Happy Birthday Brady!

Brady turns 1 today! We're having a small family gathering for him tomorrow. I can hardly believe that at this time last year, I was getting ready to have him! So much has happened since he blessed us with his presence. He's grown into such a "little man." He is walking now, trying to feed himself with a spoon, and impressing & entertaining us daily with all the little things he has learned. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!!!

"I can do it myself, Mom!"...

Wreaking havoc in Walmart (he pushed this through the WHOLE store)...

Walking around at St. John's Town Center...

Santa Arrives!

Oh, where to begin? How about - "Merry Christmas!" We had a wonderful day and Santa was very good to everyone! It was Brady's first Christmas which made it extra-special for us! After opening a mountain of gifts, assembling various toys, cleaning up all the wrapping paper & boxes, & cooking our Christmas feast however, we were all starting to get a little grouchy and irritable! No one (adults and kids alike) got much sleep on Christmas Eve so it definitely started taking its toll by Christmas afternoon. After a big meal and a few glasses of wine, everyone was "good to go" again though!

Brady checkin' it all out...


In awe...


Playing with Madison's toys...


"Look what Santa left"...


A toy for him...

Opening cars with Daddy...

Brady, Madison & Christopher checkin' out Madison's Dora Kitchen...

Austin...

Dylan...

Madison on her Twist 'n Ride...

Brady in his wagon...

Chewing on his drum stick...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Time Flies...

Wow! Another month has flown by! I can hardly believe that Halloween & Thanksgiving have both come and gone, and that Christmas is quickly approaching! We're also looking forward to Brady's first birthday on 12/31. Before we know it, we'll be ringing in 2010! Hopefully I'll find more time to blog once we get through the holidays...things are just so busy right now and time seems to get away from me.

Some photos from the past month:

Brady in his Thanksgiving "attire"...




A visit to St. Augustine on Veteran's Day...

Looking through a hole in the fort wall


A cannon at the fort


At the fort entrance




Halloween...

Brady-tin man, Dylan-Michael Jackson, Christopher-sumo wrestler, Madison-fairy


Brady



Madison

I'm Still Here...

I can't believe that it's nearly the end of October! The weeks are absolutely FLYING by! There are two big occurences this week (besides Halloween and the Florida-Georgia game, of course)! Dylan will be 12 on Wed. (the 28th) and Brady will be 10 mos. on Sat. (the 31st). Yep, my little goblin is almost a YEAR old...and my big goblin will be a teenager before I know it! SCARY!


We've been really busy the past few weeks...hence, the lapse in blogging. Some updates since my last blog:
1) Brady went for his 9-mo. checkup and weighed in at 18lbs/14oz (ugh, no wonder my back is killing me)!
2) He is now crawling all over like a mad-man, desperately trying to walk (takes 1-2 steps unassisted before nose-diving), and FINALLY has a tooth! From what I hear, the later the teeth come in, the stronger they are...so Brady's teeth should be indestructible! :-)
3) Dylan is doing great in school (A/B Honor Roll) and started flag football last week. He's also really looking forward to Halloween and his b-day party (we're going to do the ghost tour in St. Augustine)!


Here are some pictures from the past few weeks:

Visiting Dylan at school for lunch...

Dressed to watch the Patriots game (in his BRADY shirt)...

Dylan going to a costume party...

Picking out a pumpkin...

The perfect one...

"Mom, I want THIS one!"...

Cooling Off...

There has been a TOUCH of fall in the air lately and the weather has been gorgeous! Although the afternoons are still pretty warm (80's), the evenings are definitely cooler and there were a few days last week when we actually caught a break from the stifling humidity. We've spent quite a bit of time outside lately enjoying the cooler weather.

Brady loves rubbing his feet in the grass...


And picking at it...


We've also enjoyed watching this little creature, who stops by several times a day for the lettuce and carrots we leave out...



We've named her Betsy, even though we have no idea if "she" is even female! :-)

Not So Fast...

Brady is steadily coming along with his crawling...although he'd prefer to walk instead! He would much rather be on his feet than his knees, and sometimes does a "crab crawl" (on hands and feet, butt up in the air) instead of a normal baby crawl. He has also started pulling himself up on things and trying to stand. This has resulted in quite a few bumps, bruises, and tears lately, as he's not quite steady enough on his feet yet. He's a determined 'lil bugger, though, and continues trying! Convinced I was looking at a "genius in training", I was encouraging this behavior, but his dr. informed me that it's NOT a good thing! She said that EVERY skill a baby learns has a specific purpose. Crawling, for instance, teaches them cross-coordination which is a skill that's used in sports & physical activity later in life. So, if he learns to walk too quickly, and doesn't put in the appropriate amount of "crawl time", it could have a negative impact later in life. WHO KNEW??? (I just thought the kid was way ahead of his time)!!! :-)

Here are a few pictures from the past week:

Brady getting into his "blankie" bin...


Playing in mommy's shoe box...


Dylan swimming in the St. Johns...


Brady at the park...

A Big Day for Brady...

Brady is crawling! He's been trying for weeks...up on all fours, rocking back and forth...but couldn't QUITE get the hang of it. Today, everything clicked, and off he went...






He has also learned to stand up in his pack 'n play and peek over the edge...




I can hardly believe that my lil peanut...

Is such a "big boy" now...

And totally COOL...

Pretty soon, he'll be playing football with Dylan...

And will be one of the "big kids"...