Welcome to the World, Baby Claire!

On February 22, 2011, at 1:37pm, we welcomed Claire Marie Bradford 

into the world and into our family!!!

She was 7 lbs and 19 inches of perfection.

There are no words to describe the utter joy and amazement of seeing your sweet child for the first time. Hearing her first cry, holding her for the first time, and touching her soft, brand new skin, is like nothing else in this world. 

We absolutely adore her; we are so thankful for her; and we give all the glory to the Lord for this tiny miracle that was formed so intricately, so wonderfully, and so perfectly by the loving hands of our Heavenly Father. 

Pre-Delivery:

7lbs flat!

proud Daddy!

only 2 hours old!

Jack meets his baby sister!

our family!

Bubba Bear and Claire Bear! Sweet loves!

love my boy!

Day 2! and a visit from Nana!

wide awake!

my girl!

Daddy's Girl

LOVE!

XO

The Bradford 3

It is kind of unbelievable that this is our last weekend as a family of 3! We decided we wanted to do a couple of fun things together before all the craziness of a new baby begins, so last night Sean and I went out on a little date to one of our favorites, Panda Inn.

When we got there all the staff was running around we didn't really know what was going on, but there was one server on the phone with 911, and then another server {who ended up being our server} ran up to the hostess stand and frantically said the guest at the bar was "foaming at the mouth and spitting up onto his plate." Now of course we were concerned for his well-being, but really? I did not need to hear that right before I sat down for a nice meal! Hopefully he was alright. Never a dull moment I tell you!

We enjoyed some Jasmine tea, spring rolls, Panda beef (Sean's favorite), vegetable lo mien, and Sweet and Aromatic Chicken {formerly known as Sweet and Pungent Chicken} I don't know why, but the name change made me chuckle. And yes, that was a lot of food, but that is the problem with eating Chinese with just 2 people- we like to have a variety, so we just end up with lots of leftovers. Oh well. It was nice being out just the two of us!

Sean's face is priceless. "Are you really taking pictures of the fortune cookies?"
Yes. I am.

Today we wanted to do something fun with Jack, so we headed up to the Poway Midland Railroad to take him on the train, only problem was that apparently every 3rd Sunday of the month, the volunteers that run the railroad take the day off. DOH. 

We decided to stay and have lunch at the Hamburger Factory and then just walked around the park, which ended up being such a fun little outing- even though it wasn't exactly what we were expecting. 

{Playing in the Gazebo}

{The Bump} 

  

We ended our little outing with Tirimisu gelato and Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream!! Yum!

I just wish we had our tripod so we could have gotten at least 1 picture of all 3 of us! It was a wonderful day with my boys though! Still can't believe tomorrow is the last day before we welcome our baby girl into the world! Tomorrow will be a "nesting" day for sure! Cleaning, packing, and playing with Jack! Eeek! So exciting!
XO

My Boy.

                                                  Love Him.
                                                       XO

A Very Vday Tradition

For most couples, Valentine's Day means reservations at the most expensive steakhouse you can afford {or that is still taking reservations that day- since I heard a statistic that something like 70% of men forget to make their reservations early enough} red roses, perfume, conversation hearts, a box of chocolates, and maybe diamonds jewelry. 


While I am a self proclaimed hopeless romantic, Hallmark holidays just don't really strike much of a cord with me, so we have never made a huge deal out of it.  A couple of years ago we decided that staying home and cooking dinner together was just more "us."  And that is just what we did.  I made garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, parmesan toasted rolls, and Sean grilled fillets for us.  And so it became our little Vday Tradition.  


Sidenote: in case you were worried...we go out to dinner A LOT. Sometimes to fancy, expensive dinners, other times to one of our 5 "go-to" choices, but we do go out.  Matter of fact- we are going  OUT on a date tonight!! Our last one for a little while, since Claire will be here on Tuesday!!! Yay!


Here are a couple of pics of our Valentine's Dinner :-)

"It's so simple and it's so true- I love us...and I love you"

{ba-you-ns that Daddy brought home for Jack- he LOVED them}

The view from my seat. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

Of course no meal is complete without some sort of yummy dessert. Usually I try to come up with something delectable and special, but this year good 'ol brownies and ice cream were the winners. And it was good.
                                                      xo

My little Valentine

Today is the start of my last week as a Mommy of only 1 baby! Next Tuesday, February 22nd, we will welcome the newest addition into our family- baby Claire! We are so excited and nervous, but mostly excited. It's kind of weird knowing that in 1 week our lives will forever be changed again, just as they were when Jack was born! So many emotions and adjustments- some wonderful, some not-so-much, but overall, we cannot wait.

Today is also Valentine's Day, and I cannot help but thank the Lord for my 2 sweet boys. I love my husband more than words can express, and my little son is the joy of my life.  Sean is so kind, loving, romantic, handsome, and selfless- I adore him. He is my best friend and there is no one else in the world I would rather spend my life with!

{My little Charmer}

Exploring

Speaking of best friends...this morning Jack was watching the Cat in the Hat on t.v. and they were doing a little Valentines episode all about "best, best friends." Jack has lots of little friends {I'm also super blessed with wonderful girlfriends- who also happen to have babies that are Jack's age- so by default- he has little buddies}and he loves his buddies. He talks about them all the time and tells Daddy all about his playtimes with them. So when the show was ending, I asked Jack, "Who is your best, best friend?" He thought about it for a minute, and I was fully expecting him to say Bretters or Jon Jon or Trevor or one of his other little friends, but instead he said,


"Daddy! Daddy is Jacky's best best friend!!"

Jacky jumped up on the bed and wanted to lay just like Daddy!

               

Found him wearing Daddy's baseball cap and hiking backpack! He loves his Daddy!

I thought that was the cutest, sweetest thing so I immediately called Sean to tell him the story! He loves his daddy, and his daddy loves him! That is such a blessing, and just another reason I love them both so much! They have such a special, sweet relationship! I feel so blessed to be able to witness it. It is such a sweet reminder of how the Lord loves us as a Father. Incredible.

Happy Valentine's Day!

XO

Puppy Love.

Jack loves bath time. He splashes, makes "water panpakes" and "ice sceam," and all sorts of other cute things. My favorite part though, is when he is all done. He knows how to push the button to let the water out {which is helpful when you have a basketball in your belly- making bending over quite a chore}, and then he sings, "Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share" and proceeds to clean up all the bath toys. But that is not the best part. When he gets out he has his special towels- one is a dog and the other is a duck.  Immediately he says, "Holb Jacky like a baby"{i love that he says holb for hold...so cute.  Is it bad that I don't want to correct some of his baby talk? I just know it will soon be gone...but I digress}.  So I pick him up like a baby and then he says, "Close the toes! Close Jacky's toes!" He means cover- but there again, I just think its so cute- I don't correct it! Then we go into his room and for a few minutes he is my tiny baby and we just sit in the rocking chair and talk or read a story. Then we continue on with our day, but I cherish those few minutes with my little cuddle puppy. I just know that, like his baby talk, those moments are fleeting, and I want to treasure them while they last! Here are a few pics of my cute boy!

{Close the toes!!}

                                                      xo