Home Sweet Home

Well, we most definitely had a successful trip to San Francisco...it could not have been any better! I will be posting all about it hopefully tomorrow but for now, I need to get cleaning! Yikes...who knew a  house could get so messy when nobody what home?! Maybe our crazy amounts of dirty clothes has a little something to do with it but I am sure that little elves came into my house and made a huge mess. Okay that might be a bit of a stretch but seriously...my house is crazy! I plan on doing TONS of cleaning today and then TONS of laundry to follow...wish me luck!

Even with coming home to a big, fat mess, I am so happy to see this smiling face again! 

I think 3 whole days without him is something that will not happen again for a long time!! I missed him so much and the pictures and videos sent from my parents just didn't cut it. I actually shed some tears when I saw the video of him laughing hysterically...I was happy of course but really sad that I was missing it. Although Chance and I both missed Brayden like crazy, we had an amazing trip and I can't wait to share it with you all and hopefully inspire you to visit San Francisco. It is well-worth the trip!

San Francisco!

The hubs and I are taking a vacation...without Brayden! This will be my first time being away from Brayden for more than one night! I am excited beyond belief, but also a little nervous! Obviously I know that Brayden will be in the best of hands while we are gone but it's a weird feeling knowing that I won't be there to feed him breakfast and put him to bed at night. BUT, Chance and I will be having such a great time in San Francisco with my sister and Mike that I won't have to worry about Brayden at all. 

My sister and Mike are so unbelievably sweet and are hosting me and Chance in San Francisco for the 3 days we will be there. This is their birthdays presents to us and we couldn't be more thankful! I was formally emailed the itinerary for our trip and I think I about passed out with excitement!! Not only will I be getting a massage, but we will be doing so many touristy things such as....

Going to the Golden Gate Bridge and taking tons of cheesy photos!

Watching a Giants game at AT&T park!

And going to Alcatraz!!

We will also be going to dinners with the amazing host and hostess and spending a whole bunch of quality time together! This will be Chance's first trip to SF and I am so anxious to see what he thinks about it. I know he is going to LOVE the cooler weather and I think he will have a blast visiting all the other tourist spots. 

I am leaving tomorrow bright and early and then Chance will be flying in later that evening. I will obviously do my best to take as many photos as possible to make everyone jealous of our amazing trip! Now I need to start packing considering I haven't done any of that yet! Talk to you soon!

Naps!

I mentioned in my last post that I think we will be transitioning to one nap a day instead of two. On Tuesday, Brayden only took one nap because he woke up a little late and then it would have been way too late by the time he was ready for another one. He woke up at 9 and then didn't go down for a nap until noon..slept until 3 and then went to bed at 8. It was a good schedule for the day and that is a schedule I could really get used to. Obviously waking up at 9 is really late and abnormal for us but even if he woke up at 8 as usual, he could go down between 11 and 12 and sleep until hopefully 3. I don't know if his sleep schedule from Tuesday was just a weird day or if it is something that will stick. I am not going to transition Brayden to one nap until he is ready...by this I mean struggling to go down for a morning nap, taking shorter naps, etc. It would sure give us more time during the day to get out and get things done but until then, we will stick to short outings and two naps!

And who wouldn't want two opportunities for post-nap snuggles?!?!

New Goals!

So lately we haven't been doing much outside of the house. Sometimes it's hard to get going when Brayden takes two naps. I think that will change soon but as for right now, Brayden naps about 2 hours after being awake and then again at around 3 or 4. This only gives us a few hours at a time and if that time stretch includes a meal...that brings us down to only about 2 hours at most to go somewhere. I know that he is flexible and doesn't NEED to go down for his nap at the same time but he enjoys his naps and I hate when we have a day that is all thrown off! Needless to say, I need to make it a point to get out of the house! I have been doing a little research on Mommy & Me classes and they seem like a great option. I was also looking into Stroller Strides but our budget just won't allow me to spend money on both activities. As of right now, I am leaning toward Kidnastics where Brayden would learn balance while getting to explore music and movement. It is a reasonable price and it is something that I think Brayden will really enjoy.
Today in our mission to get outside, we visited the El Dorado Nature Center. We have been here several times and we love it! Brayden gets to hang out in his stroller while I do all the work but I need it!! We see things like turtles, rabbits, squirrels, lizards, ducks and trees!

Brayden loved looking at all the animals and I got in a good 3 mile walk! I want to do things like this way more with Brayden! My official goal is to go somewhere with Brayden at least 3 times a week. Even if we just hit up the local park for an hour or take a walk around the neighborhood...anything!! If you have suggestions on places to go or things to do PLEASE leave them in a comment below!

Wordless Wednesday!

This is how we stay cool on these hot "fall" days! Seriously...when can I bring out my sweaters and scarves? I am so ready!!

On the upside, this little boy looks super cute in a swim hat!

14 Month Stats!

I am a little late on this post but oh well! Brayden is now 14 months (& 2 days) and he is seriously so much fun! Obviously we have our moments of discipline and temper tantrums but for the most part, Brayden is awesome!

Likes:
-fruit
-water(dog bowl water is his favorite...gross!)
-baths
-the park
-running
-cartoons
-books
-bubbles
-his 4x4 truck
-walks
-building blocks
-us to be silly(by this I mean he likes it when we put things on our head, dance around like a fool, make silly noises, etc.)
-singing songs
-being outside
-laying on a pillow and blanket in the middle of the floor...and walking over it
-feeding himself

Dislikes:
-when I leave without him
-when we say "no"...especially when we don't let him play in the trash can...also gross!
-diaper changes are getting more challenging
-rinsing his hair in the bath
-leaving somewhere when he is having fun
-getting in the car seat when he wants to run around...locked legs are hard to buckle in!
-green beans
-carrots
-waiting to be fed...so impatient

There you have it! As you can tell from the lists, there are way more "likes" and that makes this stage with Brayden so much fun! He giggles at the TV and when we are being silly, runs around everywhere, & loves to dance with Momma! We are still waiting for his first real words but he is getting SO CLOSE!! We were at the grocery store yesterday and he said "nana" after I said "banana"! Of course he wouldn't say it again even though I tried for the rest of the evening! He will be talking before we know it! As for Brayden's measurements, we go to the doc next month for his 15 month wellness check so I won't have those updates until his 15 months stats post! Until then, here are some of my favorite pictures from the past month!

I mentioned in a previous post how much Brayden loves water...and he is in water in half of these pictures! He is obsessed! 

Wordless Wednesday

We have been working hard on learning to use a spoon and fork around here! Brayden has had the fork mastered for a while but the spoon is a little tricky! He tends to hold it straight up and then of course all the food slides down the spoon and into his lap...awesome! On the upside, he is getting so much better! See for yourself :)

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