Clemson Sucks

To All,

GO COCKS! Wow, what a game. I wasn't quite sure we were going to pull that one off. I proud of our boys. We really had a chance to have a magical season. Had four of the close games swung our way, we could have been booking rooms in Atlanta. I know, as a Gamecock fan, I've been saying this for years, but this time I mean it, "Wait till next year". Spurrier has got something good going on in Columbia.

As for the McCoy's, we've had better days. Our house has been filled with sickness lately. Jeremiah has had congestion and cold issues. I had Mono for about two weeks, followed by a sinus infection, and topped off with a nice juicy stomach virus. Keely is not feeling so hot either. She too caught Mono and has had an icky stomach lately. The only one seeming to dodge all of this is Caleb.

Speaking of Caleb, his football season ended 7-1 with a loss in the semifinals of the playoffs. He also made Beaufort county all-stars this year! They made it to the championship game but fell 12-6. I am so proud of him. He has improved 100% since last year and has found his inner toughness. He laid out some people this year as well as putting points on the board. We are saving up to send him to Steve Spurrier's football camp this coming summer. Hopefully the visored mastermind can mold my boy into an unparalleled football phenom.

Jeremiah is STILL GROWING. He's HUGE! He is so cute. His cooing is intinsifying as he is trying his hardest to communicate. I also think that he'll be crawling soon. When we lay him on the bed, he does this little "worm shuffle". Unfortunately, we were downstairs one night while he was napping and we heard this loud THUD. He had wiggled his big old fanny right off the side of the bed. Luckily after a little crying he was back to his old self. Needless to say, we are having to keep a closer eye on him these days.

Keely and I keep on keeping on. We are stretched extremely thin, but through the overwhelming joy of parenthood, our marriage has gotten that much stronger. It's funny how much retrospect you get as you age and mature. I've begun to realize just how special my childhood was. No responsibilities, no hardships, no worries. I only hope that I can give my boys the same thing.

We hope all of you are doing well. I can't wait for the holidays. I'm pretty bummed that I won't get to see Robert and Ai this Christmas, but if everything works out the way we plan, we'll be able to come visit in Febuary after the little McCoy princess is born. Take care, enjoy the pictures, and God bless.

With love,

Brad, Keely, Caleb, and Jeremiah

Babies, Babies, Babies....

To all,

First off, congratulations are in order. Leah and Nick Redmond (Keely's sister and brother-in-law) welcomed little Samuel Luke Redmond into this world recently in Blacksburg, VA. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to post yet, but as soon as I get some I'll be sure to post them. Leah is recovering well and the baby is healthy. Little Lillian, from what I hear, is excited about the arrival of her "baby bwutha". We continue to pray that Nick finds a nice balance between his studies and fatherhood and that Leah is able to make this new transition of caring for TWO little ones. Also, congratulations to my brother Robert and his wife Ai as they have recently found out that they are having a baby girl! This is BIG news for the McCoy family since we haven't had a girl in our family since our Aunt Debbie was born some 50+ years ago. I can't wait to meet my little niece. She is due in late January. Let us all pray for them as they prepare for this new change in their life. I also pray for them as they continue to search for a new home in California that will be suitable for raising their baby. Also of note, Keely's cousin Jennifer and her husband Andy are having another baby as well as our good friends Gary and Angie Blight.

Now to the really important stuff....Us! It has been four months and some change since our big fat baby was born and he is changing rapidly. What a blessing it is to have such a happy baby. He smiles and laughs constantly and is an absolute pleasure. He rolled himself over for the first time the other week. He has also figured out how to wiggle himself out of his chair, which means that we are having to take some extra precautions now! He is also starting to reach out and grab things like his toys, his mother's hair, and his daddy's big fat nose.

Keely is still adjusting to life as a working mother. She works her beautiful little tush off and still manages to find the energy to spend her precious time with the boys. I admire her so much and I wish she had the opportunity to spend more time with the kids. She takes Jeremiah to daycare in the morning, goes to work, goes back to daycare on her lunch break to feed the baby, goes back to work, picks JJ up after work, goes home and feeds Jeremiah, pumps milk for the next day, picks up Caleb from football practice, makes dinner, puts the boys to bed, and collapses. I've been working some longer hours at work. That, plus the commute, has made it harder for me to be able to help as much. But we can't complain. God has been good to us and we have a beautiful happy family.

Caleb has started football and is quite the little stud on the field. He has improved drastically since last season and is one of the coaches "go to" guys on the field. He has become quite the little Syvelle Newton. Depending on the situation, coach will play him at fullback, tailback, quarterback, reciever, and cornerback on defense. He had two touchdowns last game, but unfortunately, they were called back due to offensive holding calls. BOOO Ref! On top of his athletic achievements, he made straight A's on his last report card and got much praise from his teacher at our parent-teacher conference! I am so proud of him.

That's the "low-down" for this installment of "What the heck are the McCoy's up to?" Thanks for tuning in and feel free to leave us a comment about what's going on in everyone else's life. Take care and God bless. Enjoy the pictures!

I smell Football.

To all,

Well, we are gearing up for another exciting year of Pee-Wee football. Caleb is already in pigskin mode. He's been watching the preseason games and he's started football practice with the Bluffton Rams. They've got him practicing at quarterback, tight end, and safety. To those who made it for one of his games last year, you KNOW how exciting the games are!

Jeremiah is doing really well. He's super fat and always eating. Keely got him to laugh for the first time today. He' s really happy. He also started Day Care this week. He has made the transition well, but Keely is still trying to cope.

As for Keely and I, we are both working long and hard and we are ready for new jobs. Both of our jobs are not sitting well with us, so we have begun job searches. God willing, a good opportunity will arise. That's all for now. Here's Keely.....

Hi everyone! Thanks for being so patient with us with the blog site. It seems we barely have time to relax during the week. Our summer has been so blessed. Mercy's stay really helped me transition Jeremiah into daycare. We have had wonderful visits with family & friends.

Our family is growing so fast! Leah & Nick found out they are having a boy and it should be only a couple of months before we find out what Robert & Ai will be having. Thank you for everyone's comments on the blog. Take a minute to check out the pictures; there is a great one of Jeremiah is his "harp" onsie. Take care everyone! Love, Keely

We're Baaaaccckkk...

Sorry for the hiatus folks. Life has adjusted dramatically and we are trying to find the time to do, well, just about anything. I have officially consolidated Caleb and Jeremiah's website into one family site. Caleb lost interest in his blog REAL fast. Jeremiah is growing exponentially. Dad weighed him over the weekend and he is a little over 13 lbs. He eats like a little piggy so I'm not surprised. He is also starting to coo and smile. Now, if we can only get him to sleep through the night! Caleb is enjoying the final weeks of his summer break. He has got a new companion.....Oscar the family dog. Well, he's not really ours. He is on loan from Mercy until she moves back to Columbia. Keely is back at work now while Mercy watches Jeremiah. My poor wife. It was so hard for her to leave her newborn so soon to return to the work force. I think that she is doing a wonderful job of adjusting. Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the pictures. To my family: It was great for us all to be together last weekend...felt like old times. God Bless.

P.S.- You'll see that we are training Oscar to be a die hard Gamecock fan.

The First Three Weeks

Well, our first three weeks with little Jeremiah have come and gone. We are starting to pick up on his little idiosyncracies. He fusses a little, but not much. He has three basic needs: change my diaper, feed me, and burp me. He has a little grunt that he does that makes my heart melt. He is starting to keep his eyes open more now and he has even cracked a few smiles. He is such a sweet boy, and he smells good! Keely is recovering well. She is finally starting to get out and about. Any of you who know Keely know that she does not like sitting around the house. She has had some great bonding time with the baby which is really important to her since she has to return to work in 5 weeks. Thank you all for your comments, letters, cards and gifts. It means a lot to us that so many people share in our love and excitement for this handsome little child. Here are some pictures of JJ on his first trip to the beach and some others of him with his eyes open. Enjoy. Love you guys.

The McCoys and McComb boy

He's Here.....FINALLY!!

On Thursday, May 11th at 11:24 p.m. Jeremiah Justus McCoy entered this world at a whopping 8 pounds 12 ounces. He's 21 inches long from head to toe and he's got a big head full of black hair! Keely, bless her heart, tried to bear the pain as long as possible, but eventually she opted for the epidural. Let me tell you, there is a lot to be said about modern medicine. In about 10 minutes, Keely went from giving me "death stares" to laughing and holding my hand. She didn't feel much except the pressure of pushing. My wife is a champ. She did an awesome job. That was one of the most powerful bonding moments I've ever spent with my wife. This experience just reaffirmed how much i love this woman. Jeremiah is in great health. His organs and vital signs are perfect according to Dr. Lowe. He has a small bald spot on his head where he has developed some sort of sore spot and he is pretty gassy (like his daddy and brother). Other than that, he's flawless!! And must i say, he is the most beautiful baby in the whole world...and yes, more beautiful than yours! Keely is recovering well. She has some abdominal pain and a little bit of back pain, but its nothing that Motrin can't handle. Well, we have just gotten home and its time to "nest". We'll keep you posted as the days go on. Here are some good pictures of baby and family. Take care and God bless.

What the heck?!

Okay, so its been a week. Now I know that may not sound like that to you, but just imagine that feeling you got as a kid on Christmas eve. Now imagine waking up the next morning to find out that Christmas has been postponed until the next day. Now imagine doing that for seven days or more. Jeremiah is taking his sweet little time. It's taxing us both physically and mentally. We can't sleep because a) we stay up talking about our son, wondering what he'll look like, rehashing our plan of action come time and b) because my wife flops around all night like a fish out of water (bless her heart). I sure hope that this deal goes down soon or else I'm going to reach up there myself and yank him out!

There's really nothing else new to report. Stay tuned. Caleb should be posting a new entry on his blog soon, too. Make sure you leave him a little comment if you visit.

Bradicus

THE END IS NEAR!!

All,

THE END IS NEAR!! No, not the apocolypse, Keely's pregnancy. However, the fact that I have procreated could very well mean that the hour is upon us!

Keely started have contractions Saturday afternoon as we sat in our birthing class. They lasted the entire four hours that we were there. Since we were already at the hospital, we decided to have the doctor check on Keely. They hooked Keely up to this machine that amplified the baby's heartbeat. The sound of my unborn son's heartbeat echoing through the hospital room was pretty awe-inspiring. They told her that her contractions weren't that serious (maybe Braxton-Hicks) and that she was only 1cm dialated. She returned to the doctor Monday for her regular check up and the doctor said that she is 2cm dialated and 80% effaced (sp?) which means that things are definately progressing. Her contractions are making her very uncomfortable, but the good news is that she could go into labor any day now. Then again, the doctor said that it could be another week. Keely has been ordered to stay off of her feet this week and she has canceled all of her trips for work. She's working half a day then coming home.

So, here we are waiting anxiously. Our hospital bags are packed and we are ready to make the mad rush to the hospital. We are all excited. Even Caleb is talking about how he can't wait to meet his brother. Keep Keely in your prayers. God is good.

That's all for now. The next post could have pictures of a wrinkled up little alien child. Keep checking! I don't have any new pictures to post, so I decided to post an old picture of my current baby, "The Hulk". Enjoy.

Bradalicious

Countdown begins

So, here we are just a few weeks away from the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me in my life....Jeremiah Justus McCoy. Wow, this is the first time that I've seen his name written. Just seeing his name for the first time has got me all choked up. It's the same name that will be on his Christmas stocking, his report card, his football jersey, and someday his driver's liscence. I hope he likes it. If not, it was Keely's idea!

I've decided to start this blog so that those whom we love, yet live so far away, can share in this miraculous moment with us. Let me just recap the last 8 months with you: Keely feels sick, Keely loses appetite, Keely gets moody, Keely gets appetite back, Keely gets moody, Keely's ankles swell up, Keely feels woozy, Keely gets moody, Keely wants to punch Brad in the face. So here I sit with a black eye waiting eagerly for my little boy to come and end all of this madness. God bless my wife, though. She's had to cope with her changing body and emotions while raising a 10 year old boy and his thickheaded father. She's an amazing woman and that's why I love her.

So with this inaugaral address I'll leave you with this: THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS. I've been reading books and trying to prepare myself to care for this little life that is going to cling to me and rely on me for everything. I'm amazed, confused, anxious, scared, excited, nervous and Caleb and I are ready to recrute our newest member of the "No Girls Allowed" club. Poor Keely. Now I can begin to see what it was like for my mother!

Stay tuned for updates and photos.