Circus Day

 Look out, tiger on the loose...

It was circus day at Jake's school today!!

15 Months Old

These pictures pretty much sum it up.....if you were to walk into a room, this (or something similar) is what you would find Lucy doing.  She can climb up, down, on top of, inside, and all around just about anything these days!  I think it is safe to say that she has more energy than the Energizer Bunny :)  If you were to look up the word go-getter in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Lucy!!

Lucy isn't saying many words yet, but she is very "talkative".  She can wave her hand for "hi/bye" and nods or shakes her head for yes/no answers.  She is actually probably saying more words than we realize at this point.  I think she is saying the beginning part and/or sounds of a lot of words like "ga" for cat and "ja" for Jake.  Regardless of what she is or isn't saying, there is no denying the fact of how much Lucy understands.  She is super intelligent, just like her big brother!

Lucy- we have enjoyed every single second of the past 15 months with you girl (and we look forward to the next)!  We love you so much!!      

Snow Day

 We didn't get much, but still had a lot of fun...

The Bradford Band

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

Four Years Old

 Look at our big boy, 4 years old today!!  Wow!!  Can you believe it?! 

 Jake had a great birthday:  we had a fun spider-man themed party for him at school and then he got to come home and open up presents!!  He could hardly contain his excitement :)

Jake has grown so much this past year.  He really has started to seem like a big kid lately, very aware of the world around him.  He is still as smart as anything.  He is a very brilliant, adventurous, well-rounded little kiddo.  And he has become quite the jokester lately!  He will actually tell us jokes he has either heard or made up and he plays tricks on us too.  He is the most hilarious little kid who makes us laugh every day. 

Jake went though a period of time of feeling a little scared about some things like dark rooms and monsters this past year.  He also started having some separation anxiety and fears with school, swim lessons, and soccer.  But, he seemed to phase out of all that towards the end of the year and is actually feeling really comfortable in his surroundings now!  He is a very creative kid with a big imagination, so I am sure that had something to do with his initial fears.

Jake is just a really great kid.  He has such a big heart.  Other kids love to be around him, as well as adults.  His teacher always remarks about him being so special.  It was well put during our Texas trip, when Jake's Great Grandmother Kelso said, "Jake, you remind me of some kid out of a book".  And then his Papa said, "yeah....Huckleberry Finn".

Texas Trip

 Here come the Bradfords...

I have to say, the conversion van made our road trip to Texas quite enjoyable!  We had such a great time during our visit.  Jake and Lucy both loved getting to hang out with their cousins:

 Lucy was so worn out from all the excitement:

Jake absolutely loved getting to play games on his cousins' iPad minis:

 Swinging at Uncle Jarratt's house:

Jake and Lucy sacked out on the way back home:

Great trip, great fun with the whole family!  Thanks for having us Nana and Papa!!  Happy New Year everyone!!!