Fraidy-Hole

Lola just climbed out of a tiny space behind one of the chairs in the living room. She had taken her baby, Raffi, a blanket and a few trinkets with her. When she first crawled in she said, "Mommy, where did we go last week to hide?" It took me a minute to figure out what she was doing and then I told her we went to Megan's to the cellar or storm shelter. She kept acting slightly confused and asking questions and then she finally said, "What were we hiding from?" She had forgotten the word tornado. "Yeah, that's it. We're hiding from a tornado!" After telling her to stay safe and a few other small conversations, she finally crawled out and exclaimed, "Whew, that was close!"

Now she is back in her crawl space or as I like to call it, her fraidy-hole; and has brought a whole lot more junk with her. Also, she just asked if we could go to the cellar again. I guess it was an adventure.

Little Miss Independent

Lola has become self-sufficient in many ways. Tonight as I tucked her in bed, I started her DVD player. I know; please don't send me any nasty comments on how I'm ruining her sleep habits and exposing her to too much television. Anyhow, when the DVD began I noticed that it wasn't her usual fare of burned Backyardigans episodes. I mumbled, "What's this?" Then I asked Lola if this is what she wanted to watch. She answered, "Maybe... let's figure it out." I noticed it was Cars and asked if that would be fine. She told me that yes, she wanted to watch it and that she had put it in the player earlier that afternoon so she could watch it tonight. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I continue to be amazed at her expanding thought processes and independence. So I walked out of her room and asked Randy if he put Cars in the DVD player for her. Before he could answer no, she called out with a slight hint of frustration, "No! I did it!"

A Month's Worth

Last time I admitted being a slacker, so it isn't news to you. I can't believe it has taken me over a month to get back here and that I never gave you the photos I promised. I've been a little busy with nausea, fatigue and the general maladies that accompany pregnancy. Yes, if you haven't heard, we are expecting another Baby Bradley in September. Of course, I've been busy with Lola, Randy, our gathering, some work projects and other things as well. So, I'm a royal slacker when it comes to this blog. So give me a break and let's get on with the stuff you want to read. I'm going to hit the highlights of the last month or so.

- After a day with one of Lola's friends, I cajoled her to leave the park with the responsibility of running some errands. Later that night as we were getting ready for bed, she told me that we didn't go to Erin's house. Erin is her Uncle Eric's significant other. I asked her what she meant. In an accusatory tone she told me, "You said we were running to Erin's." Remembering what I had said, I tried to explain what errands were. After failing to explain how errands are similar to chores, I finally said, "Lola, you know how we took that shirt back and then went to Bass Pro to get Poppy's jacket? Those are errands." Exasperated, she retorted, "Mom," (with two syllables) "Those aren't errands, that's shopping!"

- I was pleased for the short period before Lola's birthday and then again before Christmas to have the excuse of each event when not purchasing the objects of Lola's desire during shopping trips. "Mommy, I want one of these." "We'll see honey, maybe for your birthday/maybe Santa will bring it." After Christmas, she had a hard time understanding that Santa was going to wait quite a while to show back up with loot. So, I started using Valentine's as bait. She's still convinced Christmas is coming soon, though. Now, she just says, "Mommy, can I maybe have this for Christmas?" Poor girl is going to have new issues with Santa this year... namely his absence.

- On the subject of presents, Lola seems to be obsessed. This week has proven it. First there was the acting out of emotions we were reading in a book. I would ask her how you act when you are ___________. She had very dramatic responses to each feeling until I asked her how she acts when she is mad. No more drama, just a very succint answer - "You get a present." What, Lola? You get a present. What are you smoking? I've seen you mad. I'm sure you get the gist of my internal dialogue. "What do you mean, Lola?" With a slight sigh and roll of the eyes she informed me, "It makes you feel better."

- Then as we were putting her in bed Friday evening, after her stay with Eric & Erin while Randy & I went for dinner and the ballet, she proceeded to inform us that she would stay home again... for a present. While Eric & Erin watched her, they took her to get a card and a sweet little gift for us. She confiscated it right away, though - just as soon as she reluctantly let us open it.

- Lola got plenty of Valentine's presents. In her card from her MiMi and ProPro, she got $5. The next card she opened came with the exclamation, "There's no money!"

- Just so you know, Lola is extremely gracious. I realize the info above may lead you to think she's a greedy girl. However, she is unbelievably polite and grateful. I'm often amazed at her shows of affection and gratitude.

- Lola is a backseat driver. She may have been influenced by me; but that wouldn't be so if not for her Daddy's lackluster driving skills. ;-) On our way to Nana & Poppy's last weekend, I had to aggressively call Randy's attention to a stop sign he was about to run. Lola has been learning about stop signs. However, she thinks every sign is a stop sign. For the last hour of the trip, she carefully watched for signs and would yell out for Randy to stop. We keep trying to teach her the difference between signs and she keeps insisting he stop. I think she just likes to boss. I blame that on her Nana! I know that's where I got it.

- While at Nana's, Lola gave herself a haircut. I think it is pretty ironic since Mom gave me a lecture back in early fall about hiding all the scissors. Mom had three pair of her hair-cutting scissors right in plain sight in the brush drawer. She saw a big chunk of hair lying on Lola's shoulder and as she ran her hands through Lola's hair more and more hair came out in clumps. It looked like those scenes in the movies when cancer patients run a hand through their hair and look down to find a huge clump in their hand. Then we found a huge pile in the bathroom floor. Luckily, she basically texturized and layered her own hair. Only one really short chop of the bangs occurred and she left a few longer bangs hanging over that. She looks like a shaggy dog now but it could have been much worse.

- We had a little car trouble recently. It began as the Blazer's stubborness to start. It ended up as the complete and utter failure of the fuel pump. As we were leaving the house to go to church with Nana & Poppy, the Blazer really gave Randy a hard time. Finally, it turned over and Lola exclaimed, "You did it, Daddy. You saved the day!" Since then, whenever one of us does something that could be remotely heroic she praises us, "You saved the day!" I finally remembered where she came up with this saying... the Backyardigans - her very own personal heroes. We should be honored to be in such company.

I've got more to say but I'll save it for another day. I promise to show up sooner next time.

Catching Up

I've been such a slacker. The holidays kept me too busy to post the way I wanted to and I've had about a week of trying to get back into the swing of things but still not quite there yet. And for the record, I still don't have my Christmas decor put away. Hopefully, this weekend!

So to get the ball rolling with this blog again, I'll just give a few highlights from the last few weeks:

~We spent a lot of time together. We shared the Twelve Dates of Christmas and had more fun and adventure than any other holiday season. Oklahoma City is a great place to live in December!

~Lola made the holidays so exciting. She loved Santa from afar most of the season. Finally, she let Dad take her close enough to stand near him for a conversation, photo and a candy cane. The next morning when she woke up, her first words were, "Mommy, Mommy, I saw Santa Claus last night!" I replied, "I know! I was there." She continued, "He's so cute! And he's nice, too. He gave me a candy cane."

~We spent a lot of time with family. Good times!

~We ate a ton of great food... incredible food.

~We fed Santa and his reindeer some yummy homemade goodies.

~We must have been nice because no naughty kids get the loot we came home with!

~Lola is obsessed with the baby in her stomach. She is constantly telling us to feel her baby move and that we can hold it when it comes out. This is thanks to Aunt Dana & Cousin Christina and their huge bellies!

~We've played Wii... a lot.

~Lola & I were playing Wii tennis and the announcer declared, "Deuce!" Lola turned to me and said, "I like juice!" Well, yes, you do, darling.

I'll probably post a slideshow in the next couple of days and be back to regular blogging and some new things next week.

Ciao!

'Tis the Season to Be Green...

This year, the Bradleys are going green. We hope you enjoy our earth friendly holiday greeting. And that you have a wonderful season of celebration. Much love!

Out of the Mouth of Our Babe

The light dusting of snow we had earlier this week prompted Lola to ask, "Does that mean Santa Claus is coming now?"

Our babe's choice of breakfast is peanut butter and crackers. In fact, many mornings she wakes up with this plea, "Mommy, I want peanut butter and crackers. PLEASE!!!" A couple of days ago, I guess she noticed as I threw the empty peanut butter jar away. The next day when I asked her if that is what she wanted and proceeded to fix her favorite breakfast plate, she crawled up in a chair next to the bar and said, "We have peanut butter! Why did you get that peanut butter?"
"I got it for you, Lola. Because I know you like it."
"Wow! You're AWEsome, Mom!"

Let it be known by all, I AM AWESOME!!!

Twelve Dates of Christmas

I'm always looking for ways to create meaning in our holiday celebrations. I love to eat as much as anyone but for people who have great meals all the time, I don't think big family meals are necessarily the way to make our holidays special. My favorite Christmas traditions of my childhood include the obvious gathering of family but three things stand out most for me.

First, my Dad involved us all in decking our house out Griswald-style. He was a welder and had created all kinds of cool yule decor. He lit everything with spotlights, covered the house in lights, we had the plastic snowmen, and a nativity scene with a custom stable that was awesome. I loved playing with the plastic baby Jesus. We had a huge star that shared the rooftop with Santa and his reindeer. Somehow Dad mounted the sleigh where it looked like they were taking off to share toys with the rest of the world. We also had a HUGE cross beside our house. Since this was how I knew Christmas even before seeing Christmas Vacation, some of the humor was lost on me. I remember being upset that his family wouldn't help him and wondering why they wouldn't want to decorate. We loved watching the cars drive slowly around our block as they checked out our house. Our roofline is crazy steep and the lot behind the house is empty so Dad always made sure the back of the house lit up, too.

Second, I remember all five of us crammed in the car or truck and driving around looking at lights. Dad always made sure Christmas music was blaring and my brother was usually telling me to quit singing. Although, there were several songs that became sing-alongs.

Third, there was the children's Christmas program at church. Carolyn, our children's pastor, and all of her family were so amazing. It was always so much fun to participate. Of course, this always came with a new dress sewn by Mom who can make anything. So there were several days of fittings, rehearsals, and abuse for my family as they had to listen to me sing and rehearse lines prior to this.

Randy and I have a few traditions of our own. Over the next few weeks you might hear about a few of them. But this year we are starting a new one inspired by the Twelve Days of Christmas and by Lola. She and Randy have had a couple of Daddy-Lola dates to the movies over the past month or two. Soon after one of their dates, all three of us went to dinner and to the same cinema. She said, "This is where Daddy-Lola dates are. But this is a Daddy-Lola-Mommy date!" We got a kick out of it and whenever we drive by she always exclaims that we are passing our date place. Anyhow, when thinking of special ways to celebrate as a family I decided to create the Twelve Dates of Christmas in which we will find twelve special outings or activities to celebrate together as a family.

Tonight is our First Date of Christmas. We are having a light supper of summer sausage, crackers, cheeses, fruits and spreads. Then we are heading downtown to the Civic Center Music Hall to Merry POPs with the OKC Philharmonic. Afterwards, we'll try to catch the Sonic Santa in Bricktown and head back for hot chocolate with marshmallows and white chocolate dipped pretzels. I better go get dressed or I'm going to be late!