Birthday Shopping Spree

Brady is just a few weeks away from his 4th birthday.  Caaraazy!!!   My mom had suggested to my grandmother she take Brady to pick out his birthday gift instead of buying and gifting him something. Everyone agreed this was a great idea for a few reasons. Brady's birthday's is hard being so close to Christmas, he needs nothing, they would both have a ball, and this gives them some time together, being just a few reasons.

 

She and my uncle Mike came and picked Brady up this morning. They headed to Toys-R-Us and to eat at Brady's choice, Toots. (It is a local sports bar/restaurant that serves fried foods and burgers. It is loud, fun, and kids get free hotdogs! He always chooses this place!)
 

Here he is with all his shopping spree loot!

 

He pulled it all out of the bag and said, "And that is all I picked out!" Ha Ha! I think that is plenty little buddy!

 

 

And this is what he picked out for Presley!

 

So fun! I am so thankful he got to have such a fun day with one of his Great Grandma's. So special!!!

Meeting Santa.

The Friday night before Thanksgiving, Caleb took the kids to see Santa. I was out of town for a ladies retreat.


Dress rehearsal the night before. I had to make sure everything fit and see her in her outfit!



*Let us take a moment and praise what a wonderful daddy and husband he is. *

Thank you, Carry on.

 Brady was only 2 days old on his 1st Christmas, so we didn't get to do any "first Christmas" activities with him until his 2nd Christmas. By then Brady was terrified of Santa!



Well, He still is.


 

Like I am clenching my nails into your skin so you won't make me go near that strange man with a silly white beard scared.

I can relate, I mean we are asking a little kid to sit on a strange man's lap and tell him all our desires. Anyone else thinking of Will Ferrell as Elf calling Santa out for smelling of beef and cheese???  A little creepy, right?  Uhm, Stranger Danger?

Moving on, We talked to him a little about Santa before they went. He told me he was NOT getting his picture with Santa. I had decided that Caleb should tell him it is all pretend, so he won't be so scared. (I don't care if he actually buys into the whole Santa thing or not. It is fun, but I don't want to traumatize the kid.) Then I had an idea. I asked Brady if he could just stand next to Santa while Presley sat in Santa's lap. At first he wasn't sure, then he compromised and agreed to stand next to Santa while Presley sat. I guess he felt like he needed to be close enough to protect little sister.  After all we don't want that creepy man taking off with our baby.

This is our very first picture with Santa!  This was a small town Santa, so he doesn't look creepy to me. This isn't the picture they bought, but the one that was sent to me on my phone.


I am told Presley turned on her charm. Caleb said she had the place oohing and ahhing at her sweet smiles! I think he was a proud daddy!

One night while we were questioning Brady if he would sit in Santa's lap, he responded with a question. "Is Santa just someone in a costume?" We asked what he thought and he said he thought it was. We left it at that. A few days later he asked how Santa would get in out house because we don't have a fireplace. We asked what he thought. He said, "the door!" Again, we just left it at that. I am not sure he knows what to think of Santa.

Still it is fun to have a Santa picture with both my babies...

By the way I made Presley's bow the night before. I couldn't find one I liked so I just whipped that one up. ;)

4 month check up

We got a little behind on our well child visits due to babysitting, the holidays, and a couple other happenings. We finally had Presley's four month check up today, just 5 days before she turns 5 months. :o  I have the next one scheduled already so we are good.

Sweet girl before seeing the Dr and getting shots. She was all smiles and giggling!

Presley is doing great. She is a chunky girl! I keep telling people this is the best time in her life to be chunky. It is considered cute!

Stats:
weight: 15 1/2 lbs, 60th %
length:  23 1/2 in,  4th %  *a trainee/student nurse did the length, so the Dr. wasn't convinced this was correct. I watched her and Presley was really wiggly, so I am not convinced it is right either.
Head:   15.75,  16th %

These measurements were a little all over the place. We will see what the next visit looks like. I know the weight is correct.

She is right on target with all development. The Dr. complimented her head control. She is strong!

She had three shots and one oral vaccine. She hated them all! She immediately tried to sit up when they put her on the table. The nurse was shocked she was that strong. She cried the entire time until I picked her up. She immediately stopped when I held her until I put her clothes on. She started back up until we left the patient room. As soon as we hit the door to the hallway she stopped and didn't cry again. Huge improvement from last time when she cried the entire time until she fell asleep on the way home.


Sleeping off the pain.

She was asleep before we got out of the parking lot today. I ran into a couple stores, filled up my car with gas, and stopped by Caleb's work before we headed home. She slept pretty much the rest of the afternoon, waking to eat.

Brady spent the night with Gigi and Papa. They took him to a basketball game tonight before bringing him home. It is so nice to be able to give Presley the extra attention on shot days without big brother interrupting. We miss Brady when he isn't here, but it is peaceful and quiet when he isn't.

So thankful for our chunky, healthy girl!

Thanksgiving 2012

We enjoyed a typical family Thanksgiving.

Last year Thanksgiving was the day we announced our family would go from 3 to 4! I was 8 weeks pregnant last year. I enoyed the meal this year much more! So thankful a year later we have our healthy, sweet girl here with us.

 

We spent the morning watching the parade. Brady dressed as Captain America for the parade. He got the idea to let Presley wear the mask. I obliged. She was not a fan.

Presley was able to get a good morning nap before we had to be at my parents at noon. So thankful for at least one good nap.

 

My brother texted us this picture from the Macy's parade. He was there working and had a chance to see some of the parade. Brady was very impressed with the Spiderman balloon. We called and talked to him a bit.

 

Brady liked the character balloons, but decided there was too much singing and dancing in that parade. Ha Ha!

 

We had a yummy lunch at my mom's. Presley did amazing for round one. She let everyone who wanted to, hold her. She was so happy and content!

 

She snuck in a quick nap(maybe an hour) before we headed to Caleb's parents house for dinner.

 

She fell asleep in the car, but was woken up when we got there. She was super clingy to me or Caleb. She did well, she just wasn't as content.  She didn't let just anyone hold her. Nevertheless, we enjoyed another yummy meal and fun family time.

 

Caleb and I dropped the kids back off at my parents house for the night. Presley was asleep when we got there. She stayed asleep until about 5am. Girl was tired! Brady was also worn out. They spent the night there, while Caleb and I shopped.

 

It is a yearly thing for us and we really enjoy it. We grabbed some coffee and headed straight to the stores. Caleb is super laid back. If he wasn't I don't think we could do it. We got almost all of our shopping done and got some great deals. We made it home about 2:30am and slept in until going to get the littles.

 

Holidays have changed so much in the past several years. We have been blessed with so many little ones. Both mine and Caleb's family events are so much more fun and entertaining with all the little ones running around. So much to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving all!!!

 

Brady-isms.

We have had a special visitor staying with us last week and part of this week. Our friends little one, Josie, is 7 months old. I have enjoyed the extra gummy smiles and snuggles, but  have also stayed super busy with a 4 month old, 7 month old, and almost 4 year old. It has left me little time to think, care, or want to blog. My days also haven't consisted of much other than feeding, changing, and rocking babies with a few activities with Brady mixed in, which isn't always exciting blogging material. :)

Brady did get out and see a play, Peter Pan on Thursday with my sis and Noah.

Anyway, Brady has been super funny lately. We have been in a very well-behaved stage for the most part. It is easier to soak him in and enjoy him when I don't have to scold him what seems like every second. :)

Here are a few Brady funnies as of lately.

Conversation on the way to church one night.
Me: Brady, please don't be so wild when we get out of church.
Brady: Mom, the church isn't the building, its the people. 
(At first I had no response. Later we talked about how he was right, but we need to respect the building and the people inside walking and talking. I am always afraid he will get so wild, not pay attention, and knock a little, old lady over.)
 

Brady playing with his "cell phone" laughing very loudly.
Caleb: "What is so funny?"
Brady: "Taylor just sent me a text?"
Me: "Well what did it say?"
Brady: "It said there was a turkey at crocodile place."minutes later...
Brady: "Taylor just sent me another text, it says, no turkey it got runned over by the car."

Brady was about to throw a fit and I asked if he wanted to spend some time in time out. He quickly turned and said, "I will straighten up! I will straighten up!"

When I picked him up from seeing the play, he said, "Mom, the pirates were a little scary, but I was so brave. So, they didn't scare me."

One night, Caleb asked Brady if he ever got tired of talking. Brady quickly replied, "No".

Out of the blue...
"I like my bathtub!"
 
We were at my parents house and Noah was playing with a lamp. I told him we better not play with that or Poppy and SueSue would get us. Brady, without missing a beat, said, "Poppy, will knock you out!" 

 

 

I locked myself, Brady, and Presley out of the house and car last night. While we were waiting on someone to rescue us, Brady tried to pick the lock and repeatedly said he was trying to cheer me up. I wasn't upset, but it was really cold out and I didn't want my babies to be cold. Then Brady said, "Mom, look at all these stars! If we weren't stuck out here, we would never get to see them!"
              

 

 -Who is this kid??? And how did I get so lucky to be his Mommy????



That is all I can think of for now. He definitely keeps us on our toes. I can't imagine life any other way!

Weekly Randoms

I meant to post this yesterday. I may try to do this each week to cover all the random moments I want to document. We will see how it goes.

Brady always wants to hold Presley. She looks like she is enjoying it, huh?

Presley before trunk or treat.
 

 

Me and Presley at Trunk or Treat. My camera wouldn't download this picture the other day. I have no idea why. It is a little blurry, but this is the only picture of me. Presley and I LOVE the Moby wrap!!!

 

This was Brady after he woke up after his super long nap Sunday! I asked to take a picture of his crazy hair and this is the face he made. Crazy kid!

 

Thursday we took a little trip to Target to check out the after Halloween sales.  I didn't find what I was looking for, but Brady found this iron man costume for $5! He was pretty excited. He loves to dress up right now, so it was worth $5.

 

A little tummy time!

 

Trying on a hat for Trunk or Treat. I got this right after we found out she was a girl at Old Navy for just a couple dollars.

 

Brady had loved sorting his Halloween candy. He ran in and told me this was his favorite candy. Then he said take my picture with my favorite candy. I can't be sure, but I think this might have something to do with Santa handing it to him! ;)

 

Presley practicing sitting up. It looks like she is about to fly away. I was a little late in taking the picture.

 

 

4 Months

 Presley is 4 months old today. She is really beginning to have an individual personality. She is acting more and more like a tiny person, rather than a newborn. She is interacting with us so much.

My parents got this hat for her in California last week. I know I am biased, but she is so cute. I just can't stand it. She looks so much like Brady, it is crazy!!!

Today is also Poppi's birthday! We have some fun family time planned for this weekend.

 Love those big, chunky legs.

At 4 months Presley is...

• nursing every 3-4 hours, about 6 times a day. I don't always keep up, just feed her when she shows signs of hunger. When I go back and count it is about 6 times most days.
• taking one bottle at night before bath and bed, about 4-6 oz. of breast milk.
• sleeping from 9pm - 6am consistently. She occasionally sleeps until 7. One day she slept until 8!!! Sometimes it is a little earlier.
• occasionally she wakes up in the night. I hear her moving around, but she usually falls back to sleep on her own. :)

This picture is so funny to me. She is like, I don't want to do this every month!

• still struggling to roll all the way over. It is so sad and funny to watch. I keep videoing because I think she will do it, but she just falls right back over. I have to hold Brady back from just giving her a little push over. She is so so so close!
• still loving Mommy, but is warming up to others. She has had some tummy discomfort, which I think was a big part of her clingyness and screaming fits. I have avoided ALL caffeine and onions, peppers, garlic, and other strong spices for about 3 weeks as much as possible. She seems to be doing so much better!
• watching Brady's EVERY move!!!! She can not take her eyes off of him. It is so sweet. He is really sweet to her most of the time as well.
• taking 2-3 long naps most days. Every now and then she adds a few short naps in instead or in addition to.
• loving bath time! At 6-7 pm every night she starts grunting and whining until you put her in the bath. It is so funny.
• wearing a few 3 month clothes, but mostly 3-6 months and a couple 6 month things. Most of the 6 months stuff is still so big!
• wearing size 2 diapers. I think we will be in them for a while.
• cooing, squealing, laughing, smiling, and "talking" every chance she gets.
• drooling and gnawing on everything. I wouldn't be surprised if a little toothy showed up soon, but realize it could be a few more months.
• grasping things in her hand and bringing it to her mouth. It isn't really a smooth process, but she can do it.  She loves to grab my hair.
• doing crunches when laying on her back.
• screams with delight or to get your attention. It is funny, but a little annoying. :)
• trying to sit up unsupported. She topples over a little, but she is trying.
• bearing weight on legs and holding head up very well.
• blowing raspberries on occasion.
• turns towards Mommy's voice in a room and follows me with her eyes. She does this to others to, but more consistently with me.

I love this picture below, because I was singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider to her with hand motions. She looked at me and attempted to move her hand too! She hasn't ever done that before. I was so happy I had a picture of it.

She is getting more and more fun each day. We all are so crazy about her. Brady loves her so much and talks so sweet to her. Things like, "you are talky talky today", "its ok little girlie", "here is bunny, you love bunny", and "are you hungry?, don't cry mommy is coming" are some of my favorite things I have overheard him say to her.

She looks so different to me this month. Usually I don't see a lot of change from month to month in the pictures.

We drag her around everywhere and she is hanging in there like a champ. She has her meltdowns and she is really attached to me, but overall she does really good for everything we put her through. The next few months are only going to get crazier, so I hope she is ready for it. I know the next few months will fly by due to the crazy and holidays, so I am trying to savor each moment with her and her brother.

 I remember this moment with Brady so clearly! It seems like it was just yesterday! He was so fun around this age.  I think they look a lot alike!! What do y'all think?

 Brady's 4 month post is here. (I started cereal at 4 months with Brady and could with Presley. She has had so much trouble with her tummy and is sleeping/nursing so well, I am planning to wait closer to 6 months. She stays satisfied with the milk. Physically she is ready. She watches everything we put in our mouths, so I might not make it all the way to 6 months.)

I couldn't get a good picture of both of them today. It is getting harder and harder each month.

Happy 4 Months Presley!!!

We love you sweet girl!!!

Halloween 2012

Yesterday was just a normal day at our house. I had a few errands to run. Brady loves corn dogs and Sonic had $.50 corn dogs for Halloween. I rarely let him get a corn dog, so he was pretty excited to have that for lunch.

 

Presley had no idea the day was any different. I have put her in the activity center a few times this week. She seems to like it. She has awesome head control, so she does really well in it.

As I mentioned before, we did Trunk or Treat on Saturday as our "Halloween". I had thought if Brady wanted we would take him down the street before church to Trick or Treat. My parents were out of town and weren't able to be at Trunk or Treat so they wanted us to come by their house so Brady could trick or treat them. We ended up just going straight there. We made one stop at my uncles house on the way. When we got to my parent's Brady was done. He took his costume off pretty soon after we got there. He was content with his few pieces of candy. We went to church as normal and Brady got a few treat bags there as well. We have enough candy for a while, but not an abundance.  I love all the holidays and the fun they can bring, but I do not like how they can get excessive. We want Brady to be thankful and appreciative. That is hard when you get tons and tons of candy. I am happy we stopped when we did. I really struggle with letting them enjoy the holidays and teaching them generosity and it isn't about more and more stuff.

Brady being a weirdo in his costume. I tried to get him to pose, but he was being silly.

 

 

Presley girl in her Halloween outfit. She looked so cute in it! She is so chunky! Look at that double chin.

 

Sweet story: My parents gave him $5 in his treat bag. My mom asked what he wanted to do with it, if he was going to save it. He very quickly replied, "No, I am going to put it in my jar for the kids that don't have mommy's and daddy's."  We have a container we have been putting spare change in to donate to a local children's home. I have been amazed with Brady and how much he wants to give to these kids. He volunteers to put money in it on his own all the time. This was just something we thought would help teach him about how blessed he is and how we should give. It has really made him think. I always hope he stays this generous and sweet!!! As soon as we got home he dug it out of his bucket and put it in the jar. Sweet boy! He is such a blessing to us!!!