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!!

Birthday Part 3

I promise that this is the last post about Brayden's birthday!! Like I mentioned a couple of posts ago, we didn't open Brayden's birthday presents at his party because there were WAY too many and he was definitely getting tired and would not have lasted. So we decided to put off opening his presents until the next morning. We made a trip to the airport to drop off my hubby's family *tear* and then headed to my parents house to open the presents. Holy smokes, Brayden got completely spoiled!!

We opened a few presents on the day of Brayden's party because we had family leaving the next morning!

The Zany Zoo was a total hit!! Thanks Lisa!

And it looks like Christmas morning for 5 children!! Can you say spoiled?!?!

Pushing his lawn mower!!

LOVES his big 4x4 truck from Grandma and Grandpa!!

Very interested in his Cars car.

And then he discovered that he could push it!!

So as you can see, Brayden is definitely loved by family and friends!! It was so great to open all his presents and see all the different gifts! Not one gift was the same! Amazing. Obviously some of the gifts will be put up and brought down later. He can't have this many toys at the same time! It would be overwhelming and then some toys would never get played with. If I put some of them away and bring them out when he is bored with his current toys, it's like the toy is brand new and very exciting. So that is the plan! I can't thank our family and friends enough for coming to Brayden's party! We are so blessed to have so many people that care about Brayden! 

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I LOVE Weekends!

Okay so this title seems like a total "duh" but because I work full-time, my weekends are my mini-vacations! Sometimes we don't do much and other times our weekends are full of family adventures. This weekend is a little of both. Today I took Brayden to the mall after his afternoon nap just because it was something to do. Shockingly, I only spent about $12.00 and only bought Brayden 2 books!! I was going to shop around for a new top or two but I am not patient enough to be in those small stores on a Saturday with a stroller...not my thing! So we booked it out of the mall and headed to the park. Much more like it!!! Brayden was very excited to have so much space to walk around like a free bird!

When we finally got to the sand, Brayden was a little apprehensive. He has been in the sand before but not recently so he was figuring it all out.

Once he got used to it, he discovered that he actually liked it! I know...weird...a boy that likes sand!

He didn't want to leave the sand but I got him back over to the grass and he walked all the way back to the car. Brayden LOVES the park and it's so easy to take him for an hour or so and then head back home.

And THIS is why I love my weekends so much! I really wish my hubby could have the same schedule as me so he would experience these adventures with us but he gets to have his own adventures with Brayden while I am at work and he is home. One day our schedules will work together and then you will all see more pictures of the hubs! For now...you will just have to suffer by looking at Brayden...life is tough...get used to it! :)

Summer Bucket List!

Since I am lucky enough to get a summer break from my job, I am planning to take full advantage of it by filling up my schedule with fun activities!! Most of them are family activities because now that Brayden is older, he can appreciate more and is intrigued by new adventures. So here is my current bucket list(in no particular order):

-visit a petting zoo
-go to a farmer's market
-visit new parks
-go to the beach
-introduce the pool to Brayden
-redo my kitchen table and chairs
-complete a 5k or 10k
-make banana ice cream(recipe from pinterest)
-organize!

So thats all I have so far but I plan on adding to it. Obviously things like redoing the kitchen table will not include Brayden but most of the other activities do. I really want to make my summer active and fun and I don't want Brayden to get used to being inside all day just watching cartoons. I was raised in a home where I wasn't allowed to watch tv more than an hour a day and we were not allowed to play, or even own, video games! I spent my time outside playing sports or just playing games with my neighbors. I want Brayden to grow up that way too. I think I am a healthier person because I wasn't just sitting on my butt all day long and I want Brayden to be the healthiest boy he can be. When I find new things to add to this list I will be sure to blog about it. I would also love any suggestions for places to go or things to do! Just leave a comment below!

I am kind of freaking out...

So my mother, the sweet mother that she is, mentioned how close we are getting to Brayden's 1st birthday. This scared me to death and made me cry at the same time!!! How can it be that we are only 3 months away from his 1st birthday??! That seriously cannot even be possible! Every time I think about this subject I get excited to plan a party and pick out all of the decorations and at the same time, I am sad that my sweet little boy will not be so little any more.
The past 9 months with him have been so amazing and challenging. Brayden has woken me up multiple times during the night which I ALWAYS slept right through before having him. He has made me realize that being a good example is one of the most important things I can be. Every time I do something now, I think to myself "Would I want Brayden to do this too?". I want nothing more then to be the best mother I can be and to provide a loving home for my beautiful son. I cannot believe the first year is approaching so quickly and that my little boy will begin to take after me and Chance even more than he does now. That's a scary thought!!
So let the party planning begin I guess! I can't wait to see my mother-in-law and hopefully my brother-in-law too! It has been WAY too long and I know Lisa can't wait to get her hands on the little guy. Now I just need to decide on a theme and start getting things done....yikes!

From this...

to this...in 9 months!

9 Month Stats

I am a couple of days late but lets be real here...when am I ever on time?!?! I think the correct answer is never. Anyways, Brayden turned 9 months old on the 11th and I can't believe it has already been 9 months. I know I say that about each month but seriously people, how does the time go by so dang fast?!
Brayden has changed so much in the past few months. He is such a quick mover so I can't ever have my eyes off of him! He gets to anything he wants within just a few seconds. In just the past two days he has actually stood up without assistance! He has been standing for quite a few weeks but he always had to pull himself up on something...apparently that is a thing of the past. He even blew our socks off the other day by taking a couple of quick steps to get to the edge of the couch! I am SOOOO not ready for him to start walking yet! I really think his grandma might start pushing him down...just kidding!

So besides the crazy new things he is doing, here are some of his current favorite things:
Elmo(still)
Super Puffs( similar to Cheerios)
Fruits and veggies
Sesame Street
Banging things together
Clapping his hands
Tickling fights
Spitting
Playing with his tongue
Bath time

I am sure there are many more things but that's all I can think of right now. Brayden has also been so great at going to sleep on his own. When I see that he is getting sleepy, I hold him for just a couple of minutes for him to relax and then I put him right into his crib. He usually sits right up when I do this but I just turn on his sleepy music and leave the room. It only takes him about 10 minutes, at the most, and he is asleep. This is WONDERFUL!!! I absolutely love that he goes to sleep on his own. Now if he could just self-soothe during the night then I would be golden! Don't get be wrong, most nights Brayden sleeps right through and we don't have any wake-up-calls. However, some nights Brayden will wake up and so of course I have to go in there and get his binky and hold him for a few minutes for him to go back to sleep. I know that we are so lucky that he is such a great sleeper but I think it makes those nights when he does wake up even harder because I am not used to it anymore. Oh well, when he wakes up in the morning with a smile on his face and the only reason he wakes me up is because he is giggling and playing, I can't even complain!!
Brayden has so much personality and it is getting bigger every day!! I absolutely love being a mom and it is so fun to see Brayden experience new things. I love to see his brain working trying to figure something out. I know we will probably have even more changes in the next month (hopefully walking is not one of those changes) and I can't wait to see what his new favorite things are in a month from now!
Here are a few favorite pictures from the past month!

Elmo makes him happy!

4 generations!

Haha!!! He tried lemon.

@Claim Jumper for Tip-A-Cop!

He loves bath time!

And blueberries!

Grandpa and a blanket...that's all he needs!

Let the chasing being!

Silly sleeper!

Finally, a place to organize his books and toys!

Brayden's First Easter!

Easter is easily one of my favorite holidays and that is mostly because I get to see my WHOLE family (on my mom's side anyways)! It's a pretty big deal in our family and I was so excited to have Brayden experience it for the first time. In the early morning when Brayden woke up, he/we opened his Easter basket/bucket. He mostly played with the bucket but I didn't mind...it was so fun! After all the excitement of his Easter bucket, Brayden ate and took a nap and so I got ready for our family party. When Brayden woke up from his nap, we headed to my parent's house to carpool to my Aunt's house. To my surprise, my mom still got me an Easter basket! I was like a little kid again!! Then it was time to head to Aunt Cyd's house.
Our family festivities begin around lunch time with tons of food and drinks! Then we hunt for Easter eggs and then its back to the food and drinks...can you tell we like to eat and drink?!
Brayden got to spend some time with his new cousins Elsie (3 months) and Addy (9 months). It was so fun to have so many babies around!! I got to spend time with my cousins too and that always puts a smile on my face! My family is so amazing and I am so blessed to be so close with even my second and third cousins. People say our family is weird because I actually hang out with my second cousins and my great aunts more than once a year but I think it's pretty spectacular! I absolutely LOVE being around my huge family and I know that Brayden will appreciate it one day as well.
Speaking of this huge family of ours, I was a little nervous for Brayden to be around so many people that he doesn't see on a regular basis. I was afraid that he would be overwhelmed but he was wonderful! I don't know why I even worried! He gladly went to most family members, stayed on his eating schedule, and even took a short nap! The day was a complete success and I know that next year will be even more amazing because those three babies (Elsie, Addy and Brayden) will all be walking and super pumped!
Here is what our day looked like:

Easter Bunny Brayden!

Pirate Easter bucket!

Cousin Addy

Playing with his egg!

Cooling off in the pool with Grandpa!

Concentrating on the swing!

Grandparents...is there anything better?!?

P.S. My sister was in town this weekend so that made everything a million times better!!! I don't get to see her nearly as much as I am used to and this was a much overdue visit!! Can't wait to see her again :)

First Easter Egg Hunt!!!

Today was a big day people!!! Brayden experienced his first Easter Egg hunt! This is how it went down...we woke up and everyone got a bath and then Brayden got dressed in his super cute bunny onesie (Thanks Lisa!). We made our way to the POA(Police Officers Association) park and got down to business by visiting Grandpa who was cooking up all the hamburgers and hot dogs!

So much food!!

 Brayden was pretty oblivious to the madness that was going on around him! Kids were screaming with excitement when the Easter bunnies came in on the police car with sirens blaring! Once the bunnies were inside the park, the egg hunting began.

Super interested in the sign!

Easter Bunnies!

Found an egg!!

Saying goodbye to Grandpa!

So Brayden got a whopping 4 eggs (two of which Chance and I picked up for him) but he had a great time banging them on the table and of course, putting them in his mouth! I really can't wait for next year's Easter Egg hunt because I know he will be so big and totally excited! All in all, it was a success and these pictures show it all...happy baby! Thats all I need :)