Thanksgiving Photo Shoot

Our parents and grandparents got me a new camera for my birthday! Well technically, they gave me some $$ for a new camera and I went out at 12am Friday morning to race for it during Walmart's Black Friday madness. Either way, it was my one big gift from everyone and I really appreciate it. My old camera is good for quick shots but I wanted something a little bit better to take photos of Eva. After our feast on Friday we stepped outside for a little Bradley family photo shoot. The weather and lighting were perfect and my new camera captured some fun moments. If only Eva had looked at the camera more. Silly baby....








To hear about our family's Thanksgiving, read Thankful for... Thanksgiving.

Thankful for... Thanksgiving!

It's still November and I am still celebrating being thankful. We had a wonderful 2 days of Thanksgiving with each of our families. We started our Thursday with a trip to Nana and Papa's.

I used my mama skills to figure out a way to feed Eva, get myself ready, load up the husband, dog, and luggage, drive 1 1/2 hours, and still have time to bake my potatoes for Thanksgiving in just the right amount of time. If you think this sounds hard, it was. Thankfully, we timed things perfectly and squeezed everything in. Also my mother in-law let me cook in her over which made things so much easier. Thanks, Cindy!!!

When the baby was fed (again!), the potatoes were hot, and the the turkey was dressed (our sweet little turkey that is), we drove over to Ryan's aunts home for the big feast. Eva got to meet her great grandmother Mamaw for the first time. Mamaw now has 11 great grandchildren. Wow!

We enjoyed good food - including the best turkey I've ever tasted - and then spent time with family. Look at Eva and Cousin Mallory both growing up! Mallory is 6 months old now and soooo cute.

Sometimes when you play with your cousin, you both have to check out each other's socks, right? Half the pictures we took were of them looking at their socks. Future fashion divas? I think so.

Thursday night we stayed with Ryan's parents and it was Eva's first time to sleep at Nana's house. Nana has a crib there for all of the grandchildren so it worked out well. The sleeping part...not so well. For the first time in 3 weeks she was up at 4 am. I love Eva so much though that I didn't mind :)

On Friday we headed over to my aunt's house. Check out those love birds above. My Dede and Papa are so cute together.

The feast! I made those good looking potatoes on the back row. Thank you Holly Rodeman for the recipe!

My mom the chef. Also the world's best pumpkin pie maker. Her pie was so good that I ate some for breakfast this morning. It's good to be a grown up :)

I hope everyone enjoyed their family as much as I enjoyed mine. To see more fun pictures of our Bradley family, read our Thanksgiving Photo Shoot post.

Goodbye Duckie Pajamas, Hello Gorgeous!

Look at those tiny pajamas! These were the pjs we bought last January as soon as we found out that I was having a baby. Of course, we didn't know if Eva was a girl or a boy so they had to be gender neutral. We were so excited to have our parents open a gift bag with them inside so that we could share our happy news with them. After that they hung over my vanity in our bedroom as a cute reminder of what was to come.

4 days old

These pajamas are too big. This is her second night at home (aka the hardest night we've ever had with her!)... her little legs were so tiny that she would wiggle and put both legs and feet in the same side. As tiny as the pajamas were, she was tinier.

7 weeks old

These pajamas fit just right! Our growing girl fit into her pjs well and was able to sit up against the pillows a little bit better. I love her facial expression.

Almost 11 weeks (tomorrow)

These pajamas are too small. Oh, Duckie Pajamas, you have kept Eva warm on many nights and lasted through hundreds of diaper changes, snuggles, and rock-a-byes. Now you get the honor of joining the other newborn clothes in our keepsake box.

Thankfully we have another special outfit to put her in. This is the onesie I bought the day I found out that Eva was a girl! I picked it out just for her. At the time I was convinced that she wouldn't be able to wear the newborn size very long so I ended up getting a 3 month size. It has hung up as a decoration in the nursery. Until today that is...........

So gorgeous! It's still a little big but she can wear it and show off her girly side. She wasn't so into showing off her smiley side this morning but I was so happy for her to wear her special outfit!

The Big 2-8

Yes, it is true. Yesterday I turned 28. Thank you to everyone to wished me a "Happy Birthday." It was a good day.... I started my day out by putting on my birthday crown and opening my gift from Ryan. He got me a fun umbrella that I really wanted to match my diaper bag and a book about a girl that became a missionary in Uganda. Good job, husband! I was very pleased with my gifts :)

After opening gifts I spent the morning with Ryan and Eva. We picked up Fuzzy's breakfast tacos on our way to the mall. I had a gift card to Express that I had saved from last Christmas. Since I spent most of the past year pregnant I had decided to wait to use it until my birthday this year. I also had 2 really great coupons, plus they were doing a buy one get one 50% off sale, so I was able to make my Christmas gift stretch very far. I love a good deal. With the exception of a few maternity shirts and pants I really haven't shopped for a whole year so it was a fun treat.

Ryan had to work for a while in the afternoon so while he was gone I put the finishing touches on Eva's Thanksgiving outfit. I love the opportunity to get a little crafty. It brings out the elementary school teacher in me. And I made this whole outfit, with the bow for under $3.50. I already had the ribbon, a plain hair clip, the headband and googley eyes. I bought a white onesie and an 1/8 yard of brown corduroy for the turkey's body. I am proud of how it turned out!

My parents drove out to take us to Kobeya for dinner. Kobeya is a fun hibachi grill in Southlake. It was fun to hang out with my parents and afterwards they stuck around to babysit. Thanks, Mamy and Grandpa!


My best friend Marianne hosted a small birthday celebration at her house. She even had my favorite dessert, Edward's Hershey Sundae Pie.

After dessert we played a game called Partini. Look at the intensity of these men trying to bounce a small ball in a cup. I'm afraid that Team Bradley did not fare well at this event but it was still fun.
We also played Scategories! Ryan LOVES this game and always wants to play it. Our youth group students can testify to how competitive he is when he plays Scategories. And if you look closely you will see our final scores... Kate -27, Ryan - 19. I won!!!!!

Spending time with my best friends was the perfect close to my birthday. I love ya'll so much! Thanks for a fun night!

Snuggle Bear

Good Morning, Eva! Pre-bundled up in her D'Eva ensemble for the day.

Do you ever wake up and decide that today will be a healthy day? I did. I started my day with a hearty bowl of oatmeal that included some delicious walnuts and dried cranberries. I was still hungry, so I followed my bowl of oatmeal with a wonderful oatmeal cookie. Oops! My body will probably think it was all the same healthy meal, right? After eating my cookie I felt convicted and knew that I should probably go on a walk today. I generally enjoy going on walks except that I hate being cold and I hate sweating. When the temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees with partial cloud coverage and a slight breeze I am content. Below 60 - freezing. Above 70 - sweating. However, I have managed to loose all of my baby weight with only walking, drinking lots of water, and occasionally doing pilates so I have to be strong and go on walks even when the temperature is less than favorable.

Cute little snuggle bear!

I initially thought that the 50 degree weather was way too cold to take Eva out in, but then I remembered that most of the country has many 50 degree days and babies there still go outside. So I bundled up my little bundle of joy. I put her in an extra pair of pants, mittens, and a cute hoodie with bear ears on it. (By the way, I am constantly thinking about whether Eva is too hot or too cold. I ask Ryan's opinion all the time. Should we add a blanket? Is she too hot? Her feet feel cold. I probably drive him crazy).

What will we see today???

For the first time I decided that she could ride in the regular part of her stroller instead of the infant carrier. She is so alert and interested in her surroundings now. All during the walk I would peak over and she would have big eyes as she looked at everything and made happy baby sounds. We had a fun outing. I'm sure I burned off all the calories from that oatmeal cookie :)

Thankful for....Generations coming together.

Eva and I got a special treat today - we got to go visit Grandpa Hank. This is my Grandpa on my Dad's side. He hadn't seen Eva (or me, his favorite granddaughter!) since the hospital so we went out to have lunch with him, my mom, and one of his friends. We stopped and got Subway on the way and enjoyed sandwiches and family time. If you want to feel popular, take a baby to a senior living home. Eva got lots of compliments! It was also the first time for me to see where my Grandpa lives since moving out of the home he lived in with my Grammy during all my childhood. It was a very nice apartment that he has decorated with lots of pictures of our family.

Eva loved spending time with Grandpa Hank. She was very alert and talkative while we had lunch. I was thankful for the special time together with my baby and my Grandpa at the same time.

We'll see you at Christmas, Grandpa! Thanks for a fun afternoon.

Mama called the Doctor, and the Doctor said...

Today we took Eva to her pediatrician for her 2 month check up. Good news - we still have a healthy, happy baby! I'm always thankful to hear that. She now weighs 10 lbs 12 oz (she's gained just over 4 lbs since birth) and measures 22 1/4 inches (she has grown 2 1/2 inches). So I guess all those people who tell me that she's gotten bigger are right, but at least she's still pretty little :) She is right at the 50th percentile for both height and weight. I'm happy that she is growing, I just miss having her be so tiny and new. This morning we had to change her out of one of her newborn onesies because it seemed too snug. I'm not ready to pack away the newborn clothes yet....

She also got 2 big shots today. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about vaccines, especially at 2 months, but I read some information and did some research. I finally came to the conclusion that the benefits outweighed the risks. It's hard to make big decisions for your child. I have to remind myself to pray about, make an educated choice, and then be at peace with it.

Our brave girl with princess band aids - one on each leg!

After eating and a good nap she was ready to play. I had her on her floor gym while I ate some lunch. For the first time ever she grabbed for one of her toys!!!! What a smart girl. A lot of times I put a toy in her hand and show her how to shake it, but she has never reached for one and held onto on her own for so long. She kept it in her hand and made it jingle for several minutes! If you look carefully at the picture she is holding the string part of the small pink bird in her right hand.

Why do babies have to grow up so fast? I don't know...but I'm sure proud and I love her so much!!!