Boy Oh Boy!

Most of you know that I returned to work two weeks ago, hence the quiet blog. It's been a rough couple of weeks for Brady and me (and Pete too!), but we're slowly starting to adjust to our new routine.

Brady is doing pretty well in daycare, especially considering he's used to it being just the two of us during the day in a very quiet house. He eats things at school than won't at home, and he's hardly crying at all anymore. Naps still aren't great, but I'd have trouble sleeping too if I tried to nap with six of my closest friends!

We made sure the classroom was well stocked with balls, so Brady can go to his happy place. He also enjoys books and swinging on the playground. His teachers are wonderful, caring people and I feel as comfortable as I can leaving him there. Plus they have cameras so I can watch him online anytime I'm missing him (which is more often than not, don't tell my principal)!

Speaking of work, I think I'm going to like my new school a lot. The people I work with are all really great, and I'm sure I'm going to love working with the middle school kids once they come back from summer.

Between the hectic pace that is our new lifestyle, and all the sad faces and tears these last few weeks, our picture selection is pretty sparse. I'll try and do better next week!

Brady had his 15 month check up and got 3 shots in his poor little arms.

One of his favorite play spots, until he gets taller!

Up early for his first day of school.

Off they go! Sniff, sniff.

Our three favorite Colombianos at Elena's 3rd birthday party!

Brady loved the butterfly garden. What a fun idea for a party!

We are back home from our second fabulous Florida vacation! We had about ten days in between to unpack, repack, and work on the house some more. In fact we are 98% unpacked- but we are in serious need of some things to decorate the house with (not to mention the 4 rooms sitting completely empty)! Once we get the rooms and walls filled I think it will finally start to feel like home.

Our flight to Orlando was not an easy one. We chose a departure time around 12:30 so it would coincide with Brady's nap time. His only nap of the day now, I might add. Well, we arrived at our gate to find that the flight was delayed. No problem, except no one would give us a new departure time. They would only announce a time at which the next announcement would be made. This nonsense went on until about 3:00, when they moved our gate and told us we'd depart around 3:30. Meanwhile, Brady is losing his sweet little mind. He is completely exhausted, but he's not the type of kid who can sleep when there is anything remotely interesting to look at going on around him. And he surely couldn't understand why we'd take him somewhere for hours with nothing to do but sit on our laps and in his stroller. I finally put him down on the floor near the end, only to have him crawl over to a piece of food? dirt? and eat it. Luckily I saw the opened safety pin before he ate that too. It's like a Halloween nightmare at Dulles airport.

Anyway, we finally got on the plane, and Brady was angry that he was forced to sit on our laps again in an even smaller space! We arrived at his bedtime, and did I mention I didn't pack enough food for this extended adventure? And oh yeah, the airline lost one piece of our luggage... Brady's car seat.

Fortunately, Dad, Lyla, Casey, and Daniel had dinner waiting for us when we finally made it to the house! And even though the trip down there was torturous, we had more than enough fun to make up for it.

Brady got to go to Disney World for the first time. We only took him for a couple hours, but he got to see Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. He also loved the swimming pool at the vacation house- except when you tried to take him out of his float and he thought he should be able to swim without your help. But I think his favorite part was being around family. He loved all the excitement and attention, and I know our house seemed pretty lonely and quiet once we got back home.

We got upgraded to first class on our flight home (imagine that). Brady did considerably better on that leg of our journey- perhaps it was the complementary snack. We told him not to get used to it.

In other news, this is my last week as a stay-at-home mom. I won't lie- I'm having a horrible time dealing with it. I'll be working at a middle school this year, so that will present some new challenges, and hopefully some fun as well. I'm just trying not to think about it too much so it doesn't ruin my last few days at home with Brady.

And speaking of days being ruined- Brady cut two molars today! We'll be busting out the steaks tomorrow night for dinner. How many more teeth to go?!?

Our first family shot at the new house

Peanut butter jelly time!

Pete and Brady taking a spin around the new neighborhood

This is how I roll.

This is the face of delirium once we finally got out of the Orlando airport.

Having a ball with Grandpa

Happy to have hugs from Grandma

And Aunt Casey can always get a smile!

Dad said Casey logged more miles on this car racing game than he did driving to FL!

Brady's first ride

Casey liked it!

Hippos on the safari at Animal Kingdom

Crocodile

Brady's favorite- a giraffe up close and personal!

The excitement and heat were starting to get to him.

Elephant

Flamingo

Rhino

Warthog

Ostrich

He went down for the count after the safari. This is literally only the second time he's ever slept in his stroller. Too bad the first wasn't at the airport...