Here's to Baseball

Hey Brody,

You will see that your Mommy and I have started you an extensive collection of Chicago Cubs clothing. You now own more Cubbies apparel than me. When we found out about you, one of the things I told your Mommy was that I would not force any team on you as to who your favorite teams in sports would be. Well, as you will see..... no pressure. I have had many people ask me, including family members, Why the Chicago Cubs of all teams???? Here is my response.

Many years ago when I was 8 years old, I can remember my Papa and I watching tv together. We would watch many shows. There was Pasquali, a chef, Justin Wilson, a cajun chef, and then there was the Cubs game on WGN. Papa to this day says that the only reason he watched it was because of Harry Caray. Well Brody, wathching the Cubs game with Papa was the highlight of my life. For once as a kid I felt really important. I was watching a baseball game with my Papa. Back then, I always looked at hanging out with Papa a priviledge. Papa was who I looked up to as a child, so to me the Cubs meant more than just some baseball team that had an announcer that coined the phrases "Holy Cow" or "Cubs Win....Cubs Win.....yeaaah." It is times such as those that I can only hope that we will have together Brody. Below are the pictures of the cool Cubs stuff your Mommy and I got you.

Well son, next Monday we will have another Ultrasound of you.

I love you,

Daddy

It Is Finished!!!!!

Hey Brody,

Great News!!!! I am finished with your room and closet. Well, minor touch ups are in order but for the most part.... it is done. I hae spent the majority of my days off of work and prior to getting a job, days off from school since December working on your room. All that is left is to pick up your furniture later on this week and then have you. Your Mommy made me laugh tonite. This is what I heard.... "Well do you like the Doritos or not?" Apparently she needed some sort of snack and so Nacho Cheese Doritios were her choice. You on the other hand had her curious about your preference because you were moving around a lot. It is the little things like that, that make me love your Mommy so much. You are already providing us so much joy. My patients I care for hear all about you and they are excited for you to be here. Brody, this is the most I believe I have ever done for anyone so I truly hope that you enjoy your room. Well I need to get ready for bed, I am working the entire weekend. Happy Easter to you son. One day we will both learn about the meaning behind this holiday. I already know some about it but I am ready to learn with you so that you can provide your thoughts and imagination to it. I love you Son.

Love, Daddy

What has been going on in your world?

Hey Brody,

How have you been? I see you moving a lot. How is it in your Mommy's belly? Hopefully you are comfortable and feel safe. Well outside of your world, in my world, there is so much going on. It is hard to imagine that in 10 weeks I will get to see you. Your Mommy was going to get to see you in 4-D yesterday, but everyone was busy. Your Daddy, me, has been working a lot. But I am making a decision that will be a good one for all of us. Starting May 15th or the week thereof I am going to be doing the weekend option at work. I will work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's and be off work Monday-Thursdays. What all this means is that I will get the sincere chance to hang out with you during the first 4 days of the week. It will probably be short term though. It is a 6 month contract. That is my plan. I think about you a lot. I have heard people say not to revolve your life around your children. I say to them thanks but no thanks. I have dreamed about you for a long time and I want you to experience what I am only now getting to enjoy. That is getting to spend time with you and getting to know you. You are a product of your Mommy and me but God ultimately created you. You will be loved by us no matter what. You have a neat extended family as well. I hope that one day as you get older we can have a strong relationship with one another. So many times it will seem like you know everything and I know nothing. I was the same way and in many aspects I still am towards my Dad. You will learn much from others as well as from us. Well I guess I am rambling now. Your Mommy is 29 weeks along with you. Your heart rate is still in the 160's. We are scheduled to have another Ultrasound of you at 32 weeks. Well boy I love you and hope you continue to feel safe in your Mommy. Oh yeah, you got your first set of scrubs the other day from your Mommy's friend Leah.

Love Daddy

Mommy's Dream

Hey Brody

Well kiddo, you are an awesome joy. I miss you already, you don't know how bad I want to see you, feel you, and hold you in my arms. Well your Mommy had a dream about you last night and I guess I am thankful that God blessed her with it, but I am a little jealous that I could not experience also. Here is the email your Mommy sent about the dream:

had a dream last night that I had Brody. We were in the hospital and there were so many visitors that it took a long time until I finally got to hold him myself. I put my pinkey finger in his mouth and he began to suck. His skin was a combination of my olive complexion and Jeremy's red skin! Then, I was supposed to try to breastfeed him, but then the dream switched to when we were leaving the hospital. For some reason, Jeremy wasn't there by then, so, I had to drive myself home, but Mom and Denise were with me. Weird, I know. Denise made me go by Office Depot on the way home to get some computer thing, and there was a lot of traffic, and I was getting mad- saying that they should have let me just go straight home and she could have gone to the store later! hahahahaha!

That was all, b/c I woke up and wanted to wake up Jeremy to tell him, but didn't dare wake him up that early since we didn't get to bed until around 2am. He was such a cute baby, though! Of course, Mommy would think so!

Love ya
Jess

As you can see, she was blessed to have a glimpse of you. You are 7 months and a few days along at this point. I am so proud of you. I love you!!!! Only a couple of months until you are here.

Love, Daddy

What is going on

Hey Brody.

It has been 20 days since I last updated this blog. What has occurred? Well I am staying busy at work and you keep growing. Look at the pictures below and see for yourself.

Oh and just so you know, you get hiccups. It feels like you are punching a punching bag but it is really just you hiccuping and bouncing around. It is really weird to see you move around the way you do. But I am sure it will only get even cooler. Well this update is a short one. I am doing this after a 12 hour shift at the hospital. Maybe after I take my liscensing exam will I have more time and energy to focus on this.

Until next time

Daddy

Well I wrote you a poem

Hey Brody!!!
Well it has been a little while since I wrote on your blog. Here is what has been going on. For starters your Daddy started his new job. He is the proud owner of 12 hours a day working with cool people that get their tickers (heart) worked on. Yes son, I am considered a rare breed on my unit. I am the only full time male employee on my unit. What does this mean? Well, your Daddy gets teased all the time by his female cohorts. Oh yeah I forgot to mention, I am a RN or registered nurse just like your Mommy is. Well enough about that... moving on to better fun things. I wrote you a poem. How did this happen? Funny thing. I was in the kitchen cleaning up my mess after lunch and I started singing a song. I was thinking about you the whole time and could not stop singing. So here it is.

Brody’s Poem

Written by: Daddy on January 17, 2007.


When I think about you, I get so amazed
Thinking about this little bundle of His Grace
Wondering what it‘ll be like when I finally see your face
I know there will be this love for you that nothing can replace
You are my child that I’ve waited for so long
That when I think about you my heart bursts into this song
No matter what happens I will hold you so tight
Making sure that you know wrong from right
I just want to hold you every day and every night
I break out in tears when I think about the day
When you come along from heaven to this earth
From your Mommy’s womb on the day of your birth
You are my little one that I love so much
That came from heaven filled with so much love
You are my son….the apple of my eye…..
It is hard to imagine no matter how hard I try
That you are this little miracle that is a gift from above
I think about the day when your eyes meet mine
That first gaze will be so memorable
There will be many nights when all I can do is just look at you while you are asleep
And thank God for my little bundle of joy
And pray that His angels are watching over you and giving you sweet dreams
That you my son will be the apple of His eye
And that the two of you will become the best of friends
No matter what happens He will watch over you and protect you during the times that only He can.

There is more to this but the part above is how I feel about you. The next part is what I hope for you.

It is my hope and prayer that as your parents, your Mommy and I will raise you to be the child that grows into a man that loves the Lord and has a continual relationship with him after you leave from us and begin your own journey in life as an adult.
We love you so much.
God has given your Mommy and I the awesome privilege to be your parents.
As your parents we have a huge responsibility to raise you up and protect you from harm. To be your guide when you need an answer to a question.
To be the one’s that listen when you voice a concern
To be the one’s that hold you when you need to feel loved.

There is so much that we all will learn as the time draws near. Just know that we are here for you no matter what. Things will happen that you will not understand and as you grow older, those mysteries will somehow make sense. But the most important of all is Love. Along your journey you will have feelings that you cannot control. But as life occurs you will be around many different situations that are unfamiliar. There is someone who has been through those situations before. You will know him as Jesus. He has the knowledge and wisdom that will help you on your journey. He will tell you about every detour and every pothole in the road. The key to this is listening to his voice. There are ways that you can listen to his voice. The first way is through the Bible. This book is the most important book you will ever own. This book is Living and God makes sure to cover every aspect of life in this book. Another form of listening is through prayer. I like to think of it as having unlimited long distance. Anytime you have a problem just pray.
A valuable lesson that I have learned the hard way is that humans are human. You will soon learn that we all make mistakes. The goal in making mistakes is learning from these mistakes. If anyone tells you that they are perfect, then ask them to go look it up in the dictionary and get back with you. Usually you will find out that whoever decides that they are perfect usually have something going on in their own lives that cause them to use this as a way to deal with these problems. In life you will face many roads. Some roads are narrow and others are wide, some are clear and others are obstructed. Challenges will always be the best learning experiences. With the roads, you will see more roads that are clear and wide. The reason for this is that many people have taken these roads either all at once or over time. The narrow obstructed roads are the ones that few people take because this presents a challenge. Take the challenge. With the challenges in life, you find that your learning and character are defined and refined. It may not be fun but the reward is great.

Well Son I love You !!!

Daddy

The moment we all have been waiting for!!!!!

Hey Kiddo!!!!

Guess what??? We found out who you are...we found out who you are.... nener nener nener, you have a weiner!!!!! It's official you are my baby BOY!!! Whew!!! Do you realize how hard it was for me to try to be all cool about what I wanted? Well, I have spoken about you, my Brody Payne for many years. It is true. Really. Your Mommy is really excited now. I must admit it... you made it tough for us to find out. The nice ultrasound lady was looking and looking for your "pee pee" and you were moving every which way to keep us from seeing it. The funny thing is that we were watching your movements and you seemed to find your "pee pee" after we did because you had your hand down there. You also were rubbing your eye but it was cool because it was almost like you were moving each finger like playing a piano. And when your Mommy was playing with her hair... you were playing with the back of your neck. You are my healthy baby boy. I can already tell that you have quite the personality too. Rather funny!!! Here are some pictures below......

Here is one of your face!!! And evidence of your "pee pee"

The nice ultra sound lady looking for you

Your Mommy and Daddy with the
Girly Doc listening to your heartbeat

Your Mommy and your Gandy

Well Brody... it was a great day and it is such an awesome feeling to know that you, my son, are growing so well and are going to be such a loved little boy!!!! I love you my son and I am so happy!!! I always want you to know how much I love you and no matter what I will continue to love you. It is going to be a fun adventure for the three of us!!! Until next time...

Love ya boy!!!!

Love, Daddy

Only one week until we find out who you are

Brody or Trinity,

This entry may be a little long but there is so much going on that I have to catch you up on. First of all I wanted you to see what your Mommy's website says about you this week. She loves this stuff.

Your Baby

Your baby is approximately 4.8 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces, and he or she should weigh more than the placenta from this point on. Since your baby's hearing has become more finely tuned, he or she may respond to loud noises and you may feel movement at the sound of large trucks passing or a slamming door. Epidermal (skin) and fatty tissue are developing all over your baby's body to protect it after it is born and a substance called vernix is beginning to form on the skin tissue to protect it from the long exposure to amniotic fluid.

Ok, so it is in some foriegn language, the important thing to get from that is your size, that you are hearing now, and that you are getting some skin.

Next thing I wanted you to see is what you look like from where I am. Look below:

(DISCLAIMER, Well I am trying to experiment with this whole blogger stuff so if this looks funny after it is posted then this is why)

As you can see from the pictures you are a beautiful baby. You have a beautiful Mommy too. My hope is that you get your good looks from her.

Guess what? Next Monday we will find out if you are going to be my little boy or my little precious daddy's girl. It is funny, I get asked all the time "What do you want it to be?" My response is always the same and never wavering with " All I ask for is a healthy baby, and a healthy pregnancy, the rest is bonus points."

So there you have it, Brody or Trinity either way it turns out I will love you the same. Are my hopes up? Of course they are!!!

The next thing I wanted you to see is that you got some cool stuff from my family members. How this happened so early is that you and your cousins are months apart from each other as of in being born. And yes you will be the youngest of the three, but the cool thing about that is that you will get spoiled by the masses of relatives!!!! So here below are some of your cool stuff.

Well, this was a long entry but it was well worth it. Until next time, Brody or Trinity keep strong and know that your Mommy and I love you very much. Just think... Next entry will be different depending on how the ultrasound appears. Either way just know that we love you no matter what.

Love, Daddy

Hey Brody or Trinity,

It has been a little time since my last entry on your blog. The pictures above will explain the reason for it. Here is what each picture is. Your Mommy let me paint the ceiling, so I did! Your Mommy wanted you to have a wood floor in your room, so on Christmas day, your Papaw Phil and I put in the wood floor that your Mommy picked out !(hint... lesson #1... always let Mommy or your future spouse make the big decisions... that way if it does not look good you only get blamed a little not a lot) (hint... lesson #2... always be kind and thankful... without you Papaw Phil's help I would have made a big mess... thanks again Phil) Your Mommy loves leopard print stuff... (ask her why when you can talk... lesson #3... if you don't know something... ask... it is better than feeling silly when you make stuff up.) So I painted a leopard for her and you. You will probably ask me this question when you can talk and therefore making your Daddy proud (refer to lesson #3). "Daddy, Why did you paint all this stuff on the walls?" Well let me type it so that way I can look on here to refresh my aging memory later. I was at church one Wednesday night and the congregation and I were asked to close our eyes and relax. Some minutes later we were asked to imagine our peaceful place. Then we were asked to imagine Jesus hanging out with us there. I did and the stuff I painted on your wall was what my peaceful place looked like. So, I wanted you to be surrounded in my peaceful place where Jesus comes to hang out when you are in your room and when you are asleep. The Rhino and other critters were just things that you could look at and ask about later. A little about the Rhino. Your Mommy loves Rhinos. (refer to lesson #3) When I think about a Rhino there are 3 things that come to my mind.
1. They are big... bigger than your Mommy's Tahoe (no one messes with them)
2. They always move forward and not backwards ( goal oriented and focused)
3. They are a respected animal and tough skinned ( takes a lot to bring them down)

These three things are important lessons that you will soon learn... remind me and I will tell you more later on.

Each critter is symbolic of someone that had a big influence on me.

-The Frog on the lilly pad is my relationship with God/Jesus Christ (F.ull R.eliance O.n G.od)
-The birds on both walls are for the many relatives and loved ones that have gone on and the one's who always pray for you and us.
-The fish (yellow) is for the beauty of the unknown
- The turtle is another of your Mommy's favorites... but it stands for the men who had a tough outer appearance but huge hearts to take me under their wing so that I can be a good Daddy for you.
- The elephant (no offense intended) is for the women such as your Great Grandmothers, Grandmothers, and our aunts that always showed nuturing and caring for us.
-The lizard is for the people who were always blending into the environment but always were looking out for us... guardian angels.
The Duck is for my Papa... one of the greatest men I know and love and the one you will never forget as long as I live. Thanks for everything Papa.
-The bass is for your Grandfathers, these men will teach you important lessons about fishing and life.

I seem to have typed a huge blog but it was important that you know what your room stood for. As it becomes finished I will be sure to update you on the new things.

Well Kiddo, you are growing so fast and before we know it you will be here. Your Mommy and I love you very much. I know that when you get to hang out with us more you will soon find out that the three of us, you, your mommy and me, will be very happy together. Love you kiddo!!!

Love,
Your Daddy

Hey Kiddo,
Today is Monday, November 27,2006. Today is a week later since we got to see you. Your Mommy had another girlie doctor appointment last Monday. It was a good visit. The nice lady that operates the ultrasound machine let us see you again. Guess what, now we have video of you. Your mommy and I were able to see you move around and see kinda what you look like so far. Your Mommy loves McCallisters Deli and thought it would be nice to eat lunch there before the girlie doc visit. Well that was cool because it was good food. Your Mommy drank some sweet tea. Let me rephrase that.... a lot of sweet tea. At the appointment, the doc listened to your heartbeat. It was 160!!!! You are loving the sweet tea huh? I always get teary eyed when I think about you!!! God put you in a special place in my heart and mind. I am so ready to see you and get to know you. Yesterday, the pastor at church said that when you find a person's treasure, you find their heart, and when you find their heart, then you see God in that person. Well Brody or Trinity, you are my treasure. The way I feel about you, my unborn child, is so rich and so pure that I honestly believe that is the same way God feels about me and everyone. I love you kiddo and I am so looking forward to holding you.

Love,
Your Daddy!!!

Dear Brody or Trinity,

It seems that the more that happens during the beginning of your life, the more I have to write about. Today is Veteran's Day and your mommy went to church this morning. Daddy was snoozing away in the bed. Well, it is a habit for your mommy and I to call each other on the way home from wherever we are. Today your mommy called me at home. I asked her if she was hungry, the answer of course was YES. I asked her what she wanted to eat for lunch. Here is where the story begins....... Her answer was " Well, the pastor said that we needed to put an X on the calendar because of Veteran's Day. I thought he said eggs. So all during church I have been craving an egg sandwhich"...... Well kiddo what mommy wants mommy gets. She came home and fixed a 3 egg, egg sandwhich with cheese. Just so you know... your mommy normally only cooks 2 eggs for her sandwhich but today your daddy messed with her while she was putting blck pepper in her eggs and it was a lot, so she added another egg. I made me a glass of chocolate milk and your mommy drank a lot of it and said " your baby is hungry." So now I have learned that now it is whatever baby wants, mommy gets. I hope you enjoyed that egg sandwhich and chocolate milk... Love ya kiddo!!!

Love, Daddy :)

Hey Brody or Trinity.
Here is what your mommy sent to me about you.
Your baby is about one inch from crown to rump - or roughly the size of a strawberry. Weighing in at one gram, your baby is very active, although you can't feel its movements yet. He or she now has all the major organs, muscles, and nerves; and a Doppler may be able to identify the heartbeat. While his or her testes or ovaries are formed, the external genitalia still appear sexless, which is why it is too early for an ultrasound to reveal its gender. Eyelids are beginning to form and the trunk is straightening and elongating, cartilage and bones are forming, the basic structures of the eyes are in place, and the tongue is beginning to develop. The fingers and thumb are visible, albeit short and webbed.

Wow you went from peanut to strawberry in a couple of weeks. How cool is that? Now we just need to make sure that no one calls you their little strawberry. I hope that you are doing well inside your mommy's belly. Dont ever let anyone tell you that your mommy poo-poo'd you out. I will let you in on a secret. My cousin Haley told me that i was poo-poo'd out of my mom, your grandma and I believed her. The sad part is that if this was true, then I was the whitest turd known to man. Your mommy and I think about you a lot. We are ready to know who you are. I know this much. God knows who you are already and formed you in his image. And you have a best friend that is with you at all times. His name is Jesus. He did a wonderful thing for us all. I will tell you more about him when you get here. I am sitting here trying to imagine what you are doing right now. hmmmm. still thinking...... ........ i could sit here for days and still be thinking about what you are doing. Are you swimming? peeing? poopin? listening to tv? Just curious thats all. I have so much to talk with you about and so many things to show you. I love you kiddo.

Love your Daddy!

Hey Brody or Trinity!
It's me again Dad.
I have some rather silly news to tell you about your Mommy. Tonight, lets see, you are 7 weeks and 4 days old and you are causing your Mommy to crave some weird combinations of food. Just look at what I found in the kitchen tonight!!! Yep Cranberry sauce and Macaroni and Cheese!!! Yummy!!!! Just kidding. I laughed big time. Your Mommy had a priceless deer in the headlight look when I asked her about it. All she could say to her defense was "I like Cranberry Sauce!" You really do have a cool Mommy that will feed you anything!!! Oh yeah, if you keep hearing the word peanut or the phrase "my little peanut, " just know that that is not me saying that but everyone else. Love you bunches my bundle of joy!!!! DADDY :)

10/23/06-Dear Brody or Trinity, today was an awesome day!!! Guess what? Mommy and I got to see how far you have come along. According to Dr. Tynes, your mommy's Girlie doctor, you are 6 weeks and 2 days old!!! I almost cried tears of joy!!! There was this nice lady that showed us pictures of you and let us hear your heartbeat. I got to see what looked like your heart. Let me let you in on a little secret! God sure knows how to make your Daddy happy. The nice lady told us that you are the size of a peanut. Dont worry I will not let anyone confuse you for the Planter's Peanut guy!!! You are my bundle of joy. You are the best gift that anyone could ever give us. To hear your little heart beat was the best sound I have ever heard. Love ya kiddo!

Dad! :)

On October 5, 2006 the most exciting thing happened. Your Mommy had a positive pregnancy test. We both were so very happy. We decided to call the majority of your family.... Your great grandparents...your grandparents....even your aunts and well....your uncles will find out later. Your Mommy and I had been waiting for you for a long time. We wanted to make sure that you were really on your way so your Mommy took another pregnancy test the next morning at 5:45 and woke Daddy up so that he could tell her that it had been 3 minutes(that's how long it says to wait). The test was positive again. Your Mommy and I were the happiest people in the whole wide world. Ever since your Mommy and I got married, we had always wanted to have you. We would talk about you to our friends as if you were already a part of our lives. I had always dreamed that I could be a good Daddy and now you will fufill my life long dream of being your Daddy. It is too early to know exactly who you are now because according to Mommy's website... you are the size of a M&M. Even though you are so tiny in your Mommy's belly your Mommy and I love you more than you could ever imagine. You are a precious gift from God. Daddy's little bundle of joy.