Christmas

We had another fantastic Christmas with Brady- each one gets better and better!  This year he understood more of what was going on, and he was very excited to get to spend some quality time with family.

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dustin, and Uncle Daniel traveled in to kick off Christmas on the 23rd.  They came bearing gifts, cookies, and lots of food!  On Christmas Eve morning, we went to visit two of Brady's favorite places: the car wash and Target.  Ok, so Target isn't really a favorite, but he sure does like their popcorn!  That evening, Uncle Mark joined us for a really yummy dinner.  And we got a special surprise- an unexpected white Christmas!

Christmas morning was a blast, but Brady continued his trend of being painfully slow at opening gifts!  I moved him along as best I could, but it was quite a challenge to get him to give up one toy to open another.  But he had a great time and loves having some new toys to play with and books to read.

The following morning Brady was surprised to see that Nana, Pop Pop, and Aunt Casey had arrived during the night.  Christmas, Round 2 was ready to begin, complete with more snow!

Brady suits up at Sam's 4th birthday party

He even got to shoot a fire hose!

Bundled up and ready to see his first snow in two winters





Brady was super excited to help Daddy build a snowman

Frosty even got a hug!





There's still room for both of us in this chair... barely!

We let Brady choose one gift to open on Christmas Eve night

A backhoe loader!

Christmas morning- Santa brought a firehouse/police station

And a trampoline

Bouncy bouncy bouncy!





On the 27th we drove through a light display at a regional park. Brady loved it!

38 weeks and feeling as big as a house. Perhaps with good reason- ultrasound this week estimated the baby's weight at 9 lbs!

Ho ho ho!

Christmas season is in full-swing around here, and Brady is really getting into it this year!  Remember that cute picture of Brady sleeping with the Christmas tree?  Well it didn't leave his bed- that thing got mashed up and pieces ripped off of it.  He demanded it as part of his bedtime entourage (2 blankies, sheep, and 3 pillows).  Well, I finally had to hide it while he was at school one day- he woke up with a big scratch on his face from snuggling up to a wire and plastic tree.  So if anyone sees a soft, cuddly tree (or Santa), please pick one up for us!

Brady and I created quite possibly the ugliest (and least structurally sound) gingerbread house of all time.  But he had fun, and he loves looking at his "red house."  Next year I'll glue that sucker together first- to heck with the icing!

We also went to the town's Christmas parade with our buddies Suzy and Allie.  Even though it's hard to tell from Mr. Serious' pictures, he really had a good time.  I'd say his favorites were the marching band and ambulance.  Oh, and every truck that came through.  Much more interesting than the floats, evidently.

That night Brady got to see Santa ride by our house on the fire truck.  No pictures- I wasn't home, so it was just the boys.  Sounds like Brady had a fun time seeing the truck and it's police car escort making the rounds.

And finally, we took Brady to the fire department to see Santa.  This was the best Santa experience we've had yet (again, you can't tell it from the picture).  He really loved seeing Santa surrounded by fire trucks and equipment.  So much nicer than waiting in line at the mall!

This morning when I asked Brady what he wanted to watch on tv (while I change his diaper and get him dressed for school), he asked for Santa.  I guess I'd better find some Santa cartoons to put on the DVR!

This looks sweet, but really he is about to start ripping ornaments off the tree

The gingerbread house started off nicely...

until Brady decided it would be more fun to scrape the icing off the roof

This is fun!

Now candy sticks to me, too!

The parade watchers having a little snack

Goldfish always taste better from a friend

Here we go!

Putting on his most handsome picture face

Santa pic, 2012 edition from the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Co.

Brady gives his best "ho ho ho!"

Now which one should I pull off first?