Beautiful weather = park time in January!!

                                    Look at my standing!             Sharing a swing with my buddy Noah!

                              My little thinker!!

                                                     Climbing and exploring everything!

That's right...it was in the 70's this weekend. So we got to go out and enjoy the weather. We took walks, went to parks, played basketball and just plain enjoyed the outdoors. Mike and I love being outside and Braeden definitely enjoys the vitamin D from the sun too!! We met up our friends Stephanie and her little boy Noah at Hunters Park the other day. It was soo cute putting them in the swing together. They loved it! When we got back, Mike was home and so we stayed outside and played some basketball. Braeden is adorable playing with any kind of ball now. He grabs one and then grunts and gets excited as he throws it; which he is getting pretty good at doing. He can even dunk his basketball. We also went to our neighborhood park and tried out some of the equipment. He is getting so big!!

Little Gym

On Wednesday, Braeden went to try out a Little Gym class. The class is for 10-19 month olds and their parents. During this class he will learn through mobility, begin to explore different movements, and begin initial problem solving. I am so excited about this class since he will be learning so many different important life skills. I love that it is a hands-on interactive enviornment allowing Braeden to roam the room and explore all the equipment. Braeden's class is called the Birds. I signed him for the semester. So every week, we will get to go and play at Little Gym! Hooray!

During the class, he used bells, played catch with balls, learned how to do a forward roll (the instructor said he did wonderful at tucking his head and rolling!!!), jumping, climbed on stairs and walked on a balance beam, held onto a bar above his head, and of course....bubbles (they are great for tracking!).

My little dare devil!

He looks so tired.

Snow days

Since we had several snow days and we were stuck inside, I tried to take a few pictures of Braeden being mischievous around the house.

                                             

Here is Braeden right before he takes a nap. This is when he wasn't feeling the best.  He's chillin' in his glider. We read stories everyday before naptime and bedtime.

I couldn't believe he climbed in the bottom drawer in the kitchen. He wasn't positioned cute, so I changed him to take the picture! Adorable little man.

This is our newest "thing" now. Laying his head down and checking out the floor WHEREVER we are! Oh boy!

 He absolutely LOVES it when I vacuum. He even gets out his vacuum and does it with me!

I love his face smooshed against the window. He was so excited to see snow; unfortunately we weren't able to go play in it since he was sick the day before.

Always busy cooking and playing in the kitchen!

SICK!

Over the last week, Braeden has been super sick. He had a temperature of 103 and 104 for a few days. Then he finally broke the fever and has been stuffy and soooo tired. I think this picture is a perfect representation of how he has been feeling and acting lately. Attached to my hip or daddy's, Braeden has not wanted to crawl, walk, or play much of anything for several days now. I am hoping this weekend, he will start to feel 100% again and be into everything. We miss the activity!

Random Videos

We have a cute pic of Braeden driving the shopping cart and two adorable videos. The first one is at the neighborhood park and Braeden is just talking away as we push him on a swing. The second one was taken in KC at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He got really good at going up and down the stairs. :)

Happy Adjusted Birthday Braeden....

2 days late....

On January 8th, Braeden was originally due. Mike noticed that is doing many of the things that a typical one year old would do at this time. It makes a whole lot of sense since it could take up to 2 years for preemies to catch up on everything.

Recently he took his very first steps. We are so so proud of him and his is so excited for himself too! He is trying to walk all the time now. He will push things around the house and then suddenly just stop...stand alone for a second...and either start clapping or plop down on the floor. He is so much fun right now and constantly making me laugh. He is so sweet too. Braeden will come up to me and give me big big hugs throughout the day. I LOVE IT!!

I shouldn't have expected anything else but a TALKER. Braeden talks talks talks all day long. We can actually get lots of words and phrases from him. Once his can get it all put together, he probably won't stop talking!!! (Just like his mommy.)

He can say....go, mom, dad, mommy, daddy, up, all done, uh oh, no-no, more, and I am sure there is more words too.

He is also using a spoon and fork when he eats. It is so cute. Braeden is eating table foods now and LOVING every bite he takes. He says "mmmmm" and "ahhh" when he is done sipping a drink. And when he is done eating...we brush our teeth and he loves to do it himself!

Can you tell that I am a proud Mama or what?

Uh Oh Spaghetti O!

Braeden absolutely loved dinner tonight! We have spaghetti and meatballs. I had fun taking pictures and video of him eating it too!

Park Day in JANUARY!

A few days ago it was beautiful outside and we joined our friend Ayson and his mommy Amy at the park. She has a very cool new camera and took this shot of Braeden. LOVE IT!!
We had a great time playing and enjoying the weather so much that Braeden fell asleep at 6:30 for the night! Whew...he was exhausted from all the fresh air.
I will post more pics of our outing at LaFortune Park tomorrow.

Little Monkey Bizness and other fun!

Aunt Dara and Summer asked us to join them for a some fun at Little Monkey Bizness. The place was packed wall to wall with people because of winter break. We still had a good time though.

Shooting some hoops! He wouldn't let go of the ball for the longest time! :)

Look at that face...don't you just want to eat him up!!

I love this picture. She is soooo cute!

Hmm....

 

Music with Mar Class

I love to go to this class to watch the kids participate and sing. Everytime we are in town on a Thursday, Dara and I coordinate the time to go to the music class. All the cousins love going and we always have a great time. This time Braeden was given a kazoo and he watched everyone for a little bit and figured out how to make noise! For the next week, we heard that kazoo and he cracked up laughing everytime someone made noise with it.

Alyssa and Summer

Lolly Lolly Lolly...Lolly Lolly Lee....if your name is Summer...get your sticks from me! One of my favorite songs.

The instrument song. Braeden grabbed some bells.

Here he is humming in the kazoo!

Such a good listener...up front and center!

Look at all that love!