Playing catch-up

Here are some pictures and video that I've been meaning to post.

Look at that face! Too cute!

Braeden's favorite "toy"

Naked baby...almost!

Video of Matt & Braeden enjoying one of their favorite games. :)

I've included this video b/c I think it's so funny to watch him and his new favorite chewing motion. (Listen closely and you'll hear Matt giving a piano lesson in the background.)

Turkey day!

*Disclaimer-Please forgive the lack of posts. I'm going to be playing "catch-up" so I'll be making several posts today. Just look at it this way, you have a lot to look forward to!*

Well, the turkey and all of the fixins have been eaten and here we are, stuffed and quite content! We had a wonderful day and hope that you did, too! We decided to stay in TN for the Thanksgiving holiday and share it with our good friend, Nathan. We began our day with yummy pumpkin bread (courtesy of Nathan's mom) and Caramel Truffle coffee while the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade played in the background. Then, the cooking began. We had a large amount of food and came away with plenty of leftovers (because, let's face it, it isn't truly Thanksgiving without leftovers!) Braeden even had sweet potatoes & turkey baby food for the occasion. There was some football watching, pumpkin pie eating, gingerbread decorating, phone-calling to parents and we even made time to watch "Elf."

Of course we have a short story to share. Matt decided that Braeden needed to have some of our adult food and that the mashed potatoes seemed to be the best choice. Braeden had about 2 spoonfuls after which he gagged and gave us a second showing of his sweet potatoes & turkey baby food. Besides the spit-up incident, Braeden had a wonderful 1st Thanksgiving!

So, now that Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas season has "officially" started for the rest of the country, we are counting down the days until we make the trip home for Christmas! Here's to "the most wonderful time of the year!"

Food prep!

The feast!


We did have a 1st Thanksgiving outfit on Braeden but that was before the mashed potatoes incident.

November days

Well, here we are half-way through November and life is moving along pretty much as it always does this time of the year. Matt has been busy this week working at church, planning and practicing for worship and Christmas, teaching piano lessons and going through training at O'Charley's. And although these things have kept him busy, he has done an incredible job of keeping us as a priority at home. As for me, I had a normal week...M.D.O. Tuesday and Thursday followed by tutoring Thursday afternoon/evening and of course, taking care of little Braeden Bean.
Anyways, enough about the 2 of us...I know that the real reason you check this blog is to hear about the star of our little family of three! He has had a very good week and is constantly showing signs of becoming more mobile. In fact, we were surprised and proud yesterday when he rolled from his back to his belly! (This is a big deal for him because as we've mentioned before, he's never been a big fan of tummy time.) It was great to see him do it several times without any coaching! If we put that milestone together with his ability to scoot and pivot while on his belly, we may find ourselves having to keep an even closer eye on him! :)

In other news, we spent yesterday un-decorating for Fall and have officially begun the process of preparing for Christmas! (We do realize the very thought of doing this is abhorent and repugnant to some of our close friends...but that's okay...we're going to do it anyway-hehe!) We'll soon post pictures of the transformation of the Estep house.

For now, I'll leave you with some cute pictures of Braeden. Have a great weekend!

Our little "bundle" all bundled up!


Isn't this just the cutest hat?!


Chillin' on the kitchen counter in my jammies...I love Saturday mornings!

Fall Outing

Last Thursday, Braeden and I (Heidi) went to visit the Honeysuckle Hill farm in Springfield, TN with CKC (the mother's day out where I work.) I'm not really sure that Braeden knew much of what was going on but I was able to get some pictures of him from the day so that one day I can prove to him that he did in fact go to a farm/pumpkin patch during his first Autumn. (Oddly enough, you'll see that there isn't one single pumpkin in any of our pictures even though it was technically a trip to a pumpkin patch. Too bad I realized that a little too late.)

The orchard with apple, peach, and pear trees.


Warning: You may notice a theme in many of the following pictures...

Braeden and a horse


Braeden and a calf


Braeden and a donkey (as you can see, he's much more interested in the strap on his stroller.)


Braeden and the pigs


Braeden and a rooster (I think...)


Thanksgiving is a-comin'!


Braeden and mommy on the hayride

First Word

Yeah...that's right. We were surprised, too. Astonished actually. What a BIG moment!!

So do you have any guesses? This is your big chance! It's time to play the "first word" game with us. Seriously. Go grab a family member (or anyone standing nearby) take your guess, tell each other, and watch the video below to see who was right.

Was it "mommy?" "Me?" "Mine"? "Hi"? "Football"? "Philadelphia"? See if you were as surprised as we were. Time for your final answer. Now see who was right!

Footage of a playing lobster

As promised, here is a brief clip of our happy lobster.

1st Halloween

As the title of this post suggests, yesterday was Braeden's first Halloween and we are thrilled to share pictures and video of the momentous occasion! During the day he wore a festive orange onesie with a jack-o-lantern print on the front and that night, he morphed into a bright red lobster (the animal, not the restaurant.) We chose to skip trick-or-treating this year and went over to the Nitsch's for a Halloween party. Hudson, Nick and Marcie's little boy, was dressed as a turtle and Miley, Michael and Kristen Hobneck's little girl, was dressed as a polar bear. Prize for most creative theme goes to the Nitschs for recreating "The Tortoise (Hudson) and the Hare (Marcie)" (leaving Nick as "the road"). Well done!

Not only were there great costumes and great friends, but there was also great food. We added a festive peanut butter/butterscotch fondue to the chocolaty cupcakes and other tasty creations. Some of the other costume highlights included the gang from "LOST" (John Locke, Kate, and the polar bear...courtesy of the Hobnecks), Magnum P.I. and the pregnant nun (thanks, Kimmy...classy, real classy).

So basically we're old now...our kids are enjoying Halloween and we're taking endless snapshots and "oohing" and "ahhing". But we're okay with that. Enjoy the pictures!

Our little pumpkin!

Still pretty content in his costume.



With his parents, the dominoes.


The whole crew!


The lobster, polar bear, and turtle/tortoise.


Isn't it remarkable how in-character they were?!


Hudson was making his way toward the finish line!


Miley was a trooper! Braeden was over his costume!


Just hangin' out with Matthew Sykes (the mummy).