Brady's 1st day at Kathwood

Neither Paul or I wanted to miss out on taking Brady to his first day of "pre-school".  So, we both got ready to take him together.  We were fashionably late of course.  This is no big deal as Brady is just in  the Toddler class, and there is no set time that they have to be there.  However, it put me a good 45 minutes late for work- whoops.  Brady did so great on his first day.  He was so excited when we got there!  You know he had to wear his Gamecock gear to represent for his team since it was game day.

All the little toddler monkey's on the door.

After we got in the classroom, Brady just sat in the same spot taking it all in!  There is a little girl in the class that has the exact same birthday as Brady.  However, she is already walking and a good deal bigger than him.  She came right up to him and started patting him gently on the head.  Then, she reached down and gave him a big hug!  She basically tackled him on the floor.  It was hilarious.  She has already claimed him as her man.  I don't blame her; he is one handsome little boy.

There was a bit of chaos going on in the room which left Paul and I a little uneasy, but we have to remember it was the first day.  There were two little boys having full on meltdowns.  It is going to take some adjusting for all of the kids to get used to their new class.  Part of me wanted to go scoop Brady up and take him home, but I stayed strong and went on to work.

We sign an agreement to get permission before posting any pictures of other kids at school, hence the blurred faces.

Paul couldn't take it for too long and went to pick Brady up at about 11:45 so he could eat lunch and nap at home.  He called me at work and said that Brady was doing great.  The teacher said he was the best one in the class.  The only time he got a little fussy was when she was washing his hands after making this picture for me.  I had not even seen the picture yet, and I almost cried!  You know it is proudly displayed on our fridge.  These are the mommy moments I live for.

First homemade art by my baby boy!

Overall it was a great day.  I think we have made the right choice with sending Brady to Kathwood.  Bring on the stuffy nose, but I am looking forward to watching Brady grow this "school" year.

Meeting the teachers

Yesterday Brady had his drop-in at Kathwood.  He met his teachers Ms. Ophelia and Ms. Elizabeth.  We walked in and Brady gave his teachers a big smile!  He let them take him out of Paul's arms with no fuss.  After a few minutes of taking it all in, he acted like he owned the place!

Taking it all in...

His teacher gave him a ball!

We don't have any stairs at our house so this was a first for Brady.  But, man he was quick to figure it out.  He was up in that loft having a good time.  He couldn't quite figure out the getting down the stairs part, but I'm sure he will have that mastered soon.

He then ventured on over to the toy shelf and was pulling everything out.

He met some of his classmates, and they all seemed to really have a good time.  After seeing how much fun he had, I am really looking forward to him going to "pre-school".  I feel like he is starting to get bored being at home all day, and he will really enjoy being around the other children.  I just can't believe the day is already here!  My baby is growing up too fast!

3 Years!

Today we celebrate our 3rd anniversary!  I can't believe it has already been 3 years.  So much has changed over the past 3 years, but I can say that it only gets better.  I am so in love with you, Paul DuRant. I thank God every day for blessing me with you.  You are the best husband and father to our child.  There is no one else I could imagine spending the rest of my life with.  I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries with you!

My first public embarrassment by my child

It was Sunday afternoon, and Paul had left to go to his beloved Phish show in Charlotte.  After Brady's nap I decided we should make a Target run.  I needed some things, and I needed to get some items on Brady's preschool supply list.  So, we hopped in the car to do a little shopping.  

We are perusing through the isles checking off our list when I decide to go look at the nail polish.  There was a woman already standing in front of the shelf with the polish.  I am pushing the cart with Brady in it, so I just kind of hang out behind her looking over her shoulder at the colors.  All of a sudden Brady lets one rip!  It was so loud, and it basically vibrated the floor.  The lady turned around and gave me a pretty dirty look.  I looked at Brady and said "excuse you!"  But, I know she was probably thinking that was just my cover up.  I think I got some looks from some of the other by standers as well.  It was classic.

I had prepared myself for the future embarrassment that I am sure to endure once Brady is talking, but didn't think he could already accomplish the public embarrassment.  I know this is just the beginning.

What a beautiful morning

Yesterday Brady, Riley, and I had a great time hanging out together while Paul went golfing.  It was so beautiful outside that we just had to get out and enjoy it!  Brady woke up in an extra good mood too.  I just love weekend mornings where we can lounge in our PJs and watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Tell me that smile doesn't brighten your day?

After we ate some breakfast we decided to go on a little walk to enjoy the fabulous weather.  I even put some pants on Brady because the breeze made it a little chilly.  Riley was thrilled to join us as well.

I love this.  This is how Brady points.  He doesn't just use one finger.
He puts all of his fingers together and points.

We decided to make a stop at the school to swing on the swing!  Paul and I bought this swing and had no where to put it in our yard.  I noticed one day that there was a swing missing at the elementary school playground.  So, we just hung the swing up there and left it. We figured we could cut our losses at $20 if someone decided to take it.  We notice several others babies using it when we drive by.  School has started back, but the swing is still there!  Brady loves it, and we donated to the community!  It's a win, win.

Look at those baby toes.  I could just eat them up!

After we got home, we had to get some chores done.  Brady is such a big helper already!

Pulling up on EVERYTHING these days!

I love mornings like this.  These are the everyday moments that I never want to forget.

Let the countdowns begin

I can't believe Paul and I are about to celebrate our 3 year anniversary!  It has been a wonderful 3 years babe!

I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry...Brady starts at Kathwood Baptist Preschool this week.  I am a little nervous for the change, but excited at the same time.  He is such a social little boy, and I really think he will love being with the other kids.  I'm not looking forward to the permanent snotty nose I have heard comes along with daycare, but overall I think it will be good for him.

I am really excited about this one.  I love some Gamecock football!  Last season was the first time in as long as I can remember that I didn't make it to a single Gamecock home game.  I plan on making up for it this season.  GO COCKS!

Another, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry...How in this world is my baby boy almost 1 year old?!  Wasn't it just yesterday that Paul was rushing me to the hospital, and I held Brady in my arms for the first time.   I just want to freeze time and never let him grow up.

We can't forget that Christmas is not too far away either!  Although I am not looking forward to the cold weather, I love the holidays and especially decorating the house for Christmas!

Top Ten Baby Items: 6-12 Month Addition

I posted before about my top ten baby necessities.  I figured this deserved an update since babies change so quickly and so do the items they need.

1. Aden and Anais (does anyone else want to pronounce this Aden and ANUS, umm yea, not really sure how you say that) wearable blankets- Although Brady is not wearing these anymore, he did for quite a while after he out grew his swaddle blanket.  They were great, because they were not too heavy where he would get hot, but I knew he wouldn't get cold at night. He couldn't kick the blanket off, and there were no worries of him smothering himself with a blanket.

2. Beaba freezer trays- I made a majority of Brady's pureed food when he first started eating solids.  These freezer trays are great and make for very easy storage of food.  You simply pop out the servings once they freeze and put them in a labeled zip lock. Then, you have perfectly portioned home made baby food!

3. BOB Stroller- I love my BOB stroller.  It is so easy to maneuver, and it has a great shade so the sun doesn't get in Brady's eyes.  It is a jogging stroller, so if I ever get motivated to go for a run (which is like, never) then I could!

4. Lovey- Brady loves his loveys.  He sleeps with about 3 of them so he can find one to grab in the middle of the night if he wakes up.  The Bunnies by the Bay lovey was a gift from his Aunt Paige, and it's his favorite.

5. Nuby Sippy Cups-  We are in the process of transitioning from the bottle to the sippy cup.  Brady seems like like them, because the still have a soft lid like a bottle.

6. Old Navy PJs- I like these because they fit great, they are 100% cotton, very reasonably priced, and super cute!

7. Magic Bullet- We use this every morning to grind fruit to put in Brady's rice cereal in the morning. It is so convenient and easy to use.  They sell the baby version too, the baby bullet.  But, this one works just fine.

8. Portable booster/high chair-  Brady's Aunt Maggie gave this to us recently, and I love it!  It is so light and easy to pack.  We are on the go a lot, so this comes in handy.

9. Pool float-  As I have mentioned before, Brady loves the water!  So, I love this pool float.  It also comes with a canopy that attaches to provide shade.

10. Alex Little Hands Play Mat-  This was a gift from Paul's parents, and it serves as the center piece in our living room.  We really have used this since Brady was just a couple months old, and it is great!  It was especially useful when Brady was just learning to sit up and would sometimes topple over.  This way he didn't take too much of a fall.

I have a little obsession...

...with a J.Crew final sale.  It sucks me in every time.  It's like I see the e-mail and IMMEDIATELY have to go to the web site and see what goodies I can rack up on.  This directly correlates to my online shopping addiction that I frequently mention on my blog. Their sales team just loves suckers like me, I know.  I just can't help myself!  I would never pay full price for anything at J.Crew as their normal prices are outrageous, but when the sale hits- I'm there (online of course, there is no actual store in Columbia). 

I was so mad at myself, because this weekend while we were in Charleston we decided to roam around on King Street and wandered into the J.Crew store.  They had a shirt that I had been eyeing on sale, but was waiting to see if they would put up another additional percentage off of their sale items before I purchased it.  I asked the sales person if he thought they would have another additional sale since they just had a couple.  He told me that he didn't think there would be another one like that until probably October.  He even gave me the whole official story of how their year starts in February and they usually run those sales every 3 months, blah blah.  Well guess what?  There was another additional 30% off sale items that went up yesterday!  I should have known...but, they won't get me again.

I have even gotten Paul to jump on the band wagon.  He will actually call me sometimes and tell me that the sale just went up and ask if I need anything.  Well duh, of course I NEED some things.

I will say that the clothes I get from there are very good quality, and tend to be my "go-to" outfits especially for work.  Here are a couple gems I have purchased recently during a final sale moment:

Just remember...never pay full price!  Alright, back to my online shopping :).

11 months old!

My water baby

Brady LOVES the water whether it's the bath, the pool, the ocean, Riley's water bowl...he loves it!  I am so glad he has taken so well to it, because I think it is soooo important for children to know how to swim.  We will be signing Brady up for swim lessons next summer.  We made another quick trip to the beach this weekend.  We helped celebrate Caroline's first birthday!  It seems like just yesterday I was holding her for the first time. She had her party on the beach at Sullivan's Island.  Brady had a great time, and he was WORN out.  Happy birthday sweet girl, we love you!

The birthday girl and Nanna!

Playing with cousins Walt and William

So excited to be at the beach house!

Other activities of the weekend included playing with the blinds, the air vent, driving the golf cart, and swimming in the pool!

This view never gets old.

Attempting the family shoulder ride- haha. I don't think Brady was into it.

A quarter of a century

...that is how old I turned this week.  Do I feel any older?  Not really.  This year was probably the most unanticipated birthday I have had yet.  Not because I don't want to turn 25, or I didn't care, I just honestly didn't think about it.  I have been so wrapped up in planning Brady's 1st birthday party that I had not really thought about my own.  It's amazing how your priorities change when you have a baby.  But regardless, my 25th birthday has come and gone, and it was great!  Paul did the baby duties in the morning so I could sleep in (by "sleep in" I mean the extra 15 minutes before I had to get up and get ready for work).  I left work early to get my hair done, and when I got there they informed me that my husband had already taken care of the bill!  They even gave me a glass of wine at the salon. 

When I got home, Paul had flowers for me and some sweet cards.  My dad and step mom came over to babysit so Paul and I could go out to dinner.  We went to a new restaurant in Columbia, Cola's.  It had a cool atmosphere, and the food was really good.  The only thing that was just so so was the appetizer we ordered (the shrimp dumplings- wouldn't suggest them).  They also had my favorite wine on the menu, double plus!  It was nice to get out for some fine dining sans baby.  The weather was nasty, but we made the best of it.  We were still home by about 9:00 and in bed by 9:30 - I know we live our lives on the wild side.  But, that is the idea of a perfect night out in my book. 

Funny side story: We get home, and I ask how everything went with Brady.  You see last time they came over to babysit I left a novel on instructions for Brady and caught some grief.  So this time, I didn't leave ANY instructions, just gave my dad the quick run through of his bed time (which I knew would be neglected), where his PJs were, bottle, etc.  I remembered at dinner I forgot to put out a towel for Brady, but figured oh well they will figure it out.  I mention this to my dad that I was sorry we didn't leave a towel out.  He replied, "That's alright we just grabbed the ones that were hanging on the back of the door."  My reply, "Oh really, well those were the towels we washed Riley with."  Yes, Brady got cleaned with the dog's towel.  Gotta love it.

The difference a week makes

Oh my, this boy is giving us a run for our money.  It seems like over night he changed from a baby to a little boy.  He is ALL OVER THE PLACE.  We had to move his mattress all the way down in his crib, because he started sitting up and pulling up on his crib when we put him down for naps.  Oh and naps...naps are a battle.  It goes like this: put him down in his crib, 3 minutes later his sitting straight up and crawling all around the crib, go back in lay him down, 3 minutes later- UP!  Ok new tactic, leave him alone until he wears himself out, baby starts crying, moves from crying to banging his head on the side of the crib.  Really??! Smart boy, momma is not going to leave you in your room banging your head on the side of the crib.  Also noticed I mentioned CRAWLING all around the crib.  Brady has been army crawling or scooting around for a while now, but not full on crawling, well we have made the transition. And, he is into everything!  Take the computer cord out of his hand, oh no, full on meltdown!

(Picture of his monitor) Planning his escape..

He had his first sickness this week too.  Poor baby boy had a fever of 101.9, and he was very congested.  We took him to the doctor, and he said he had an upper respiratory infection.  They prescribed him an antibiotic, and I took off work the rest of the week to take care of him.  So, guess who was next to get the sickness- this girl. Staying home with a sick baby when you're sick yourself, and your baby has just learned all these new tricks on how to get into trouble makes for an exhausted momma!  The first day he also decided he was NOT going to take a nap. (Did I mention he is also cutting his two front teeth?)  Not going to lie, I found myself thinking how thankful I was that I am a working mom.  I think it is healthy for my sanity, and makes me a much better mom. Anyone who thinks that stay at home moms have it made, you just put yourself in their shoes for a week, bet you would change your mind!

Poor sick, cranky boy :(

Hi nap this morning started with the same shenanigans.  But, he wasn't fussing, just exploring his crib rather than sleeping.  So, I just left him alone and found him like this:

How freakin' cute is he?

Brady has always been a great sleeper at night.  He doesn't make a peep when you put him down, and usually just goes right to sleep.  The other night I put him down, checked his monitor a few minutes later and he was sitting up, but not making a sound. He literally sat in the same position and didn't move a muscle for what must have been 15 minutes.  I asked Paul if he thought he was sleeping sitting up.  Then, he leaned over.  I went to check on him and he was literally sleeping with his legs out in front of him in sitting position and his body just laid on top of them.  That couldn't have been comfortable, but it was pretty hilarious!  He woke up when we were spying on him, so I gently laid him down on his back, and he went right to sleep- silly boy!


Don't get me wrong, he is still his sweet, happy self (most of the time).  He is feeling much better, thank goodness.  It just amazes me how much he can change in such a short period of time.  He is so much fun these days, and has the cutest little personality.  He is very interested in new things, and his favorite spot on the floor is in mommy's lap!  He still LOVES his dog, and it is so cute to see them interact with each other.  Riley is a great big dog-brother.  Speaking of Ri- today is his 5th birthday!  I can't believe our first fur child is already 5 years old.  Even though your life has changed dramatically, we still love you so much!  Happy birthday Roo Roo!