15 Months Update

Not so shockingly, this is late...again. Oops! Brayden hit the 15 month mark on the 11th and he is a BUSY boy! Sheesh...the kid is hard to keep up with!

Likes:
-running
-food
-being outside
-water
-goldfish
-cheese
-cartoons
-his truck
-Elmo
-his blankies
-making people laugh(more on this below)
-baths
-the pumpkin patch(more on this below as well)
-talking!!
-sleeping
-shoes and socks
-Target
-buttons
-dancing

Dislikes:
-veggies(I have been hiding them in his food)
-things being taken away from him
-being strapped down when he really wants to run
-diaper changes(he doesn't hate them, but they are getting more difficult)

Seriously, my kid likes almost everything! We went to the pumpkin patch a few days ago and he was so happy! He was running around and touching EVERY pumpkin and trying to lift them. He would hit them a few times and then run across the patch to another pumpkin and do the same thing. It was so awesome to see him having so much fun! We will definitely be going back to the pumpkin patch before October is over!! Also, a couple of nights ago, we were at my parents house just hanging out in the backyard and Brayden was cracking us all up! Hubby taught him how to make a fishy face and it is hysterical!! He was making the fishy face and noticed that we were all laughing at him and he really liked it! He began throwing his head back laughing at himself and imitating us adults. That was even funnier!!! He kept doing it because it was making all of us laugh! We might have a class clown on our hands!

 Besides being so silly, he is learning so much and really starting to say real words! Some of these words include : uh oh, cheese, mama, dada, up, down, Elmo, go, stomp, grass, and gone-gone. I am in the process of writing a post about his words so more on this later! I think every day he is trying to say a new word and is copying everything that we do! (I guess we really need to watch what we are saying....the cussing jar could get pretty full!)

Did you notice that there aren't very many "dislikes?!" I had a hard time even coming up with the few things I listed. Obviously my child is not perfect in any way and we have our fair share of tantrums around here. But in all honesty, Brayden is such a happy kid and he is so fun to be around. He is happy so much of the time and just really loves to be around and interact with everyone. I am so in love with my son and I am having such a great time being his mom and teaching him new things and watching his eyes light up when he learns something new...or when I jump up and down because he said a new word...same thing!!

Anyways, we go to the doctor for his 15 month check-up on the 18th so I will have his weight and height updated after his appointment.

And now here is a photo dump :)

If you like this blog, don't forget to vote on Top Baby Blogs...just click here and then on the owl!

Wordless Wednesday!

Boys will be boys...and cover their new shoes with sand. Sweet!

Linking up with Jenni From the Blog!

Time to Vote!!

And not for the new president!! This is easy...I promise! Please take a quick moment to vote for this blog over at Top Baby Blogs. I have found so many other blogs that I love by visiting this site so after you vote, take a moment to check out other awesome blogs. It takes just two clicks to vote for us and we really, really, REALLY love your votes! Just to show you, this is how much we love your votes...

So all you have to do is click on this link, Top Baby Blogs, and then click again on the owl's conversation box. Like I said, super easy!! 

Bath Paints

I have seen bath paints all over Pinterest and decided to give it a try. It had been so hot here that going to the park or doing anything outside was just out of the question, unless it involved water. So, we were stuck inside for pretty much the whole day anytime it was hot. I had to get creative with entertainment. We do watch cartoons but I try to keep that to just the morning and then before naptime or something. I don't like Brayden to watch TV all day. Although the TV may be on, I get Brayden engaged in other things like reading books, doing a puzzle, building with blocks, riding his car, etc. Well, we had done so much of that while it was super hot outside that Brayden was officially over all of it!! So I got back on Pinterest to check out the paint recipe. I didn't have all the ingredients so I kind of made it up myself. I just used water, flour and food coloring. It was a huge success!! Brayden dumped out the paint all over the bath tub floor and swished them around with his hands and "painted" on the tub walls. It was so easy and an even easier clean-up! I just took off his diaper and turned on the water. Done!

I will definitely be doing this again and I really want to make the bath crayons so he can draw on the tub walls! 

Transitions

We have officially transitioned to just one nap a day. Lord help us! Brayden has pretty much always been a good napper and is usually very easy to put down. He lays his head right down and we don't hear a peep. Well that all changed on Wednesday. Brayden decided that he was absolutely NOT going to take his morning nap, which is usually around 10, and he didn't go down until about noon. He took a long nap of about 3 hours and then he was awake until bedtime at about 8. It was a day of seeing this face...

Poor guy! He was so tired and grouchy but apparently he is ready for just one nap. Today is day 3 of one nap and it is much better. He still fights going down but only for a few minutes. He cries when I walk out of the room but then lays down and falls asleep within a few minutes. I am sure the crying will stop altogether in another few days. 

Now that Brayden is down to one nap, we finally have time to go places and get things done. It isn't easy trying to get errands done with your child takes two 2-hour naps every day. Now, we can run morning errands and afternoon errands. Woo hoo! 

As for how this transition came about, Brayden is the one that told me he was ready. Obviously I don't mean he blatantly stated "Mommy, I don't want to take two naps anymore, just one will do." However, when he refused to go down for a morning nap, I knew something was up. So we didn't take a morning nap and I waited to see when he was ready to go to sleep. Around noon he started laying his head down, even on the hardwood floor. It was time! I put him down and walked out, just like I always do with his naps. I didn't want to force him to transition if he wasn't ready. Now I know he is ready and that one nap will suffice. It's a win, win if you ask me!!

Wordless Wednesday

I can't wait to go on another vacation with his handsome man!! We have so much fun and it was so nice to be just the two of us...that hasn't happened in a LONG time!

San Francisco

As promised, here is the rundown from our trip to San Francisco. It all started as birthday presents to me and Chance from my sister and her boyfriend Mike. Best present ever!! All we had to do was buy our flights...check! We purchased our flights for Wednesday the 26th and we would come home Saturday the 29th. Perfect little vacation. Well that all changed when Chance found out he had to take a very important test on the 26th...boo! So as I was in tears thinking that he wouldn't be able to come, my parents suggested we just change his flight to the evening flight instead of the morning flight. Crisis averted. I still flew out on the morning of the 26th by myself and then Chance was going to meet me there that night. I had a great time alone in San Fran! I got a massage on Union Street, ate frozen yogurt, people watched and visited a few stores. Then I headed back to the apartment to wait for Chance, Mike and Sam to get home. As I was waiting to hear from Chance to see how his test went, I started to get very nervous. It was getting very close to his flight and he still wasn't done with his test. He didn't get done with his test until 5:00 pm....his flight left at 4:55 pm. Sad day!! So we just booked him a flight for the next morning. It was a bit of a challenge to get him there!! That night, while it was just me Sam and Mike, we ordered awesome burgers and sweet potato fries and watched TV. It was a great, relaxing night! 

Thursday morning Mike went to the airport to get Chance and then the real vacation started! We took a tour of the city by car (drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, down Lombard Street, Union Street, etc.) and then made our way to a bar to pre-game for the Giants game. 

This was our attempt at taking a picture with the Golden Gate Bridge....it was foggy to say the least!

It ended up being a perfect day for the baseball game!! We got the famous Gilroy Garlic Fries, hot dogs and beer of course. Best part? We were only 4 seats down from the guy that caught a foul ball. I have NEVER been that close to a foul ball before, and to be honest, I don't think I want to be that close ever again. It was scary!! 

After the game, we went back to the apartment, ordered AMAZING Chicago style pizza and watched an agonizing game of Thursday night football!

Friday was our day to be tourists! Sam and Mike both had to work so Chance and I spent all day walking the city! We got up early and walked down to Jefferson Street for some breakfast and then walked to pier 33 for our Alcatraz cruise. We took the freezing boat ride over to the island and then went on the audio tour of the prison. It was AWESOME!! We learned so much about the island and the prison that I would have never known. 

The boat ride over! So chilly!

The island.

Chance standing in front of a typical cell at Alcatraz!

The city behind me...it was a bit windy!

After our tour and cruise back to the city, we walked down Pier 39. This is a very famous pier with tons of shops and the best part?? These guys!

So many seals!! They were crazy too...making loud noises and fighting with each other. The big ones were very territorial and would try to fight any other seal that wanted to be on the same dock. It was so fun to watch them and I think we could have stayed there all day...but we were starving! We headed to Boudin for the famous Clam Chowder Bread Bowls...and they were fantastic! We finished our day by heading back to the apartment for a little rest after our 10 miles of walking.

Then Sam and Mike came home from work and it was time to go to dinner! We had the best dinner I have ever had in my life...no joke! If you ever visit San Francisco, you absolutely MUST go to House of Prime Rib. Holy smokes people, it was delicious! They only have prime rib so you just pick your cut and then you get tons of sides to go with it. It was the perfect way to end our trip. The next morning, we were off to the airport and headed back to 80-90 degree weather. Yuck! We miss the San Francisco fog and cold weather...hopefully we get to visit again soon!

I want to also say thank you to Sam and Mike for everything they did for us while we were in San Francisco. They were the best hosts we could have ever asked for and they totally spoiled us for our birthdays!! We love you guys!

If this didn't inspire you to take a visit to San Francisco, I don't know what will! :)