NurseryTime!

Can you believe my baby is old enough to go to nursery?! He had his first adventure in nursery on Sunday and did great! He stayed by himself the whole time! I'm hoping he doesn't figure out that when he goes, that means mommy leaves which leads to tears before I even leave (like he recently has figured out about daycare). I think he will really like playing with the other kids, and I'm sure it beats hanging out in Sunday School!! Here he is cheesin for the camera right before church...
Here are Brady's 18 month stats:
Height: 33 1/2 in (85%)
Weight: 26.4 lbs (55%)
Head: 49.5 (90%)
He did really well at the doctor, but I think he remembered Nurse Kari gave him shots the last time because he wasn't too thrilled to see her. Luckily this time he didn't need any shots!! Woohoo!

Brady really does get more fun and cuter and cuter each day. It is fun to watch his personality come out (even if it includes tantrums), and we are blessed to have a happy, healthy little boy! He has started talking a lot more, and says new words every day. He is also very much in the copycat phase, so I guess we better really watch what we say and do! He loves to give hugs and kisses, including to his stuffed animals and even the characters in his books. He also loves to "feed" and "give drinks" to his stuffed animals and books. It's pretty darn cute. Brady loves his Grandma and his new favorite is Uncle Kirk. He is really good at saying "Kirk," which might be part of the reason he loves him so much. We're lucky to have Kirsten and Kirk close by now to play with all the time!

4 Years!

Yep, it has been 4 years since we tied the knot! To celebrate we had a weekend getaway to Kansas City. And thanks to Michelle and Kendall, a babyless night away! I'll admit, it was a little weird not to have my little man around, but it was nice to spend time together and have a lot more freedom.

We headed to Kansas City Friday night and went out to eat with the Walkers, the (other) Bells, and Randy. It's always fun to see everyone and catch up, and of course to see how big all my nieces and nephews are getting! We spent the night with the Walkers and then our day of independence started Saturday. We got to go to a movie (also thanks to Michelle and Kendall for letting us use their vouchers) so we saw Batman. It was really good and I already can't wait for the next one. Between the movie and dinner we got to enjoy some shopping and then we went out to eat at Em Chamas, a Brazilian restaurant that was soooooo good I can't even begin to describe it. It was the best meat I have ever tasted! After feasting on our scrumptious meal we headed to our hotel, the Sheraton, and got to stay in a fancy room. And believe it or not, I was so anxious to check out the fitness room that I dragged Quentin with me to work out. It was the nicest fitness room I have ever seen in a hotel (which is actually not saying a whole lot, but this was niiiiice) and it made me miss my gym membership. After that we sat in the hot tub for a while and then relaxed in our room until we decided it was time for some snacks, which we failed to bring with us. This took us on a wild goose chase through the ghetto in search of some simple little treats. I feel like we're lucky we made it out alive. But we did get our snacks :)
It was soooooo much fun and a great way to celebrate our 4 years of marriage! It was really nice to get my Brady man back. Thanks so much Michelle and Kendall! We owe you one :)

18 Month Pictures

Click Here To see Brady's 18 month pictures we had taken last night

Thank Goodness for Pinterest

As many of you know, I am a bit of a pinterest addict. It's pretty much the best idea ever and I have to give a big THANK YOU to my sister Kirsten for introducing me to it. I have gotten a ton of good recipes, organizational and crafty ideas from it, and it's wonderful! I have to say that I am not really individually creative. I don't think of ideas on my own, but I am pretty dang good at copying other people's creativity, and that counts for something right? Here is my latest pinterest copy cat. It was a fun project and different than anything I have done before. Overall I am happy with how it turned out. I tried my best to match the colors, but if I did it again I would lighten up the colors just a bit. The splash on the top canvas was different on pinterest, but I tried to do mine to match the shower curtain more and I don't like it as much, but oh well. I'm still pretty proud :)

Summer Fun

Brady has loved playing in the water this summer with Grandma. I'm sure it's especially refreshing with the record high temperatures we've had, but even without that, we have quite the water baby on our hands. He has always loved water, even if it's just to wash his hands :) Here's our water baby at work...