Cami and Mike

Well, wordpress inserted all of my pictures in from last to first, so that’s cool.  And you know I’m too lazy to change them all around.  It’s just not worth it, you guys.  So here we are.

We took a trip to Utah at the end of November last year so that we could be there for Thomas and Madi’s wedding (Mike’s youngest brother).  And because Bready Thanksgivings are DELICIOUS – Gladys’ cooking is top notch.  I went out early with Jude, of course, and we had so much fun seeing and hanging out with everyone.

This was saying goodbye to Grandpa on the last day.  It’s always sad saying goodbye.

The newlyweds.  I think they’ve been dating since they were 15 or 16.  Something like that.  Sometimes it’s meant to be…

Sisters.

Michelle’s pregnant belly was so cute.

Jude was always super helpful, like usual.

I can’t possibly not be working on a project at any given point in time, and Michelle had recently bought a sewing machine, so while I was there I taught her how to use it and how to make these cute half-aprons and some little baby skirts.  Gladys got her own Christmas themed half-apron too.

Mike’s cousin Morgan was on her mission when Jude was born so she came over to meet him one day while we were there.

One of my good friends here in Dallas is Diane Goggins, and her husband’s parents moved in down the street from Mike’s parents and hang out with them a lot.  Diane was in town for Thanksgiving too so it was fun spending some time together at both our in-laws.  This is Diane’s niece pulling Jude around the house.

I made Michelle and Jordan open our Christmas gift to them while we were there.  I spent so much time on it that I felt I deserved to see it opened in person (selfish? Whatevs.)  It was hard to give away but I think they’ve enjoyed it.

My friend Mandy and her husband and daughter, Caroline.  They’re still hanging out in Provo these days.  I’ll be sad when they move and I can’t see her anymore when we visit Utah.

The wedding day.

Mike’s cousin, Eric.  When they both have beards and their hair in the same style, they look creepily alike.  He and his wife have two kids now and we have never met each other’s kids because she was out of town when we were there.  It’s crazy.

Gladys and Mike’s Aunt Stacie (Morgan and Eric’s mom…can you tell?)

Jude bawled every time his Great-Grandpa Bready was around.  It was really hilarious.

Still recovering from seeing GG Bready.

I got to see my friend Marisa for the first time in several years.

Why do grandbabies love their grandmas so much?  Grandmas must be magical or something.

Jude was being a weirdo in the airport on our way to Utah.

You could say he tends to draw quite a bit of attention to himself.

The usual Jude.

Date night with the Goggins.

Yes, he’s a climber.  Even when the chair is folded…

Too spicy perhaps…

A normal night in the life of a babysat Ellery.

A normal destructful day in the life of Jude.

Kelsey came to visit on her way from Arizona to Orlando.  It was the best!  I’m pretty sure it was her first time meeting Jude, too.  They got along well.

And we didn’t take our picture until 7 the next morning…yikes.

Sick baby.

Naughty baby.

Crazy baby.

Jude and I made a visit to Bobbie’s house (my grandmother’s cousin) to return some old pictures we borrowed to scan. So fun having family in town!

Diane and I went to the Texas State Fair the day before Big Tex (the gigantic cowboy statue celebrating 60 years this year) died.  And by died, I mean caught fire and burned down to its metal frame in front of many children at the fair that day.

They have about a thousand fried things, but I only tried the corn dog and the fried pineapple upside down cake, which was basically just a pineapple ring battered and fried with whipped cream on top.  It was still delicious.

The ridiculous butter sculpture, one of my favorite parts.

The kids loved the petting zoo.

Jude won’t let go anymore when his dad holds him up to hang onto anything because he knows this is going to happen.

This was at our friend’s beautiful garden that we helped take care of while they were out of town.

I didn’t tell many people, but I had an accident in the kitchen in October.  I had too much oil in the pan and it was on high, and I got nervous when I went to put the steak in, dropped it, and  hot oil splashed on my left cheek, nose, mouth, neck and arm. Mike and I went to the emergency room.  They thought that a few spots might be third degree, so they bandaged me up, gave me some burn cream and referred me to the Parkland Burn Center.  They decided that the two spots were just deep second degree, but not third degree burns, so I just had to wait for it to heal.  And at this point I have pink spots on my arm and neck, but you can’t tell I got burned on the face at all.  I just have to stay out of the sun for a few more months while the skin finishes healing.  I think this picture is from after my visit to the burn center where they scraped all the skin off the burn areas.

Mike and I love going to Whole Foods for dessert on our dates and we can never resist getting this dessert.  It’s cream and berries in a chocolate-covered waffle cone type shell.  It’s delicious.

Mom’s club

Mike and I made these costumes for our friends’ Halloween party.

They’re dorks.  But then again, so are we.

That’s right…I’m catching up from September.  Luckily, my baby was cute back then too, so you can deal.  Get ready for a whole lot of pictures and videos. 

The last 3D movie I will every watch.  I hate 3D.

Sloan and Jude

Hot Air Balloon Festival with the Hoods

And sometimes, this is what happens when a man puts things away in the kitchen.

And what a birthday it was.  We threw him a mustache-themed party; everyone had their own fake mustache to wear (even Emily’s unborn child), there were mustache Oreo-frosted cupcakes, and I ordered nose cups (it seemed fitting…see below).  For the main entrée I spent hours Friday afternoon cooking up WAY too many crepes, but I think everyone liked the crepe bar (I know I did) so it was worth it.

He got lots of good presents, though you can see in the photos that the Little People Farm was a big hit (and still is).  Thank you everyone who sent/gave him something!

Our friend Kara takes photos professionally on the side of being an awesome mom, and she was nice enough to take photos of the party.  See said awesomeness below.

So it’s official.  My baby is one.  I was really thrown off guard when I realized that my next pregnancy, which until now has felt so far away, is close at hand (no, I’m not pregnant and not trying yet.  I’m just really not looking forward to the day that I am again).

But if the next baby is as great as Jude, he/she will be worth those wretched 9 months.  He is such a good child, and somehow he gets cuter and cuter every day.  Jude, at one, is:

1.  still so sweet (crossing my fingers that this never ends).  He still snuggles a lot.  My favorite is what I call “nap hug,” the little arms holding my neck tightly the first few minutes after I pick him up out of his crib post-nap.

2. giving kisses, waving goodbye and hello, and…well, those are the only party tricks I can think of for now.  And does he ever do them when we want to show them to someone?  No.  So if you see it, consider yourself lucky.

3.  loving books.  If I sit down in a chair holding a book, he races over and leans back on me as soon as I pick him up and turn him around.  I love it.

4. not walking yet.  He’s always been, well, what’s the best way to describe it?  Bendy, flexible, loosey goosey (yeah, I just said that).  He’s just never been one to hold himself stiff, so standing up is obviously too much of a bother.  He is starting to test the waters with standing though.  But he’s so fast on his knees (or should I say feet and hands, since he picks up his knees when he goes into super-speed mode) that for now he just couldn’t bother with walking.

5.  laughing all the time.  He has the funniest giggle and smiles as soon as you give him any good reason too.

6.  into EVERYTHING.  And ignores all “No’s” from me.  Well, I might get a glance, but that’s about it.  I have to put half the books back on the bookshelf most every night.

7.  a crazy climber.  He climbs across/up everything and back down the other side, including up on the back of the couch so he can try to take the mirror off the wall.  Yikes.

8.  loving bath time but has a one-track mind when it comes to the drain.  Half the time bath time is over early because I just can’t keep him away from it any longer.

9. throwing all of his food off the tray when he’s done eating. My favorite attribute of his, for sure.  But he is a good eater so I can’t complain too much.  Our carpet will never really be clean again, though.

10.  a great napper.  He still takes two a day most of the time, though he is currently transitioning to one.  He rarely whines when I put him down in the crib and often spends quite a bit a time playing in there before or after his naps without me even realizing that he’s been awake for so long.  He has also been kind in the mornings – he doesn’t even wake me up half the time.  He just plays in his crib until I wake up and get him.

11.  officially weaned and drinking whole milk.  TMI?  Eh, I don’t really care.  I’m pretty excited about it.

Happy birthday, Jude.  We love you a lot, little boy.

So glad Jude and I got to spend some time with Henry this summer.  This boy loves to smile, and I love every single picture of it.

Now about the summer…where do I begin?  Maybe I’ll blog again when I figure it out.

I love that we have three new baby boys in the family and that I get new pictures of these boys every day.  I also love that they eat each other.

I know, he looks really excited.  But seriously, he’s going to love the lake this summer.  Two more weeks… wow that’s coming up fast!

This was when he was first starting to pull himself up on things.  I love the pride in his eyes.

Still a snuggler.