Filed under: Holidays
Because we are all about frugality in this house, Taylor made valentines this year for her friends and teachers. Thanks to the internet for inspiring ideas, and thanks for a toddler that didn’t succumb to the elaborate/costly cards and candy that she shoulda/coulda/woulda had.
Her valentine to her teachers:
And to her friends:
Total cost for all gifts/cards combined: $1.60.
Sweet! Cheap! Happy Valentine’s Day!
This is going to be one of those all-over-the-place posts because, honestly, it’s been one of those all-over-the-place days. Well, weeks. Okay, months.
Here’s a fly-on-the-wall view of our hectic household over the past few weeks:
My hair has been a total of six different colors in less than two weeks, thanks to an itch to regain my childhood blonde-ness. From boring brown (natural color) to orange (thank you, Feria) to yellow ($150 hair color stripping later) to white (dyed in attempt to reach the initially-desired blonde result) to copper (trying to natural-ize the blonde to a dirty blonde but purchased the wrong shade) to brownish reddish goldish (after going back and purchasing the correct color of blonde.) That was fun.
It’s cold here. And wet. We’re ready for Spring.
We’ve celebrated lots of birthdays, including cousin Gus’ 10th and Memaw’s 70th. A local skating rink was the location of the festivities.
While Jimmy’s parents were in town, we enjoyed our first family bowling experience. All-you-can-bowl Sundays might become a regular activity in our household.
Taylor has a nasty cold. Aubri has been placed in a bubble.
Work is keeping me ultra-busy.
Post-pregnancy hormones are keeping me ultra-weepy.
Our preemie is no longer teeny, weighing in at a whopping 13.4 pounds. Approximately 13 of the 13.4 pounds resides in her cheeks.
There is at least one pile of unfolded laundry on the floor of one room at all times. I can’t catch up.
I created and launched a website for my freelance work. CSS is not my best friend.
Taylor calls the yellow cartoon creature commonly found on Nickelodeon, “Sponge Bob Squirt Pants.” Which I find hilarious.
Aubri’s current nicknames include: “Nugget” and “Suga Booga.” Taylor calls her “Nuggy Nugs,” which I find both hilarious and adorably gangsta.
Taylor is still a silly diva that considers me an annoying member of the paparazzi.
Aubri is sleeping seven hours at night, praise God. Jimmy has been enjoying this extra sleep, but still continues to pass out mid-conversation due to his backlog of missed zzzz’s.
Aubri is working on holding her head up and has absolutely no interest in rolling over. I’ve tried to delicately shove her to her tummy. She makes it clear that this is not OK.
But she still loves me. Regardless of what her eyebrows tell you.
No matter how hectic life seems, I am loving every second of it. I love love love my girls.
But my hair? Not so much.
So there you have it. That’s been our life over the past few weeks. And that’s the longest I have sat still in months. So with that, I must depart to glue Aubri’s paci to her lips and velcro Tay’s bottom to the floor. Until next time, folks…I leave you with a few quotables from Taylor.
Taylor: “Mommy, today at school, me and my friend played mommy and daddy. We went to bed and, when we woke up, I had a baby in my tummy … but don’t worry mommy, it was just a bean bag.”
Tay: “Mommeeeeeeee, Aubri just said ‘buuuuuuutttttt.'” Me: “Tay, I’m pretty sure that was ‘booyiooooiooooo bababa’ but thanks for your concern.”
Aubri was CIO (crying it out) for less that one minute. I then hear this stern voice from a short girl around the corner: “Mommy! Aubri is cryin’. You got cot-ton in your ears?!”
During Tay’s prayers: “God, please make all the sick boys and girls well. And please tell the other boys and girls to ask their mommies if they can come to my house and play.”
Me, on Christmas Eve: “Tay! Guess who’s coming tonight?!” Tay: “Nana? Uncle Matt? Aunt Robin?” Me: “No… he’s got a big belly… and he wears red… and wears a red hat… and he fliiiiiiiies throuuuuuuugh the sky…” Tay; ::gasp:: “A superhero???!!!”
Taylor, talking to herself following an extra long and loud buuuuuuurp: “wow, that was extraooordinary!”
Me: “Shew, what stinks?” Tay: “Me. I tooted. Twice. No, three times.” ::I look over to see her spinning on her naked tummy on the floor:: Tay: “Daddy, I’m going to go potty. And when I go, please don’t ask me if I’m done yet. It makes me bananas.”
Taylor: “Mommy, can I have chewing gum?” Me: “Taylor, how many times have I told you ‘no’?” Taylor: “Well, let me try again.”
Taylor, when asked why we don’t put our fingers in electrical outlets, “because they send energy in you. And I already have enough of that.”
Jimmy, when talking to Taylor “…dang!” Taylor: “No, daddy, it’s damn!”
Today is my grandparent’s anniversary. (My mom’s parents.) And Monday is my grandma’s birthday.
I want to wish these two very special people a happy happy anniversary and a very happy birthday to my grandma. I love you both dearly and I miss you so much. As soon as Aubri can travel, I promise that I will be on your doorstep with two short nuggets looking for hugs and Vernors.
For those that do not know my grandparents, let me paint you a picture of these beautiful people that I adore.
My favorite childhood memories include these two.
I remember sitting in their La Jolla beachfront condo in their over-sized brown leather chair, spinning around in circles in front of the windows overlooking the rocky coastline. I remember walking down to the beach to jump on the seaweed as my grandpa held his breath with every hop, worried that I would slip. I remember their love for butter pecan ice cream and the white bowls with blue edging that they would serve to me, ice cream heaping over the sides. I remember the jicama that they would cut into sticks and put in dixie cups for me and Matt to munch on in the living room as we sat on their white looped carpet. I remember my grandpa building Lego towers on that same carpet and the laugh I would get out of destroying them right before his very eyes. I remember covering my grandpa’s head with barrettes and bows and how he wore them with pride. I remember how my grandpa could never complete a Christmas dressed as Santa without spilling at least a dozen curse words. I remember (and still enjoy) the way my grandma calls out his name with vigor, “Bob!” I love my grandma’s big smile and how her glasses frame her gentle eyes. I love the way my grandpa watches my grandma’s every move with sweet, gentle love. And how my grandma watches with quiet wonder at the family that she has built. I love the way they love me and my little girls. I love them so much it hurts.
This Christmas, my grandparents gave Taylor and Aubri a gift that I will cherish forever. Here is the video of Taylor opening the present.
Taylor may not fully understand its extreme preciousness just yet but I am certain that our entire family will cherish this book always. Almost every night since Christmas, I have heard my grandparent’s voices echoing down my halls. What a great reminder of an amazing love.
I love you two.
Hilly
Filed under: Holidays
I’m back. For a second. Finally getting around to posting the all-things-Christmas post. Taylor is currently in the midst of a playdate with her friend-that-is-a-boy (Daddy faints when we say “boyfriend”) and Aubri is on the tail-end of her nap. So I have approximately 12 minutes to get two weeks of updates posted.
Here goes nothin’.
I attempted to get some Christmas-ey shots of the girls. Individually they did OK.
But by the time I got them together, they were over it.
So, this was our best shot… and our Christmas e-card.
Not all moments are as “eventful” as the card shoot. They are capable of being simultaneously content.
Aside from our don’t-try-this-at-home photo shoots and casual lounging (hahaha… lounging… that’s funny), we had a TON of Christmas commitments.
Like cookie decorating playdates.
Lunch dates with Daddy, Nana and Grandpa.
Taking in our first 3d movie, Yogi Bear.
Trailing behind a riding lawnmower as it traveled through parking lots. (Ahem, I mean enjoying a ride on the Polar Express train).
Did I mention that it was really, really cold to be riding a mower train?
Attending Taylor’s school’s Christmas concert. (She’s the one on the bottom right, with the microphone horn.)
Making and delivering goodies to our friends and neighbors.
Building/eating a gingerbread choo choo train.
Playing Barbie with Uncle Matt.
Posing for a quick picture here and there.
Taking self-portraits. (This was supposed to be of me and her… but I see now who she truly wanted to photograph).
Loving on Uncle Matt.
And before we knew it, Christmas Day was here.
Elf Aubri was excited.
And Tay was thrilled to get her first 4×4.
Mid-day power naps were common among all parties.
Except for Taylor, who seemed to be constantly on the move enjoying her toys. Like more new wheels.
Tay proved to us that she takes helmet-wearing seriously. She felt it necessary to wear a plastic dome on her head as she test-drove yet another set of new wheels.
All while Aubri was… still power napping.
Christmas “morning” lasted through 5pm. Take the Aubri evidence above, we were all exhausted.
Next up was New Years Eve. The neighborhood kids all gathered for a New Year’s Feast and playdate complete with snacks, sparking juice and cake.
Followed by show-off-your-new-wheels time in the cul-de-sac.
Whew. And that, in a nutshell, was our holidays.
I promise to get back to my normal reflective, insightful writer self soon… which may be sometime around when the girls turn 14 and have locked themselves into their room with a “keep out, Mommy” sign on their door. That should give me some time to sit still/think.
But, for now, my time is up. Taylor’s playdate just left and Aubri is preparing to launch into a feed-me freak out, so I’m exiting the virtual building.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, ya’ll.
Mommy, out.
I have a ton of pictures to post and even a video to document our wonderful Christmas, which is wrapping up tomorrow as my family heads home ::super sad face:: But, until I can get to editing those files (do I need to remind you how crazy life is?!), I want to share just one image from this Christmas and another very special Christmas four years ago.
Can you guess who is who?
We celebrated Taylor’s 4th birthday back in September so that we could have the festivities out of the way before Aubri came home from the hospital. But we had to also do something small to commemorate the actual day of Taylor’s birth, November 6th.
My parents surprised Taylor with a trip to town to join us in the celebration. We had lunches out, ran errands, caught up with life and spent countless hours staring at Aubri’s sweet face. On Taylor’s special day, though, it was all about her. We marked the occasion with Taylor’s first-ever trip to the hairdresser and the fairgrounds.
Taylor has never had her hair cut in the four years of her life. She was scared to do so, and, frankly, so was Mommy. I just love her long hair, the little ringlets at the bottom, and the braids, ponies and stylishly-messy buns that come along with it. But it was becoming a potty hazard, if you know what I mean — her long locks were getting dangerously close to the toilet water. Ick. So, for her birthday, she agreed to get her hair trimmed. She asked to have a Nana-cut (shoulder-length bob), which scared the snot out of me. Thankfully, that request was short-lived. She settled for a four-inch trim, some color hair extensions and a hot pink manicure.
Before, during, and a picture that I had to include because she looks IDENTICAL to me when I was her age. Crazy.
After.
After the haircut, we grabbed lunch and headed to the fair. Taylor plopped her booty up next to a cage of baby chickens and asked for her picture to be taken.
Then we headed inside to watch a family of circus performers, play games, ride a million rides and eat lots of junk.
Daddy, Tay and Grandpa rode the Tilt-a-Whirl. I snapped a picture every time their cart came by my camera. Enjoy the facial expressions. Jimmy seems to be the only one that has a problem.
Once again, watch Jimmy enjoy the ride.
Taylor rode solo on the Jeep Adventure, which is good since Daddy may have tossed his corndogs at this point. She looks like a rockstar in her pink glittery 4×4 with her matching hair extensions.
Showing us what she wanted. Cotton Candy.
Nana and Grandpa were particularly excited about the Deep Fried Oreos. (Kidding). I love that you can see Jimmy in the background loading up his funnel cake. Guess the rides didn’t bother him too much.
Pre-cotton candy. Calm as a cucumber.
Post-cotton candy. Flying high on sugar.
Happy birthday to my sweet not-so-little girl. I love you!
Filed under: Holidays
Here in the Brady household, we began celebrating Halloween a few weeks ago. First order of business was to decorate the pumpkin. We chose to work with odds and ends from the craft kit this year instead of the complex carvings of years past. Mommy had her hands full this year and did not trust the Tayster to handle a knife or powertool by herself. So, we stuck with sparkles and old paint.
The first Halloween party was held at Tay’s school. Instead of dressing up as scary characters, the school asked that the kids come dressed as their favorite Bible character. They had been studying David and Goliath so Taylor said that she wanted to dress as the giant. She was thrilled the night before. But when morning came, she was less than excited about my homemade costume.
The wonderful mom that I am, I shoved her toosh in the car and sent her on her way, tears flowing through her eyeliner-beard. A few moments later, it hit me. I checked Tay’s school calendar only to confirm my fear — I had the wrong day. I frantically called Jimmy and, thank God, caught him before they got to school. I told him to strip her of her costume and wash her face before they went inside. Shew. Scarring experience avoided. Well, mostly.
The following week, on the evening before the real Bible Character Day, Tay chose a character that she promised she would be excited about. Mary, the mother of Jesus. And she was right. She dressed as Mary and wore a smile all the way to school, prancing through the school parade with pride. Phew.
Next on the Halloween agenda was our neighborhood block party. Several young families gathered together in a cul-de-sac where the hosts cooked a pig and hired a guitar player that sang for the kids. We all brought a dish and pigged out while the kids consumed mass quantities of sugar and ran circles around the tables.
Here’s my dish — bloody newt eyes (deviled eggs with paprika veins).
Tay and her buddy, Caroline, at the party.
Caroline, Tay and Harrison.
Some of the kids hijacking one of the neighbor’s golf carts.
This morning, the girls recovered from last night’s party with a little snuggle time. Look at Aubri’s sweet little lips!
And then tonight, we dressed up once again and headed to our neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat. Tay was going to be a princess again and Aubri was going to be a pea. But, Tay changed her mind mid-afternoon and said she wanted to be a mermaid. I told her that wasn’t cool because we already planned on the whole “princess and the pea” thing. To which she responded, “but mommy, haven’t you heard of the mermaid and the pea? I used to watch that movie all the time.” Right. Oh well, it’s OK. Aubri turned out looking a little more like edamame anyway. So, we went with a different duo. The mermaid and the edamame.
Happy Halloween!
Taylor does not officially turn four until November 6 but, with the impending “release” of her little sister, it was in everyone’s best interest to thrown her party early. So, on Saturday, September 18, Taylor had a party fit for a princess.
Enjoy the video!
Filed under: Holidays
Our 4th of July weekend brought lots of activity. Rather than bore you with a narrative, I’ll let the pictures tell the tale.
Jimmy had off work on Saturday and Sunday and he wanted to do a whole lotta nothing. In between the cookouts and get-togethers, our days included lots of lounging, Daddy and T time, and an actual nap for the family. That day will go down in history.
Saturday started with a splash.
Taylor asked Daddy to take her fishing. She didn’t have to ask twice. She dressed herself (notice the fish hat, “I’d rather be pishin'” t-shirt, fishy shorts, and waterproof goloshes) and gathered energy with a little pre-trip power snack.
Snack in one hand and “tickle box” in the other.
And off they go.
They returned nearly two hours later. Daddy ended up fishing on the bank of a friend and Taylor played with our friend’s kids. The little ones enjoyed popsicles and splashing in the waterway while the daddies fished with Barbie poles. Mommy enjoyed two full hours of reality TV. It was heavenly for all involved.
We then regrouped, cleaned up, and headed out to a cookout with Jimmy’s work colleagues and a bunch of neighbors.
We stuffed our faces with scrumptious snacks of all kinds, then watched as the kids played games.
We all enjoyed snow cones, Taylor especially.
And we all enjoyed fireworks. Taylor, not so much.
Sunday was the glorious nap day. And after the sweet slumber, we headed to another cookout with our good friends.
We ate yummy traditional 4th food, and the kids played with noise-making balloons that fly up and around before fizzling to the ground.
See? They fly.
Other daddies got involved.
And then the kids took over. (I just love Noah’s face in the background.)
After the BBQ and the balloons, we headed to the front yard for the fireworks show. The daddies made glow in the dark hats, and set off bottle rockets. For the kids. But more for themselves.
The little ones enjoyed cookies, cupcakes, other sweets, and sparklers.
And then we all enjoyed front row seats to an amazing show of fireworks.
Another fun-filled weekend with great friends. Daddy got to fish, Mommy got to relax, and Taylor consumed nine tons of sugar. Oh happy day for all!
Peanut and Poppy 