Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year.  It was way more fun this year than last year because he actually was into his presents.  Brady was incredibly spoiled and we were too! 

I love Christmas and I know it's because I have such great memories from when I was growing up.  Christmas was truly magical.  We always had this record of Christmas music that we would play as we would decorate the tree together.  Mom always let us help decorate the sugar cookies.  Once in awhile we would get together with Schau's and eat and play chug-a-lug until our throats burned.  Christmas Eve's in Breda will always be one of my favorite memories!!!  I wish Brady could have experienced this.  The anticipation and excitement of the night to come were almost unbearable that day.  It was always dark when we drove to Grandma and Grandpa's, so we were always looking for Rudolph's nose on the way up there.  And once in Breda, I always wanted to sit in the back seat so I could put my head back as we drove under the strings of lights down Main Street.  Christmas Eve mass was always in Breda with my mom's whole family.  And then the party began.  The table in the "new room" was filled with goodies.  All of us cousins together putting on the BEST SHOW EVER for the adults.  Seeing all the presents under the tree.  Once the meal was done and the presents unwrapped, the real party began.  Grandpa would put on the record player - usually the Laughing Polka and we would throw bread.  Yup - throw bread at each other to music.  At Grandma's house no less.  I should really ask about the story behind that.  :)  Sometimes we even did the Limbo.  It was great and loud and merry - what Christmas was all about.  I know things have changed and that Brady will have wonderful memories of Christmas's to come, but I would give anything for one more Christmas in Breda.  :)

Here are some pictures from this Christmas!!

Lyvie checking out the presents

Being silly in his new pj's from Grandma & Grandpa Mart

 Brady & Matthew taking a break from opening presents at Grandma & Grandpa Espenhover's house

He wouldn't set down his new Christmas cup from Aunt Jenn & Kyle.  Must have liked it.  :)

 Being goofy for Great Grandma Schelle!! 

Brady with all his presents!!



A Few Things....

First of all, I want to wish the working world a happy holiday day off tomorrow (if you get one)!! 

Brady and I ventured downtown today for lunch with Karen.  Three months in a row - sweet!!  I have to put a plug in for the restaurant we went to.  It's my new favorite and I told Chris that Brady and I are picking him up and taking him out to eat there sometime soon!  It's Gusto's and it's on the corner of Ingersol and MLK.  Yummy!!!!  It was a fabulous lunch date!

Onto not so great notes, Brady isn't feeling well.  He's never really been sick before, but right now he has a bunch of things going on.  He has developed a cold - coughing and runny nose.  He is also not sleeping well which I am assuming is because he isn't breathing very easily.  The last couple of nights, we have been up for hours in the middle of the night.  We recline to alleviate the congestion and unfortunately last night he "needed" to play a little too.  I'm preparing myself again for tonight and am not happy that this is falling over a holiday where we will have to deal with this in a houses full of people.  He also has what looked like to me thrown up twice over the past few days.  And the only reason I think that is because he hadn't ate before these occurrences.  And the diaper situation - wow.  At first I thought it was the transitioning to real food.  And tonight I became really concerned that he was actually sick.  After thinking about it though, I'm convinced he has an intolerance to whole milk.  I've seen my nephew act like he is after a bottle and he is in pain trying to get it out.  I'm going to be calling the nurse first thing tomorrow to see what else to try.  It wouldn't surprise me since all our nephews and niece seem to have these issues.  Poor guy - my heart goes out to him when he is in pain like that.  That is something we are not used to seeing on him!!

And finally, some samples of his one year pictures (courtesy of Janelle Ann Photography):

Happy to be "1"!!

Melting my heart.....  I can actually feel my heart smile when I look at this picture!

In typical Brady fashion, his cheese ball face!

12 Month Stats

Brady had his 12 month checkup this week.  His stats are:

Height: 30 1/4 inches (66 %)
Weight: 23 pounds (53%)
Head Cir: 19 1/2 inches (99%)

His head measurement increased by a lot.  The nurse said she could have measured wrong because he doesn't look like that, but she didn't re-measure, so I don't believe that stat.  And this was by far the worst appointment so far in regards to the shots.  The finger prick was hard for him.  And I think we need to be feeding him a bit more, but now that we are transferring out of the baby food and formula stage, I am thinking he might loose a little weight until we get it figured out.  It's scary to have to feed him real food now, but he is doing good so far.  We are off baby food for breakfast - he gets his bottle in the morning, but then it's real oatmeal or toast and real fruit.  It's a nice change.  We'll see how the rest of the meals go!

Here are a few more random pics:

Keeping busy!!!  Or at least, I am!!!

His 2nd time seeing Santa.  It went way worse than the first time!  And I felt horrible making him cry on his birthday...

Checking out his early Christmas present (a special handmade toy box) from Mommy & Daddy.  I love it, he loves it, everyone loves it.  The first weekend we got it, I seriously walked in to look at it multiple times a day.  It's beautiful!!

Happy 1st Birthday Brady!

Brady turned 1 this past Saturday.  His age is a year, not a month.  He's one.  I am the mommy to a one year old.  It just seems (and sounds) so weird!!  We had family over for a birthday lunch for him today and I think he really had fun.  Of course, he didn't get it, but he had fun seeing everyone and playing with his cousins!!  Not to mention that he has gotten some pretty cool toys.  We all have had fun with them!  The driving wheel, the zoo, the Lego wagon, the twirlin' tumblers, the drum.  And I'm super excited to walk with him in his new wagon this summer!  We now have a very noisy and toy-filled house.  And to think that Christmas is right around the corner. 

Here are some pictures from today:

"This hat feels weird!"

"Hmmm.  Now just what is this?"

Yup, my boy likes sugar - just like his mamma!!

Chillin' with cousin Lyvie

The birthday boy and me!

Well, I want to write about what an amazing and wonderful little boy Brady has been, but I think I am too tired to get emotional tonight.  So here are some Brady facts and thoughts:

: Brady wakes up around 5:30 every morning.  Yup, you read that right - 5:30.  Anyone who knows me knows that I was never a morning person when I had to work and I was always going in late.  And now look, I'm up at 5:30 every morning.  It's amazing what you do when you have too! 
:  Brady also seems to not need a lot of sleep.  He does take a morning and afternoon nap, but they typically do not last longer than an hour/hour an half. 
:  Brady woke up on schedule the morning of his birthday.  My first thought?  Exactly one year ago at exactly this time, Jenn was there visiting him before she went back home.  It was 5:30 am and she was his first visitor that was able to hold him.
:  I missed out on about the first hour of Brady's life.  It does make me sad to think about.  My battle story?  I was put completely under for my c-section because my epidural was not working.  Therefore, I was out and then in recovery for about an hour.  At least Chris was there for him and our families got to peak at him through the window.  Still sad if I let myself think about it though.
:  Brady started holding his own bottle probably around 5 months.  I can't remember exactly.  But he has ALWAYS held it upside down.  No matter how many times I correct it, he flips it back down.  That's cool - whatever works bud.
:  He has this face he makes that we call his cheese ball face.  It's a great big smile with his nose wrinkled and eyes closed.  It's cheesy.
:  He makes friends easily.  In store checkout lines, at the gym daycare he has some sitters that always treat them like he's theirs, and of course, he is best buds with the Fareway day crew during the week.  They see him come in and say "there's that smiley little boy again!  How are you buddy?" 
:  He is really starting to get comfortable with this walking thing.  You just don't know how weird it is to see him walk into the kitchen to see you unless you have a kid of your own.  It's amazing.
:  He likes to be by me or in the same room.  A lot.  I have learned to do a lot of things one handed, such as typing, laundry, cooking, unloading the dishwasher and vacuuming. 
:  He loves bath time.  He would stay in there forever if I would let him.  His favorite toy?  His rinse cup.  Which is not a toy.  Silly kids and what they like to play with. 
:  I haven't checked yet, but minus the money we spent on the food today, I think I spent under $15 on his birthday.  And he had fun, I had fun and the decorations, etc. were very cute.  Who said it was necessary to spend a lot of money on parties?  
:  It's really hit me how big Brady's support system is.  He has so many people who are a part of his life, guiding him, supporting him, loving him and are there for him.  Obviously he has Chris and I as parents.  His grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins love him to pieces.  And it doesn't stop there.  Extended family, like my aunts, uncles, cousins and Chris's side and all of our grandparents love him so much.  His birthday day was filled with phone calls, texts and Skype wishing him a great birthday.  And it doesn't stop there either!  Our friends have been there for him on his birthday, wishing him Happy Birthday, spoiling him with gifts - being there for him.  What a lucky little boy.  All these people in his life, there for HIM.  I feel like the luckiest person in the world having so many people in my little boy's life.  A big THANK YOU  to all of you!!!  Brady will be influenced by everyone in his life and with the people he is surrounded with, I know he will be blessed!
:  There are quite a few words I use to describe Brady.  He is amazing, wonderful, funny, happy, smiley, charming, handsome, ornery, a little stud muffin, cuddly, silly, playful, curious, cute, adorable, sweet and mine.  I think that is my favorite one - mine. 

Happy Birthday Brades - we love you so much!  You have given us the best year of our lives!  We look forward to every day with you and hope that every day is a happy day for you! 

One Year Ago

Exactly one year ago, we had just checked into the hospital so I could be induced.  I am so emotional about it.  Little did I know that in just 27 hours, I would be given the gift of the most precious baby boy ever.  I love him so much!!!

Here are some recent pictures...

Really Mom, another picture???

Look at that sparkle in his eyes!!

How he cruises around the house...  

He wasn't quite sure of Santa.  There were tears and then no tears and then a few tears again...

  

Everyone LOVES the piano at Grandma & Grandpa's house!!!

Concert Time!!!

Reindeer need to eat too!!!

Brady's Dedication

We had Brady's Dedication at church today.  It was a fantastic day!  I felt organized, prepared and not as stressed as I thought I would.  It actually went pretty smooth!  I loved having all our family here to celebrate with us and it was fun to cook for them.  Most importantly though, it was such a good feeling to have taken this step for Brady.  I've been waiting a long time for this day.  Here are some pictures from today (I was going to put up pictures of everyone, but accidently cancelled the download and am too tired to redo it).

The cake I made - I actually really enjoyed the challenge.  It was my first one though and there are a lot of things to learn before the next one!

Us (and color coordinated for once!)

Busy Boy

This picture really doesn't even need a caption....

11 Months!!!

My Brades turned 11 months old today.  I almost want to cry.  I watched him lay in bed tonight and realized just how big he has gotten.  You don't realize it when you see and hold them every day.  But he's so long - he was stretched out and took up the main part of the bed.  We are awaiting the arrival of the new car seat and after that, almost all of his "baby stuff" will be put in storage.  =( 

He's such a charming little boy with that big smile and yet bashfulness when he is first around people.  He's also the most cuddly baby I have known.  We cuddle for about a half hour to 45 minutes every morning and lots of times throughout the day.  He just seems to need that extra cuddle.  But don't be fooled.  He has this mischief gleam in his eyes.  I tell Chris he gets that from him, but my parents told me that I had the same look.  When he smiles, you see a bunch of white now.  Two teeth on the bottom and three on top.  He is cruisin' all over the house with his little toy and even took seven steps on his own yesterday in front of the both of us.  Yes, I said 7!!!!  No more two steps and fall.  We are moving onto bigger things!  We were so incredibly proud of him!  It is truly the most amazing thing watching a little human being grow up and learn new things.  In our eyes, he is the most precious, wonderful and adorable little guy out there!!

I think Drake had enough yesterday.  Usually when Brady cruises around the house, he is always running into Drake.  Drake finds a corner and lays down.  Brady comes over and Drake gets up and moves.  And this cycle continues on and on and on.  Well yesterday, Drake must have decided he had had enough, and he wouldn't budge.  Brady was ramming his toy into Drake to move and started fussing.  So I had to lift Brady and his toy over Drake.  Geez.  It was funny though. 

Here is a picture of my two boys a few weekends ago.  They were watching dad clean some pheasant and were VERY interested. 

And here is Brady checking out the pheasants....



Curtains!!

After eight years, we finally have curtains in a few rooms.  I can't believe it took me that long to care, and I can't believe what a nice change it is!!

Living Room (yes, the couch is off-centered, we will be moving it...)















Brady's Room

It's been nice to make some changes.  Like I've said before, being home all day every day really has me wanting to change a few things and the changes are really making me like my house more.  :)  We've bought new rugs, we've added a corner shelf to our living room, we've added knobs to our kitchen cupboards/drawers and I put up that picture collage on our living room wall.  My next project will be to change the light fixture above the kitchen table and in the den.  And then it's onto converting the den into a playroom!  I'm still indecisive on whether or not I want to paint the kitchen.  I still love the color, but do want a change.  We'll see.  Next year's list of projects is all for the outside of the house, so I'm hoping to finish up the inside this year.  I think I need to take a break though because our savings account is lecturing me.  :)

Catching Up Part 2

I really need to blog more often so I don't end up typing a book every time.  Well this week was another whirlwind / FUN week!!!

Good Part of Tuesday: We met my old coworkers for lunch at our usual spot - Mr. Fillets.  They know our usual order too (as with all their regulars). I miss breakfast at that place. :(  But it was so good to see my old coworkers and I actually went up to my old floor to see some other people too. 
Bad Part of Tuesday: I wasted $22 and it has been driving me nuts!  I was distracted when I parked downtown and forgot to feed the meter.  Big oops - $15 ticket.  And then I had ordered some pictures and a CD from Walgreen's for Brady's dedication because I was having problems at home.  After some copyright issues, I ended up with only some pictures and no CD - three hours before we had to be at church.  So I went home and lucky figured out the problem, but by that time I had already paid for my order to get some of the pictures.  Dumb mistakes!!!

Tuesday night we had to do our voice-overs for the slide show for his dedication at church.  It went fast and made me really excited for it!!  I can't wait to see the slide show! 

Wednesday evening, Brady and I headed over to Janelle's to watch Kayson.  I miss that little guy so I'm glad we got to spend some time with him!  Although it did take awhile for him to warm up to us again. 

Friday we had a fabulous and way-too-fast lunch with Kate.  LOVED that and MISS her!!!  We also ran into Alecia at Babies R Us so Brady was able to snuggle with her for awhile! 

And today I bought curtains for our living room and Brady's room.  I'm afraid to hang them because I want to like them, but what if I don't?  :) 

And here is a picture of my funny little man.  He seriously makes me laugh so hard.  Especially when he goes for the dog dish.  We have moved it to the front bathroom and I can tell when it's quiet what he is doing.  He is typically standing in the doorway with his little walking toy staring at it and then the second he hears me coming, he turns to smile at me and beats it to the dish.  It's like it's a game to him or something.  He's so funny!!!

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

We did not go trick or treating yet this year, but we did dress Brady up for the trick or treaters.  We hardly had any kids this year - I was really surprised.  Previous years we have run out of candy!  It was a slow night and we did shut our light off after an hour because of it!  It was pretty funny though.  Two brothers came to the door and one was dressed as Harry Potter.  After they grabbed their candy, they ran back towards the sidewalk.  Little Harry Potter tripped on the landscaping liner sticking up and biffed it.  After a few seconds he started laughing and yelled "That was awesome!!"  It was so funny and so like a little boy to think that was funny.  It made my night!

Catching Up

I haven't blogged in awhile.  Sorry!!  If any blogger out there knows why my blog isn't being updated on other peoples list, please let me know.  I can't seem to find the time to figure it out! 

Well, there was no October volunteering.  I'm giving up on trying to contact agencies for awhile.  If something easy comes up during the holidays, I'll try and do that.  Otherwise I quit.  :)  I guess the Blood Center called needing more of my blood type, so I'll definitely keep up on that.

Things have been going great lately.  Our nephews turned three so I was able to experience a John Deer birthday party and we went to a Cars birthday party.  Both really cute!  And Brady was able to get some swinging in with Grandpa Mart!

My cousin had her wedding reception and we were able to see a lot of the Espenhover side.  Those few hours went by so fast considering how many people there are to catch up with on that side of the family.  I enjoy seeing how everyone is doing since we hardly see anyone.  I gave Ardy a hard time about trading insider secrets about the farmland with Rachel and we had fun with that.  And it was great to see all the cousins who showed up.  My cousin Shelly and I had a long talk about being a stay at home mom and she really made me feel better about a few things.  I needed that!  I wish I could have went out with everyone that night and made it over to Rodney's party in Westside to see the Hinner's, but I was just too tired.  And of course another highlight was seeing my childhood friend Ashley!  Hopefully the Friday night party at the Blumls Thanksgiving weekend is still being planned.  :) 

I read two new books lately that Janelle let me borrow and I loved them.  I read Kendra's first book 'Sliding into Home' (or something like that).  I also read Heaven is for Real.  Now this one is a must read.  Find a friend or relative who has that book and read it!  You won't be able to stop thinking about it!

I was able to see some friends last week and LOVED it.  Brady and I headed downtown for lunch with Karen and as always, that lunch hour went way too fast.  We are doing good - two lunches in two months.  I'm so proud of us.  :)  And we also had Sarah and Holly and all their kiddos over.  It was fun to see all the kids together and watch Brady with them.  He doesn't seem to be shy.  And it was great to catch up and have a few margaritas.  I don't think we have been together since Holly and I were both on maternity leave, so it was about time.  Last time, the babies just layed on the floor.  This time when I peaked into the living room, both boys were standing next to each other by the couch.  It's a little sad how fast they've grown up!  I do have a picture from that night.

We also spent Friday night at Matt & Heidi's house.  Matt is Chris's cousin and they just bought a house in WDM.  We really enjoyed it and are glad they are so close to our house - we hope to get together more often with them.  As you can see, we had a busy week of socializing!!

Locks

We have bought locks for our kitchen cupboards.  We bought a more expensive one and a few cheap ones.  Apparently, if you are Brady Mart, you can quickly figure out how to get the cheap ones off and find new uses for them (as in a toy to chew on).  Looks like we are headed to the store again tomorrow to stock up on the expensive locks!!

That Face...

This face says it all.... 

Also, I just have to give a shout out to my sis-in-law Alecia.  You have helped us tremendously with all of Brenten's clothes, baby gate, etc.  Thank you so much!!  We are going to have a kid free night sometime and take you and Mike out as a thank you!!  You have no idea how much you have helped us!!  :)  Also - I don't know why I didn't get my camera out on Saturday - could you forward me a picture of Lyvie and Brady if you got one?  Thanks again.  :)

Helper

"Mom, let me help you bake sugar cookies.  Now, what do you need.  Measuring cups? A mixing bowl?  Cool, a grill basket!!  What else do we have in here?"

9 Months!!

My adorable little boy turned 9 months on September 10th.  He had his checkup today, so these are really like his 10 month stats..

* He's in the 78th percentile for height (29 1/2 inches)
* He's in the 55th percentile for weight (21.8 pounds)
* He's in the 53rd percentile for head circumference (18 inches)

He also now has a top tooth that has come through!!  Such a big boy.  :) 

September

Is anyone else as shocked as I am that it's October already???  As you can see by previous posts, we have had a busy month.  It's probably because I'm more willing to do things since I'm not working during the day.  I did fail at my volunteer opportunity.  Partly because once again the organizations I contacted did not get back to me and partly because I did things half-ass in typical Heidi style.  Maybe next month I'll get something good in? 

Here are some more pictures from our end of September activities.  Bring on fall and the cool weather!!!

A visit to the John Deer store in Carroll with his cousin Thomas and Grandma & Grandpa Espenhover

Boy do I wish we could buy him this one!!

Snuggling with Grandpa Espenhover.  I thank God everyday that he is here with us to enjoy these moments!!! 

Brady gets about as much out of Band Day as I do.  :)  Thanks to my Aunt Judy for taking good care of him!

Brady on the move AWAY from the pumpkins...

Pictures

Before I post some pictures, there are a few things that I want to update you on with Brady.  He is starting to develop quite the personality!

1.  He has started arching now.  Don't want to get out of the bathtub?  Then arch your back and resist.  Don't want to get in your car seat?  Then arch your back so your mom has a hard time getting you in.  Don't want to lay down to get your diaper changed?  Then arch your back and twist so your mom breaks a sweat trying to change your diaper. 
2.  He is learning how to throw things.  I usually leave him in the car with the door open as I unload groceries.  The other day I heard a thump and noticed his little train halfway across the driveway.  :)
3.  He is beginning to swat at his spoon when I feed him.  This can get pretty messy!!! 

Here are the pictures:

Helping me with the groceries...

We took a little family trip to MN.  Of course, we had to find somewhere to watch IA play.  Brady was happy with our restaurant selection!

Walking Drake!!!  

Tyler's cross country meet.  My Grandma was worried that Brady would get cold, so my Uncle Todd took care of it!