End of the World

Finally...a post! With all this hype about the world ending, Brady decided to play it safe and hide out in our state of the art bomb shelter, aka cardboard fort in the basement. It's not rigged with WIFI, so a post on your favorite blog was impossible. Now that it's confirmed that the world did not end Mr. B is back in action. Though if it did indeed implode Brady was ready. He had a strategy that would make Bear Grylls proud. Drop him off in the Sahara or on top of Mt Everest and our boy would have thrived. He would have devoured a Salmon with his bear hands and single front tooth. He has really fine tuned his survival skills. Though I told him that trading his sister for cookies was not an option. He of course argued that without his sugary rounds of goodness the world might as well end.

Mallory is almost 10 months and she is a gross motor monster! She can go up the stairs and has already taken 2 steps. She is fixated on standing up and uses every surface to assist her upright addiction.

Water Conservation

The last 2 days it's been smoke'n hot. It's been awhile since we've seen 90 on the thermometer. Brady gets a bit feisty during the warmer months and demands a cool down session. Typically a selfish and self indulgent run with the hose is against his water conservation policy, but in accordance with the bylaws of such policy, Brady: 1. Used this H2O moment as his bath for the next 3 days 2. Watered the flowers 3. Placed a bucket just out of the camera's view and will use it's contents for tooth brushing and hand washing his delicates.

Brady is an amazing multitasker and has a wonderful compassion for the environment. If I filmed just a bit longer, you would have seen him hug a tree.

Preschool

"Brady exactly 2 years ago. My, how things change."

Its almost time to remove the double "pre" from pre school. I know its only May and our boy won't be hitting the school yard until August, but it all seems to be happening so quickly. Brady has been assigned to Ashland Park Robbins. I'm going to meet his teacher and visit the room very soon. I have heard wonderful things about his teacher so I am optimistic that this will be a good fit for Brady. He will be in a special ed pre-K room with up to 13 kids, 2 paras and 2-3 typical peer models and he will still receive speech, PT and OT through the school system.

Brady has prepared a few questions for my visit: 1. How many of the 13 are girls. 2. Is she aware of his preferred ratio of 2 females per 1 male? 3. When is lunch? 4. Do they serve grapes? 5. Is texting allowed 6. When is spring break?

And finally Brady wanted me to tell his teacher that if she wants to get on his good side, she should have 3 boxes of vanilla cream cookies delivered to his home by May 31st. I had to let him know that typically students are trying to get on the teachers good side, not the other way around. His response "rubbish!" (ever since the Royal Wedding he enjoys throwing in some English slang).

I think Park Robbins is in for a treat next year!

The Grey Plume

Tonight we walked to dinner and dined on some lovely cuisine at Ingredient. It was a beautiful night, the kind of evening when the sun is warm and the breeze is cool. As Jeff always says "great night for camping." On our way home we decided to cruise by The Grey Plume to take a look-see at the menu. We have had our eye on the joint for our anniversary celebration and wanted to get an idea for their spread. After Jeff assessed the entrees and Brady approved the desserts we were on our way. Then as the family train was departing the chef/owner came out and handed Brady the pictured cookies. He was so kind and solidified where we will be toasting our 8th year of marriage.

If the food is half as good as their owner, then we are in for a treat.

Hat Trick

In one day Mallory started to crawl, pulled to standing and moved from her belly back into sitting! It was a gross motor hat trick. Gone are the idle days of baby-hood. Our little girl is on the toddler fast track.

I vividly remember the day that Brady maneuvered his body from belly into sitting. He was in his crib and Jeff and I were parent stalking at the door. He levered his body like a magician and prest-o! He was up! Jeff and I screamed and shouted like a couple of high school cheerleaders. The moment is etched in my mind forever and is truly one of my favorites.

Tomorrow Mallory is 9 months old and Brady is pleased with her progress. He has decided she is now worthy of his mentorship. He wanted to wait for her to mature enough to handle his "program." His immediate plans involve a crash course in throwing 101. Her southpaw is lacking and he can't have a sister that can't throw, it's embarrassing! After that, he plans to tackle the walking business. If he is going to have a viable playmate, she needs to transfer to two wheels stat! Of course no mentorship would be complete without a proper social curriculum. Brady will share some of his greatest communal talents, with the understanding that two charming children will ultimately score double the loot.

Bunny

Brady is filing a complaint with The Easter Bunny, Inc. Here is the abbreviated version;

Dear Easter Bunny,

I'm disappointed in your failure to fill my plastic little eggs with grapes, cookies and/or $50 bills as I requested. I scavengered over the hills and through the woods looking for those blessed oval prizes and not a single one contained the items I so kindly asked for. In an effort to remedy the situation I am demanding a basket of vanilla cream cookies and 3 crisp $100 bills, delivered to my door step by 6:46pm tomorrow..........(more demands, more demands....etc.)

Thank you for your kind attention,

Sincerely,

Brady

On another note... Mallory started crawling! Our little girl is on the move. Maybe her new found mobility will help her trim off some of her 22.9lbs! Yeah that's right 22.9lbs!!! She's a brick house!

Evidence

You see that black dot below Brady's nose??? This isn't his best imitation of Cindy Crawford, a salute to Charlie Chaplin or a booger. It's EVIDENCE. Evidence that someone has been playing in the plants again. In life Brady has a few favorite things; texting, flirting, grapes, cookies and playing in the plants. Finger raking the potting soil has earned him several 2 minute vacations to solitary confinement. (time out is too friendly, so we thought we would hard'n the sentence). In total he has spent 14 hours staring at the wall.

I'm not sure how effective the punishment is, because Brady can make anything entertaining. Somehow an empty corner becomes Six Flags. He chuckles to himself as if he was at a Comedy show.

I'm sure a swat on the rear would temporarily deter him, but we don't believe in that technique. (FYI- I just read a TIME magazine article that stated; 3 year old children who were spanked are 45% more likely to display aggressive behaviors as 5 year olds). I know, I know...."I was spanked as a kid and I turned out okay." Times, they are a change'n!