McDaniel Family Journal

This year Brighton dressed up as Lightning McQueen for Halloween. He was so incredibly adorable in that little car! He knocked on all the doors, and said "Open a door, please!", and then when they answered he said "Trick or Treat" and walked right in ;) He was very polite, wanted to get his own candy out of their bowls, and had an absolute blast running down the sidewalk to the next house. We had so much fun, and can't wait for next year!

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This was the first year that we carved a pumpkin as a family :) It didn't quite turn out as I expected, as all Brighton wanted to do was use the big spoons that I brought out for hollowing out the pumpkin to dig big holes in the backyard, Rudy doesn't like pumpkins at all, and Brighton said the pumpkin was "icky" and didn't want to help, but we had a great time painting it and I laughed a lot at the situation that I'd gotten myself into ;)

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This was the 3rd year that we visited the Oviedo Pumpkin patch, and we had a great time. Brighton jumped around on a tarp that they had laid out. It was windy and it all kinds of air trapped beneath it. I love this time of year, and we always look forward to looking at the pumpkins.

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These are just some random pictures of Brighton playing around the house...some clothed, some not so much ;)

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Since Brighton was doing so well with going to bed when he was told, we decided to get him his very first big boy, toddle bed. He loves Lightning McQueen, so we looked around and found this perfect Lightning McQueen bed and decked it all out with matching bedding and bedroom accessories. He loves it and transitioned into with out a hitch.

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As most of you know, Rudy's job doesn't end at 5pm and he spends a lot of time at home reading and writing for his research. Well, Brighton has started grabbing his coloring book and crayons and going to sit with or lay next to Dad and saying that he is "working". They look so incredibly cute together, both of them laying on their stomachs engrossed in the papers in front of them. Brighton loves his Daddy and basically wants to be just like him ;)

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Brighton went to a birthday party for his friend, Tristan. They are in class together and have known each other for a year now. He had a great time and I'm sure that he and Tristan will be friends for a long while ;)

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In August, Brighton and I went to Picture People again to get his "2 year" pictures taken. The result was some very cute pictures that really captured his wonderful personality.

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Brighton loves the new arrangement of the living room, namely because he has more access to this loveseat that he has claimed as his own. Here are some pictures of him being silly and playing "1-2-3, Oh no, fall down!"

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I graduated this past summer with my Masters in Film and Digital Media and these pictures were taken right before we left to go to the ceremony. I'm so glad that I got these pictures! I know I will look at them fondly when I'm old and gray ;)

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We went to Tortuga Beach Club this year for just the weekend and had a really good time. We didn't take nearly enough pictures, but below is what we did take. Brighton now loves car rides and the beach, so I think we are set for future trips ;)

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Brighton turned the big "0-2" this past June 12th, and had a wonderful party with a ton of friends and family. Everyone got him some sort of truck or car gift and the child was in his own heaven.

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Here Brighton is playing in the bath tub, as he does every single night ;)

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More pictures of Brighton around the house and having fun ;)

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Again, we goof off a lot at the house, and these pictures are just more proof of that ;) Here we are playing in the pool, hanging out with Cousin Dominic, and other miscellaneous moments.

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Our cousins Cathy and Jim, who live in California, had a beautiful baby girl they named Sophie and brought here down to here to meet the family. She was so incredibly sweet and we all just fell in love with her.

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Brighton's best friend, Thomas, lives right across the street, so they play pretty often together. These pictures were taken when they were playing over at our house.

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Brighton thinks our patio is like the best place to play. Rain, shine, it doesn't matter. He loves going out there, riding his bike, getting into things, and running around.

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There is a really great park in our town with a really big playset. Brighton loves going down all of the slides and trying to give his parents heart attacks by insisting that he climb up to the highest points. These pictures are from two different days. One where it was just the three of us, and another after Easter Egg hunting with his friend/neighbor Thomas.

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This year we took Brighton to an Easter Egg hunt in our town. There were a TON of little kids, and Brighton did very well for himself getting all kinds of eggs. He was sooooo cute!

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Again, Brighton LOVES the park! The kid would live there if we let him ;) This day was a bit chilly so we bundled him up in a hoodie and the cutest little hat.

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These are just a few pictures we took around the house. He just always looks so cute, its hard not to snap pictures of him constantly :)

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We love going to the zoo, and as you can see Brighton totally gets a kick out of looking at all of the animals.

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