The Good and The Bad..

So today we had another first, but this one was not a very good first....Bailey peed on Brayden! :( The story goes like this.... Dan had the boys outback playing while I got ready this morning. Everything was peaceful and then Dan comes inside and is like you will not believe what just happened. Of course, I am thinking huge diaper blowout or something because he has already started to take Brayden's clothes off. Then he proceeds to tell me that they were playing Baggo (more like Dan was playing and Brayden was watching) and Bailey walked right over to where Brayden was sitting and lifted his leg and peed on him. Luckily it was not on Brayden's face or head, or I would have freaked out. Of course Dan was pissed (no pun intended) at Bailey and the whole situation, but Brayden was fine (didn't even seem to care), so I had to laugh about it. Hopefully this was the first and last time that happens though. A little side note to this story, Dan and I had just started dating when I got Bailey...and before he was housebroken, he peed on Dan too.

Another first, but this is a good one....Brayden learned how to wave "hi" this weekend. It is so cute and I just love watching him wave. I tell him to say "hi" to everything now just so I can watch him wave over and over again! It was even cuter today, when we were at Babies R Us and Brayden started waving at one of the store clerks out of nowhere. Haha. Of course, she ate it up and just loved him to peices for it.

Boys will be boys

So, as much as I try to fight it, boys will be boys...

Beach

So last weekend we went to the beach with Brayden for the first time! Friends of ours were down at Bethany Beach, Delaware for their 5th Anniversary (Happy Anniversary Jill and Andy) with their precious 4 month old McKenna. We had a great day with them on Saturday and then headed to Dan's parents house for the night and to celebrate his birthday the following day. So beach with dear friends on Saturday and a family bbq on Sunday...can you ask for a better weekend??!!!

Brayden with Jill

Brayden loved playing in the sand, but was not too sure about the cold water!

 Happy Birthday Daddy!

 Uncle Chris

Random

So Brayden is always on the go now and keeping me very busy. But he is also at such a fun age! It just makes me smile to watch him play with his toys and learn new things (it seems like daily). Recently, I have also been putting Brayden in his Johnny Jump Up for like 20 minutes between his first and second nap (really to just tire him out), and he just cracks me up! I know, he is probably getting too big for it, but he loves it and jumps like crazy while smiling and laughing the whole time. He is too funny...I love it!

Brayden recently get a new toy. It is a Leap Frog activity table and  he is having a blast with it! I think the fact that he can stand and play at it has a lot to do with his enjoyment! But either way, it keeps him busy and he is having fun! I would love to get a sand/water table for him to play with outside. Maybe for his birthday?!

I feel like since Brayden starting crawling he has taken off in full force. He is all over the place! He is also now pulling himself up on everything and has recently started "cruising" the furniture this week! Brayden also started doing the "downward" dog yoga position last week. Not too sure what that is about...maybe working on standing up on his own?! I have tried multiple times to capture a picture of him doing it, because it is really funny. But no luck so far. As soon as I get one, I will post it! ;)

We have a busy month ahead of us...a graduation party, my parents move back to Delaware from Illinois (finally!!!), two weddings (including one out of town in Virginia), and a trip to Vegas. Busy, busy, but we are looking forward to it all and can't wait to visit with family and friends. Especially some of my relatives out west that have never meet Brayden yet! :)

High Five

Just a quick post...Brayden can now do "high five"!!! Off and on over the past few weeks, Dan and I have been trying to get Brayden to give us "high five". Well today after lunch I tried again (it had been awhile) and got no response. However, for some reason when we were finishing up dinner, I tried again and to my/our surprise he did it!!! So of course Dan and I were so excited and kept getting him to give us "high five" over and over again!! It was too cute because he was just smiling away. I think he could tell we were excited....I can't imagine why, we weren't even clapping or cheering or anything (insert sarcasm, haha). It is so fun to see Brayden learning new things!!!

9 Months

I can't believe that Brayden is 9 months old today! We have starting thinking about his first birthday party recently and it just seems crazy to me how quickly this first year is flying by! We have a very busy summer planned too, so I am sure Brayden's first birthday will be here before we know it! It is definitely bitter sweet for me.

Clothing Size: 12 to 18 months

Diapers: Still size 4. Although I just picked up some size 5 overnights to try because he is filling the size 4 up!

Doctor Stats:

We went to the doctor this morning. Brayden weighs 22.4 pounds (75th percentile) and is 29.25 inches long (80th percentile). His weight has stayed the same for the past month, probably because he is so active and crawling now!

Updates from the past month:

- Brayden still loves playing with his toys and watching (well now chasing after) Bailey dog. He can also push himself up into the sitting position now too.

-Brayden is now a crawling machine and is constantly on the move, which makes diaper changes and getting dressed very interesting, haha! 

-Brayden has also started pulling himself up on everything! This makes naptime a little interesting...after about 20 minutes and 20 trips upstairs to lay him back down, he finally passes out.

-Brayden continues to smile and talk all the time! He now says "ya-ya" and "da-da" and keeps getting louder and louder each day! 

-Brayden also loves to stand up and be propped up against the couch or the coffee table. He is also walking really well when we hold his hands. Sometimes we pretend to run and he just smiles from ear to ear.

-Brayden is starting to laugh more and more each day, especially when we pretend to laugh, run, or tickle him. His laughs are just heartwarming!

-Brayden is also eating lots of baby food now, however he is starting to show signs of wanting to feed himself more and more. We started puffs a few weeks ago, and he just loves them! I think most of all, he just loves being independent and feeding himself!

-We have also completely skipped the bottle phase. Brayden now drinks from a sippy cup like a champ! 

Sleep habits (for now....):

-Wake time is around 6:30 

-Brayden takes two naps a day (typically 10am and 2:30 or 3pm). Morning nap is typically 2 hours and afternoon nap is a little over an hour (but we typically have to wake him up so that he will go back down at bedtime).

-Bedtime is 7:30pm

-Brayden still sleeps on his side or tummy for the most part.

What is next:

-More laughing...can't ever get enough of those belly laughs!

-More "talking". Maybe "mama" soon?! :)

-Some more "people" foods...we have been working on small chunks of banana and might try peaches or pears next.

Welcome to nine months! We love you Brayden!

Here are some pictures from today. As you can tell, getting Brayden to sit still and smile for a picture is a thing of the past...

So Big!

I can't believe how quickly my "baby" is growing up..

Drinking from a sippy cup (skipped bottles all together)

"Helping" with laundry 

Playing with big boy toys

Love Them!!

Nana's most recent visit. Still praying that they move back East soon!!

First Mother's Day

So last year I was pregnant for Mother's Day and my loving husband bought me my amazing diaper bag that I love oh so much! However, this year was my first Mother's Day as a momma to our (almost) 9-month old baby boy! To start our day off, I was greeted by lots of heartwarming ear-to-ear smiles from Brayden. Can you start your morning any better than walking into your son's room and seeing his face light up just merely at the sight of you??!! I don't think so. That is an unexplainable feeling that never gets old and feels more amazing each day! 

Mother's Day morning was the first time that we put Brayden in the nursery. It is just getting to tough to keep him with us in church now that he is "talking" all the time and wanting to crawling all over the place. It was really nice to "relax" in church and enjoy the sermon with Dan, but I was so anxious the whole service to go get Brayden. I never thought that within 1.5 hours I could miss him so much! However, he did great in the nursery and seemed to have a lot of fun! He passed out before we even pulled out of the parking lot! :) 

After church we met friends of ours and their 18-month old for a delicious brunch! Have I mentioned that brunch is my favorite!!! We even got to sit outside, and the weather was perfect. Since it was such a beautiful day here, we all headed to the park, after brunch, to enjoy the weather and play outside with the boys. We had a great time and came home just in time for Brayden's second nap, during which I headed to get a pedicure. That evening we grilled burgers for dinner, put Brayden to bed, and had a relaxing evening. I could not have asked for a better Mother's Day! I felt tremendously blessed and loved the whole day and that is an amazing feeling!

I also found myself thinking a lot about my own mom and how amazing she is! I know it is cliche, but having a baby really has made me appreciate my parents in a whole new way!!!

Dan and I were one of the first of our friends to have a baby. However, several of our friends are pregnant now. I found myself thinking about them often and how special next Mother's Day will be for them as a new mom! We also have friends that have lost a child or are facing fertility issues and I found myself praying for them several times today. I can't imagine the pain and emptiness that they face, not only on Mother's Day, but always.

Here are a few pictures from our day...

On the move..

So Brayden officially started crawling about 1.5 weeks ago (Easter evening)!! It was so cute to watch him take his first "crawls" and Dan and I were both home to catch it on video. Now, in a short week, Brayden is all over the place and into everything!! He is so quick now too...you can't even turn away for one second! Even though we have to watch him like a hawk now, I am LOVING this phase! Brayden is also starting to try and pull himself up on things and loves to practice walking while we hold his hands. He just smiles away like he is so proud of himself! :) 

Two new things Brayden discovered this week are the laundry basket and Bailey's food and water dish. Now that Brayden is on the move, he heads towards Bailey's food every time we feed him. Then when Bailey is done, we have to pick up the food and water bowls because Brayden continues to try and get them. However, if Brayden doesn't see Bailey eating or drinking from them, then he doesn't pay attention to the bowls at all. Silly boy.