A little cousin time!

Aunt Julie had an important meeting this afternoon, so Hannah and Jacob came over to play with Brady so that Mommy could have an adult conversation without saying "no no", wiping dirty noses, or changing diapers! We had sooo much fun. We went to the park, played in the floor, ate dinner, and ran up and down the stairs! Aunt Kim and Uncle Jeff are pooped, but we had a great time with the kiddo's!

Hannah just kicking it in the bouncy seat! We were all in the living room and I came into our bedroom to find the princess just taking it easy!

No, this picture is not upside down. Yes, Jacob has taken the ball pit and put it on top of his head....yes this is the ball pit that used to have 150 balls in it. Guess who's living room floor those balls are now covering.....

umm Hannah....this is actually my toy
Look at these cuties! This is probably the last time the little chunks will fit in the swing together!
I can't stop laughing at this picture. Brady missing a shoe and Miss Priss looking oh so thrilled with her current situation! what do I want to play with next?

You can't catch me!PB&J on the couch while watching a movie. Only an Aunt with leather couches would let you do this!

The Three Amigos!

Where are the animals?

Shannon called Monday morning to ask if we would like to accompany them to Maas Nursery. Maas Nursery is advertised for it's flowers as well as its animals you can walk around and look at - kinda like the zoo! Daddy thought this was a great idea as he'd heard of the animals as well. What a fun day for the Brewer's and the Simonds!

So we get to the nursery and begin walking through the flowers. Unsure of exactly where the animals were, Mommy decided to ask for directions. "Go up there and take a left" is what I got. So we did........after being soaked by sprinklers (Brady and I were the only ones lucky enough to get wet..everyone else managed to escape...even Daddy who left us stranded with the stroller!), wading through slushy mud (courtesy of the lovely sprinklers of course), and doing MUCH more than taking a left....we found the donkeys - at least I think they were donkeys, they were too far away for me to tell for sure. Then we saw a bird, and a turtle, and on our way out (through the slushy mud mind you) we saw a boar. That's it.

So in major need of a pedicure we went to the Kemah Boardwalk and played in the water, saw the aquarium (which Brady was for some reason scared of), and ate a great lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. So all in all not a bad day, but my evaluation of Maas Nursery would not be two thumbs up!!

I thought this was a cute face!

Hey Coop, did your mommy tell you we were coming to see animals?The boys all tuckered out at the cool zone in Kemah
MOM, did you just see the water shoot up out of the ground?
Daddy and Brady hanging out by a shark.

On top of spaghetti...

all covered in sauce!!

You're all singing right now aren't you? Enjoy that song in your head for the rest of the day!!!!

In case you haven't figured it out, we had our first spaghetti dinner!! Brady loved it! Not sure what he loved more rubbing his hand through and smashing the spaghetti, or smearing it on his face in an attempt at eating it...it's a toss up!!

mmmm, this is pretty good mom!

this handful is even betterMom, you have to concentrate to get the really good bites.

See Mom if you smear the spaghetti with your spoon it tastes even better!My tummy is full!

What they don't tell you....

What to expect when you're expecting, The Pregnancy Bible and the million other "pregnancy/parenting" books out there don't tell you anything you really need to know. I think we (all those moms out there with tons of free time on their hands!) should get together and write a book that includes things you really need to know. Top of my list right now....

1. Buy at least 100 batteries in every size before your child is born. I had NO idea how dependant one family could be on batteries...and let me tell you, running out of batteries is a 9-1-1 emergency in some situations! If you're not laughing right now then your swing hasn't run out of batteries just as your child fell asleep!

2. Solid light color couches...not going to work. This one is the real reason for this post! I thought we were sooo prepared for this child. And I must say we were pretty prepared, but Brady had been home less than 2 weeks when we finished our first bottle of resolve. And there's only so much resolve can do, and only so much spit up it can get out of a couch before it starts leaving circles. So, one word, LEATHER! The Brewer's have a new couch, a new couch that I can just wipe spit up and pee pee right off of! And along with the old couch, the coffee table made an exit as well....this is another thing those books don't bother telling you, but I digress! On to the pics!

but Mom I really like this couch

hmmm, this leather seems nice...
Looks like the new couch might have passed the test! It's here to stay!

In other news!

Brady is quite the big boy these days! We stole borrowed this cool leap frog table from Jacob and Hannah, and Brady is loving it. He stands there and bounces up and down to the music all the while yelling DA DA DA DA!! I'll get a video of it sooner or later I promise, but for now a picture will have to do! (I'm not sure what the 800 number in the background is all about, but if anyone tries it out and it's something good let me know!!)

Okay, I know I've said before that I have a gifted child....but if this video isn't a sure sign of a GT kid I don't know what is! Check out the fine motor skills!!!!! And anyone that makes a comment about all the toys in the background is officially off the first birthday party invite list!!

S-U-C-K-E-R-S

Jeff and I are officially suckers. We went today to have Brady's 9 month pictures taken. I had said that I would just wait until 12 months to have his picture taken again. But now that 9 months is here, he's making such cute faces and doing new fun things....I didn't want to miss out. SO, here's the plan. Let's just take him up there, have them take the pics and JUST get the $9.99 package and maybe one other pose- $35 MAX. Well, since I'm sharing these photos with you on the blog - which means I got the CD with all the pics on it - and you only get the CD when you buy 4+ poses, I think it's safe to say that we didn't walk out having only spent $35. The college fund can wait right?

It's a good thing Mommy and Grandma went shopping last week Brady would have had NOTHING to wear for his photo shoot!!

Hope you enjoy the pics! I can't believe it's already been 9 months..well almost - Friday is his actual "birthday". He's such a big boy and is sooo much fun! We go to the doctor tomorrow so stay tuned for his stats!

B is for Brady

sweet dimples!

Pictures were a little more challenging this time...when we would get him set and ready he'd take off. We had a lot of "take 2's"


Outfit #2Check out the shoes!! LOVE them!
The rocking chair was quite the challenge. He LOVED rocking back and forth - however that made for some pretty blurry pics! But I love how he has his foot stuck out! He obviously loves the shoes too!!!
Look at me Mom
What a sweet boy!


Isn't this an awesome background? I think it looks pretty real!
And off he goes!
Such a big boy! He loved standing up!

Have a great week!

Mother and Father of the Year

Where do we get our applications folks? Jeff and I definitely deserve this prestigious award! Doesn't every parent bribe urge their child to crawl with puffs and pacifiers??? Criticize if you wish, but it worked! Brady is officially a crawler! And, as I said before, he chose Daddy's birthday as his first day to embark on this monumental milestone!!! I just happen to have a few pictures and a video to share! (please disregard the drool stained shirt, we're working on our top two teeth as well!)

Mom, why are the puffs all the way over there?

fine, I'll just go get them..
I'll show you
ooh a pacifier too! I guess this is worth it!
The little man in motion!

Okay, so keep in mind that his first day to really crawl was Sunday. This morning Brady was playing in his "pit of balls" while I put my make up on. One of the balls fell out of the pit, so this is what I looked up to find my son doing. I think it's time to do some serious baby proofing!

But mom, the yellow ball is my favorite

I think this video is the funniest thing! He's working so hard and the look on his face when he gets the ball is priceless!

We go to the doctor for our check up next Monday, and he reaches the big 9 month marker on the 16th so STAY TUNED!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Today is Jeff's 33rd birthday! 33 whole years! Brady and I are so glad we got to spend this one with him!!! You know it's amazing how celebrations take on a whole new meaning when you have kids...everything is so much more special! And a special day is what we had! We woke up this morning and cooked Daddy waffles for breakfast (his favorite)! We played in the floor all morning (and Brady picked daddy's birthday to crawl for the first time....that will be a post all by itself, but I couldn't leave it out of the recap!), and then headed out for lunch at the restaurant of daddy's choice! After lunch we came home for naps, and daddy smoked ribs for dinner. Jason and Ashley came down for Ribs, birthday cake and ice cream! It was an amazing day for an amazing man that I am so thankful God has chosen for me! Jeff is the most patient, hardworking, and loving man I've ever met. He's the BEST daddy and an awesome husband!

Happy Birthday honey...I can't wait to spend 100 more with you!

Happy Birthday Breakfast!

When it's your birthday you have to wear party hats all day right?!?! Brady got to have some waffle as well...without syrup of course!

I love my Daddy! The cake.

Let's talk about the cake. I wish I could say Brady decorated it, but alas... I cannot. Cake decorating is obviously not my forte, and I'm cringing at the thought of Julie Beth seeing this cake. If you haven't seen the BEAUTIFUL cakes she made for her daughters birthday go check them out here....JB I need help! However, the cake tasted great...that counts for something right?
MOOOM, can I take this hat off now???
Blowing out the candles...Brady was real fired up about this whole process! Can you tell it's bedtime???
Happy Birthday baby....we love you!

Weekend full of fun!

We had a great weekend! Grandma was nice enough to warm up her pool for us on Friday, so Brady got to take his second dip in a big boy pool! It took a while for him to figure out what was going on, but once he warmed up to the idea he had a great time splishing and splashing!! After dinner, Grandma and Grandpa Ron took us out to dinner at Babins. We had a great time sitting out by the water and watching the boats go by.

Hey guys, I think my diaper is really wet...

Kick back and relax

could I get my sippy cup over here please?

This duck is MUCH more fun from this side!

Do it again Daddy!

My little swimmers!

Thanks for taking me swimming daddy!

Mommy and Daddy at dinnerOn Saturday, the Brewer's met the Simonds at the park so Cooper and Brady could play. We had a picnic and took a wagon ride (well, Brady and Cooper took a wagon ride) around the park. Afterwards, we went back to the Simonds' house. The boys were smelly and sweaty so of course they needed a bath! The men were TOTALLY against the joint bath, b/c "boys DO NOT bathe together" but Shannon and I thought the black mail pictures were worth it!!

rub - a - dub - dub two boys in a tub!
all clean mom!