Brady Takes on the Big "E", a report by Brady Stack

Last weekend, Mama and Dada took me to the Big "E" fair in Springfield, MA. Uncle David, Auntie Shanna, and MacKenzie went too. I have to say, I had a great time! Here were some of my favorite parts of the weekend:

1. I got to see some guy building Fenway Park and the Boston skyline completely out of playing cards!
2. I tried corndogs, funnel cake, maple walnut fudge, and chili in a bread bowl. Yum yum!
3. I watched MacKenzie ride a pony. She had been talking about it all weekend!
4. I got to stay in a nice hotel and I slept all night long.
5. I went to see Uncle David's sister's new camper. It sleeps eleven people! They even let me play with Gizmo and Dunkin (Papelbon), the two dogs. It was a lot of fun!
6. Dada and I watched some guy give a cooking show on how to make French omlettes.
7. Dada and I watched a presentation on the "wonder knife", which was only $19.99...I told Dada we should have bought it!
8. I tried to get Mama to go on this big roller coaster ride with me, but she wouldn't. Instead, we played some water gun game. I didn't even get a prize!
9. I got to see the six state pavilions. The worst one was Vermont..too many people. But they did have a Ben & Jerry's shop in it.
10. Finally, I got to see some of the Patriots Cheerleaders. Theyw ere signing autographs, but when I asked Mama if I could go meet them, she told me I was too young. Oh well, maybe next year!

Last of Summer Harvest

Well, the vegetable garden is done. You're looking at the last round of tomatoes and peppers...and we probably did this 7-8 times this year. Yep, we've been eating tomato soup, tomato sauce, stuffed tomatos, chili, tomato salad, and any other dish you could make with tomatos!

Brady Checks Out His New Car Seat

BradyVision Returns, Now With Sound!

Patriots Season Is Finally Here!

So Brady and I were having a heated debate today about the Patriots. I'm a little concerned that they have lost some talented players, and they might have a hard time in their conference this year. Brady was convinced that this would be their year. We both can't wait for our season tickets to come up, but that is a while away still. But no matter what, we both agreed, we're glad it is finally Patriots season!

Stack Family Update, by Brady Stack

Mama and Dada asked me to write the blog update this week to let you all know how we are doing. Let's see, I guess I'll start with Mama.

Mama has started a new job this week, working at Danville Elementary School. So far she says she likes it, although it is a lot of work. She got some great news today that we are all happy about. A couple months ago, her doctor was concerned that she might be developing breast cancer. The biopsy revealed this week that she is fine. Yeah!

Dada has been an assistant principal for a couple weeks now. It was very exciting to be a part of a school that was moving to a brand new building. His days have been busy getting caught up to speed on the school, learning the staff, and now, learning the faculty.

As for me, well what can I say? As you can see from the picture, Dada found me standing up in my crib today when he came to get me from my nap. He was mentioned something about having to lower the bed, but I don't know why. Right now, I think I might be able to escape from it! Oh well. Other than that, I am learning how to walk...I can actually take a couple of steps by myself before I tumble to the ground. I can't wait to see my new friend David soon....we're going to have so much fun together, I can tell.

Sleeping....ZZZZZZZ (another Erica post)

So even when you think that your child is sleeping through the night an dyou boast to all the other parents that he's such a wonderful sleeper, you have a night like last night. Brady decided to cry his heart out starting at 11:00 and everytime we went in and rocked him then put him back in his crib he would start all over again. Finally around 1:00 am I was able to put him down in his crib and he didn't wake up. Now one would think that because he was up so much that he would sleep in right? WRONG he decided to get up early 5:30am. All very reminicent of what it was like when he was younger. But in the end it really is all worth it!

It goes by too fast (by Erica)

As most of you all know P. Sophia had the baby. That has made Brian and I look back at the past 10 months with Brady. From the long labor to being in the hospital at 3 months old to now. I feel like it has only been a few weeks but in reality it has been 10 months. I look at my son in amazement, I love to watch him explore and see how he thinks. He's the happiest kid you'd ever want to meet and will engage you with his smile and his eyes. It is amazing how life changes and nothing is as important as your child. I cherish every moment I get to spend with him, one of my favorite times with him is when I bring him up to bed we sit and read a book, sing a song and rock for a while, It's such a peaceful time! My advice to any new parent would be to keep a journal of the big milestones. I haven't really kept a journal but I have been writing Brady letters on special days like Christmas or his baptism, or if I just feel like it. This helps me hold on to the memories just a little bit longer!

New Job

Tomorrow, I will be starting a new job. Yep, no more math teaching at Andover High School. I am now the new Assistant Principal at Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, NH. Everything has kind of happened quickly...I got a call from the Supt. of Schools just last week asking me if I'd consider the job. I had never applied for it. I went for a tour of the school, met the principal, and found it to be a great match. I'm looking forward to the new challenges. Here are some facts on the school (that I know of):

700 students, 2 assistant principals, and a brand-new state-of-the-art high school that is opening this year.

Twins!

Quick...can you identify which baby is which?

Brady's First History Lesson

We took Brady out to see the sights and sounds of Plymouth, Massachusetts. We taught him all about the pilgrims, the famous rock, the Mayflower, and Thanksgiving. What was his response? A yawn. Oh well. We tried. Maybe he'll find math more interesting...

Bath Time!

Has Brady mentioned that he likes to take baths?

Brady Milestone Caught on Video!

I thought it was quite funny that when I put Brady on the hardwood floor today, he began to slide right across it effortlessly. I thought he might just learn to crawl after all. It was the perfect opportunity for a video, so I got out the camera. Now, he decided not to cooperate. But to our amazement, he did something even better. He actually sat up from a laying-down position. He's never done that before. And yet, we actually got it caught on camera. We couldn't have planned that any better!

Deer in Headlights

Brady was caught tonight "hiding-out" under his bouncy seat.

Road Trip #2 Complete!

My brother Jason and I just returned home from our second road trip. He is being reassigned from Colorado Springs to South Korea, and so he wanted to bring his car back to NH for storage for the coming year. You might remember, he and I drove out to CO two years ago.

Well, I didn't have it in me to do the entire trip with him...I flew to Kansas City Saturday, met him there, and we drove the rest of the way back together. Here's what happened:

Saturday night: I got into KC at 1:00pm, and wentg to the hotel. Jason arrived by 6:00pm. We decided to go out into the city to exlore and get a nice KC steak. Despite taking an hour and a half to find a good place, our wait was not a disappointment. It might have been the best steak I've ever had. That night, back at the hotel, we watched a group of 200+ nuns getting trashed at a nuns conference. Yep, Jason wanted to take a picture of the 80-year old nun, dressed up, with Budweiser in hand...I wouldn't let him.
Sunday: We left KC at 8:00am and went through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and most of Ohio. We stopped at 10:00pm in Akron, Ohio.
Monday: We were on the road by 7:30am and went through Pennsylvania, News York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts before arriving home at 6:00pm.

The entire trip, from Colorado Springs, took about 2100 miles.

The Boy Can Walk!

Brady showed us tonight that he has no intentions of learning how to crawl. Using his mail cart, he was able to walk across the room. He can stand unassisted. He knows he can walk as long as he is holding on to a piece of furniture. Oh boy, here we go!

Brady Vision Movie #2

Cheap Advertising

I pulled some strings at Wendy's to get this ad out for Iyaz.

Nine Month Report, By Brady Stack

I turned nine months old the other day! Let's see, here is what I can do:
1. I know how to clap my hands, wave to people, and click my tongue.

2. I can't crawl or walk on my own yet, but I am learning how to pull myself up on things and if someone helps me, I can walk pretty far.

3. I love going swimming in the pool.

4. I am eating three meals a day of solid food.

5. I am starting to share clothing with my cousin MacKenzie, who is a year and a half older than me!

6. I like to sit and play on the floor in the living room with all my toys.

7. Finally, I am looking forward to meeting my friend David Wicks, who will be born in just a few weeks! Yeah!

States I Have Visited

The "colored" states represent states I have visited. I've been to Florida twice, although I've flown there both times. I haven't REALLY been to Texas, but I had a stop over there once at the airport. I've only been to the edge of Arizona since we walked along the Hoover Dam. Finally, you can see the trail my brother and I followed two summers ago when we drove from NH to Colorado. Next weekend, I'll be flying out to Kansas City to meet up with him to drive back. Perhaps we'll drive through Tennessee and Kentucky, just so I can add them to my list.