No Pictures

I  know that this is a boring post with no pictures, but I wanted to write down a few things that I am loving from this week while I remember!

1) That Brayden has taken to calling my dad "Pa" and that he now also calls by brother "Uncle B"! It sounds more like "Unc B", but either way it is still cute! 

2) My cousin Sara had her beautiful baby girl Samantha this week! We love her and can't wait to meet her! 

3) Wonderful visits with great friends and their kiddos. 

4) Warm days spent entirely outside playing in the sun with Brayden. 

5) That my husband has a job with the flexibility to work from home. Even if he is in the office all day working, I still love knowing that he is at home with us!

Hurry Up Spring!

So I think that we have gotten spoiled by the past few weeks of upper 60's to low 70's weather. Today it is about 58 degrees out and I feel like it is freezing!! I have already made the switch to flip flops though, and I refuse to go back!!!

Here is what we have been up to this past week. It has not been as warm, but we have still managed to get outside and enjoy some warmth in the sun!

Break time at the Park. This was last week when it was in the mid-70's!

Celebrating Nana's Birthday

Swinging at the Park. Even though Brayden doesn't look happy, he kept asking me to push him more! 

Drawing with chalk for the first time. Brayden's pants were a mess when he was done. Who knew that chalk could be so messy?! Oh well, as long as he had fun, I don't mind. That's what "play pants" and laundry is for...

Mowing the grass with Daddy! Dan's attempt to hang out with Brayden and also get things accomplished! Very successful I might add, because Brayden loved it!!!

Brayden is 19 Months!

On Friday Brayden turned 19 months! Now we are closer to 2 years old, than 1 year old! Boy time flies! This past month Brayden has really starting talking more and more. He is also starting to put two words together. I know that I say this every month, but I am really loving this age!! :)

Brayden, you are so smart. You are so loving. You are so caring. You are so kind. You are so curious. And you are so observant (Daddy's little shadow)!

You love Bailey dog. You love to play outside. You love to go for walks.  You love to run (and make the cutest noise when doing so). You love to splash in water. You love to play in dirt. And you love to find treasures (rocks. leafs. you name it). 

You are very energetic. You are full of life. You are so funny. You always make us laugh. You are a flirt. And you love to laugh!

You love your Daddy! You love your grandparents. You love when we sing to you. You love running around naked before bath time. And you love your Clifford books. 

Brayden, you are so loved. You are so cherished. And you bring us lots of love and great joy! We love you! Happy 19 Months!

I also have to mention that this past month you learned to say "Mommy"! Hearing your little voice say "Mommy" is the greatest blessing! It brings the biggest smile to my face and melts my heart every single time!!!

St Patty's Day 2012

Our St. Patty's Day consisted of lots of green food and playing outside! It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed every moment of it!!

Mommy's Little Golden Boy

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

A day in our life...

This post is full of pictures, but pretty much sums up what we have been up to lately! :) And yes, you will see Brayden playing with a lot of random "non-toys" in these pictures, but that is the phase that we are in and what he enjoys right now..so be it! And no, we don't let him play with any dangerous!

Morning cuddles with Mommy!

Playing Taking everything out of the cabinet while Mommy gets ready. 

Fixing Daddy's bike. 

Brayden picks up on EVERYTHING. He has probably seen Dan work on his bike once, haha.

Working in the yard.

Hard worker.

A little dirt never hurts.

Resting after a long days work!

Big boy swing.

Sure does love Ba-bee (aka Bailey dog).

18 months

Wow, one and a half years old. I don't know why, but I feel like that seems so big! These past few months we have really noticed Brayden becoming such a "little man"! It is so cute and makes me smile to think about, but it is definitely bitter sweet. Why does 18 months fly by so quickly once you have a child?!

Brayden still wakes up around 7:30am, takes a nap typically from 1 to 3pm, and goes to bed at 8pm. He also still eats three meals a day and one afternoon snack, although some mornings he has a  small mid-morning snack too depending on what he ate for breakfast and if he was really active. 

I know that this post is a week late, but we were waiting on Brayden's stats from his 18-month doctor's appointment (see bottom of post) which was this morning. Brayden is doing great and was such a big boy and didn't cry at all during his shot! I was so proud of him! But, does it make me a bad mom that I was also a little sad that he didn't cry during his shot?!! I feel like that is something a big boy does, and he can't be a big boy yet, right??...he's still my baby!!!

This month:

-So, this month Brayden has decided that the only toys he likes are ones that are not really toys! I know that it is just one of many phases, so we are making the most of it in the meantime. Right now, Brayden's all time favorite toy is probably the tv remotes! No, he does not want to, nor try to watch tv with them, he just wants to hide them in his tent and then run back and forth with them moving them from one spot to the next. It is actually really entertaining to watch! Dan and I were very hesitant to let Brayden play with them, but finally decide that it was not dangerous nor a battle that we felt necessary to deal with everyday. Plus, I have a feeling that he will soon get sick of this game, haha.

-This past month, Brayden has really started becoming more vocal and also trys to repeat a lot more of what we say now. I won't list every single word he says, but the words that he does say, he says a lot! My favorites to hear, and his favorites to say, are probably Da-dee (Daddy), Ma or Mama, Dabdee (aka Bailey), mamoon (moon), mamore (more), hellllllp (help), hot (in reference to my coffee or the oven), appull (apple), bubye (bye bye), and ahmen (amen).

-We have really been enjoying this mild winter and being able to get outside a good bit. Brayden loves running around and being outside. The slide is probably one of his favorite outside activities right now, which he now does without our assistance at all! We have also started taking Brayden on walks without the stroller, which he loves! Although we are working on the hand holding thing when crossing the street. He is refusing to hold our hand when walking now, I am sure it is an independence thing, so typically we default to picking him up. We are also trying to teach him the word stop, because usually he is off and running! I do have to say, that Brayden quickly learned to stay on the side walk though, so that is at least a step in the right direction!

Other Updates:

-Height: 34 inches (90th percentile); Weight: 27.4 pounds (60th percentile), and Head: 49.5cm (90th percentile).

-Brayden now has 8 teeth, three molars, and his fourth molar is finally almost all the way in. Poor guy, I thought that molar was never going to come in. It has been half cut through for weeks now! It also looks like Brayden is going to cut some of his eye teeth very soon too!

-Brayden continues to be a great eater and loves his m-i-l-k as we usually have to spell it out. I am waiting for the day that he learns what we are spelling out. The child would drink m-i-l-k 24/7 if we let him and typically chugs his whole 6oz sippy cup in a few minutes flat. Brayden has gotten a lot better about trying new foods (we were in a stand still for a month). And if he won't try it, all you have to do is put a teeny tiny bit of ketchup on the first few bites until he realizes that he likes it.

Brayden you light up our world and are constantly making us laugh and smile! We love you so much! Happy 18-months big boy!

Water Boy

Today was the last day of Brayden's swim classes. Brayden and I started swim class at the YMCA shortly after the New Year and have had so much fun! Since birth Brayden has always loved bath time and being in the water, so during the cold winter months, we knew that indoor swim class was a must-do activity for fun and to exert some energy. During the past few weeks, it has been amazing to see how much Brayden has improved and learned at such a young age. Brayden still does not really like to splash, but he has learned to kick with his legs, paddle with his arms, float on his back (one of his favorites), blow bubbles (which may or may not resemble putting your mouth in the water and drinking it, but he tries), hold onto the edge by himself, and stand up on the edge and jump in on my count (another favorite)! We have had such blast together and have looked forward to our swim class every week! In fact, we have loved it so much, that I think we are signing him up for another 7-week session! We can't wait!

Nana (my mom) came to watch Brayden's swim class today and took some pictures of us...

Floating.

Just hanging out.

Blowing bubbles.

1-2-3 Jump! Love!