Mr. Independent

We are days away from Brady turning two, but he has already started demonstrating his independence. I've mentioned before how he shuns restaurant high chairs and will insist on walking through stores, but that's just a small sampling of this new stage.

He has now given up on sitting at his highchair at home. He insists on sitting in a chair like mommy and daddy (incidentally, he has taken over what used to be my spot). And he does great! He doesn't even want his booster seat (although, let's face it, he could use a boost!), and he just chats away with us while we eat our meals at our table. On a total unrelated note: What in the world were we thinking getting a glass table? It shows everything!

His independence has also stretched beyond seating arrangements. He now says what he wants to wear. Lately, it's been blue shorts and a yellow shirt, thanks to Winnie the Pooh's Christopher Robin. We started off this morning with a green shirt on and I had to go in the other room for his shorts. I grabbed some dark blue ones. Immediately Brady said "Christopher Robin-blue shorts" and then promptly realized the green shirt was, indeed, not yellow. Then he made the request to change, "Green shirt off! Christopher Robin-yellow shirt". So, we changed. Now, I know what some of you are thinking...I gave in. And I guess I sort of did, but I'm ok with that. I love that he's independent and able to express what he wants. Of course there are limits and he's not going to be able to wear Christopher Robin's outfit every single day, but I'm happy to oblige him when I can.

Speaking of obliging, riding in grocery carts is now a thing of the past as well. He will help you push, or hold your hand through the store, but will have nothing to do with riding in one. It's a little more work on us, but so worth it. He loves going to the stores, is able to talk, touch, and ask questions...and he does great at staying with us. It just really drives home the point that our little guy is growing up.

I managed to snap some pictures I snapped from this morning's breakfast (notice the outfit, ignore the smudges on the table). I love his little crossed legs.

When I asked him what to drink he said: "Cold milk, Ernie cup, please." Yes, no exaggeration or rephrasing, that is what he said. What can I say? The boy knows what he wants!

Shortly after breakfast I gave the highchair a final cleaning and Mike and I put it away. Now, I never got sad over his first (or second) haircut, the fact that he's turning two isn't bothering me, nor is his new-found independence. What did make me sad? Packing up that highchair to put it away. It just seemed so...final. It just drove home the point that my little boy is not a baby anymore. Of course I already knew that, but there was just something a little sad about putting it away, even though Brady had his own rag and helped me wipe the chair down, excitedly saying "Help Mommy".

When Mike carried the chair out of the kitchen, Brady-on his own-said "Bye bye, highchair!". And, with that, we said good-bye to one era and hello to the next.

One Week.

In exactly one week Brady turns two. It's hard to believe. It simultaneously feels like it's been forever since he was a baby and like he was just a baby yesterday. He's at such a fun stage and seems like everyday he does or says something new. He is such a talker! He's always had a good vocabulary, but now he's forming sentences. Sentences! My favorite so far: Mommy, hold my hand. Melts my heart every single time he says it. Another favorite part of this stage? He gives hugs (his favorite are bear hugs) and kisses freely and frequently. He's reached a new independent stage where he wants no part of a high chair when we are at a restaurant and wants to walk in whatever store we happen to visit. His current favorite stores are Lowe's and Target...and he knows when we are in the vicinity. He'll say "Go Lowe's" or "Go Target" and immediately follow it with "Walk". He knows when we go to church on Sundays he goes to "class" to learn about Jesus (who, he will tell you, lives in his heart), he knows we buy Gatorade at Wal-Mart and will request a trip there if we run out, and he knows Nanny and MayMay and PaPa drive blue cars...and thinks he sees their cars everywhere.

Here are some pictures (snapped by Uncle Lance--currently called Uncle Ant) of the little guy swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's (currently called Beema and Beepa) pool. The boy loves the water...he may be part fish.

Everyday is a blessing and a new adventure and I look forward to what the next day holds while doing my best to treasure, remember, and live in the moment.

Independence Day.

It's hard to believe it's been over a month (eek!) since I've blogged. I have so much to catch you up on, but for now I wanted to get back into the blogging swing by posting some pictures from our 4th of July.

We spent the day at I Love America and couldn't have had more fun! The forecast was calling for rain, but thankfully it held off and we had a beautiful day. We arrived around 2:00 in the afternoon and didn't leave until after 10:00...three hours past Brady's bed time. We, along with 100,000 people, spent the day in the hot sun enjoying all the things the event had to offer. There was an air show (with a B-52 flyover!), bands, food, a black hawk you could climb in (or, if you're Brady, push buttons and flip switches in), Hummers to explore, ambulances to crawl through, and so much more. It really was a great family day. And the fireworks? Amazing!

One of our first stops of the day was the Hummer. Brady spotted it immediately and excitedly (and repeatedly) exclaimed: Hummer!

At first he was content to "drive".

Then, he noticed there was a horn to honk (thankfully, it didn't make a sound).

Then, he tried to kick it into drive (double thanks that didn't work!).

After the Hummer, it was time for the Black Hawk. Of course, to Brady it was just a "big, black, helicopter!". In typical Brady fashion, his first stop was to check out the wheel.

Then, it was straight to the cockpit.

Oh yeah, he was into it.

After we made the rounds, we went back to our seats and enjoyed some watermelon. Can you believe they actually gave it away...for free?! They served over 12,000 pounds of watermelon. Brady loved it. He put away three pieces, and probably would've had more but they ran out.

It was a long, but fun, day. I am amazed (and blessed!) at how well Brady did! What a trooper! He didn't get fussy once, was pleasant and happy all day, and managed to stay awake for the fireworks....which he loved! He was so tired by the end of the day, I think he was asleep before Mike and I got our seat belts buckled.

We managed to get a family portrait at the end of the night. We're not looking our best, but hey, it was a long day. Yes, we were wearing matching shirts. It's cheesy but I love it! I sense a new tradition coming on!

And, just for fun, here we were last year (ignore the crazy wide-eyed expression Brady and I are sporting).

We are so thankful to our church for putting on such an amazing event. It's such a blessing to be a part of a church that gives back to the community and knows how to have fun. It's a huge undertaking, over 3,500 man-hours are needed to prepare the day's festivities, and it's primarily done by volunteers. I can't even attempt to guess at how much it costs to put on, and yet, they offer it for free just to be a blessing to the community. This was our first year going, but it definitely won't be our last!

Note: Since the blog has been abandoned, I gave it a new, updated look. What do you think? A special thanks to Lance for snapping the picture that's displayed in the new banner!