Let's Talk About Six, Baby

From Sixty to Six Months:  I've been slacking on my duties as aunt to the most adorable little boy, so I thought it was appropriate that Atticus Roy Murdoch make his debut on his 6 month birthday.  When Atticus was born, Bradley cried because we didn't get to bring him home from the hospital with us!  But he loves his cousin, and can now dance and make Atticus laugh.  This little chunky monkey is 20 pounds, wearing 9 month clothes, making spitting noises, rolling over, and eating solid food that my Martha-Stewart-of-a-sister is pureeing herself.

So, it is my dutiful job as Atticus' aunt (I am already predicting with a name that ends with an 'S' that this kid is going to be a conscientious user of the apostrophe and teach all his peers its proper use)- I bring you 6 months' worth of gratuitous photos:

October 15, 2012

New Parents

Turkey Butt

Christmas Day - 2 months old

Fancy New Years Party Outfit

Tebowing at 3 months

Fist pumping in his sleep

Grandma & Papa with Little A and Little B

Best initials ever:  ARM!

Walking really tuckered him out.. and by walking, I mean riding in a stroller!

Almost 4 months old

Easter 2013 - 5 months

Ready for Baseball Season

He belly laughs at his daddy, likes to be bounced, has no teeth yet, and we are all rapt with attention whenever he is around.  Thankfully, Laura and George live close by, so I get to see my nephew about every other week.  He is the closest thing Bradley has to a sibling, and so likewise, he adores him.  Time has flown, Little nephew, and I look forward to spoiling you rotten, and Bradley looks forward to being both a bad influence and best playmate with you.

I am 6 months old!

Susan is Sixty

Happy birthday to my amazing mother, who is 60 years young today.  She is a remarkable woman of many attributes, many of which I take after.  Most notably, one of her nicknames is Little General (my Grandma Huber was famously known as The General) and I have been, on more than one occasion been dubbed the Little Little General, a title which I wear proudly.  Otherwise, nothing would ever get done!

Smart Susi:  Mom always points out how smart she was for pointing to the camera man

Small Susi

Awesome bangs on Sophomore-in-high-school Susi

Saved by the Susi:  the College Years

So-excited-to-get-this-warm-up-suit-Susi

 Some more S words to describe my mom:
Stubborn, Self-sacrificing, sarcastic, sassy, sleepy, sedentary, strong, secretarial, sea hag, senile, short, seriously gullible (the Little Haubstadt Bakery, mom?  Really?), sociable, spotted, sour-loving, superhuman, supportive, scholarly, seamstress, sports fan, selfless.

She's also an amazing cook, and it's too late at night for me to come up with a synonym that starts with S.

Happy birthday, Mama B!  Love you!

Telling Time with Trees

Each year when my parents' Chinese Magnolia is in bloom, Bradley and I take a picture in front of it.  This year's photo was a rush job at dusk on St. Patrick's Day.  I realized suddenly that the flowers were just starting to bloom, but with my class schedule, it was likely that the flowers would be gone by my first free night on Thursday.  I'm glad we snapped these when we did because due to the finicky Tennessee weather, the cold snap killed all the blooms.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I'm going to pick him up for this picture as long as I'm able

Something new this year

And now for a walk down memory lane...

2012

2011

2010

 I love the tradition, and I love the few precious days when this tree is in bloom.  Hurry up warm weather and get here, the flowers are way ahead of you this year, and I'm tired of wearing my winter coat everyday.

Stockwell, Angel

Baby Stockwell with Lucky

Christmas 1998

This past Monday, as Heather so aptly stated, Stockwell became the angel he never was while he was with us.  We're all in mourning as we had to say goodbye to a family member who happened to be a pet who spent 14 years with us.  I stop short of declaring him a good dog, however.  Because when I think back on all of Stockwell's antics, he was anything but a good dog.  He was, however, an animal with personality who always got a second glance by a stranger at his odd shaped body, and who was loved by all who knew him.  I can't begin to cover all of the funny Stockwell stories, so I'll try to hit some of the highlights.

Stockwell & Mom in their Christmas shirts

Food Stockwell has stolen over the years

• Baguette (read that story here)
• Haubstadt cake from Christmas Village
• My entire box of Valentine's Day Godiva truffles
• A smaller entire box of Schokolaud truffles
• Mass quantities of sugar cookie dough out of the trashcan (earning him the nickname "Sug")
• Countless other foods from counters and tables

Stockwell Sunbathing

Nicknames

• Precious (or "My Precious" as in LOTR)
•  Bull dozer
•  Stockily Wockily Broccoli
• Stocky
• Stockwell Angel (as in "Stillwell, Angel" from A League of Their Own)
• Sug (the sugar cookie dough incident)
• Little Heater
• Devil dog (the early years!)
• StockHELL (another early years name!)

Snuggling in bed

Quite possibly the biggest lapdog you've ever seen

Stockwell was a bassadore (half basset hound, half black lab) given to our family by Jenni and Tara Stockwell.  The Stockwell sisters picked him up free from the Brentwood Kroger, and then gave him to us when their parents told them that they absolutely could not get a third dog!  So they brought him over to our house where Laura and I fell in love with the adorable black puppy and reminded our parents that they had promised us that we could get another dog when we moved to Brentwood, several years earlier.  We named him Stockwell in honor of the family who was the reason we got him.  

The most graceful swimmer

He much preferred jumping in after frisbees to riding on the floats

Stockwell thought he was a lap dog from the get go, and even when he was 60+ pounds and full grown, he preferred to be laying on laps, and sleeping on top of legs in bed with you.  If you have ever visited our house, chances are Stockwell has climbed in bed to snuggle with you.  His shiny black coat smelled of Fritos according to Laura, and for the first four years of his life, he was a hyperactive dog who had to be given "puppy downers" who liked to steal shoes, socks, and hats and take off with them, dig up rosebushes repeatedly, chew speaker wires, hump and chew up throw pillows, and destroy pool cushions leaving a yard full of cotton snow in the heat of the summer.  He loved the pool, and his favorite spot was sitting on the top step in the water where he would sunbathe and help himself to a drink.  He would go swimming whenever a frisbee was tossed in the water, and would run the length of the pool barking whenever anyone would jump in.  You would think a black dog would seek the shade, but Stockwell always wanted to lie in the sun.

A lapdog from the get-go

Howling along to the harmonica

Stocky was true to his nickname, long and short to the ground, but the long body allowed him to stand on his hind legs and reach for food which he would steal and swallow quicker than you would even realize it was missing.  He had a major sweet tooth, and would sniff out candy or desserts throughout the house, and making him sick on occasion from over-indulgence.

Bed party - June 2008

A curious Bradley climbs on Stockwell

He was a cuddly animal who would let you lay on him, and snuggle his silky ears and meaty thighs and almost every picture we have of Stockwell is of him snuggling with one of us.  His favorite toys were a yellow bear, and Larry the Cucumber, and he sang bass in the trio of canines whenever anyone played the harmonica for him, Julius and Oscar.

I will share one funny Stockwell story.  When I was a senior in college, I lived in the Sugar Shack (an off campus condo), and mom and dad came to visit and they surprised me by bringing Stockwell.  I was so excited to see him, but the minute he ran in like a wild man into the strange condo, Stocky immediately saw this picture of Kramer on the wall and began to growl at him!  He was not a fan of the Kramer portrait!

Several days have gone by since Stockwell left us, and the gaping whole he left behind is still ever present.  I know he was just a pet but he literally followed us from room to room and went everywhere we went.  Though he couldn't talk,  you would swear he was thisclose to speaking English by the inflections of his moans and howls.   He was as close to being a person as a pet could be. Many have suggested he's in Doggie Heaven now, playing with Lucky, and swimming in that big swimming pool in the sky.  I myself would like to think he's found a nice lap to climb up in, and he'll be waiting for us with wagging tail someday.

waiting for his next lap to climb into

A Special Mother's Day

I woke up on Mother's Day feeling like I hadn't slept a wink.  An early morning visitor who tossed and turned in bed with me for an hour left me groggy as I crawled out of bed on Sunday morning, and prepared the nebulizer for my congested little boy.  This, I thought, is what being a mother is all about!

When I picked Bradley up from church (don't worry, he wasn't contagious or running a fever!) I was treated to a homemade card and a picture with his hand prints- treasures I will keep forever.  When we walked into the house after church, we were greeted by a spread of quesadillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, 2 kinds of beans, rice, and chips, compliments of Chef Laura.  My sweet sis even made me my own special vegetarian quesadilla because let's face it folks- if it ain't a greasy McDonald's cheeseburger, I'm just saying NO to meat.

My home made picture B made at church this past Wednesday night

Me and My Little Angel on Mother's Day

 After we all ate way too much, the moms opened their presents.  Laura and I got mom a deluxe size of her favorite Bare Minerals makeup, and a brand new coffee maker with a built in grinder.  Everyone in my family drinks coffee, and yet we continue to use a cheapo coffee maker that spills every time you pour from the pot, and a broken coffee grinder that you have to stick a knife in to get the grinder to work.  Both were extremely ghetto.  We decided that a new and improved coffee maker was long overdue.

 I got a homemade card from Bradley, along with a refridgerator magnet with his picture on it that he made at daycare, and my first-ever Tervis Tumbler.  I was very excited to take this baby to work today and sip water all day with the worry-free, no-sweat cup.  Mom told me that at the store, they had several different kinds of Tervis Tumblers, and that Bradley really wanted to buy me a Toy Story cup, but she convinced him to get one that I would like... so he chose the Kentucky one.

Super excited about my Tervis Tumbler- how have I made it this long without one?!

 The best gift I received was a paper that Bradley answered all about me at daycare.  I laughed reading every answer with his perceptions of his mom.  Some favorite answers of mine:

• I think my mom is 58 years old.
• I think my mom weighs 40 pounds.
• When my mom grows up she wants to be a real princess.
• My mom wears a size high heel shoe.
• My mom's favorite color is purple.  (Clearly I have not bombarded him with enough pink, so I'll have to remedy that!

Roses from a special guy, delivered on Sunday morning

 Another gift I received was a drawing of me and Bradley taken from a picture.  At first glance, I thought it looked like my mom with Bradley.  Apparently at first glance, Bradley thought the same thing!!!  I guess I must just look really old, which explains the jowells on this drawing, and explains why Bradley thinks I am 58 years old.

The inspiration for the drawing

I made Snapfish cards this year, and nearly had a panick attack when they didn't come until Saturday's mail!  I made one card for mom from Bradley, and then Laura and I went in together and created one that said "Our favorite things about our mom," on the front, where we proceeded to list some serious (how she takes up fiercely for those she loves), but mostly funny (how she exaggerates everything... her elastic waistband pants... how she mixes up phrases) reasons why we love Mama B.  She laughed; she cried; it was better than Cats.

After the lunch settled, we enjoyed chocolate ganoche cake and strawberry shortcake for lunch, and had an all-around nice afternoon together despite the gloomy rainy weather.

Finally, a picture with all the Moms and Moms-to-Be on Mother's Day...

That's right- all of the Bradley women are mothers... Laura Lee is expecting a baby this October!  Congrats to Laura and George, Happy Mother's Day to my amazing mom, and happy first Mother's Day to my beautiful sister!  Being a mom is the best/hardest job in the world, and I'm thankful I am so close (both literally & figuratively) to my mom and sister as she begins this journey as a mom, too.

Bradley's Bracket

I grew up in a household that was basketball crazy.  Every March, we would each fill out our NCAA tournament brackets and post them in the kitchen to compare our picks.  Laura & I used to fight over who got to highlight the winners after each round.

Now the bracket picks legacy has been passed on to Little B.  Mom sat him down and went round by round and asked him who he thought would win between each school mascot.  Check out this winning bracket:

Humorously, he has the Kentucky Wildcats playing the St. Bonaventure Bonnies playing in the national title game.  Let the traditions begin, and let's go Wildcats!

Post-Christmas, Cannelton Style

Will the blogging ever get caught up?  Who the heck knows.  But in the meantime, we celebrated a belated Christmas with mom's side of the family this past weekend.  All of the kids had a gift exchange, the Indiana fans humored us Kentucky fans and let us watch our SEC opener, and we had food and drinks galore, topped off with pizza from the Iron Gate.  The mild weather allowed the guys to hang out outside by the fire pit at night, the kids to play downstairs and the women - where else- congregating in the kitchen!

Gang of Three

 Just the 21 of us!

Laura & Dad snoozing through the end of the UK game

Braedon and Nicole are the Amanda and Ryan of this generation

 Cousins

George and Eric talking politics or movies... probably politics!

The 2 Addies in their matching dresses.  I had a little photo session with them!  Here, they were instructed to show me their model faces:

 "Angry faces!"

 "Happy Faces"

 A beautiful clear night, full moon, and plenty of guy talk 

The get together was a cacophony of sounds, with kids running up and down the stairs, boisterous stories being told, humorous memories reminisced, sports, politics, and movies, and everything in between discussed, and as with any modern family, at any given moment, someone was updating Facebook or generally playing with their phone.  Breakfast Sunday morning was satisfyingly yummy with a breakfast casserole, hash brown casserole, and five cinnamon rolls.  There's always a funny food story, somehow. Thanks Lisa & Jerry for hosting the locusts.