Announcement

Wow! It's Amy here. This is my first time to blog! My sister Bertie who is a blogger extraordinaire has been nagging me endlessly about doing this, as have a few other loving people, so here I go! Hopefully I'll become converted and start to do it more often...like a couple times a month or so.

Well, here is our announcement! We're expecting baby number two! We are so so so thrilled. I've been wanting another baby since Clementine was born, and Brett can't wait either. The due date is Nov. 16th, but we'll probably have the baby a little earlier because the ob-gyn I'm seeing insists on delivering C-section babies a week early. We'll have an ultra sound on July 2nd to see if it's going to be a boy or a girl. I LOVE ultra sounds. I can't wait! I don't care which one we get...boy or girl, and Brett doesn't care too much either, but the rest of the family on both sides really seems to be rooting for a boy.

Here's a little picture from the ultra sound they did a little over a month ago. So exciting!!!

4 Down, 1768 to Go

Today marks the end of four weeks at my new job. So far things have gone pretty well. I've finally learned everyone's name (I don't know why I find it so hard--I'm great with faces but I always forget names) and I feel like I'm fitting in OK. The work consists of writing Title Opinions, which are basically opinions as to who owns what concerning oil and gas interests in a particular piece of property. When a company decides to drill a well, they send us information about the property in question going back to when it was patented (granted) to some individual by the State of Texas (or sometimes by the Mexican government or even the King of Spain). We review the information and make a determination about who owns what, and point out any potential problems with the title. You'd be surprised how messy it can get at times. Anyway, it's a good place to start and I 'm grateful to have a decent job. Plus being home with Minnie and Amy each evening is a real treat. Amy and I are still living with her parents and we'll probably keep doing so while we look for a home. We're thinking about buying some time in the next six months and look forward to putting a little money away in the meantime.

And for good measure, as no post can be complete without some picture or video of Minnie, here's a shot of her in a dress her Great-Grandma Sally made for her. It's a precious dress and my Grandma spent many loving hours smocking the front of it by hand.

Clementine's First Birthday

We celebrated Minnie's first birthday this past week. We started out the celebration last Saturday with the Breeden side of the family up on the north side of town. There were cupcakes for all and Minnie had a blast playing with her cousins.


She also had a chance to play her favorite game: run away from Amy on the trampoline as Amy tries to keep her from running right off the edge.

Then, last Monday, we celebrated Minnie and Grandma Young's birthdays (both born April 21st) with Amy's side of the family at Benihana, which is a Young Family tradition. She loved pretty much everything at Benihana, but especially the mushrooms from the soup and the fried rice.

When we told Minnie to blow out the candle, she did the only "blowing" she knows how to do: blow a kiss.

She's such a sweetheart and we love her so. We can't believe she's already a year old!!!

H-town here we come, I mean, stay, I mean...

We have some good news to share (and no, this isn't an April Fools joke). Yesterday I was offered a position at a boutique firm in Houston called Labanowski & Associates specializing in oil and gas law. This is very happy news as on many levels but especially because it means I won't have to work up here in Ft. Worth anymore away from the family. I interviewed with them a couple of months back and Amy and I decided to hold off making any decisions about moving up to Ft. Worth until we heard the final word from them. It took a while, but the waiting paid off and now I'm set to start there on April 14th. We're sad that we won't be near many of our friends up in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area but we're so happy that we'll be able to stay close to both of our families in Houston. And for the occasion, I've put together a top ten list. Enjoy.

You know you've been living (and working) at a hotel too long if:
1. Maids ask how your daughter is doing by name every time you see them.
2. You only leave the hotel once a day, usually to get dinner, from which you promptly return.
3. Your sleeping cycle has become confused as the industrial strength window curtain doesn't allow the sun to "rise" normally.
4. Walking down to the gym where they have filtered water has become a much anticipated "break."
5. You can't remember the last time you made your own bed.
6. The last line of "Hotel California" hits a little too close to home.
7. You've actually filled all the available drawers in the hotel room furniture.
8. Chatting on a grainy webcam has become "quality time" with the family.
9. Your daughter waves at TVs, computer monitors and pictures because she thinks they're alive, just like her daddy on the webcam.
10. You actually look forward to a 4 1/2 hour car ride every Friday afternoon because it means seeing your family.

Minnie's Walking!!!

First of all, the big news from the Breeden Bunch is that our little Clementine is walking. She really started a few weeks ago, and I even cut together a video a couple weeks back and posted it on YouTube, but I failed to post anything here. Anyway, it's below for your viewing pleasure. It doesn't show her very first steps, but she only started to really walk 2 days before we took this video. The cowgirl outfit it courtesy of Aunt Lisa.
As for us, I'm working up in Fort Worth (living in a hotel for now) doing doing Oil and Gas work. Amy and Minnie are still living with her parents while we try to find a place to live up here (should we buy, should we rent, apartment or house?). The long distance thing is tough, but I see them every weekend and we invested in webcams.
Anyway, enjoy the video below.

Clementine at Six Months

It's Official

I am totally stoked to be able to tell you all that as of approximately 4:00 I am officially a lawyer (well, technically I need to be sworn in, but that will happen on the 12th of Nov.). That's right, the bar results came in a day early and I passed. I hope this doesn't shock anyone too much;-) I was a little nervous as the test was the absolute worst 2 1/2 days of my life, but at least I don't have to do it all again. Now all I have to do is find a job, and I'll actually be grown up. Until then, I'll continue to spend my days playing with Minnie, Amy and my Wii.

I swear officer, I didn't do it...

I was politely informed that "blog neglect" is a crime. While there was no citation to any code and section, or even a court case, I figured I should be on the safe side and post a little update. Life as an unemployed lawyer is treating me well. It has the added benefit of actually watching my little girl grow up. She is doing that extremely well, but a little bit fast for my taste.
Clementine cut her first tooth about 3 weeks ago now, and it was closely followed by a second one next door (bottom, middle to be exact), so she now has the cutest little grin a dad could ever want. She's of course sitting up, and rolling over, and she even likes to stand up next to the couch on her own. I could continue to brag (granted, this may not qualify as bragging since I don't think any of this is rare for a baby her age, but we're darned proud), but you get the picture. She's the picture of perfection, and we love her to death.
Amy has started her on solids (why we call food that's been mashed to a pulp "solid" still perplexes me) and Minnie has surprised us all by actually eating most of what gets put in her mouth. We've been blessed with a baby that doesn't spit it all out, then smear it all over. Amy has actually been making the baby food herself, which I appreciate since I'm not bringing home any bacon, and baby food isn't cheap. So far she's eating carrots, green beans, and applesauce, as well as rice and barley cereals. Amy's trying to introduce something new each week.
As for me, up until a few weeks ago, I was spending at least 3 hours a day applying to jobs. Mostly Houston and Dallas, though we'd prefer to stay in Houston and freeload off of Amy's parents for a while in order to pay off some of our student debt. I say up until a few weeks ago because I got two weeks of temporary work doing some oil and gas work up in Wyoming which was a fun adventure, though I realized I don't want to travel too much when I grow up. I missed Amy and Minnie a ton, and would have been miserable had I not been able to chat with them on the webcam. That wrapped up a week ago, and then I got home and had an interview last Tuesday. I'm still waiting to hear back, but it seemed like something I would be interested in. The firm does corporate securities filings for a bunch of companies as well as other business and transactional type work.
Anyway, I think I've written enough to cover my rear. Especially since you all probably just wanted to see more pictures of Minnie. Rest assured, there are a few more on the way.
Chau.

Clementine At Play

Cute?

 

We may be a bit biased, but we think so...

Like Father Like Daughter

Here's a picture of me around six months and Minnie around 3 months. I think there's a pretty strong resemblance.

Like Mother Like Daughter

What should you do if you haven't posted something forever? Well, starting off with a really cute picture can't hurt. I really have to appologize. We wanted to keep things up to date, but it's been busy lately. I took the Texas Bar Exam at the end of July. It basically consumed my life for a couple of months. Thankfully, we're on the other end of it now, but for a while there, it was pretty crazy. Alas, I won't get the results back until the beginning of November. At least when I wake up from the bar-related nightmares (I wish I was kidding), I can rest knowing it's already over.
We decided to move in with Amy's parents (again) to save money and so far it's going really well. We have a large comfortable room (which seems a lot like a studio apartment), and Minnie even has her own room (though it's pretty bare at the moment). We're also closer to both of our families, which has been great.
Clementine keeps growing up. She's laughing and smiling and even rolled over the other day. She loves to stand up (with a little balancing help from mom) and most importantly, she's sleeping through the night for the most part.
Look for new photos over in our web albums (link on the right side). I'll try to post a few more on here, and we have tons of video that I need to throw together and post online as well, so keep your eyes out.
Take care and by all means, keep in touch.
Brett

Clementine Blessing Day

We blessed Minnie at church on May 20, 2007, the morning after I graduated from law school. Most of our immediate family, as well as a few of the extended family were able to make it to the blessing. It was a wonderful weekend.

Minnie Sleeping

 
Here's a new picture of Minnie sleeping. There are more new pictures in the Breeden Bunch Photos page on the right hand side.

Minnie's First Bath

Per Grandma Breeden's Mother's Day request, here's another video of our precious little Clementine. This was the first "bath" we gave her, even though she didn't really get very wet.