Happy Birthday Brady!!!

Today is Brady's 4th birthday.

I cannot believe that he is 4. I can't even imagine my life without him, I am just surprised how fast he is growing up!

From the moment that we knew he was coming, there was a lot of excitement, because we had to wait so long to have him. He has been an instant joy to our family and we feel blessed that he chose us as his family!

I look back on his life and I amazed by him daily. He is turning into a sweet little boy and a wonderful big brother. He is so excited to have another baby in the house and he talks to Baby Rocco everyday. He says, "Baby Rocco, it is your big brother Brady here. . . " and waits until the baby says hello by kicking me. He is learning to be sweeter with Leilani and has loved her from the moment he met her. He is quick to apologize and give love to her, which gives me hope as a mother that they will be kind and sweet to each other.

This past year has been a lot of adjustments for him and he has done well. He started primary and is starting to learn the gospel. A month or so ago he taught our Family Home Evening lesson and taught us about the crucifixion and resurrection. He knows the basics, which is wonderful to see him soak in all of the things that we have been trying to teach him.

He also has been doing very well in school. Over the summer he started writing his name by himself. He is interested in words now, so I tell him the letters and then he will spell it. We are definitely going in the right direction.

I love this little boy! He is such a pleasure and definitely keeps me going! He is the energizer bunny from the moment he wakes up until the moment he sleeps . . . which thankfully still involves a nap, most days!

Okay Brady, Happy Birthday to you!!! You are loved and adored and thank you for being the darling little boy that you are! I can't wait to see what the next year brings . . .

Here are some pictures over his lifetime.

Brady on his birthday, December 18, 2004

Brady about 3 months old.

Our little gentleman! About 9 months old.

Brady 1 year old.

Brady 2 years old.

Big brother Brady, "She's mine!" Leilani's birth, April 18, 2007.

Brady, almost 3, getting ready for his hiking adventure!

Brady, Thanksgiving 2008, almost 4.

A Surprise Guest

Last week at school, we had a surprise guest visit our class.

There were some ringing of bells. . . yes, it was Good St. Nick!

I have been nervous about this, because the kids haven't been so excited about strange people, dressed in strange costumes. Disneyland was not a great place for Brady, back in February so I didn't think that he would like him.

For the first time, ever, Brady willingly stood in line to sit upon Santa's lap to tell him what he wants for Christmas.

Before our guest arrived the newspaper was there, yes, we do have a small newspaper in our little town! They interviewed the kids and one of the questions asked was, "How does Santa get into your house?" Brady said, "My dad says he has a special key." Since we don't have a chimney we need to be creative for him.

Brady is thinking hard about what he wants for Christmas.

Here are some of the kids with Santa.

Leilani was absolutely not going to have anything to do with the guy in the red suit. She held on for dear life and would start to shake if you got too close. There is no need to scare her to death, we didn't with Brady and now he seems to be okay, so hopefully this will be the same for Leilani.

Even though she didn't sit upon his lap, she got a stocking and she liked that!

On a completely different note, last night Leilani went potty by herself! I don't have a picture, which is fine with me but I thought I would share my news. She has been showing signs of wanting too, so last night we sat her on our little one and she did! I need to actually do it, it is just hard to get up the energy to do this again, but it would be worth it if she wants too. She is almost 20 months, so we shall see!

Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Brady's 4th birthday! I cannot believe that he is going to be 4, I kept thinking, "We only need 3 candles." Nope, we needed 4! Wow, he sure is growing up fast.

We had a fun day filled with lots of friends and even more sugar! Great!
We have always have had a big BBQ with a lot of friends, but this year we decided to just have a kids party. This was a lot of fun and a lot less stress!
Here are some pictures from the party. We made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers, which the kids loved and then we did the basic cupcakes and presents.
Nice fun day and pretty good weather that the kids were able to soak up some vitamin D.

Gotta love the southwest!

The kids making their gingerbread houses.

Leilani chillin in her swing.

Some of the kids having fun in the backyard. That is quite the train!

Brady with his cupcake.

Brady blowing out his candles.

Leilani's gingerbread house.

Brady's gingerbread house.

Has it been that long?

I was looking at my blog and yes, I have known, but it sure has been awhile since I last posted.
I don't have any updated pictures, I am sure there will be more soon.

Life has been crazy, as I am sure everybody's is around this time of year. I am just trying to get through all of the stuff that I am doing.

I have been trying to finish Brady's Mickey Mouse apron for Christmas, and after buying the material back in the summer, it is finally almost done. I just have to sew on the pockets and ties and then we will be finished! Just in time.

I am also scrapbooking both Leilani and Brady's scrapbook. I haven't made books for either of them so this has been a huge undertaking. I figure if I have some for both they will be happy.

Then the easy project is making a tie blanket for Leilani and her doll. I haven't started this but I know I can do it in an hour or so with matching pillow.

Along with all of this I have been crazy busy with Young Women's and all of their activities and trying to fit in some service for the holidays for them.

Okay, so this has been my life. I am trying to keep myself not too busy so I can keep my blood pressure down. It has a tendency to go up in my last trimester so the doctor has put me on medication and that has kept it down. We don't want a premature baby. We are doing well other then the other aches and pains that come around this time. Baby moves like crazy and it is fun to see Brady with the "baby." He wants to talk to the baby everyday and puts his ear on my belly and talks until the baby says hello through a little kicking. It is neat and I love that.

Well enough with the novel. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are ready for Christmas. It sure is a wonderful time to count our blessings and celebrate the birth of our Savior.

All Hallows Eve

I feel like we have been celebrating Halloween all week. Brady went to two Halloween parties. We had a party at his school on Monday and then later that day he went to a friend's party. We carved a pumpkin to add to our family of painted pumpkins on Tuesday. So it wasn't all week but Brady sure did know what was going on and could hardly wait for the sun to set on Friday. He was ready from the moment he woke up and it was slightly cloudy. He said, "Mom the sun isn't coming up so can we go?." He isn't used to that, but we did wait. Poor guy.

Brady was dressed as Super Why from the PBS show Super Why. For those that don't know the show, he has the power to read. It is a cute show if you ever want something that isn't too annoying to watch and it really reiterates reading and letters.

Leilani was dressed as Princess Presto, who has the power to spell.

We had a great night trick-or-treating around our little neighborhood. We hit only the houses we knew, which meant not too much candy for the kids.

There is a family in our ward who every year has a bonfire and serves chili, donuts and hot chocolate. We went there after we were done gathering our candy and it was a lot of fun. The kids ran around and we got to socialize with our friends.
It was a fun night and the next day Leilani brought me her costume wanting to wear it again. She learned fast how to get candy and she loved her dress with cape on the back.

5 Things

Okay, Kate here is your tag! This is from my cousin, who tagged me a couple of weeks ago and life gets crazy, so here goes, just what you wanted to learn all about me! J/K!


5 Shows I watch


1- Survivor
2- Project Runway
3- Heroes
4- Chuck
5- The Amazing Race

5 Restaurants

1- Cafe Rio
2- Sweet Tomatoes
3- Olive Garden
4- L&L Hawaiian BBQ
5- Garduno's

5 Things that happened yesterday

1- I went Visiting Teaching, it's about time I did!
2- Diaper day, washed my diapers.
3- Laundry, laundry and more laundry!!!
4- Went skeet shooting with the laurels/priests
5- Enjoyed my family on a Wednesday night, which never happens anymore.

5 Things to look forward to

1- Meeting this new baby growing inside of me and finding out what we are having!
2- Halloween tomorrow, Brady is so excited.
3- My cousin said, seeing her dad again and I can't wait to see him again too! He is in heaven and doing the Lord's work.
4- Bec and Howard getting married, I just wish I could be there, finally my sister found a great guy!
5- Bryce to come home and know that he is safe and one day closer to the weekend together.

5 Things that I love about Fall

1- PUMPKIN!! mmm... I love pumpkin foods, stealing my cousins answer again! I am trying a new pumpkin cookie recipe today, I will let you know, but it isn't very healthy, sorry to my healthy friends and family.
2- When the leaves change, too bad they don't change too much here.
3- Turning off my A/C
4- Cuddling
5- Love going back to the Y, too bad I am too old for that now!

5 Things on my wish list

1- A happy healthy baby.
2- Bryce to be happy at work.
3- A big fat raise!
4- My children to be sweet and kind.
5- To see my children and the rest of my family all together in the temple, someday!

5 Things important to me

1- My husband
2- My family
3- My Savior Jesus Christ
4- The girls in my Young Women's
5- Making good choices as a mother allowing my children to make good choices throughout their lives.

5 People I tag

I am going to tag anyone who would like to participate.

Healthy Sugar Cookies

I mentioned posting these cookies in one of my other posts and I really feel like I need to share. They are very good and healthy for you at the same time. We made them the night we painted pumpkins. These are from my friend Emily.

I actually added some food coloring to make them orange, I don't believe that makes them any less healthy. Then I rolled them out and cut them into pumpkins and cats for the kids. Once they were cut then I sprinkled the top with the cinnamon/pure cane sugar mix and the kids loved them! Such a benefit, because then you don't feel guilty about giving them a treat! Thanks Emily!

Simple Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup ground soft white wheat flour
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
7 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon real maple syrup
1 egg replacer
cinnamon and cane sugar for coating

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients in measuring cup (make sure they're blended well). Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Using hands, form dough into a big ball. (If it sticks together well, then its the right consistency. If not, then add a bit of water and mix it well.)

Form dough into cookie sized balls and roll into cinnamon/ cane sugar mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball a little bit. Bake at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes.

And if you want to make cookie cutter type cookies...don't try to transfer them from one pan to the next...just in case you were thinking you might! They make about two full sheets of cookies, perfect for our little family but not quite enough if you want to share!

Good Luck