Hitscherhof Farm Festival

Just to warn you...this one's loaded with pictures!

Today we took Brady to the Hitscherhof Farm Festival. We went with some good friends and the kids had a great time. At the festival there were several booths set up with food, drinks, pastries, different crafts and antiques and hand woven baskets. There was a corn maze and hay bales for the kids to play on and pumpkins providing the perfect photo opportunities every where you looked. It was the perfect day to get out and enjoy the bounties of fall!

Before we left we took Brady outside to run around and I was able to snap a few pics...

Happy, Adorable You

I've been wanting to do some scrapbooking lately, but I didn't bring any of my scrapper materials with us to Germany. I figured we wouldn't have room for it here, and I was right.


A freind of mine does a lot of digital scrapbooking, and she always has the most beautiful pages to display her precious memories. So, I thought I'd give it a try.


I purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements several months ago, but just hadn't gotten around to getting her to show me how to use it. Today, I decided to teach myself a bit.


I went online, downloaded a few amazing, FREE, digital scrapbook kits (that's right, this didn't cost me a penny) and set out to make my first page.


In all it took a little over 2 hours to complete, which isn't bad considering that a traditional page would have taken that long or longer, and I didn't have all that mess to clean up afterwards.


I was pleased with my creation and think I've found a new hobby! Now I've got to get to work on all those pictures of Brady! I'm going to try to create at least one page for every month! That should keep me busy for a while!!


Now, if I ever get around to buying new ink cartridges for my printer, I'll be in business!

A Few Pictures

Brady has seemed to grow into a toddler overnight! As I look at him now, I no longer see my baby boy, but my little man. Of course he'll always be my baby!

This is his "smile" face...
In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have taught him to smile...Now every picture we take for the next 4 years will probably look like this...

These are his favorite boots...actually they're his only boots and he often goes to his closet and brings them to me so he can wear them around the house...

And this is just a silly boy being a silly boy...

Disappering Act

This morning, Brady was playing in his room like always.

Suddenly, I heard a cry. But not his usual shrill, mad at the world cry, or his hysterical, the world must be coming to an end cry...a muffled cry. I thought maybe he'd shut his door and was just wanting out...but his door was wide open.

I go in the room, but don't see him. The closet door was open, so I checked in there, no Brady. I looked on the other side of his bed, no Brady. I looked behind the bed, no Brady. My heart started beating a little faster and I started to get a little panicky.

I hurried out of his room and into ours, no Brady. I ran down the hall and saw that the bathroom door was closed, so I thought, "Whew...he's closed himself in there." I opened the door, no Brady!


By this time I was really freaking out. My child was still crying, by now more hysterically, and I could hear him, but I couldn't see him...ANYWHERE!

I went back into his room one more time. I listened. It sounded like it was coming from the crib, but he wasn't in the crib! Finally, I looked under the crib.

And there he was! His diaper was hung on the springs and two of the cutest little cheeks you've ever seen were exposed. It took me a minute to free him and another minute to figure out how to get him out from under there. I ended up just dragging him out by his feet.

After about 30 seconds of cuddling and kisses he wanted to be free so I checked for blood or bruises and then let him go. And what's the first thing he does...try to crawl back under the darn crib!

They never learn do they?!

"Fires!"

I need to keep a notebook so I can look back one day and laugh at all of the silly things our kids say. Tonight had one of those moments I want to remember.

We were sitting at the table eating dinner, Buck and I in our chairs, and Brady in his high chair next to the table.

Every night at the conclusion of dinner one of us will ask Brady, "Brady, what time is it?". To which he always responds, "Baff time!".

Lately he's been obsessed with candles, more specifically, lighting the candles, which he calls, "fires". The center piece on our table holds eight votive "fires" and every night for the last week during dinner Brady has asked repeatedly for "fires".

So tonight, when we asked him, "Brady, what time is it?", instead of the usual, "Baff time", he responded with, "Fires time!"

16 Weeks

I thought I'd put up a new belly shot. Baby X is growing and thriving as evidenced by my burgeoning belly!

I'm growing rather fond of my little round shape. Which if you knew me at all during my pregnancy with Brady, speaks volumes!

I'm still on Zofran, but feeling so much better!! I have much more energy, I'm keeping all of my food and drinks down, and I can carry Brady up the 3 flights of stairs again, without gasping for air at the top! I feel like I've made a breakthrough!

Tomorrow, I go for my 16 week check-up, so check back soon!

Sexy New 'Do

I finally did it! Brady has a big boy haircut!

If you'd have asked me 2 months ago, I'd have told you that I was planning on leaving the curls in tact until he turned 2. That was then. Things happen. Plans change. And not always because you intend for them too.

I was tremendously please with Brady's 1st haircut! But, after about a month he needed another one. I tried to schedule the 2nd one with the same guy who cut it the first time, but he was out of town and it would have been over two weeks before we could have cut Brady's hair again.

It couldn't wait. The curls were taking over and growing wild! My poor child looked like his mama took no interest in his grooming. As evidenced here...

My husband, dear man that he is, talked me into taking Brady to the barber shop on post. He assured me that it would be fine and that if I specifically told him not to cut it too short and to leave most of the curls that's what would happen.

I left the barber shop in tears and continued to cry every time I looked at the back of my baby's head for the remainder of the day. Not one precious baby curl remained! In fact the guy used the clippers!! Brady was nearly scalped!

I let his hair grow and grow, each day praying that he would wake up and I would see a curl beginning to sprout. After a month and a half, when his hair was over his ears, I finally, sadly, resolved myself to the fact that they would never return.

Today we went for his third haircut and I decided that he might as well have the big boy style, that I was set on waiting for until January. I told Uli to cut it short enough on top that I could give him a messy little spike, yet long enough that I could still comb it over as I had been.

Here are the results...and I must say that I was more than pleased! In fact, I'm in love! The entire drive home, I just kept looking at him in the rear-view mirror and smiling!

Brady was pleased with himself too. He told Uli that it was "sassy", his word for sexy! LOL!

Proof that sometimes, when life changes your plans for you, it turns out for the better!