Brady's First Christmas

Well, it was quite a day. Both sides of our family celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, so today was a busy day for us. Brady got his first taste of Christmas and loved it. Here are a few snapshots of our day.

This was Brady on Christmas Eve morning in front of our tree.

Brady loves his stocking we bought him. He especially likes to talk to him, play with him, and even try to eat him!
Brady opening some of his first presents.

Our family pictures after church - all dressed up!

Teeth!

This is one of our new favorites! You've got to love that smile! Brady is such a happy boy!

This picture pretty much sums up Brady night now. EVERYTHING goes into his mouth. Wet chin, lots of drool, and chewing on anything in site. Perhaps that is because he cut his first two teeth this week!

Go Redskins!

Last night Andy had the priviledge to perform the national anthem with the Singing Statesmen (my dad's men's choir) at the Viking vs. Redskins football game. It was truly a unique experience. The guys were down on the field for the entire pre-game, announcing of the players, and the kick-off. Our seats were also on the field. Perhaps you can see the grass to the right of us in the picture. What a cool experience! No worries Packer fans - we rooted for the right team. The Redskins won 32-21!

The guys sounded great and the crowd loved them. Andy, my dad, and Jerry (brother-in-law) all made the jumbo-tron. Their performance was even complete with pyrotechnics!

Andy with his Dome dog.

A good time was had by all.

Festive Photos

December is flying by and I can't believe that it will be Christmas next week! I usually have my Christmas cards out close to Thanksgiving, but this year we are just working on them now. Tonight we tried to get a few festive pictures of Brady. We got a few good ones, though it was tough going tonight. He moves around much more now than he used to, making it hard to keep hands and arms out of the way! These are two of our favorites.

Gotta love that smile! Brady was grinning and giggling at his Christmas stocking. A cute stuffed teddy bear that comes out of the stocking.

Giggles

After our evening bath, Brady was all decked out in his Christmas pj's. As usual he was his happy, giggling self. Brady and I were playing on the bed when he got the giggles and Andy was able to capture this picture. It was just so cute that I had to share it!

In addition to playing, we also practiced sitting up on our own again. Brady does well with just a little support around him to hold himself up. He will be doing it on his own in no time.

My first Christmas tree

Brady, Andy and I decorated our Christmas tree tonight. Brady was so good while we strung the lights. He was mesmerized just watching them. When we finished, Brady put the first ornament on the tree - with a little help of course! It was his silver engraved boot from his birth that Grandma and Grandpa Schwartzhoff gave to him. We have a tradition in my family of collecting Christmas ornaments, so this was Brady's first. It was a great evening of family fun!

Grrr...

So we bought this super adorable baseball outfit for Brady months ago. He is just now getting into his 6 month clothes, so I thought we would try this one out today. Little stinker is too long for the it already and he hadn't even worn it yet! He is so tall. I had him wear it today anyway because I couldn't bear the thought of him not wearing it at all. Needless to say, here is the picture. Check out his super cute shoes! Grandma Schwartzhoff is keeping him well supplied in that area already - imagine that!

Trying hard

Brady has been working so hard to sit up on his own. Tonight he sat up holding my finger for a while or balancing himself on his own using his arms for about 5 minutes. He is still a bit unstable, but is getting close to being able to do it on his own.

Still smilin'!

Brady continues to be such a happy boy! I love his smile and just had to share this super cute picture.

Winter is here!

Winter is officially here in Wisconsin. The weather report tonight said that we got 6 inches and there may be more on the way tonight! This is Brady all bundled up before heading out into the weather. He has this great carrier cover that is so warm. So warm in fact, he falls asleep almost instantly when he is in it!

My new toy

Brady tried out his Jumperoo for the first time today. He loved it! Though he doesn't bounce too much yet, his feet now touch the ground and he loves playing with the toys on the front. Perhaps this will replace the papasan seat while mommy cooks dinner!

Getting stronger

No! Tonight Brady sat right up in his papasan chair. This is the seat we always use when we are in the kitchen making dinner, eating dinner, cleaning up, getting things done, etc. Now I totally cannot trust him to sit in this seat safely as he is getting stronger and trying to sit up more on his own. This was not a one time thing either, it happened repeatedly tonight...I think we have to say good-bye to this chair for good. That's a total bummer because we use it all the time!

Fun at Action City

We spent the morning at Action City today, an indoor amusement park in Eau Claire, for Andy's Aunt Sally's retirement party. There were lots of things to do and Brady had so many new things to see. It was a bit overwhelming for him at times, but we had lots of fun and got many great pictures.

Where am I? A friend of ours that works at Action City opened up the giant Bear Claw game so that Brady could climb in with all the stuffed animals. He wasn't too sure what to think of it, but it was a cute picture!

Brady was a big fan of the fish tank behind us. He loved watching the fish swim around and kept trying to grab them.

Daddy and Brady took a train ride! It was sure fun, but Daddy was a little too big for the ride.

We tried out driving today. The stearing wheel was fun to play with and Brady loved watching the cars on the screen. He tried eating the stearing wheel too - yuck!

Brady was a dancing fool! He tried out DDR for the first time today. He was a big fan of the music and all the pretty lights!

Brady and Andy sported their Wisconsin gear for the day. Go Badgers!

Praying?

Brady has learned how to fold his hands. Do you think he is praying?! My mom says it's scary because this is how my dad sleeps also. Brady has been clasping his hands more and more now as he gets better with his hand coordination. I thought this picture was precious and just had to share it!

All smiles

Well, can you tell that I have gone back to work? Since school is keeping me busy again I am unable to post as often as I was before. It was really hard to go back. I miss seeing this smile all day long! The good news is his Grandma Johnson is taking care of him during the day. What a blessing! This photo was taken of Brady in his swing. This is the typical Brady - all smiles. He is such a happy boy!

Who needs toys?

Toys are totally over-rated! The other night Brady discovered this Diet Coke can. It was shiny and new, thus it provided a good 15 minutes of playing fun. Who needs toys when you have pop cans around?!

My First Concert

Brady attended his first concert this past Friday. It was one of grandpa's. He loved listening to the Statesmen and he was so good. The only trouble was that he wanted to talk to the guys while they sang! Needless to say, we listened to the concert from the back door.

4 Month Stats

Yesterday was Brady's 4 month check-up. He is doing great! He now weighs 14 lbs. 4 oz., is 26.18 inches long, and has a head circumference of 42.2 cm. In the waiting room, Brady was all smiles and very chatty. I felt bad because he had no idea what was coming - 3 shots! Brady took them quite well, though he has been extra tired last night and today. He is going on a 2 hour nap this afternoon! All in all, he has handled them well.

Such a face!

Andy insists that we must capture every moment with a photograph and that includes the sad ones. Brady has a new face and that is a pouty lip when he is sad. Andy captured this one a couple days ago. How can you say no to a face like that!?

Is that me?

Brady is beginning to love to play with mirrors. About a month ago I put this mirror in his crib and he hasn't really known what to think of it or what to do with it. A few days ago, he woke up from his afternoon nap and played with his mirror for almost 20 minutes before his usual cries of "I'm awake" sang out from his room. It was fun watching him play with this new toy and discover so many new things. I am not sure that he realizes that he is looking at himself just yet, but that will come soon.

Surprise, Grandpa!

Brady and I decided to make a surprise visit to Grandpa Schwartzhoff today and bring him lunch at his office after choir. Grandpa was sure glad to see us and we had a great time playing in his office at the University.

Brady - preparing to go surpise grandpa

Playing with Grandpa Schwartzhoff on his desk

Brady's First Halloween

We began our Halloween evening with a trip to a local store that was doing a free Halloween photo shoot for kids. This was Brady's picture in his giraffe costume. We couldn't quite get a smile on this one, but I think it turned out pretty well. What a cutie!

All bundled up in our car seat and ready to go! No candy for this little man this year, but we still had fun visiting lots of family and friends. We were grateful that this costume was a warm one because it was 50 degrees when we left home and down to 38 degrees when we returned. Brrr!

Andy's Halloween Fun

Well, you can never say that you are too old to dress up for Halloween. As usual, Andy's work had everyone dress up for the occasion. This year Andy went as "Old Country Buffet." He is a chef carving the yummy ham you see on the front of the buffet. Other items included were plates, napkins, silverware, salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, mac'n'cheese, and cookies. This costume was a big hit at the office!

Logicare also had a potluck lunch today that was Halloween themed. He decided to take two items for sharing. The first is the Ghosts in the Logicare Graveyard dessert and the second is the Cat Litter Casserole. They were both a big hit.

Ghosts in the Logicare Graveyard

(Names on the tombstones are former employees)

Cat Litter Casserole - tasty!

Hey, Handsome!

We had a family wedding to attend this weekend here in Eau Claire, so Brady got to get a little spiffed up! He was really good during the ceremony, which was outside...brrrr..., but was not so fond of the loud music during the reception. He was really tired and all the commotion made it hard for him to sleep. Needless to say, we headed out a bit early in the evening to get home for bedtime. Of course, when we arrived home he was all grins and wanted to play.

Since Brady was all smiles after we got home, he played with Mommy some before bedtime. He is giggling now which is so much fun. It is the sweetest, most adorable sound I think I have ever heard.

Walks with Mommy

Brady and I went out for our afternoon walk today and I had to share this picture with everyone! It was beautiful outside today, but a little chilly so we had to wear our jackets. Brady was all smiles as we headed out to enjoy a little fresh air and sunshine.

We love fall!

We had gorgeous fall weather today and I just couldn't resist! Brady was in such a great mood following an afternoon nap and I thought some cute fall pictures by our front door were in order. Though it was a bit chilly, he had fun trying to eat the leaves and looking at all of our pumpkins.

I found my toes!

Brady has recently discovered his toes and feet in the last week. When Mommy went to change him this morning, it was the first thing he grabbed!

Go, Pack, Go!

Brady is the proud owner of another Packer outfit. In the words of his dad, "Can you really have too many Packer clothes?" I must say this one is pretty cute.

Shoulder Rides with Aunt Jen

Aunt Jen and Uncle Jerry visited last weekend and babysat Brady on Friday afternoon. Jen decided to give Brady a shoulder ride, though he wasn't too sure what to think of it!