Kansas Here We Come + 1st Birthday + Easter

We moved! We made it!

One of our last pictures at the Bellevue house

First of all, THANK YOU to the family that helped make our move out here way less of a pain in the neck. Nathan loved getting to see all his Boise family on the way out and I don't know how we would have managed without his dad Dan coming along with him for the drive and to help us unpack/watch Bradley on our first few days here. Grandparent duty was rough on Dan, but he persevered. What a champ.

In all seriousness, Dan was a huge help both with managing Bradley time and helping Nathan with anything requiring muscle or mechanical know how. And Nathan and I are both incredibly jealous of his ability to make Bradley fall asleep on him.

 

We only managed to take sleeping pictures of Bradley with Grandpa Dan ... I only realized this after he left. Sigh. The sleeping ones are generally my favorite anyway I guess, so it's not too bad.

And thanks again to my parents for letting me and Bradley stay with them for while Nathan and his dad drove out to Kansas City. We had such a good time although it didn't make anything easier on anyone when we moved. Bradley cried the first time they Skyped with us and he could see them but not touch them. So cute but rough on everyone.

Cool boy Bradley with his Grandpa Redfern on my parents' deck.

Bradley and my flight to Kansas City started out as a horror show and ended up not being too bad. My dad was able to go through security with us at the airport, which was very helpful, and Bradley and I boarded the plane with a bundle of cheapo toys from Target's one dollar section so I was pretty confident that we would be properly entertained on the flight. WRONG. Bradley had no problem with his ears on the ascent or descent but he had a major problem with sitting still on my lap, even as I desperately took out toy after toy for him to play with. I don't know what we would have done without an empty middle seat by us as I used it as a play area for Bradley for half the flight. As soon as we could we walked up and down the aisle while holding a shoe (Bradley has this thing about taking one shoe off and walking while carrying it) and we made lots of friends. And then an hour and a half into the flight Bradley fell asleep on my lap ... for the entire remainder of the flight (about an hour). Incidentally, this was my favorite part of the flight.

Bradley next to my protruding belly. We technically had three of us flying and paying for just one seat - what a bargain!

We were both very happy to see Daddy at the gate when we landed. Bradley clung to him and was very upset when he was with me instead of Daddy.

It took a little while to get situated but Nathan and his dad were champions and I got to rest a lot and unpack boxes only when I really felt like it. I look forward to a non-pregnant move at some point in our future.

Bradley overly bundled up to go for a walk around our block. He'll only leave hats on if they're strapped on otherwise they are ripped over and thrown to the ground where they belong!

Nathan got to have a lot of Bradley time right after the move too, which was really nice. He got to have some good playtime and cuddles with our sweet boy ... and kitties.

Beginning of epic nap

End of epic nap. Hilarious.

We are loving the house and neighborhood and pretty much everything about Kansas City besides being so far away from family and friends. Nathan has had a full week of his new job at this point and he's really enjoying it, which one would hope would be the case after the first week. The eight minute commute isn't hurting anything. I'm settling in with activities for Bradley and myself during the week although Bradley would happily stay at home all day because he has so much space here to play. And I've relented and let him watch a bit more tv. He loves to watch MacGyver with his daddy.

We had some crazy weather last weekend and Bradley got to experience snow for the first time.

We don't think he is a fan ... especially after BAD DADDY insisted on letting him try to walk through the deep snow on his own so he could play. It did not go well.

The best thing so far has definitely been our new neighbors though. I decided that since we were moving just a few weeks before Bradley's 1st birthday that we were still going to figure out a way for him to have a party so we'd invite a few neighbors to come by and celebrate by eating a birthday cupcake with us. It ended up going really well, we got quite the turnout and all the kids are kind of crazy about Bradley. At one point, I wandered through the kitchen asking if anyone had seen a one year old and he came careening around the corner being pushed on his new little toy car by a crowd of excited 8 year olds. Super adorable.

We were a little distracted by all our new friends and had trouble eating much of the cake.

And I don't know why this video uploaded sideways, so annoying! But it's a cute video regardless.

Bradley got to try to eat the cake again later that night and really liked it. This is his "why did you take the cake away" face.

And this is what Bradley does when people Skype with Daddy on his phone. He plops down on his lap and looks at who is saying hello! He was happy to say hi to Grandma Colleen and Kerry.

Easter was the next day and we had a lovely day going to church, having a nice homemade Easter dinner (I was very proud of this accomplishment, there isn't a lot of home cooking going on these days), and had our first Easter egg hunt. We tried to take pictures before the egg hunt but Bradley could see one of the Easter eggs and was very distracted. And THEN he discovered that we had put goldfish crackers inside of the Easter eggs so we had about the slowest Easter egg hunt ever as we opened each egg, ate the goldfish crackers, then had trouble letting go of our treasured Easter egg in order to look for the next one. This was repeated with each egg. And then we discovered leaves and needed to explore our favorite corner of the yard and the Easter egg hunt was over.

We're going to be spending a lot of time in the backyard this summer. The neighborhood kids all play outside a lot and Bradley is already beginning to figure out that the backyard is where the social happens. He gets really excited and grabs onto my hand and makes a beeline for neighborhood kids when he sees them. It helps that they shout hello and are very excited to see him too.

I cannot believe this ball is on the WRONG side of the fence!

And here's Bradley getting his first haircut. I love his little mohawk, but we're doing one year pictures next weekend and I'd rather not have it be crazy for that. Daddy did a great job cutting his hair!

Grandparent Love

Update - since the last blog post I spent a little time looking through photos and video of Bradley as an itty bitty baby and am now very excited for the arrival of a new baby. Not too worried about being bored anymore. I want a baby that makes adorable little squeaks, sleeps a lot, and stays in one spot when I put her down. It actually sounds quite lovely, especially now that sweet Bradley is getting into EVERYTHING. And he's bossy about it too. This child knows what he wants and he is very effective at communicating these desires.

For instance: Bradley plays pool now. I have the video to prove it.

My parents have a pool table downstairs and Bradley has taken up quite the interest in pool since we got here. He plays on the table for about 15-30 min or so each day now I'd say. This video could have gone on much longer. He is now quite accomplished at tossing the balls down the pockets. He is also accomplished at tossing them off the side of the table when that seems more interesting. It can be perilous to play pool with Bradley.

He has a favorite puzzle piece from a wooden apple tree puzzle that I remember playing with as a child. The pieces are virtually identical but he loves the one with only one apple on it and typically crawls around carrying the puzzle piece in his hand. It's quite adorable. He generally likes to crawl around while holding onto a toy of some sort, that way you know that wherever you go you'll have something to play with in a pinch.

We spent some time with his great grandparents yesterday and they were fairly impressed by his ability to stuff great quantities of food into his mouth and somehow not choke. Sometimes the food tries to escape from your mouth because of lack of space but a determined child can always shove it back in there until it fits. It's quite the dinner show. He also loves pushing chairs around on tile or hardwoods and showed off that trick for the grandparents as well. They seemed more enthused by this than his ability to get into their cupboards, which was also displayed over our visit.

I'm almost afraid to get Bradley back to myself after this period of time visiting my parents and grandparents, someone is growing quite accustomed to be doted upon. My dad took him to the park today for two hours and took some cool boy pictures. He also carried him around for a 30 minute walk later in the day. I do these things but not for the same duration or with the same level of catering to the child's every whim.

Camo jacket, camo shades

Hanging out in the big swing

Notice that Bradley is too cool to even look at the chick checking him out to his right

We're having a blast but can't wait to be reunited with Nathan and the kitties. I heard from him today and he and his dad (and the kitties) arrived safely in Kansas City today and got the keys to our house there and are all set. We're flying out in two days and while I'm dreading the flight itself I'm very much looking forward to being back with my sweet Nathan!

And here are a few more photos of my parents catering to the Bradley man. This kid was already used to being the center of the universe, I don't even know what to do with him after all this.

One of the many shoulder rides he has received. Toy in hand still, just in case things happen to get boring.

Bradley is chewing on a plastic bag here. But don't fret, there are just a bunch of chocolates on the inside.  Oh to be a grandparent ...

Reading to the Bradley

Moving Time!

Bonus picture I just discovered from Christmas!

Well, the big move is underway and while Daddy drives out to Kansas City with the kitties, Bradley and I are staying with my parents who deserve a medal for being so nice about us moving halfway across the country with a grandchild. Not to mention with another on the way.

Fun little Bradley story: Nathan was cleaning out the grill the day before the movers came so Bradley and I went outside to keep him company. Bradley discovered rocks and was happily playing with the little gravel rocks in the pathway to the house and I repeatedly tried to keep him from crawling around because I knew it would hurt his little hands. He eventually got his way and crawled on gravel. No tears. We know no pain when we really want to move around. We're so in for it with this kid.

Bradley is in heaven during this stay with my parents, my dad is able to work some flexible hours and is getting a lot of Bradley time during the day and then Grandma pretty much takes over the evening. Bradley loves both of them so much. Nathan and I really can't compete. This morning I handed the child off to my dad and went back to bed (it was a bit of a rough Bradley night) and apparently my mom had difficulty getting ready and getting out of the house for work because the Bradley monster was quite insistent that she hold him. And then this afternoon when my dad came home for lunch he did not get to have his ice cream dessert because as I was holding the little child he was making desperate noises and pushing off of me in order to get to his grandpa. It's pretty hilarious to witness.

I don't even try to compete. How can I compete with this? (The whole video is excellent but it gets AMAZING around the 45 sec mark)

And the thing I love about it is, he's like this with all of his grandparents. Mine have an advantage because they've been closer and been able to see the Bradley man more often, but he really loves all of his grandparents so much. Definitely more than his parents. Nathan's dad is driving out to Kansas with him and spending about a week with us there while we set up the house and I'm so happy the Bradley is going to get some quality time in with him. We hope we will have many visitors when we have our little girl, there's a spare room in the house and I'm pretty sure Bradley is going to feel neglected if the non-stop attention does not continue with the arrival of sweet little girl baby.

Bradley is a walking machine these days. He took about 7 or 8 steps in front of his great-grandma yesterday and then did so again in front of my dad later in the day. He hasn't done this in front of my mom because it's difficult to take solo steps when someone is helping you walk the entire time so you don't fall and maybe hurt yourself. Grandma is protective. Also, Grandma is the fun time person while Grandpa is the cuddle and go to sleep person. My dad was at work during Bradley's bedtime last night and so I told my mom to get in there and read to him and get Bradley snuggles because it's so sweet when he cuddles up to you and lays his head on your shoulder when he's going to sleep. She couldn't do it, he wouldn't settle down with her. She handed him off to me and he was asleep in his crib literally two minutes later.

The scary thing is, these are basically Nathan's and my roles with Bradley. I remember trying to play with Bradley when he was three weeks old and being a bit disappointed that all he really wanted to do was sit and look lights and shadows and then go back to sleep. And when he went to sleep I'd happily lay him in his crib so I could run around and get things done. On the other hand, Nathan was ecstatic to cuddle and take naps with our little boy and is really looking forward to getting to do this again with a fresh baby in a few months. While I am relieved that this time I can get some cuddle time in with the little girl but at least Bradley will be running around like a maniac so things won't be so quiet and quite frankly a little boring this time around. Wonderful and cuddly ... but boring when stretched out over a couple of months. I remember I was pretty relieved when Bradley started grabbing at toys and interacting with us. Just one of the things about staying home with the kids, I guess.

Not that I don't absolutely adore getting to be home with Bradley. He is so much fun these days and I love taking him out to the park and kiddie play places and even to the grocery store because I'm kind of a celebrity there when I show up with a cute kid. When we were gone for our house hunting trip in Kansas City I missed him terribly. Luckily for me, my parents took a crazy number of pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

Yes, they let the child get into cupboards and play with food

At least they didn't let him into the garbage and detergent cupboard

But everything else was fair game

Everything

Apparently my parents were pretty tired after their weekend of doting on the child's every whim

Playing with a pokey sharp thing. Delightful.

Meal time is happy time

And ... back to destruction

Of everything

When he got really tired he would snuggle up to Spongebob. He was tired a lot.

I LOVE that they got this picture

And this may be my favorite. Wow.

This is about the sweetest thing ever. Until you realize that my math teacher mother is trying to teach the 11 month old how to use a graphing calculator. 

Bradley loves raspberries

This is from our goodbye dinner with my family. This is my reaction when I find out that there are little girl clothes in this box.

Bradley is moderately impressed

Bradley with Great-Grandpa King

Amazing action shot. My mom starting shooting all pictures of Bradley in sports mode because the kid never stops moving.

With Great-Grandma King

He loves his great grandparents

He was also adorably attached to his Great-Aunt Jackie

So many cute pictures, he's such a little doll baby. It would almost be easier if he was a little more angsty and  fussy, perhaps we wouldn't have to feel as guilty about taking him away from all of his family. I hear the blizzards are lovely this time of year in the Midwest, people should come and visit us!