The Good Life...and getting better

I can't believe I'm actually getting around to doing something I said I'd do! Here are some of the pictures/items I found while cleaning out Brady's closet this weekend.....

In the beginning..................

Brady had a buddy. Or at least what could have become a buddy. I can't even begin to imagine how much more chaotic those first few months would have been if there had been 2 of him!

That tiny little blurb up there eventually turned into this big chunk of love...

Brady's Hospital Pic.

And I sent out these

And President and Mrs. Bush sent him this

Then when Brady was 6 weeks old my sister came to town to visit and we took him to Portrait Innovations for some pics. Let me stop right here and say something about these places. Yes, they are convenient AND cheap. But they seriously lack some creativity. The people working the cameras pretty much have ZERO photography skills. They simply know how to operate the cameras/computers/lighting system that stays in the same place all year long. Now I'm not saying I look down on people who take their kids to these places. I don't at all. As you'll see, I've done it myself and I'm sure I will continue to do it periodically until my kids are grown. But these are definitely not my favorite type of photographs. Real photographers are VERY expensive and I don't know of anyone who can actually afford to take their kids to one multiple times a year. Hence, the reason why these cheap photo places are so popular. But I am making it my goal to get REAL family and child photographs done with an actual talented photographer once/year. After my terrible experience with our wedding photographer I realized just how important it is to have certain memories preserved. And I think having good yearly photographs of your family is worth it. So now that I've lectured you here are the pics....

Brady at 6 weeks

And 2 Christmas pics we had taken on the same visit

At 3 months old Rob and I took Brady to JC Penny's for some more cheap and convenient pictures. Some of his facial expressions are the cutest I've ever seen.

See what I mean?

I was so mad though when the lady working there started pressuring me & Rob to be in the pictures with him. She kept making me feel like I was such a terrible mom since I didn't want any pictures of all of us together. Ummm, HELLO I wasn't planning on having my picture taken that day. I was in the throws of total sleep deprivation from nursing Brady 5x/night. And living on about 3 hours of sleep per day. I wasn't even wearing any makeup that particular day. I should have stuck to my guns, but instead we ended up with these lovely pictures. Although, looking back I am glad I have them. I look at my pitiful self and smile, knowing how far we've come!

Then when Brady was about 5 months old I took him (all by myself) on his 1st plane ride to Cincinnati to attend my niece, Macy's 1st birthday party! While we were there we had some pics taken of the two of them. This one makes me smile!

And lastly, this year's Santa picture. We didn't get one with Santa last year because Brady was a newborn and I was pretty convinced that the mall Santa would be covered in germs from all the other nasty little children coughing and sneezing on him. This year we found a clean Santa at the Junior League's Christmas Jubilee.

As I was cleaning I also came across all the cards I received at my baby showers and after Brady was born. My sweet bible study teacher gave me a card and had wrote this verse in it. How encouraging for us moms!

Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane!