Best. Thing. Ever.

So most of my friends and family are aware of my current addiction. Diapers.com is honestly the best website! It is technically 5 websites in one...there is diapers.com for all things baby, soap.com for cleaning and personal supplies, wag.com for pet supplies, casa.com for home decorating and such and then yoyo.com which is a toy warehouse!! I mostly shop at diapers.com and soap.com but I am sure the yoyo site will be very helpful in the future. The best part about these 5 websites?? They all have just one shopping cart! Everything you order comes in one little box...well usually the box is big in my case! And on top of all that great news...they have free shipping after your shopping cart reaches $49 and that is so easy to do! (I just spent $150...oops!)
Their prices are very comparable to the grocery store or target so it makes so much sense for me to have all my needs delivered. I don't have to worry about speeding over to target when I get done with work. I am able to stay home and entertain Brayden and then do all my shopping when he goes to sleep. Also, they have a list of things you buy most for easy shopping. I try to make sure I never actually run out of formula or Gripe Water so I am not sprinting off to Rite Aid at 8:00 pm when Brayden is screaming crying because he is hungry and tired. Diapers.com makes it so easy to order what I need before I am even close to running out!
So there ya go...now everyone knows my addiction. And for those that don't have babies, you will still LOVE this website. Soap.com and casa.com have nothing in particular to do with babies or anything of that nature...just your every day needs/wants!

Honestly, it is a good thing this handsome boy isn't sleeping because I would probably look at the toys and find things to buy him!!

SAHM

Stay- at-home-mom. I so, so, so wish I could be one. I was home with Brayden for about 2 months when he was first born but then I started student teaching. Once that was finished, I substituted for the same school in which I was a student teacher and then I was lucky enough to find the full-time job I currently have. I will just say that I do love my job, however, after being home all week on spring break, it made me realize how much I wish I could be a stay-at-home-mom. I love being home with Brayden and being the one to keep track of his schedule. I love that I am finally on top of the laundry and cleaning. I love having time to take Brayden to the park every day. These are the things I miss out on while at work and I have just realized how much it bums be out.
With that being said, I will most likely never get to actually stay home with Brayden or future little Sentelle babies so I am extra grateful that I get spring break and summer break to spend those days surrounded by chunky thighs and little giggles. I suppose that is the benefit of the work I do! How can you not want to stay at home with this face all day?!

As my spring break comes to an end and I have to go back to leaving this cute little face every day, I just have to keep thinking about summer break in July. Then, I will get almost a whole month with him! I can't wait!

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 :)

A Day in Our Life...

I have mentioned in the past few posts how busy we have been since starting new jobs. Well now I want to let you in on how crazy our life has become!! Here is a rundown of a regular day for us right now...

5:30 am (Yes, you read that right!): I wake up to start getting ready for work.
5:30-6:30 am: Brayden wakes up at some point in this block of time usually.
6:30 am: I wake up Chance to take care of Brayden so I can leave for work.
6:45 am: I start my route to pick up students and take them to school/my work.
9:30-10:00 am: Chance takes Brayden to my mom or Aunt Kym or grandma so he can get ready and go to work.
12:30-1:00 pm: Chance heads to work.
2:30 pm: Students are done with school for the day so I get in my van to drive the same students home.
3:30 pm: I am finally off work and drive to pick up Brayden.
4:30-5:00 pm: I am picking up Brayden and driving home.
5:00-8:00 pm: I attempt to entertain Brayden and make dinner at the same time. (Mostly I play with Brayden and throw something quick together for dinner. Brayden is just so much more fun!!)
8:00 pm: Brayden goes to sleep. I clean up from dinner and pack Chance a lunch for the next day.
9:00 pm: I get into bed to read or watch tv and fall asleep by 9:30 pm.
11:00-11:30: Chance gets home from works and gets into bed.
Then our day begins all over again at 5:30 am!

Did you notice that Chance and I don't see each other except for 10 minutes in the morning?!?! I am not a fan of this at all but for now, we don't have a choice in the matter. Annnddd, Chance actually really likes his new job which is amazing! He always has a story to tell about his day at work (which I usually hear at 11:30 pm so I have to ask again in the morning because I am OBVIOUSLY way too tired and half asleep to remember what he said!).
So as you can see, we have completely opposite schedules which makes both of us very busy! I am hoping this schedule doesn't last too long but we will see. Also, since this wasn't the most exciting post...here are a couple of pictures of the little man!! Oh and by the way, he is going to be 9 months in 11 days!!! That's just insane if you ask me! Here are some pictures of the little guy that makes this crazy schedule totally worth it!

Loved the swings!

Not as interested in the slide...

Clearly, the pole was his favorite part of the park!!

BFFs!!!

So silly!

Apparently, laying flat on his back was really comfortable!

How can you not LOVE this face?!?!