Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Bradyn!!!

Here is how big my little man has grown in one year (and no that is not his pink quad - Brandon is going to throw a fit that I'm showing people this picture)!!

....and here is my little boy on the day he was born

We love you baby and can't wait to spend many more birthdays with you!!

New Car

We are officially new car owners as of this evening - a mini van!! I never thought I'd be driving a van because those cars just weren't "cool" compared to other SUV's and not to mention all the nicknames out there like: grocery getter and being the soccor mom. Well I gave in for practicality reasons and we got ourselves a new (used) van. It's a pretty sweet ride but until I get used to driving it in the snow and especially having to drive to work in GR, I'm going to keep driving my Pathfinder with my trusty 4-wheel drive. Brandon had to give up his Dodge but he's currently using a work truck, which if anyone out there has seen it, it's a beauty!! Now we can actually go places with people in one vehicle and it's got lots of storage for our summer trips up to the lake!!! So probably the next time you see me, I'll be cruisin' up your driveway in my new mini van :)

The Fun is Done!

He had such a wonderful Christmas and now it's done already. Bradyn loved opening all his presents and of course played with the boxes and paper more than the toys! The craziest part of the night was rushing to pick up the paper as soon as we opened a gift just so that one of the boys didn't start eating it. Usually we just throw the paper all around the room and take a picture of the mess when we're done but not this year! Here's just a few pics.......

Bradyn got a truck with the handle from Aunt Leah & Uncle Mitch. (those trucks are great for them to push and be able to hold on to)

Both Alex and Bradyn got a ball to play with and they were going crazy with them for a little while until someone threw a box on the floor and their attention was easily diverted.

The funniest gift he got was a pouncin' Tigger from Uncle Mike. Every time you push the tail it starts bouncing up and down and Bradyn just thinks that's the funniest thing in the world. He likes to pick it up and hug it when it bounces.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and enjoyed all that white stuff we had.....I'm sure it will be coming back soon!!

Congratulations Jesse & Alicia

Last night (Saturday, December 20) we had Brandon's cousin's wedding. The ceremony was at Vriesland Reformed and it was a beautiful ceremony. The bride (Alicia) looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress.

And....here is the newly married couple Jesse & Alicia Bazan!!! After the ceremony we headed off to the BOB and had their reception which was a blast! The food was great and we had a lot of fun dancing and hanging out with family!! Congratulations Jesse & Alicia, we're so glad we got to share in your special day!!

First Christmas Present

Last week Saturday we had the Sterken Christmas Party and Bradyn got to open his very first Christmas present. Daddy showed him how to tear the paper and it didn't long and he tore every piece off. We draw names just for the kids and Jr. and Teresa & their kids gave him and Elmo farm set which makes many sounds (got to love those talking toys)!!! I think his favorite part of the toy is pushing the tractor through the swinging barn door!! Thanks for the gift!!

Random Pictures

I haven't posted too many pictures lately so here are just some random ones that I have taken of Bradyn over the past few weeks. One afternoon I discovered him playing in the box of toys (the Pampers box is our toy box for now)

Daddy took the camera in after Bradyn woke up from his nap and snapped a few pictures of him being silly in his crib.

I pulled out one of my old stuffed animals for Bradyn to play with and as you can see from the picture it's just about as big as he is!

Christmas Tree

I wasn't going to put the tree up this year because I thought Bradyn would be too much of a distraction for Bradyn but so far so good, the tree is still standing upright and he's only ventured to it a few times. However, I have had to move a lot of the ornaments from the bottom to higher ground because he thought it was great fun to hit them with the plastic spoon. Good luck to all you other parents out there who ventured to put up Christmas trees and decorations with little ones around!