Back to Manayunk

This was the weekend of the annual Manayunk Arts Festival in Philadelphia. Living in Manayunk for several years, we became very familiar with this festival and grew to really appreciate it. Main Street shuts down and is taken over by with hundreds and hundreds of tents filled with eccentric artists, along with loud music, good food, free drinks, and TONS of people in the streets.

This year, we returned to our old stomping grounds, parked in our old parking lot, and walked down our old street and past our old apartment. It was very bittersweet to return this time. The last time we lived there, we were about 4 months pregnant with Braden. Now, here he was in our arms as we passed by. It was just surreal.

We were so happy to leave Manayunk last year and find a real home and start our family. I don't think we even said goodbye as we drove away in the moving trucks. But we must confess, going back this weekend made us totally miss it. We almost want to move back! (And the arts festival was a lot of fun, too... But hot!!!)

The festival

Braden & Daddy stopping in at Bourbon Blue,
the restaurant where Bill was Sous Chef

Braden in the free T shirt he got from
the Manayunk tavern

(We had a hook-up- Bill's old buddies
from Bourbon Blue are the owners)

Leaving Manyunk

I guess he'll be walking by next week...

So now Braden likes to pull himself up to standing on things, and walk along them while he holds on. Could this boy PLEASE slow down a little bit??!!!

Check him out getting his own toys out of his toy chest. Guess he doesn't need us anymore!

(PS- Sorry for the sideways video footage)

cat & mouse

Since Braden has been crawling, there's quite an interesting dynamic going on in our house.

Forget the fancy toys they have nowadays, the only thing we needed to stimulate Braden to crawl was our cat. One swat of her tail and Braden is off and running. He loves to grab her tail and pull with all his might. The cat, of course, does not enjoy this game at all.

Don't feel too bad for the cat, though. She's no dummy. She soon caught on to his tricks, though, and joined in on the game. Now all day long I watch her tease and Braden chase. By the looks of it, I suspect she is enjoying it. Watch this video and decide for yourself.

time warp

Everyone I know who has a baby or has ever had a baby tells me the same thing: "Time goes by soooo fast! It feels like just yesterday when they were born!"

While I think I'm the only person on the planet to say this, I couldn't disagree more. It does not feel like yesterday when Braden came into my life. On the contrary, life without him feels like a far-off, distant memory. It feels like years ago when I was screaming in labor with Braden. It feels like it's been so long since I was pregnant that surely dinosaurs were roaming the earth then. And it feels like I must have been in a completely different galaxy when I was living the carefree, perfectly selfish, baby-free life...

I think it's because the days never end when you have a newborn. Time just drags on and on, the days are without a real end or beginning. It's not until your baby can start doing a little something for himself- playing, rolling, crawling, eating something other than your boob, for example- that time starts to pick back up.

But now, time has really picked back up! I absolutely can NOT believe I just celebrated my baby's 6-month birthday. And the week before he turned a half-year, he tackled a major accomplishment- crawling!

Now I'm watching this little kid crawl around the house, getting into everything he is not supposed to, and I'm thinking to myself, "How did he get so big so quick?" It's as if yesterday he was a newborn baby, and today, he woke up a toddler.

This having-a-baby thing is just wild.

We celebrated Braden's 6-month birthday
in big-boy style...

...At a park where we took a walk
in the woods, played in a sandbox,
swung on swings, & slid down slides.

Mom buried my feet!

Swinging with my daddy

Mom & I had fun on the slides

Look at what a big boy I am
in my own swing!

Needless to say, this day made me feel like the proud owner of a very big, very grown-up, and wonderfully fun, boy. Here's to another amazing 6 months!

happy father's day daddy!

This Sunday, Braden & I celebrated the best Dad we know- Bill!

Braden wore a special outfit for him and of course, put on a great show. He also gave him a homemade card that had a little photo album inside of pictures of him & Daddy together since Braden was born, with illustrations of why he's so happy to have him as a Daddy- AND Daddy got a nice new watch to commemorate his first year being able to celebrate the amazing blessing of fatherhood.

I was so glad Braden took a few moments out of his "fuss and whimper" schedule to smile & laugh at his Dad. Bill has been an amazing father and we are so, SO lucky to have him as husband and Dad.

Can we go back to the beach now???!!!

Last weekend we took a short hiatus to Maryland so that Braden could meet some family he has never met- aunts, uncles, & cousins on my Mom's side, and most importantly, my grandfather. It is hard to believe that these people that I grew up with, who helped to raise me, had not yet met my child! So I was really glad to be able to sneak a few days off so that they could meet.

I was also really glad to have a few days to relax at the beach. The trip to North Carolina, although very fun, required a lot of work and I didn't get much relaxation time in. And god knows, I'm overdue for some. This trip, Bill took the reigns with catering to Braden's needs- although there wasn't much to do once all the family members had their ways with him! It was great- I got to lay out in the sun and lounge by the pool... Aaahhh...

While we there, however, and ever since we've been back, something has gotten into our little angel. We think it's his teeth coming through, but we have thought that for months, so who knows. As first-timers at this child-rearing thing, we are pretty much clueless all the time. I just know that this sudden crankiness, that nothing we do seems to appease, is driving us CRAZY!!! I know it's not okay to throw a baby out a window, but we sure do find ourselves fantasizing about it lately...

You might have noticed from this blog, or the 5 million trillion photos we take, or the incessant gushing we do about him, that we LOVE our little boy. So I don't feel bad about saying that I want a little break from him right now. Not even a break from him so much, just the constant restlessness, fussing, and general grumpiness that has become a constant part of our lives. It's very... how can I say it... agonizing.

Clearly, that nice relaxing vacation wasn't long enough!!! Here are some pictures of our quick trip for you to enjoy, however. From the looks of it, you can't tell Braden has a fussy bone in his body!!!

Giving Great-Granddad a kiss

Playing Patty-Cake with my Aunt Wendy

Meeting the most important members of the family-
the dogs!

Me & Ericka, Cousins Reunited

Braden up close with the ponies in Chincoteague

Fun in the pool

Look what I found!!!

Happy in the sand

"CaCa" & cousin Donovan making me a moat

Daddy showing me the ocean

splashing around

These are two short videos from our long-weekend trip to Maryland to see some never-before-had-met-Braden family and catch some beach time. It took awhile for him to warm up to the ocean, but as you can see, he got used to it- and he loved the pool right from the start! He's so cute swimming and splashing around!

collection of cute

Braden's up to it again....

On a play date with his buddy Alexander

Playing with AJ's toys- a little Schroeder!

Putting his arm around his friend

Playing like Beethoven!!!

Trying those green veggies for the first time

Not quite sure what to think!

Guess he likes them!!!

Still lovin' being naked!!!

Playing peek-a-boo!!!

New toys

Just the sweetest boy ever...

Memorial Day Babies

We spent Memorial Day just like all of you probably did- at BBQs. We got some great pics while at a BBQ at Bill's parents house of Braden and his cousin Kiley having fun in the grass. Kiley is Bill's brother's daughter and she is 10 months old, even though she's a tiny little thing and looks younger than Braden in these photos!!!

They were so cute together, and the pictures turned out great. Enjoy!

Braden & Kiley Seeley, Memorial Day 2008

Kiley stole Braden's hat!!!

Braden's first time crawling in the grass

The babies with Aunt Tara & Uncle Zac
(Kiley's mom & dad)

Braden & Grammy Seeley

So cute!!!