my stepdad

I haven't done an update on my stepdad in some time, not since he has been home, which is almost been 2 months ago!!!! Rick is LOVING being home and my mom is LOVING having him there. He has therapy a few times a week and he is unable to drive so his mom is staying with him in the day and taking him to therapy but then, as the doctors have advised, she leaves mid afternoon and lets him stay home alone for a few hours until my mom gets home. He is really enjoying that bit of independence! You can carry a conversation with him pretty much like old times, he can certainly remember things from years past but not always recent things. My mom took Rick to the neurologist and he compared a brain scan from when he first was brought in the night of the accident (March 1) and one at the end of May. The doc was amazed that, considering the several spots of bleeding when he was hit, Rick was sitting there talking to him. I don't know if the doc credited God (my guess is probably not) but our family certainly does! The doc told him that by a year he estimates that Rick will be back 98% and only Rick will realize the 2% that's missing. The doctor wants to give him a driving test in the next couple of months and even send him back to work for light duty. We drop by whenever we are in the city for Rick to see the boys. The boys LOVE their Pappy and you can tell that seeing them really lifts his spirits, he just beams! He bends over picks up the 2 little ones, one at a time of course, but doesn't walk with them. He still needs help stepping up and down from steps but with therapy and of course continued prayer he will only get stronger!!!

Here is a picture I took of Rick and my mom last weekend when we stopped by. Saturday was the Baptist Children's Home bike ride that they usually ride in. This year they worked one of the refreshment stops for the riders. They had a good time and saw several members of their bike group! I love their tees, they say "Go Green, Ride Bikes!"

It will be a couple of weeks before my next post. We have a baseball tourney next week and another the week after and in the middle of that we are going away for camping!!!! I cannot WAIT for that!! And soon after is Blaine's third birthday and then we are taking Brandon to Texas to see the Red Sox play!! I kept telling myself to just get through June and then things would calm and now I am repeating that to myself, only this time, to get through July! I hope everyone is having a great summer! It's sure hot!

Baseball Mania!

Brandon is playing coach pitch this year and LOVING it! He played T-Ball for 2 years and it was okay, Ryan and I really couldn't tell if he really liked it or not. This Spring we started talking to him about what summer program he wanted to enroll in. He first mentioned golf. We were surprised but totally cool with it. Ryan took him down to the Parks and Rec office to sign him up and found out he had to be 8, so he has a year to wait for that. He told Ryan that he would play baseball instead. We were hesitant since it obviously wasn't his first choice but we have been pleasantly surprised! The team he is on, the Red Soxs (fitting for our family who are Sox fans!) is a young team. All the boys are playing coach pitch for the first year so it's been a learning experience. Those poor boys not only have had to adjust to hitting the ball from pitches but also adjusting to different circumstances (meaning where to throw the ball depending on where opponents are.) In T-Ball the kids just always threw the ball to first base, now the pitcher or short stop get the ball and they may need to throw it to first or third or home. You can see the frustration at times but I am so proud of all the boys, they are doing so well. The coach has pretty much named Brandon as the catcher and Brandon LOVES it and does so incredibly well.
We have only played 3 regular season games (and lost all 3) and then we played in a tournament yesterday. It was a guaranteed 3 games and then more if we won. Our first game was at 9. We played a Clinton team that we played the night before and just like the night before we lost. Our boys did well and really played much better against them the second time. Brandon was the catcher and it is awesome to see how far he has come in just the 4 games the team has played. The second game was at 11:30 and I had to bring his brothers home for a nap so I missed it but they lost again. They played a team from Prague and the coach was pretty hot-headed. He came over to our dugout in the middle of the 4 inning game and tried to fight our coaches. Crazy. Brandon played right field for game 2. The third (and possible last game) was at 2:30 and they faced another Weatherford team. It was an excellent game! Brandon caught and did excellent! The boys had great hits and great plays and they WON!!! 6-5!! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITING!!! The boys were hooping and hollering and that win made them totally forget about all the other games in which they had lost. It was awesome! So we played another game at 5 against a team from Moore, the Moore "tournament team." That team had it together and even played music between each inning and had banners and everything but our boys held their own, even shutting them out one inning!!! Brandon caught the entire game and it seemed to last a long time and he stayed on his feet, squatting and catching and blocking those baseballs from going behind him! They lost 12-3. I overheard the fans on our way out and they all expected to shut our team out and for us to not even score any runs. We shocked them and I love it!
Unfortunately I didn't even take my camera yesterday so I don't have pictures. I knew I would not only watch and cheer for the Red Sox but also have to keep up with the other boys. They have a playground which Blaine loves which luckily I could see from where I was sitting from both fields that our team played on. I still walked over often to see Blaine and he was always there until the last time, at the end of the first game. I went over to get him and heard someone call out my name. I looked over, it was a lady from our church and she was sitting at another field and she pointed on her field. I looked and there I saw Blaine. He was ON the field and not only that, he was RUNNING THE BASES on the field, in the middle of the game. I stood there in shock for a moment and then began running around to the other gate on the other side to retrieve him. I cannot imagine the sight of a 19 week pregnant woman running like that with her arms flailing and yelling for her son. It had to be humorous because people were doubled over laughing. I was not. Anyway by the time I got out there he was on his way to second. I was actually glad that I knew several people on that field from church so they knew Blaine (and me of course.) One mom/coach picked him up on his route to second and was bringing him over to me. The crowd stood and cheered as we made our exit. I was mortified and didn't live it down the rest of the very long day. By the time I got off the field, another lady from our church had already asked her oldest son who is going to be a freshman next year, if he would watch Blaine for me. Blaine loves Cooper and Cooper loves little kids. He followed Blaine around and did whatever Blaine wanted to do. I owe that boy something. By the end of the day, as teams were eliminated and we were still there(!!!!!!!!), I was able to let Britton go play on the playground with Blaine. I could see them from our field and still went over and checked on them often. They both had a blast, especially Britton because he felt so big to be "left" over there!
It was a very long, hot and tiring day! The boys are still recovering today, because they ALL took very long naps.
Here are pics that I took at Friday's game when my mom and Rick were here and able to watch the boys so I could take pictures!!

Brandon hustling to take his position behind home plate!!

look at him...the next Jason Varitek (the Red Sox catcher!)

(proud mom here!)

he loves playing catcher!

golf, anyone???

Brandon and Blaine always have a great time playing out in the backyard. I love it! I never know though what I will find when I walk out there. Sometimes they are up in the fort and string is tied around the outside posts and it is supposed to "guard them against bugs and other stuff" or they are playing baseball or most recently Brandon is teaching Blaine to golf. Blaine loves the lessons and on their way out the door Blaine always asks Brandon to play golf. Brandon enjoys it that Blaine looks up to him (right now anyway) so he gladly obliges.

Here are some pics from a recent lesson. They are too cute together!

Blaine telling me what they are doing while Brandon sets up the tee.

Blaine taking a close look at me!

I love how focused they both look as Brandon is explaining what to do next.

And while Blaine goes to retrieve his whiffle ball, Brandon takes a turn!

WOW, 5 posts in one night....that is certainly a record for me. I still have a couple more to post, hopefully within the next few days. Baseball has started and is in full swing and we have a game Friday and a tournament Saturday. Good times!!

Happy Weekend to All!!

Cub Scout daycamp: CSI style

The first week of June was a busy one. Not only was Britton's 18 month well-check and my ultrasound scheduled, but it was VBS at our church and also Cub Scout daycamp. Even though I was working VBS, Ryan and I gave Brandon the option of going to VBS or daycamp. When we first told him he could choose I think he thought he was dreaming. He asked me if really could go, I told him that he could and he got so excited because he knew what was involved at daycamp! He immediately started talking about shooting rifles and bow and arrows and slingshots and eating campfire food. He was thrilled! I was a cool mom for a quick second there!
Ryan joined Brandon for the week and they had a fun but exhausting time! The theme for the week was CSI: Cub Scout Investigation. The boys were divided in groups of 9 and each group was named something that related to CSI: Investigators, Forensics, Captains, Rookies, Detectives, etc. Brandon was in the Captains group and Ryan was the leader of the group. Brandon knew no one in his group beforehand, it consisted of boys from Clinton and Elk City. There was a game station, science station, first aid, wilderness survival, crafts, cooking, archery, rifles and slingshot that the boys visited daily. The archery, slingshot and rifle stations were Brandon's favorite but cooking was close behind. Brandon had so much to tell me at the end of each day.
Friday was family day and instead of starting in the morning as it had all week, they didn't start until 2 so I was able to join them. I just followed them around, taking pictures and helped wrangle in boys whose parents weren't there and needed supervision. It was a very tiring day. That evening they had a cookout and then had a ceremony around a campfire where each group performed a short skit and their chant for the week.

The Big Reveal!!!

So I went for my OB COMPLETE ultrasound last Wednesday!!! Ryan and Brandon had Cub Scout daycamp (a post about that coming soon!) so he wasn't able to be with me. I asked my very best friend from college, Deb, to go with me though and it was nice! We ate Bueno (our favorite) beforehand and then shopped a little Target while waiting for appointment time.

Here are pictures of our baby

sweet baby profile!

sweet little foot!

another profile shot...I have to make a confession here. After having 2 out of 3 thumb-sucking sons I had a small meltdown when I thought little baby was sucking the thumb. The sonographer politely (although I am sure irritated) informed me that the thumb was resting on the nose. oooops!

OK, little baby is working on sucking that thumb. That hand has moved down significantly. By this point, the sonographer thought I was insane. (she apparently never had a thumb-sucking child.)

and finally..........
we, the Kelley's, parents of three handsome sons are having a baby
GIRL!

Ryan and I are still sort of in a state of shock. We planned on another boy. We certainly have the clothes and not to mention experience of raising boys, but God has other plans for our family. We are getting excited though. It's almost impossible not to with Brandon who says all the time, "FINALLY I am having a baby sister." His enthusiasm really is contagious. The next big to-do is selecting a name. My dear friend Deborah, who accompanied me at my ultrasound loaned me 3 baby name books. I am certainly thankful to her for them but just looking at them for longer than a few minutes overwhelms me. My aunt and my mom have already bought adorable girly accessories and clothes. oh my!

18 MONTHS!!!

Britton went for his 18 month well-check last Tuesday and it was a great visit because no shots were given!! My only concern with him that I wanted to discuss with the pedi was his attitude/temper (and he certianly has one!) She reassured me that it was normal, being 18 months old and also the 3rd child because not only is he being told what to do by his parents but also from his big brothers. It makes sense because he resents being told no, more so than the other boys ever have.
I was so anxious to see what his measurements were! He weighed in at 27lbs, 14 oz and was 31.5". As a side note Blaine was with me and to keep him occupied while Britton was on the table scale I had him stand on the floor scale. He weighs only 2 pounds more than Mr. Britton (or better known as Mr. Food!) So Britton's length is in the 25th percentile while his weight is nearing the 90th! He is certainly healthy!
I also informed her that Britton was in love with his blanket (a post about that will come soon) and that Ryan calls me the "blanket nazi," because I only allow him to have it at naptime and bedtime. She knows he sucks his thumb so she told me that she would rather him have his blanket instead of the thumb. I told him he needed to go give her a big hug because she is his hero! So needless to say, the past week with the blanket as a companion have been great for Britton and I am learning to get over the fact that he drags it everywhere and in turn it is dirty. Such is life with 3 boys!
Here is a recent picture I took of Britton on May 27, the day he turned 18 months old. He refused to leave his shirt down, as I would snap the picture he would yank that top up. I think it's fitting though...

Look at that BELLY!!

Last Day of School...

I am soooooooooo behind on blogging. Brandon's last day of school was MAY 26...yes, 2.5 weeks ago.
For the last day of school all the 1st graders went to the park to hang out and let loose after lunch. The parents provided snacks and refreshments and boy did the kids luck out. I took a fruit tray and they had snacks galore, Popsicles and juice. The kids had a blast just running all over the place too. Ryan went for me and took pictures because it was in the middle of naptime and I wanted Brandon to be able to enjoy it without his brothers tagging along. Here are some pics!