...My Birthday...

I had a great birthday!

The night before we had a Christmas Party so Bray spent the night at Grammy and Bebo's. Sunday morning I slept in, Brett cleaned up from the party and made me breakfast and a latte! What a sweetheart! Then we went to church. After that we took Bray home to have a short nap before meeting the family for lunch at Tacoma Country Club, followed by cake and presents at Dad and Mom's! After that Brett took me out for some shopping!

The next night our friends took us out to celebrate!

One of the first pictures on my new camera!

So fun to have Greg home for a few weeks!

Brayden and Bebo

The newlyweds! Jacob & Julie.

"Ooohhh Tree!"

Family Picture by the tree... We are all so tall that you can hardly see the tree!

Brayden LOVES his Grandma! Smiles so big when he hears her laugh...

When the family was singing to me I let Brayden be a part of it. He loved having everyone sing to him (or at least he think they are all singing to him). He also likes candles and points at them and says "hot! hot!"...

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Monday, I talked to Greg and told him that we were going out for my birthday and we were planning on taking Bray, but if he was interested he could babysit. We was thrilled to babysit and they had a great time. Greg spent time with him last night and also this morning and taught Bray to "raise the roof" on command!

Michael and Jake

Brett and Chris (his college friend visiting from Las Vegas)

My BFF's and I! Love these girls!

Got home to tuck Bray into bed! He is getting to be such a big boy!

Learning new words and "tricks" everyday! Record for most steps in a row is EIGHTEEN! And he is transitioning to walking being his primary mode of transportation. He just LOVES the tree! Whenever we are out and about he is looking for a tree and gets so excited when he spots one! Once he spots a tree all we hear is, "Oh Tree! Pretty! Tree Pretty!" He also LOVES Christmas lights! If we drive through our neighborhood in the evening he will notice them and point out the window and say "Pretty!"

It's a Jungle Gym!

It was so fun to put together this short video of Brayden!

Last night he was walking all over the place at Uncle Michael's and Auntie Kik's! It was the most steps ever caught on video. You can see in the video, the motivation was to get to the guys game they were playing. I added on some other videos that I have taken over the past week or so. The world is a huge jungle gym to this little boy! Climbing is the main goal, lately he has been trying to get onto the kitchen counter, via the toy drawer, or onto the top of the couch, via Brandy (our Golden Retriever).

There is also another clip where you can see him wake up and immediately start asking about the "Tree"! He is in love with the Christmas tree and all it's ornaments. =)

Walkin' and Talkin' Brayden!

- Brayden Update -

What a funny funny little boy! He bring so much joy to our lives every day. He loves to play chase, roll a ball back and forth, climb up on anything he can, walk/run behind his push toys, steal whatever dog toy Brandy has, push any button that has a light on it, call people on my cell phone speed dial, point and "talk" about everything, etc...

Some of his favorite words:

"Dada", "Momma", "Daddy", "Doggy", "Yeah", "Pretty", "Ball" and "Tree"

His latest little saying is "Oh Pretty!" On Thursday night we had our church small group. The night before we were hanging out with two of my girlfriend, Kristina and Quincy and so I asked if either of them would like to babysit. They both said yes and it turns out their hubby's had already made plans to hang out! So we dropped off Bray on Thursday night at the Putnam's (Kristina's home) and Allan's. Kristina's tree is just gorgeous and often one of the girls would point to it and exclaim "Oh Pretty!" By the time I picked him up he was saying "Oh Pretty" and pointing at the tree!

The next morning when he woke up we did our normal routine. During our morning routine, I pick him up out of his crib and we snuggle as he is still waking up, then when he is ready to tackle the day he will point at his curtains. We walk over to his curtains and say "Good Morning Neighborhood!", although this morning was different... There was lots of pointing and suddenly everything was "Oh Pretty!" It's his favorite thing to say now...

Also that night that the Putnam's and Allan's were babysitting, Brayden beat his own record for most steps taken in a row! Eight to be exact! He is not interested at all in walking and is still such a fast crawler! But when coaxed with a sparkly Christmas ornament this kid will run a few steps for you!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around our home! Below are a few pictures we had to take being that Brayden was in his Christmas Jammies! Of course, they were Christmas Puppy Jammies...

Below is a picture of Brayden modeling his Christmas Jammies! They are so soft and cozy...

Brett was my assistant, trying to get him to pose for the picture... One year old's don't really know that you are supposed to stay still and smile for the camera. =)

Middle of the photo shoot he needed a break to play with Brandy's bone (that he stole from her mouth, ew!)

Both Brayden and I have Christmas Jammies!

Thanksgiving!

We had such a fun kick off to our holiday season!

Auntie Julie and Uncle Jacob (and Sydney) spent the night on Wednesday night. We woke up on Thanksgiving morning and Greg came over. We had a big breakfast and then everyone seemed to practically roll into the living room and doze off for a couple hours! Everyone except for me. I even had Brett go put Brayden to bed and when I checked on them about ten minutes later they were both sleeping!

We hung out the rest of the day and then headed over to Brett's parents for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner! Great Grandma Laura was up visiting from California too. On the way home we thought we would swing by the Putnam's to say hello, but ended up staying till almost midnight. Needless to say, Brayden slept in till 11am the next morning... =)

Brett continued the weekend with the ultimate guy trip! A bunch of guys (family) went skiing, saw a guy movie, spent the night in the motorhome, then woke up and went bird hunting all day Saturday and then caught a football game that night. It was wonderful timing because, although Brett was missed, I was able to get the whole house decorated, presents wrapped and Christmas cards ready to be sent out! I also spent the evenings with Mom and Kristina so that I could have some conversation with someone over the age of 13 months... =)

Dada and Bray Bonding Time...

Over the last week Brett and Brayden have a a few days of bonding!

Last Monday I had a fun home party to go to. Then on Friday night another night out with some girl friends for a friend's birthday. Saturday was an all day family shopping excursion (we were gone over 12 hours!) with my mom, sister, aunt and cousin.

This was a huge step for Brett! He LOVES spending time with Bray but is not so comfortable feeding him and keeping him on a schedule. I had post it notes everywhere to assist him throughout the day... =)

Below is a picture I got from Brett Saturday morning, after breakfast.

Another picture that was sent to me in the afternoon.

Seriously, such a cute picture of the two of them, but my first thought was,

"Oh good, Brayden's not still in his jammies!" =) Good job Dada!

A picture of us girls on our shopping day

Swim Time!

Brett came last week to watch Brayden's swim lessons.

He snapped some pictures while he was there.

Kick! Kick! Kick!

Blowing Bubbles...

Paddle, Paddle, Paddle!

The need for speed!

So for Brayden's Birthday he got a couple push toys. One was a "dump truck push toy". We have been trying to show him how to walk and push the toys. He has mostly been interested in putting toys in the dump truck part and taking them out and playing with them. However, a few days ago, he got behind the dump truck push toy and took off! Not walking, but running!

Brayden has always been such a busy boy! When he is going somewhere, he does not waste any time! Whenever I pick him up from the nursery at church the report is always that he was very happy and very fast! I volunteered the other Sunday and realized that sometimes babies will just sit and play with one toy for more than two minutes!

He is such a funny little love bug and we are enjoying watching him and new things happen every day!

(I am trying to catch a video of the speed racing around the kitchen with the dump truck)

Baby B and some Breadcrumbs...

Hello!

I'm drifting away from the typical blog post (writing and a few pictures)... I LOVE using the iMovie on my mac so I did a quick little collage of a few (of the many!) videos we have of Brayden.

The first video just cracks me up! Today I had a lunch to go to for the Tacoma Rescue Mission, so I went through my extra fridge this morning and put together some food that we could get rid of... You can find out what happens when you watch the video... =)

The rest of these clips are just ones over the last few weeks.

(Please try to ignore the typo in the first sentence! I put it together really fast...)

Halloween Weekend

Here are some pictures from our busy halloween weekend...

We had so much fun at a little pumpkin patch farm out in gig harbor with our MOPS friends! MOPS is a group mom's that have children as young as one day old to preschool age. It's so nice to show up to a huge breakfast, childcare and good conversation with other moms at the same stage in life. We meet on Thursdays at Life Center and also try to get together once a month for playdates.

The pumpkin patch was a PERFECT place for the little ones. It was all covered and pretty much baby proof. It was fun to watch all the little ones interact and have a good time.

From left to right there is Riley Angelo, Brayden, Jenn Rupp, Cora Huff and Caylen Huff

Brayden LOVED crawling around in the hay! Caylen had decided he should stay put though and built a "corral" to keep the babies in one place. That's why he is surrounded by pumpkins.

Going for a hay ride!

The night before halloween we had a fun party at our home with our church small group. It was a murder mystery dinner! This is our 3rd time doing a murder mystery dinner in costume with this crowd. It was so funny to dress and act the part! There was a lot of laughter and really yummy food that everyone brought!

I was "Carrie Coffins" (a struggling actress playing the part of a maid in the upcoming film) and Brett was "Drake Yewlarr" (a vampire)...

The day of Halloween didn't really feel like halloween because we went to a gorgeous wedding in Snoqualmie! One of my good friends from APU who lives in Bellevue now. It was also nice to catch up with other friends there.

After the wedding we went out to Gig Harbor to wind down and hang out with our friends the Kemaks, Putnams and Rodys. We all dressed up so we got to re-use our outfits! I don't have any of the pictures that night, so those may come later...

Not a baby anymore...

Brayden is officially not a baby anymore... per the kid at the YMCA.

Funny story, we were at the YMCA this morning. There was a little girl about three years old next to us in the locker room after swim class. She said to another girl, "Look, there's a baby!" and the first girl said, "No, he's not a baby, he's just a boy." It was adorable and then I realized he is becoming more and more of a toddler and less of a baby.

Swim class is going great and Brayden is enjoying his "Super Shrimp" class (level 2)! He is standing quite often and took three steps in a row today! He is getting more of the toddler independence. For example, yesterday after he woke up from his nap and had lunch I went to put him in the car. We were on our way to go visit Brett at his new office. He was a little fussier than normal and as I put him in the car he decided to arch his back and cry. I literally could not straighten him out to buckle him in! Normally if he is rested and full he will never fuss, so of course he had to be sick, right? Swine flu, eek! So I run inside, take his temperature and he is fine, just turned out to be a small tantrum... I gave him a toy to distracted, belted him in and off we went. He kinda complained off and on throughout the day about the errands we were running. After reading about their different stages I am researching the theory Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt I am realizing this is normal...

He is also has other things that he is getting good and communicating with me about. Like what he wants to eat, pointing and "talking" about different things that he sees. He loves doing things that we do. When we walk out of a room he will remind me to turn off a light and want to do it himself. He gets the biggest smile on his face after the light is off and I say, "Off! Good job!" It is so cute to see how proud he is!

We are also realizing, although he doesn't use a lot of words, he understands quite a few things. We can say, "Brayden, where's your doggie?" and he will find her and point. He also LOVES high fives and raising his arms to the sky when we say, "How big is Brayden?" He is starting to nod his head for yes and shake his head for no. Especially around meal time. Yogurt is his favorite treat and I get a big head nod and sometimes clapping when he sees it! When I try oatmeal he will shake his head no and wave his arms. (Brayden and I have learned to compromise with half unsweetened applesauce and half oatmeal)

Brett and I are having a blast, he is seriously such a fun little man! We can't imagine loving him more than we do now.

I have some pictures to post when I get some time, he was a cute little puppy for halloween!

A Little Carving & A First Step!

Last weekend was the Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest!

Brett carved one for himself (the one below Julie) and I carved one for myself (cat below Grandma) and one for Bray (smiley one next to Kristina).   Brayden enjoyed all the attention and also all the toys!  Grammy kept Uncle Greg's Duplo's in a big tub and Bray seemed to enjoy the tub as much as the toys!  (Scroll to the last pictures)

Not only did we have a fabulous time with the family, Brayden also took his first little step!  

He has been standing independently for a while now.  Just in the last few days he would stand and kinda roll onto his toes.  Finally, on Sunday night he brought one little foot forward.  We tried to recreate it for the movie camera, but no such luck.

Marking it on the baby chart, One Year and Two Weeks Old = First Step!  

Exact same timing as his Mama...  =)