Favorites!

The disk of all of Brady's 1 year pictures came today! I love them so much! I thought I would post a few of my favorites of the new ones. Of course, I love all the preview ones! There are several others I like as well! I don't know how I am going to pick. Andrea does such a great job. I realized by some of the pictures, how difficult this could be. Brady was into everything that day and would not stay still for anything!

I love this one! This is how I see them everyday!

This is a look I get often!

I find this one hilarious and sweet.

I love this!

He looks so big!

In other news,  We are just anxiously awaiting the birth of my sisters baby, Noah! She is due ANY day, now! We can NOT wait to have another little guy to hang out with. We are trying to prepare Brady for the baby as much as you can prepare a one year old. Ha! I constantly tell him about Noah, so maybe he is picking up on some of it. When you tell him to love the baby, he lifts up my sisters shirt to see her belly and sometimes will hug it. Ha! I think he is trying to understand. We shall see!

Happy St. Patricks Day Everyone!

Just Perfect!

A few weeks ago, we had Brady's one year old pictures made. I know he is 14 months old. BUT he was born 2 days before Christmas and during one of the busiest months of the year, so that is my excuse! Andrea at Andi Inc photography took them for us. She is the same one that took his 6 month pictures. I am so in love with what I have seen so far! It was a long afternoon for Brady, but he did really well. He was so worn out at the end, though! Andrea was so sweet and patient with him. I can not wait to see the rest of the pictures! Thank you so much Andrea!

A baby shower and birthday dinner!

We had a great, but busy Saturday! I was invited to my friend, Amanda's baby shower. Brady and I loaded up and made the about an hour drive to attend her shower. It lasted a little over 2 hours and she got so much great stuff!

Amanda, myself, and Brady and the gift we gave her.  

Brady made sure to stay close to the presents! Ha! He kept trying to take off with the pacifiers!

The cake my friend, Jessica, made. This is as close as I could get with Brady swatting the camera. She always does a great job!

The shower ended a little after 4, so Brady and I rushed home. He got a bath and we were out the door again to meet Daddy and some other friends for a Birthday dinner. Brady was so sleepy when we got there!

Brady and Aiden playing together! I think they are becoming good friends!

We had so many people come that we had 3 tables!!! We probably could have crammed into 2, but with 4 babies and one pregnant girl we decided to utilize all 3 tables.

It was Ana's birthday!

We had such a great night. Several people came over to our house after dinner to play games. It was so so so fun!

When we got home I asked Brady if he was going to bed, he shook his head yes. We laid him down and he slept all night, even with so many people over. And we were not quiet! He was so worn out! Ha!

Changes

Evenings in our house used to be quiet, calm, and relaxing!

Now they are wild, busy, and chaotic!

We used to spend a lot of time on the couch!

Now we spend a lot of time in the floor!

We used to watch a lot of t.v. to pass the time!

Now we tickle to pass the time!

We used to think up hundreds of places we would love to travel!

Now we travel there on daddy's airplane!

We used to think our home was filled with love!

Now our home is overflowing with love and kisses!!!

Did I mention they are the sweetest kisses on earth?

Because, They really are!!!

Oh, How things change and I am so very thankful they do!!!

One Word Wednesday!!!!

Oreos!!!

Weekend Wrap Up

Saturday- Brady and I spent all day cleaning the house. Brady makes the mess while I clean it up. We had a great day anyway. Caleb spent the day working with his dad.
Saturday night- we met our friends, Amanda and Will at Mimi's Cafe. I went to college and worked with Amanda through college. Unfortunately, this is the first time we have gotten to spend any time with them, since Brady was born. It was so great to visit with them and catch up.  They are expecting a baby boy in April, so we talked all things baby!!! We are so thrilled for them and their growing family!!!

 You can't even tell that Amanda is pregnant in this picture.

Will found Brady's weakness, tickeling!!!

Sunday- After church, we went to see a play in my home town at the local arts center. We saw Seussical the Musical. It was so fun! My sister and Brother-n- law had the idea for us all to go.  Brady laughed, danced, and clapped throughout the entire show. It lasted about an hour. He was getting a little antsy towards the end, so an hour was a good time limit.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with my parents and went with them to church.

All in all, it was a great little weekend. Not too busy, but not boring at all. I love it when I feel like I can have time to enjoy my little family!

Brady's Tent

Brady got a tent for Christmas from his Gigi and Papa.

We have saved some of his Christmas/Birthday presents because he got SO many! I was off last week for President's Day so Brady and I broke out the tent.

 I had hoped it would be nice outside so we could get out, but it wasn't so we played with the tent inside.

 Brady LOVED the tent!

He would crawl in and just laugh! 

 He even got back in to show daddy once he got home!

We will play with this again soon!!!

Date Night- Weeks 4 and 5

I am a little behind on my weekly date night blogs, so I am doing two weeks in one post this time.

Week 4
Last week I had a cold and really didn't care to much about "date night". So Caleb brought home soup and sandwiches from Panera and we decided to watch the opening ceremonies to the Olympics. It worked out great because Caleb LOVES the Olympics and we actually were able to talk a lot. You don't have to really pay attention and I didn't feel well! It wasn't much of a "date" but it was better than me in one room and him in another and it fit that night in particular perfectly!

Date:       Olympics
Cost:        $0
Length:     2 hours or so
Outcome: Success

Week 5
This week my brother and his girlfriend were in town and the only night we could all get together was on Friday night. Since Fridays are our date night, we decided to give each other back massages once we got home. We each agreed on 15 minutes each. I lit a candle and Brady's lullaby c.d. was on through the monitor so it was somewhat spa like. We each gave 15 minute back massages and had such a great time. It was nice to get a little time to relax and we were able to talk a lot more than I expected. We felt like we had really spent some time together and it was only 30 minutes! I will say that giving a massage seems like forever and getting one was not nearly long enough. We may try to do this again!

I am not getting comments from Caleb on this post because He and Brady are asleep in the recliner as I type. We have tried to get Brady to take a nap all day so I am not risking waking them. Ha! They look so sweet! Oh how I love my boys!

Date:        Back Massages
Cost:        $0
Length:     30 minutes
Outcome:  Success

Date Night- week 3

You could call this the date that never ends, LITERALLY!!! We decided to put together a puzzle. In our 7 year relationship, we have never put together a puzzle. We thought it will be fun.

We picked a puzzle!

We thought this will be fun and it won't be too hard!

Uhm!

4 hours later!

We only had the outline done!

Oh My!

My comments: It was fun, but if you are not extremely competive or patient, this is probably not for you. I am extremely competetive, hince the reason we worked on it for 4 HOURS!  I couldn't bring myself to stop. Now 4 days later, we are still working on that darn puzzle. We even had a friend help last night. There wasn't a lot of conversation because we were so focused, but I enjoyed it. I don't know that we will do this again for a while, though!  It was more stimulating than watching t.v., but I think we talk more during an episode of the Bachelor than the puzzle! Ha! I was a little disappointed in the "date" and my ability to finish the puzzle. It has made for a fun inside joke.

His comments: So I was thinking it would only take a few hours to complete. How hard could it really be, anyway? Oh my gosh. About 400 of the 750 pieces are blue and look exactly the same. At first it was really fun and enjoying myself with the puzzle and Amber. It is now to the point that all I want to do is throw all the pieces up in the air and hope they fall into place. aside from that, I enjoy the time with Amber, no matter what are doing. I really hit the jackpot when she decided to put up with my garbage for the rest of her life.

Date: Puzzle

Cost: $15

Length: 4 hours

Outcome: to be determined, if we can ever finish the puzzle.

I heart baby showers!!!

My sister is having a baby boy, Noah, in March. This weekend some of her friends and I threw her a baby shower. I love baby showers! I really considered being a wedding/party planner at one time. I still think about it on occasion. I just love to plan, decorate, and throw a good party! Baby showers are the most fun, because baby stuff is, well, so fun!!!!

Where we live, we basically have one HUGE shower and invite everyone. We sent out about 115 invitations and had a great turnout. It was come and go, so you bring your gift, eat, visit, and come and go as you please. Everything turned out so perfect! The shower colors were red and brown to go with Noah's nursery colors.(and the shower just happened to fall around Valentines Day) We also did a chocolate theme. Everything was so fitting for Amy and she got tons of nice things for baby Noah!

One of the dessert tables. We made chocolate cakes, chocolate covered strawberries, and used m&m's as decorations.

The 2nd dessert table. The board says "Welcome Baby Noah!"

The centerpieces were these bowls with red and brown chocolates and either red or brown polka dotted ribbon.

The food table and clothes line. We had crab dip and spinach dip and a fruit display. The center is an awesome diaper cake that one of the girls made.

This is the basket that my mom and I made for Noah! We found this awesome basket at Ross for $20 and filled it with tons of goodies. It is full all the way down to the bottom. There is even a sweet onesie that says my aunt rocks!!! Because, well she does! Ha!

We are so excited to meet our nephew. Caleb and I have zero neices or nephews between us. So, we are patiently awaiting Noah so we can spoil him and send him back, the way everyone does with Brady. Ha! Amy and Bryan are going to be wonderful parents! Noah is going to have a fun and great life. Congratulations! We love you all!

Date Night- Week 2

For our second date night we decided to do chocolate fondue. We have a fondue set that we got as a wedding gift. We have used it on occasion when we have company or make christmas truffles. We melted chocolate into the fondue set. You can get tons of fondue recipes online but we just kept it simple and you could just use a crock pot if you don't have a fondue set. I bought fresh strwberries, marshmallows, grapes, and canned pineapple. We had almonds and nilla wafers already. I set everything up on the table, lit a candle, and that was it!

 This isn't the best picture, but you get the idea.

My comments: This was really fun! We had grilled chicken salads for dinner that night so we wouldn't feel stuffed and that worked great. I was afraid that this wouldn't last that long and it would defeat the purpose, but that was not the case at all. We munched on the fondue and talked and talked and talked. It was really great! We talked about everything from work to future plans to Haiti to adoption to Brady. We sat at the table for 2 hours just talking. We didn't eat the entire time, though. It was like we were "out" on a date, but we were at home. The planning and the set up made us sit there and pay attention to each other.  We had gotten home early this day because of the snowy weather so after we had our 2 hour date, we did watch a movie, because we weren't hardly ready for bed. But the movie wasn't really part of the "date" so we didn't really break any rules. Ha!

His comments: The fondue was awesome. The conversation was great! I really enjoyed the time together. It was great to have some uninterupted quality time. We don't always get that and it was nice.  I am really enjoying these nights and can't wait for next week.

Date: Chocolate Fondue

Cost: about $15, chocolate, fruit, and marshmallows. We had everything else.
Length: 2 hours
Outcome: Huge Success and Yummy!

We would do this again any time. It didn't take a lot of effort or money and was really enjoyable.  Can't wait to see what next week holds!

Snow Day

This is how we spent our snow day ice day. We had every intention on building a snow man, but since the snow cracks when you walk on it, we decided on baby sledding instead. This was probably more fun anyway!

Ready, Set, Go!

Weeee!!!

Again!

Yay!

Once we all made it home safely, we have had a great ice day! Brady has especially! Mommy and Daddy came home early and we have played and played inside and out. He has spent a lot of time looking out the window as well!

Have Fun and Be Safe!

Date Night- Week 1

For the first at home date night, I decided we would just play a game. I wanted it to be one we can play with 2 people(obviously), one we don't play often, and one that would take a little while to fill up the 2 hours, so we wouldn't finish and turn the t.v. back on. So, We played Monopoly!

My comments: I had so so so much fun, not just because I dominated and seized all of Caleb's money and properieties! Caleb had fun too! At one point he even looked up and said, This is fun. That was before he landed on my boardwalk with a hotel. Ha! We laughed and talked while we played. It took about 2 hours from start to finish. They now have a fast die option, which we didn't use. I was afraid we might get bored, but we didn't. We truly just enjoyed spending time together. My husband is really funny and sometimes life gets in the way and I forget that. I say it was a success!

His comments: I really had a great time. I was dominating the board until she bought Park Place and Boardwalk. I would have been fine if it had ended at that, but it didn't. She decides to put hotels on all of her high priced properties. The end result, she kicks my tail. It was a really good time and I am excited to keep this new tradition going, as long as I can win some when we play games.

Date:         Monopoly
Cost:         $10
Time:        2 hours
Outcome: Success

There was absolutely no guilt involved. I was right there if Brady needed me, it was cheap, and we went to bed feeling like we actually spent some time together. This has made me even more excited about this challenge. We are already planning for next week.

Weekly Date Night!

Ha! What's that?
If only there was a way to incorporate a weekly date between 2 full time jobs, 1 child, church services 3 times per week, devotionals at least once a month, spending time with each set of grandparents and relatives, friends, grocery shopping, cleaning, birthday parties, swimming lessons, and anything else that fills our calender, I think our marriage would be better for it.

But where is there time?

And don't even start with the expense and the guilt that follows date nights. We try to occasionally(by occasionally I mean once every few months) have a night out for ourselves, only to come home feeling insanely guilty that we spent available time away from Brady and that we ate an overly priced meal and watched an extremely overly priced movie.
Money that could have been spent on groceries or diapers.

BUT we need time for our relationship without distractions. SO how do you fit it all in?

We have a solution! We think! We are starting to have weekly date nights.....

AT HOME!

What a marvelous idea! It just might work! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

 I read an article in a magazine at work the other day that talked about date nights at home. The couple challenged themselves to pick one night a week and put down the mop, broom, remote, computer mouse, or book and just focus on each other. They picked things they could do together at home once the kids were in bed for 6 weeks.

 I thought to myself, we could do that!

I approached Caleb with the idea and he loved it. We decided Friday nights would work best for us. Brady goes to bed by 8 and we usually are in bed by 10. So that gives us 2 full hours to have a date! We decided no t.v., internet, movies, or cleaning were allowed during this time.

We  had our first date last night and it went great. I will post later on the specifics. I am going to try and give a weekly update for the first 6 weeks, so you can be accountable to us and to give you ideas that you can try. We will see how it goes after that.

Challenge: one date per week
Location:   our house

Duration:   2 hours per date for 6 weeks
Cost:          $30 or less per date

                                

A Bachelor Connection!

I love the Bachelor! I used to watch every season in college. Then towards the end of my college career, I had to take some late labs and I started working a lot more, so my Monday nights were booked.  Then I got married and we had no money, no cable, and nothing to do. SO we watched A LOT of t.v.(more than I care to admit), but we only had channels 2, 4, 5, 8, and 17. That leaves you with little to choose from. We had the best time watching the crazy reality shows that come on.
Soon after a couple episodes I was back in the groove of loving all things trashy that are the bachelor. What is even better is Caleb was hooked too! I think he may love it more than me! Really! I am not kidding! If you come to our house on Monday night, you will probably also become addicted because his love for the bachelor takes over and penetrates through the entire house.

Really!

Anyway, This season the bachelor is Jake. I was a fan of Jake from the last season with Jillian. Of course I was going to watch it no matter who the bachelor was, but it is oh so much better when I already "have a connection" with the bachelor.

Well this year the day the show began, my mom called and said her friend, Cynthia's neice, Corrie is one of the 25 girls.

I know Cynthia pretty well,so I was pretty excited to say the least. We watched for her neice and although I don't know her in real life, because I know her aunt, I feel she should win! Ha! It helps that she is super cute and seems really nice. She kind of stays out of the drama and has nice things to say. She is suppose to have a big part in this upcoming episode.

This has made watching the bachelor all the more fun. She has a website and blog that you can check out. I know she goes pretty far, but I don't know how far. I can't wait to find out!