It's a BOY!!

We just found out that we're having another BOY! We are both SOO EXCITED! At first I really wanted a girl...but as it got closer to finding out, and the more I thought about it, the more I was okay with either one. This morning I thought about it really hard and I realized that I was about 50/50 on which gender I wanted. Which I'm grateful for because I would have been disappointed if my outlook on it didn't change :) I realize that with how close they are going to be in age, it will be fun to have a little brother for Brayden to romp around with. We are so excited!!

Advice on names? We can't agree on ANY!

1 year old!

I cannot believe that I have a 1 year old! That is so crazy to me! He had his 12 month check up today...Here are his stats:


Length: 28 6/8 inches (less than 5th percentile…like, not even on the charts)

Weight: 18 lbs 10.5 oz (25th percentile…he only gained 1 pound in 3 months!)


New skills, accomplishments, and talents over the past month: Brayden started waving a couple of weeks ago. Not all the time, but mostly when he goes down at night. It’s so cute! He also learned how to put his paci in by himself. The day after his birthday we put the forward facing carseat in the car (assuming he was the required 20 lbs...) and I can’t reach his mouth anymore to put his paci there in when he cries. So I just hand it to him and he puts it in yourself. It makes it nice.

He hates getting his diaper changed…so much that we have to pin him down with our legs or use both of us to change his diaper. When it is just one of us attempting the task, he crawls just out of reach, turns and smiles or laughs, then keeps on crawling even further away.

He took his first steps today! Dad saw the first step, then we both saw steps 2 and 3! It was so exciting. We’ve known he was capable of doing it for the past couple weeks…but he gets nervous if he isn't holding on to something. He were distracted watching a home video and he took a step! It was great!

Current favorite things and activities:
He loves walking behind his walker. He could do it for hours. Just back and forth down the hallway between mom and dad. He has a big smile on his face the entire time! He loves “Signing Time” and when he gets really tired, he loves snuggling…finally! He shows affection by putting his forehead on our foreheads, or on the cat’s or dog’s forehead. It’s the cutest thing ever! He also absolutely LOVES massages, especially when he's tired. He’ll lay still for 10 minutes if we are rubbing his neck or chin or shoulders or back or legs etc etc etc.

This is my favorite stage of babyhood so far! I am really looking forward to him coming into his personality and showing us his sense of humor. I know a lot of people are sad to say goodbye their babies as they welcome toddlers, but I just can't wait! I'm sure some of that has to do with the knowledge that I'll have another baby in just a few months...

Welcome to Toddler-hood Brayden Kyle!

Brayden's Birthday Gift

As I've mentioned before, Brayden is very musical. My parents for his birthday bought him this little percussion set. It is so cute! Here is a video I just took and I wanted to share!

Birthday Cake

Brayden's Birthday is on Wednesday, but we had cake and ice cream last night with my family. My sister Heather made Brayden a sailboat cake and he wasn't very fond of it at first, but he got to enjoy it towards the end. It probably didn't help that he is sick, had really bad diarrhea and his bedtime is normally 7 and we didn't get to cake til about 8...Maybe the next cake expperience will be more successful.

Museum of Flight

I'm up in Washington unil Thursday visiting my family. Yesterday my Mom, sister Lisa and her 4 kids, brother Stephen, his wife Jenny, and their 2 kids, and Brayden and I all went to the Museum of Flight in Seattle. It was so much fun! We took over 200 pictures while we were there. Here is a very small selection...

First Hair Cut!

My Sister in Law Jenny gave Brayden his first hair cut today. He didn't like it very much :) I gave him a carrot, an oreo, his water and his paci to try to distract him but he stayed grumpy almost through the entire thing. He hates being restrained! I think it turned out great though and he is happy now so it was all worth it! Yay!

Brayden has been tagged!

Brayden has been tagged by Cecelia so here are eleven facts about Brayden...

1. Brayden is in the 5th percentile for weight, even though he eats more food than his mom.

2. Brayden LOVES people. If someone walks into and then out of the room without playing with him, even if he doesn't know the person, he'll cry.

3. Brayden is finally a good sleeper! He generally sleeps from 7:30 pm until 6:45 am...but if we put him to bed late, he still wakes up that early.

4. He is asleep right now in a 3-6 month outfit, even though he'll be 1 on the 21st.

5. Brayden loves toothbrushes. Whenever he finds one, he sticks it in his mouth and smiles. I think he likes being like his mommy and daddy.

6. He loves things that are cold, just like his father. Ice cubes, frozen strawberries, yes, even frozen peas...

7. Brayden has rhythm. Whenever he hears a song or even just a beat, he'll "dance" or kick his legs to the beat.

8. He already knows a couple of signs. He can sign "milk" and "more" and understands other signs like finished, socks, and bird

9. He loves being as "tall" as possible. He will climb up the back of the couch, climb up our shoulders, or climb on top of the table, just so he can be "tall"

10. Brayden loves getting his picture taken. Whenever he realizes that I have the camera out, he'll stop and stare at it, and then smile, and sometimes, he'll start showing off...

11. Brayden LOVES getting massages. He will hold perfectly still for up to 5 minutes if we just rub his skin... either his legs, his face, his neck and shoulders, etc. He has fallen asleep once while I was just rubbing his face and neck. He sits perfectly still and enjoys every second of it...until something distracts him :)


Brayden tags all of his baby friends!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Mom-

I remember one summer day several years ago...you were so busy working outside...pulling weeds, pruning fruit trees, mowing the lawn, etc etc etc. Jessi and I were wanting to have a lemonade and cookie stand at the bottom of the driveway. We came and asked you if we could do one and you said "sure!" So we went inside and started on our big endeavor. We made cookies and lemonade, made a sign, grabbed a table, and put it all in the wagon and hiked it all down the driveway. We, being our young selfish selves didn't think to clean the kitchen before we went down the hill. I just remember having so much fun at the bottom of that driveway...waiting for the lone car to pass. (I think we made like $1.50 that day.) I then remember you walking all the way down the driveway to come support us. You bought your lemonade and cookie from us, even though it was all yours to begin with, and then you helped us pull our stuff back up the driveway. Then when we got home, we saw that you had cleaned the entire kitchen for us, even though we had spent our day playing, and you had spent yours working hard. I just remember the gratitude that I felt for you, and I remember thinking that I had the coolest Mom ever. Who else's mom would quit work early to clean up after her young daughter and friend, and then go help them with their lemonade stand? I just thought that was so cool.

Through the years, I have ALWAYS been able to look up to you. I respect you, admire you, and love you more than I ever could tell you. You have been the perfect role model to me as I start my journey of being a mom as well. I love that you aren't just my mom, you are my best friend. You always know what to say to make me feel better. You always know when to ask questions or when to let me figure things out on my own.

Thank you so very much, from the bottom of my heart, for being who you are, teaching me standards, morals, and values that I am honored to live by, and for being a constant beacon throughout my life. I love you Mom! I hope that one day, I can be a fraction of the mother that you are to me and my siblings.

Love, Kimberly Diane

Flashback Friday

I haven't posted one of these in awhile, so I figure its time to do it again!

This picture was taken at a Daddy Daughter Dance that we had for mutual one night in 2000. I was 15. I remember having so much fun getting all dressed up in my sister's friends homecoming dress!

Swings!

Yesterday was such an awesome day that we decided to go to the park again. We put Brayden in the kid swings for the first time and he loved it! He also was really intrigued with the guys playing basketball. He probably watched them play completely enveloped in it for 4 or 5 minutes. I think we finally figured out what we're going to get him for his birthday. I think we might have a ballplayer on our hands!

Video

Okay, so this video is kind of a long video but I just love it and I figured I haven't posted one for awhile so its okay!!

Update

Brayden is turning 1 in 19 days. I can’t believe it! This past year has flown by so fast! Just this past week, Brayden started realizing that he can stand up by himself without holding on to things. He usually only stands for like 5 seconds and then falls to the ground, not because he needs to but I think he gets scared or thinks “what am I doing?” Anyway, last night, just out of nowhere he stood up, stayed there for like 30 seconds, squatted and picked up a toy, then stood back up without holding on to anything or falling! He stood for another 30 seconds or so then decided he wanted to sit. It was amazing! It was like something switched in his head and he just got it. It was crazy. Sean said that he could tell he was thinking about walking but “how am I supposed to pick up this foot when I need it to stand on?” It was really cool to see.

I had my 16.5 week appointment yesterday for the baby. The heartbeat was at 140. I had to get my lab work done which is always no fun but I did a good job :) I was able to schedule the appointment to get the ultrasound to figure out the gender! It’s May 29th…so I can’t wait until then! It’s funny that my half way mark is the same week as Brayden’s 1st birthday...that’s a little insane...