It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I heard really good things about the Bass Pro Shops Santa Wonderland. And, considering we were most worried about how Drew would react to Santa, we thought a wonderland of snow, boats, motorcycles and trains would help distract him. In fact, I warned Santa that he'd probably cry a little, but we'd just snap the picture and go. Before turning around, Drew was happy and talking about trash trucks and police cars, so I thought, "Yes! A good picture this year." This is what we got...don't worry, she was completely happy except for the 2 seconds we turned our backs to get out of the way. Live and learn. By the way, Bass Pro was really nice and the kids had a lot of fun. The picture was even free!

Once we got back home and no Ho Ho in sight, everyone was happy and we got a few great poses to put on the Christmas cards.
Over the weekend, we went to Franklin and got a couple of cute pictures of the cousins. Drew and Caroline are always ready for "Cheese" until we want them to pose.

I love this one...Arianna and Mary-Rian showing their different personalities. And, yes, that's a bow in Mary-Rian's hair. She has just enough now to keep that little sucker from sliding off.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Birthday Mary-Rian!

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl! Can't believe how quickly the year has gone by. Here are a few pictures from her morning. We'll add more after the celebration tonight.

L'il Frankie and Punkin

Halloween was fun! We visited the old 'hood and Drew is pretty much still on a sugar high now that he knows about M&Ms. L'il Frankenstein was pretty much a little monster until we got out of the house, so there was no face painting and we had to wait for a temper tantrum to pass, but once we got going, you can see everyone had a great time.

Mary-Rian was really precious in her pumpkin outfit. She was a big hit with everyone.
L'il Frankenstein quickly figured out all he had to do was look cute and say trick or treat and he would get Candy!!

More little punkin...

I noticed she had a Kit Kat in her hand, but she would not give it up to anyone. Don't worry, she was just gnawing it...she didn't eat chocolate....yet....

Drew enjoyed a few treats out on the porch when we got home.

Then came the rest of the weekend....I ended up a softball widow for most of it. While leaving the room for less than 60 seconds, I returned to this...

"I like the way you are sharing with Sissy, Drew. That's a very good boy. Sissy is too little for candy, so we need to make sure we keep it in the bucket." So, in that short time, Drew unraveled 2 suckers and Mary-Rian got herself and handful of other goodies. As you can see, there was no getting it away from her.

So, I initially realized that i needed to get that sucker out of her mouth, but couldn't resist getting a picture first. Is that really bad? They seemed to be having a good time together, so I just monitored the situation and laughed myself silly.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! Next year should be CRAZY!

School Pictures

School pictures are in. Aren't they cute? :)

They were able to get one smile from Miss Serious.

And Drew is ready for the camera at any time...

Go Dodgers!

The Dodgers have made it to the playoffs, which makes certain members of the Bradley household very happy and makes us all have to wear our gear this week.

Drew was the one to represent today and very proudly wore his jersey to school. Throughout the season, Drew has learned a few Dodger-related phrases, like "Hit that ball, mans," "Run, mans," "I love Manny, too," and on occasion things like, "Giants Suck," and other less family-friendly things. He also has a pretty good swing with his Dodger bat, making his dad very proud.

We'll keep you posted on how they do this week against the Cubbies and who else will sport their attire. Go Dodgers!

PS - In this picture as well as the one of Drew in the Romo jersey, it looks as though he only has one arm...it's just the way he likes to take pictures. He has both arms. :)

We're Back

I got addicted to facebook for a short time, but I'm back to the blog. Drew took Mary-Rian on her first wagon ride, and she loved it! As you can see, she's quite comfortable hangin' out in the wagon.

I love this one. Mary-Rian is usually pretty serious when it's picture time, so with a smile like that on everyone, it's one of my favorites.

See what I mean about serious?

Just wanted to let everyone know that she actually does sit up now... she has been quite the hip baby most of her life and we thought she may never sit on her own.

Monkey see, Monkey do...can you guess who copied who? Mary-Rian stays under the coffee table for some reason, and I guess Drew thought he'd check it out too.

Our own little Romo...don't worry, this one will remain FAR away from the likes of any jessica simpson-types!

In case you haven't heard, we went to the Barn Party - Elliot Sadler's Fan Party he throws in Emporia every year. It was such a blast. Elliot was there...

...ladies and gentlemen, that is the one and only Bucky Covington. No kidding...

Blake Sheldon and Elliot on the radio show.

Kasey Kahne signing autographs and taking pictures.

Dale Jarret was also there...he's here on the radio show. (The radio show was broadcasting from inside the barn.)

New Cousin Arrives!

Just wanted to say Congratulations to my cousin, Ben, and his wife, Missy on their new arrival, Shannon Aileen Blythe born Tuesday, August 19.

Shannon was 9 lbs, 12 oz and 20.5 inches. Clayton (big brother) is getting used to her and everyone seems to be doing very well.

Can't wait to meet her!

Big Announcement - Part 2!

Ditto to the message below.

Mary-Rian has a second new chomper! As she was gnawing on her dad's finger, he said, "You know, I think there's more than one tooth in there."

Very cute.

Big Announcement!

Mary-Rian has her first tooth! We had no idea because she's shown none of the normal signs of cutting teeth. Here's hoping that continues!

Scenes from Summer

Everyone is enjoying the summer. None of us can really believe Mary-Rian is 7 months old already. Drew is SO funny and smart...we sure got lucky with a couple of good kids.

And for now, they are getting along really well. Of course, Mary-Rian can't do much other than roll. I'm guessing when she's able to grab his toys, things won't be quite so calm. He loves his Sissy...

... but i think he loves taking pictures more. CHEESE!

As far as what we've been doing this summer....keeping the bubble industry in business...

...playing in the sprinkler as much as possible.

... helping to mow the lawn (again with the bubbles).

... taking a ride in the big truck. We still haven't convinced Gagne to sit in it although I think he really wants to.

... visiting cousins. Here is a picture of my kids, my brother's kids (Caroline and Arianna), and Ben and Julie's (my cousins) kids (Clayton, Bryce, Olivia). Drew has had a big time this summer at CeCe's house with all her fun toys.

... Mary-Rian is enjoying the solid food. She is such a MESS though. She only opens her mouth if she can have her hand on the spoon, so it gets everywhere. And of course, she thinks it's very funny.

We've been to Maymont a lot where Drew likes to pick up pretty girls...

... and Mary-Rian likes to hang out rolling around on the blanket.

We finally broke down and road the Short Pump train. And by "we" I mean Robbye had to ride it. Why is it that the parents never look quite as amused? Anyway, the good thing is that we haven't visited Short Pump much for this very reason.

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer.

Quick Note...

I know, I know....I haven't updated this in a while. Feel free to choose your favorite reason below and check back later this week and maybe you'll see progress. :)

1. a 2-year old and a 6-month old

2. big project at work and not enough time during the day to get it done

3. 1 case of brochiolitis, 4 colds, 1 broken toe, 1 case of stomach flu...you get the picture

4. it's summer and we like to be outside

I actually have a ton of pictures of various things that have happened the last couple of months...hopefully I can play catch up at some point this week and share them with you.

Happy Summer!

Happy 2nd Birthday Drew!

Drew turned two on Saturday among family, little friends and the animals at Maymont. As you can see in the pictures, it was the place to be. Here is the group: BeBe, Pops, Caroline, Heather, Amanda, Will, Holden, Sherry, Logan and of course Mama, Daddy, and Sissy.And there's a little baby Garthright in there somewhere too...

Apparently Drew is so cool that they had a parade of some sort for the celebration...

Either the bear wanted to say Happy Birthday or he could smell the cupcakes because he was pacing back and forth like Yogi at a picnic. (It was actually a little scary.)

Then we made our way back up the hill for a picnic, presents...

and CUPCAKES...

Caroline was probably the least messy...

and Logan...well, she enjoyed the cupcakes...picked up the package and tried to take them home.

And then some folks took a nap...Mary-Rian and Heather cooling off.That night we did what all 2 year olds do for their birthday, went out for steak...

and cocktails...

and a little song from the pretty waitresses...

"As long as I get ice cream out of this, I'll not scream..."

There are more pictures to show off the gifts and the other birthday fun Drew had. Stay tuned.