Much better...

We took Brody to see Santa this past Saturday. I wasn't sure what the outcome would be since last year he screamed and when we took him to see the Easter Bunny, he screamed. I would've never expected that he'd do as well as he did though! There was a long line as you can imagine on a Saturday afternoon! He was so excited the whole time and when it was his turn to go see the "big guy" my big guy marched right up and jumped on Santa's lap!!! They were snuggling and whispering like they were old buddies, it was so cute!! Brody even gave Santa his famous wish list...a football and Spiderman. I was so proud of him but it was yet another reminder that my baby is growing up! :(

This and that...

We've been super busy all month. Between anniversaries, weddings, birthdays and now Thanksgiving, we have had something going on every weekend! This week we have had our share of birthdays! Starting with my cousin on the 17th, my sister in law, Rosemary on the 18th, my Grandma on the 19th, another cousin on the 20th, my niece Marielle on the 21st and now mine today, I think it's safe to say I don't want to see another piece of cake for a while!!! ;)

So this year I decided not to take Brody to have his Christmas pictures taken. I thought I'd save a little money and just take some myself and I'm pretty happy with the turnout. We took him outside yesterday and just let him play around in the backyard since it was actually nice out. I took a ton of pictures so here is a sneak peak of them! I didn't post the actual shot I used for our Christmas card so, you'll all be surprised when you get it! Needless to say, I had a super hard time choosing which to use!

I'll leave you with one of the many hysterical comments that come out of this little monkey's mouth!

We were going to my Grandma's to celebrate her birthday and I put a cute coat and a little knit pumpkin hat on him. I told him he looked so cute and Brandon said the same, Brody looked at his Dad and said dead serious, "Daddy, my look 'diculous" Yep, my two year old said that he looked ridiculous! Ugh, I certainly have my hands full with this one!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We have so much to be thankful for this year! :)

Madeline and Dan's Wedding

This past Saturday, my best friend got married and Brandon, Brody and I were all in the wedding! They could not have had a more perfect day! Brody did pretty well walking down the aisle, although, he walked with me instead of Hannah which ended up being OK. He held my hand and marched down like an old pro, smiling at the guests in the pews and looking handsome as can be! Here are a few pictures from the big day.

Here is the happy couple after they got hitched, probably both breathing a sigh of relief that it was finally over and now it was time to party!




And the happy family striking a pose during the photo session at Blue Spruce Park. I got a peek of the proofs from their professional photographer, who just so happens to be the same photographer we had. They are all gorgeous!!

Finally a few of my favorites of Brody from the day. During photos this little dude got restless and wanted to run and play in the leaves and the dirt and the rocks and get in the pictures of just the bride and groom! We obviously wouldn't let him so he went into this gazebo and pouted for a little while, which clearly was an awesome photo op for me!

(I was playing around with this picture with Picasa)

Dan and Madeline, we are so happy for you and were so honored to be apart of of your special day! May you have a lifetime of happy endings! ;)

Blah...

My back hurts, I have a sinus infection, I'm tired and have pretty much been a single parent for the past 5 weeks with Brandon working out of town. I feel like Rudy looks in this picture! At least Brandon is home for a nightly visit so I think I'll take a nice long bath!

About the photo-Brody was napping in his new big boy room (pictures to come) and I walked in to see both cats sleeping next to him on his bed. I went to grab my camera and noticed Rudy's face. Haha...he sat like this for a good 20 minutes!

Yo Gabba Gabba Live

Last Thursday we went to Pittsburgh to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live. It was fantastic! I used to say if they ever did a live show I didn't care what the cost, we were taking Brod. We decided to get VIP tickets because you were guaranteed good seats and you got a Meet and Greet with the characters, among other things, after the show. Boy, were we glad we did! Our seats were mid stage two rows back and the Meet and Greet was priceless! I kept saying that Brody waited his whole life for this and then I thought about it and he literally has!!!

Like father, like son?

For the past 6 weeks, Brandon has taken Brody to swim class at the YMCA. We have been waiting for a time where Brandon would be able to take him so that they would be able do this together. Last summer we were planning on putting him into the Water Babies class but then the whole accident thing happened so we had to wait. He was too old (by 2 months) to be in that class this year so he had to be in with all of the big kids.

He was the youngest in his class, which was an hour long every Saturday morning. It started off pretty rough and Brandon was about to throw in the towel by the end of his second class. Brody cried and attacked Brandon the entire class! At the end of the class the head of the swim department came over and gave Brody detention, if you will. She made him stay after class, told him to stop crying and made him do everything they learned that day! He did it without crying and from then on things got better!

I didn't go to any classes for fear that he would cry for me the whole time. This past Saturday was their last class so I decided to go. It was so sweet to see the two of them bond in the pool and I know Brandon loved every second of it!

I hope Brody ends up like his dad (and uncles) and becomes a swimmer, but for now I think we'll just be happy that he doesn't scream every time he gets in the pool! (haha)

Here he is with his report card after class...I should have taken a picture of Brandon with it! Maybe I'll make Bran his own report card, I think he deserves an A+!

"Twinkle Twinkle"

Thought I'd share another song.

Buddies

Brody's love for Yo Gabba Gabba has somewhat fizzled and now he has a new obsession, Toy Story! I think he's watched both of the Toy Story DVDs a thousand times and in June we took him to the movie theater for the first time to see Toy Story 3, which Brandon and I also enjoyed (I even cried!). I'm pretty sure he owns just about every Toy Story toy and loves each and every one of them. We can't go anywhere without taking Buzz or Woody, Jesse or Bullseye, Rex or Hamm...or all of the above!

He calls them his "buddies".

Movie buff

As of late, Brody has become quite the movie/t.v. fanatic. Along with his "oovie" he always wants popcorn of course! So every night he plops on the floor, in front of the t.v., in his Elmo chair and daddy makes him popcorn, in his own little popcorn bucket!

White butt

My friend Anne came home this past weekend with her new baby. She had a nice picnic yesterday at her uncle's house because he has a nice big pool that the kids and adults could all enjoy. When it was time to go home I got Brody out of the pool and out of his wet clothes so, his little white bare bum was on display. Anne laughed and said "aww look at his little white butt!" Brody, apparently, didn't find it very funny because he turned and pointed his finger at her and very sternly said "no more look at butt...one time, that's IT!!!" Needless to say, Anne's jaw about hit the ground and we all laughed our white butt's off!

The other side

There is another side to my rambunctious little boy. He is the sweetest, most loving and caring little guy. He loves to snuggle and gives hugs and kisses all the time and I hear "I love you too, Mommy" a hundred times a day (which totally melts my heart everytime). Last night I went up to take a shower and came down in a new nightgown (nothing special just a nightgown.) Brody was running around like a wild man but when he saw me he stopped dead in his tracks and said "mommy, beautiful!" and came over and gave me the best hug! What a lovebug!

ALL BOY!

Pirates, dinosaurs and superheros...

Running, jumping, fighting...

"Arghhh"ing, "roar"ing, "boom"ing and "pow"ing!

Just some of the things this boy is into these days!

So long "gink"!

Ok so I'm a little behind with this one but, figured I better share the story with those of you who haven't heard it yet! By the time Brody was a year old I had him off the bottle and his binky. Well, after the accident we kind of went backwards with him and put him back on both, it was totally necessary then! He always took a binky but was never really attached to it but, after we gave it back to him he loved it!!!! He lovingly called it his "gink". It was a must have at all nap and bed times and even when he got upset.

I dreaded the day that we had to get rid of it! So as his second birthday slowly approached I started getting anxious at the mere thought of taking it away from him! We were going to make him throw it in the garbage since he has a thing about throwing things away (including his toys) but, I had a better idea! Since we had talked about going to Disney while we were in Florida I figured we'd take advantage of the characters that Brody has become so infatuated with and find one to give his "gink" to! For about 2 weeks before our trip we'd been telling him that since he was a big boy now he was going to give his "gink" away and we'd ask him who he was going to give it to and he said someone new every time..."Mickey", "Donoold", "Puto", "Goofy"!

Once we got there we waited for the perfect time to get rid of it and with some hesitation from both me and Brandon (and my mom) we finally had the opportunity that we'd been waiting for! While standing in line for Pirates of the Caribbean we spotted Goofy and ran over, "gink" and Brody in hand! We gave Brody his "gink" one last time and told him to give it to Goofy. Surprisingly, he handed it right over, I think he was a little overwhelmed because this was the first character he had actually seen up close! It was very bitter sweet for me and tears swelled up in my eyes, my baby was losing a part of his baby-ness and I wondered if I should really go through with it or not! After the "exchange" was made and pictures were taken we walked away and congratulated Brody on being such a big boy! We told him that Goofy was going to share his "gink" with a new baby and it all worked out because a couple weeks later my friend Anne had a beautiful baby girl named Morgan! So now when asked who he gave his "gink" to he says "Goofy, baby Morgan!" with a huge smile on his face! Too cute!

So, overall it was a really great experience and I recommend it to all mommy's who are struggling with ideas on how to get rid of their child's binky or bottle! I, too, have finally gotten over it, I think...although, I don't think you ever get over your baby growing up. And on that note, he pooped on the potty this morning!!

This kid's got rhythm

Again, sorry for the quality, this is another cell phone video and my old cell to boot. Thank God I had any camera available for this moment because it is priceless! I still laugh so hard I cry when I watch it! See for yourself and just FYI, he was only 17 months old here...

Brody singing ABCs

First off, I apologize for the quality of this video, it was taken on my cell phone!

This is one of the sweetest things I have been able to film of Brody since he was a baby! Every time I get the camera or cell phone out now to record him doing cute things he stops, of course... toddlers! My favorite part is "H, I, J, K, apple, P!" Also, you might notice at the end that he had an audience, his Toy Story toys (new obsession). He's so stinkin' funny! (and cute I might add!) ;)

The 4th on the "beach"

We had a very nice 4th of July weekend. My parents had a little picnic on Sunday. It was full of patriotic songs, red, white and blue attire, drinking, dancing and "ducks", hahahaha!!!

My cousin Alyssa and Brody have always had a special bond really ever since I was pregnant with him! I remember a time right around the time I started feeling his little kicks and Alyssa went up to my belly and said "hi Brody, I'm your favorite cousin Alyssa!" He started kicking like crazy and she got to feel it! It was so cute (although I think it kinda creeped Lyss out a bit at first, haha!) So when he was born they connected almost immediately! She loves him and he just adores her! That's his "Yiss".







This is Alyssa's big sister Steph, I love this picture! I think it's so sweet the bonds that are being made between Brody and my two cousins. Both Steph and Lyss have spent tons of time with Brandon and I growing up and we loved every second of it. Now they are growing up which makes me sad but at the same time it's nice to see Brody spend time with them now like they did with us for so many years!

Family picture time, but who can resist that background!!!

We love the "beach"! There's always something to entertain Brody there and everybody really!

Happy Independence Day!!!

Those summer nights...

We are thoroughly enjoying this summer so far, especially the evenings. I love summer nights because all of the normal schedules are kind of thrown out the window like bathtime, bedtime and even dinner time! Everyone just moves at their own pace! So this is what we've been doing in place of the "norm"...

We've taken in a baseball game or two,

our meals have been fresh, grilled and yummy, almost every night!

we've enjoyed a few bonfires on the beach! (or my parent's house, ha!)




This summer we got season passes to the community pool and they have a couple night swims a month, so we take full advantage!

(notice the filth on my son's face and shirt, haha!!)

And last, but certainly not least, a favorite pastime of mine and others here in Pennsylvania...catching lightning bugs!!! I think it is going to be one of Brody's too because every morning when he wakes up he points to his little bug cage and says "fireflies?!" He doesn't get this too is a nighttime activity!


Hope you are all enjoying your summer nights as much as we are!

"Happier" birthday Brandon!!!

Last year Brandon's birthday was not a happy one, to say the least! This year we are determined to make it as happy as possible! And so far so good! Happy birthday Brandon, we love you so much! 32!!!! Woo.... ;)

One year ago...

One year ago I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off wondering if my beautiful son would ever be the same. One year ago we didn't know how or if we would ever be able to get over this. One year ago, if you asked me to think ahead one year and describe what I thought Brody would look like, I would've never described this gorgeous little man in this picture! One year ago I prayed that God would heal my precious baby and we are so grateful that He has!
:)

Day at the Museum

Today was sort of a yucky day so, Brandon and I decided to take Brod to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Lately, Brody has been really into dinosaurs so we thought he would really enjoy it there! We were right! Not only did he enjoy it but, Brandon and I did too! Here are some pictures of our day, excuse the quality they were all taken on our cell phones!

He really wanted to get into the giraffe exhibit, I think he wanted to bring one home for his cousin, Marielle! ;)

And the dinosaurs...we were all in amazement of the size of these things! Even though Brandon and I have both seen this all before, it's one of those things you never quite get used to seeing!
I kept imagining them coming to life at night like in that movie, whoo that would be scary!!!

My personal favorite, Stegosaurus.



They have a little bone digging thing for kids where they get to wear goggles and use special tools to uncover dinosaur bones. Brandon and Brody both enjoyed this little activity!!!





My little bone diggers hard at play!! Such a fun day!!

Another beautiful day...

Today Brandon and I are celebrating our 4th anniversary! I know 4 years already, it's crazy!! We have had many ups and downs in these past 4 years, mostly ups! We celebrated our 2nd annivesary with the birth of our son so our anniversary has kind of been brushed under the rug ever since, which is fine with me because Brody is the by far the best gift Brandon has ever given to me and what better way to celebrate your marriage!! We had perfect weather the day we were married and today was another beautiful day. Here's to many many more beautiful days, Bran! Love you lots!

Two!

Two years ago today at 10:29 a.m. my sweet baby boy was born. I can't believe it's been two years!!! I have loved every single second of these two years with him (well with exception of a few maybe)! He is really something, what a personality!

Brody is all boy, he loves Yo Gabba Gabba, he can spell his name, count to ten and say his ABC's. He loves people and has no fear what so ever! He makes me laugh at least 100 times a day and sometimes he makes me want to pull my hair out too. But mostly he makes me feel so lucky and so loved!!

Happy birthday bug, I am so blessed to be your Mommy!!! Love you tons!!!!

Tracy's Troopers

Over the weekend we participated in our first Relay for Life. I decided last minute to start a team for my mom and I'm so glad that I did!! The theme for this year's relay was sports so of course we did a hockey/Pens theme. "Put cancer on ice." We had the best t-shirts made and every person who came and walked for us got one. The weather was amazing and so were the people! I cannot express how grateful I am to those of you who not only donated but came to support our team and this cause! I am proud to say that we were able to raise $4,070 in the short time we had to raise money. What better way to honor my mom and all of those who have lost their battle and are still battling this awful disease! I am already looking forward to next year!!!

Skater boy

Brody got a pair of roller blades for Easter and so we tried them out for the first time the other day! He was so excited!

We bought him a Cars helmet and knee pads and he loves them!

And he's off! The skates have different levels so of course he was just on beginner which just allows him to walk in them. He did a really good job!

Cheesin' for a picture but this was pretty much the look on his face the whole time! Next up...ice skates!!! :)