Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Wordless Wednesday!


I think Brayden might start a trend with how often he makes this "stance"! Oh and you see all those Cheerios on the ground? Yeah, Brayden knocked over his whole bowl of Cheerios and then this is how he chose to "pick them up!" Needless to say, I had to get down there and actually pick them up moments after this photo was taken.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Our Weekend in Review!

Once again my poor baby does not get a break from teething! He currently has 8 teeth that have fully come through the gums. He is now cutting his canines and the teeth behind those...molars or something. Last night he went to bed just fine as usual but he woke up about 2 hours later crying, crying, crying. I waited just a couple of minutes to see if he would go back to sleep on his own but that definitely wasn't happening. I tried everything to get him to go back to sleep and it just wasn't working. He wouldn't even fall asleep on me which was really unusual! I gave him a dose of pain reliever and then cuddled with him a little longer. He still wasn't asleep but he wasn't going to sleep at all unless I just put him back in his crib. He was NOT happy about that at all! He cried on and off for about 30 minutes until he finally fell back asleep. It was a bit of a rough night but today was much better!

Brayden woke up totally happy and was a happy camper all day long (until he got tired tonight!) He took a GREAT nap and I got a ton of cleaning and organizing done (so much so that when he woke up, we were bored because I had nothing left to clean!). We decided to head over to my parents' house and on the way we stopped at a park we hadn't been to before. We pass this park almost every day but have never stopped! No one was there and it has a ton of trees so I figured it wouldn't be too hot. It was a nice little break for a day of being inside! I normally like to take Brayden to the park a few times a week but it has been WAY too hot lately so we have been stuck inside! 

As you can tell, he approved of this "new" park so we might be making stops there more often!! 

Oh and on another note, we went to a wonderful baby shower on Sunday! There were a ton of kids there and Brayden interacted with them quite well. He was very interested in running everywhere and going outside on the patio so the interactions were limited! All the ladies LOVED him and he was definitely being a flirt! I was really glad that he behaved so well at the shower. We have found it very difficult to take him to restaurants now because he is so active! Thankfully, this location had plenty of space for him to run around and get his little boy energy out!

He did manage to get in some quality flirting time with this little cutie!!! 

So overall we had a pretty good weekend with a little spaz moment of teething! It happens!! I can't really complain because I know other families have it WAY worse than we do! We are very thankful that Brayden is healthy and happy (most of the time :))


Friday, August 17, 2012

Scowls Galore!!!


Brayden makes this face quite often..and it ALWAYS gets a laugh! How can you look at this photo and not laugh?!?! 

Monday, August 13, 2012

It's HOT!!

Lately it has been in the high 80s and low 90s and let me tell you...that is HOT for Southern California!! Also, it hasn't just been hot, it's been humid! Yuck! We don't have any air conditioning in our apartment so we have been spending a lot of time at my parents' house....I am beyond thankful that they have a cool place for us to come stay until our apartment isn't suffocating! 

We have decided that it's best to just hang out in a diaper when it's this hot! Don't worry, I stay fully clothed ;) 

Sunday, August 12, 2012

13 Months!!

Not much has changed in the last month except a few new hobbies have arrived! First of all, Brayden now finds the "silly" things we do on purpose actually funny. Like putting a toy on my head or dancing around like a fool! Total giggles from the little one. Also, he is definitely starting to test boundaries. He knows what he is not supposed to do and tries to do them anyways. He is sure to look at us to see if we are watching and then goes on his merry way doing exactly what he is not supposed to do. Sweet!! On the upside, he plays with toys for longer. He used to see a toy, push a button or whatever, and then dismiss it and move on. Now he will actually sit down and concentrate on the toy for a few minutes! Hooray for concentration!! Oh and he is also very into figuring out how something works. He loves to turn things over and see where the music is coming from or open and close something multiple times. It is so fun to see his little brain working so hard to figure things out!

We don't go back to the doctor until Brayden is 15 months so I won't have exact weight or height measurements until then! For now I will just let you know that he is getting HEAVY! I am pretty sure I need to carry him on my right side more because my left arm is noticeably stronger than my right. Or maybe I can just work out like a normal person...HAHA! Just kidding!

Likes:
-Elmo
-food (yogurt packs, banana, berries, cottage cheese, chicken, crackers, peas, hummus, carrots, sweet         potatoes, ravioli, pasta noodles)
-baths...or the lawn hose..or the pool...basically he LOVES water!
-throwing things
-screaming..and of course we laugh and he screams more..oops!
-"dancing"
-running
-the park
-swinging
-books
-music
-bike rides
-bubbles!

Dislikes:
-being fed...he likes to feed himself
-being held
-sitting still
-green beans
and yeah he likes pretty much everything else!!


He saw a cute girl and decided to give her a little whistle ;)

He must take all the blocks out of the basket....every. single. time.


I think he has finally adjusted to the new apartment because his naps are back to being normal! Thank goodness!! Those were a rough few days for the both of us!
So another month has come and gone WAY too quickly!! These days really need to slow down...Brayden is just growing up too fast! Does anyone have a trick to slowing things down?! No...okay well work on that!
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Saturday, August 11, 2012

More Firsts!!

We have obviously had a lot of "firsts" in the last year with Brayden and they just keep coming!! Brayden went on his first bike ride!! 
Chance and I got Brayden the bike seat and helmet for his birthday and we finally got to use it the other day!! It was an insanely hot day so the breeze felt so nice! Brayden really seemed to enjoy the bike and then of course we had to stop at the park and play for a bit!!
And another first....a big ouchie!! 
Yeah you see that huge welt on his head?!? He dove right into the TV stand. Poor little guy! He was super tough and stopped crying pretty quickly. I had to keep him awake for a while and make sure he didn't have a concussion or anything but he was fine! He still has a bruise but the swelling is gone and he seems back to normal. I, on the other hand, am still a little traumatized but that is another story!! Ha.
AANNNDDD!!! My little boy is 13 months today! I can't believe it has been a month since the madness of his party and birthday! Not much has changed since then but I will have a "13 months" post up tomorrow! 
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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Best!

After a super rough day with short naps and sickness...this is how it ended!
Honestly, this was the best thing ever!! It was the absolutely most perfect way to remind me how amazing my son really is and how happy he makes me! 

Wordless Wednesday

So this is what I have been dealing with for the past 3 days or so...

Brayden hasn't been taking his regular 2-hour naps. They have been only 30 minutes!!! This is in the morning and in the afternoon..yikes! I am not sure if it's because he is sick or because we moved to a new apartment and he doesn't feel "at home" just yet but it. is. killing. me!! It has been so hard to get anything done because I am now so exhausted (he gave me his cold) and he clings to me when he is awake because he is still tired. We are both tired and grouchy!!  I am reminding you now to avoid us until this sickness is gone! Anyways, wish us luck!

And P.S. Brayden is totally awake in this photo and just woke up from his "nap."

Linking up with Jenni From the Blog

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Target Portraits

While we had family visiting from Alabama during Brayden's birthday week, we decided to get portraits taken at Target. I could not be happier with how they turned out!! I had never taken pictures at Target before so I was a little nervous. I didn't want a bunch of money to be spent on pictures that looked cheesy! Well, to my surprise, they aren't cheesy at all and I love them!! Here are a few of my favorites...







Another huge bonus, Brayden did AMAZING!! He hardly cried or whined and as you can tell, smiled in a majority of the photos! I made sure to bring a toy that played a song he loved so the photographer could hold it up as she took photos. It worked!! I would definitely go back to take more photos and we probably will do it soon because I already bought a Groupon for it...and we didn't get any photos of Brayden with just Chance! Oops!! Anyways, I would recommend going to Target for family photos...it was great to finally get some pictures where I look decent and all 3 of us are in the photo...I don't think that has ever happened. I am a happy momma!!


Saturday, August 4, 2012

Freezer Meals!

So this is my first try at making freezer Crock Pot meals and I am pretty excited about it! I found a few recipes on Pinterest that sounded delicious and EASY!! That was pretty important for me...the easy part. I don't get much time to be in the kitchen prepping food when I have a toddler running around so I needed something I could quickly put together and also something that would be easy when it was time to cook. So here we are with two freezer meals that I prepped today while Brayden was napping. (P.S. you will need gallon freezer bags!)

Teriyaki Chicken (2 bags)
-1 large bag of baby carrots split between the two bags
-1 red onion cut into large chunks and split between two bags
-2, 20 oz. cans of chunk pineapple, one can in each bag (undrained)
-4 garlic cloves, chopped (2 cloves in each bag)
-4 chicken breasts (2 in each bag)
-1 cup teriyaki sauce (1/2 cup in each bag)
*When ready to cook, place bag in refrigerator the night before and then add 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce to the bag and place in Crock Pot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Serve over rice.

I made sure to write the name of the food and the directions on the bag before filling and placing it in the freezer! Now even the hubby could make this!

Healthy BBQ Chicken (2 bags)
-2 green peppers, sliced and split between the two bags
-1 red pepper, sliced and split between the two bags
-1 zucchini, chopped and split between the two bags
-3 yellow onions, chopped and split between the two bags
-6 red potatoes, chopped and split between the two bags
-4 garlic cloves, chopped and split between the two bags (do we see a pattern here?!?!)
-4 chicken breasts, 2 in each bag
-1/2 TBSP Quick Cooking Tapioca in each bag
-1, 15 oz. can tomato sauce split between the two bags
-1 TBSP brown sugar in each bag
-1 TBSP Worcestershire in each bag
-1 TBSP mustard in each bag
-1/4 tsp salt in each bag
*Cooking: high for 4 hours, low for 8 hours. Serve over rice or egg noodles. (Again, place bag in the refrigerator the night before to thaw it out a bit and so you aren't trying to get a frozen solid square into an oval Crock Pot!!)

I am so excited about these two simple meals and I can't wait to try more freezer Crock Pot meals! P.S. I am in no way credited with these recipes. I found these on Pinterest and you can go to the link by clicking here! There are also three more freezer Crock Pot meals on her blog post which I plan on trying very soon! Also, if you have any links or Crock Pot cooking suggestions, please leave them in a comment below! I love trying new recipes!



This face...

It kills me every time!! I love that I get to wake up to this every morning now that I don't have to leave for work. It has been so great to stay home and take care of this little monster especially since he has a cold! Poor guy! (And now I have his cold...poor me haha!)

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Wordless Wednesday!

We made another trip to our favorite park last week and Brayden was completely interested in the big kids!! The park has two play areas, one for toddlers and one for big kids. Well as soon as Brayden heard all the yelling and shouting from the big kids, he was totally enthralled and made a beeline for them. Talk about scaring a mother half to death! The big kids of course don't pay attention to a little one-year old running around and Brayden wanted NOTHING to do with holding my hand! I just couldn't do it...I couldn't let him play over there. I scooped him up and took him to the swing! A much safer place! I think this is the beginning of the many scares that this little boy will give me! Wish me luck :)

Linking up with Jenni From the Blog!

Moving...UGH!!

I mentioned a few posts ago about my new job and how we would be moving to a bigger apartment...well that move happened this past weekend! Lets just say, I don't want to move again for a long time!! The move wouldn't have been so bad except we didn't really get much notice of when we would be moving so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare, pack and organize! Thankfully my mom was able to help me get almost everything packed and then we had a handful of strong men to help us with the heavy lifting on Saturday. Since then, we have gotten everything moved to the new place except one HUGE item...the hutch! We have this awesome hutch in our old apartment dining room and we didn't move it on Saturday because it needs to go to the storage unit we have as it won't fit in our new apartment..boo! Well anyways, that big beluga will be moved today and then we will officially be moved!
It has been a LONG 4 days of packing, moving and unpacking and I really just can't wait to be unpacked and actually LIVE in our new apartment. On the upside, I have been really trying to organize as I unpack because 1) I love to organize anything and 2) our other apartment was so unorganized and I couldn't stand it! I have been getting rid of everything we don't use or need and giving a bunch of stuff to Goodwill!  So far I have the kitchen totally unpacked and organized and the bathrooms are insanely organized (I am even going to make labels for the baskets!).
So there you have it...my big, long excuse as to why I haven't been posting in the last week! I will be back to posting regularly this week and I will post all of my moving advice that I wish I had before I moved as well as how I am getting organized!
This was the start to the packing! Did I mention that I hate moving?!!?
In our new place...the boxes are slowing disappearing from my pile!

I get my OWN bathroom!!! And so I bought a floral shower curtain! 

Our pretty, new kitchen! Don't mind the mess!
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