A Jolly Christmas

HO HO HO! We had a wonderful Christmas day at the Bell Residence! Well Santa was a little light on the gifts due to this wonderful economy but the boys were both wonderfully spoiled by both sets of grandparents. All AJ wanted was a digger. He kept asking me if Santa was going to bring him a digger and if he wasn't going to forget. So of course Santa did not forget and AJ got a super sized Tonka digger from Santa. He also got an aquadoodle and Spiderman PJ's and slippers.

Brady was mostly happy just eating the wrapping paper but he seemed to enjoy his gifts too. I think his favorite to date is a Fisher Price Piggy Bank Nana Aviles got him. He likes holding coins in his hands then smashing them into the piggy bank when mommy places a coin on the slot.

Brian made a wonderful breakfast on Christmas morning and we had yummy cinnamon rolls, bacon, eggs and potatoes then proceeded to open our gifts and stockings. Again - light on the presents, but I think we were both happy with what we got each other this time around. I know I love my traveling/locking crock pot :o)

My parents, brother and kids joined us for a wonderful dinner on Christmas day. We made a turkey with all the trimmings and everyone enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

On Saturday, December 27th we packed up the car with kids and gifts and headed north to The Bells for Christmas part 2. Oh my goodness the kids were spoiled so much and with so many presents!! We are so grateful for everything they got from the family! AJ's favorite gift while at the Bell's was a Handy Manny truck that talks you through fixing things. He loves it. Once we got home Brian set up his train table and train set in the basement and AJ spent a good portion of the day on Sunday in the basement playing with his new train set/table from the Bells. He is also enjoying riding his Spiderman scooter he got from the Aviles'. Too many toys to play with! - pretty soon we'll need a bigger house! :o)

We'll have to update with pictures from the Nana's once I get them :o)

The Bell's Holiday get-together

We had our get-together yesterday. It was "quieter" than normal but being so late in the season we were expecting a smaller crowd. It was great to see our friends Ian, Susan and their boys Patrick and Nicholas. We don't see them often because they live in Woodstock and it is a trek to get to them and vice versa. They braved the roads and weather and treated us to some very delicious cookies and peanut butter balls. The boys had lots of fun as usual and AJ was for the most part a good little host and showed off his new "play room" in the basement.

Janet, Scott and Sarah were here also. I am still amazed at how big all the "babies" are getting! Most of the ESPN crew was here to join in the fun. There was no child gambling this year though but fun was hopefully had by all.

Here is mommy and the boys - thanks Janet for taking the picture!

And here is Brady opening his very first Christmas present! Thanks to Santa Lisa for his little monkey book! Brady was very "into" ripping the paper and his gift but then almost immediately tried to eat the wrapping paper LOL

Reindeer Army ready to take over preschool room tomorrow

That's right - Brian and I were busy building a reindeer army. With all the snow we're supposed to get within the next week they may come in handy to get down our driveway. Well, really not since they're actually cupcakes. AJ's preschool class is having their holiday party tomorrow and usually when AJ is asked what we can bring to a party for school his response is usually "cupcakes".

So - we got our creative chef hats on and got busy building our little reindeer army. Originally, AJ was supposed to help but we got home a bit late after running some errands and it was past his bedtime. We are sure AJ will be very surprised by them in the morning and if past history repeats itself - our cupcakes will be the hit of the party.

Here's our army creation:

2008 Masquerade Ball

Last night was a wonderful night out with friends at The Smith Mansion. Thank you so much Aline and Family for hosting such a wonderful event. It was really great to get together with friends and it was so exciting to be all dressed up and wearing our masks. It was also a lot of fun as usual to do our Secret Santa exchange. Brian and I were both delighted with our gifts and I'm sure so was everyone else. Thank you all for such a wonderful evening. Brian and I are looking forward to our party on the 20th and we look forward to seeing most of you here at the Bell Shack :o)

Here are some pictures from last night:

The Boy Who Will NOT Crawl

.....or hold his bottle for that matter. Brady refuses to crawl. He can get around - he scoots, sits, lies down, scoots and sits again. Today he reached a new milestone - he stood up in his crib at daycare. he's been sitting up in his crib for a while now and we knew this day was coming sooner rather than later.
Now Mr. Brady likes to pull himself up holding on to whatever.....

or whoever he can get his little hands on - this time it was daddy :)

His favorite thing to do is to start jumping once he's up. This boy has NO FEAR and just wants to RUN! - crawling is just too slow paced for our Brady.

Familia Update

Hi everybody. We've been a little lax lately with updating the blog. Here's what's been going on for the last month or so:

Brady: He had his 6 month checkup and is doing really well. He weighed in at 18 lbs! He's going to be big and tall! While Daddy was away in Las Vegas (for work), he finally pushed through his first tooth on the bottom. He still hasn't started crawling - at least not forward - but he does manage to move all over the place. Brady is much more interested in standing and gets really upset when we put him down on the floor.
AJ: He is taking piano lessons at school and seems to really enjoy them. Sometimes he practices at home with his sheet music. He wanted to play at the Bells' during Thanksgiving but the piano there doesn't have color-coded keys....yet. School is going well, and he's a good listener for the most part. AJ is always helping around the house - with Brady, the dogs, etc. He's also very into WHY right now...so if he asks you a question, be prepared for lots of follow up! He's also getting excited about the upcoming holiday season. He's been bugging us to get decorating!
Brian: Had my first trip to Vegas for work. ESPN put us up in the Bellagio...not bad! especially when it's on the company dime. Right now I'm prepping for Winter X Games 13 which is taking place in January. I was supposed to be going to Dubai for another X Games event, but it was postponed until the spring. I'm still hoping to go. It's not every day you go to Dubai. I'm also on an ESPN Bowling League. I can't say I'm the best bowler, but I had one good game last night!
Millie: Is getting into the holiday spirit. She started early with the Black Friday sales in tax-free New Hampshire. She's also working on her BEST certification (for teaching). She's also still doing the freelancing thing with occasional work at a local production company.
The Dogs: Well, they are still alive. I really don't know what more I can say. Sam and Dixie enjoy taking long walks around the woods - usually at the expense of Millie or Chris Rossi. They keep coming back though. ;o)

I think that's all for now. We'll have another update soon!

Ready, Set, CRAWL!

Brady is getting much closer to crawling. Today he was up on his hands and knees and bouncing. Of course after a while he got tired and just lay there. We figure he may skip crawling altogether - like his mom and Nana Bell did - and just start walking one of these days. Still no teeth yet either, though they appear to be close. Brady watches us eat intently hoping to grab a bite of whatever it is we are enjoying.

AJ's 1st Date

Yes - at 3, AJ has had his 1st date. Mommy was lucky enough to win premium tickets to Sesame Street Live and when AJ was asked who he wanted to take, he said "my girlfriend Gabriella". So - who's mom to argue?

The kids had such a great time. We actually had front row tickets and obviously our seats were AMAZING!! The characters would come down and pat the kids on the head or shake their hands and at one point the kids even got up and danced. The show was really cute too! Too bad Elmo didn't come down from the stage but we all had fun regardless.

After the show Gabriella and her mom asked us to join them for a late lunch so we went over to Mickey D's and had lunch then played in the playscape for a while. The kids were inseperable and had a blast playing after lunch too!

Click HERE to see more pictures

School Pictures

The boys had their school pictures taken a few weeks ago and I got to pick them up this week. It was so hard to decide which poses to pick since they all came out so good! We got some handsome boys here! hehe

Andrew


Brady

AJ and Brady

"Dada" and 17.2 lbs

Well Brady has been a bit congested and runny nosed so I had Brian take him to the pediatrician yesterday. My BIG boy weighed in at a very healthy 17.2 lbs. He's not even 6 months yet. I'm afraid he's eating us out of house and home already! Oh - and we thought it was a fluke and I know it's just baby babble but he is saying "dada" a LOT now. Even AJ has noticed and has said "mommy he's saying "dada". Too cute! Brady's as well as AJ are definitely dada's boys so it's understandable. I was "dada" for AJ for the longest time! I don't think he started saying "mama" until he was almost 1.

Revenge of the Big E: The Big Eat Strikes Back

It's Sunday night, but we're finally coming out of our food-induced comas from our second visit Thursday night. After 5pm, it's only $5 to get in and what we didn't know was apparently the whole town of Westfield, MA was also there that night. It wasn't nearly as busy as last Sunday afternoon however. We met up with Ian & Tina Rodriguez and the kids. AJ and Brady got to stay with Nana Aviles. We did another quick tour of the states getting some of the usual fare - I swear my potato was much larger this time around! Our quest tonight was the deep-fried Oreos. After checking out the "Craft Commons" in search of a Christmas ornament, some of the other booths we missed last time and the petting zoo, we located our nirvana. And man were they good! Next year we have to try the deep-fried cheesecake and the meatballs on a stick (we hear those are deep fried too!). But for now, Oreos are definitely the way to go! Sadly the Big E ended earlier this evening, but we'll be back next year - with our appetites!

The Big E - aka the "Big Eat"

On Sunday we took our annual trip up to the "Big E" aka the Eastern States Exhibition in nearby West Springfield, MA. Our friend Lisa and Mom Aviles joined us on our trip. We knew it was going to be a busy day being a weekend, but we were still able to enjoy the festivities. Our tour began at "The Avenue of States" - which features replicas of each New England state capitol. Each building features unique items from each state - including FOOD which is how we started our day. The highlights: Lobster Rolls from Maine, Baked Potatoes with pulled pork from CT (yes, potatoes from CT and not Maine - trust us, they are worth it!), Cabot cheese, cider donuts and fresh cider from Vermont, Del's lemonade and clamcakes (fritters) from Rhode Island. We also sampled some maple kettle corn, cheesecake, gelatto and the famous Big E eclairs. It's a good thing we did a lot of walking around the fairgrounds as well as to and from the car!

We're debating a return trip later in the week to sample the things we missed - the giant turkey legs, deep fried veggies, deep fried Oreos, candied apples and various meats on sticks. And of course we need to see the completed version of this year's "butter cow" sculpture.

AJ's First School Field Trip

Today AJ and his classmates from the Pumpkin Patch went apple picking at Lyman Orchards in nearby Middlefield, CT. I was on vacation this week, so I was available to chaperone. AJ was very excited to pick apples and have his first ride on a big yellow bus.
It was a beautiful day - bright and sunny, mild and not too windy. Among the apple trees (McIntosh and Macoun) there was a sea of 3 and 4 year olds in their orange T-shirts all filling their bags with apples...not to mention small teeth marks on many other apples that were sampled by all the kids.
AJ filled his bag pretty quickly and he really wanted to carry it. But, it was so full every time he put it down it would fall over and the apples would start rolling away. It was a fun day for everyone. Next time we'll have to go back and experience the huge corn maze they have here!

Click HERE for more pictures.

Brady is 4.5 months old

Brady turned 4 months old on August 30th and just this past week had his 4 month check up at the pediatrician's office. He was very good making lots of noises and smiling at the nurses. They were impressed with his size.

He weighed in at 15 lbs, 10 ounces and measured a whopping 27 inches tall! He is the size of a 6 month old - at his 2 month appt. we were told he was the size of a 4 month old. He is growing proportionately so no concerns there and they're glad to see he's doing so well. He wasn't thrilled with the shots he got and was making pouty faces at them as we were leaving. We got the green light to try any baby foods with him. So far he's only had oatmeal and rice cereal and this past week we started him on prunes. He makes funny "yucky" faces but eats the prunes anyway. This coming Sunday we're going to start on squash.

A while since we've blogged....

It's been a few weeks since we blogged - we've been busy with work, school and trying to catch up on sleep. We've also been having some fun too. I started work on August 20th and my students started on the 25th. AJ also started preschool on August 25th and Brady started daycare full-time on the same day. Both boys are adjusting well.

We had Brian's ESPN work picnic on August 28th and we met up with lots of friends. AJ also met up with his friend Mickey from school and later that night we met up with Ivania and Isaiah and the boys went on tons of rides together. We all had fun playing games and AJ danced around a lot on the dance floor and did not want to leave at the end of the night.

So - here's a picture of the family. We were asked for pics for the boys classrooms so we pulled out the tripod and started posing for pics the other day :o)

Here are our boys posing for mommy. I took a bunch of pictures and once AJ got tired he goes to Brian, "dad, can you grab THIS" referring to Brady LOL my boys!

He EATS!!!!

Well per doctor's orders Brady was started on cereal 2 weeks before his 4 month appointment. We are definitely not going to have a picky eater! At 1st he was making faces but he definitely loved his cereal then went on to have almost a full bottle after that!

Daddy feeding and Brady checking out the spoonful of food

Getting a taste of it:

Enjoying his 1st taste of "food"

Brady meets Mickey

Well the boys and mommy are in FL having fun and actually doing a lot of pool and walks around Saratoga Springs but we did take a few hours today to head to Magic Kingdom so that Brady could meet the Mouse.

Brady was mesmerized with Mickey's nose. Mickey kept twitching his nose and Brady would just look and smile. He wasn't as brave as AJ was at that age when he tried to EAT Mickey's nose though. AJ was very happy to see his "pal" Mickey again and gave him a big hug!

Brady meeting Mickey:

AJ hugging his pal Mickey:

Click HERE to see more pictures from our vacation

Live from X Games 14

Greetings from Los Angeles. Millie and Brian are hard at work at X Games 14 - both operating graphics for the Skateboard Superpark, Skateboard Vert, BMX Superpark and BMX Vert events. Brian is also running around as the lead graphic operator for all of our events. We've got 2 days under our belt already and we'll be very busy on Saturday. Make sure you check your local listings for coverage. While Millie & Brian are working, AJ & Brady are enjoying their stay at Nana & Papa Bell's house. We hear there has been plenty of fun going on over there from bike riding to making banana bread. Thanks to Nana Bell for watching the kids this week! We'll have some pictures up soon....stay tuned and tune in!

Click HERE to see more pictures from our trip.

Tania's Visit

My friend Tania came to visit today with her son Marcus, her nephew Justin and her grandma. It has been a while since we have gotten together so it was very nice to visit for a bit and for Tania to meet our little Brady. Brady had her wrapped around his little finger, having her stand to hold him or he would give her the pouty lip and cry. Momma spoils him by holding him a lot so he expects everyone to accomodate his needs :o)

Marcus and Justin had fun playing while at the house, afterall toys all over the living room
is any kids dream. The boys played well together and had fun.
Once we got the boys into their swimsuits we headed over to Casey Park and picked up lunch on the way there. The boys had their lunch and soon after were running around getting wet and playing on the slide and playscape.
They had a really good time despite the heat.






Brady loved going from Grandma to Tania to Mommy - as long as he was being held he was a happy boy. We can't wait to get together again. Hopefully we can meet up in Coney Island before they're done for the season!

To see more pictures click HERE

KidCity Museum

On Thursday we got together with our wonderful friends Chris, Kelly, Matthew, Joshua and Janet & Sarah. Chris, Kelly and the boys were up visiting from Virginia for the week and it was great to see them as it has been quite a while since we all last got together.
We had a relaxing time at Janet's house. The boys and Sarah played for a bit, then we had lunch. After lunch the kids (minus AJ) all took mini naps before we headed out to the museum.
AJ was hesitant at 1st about a 'new' museum - he was adamant on going to HIS museum. Once we got there though he forgot all about his old museum and loved every minute of the new museum so much that we had a minor meltdown when we got kicked out at 5pm.

Sarah and the boys in front of the museum

AJ and Matthew in a car


AJ and Joshua making bubbles

AJ driving Kristin's car


Click HERE to see more pictures