Wrapping up November

Some random photos from November:

Bradley proudly showing off his building:

Bradley and his pal, Joey, enjoying snack time:

Brenham, doing his "cousin Conrad" impression (I know, only about 10 people will get this... but for the others- he just looks looks cute!)

Speaking of cute:

And we almost have a smile!

Park Pictures

We have some great parks around us (many thanks to www.westuparks.org and their fundraising efforts)! Here are some shots of Bradley enjoying them!

Houston in the summer is tough... but it sure is nice to grab the stroller and head outside with my kiddos in the middle of December!

Brenham: two months

Brenham is two months old!

He's still a pretty serious fellow:

And he still wears a signature look of "a little concerned and uncomfortable":

And I still attribute that to the fact that Big Brother is always close by, ready to attack... hug him and show him his eyes.

In fact, he couldn't help but get into the action of Brenham's photo shoot... if only for a moment in the chair...

They say you shouldn't compare your kids... but I couldn't help it... are these two peas in a pod, or what??

Brenham seems to be growing much faster, though.

Even though he's not a big smiler (we can get a few grins out of him from time to time) he's a super low-maintenance baby-- eats, sleeps, coos...

Bradley loves when we let him "play" with Brenham and I've loved watching their sibling relationship begin! We love having Brenahm in our family!

Despite this photo, I'm sure he loves it too. Really.

Thanksgiving 2014

For the first time since Chris and I were dating, the Hill family stayed in Houston for Thanksgiving. It was a much slower pace than usual, but we all enjoyed spending some laid-back time together.

We have much to be thankful for!

Bradley's school hosted a Thanksgiving feast... it was adorable!

 

On Thanksgiving day we enjoyed a feast hosted by my parents. Bradley was uninterested in much of the food:

 But he sure looked cute in his outfit!

Speaking of cute outfits, Brenham wore a special one. 

This was not only worn by Bradley, but also by CHRIS when he was a baby!

Brenham, rocking his signature look, "concerned and uncomfortable":

I meant to get a good family photo, but by the end of the day, I was so tired, I just sat on a cooler and had the boys gather around me.

I'm thankful for our little crew- we're busy, tired and happy!

Braving the Public with Two

Even though I gave birth to a second child two months ago, I feel like I've only recently become a "true" mom of two. Chris was home for a month on paternity leave (what a blessing from his company!!) and I've only just recently stopped receiving meals from so many sweet friends.

But the true test of my "mom-hood"? Taking them both on an adventure!

It was a beautiful day in Houston so I loaded up the Hill boys and we headed over to the train. I bribed encouraged Bradley to be good with the promise of ice cream after our train ride (if he met my expectations- to hold my hand and walk like a big boy).

I got nervous when I saw the train pull away as we walked up. This meant about a half hour until it came back and we could board. But with the constant reminder of our post-train ice cream, Bradley was a model citizen.

Still, I was happy when we finally got on the train!

Bradley was pretty happy too:

And I'm pretty sure that if Brenham had been awake, he also would have enjoyed the train!

And did he earn his ice cream?

He did!

However...

After the ice cream we had to walk back to the car. Bradley thought it would be more fun to walk a few steps into the parking lot, then sit on the ground. Each time he did this (all THREE times), I would pick him up and take him back to the sidewalk where we had a time out before trying it again. Naturally, Bradley screamed loudly in protest. Which woke up Brenham... who then also screamed loudly in protest. On the sidewalk... where all of the happy families were traipsing to and from the train station. I got a few strange looks... as well as some nods of solidarity from fellow moms. And on his fourth try, Bradley held my hand and walked like a big boy all the way back to the car. Whew!

I survived my first of many adventures with the Hill Boys!

Brenham: One Month

On November 14th, Brenham turned one month!

He was super excited.

Brenham has been a wonderful baby. Likes to eat and sleep... and that's about it. He weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces at his two week appointment-- 10 ounces over his birth weight-- I'm a proud mama!

He's also a pretty serious baby.

He spends a lot of time looking concerned.

But that's probably because Big Brother Bradley is often nearby!

Bradley LOVES baby Brenham! But despite my instructions to touch him only on the top of the head and the bottom of the feet... he still prefers to show him his eyes and give him big hugs! Chris and I spend a fair amount of time playing interference.

We love this little boy and are excited to see how this serious, "Mr. Grumpers" personality grows!

Halloween Fun

Halloween this year started with a visit to Bradley's school for a party and parade. Here I am with my little giraffe (and Baby Brenham hanging out in the sling):

And Bradley looking adorable:

Walking with daddy to the Halloween party:

Later we took Bradley and Brenham to my parent's house to trick-or-treat:

I taught Bradley all about trick-or-treating. First you go to the door and say "trick-or-treat!". Then they give you a treat and you say "thank you!". You immediately put the treat in your little pumpkin. It's fun to collect treats! Then you go to sleep. That night the treat fairy will come and take care of your treats. The next morning you're welcome to play with your (now empty) pumpkin for as long as you want! Let's see how long I can keep that up...

Bradley wandered into my dad's office and came out wearing these gloves and looking so proud of himself!

Later we went to our friend's house in the neighborhood for some dinner, playtime and trick-or-treating.

Bradley took his treat-collection very seriously:

It took him a while to get over his shy-ness and actually say "trick-or-treat", but eventually he did... and we even had a few unprompted "thank yous"!

Brenham and I had to leave early and Chris and Bradley walked home. On the way, Chris tried to carry Bradley, but he kept insisting that he walk. Then he kept walking up to doors trying to trick-or-treat. I'd say our lesson is complete!

By the way, we had quite a few questions about Chris' headgear. It's a Buffalo wing. Yep. That's my husband!

Stork Visit

When Brenham came home from the hospital, we had quite the welcome in our front yard!

Bradley was especially excited that he got his own star!

If you live in the area and are expecting (or know someone is does and is) consider ordering a stork for the front yard! It's a fun way to celebrate the new baby and the proceeds support West U parks! Plus, it makes it super easy to give directions to your house! "It's the one with the huge stork in the front!"

You can order one here:
http://www.westuparks.org/storks.htm

My (big) Little Pumpkin

Flashback to a week before Brenham was born... Chris and I took Bradley to the pumpkin patch!

My little model between shots:

Then back to work!

There was a playground across the street that Bradley wanted to visit... turns out it was quite the motivator!

So after we snapped some shots and purchased some pumpkins, we took him over.

He never gets tired of the swing!

And I never get tired of watching him.

Life Lately

A random assortment from the last two weeks:

The Couvillions came to visit and Bradley showed Maria the train at Hermann park. 

They both loved it! When they came back to the house, they dressed up in Bumble Bee and Giraffe costumes and ran around the kitchen yelling "All Aboard!". It was hilarious. Sadly, I didn't get a good shot of the action. Here's the best I could capture:

Brenham came home from the hospital wearing the same "going home" outfit that his big brother, Bradley wore 2 years earlier. And the same outfit that his dad wore over 3 decades ago!

And since he's been home, he's done a lot of sleeping:

Except at night-- that's when he prefers to be awake.

Speaking of nighttime happenings, this was Bradley's recent middle-of-the-night adventure:

He woke up wheezing and having trouble breathing. Since we had a 6 DAY-old, we decided that Chris should go to the ER with Bradley and I'd stay home with Brenham. It was hard sending my first born to the ER without me, but I knew it was best. Turns out he had croup- a quick shot and he's been symptom-free ever since!

Between new brother and his ER visit, parent guilt has spoiled Bradley in a big way!! Here's a recent toy we bought him:

And a drive-in movie experience:

Lastly, we took our first "family of four" outing to Bradley's school's ride-a-thon fundraiser. Basically the kids bring a riding toy and scoot around the "track".

You can't really tell, but this is a photo of me and my boys (Brenham is safely tucked away from germs in the green sling):

All in all it's been an exciting two weeks!