The King's Speech -- Movie Trailer

I really want to see this movie. :)

TMI for all non-parents but I'm a proud momma!

I was so busy with getting ready for Laps for Little Ones that I totally forgot to mention how we officially started...POTTY TRAINING...Yes, potty training has begun thanks to Avery being very insistent that she can use her "potty" like a big girl.

I think Evan and I should have really thought out what she would do when we showed her the princess potty seat her aunt Desi sent her for Valentine's Day this year a few weeks ago (It's been hidden in the towel closet since Feb.)  a week after Evan took it out of the packaging and showed Avery how it went on the toilet she decided to bring it to me along with her diaper in her hand and announce "I Potty?". Now, my first thought was "where did you potty?" and began an odd search of my  floors for any puddles she may have left me as clues but she kept saying behind my back in each room "I potty?" so I stopped and just nonchalantly asked her "Do you want to go potty like a big girl?" and in the usual Avery shocker way she turned and ran to the bathroom and put the potty seat on the toilet and waited for me to give her a lift.

Why does she have to be so dang smart? I'm totally not ready to potty train her and I was sure we could hold off for a few more months but no...my daughter has yet again taken the lead and surpassed her father and I's plans for her. We sat in the bathroom for a few minutes and she finally wanted down and the rest of our Monday was spent with me asking her every hour or so if she wanted to sit on the potty. By the end of the day she had successfully went tee-tee in the big girl potty!!!! So of course I snapped a picture...I am after all THAT mom.

We're now on week 2 and so far I have convinced her not to take off her diaper on her own (stickers are a WONDERFUL incentive) and we have gone tee-tee several times in the potty. She has 2 books by her potty seat ready when she is and she is even starting to tell Evan and I when she is "shooey" or asks for a diaper which is very new for her. We've yet to go "shooey" in the potty because Avery is terrified to do that in the big girl potty. She kept telling Evan she was shooey and grunting like she needed to but when he would put her on the potty she would cry and cling to him and repeat "no, no, no" as soon as she was put off the potty she would go shooey...we're not going to rush that, especially since I wasn't ready to start this process until December!

Any advice out there for the masters of the potty? I'm thinking about starting her in training pants at home next week and letting her choose if she want to wear a diaper or pull up when we go out. I'm not ready for panties(just at home) yet because she has shown no interest in them and again, I do not want to rush this process. She's doing good now at her own pace and since she started this I think I like going it her way.

Sorry for the TMI-ness but I'm a mom, it's what I do 24/7 and the little things get me excited and sad all at the same time. Plus, my week was very bad and this was the highlight so you can see where this blog could have gone. :)

Have a GREAT week, go outside, enjoy the FALL weather and be Happy!

Blessings & Love,

Britt & Co.

The First Shirt is the coolest.....

I warned about the new addiction in my earlier post and well....Evan and I have caught the bug.

The T-shirt race shirt bug that is!!

Laps for little ones was wonderful. Evan did 12 laps in 44 minutes while I stopped at 11 laps at around 42 minutes. Of my 11 I ran 4!!! Um, yeah, that's a mile! whoo hoo. I admit I was very timid to run furthur due to how hot is was outside. Usually my saturday runs are done at 6:30am before the sun is up and it's not nearly so steamy, I also didn't run much this week (be honest Britt, you walked all week). So I was not ready to just run the entire thing like a crazed person. Still, for my first running/walking event....I totally did better than I gave myself credit for and Evan...well he's hooked with me now!

Leaving Fouts Field and ready for more. (I like the sweat patches on his shirt..)

Nan & Gary brought Avery as Evan and I finished our last lap, it was so cute watching Avery run beside us around the final lap and get excited when we swung her in the air and carried her to the last step. She was a sight for some tired eyes.

I forgot to charge my camera so I only got 2 pictures of the entire morning. BOO. I wish I could share with you all the the mental pictures I have of the kiddos doing their victory laps, their theme was "Under the Big Tent" and they were dressed up as a Lion, Tiger, Animal Handler and a Princess. I started crying as soon as I saw little Owen dressed as a Lion being pushed on his bike by his mom to the finish line. And cheered for Liam as he sped past Evan and I in his electric wheelchair wearing a smile and a superman shirt with a bright pinwheel spinning in the breeze. Or even how Natalies family helped keep us motivated in their bright orange "Team Natalie" t-shirts every lap of the way. It was a good turn out today and I can't wait for next years event.

Oh and I must also add how the oh so wonderful Lisa Smith was there and signed the National Anthem as well as a song for us. What a joyful spirit she has! I have seen her at Women of Faith, Denton Bible and at a few other area events and she is just amazing and always smiling and happy and just loves what she does for the lord.

I'm pretty sure Evan and I will now be training for the Speedway 5k next and it will become our official first 5k. Nov. 13th seems pretty close suddenly. Eek!

I'll close for now. I hope you all enjoy your Saturday.

Love & Blessings,

Britt & Co.

Blog Title Here.

It's 1:35AM and I should be asleep like the majority of Texas is right now and yet...I'm wide awake. Not a good thing considering in 6 hours I'll be getting myself and Evan up and ready for our very first Fun Run at UNT. I know this is not a competitive run or even a simple 5k but for me...it's just up there on a number of levels for me...

This is the start of goals I am achieving with my training to run a 5k. I've actually stuck with something for once and the feeling is totally worth some bad days and tears while panting up a street thinking I am insane or close to death for passerbys to laugh at and witness . THIS IS BIG FOR ME. I mean, not to toot my own negative self image horn here folks, but I never stick to a plan of action when it comes to bettering myself...I wimp out a LOT, I find reasons to give up and my goal ends up being a tub of ice cream and a week of "well, I failed again, go me!" Not to mention that as a mom, I hardly allow any time for myself (which a lot of moms are guitly of).

Todays event is also special to me. I posted in an earlier blog about The Little Light House-Denton and how incredible this program is and how it touches my heart. Mary (the director) is wonderful and she's very passionate about this program and all it offers to our community as well as the families of these sweet children. I watch these children interact in chapel with our MDO program, I see thier smiles during outside play, I hear their laughter from the hallway and occassionally get a wave as I walk by them, I've even spoken to some of the parents and am in awe of their stories. What sweet blessings God gives us.

I'm so excited to watch them do their victory laps today (some in costume). I'm excited to get my first t-shirt (new addiction alert!). I'm excited that my husband will be by my side in what looks likely to become a growing trend in my running regime. I'm excited to be able to say I didn't quit. I'm excited to put my saturday morning to a good use other than sleeping in. I'm excited about the happiness today will bring. I'm excited.

Hence why I can't sleep......

The Big Trip List

Alright, I got around to doing this finally even though this list is in my head and verbally stated with Evan on an almost weekly basis.
I must saying looking up information and "semi-planning" for these trips makes them look more achievable to me and gets me fired up! With a little saving here and there I think these trips could totally be done and a huge chunk of my bucket list crossed off. :)

*Top 5 Big Trip List*
(In no particular order)

#1-ENGLAND- I went when I was 15 for 2 weeks and had the best time ever, however, I was 15 and didn't understand how blessed I was to get to view so many places rich in history and my pictures have dwindled down in the past decade since I went. That trip was also when I had my very first seizure which many of you know I had for 7 years and never was diagnosed with epilepsy or a seizure disorder (just migraines and seizures for 7 years) so some of the first days are a bit foggy but the rest of the trip I remember in detail. Here are some of my reasons for wanting to go back..
*Organized Travel = Bliss
*Oh, Mister Darcy!
* Prince William- I can dream!
*London Calling

#2-JAPAN- I love this culture, the history (have I mentioned how I am a history nerd?), the food (they eat practically anything!) and the passion Japanese people have for life. I would love to go someday just to people watch.
*A modest tour
*My Husband and I's candy store
*The Gardens

#3- A Cruise- Alright I know this doesn't seem like a BIG TRIP however, Evan and I have never been on a cruise and I think it would be really cool to do one! One of these 3 would be ideal...
*Alaskan
*Western Caribbean
*Disney Cruise? Um, YES PLEASE!

#4- HAWAII- Evan and I have agreed and are definitely going to do this but it's just seeing how much we can save up for it to determine if it'll be just the 2 of us or us and some family and a few close friends. We plan on going to Hawaii for our 10th Wedding Anniversary and renewing our vows, which I think would be amazing!
*Maui Me Again.
*Maui
*Calgon, Take me away!
Again, we're still in the planning stages but I think Maui would be best.

#5- DISNEY WORLD- Evan and I went here on our Honeymoon and it was so much fun. I had never been before but Evan had. We stayed in the wilderness lodge for the first few days (next to a family of 5 no less, um, awkward but funny too) and then we moved to the Polynesian Resort which was AMAZING, I highly suggest doing the Luau (sooo good). We both want to go back and take Avery so that gives us a few years when she's big enough to actually ride the rides and semi-remember it :) Um, not to mention the Harry Potter Theme Park close by...*I admit I'm a dork*..
*When you wish upon a star...
*Other "must do's" in Orlando
*Too much fun in a 50 mile radius!

Hope you enjoy checking out the sites and maybe causing a travel bug in yourself. Let me know what you think or know of these trips, I literally have a binder full of information for each of these trips and we're already saving for 1 of them in the near future (Next summer) just depends on which is more cost efficient for what we have saved by then. :)

Have a great week!!
Love & Blessings,
Britt & Co.

September 11, 2001

I will never forget this date.

I will never forget that moment.

I will never forget the following weeks.

I will never forget the faces of the victims.

I will never forget.