Braden - 1 year old

Well, it's sad but true that our little man is 1 year old! This last year had flown by! It seemed to go fast with Aly, but I have to say Braden grew up a lot faster! He weighed in at 20 1/2 lbs. and was 29 inches long (20-25% percentile for those that care). His latest adventures are: climbing up the stairs as fast as he can, learning to go down slowly on his tummy, getting into all of Aly's things, making car (varroom) and duck (quack) sounds, running all over the house chasing Aly and his cousins, eating some table food but is starting to revert back to wanting baby food and is still waking up A TON through the night (still teething horribly).

That's all for this update, you can thank my cousin Kelli for demanding this post. I need to get some sleep now!

House

Here is the latest photo.......

Happy 1st Birthday Braden!

Yummy! This Elmo cake was the best thing ever!

I'm DONE!

Halloween

Milestone!!!

(crawling - climbing stairs - walking)

Yes, I can't forget to announce the news - Braden is officially walking!

Loving Fall!

Well, with a few weekends of away football games (yeah, I know - not having a good year) we have finally had some time to relax and have fun. This weekend was packed with some fun for all. Friday evening we spent at our school Fall Festival. It was a great time! However, I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures to share :( Aly really enjoyed seeing the animals, playing in the "corn box" (like a sandbox, but corn in a haybox), going through the long/challenging corn maze (which had Mom and Dad worried for a little bit (should've taken a potty break first), eating and playing with her friends. It was a cool and beautiful fall evening!

Then, Saturday we spent some time playing outside.

Matt and the kids played an "organized" ball game together.

Braden had such a good time being included!

Then, Aly played in grass piles with Papo. The racked the grass into piles and when diving though it. I was honestly surprised that Aly actually did it! (It probably helped that she had a coat, hat and gloves on....so, she was virtually covered from head to toe!)

Well, we hope that you are enjoying the wonderful fall weather. Now that we are "up and running" again, stay tuned for more frequent updates!

Take care!

P.S. I also got to spend some much needed "me" time. I have just about finished Braden's scrapbook (baby book - hard to believe he's almost 1 year!) and have put Aly's 2-3 year book together (However, I do still need to journal and add some enhancements). It feels so great! Now I can't wait to move into our new house and have room to work on it weekly! (Atleast that's my goal!)

Pumpkin Time!

At the beginning of October, it's a family tradition to take the little ones to the pumpkin patch. It's always a good time!

Aren't they so cute?

Aly, Liam and Izzie on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch. There was much anticipation for finding the perfect pumpkin!

September Recap

The end of August disappeared and September came and quickly went. We had hurried out of our house after it sold, moved in with Matt's parents (and attempted to get organized), started looking for a new house, began tailgating season at Purdue and started our new daily routine (work/school)....Wow! It was quite a challenge for the month of September! It felt like we were stuck on high speed!

(Pictures from a friend's wedding.)

August Recap

August means "back to school" - and Aly and I did just that. However, Aly was a little more excited than I was!

Our school TPCA

Aly was excited to return to school. She missed going over the summer, in fact, she wanted to keep going to VBS (church school) all summer! She was also very excited to show off her new Hello Kitty backpack.

Braden's exciting August news was - clapping! He is always easily excited and anxious to clap for just about everything!

Lastly, August can't go by without a visit to the State Fair. It's always a great time for all!

Braden was very interested in the tractors...what boy isn't?

Aly was SO excited to be tall enough to ride a variety of rides with her cousin. This was their favorite ride - Berry Go Round (spins a lot)! I was surprised that no one got sick!

Needed Prayers

I shared a few weeks ago about Henry, Aly's classmate. He took a turn for the worse on Wednesday and ended up being sent for emergency radiation and chemotherapy. These tense procedures will continue to be done for the next week before they re-evaluate. Please pray for him, the medical team and his family as they continue to face these challenging days. I feel so helpless to this family but feel that spreading the power of prayer is my way of doing something. Again, take a moment to enjoy special time with your loved ones...every day is truly a precious gift from God.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/henrymullett

A House?

We don't really "own" the house yet, but the papers have been signed! It's official that we will be homeowners again in January. We have decided to build again so that we could have exactly what we wanted after trying to find an existing home that we liked. We are VERY excited to have more ROOM - full basement and 3-car garage (once parked, getting inside won't be such a chore). It has been such a blessing to be able to stay with Matt's parents, but we are definitely looking forward to living in our own house again. I'm sure I'll post pictures as we hit "milestones" in the building process.

AND...Since I have neglected to post any pictures this weekend (because the laptop is still not hooked up), I'll post this link so that you can view some pictures of our house-to-be if you'd like... http://www.ryland.com/find-your-new-home/12-indianapolis/644-eagles-nest/7012-monterrey.html Ours will look a little different because it will have a 3-car garage and it will be Elevation B that includes a front porch. (Disclaimer: It is a model, so it is decorated a lot better than our house will ever be! At least without you're help Melinda!)

Pictures Please!!!

I hope to have pictures to post this weekend. Since we moved out of our house, I haven't had my laptop connected to the Internet.....thus, not able to post pictures! The kids are ever changing and I just can't keep up with everything, but I'll do my best to update you this weekend. Check back :)

Please Pray

Please take a moment to read Henry's story (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/henrymullett)
and pray for this 3 year old and his family. This little boy is in Aly's preschool class. We know that God is in control and has great plans for Henry, but it is a difficult road for his family and friends at this time. I've been trying to keep things simple for Aly, but I'm praying that God will daily give me the strength to be strong when talking and praying for him with her (as this does slightly hit home for me). Also take a moment and thank God for the time you have (or have had) with your family and friends. Each day is a precious gift from God!

Transition Time AKA Crazy Time

Well, we are officially in limbo! We were supposed to be out of our house by Sunday (Monday afternoon at the latest), however things have not gone as planned. I went to the closing while Matt kept loading/moving things. The couple took possession at closing (3:30pm Monday) and even arrived at the house while we were still trying to get out (nice huh?)! They kindly agreed to let us use the garage space until we got everything out, because they wouldn't really be moving things until Thursday. So, once again after work tonight Matt loaded and moved more things and needless to say we still aren't done! Oh yeah, we won't be done until morning when Matt takes the last trip to storage. We will have successfully filled 2 SAMS (storage and moving units) and 2 storage units. Yes, we know that means we have to much CRAP!!! We have taken over my in-laws dining room and basement. Now the fun continues with trying to unpack/organize our things. We will be happy to go to bed before 2 am sometime this weekend and hopefully get more than 5 hours of sleep!

Homeless Maples

The Maples accepted an offer and will soon be homeless b/c the purchasing couple needs possession on or before Aug. 20th! That gives me three weeks to pack with two kids! So, anyone have a place for us to stay????

J/K...We are actually planning on staying at Matt's parents until we find a place to call home!

Stay posted - We may be calling on some of you for help. We may have a birthday/moving party (Matt's Birthday is Aug. 17th).

Looking Good!

I usually try and take the kids pictures, but it's hard for me to get a good picture of the whole family (as you saw on our old family blog photo). For some reason Braden doesn't understand he's supposed to smile at the tripod!!! Anyway, we went and got our pictures taken at Portrait Innovations and watch the slideshow for some of our favorites....

Growing up fast...

Braden is growing up so fast! Time is flying...he's already 8 months! He has learned a lot in the last few weeks. He has now even discovered how to move in ALL directions!

He can move up and down...

(He pulls up on EVERYTHING! I have to watch him like a hawk so nobody calls CPS!)

Forward and backward...

(He started crawling backward a few weeks ago and is now learning how to go forward!)

He has also started self-feeding.

(He LOVES to eat his puffs!)