Some hiccup giggles

Brayden's full of laughs, but he's also fascinated with any camera - the still and moving kinds - so it's often hard to get anything good recorded. I did, however, get a decent bit of him laughing at Nicole's hiccups. Before I got the camera he was wailing with laughter, much harder than this. BUT, this is pretty good, too. I'm going to have to hook-up some hidden camera action... or perhaps invest in one of those camera-in-glasses deals so I can just slip those puppies on and B would be none the wiser. Either way, the gauntlet has been laid to capture classic vids. Check back (such weighty anticipation!).

A Wicked Review

At Wicked

Back in NOVA -- Wicked was wicked! (sorry, I couldn't resist...) I have seen my fair share of musicals, having been in quite a few, too, and Wicked was fantastic. Nicole even commented that, "This may be my favorite show!" That's saying something, friends, because we've been to a number of hits (such as Lion King) that many, many people LOVE. Wicked had a great storyline, made even better due to our familiarity with the OZ movie. Both Glinda and Elphaba (the WW of the W) had amazing voices, but Elphaba stole the show. He voice was pure and powerful and her stage presence was right-on. Although I haven't read the book (which I intend to do, promise), Nicole said the storyline followed it closely during Act I but veered away significantly during Act II. For any of you who are fans of the theatre, this is a show not to miss. It was a great way to begin the birthday week!

A Wicked-good time

Hi all! I wanted to write to tell you that we are on our way to see Wicked this afternoon in Baltimore. Nicole's birthday is Thursday (Feb 1) and this will be an early celebration of it! Nicole got these tickets from Gigi for Christmas... great gift... and we intend to have a ball.

Brayden will be heading over to "Aunt" Kristy's house to have a rocking good time while we skip town. I hope to have a couple non-baby (aka. "grown-up") pictures of our outing to post soon.

Snow pics

It's always a multi-media event here at The Family Girata. We not only have snow videos, but snow photos, too! I didn't know how to divide them all (I suppose there is a limit to "snow" posts I can do here) so I decided to just hit you with them all together. Just a little shout out to the Bums for providing the white bear outfit (paws on the feet, too) - it was perfect!

The Lil' Bear is ready!

Mommy and B pre-snow

Our home with a light dusting

It was not a very heavy snow, but it covered everything (pretty much). I can't say it stuck around long...since it's been gone since yesterday!

The B-ear in the snow

B and Daddy bundled up!

Out in the snow with MTM

The Family Girata (snow version)

Gotta love the snow stealing the flash... but no matter.
What a cute group!

Let it SNOW!

Unleash the Floridians, cause it's snowing outside! Today was Brayden's FIRST SNOW! We are so excited and have some great video to share. It was a beautiful snow - steady, moderate amount, and good sized flakes. Happy SNOW to US!



*Two of our friends were out there with us -- Chris and Casey Duncan. Thanks to Chris for taking the vids!

Disney at Christmas

Back to Christmas pics -- we took Brayden to Disney Village a couple days after Christmas to show him some great decorations and to meet a few new friends. Unfortunately, the decorations were very lacking (come on Disney!) but otherwise it was a great day. Here are some of the pictures:

Flying B!

B and Aunt Nancy

B and a Scary Monster (and a dragon!)

Buzz, B, and Mommy

The Nole-baby

As many of you know, UF won the national championship and is #1 in basketball, too. Congrats and kudos. This, however, comes to the general dismay of the Florida Girata/Mayo clan as they are diehard FSU fans. People, as you know, the little misses and myself are mostly oblivious to these rituals, but we respect them just the same. To that end, here is a tribute to the sad Seminole season, B-style:

Gohr-geous. Like buttuh.

Aargh! Ahoy there, and a yo-ho-ho!

Heehee, hoho...ha

This Christmas 2.0

Oh yeah, more family Christmas pictures. Just when you thought the fun had played out, it has not! Here are some more from Christmas day of B with the Girata-side of things:

B with the Great-grands!

B's Americana story book

Lovin' Aunt Nancy

I'm sooo thirsty!

Christmas fun

Brayden had his 6-month checkup (a little late, yes) and all is well. He's 19 lb. 2 oz. (50-60 percentile) and 28.5 in. (90+ percentile). Big boy!

As promised, here are more Christmas pictures. A little Gido time!

B and Gido

Christmas Stories

Surprise smiles

Dadadada...

Now back to Christmas vaca. This post will begin some Christmas day (or very close) posts. Here is Brayden in Mama's lap, chatting away:

(Please pardon the "sheep" noises in the background... we love farm animals!)

Jumpin' B(ean)

In lieu of Christmas pictures and stories, I couldn't wait to post this video. B received a Jumperoo for Christmas and has LOVED it. It took him all of about 10 minutes to realize just what this deal was about. You may notice a little Michael Flatley-esque footwork in the beginning, but he'll get to jumpin' in no time. We've talked about having him try out for Michael's new tour, Lord of the Dance: The Remix, but he doesn't seem interested. Bounce on.

B with friends!

This is the beginning of a few posts recapping our Florida Christmas vacation. Brayden met a few new friends while he was down, and here a couple. Tyson is a friend from Port Charlotte who is just over a week older than Brayden. Alex is a friend from Tampa who's almost two-years older than Brayden. B was so excited to meet them both!

Brayden and Tyson

The boys are walking!

Alex was showing B how to do it!

Alex and B get ready for a nap