LET IT SNOW

Brayden has been waiting for two months for it to snow, so he was so excited this week. Since the weather has been cooling off, Brayden has been saying that it has to get cold so the snow can come. With all of the beautiful snow, we definitely couldn't keep him inside this weekend.

First, we had to pet the reindeer, all three of them and get pictures with each.

Then we had to throw snowballs at each other and of course the dogs. Bella had the best time because she tried to catch them like her tennis balls, and of course they just crumbled in her mouth.

And of course, you can't go outside without making a snowman. Well, we made a few. We made a snowman and Brayden pummeled it. That was too much fun so we had to do it several times. Despite the cold, it was a great evening. Snow is definitely a lot more fun when there is a little boy to enjoy it with.

Disney World: Take 2

Tiggeriffic!!!!

What do Bryaden and Tigger have in common? They both have endless energy and think that bouncing is the best way to walk.

These are last couple days at Disney World. My camera was not working right so my sis took the pictures for me. Probably better that way anyway because she is a great photographer. Thanks sis, you are awesome!!!

Adorable picture right? Well looks can be deceiving. Justin had a beautiful bouquet and Brayden decided I needed it. So I was the proud Mommy and put it behind my ear. Well, that's until my ear started itching and I took it off only to find some tiny little bugs on the flowers. Yuck. Anybody that knows me well knows that I really hate bugs so it freaked me out a little. Oh well, I still got a cut picture with my little angel.
Lightning McQueen...funny story. Mom and Dad waited in line to see Lightning McQueen with Brayden while the rest of us rode some roller coasters. Brayden was so excited until he got close to Lightning and it was really loud. He was crying and didn't want anything to do with him. However, as soon as they decided to call it quits, Brayden decided he wanted to try to take a picture again. So we all waited a second time and I used my Mommy skills to get an adorable pic.

Is it bad that Brayden thinks it's great to be in the mouth of gigantic carnivores? He also wanted a picture of his head in the mouth of a dinosaur.

Finding Nemo at Epcot. A really cute display outside the Living Seas exhibit.

Honey, I shrunk the Jewells. This was the one of the neatest playgrounds I've ever seen. It was like we were on the set of Honey, I shrunk the kids, where the grass and toys were ginormous with slides and tunnels throughout them. Brayden had a blast playing on them.

Brayden with Aunt Tricia and her favorite character Eeyore.

Dinner at the Crystal Palace was really good. Probably the best character meal we've tried. Brayden really enjoyed the kid buffet and getting pics with some of his favorite characters.

Ouchie!!!

So we went to the allergy and asthma specialist Monday after much prayer and frustration over Brayden's chronic cough and runny nose. After an hour and a half of interrogation by the Resident regarding these symptoms since they began about two years ago (which I barely remembered the last six months), they decided to do the allergy test. Being only 3 with a small back, they could only do 27 of the 50 pricks, which lets just say 27 was more than we could handle anyway. They made him lie flat on his stomach while I held his face and shoulders on the table and Mom held his hips down. Then came the ten minutes of all out screaming. I have never seen anyone do something so slow and not be phased by a screaming bloody murder child. Then after the procedure was done, the serum had to sit on his back for 15 minutes to see the reaction. I had to take a paper towel and pretend I was wiping his back to get Brayden to stop screaming, "take it off!!!" Finally things calmed down and Mom said, Brayden you have a bunch of pretty blue dots on your back. I of course had to be smart and say, "no I think they are purple." That perked Brayden's curiosity so he wanted a picture of them so he could decide. So I took a picture and Brayden said, "No guys they are purple and red." That was pretty cute. Anyway, after the 15 min the doc checked his back and said that the test was negative for everything tested. Wow, we have been giving Brayden allergy meds for 2 yrs with no allergies. Then the specialist said the next step would be to test for asthma as the most likely cause but due to his age, the PFTs aren't effective so giving him high doses of steroids orally and inhaled and seeing the results is the only way to diagnose it. He also wanted to do chest x-rays and sinus CAT scan to see if they showed any lung changes or sinus deformities. And the last thing is seeing a GI specialist to see if his reflux is causing all of this. We opted to do the scans first due to the potential problems with the steroids. Then, when we got home, we realized that the 27 tests were mainly indoor allergies and only 6 outdoor allergies. Since his symptoms are almost only present when outside, we are a little concerned that they might be ruling out allergies a little prematurely but we'll see. The results of his scans came in yesterday showing reactive airway disease in his lungs and inflammatory sinus disease with all sinuses completely plugged. I guess that explains the runny nose anyway. So we have 5 meds to give some for a week, some for 3 weeks, and then we see an ENT in 6 weeks. Hopefully this is the answer. Unfortunately for Brayden, his L ear tube began coming out this week and he has developed an infection in his middle ear and mastoid area so he had a high fever yesterday and some pretty bad ear pain. Hopefully, the antibiotics will make him feel better soon. Well, just wanted to give everyone the update on Brayden. Thanks for all the prayers and words of encouragement. We love you all.
Brayden is such a great picture kid. He even had to smile for his back picture.

Christmas Spirit

You have got to check out Gary and our friend, Mitch. They've really got some good Christmas Spirit this year and want to show it to all of you with a little song and dance.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1140150531

Tree Hunting

It is a Jewell family tradition to go to Bowman's Tree Farm after Thanksgiving and cut down a beautiful Christmas Tree. This was Brayden's first year to participate and he had a blast. We took a ride on the wagon out to the big trees and then trekked through the mud and up the hills until we found the perfect tree. Except of course for Brayden, who was carried up the hills and through the mud. (Brayden has never been a real fan of walking and this was no exception.) Papaw Jewell and Brayden on the wagon ride.

Brayden and Uncle James navigating the muddy hills.

Once we found the perfect, approx 10 ft tree, Brayden and Gary started sawing away. Brayden was quite the help, sawing the tree down with Daddy.
Finally, we loaded our beautiful soft pine tree onto the wagon and finished off our successful hunting trip with hot chocolate and candy canes.

Happy Birthday Patrick

We spent Saturday with our friends, the Kendalls. Patrick turned three Sunday so we celebrated at Boucertown on the south side. It had several different bouncer rooms and slides along with a number of different games. The boys had a great time.

Brayden had a great time on the smaller slide but the big slide was just a little too intimidating. He got to the top and was too scared to slide down. The helper went to the top and pushed him down. Poor Brayden, that was a little traumatic. But he bounced back pretty quickly. A few games and the big slide was a distant memory.The boys really enjoyed playing air hockey. This is becoming one of Brayden's favorite games since Mamaw and Papaw Jewell have one at their house.

Superman and Friends

Halloween was so much fun this year. We spent it with our friends in Cicero. We went to a few houses and Brayden did pretty good with the trick or treating and thank yous. But he had the best time bouncing on the side of the road (this superman bounces because flying is a little harder) and playing with his friends.

Mummy's Boy without a question.

Caelyn, Frances, and Brayden

Cookies

Every Halloween, Brayden and I make Halloween cookies. These are Brayden's favorite cookies because he loves the shapes and the orange icing. (Don't worry, I make a different batch to share with friends.) Brayden is becoming quite the cook. He loves to help me with everything in the kitchen but his favorite is eggs. Maybe there will be a Jewell that enjoys being in the kitchen. I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep supporting his interest.

Like Father Like Son

Brayden finally got his first bowling ball. He picked it out himself and he calls it his pretty red and black Lightening McQueen Ball. Now he has his own bowling ball to take with him when he bowls with Daddy on Wednesday nights.

Disney World: Take 1

We spent a long weekend at Disney World with Mom, Dad, Tricia and Justin. It was a great time and some much needed family time. Brayden was so excited on the plane. He kept telling us everyone he was going to see and the rides he was going to ride.

We spent the first day at Magic Kingdom doing the little kid stuff since Tricia and Justin weren't down yet. Brayden loved the rides but was a little leery of the characters. The six plus foot pooh and tigger were a little more intimidating than they are on t.v.

After a nice, much deserved nap back at the hotel, we went back to Magic Kingdom to do the Halloween trick or treating. We all dressed up as colts players. Brayden had a great time, getting all the candy he could ever eat and riding his favorite ride, the race cars. He was actually a pretty good driver.

The second day, we went to Animal Kingdom and Epcot. We started out having breakfast with the characters, which Brayden really enjoyed. Then we played on the fossil playground and rode some rides. The last pics are of the safari. One of my favorite parts. Brayden loved pointing out all the animals, especially the giraffes that were just feet from the jeep.
My camera was not working right most of the trip so the remainder of the trip was captured with Tricia's camera. I will share them when I get the copies. Stay tuned.

Brayden Angelo

Or maybe Picasso???We spent Monday doing Halloween crafts with Frances and Kristi. The kids showed their artistic skills by painting some beautiful pics. I believe Brayden said his was a whale while Frances painted a coral. I'm not really sure how those are linked to Halloween but it is great to see the kids using their imaginations.

Then the paint brushes were replaced with some fun hand and foot painting. Here are some of Brayden's masterpieces, a hand spider and foot ghost.

We finished the day with some finger puppets and cooking lessons. Thanks for the great playdate Kristi and Frances.

Boating Farewell

We went on our last boating trip for the summer with our friends the Fehrs and Cramers. The kids had a great time playing in the water, and the adults had a great time watching them from the boat. (The water was just a little too chilly for anyone over 2 yrs old, except Mitch.) Brayden also got to drive the boat again but he really enjoyed sitting in the front with Daddy yelling at Mitch to go "faster, faster."

Lollipops and Tigers and Elephants Oh My!!!

This past Friday, we went to Conseco Fieldhouse and saw the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It was so much fun. Brayden said his favorite parts were the tigers and elephants but I think the gigantic lollipop and cotton candy would be more accurate. Brayden and Daddy were seeing whose tongue could turn the most colors. I don't know about tongues but Brayden's face would have definitely won the competition.

Brayden had a lot of fun with his elephant light up, spinning toy. Every time the lights went out the elephant was pulled out.

Mommy's little angel. Need I say more?
Our favorites, elephants and tigers. Boy can they do amazing things. I feel like I should be able to teach my dogs more.