I'm a WALKER!

It's so hard to get him walking on video b/c he gets distracted really easy!  However, for the past week he has really embraced walking!  He started with about 5 steps a couple of weeks ago and he did that for awhile and all the sudden he just put it together and now he walks EVERYWHERE!  Earlier this week he took 22 steps by himself and now he thinks he is one BIG boy!  There is no room he hasn't uncovered by himself!  Oh boy - it's really on now!  We are in major trouble!  But, walking at 10 months is pretty darn awesome! 

Richie's surprise 30th birthday trip to VEGAS!

This is how Richie's actual 30th birthday begins...He gets off work, runs some errands and comes home (thinking that he is watching Brady so I can get to work)...His mom is already there hiding so he won't suspect anything and she can get a good "surprise" picture!

He just read in the card that we are going to Las Vegas...Even though he looks surprised in this picture, I don't think that it's b/c we are going to Vegas, I think it's b/c him mom popped up out of no where!  HA!  He seemed very confused and not that excited that we were going...

I had just told him that we were leaving for the airport in an hour and 1/2...Richie is a planner - so, not setting in too well at this point...A little concerned that I'm not going to have a good time since #1 - I'm pregnant and it's going to be 105+ degrees out in Vegas and #2 - I'm pregnant and can't drink and he doesn't want to drink by himself...

This is Brady being really excited that he gets Babs and Grampie to himself for 3 days = SPOILED!

Part 2 of the surprise - Kin and Kate show up at the house to pick us up - Richie was getting more excited once he saw them b/c he now has someone to drink a beer with!  YAY! 

Leaving the airport in Vegas - Richie is PUMPED now b/c not only did Kin & Kate show up, Jake & Kali and Ryan & Mike also showed up (part 3 of the surprise!!)  So, Vegas is going to be a SUPER FUN time!

Our room at The Mirage!  One of the oldest hotel casino's in Vegas - featured in National Lampoons Vegas Vacation.  I chose The Mirage mainly b/c we have stayed at the Bellagio & The Monte Carlo before so I wanted somewhere different and Alligent was running a great deal through The Mirage and offered 2 buffet passes daily ($120 value) so we stayed there!  It was nice!

The first thing we did was head down to "Pawn Stars" with Jake and Kali.  We didn't get to see any of the cast b/c they were on a 6 week break (go figure!!) but it was neat to see...A little underwhelming but still very cool!

Richie and the cardboard cutout cast! HA!

When we left the pawn shop, we just started walking...And past the Little White Wedding Chapel.  This is where Kelly Ripa and Britney Spears were both married!  How crazy is that?

And, I saw a neat little vintage shop.  It was really cool - everyone found something!  Kali got a cute dress (never had been worn!!  It was from the 60's and it was a sample dress - worth WAY more than normal!)...The boys got cute shirts and I got a gold clutch from 1962.  LOVED THAT PLACE!

Bye Downtown Las Vegas!

Dinner...Richie loves watching the food network and saw this place on it one time - it was FABULOUS!  It truly was a hole in the wall...we walked down the strip and through a few parking lots to get to it!  Well worth the walk - it was FABULOUS!  Some of the best Italian I've ever had...And, it's been around since 1970 and had so many pictures hanging on the walls with pretty much every celebrity known to man...It was a hit!

This cute lil old man walked around with this accordian and played for tips - LOVED him!

Group shot - Look at all that delicious food!  YUM!

Friday morning we woke up early (can you believe I was kid free and couldn't sleep??) but we hit up the pool so I could at least maybe come home with a tan!  It was really pretty - and crowded!

We then decided that we were going to go walking and shopping - but this is in part of the lobby in the hotel - it was really pretty and very tropical looking!

Friday night we had reservations at "StripHouse" in Planet Hollywood hotel and casino.  It was AWESOME!  The place was really nice and the food was FABULOUS!  I think it was one of the best meals I've ever had!  YUM!

I got the special which was the cajun pork chop and fries - DE-LISH!!

And Richie got the filet with creamed spinanch and he said it was AWESOME!

Group shot of everyone after eating - you can't tell but we are all miserably stuffed!  HA!

We hit up the pool again on Saturday morning - Here are Richie and Jake chatting it up...My camera phone doesn't do the pool justice - it was really pretty!

After hitting up the pool we decided to walk and shop and piddle along the strip...We stopped at the PBR bar in Planet Hollywood and hung out there for a little bit.  We ended up getting a snack...

And it was DE-LISH!  It was the nachos and I could eat them everyday...YUM!!!  Notice Richie is wearing his new "vintage" shirt...

Saturday afternoon we went and saw the Lion King - I had seen it before but Richie hadn't...It was just as good as the first time!  I didn't take many pics on Saturday...Sad day!

And you know I couldn't do a post without a super cute pic of Brady - here he is on either Friday or Saturday at Toys R Us shopping with Babs and Grampie.  When I got this text I seriously started crying.  I wasn't crying b/c I was sad, I was so happy that he was this happy!  Look at this boys face - it's lit up like a Christmas tree!  I'd say that he was in really good hands while we were gone and he got SPOILED!  I missed him terribly but just knowing that he was getting taken care of and having this much fun made it a little easier to be away.  THANK YOU BABS AND GRAMPIE!

Overall, Richie said that it was the best birthday he has ever had and we have some really awesome friends for going to Vegas and celebrating with us!  It was a BLAST and so much fun celebrating the big 3-0 in style!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Richie - I love you very much!

Happy 10th month birthday Brady!

Yes, this post is about 10 days late (again)...But, we've been out of town and I'll get to that in the next post, but Brady turned 10 months old on 7/15/2011 and I've had these pics on my good camera that I've been needing to upload! 

At 10 months...

Brady is now taking about 5-10 steps by himself!!  He's standing by himself for long periods of time without having to grab on to anything for assistance.  He's still eating baby food, but we've also brought in our food and he's eating it really well!  He's got 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom) and loves showing them off!  He's still in size 4 diapers and I'm hoping he's going to be easy to potty train b/c he will start tugging at the sides of his diaper when he's gone #2...He's taking 3 bottles a day (one when he wakes up, one before his afternoon nap & one before bed)...He is still taking 2 naps a day - one in the AM from about 9-11 and one in the PM from about 2-4.  He was doing really well in his crib, and we've slipped a little bit from that...Our vacation to Gulf Shores really messed it up and I've been enjoying cuddling so much that it's taking a little longer getting him back in his crib!  HA!  We'll have to start the sleep training again soon...Sad! :(  But, once baby #2 gets here we are going to have to have structure again!  He's wearing size 12-18 month clothing and size 3-4 shoes (he hates wearing shoes so it's very rare that he wears them)...He has several favorite toys now - golf clubs, new fire truck from Babs & Grampie and his blocks!  But, he would much rather be outside playing that doing anything indoors!  He gets into EVERYTHING and does everything at warp speed!  We are going to have our hands full with him, but we wouldn't have it any other way!  He totally has my energy and the best personality ever!  He's SUPER sweet when he wakes up in the morning and is extra cuddly when we are in bed!  He is saying Mama, dada, bye and noona (usually when he wants more to eat) but he's just now starting to associate things together!

These past 10 months have been the best 10 months of our lives and we are looking forward to the next 10!  He is the BEST little boy in the world!!  We love you little Brady!

A visit from Uncle Blake and Stephanie!

Brady loved seeing his Uncle Blake and girlfriend Stephanie!  They are expecting a little boy in September and planning on naming him Easton!  Brady is super excited about having a little cousin to play with!  Holidays are going to be super fun now!!!  We had a baby gift for them and it was really nice to get to spend some quality time with them!  WOW - their lives are about to change!!  They got Bria a cute little outfit (which was so sweet) and they had fun playing with Brady!  Stephanie is 33wks along and is ready...Bless her heart!  I remember that - and will be there again shortly!  She looked great and had a great attitude!  I think they are just super excited to finally get to meet little Easton!  :) 

Brady being a big help with the laundry!

Brady has been quite the helper for awhile, but now I have evidence!  He loves helping with laundry the most...2nd is loading and unloading the dishwasher!  Once he gets old enough, I know how he is going to earn his allowance!  I'm putting this boy to work!  He already knows how so it should be easy!  What a sweet little helper to have - I think I'll keep him around for a long time!

The beginning of a long celebration - Happy 30th Birthday Richie!

So, Richie's family came up last week to kick-off his 30th birthday celebration!  These things need to last at least a couple of weeks, right?  So, I had to bring out the birthday hat and he wore it with pride!  (Not really, but he wore it anyway) - he got this hat at La Huerta on his 25th birthday and we've had it hanging in our garage ever since!  HEHE!  Brady is singing Happy Birthday & that's why he is so excited!

Richie and his family posing!

 Birthday boy (pre-hat) and my mom and I with Brady!

His 3-0 gear! YAY!  Let's start this birthday off right!  Happy Birthday!

More 4th of July pics!

Grampie and Babs showing some Independence Day Love!

The dogs - trying to celebrate the 4th of July - only there is NO WATER in the pool! :(

Happy Birthday America!

We had so much fun at the Nolen's 4th of July party!  It was a great family fun time!  They had TONS to do for kids and they even shot off the parachute fireworks so the kids could run and catch them!  It was so cute!  We went with Kin and Kate and seriously had the best time!  They grilled burgers and hot dogs and everyone brought sides/desserts and all the food was so good!!  They have so much to do at their house (they have 5 kids) so we found a nice little tree swing that Brady loved and we went down and looked at their chickens and Brady just really enjoyed watching all the kids playing and swimming!  When it was time for the fireworks Richie caught a lightening bug and opened his hand for Brady to see and it flew on Brady's hand and he was so intriqued!  It was funny!  And, this last picture just melts my heart!  Richie put Brady on his shoulders and if you look hard enough you can see a little bit of a firework going off in the distance!  PRECOIUS!  It was a great 4th of July - Happy Birthday America!

Vacation 2011 - Gulf Shores, AL!

I'm starting from the very beginning and telling you day by day stories from our 1st vacation as a family!  We left home about 2pm on Thursday and stopped in Russellville and hung out with Carla, Ryan and McKynlee before all of us headed to the beach!  We decided it might be best to drive overnight since Brady doesn't LOVE being in the car (making it easier for everyone) so we slept until about 1am and hit the road!  YIKES - not a great start...Brady screamed from Russellville to Conway and we were already second guessing this trip...He finally went to sleep and I think we made it until about 6am before he woke up again...The drive down was ROUGH and we ended up arriving in Gulf Shores around noon and we couldn't check in until 2 so we hit up Tanger Outlet to kill some time and get some grub...Once we got there we unloaded!  And WOW - we knew we pretty much packed the whole house but check out the picture above!  We had so much stuff!!!!  How did it all fit in the car???

After piddling around and checking everything out (I think we may have hit up the pool but I really can't remember - that 1st day was a BLUR) we were all ready to hit the sack...Except the kids!  They were ready to PARTY!  The above pics don't do them justice - they were BOUNCING off the walls!  This is after bathtime and last bottle, etc...They were ready to play and carry on...We were DRAGGING!

But, after a nice rest we woke up early and hit up the beach!  We promised babs and grampie that we would look for shells so we hit up the beach EVERY single morning!  It was nice to walk along the beach as a family and see Brady check everything out.  We collected a bunch of shells and even found 6 small sand dollars!!  We were super excited!  I even found a little pail and shovel that had been abandoned so we had something to put our treasures in!

After our nice walk, we hit up the local church and went to Mass.  Brady put on his Sunday best and of course everyone there thought he was so cute!

We then were starving and looking for some lunch!  So, we ate at the Shrimp Basket which was a local joint and we sat out on the patio and enjoyed the little mist blowers while we ate our grilled crab cakes which were DE-LISH! 

And, to end our nice day we hit up the pool for a few hours!  The kids had a great time!  Carla and I got to lay out for a few hours while the kids napped and the boys brought them down and we all played in the pool!  Brady loved the pool - thank goodness b/c we were there every afternoon!

  We hit up the beach the next day!  Brady woke up early so we tried to get him out of the condo so he didn't wake everyone else up!  You can tell he is enjoying the sound of the ocean and relaxing while getting his morning bottle!  HA!  After getting around - we hit up the local ZOO!

Brady in with the goats!  He LOVED them!  We did the goats pretty much first thing...And, it's about 10am and already blazing...So we were all sweating from the start!  HA!

We rented a wagon b/c we thought it would be easier to get around with Brady and we are just going to have to get him one for the house b/c he LOVES wagons!!  You can tell McKynlee is starting to fade here b/c it's so dang hot!!

But, by the time we made it around to the parrots - Brady was not only HOT but getting a little sleepy...He is less than impressed with the birds!  HAHA!  This picture cracks me up b/c he is normally all smiles and he just couldn't muster one up!  HA!

So, he grabbed a quick nap!  And when I say quick - I mean, maybe 20 minutes!  So he was feeling a little refreshed after making mommy extremely HOT!  HA!  But, I enjoyed the cuddle time as always!

I'm not sure if it was the nap, or if Brady really liked the tigers (behind us which you can't see) but his smile is back!  He is ready to see more animals!!  And thank goodness you can't see the sweat rings that went under my  boobs b/c they were HUGE!  :(  HAHA!  We were all roasting by this point!

Brady and the goats again...Thought this was too cute not to include!

We then hit up the pool for a little cool down time after eating at LuLu's Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffet's sisters place) - it was good but we were all too hot to really eat...The pool was nice and warm that afternoon!  HA!  But it was still refreshing!  The boys went out to a local bar and had a few drinks while Carla and I handled the kiddos and put them to bed and even though Richie only got 4 hours of sleep, he was such a trooper the next day!

We hit up the beach AGAIN!  Here is Brady with a shell - checking it out!

Then, he and daddy are trying to chase the sea gull...Didn't catch it!

But, we had a nice amount of shells to add to the collection before calling it a morning!  Here is our condo that we stayed in behind them - we stayed on the 12th floor and it was really nice!  Would definitely go back - in a few years...HA!

You can tell Richie is starting to fade after his 4 hours of sleep...We are eating breakfast at Kitty's Korner - it's a locally owned place and I ate the KP Cakes - they were DE-LISH!  It was pancakes that they smothered in honey, cinnamon and brown sugar!  YUMMY!  We had only set out for breakfast b/c Carla, Ryan and McKynlee were still sleeping, but a storm blew in and there was really nothing to do at the condo with a storm...So, we took off for a drive.  Brady was sleeping so we actually drove into Florida and checked out Perdido Key and then decided to hit up Tanger Outlet.  This is where the story really gets good...

We realized it had been a long while since Brady had his diaper changed...Keep in mind it's pouring!!  So, Richie runs back to the car to get the diaper bag so we can change him!  This Tanger Outlet is HUGE by the way...So, we go into a few stores trying to figure out where we are going to change him and decide on J. Crew.  I pretend to try on a dress and we hit up the big dressing room.  While trying to get his shorts/diaper off the power goes out.  Oh yes, pitch black - strange place...Lights come back on and we are searching the diaper bag...NO DIAPER...Oh yes, I'm that terrible mom who didn't check and make sure there were any diapers!  WHAT???  No diaper???  How could this happen???  What are we to do???  We had no choice, but to put his wet one back on...We felt horrible!  So, now we are on a mission to find a place in this huge outlet mall that might sell diapers.  Oh yes - Toys R Us!  It's literally 1/2 a mile away so we set out in that direction...A few random stores later I don't feel like we are any closer.  We are in Nine West (yes, I know - once again horrible parents for stopping to look at shoes and not just going straight to Toys R Us) and Richie looks down and says "Brady, are you drooling on me??" Apparentally during the blackout diaper craziness we managed to put the already wet diaper on crooked and it has leaked all on Brady and all on Richie! :(  Poor guys!!  So, no stalling...We are heading straight for Toys R Us!!!  We hike in the rain and when we get there we realize...It's a Toys R Us EXPRESS!  No DIAPERS!!!  What??  How could this happen?  We need a diaper for Brady and a new shirt for Richie STAT!  What are our options???  Richie comes up with a great plan that he needs to just ask someone who has a kid about the same size as Brady b/c we could bum a diaper...This sounds good in a perfect world - however, I'm the horrible loser mom who forgot a diaper...We find a nice looking lady with a kid and Richie literally chases her down!!  Follows her in a store and asks for a diaper.  What do I do you ask?  I'm mortified so I decided it was best for Richie to look like the sweet dad taking his kid shopping that forgot a diaper (without the mom) so I hide behind a pole!  HA!  I know, I'm horrible but it's much more acceptable for a man to forget than a woman!  So, crisis is almost fixed...We head into Old Navy to change the diaper and get him into a new set of clothes (which I did have on me) and get Richie and new shirt!  2 hours later - we are all set to go get some lunch!  Man...What a trip!  And we only set out for breakfast...HA!

We felt so bad that we put Brady through all that we decided that he could have a lick off my ice cream cone after lunch...Big mistake!  He LOVES ice cream!!!  He BEGGED for more and more bites!  HA!  But, he had been through enough and was so cute that we let him eat some!  Sweet boy!

We then hit up the pool for a little more R&R and fun times!  It was great - as usual!

After pool time, we went to Big O's for dinner and McKynlee was sharing some love while we were waiting on our food!  She was holding Brady's hand and sharing kisses - how precious is this???  We didn't leave there until almost 9 so it was a late night!!!

The next morning we decided it was our last full day there so we needed to get our cheesy gifts to bring back home to share with everyone.  How funny is this pic?  This was outside of the surf & shop place so we couldn't resist trying to put Brady up in there - too funny!

Here is a view from our balcony!  It was beautiful!

There was a neat little place called "Hope's Cheesecake" - you know if it's a specialty store with just cheesecake I have to hit it up!  It was AMAZING!  We shared a "Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cupcake" and a "Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcake" and they seriously melted in my mouth!  I LOVE cheesecake, but this was the best I've ever had HANDS DOWN!

Brady thought so too!  HA!  He loved it!  And, Richie doesn't really eat sweets all the time like me, but he agreed that it was AMAZING!

We had to hit up the pool on our last full day and Brady found the stairs to the pool - he thought he was such a big boy and he was so excited that he had everyone at the pool checking him out and talking about how cute he was!!

Then we got ready and went to dinner!  Ribs and Reds - it was really good!  I swear I ate crab cakes almost every single day while we were there!  I ended up getting a steak salad this last night b/c I didn't think I needed to eat crab cakes another night!  HA!

Carla, McKynlee and Ryan enjoying the last meal with us!  We had so much fun with them! 

Brady posing - is he not the cutest?!?  I think so!  I think he had a great time!!  However, I will say that when we got home and after a good night's rest - he played with every single last toy he has like he hadn't seen them in forever!  It was priceless!  Vacation is always GREAT - but it feels so good to be home too! :)  We are blessed!