A Monkey in a Tree

This little monkey loves climbing palm trees!!  He also loves swimming in the swimming pools and the ocean (with Mama or Daddy holding him, of course).  We had such a whirlwind of a month in February.

It all began with my beautiful niece getting married to her handsome groom and Bradyn was one of the charming ringbearers.  He was rather precious, interrupting the ceremony to yell out to Grandma and blowing her a kiss, I think everyone's heart melted.  Then he proceeded to stomp on the petals that the sweet flower girls had placed so gently on the ground.  His fellow ringbearer, and partner in crime, Jo, tried to get him to move back beside him instead of standing BETWEEN the bride and groom, (yes... I was panicking the whole time).  Bradyn would have nothing to do with it though and continued to ignore Jo.  Thankfully he managed to walk down the aisle without losing the rings.  And I guess it doesn't matter what you do when you look this handsome....

Our weekend continued to get even better with the big SUPERBOWL win from our very own GREEN BAY PACKERS!  We have definitely been relishing it.  Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of us during the game, as I was a little out of it from being sick. 

There was no time for laying around being sick because the very next day after the Superbowl we got on an airplane and flew to the beautiful Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.  We met our friends Tom and Marissa there.  It was absolutely heavenly.

  Bradyn loved the water, but I think he may have loved Tom and Marissa more.  He definitely charmed Marissa winning her over.  Her favorite quote of the vacation was when Bradyn said to her "Excuse me, Marissa, you have to try this donut.  It is so delicious".  

 

People got around using golf carts and whenever B saw one, he would make Tom get in and ride with him and they would "golf".  According to Bradyn, his shots landed on the green and poor Tom's shots always ended up in the bushes. 

We truly relaxed and enjoyed ourselves, lounging around everyday with nothing to do but eat and drink and soak up the rays. 

We are already looking forward to returning next year, Bradyn has decided that he is going to pet the dolphins that we saw at Ocean World.

Rudolph of the Reindeer...

Bradyn has been cracking me up lately, so I needed to post some of these funny things so I don't forget them!

First off, this morning I went to get Bradyn out of bed and he says, "Mama, I want to play while you workout".  Upon first reading this, you may be thinking...what's so funny about that...Well, first of all, I NEVER workout!  Second of all, the first time and LAST time that Bradyn played while I worked out was probably last year on New Years Day when I made a resolution to lose weight.  So...does this mean it's time for me to make another resolution if my 3 year old son is telling me it's time to workout!  Ugh!  I guess I've had too many holiday treats.

Another funny conversation we had yesterday...
Mama:  Let's go potty Bradyn.
Bradyn:  I only need to go pee, my poop is sleeping.
5 minutes later after going pee, washing, and drying hands..
Bradyn:  Mama, my poop is awake now.
Back to the bathroom...

A conversation with Grandma Taresh (who, by the way, knows my cat that I've had for at least 13 or 14 years)
Bradyn:  This is my cat.  Her name is Nee Nee
Bradyn (while petting her):  She is getting old...she pees a lot.

And finally, Bradyn's rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed-Reindeer:
      "You know Dasher and Dancer and Answer and Woodson
        (wait...Woodson?  Doesn't Woodson  play football for 
         the Green Bay Packers?)
       But you call the most famous reindeer all
       Rudolph OF the Reindeer had a very shiny nose, Mama
       you sing it"...

Christmas Has Begun...

We are spending Christmas in Wisconsin this year with Grandma and Grandpa Lee and we are preparing for our trip (Bradyn told me he needs to start packing - even though we aren't leaving for several days).  Because we will be gone, we decided that he could open his presents from Grams and Gramps Taresh now.  Grams Taresh came down for the weekend and we started the Christmas festivities.  We made sugar cookies...

Well...Mama and Grams made sugar cookies and Bradyn made "balls" for throwing in the air and what was supposed to be "Pizza Pie" that Bradyn kept calling "Bake a Pie". 
Then we opened presents...

 Go Badgers!

And had to immediately play with them (Bradyn's new "shaving" kit).  Bradyn had fun with Grams and cousin Hillari and couldn't quite understand why they had to go.  At least he has his "Rescue Pack" to keep him busy until the next round of gifts!

2 Years...

In October, we celebrated our Gotcha Day!  Two years ago three lives were forever changed, we became a family.  Each of us has grown in so many ways that would not have been possible without the others.  If you have ever met Bradyn, you now how infectious his spirit is.  It is not possible to look at him without becoming drawn to him; family, friend, or stranger...people fall in love with him.  Mike and I are the blessed ones to be able to call him our son.  Mike and Bradyn share a special bond that is impenetrable...it's almost as if they speak their own language and they most definitely share lots of giggles and laughs.  Bradyn has become just like Mike...just the other day Bradyn said, "Hey Pop, this is how you walk".  Then he proceeded to show Mike how he walked...they were identical!  Bradyn looks up to Mike and idolizes him and Mike loves and adores Bradyn beyond words.  Bradyn and I share our special bond as well and any concerns of attachment have been laid to rest for a long time now.  Despite the fact that he is 3 years old wearing 5T clothing, he is still and will always be my precious baby.  He knows how to melt my heart!  I don't think any of us could imagine our lives without the others and for that we are so very grateful. 

Where did Fall go?

I don't claim to be the best blogger, by any means, but I can't believe that fall is almost over and I haven't blogged once!  I guess it's because we have been so busy, but I also think it is because I've been enjoying the fall so much that I haven't taken time to blog.  Since we last left off...papa hiked the beautiful Tetons with his friends.  This was the first time he has been away from Bradyn for more than 2 nights in a row.

We missed Papa and were glad of his safe return, especially after hearing how close those bears came to him!
Once he got home, we all had to venture into the Utah mountains in search of snow....

 And we found some...

 Bradyn's first time on a ski lift...

We also enjoyed our time at the Pumpkin Patch this year.  Bradyn petted the farm animals, played on the slides and even sat on a toy bull (much to mama's chagrin).

 

Then it was time to carve the pumpkins.  Bradyn likes to call the insides "ooey gooey".  He didn't like to touch the ooey gooey at all and mama and papa had to scoop it out.  Then I picked him up from daycare one day and they were carving pumpkins.  Bradyn had his hands elbow deep in the pumpkin pulling out all the ooey gooey by himself!  

 

Bradyn has been obsessed with spiders this Halloween season.  A kind of love-hate relationship.  So, we decided to make spider treats.  He loved making them and eating the marshmallows, but then when it was time to eat the spiders, he wanted nothing to do with them.  

 

 Bradyn enjoyed dressing up for Halloween.  Every time you asked him what he was going to be, he would tell you something different.  We finally settled on SuperWhy (his favorite) for his school daycare and his old school carnival.  Then we settled AGAIN on Dash from the Incredibles for Halloween.  He had a blast at his cousins' Halloween party and then he went trick-or-treating for his first time.  Not only did he say trick-or-treat, but he charmed everyone by flashing that big smile and saying Happy Halloween as he left.  

We can't forget about the most important thing of the fall season...football!  Bradyn has been practicing his tuck and rolls when he gets tackled, throwing the football consistently at the lamp, and kicking off.  Not a football game goes by without Bradyn having to act out all the plays.  He even tells us which team he is and then we have to cheer for that team.  But he remains ever faithful to the Packers. 

The other exciting thing about fall season...getting ready for snow!!  We visited two ski swaps this year and Bradyn is all ready for skiing.  Bring on the snow!

Captain Adorable!

Leaping from tall buildings (couches) in a single bound, lifting heavy buildings (tents) with no effort, flying (running) faster than the speed of sound, melting peoples hearts with a smile full of dimples..is it a bird?  a plane?  no....it's CAPTAIN ADORABLE!

These are Bradyn's new FAVORITE pajamas!! 

A Birthday Blast!

We had a Toy Story 3 Water Birthday Bash for Bradyn!  He really enjoyed his birthday party this year!  From running through the rocket sprinkler...

 

To slippin' and slidin'...

 

Having a water gun fight...

To falling in the pool from excitement and exhaustion...

Fun opening presents...

 Enduring the birthday song...

 And finally enjoying the cake....

 Happy 3rd Birthday Bradyn!  You are our pride and joy!

Golfing with Papa for Father's Day

Bradyn's first golf outing. 

Putting on the green.

Sinking his putt.

 Bradyn had a great day celebrating his Papa!  He started the day by making Papa breakfast...well, he tried to help, but got distracted and Mama had to finish.  Then he gave Papa his presents (which he had already told Papa what they were 3 days ago).  He "helped" papa screw some screws with the power drill.  Then it was off to golf.  He had a blast, he is quite a good little golfer! 
   I'm always in awe at the relationship these two have.  Bradyn adores Mike and vice versa.  They definitely have something special and sometimes they are in their own little "Bradyn and Papa" world laughing about some silly thing!  Bradyn doesn't need a "designated day" to let Papa know that he loves him....he lets him know that everyday. 

2 Years Ago...

It is hard to believe that it was 2 years ago today when we first met this precious soul!!  It seems like he has been in our lives forever!  I can still remember sitting in the director's office waiting with anticipation and excitement to see his sweet face.  We had spent countless hours staring at his pictures, knowing this was our child.  Then we finally got to meet him and every moment together confirmed that he truly was meant to be in our family. 

Big Boy Bed

Well, it was time for us to change the crib into a toddler bed, mainly because I am not strong enough to lift our big guy into his crib, but also because he was ready.  The excitement began on Monday when we started talking about it and we made small changes to the room.  We added a cute lamp that he loves to turn on and off and on and off and so on...  Slowly each day we moved the furniture around and then Friday night was the big night!  Bradyn kept saying "I'm so esscited!"  He even "helped" Papa change the screws (as well as grabbing the wood with a pair of pliers...uh, that part was not so helpful).  Once the change was made we "practiced" when to get out of bed.  Then the big moment came...going to bed.  He truly was SOOOO  "esscited".  Mama and Papa were a little concerned that it may be a long night with him getting in and out of the bed.  But Bradyn shocked us, as always!  He stayed in his big boy bed until we went and got him up this morning!!  Naptime was as equally easy, Bradyn stayed in bed the whole time!  I wonder how long this will last?

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Yes, Easter is over but Bradyn loves this song!   He sings it when going to sleep, when he wakes up, and throughout the day.  Our favorite part is when he says "hoppin down the bunny chwail".  When we ask him what songs he sang at daycare, he inevitably says....Peter Cottontail.  I guess the thrill of Easter can last a little longer, especially since Bradyn still talks about Frankenstein, even though Halloween is long past!
We had a lot of fun this Easter.  It began with the Easter Bunny visiting Bradyn's daycare.  Reports indicate that the door opened and all the toddlers in Bradyn's class ran towards the Easter Bunny...except for Bradyn, he ran the other direction and started filling his Easter basket with goodies!  He collected so many goodies, that his teacher had to divide them up with the other kids. 

We celebrated Easter at Grandma and Grandpa Taresh's house.  Bradyn said that the Easter Bunny brings money...what?  How does he even know what money is?   Well, he was right the easter eggs were filled with lots of coins!  Bradyn loved looking for the eggs, but in true Bradyn form, he was really excited to find a basketball that was laying in the yard...and better still...Grandpa's riding lawn mower!