Traditions, Traditions! (ie Christmas Day Activities)

Santa brought the boys ride-on-dump trucks! (An immediate hit.)

Christmas Eve, Dustinn and I blew up shiny balloons and packed them in a garbage bag. It was fun for us to pour the balloons out over their heads Christmas morning.

After opening Santa presents, everyone eats a big pancake breakfast. Cami found a penny in her pancake which meant she would be the Christmas elf and hand out the family gifts after breakfast.

Later that evening, we put on the nativity. Everyone participated. Elisse, as the bride-to-be, was Mary.

Sheperds watching over their flock by night

Merry Christmas everyone!

We're in New Jersey!

Dustinn found out he didn't have to work the 22nd & 23rd. (Hooray!) So we drove out early and have had a wonderful time with family.

Cuddling with Aunt Elisse (bride-to-be...only 3 more days)

Cuddling with Uncle Kevan

Holding hands with Jack-Jack
Playing in the snow

15 Months: A Little Man

• Bradshaw loves toothbrushes. He was walking around the apartment sucking on one when I heard a scraping sound. Lo & Behold, he was using his toothbrush to clean under the oven. Only it wasn't his toothbrush...it was Daddy's.
• We were late to meet Dustinn's co-workers for dinner. I had just set my concealer on the bathroom counter and now I couldn't find it. We figured Bradshaw snatched it and began looking behind the toilet, under the fridge, etc. Finally Dustinn comes walking down the hall with it. Where did he find it? In the trash. Along with a Doctrine & Covenants
• Whenever I am riding shotgun, Bradshaw insists on holding hands the entire car ride.
• Bradshaw's rock solid. When you pick him up he feels like a load of bricks.
  
• Bradshaw has started talking in his sleep. Apparently he dreams about cats.
• I love sleep. When Bradshaw wakes up in the morning, I usually let him play in my room while I try to catch a few more Z's. One such morning, Bradshaw was standing above me gently stroking my hair. So I slowly open my eyes to smile at this sweet boy and AH! I see my metal brush raised high above his head ready to come crashing down on my head! That wakes you up.
• He can follow a lot of instructions like, "Put X in the garbage can" or "Go get a diaper" or "Find your binkie" or "Mommy needs a hug." Hooray for this development!
  

What We've Been Up to....

Lights at the Washington D.C. temple (with our cute friends)

Ward Christmas Party Unfortunately, Santa was not a hit:We celebrated this handsome man's birthday:
(He doesn't look very happy here, but really he had a good day.)
National Tree

Our Thanksgiving Story (as told through a potpourri of Bradshaw pictures)

Thanksgiving this year was held at my parent's house in Flower Mound, Texas. Not only were all my siblings & spouses there, but my Grandmother & Grandfather were there as well! (This is a BIG deal. My grandparents have 10 kids and 80 grandkids so you have to book them a long time in advance.)
Many of the dishes were special family recipes (the stuffing, sweet potato souffle, orange rolls, creamy blueberry jello ring and , of course, my Grandfather's mashed potatoes!)
Each person had a small pile of candy corn on his/her plate. We went around the table, and for each candy corn you said one thing you are grateful for.
After the meal, we had a turkey bowl out on the ranch. Then at night, we had a thanksgiving program (Joe slaughtered the rest of us in the Thanksgiving quiz. Smart man, my brother-in-law.)

Captain Smith & Pocahontas? Myles Standish?

Can't forget the pies! My Grandmother & Dad made more pies than there were people!

Nelson & Bradshaw set-up the Christmas train.

This picture represents our puzzle races. (I know what you're thinking. How can puzzles be fast & furious? Ohhhhh it was. Boys vs Girls. It was extremely competitive and SO FUN.)

In the 2 weeks I was there, the puppy went from a ball of fur to a real dog. So sad. I'm glad babies don't change that quickly.

These two have a very symbiotic relationship: Puppy catches everything that falls from the high chair; Bradshaw grabs fistfuls of her fur while she sits patiently; when Bradshaw is drinking a bottle she licks the drips off his chin. I went with my dad & grandparents down to the barn.Bradshaw comes from a long line of chicken-men. Note his first impression of chickens. In the midst of a busy week, we had a very special temple trip.
See the meter stick? It was intended to keep Bradshaw out of the treat drawer. Instead, he used it to open both drawers at the same time, and reach in through the side. Then we'd find trails of powdered sugar and chocolate through the house.

Early morning frost on the ranch. (Steam coming off the water.)

A coyote strutted right behind our house. There are tons of animals on the ranch (deer galore, racoons, opossums, etc.)

"I love you my family! Please come visit me!"

Note: I'm going to take a short hiatus from blogging and will be back in few weeks. =)

ICE

My parents took us to an ice sculpture exhibit. The first room had a large frozen pond with larger than life figurines and an ice bridge to cross over. There was a nativity, gingerbread house and an ice slide (Bradshaw was too short but the rest of us went on it.) Bradshaw couldn't walk in his smurf suit.

Gawg!

My parents have an 8-week old bordercollie named Ruby. She's a smart pup! She rings a bell when she needs to go outside and wipes her feet when she comes back in. Bradshaw is constantly trying to pet her (whack!whack!) but they are still good friends. Ruby helped Bradshaw take down the child gate yesterday.
More of this doggie-duo to come.

In defense of the Bluebonnet State

Some people think Texas is ugly. Not me.
I've seen 46 of the fifty-nifty and have not found a place that can compete with Texas' thunderstorms or sunsets.

14 Months: Let the Mischief Begin...

Bradshaw's gross & fine motor skills exploded last month. Some of the implications include:

• removing the "childproof" locks from our cabinets
• opening doors. He pushes the Sacrament Meeting doors open for other little kiddies to escape. Or, when I'm in the middle of dressing, he unlocks the door and leaves it wide open as he rushes out.
• opening the fridge door (and inspecting the contents....Hmm, Mom this yogurt is dangerously near it's expiration!)
• using anything and everything as a tool...including my pink tweezers. He was holding them when I put him in his high chair for lunch and, immediately, they became chopsticks. He stoically & meticulously picked up every crumb and was smacking his lips in satisfaction. (FunNy!) Anyway, Mom & Pop got the picture and he now eats every meal with a fork.
• scribbling (Look at how he is holding it! Just like an adult. He adjusts the pen until it's just right.)
• trying to put on his own shoes & socks (Unlike his parents who trudge though snow in flip-flops to avoid "foot suffocation," Bradshaw loves wearing socks.)

Some other funnies:

• Kissing girls at church
• Interpreting emotions. (I said "Brrr" and shivered. Bradshaw immediately stuffed his pacifier in my mouth and hugged me.)
• Growling back at Dustinn

(Bradshaw's Great Great Grandma Orpha made this sweater.)