Brady Boy

This past weekend, the kids and I got to take a small road-trip to Columbia, MO (my old home) and celebrate this chunky monkey's 1st Birthday:


Thankfully, Grandma Bell met up with us and rode along and helped with kids for the majority of the trip. Have I mentioned she makes a great assistant? I can't decide who was more excited to see her...me or Addison! We decided to break up the trip/drive by staying the night with Aunt Cassie in Osage Beach. Addison was beyond excited for this part. Every minute of the 3 1/2 hour drive she would say...."I wanna go to Aunt Tassie's house." We even took a detour at Chick-fil-a for lunch and she decided not to play in the play place because she wanted to go to Aunt Tassie's so bad-that's huge for her folks. So we were off - and so glad to finally arrive in one piece. Addison is a little chatty cathy and she can easily talk your ear off within 5 minutes let alone a 3 1/2 hour drive for leg #1. I think after this trip Grandma Bell finally got to see what I experience day-to-day with my little jabberwocky.

Anyway, Aunt Tassie's house was nothing short of wonderful. I think Addison probably liked it more than Disneyland. We relaxed, played, and had lots of fun. Cousin Alexa is closest to Addison in age and they play very well together. It was hilarious to hear them talk to each other. They sounded so much like an old married couple bantering back and forth the whole weekend. On our drive up to Columbia the two girls sat in the very back of the van next to each other. Addison quickly shouted "School Bus!!" when we passed one (she's currently in love with them). Then Alexa started teasing her and said "What did you say? A puppy?" Of course, Addison got irritated and said "Noooo! I say School Bus right now!". Rinse and Repeat. See what I mean? Old.Married.Couple. And equal parts hilarious. I'm so glad we live close to cousins so our kids can grow up having them as such close friends.

Addison and Alexa - The Old Married Couple. Little ladybugs after baths at Aunt Cassie's.

Saturday morning we pushed off from Aunt Cassie's house and headed up to celebrate the birthday boy. We started the day off with a quick swim in Aunt Michelle's hotel pool with even more cousins. Addison was having a hay day and could hardly contain her excitement. She loved the pool. Even Jonas got to jump in with Mommy. This was his first time swimming. He loves his baths but he definitely takes a little more time to acclimate to the swimming pool. I wouldn't blame him though, the temperature was hardly nice and toasty. There is nothing better than a wet chunky baby in my opinion. It was soooo worth getting suited up and wet for.

Squeezy, wet Jonas on his first swim.

After swimming we all met up for lunch and then headed over to Aunt Natalie's parents house to help set up for the party and put little ones down for naps. It was nice to sit and visit with everyone and catch up. Before long we were kicking off the festivities by watching Brady open his presents. He loved everything he opened so much that he had a hard time letting go of one to open the next one. We played fun games and ate cute little cupcakes in the shape of puppy dogs. It was so fun to celebrate Brady's first year of life. He loved his smash cake too. It took a few minutes for him to figure it all out but before long he was covered in it. I must say, smash cakes are probably my favorite part of 1st year birthdays. It's so fun to watch the kids just go wild and dig in.

The delicious cupcakes we enjoyed. Isn't my sister-in-law so creative?

Afterwards we visited a bit more and then started the trek back home. Of course, with a stop-over at Aunt Cassie's house yet again to help break up our trip. Again, it was fun and relaxing. The girls got some more play time in and we got some more visit time in. Before long it was time to head back to Arky. Of course that was the longest part of my weekend. A crying Jonas and a chatty Addison and no Grandma Bell to help out. Oh well.....we survived and we are still glad we made the trip.