Wonderful Break

We have all been enjoying this Thanksgiving break very much! Thanksgiving was good with our family and lots of food! Brode did enjoy the meal as well and ate some turkey! We aren't Black Friday shoppers usually, but yesterday we did some afternoon shopping and battled the crowds. My dad and I went out to the mall area around lunch time while Grams stayed home with Brode (no I was not on of those people that woke their child up at 4AM so they could shop). We figured most of the early birds were going to be napping but it was still pretty crazy! The wildest store -- Toys R Us, I'm glad we got Brode's presents already. We walked the entire mall and went to several stores outside the mall, but I can confidently say we're WAY ahead of schedule on Christmas shopping. Father and I are usually the ones there on Christmas Eve. Maybe thats a sign our Christmas card will get done before Dec 22nd? Maybe not. There was no swimming class for Brode this morning with the holiday so his Grandma Beth picked him up and went to play for a while. We're not too sure what else is going on the rest of the weekend but it has been fun so far seeing everyone! Brode sure is loving being home as well, he is such a happy boy!

Silly Boy

We had a little fun last night, playing in the "fort" and looking in the mirror. The boys built a "Boys Only" club and Brode loves sitting in it, except when Libby visits and takes up the whole thing. He also had a lot of fun looking in the new mirror!

We are very excited for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow and a big dinner. I am a little nervous about Brode eating the food. They served "Thanksgiving Dinner" for lunch at day care yesterday, and Brode did not like it... we have 24 hours to break him in to this wonderful holiday! This eventful year of multiple pneumonias, craniosynostosis surgery, school, work, and day care we have a lot to be thankful for this holiday!

Project and Update

This may be a long post, mostly filled with pictures! I haven't updated in a while and we've had a lot of random things going on!

Last weekend Brode spent some time with Grandma Beth playing and shopping in the morning, then came home and insisted on playing outside. This shouldn't surprise many of you, but outside time was another chance to get the club and ball out! Brode has really been catching on to throwing the baseball and hitting it with the bat, or kicking the soccer ball, or standing up and getting a good grip on the club to hit the ball. His gramps helped him out a bit.....

Brode's reaction to actually hitting the ball....

Sunday Gramps left for Atlanta and Daddy watched football with some friends so Brode, Grams and I went shopping. It was a nice quiet day.... except for the huge rivalry that was present in our house on this particular Sunday. The Cowboys played the Packers. We each wore our gear, but unfortunetaly Brode's was better luck.

In my last post I mentioned we were going to get latches on the cuboards that weekend.... we didn't. Brode found the pantry this week, and the Cheerios box immediately came out, not surprisingly upside down. We decided a little cup full would be better but if we aren't willing to refill it he finds the box himself. Needless to say the latches actually DID go on this weekend.

Lastly, I mentioned a few weekends ago that we got started on a little project. Matt had this table, chair, and bookshelf that his mom painted for him when he was little and it has gotten passed down to Brode. We had a hard time deciding if we wanted to leave it at Matt's so Brode knew it was his Daddy's, or personalize it for Brode. We finally decided to change it, but knew it was going to take a while and it's finally (somewhat) finished! Here are a few pictures of the before when it was Matt's....

We needed to sand the paint down so the new layers would stick, but Brode really wanted to help!

Prepare yourself, here is the after! It has become a quite bright little boy blue! The letters and pictures still need 2nd coats and touch ups but it pretty much shows the basics. The hardest part was trying to decide what words to write on each... desk, table, workbench, etc.... who knew?!

We haven't quite decided what to do on the front of the bookshelf, but each side has a word (Read, Words, or Letters) along with a picture and the letter it begins with. Now that it is fixed I will admit my major mistake.... I may or may not have possibly kind of spelled LTETERS wrong. The stencils had to be moved and they were taped together, and long story short the paint wiped right off and all is well! (So much for that college education, eh pops?)

I am more than ready for Thanksgiving break. Many of my classes are ahead of schedule and we're finishing a few weeks early so they have been cancelled, but Thanksgiving break means the semester is almost over! Matt, Brode and I plan on having a very busy holiday with each our families and friends that are home from school!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mischievous

While we were eating dinner last night Brode sat quietly, exploring.... ALL the cabinets. His curiosity was getting the best of him and everything need to come out! We've got some work to do putting latches on this weekend!

He started in the plastic bags... moved on to the tuperware.... then to the dog food and zip lock cabinet.

Warm Weekend

This weekend was beautiful! We had a chance to get a lot of outside time! Friday night Matt and I put Brode to bed then headed to the Ice Dogs game while Gramps and Grams were home with Brode.

Saturday we packed up the car (VERY full) and headed to the cottage for raking weekend. It was a great day to be outside. Brode actually liked the leaves this time around, they must be more fun now that they crunch.

Sunday we spent the day running errands and hanging out around the house and outside. Brode also helped with chores all morning. He was so active running around, I couldn't catch him to put his pants on! We also started working on Brode's table, chair, and bookshelf. Matt's mom saved a table she painted him when he was young and gave it to Brode. We were not sure what we wanted to do, leave with Matt's name so Brode knows it was his daddy's, or repaint it for Brode and keep it going. Well almost 2 years later and we've decided to make it personal to Brode so we got started on sanding and painting!

RAWR

Happy November!

Halloween was a little different this year than last:

I'm happy to say Trick-o-Treating was a success in the Rivet household. We loaded up Brode in the wagon with some blankets to keep him warm and Gramps, Daddy and I went around the neighborhood. He was a huge hit, got some good snacks, but wasn't happy when we weren't home in time for dinner! After Brode got some dinner we went to the neighbors for a little Halloween get together. They have a dog much smaller than Libby so Brode was quite entertained with a dog his size.

Walking and Talking

Here is a little video of Brode walking, I've been trying to get some but he always stops when the camera turns on, this one just happens to be when he is getting in trouble at the same time!

Well things have definetaly turned around, my computer is fixed, my car damage is getting taken care of, and midterms are over! Things have settled down around here!

We're hopefully carving pumpkins tonight to get ready for halloween on Saturday. Most people know what Brode is for halloween but I'm stull not going to say until I can get a picture up of the costume! His costume was homemade by Miss Karen (way too hard for me to do it), and she did a GREAT job! It is adorable!

Slacking Again

Well it has been a LONG time since I updated, again. Things have been pretty busy, I had a long TO DO list. There were a lot of errands on top of studying for tests and fitting work hours in and all the extra time was spent sleeping or squeezing a shower in! Nothing major has been going on but Brode has had a few little fun things. I would love to post pictures as I describe each, but my computer has an unbelievably powerful virus on it that my dad has been battling for days so there is no way to get to any pictures.

Brode has gotten bored with his toys lately (I dont know how he has a million!) so he has been playing with magnets, diaper boxes, and the dog toys. I made him some of his own magnets so now he has animals and cars and sports balls to play with instead of random clips and flat ones he can't get off, so far he likes them. We brought down a diaper box one night and pulled him around in it with Libby's leash so that is now an every day event!

Brode has also started to love helping do the laundry, and he loves brushing his teeth! Whenever someone is in the laundry room he can hear it and takes off! He loves pushing the laundry in, and pulling it out. This morning he even got the buttons figured out! We also recently got him his first real toothbrush (had been using a finger brush, but we couldn't handle the biting anymore) so Brode and I sit on the bathroom floor and brush our teeth together. He loves watching and copying so he caught on quick!

Brode also has completely moved to the 1-year-old room at day care! This has many new things! He now eats lunch at a table in a tiny chair with the rest of the class, he not only takes 1 nap a day, but he does it on a cot instead of in a crib! He also has gotten much more time outside. We have also noticed that he is catching on to things a lot faster. He is the only one that can't fully walk but every day he comes home he adds a few steps, urging to catch up to the rest of them! His new room is ALL boys, 7 of them, I can only imagine!

This weekend has had a few things going on, we ran errands yesterday then went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, Brode's first real restaurant experience! Today we have a brunch at Grandma Beth's for Matt's 22nd birthday (that was Friday the 16th), so we're going to go over there and see everyone and celebrate and play! This afternoon we'll hopefully get a good nap in, then tonight we're going to Miss Claire and Miss Karen's for dinner (pretty much like every Sunday) with some friends, and to check out Brode's halloween costume! It should be a fun day!

Everyone have a great Sunday!

Better

Brode is starting to feel a little better. We are still wiping his nose constantly and he has a bit of a cough sometimes, but no more pink eye or ear infection. He still has a tough time sleeping at night, but also has some good nights! We were informed today there is a confirmed case of H1N1 at day care.... not good news. I was trying as hard as I could to have good hygiene when switching from Oshkosh to home because it is all over school, but I cannot battle that day care so hopefully everything stays clean and it doesnt spread like wild fire!

Last weekend we went to Little Farmer and it was a lot of fun! Brode didn't sleep on the way there as we expected him too and it was pretty chilly so he wasn't the happiest of all campers. He did love the goats, climbed on the pumpkins, giggled in the swing and enjoyed some carmel apple and warm fresh muffin. We brought some pie and apples home, they're delicious, always a treat!

This week isn't anything exciting. I've had a lot going on with school, many exams and presentations and other things are all at the same time lately! It's pretty tough trying to squeeze work hours in along with that as well!

Sick

Brode has had a very long week. He has had a cold for a good week and a half now, but Tuesday he got called out of day care so gramps took him to the doctor while I was in class. Unfortunetaly he had pink eye and an ear infection. Wednesday Brode and Daddy hung out, and he returned to day care on Thursday. Friday he got called out again with a 101.3 temperature so he spent the afternoon with mommy and daddy. He also hasn't been sleeping too well, but hopefully after last night he'll start to feel better. After a warm bath Brode went to bed at 7:45 and slept until 9:00 this morning! He did wake up at 5:00 for 20 minutes and after a little rocking and crying went right back to bed. Because he slept so long he missed swimming lessons with Grandma Beth this morning, but hopefully it'll help him feel better.

We're going to Little Farmer tomorrow! I'm so excited, I love it, and I've been waiting and so excited to do fall things with Brode. He was only a month old last year so we spent a lot of the time inside. Hopefully it won't be too cold and he'll enjoy it!

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I never really got around to a post after Brode's birthday, so I thought I'd put up some pictures even though they're a week old! Brode was pretty tired by the end of the night, but he loved playing with his cake and all his wonderful presents! He got a lot of ADORABLE and comfortable fall and winter outfits. He got some fun toys like a lawn mower, a boat for the bath, a leap frog learning puppy, a big toy bus, a little piano, and a bounce and spin pony! He also got a little John Deere! Matt and I got him some books like the ones he loves and I painted him a stool for the bathroom!

His tractor from gram and gramps was a huge hit. Brode was out on it right away the next morning, and I have to say I enjoyed it as well!