Summer Revue

It has been awhile since I caught up with you all here. I hope someone will read this and that you haven’t given up on me since my last post a couple of months ago!

‘Twas a busy summer, and Bradley has kept me running for most of it. When he took off walking at 8 1/2 months old, I knew I was in for trouble. Not the way I’d planned to spend the summer, but no complaints here. It has been an enormous blessing to watch him grow and learn.

Instead of me writing a novel to catch up on the past few months, lets do it in pictures, shall we?

Went to Sioux City to celebrate Reese’s first birthday,

and Taylor’s third birthday.

Took Randy’s kids to Little Diggers:

Greg built a new swingset for Bradley:

We took a field trip to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo:

There was blue rock shooting (Ben, Alan, Nick),

and target practice:

Of course there was swimming!

(Brad and Jess)

(Taylor)

(Taylor, Grace, Reese)

and Abbie stayed a few weeks.

We took Abbie home to Texas where we enjoyed our first visit to Joe’s Crab Shack…

At the county fair, Bradley fell in love with the baby chicks in the FFA animal tent:

At home, he LOVED sweet corn!

We got to know Scott a little better.

Let’s not forget the flowers

and the vegetables in the garden. Bradley has become an accomplished tomato-picker!

So there you have it, a glimpse into what has been a fun and busy summer around here.

I have several projects planned for this autumn, and there will be fun galore with the grandboy as we prepare to celebrate his first birthday in a few weeks. I hope you’ll stick with me as I get back into the blogging groove!

Grandboy Update

WARNING: HE’S THE SWEETEST, CUTEST, STRONGEST, SMARTEST BABY IN HISTORY, SO I WILL BRAG ABOUT HIM.  :o)

Bradley will be 10 weeks old tomorrow and is growing and changing quickly as babies do. At his two-month check-up he weighed 12 lb., 14 oz. and was 23” long. Definitely a big, healthy boy.

He’s been pretty strong since birth, and is now pushing his upper body up off the floor, holding his head up and looking around.  Leslie took this one day last week:

Bradley is a happy baby, evident by the smiles and giggles we get all the time now. He’s vocalizing a lot, “talking” to us in baby jabber, squealing, and the sweetest contented sighs while he’s eating.  He’s pretty ticklish, especially under the arms and on the bottoms of his feet.

He’s always been a pretty good sleeper, going a good 6 hours at night, but a few weeks ago he had a couple of 8 hour nights. Last week he had his first set of shots and there were a couple of rough nights, but he’s been back to sleeping those eight hours again. I think one reason is that he’s found his thumb and can soothe himself back to sleep if he wakes in the night. (We love thumbs and will not discourage his use of them!)

He’s noticed the TV a few times, couldn’t tear his eyes away from the movie “Star Trek” the other night (Uncle Nick will be proud!), and loves to watch Giada DeLaurentiis on Food Network. He doesn’t care for Rachel Ray (again, Uncle Nick will like that).  Last night he paid rapt attention to the Nebraska football game.

His first Thanksgiving went great – he doesn’t mind being passed around in a group of strangers, or the noise in a house full of family.

Jess and I haul him all over Creation to run errands or workout at the gym, but when the weather is bad, he’s happy to stay with Nanny & Poppo or Aunt Leslie and the kids.

We truly feel blessed to be able to share in Bradley’s first months, to be able to hold and care for him daily.  I have to confess that I say a little prayer of thanks every day that he and his mommy are here.

Family Time

I've been enjoying having both of my kids home today. We've chatted, helped each other with chores, and laughed so hard my stomach hurt. My kids are so much fun!

Twenty-eight years ago, at this very moment, Greg and I were shaking hands and getting hugs in the receiving line after having said "I will" and vowing to make a life together. We made it through all the stages: newlyweds, house, babies, parenting, jobs, and now empty nest. Now we're on the brink of a new stage: grandparenthood.

Here's a photo of our little one who is coming in the Fall:Already sucking it's thumb. :o)

I know we're in for a new kind of fun and we can't wait!