Mia- One Week Old

We thought the pink monkey pj's were a must have to complement her pink monkey that Brady gave her as a gift. With all of the hair, it's hard to believe that she is only one week old! - A

One Day Older and Wiser

It was a toss up in regards to which picture to select for the birth announcement, but I ended up going with the second one and using the first picture for thank you cards. In just a short time, I can already tell that shopping for Mia's clothes will be a completely different experience compared to shopping for Brady. With Brady, you pretty much just buy 5 different colored t-shirts or polos and then 5 pairs of either denim or khaki shorts/ pants. Not the case with Mia...it appears you have to actually buy "outfits" because who would have guessed there are currently 150 different shades of pink alone? I just laugh because Rodney has know idea what he is in for. I am sure that I don't either, but being female does give me a leg up. -A

A Family of Four, Not Three

At least for this day, Brady was pretty excited for his new sister's arrival. Some of Brady’s first comments to Mia were as followed: “Hi Baby Mia," “she’s waking up,” “I want to take Baby Mia home," and "she’s my little sister and I’m the big brother.” He arrived to the hospital with a Pink Chee (translation for those of you that do not know... monkey.) Refer to earlier posts for the origin of the name. Mia presented Brady with a remote control fire truck. I am sure most of you know the story of Brady being pregnant for the last nine months with a fire truck. His delivery plan included delivering the fire truck and then using the fire truck to bring Mia and me home from the hospital. -A

The Second Addition Has Arrived

I really don't think I believed anyone who said that delivery a second time around is much easier than the first until December 12, 2008 at 11:51 AM. With four maybe five pushes, Mia Catherine made her entrance into the world weighing in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 19 1/2 inches in length. For those of you that were a little offended that I included a picture of the placenta with Brady, I did omit this picture in this grouping. As a replacement, I included a picture of Mia's "healthy or hefty" umbilical cord. The nurses immediately commented that they had not seen an umbilical cord of that size in quite some time. -A

Thanksgiving 2008

It was an off year for us in regards to Thanksgiving. For the past 33 years (give or take 1 or 2), I have headed over to Bloomington, IN for Thanksgiving. However, this was not the case this year due to being on the home stretch with pregnancy. Don't feel sorry for us. My Aunt Sharon cooked us a wonderful meal, Brady had a great time decorating a gingerbread house, and we topped off the evening with Pie Fest 2008. -A

A Christmas Card in the Making

I can definitely start to see the answer to the question, "Why do you have less photos of your children as they grow older?" It boils down to less cooperation on the part of the subject (also known as Brady.) Without a doubt, it was more challenging to shoot this year's Christmas card versus last year. He has his own agenda when it comes to picture taking between stopping to see every picture that is taken and running off in every direction. Having said that, these were the finalists. Some of you may wonder why we didn't hold off and send a picture of Mia also. I wanted to get our Christmas cards out early so Mia would not have to share the lime light with Brady. -A

Preparing for an Easter Egg Hunt

Who knew that an Easter basket could double as a costume? This is how Brady prefers to hunt for Easter eggs...bucket on the head with golf club in hand. -A

Rings or Bracelets

It's amazing how kids can entertain themselves. Brady thought he had invented a new accessory...the bracelet. I broke it to him slowly that somebody already beat him to the design of this accessory. -A

Sipping From a Sippy Cup

Unfortunately or fortunately for us that Brady feels his days of drinking from a sippy cup are nearing an end. He thinks he is big enough to drink from a regular cup. -A

Banana Boy

Most mornings this is how you will find Brady-- sitting in a chair with a banana in hand. I was shopping at Wal-mart and found these cute, mini bananas, but Brady would have nothing to do with them. I guess he feels when it comes to bananas the bigger, the better. -A

Learning the Bunny Hop

For those of you that might not know, Brady has a fondness for musical cards. This card is his latest addiction...The Bunny Hop. He cracks himself up every time he opens the card. If you think that is funny, you should see him attempt the bunny hop. -A

Mission: ABC Photo Album

As many of might know, I enjoy creating photo albums on Shutterfly. Well, Shutterfly just came out with this new ABC photo album and I just had to give it a try. For most of the letters, I already had a picture that would correlate. For a couple of the pictures, I did have to create the experience (as you can tell by the picture above.) -A

N is for NAP TIME. B is for BATH TIME.

R is for READING.

E is for EXERCISE.

St. Patrick's Day

Another holiday, another photo opportunity... - A

A Lesson in Creative Dressing

This outfit was all Brady's design. I am not sure where he draws his inspiration from. The outfit did get better when he took off the socks and replaced them with flip flops. He must have played this way for over an hour! -A

Road Trip to Michigan

We had been trying to get together with Aaron, Laura, and Ella in Michigan for quite some time. So, we packed Brady up in the car and headed up to Michigan for the weekend. The trip up to their house seemed to take forever because of our little pit stops here and there.

One of the places that Aaron and Laura took us was called Jungle Joe's. It was a super-sized playground for adults and kids. Brady had a blast and did a great job of wearing the two of us out. - A

More Swim Lessons...

Not many people would think about signing their kids up for swim lessons in the middle of Winter. Who would have thought that we would be one of those people? It sounded like a good idea in the Fall when the weather was still nice. Anyway...Brady loves the water and doesn't seem to mind taking swim lessons while there is snow on the ground. Now we just need to teach him to confine his kicking, splashing, and blowing bubbles to the pool and not his bath tub. - A

Another Valentine's Day is Nearing

This picture taking is a piece of cake or should we say a piece of cookie.

Brady has recently bonded with our wooden pig in the kitchen named "Vince." He still can't figure out why "Vince" does not move. We told him because "pigs are lazy."

This is the gang that wrecks havoc on our house as they go from room to room emptying everything in sight.

Brady is catching up on a little "Valentine's" reading. And go figure, the book is about "oggies." Translation: Doggies

Check Out My Tonsils

No strep throat here.

Creative Playing

I am not sure how Brady started this project, but it entertained him for over an hour as he made countless trips back and forth from the toy bin to the couch. When his mountain of toys had been completed, he jumped up on the couch and wanted to play. All Mommy wanted to do was to take a nap.

Tom Brady Fan Club

With an undefeated season behind them and the playoffs in full swing, Brady decided to join the band wagon by becoming a Patriots fan. It wasn't a huge leap in logic as to whose jersey he wanted to wear. For those of you who are curious as to why Brady is holding a plug. He just got done vacuuming. He loves the Oreck because it is so lightweight and easy to use.

A Day of Discovery

Today we decided to take a family outing to check out the Children's Discovery Museum in Bloomington-Normal. We thought we would spend an hour or two, but to our surprise the staff was kicking us out at closing time. Brady had a blast and is already looking forward to his return trip. In this picture, he is telling all of the animals "See ya later!"

Rodney and Brady had an opportunity to bust out the hard hats and play with tools. The "Boys Rule" slogan was shouted several times as they participated in this "manly" activity.

Brady and I had the opportunity to learn how to milk a cow. The learning never stops...

Is there a Dr. Johnson in the house? Brady enjoyed wearing the lab coat.

Almost eighteen months old and already saving lives...

A Pair of Shoes

One might wonder why is there a picture of Brady's tennis shoes on the blog. Well, here's the story. For those of you who do not know, Grandpa Terry has an obsession with New Balance tennis shoes and couldn't wait to be the one to buy Brady his first pair of New Balance tennis shoes. These shoes have quickly become Brady's favorites. Fast forward to today's date when we took Brady to IKEA for a little shopping and eating. After shopping, we decided to treat Brady to lunch at IKEA. This is not our idea of fine dining, but this is the highlight of Brady's day. The kid is hooked on the meatballs. We were about to put Brady in his high chair at the table, when Amy glanced down and noticed there was something missing...one shoe to be exact. The panic set in as we had lost one of Brady's favorite shoes and realized someone would have to tell Grandpa Terry what had happened. For those of you who have not shopped at IKEA, finding a little toddler shoe there is comparable to finding a needle in a haystack. Don't worry. This story has a happy ending. I guess the New Balance "angel" led us down the search and rescue path because there sitting on a pile of rugs was Brady's lonely shoe. Now the pair has been reunited, and Brady is passed out on the couch after a hard day of shopping and near catastrophe.

Pasadena or Bust

Does Brady know how to party or what and where did he get that Illini beer? It's too bad the fun would end there at the pre-party as USC ran all over Illinois. I guess we will have to save the beer for next year!