Team Swindell

Simmons has been spending a lot of time in the neighborhood. She has stayed at Brady's or Emma's the last 3 Friday nights. We've really enjoyed having her around. She and Emma are 4 and Brady is 3. She and Brady really enjoy each other...but it is nothing like the times that Simmons and Emma spend together. They leave Brady in the dust. S and E are like long lost lovers...the best of friends.

From Spring 11

Jane spends a lot of time in her exersaucer. We like to call it her "office". She works so hard that she quickly wears holes in the feet of her PJs.

From Spring 11

She must have terrible parents.

From Spring 11

Brady loves basketball...and so does Mabone.

From Summer 2011

We've been trying to teach Brady about how much fun sprinklers can be. So far, this is his solution.

From Summer 2011

And last Friday, Jane FINALLY met Grandaddy Bob. We had a great visit!

From Summer 2011

They had a great connection.

From Summer 2011

This is our happy happy 7 month old girl! She is so much fun and is still puking like a champ. Hopefully the spit up will slow down soon.

From Summer 2011

And the biggest news of all is that Brady is now potty trained!! I'll try to get some potty photos for next time. We are very proud!

Parades and Sparta

2011-05-08T20:34:00.005-05:00

On Friday, we had a parade at Brady and Jane's day care. We love day care and are so appreciative of how they love our kids.

From Spring 11

On Saturday, we all headed to Sparta for the day to celebrate Mother's Day with Grammy. We had a great time and even managed to talk Brady into staying there overnight. That's Brady checking things out with Uncle Bill.

From Spring 11

Grammy had a harmonica and Brady enjoyed playing it. He thought it sounded like a train whistle.

Right before we left, I was taking a picture of Grammy and the kids right as Brady was busting his head on a concrete flower pot. No picture has ever captured the impact of a hit like this. Thankfully he is fine and just has a huge bruise to show for it.

From Spring 11

Jane is growing up

2011-04-14T20:12:00.003-05:00

At almost 5 months, Jane has finally learned her first noise.

Which reminds us of this video of Brady at almost 4 months.

March

2011-03-04T12:26:00.005-06:00

So glad it is March and we made it through the winter. Jane started day care the last week of January and I went back to work on Jan. 31. I've enjoyed being back in a routine. Jane caught a cold her 2nd week at school. And today she is suffering from RSV and a double ear infection. She is such a sweet baby and nothing seems to bother her. However, she was very fussy last weekend and I just chalked it up to needing more sleep. Guess she was telling us she was sick...oops.

Even with her minor illnesses, Jane still gets the MOST IMPROVED award. She started sleeping through the night right at 3 months. That's been the best thing that's happened around here in a long time. And as of this week, we're no longer swaddling her. Now she just sleeps in her sleep sack. The swaddle blanket has been working great, but on the nights that she could get an arm out, it would wake her up. Now her arms are always out and she can use them to soothe herself.

Brady is doing great! He's still our MOST VALUABLE PLAYER. He has had a cold or 2, but ever since getting tubes last spring he has only been sick one time. Tubes are such a miracle! He's 2 years and 8 months old and has zero interest in potty training. Hopefully he'll show some interest in the next few months. He's talking like crazy and we are loving all the hilarious conversation. When I was sick this week I told him that my neck hurt. He said, "My neck hurts too," and then he said "My feet hurt." His favorite phrases are "I like (anything in the vicinity)" and "Mama, I need that." Usually it's "I need that train." How do boys become obsessed with trains anyway. He is truly obsessed.

And in January we moved Brady's crib to Jane's room and Brady got a big boy bed with Toy Story sheets. We are thankful that the transition has been shockingly seamless.

Ryan gets the MOST DEPENDABLE award. Even with all of the illnesses, nights of lost sleep and bad traffic he continues to come home every night. And for that we are thankful! We are not taking that for granted. Life is tough in a new house, new city, with a new baby in the middle of session with a new boss.

The doctor did ask me on Wednesday if I was under any stress...ha. We have 2 little kids and we are both in our busiest times of the year at work. I'd say we're all a little stressed. But we wouldn't trade it...not today anyway...

From Jan/Feb 2011

Putting together the big boy bed...and seeing how the cars roll on the slats.

From Jan/Feb 2011

Trains! And yes that is a Baylor Bone Interiors train table.

From Jan/Feb 2011

My last day of maternity leave. Brady and I sent Jane to day care and had our own day.

From Jan/Feb 2011

Jane and her loving Louw cousins.

From Jan/Feb 2011

Sweet boy.

From Jan/Feb 2011

Sweet girl.

From Jan/Feb 2011

Reading "Pete's Potty." Don't be fooled...he has NO interest in that potty.

From Jan/Feb 2011

FROG!

From Jan/Feb 2011

3 + 1 = 4

2010-12-22T10:22:00.009-06:00

It's been a busy fall around here. We took our house off the market on Oct. 11 because we felt like anything after that would be too close to having the baby...ha! Apparently taking your house off the market can generate quite a bit of interest. On Oct. 22 we agreed to a contract on the house and had a contract on our new house the next day. So we had 3 weeks to close and move and we were pretty sure that the baby was coming in 4 weeks. Yikes. So glad I don't have to do that again.

Thank goodness, the baby got the memo to stay put for all 4 weeks. We are now living in Hendersonville (well really right between Hendersonville and Gallatin). The Louw cousins live in the same neighborhood and there are tons of kids in the subdivision.

And as planned (thank goodness), I was induced November 18...1 week before Thanksgiving. The labor and birth could not have gone better...so much easier and faster the second time. Welcome Jane Baylor Swindell!! Born at 12:52 just in time for mama to eat lunch. 7lbs 4oz and 19.75in.

From Jane

Jane after her first bath in the hospital.

From Jane

Our family of 4!

From Jane

This pic was taken right when we got home from the hospital. Brady was very excited...

From Jane

2 happy dudes

From December 2010

Helping mama with the Christmas decorations

From December 2010

Brady is in love with Christmas. He talks about it constantly. Here he is going through the ornaments...or toys as he calls them.

From December 2010

Lining up the car ornaments

From December 2010

I tried to get some pics of my babies in their matching Christmas PJs. Poor Jane. Hers are just too big to look very cute this year. But I made them sit together for a minute anyway.

From December 2010

Big Daddy and his only grandsons

From December 2010

Three curly mullets

From December 2010

Grammy is going to Cananda for Christmas this year to be with Aunt Christy and family so we celebrated with her early. She gave Brady this great frog table. He loves it!! This is Brady and Simmy trying it out for breakfast.

From December 2010

Ride Choo Choo!

2010-10-11T19:56:00.005-05:00

Brady loves "choo choos" like all boys I suppose. We've been saying we need to take him on the Music City Star. So last Friday, Brady and I took the train to Nashville to meet Ryan after work. He was very excited about it. He said "Ride choo choo" all day long!

Here he is waiting on the choo choo.

From September 2010

The ride started out well. He was very excited!

From September 2010

Then...the whistle blew for the first time...

From September 2010

The whistle was a little loud for Brady. He spent the next 30 minutes in the position above. He was very still and quiet. Fortunately at the end, I was able to get him to stand up and watch us come into the Riverfront area. So at least we started and ended well!

Spongebob!

2010-09-20T21:23:00.003-05:00

I don't know where he heard of him or why he likes him but our latest obsession is....SPONGEBOB! Yes that's right....spongebob squarepants. The adult Swindells can't stand him and find him somewhat creepy, but apparently he's all the rage with 2 year olds. Here are 2 videos of Brady dancing and singing "spongebob squarepants" over and over and over...

And since I haven't updated in a while, here are several pics from the summer.

From Pics by Candie 6/28/10

From Summer 2010

Sea Island

2010-07-06T21:21:00.004-05:00

We're on vacation for 2 weeks with my family. We haven't done this in 2 years. It is crazy to all be in one house but we are having a blast. 9 Adults and 5.5 kids...whew! But we wouldn't have it any other way.

Brady hasn't flown on an airplane since we came to Sea Island 2 years ago. He was 4 weeks old then. I obviously had less than an amazing time that trip. There isn't a fun place to be with a 4 week old. But this time is much more fun. Brady loved the flight. I only had to threaten time out (no idea how that would have worked) a couple of times.

From Sea Island 2010

Bebe got him his very own rolling suitcase. He loved it. He dragged it the entire way in both airports. Of course in Nashville we were the last gate. it took forever to get there with him dragging the suitcase but luckily we had time to spare. He was very serious.

From Sea Island 2010

We had dinner at the beach club on Friday night. After dinner, we let the kids run wild. It was very windy. Brady had a blast. I don't know when I've seen him have so much fun.

From Sea Island 2010

Brady and Simmons are becoming great friends. Since she is 3, he thinks everything she does is cool.

From Sea Island 2010

Brady likes the sand.

From Sea Island 2010

Ryan and I took Brady and Simmons on a ride today. Simmons introduced him to ring pops. Wow! It was like she showed him the world. They never stopped jabbering.

From Sea Island 2010

Mabone's Surprise 90th Birthday Party

2010-06-29T13:09:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday was Mabone's 90th birthday. Big deal! So we through her a surprise party at her house. She had a great time and we have lots of pics to show her now to remind her.

Surprise!

From Mabone's bday

Great crowd of family, church friends and neighbors.

From Mabone's bday

This is one happy birthday girl!

From Mabone's bday

Here's a family shot.

From Mabone's bday

You can see more pics in the slideshow.

Chicago

2010-06-21T20:13:00.002-05:00

Finally a BIB weekend together! We all 6 got together for a weekend in Chicago at Jamie's awesome apartment. We knew this was a rare occasion but then we did the math and realized it has been FOUR years since we've all been together without kids or husbands or other family. That's just crazy...and too long.

We stayed at Jamie's apartment which is 2 blocks off of Michigan Ave. It is a fabulous location in a fabulous building. She rented us an extra apartment for the weekend so we would all have a place to sleep and shower. Her building has a great workout room, a rooftop pool, a coffee room with free fancy coffee machines and a Whole Foods right in the bottom of her building. I mean what more could you ask for?

Here's a pic of all of us right after we arrived Friday morning. Anne immediately mastered the timer on my new camera.

Friday we hung at Jamie's all day and ordered in deep dish pizza for dinner...yummy. And unbeknownst to the pregnant BIBers (Kim and me) there was a surprise baby shower planned, with gifts and cupcakes.

Saturday night, we stopped by a cool champagne bar on the way to dinner. Don't we look good? I think we're aging well.

We went to Frontera Grill for dinner which is a fancy mexican restaurant owned by a famous chef. It was really good but the best tip we picked up on was the way to shake up a margarita...with the lime on top....good idear huh?

I have to say it was nice to come home to my people but I really miss my girlfriends. We had such a great time just being together. It's so nice to be with a group of friends and spend time that is effortless. And it was nice to visit without outside distractions. Jamie was an unbelievalbe host. She washed towels 3 times a day. She gave up her bed and slept on an air mattress...yuck. She had every food item we could dream of and had planned all the meals and snacks in advance. I was never hungry and that's saying a lot for a pregnant lady.

Thanks BIB! Can't wait until our next trip!!

My little gardener

2010-06-17T20:44:00.001-05:00

Well the original plan for today was to send Brady to school and for me to catch up on errands and stuff at home. But instead I woke up this morning with no real agenda and thought what am I gonna do all day. So I decided to keep my little helper at home. And I'm so glad I did. We had a blast today. It was just your average day...but so fun. I leave tomorrow morning for our BIB girls weekend in Chicago so I'm glad I got some good Brady time in today.

Here he is helping me water the garden.

He took his job very seriously.

As you can see, his watering can was pretty small so we had to refill it several times. We would go back to the hose each time and he would carry it back full of water very carefully and SLOWLY.

Look at that concentration.

From June 2010

Later this afternoon we had movie time. Brady loves popcorn. It's one of the 5 foods he will eat. As you can see his mouth is full of it.

From June 2010

Sweet Boy

2010-06-14T20:04:00.001-05:00

Look at this sweet little angel. I took this pic this morning with our new camera. Today was our first day alone together since the legislature went home last week. This is kinda where we peaked for the day. It went downhill from here...ha.

After serious stressful online camera research, we finally just went to best buy and got the one that looked the coolest with the best bullet points on the sticker...and it was cheaper than the ones I'd been researching. It's a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-TX1. It's cool.

Things about B

2010-05-23T20:18:00.002-05:00

His favorite activity these days is coloring. He takes his crayons and coloring book everywhere.

From May 2010

This is what he does when you ask him to smile.

From May 2010

This was Brady "smiling" before he got tubes and his adenoids out on Thursday. Clearly he was confused about what was happening. We arrived at the outpatient center at 6:30 am. Brady did great playing until about 8am. And then he'd just had too much...especially without being able to drink or eat. They finally took him back about 8:30. He came back to us about 9:45. He was very cranky and he had a difficult time staying awake after the anesthesia so they wanted to watch him a little while. We finally left at 11:30am. Long morning, but everyone we encountered was wonderful. They even fed us when we were starving around 11.

Brady did great and after we arrived home we never noticed anything different about him. He ate and drank and slept like normal so we are very thankful.

From May 2010

This was Brady after tubes...

From May 2010

Tiny Dancer

2010-05-07T19:59:00.002-05:00

I bought Brady some fridge magnets yesterday. They are a huge hit at our house right now!

Rodeo and BIB

2010-04-20T20:49:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, the Swindells hit their first Rodeo. So cool. We took the Louws along with us. Brady and Emma just love playing together. Brady does whatever Emma does. She totally manipulates him and he doesn't suspect a thing. Looks like some happy kiddos, huh?

From April 2010

We got to see some animals up close.

From April 2010

And Brady and Emma got some good dancing in.

From April 2010

The Lebanon Rodeo was a hit. It didn't start until 7:30 which is pushing it for 1, 2 and 3 year olds. So we arrived mucho early and caught the beginning of the Rodeo. We will definitely go back. It was very cool. Wish we could have seen more.

Sunday, was Jeanne Bean Warren's 1st Birthday Party in the 'Boro. We got some funny pics of the BIB babes. Brady was tired and hungry and very protective of his goldfish.

From April 2010

Easter and other things

2010-04-05T20:25:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter with friends and family. However, we didn't hunt eggs and the Easter bunny didn't stop at our house. We just went with what was easiest and we figured Brady didn't know the traditions yet anyway. Don't tell him. We'll blow it out next year.

From April 2010

St. Patty's Day
Brady's class had a little party at 3pm on St. Patrick's Day. I fretted about one of us getting there for the party. I didn't want Brady to be the only one without a parent there. I kept wondering, how do these other parents do it. Well, they don't. I was the only one there...ha. Lesson learned. Check out this grin!

From April 2010

Stools and Light Switches
I bought Brady a stool at Target a couple of weeks ago. His new obsession is flipping light switches and the stool is very handy for that.

From April 2010

Garden
I am determined to have me a small organic garden this year. We finallly got around to planting some cold weather items yesterday. Brady helped me water everything when we got home. Then he played in the dirt for about an hour. He thinks we built a box of dirt just for him to play in. It's hilarious.

From April 2010

A Night with the Orgains

2010-03-21T13:18:00.002-05:00

The Baxters and Thorens were in town this weekend. Uncle Ricky and Melissa grilled out for us on Saturday night so we could all be together and visit. It is so funny to see all the little people in our lives now. Big Daddy and Bebe brought Henry. We had the Louw girls, Brady and Jack Baxter. It was really fun to catch up. We also saw the crime scene and heard detailed explanations from Ricky and Melissa about the Leprachaun bank robbers that were shot and killed in the yard earlier this week. Crazy!

I got a couple of pics while we were there. I wish I would have taken more pics of the whole group. Darn. I have to get better at this photography thing (and remember to clean the lens). At least this time I remembered to tell someone to get a pic of Me and Brady. I always forget to do that, which is why we have almost no pictures together.

From March 2010

Brady and Big Daddy found a tricycle

From March 2010

Hallelujah!

From March 2010

Me and B

From March 2010

Henry, Big Daddy, Sarah, Jack

From March 2010

March

2010-03-14T20:39:00.003-05:00

Brady has been busy lately. He and I spent some time at Target a couple of weeks ago. I tried to get him to follow behind me but he kept getting sidetracked. It was very cute and also a very long trip for me.

From March 2010

Brady continues to show us his boy qualities. One day when Ryan wasn't home, he decided he needed to take over as man of the house and fix things in the garage. Unfortunately I did not get a pic of him pretending to fix my tires. He's definitely paying attention to dad in the garage.

From March 2010

Here's a pic of him helping dad spread stuff on the yard.

From March 2010

BeBe stayed over one night and Brady really enjoyed the attention.

From March 2010

We kept the Louw girls this for a little while on Saturday. They were sweet and perfect, but of course Brady does not love to share his toys at home. Twice Emma shouted, "Bwady, stop cwying!"

From March 2010

Emma checking on Hanne.

From March 2010

Candie came over to visit on Sunday night. Brady is still in love.

From March 2010

A taste of spring

2010-02-21T20:24:00.002-06:00

We had an awesome weekend. The sun was shining and the weather was warm(er). We definitely noticed that we have a real boy on our hands. He is loving being outside. Below are a couple of videos of Brady dancing yesterday morning. He really loves music and dancing! Please notice that the bunny is wearing his rain boots.

This morning we skipped church and BeBe, Big Daddy and Simmons came over to play. Brady and Simmons had a great time.

They played basketball.

From February 2010

They rode in the wagon.

From February 2010

And they shared a stroller.

From February 2010

Later in the day, Brady saw his first bug.

From February 2010

And held his first bug.

From February 2010

Click on the link to the Swindell family photos to see more pics.

Rain boots and Elmo

2010-01-18T20:21:00.001-06:00

We've had a really fun weekend. Simmons came over to play yesterday morning with Big Daddy and BeBe. Brady just thinks she's great. They had a great time playing together for about an hour and then Brady got tired of sharing. Love this pic because you can really see how much fun they are having.

From January 2010

Ryan got this pic of Brady later that day.

From January 2010

After the BMN MLK breakfast today, Brady and I ventured to the mall. I can't remember the last time I took him with me and after about 15 minutes I remembered why. Ryan was getting his car worked on in Cool Springs so when he finished he dropped by and picked the little guy up so I could get a few errands done. Brady had his first experience with an escalator. He and Elmo were mesmerized.

From January 2010

As you can see from most of the new pics, Brady is obsessed with his rainboots (and elmo) these days. Tonight he was having a tired meltdown and one boot fell off the high chair...and oh man total come apart. so funny.

From January 2010

Ryan got this great peekaboo shot in the new tent yesterday.

From January 2010

SNOW!

2010-01-10T20:27:00.002-06:00

So we finally got some snow. And I decided that Saturday morning was our time to check it out. It took about 20 minutes to get B dressed and ready. The actual time in the snow was about 7 minutes. He loved it. He giggled the whole time...until he bit it. He face planted in the snow on the driveway so that ended things. However I did get a few cute pics in our short play time.

From January 2010

Brady went to his first basketball game yesterday. I took a shot of the only time he actually looked at the game. I do think he enjoyed it. However, I didn't really get enough time to explain the whole concept to him...maybe at the next game.

From January 2010

We met Jack Baxter today. Emily and I met up at MaBone's. He is 6 weeks old now. Very perfect!

From January 2010

Brady and I got back from MaBone's just in time to watch the end of the UT/Kansas game. Ryan and I were of course getting excited at the end and B knew something big was happening. He was run/walking constantly around the house. Then he took off his clothes and demanded I put his rain boots on him. Then he really put on a show. I'm not sure if it was because our attention was diverted by the game or if our excitement was contagious. Either way it was pretty hilarious.

From January 2010

Holidays

2009-12-30T20:27:00.002-06:00

Again, it's been awhile so let's catch up.
Brady was spiderman for Halloween

From Fall 2009

And someone was spidermom (a little embarrassing)

From Fall 2009

Apparently it rocks to be able to see yourself in your dining table...

From Fall 2009

The Swindells got a new tractor. Well actually Ryan tracked down his Pappoo's old tractor and bought it back. It sleeps in Sparta for now.

From Thanksgiving 09

Then there was Thanksgiving. Here's BeBe and Big Daddy with their Grandkids.

From Thanksgiving 09

and MaBone with her Great Grandkids.

From Thanksgiving 09

Brady has been learning to match his clothes up.

From Christmas

Christmas morning. Loving his new tent with tunnel that he got from Grandpa and Nana.

From Christmas

I mean really lovin Christmas.

From Christmas

Christmas afternoon he wanted as many toys as he could get in his bed. I left the room and this is what I came back in and found. So sweet.

From Christmas

And here's the best video I could find from the last few months. This is from September, but most everything from this month was shot by Brady and would make you dizzy.

2009-09-18T21:54:00.002-05:00

It's been 6 weeks since I've updated so we have a LOT to cover. Day care, the Beach, walking, a picnic...

First, a day care update.

Brady is loving it. It was touch and go for a while, but he no longer cries when we leave him there and I think he genuinely likes it. I just he would nap longer there so we would have longer to play on the day care nights. The days we go to day care he only sleeps about 1.5 hrs on a good day so we try and get him to bed by 7pm. He loves it and we love having him downtown!

Beach!

OMG. Brady loved it. We could not be more surprised. He loved the sand and the water. The further Ryan took him out in the ocean, the more he giggled. And he loved sitting in the beach chair almost as much.

From Beach 09

Walking

Brady started walking about a month ago and is now almost exclusively walking. He only crawls when he needs to sprint. I've tried to get him to start following behind me when we go places but so far he gets too distracted. And he doesn't like his hands to be touched so it makes this a little tougher. Bebe discovered this oddity when Brady was about 2 months old. It really is strange. Maybe he gets it from his germaphobe dad.

Picnic

We tried our first Swindell family picnic last Sunday. We had a great time. Ryno and I ate Jersey Mike's and we picked Brady up some yummy taco bell. He had enjoyed the ground beef much to his mommy's dismay on the return trip from the beach. Of course he had no desire to eat it at the picnic. So...he sat in it instead. The only thing this child eats consistently is fruit and he will eat any fruit all the time. So odd, but at least it's not crack...yet.

From September 2009

And here are a couple of pics with Brady and Mabone and Grandaddy Bob.

From September 2009

Check out the new picasa albums at the link. There is a new beach album and a new September album.

Wagons

2009-08-06T21:26:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Aunty Sach for the best red wagon ever. I think this might go down as the summer of the red wagon. Our summer ritual has been to cruise around in the wagon early evening to meet Daddy when he comes home. Brady has gotten really good at waving at all the cars that go by. I have to belt him in now because he tries to stand in the seat (not a good idea). And we can't have any toys in it or he just pitches them out the whole time.

From July 2009

Just in case you need proof that he is a true toddler now. I think he was trying to get from the car seat to inside the cabinet in one step. He was not successful.

From July 2009

And here we are on Mabone's front porch in the little rocking chair.

From July 2009

Visit with Granddaddy Bob

2009-07-10T14:17:00.003-05:00

Brady and I went to see Granddaddy Bob on Wednesday. We took lunch and had a great time visiting. Unfortunatley, Brady got a little cranky toward the end so we had to cut the visit a little short. It turns out that he had a sinus infection and a fever that day but I didn't know it. But we still had a great time!

From July 2009

Brady always enjoys playing with Granddaddy Bob's walker. He thinks it's a fabulous toy!

From July 2009

We went swimming with all the Bones on Sunday. Brady had a great time relaxing with Margaret.

From July 2009

And here he is with one of his favorite birthday toys. He looks so grown up here I can't believe it!

From July 2009

1st Birthday

2009-07-03T21:43:00.002-05:00

We survived the first birthday!

It started on the real birthday on Tuesday. Ryan and I both took off work like 2 crazy lunatics...and had a blast! We put Brady in his Junior Park Ranger Uniform and took him to Ryan's office so he could do some work at lunch time.

From 1st Birthday

Then we went to The Dog of Nashville. And stopped and picked up GiGi's cupcakes and took them to Big Daddy's Office where Big Daddy gave Brady his very own blackberry.

From 1st Birthday

We had a great day. Brady passed out on the way home but then wouldn't take an afternoon nap. He must have known it was an important day.

Today we had his birthday party. We usually have a memorial day party, but we were out of town this year. So we decided to have a 4th of July party this year and also call it Brady's birthday party. We had a blast! It was a huge success. We never dreamed we could be so blessed. Praise the Lord!

From 1st Birthday

Make sure and click on the link to our family album to see more birthday pics.

Swimming and Dancing

2009-06-27T21:17:00.002-05:00

So Brady is almost finished with his infant swim class. It has truly been amazing! Kelly is a genius. It is such a relief knowing he has these skills. Last Wednesday she did a lesson with all of his clothes on so he would know what that feels like in case he falls in with all his clothes on.

Brady has become our little dancing queen. He's been dancing for a long time but now he dances constantly. It's hilarious. Enjoy!

Brady's afternoon snack

2009-06-25T15:12:00.000-05:00

Brady has really liked his afternoon snack today of juice and grapes and blueberries and cheese and crackers and cheerios. In this pic, he keeps trying to feed me his leftovers. Grapes are his favorite today.

Baylor Bone Swindell

MaBone's 89th Birthday

2009-06-23T21:19:00.006-05:00

Well today is my first day of catching up with loved ones since neglecting them for the past several months during the last days of session. Today was MaBone's 89th birthday! Brady and I and Katherine and new baby Hanne (Emma was at day care) took lunch to Red River Road. We had a great time and I think the birthday girl was pleased.

Here is a good pic of MaBone and Hanne.

From June 2009

Here is a pic of Brady trying to figure out what that thing is (it's a baby girl).

From June 2009

And here is MaBone opening her gift...pjs. She said that she would wear them when she gets sick she guessed. We told her that we thought they would be great to wear now and that she didn't need to be sick to where them (ha.). She felt much better about them after Katherine told her that she bought them because Ricky told Katherine that he saw MaBone in her pjs last week and that she looked like a homeless person. This made MaBone feel sooo much better.

From June 2009

And then here is just a random pic of the little booger.

From June 2009

My first swim time!

2009-06-02T20:57:00.006-05:00

Here is a good pic that shows how I keep Brady busy while I cook dinner. He loves the drawer with the ziplocs and aluminum foil and oh, bring on the wax paper!

From First Swims

And here he is in his little Sunday outfit...too cute.

From First Swims

After church, we went to the pool to meet Big Daddy and Bebe and the Bone cousins. It took Brady a little while to warm up, but he caught on fast and Simmy showed him the ropes.

From First Swims

Yesterday was Brady's first ISR lesson. It is a water safety class for babies. By the end of the course, if he falls in water he will be able to roll to his back and float until someone rescues him. Cool. We are lucky that Kelly (Ryan's cousin Tol's wife) teaches this course. It will last 5 days a week for 4 weeks. the lessons are 10 minutes long. We will keep you updated and post a video soon. He cried some, but gave up fast. It was like he was just gritting his teeth and enduring it until it was over...smart dude. Notice the crossed legs...ha!

From First Swims

See more pics at the link to our picasa web albums.

Brady's First Easter

2009-04-12T20:46:00.006-05:00

Wow what a great weekend! Brady had a terrific first Easter weekend. I took lots of good pictures so make sure and check out the new album in the slideshow. We went to Mabone's on Saturday with most of the Orgains and Bones and ate lunch and hunted easter eggs. It was fun to watch all the little ones run around collecting their loot. Today we went to church with Big Daddy and Bebe and then had lunch at Fairvue. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the weekend.

Here is Brady with Aunty Sach. She is feeding him his first fried foods.

Here's our little egg hunter.

Pretty blue eyes at Easter lunch.

The little guy after lunch today.

Worn out after his Easter lunch.

Such a good laundry helper. Did you know that beating on the dryer door makes an extra loud cool noise?

Margaret's trip to the state Capitol

2009-04-09T13:16:00.000-05:00

Margaret Bone had a surprise trip to the state capitol today. Big Daddy brought her by for a few minutes before lunch and I showed her around for a little bit.

Highlights:

1. She got to meet lots of Bones. Stratton Bone, David Bone and Suanne Bone. She was mildly interested in the fact that Suanne's first name is Margaret.

2. She was disappointed to find out that Barack Obama wasn't there. However she mentioned that her father might be president in 2 years. She emphasized might. And then we engaged in a brief argument about whether he is smart enough.

3. And the major fascination of the day was the metal detectors and what does and does not set them off. She talked about that virtually the entire time.

It was a blast. Can't wait for her to come back!

Baylor Bone Swindell

Smokies

2009-04-05T20:36:00.003-05:00

Wow. We have had a great weekend. Ryan and I and Big Daddy went to Gatlinburg for the weekend. Grammy (Rosemary) was nice enough to let us drop sweet Brady in Sparta on the way up on Friday morning. We stayed at Buckberry Lodge. It is a super nice place. Fabulous rooms, great views and good food.

On Saturday, we drove into the park to find a place to hike. It was a beautiful drive although I got a little nauseated in the backseat. We decided to hike the schoolhouse gap trail which is known for birds and beautiful wildflowers of which we saw neither. However it was the perfect distance and elevation for us. And the best part was the private property that Big Daddy and I wandered onto at the top. We met a man building a house right on the border of the park and Townsend. So we hiked his driveway and saw a tremendous view from the top at 2,500 feet.

After our hike, we drove into Townsend and ate lunch at the Apple Valley kitchen and then had ice cream at a yummy dairy dip. We then decided to head back, but the 2 dudes up front started looking at the map and pondering about driving up to Tennessee's highest peak. After much back and forth, they decided to go for it. I was in and out of sleep in the backseat and my opinion was not appreciated anyway.

If you ever have as beautiful of a day as we had in the Smokies on Saturday, you should definitely drive up to the Clingman's Dome. It was amazing at 6,643 feet. Once there you have to hike up a steep .5 mile paved path. Truly amazing views. I'm so glad we did it.

It was a wonderful trip. We all got much needed and deserved rest and relaxation. Although we really missed our sweet little boy. Here's a cute pic from a couple of weeks ago where he experienced sitting in the grass for the first time. Mixed reactions.

Oh and last Saturday night we had a long overdue dinner at the Louws. Brady and Emma had a great time. They talked about their cell phones among other things.

Turkeys and little boys

2009-03-24T15:36:00.000-05:00

Brady had a long day Sunday of being dressed up and doing church and then cracker barrel with Grandpa and Nonna.

And then there is an area in our neighborhood where all the turkeys in Wilson county live. I pass them every morning and afternoon. I took this pic on my way to work this morning. Can't wait til Brady can appreciate them!

Baylor Bone Swindell

Trucks and Chainsaws

2009-03-21T22:01:00.003-05:00

We finally bought Brady his first truck last weekend. Check out his excitement!

We went to Sparta a couple of weeks ago and you can see how excited the boys were!

Today was a big day. Ryno decided to chop down our dead Bradford Pear.

I think it was just an excuse to use his chainsaw on a pretty day. Brady watched and was really into it.

BBI

2009-03-13T17:29:00.000-05:00

We went to BeBe's shop today. And she has the best toy ever...a mirrored filing cabinet!

Baylor Bone Swindell

Peek a boo!

2009-03-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

Now that Brady is almost pulling up, all you see is his little head poking above the furniture!

Baylor Bone Swindell

Brady bd.jpg

2009-03-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

And here is big daddy and Brady yesterday at the orgains. He is wearing some hand me downs from his girl cousins and is trying on his new hat from bebe.

Baylor Bone Swindell

Blogging on the go!

2009-03-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

Since I have not been very good at blogging lately and most pictures I take are on my phone, I'm going to experiment with blogging from my phone. We'll see how this goes!

Here are some great pics of Brady and the tub from this weekend. His is too cute in that tub. He loves a bath and when I take him clothes off he scrambles to the bath tub. He even pulled up for the first time last night on the edge of it trying to get in it. Ha!

Baylor Bone Swindell

6 Month Checkup

2009-01-06T13:18:00.012-06:00

Brady had his 6 month appointment yesterday. I can't believe he's 6 months. We tried a new doc today at a new location. The practice we go to in Hermitage also has a Mt Juliet office. We have not had the best luck in Hermitage. Most visits we wait for almost an hour in the waiting room and then another 30 minutes in the exam room. Luckily Brady has been good most of the time but 2 hours at the doctor's office is too long for everyone. So yesterday we tried Mt Juliet and it went great. We waited about 5 minutes in the waiting room and then about 30 in the exam room which is unusual I think. We also switched docs and that went much better too. Here is Brady waiting on the doc. Then there is a pic of the free loot we got...big fan of that! and then the last is post shots...poor dude.

They also printed out his stats like that was normal. No one has ever offered to do that for me. And you probably know how much I LOVE stats! Here they are below. And you can see him in comparison to his little peers. The first is weight and the second is height. I'll spare you his BMI and head circumfrence. The nurse and I concluded that they did his height wrong last time b/c I know that he has gotten much longer.

Here is a great video of Brady falling asleep in the Jumping Jimmy. Yes falling asleep as he jumps (well it's more like tap dancing but we're getting closer). The shaking is from the camera person laughing.

And here is a better view.

Christmas!

2008-12-27T21:04:00.006-06:00

Woo! It's been a long but awesome week! We survived Brady's first Christmas and that little guy is worn out.

We have been busy lately. Our friend Jamie came to visit on Sunday, December 14 and stayed until Tuesday, December 23. We had so much fun and I'm just now realizing that I don't think I got any photos of Jamie and Brady. She was supposed to stay for 2 days, but as is typical in our friendship, she stayed a week and an half. We had a blast. I have missed her so much and she just fits in perfect with our family. Brady is obsessed with her. We hope that she will move here soon!

Our official Christmas festivities started last Sunday with a trip to Sparta to do Christmas with Rosemary (Grandmama). We went to her church to see a Christmas play and then back to her house to do Christmas. Unfortunately Brady didn't make it long enough to open his Christmas gifts but don't worry we had a big time opening them for him.

On Monday afternoon Big Daddy had his annual children's Christmas party at the lawfirm. There were about 60 children there and everyone had a big time. And Simmons fed Brady his first bite of cookie.

Then Monday, the BIBs all went to the Braggs in the Boro for our annual Christmas party. We had a blast of course with all of the Braggs. 2 BIBs are pregnant this year so it wasn't as wild as usual. Kim was in Spain so we brought in Emily as a sub. Jeanne cooked an awesome meal and we had fun hanging out and catching up.

Tuesday, Richard (Grandpa) and Rhonda (Nana) came over for Christmas dinner. We had breakfast and it was a yummy change from the normal Christmas menu. Brady barely made it this time to open a couple of gifts. He got a huge toy that he is very curious about. It is big and wild! Watch Brady zone out on it.

Wednesday night we had all the Bones and Orgains to our house for our routine Christmas Eve Dinner. We have always gone to Mabone's in the past, but this year we thought it would just be too much and would be a good time to change it. We LOVED having it at our house and I think it went great. Mabone was fine and everyone seemed very happy. Ryan cooked an awesome beef tenderloin and everyone brought food. The meal was perfect and we had a great time hanging out. After everyone left, I put together the gift from Grandpa and Nana and the new high chair from Rosemary.

Thursday was the big day and it was nice to cruise to someone else's house. We did Santa with Brady who of course had no idea what was going on, but we really enjoyed it. Then we went to BeBe and Big Daddy's for Santa there and then Christmas lunch. We got home late that afternoon and the week finally caught up with us and Brady is still recovering. Can't wait for 2009!

Here is a video of Brady getting busted eating his shoe when he should be napping.

And here is a naked baby with the giggles.

Holiday Season

2008-12-08T20:22:00.002-06:00

The holidays are busy around here this year. Brady and I stayed with the cousin Bones a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time. Brady loves his cousins and is warming up to them. Sacha and I also took some pictures of the kids in their Christmas PJs. See more of these pictures in the slideshow.
Here is a good one of Simmons and Brady.

And here are a couple of good shots fighting over the antlers (poor Brady).

Here is a good picture of Anne Carlen making Brady laugh.And here is Brady's new trick...eating his foot (all the time).

And then we went to a party Saturday night and they had a setup to make a video so dad and I made a video to one of his favorite songs. You can see that we are total amateurs.

New Schedule

2008-11-20T20:41:00.005-06:00

Thanks to the Schwarz's for the environmentally friendly tee shirt!

Brady's had a big week this week. We've been trying to start him on a new schedule. It has not been easy and it's not perfected yet. We are trying to move him from 6 30 minute naps to 2 big naps and 1 small nap. Thanks to Aunty Sach for all the coaching! He's getting the routine down but in the meantime he has started waking up at all hours of the night. I thought we had nearly mastered the night? So it has been quite a groggy week for mom and dad and grandma. But tonight is tough love! We're going to try and let him go in hopes of getting him back on track at night. We'll let you know how it goes.

We spent some time at the cousin Bones last Saturday night. It takes him a while to adjust to the cousins, but he'll get there. Brady and I might give dad the night off Saturday and head over there for an overnight visit! We're looking forward to it. Then Sunday Ryan and I will head to the Titans game while Aunty Sach watches the little guy.

Next week is Thanksgiving...stay tuned.

And who can resist a picture of a big baby with a little tushy!

Sweet potatoes are funny

2008-11-05T20:13:00.006-06:00

Brady has started solid foods this week. He thinks sweet potatoes are just hilarious!

4 Month Checkup
We had Brady's 4 month checkup on Monday. He's huge! He weighed 17.2 lbs (85th percentile) and was 27 in long (96th percentile). So at least he's as long as he is wide! He got more shots but he was a real trooper. Our biggest challenge right now is that he doesn't like to nap longer than 30 minutes at a time during the day. He just doesn't want to miss anything. That makes getting some time to yourself a little difficult right now.

Election Day
Brady briefly helped us work a poll for Stratton Bone on election day. You can see that it was a little tiring for him. Brady was upset about the State election results but was stoked about Stratton and Obama!

Halloween and more laughing

2008-11-02T19:44:00.004-06:00

Brady had his first Halloween on Friday. He attended the annual BMN party at lunch and it wore him out! He was the prettiest pumpkin around. Then we had the Warrens and the Louws over for Halloween night. We had a great time visiting and handing out candy. Here is a good pic of Brady and his cousins Anne Carlen and Simmons at the lunch party. He looks a little shell shocked.

And here is another video of Brady laughing with his daddy. We were just listening to this at home and it made Brady start laughing. Too funny.

And here is another cute picture.

Tomorrow we have Brady's 4 month checkup so stay tuned...

2008-10-26T20:52:00.002-05:00

Nothing much new with the Swindells. We've stayed home mostly lately and played with Brady. He has a new trick. Kind of a buzzing/motor boat noise that we of course think is hilarious. Here is a video of him mastering the sound.

And here is a video of Brady and Mabone practicing the new trick!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-10-15T09:33:00.003-05:00

Today is our anniversary. See my gift to Ryno below...and don't forget to turn up your volume!

Singing Brady and the Louws

2008-10-11T21:33:00.004-05:00

See this video of Brady singing himself to sleep. The crickets in the background are his favorite music setting on the swing because it sounds like Sparta.

DINNER WITH THE LOUWS

We invited ourselves over to cousin Katherine and Rico's last night. We had a great time. Rico cooked steaks and veggies and Emma Nokes and Brady had time to play.

The Swindells hit NYC

2008-10-08T20:31:00.006-05:00

We went to NYC last weekend minus our sweet baby Brady. We missed him tons but had a great time. He stayed home in Sparta with Grandmama and in Nashville with Aunty Sach and the other Bones (more pics later).

Our flight and trains were delayed on Thursday night, but we finally made it to our hotel in NYC at around midnight. Don't go to Morgans Hotel. We were pretty disappointed when we checked in for the price we were paying. We immediately went to grab a late night breakfast and discuss our exit strategy. When we returned we canceled our room for Friday and Saturday nights. Good thing because when we got back to our hotel room we noticed that the AC never kicked on while we were gone. So Ryan called down to the front desk and they said they would work on it. Next thing we know the electricity went out. But then the AC kicked on and finally the electricity came back on. Then once the AC kicked off it never came back on. So whatever. We promptly checked out the next morning and headed a few blocks over to the Warrens' apartment.

The Warrens

When we arrived at Anne's we booked our new hotel a couple blocks away at 70 Park Avenue. It worked out great since it was last minute we got a pretty good price on it. Anne of course had laid out our whole day for us. She had written out the stores we wanted to go to with the cross streets and the order to go in. She also promptly made us a breakfast burrito with some fruit. I mean full service! Then she scheduled us a boat tour for Saturday. Anne should really be in the trip planning business.

Next we checked into our new hotel. Our room was smaller but the AC worked and it was much nicer. Then we headed out for shopping for the day. Sarah (SIO) left work early and met us to finish up our shopping. Then we headed over to Anne's for cocktails with the Warrens and SIO and her Chris. We sure do love the new Chris! Then on to Zarela for a great fun mexican dinner.

Chris and SIO

Saturday we had breakfast in bed and then headed out to Ground Zero. We walked around there and then over to the seaport to catch our boat tour. The tour was just what we were looking for...thanks Anne. It was perfect, one hour and we got to see the entire bottom half of Manhattan along with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Highly recommend it (and Anne for a trip planner)!

Next was cocktail hour at Amy Hayes' place before dinner. Her apartment was really nice and big and she was very helpful and fun, even with a broken foot! She told us all the cool places to see stars (I asked). The only one we saw all weekend was Morley Safer...seriously.

Then we were off to Perry Street in the West Village for dinner. It was very nice and dinner was great even though we didn't see any stars. Next was White Horse Tavern to watch the rest of the Vandy game and to hang out a little longer. Ryan got a little tired of hanging out so Anne entertained him at the Magnolia Bakery.

SIO, Anne and Baylor

NYC was perfect! We had a great time and can't wait to go back. Thanks Warrens and Thorens! Although of course we missed our Brady! See more pics of our trip at the Swindell family pictures link.

Laughing Baby

2008-09-30T20:34:00.005-05:00

Watch this video of Ryan making Brady laugh! Our new favorite trick.

FIRST PARTY

Brady went to his first party on Saturday night. You can see that he takes after his Big Daddy.

FIRST TRAIN RIDE

Brady and I rode the Music City Star on Monday. He loved it. We laughed and talked the whole way. Ryan picked us up downtown and we went to CRB and Sacha's for birthday dinner. He was a little shellshocked at the other Bones. It's a little louder at their house than it is at ours so it will just take more trips to break him in.

BIG BOY IN STROLLER

Brady rode in the stroller today for the first time without the car seat. He was a little confused facing forward and feeling the breeze...but his favorite puppy dog helped him adjust.

Brady and MaBone

2008-09-25T21:11:00.005-05:00

Brady and I went to see MaBone on Monday. Enjoy this video of MaBone and Brady playing together.

And here's another sleepy baby pic...

Super Brady!

2008-09-21T19:58:00.004-05:00

We finally tried out Leslie's gifts today. Leslie Hafner gifted us with the fantastic superman onesie and also 2 pairs of hilarious sock shoes. We thought that they should just all be shown together. Here you can get a good glimpse of Brady leaping tall buildings in a single bound. I wonder how old he will be before he hates us for things like this!

UT Game

No need to post anything here. The Swindells left at half time and enjoyed the second half at Chez Guevara outside and out of view of any tvs...clearly the best decision we made all day. In the meantime Brady was back in Sparta cheering on the Vols (not hard enough)! P.S. this outfit has been burned.

Brady visits Baylor Bone Interiors

2008-09-19T20:40:00.004-05:00

Today we went to BBI. It is becoming routine for us to visit there on Fridays. It's just too fun to get all the attention...and free babysitting (thank you Gail, Harriet and Carolyn). When Ryan got home, he observed that Brady smelled like perfume and was covered in glitter. He wondered how many women had kissed on Brady...lots! He had to wear his fancy pants for Bebe today, but he did look especially cute. We love our BBI Fridays. Tomorrow we drop Brady in Sparta and head to Knoxville for the Florida game, so hopefully we will have good news to report on Sunday. See new pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/baylorswindell. There are some good ones in his new pumpkin onesie. We'll be talking pumpkins here soon. Stay tuned!

2008-09-12T22:39:00.005-05:00

Brady and I went to see Grandaddy Bob today. We even took Bebe with us. We took these pictures while we were there but you can see we couldn't get Grandaddy Bob to smile at us because he wouldn't take his eyes off of Brady. We all ate lunch and Grandaddy Bob fed Brady his lunch. You can see that he passed out right after that. He is such a good baby. We had a great visit in Columbia! We think he should stay over night next time.

2008-09-09T13:33:00.002-05:00

I am back at work today. I started on Tuesdays and Thursdays last week. It is nice to be amongst adults a little every once and awhile and to have a reason to shower. Ryan's mom (Grandma) is staying with him. We are so fortunate that she is able to do that. She gives him more attention than I could ever dream of. I just called to check in of course and he is being the perfect baby that we know he is. He slept until 4 this am. He went until 6 two nights last week but hasn't since. I'm hoping he gets back to that soon! I will post a new picture tomorrow when Brady and I are at home together.

2008-09-04T16:53:00.002-05:00

Brady had his 2 month checkup yesterday! He weighs 12.1 lbs and is 23.5 inches long...growing like a weed. He got stuck 4 times in the legs and had 1 oral vaccination. He screamed his little head off and turned purple but passed out by the time he hit the car and all was well.

2008-09-04T16:27:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the new Swindell Family Website. We thought this would be a good place to update friends and family as well as post pictures and videos. Enjoy!