A year at a Glance...

So, it's been a full year and one day since I posted last. I really do have the desire to be better at this blogging thing, but I'm just NOT. I always say I'm going to try but nothing ever becomes of it. So, I'm going to summarize what I can of our last year and then, well, you will just get to guess whether I keep this updated this coming year. =)

January was pretty uneventful from what I can remember. Crissy and Dusty both have birthdays in January, so we celebrated those. Other than that, it was just the same ole stuff.

February was a little more eventful. We went to the Fort Worth Stockshow (I'll add a pic at some point). There was the Super Bowl and Assaad and Crissy announced they were having another baby!

In March, Dusty and I went to Hawaii again and Brady stayed here with my parents (and Dusty's parents kept him for two nights).

April had another baby announcement... Brad and Jackie announced they were going to be having their second child also. More cousins for Brady!!!

May included some Rangers games and lots of cooking out and pool time!

All I can remember about June right now is that Dusty went to New Orleans for a week leaving me home all alone with an almost two year old! LOL

In July, we took our annual family vacation... this year, we went to Myrtle Beach! On the way, I got to meet a special friend I made in the baby group I joined when pregnant with Brady. I'll post a pic of the 4 of us! Vacation was FUN! But, you know me... I LOVE the beach! Brady loved playing in the sand but did NOT like the big waves in the ocean. He was a cute little beach bum though. Dusty and I also celebrated our 4th year being married! =)

August was HOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTT! We spent a lot of time at the pool or indoors, lol.

On September 1st, Assaad and Crissy welcomed little Cayden! Brady started preschool two days a week at Kinderplatz this month. He LOVES school and his teachers! On September 16th, Brady turned 2! Can you believe it?! I can't... My little baby is already TWO! I'll post a pic or two from his birthday.

Hmmm... All I remember about October is Halloween. We took Brady to the Fall Festival at our church then came home to watch the World Series! Ok, so I guess the Rangers making it to the World Series for the first time EVER is pretty big too! ;) They lost to the San Francisco Giants, but they made it!

We had Thanksgiving in November... There were actually a TON of people at my parents this year! It was really nice to have a full house again (and we were still missing people).

December is always an exciting month! There's my birthday, and then Brady and Jackie welcomed sweet baby Bethany the next day! =) And then Christmas... Christmas was a BLAST this year with Brady. He was so fun opening presents and walking around telling everyone "Merry Christmas!" I'm pretty sure next year will be even MORE fun!

Well, nothing MAJOR happened with Brady this year. He hit all his BIG milestones last year, but he talks SOOOO much now! He can actually hold a conversation with you and it's so fun! He absolutely LOVES Toy Story and Cars. He got some Veggie Tales videos for Christmas and he's really into them now too. He's going to have some new friends next year also as I have SEVERAL friends who are expecting new babies! Brady also LOVES school! I'm so glad he's doing so well! It's nice for him to be able to get that extra interaction and for me to get a short break to get things done.

For this next year, I have a few new goals. I'd like to start being healthier... all around. I want to start working out again, eating better, and spending WAY less time watching tv and sitting on the computer. I think those goals should be easily attainable if I just have the right attitude about it. =) I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe New Years!

~The Cottons

Shopping with friends!

One of the good things about having two good friends that are teachers, is that we get to hang out any time school is out. So, while school was out over the Christmas break, Brady and I got to hang out with some of our best friends! Alexis and Kensley, and Jennifer and Garrison. I made Brady a Christmas shirt and then I made Kensley and Garrison ones to match. So, after shopping all day at Grapevine Mills, we took pics in the back of Alexis' SUV of all the kids in their matching shirts. They were TOO cute! I can't wait to watch them grow up together. I hope they stay close. Here are a few pictures:

And then, the next week, we all got together and went out to Stonebriar just for fun. Alexis and I rode together, because none of us have a car big enough for ALL of us to fit in. On the way home, we look back and Brady and Kensley are holding hands... it was SOOO cute! Here are a few pics of that.

Christmas 09

Christmas was SOOO fun this year! We took Brady to see Santa Claus downtown and he was NOT happy, but it made for some HILARIOUS pics.

We ran around like chickens with our heads cut off between Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas... trying to get visits in with all of our families. But, that's what the holidays are all about right? Brady was so fun to watch opening his presents and even seeing the presents Santa got him. I didn't get pictures of him opening everything, but I will post some of the ones I did get. It's so crazy how different this year was from last. No, this technically wasn't Brady's first Christmas, but he was only 3 months old last year, so he didn't have a clue what was going on. I can't believe how fast time is flying right now. He is such a sweet little boy with an amazingly sweet spirit and we just love him so much. I thank God every day for bringing the most perfect baby boy into our lives. I can't imagine life without him!

Merry Christmas!

Kensley's 1st birthday

Today, we went to Kensley's 1st birthday party. Brady is just a little party animal this month! Ha ha. I made Kensley's birthday outfit, and it looks mighty cute on her, if I do say so myself. I've been having issues posting pictures, but I will try to put some on here. She was so cute... she was way more interested in the tissue paper than her new toys. Brady had fun playing with them though. He's so lucky to have good friends to grow up with. I just wish we could see them all more often!

Audrey's Birthday

Today, we went to Audrey's 1st birthday party. She was so cute in her little tutu! She got LOTS of presens and Brady had fun with all of the other kids. He loves playing with the little dancing frog at Dusty's parents house. If it will let me, I'll try to post a video of him dancing with it. It's so cute!

Thanksgiving 09

I am SOOO behind on posts, but I'm going to try to catch up and do a whole bunch right now, so bear with me.

So, for Thanksgiving this year, we did the usual. We had lunch at my parents. We got to see my grandparents (mom's parents), my grandmother (dad's mom) and 3 of my dad's sisters. Stephanie wasn't there this year... she went to Colorado with her son. She was definitely missed! We also got to see my uncle's (who passed away in 2004) wife and son and his wife and her little boy. There was just a whole house full!

We came home and let Brady take a nap before heading to dinner at Assaad and Crissy's. Dusty's parents and younger sister were there along with his grandma. Brady had a lot of fun playing with his cousin Audrey.

Here are some pictures:

Brady's first trip to the zoo!!!

We finally got around to taking Brady to the zoo... he LOVED it! He played hide and seek with a monkey, got to see the elephants playing with balls, he got to hear the lion roar and even got to touch a bird while I was feeding them. THAT was his favorite part. He LOVES birds and being inside a big cage filled will birds was just heaven for him. It was so much fun to just watch him soak everything in. I'm trying to post pictures, but it's being difficult, so if there aren't any, that's why.