Sweet Moments with Brady

I really think that for every "terrible" 2 moment, we are blessed to have a "terrific" or "touching" 2 year old moment.

Last week, Brady crawled into bed with us around 4:00 am to cuddle for about 20 minutes. After he got his fill, he crawled off the bed and said, "nigh-night Mommy, nigh-night Daddy," and put himself back in bed.

Twice now, Brady has put his head down and said to me, "Mommy's SO sick." I guess I tell him that a lot.

Tonight, Bailey was licking his feet, and Brady mimicked his position exactly and licked his own hands.

We're trying to teach Brady to ask for things nicely. It is SO CUTE when he comes to us with an angelic smile and says, "Want some yogurt, please Mommy please?" How can we say no?

While at the ranch, Brady wore me out with the laps around the 20 acre property while he chased Bailey. At the end of the day, I built a campfire and we cuddled and watched the fire for about an hour before he fell asleep. I cherish these last few moments with just one little kiddo.

The Ranch

Grandma, Grandpa, David and Taylor (AKA Patricia, David, David and David) drove back to San Antonio to take Phillip to lunch today. After many hours in the car yesterday, I thought it was best to give the dogs, Brady and my back a break from the car and/or being cooped up inside. Brady had fun playing with his football and chasing Bailey. I got this cute picture of Brady; it's hard to get him to pose for pictures anymore.

Here's the (maroon) used Sequoia we just bought. We are so excited! We're both shocked at how big it is compared to the 4Runner. The outside is pretty dusty right now, due to all the hill country driving. It also has a TV / DVD player in the back, which has been a big hit with Brady.

Congratulations Phillip!

Yesterday, Phillip graduated from basic training with the US Air Force. We couldn't be more proud of him. I didn't realize that Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio is where all Air Force enlistees attend basic training. 39,000 airmen pass through here every year, roughly 700 each Friday morning! No wonder San Antonio has such a great tourist business!

Brady loved seeing all the big airplanes.

David came down to watch Phillip's graduation. It was his first time to the ranch since 1983!

On Monday, Phillip will start mechanic training in Wichita Falls, TX.

The lush accommodations during basic training...

So long BMW

This is the last year Taylor's company would accept his 2002 BMW as a work car; they really want him to have a newer model 4 door vehicle. We also knew the BMW wouldn't be able to make the commute, when we move to the suburbs. We've both been shocked at how high the maintenance is (always 4 digits).

We were less than impressed with the deal CarMax offered us, so on Friday Taylor took the photos below and posted the BMW on Craigslist. It sold for cash on Monday! I was really impressed with Taylor's photography below, so I wanted to post it on the blog.

Hopefully we'll be able to post pictures of the big new car this weekend : )

I'm recovering from a cold and pregnancy insomnia (I only got up once last night!). On Tuesday, I start my weekly doctor's appointments. At 36 week with Brady, they said I was already 3 cm dilated and could go into labor "any day". 3 weeks later Brady arrived; those were the longest 3 weeks ever! I'm excited about Anna Belle's arrival and the end of the nausea. In the meantime, I'm grateful that work's a little crazy and consuming right now to keep me distracted.

Tea Party and more

Allison and Ann (Taylor's youngest sisters) hosted a tea party / baby shower for little Miss Anna Belle. It was very elegant and a lot of fun.

On Friday, January 7th, Taylor, Brady and I had lunch at Lucky Strike. The food was great and they had this cool ramp, so that Brady could bowl too. We were the only ones in the whole bowling alley; it's our favorite way to enjoy in town destinations... off hours.

Our townhouse is back on the market with a new Realtor. Our old Realtor moved to Colorado. Hopefully the new year and new Realtor will bring the right buyer. We have a few house showings this week and an open house on Sunday. Both of our favorite houses in Coles Crossing reduced their sale prices last week. We certainly have the itch!

I've been feeling tired and nauseated constantly. I'm so tired of being sick! I know that I'll feel a million times better once little Anna Belle makes her debut. Seven more weeks feels like an eternity.

We've been working on our next Shutterfly album and burning our Brady videos to DVD. Making "movies" is particularly time consuming. Now that we have the process figured out, hopefully it will be smoother. The past week has felt like one technical difficulty after another. Computers apparently don't like working with 47 GB files.

Brady's potty training has been slow. He generally does really well at school, but he's not interested in the potty at home (this is a vast understatement for the fits he throws when we take him to the big boy potty). This brings out the part of me that feels like his school parents him better than Taylor and I ever could. I'm glad we have another few weeks to concentrate on potty training before Anna Belle arrives. Maybe 7 weeks is just what we need...

Potty Training Day 1

Brady officially started potty training at school today. We were told to bring him with 3 pairs of underwear and 3 pants. He had 2 successful potty trips and NO ACCIDENTS today! Hooray!

Daddy and Brady Day at the Zoo

Daddy and Brady were the first ones in line for the Zoo this morning. The weather was very pleasant and for about the first hour we basically had the whole place to ourselves. We went directly to see the elephants, which we found all still in the elephant house getting groomed and fed. Brady was a little disappointed that we could no go into the house and pet the elephants. Actually, every exhibit we went to Brady fully expected to be able to walk right up to the animals and pet them, even the Lions. He would not last very long in the wild : )

Almost every animal we went to see was busy eating their morning meal. The tiger was no different. He was right next to the thick glass so Brady was able to get a front row seat to the show.

Usually Brady lets us know when he is ready for his nap. Today was a little different. In the middle of watching Toy Story, he very quietly pulled out the storage basket under his new train table, climbed in, and made himself comfortable. I had to take a picture since Mommy wasn't there to see. Yes, I did offer him a bed after I took the pictures.

Family Reunion

I'm so glad that Brady got to spend time with his Pappaw and my Mammaw over the holidays. Before they left, we all had dinner at Olive Garden and Taylor snapped these cute photos.

Prego Update

Anna Belle kicks and moves around far more than Brady ever did. I also feel nauseated more, here in the later part of the pregnancy. On Saturday, Grammy's going to Bradysit so Taylor and I can attend childbirth class. I know second time parents frequently skip the childbirth class, but I feel like we could use a refresher course. My labor and delivery with Brady were fairly easy, and I've heard a lot of hospital procedures have changed. It should be interesting... (though Taylor may disagree)

After visiting the Wildlife Ranch, we had lunch in Gruene and then shopped the San Marcos outlet malls. I felt like a power shopper traveling in and out of so many stores. I bought a few things for Brady (Hillfiger T's for $3.50 and Hillfiger polos for $7.50) and a lot of things for Anna Belle (tunics, dresses, footed PJ's, prices undisclosed). Girl clothes are much cuter, more fun to shop for, more expensive and far more complicated than boy clothes. I look forward to playing dress up with my little girl.

Hello Hill Country

I've had a lot of trouble uploading videos lately. Fortunately, I was able to upload this one. Taylor and I came up to the ranch to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. We feel very blessed to have our little Brady and Anna Belle on the way. Taylor was a little under the weather Friday and Saturday, but he started feeling better today. We took a drive to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch where we got to feed the animals. Without prompting Brady kept saying, "I'm so excited!"