in bed at home, give kisses, close the door, and he puts himself to sleep with no issues. So, this is nice. LIFE IS GOOD!

A special recipe for my Taylor Family!

Oh, how we love our Oreos. Oh, how we love chocolate chip cookies...

When I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it and I knew I would love it too. My two favorite cookies combined to make one tasty cookie...yes please! For all you Taylor's out there, make these cookies. If you are married to a Taylor I know they will love and appreciate these! The Taylor in me sure did love them. Oh, and Joe's words when trying them were "they're brilliant!"

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Oreo Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2-2.25 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
15 crushed double stuff oreos (just put them in a baggie and smack them around a little!)
2 c. chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Combine dry ingredients and then beat into creamed mixture gradually. Stir in oreos and chocolate chips. Scoop onto baking sheet (large teaspoons) and bake for 10 minutes. Then let cool on the cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack. (FYI: if you don't use dark, non-stick bake ware then spray the cookie sheet lightly before baking... AND - if your first batch turns out too thin then simply add more flour to the remaining dough before baking. The above amount is what works best for me to get the cookies in ONE PIECE and chewy but... not cakey.)

Trouble

Owen and Maddux...they are crazy! She is almost 3 years old, but they are buddies. She is one of his favorites at church, he will talk about Maddie and her brother Eli all the time. Whenever we talk or pray for his friends, Maddie is always at the top of the list. Can you blame him? She is gorgeous!! =) Joe and I, and Maddie's parents see many crazy times in our future. A few months back, Joe had Owen at church, I think I stayed home sick or something, and Joe "lost" Owen. Turns out these two rascals somehow ended up in the church office (which has doors, which means someone let them in) and were caught eating M&M's together! I told Nicole, Maddie's mom, that we will probably be pulled in and talked to when these kiddos are older for being caught kissing at church! I also told her, there would not be any other family I would like to sit through that kind of meeting other than theirs'....

We had Faith and Action Sunday at church this past weekend and these shots were taken then:

Funny Stuff from O

Owen is cracking us up in so many ways these days. The things he does or says either blows Joe and I away or just plain makes us laugh. Recently:

When putting Owen down for his nap...

Joe: "I love you Bud"
Owen: "I of you stinky face" (a line from one of his favorite books I love you Stinky Face)

We just got back from a trip to Pittsburgh to visit our friends The Hazeltons. Owen was more than excited to go on the the plane. He talked about going on "airplane" to the nursery workers at church all morning the day before we left. Anyone we saw that Sunday or Monday afternoon he would tell them "I go airplane". He was ecstatic to see the airplanes at the airport! And he must have told me and Joe that we was going on an airplane about hundred times while on the plane. He loved sitting in his own seat on the plane looking out the window watching the "douds" (clouds)

While in Pittsburgh Owen had a lot of trouble sleeping in the pack n play. So that resulted in me sleeping in my bed with him until he fell asleep. At naptime it was not a problem. He would generally fall asleep within 5 minutes. At night it was a different story. Sometimes he and I would lay for an hour and a half to two hours staring at one another. I would get sweet kisses and sweet little "hi mommy" words whispered to me, and even though I would get frustrated I secretly loved it! =) He even stayed up and watched LOST with me one night... BUT once daddy joined us again in Pittsburgh, he gave Joe no problem...I think he has my number!

He recently put himself in the corner for a timeout when he did something disobedient.

We have been taking him potty every morning, before nap, after nap, and before nap, and anytime he asks. He has been doing SOOOOOO good! Almost every time we try he goes pee! And every time he goes he shoots right up and says "good job!!!" and sometimes "treat??"

I love my sweet little lovebug. I love being his mommy. Even though he is a rascal a lot of the times, he brings me and Joe so much joy!!

My Friend Jen

...Gosh I have so many! This friend Jen, is an Atlanta friend. She is our Preschool Director at church. She is now our neighbor, and I love her! She has taught me so much about being a mom. I could talk with her for hours. She is a beautiful writer, and she wrote this piece about being a mom and it was read at church this morning. I loved it, and I won't lie that I shed a tear or two.

When you are a parent, little pieces of you walk around outside of your body wearing size six Levi’s and camouflage t-shirts. They look like you. They act like you. They do things you want to do, only over the years you have learned to “know better.” When I watch my boys I do so more with envy than embarrassment at their childish ways. Often, my heart longs to cartwheel down the aisle at church, but society (and my own mother) taught me that isn’t necessarily appropriate for a 35 year old wife, mother, professional. I want to run into the arms of a friend I haven’t seen in a while, spin with them, and ask them if they want to share a snack. I want to fearlessly question our dinner guest about their faith and teach them what I know of Jesus’ love, then, sit without judgment and listen to their answers. I want to approach a day like an opportunity for action packed fun and not a task-laden expanse of hours.

It’s a daunting thing; observing bits of you wondering outside of your control. Watching your children making the same mistakes you made, learning the hard lessons you wish you could steer them away from, and at the same time, flourishing in areas where you used to flourish and wish you still could. A mother’s heart is made of the most resilient material. It is ready for battle at any moment, leaping into lioness mode when the playground bully goes one step too far. It retreats effectively when a tender touch is in order to soothe a wound on the skin, or one down deep, and stretches beyond belief when a sibling is added to the mix and you thought it impossible for it to hold any more love. It is broken, tormented, fearful, humbled, and can experience joy beyond comprehension when the compassion you have been teaching for months finally goes on display and you are a witness. It is fascinating really, the required elasticity of a mother’s heart.

Her heart is in a perpetual state of learning and relearning through the influence of her children. I find that my heart is shaped, molded, rubbed raw, and filled full by my interactions with my boys. They humble me regularly, because of their unconditional love despite my misunderstandings, misgivings, missed opportunities, and mistakes. I remember a time, being brought to tears with the frustrations of parenting- sitting, face in hands, sobbing on my steps that are covered in more dog hair than the dog- when I felt two little hands gently touching my back. They were holding very still despite being attached to a wiggly boy and after a pause he quietly asked me what was wrong. I responded with the truth that was overwhelming me at that moment, “I’m OK, it’s just that sometimes being a mom is really hard work.” Almost by instinct, he climbed up in my lap and allowed me to be successful for just a moment. He tucked his head between my cheek and shoulder, and I squeezed his little body until I remembered, I am really good at some things.

Perfect Mothers Day

It was a great weekend. The only thing that could have made it better would have been spending time with my mama on this day we celebrate mom's. My man took care of me. He spoiled me with a great gift certificate to get my nails and toes done. We had an extremely relaxed weekend, with so much family time-something we have all been missing as Joe has been super busy working on a side project. Owen was loving having both Joe and I home. He was SUPER cuddly and lovey with both Joe and I, and that made this mama so happy!

Here's what our Mother's Day Sunday afternoon looked like:


I love being Owen Theophilus Braun's Mommy!!!!



Some play time with daddy!!

He made me a mommy for the first time. That's special. I am so blessed...




I am so in love with this man!


Been together 9 years, married for six, and we still like each other and play!!!

I

Rainy Day Music

It's rainy here in Atlanta, really rainy. From 3:30 this AM til now we are supposed to get 3 inches of rain. I like rain every once in awhile, but not for weeks on end like we had this past winter. On rainy days I like to put on good music. I like good music any day, but on rainy days it's even sweeter. While folding laundry and listening to Pandora these guys all popped up and I was in laundry heaven...is there such a thing? YES! When it's raining, good music is playing and your little guy is napping to me there is such a thing!

A little Dr. Dog: 100 Years.


So happy when these guys popped up! The Black Keys make me smile. They have been a new favorite, my friend Mariah introduced them to me and I'm hooked! This is a great song: Meet me in the City.


And then this one popped up. It's one of my absolute favorite songs right now. It's called Pour Out, by Shawn McDonald. I couldn't find a version on Youtube that I loved, but if you want to check him out his music is on itunes. Not your typical Christian music. Kinda folky. Which I like! The words are beautiful, I will post the lyrics as well.


I love music!

Pour out your water
That I might take a sip
Your love consumes me
Every drip
It is like Honey
On my lips
Pour out your water
That I might take a sip

Your words
are a lamp unto my feet
when I walk down these
Dark and Lonely streets
You are all I need

Pour out your mercy
and clear this busy mind
your love is like eden
a slice of apple pie
It is like sugar on my toung
So pour out your mercy
clear my busy mind

Your words
are a lamp unto my feet
when I walk down these
Dark and Lonely streets
You are all I need

Sidewalk chalk

Owen has been loving playing with sidewalk chalk on the driveway these days. He loves to "draw" dogs, O's, and butterflies. I think he favors the blue chalk, as he always grabs that one first and pretty much sticks with it. He mainly makes all kinds of straight lines, but I love how he tells me "dog mommy, or butterfly mommy" even though it's a straight line in his mind he's imagining these things and that is so fun to experience!

We had Owen's friend Wesley over a few weeks ago and Owen and Wesley LOVE to be outside so what better thing to do then play with the chalk!