Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

I am so excited that it's time for this...

I am not only excited because I LOVE Christmas but I think Brayden will have so much fun this year. He already loves the lights and I think he will really love tearing open his presents on Christmas morning. I can't wait to see his smile when he sees what Santa brought him!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Anniversary!!

This will be short and sweet but I just wanted to say happy anniversary to my husband! It has been a crazy 2 years with many changes along the way and it has been wonderful!! I wouldn't have my life any other way and I am so unbelievably happy! 

I actually had a friend recently ask me, "how did you know he was the one?" Basically, my response was probably not helpful at all. I can't picture my life without him. Plain and simple. I want nothing more than to be with him and our son every day. Even on those days where I want to pull my hair out and we argue about stupid things, I would never wish for a different life.

So cheers to a wonderful 2 years and to many, many more!


So Thankful

I know this is late but I have a really good excuse...I was out of town with family! 

I used to go spend Thanksgiving in Lake Havasu with my family every year when I was little. It got hard to get the time off as we got older and had jobs so it has been a while since I was up there for the holiday. Let's just say, I think we are going to try to make this a tradition once again! 

It was so fun to just be with my family, without cell phones, without work, without distractions. We took Brayden out on the boat for his first time, we sat and played card games and ate ourselves into comas. It was the best Thanksgiving I have had in a long, long time!

So here is my photo-bomb from our trip!
Helping Grandpa drive the boat.
Obviously it was really fun!
The life jacket was not his favorite thing.
Sleeping on Grandma!
Crazy boys got in the freezing water!





Family bonfire!

Last night with Sam and Mike!
I am beyond thankful for my family and for the hubby's family that we get to visit next month. We are so blessed to have healthy families and that we get along so well with everyone. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. I am so happy that we all made it up to Havasu and got to spend so much time together. I am really hoping we get to make this a tradition!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Patience Cap

After my rant about the "Other Mothers" I decided that you all should know the super fun part about our new routine. 

Early last week, I was getting easily frustrated with Brayden and he was easily frustrated by everything. We were having a rough morning. I am pretty sure my exact words to the hubby were "my patience cap is off in some other country!" Yeah, I was having a bad moment and realized that I was losing all my patience. I decided that we both needed a little fresh air. I strapped him into the jogging stroller and off we went. I got to get my frustrations out by walking and jogging and Brayden was removed from the situation so all was better. On top of that, it was getting close to Brayden's nap time and I really wanted to wear him out so we stopped at the park. He played for a while and got out his energy and then we walked back home. It was a great way to make that last hour before his nap not so miserable.

A snack of goldfish and water on
the way to the park.
Just soaking up the morning sun!


















Last week we did our walk/park routine 4 times!! I haven't worked out that many days in a row in I don't know how long. I guess it's not really working out since I just walk but hey, it's more than I was doing before! 

So you will be seeing tons of park pictures because we are practically going every day. I try to take him to different parks so he doesn't get bored. We have two in our neighborhood and then two in my parents neighborhood. I think we are covered in the park department!

Dirt and wood chips...life is good!
Playing peek-a-boo!

















So here's a tip for you: when you have lost all your patience and you want to pull your hair out, just take your crazy child outside. Go for a short walk with the stroller, let your kid walk themselves, go to the park...just go outside! Your patience cap will be replaced and your child will be happy and tired...which means he will take a good nap.

Other Mothers

I took Brayden on our daily walk and we stopped at the park to play just like always. Today was a little different though. While at the park, I noticed two other mothers and their children there as well. Perfect opportunity for Brayden to interact with other little kids! However, the two other mothers were on their cell phones...the WHOLE time I was at the park. The other little kids were actually coming up to me and talking to me and Brayden. They were craving attention and I was the only one giving it to them. Brayden didn't really care about the other kids. I mean, there were wood chips and dirt at the park...he didn't care about anything else!

I felt bad for those other kids because I was the only adult at the park giving them attention. Why weren't the other mothers interacting with their children? I understand that these kids were a little older (4-5 years) and they are much more independent by then, but come on!!! How can you talk on your phone the whole time you are at the park with your kids?? Maybe it's just me but kids are just kids for only so long. They only say those cute, funny things for so many years and then it's all about their own cell phones and their friends. Isn't this the time that parents should be interacting with their children as much as possible? 

Sure, there are times that I don't interact with Brayden the way I should. I am not a perfect mother. However, I interact with my child as much as possible. I get down on the floor with him, knock on the window with him, play with the newspaper, sort noodles, read books, build with blocks, toss the ball or even just play games on my iPhone. I want to be the mother that Brayden deserves, the mother that will teach him things, the mother that will know what is going through his brain before anyone else. I WILL be the mother that interacts with my child at the park instead of sitting on the bench and talking on my cell phone, more interested in the conversation I won't remember tomorrow than the sweet, innocent child that actually deserves my full, undivided attention.


How could I ever be too busy and miss this face?? I really hope that I don't turn into one of the other mothers I saw today. It is my mission to always be an interactive mother and be there with my son, playing WITH him, not just watching him play!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Creativity

With the sun setting WAY earlier and the cooler weather, it has been a little more difficult to keep Brayden entertained and happy in the evenings. During the summer, we were playing outside until around 7:30 and now we are inside by 5 at the latest. Brayden starts to get frustrated and antsy by about 6:30...which makes for a long hour and a half before Brayden's bedtime. 


So, it is time to get creative with ways to keep Brayden happy. Tonight while I was preparing dinner, I came across my muffin tin and instantly thought it would be a perfect toy. You see, Brayden has started to "organize" things. Especially when he eats, he will put his food in the cup holder, take the food out, eat a few pieces, and then put his food back in the cup holder. A muffin tin that has 6 "cup holders" is like hitting the toddler jackpot!! I decided to put some penne noodles in the tin so he would have something to "organize." It was definitely a successful activity and I think it's something Brayden will like to do pretty often. It kept him happy for at least 30 minutes. I also brought out an old wipes container and a tupperware bowl. He was a happy camper which meant I was a happy momma!!


Friday, November 16, 2012

Father and Son

There is nothing like the father-son relationship I see blossoming between my two favorite boys!! I absolutely love to watch them play and my husband has never been more attractive then when he is being a complete goof just to make our son smile. It melts my heart into a giant puddle. 
The other night I came home to this....

Does it get any cuter than that?!? I don't think so!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Making Friends

Brayden doesn't have regular contact with kids his age so I have always been a little hesitant to take him to the park when there are a lot of kids there. I have a huge fear that he is going to hit someone...I would feel TERRIBLE!!! He doesn't regularly hit or anything so I am not sure why that is such a big fear but it is. 

I sort of faced my fear yesterday and took Brayden to the park when there were at least 3 other kids there playing on the jungle gym at the same time. Brayden did great! He played "boo" with the little boy and just looked at the little girl like she was something from another planet. I guess the girl-hating begins early in life! 

The little boy started following Brayden around and when Brayden fell, the little boy dramatically fell down on the ground and copied Brayden. It was so cute!!

"Little girl, I am busy spinning...please back up!"

"Can I help you?!" Haha he seriously wanted nothing to do with the little girl!


I have been seeing this face quite often lately... "Please feel bad for me Mom!!"

So it seems like Brayden will be good around little kids and I am hoping that when I can get us into some Mommy and Me classes, it will be even better.

Oh and the other little kids don't have ghosts faces...I just blurred them out for the privacy of the other families!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

Have I mentioned that Brayden likes the slide??

Linking up with Jenni From the Blog!

16 Month Stats!

I can't seem to keep up with the passing months...they just come and go WAY too quickly! I am late on this post again but better late than never! Brayden is talking up a storm, as you can tell from my posts about all the words he is saying! He is saying even more words since I updated the last talking post. I swear he says a new word every day. Before we know it, he will be talking in sentences...that's a scary thought!

I am seriously loving this stage with Brayden right now. He mostly listens to what I say although sometimes he blatantly ignores me. He has so much personality and he is so dang funny!! He makes the silliest faces and when he realizes people are laughing at him, he does it over and over again. Brayden is very into music and has even started to "sing" when he recognizes the song. Songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"...it is so stinkin' cute!! 

We are in a weird stage with clothing right now because a lot of his 12 months stuff isn't fitting anymore but some 18 months stuff is still too big. The shirts are fine but it's the pants that are trouble. They are either perfect in the waist but then it looks like Brayden is ready for a flood, or they are huge in the waist and they are the perfect length! Ugh! He only has one belt that fits right and it's bright blue so that makes finding coordinating outfits sort of a challenge. Although, at the rate he is growing, it wont be a challenge for much longer! 

Besides singing and talking, here are the other things Brayden likes:
-baths and any type of water
-Elmo
-cheese
-fruit
-carbs
-chicken...and making the chicken noise
-technology(iPad, iPhone, etc.)
-books
-spinning in circles (he says "dizzy")
-Disney...which he also says and it sounds exactly like dizzy
-buttons
-crackers
-hot dogs
-milk
-closing doors
-peek-a-boo
-brushing his teeth
-drawing

Things Brayden doesn't like:
-getting things taken away from him...phone, tooth brush, pens, etc.
-most veggies...still! ugh!
-the car seat
-waiting for his food (30 seconds in the microwave is just TOO long!)
-getting his hair washed in the bath
-changing his diaper and clothes

Honestly, Brayden is such a joy!! He makes me want to have another one but I know that will happen when the time is right. As for now, we are enjoying every second we have with Brayden!!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Is It Finally Fall??

It has been fall-ish for about the last week here in Southern California and we are loving every second of it! We have been spending so much time outside because we can actually be outside without sweating! It's the small things in life. We have been wearing jackets and shoes and long pants...who would have thought this day would ever come. With the cooler weather, we have been able to go to the park and go on walks which we haven't been able to do consistently for a while. I miss it! Today we went on a run as a family...now that tells you a little something about how much we love fall! It was great...the weather was perfect and it was so nice to escape the confines of our apartment for a little bit before Brayden's nap. So here are some photos of us enjoying fall from the last few days!
My two favorite boys!


The red "bubbles" at Target are obviously the highlight of the shopping trip!


Playing Peek-a-Boo!


Running inside to get warm!

So there you have it! I absolutely LOVE the cooler weather and Brayden does too...we spend so much more time outside! We are all happy campers here in the Sentelle house!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Talking Machine!

I posted about Brayden talking a while back and thought I would give an update. He is saying new words all the time and now we really need to watch what we say around him. AKA no curse words! We might need to start a curse jar now and then maybe by the time Brayden is ready for college, we would have enough money to put him through without taking loans! Or we can do the right thing and stop cussing. Eh...it's a tie! Just kidding people!

Anyways, here are some new words he has been saying as of late:
-cracker
-nice
-wawa for water
-auntie
-turtle
-cup
-pasta
-milk
-fish
-cat...and he "meows"
-waffle

He also growls like a lion every time he sees a lion or if we talk in a deep voice. I don't think that counts as a word but it sure makes us laugh! 
He is learning so much and so fast! It is so fun to hear him say a new word and that happens almost every day. I am sure there are words Brayden says that I am forgetting to type but I can always update the post.


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Wordless Wednesday!

I am waiting for the day that the fall season actually begins and I need to start dressing Brayden in pants and a jacket. Until then, we will make our park trips in shorts and a t-shirt like we did today!




It was getting a little chilly so I have high hopes that we will be in jackets very soon!!

It's November Mother Earth!!!

We are six days into November and it is still so friggin' hot!! Yesterday it was in the high 80s so staying in our hot apartment was not an option! Since we don't have a backyard, we went to my parents house. Immediately, we went outside to play with a huge bowl of water. Using cups to fill up and then empty out...so fun! 

Apparently that just wasn't cutting it for him so he headed out to the front yard to play with the water hose! Clearly it was time for swim trunks!


It started like this...playing with the hose with his friend (my parents neighbor)..


and ended like this! Laying flat in the puddle of water that had gathered on the sidewalk! He was LOVING it!


After some inside time, we went back to his favorite thing, the water! He also has a new favorite thing, brushing his own teeth. Crazy child!

On a side note, time changes suck! This was even supposed to be the good one where we gain an hour of sleep. Well try telling that to a toddler. Nope! He was good and awake at 6 am and it looks like 6:30 is his new official wake-up time. Yikes! Pouring my large cup of coffee now...

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Truly a Great Weekend

It seemed like it had been forever since I had seen my sister when it had actually only been a little over a month. She felt the same way too. It's a little crazy how much she is my best friend and I am so unbelievably happy that she has been in town this weekend. Obviously, her boyfriend came with her and that is even better! Love them!! 

So while they have been here, I have been spending lots of time away from my computer. She leaves early Tuesday morning so I need to get all the quality sister time I can before then! I went with her last night to a "holiday" tradition that started over 21 years ago called "Fakesgiving." Sounds a little strange but it was amazing!! She started going to Fakesgiving at a good friends house over 6 years ago and has never missed the celebration. Basically, it is the Thanksgiving holiday with all the food, beverages, and family/friends you could ask for but in the beginning of November. This way, all the friends are able to come because they aren't tied up with family parties and everyone still gets to spend the holiday together. Amazing!! They are seriously brilliant! We had such a good time and it was so fun to visit all of my sister's friends as well.

Today was definitely more laid back and by that I mean we didn't really leave the couch all day. We were slightly exhausted. Especially because Brayden didn't understand the time change and decided to wake up an hour early on top of the time being different. He was awake at 6 am. Yikes! That is never good when you didn't fall asleep until after 1:00 am. We were able to keep our eyes open enough to watch football and then even more quality family time was spent tonight with my dad's side of the family. We ate delicious food, again, and watched MNF while Brayden entertained everyone. 

It has been a weekend for the record books! I love spending time with my sister and since she moved to San Francisco early this year, I don't get to see her on the daily basis that I was used to. I will be sad when she leaves on Tuesday but at least she will be back for the real Thanksgiving and we will be stuffing our faces again before I know it!

Oh and one really exciting thing? Brayden is saying so many new words and one of them is "Auntie." Samantha was so beyond excited, she might have cried! It was so super cute!
He was having such a great time sticking his hands in the cold spa!

He put his hand right in front of the hose and got soaked...
And he thought it was really funny!
He was making clicking sounds to call the birds!

I really love his blue eyes!

Family...love them! This is 4 generations!
As you can tell, Brayden has had a pretty good weekend too! I will be back probably on Tuesday. Although depressed because my sister will be gone, I will post about the rest of her visit and an update on the rest of us!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

15 Month Stats

Finally!! The last time we tried to go in for Brayden's 15 month wellness check, Brayden had a fever and threw up on me the night before. Apparently, they don't do a wellness check when they aren't "well." Who knew!?! Today we went back to the doc for his 15 month wellness check now that he is actually well. It was all good news! He is developing right on track and looks healthy as ever! Just what every mother wants to hear!

Height: 31 inches, just below 50th percentile. Weight: 24 lbs. 50th percentile

Unfortunately, after all the good news, it was time for shots. Brayden had to get 4 shots this time! Poor little guy! 

This appointment was a little different then his previous appointments. Brayden hated every part! Normally he doesn't mind getting his temperature taken, ears checked, eyes checked and tummy felt. This time, Brayden started crying before the doc even put the thermometer under his arm. Yikes! Talk about breaking a momma's heart! 

When we left the office, Brayden was back to his normal self and I am hoping we don't have any reactions to his shots. As for now, I am incredibly happy that I have a healthy little boy!