Brady is 1!

Brady Gene is 1 Year Old!

It's hard to believe that my baby is already 1! Where does the time go?! I know everyone says this, but it seriously feels like just yesterday that we were the proudest parents ever, bringing our little bundle home from the hospital. Brady has brought us more joy than we can ever imagine over the past year and it's hard to remember what our lives were like before he came into the world. He is definitely keeping us busy these days. Crawling at super speed and trying to walk, every chance he gets! He is curious about absolutely everything and wants to get into every drawer and cabinet in the house. A few months ago, when we started to baby proof the house, we debated getting a toilet lock. At that time, he wasn't that interested in the toilet so we figured we were okay without one. A month or so later, he became obsessed with the toilet but we were able to distract him by closing the lid. He now knows how to open the toilet lid, so we went out and got a childproof toilet lock :) No more toilet fishing for Brady :) I'm looking forward to the day that he is interested in his toys and hoping that means less cabinet rummaging for him. He has become quite the little parrot these days and attempts to say most of what he hears us saying. Some of his favorite words, as of recently are:

• Da Da (his first and favorite word)
• MaMa (only when he really wants something from me :) )
• Dodee (doggie)
• PaPa (grandpa) 
• Ma (more)

He also says some pretty funny phrases. They aren't super clear and probably only we would understand, but he is consistent with them so at least he is trying :) He says:

• Thank you
• Get down (something we tell our dog a lot)
• All done 
• Ni Ni (night night)

Cory was determined to teach Brady "tricks". He actually has a few that he has gotten really good at recently. He claps every time he hears "yay" or the word clap. He lifts his hands above his head when we say "SO BIG". He waves if you say "say bye bye" or " say hi".  And he "gives five" when you hold out your hand. Our dog can't do any tricks... so at least Brady can :)

Brady is an eating champ these days. Gone are the days of baby food purees; he wants real food! He loves to feed himself and any kind of meat is his absolute favorite! He will eat pretty much anything we give him-- so far, he's not a picky eater, like his daddy! I know kid's tastes change super quick though, so I'm not getting my hopes up. We are working on getting him to drink more water in hopes that it will help ease his digestion issues. He definitely doesn't love it :(

We had a big 1st birthday party for Brady last weekend. It was a blast! So many friends and family members came out to love on our little guy. He is blessed with so many wonderful people in his life! 

 Love this smile! 

Yummy cake! 

 A little red wagon themed party, complete with our wagon from when we were kids :)

 Mommy and the big guy

 He loved playing on the big kids playground!

This summer should be a fun one! We signed Brady up for swimming lessons and I just got him a little splash pad for the backyard. His grandpa Bob, got him a fun little slide set for his birthday and his grandma Diane and Aunt Shannon got him a Cozy Coupe Police Car! So much fun stuff for him to play with! We will also be going to Lake Arrowhead with my family for a week in July. My mom found a cabin that sleeps over 25 people-- crazy times ahead! :)

Sorry for the crazy long post! Our little man is growing up before our very eyes and I can hardly believe it. I love you so much Brady man!

It has been way too long!!

Just when I thought about abandoning this blog all together, I discovered the blogger mobile app! Not only do I never get the chance to sit down at our computer but our laptop is on its way out and usually just ends up frustrating me! So... This is perfect! I can blog from my iPhone and hopefully keep you all updated on our happenings :) I can't believe the last time that I blogged, Brady was only 8 weeks old.... He is 9 months old now!!! Where does the time go?!! My precious little baby is now making his way all around the house doing what we call his "seal-crawl". He pulls himself up on our legs because he just has to be amidst all the action :) He LOVES to eat, anything and everything. He gets oatmeal and fruit in the morning and veggies at night with plenty of puffs and dried fruit snacks in between. I have been making his food and so far, he has liked everything I have made him! His favorite veggie is probably butternut squash and he really likes bananas. He loves our dog, Lucy and Lucy loves him :) He says Da-Da, Uh-oh, and YA! It's adorable hearing him say da-da to Cory even though I'm jealous he can't say ma-ma yet. He loves books and it's so cute to see him get excited about his favorite pages and pictures. His smile lights up the entire room and he is always such a happy guy. It is so fun seeing his personality develop as he discovers the world around him. Cory and I feel so very blessed to be his parents- he brings us so much joy! We are in Yuma, AZ right now, visiting Brady's new cousin, Avery. She is adorable and Jason and Rachel have been amazing hosts! And in two weeks, we will be leaving for Florida to visit Cory's sister, Shannon and her husband, Charlie. We are so excited to see them and their new house!! Ok, I will leave you all with a few recent pics of the big guy... The love of my life :)