Daddy's boots

Well, I wandered into the kitchen one day to see what Dylan was up to and he had stepped into his Daddy's boots. I thought, what a Kodak moment, so here are the pics. I thought it was too cute. It's just hard to imagine that he will probably fit into those someday.

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone. We used a fun website to make elves out of ourselves and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Click on the link to enjoy our dancing.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1316166386

And the Brady's make 4!!!

For those of you who may not know yet. We are expecting another baby!!! Dylan is going to be a big brother. I am 11 weeks along tomorrow, and my due date is July 2. So, I guess we'll see whether we'll make it to any 4th of July festivities next year. We're really excited and can't wait to see if we're having a boy or a girl. I'll be happy either way. Dylan keeps saying he's having a sister though. We'll have to wait and see. We won't find out for another couple months. We told the grandparents by having Dylan wear a onesie with the words "I'm a big brother" on it. Some of the grandparents caught on a little quicker than others.

Tis the Season

Hi everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent time with my parents and my family, then went over to Terry's Mom's and spent time there too. Needless to say we had plenty to eat, and Dylan had a lot of fun. I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving and faced all of the other crazy people at 4 in the morning. But, I got so many great deals and most of my Christmas shopping was done in one day, which is a wonderful feeling. We put up our tree on Saturday, which Dylan particularly enjoyed when he spotted my Santa hat. He wore it all over the house. Enjoy the pics.














For some reason, Dylan wanted his shirt off, so here he is as shirtless Santa.



At Grandma and Grandpa MacLaren's, "Papa Mac" let Dylan climb up the step ladder and jump off into his arms. He sure is trusting.

Santa

Dylan got his picture taken with Santa tonight. We were so sure that he would be terrified to sit on his lap, but he remembered getting a candy cane from Santa the last time he met him, and he was excited to see Santa again.

Every time that Santa talked to him, Dylan was listening with a smile on his face. Of course it helped that Santa already gave him a candy cane. I think he was waiting for more. That's my boy.

Christmas List

Here it is for those who have been asking: a Christmas wish list for Dylan and I. Terry is still working on his list, so we will get that to you when he is done. I have made a wish list on Amazon.com, and it allows you to check off when you have bought something so that it doesn't get bought by someone else - kind of like a registry. Don't worry, now that the list is done, I will not check it again, so I won't know what was bought. It would be like ruining the surprise.

Here is how to get to the list: On the right side of this blog, click on the Amazon wish list link. Then click on the Amazon logo on that page. Find wish lists and enter my email (bradykendra@aim.com) and you will find our wish list. It's that easy. If you want to order from amazon, there is free shipping on orders over $25.00. If you want to go shopping the old fashioned way, the list is mainly just ideas of what I or Dylan would like and they are mostly available in Target or Walmart, or just get whatever you want.

Sorry Dylan's and my list are together, I had to make it with my email address, so there is only one list. But, you should be able to tell what is for me and what is for Dylan. For instance, I am not longing to get a Seseme Street remote this year. :) I hope this is helpful for those of you wanting ideas. I can't wait for Christmas!

Baby it's cold outside

When we had the first snowfall this week, I took Dylan and all of the kids outside to play. It wasn't enough to stick to the ground, but still exciting enough to try to catch the snowflakes in their mouths. I put Dylan in a snowsuit I bought for him last year and it turned out to still be a little big on him, as you can see from the pictures.

He was not in the mood to say "cheese"

We're still here

Sorry it's been awhile. I promise to keep up with this more. My friend Staci gave me some books to read and I was so busy reading I didn't even check my email for about a week. Dylan has been keeping us really busy lately. He is talking so well, copying everything we say. It seems like in the last few weeks he has really started to talk even more. He's even talking in little sentences. Is it too soon to call him a genius? He can also sing the ABCs with us - at least the end of every phrase. He's so smart. He loves to dance too. Anytime he hears music, he starts head banging. Click on the links below to view some of Dylan in action.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4127502324375763688&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1952070936068772055

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. I throw a big Halloween party for my daycare kids and some children of my friends and family. Dylan loves spending time with all of the other kids, even though he is intimidated by the large crowd. We have a big pinata, and decorate pumpkins. It is a great time, but keeps me very busy as you can imagine. Dylan dressed up like a pirate this year, and he was so cute. He loved wearing his hat, but didn't want to carry his pirate sword around, unless he was pretending it was a baseball bat. He got to wear his costume three times, since we had another party last weekend, and he went up to Grandpa Brady's on Halloween night. He amazingly never got it dirty, but now it's put away, only to be pulled out for times of dress-up. Here are some pictures of the cutest pirate in the world.




Dylan and Daddy outside while the party was just starting.














Aunt Whitney, Uncle Ben, and Dylan having fun.

Mommy helping Dylan use markers for the first time. Dylan's tongue always sticks out when he's concentrating.

It's been awhile...

Sorry to those of you who check this often (Staci), I've been very bad about updating my blog. But, I will be much better, I promise. I don't have any pictures today, but those will be coming soon when I get pics of Dylan in his Halloween costume. He's going to be the cutest pirate. We've been really busy with church small groups, and softball, but some of those are coming to a close. Terry's softball team just took second place in their Ross Park division on Monday night. The season went on and on because of rain delays and playoffs. Even Terry was ready for it to be over. I think he just wants to use his Monday nights for hunting. He hasn't had as many opportunities as he likes to hunt this fall, so I'm sure he will be going out a lot more now. They don't call me a "hunting widow" for nothing. It's more like single mom in the fall, but I'm glad Terry has fun, and I'm sure he'll be bringing Dylan along when he gets old enough. Then I'll get to have some "me" time. I can't really remember what that's like. Dylan has been teething lately, so he had a fever on and off all weekend. But, he's such a trouper. Even a fever doesn't slow him down, or stop him from trying to get us to laugh. He is so silly. Grandma and Grandpa (Papa Mac as Dylan calls him) got to spend the weekend with him while we spent time with Wendy and Tim, and they said he was so well behaved. I guess it's true, kids are much better for other people than their own parents. He's actually a really good boy, minus the fits he throws for us when things don't go his way. Well, I hope you are all having a great week, enjoying the cooler weather and taking in some fall activities. We have some Halloween parties this weekend, so I'll update you with pictures after.

Pumpkin Rollin'

We had a great time at the Whitehall Pumpkin Roll festival this past weekend. Wendy went with Dylan and I and Dylan got to race his pumpkin from the top of a hill with a group of kids ages 0-3. Unfortunately, Dylan was a bit timid and didn't push his pumpkin very hard, so his came in dead last. Wendy, Dylan, and I were the last ones chasing our pumpkin down the hill while the next group of kids had to wait for this slow pumpkin to reach the bottom. But, Dylan had so much fun chasing it. He also loved seeing his Uncle Ben, Aunt Whitney, and Grandpa Brady, who all met us at the festival.




Dylan and I are waiting at the top of the hill with all of the kids to get our chance at gold.












Dylan didn't want me to put him on the ground. He was a little intimidated by the crowd.

Ready...Set...Roll!












After the big defeat, we had fun getting snacks with friends and family, and Dylan loved being held by Aunt Whitney.

My precious little stinker

Hi friends and loved ones. We are having a fun week housesitting Lily. Dylan is especially loving having her around. We are all going to miss her when she goes home on Saturday. She has been keeping our lovable dog, Cinder, busy all week too. I think Cinder may sleep for a month after Lily leaves.





Lily and Cinder are enjoying a moment of rest before they get back to playing again. Aren't they the cutest dogs in the world?










Dylan just loves to cuddle up with Lily. He goes back and forth between Lily and Cinder giving them kisses and hugs, and following them around the room to give them their doggy toys.











I caught Dylan sneaking a taste of ice cream from an empty bowl. He doesn't get much sweets, so when he discovered it, his expression was like Christmas morning. He wasn't getting much chocolate out, but somehow it still ended up all over his face.

I think he was giving me the look: "Don't you dare try to take this away from me Mommy". I didn't know my little angel could be such a little stinker.

Fun and busy weekend

Hi everyone. What a weekend! On Friday, my very best friend and cousin, Wendy Jo, married our good friend and Terry's hunting buddy, Tim. We were both honored to be a part of their wedding, and it was a beautiful ceremony. They are now in the mountains up north on their honeymoon, but we get to watch their big lovable lab puppy, Lily. Dylan and Lily loooooove each other. Lily has been giving Dylan kisses all weekend and Dylan chases her all around the house. If Wendy and Tim don't look out, they may not get her back.

On Saturday, Dylan and I went with my mom Shar, sister Krista, and brother-in-law Mark to a pumpkin patch. We went on a hayride while we were there and Dylan got to pick out his own pumpkin right off the vine to take home. It was fun to do our first fall activity as a family. We missed Terry though, who was hunting (very successfully, getting his limit of ducks in the first 15 minutes), and my dad Cecil, who was golfing. Don't worry Dad, we'll give you plenty of notice next year so you can go with us.

Here are some pictures of our fun weekend.

This is Wendy, the beautiful bride, getting her hair done at the salon for the wedding. Isn't she a vision?

Also, I performed the Thriller dance with Wendy and a bunch of her friends at the wedding reception. Think "13 Going on 30". We're not the best dancers, but we had a lot of fun. You can check it out at this website http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7440861248880663589

This is Dylan's first hayride with my mom, Krissi, and me. He kept calling the tractors a "bike", because to him, anything with wheels is a bike. Thanks Uncle Ben. Now he's going to want a motorcycle just like you.

Uncle Mark helped Dylan to pick out his pumpkin. He was very clingy and wanted Mark to hold him most of the time. I'm sure Uncle Mark didn't mind the attention though.

Welcome to our blog

Hi everyone. We want you all to stay a part of our lives and be able to keep up with what is happening in our family. We had a great summer. We got to go to Mackinac Island for a weekend, spend some time camping in Traverse City, and go to a Tigers game with our good friends, Wendy and Tim, who are getting married in a couple weeks. Yea!!! Dylan is getting so big. He's growing like a weed. His feet are two sizes bigger than they were at the beginning of the summer! I think his feet are going to be as big as his Daddy's someday. Dylan is running all over the place, keeping us so busy, and learning how to put two words together to make his own little sentences. Plus, he gets really frustrated when things don't go exactly the way he wants, so he's throws little fits. I wonder who he gets that from. I suppose it could be from his Daddy or Mommy. He is our pride and joy though. He is so happy, loves to laugh and put on a show for anyone who will watch him. I hope you guys will keep checking this blog. We want to keep in touch with all of our friends and family, especially you out-of-towners, so I will try to keep updating this as often as I can. I love you guys!







Dylan is our little future baseball player. He watches Terry play softball every week and likes to be up close to the fence to get a good look. Someday we'll be going to games to watch him, I'm sure.












Here is Dylan playing in the water on Lake Huron. When we went up to Mackinac this summer, we found a campground right on the lake, so Dylan had fun playing in the water and throwing the rocks to make them splash.












Dylan loved picking apples off of Grandpa Brady's apple tree. Mostly he loved throwing them on the ground for all of Grandpa's dogs to catch.