Poor Santa!

I really do feel bad for Santa for having to deal with screaming children all day! :)

16 months!!

Our little baby isn't a baby anymore!! He is such an independent, curious and fun little man! It is so much fun to watch him figure things out, but all of the things that he does figure out are not always good things! :) He recently figured out how to open all of the doors in the house, so needless to say, some more babyproofing has occurred this month! He loves to climb, run, walk around backwards, dance and this month he figured out that jumping is so much fun! Although his toes really don't leave the ground, he has a blast trying!

He is now 27 pounds and he has officially grown out of 18 month shirts. The 18 month pants are still working for him though. Who would have guessed that our child would end up with short legs!? :) He is also wearing size 6 shoes.

Brayden's favorite foods now are peas, green beans, pasta, fish, kiwi, Goldfish, animal crackers and bananas, but he basically eats whatever we eat for dinner. He still gets 3 cups of whole milk a day and takes one nap in the afternoon around 1pm. He typically sleeps from 7pm-7am.

"Go!" is his new favorite word. We say "ready, set..." and he says "go" and starts running! Brayden also says "dog", "juice", "bye", "up", "hot", "more", "nana" for banana, "milk", "fish", "no", his own version of "Lucy", "cookie" and "down". In addition to the signs that he already uses, this month he has picked up the signs for "hat", "thank you", "baby", "eat", "daddy", and "dog". Thomas the Train and Curious George are his favorite characters right now and he even moves his arm up and down and says "choo choo" and makes a great monkey sound. Brayden has also started to say "beep beep" and "vroom" for a car also. He also shakes his head "yes" and "no".

He loves going to playgroups and even though it's December, we've been able to go to the park a couple of times. His favorite toys right now are books, his play laptop, blocks, and ball. During bath time he plays with his foam letters/numbers and books. He even picks out the "B" and the "8" every time he is in there. I guess all of the times that we showed him the "B" for Brayden has paid off! The "8" just looks like a "B" too I guess. :) When he is on his little laptop computer he looks so serious and hard at work. Lucy is still his best friend and Brayden loves to wrestle with Daddy!

Brayden is now starting to really be aware of other people's feelings and looks so concerned when he hears other kids crying. Recently he broke something of mine and I got down on the ground and acted like I was upset and sad about it. He curled up in my lap and gave me a hug and kiss. Doesn't get much better than that!

We are looking forward to a trip to Ohio next week for Christmas! Hopefully Brayden will get to build a snowman!!

Keenan Thanksgiving 2010!

We were lucky enough to get the family to make the trip here so that we could host Thanksgiving. It was such a great time and this place got a lot crazier with 10 people and 4 dogs under one roof! The weather was great and allowed us to hang out outside and play some cornhole! We had a great Thanksgiving meal with turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls and, of course, cranberry relish!

Mallory and I decided to join the crazy people on Black Friday and headed out to go shopping at about 4am. We got some pretty good deals even though there was really nothing in particular that we were looking for. We had the whole family together to watch the OSU/Michigan game on Saturday which was fun as well! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

15 months!!

So I feel like I just updated the blog for 14 months! Where does time go?!

We are loving life down here in Georgia and Brayden is providing more and more entertainment for us! He had his checkup today and he is 25 lbs, 3 ounces (73rd percentile), 33 inches tall (90th percentile) and his head circumference is in the 98th percentile! He is still filling out the 18-24 month clothing! There is typically only one nap during the day which ranges from about 1-2 hours. He now has 9 teeth (5 on the bottom and 4 on the top). He got his 3rd haircut this month also!

He loves going to the park, hanging out with his friends in playgroup and playing with Lucy! Every night is like a romper room with Brayden and Lucy chasing each other around!

Being the Speech Pathologist that I am, I've taught Brayden some sign language and he has really caught on in the past month. He now signs for "more", "all done", "help", "milk", "ball" and "please" on a regular basis.

He is really trying so hard to talk to us. When we put him to bed at night, he says "night night" and waves goodbye to us. He has about 10 words that he uses consistently and talks his own little language all day long! I love when he makes animal sounds. He now says "roar" and makes a monkey sound. He finally said "woof woof" instead of just panting like a dog! :) He also can identify his feet, toes, fingers, mouth, eyes and teeth.

Brayden now is able to help me around the house! I showed him how to put his diaper in the trash and how to put laundry in the hamper. He even wipes off tables and loves to use the Swiffer. Wonder what else I could teach him :)

It is so much fun to watch him learn! Our whole family is coming down next week for Thanksgiving and I can't wait for them to see what a big boy he has become!!

It's about that time!

Now that I've seen all of the Christmas decorations up in the stores, I guess it's time to start thinking about Christmas cards! This is probably one of my favorite things about this time of year because I love seeing updated pictures of families and staying in contact with old friends. Although we do have the luxury of Facebook now for keeping in touch, everyone still loves getting mail, right?!

Thanks, once again to Shutterfly, because my Christmas cards will be a little easier! I've used Shutterfly before to create photobooks to give as gifts and plan to use it again soon for some Christmas gifts. I've also had my photos printed and shipped to me so that I can put them in my scrapbooks.

Here's the design that I've decided on.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/family-wall-red-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93476

They have other gift ideas to choose from including photo mugs!

http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs

You can create your own Christmas cards by following this link! http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

For everyone that has blogs out there, you can get 50 free cards, too!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Charleston, SC!

We knew that living in Augusta would place us only a short distance from some of the greatest Southern cities to visit! Charleston was definitely on the top of our list! This past Friday morning, we drove about 2 1/2 hours so that we could do a quick trip and see what Charleston had to offer. We started out by going to lunch at Hominy Grill, which was amazing, then we did some shopping on Market St.. The Battery was so neat to see and I would love to live in one of those houses some day! :) Brayden enjoyed running around the park there! That night we went to a seafood place called Bowen's Island Restaurant. It was actually a little scary driving there because it looked like a shack on the end of a narrow dirt road. Thank you to our Garmin GPS! Jeff had to go downstairs to the "oyster man" to pick up his platter. We've never had such fresh seafood! I had platter full of fish, crabcakes, fried shrimp, hushpuppies and fries. I'm really not a huge seafood fan (except for crab legs), but this stuff was good!! Brayden had his first oyster and he actually signed for "more" and ate 2 more pieces!

The next day, we headed to Fort Sumter. It was really nice to learn about all of the history there. It was amazing to see the weapons that they used back then! Jeff visited there when we was little and we were able to take a picture of Brayden in the same place that Jeff got his picture taken years and years ago. We finished up our trip to Charleston with lunch at Hyman Seafood downtown. It seemed like a big tourist spot so I was a little worried about the quality of the food, but it was great! Jeff had a shrimp po' boy and I had a crabcake sandwich. All in all it was a great trip to Charleston and I'm sure that we'll make a trip there again soon!!

Happy Halloween!!

Still the cutest little animal on the block :)

(Halloween 2009 and 2010)

Fun day at the park!!

Brayden had a great time today at the park! He loved the swing and he went down the slide all by himself! We are loving this beautiful Georgia weather!!

13-14 months!

Since we were so occupied with the move last month, I didn't have a chance to update the blog with everything that Brayden has been up to. He has been adjusting well to the new house and we've gotten involved with a MOMS group so that Brayden has the chance to meet other kids his age. It's been a great chance to become familiar with the parks and other fun places for kids around Augusta.

He is talking like crazy and uses the words "Mama", "Dada", "dog", "kaka" for blanket, "yuck", "bye bye", "up", "hot", "ada" for all done, "more", "milk", "night night" and always says the "p" sound when he wants help with something. I guess it's his version of "help" since I always say "Do you need help?" when he's whining. He tries really hard to imitate other words, but just hasn't used them on his own yet. He has started to use the signs for "more" and "all done". He also waves "hi" and "bye". When you ask him what a cow says, he says "moo" and he says "quack quack" for a duck. When you ask him about a dog, he still pants like one. He can identify his belly, nose, and hair. He also strokes his hair when you say the word "handsome". Haha! Most of the time when we ask him to get something for us like his ball or blanket, he will go get it and bring it back. He just started taking his dirty diapers to the trash can right after I change him. I thought that I was going to die laughing the first time that he did it.

He loves to play with cars, books and the ball popper. His new favorite activity is to take things off of the table or out of his toy chest, then put them right back where they belong. Brayden loves to knock over block towers and now he is able to just stack up 2 blocks on his own then knock them over. He loves to play outside and we've gotten lucky since it's still in the 80s here during the day. Lucy is still his favorite playmate and he loves to chase her around the house.

Once we got settled here in our new house, we stopped giving him bottles. He didn't have a problem with it at all! We had to clear out the 12 month clothes so obviously he's eating and drinking enough! He gets milk, juice and water throughout the day from his straw cup and eats just about everything that we put in front of him. His favorite foods are pasta, chicken, green beans, peas, peaches and pears. For some reason, he doesn't like to eat mandarin oranges but I will gladly eat them for him! :) He's down to one nap a day that ranges anywhere from 1-3 hours. Since we've been pretty busy during the mornings, we've moved the nap until about 1:00p.m..

Brayden is running around everywhere and now he thinks that it's fun to spin in circles! He is quite the dancer and loves to stomp around the kitchen. He also walks backwards and laughs at himself while he does it. Doesn't take much to entertain a 1 year old!

Little Fireman!

Today we went to our first MOMS event at a local fire station. The firemen gave a tour of the whole building and let the kids play inside the fire truck. Brayden just liked the shiny, bright truck!

Update....finally!!

I am so disappointed in myself since I haven't been keeping up with this blog lately! Needless to say, we've been quite busy!! September involved a lot of traveling for us! Labor Day weekend, Jeff surprised me with a trip to Fresno, California to watch the Bearcats play. My mom came to Cinci to watch Brayden for the weekend and it was a really nice getaway. Too bad the Bearcats couldn't pull off a win and make the trip even better!

We spent about a week or so traveling between Columbus and Wadsworth to see family before making the long trip to Augusta, Georgia! Fort Gordon will be our home for the next 10 months while Jeff completes the S6 Course and Captains Career Course. So far we are loving our house! We are really excited to meet new people, see new places and get back into Army life!

Happy 30th Birthday to Jeff!

Jeff's birthday is tomorrow, but on Saturday I threw a surprise party for him! Jeff's family made the trip down in the morning and Jeff thought that that was his birthday surprise. He spent the day at the shooting range with his dad and brother, which is something that they've wanted to do together for awhile now, but never had the chance. Later on in the evening, Jeff thought that he was heading to Montgomery Inn, but we sent him on a detour to the party house where everyone was waiting! After planning for a month, I would have thought that he had some sort of a clue, but he didn't! Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate...and thank you to everyone for keeping it a surprise!!!

12 month checkup!

Brayden had his 12 month checkup today! It seemed like just yesterday that we took him for his first appointment when he was about 3 days old!

He is 23 lbs, 7 oz (60th percentile), 30 1/2 inches tall (75th percentile) and his head circumference is 19 in (90th percentile). Such a big boy now!

Brayden is eating all table foods and he's now drinking 3 8oz bottles of whole milk a day (YAY for not buying formula anymore!). He also drinks out of a straw cup, sippy cup and open cup (with some help) so we're going to start getting rid of the bottles soon! Some of his favorite foods are bananas, green beans, mac and cheese, strawberries, pears and peaches. He will pretty much try anything that we put in front of him though.

He is still walking everywhere! He likes to crawl up stairs, but he hasn't quite figured out his way down yet. He has realized that he needs to turn around and go feet first on his belly though. He hasn't started running yet (thank goodness!) but he walks very quickly and loves when we chase him. Brayden is also quite the dancer and if he just hears a couple of beats of music he starts moving!

It is so much fun to just sit in Brayden's room and play! Sometimes when we pretend that we're asleep, he comes up and gives us a big wet kiss and tries to open up our eyes. He also imitates our sneezes, coughs and laughs. He imitates Lucy and has started panting like a dog when she's around. Playing catch with Lucy has become his new favorite game.

Brayden says "Mama" and "Dada". He has imitated the words "dog", "night night", "hi", "bye" and " ball". He used the word "dog" on his own as well when he was playing with Lucy. There are times when it definitely sounds like he's imitating other words that we're saying. He has made the sounds "woof woof" for a dog and "vroom vroom" for a car. He understands so much of what were saying and typically when we ask him to get something he will get them especially his blanket, bottle or Lucy. At night, we say "Time to go night-night" and he walks back to his bedroom.

Brayden definitely understands what the word "no" means and he has a pouty lip that he sticks out when we say it! Sometimes when we say "no", he will stop what he's doing and move on to something else.

The past year has gone by so quickly, but we would not change our lives for anything! Brayden is so special and we are enjoying every minute!

Happy Birthday Brayden!!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday to Brayden!

We had a party for him at Lane Road Park in Columbus and had a great time with family and friends! Brayden had so much fun opening up all of his presents and digging into his cake! Thanks to everyone that came out to celebrate!!

First Haircut!

Last Thursday, Brayden had his first haircut! We waited to get it cut so that Jeff's Aunt Susan could do it. She is a hairdresser in Florida and she was the one who cut Jeff's hair for the first time when he was little. Since she was in town for Erin and Pat's wedding, she was able to cut Brayden's. Brayden did an awesome job and didn't cry a bit. He also wasn't too sure about what was going on. Luckily, he kept distracted with some food.

Congratulations Erin and Patrick!

Brayden tried to offer the flower girl, Leigha, a kiss!

This past weekend was just a great weekend!! Pat, Jeff's brother, got married and it was so fun to see so many friends and family. The rehearsal dinner was a country theme and we had a blast. Brayden was lucky enough to be chosen as the ring bearer and he did a great job. I held his hand down the aisle since Jeff was already at the altar as the best man. We were hoping that Brayden would be walking by the time that the wedding came around and he did a great job! It was so great to see everyone! Congratulations to Erin and Patrick!