Catching Up

It's been ten days since my last post. Did you miss me?? Since I have no way of really knowing, I will assume you've been checking this blog daily and crying out in angst that I haven't been on top of things. It's nice to have make believe fans. It makes me feel so loved. I feel like I should now give an Oscar speech, but then I also think that it would be slightly over kill... you are saved. Send your thank yous to Jeremy. In the past four years of marriage, he has somehow snuck into my psyche. Darn him and his sneakiness.

Speaking of Jeremy, did you know that he reads most every post I write before I post it? One reason is for grammar and errors. But the main reason is that he has to approve any post he's mentioned in. Apparently, when I was born, I was born without something called a filter. He says that a filter would prevent me from sharing too much or saying something that shouldn't be said. To me, the filter sounds pretty lame and not so much fun. So anyways, there are posts that have been deleted and many posts that had to be edited in order to meet his approval. I'm working on one now that's titled "Why I am the mother of a 13-year-old girl." I think it might end up in the delete file on account of my husband. But trust me: it's legit. My child is discovering his emotions and it is tiring.

My sister moved in with us. I have a feeling that many posts in the future will contain her. And since I'm not married to her, she can't really tell me whether or not to post something. Hmmm. I have a feeling that somehow Jeremy will also take over approving on her behalf. I swear, it's a conspiracy.

It's been been fun having Megan around. She's doing an internship called the Fellows Program at our church. Already they took her camping. And if you have ever met my sister, you know that camping is not really an activity she's familiar or comfortable with. She returned to say that it was fun, but she is never doing it again. I think she might have exaggerated on the fun part in an effort to be positive.

I went camping a few times. Each time was in someone's backyard and we ended up going inside to the bed around midnight. I just don't get why someone would choose the ground when you could sleep in a comfortable bed away from critters and bugs. But call me normal.

Bradley had his nine month appointment on Friday. It's official. The doctor thinks I'm a nut. But that will have to be a different post. Let's just say we are slowly moving away from pureed food into finger food and I am having multiple panic attacks a day. I just don't understand how Bradley can eat what I eat when he has no teeth. It just doesn't make sense!

We are having a yard sale this weekend. Not at our house. At a friend's house. I've never had one before. I'm pretty excited. Unfortunately, it is Monday and I now only have 4 days to go through all our stuff to see what we want to sell. Yes, I am the person who has waited until the last minute. And, yes, it has been planned for over a month. But this just means that I'll get rid of more stuff than expected because I won't have time to think about it. Yay! I love cleaning out.


Happy Monday!

Happy 9 months!

I cannot believe that Bradley has been out of my womb for almost as long as he was in it. Jeremy made the comment the other day that at this stage in life, our life seems to happening so quickly and how he can't believe how much has happened in such a short time. It's so true. These past nine months have flown by.

 Bradley is mastering skills and moving on to the next one almost within a day. He is seriously keeping us on our toes.

He is crawling as fast as his little legs and arms will take him throughout our house. He is standing and walking while holding on to things.

Bradley understands the word "no." He hates, hates, hates to upset me or Jeremy. And gives us wet and sloppy kisses that melt our hearts.

He loves to destroy things, can wave, and repeat sounds we make. (Earlier today I told him to say, "I love you, dada." He seriously made noise that sounded just like he was repeating the phrase.)

He loves to share. He is always giving me his toys to play with or shoving Parker's toys in Parker's mouth so that he will play with him.

He is definitely a thinker and will play with an object until he can figure it out. Yesterday, he had a closed box of cheez-its. He played with that box until he finally figured out how to open it and grab himself a cracker out.

He is experiencing some separation anxiety. Let's just say he's a big time mama's boy. (Can you honestly blame him though?? I rap. I have a feather in my hair. I am one cool mom.... j.u..s.t. k.i.d.d.i.n.g. It's an issue we are trying to work through. Thank goodness for the outdoors.)

 

 He LOVES baby puff cereal. We call it baby crack. We also have started giving him other finger foods and he is loving the freedom of feeding himself. I, however, am not enjoying the mess it is creating.

He loves to play ball, especially with Parker. He loves singing, clapping, and dancing. Unfortunately, Yo Gabba Gabba is becoming a popular show for him since that's all they do.

He enjoys playing games and being tickled.... wait... maybe I enjoy tickling him more than he enjoys being tickled. Either way, is there anything sweeter than a baby's laugh??

He is learning cause and effect. For instant, one of his toys light up and when you press the lights it plays a song. He now presses the buttons when lit. He can also turn on his lamp and work the Wii Remote although he doesn't quite get which button does which.

 

He can climb up the stairs and is learning how to properly get down. We've added spices to his food. Cinnamon is his favorite. He hates, hates avocados. We are slightly concerned since we eat Mexican food about 3 times a week. But we are letting it slide for now. 

Yes, nine months have flown by, but what a joy they have been. It's funny because whenever I am out and about with Bradley I hear the same thing over and over. "What a happy baby!" And if I were to describe Bradley in one phrase that's the one I'd have to use. He is a happy baby.

Video of the Week: First signs of a walker.. oh my!

The minute I get comfortable in one of Bradley's phases, he decides it is best to move on quickly. And so we now have a child who can walk while holding on to something.

Another thing that you might notice at the end of the video: he has figured out our Wii Remote. He knows that it turns on his show, pauses his show, and ends his show. He just doesn't quite know which button does what. Ha!

The Peach Pie of 2011

Every couple of years, Jeremy and I have "the fight."

It's the fight that goes down in our history book as the most ridiculous fight in the world.

In 2009, it was "the poodle."

This year, it was "the Peach Pie."

It all started with a trip to some friends' of ours house. They commented on how my pictures of my peach cobbler on the internet look so yummy.The comment completely through me off guard. I smiled, but wondered if I really had made a peach cobbler. Then, as I got in my car, I realized that they had seen pictures of me making Bradley's baby food!

And that's when it began.

I thought, maybe I could make a peach cobbler.

So the next day I went to the grocery store and bought 13 peaches. Some for Bradley and some for the pie. (I decided that a peach pie might be easier than a peach cobbler since I could buy the crust.)

That night, Jeremy and I had this conversation.

Me: "I want something for dessert, but I don't know what."

Jeremy: "I thought you were going to make peach pie."

Me: "I don't want to make peach pie. I think I'll make it tomorrow. I kinda want ice cream."

Jeremy: "Do we have ice cream?"

Me: "No. And I don't want to buy ice cream. I think I want chocolate chip cookies."

Jeremy: "Do we have stuff to make them?"

Me: "No."

Jeremy: "How about some biscoff spread and nutella?"

Me: "No.. we are almost out of nutella and I like it for breakfast."

Jeremy: "Well, how about I go pick us up something for dessert?"

Me: "No... I don't want to go out."

Jeremy: "I'll go get it. What do you want?"

Me: "I don't know. You decide."

Jeremy: "I'll go to Dairy Queen. What do you want?"

Me: "I want chocolate chip cookies from Fresh Market."

Jeremy: "Are you sure?"

Me: "Yes."

Jeremy: "Do you want me to get anything else while there?"

Me: "Maybe a coke in a glass bottle? I don't know.. just surprise me."

Now, when I said surprise me I meant the coke and maybe nutella since we were almost out. My husband on the other hand thought I really wanted to be surprised by another dessert. Because of course I need two desserts, right?? Wrong.

So my sweet husband who went out to get me dessert came into our house with chocolate chip cookies, a coke, and (insert dramatic: dun, dun, dun here) a peach pie. Here's how our conversation went upon his return:

Jeremy: "Look what I got?"

Me: "What is that?"

Jeremy: "A peach pie! Now, you don't have to make one."

Me: "What do you mean? Did you not want me to make peach pie?"

Jeremy: "No.. I just thought 'now you don't have to make one.'"

Me: "What am I supposed to do with the 8 peaches I bought to make the peach pie?"

Jeremy: "I don't know. You could still make it."

Me: "So now, we'll have two peach pies. Will you be able to eat two peach pies??"

Jeremy: "I thought I was helping."

Me: "Helping?? How much did it cost?"

Jeremy: "$10. I thought it was on sale, but it wasn't."

Me: "You spent $10 on a pie?? One that I had all the ingredients to make??"

Jeremy: "Yeah..."

Me: "It better taste amazing."

Jeremy: "It is from Fresh Market."

Me: "So my peach pie is not going to be as good as Fresh Market's peach pie so you aren't going to eat it."

Jeremy: "I'll eat it."

Me: "It better taste better than theirs."

Jeremy: "I'm sure it will."

Me: "I don't think it can taste better than a $10 pie. And you'll eat two peach pies??"


Jeremy: "Yes, I'll eat two peach pies."

Me: "Good. Because I'm making it. I have to. And you have to like it more."

Jeremy: "I'm sure I will."

Me: "Don't lie to me."

And there you have it. The peach pie of 2011.

Video of the Week: My son can blink

One of the best parts about watching my son is seeing him discover the world for the first time.

Jeremy and I still talk about Bradley's first experience with the wind. He was about 3 months old and we were in Atlanta for the day. It was really chilly so we had him bundled up tight. We stepped outside of a building and a cold gush of wind immediately met us. Bradley's face lit up,  his eyes closed and he giggled. It was the neatest thing for Jeremy and I.

Well, this past week, we had another first experience. With the help of a friend visiting from Portugal (thanks Luis!), Bradley discovered that he could make himself blink.

So since this past Friday, Bradley has been showing us this new trick nonstop.

Enjoy!