One Smart Cookie!

I think any parent will brag about how smart their child is and I am not any different! It has been so fun over the past (almost) 18 months watching Brayden grow and learn. Just the other day while taking a bath, he started identifying letters. We have been working on this but he hasn't really caught on until now. He can officially identify A, B, E, J, K, L, O, T,  and W and then sometimes he gets a few others correct. I am so proud of him and I can clearly see that all the reading and practice we do it really helping him to learn.

Splashing is also really cool!

We practice a lot in the bathtub with his foam letters and then he is constantly pointing out the letters he can already identify! 

I was just talking with my parents about how much Brayden is turing into a little kid. I love how he has so much personality now and can verbally communicate but sometimes I really wish he was still a little baby that would cuddle with me. I am in limbo but I guess I should just get used to that!

Top 12 of 2012

I could NOT get down to just 12! Ugh...it was hard to get down to these 13! So I am cheating by one photo..oops! 

They are in chronological order so follow along with our year!

Trip to San Francisco!

First time flying to Alabama

 Our first trip without Brayden!

BFFs

 Brayden's 1st birthday monster!

Me with my momma!

 Professional photos

Not really excited about Santa!

We had such an awesome year and I am so excited for the years to come!

More to come...

Here is a sneak peek at our Christmas festivities! I have so many pictures to go through since I took about 1,000 with my new camera! Here are a few for now... 

Playing peek-a-boo through the island shelf!

Sliding around in a plastic bowl with Grandpa!

Ball pits are pretty awesome!

And so is a box!

We all got so spoiled this year and we could not be more thankful! I LOVE my new camera and can't wait to take some amazing photos of my family!

Santa Photo Fail!

Yep...this year we definitely had a photo fail with Santa. Brayden was deathly afraid of the big man in red!! He had a super grip on the hubs as he set him down on Santa's lap. Hubby had to peel away the little fingers to step out of the picture. We let him cry for one photo while I told to photographer to just take it and there was no point in trying to get him to smile. I KNEW it was going to be this way and I was totally okay with it...I mean, who doesn't love to look back at a photo of a screaming baby with Santa?!

 (2012, 17 months)

(2011, 4 months old)

I am hoping to get a smile next year so we will see what happens! 

Rainbows and Cupcakes

Today proves that not every day around here is full of rainbows and cupcakes. I have been trying to put Brayden down for a nap for an hour now. I am sitting in the living room while he cries in his crib. This NEVER happens.

 I don't know what the deal is. He is fed, has a clean diaper, his favorite blanket is in his crib, he has 3 pacifiers and nothing is working. I took him in at noon like I always do, read him a book and put him in his crib. Sometimes he will let out a little cry or two but that is usually it. Not today. 

He continued to cry so I went in there and picked him up. I thought maybe he just needed some more time to relax before going to sleep. I held him in my arms for a few minutes and he fell asleep. Perfect. I got up from the rocker and went to put him in his crib where he immediately started to cry. Mind you, we did the whole "cry-it-out-method" a long time ago and he has been falling asleep in his crib ever since then. I let him cry for 10 minutes before going back in his room. I picked him up once again and he promptly fell asleep on me. I held him for about 10 minutes to make sure he was really out before attempting to put him in his crib. As soon as I went to put him down, he started crying again. 

I am out of patience. I hate days like this. His nap is my only break during the day. My only "me" time and today it doesn't look like I am going to get it. 

So I am writing this to show you that some days are not so great around here. We aren't perfect by any means and yes, some days I really feel like pulling my undone hair out. Is it too early to have a glass of wine?!

17 Months!

Whelp, I am a week and a day late on Brayden's 17 months post but that is pretty standard these days. As usual, Brayden has changed a ton in the last month! He is talking more than ever and is acting as a personal echo. It's all fun and games until he hears you say dammit and decides that is a great word to repeat. Oops!! He is wearing 18 months clothes and size 6 shoes and according to his doc, he is right on track. He had another cold but we seemed to kick it pretty quick this time. 

I really wish I could make this stage last longer! He is so much fun right now and he is still a pretty good listener. He will usually stop if we say no but the little rebel inside him is coming out. Sometimes he will keep doing whatever it is we told him to stop but after a smack on the hand, he will walk away and find something else to do. He is such a good little boy and he is just so happy!! He is still sleeping like a champ and taking one nap each day with about 12 hours of sleep at night. He still loves his baths, cartoons, food, milk, Elmo, Oso, PBS Kids, his grandparents (all of them) and great-grandparents too! The one thing he most certainly hates?? Haircuts. Yep, he totally freaked out last time and it took 3 tries for it all to get cut. Hopefully he grows out of that rather quickly because it is not fun for anyone when he needs a trim! Oh and the only other thing he hates is Santa! Haha if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you would have already seen his picture but I will be posting it here tomorrow. Poor kid! 

Anyways, Brayden is a happy, healthy 17 month-old little boy that we absolutely love to death! There is nothing better than being his "mommy"!

We are so lucky!

How did we get so lucky to have TWO amazing families that are absolutely obsessed with our son?! I am not sure but I am definitely counting my lucky stars because life cannot get any better. We just spent a week in Alabama with my husband's family and it was amazing. It is always fun to see his family and this trip was no exception. We spent tons of time with my MIL and Brayden loved every moment of it. We also spent tons of time with my husband's brother and girlfriend...let me tell you, my husband and his brother(Ethan) are frighteningly alike! I mean, Brayden pointed at his uncle and called him "dada"....we had to correct that REAL quick. 

During our trip we got to watch Ethan graduate from the University of Alabama! It was so awesome to see this huge moment! Brayden did great during the ceremony and I only had to take him out to play a few times. We had a graduation party after and got to see family I haven't seen in 2 years. 

This was probably the best trip to Alabama yet! I really wish we could have stayed longer but we are hoping to make a trip out this summer so we can see the beautiful greenery! Instead of blabbering on about the rest of our trip, I will just show you the pictures!

Brayden did great on the flights and comfortably slept across our laps, however, we could not have been more uncomfortable! Next time we will definitely be getting a third seat for Brayden to have on his own! Other than the flights, this was a spectacular trip and now of course hubby wants to move back!