Battle at the Dinner Table

So lately, Brady doesn't want anything to do with his baby food. Who could blame him? The stuff has no taste. The other problem is....like his OCD father, Brady doesn't like to get his hands dirty. So, asking him to pick-up and eat messy foods is completely out of the question...we just can't get him to pick them up.

But tonight, we had a break-through! We taught Brady how to use his spoon and fork to eat his food. With these new tools, he ate lots of fresh sweet potatoes and some of Dad's cranberry-orange-nut pork.

Victory for us!

The Great Bath Protest

Tonight, Brady decided to protest taking a bath. Instead, he thought it would be fun to watch the Wiggles while sitting butt-naked on the bathroom floor.

Fall Is Here! A Report by Brady Stack

Well, fall is here. Dada and I had to rake the leaves the other day. Actually, Dada did most of the raking, I did most of the playing. Do you like my new set of wheels that I got for my birthday? Its a pretty cool motercycle, except that I need to use my feet to get around and I haven't figured that out yet.

Let's see, what else has been happening...

I am getting better at walking. Now, I almost walk everywhere I go, but I still like to crawl from time to time. I'm also getting over a double ear infection. That wasn't too fun, but I'm finally starting to feel better.

Why I Hate Ear Infections

For almost two weeks now, Brady has had a terrible double ear infection. He's been to the doctor twice, and he has been on two different types of antibiotics to get rid of this nagging problem. The first one upset his stomach. The jury is still out on the second one. In the meanwhile, Brady hasn't been himself.

He cries for no reason, and won't stop until we pick him up and hold him.

He wakes up in the middle of the night and won't go back to sleep.

He has lost a good part of his appetite.

He's been on a fairly significant regiment of motrin and tylenol for the past two weeks.

I hope this goes away soon. I want my Brady back.

Argh.

I can't believe my baby is one!!! by Erica

The first year has gone by so fast I can't believe it. It's hard to believe that a year ago we had just brought Brady home and were getting acclimated to having a child in the house with us. Little did we know how much our lives were about to change for the better. So Happy Birthday Brady Michael, may your life be filled with happiness and love!

Brady is Officially Walking!

Happy Birthday Brady!

October 12, 2005: Brady Michael Stack was born at 6:26pm. He was 7lbs, 10 ozs.

As you can see, he's gotten quite a bit bigger, and he has almost learned how to walk. He just continues to surprise us every day. We love you Brady!

A New Microwave...and a Headache

After waiting ten minutes only to find out my leftover turkey dinner was still as cold as when I put it into the microwave to begin with, I thought to myself that my $40 Wal-Mart special microwave had finally S.T.B. So, Brady, Erica and I made a trip out to Best Buy tonight to scope out the latest in x-ray cooking. We settled on a nice LG sStainless-steal unit, seen in the picture to the left. We figured it would go nicely with our LG Fridge. I was lucky too, it was the last one there. I couldn't wait to get it home, set it up, and have my turkey dinner.

Wouldn't you know it though, upon opening it at home, I was shocked to find out that someone painted my new stainless-steal microwave white. I'll have to return it tomorrow.

Oh....and there is a reason they use the expression "cold turkey".... its not good.

Brady Takes On Soccer

Korea Anyone?

Ever want to visit Korea but didn't have the time? Want to learn more about the Air Force? If you think the guy in the picture is handsome, you should see his older brother!
But check out his blog anyway: He'll be updating it from the front line...the most heavily guarded one in all the world!

www.jasonstack.blogspot.com

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.

Mercury Rising

We're havinga heat wave here in new England...the third day of 90+ temperatures...and it is only supposed to get hotter! The AC is cranking, the pool is hopping, but to help myself cool off, I just think about winter. I hate winter.

American Idol Concert 2006

Erica and I went to the kick-off concert Wednesday for the American Idol's tour. Despite Kat not performing due to an illness, the rest of the idol's didn't disappoint. Taylor entered the arena to Jailhouse Rock, Chris did Dead of Alive, Elliott was In The Mood For Love. I think one of the funniest parts of the whole concert was Kellie's admission to the entire audience that her fly was down during the girls' number on the TV finale. Oh Kellie.

Brady Vision 2006

Pictures get so boring...I'm sure you all really wanted to see Brady in action. So I offer you the latest, called Brady Vision. I need to get a video camera, for now the video feature of my digital picture camera will have to suffice. Enjoy!

Say Cheese!

Erica and Shanna got pictures made for their father for Father's Day. Here are a couple fo the shots.

Attention Red Sox!

My name is Brady M. Stack, and I would like to announce my availability to play for the Boston Red Sox. Here are my stats:

Height: 2 ft 4 inches.
Weight: 18 pounds.
Position: First Base.
Bat: Right
Manager: Brian M. Stack (my Dad)

We can talk salary later. I'm sure with your bankroll, you'd be able to afford me. Call me and we'll talk!

Summer's Here!

Today Brady got his first chance to swim in the pool, which I just opened up last weekend. It didn't take him very long to get used to the water, and he loved it!

On a side note, we also got to see exactly how much liquid a diaper can hold. You should have seen how much his butt ballooned!

Brady's New Favorite Food

Cookies.

Brady Reports: Why My Dad Hasn't Posted In A While

Dad's been busy lately. He hasn't had time to post. Today, he asked me to fill everyone in on what he's been up to. Here we go:

1. He's been trying to wrap up the school year. On Monday, his seniors graduated at the Tsongas Arena. Right now, he's trying to figure out when he is going to start his summer job at Cedardale.

2. Today he opened up the pool. Surprisingly, the water looked pretty good. Mom and Dad put the solar cover on it tonight so that maybe it will get warm enough for me to swim in it!

3. I've been growing...can't you tell? I'm approaching the 20 pound mark! Today at church, I saw this other baby that was almost my age, but half my size!!!

The Iyaz Random Rambling That Never Was...

This is exactly the kind of random rambling that you would expect to see on Iyaz's blog:

Do you think it is really true that if cut off, a chicken could still run around without its head?

Happy Birthday!

I'd liketo give a little advanced shout-out to my boy "Doc". Happy birthday, man!

Twins?

Congratulations, Erica!

Erica graduated from Lesley University this weekend with her Masters in Special Education. For those of you that weren't aware, she has been enrolled in a weekend program at the college for the past two years, going to class approximately one weekend a month. It has been a long road, but I am so proud of her for getting through it. The graduation ceremony was held Sunday morning at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston, and the speaker was Michael Dukakis.


Congratulations Erica!

Not Mini-Me?

Now, anyone who knows me well knows that there are few foods I dislike...but one of the few I do is pickles. I despise them. Image my shock when I found out that Brady loves them, as seen in this picture.

Never Too Early

We've already got Brady learning to do laundry!

P. Sophie, This Post Is For You!

Brady wanted me to remind you to make sure you registered for something like this for David. As you can see, now that he is strong enough to stand up, this is hiw new favorite toy. He can actually walk all the way around the "table" in this...and spin around 360 degrees.

I'm Not Bitter, Really

Be careful: If you read the next two posts, you might think I'm bitter. Despite everything I wrote, I'm really not. I actually had a nice weekend, all things considered. Read on...

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head...

Last fall, during the downpours, I realized I have a roof leak. A brown spot in my dining room suggested the problem was where my dormer windows meet my roof line. So, I figured flashing or a bad seal was to blame, although the roof is less than 10 years old. So this Spring, with the snow gone, I hired a roofer to repair BOTH dormers (even though the other had showed no signs of a leak). The roofer came last week, fixed the leaky dormer, and got half-way through the office one when the rain started. So they called me and said "Don't worry, we left it watertight...we'll come back and finish it when the rain stops". Its been raining, quite severely, for three days straight. Erica has no school tomorrow, due to many streets being closed. My sump pump has not stopped. There is water starting to come into my basement. And yes, both dormers are leaking water into my office and dining room.

I hate rain.

Erica Has the Magic Touch

Erica is getting a little worried because it seems lately, whatever she touches breaks. Let's recap what has happened so far:

1. Last week, when turning on the kitchen lights, they flashed and went out. Turns out one of the under-cabinet lights was defective, and caused the dimmer to short out. After installing a new dimmer, I now have to wire a new cabinet light...the faulty light is toast. Total repair cost: $50.

2. Saturday, Erica went to fluch the toilet upstairs and the handle broke. Ironically, my fun plans for Saturday was to include replacing all the inside parts of the toilet, including the handle. We had a leaky gasket that was causing the toilet to run. This is normal wear and tear, and I just figured I could replace everything now, then I'd know how old all the gaskets were. Total replacement cost: $20.

3. Friday, Erica was getting ready for school when the tv began to make weird noises. Soon, the smell of burn wire made her unplug everything. Turns out our projection tv, just six months off it's two-year extended warentee, decided it was time to go. So, needless to say, we are in the market for a new projection tv. Estimated replacement cost: $1,000.00

Now, don't take this post to mean I am being a "home-moaner", or that I am in any way upset with Erica. Actually, I think its quite funny that it all seems to be happening to her! And, we'll get a new-and-improved tv out of the deal, even if we do have to pay for it. Life goes on....

Brady's First Prom

Brady and I went to Andover's prom last night at the Ferncroft in Danvers. Yes, Brady had a tux (which was not bought for this event...he actually had it). He was the hit of the night! Too bad we only stayed until 7, which is of course his bedtime. His 50 dates were quite upset.

Mini Me

He's A Boston Boy!

Brady is Official...According To The Church Anyways.