Fun in the Sun

Those of you who are my "friends" on Facebook may be getting irritated with the rub-your-nose-in-my-70 degree-tank-top-wearing-playing-at-the-beach-in-February status updates of late. Sorry about that. The truth is I just miss everyone back in Chicago so much, that I have to relish in the only real benefit of being 2,000 miles away.

No, that's a lie. I just loooooooooove 70 degree days in February!

Brady and his friends Leo & Lyla, monkeying around!

Check that out... sunshine!!

Don't worry... karma's a you-know-what. There's nothing but rain in the 5 day forecast. But at least it's not 21 inches of snow :)

Let's Dance!

Recently, Brady has been hosting "dance parties" with family on Skype. It started with his cousin Aubrey, who loves to booty drop to the song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. Brady gets such a kick out of watching her dance; rhythm definitely runs in the family.

I wish I had footage of Brady and Aubrey, but unfortunately, I didn't think to grab the video camera until Brady's second dance party of the day... with Grandma and Papa. It was so funny, I could barely keep the camera still. Thanks to my Mom and Dad for being such good sports; it ended up being quite the workout (and I only video'd a minute of the song!)

Beachin' it in Feb!

The weather here the last few weeks has been unbelievable! Mid 60s to mid 70s... no lie. Chicago folks keep asking if we're mad we missed "The Great Blizzard of 2011". The answer is, "not at all!"

While most of you were still trying to dig out of your driveways, this is what we were doing. Nah-nah-nah-boo-boo :)

At the beach in Half Moon Bay

With our friends, the Kalvarias, and their dog Callie

Suck, no more!

Hi there, Brady again. Mom was going to write this post, but the news is so big, I thought you should hear it from me...

I don't have my pacifier anymore!!

That's right. On Friday, Mom, Dad and I took my "P" to the doctor's office and donated it to the sick babies, because I'm a big boy and don't need it anymore. It was hard handing it over to the nurse, but the big bowl of suckers sitting on the desk made it easier. I chose an orange one, and Mom was so proud of me for not crying, that she let me eat it before dinner. After the drop off, Mom and Dad took me out to dinner and then to Target so I could pick out any toy I wanted. I picked a bulldozer, of course. Yes, another truck. But this one is really special, because it comes with a power drill that let's me take the truck apart and put it back together!

That night, I asked for my "P" right before bed, but Daddy reminded me that the new babies had it and that they were sleeping with it now, so that made me feel better (being able to keep my "bankie" helped a little too!) I think my parents were nervous that I wasn't going to be able to fall asleep without it, but I did just fine. I don't know why they get all worked up about stuff sometimes...

I heard Mom saying something on Sunday about how she wishes they would have done this months ago. I have a feeling that they'll never doubt my ability to adapt to new situations again!

Brady's first post

Hi everyone, it's Brady. Mom says now that I'm 2 I should start pulling my own weight by writing some posts on our family blog. I just have so much to say these days; she wants the rest of the world to hear what I have to say too!

So what have I been up to?!

Well, last weekend my Grandma Eatherton came to visit. We always have such a good time while she's here. I took her to this cool place called Happy Hallow, where they have rides and parks, even a few animals and a petting zoo.

Dad and I on the carousel. Don't worry, that polar bear isn't real.

These lady bugs go round and round, really fast!

Taking a break and having a snack with Grandma and Daddy

Me feeding a goat

Unfortunately, this week I caught a cold. Maybe I got it from that goat. I'm really good at sharing, so I gave it to my Mom. The coughing has been keeping me from getting good sleep, so I've been a little crabby. Mom is too :) Thankfully we're starting to feel better; it's really boring being cooped up in our house.

On Tuesday, there was a man on TV talking for a long time, so I asked Mommy, "who is that Mommy, who is that?!" She told me that it was our President, Barack Obama. I told her that I did not want to watch the President on TV anymore and she said that there were probably a lot of other people who felt the same way I did.

Last night we went to dinner at this new place I love called Armadillo Willy's (I just like saying, "armadillo". Oh, and they have tater tots.) Mom was video taping me trying to get an ice cube out of the big water cup, for some reason she thought it was hilarious. After I was done with my trick, Mommy asked me if I remembered who the President was, and I did! Daddy was really proud of me.



Today it rained off and on, so we spent most of the day in the house. It wasn't too bad though, Daddy is really good at "playing train table" and also "doing rock band". I love jamming out to Train and Genesis. Mom usually hides when we do this. Don't worry, I give the Black Eyed Peas plenty of love when we're in the car just the two of us :)

In the afternoon, the sun finally came out, so I put on my fireman rain boots and rain coat and went outside to splash in the puddles. I saw a slimy worm and a squirrel with a missing tail. The squirrel has nothing to do with the rain, I just like to talk about it...



Mommy went to look at a new preschool for me to join in the fall. She said it was a really cool place and that I would love it. This is the school where my friend Lyla is going to go. Right now I'm going to a "daycare" two full days a week, but Mommy says that I'm not being stimulated enough there, so I may be going to this new school starting in August. I told her I was ready to go tomorrow. I'm such a big boy.

Well, I hope you liked my first blog post. I'll pop in from time to time to tell you about what I'm up to, since I can do it way better than Mommy or Daddy. G'night!

Brady goes to the dentist

I was playing around with Matt's phone, videoing some of Brady's antics at dinner tonight, when I came across this picture of Brady's first visit to the dentist. We totally forgot to chronicle this milestone!


We brought him in during our regular cleanings in Dec. and he was an absolute champ in the chair. He sat on my lap and let both the hygienist and Dr. Oliva look into his mouth before proclaiming it was time to go.

Dr. Oliva said his teeth look good (the brushing is paying off!), but it appears he has a bit of a cross-bite. Meaning, his top jaw in growing faster than his bottom jaw, causing misalignment. If it doesn't correct itself over the next few years, he may need orthodontic work at age 5. Crazy! Fingers crossed that it does. For now, Brady is enjoying his new toothbush!

Now why didn't I think of that?!

I just stumbled upon the cutest thing... you know, one of those "why didn't I think of that?!" items. Instead of trying to defy gravity by propping your 2 month old baby up against a sign indicating his/her age (resulting in one of those awkward looking milestone pictures), get an adorable sticker from Sticky Bellies instead. This makes me want to have another baby just so I can do this!