HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Chinese New Year, that is!!! This is the Year of the Rat and the rats are said to be leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hard working. They are also said to have great leadership skills and are highly organized, meticulous and systematic. Rats are also intelligent and cunning at the same time and are highly ambitious and strong willed.

This Chinese New Year will always be special for us as we had our court appointment to finalize our re-adoption with the state of Florida. It was a very easy and painless process and we were only in the judge's office for 15 minutes...and that inculded taking pictures!! Brady did manage to get us "kicked out" of a waiting room though for "talking" too much!!! We were in a witness waiting room and a deputy came through a door and told us we had to move because there was a trial going on in the next room and 4 jurors had already been distracted. The deputy who originally told us to go in there apologized and we all had a good laugh!!

BRADY'S 1 YEAR CHECK UP!!

Brady had his one year check up yesterday and the doctor said that he looked great. We can officially turn his car seat around to be forward facing since he weighed in at 21.9(33%). He "continues to be tall" at 30 3/4 inches (80%). The picture we have of Brady's dad makes him seem like a tall guy, so I'm guessing that's where he's getting it from. Brady also got 3 shots yesterday and ended up having a slight fever this evening, but it eventually went down and he's sleeping now, so I think he's doing fine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADY!!!

Today is Brady's 1st BIRTHDAY....gosh, it's hard to believe that he's one already!!! We had a little party for him this past Saturday to celebrate. This is the cake that my mom made for hime to "destroy"
As you can see, he needed a little help getting started

He definitely enjoyed it......
but we were all a little disappointed at how neat he was with the whole thing.
Here's the real cake....an ice cream cake from Carvel....Brady LOVES ice cream!!!

MAGIC KINGDOM!!

We spent Thursday and Friday at the Magic Kingdom and had a blast even though our "dreams didn't come true". (that's a little inside joke!). The kids had a great time and I was pleasantly surprised at how many rides Brady was able to ride all week. We're looking forward to taking him back sooner than later! The 3 of us in front of Cinderella's castle
Brady and me on the People Mover
Brady and me on Dumbo
Billy, Heather and Peyton mid-flight on Peter Pan
The 3 of us in front of the Haunted Mansion

GERMANY!!

Okay, so I thought these pictures deserved their own post. These are pictures of Brady while he was watching the German guys perform their music....he LOVED it!!!! I definitely think we've got a musically inclined little boy on our hands!



I mean, HOW CUTE IS THIS PICTURE!!!!!!

EPCOT!

On Wednesday, January 30th we went to Epcot. A good time was had by all for sure!! We tried to do an around the world beer tour, but that didn't last too long since we're all old now!! : ) I was a bit disappointed/annoyed that China wasn't doing something special for Chinese New Year, but we still managed to spend a good 2 hours there. It was definitely cool to watch the 360 movie there since we were just in China last March...made me want to go back!!

Brady in the shark's mouth at the Nemo ride
The 3 of us in front of the Nemo ride
Brady lookin' cute!!
Alan, Billy and the kids in China
Brady LOVED playing the bongo's at the little African place between China and Germany so much that we're planning on buying him some of his own bongos!!

ANIMAL KINGDOM!!

On Tuesday January 29th we went to Animal Kingdom and it was great. We got to the park just as it was opening so we went to the Safari ride first and we got a treat!! There was a baby giraffe who was just running all around....so cool!!! Brady really liked the animals and all the shows, especially the Lion King with all the upbeat music.
Daddy and Brady at the petting zoo

Daddy, Brady and Rafiki. As the week went on, Brady liked the characters less and less and actually got quite frightened by them.

Here he is watching the parde intently and "rockin" to the music

DISNEY/MGM STUDIOS

On Monday January 28th we went toDisney/ MGM Studios, which apparently has changed names to Disney/Hollywood Studios. We had a good time here too, especially riding the Rockin Roller Coaster! We left the park around 4 and headed over to Downtown Disney for some shopping and dinner. Alan hanging out with Brady and Peyton, while Billy and Heather rode the Rockin Roller Coaster.
Me, Brady, Billy, Heather and Peyton on the Great Movie Ride
Peyton the "movie star"
Brady and Peyton
A happy Brady

SEA WORLD!

On Sunday January 27th we headed straight over to Orlando after our Gasparilla weekend festivities to spend the week with our friends Billy and Heather and their 3 year old daughter Peyton, who flew down from Virginia. We had a great time and hope to do it again in the future! Brady and Daddy at the penguin encounter
Here they are checking out the sea lions, which was fun because we got food to feed them so they come up closer to you.
The 3 of us in the shark encounter
I think Brady sees a shark!!
WHEW!!! Sea World is tiring! He fell asleep during the Believe show with Shamu at the end of the day.

GASPARILLA!!!

January 26th was Gasparilla and Brady had a great time at his first parade!! It was a long day for him and he was a trooper....everyone kept saying how good he was! He didn't end up with too many beads in the end, but that's okay because between us and Grandpa he has all the beads he ever needs!!! For those of you that don't know about Gasparilla, it's basically Tampa's version of Mardi Gras, but it's based on a ficticious pirate named Jose Gaspar. The pirates invade the city and steal the key from the Mayor. Alan and my dad are in the same Krewe, Ye Mystic Krewe of Neptune, and they are the ones who throw the beads to the thousands of spectators. If you're interested in more of the history just google it and you'll find TONS of info.
Hangin' out before the parade started...you can't really tell, but he shirt has little skulls and cross bones on it, so it was definitely appropriate!!!
One of the many floats

Brady with Daddy dressed in his Captain's Uniform after the parade
Playing with Grandpa's leftover beads
Brady, Daddy and Grandpa