A Giveaway at my New Blogspot

Dear loyal 'Brady' readers,

First, I just want to thank you for reading my blog! I've had a lot of fun posting and have really loved Blogger. But, I think it's time that I moved on to greener pastures. I've been wanting a Wordpress blog for forever, and I finally have one! I would love if you all followed me over, as I will be gracing the pages of this blog no more. I am very excited about my new blog, which I've titled, Brady Revisited (www.bradyrevisited.com). I hope to do some really fun things with it, and push the boarders of my regular blogging.

As incentive for you to check it out, (and just because I love you all) I'm hosting a giveaway, a "house warming" of sorts, for you! Here's a sneak peak at what it has to do with:
(And, no, the thing I'm giving away isn't LiLi.)

See you all over there!

~Erin

Thank Heavens for Little Girls

First, let me introduce you to my newest little niece, Brooklyn Pearl Mitchie. She was born January 3, 2001, 19.5 inches long, and 7 lbs. 2 oz. This is her at five days old.


Isn't she beautiful? I love her.

Second, can I just tell you how fun 1 1/2 yr. olds are? This is a great age. LiLi can now say:

• bye-bye
• ball
• bear
• uh-oh (first word)
• mama
• dada
• puppy
• hi
• thank you ("dank do")
• whoa
• baby
• banana ("na-na")
• apple
• ho-ho-ho
• no (her favorite word)
  

It's nice that she can communicate with more than just pointing, grunts, and crying. Although, it's a bit trying to hear "no" all day long. We have little conversations that go like this:

"Do you want to go with mommy?"
"No."
"Do you want me to put your shoe back on?"
"No!"
"...Do you want a spanking?"I tease, (she's never had a spanking in her whole life.)
"No."
"Are you sure?"
She's pensive for a moment. Closes her eyes, and shakes her pig-tailed head,
"...no."

LiLi seems to make up for telling me "no" with all of the cute things she does. She sings everywhere we go, and I mean everywhere. It's usually the tune to the "ABC's". She also dances to music. She's the best dancer I know.

Today we made Koolaid play dough. We used the pink lemonade flavor.





LiLi loves it. It was a lot of fun to make, it was cheap (the cost of a packet of Koolaid, $.20), doesn't stain your hands or clothes, and smells good. For the recipe check my cooking blog.

I'm also working on a little Valentine's Day Quiet book for her. (I live from holiday to holiday, can you tell? I always like to have something to look forward to.) Here's one of the pages:

I'll post the finished product. It will be nice to give LiLi something to keep her entertained at Doctor's visits, church, etc.

Christmas Past

I know that it's a little late to be blogging about Christmas, but I haven't had all of my pics and a computer together at the same time. I hope all of you had wonderful Holidays, we did! They were filled with fuzzy pajamas, family, an obscene amount of chocolate, and snowboarding & sledding. It was a great way to end the year.

Aren't they just so cute all bundled up? LiLi & her cousin Taylor were the best of friends this Christmas.


I'm excited for what 2011 will bring, I know that I'll get a new niece since my Sis-in-law, Lilly, was induced today! That's good, because I've been looking through photos of the past year, and they've made me baby hungry. Now I can live vicariously through her, at least for a little while. ;)

5 Things I love about the Holidays

You've all heard my shpeel on how I feel about Christmas decorations being put up earlier and earlier each year (did the department stores even celebrate Halloween??...we're in trouble when major holidays like that are overlooked.) However, this year, I thought...why fight it? And so I found myself singing Christmas songs before Thanksgiving, and planning what my Christmas tree was going to look like, and making lists of people to get gifts for, and send cards to. I couldn't help it. Was the Christmas spirit taking over me? I really can't say. All I know is, I was super excited to show LiLi everything that goes along with Christmas this year. Because this year, this year! she would notice things besides the awesome metallic wrapping paper that the gifts were wrapped in. Although, metallic wrapping paper is never to be under-valued. And so I've made a list of some of the things that I love about this time of year.

5. Holiday Baking


Last night I made THE best cookies ever! They are White Chocolate Truffle Pecan Cookies. And I will put the recipe on my cooking blog, because I love you all and that's what Christmas is all about...sharing amazing cookie recipes that would make choirs of angels sing. It turned Don and I into cookie Grinches. We really did not want to share them with the neighbors I'd baked them for.


I have been baking like a demon this holiday season, and I made a gingerbread house, for the first time in a long time...I was thirteen the last time I even attempted to put one together, I think. I will post this loverly, and I mean loverly, recipe as well, in case you want to stretch beyond the average kit and graham cracker cottage. I can respect it if you don't. I didn't for about 10 years. To find the recipe you can click here, or on the side link to my cooking blog.

4. Trimming the Tree


I love Christmas trees. What is about a Christmas tree that makes it so magical that after you set one up it instantly feels like Christmas? Our house is still torn apart from construction, our pantry is only partially sheet rocked, and I've painted our once brown and tar speckled sub-flooring a shocking dark blue. But in the corner that I've set the Christmas tree up, our house is a home. Yep, it's Christmas here, too.


3. Christmas crafts

Like I said, I began the Christmas season early this year. At the very beginning of December I started stitching this with a vengeance. Last year Adelei had a generic stocking, so I decided to make her something a little more special. It goes with the two other stockings I made for Don and I. I began this tradition due to Aubrey, who introduced me to the Shepherd's Bush stockings. They are gorgeous, and if you feel like making something heirloom, you really can't go wrong with these. This is just one of the few Christmas projects I've been doing. Making something by hand is like giving someone a little piece of you. I know that that sounds a bit cliche, but it's true! Try it next time you think about stepping into a crowded store.

2. Flowers that bloom in Winter


I honestly believe that there are some things that are set apart just to fight the depressing gray that winter brings. For me, that's why there are so many holidays in winter. Anyway, my sweetie-poo brought these home for me. And I can't tell you how much it lifts my spirits just to have something green in the house! I love these amaryllis bulbs so much. Almost as much as I love...

1. Family
LiLi really has made Christmas twenty bazillion times more fun. I spent hours setting up our Christmas tree. I did it while she was asleep. And when she woke up the next morning, she walked into the living room with her little sleeper on, and disheveled hair. She looked at the tree with her big, sea-blue eyes and said, "Ooooh." That made it all worth it. I love my Bugs. Sometimes before I put her to bed, I'll grab a stuffed animal, a fluffy blanket, turn off all the lights in the house, and turn on some soft Christmas music. Then we'll cuddle as we watch the lights twinkle and dance on the Christmas tree. This was something my parents always did with us. If I can think of one, single, honest-to-goodness, Goodwin family tradition that we observed year-after-year, this would be it. Family, tree, lights, music. Magic. It's Christmas.

Time Honored Tradition

LiLi makes the holidays so much more fun. That's one of the things at the top of my list of 'things to be thankful for'.

Be Witchin'

Last weekend my sisters, mom, & I went to Gardener Village's "Witches' Night Out". It's a magical night of the year where it's cool to wear hats that can poke someone's eye out and fabulous stockings that you secretly want to wear year round. This year I decided to go platinum. Don called me Lady Gaga for days. I'm so much cooler.

Anyway, if you've never been to Witches' Night Out, I strongly suggest you go. Witches' Night Out is for any woman who's ever wished that she could be a witch. I'm pretty sure that applies to all of the female species.

"I found myself wishing that I could use a spell that would make it so that not a speck of dirt stuck to any surface of my bathroom the other day," I tell my sisters and mom in the car on the way over.

"Oh. So you'd use your magic to do good stuff?" Aubrey asks with a wide eyed tone.

"That and the ability to smack people without them seeing me."

If getting into the Halloween spirit isn't enough to make you go, then go for the caramel apples. And they have witchin' coupons. At any rate go so you can dance like a fool with your girls. I can't tell you how many times we've had to pull my mom out of the Congo line. She thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Note: I don't have any pics of mom, because she came late and it was too dark to take pics. I did get one of of her outrageously twinkly/flashing wig, but I don't know if she wants me to share.

Mornings at the Brady's

LiLi is wearing her fuzzy elephant pajamas. The ones where, before I put them on her, and she's sitting on her changing table in only her diaper, I softly rub on her back and she giggles like it's Christmas and arches her back. This morning she's found a wrist rattle, and is having the time of her life with it. Wrist rattle and cheerios. Life can't get any better. She shakes it happily in her high chair. And then brings it so close to her face that she's almost crossed-eyed.

"Can I see it??" I ask as I tenatively pull it away. Then I beat it like a tamborine, and start singing a song for LiLi. Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. All one-and-a-half year olds should should know the Beatles. LiLi apparently loves them, because she's swaying in her chair as I sing the song, and grinning, showing all four of her bottom teeth. I finish the song and hand the make-shift tanborine to her. She madly beats it and sings as well. The girl is a natural, and I instantly like her version of the song better than mine. And quite possibly the Beatles'. Then she picks up her sippy cup full of smoothie as well as a Cheerio and tries to eat and drink at the same time. "I don't think it works that way, but if you can manage it, more power to you!"I laugh. My daughter: singer, tamborine player, and natural multitasker. She's my little sunshine.

Happy morning. Happy Fall.