LOTS of stuff

Okay, big things have been happening around these parts.

Leaves are changing.

 

Halloween has come and gone.

 Daddy Daughter Halloween Party for Activity Days

Sawyer is taking his first step(s).



Avery is singing.



Kyle just published his first article!



I have now joined the ranks of van drivers.

Rosie and I that is.

Sawyer is saying his first word(s).

And Avery's hair went from this

 

to this.

And that is what it is like to be a Bradley! :)

Halloween- November Style

So you know when the holidays roll around and your facebook/twitter/blogs explode with pictures/status updates/videos of whatever holiday corresponds with that date?

Well, I didn't want to bombard you with yet another Halloween update on the 31st of October. That's why I waited until now to tell you about it...it has nothing to do with laziness...or not knowing where our camera cord is...or just a general lack of overall "being on top of lifenes." No of course not. ;)

To be fair, Halloween was officially moved to November 1st here in Bloomington due to weather. I know, that sounds made up, but it did happen. Apparently Bloomington has the authority (or is it the audacity?) to move a well-known and well-loved holiday to whenever they please. So really, as long as I post in November I'm square.

You better believe those 3 pictures were taken within seconds of each other. Oh the joys of having two wee ones...

To start the festivities let me show you a little pumpkin action.

With pens in hand,

and shirts off, the kids directed Kyle in what fashion they wanted their jack-o-laterns to take.

Here's Sawyers,

Avery's,

mine,

 

and Kyle's.

Cute. I almost love carving pumpkins as much as dressing up.

Almost. But dressing up still takes the cake.

We had plans for Avery to dress up as Dorothy from Wizard of Oz (can't beat getting Halloween costumes for 70% off the year before, am I right?) and Sawyer to be a pumpkin (an old Halloween costume that Avery loved.) The day of celebration came, and Avery was in tears that Sawyer was wearing the pumpkin outfit.

So, as the picture shows, we squished and shoved our 2 year old child into a 6-12 month old costume, complete with head gear. And the tears stopped flowing (and possibly the blood flow to her brain.)

So, with an hour before we left for trunk-or-treating, we had to come up with a costume for Sawyer. And since I don't own a sewing machine...or own creative juices...or own cash...we ended up with a...

Pillow case ghost! Complete with a sharpie-face I hand drew.

I know, Sawyer's face is totally saying "lame." This kid has a huge noggin and I had to cut his head hole bigger several times before it would fit over it. Apparently I cut it a bit too big since it is sliding off his shoulders...

 

Kyle was a mad scientist (he loves an excuse to sport a mustache),

and I was a witch (I love an excuse to sport brightly colored hair and lipstick.)

So, with our powers combined, we made "Classic Halloween."

And there's your recap. Aren't you glad I waited a month to share this with you? :) Happy Halloween!

Yet another post about food

I mean, let's be real. There are very few things that are better than cookies fresh out of the oven.

Especially when they are full of peanut butter and chocolate.

I mean look at how soft these cookies are.

Even a baby can squish them with his finger.

They do leave pretty sticky hands though.

And faces.

Sidenote: does anyone else see a resemblance developing between Avery and Sawyer in the above and below photo?

Anyhow, I got this recipe from a really awesome girl I knew from high school.

That's me, not her. I don't have any pictures of her, but I do have a link to the recipe on her blog.

Make them.

Now.

You won't regret it.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Avery kept telling me the sippy cup had sunglasses.

And y'know, I can see it! ;)

Bloomingtons

Kyle's parents wanted to come visit us.

And we wanted them to visit us (despite what Avery's face might suggest.)

So you'd think it would be a pretty simple process to make that happen, right?

Well, let me me tell you, the answer was a complete, and utter, and resounding NO!

Let me explain. From the beginning of booking a flight to Bloomington, the odds were against Kyle's parents. Turns out there is a Bloomington, Illinois...and that if you book a ticket to Bloomington, Illinois you are, in fact, signing up for an additional five hour drive to make it to Bloomington, Indiana...where we live...

Add to the equation that Kyle's dad injured his back 2 days prior to the flight and was hardly able to move...he's doing better now but it was hurting him something mighty while he was visiting us.

And lastly, the Bradley's sole piece of luggage they checked got lost in Denver and didn't make it to the grand city of Bloomington, Illinois until late that night, which delayed their visit to us by a day.

But with all that said, it just made the hugs that much tighter and sweeter.

And we made promises to spend 2 weeks with them over the Christmas holidays to make up for the drama.

And we are all smiling about it!

Just a Day at the Park

I have no words to describe how perfect the weather, my kids, and my life felt at this moment on this day. So I won't try, just know that nothing was out of the ordinary to make that time special. That's probably why it seemed so incredible, everything was simply ordinary.

And I've decided I really like ordinary.