Tales from the Hill's Country

Quips, stories and observations from our adventures in marriage and parenting (as told by Katie).

Monday, January 28, 2013

Bradley at the Bank

Bradley was very excited to open his very own bank account!

When we spoke to the bank officer, Bradley listened carefully and weighed his options:
We gave him a pamphlet about the various accounts:
And he digested the information:

In the end he made a wise choice (with some help from Dad) and is on the road to financial responsibility!

Way to go, Bradley!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Sunday Morning with Papa P

Just a typical Sunday morning in Baton Rouge with Bradley and Papa P:
Bradley and his Papa P read the paper and talk about current events:
Sometimes PD gets riled up as they discuss the happenings in the world:
And sometimes Bradley does too:
But it's mostly pleasant reading:
Just Bradley and Papa P:

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Bradley's Christmas Gift

Santa wasn't super generous to Bradley this year.

He gave him a ball:
Sorry, kid, Santa's a little busy saving for your college education (you're welcome).

Mimi and Papa T, however, pulled out the stops:
A radio-flyer stroller that turns into a tricycle!

At first he was unsure what to do with it:
Really unsure:
But once Papa T (and Gordon) assembled it:
It was time to go for a spin!
Thanks Mimi and Papa T! I see many memories being made with Bradley's new wheels!

Friday, January 18, 2013

Christmas in Houston

Just a few more Christmas posts and I'll be all caught up!

Bradley has a few Christmas-themed outfits that he could only wear this year, so I did my best to photograph each of them.

Like this hat, for example:
Something tells me, Bradley's not a fan:
We spent Christmas Eve with my parents, my grandpa and his lady friend, Martha.

Here's my dad with his dad and my son:
Bradley and my mom always have fun together:
And Martha and Gordon chilling on the sofa:
Father and son:
Two good looking fellows!

After an early supper we went to our church's early Christmas Eve service. I'd only gone to the midnight service (a very serene candlelit service) so it was quite a change to go to the "kid's" service-- full of excited babies and even a few live animals for the nativity portion! No photos from that... so just imagine chaos and a stubborn donkey who didn't want to leave the stage.

Yep, Christmas is different with a little one... but I'd say it's a good change!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Houston Zoo Lights

A few weeks before Christmas, I took my two boys on a date to the zoo!

The Houston Zoo had a special event called Zoo Lights where you could go at night and enjoy the zoo lit up with Christmas lights. It might just be that I've seen too many Disney World Christmas decorations, but I'd only rate the lights as average. Still it was an enjoyable evening strolling through the zoo with hot chocolate, Christmas music and lots of cheer.
As you can see, Bradley was not impressed.

Bradley, the elf:
Although not super impressive, the Christmas lights were certainly better than what you see here:
This won't be a family tradition for us, but it was still a fun evening date with my two favorite men.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Santa Baby

I adore photos of babies crying on Santa's lap. (I wonder what that says about me?) It's probably really annoying for Santa and the parents (not to mention the poor traumatized child), but I find them hilarious.

So you can imagine what I was hoping for when I took my son to see Santa this year. But instead of a wailing child, I got this:
No stranger danger, no fear... just a smiling little baby.

I guess I'll take it. ;)

But now, let's check out Santa (click on the photo to make it larger):


Where's the twinkle, old man? Bradley has clearly picked up on your disinterest.

Turns out, we had a second opportunity to see Santa this year. So we took it. This time I was ready. I went right around nap time. I was sure to have a cranky, crying baby!

Instead:
Just a pitiful look that says, "please stop these shenanigans and let me go to sleep. Please."

Oh well... there's always next year!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Cousin's Photoshoot

On the day we had Bradley baptized, we had two opportunities to get the cousins together for a little photo shoot. Maria had just turned one year, Lucy was 10 months and Bradley was 3 months.

First we got them together at Tiny's no 5. I think this is the best one:

It was shortly after this photo was taken that Maria let us all know she was finished:
The two older girls were full of energy and poses. Bradley, however just looked scared the whole time:
Afterwards we tried again at the house.

At first Maria was NOT interested:
 Lucy took note and decided to follow along with Maria:
Turns out, however, that Maria was just faking it. After flaying her self onto the sofa, she'd look up with a grin:
Bradley was his typical stoic self (never really sure how to react among these two ladies) until he decided enough was enough:
Somehow in the middle of this chaos, we were able to get a fairly good shot of all three:
Looking forward to when we can bribe them all with M&Ms and get three smiling kiddos in one frame!

(Speaking of smiling... here's the ONLY photo that my usually grinning boy smiled for:)

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Bradley's Baptism

On November 11th we had Bradley baptized at our church.

Despite his strong distaste for bath time, he was very good during the ceremony-- even when he was sprinkled with water!

The elder who was a part of the ceremony is a good family friend of ours and that made the day even more special.

Here I am saying the special Bible verse that we chose for him:
It's now a part of our bedtime routine and the last thing he hears before he goes to sleep, "Bradley you are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand and it shines for everyone in the house to see. In the same way, let your light shine before others. So they may see you good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."

By having Bradley baptized at this young age we are committing to raising him with Christian values and will do our best to encourage him to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. When he is older he will have an opportunity to publicly proclaim his faith on his own.

After the service, we had some photos with the family (the entire Baton Rouge clan came to town-- it was great!):

Then we enjoyed brunch at Tiny's No 5.
After brunch we invited our pals to the house for some champagne and lawn games. It was a fun a casual way to enjoy our Sunday!
Bradley took a nap in the middle of the festivities, but was happy to smile and giggle for Aunt Lindsay when she arrived:
We enjoyed a nice day on the patio with our friends. Here's a shot of Chris with his son:
It's particularly meaningful that the outfit Bradley is wearing was once worn by his father!

Bradley, we are honored to take the responsibility raise you in a Christian home. I am looking forward to helping you commit to a faith of your own as you continue to grow.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Bradley: Month Four

Bradley is actually 4.5 months... but the photos (and this update) are from two weeks ago. What a whirlwind month it's been!


Bradley is still one happy little baby! He loves to play in his Treetop Activity Gym and will spend a good amount of time with his owl friends. He's also OBSESSED with the baby in the mirror (I kind of am, too!).

He does not enjoy tummy time, but when he's on his back he will *almost* flip to his tummy. So often I'll watch him roll to the side and think "this is it!" only to see him give up and roll onto his back again.



We don't really have a daily schedule still, but he seems to want to sleep around 7pm and wake up around 7am. I'm up 2-3 times in the middle of the night to feed him.

During the past month Bradley celebrated Thanksgiving, spent TWO NIGHTS AWAY from mom and dad, took a great photo with Santa and aced his 4 month appointment. He is 25" long and 14.6lbs. He went from being a little small at his 2month appointment to being almost perfectly average at his 4month. The doctor said we could start solids if we'd like (not yet) and that it's about time to help him sleep through the night (yikes!).


Aside from that, it's more of the same! Lots of coos, giggles and TONS of smiles.