Frozen Fog

The view from our deck this morning... it didn't snow! Just got very foggy in the evening, and then cold. Guess this is what happens when fog freezes!

Big Week: Singing, Dancing, and Walking!

Lots of excitement here this week! Wednesday was our first ever winter music program at Samara's preschool. She and her classmates did a great job singing some favorite traditional winter songs and performing dances. We were so impressed :) Here is one you will know (there are actually something like 20 children in her class, although you can only see a few in this video):



Quinten has been taking steps here and there for a few weeks now, but this week he started really getting around by walking... and we finally managed to catch a video! What a big guy!!! Don't mind Samara stealing his stuffed toy... that is HER BUNNY, her true love. Don't know how he got his hands on it to begin with :)

Happy Birthday Quinten!

Quinten turned one year old on November 24th! It's been a crazy, wonderful year with these two. Obviously, Quinten has changed immensely and become our wonderful little man, but Samara has grown up so much too. The actual birthday was a little low-key as mom and dad both had to go to work and both the kids had colds. Here is a picture of Quinten and Samara very very early in the morning on Quinten's actual birthday. Happy Birthday Baby Q!

We had Quinten's birthday the Saturday following November 24th and were very happy to see lots of family... and lots of cake!
Now that Quinten is growing up a bit, he and Samara are really starting to become pals and learning how to play together. Here they are hanging out in their favorite hiding corner.

In October we had a pumpkin carving party at our house with Grandma Ruth, Grandpa Joel, and all of the Bradtke-side cousins. So much fun for the kids to hang out with their cousins!

My cuties striking a pose.

It's been a fun-filled but hectic fall here in the Bradtke household... so busy we haven't had much time to post on the blog. But, thankfully we have been keeping up on the picture taking, so here goes. We Wisconsinites were thrilled to enjoy a mild and lovely fall.

Family picture by the pumpkin patch after apple-picking.

Here's one of my favorite recent pictures of Samara enjoying the swings at the park.

We also made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. Samara wasn't exactly in the mood for pumpkin picking - I think she and Quinten both came down with a cold that very next day.

On the move!

Hey there all! Big news around here: Quinten started crawling this week and is quickly becoming a pro. Here is the first video:



Up until now, Samara has enjoyed relative peace with her toys while Quinten enviously eyed them from a distance. I think we're in for a bit of sibling rivalry!

Quinten is 9 months old today!

Our little baby Q is 9 months old already! He's growing up so fast... trying hard to crawl, but not quite there yet. He's a happy little guy, despite having had 6 teeth rudely enter his life in the past several weeks (except when you try to give him his bottle, but that's a story for another day)! Happy 3/4 birthday, baby!



Here are some other pictures from the past month or two:

It's been a cool summer here, but we've had a few hot days.

We rebuilt our deck this summer (thanks Uncle Bruce!!!). Here are Dan and Samara surveying the progress mid-job. Aren't they cute?



Well, no one is happy ALL the time...

We hope that everyone is enjoying summer as much as we are! We've been keeping busy with some projects around the house (more on that in another post), swimming at the pool, and spending as much time outside as possible. Samara has really grown up a lot this spring and is becoming very independent - thank you Preschool of the Arts! Quinten is also growing like a weed - nearly 20 pounds already, rolling both ways and sitting up all by himself for nearly a month now.

I always think the kids are cutest first thing in the morning when they're still in their pjs
He only dresses like a girl at night...


Here's Quinten showing you two of his favorite things to do: play in his exersaucer and blow spit bubbles!


The kids playing their pianos... isn't Samara a great big sister?!

Quinten is 6 months old!

Today is Quinten's 6 month birthday! It has been an amazing experience having these two wonderful kids, and so much fun to see the differences and similarities between them as they are growing up. We see a bit of Samara in Quinten in many ways, but he is also very very much his own person... much more ready to voice his opinion than she was as a baby, reliably sleeping through the night already, and looking like his Dad more and more every day. Happy Half Birthday to our fine and fabulous fellow.




And a special thanks to the best big sister a boy could ask for!