Giving up the Bottle for GOOD is...

DEVASTATING!
We've been working on getting rid of Braiden's bottle for a while now. He's done great without it during the day. Since he can not have one at school he's gotten used to using a sippy cup. However, in the morning as soon as he wakes up he NEEDS a bottle! Last night I ran all of the bottles through the dishwasher and packed them away. He cried a little last night when he realized they weren't sitting on the counter anymore, but went to sleep, no problem. Slept through the night and woke up at 6:30am. Dave filled a sippy cup with milk and Braiden lost it! He walked around the house crying off and on until 9:00am when her passed out on the floor with his blanket!
I don't know who this is harder on. Him or me. I'm realizing quickly that I'm losing my baby :(

The Boy Loves to WIGGLE

One of Braiden's favorite shows is Yo Gabba Gabba on Nick Jr. He loves one of the songs they sing, "Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle Stop!"

Check out his moves :0)

(Sorry about my singing and his temper)

Sick Day

My sweet baby had a tough night. He woke up at midnight throwing up :-(
He seems better today, just still not himself. A bit fussy. So, he's taking a sick day and just relaxing on the couch and enjoying his cartoons.

Celebration in Illinois

This past weekend Braiden and I headed to Illinois for an 80th surprise birthday party! We spent the weekend with the Powell family. They're wonderful friends from my childhood and have always been my second family :-) We had a fabulous time with everyone.

Amanda, Grandma, and Karlen

Aunt Karlen and Braiden swimming

Aunt Faith and Braiden heading for the swing set

Chubby piggy's :0)

Playing on Grandma Miki's playground

Swinging

Braiden and Sofia

Sofia, Braiden, and Luisa swinging

Taking a walk

My sweet boy

Braiden and his buddy, Cody

Sofia, Braiden, and Luisa...Not easy getting all 3 to look at the camera at the same time!

We've been friends since 3rd grade!

Grandma Miki, Faith, Briaden, Amanda, Sofia, Luisa, Karlen, Me, and Grandma

The whole gang

Braiden got roped in to playing dress-up with the girls :0)

The groom and bride

While in Illinois, Braiden was able to spend a little bit of time with Auntie, Grammy, and Grandpa! Thanks for coming to visit us.

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY Grandma!!!! We are so glad we were able to be there to celebrate!

Smarty Pants

I've had a couple people ask me lately what Braiden can say and do these days, so here's a little bragging by his Momma :0)

- Braiden has given up on walking and chooses to RUN to get places.
- He signs the word "more", which we taught him to lesson his frustration. He tends to grunt
and groan when he wants something, so the signing has definitely lessened those noises.
- Braiden is now saying a good amount of words. His favorite words are those that start with the
letter B.
* He now says: Mama, Dada, Pop, Isaiah (This is Braidens favorite friend. While this should
be hard to say...he says it clear as day), bubble, ball, baby, wawa (for water), nana (for
banana) and probably a few others that I'm forgetting!
- He also enjoys making animal noises. The ones he enjoys doing are: dog, cat, pig, cow,
monkey, bird, lion, fish (which is a crack up. He smacks his lips together in attempts to make a
fish face)
- Braiden is extremely independent. He loves books and enjoys reading to himself as well as
being read to.
- Braiden has discovered the art of CLIMBING on EVERYTHING!
- He waves hi and bye and LOVES throwing kisses to anyone who acknowledges him :0)

He is such a HAM and enjoys all eyes being on him!!!

I sit back many days trying to figure out how my baby grew up right in front of me! It happens way to fast, but each and every day is a fun and new experience. Watching him learn and expolre new things is so exciting.

Nags Head, NC

Last Saturday we packed up and headed to Nags Head, NC for our first family beach vacation. We've been meeting up with the Suter family for the past few years and missed out on the trip last year since Braiden was brand new to this world. We had an absolute blast! Thank you so much Bill and Tammy! Braiden sure is missing his buddies.
Kyle, Hunter, and the little man :-)

Exploring

Braiden and Hunter enjoying the view

Don't they look thrilled to be posing for a picture?

Hunter feeding Braiden crackers

Braiden teaching Hunter the sign for MORE

Buddies watching morning cartoons

This spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Walking to get ice cream

Braiden made friends with every dog that walked on the beach. These jack russell's were by far his favorite :-)

Playing in the sand

Braiden and Kyle

Braiden checking out Hunters fish

The boys at the pool

Me and my boys

Sweet baby boy

Sandy piggy toes

Taking a rest on the beach (with a giant bug bite on his head)

Braiden and Mommy resting

Every year the guys head out on a deep sea fishing boat. This year Kyle went along and loved it. They did well, catching 2 big tuna and a couple mahi.

Daddy and Braiden with a tuna

The proud fishermen :-)

Gorgeous view from our condo

Braiden and Daddy hanging out on the beach

Braiden and Mommy

Enjoying a swim in the ocean

The 3 of us :-)

It was close to impossible to keep Braiden out of the ocean

Playing in the sand

Headed toward the water

Chubby piggy's in the sand

My sweet baby boys footprints

Hanging out on the beach

Braiden wasn't sure about playing in the sand until the last day on the beach

Not only were we at the beach with the Suter family, but the Johnson family was there was well! We were able to spend a few hours with the on the beach. It was so great seeing everyone. Made me miss home :-)

Brooke and Braiden playing in the sand

Mrs. Johnson, Brooke, Me, and Alex

It doesn't seem like that long ago that the girls were toddlers and I was babysitting them. Now, they're both taller than me!

Daddy and Braiden enjoying the Outer Banks on our last day

The boys

Me and the boys :-)

Braiden with his buddies

Running on the beach the first night at the beach

Enjoying the ocean

Braiden recently learned how to use sign language to ask for more