Here is a video of Sean standing up and taking some steps all by himself. His record so far is 10 steps. *Eeeek!* ...I'm not sure if I'm ready for this!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Happy (late) 4th of July pictures
I apologize for the 2-week lapse in blog posting.
We have been wonderfully busy! (You might have heard this ludicrous excuse from me a few times in the past... to give you an idea of last week, we were at Vacation Bible School from 9-12 every morning, had an assortment of play dates and appointments in the afternoons, and had to take Mark to swim lessons in the evening...)
Without much further ado, here are some pictures of the boys. The last post(s) had more pictures of Mark, so I tried to include a few more of Sean this time. Our camera is kind of acting out a little, so please excuse the bad (horrible) lighting in some.
Believe it or not, of the 8 pictures I took of the boys on the doorstep on the 4th, this one of Sean investigating a rock and Mark looking off to the side was the best. I have pictures of a variety of faces being made, little boys escaping, Mark fishing a rock out of Sean's mouth, and Ben's arm reaching into the photo to prevent Sean from tumbling onto the cement while trying to climb Mark. It's a good thing we don't send out 4th of July greeting cards, because I have no print-worthy photos from this day.
We had a yummy BBQ dinner at our friends' house. Sean was trying very hard to eat Meghan's coupons (have I mentioned that Sean finds paper very palatable?) so he ended up spending a decent bit of time on Ben's lap or in Katie's arms.
Sean playing at Meghan's house.
After dinner we went to our other friends' house for dessert and to light fireworks. The families in the cul-de-sac our friends live in put on quite the show.
Sean slept in his Mayan wrap attached to me (Katie) for most of the evening. I held my hands over his ears so his hearing wouldn't be damaged by all the explosions. Did I mention that a mortar exploded INSIDE the tube? It lit a bush on fire, and everyone was a bit shaken (literally) by the shock wave, but nobody was hurt.
Mark had fun with sparklers, and was Ben's little shadow for the evening. Unlike last year, he didn't mind the loud noise. He was pretty worried after the mortar exploded on the ground, but was brave about it.
Mark has been having so much fun with some of the new privileges of being a 5-year-old. Among other things, he now has free access to the craft cupboard, excluding clay and play-dough. Two weeks ago, Mark chose a pirate-craft-and-history-book for himself at the library. He read it all by himself. One day after lunch, Mark announced that he was going to make himself a pirate hat. He got the book, read the directions out loud, and followed them. He made THIS hat all by himself. He drew the outline of the shape, drew the skull and cross bones, added the "pirate" label, and then taped it. I helped him size it to his head, but the rest was 100% done by Mark. Can you tell he is proud of the hat he made? (and yes, he drew himself a pirate beard...)
Sean was very interested in Mark's craft. The colored crayon I offered him was taste tested, and then thrown overboard, with the new comment of "Oh-oh!"
Mark and Sean like taking baths together now. Sean is still a little apprehensive of that weird wet stuff he is supposed to sit/stand in, but gets more comfortable as time goes by.
I was hoping to get some cute bath pictures, but the ones in which both boys are looking/smiling at me are, *cough* not internet-safe.
We have been wonderfully busy! (You might have heard this ludicrous excuse from me a few times in the past... to give you an idea of last week, we were at Vacation Bible School from 9-12 every morning, had an assortment of play dates and appointments in the afternoons, and had to take Mark to swim lessons in the evening...)
Without much further ado, here are some pictures of the boys. The last post(s) had more pictures of Mark, so I tried to include a few more of Sean this time. Our camera is kind of acting out a little, so please excuse the bad (horrible) lighting in some.
Believe it or not, of the 8 pictures I took of the boys on the doorstep on the 4th, this one of Sean investigating a rock and Mark looking off to the side was the best. I have pictures of a variety of faces being made, little boys escaping, Mark fishing a rock out of Sean's mouth, and Ben's arm reaching into the photo to prevent Sean from tumbling onto the cement while trying to climb Mark. It's a good thing we don't send out 4th of July greeting cards, because I have no print-worthy photos from this day.
We had a yummy BBQ dinner at our friends' house. Sean was trying very hard to eat Meghan's coupons (have I mentioned that Sean finds paper very palatable?) so he ended up spending a decent bit of time on Ben's lap or in Katie's arms.
Sean playing at Meghan's house.
After dinner we went to our other friends' house for dessert and to light fireworks. The families in the cul-de-sac our friends live in put on quite the show.Sean slept in his Mayan wrap attached to me (Katie) for most of the evening. I held my hands over his ears so his hearing wouldn't be damaged by all the explosions. Did I mention that a mortar exploded INSIDE the tube? It lit a bush on fire, and everyone was a bit shaken (literally) by the shock wave, but nobody was hurt.
Mark had fun with sparklers, and was Ben's little shadow for the evening. Unlike last year, he didn't mind the loud noise. He was pretty worried after the mortar exploded on the ground, but was brave about it. 
Mark has been having so much fun with some of the new privileges of being a 5-year-old. Among other things, he now has free access to the craft cupboard, excluding clay and play-dough. Two weeks ago, Mark chose a pirate-craft-and-history-book for himself at the library. He read it all by himself. One day after lunch, Mark announced that he was going to make himself a pirate hat. He got the book, read the directions out loud, and followed them. He made THIS hat all by himself. He drew the outline of the shape, drew the skull and cross bones, added the "pirate" label, and then taped it. I helped him size it to his head, but the rest was 100% done by Mark. Can you tell he is proud of the hat he made? (and yes, he drew himself a pirate beard...)
Sean was very interested in Mark's craft. The colored crayon I offered him was taste tested, and then thrown overboard, with the new comment of "Oh-oh!"
Mark and Sean like taking baths together now. Sean is still a little apprehensive of that weird wet stuff he is supposed to sit/stand in, but gets more comfortable as time goes by. 
I was hoping to get some cute bath pictures, but the ones in which both boys are looking/smiling at me are, *cough* not internet-safe.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Hiking and playing in the fountains...
On Saturday we (and by that I mean, "I") spontaneously decided that it would be fun to go on a little hike together. When we first moved to Vancouver, we lived very close to the Vancouver WSU campus, and there are lots of lovely walking trails on and around the campus, including a butterfly field, lots of forest and fields, a wetland that you cross on a plank walkway, and several hills. The best part: there is a very play-able fountain on the campus that Mark got to play in afterwards!
Sean is ready to hike! (my view)
Ben and Mark enjoying time together
"I'll lead, ok Dad?"
Uphill was a little harder...
...thankfully we could cool off in the fountain!
Sean is getting pretty heavy to lug around (24.5 lbs!) like this, but some parts of the trails aren't stroller-friendly.
It's hard to take a good picture of a happy boy playing in water! Zoom!
Remember this? Mark was about 2 years old here... playing in the same fountain 3 years ago!
Sean is ready to hike! (my view)
Ben and Mark enjoying time together
"I'll lead, ok Dad?"
Uphill was a little harder...
...thankfully we could cool off in the fountain!
Sean is getting pretty heavy to lug around (24.5 lbs!) like this, but some parts of the trails aren't stroller-friendly.
It's hard to take a good picture of a happy boy playing in water! Zoom!
Remember this? Mark was about 2 years old here... playing in the same fountain 3 years ago!
Friday, July 01, 2011
Curly, curly
The Bradley household is looking forward to a 3-day-weekend!
Here are a few fun, unrelated pictures I thought some of you might enjoy (you know who you are!)... since Mark got the last blog post all to himself, I tried to include a few more of Sean this time.
Sean follows Mark around like a sweet, lost little puppy dog. He adores his big brother. The feeling is (mostly) mutual.
Little Dad, model 2.1
Little Dad, model 2.2
We are SO proud of Mark. He decided last Christmas that he wanted to save for the Star Wars Lego "Ice Monster" set. He worked hard (e.g. earning $1.57 by getting 1 cent per pine cone he picked up in the yard; or 1 cent per stick; or $3 for scrubbing the algae/moss off of our lawn chairs etc) and diligently saved every last penny. Without the money he was given for his birthday, he saved up $29. Including the birthday money, he was able to buy himself the long-wanted Lego set AND a small set that compliments it! Good little capitalist!
I know there is a dearth of Sean-pictures. He is so wiggly and so grabby it is hard to get a good one of him... unless he is sleeping!
Sean has become an incredibly quick, incredibly grabby little crawler.
Eeek! He's coming for the camera!
Because Sean is "all grabby arms and hands" Ben has nicknamed him "the Kracken" ...
Mark calls him "the little Mischief-Maker"
...have you noticed how curly his hair is getting? And he has teeth! As far as I can count, there are somewhere between 6 and 100 in his mouth...
Here are a few fun, unrelated pictures I thought some of you might enjoy (you know who you are!)... since Mark got the last blog post all to himself, I tried to include a few more of Sean this time.
Sean follows Mark around like a sweet, lost little puppy dog. He adores his big brother. The feeling is (mostly) mutual.
Little Dad, model 2.1
Little Dad, model 2.2
We are SO proud of Mark. He decided last Christmas that he wanted to save for the Star Wars Lego "Ice Monster" set. He worked hard (e.g. earning $1.57 by getting 1 cent per pine cone he picked up in the yard; or 1 cent per stick; or $3 for scrubbing the algae/moss off of our lawn chairs etc) and diligently saved every last penny. Without the money he was given for his birthday, he saved up $29. Including the birthday money, he was able to buy himself the long-wanted Lego set AND a small set that compliments it! Good little capitalist!
I know there is a dearth of Sean-pictures. He is so wiggly and so grabby it is hard to get a good one of him... unless he is sleeping!
Sean has become an incredibly quick, incredibly grabby little crawler.
Eeek! He's coming for the camera!
Because Sean is "all grabby arms and hands" Ben has nicknamed him "the Kracken" ...
Mark calls him "the little Mischief-Maker"
...have you noticed how curly his hair is getting? And he has teeth! As far as I can count, there are somewhere between 6 and 100 in his mouth...
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