Little Gym

Braeden has been having so much fun going to Little Gym every week. Our instructor, Miss Tammy, is amazing and wonderful with the kids. She came up to me last week and told me that Braeden is doing exceptional and needs to move UP in classes!!  She also said that if he stays with this group any longer, he will quickly become bored and not be challenged. So, proud mama that I am, we are moving on up. He will now be a BEAST instead of a bird. The beast age starts at 19 months and goes to 2 1/2 (this is especially exciting since he isn't even 19 months!!)  I know that his physical therapist will be very proud of Braeden and all his progress with Little Gym!! :)

Happy 18months old Braeden!!

      I can't believe a year and half ago Braeden entered into our lives. We have had so much fun and time is absolutely flying by with our busy little toddler. Braeden can do so many things now...and many of which he wants to do by himself or else we hear a little fit from him. Some of the fun new things at this age include: coloring with crayons, fingerpainting, painting with brushes, climbing up and down everything (especially playground equipment), eating with a fork and spoon ALL BY HIMSELF (that is a must or he won't touch the food), taking off his clothes, throwing and kicking balls around and identifying objects.

     We are such proud parents of our little man. He is the best communicator I have ever seen with a child this age. Most people can understand exactly what he says which is not common (my little rock star!). He can say so many words and even some sentences now. We work on counting, sorting objects, coordination, singing all kinds of songs, and LOTS and LOTS of reading. Braeden loves to read books when he wakes up, before afternoon naptime, and before bedtime. Kendra, Braeden's Occupational Therapist, said that his development is very rapid and he initiates his own play and is very engaged in activity!!YAY BRAEDEN!!

Passover

We were able to celebrate Pesach with my family on Saturday night.

Here are a few pics from the great evening.

 Uncle Mike reading to his favorite nephew David before the sedar begins.

 Grandpa reading the Chaggadah (prayer book) to start the evening.

 Everyone gathered at the table.

 Braeden trying on the glasses to represent darkness....one of the ten plagues.

Summer enjoying the chocolate pudding pie for dessert.

Deanna Rose Farmstead in KC

Last weekend we went to Kansas City to visit family and have our passover sedar. We had such a great time with the family. Since it was hailing here (tennis ball size), we had to wait the storm out on Friday night before we left town. Then Saturday morning, we went with Aunt Dara and Cousin Summer to Deanna Rose Farmstead for a few hours. We all had a great time being together and exploring the place.

April Good times!!

Since the weather has been beautiful lately we have been enjoying the outdoors. The April showers haven't appeared just yet. We bought a water table to have fun with water, since it seems to be Braeden's favorite activity now. Playing with water is hours of fun for us! Another benefit of all the sunny and great weather is ICE CREAM and POPSICLES!! He can eat a whole popsicle or ice cream if we let him.

 Pots and pans and banging everything is loads of laughs for Braeden. He can make noises from any toy apparently!

 My sweet sweet love!!

Daddy reads books to Braeden every night. We have a kid size couch that we sit on to read. Some nights we read for 30 minutes and other nights we only last for 5.

Valentine's Weekend with Grammy, Papa, and Aunt Jackie

Over the weekend, we went and took professional pictures at Portrait Innovations. They did a nice job with the family. I wish Braeden smiled a little more during the shoot though. Here are a few of the pics that we got.

Here are some pics from us hanging out over the weekend!

Look how cute he is with Daddy and their matching shirts!!

My teething little boy!!

Loves to read books with Papa!

WALKING and 15 months old...

Happy 15 months Braeden! This has been a monumental stage for Braeden. Over the last week, he has started to do so much more. The biggest achievement is WALKING!! It's official...Braeden is a walker. He is walking all over the house and taking risks walking and climbing other places too! We are so so proud of our little man. He is so excited every time he walks and gets to a spot without falling. Yay Braeden!!
Another cool achievement is putting legos together and pulling them apart. I am not talking about the big legos; the duplos (age 2-5) are what he is playing with and doing amazing!!
He can also stack blocks, put them in small containers, shoot baskets, throw a ball and catch or get it when it comes to him.
He is doing a great job at pointing and communicating with us now. We can understand so much more of what he is needing and wanting. Braeden is not a shy little man at all. He is so full of energy and fun to be around.
During his 15 month appointment we found out that he is in the 5th percentile for height and weight. He is now 20 lbs. Wahoo!!
Oh yeah.....Braeden is such a fabulous eater these days.....he loves green veggies, all kinds of fruits, M &M's are a proven favorite, animal crackers, and spicy, seasoned foods, and Mexican!! When we go out to eat he is the happiest little baby in restaurants. People always come up to us and tell us how good he is and how entertaining he is for everyone!