Swimming Lessons

My parents got Brady swimming lessons for his birthday. There are four lessons in all and the first one was today. The three of us loaded up and headed out in the snow to go to swimming lessons. There was only one other little girl there. I am not sure if that is all who signed up or if the weather kept some away. Since there are four lessons, Caleb and I will be alternating who gets in the water with Brady. I went today. At first, Brady wasn't really sure. He cried a little when we got in and held onto my arm with a death grip. We tried to do what the teacher said, but we weren't really interested. After a little while, he warmed up to the idea and it was really fun! He loved the "jumping" in the water part! He also thought is was hilarious when the teacher threw the toy in the water and we were supposed to "swim" out and rescue it. By the end, he was loving the water and the teacher. Maybe next week will start off smoother. She gave us some homework to work on in the bathtub.

Things like:

• blowing bubbles in the water
• laying on his stomach and kicking
• laying on his back and kicking

They are mostly teaching him the basics of swimming and improve motor skills, how to kick, breath out not in under water, how to dig, and just getting comfortable in the water. It is really fun! I can't wait to go back next week!

Baby got a haircut!

I had a hair appointment scheduled yesterday. I decided I would ask the girl that does my hair if she could trim up Bradys while we were there. Of course, she said sure, because she has done my hair forever and she is awesome like that. We were starting to get some mullet comments about his hair style and he is over a year old, so I decided it was time.  Mohawk- Fine! Mullet-Not so much! Brady DID NOT like getting his hair did! NOT AT ALL!!!

When I sat him in the chair, He screamed!

I picked him up and I decided to hold him while she cut. He didn't cry as much. I fed him puffs while she got ready. She sprayed his hair with water and that was fine.

But that first cut, back to crying. Caleb was standing there like you wuss, that doesn't hurt.

I continued with the puffs until we were mulletless and all done. He didn't jerk away or hit. He just stayed really still and cried.

 I guess that is a success!

(I got my hair cut last, It was looking a little rough in these pictures.)

A B C.....

Brady loves books!

 He will sit and flip through them without tearing one page. As soon as we brought him home from the hospital, we began to read to him. We keep books in the diaper bag for Dr.s visits, church, car rides, restaurants, and any and everywhere else we might go. We read a bedtime story most nights. We also read anytime we get a new book.

I often find him pulling books out of the toy box, book basket, or diaper bag and just "reading" away. It is so sweet. He will even pull out my cookbooks and flip the pages and just look through them.

I love this interest in books, but this week it was brought to a new level. Tonight the sweet little boy picked up The very Hungry Caterpillar book my sister got him for his birthday, walked over to me, handed over the book, reached up and grunted, and sat in my lap while I read the entire book. He didn't try to turn the page, he just listened.

I always thought it was so sweet to see children pick out a book and bring it to be read without being prompted. I so wanted a baby that did this. Well, I got one and it is even better than I could have imagined. I hope his love for books and reading grows with him.

I strongly encourage you to read to your children everyday if you don't already. If you don't have children and plan to, I encourage you to go ahead and plan on making this a priority. You and your child will have some of the greatest memories of this special time together.

Happy Reading!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

My mom kept Brady last night while Caleb and I brought the new year in with a few of my favorite vampires. I finally got to see New Moon. I was so excited. I love the books, but do not usually love the movies that go with them. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. They followed the book pretty accurately, which is refreshing. Of course the book is always better! We had a great date night. I love Brady, but it was nice to eat dinner without wearing it or having to constantly feed someone else and to be able to go to the bathroom without someone trying to look  at what is in the toilet while I flush. ha! Hey, just keeping it real! We are so lucky to have so many capable people desire to keep him for us.

I am sure there are some wild and crazy things in store for 2010 for our little family. I wish you all the best during this new year!

Christmas Wrap-Up Part 2

We had absolutely NO plans for Christmas Eve this year. We usually spend it with my family, but this year we did Christmas with them a couple days early and my sister had to be at her in-laws. That left us free on Christmas Eve. It turned out to be so great. We just lounged around and played with Brady all day. It also gave us time to get ready for Santa!

Christmas # 3

Brady woke up around 6:30. Caleb went in his room and got him first. As soon as they turned the corner to the living room, Brady knew something was different. He started pointing and babbling something like that sounds like that. He saw what Santa had brought him. We told Santa that Brady is so blessed with such wonderful friends and family, he didn't need much and Santa could take the other gifts to the little boys and girls that did. He did get a wagon, which he (and I) love! He sat in it the entire time we opened gifts from each other. We didn't do much this year, just a couple gifts each and a stocking. It was fun!

Christmas #4

We had to be at my mom's for Christmas with my grandmother on my dads side. She always wants to have Christmas breakfast and so we continue that. It used to be at her house, but it has since been moved to my moms. My mom invites some of her family too because they don't have any where to go ON Christmas Day because we do her families early. Anyway! We ate a wonderful breakfast, opened more gifts, played a little, and rushed out the door to be at Caleb's parents.

Christmas #5

Caleb's parents always have Christmas breakfast too. Caleb doesn't have any living grandparents so he only has Christmas with his immediate family. This is sooo different from my family, we have it with everyone! All holidays really! Anyway! This year with his family we decided to only do gifts for kids and Grandparents which includes Calebs parents and Brady. It turned out great. Of course Calebs parents got everyone gifts and way too much I might add. We all enjoyed playing with Brady and Calebs Rock Band before we ate breakfast, again.

We left Brady at there house for the rest of the afternoon while we went to dinner and a movie.  We had such a great and not stressful holiday(for the most part, Ha!). We ate too much and got too much as always. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

I will leave you with this last picture. Caleb went out to put all the gifts in the car Christmas Morning. Brady followed him to the door and this is what I saw when I turned the corner. I had to be sneaky to get a picture! He is such sweet little guy!

 

Thanks for sharing Christmas with us!

Christmas Wrap-Up Part 1

We had such a wonderful Christmas with our sweet little boy! Technically it is his second Christmas, but since he was only 2 days old last year, I kept refering to this as his first Christmas. I don't think he is going to know what to do without all the food and gifts this next week. Our Christmas is usually spread out over the entire week of Christmas.

Christmas #1

It started on the Sunday before Christmas with my mom's family. My grandparents and aunts/uncles and cousins. We have recently become a family with a lot of children and so this day was WILD! We only get gifts for my grandparents and all the kids. We had some great food and fun times with our family. I didn't do a very good job getting a lot of pictures. Like I said, It was wild!

Christmas #2

We had Christmas with my immediate family on Tuesday before Christmas. My brothers were in town from Sunday to Wednesday, so this was the best day to do it. This is usually one of my most favorite times of Christmas. We all get each other gifts and our parents still get us several gifts. We eat, pass out the gifts, and take turns opening one gift at a time. I love it! You can see what everyone gets and we have so much fun. It is very relaxed and fun! 

Unfortunately, this year my sister, dad, and sister-in-law all had the dreaded stomach virus, so they were not able to really enjoy the time together. We still managed to have a good time, but we did leave the sick ones on one side of the room and tried to keep our distance. Brady had a hard time. He just couldn't understand why Poppy and Aunt Amy weren't giving him tons of attention. He kept trying to sneak away and make them pick him up. It was a little heartbreaking. Despite all the sickness, Brady still managed to rack up at this Christmas. Seriously! We may need a bigger house!

My brother Drew

Yep that is a four wheeler. Thanks Bryan and Amy!

If you were married to a sickling, you had to sit by them. Sorry Bryan!

That would be my snuggie!

Caleb and Brady playing with the blower. Caleb likes manly gifts. Ha!

At least Brady could go to his Sue Sue

Yep, that is a John Deer Tractor! Oh boy, he is going to be rotten! It is a little big, but he loved it anyway. And it is way cute!

Thank you so much to everyone! No one else came down with the virus after this, I think! Hopefully next year we will all be well for Christmas! The worst part is that the sick ones didn't get any of the Gigi's cupcakes I brought. I felt sorry for them for that alone. Ha!

Merry Christmas!!!

A non-Christmas Birthday!

We decided that since Brady's birthday is 2 days before Christmas, that we would have a party early with friends and family and on his actual birthday the three of us would do something special together to celebrate. We decided it should be a non-christmas event because are celebrating his birthday, not Christmas. I don't want his birthday to get lost in the holidays, although I know it probably will at some point. But we are trying our best here!

This year we decided to take Brady to the Aquarium. It is about 1 1/2 hours away and oh so much fun! I remember going as a child, but it has gotten so much better since then. Brady LOVED it!

Checking out the sting rays.

Brady is the same height as the Gentoo penguin. He wouldn't stand with his back to it for long. He was ready to see the penquins. I can't say I blame him. They are awesome!

Caleb and Brady in front of the penguin exhibit. It looks fake, but those are real penguins. The exhibit stretches around the wall and most of the penguins had just swam to the other side. (There was a little t.v. screen in the wall explaining things about penguins, that is what Brady is watching.)

Brady and I watching the fish.

We got to see a feeding. The picture is terrible. It was really neat in real life. Ha!

Brady would point and babble to the fish. It was so cute!

We had a long, but Wonderful day. We were all exhausted by the time we made it back home. Brady and I camped out on the recliner and watched yo gabba gabba until time for him to go to bed.

It was such a great day. I am so happy we did this! It is a tradition I hope to continue every year. We purchased a book on penguins and an otter Christmas ornament to remember the trip. (We try to get a book for Brady at each place we visit. I stole the Christmas ornament idea from my sister. These are souvenirs that you can keep and are pretty inexpensive. They don't leave you with buyers remorse once you get home.) We have already started talking about what to do next year. We may have to do this with all of our children, even if there Birthday doesn't fall on Christmas. It is a day we will always cherish!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

One Year Ago Today...

Caleb and I walked into the local hospital as a duo and went to sleep as a trio. This day one year ago changed our lives and family forever in ways I could  have never foreseen or imagined.

You see one year ago a day, our sweet baby boy graced us with his presence and the most wonderful presence it was at that. He has taught us how to love in ways that don't even seem possible, taught is that love will make you do things you really don't want, and taught us that being a parent is THE greatest gift that God could ever bless you with.

Brady has joined Caleb and I in a way that I can't explain. We are forever connected through this amazing little boy. The love that each of us has for him far exceeds that of any other love. We would go to great lengths and depths to protect him and meet his needs.  He is so much a part of our lives, it is hard to remember a time without him. I am certain he has a strong love for us as well, but I don't know that I could ever fully express how dear he is to his father and I. 

To My Sweet Baby Boy,

I am so blessed to be your Mommy! God gave me such a wonderful gift in you! I can not fathom a life without you. You have brought so much love, laughter, joy, and fun into our lives. I love every little thing about you. I love the way you grin, the way you laugh, the way you dance, the way you shake your head no, and the way you lean in to love on me. I aslo love the way you babble on and raise your hand at me when I tell you no, the way you eat and eat and eat like you have been starving for years, and the way you think all eyes should always be on you. We have made it through our first year little one and I think we are doing o.k. There were days when your father and I had no idea what we are doing and also great days when we thought we might be getting the hang of this parenting thing.  We will continue to have both types days throughout your life and maybe a few more varieties. I am striving to be the best mother to you and wife to your father, I know you need me to be both. Above both of those I am striving to live a life like Christ and teach you to have one also. You are so special to me. I love you more than you could ever imagine. Today as I celebrate your first bithday, I want to make a promise to you. I will always have your best interest in mind, although you may not always like it and I will always love you and be proud of you.

Happy Birthday, little monkey! I hope to have many, many, many more with you!

Love, Mommy

December 23, 2008

December 23, 2009