The Bridges of My Life

Quickly becoming one of Josie's favorite activities. If she isn't riding on daddy's back then she hops on Ruby's back. (Ruby is our Rottweiler)YeeHaw!



Quality time with Daddy reading "Goodnight Gorilla".

Jeremy on occasion let's me sleep in and he gets up with Josie. This picture was taken on one of these mornings. I walk into the kitchen and see Josie sitting in her high chair eating her breakfast. As I come around the front this is what I see.....



Well at least Daddy tries.

My little sugarholic. Josie loves her some sweets especially when it comes to a chocolate cupcake. See her cheezy grin? How can one not smile when looking at this?

So there I was, peeing, which I do quite often now, while peeing I was talking to Jeremy. Bc we have a very open relationship....no closed doors....literally. Anyhoo, I'm peeing and I felt him!!!! I finally felt Ben move for the first time. Oh....it was amazing. I just yelped out WOAH!, my eyes bugged out like large saucers...and I told Jeremy, I just felt Ben move!!!! I love love love this part of pregnancy. It is just such an amazing feeling and it gives me such peace of mind.
It makes me think back to the time I was pregnant with Josie and I felt her move. When I was really big with her I would lie in bed reading, place my book on my belly/shelf and she would get her little fists and feet underneath my book and kick away. So there my book would go...up and down....up and down....And she always had the hiccups. So my belly would just jump each time she had a hiccup. It always seemed to occur when I was trying to sleep too.
Sigh...that one small moment made my entire day perfect.

Being a mom quickly reminds one how nothing is YOURS ever. Whatever I have to eat or drink of course Josie wants. Which is fine because I then get to lead by example when it comes to sharing. Even though most of the time the sharing isn't equal. Josie is petite for her age but when it comes to some foods or beverages she can pack it down. I will tell her take a bite....and literally over half of my snack is gone. Of course I know exactly where she gets this from....ME. I did the exact same thing when I was little. It's just funny to see how the tables have turned.

Something else that is no longer just MINE is my cell phone. Nope Josie has taken it upon herself to text, call, and check my email on my phone. I can't tell you how many random texts she has sent to friends and family. Also, when I am on the phone Josie MUST have her phone time too. She reaches out her hand and says "hello". If I ignore her she keeps repeating, "hello, hello, hello."(slowly increasing her volume). I give her the phone to say hello...and I kid you not...she then proceeds to carry on a very young toddler conversation with the phone guest. Most of the time it goes something like this:

Josie: Hello!
Guest: Hi Josie. What are you doing?
Josie: HI!
Guest: Hi...are you playing?
Josie: uh huh
Guest: What are you playing?
Josie: Rocco...dog...baybug(ladybug)....ya....yellow....book...choochoo... (it varies)
Guest: Oh wow...
Josie: bye!
Guest: bye bye.
Josie: I love you.
Guest: love you!

And while this conversation is happening she is walking around the house, phone to her ear, with her hip out, looking like a DIVA. sigh... She continues to grow too fast right before my eyes.

Okay so I know it has been FOREVER since I've made a post. Life just kinda got away from me. I don't know about you but when the coldest part of Winter arrives I go into hibernation. Literally, I stay in my sweats, eat mac-n-cheese, and cuddle with soft blankets. But here I am trying to get back in the groove.

Let's see....as many of you know I am PREGNANT!!!! As I write this I am currently 16 1/2 weeks. And we've found out we are having a baby boy. The name we are planning on using is Benjamin Ethan Bridges. I love the name! Jeremy and I both had/have Ben's in our family. It seems like a such a strong honest name. It means "son of my right hand". He is due in September. I know it's seems far off now but I know it will be here before I know it.

Josie of course really has no clue. She just knows that mama keeps talking about a "big girl" bed. I plan on making the transition in June. Then the crib will then go in Ben's room. I hope she makes the transition well.

Josie is growing up sooooo fast. She is just talking away, running, jumping, and getting into everything. Her vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds...let's see...some of mommy's favorites: I love you, No Mine, Coke, Candy, Cookie, (what's funny is she says it like cuuuuuuukie), I know, oh...the list could go on.

Her favorite movies are Finding Nemo and Madagascar. I have to admit they are starting to drive me crazy.

On Monday Josie did the sweetest thing. She just ran up to me hugged me and said I Love You! I cried bc it was just out of the blue and sooo very sweet. I love her more each day

Well I am pretty sure this post is long enough. I will have to post something interesting again soon.

Tonight I took Josie out in the snow for just a moment. She just smiled and copied me by saying WOW! Then she reached her arms out and kept trying to catch the snow. It was so cute.

Poor Josie had to go to her doctors appt. for her 15 month check up. She received a clean bill of health. Her latest stats are: Weight...a whopping 19lbs!!! She is a tiny little thing. She is at the 7th percentile in her weight. Length...31 inches. She is in the 59th percentile for length.

She got three shots and was as brave as she could be. I hate having to see her cry like that. But she cheered up pretty quickly when I pulled out her Dumb-Dumb sucker! Score for Mommy!

My perfect little princess.

Just out for a Fall stroll, sporting her cool vest, and BabyLeg sleeves.

Such a cute outfit. She looks so big! I love her little L.L.Bean shoes. The sweater compliments of Auntie Adriana.

Just chillaxin with her buddy Logan.

Running as fast as her little legs will take her.


Such a big girl posing for the camera.

Again, such a poser.

Such a sweet sweet smile.

Our family.

So Josie's latest new trick: About 2 days ago I was at the sink washing the dishes, which is the usual routine, while Josie is in the TV room playing with her toys and singing the "Hotdog" song from "Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse". I guess I should have prefaced this by saying she now knows how to open the entertainment unit which holds many dvds and cds. Anyhoo, she obviously was getting into it again because he came out of the TV room with CD in hand. I then asked, "Josie why do you have that?" She just looks at me and smiles. Then she proceeds to walk into the dining room where we keep the computer, and....I KID YOU NOT!!!!.....she THEN pushes the button to OPEN the DVD drive and places the CD into the drive....and then proceeds to close it!!!!! I am thinking WHAT???? So I walk over to her and say..."Josie can you give that to mommy?" She bends back over....pushes the button AGAIN...watches the drive open, picks the CD up, and hands it to me! I had no idea she knew how to do that! She is 15 months NOT 15 years!!!! She is silly!!! I am telling you she keeps me on my toes.

Another of her favorite things to do is climb up on the coffee tables. She is a little monkey. Also, she seems to find enjoyment in me chasing her around the house when I need to grab something from her. She just runs and laughs! It's hard not to laugh with her and make a game out of it. BUT sometimes Mommy REALLY doesn't want her to run....for example when she is holding a plate of my FINE CHINA in her hands. Grrrr!!!!

Let's see...what else...oh she has now learned how to use her charm. When Jeremy or I get on to her for anything...she puckers up her lips and tries to give us a kiss. Then she begins singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" while doing the motions. It's like she is saying "But Momma...Look how cute I am!"

Many have been asking what her vocabulary is like. Well here is a list of words she knows thus far: Momma, Dada, Rocco, Dutch, Cat, Dog, Please, Thank You, Nana, Milk, NO, Stop, Hotdog, Hot, Nose, Eyes, Mouth, Hey, Hi, Juice, Cracker, Up, Bye Bye, Baby, Done, Go, Night-Night,and sometimes the word Down.

She can sign the word "more" and thinks that if she does it longer and closer to my face then I will automatically fold and give her "more" of what she wants.

The animals she knows sounds for: monkey, dog, cat, tiger, fish (although this is more of a motion), cow, duck.

She can point to her: eyes, ears, nose, toes, and mouth.

We are working on the word Santa and what he says..."HO, HO, HO".

Her other new favorite song is "If Your Happy and You Know It." Too cute!

Now, I am not one who is up on the statistics of what a 15 month old should be capable of doing....but I'd have to say I think Josie is coming along just fine.

I wonder why the dogs love Josie so much????? Hmmmm?



Anyone have an idea?



Her new favorite words are UH-OH and Rocco. In fact, this morning I woke up to her saying "Rocco?" "Rocco?" Those two are best buds.

Josie had a great time dressing up and Trick or Treating. She really racked up on the goodies. She will be sharing those with Momma and Daddy. Of course, she received plenty of ooohsss and ahhhhs...and she "ate it up". I don't know where she gets her charm from????? Thank you Auntie Adriana for the AwEsOmE costume!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.... No seriously, my friend Tricia is one of my best friends. She is in China right now and I miss her so much. But she is off doing the wifely duties by being an excellent spouse to her husband in supporting him in his China excursions. Don't ask me what he is doing there because I really don't know. Something about language, culture, and muslims...??? I think. Back to Tricia, she has been so kind to help me get this Amazon thing up and running. It's nice to have a helper when I have a baby and a slow internet connection. I think you could put me in the same category as the "Slowskys". Ya know the Comcast turtles. Well, I know this may seem like a random post. But I just wanted to publicly say, "Thanks Tricia! I heart YOU!" AND when you get back to the U.S. of A. I will be buying you the biggest, grandest, bestest, double blended, extra caramel macchiato. Just for you! (Of course that will be after a long day of shopping, Barnes and Noble browsing, lunching at a yummy joint, and then heading to Dairy Queen for a large Extreme Chocolate Blizzard.) ;P

Just in time for the lovely fall weather, our family went to the visit the ole farm. Walden Farm or also known as...the pumpkin pickin, petting zoo, face paintin, bluegrass singin, corn mazin, hay ridin, cow feedin, bird watchin, PLACE! There is a little something for all.

Anyhoo, when we got there it was so packed! We unloaded the wagon and buckled Josie in and began our adventure (or lack there of). Josie fed a baby goat and was mesmorized by the calves.


She didn't seem to like the corn maze all that much. I think it's because she feared for her life due to the ginormous older kids that were running the maze and not being mindful of the little ones. O well...perhaps next year. Jeremy and Josie had fun posing as a farmer and pumpkin. Well Josie didn't really know that she was supposed to put her head through the hole. But it's still cute.

I think this could turn out to be a Bridges Family Tradition!

Josie: Cracker
Me: You want some crackers?
Josie: eeeash (please)
Me: Ok, let mama go get you some crackers.
Josie: (cheezy grin)
Me: Here you go.
Josie: taint tuuu mama.
Me: Your welcome
Josie: elcum

Since we've mastered the eating with 'fingers', I figured it was time to move on to a more challenging task. SPOONS! I think she did pretty well for her first time. I hear a little yogurt on the skin is good for your complexion.



I can hear my Grandad Hollie now, "Just leave her be, God made fingers before forks."

My new favorite CD! So relaxing and peaceful, I could and do listen to it all day.

Funny, Witty, Interesting, Hysterical, Wish I could have been a fly on the wall, Light-hearted...these are just a few words one can use to describe this book. I enjoyed reading about their RV adventures. Especially since one of their tours took them to the best city in the US...Carlsbad, NM! ~Caverns, bat flights,cactus, and tumbleweeds, what more could one ask for?~ I give it 5 stars!

I kept eyeing this book on my regular trips to Target and Walmart. I've recently decided to read as many Pulitzer Prize winning books as I can stomach. Because, let's be honest...not all of them are worth writing home about. I figured this would challenge me to break out of my normal reading genres. So, I trekked to my local library and checked out "The Road". Most people were drawn to this book because it's an Oprah book club book. I, on the other hand, usually run the other way from her picks. Oprah and I have VERY different taste in literature. To put it nicely, I think most of her picks are crap. But anyhoo, back to "The Road", it's very different from anything I would ever read. Some of the scenes in the book definitely showed up in my dreams because I couldn't help but think "what if". The dialogue was choppy and I hated that the book just seemed to end so abruptly. I did feel for the dad in his daily struggles to feed and protect his son. Overall I would have to say that I'm glad I rented this book instead of spending my (I mean Jeremy's) hard earned $. I would recommend this book as long as you don't have to spend $ on it either.

I never felt like I really connected with the characters. I was hoping 'God' would be an actual character, too, but 'she' was more of a mystery thru-out the book. Not only that, I never really understood the purpose for Faith's stigmata. I kept hoping Picoult would tie it all together in the end, but instead I was left going huh? I even read the last page twice trying to figure out the meaning.
I enjoy Picoult books but each one is so different that one never really knows what to expect.

Josie and her little boyfriend Logan took a train ride with Thomas the train. Her Aunt Adriana took her and from what I heard Josie had a great time. Logan and Josie are best buds and have been since she was 6 months old.
Three peas in a pod.



Such sweet lovin'.



As you can see, I think Logan wants the relationship to move forward-made obvious by the sweet kisses...



but I'm not sure Josie is ready-made obvious by the smack up-side the head! ha ha!




BFF!!!! Is all I can say.

I know it's a bit early to be decorating Halloween cookies but I found myself in the "mood" after visiting JoAnn's and Target. Of course, all the stores have had their seasonal decorations out since July. So I feel like it's been Fall/Halloween for months now. Anyways....when Josie and I were shopping I saw the cutest cookie cutters at JoAnn's and thought why not. It's never too early to start traditions. In my family we always did Christmas cookies but I'd like to make cookies for all the holidays.
So, Josie and I bought the goods to begin our messy kitchen playtime. We mixed, cut, baked, and then it was onto decorating. Armed with orange icing, purple icing, candy pumpkins, candy bats, and sprinkles we were ready to give Martha a run for her money.
We had a hayday decorating the cookies. Adriana and I helped Josie make 2 cookies and she was off to eatin'. It didn't take her long to figure out how yummy the icing was. She literally had it all over her face, hands, all down her belly, and she even had sprinkles in her diaper. Too funny! She was in sugar heaven!
Then it was off to a dunk in the ducky bath..."quack quack".