Christmas

Christmas was so much fun for us this year. At the Christmas Eve service at our church, we played Mary, Joseph & baby Jesus and Brayden did surprisingly well. I had expected him to run wild, but he sat still for the most part (thanks to some graham crackers...they are his favorite snack and we rely on them quite frequently to get through things!)

Santa was very good to Brayden and brought him some new clothes, books, a work bench and most importantly a Cozy Coupe car. Brayden absolutely LOVES the car. Once he saw it, he pretty much crawled right inside and stayed there most of the morning. He wouldn't get out to play with any of his other new toys for awhile or to look in his stocking. Santa picked out the perfect gift for him!

Brayden's new ride

Looking in his stocking

Taking a milk break

Finally paying attention to his other new toys

We ate lunch and spent the afternoon at my parents house with my brother & sister and their families. The children were very excited to open presents, so after lunch it was pretty much chaos as they went from present to present. I think Brayden was a little over stimulated at one point and had a little breakdown, but a graham cracker helped to get him back into it. In the end, my parents living room was covered in paper, bows and boxes. Brayden got so many new fun toys from everyone, but as soon as we got home, he went straight to the car again! The novelty hasn't even worn off today, as he spent most of the morning crawling in and out of it.

Lunch time

All the cousins playing in Caroline's new play house

Opening presents

Breakfast with Santa

We had Breakfast with Santa last Saturday at our church. Brayden wasn't too sure about Santa. He did sit in his lap for about 10 seconds, but then Brayden started whining and reaching for me to come get him. We were able to get a picture of him sitting in Santa's lap, and then one with the whole family.

We haven't posted anything about Callie lately, but she is getting into the Christmas spirit too. Below is a picture of her all dressed up!

A Good Laugh

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Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree last Sunday. Brayden actually hasn't been too bad with it...we were worried he would pull all the ornaments off or pull down the tree on himself within the first day. So far no problems though. He likes to look at all the ornaments and lights and every now and then he'll try to grab one. Of course, his favorites are the shiny red glass balls! I put a few wrapped presents under the tree today for the first time. He hasn't even noticed them yet...hopefully it stays that way! Below are a few pictures of him checking out our tree.

Walking

Brayden took his first steps about three weeks ago. And although his main mode of movement is still crawling, he is getting better and better at walking as each day passes. He is now up to several steps at a time. He mostly walks back and forth between mommy and daddy when we encourage him to, but I have caught him daring to walk on his own from the coffee table to his toys a few times this week. We are definitely not trying to push the walking thing too fast....we chase him around the house plenty just with the crawling! It is fun to watch him as he learns how to walk though. He gets so tickled with himself when he reaches his goal, and he even chuckles a bit when he stumbles and falls. Here is a little video of him in action tonight.

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And here is another video of him taken one day last week. I was trying to catch him walking, but he decided to pull up his shirt to find his belly button instead (one of his favorite things to do now, along with finding mommy's, daddy's or anyone else's that is around). I thought it was pretty cute!

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First Haircut

Brayden got his first haircut today. His hair was getting really long in the back and around his ears, so I took him in for a little trim. He did such a good job. Tiffany (my hairstylist & one of my best friends) gave Brayden a sucker to occupy him while she did her thing. It worked because he sat very still the whole time. I made sure to save a few locks of hair to put in his baby book!

Happy Halloween

Last Wednesday, Greg, Brayden and I went to the fall bazaar at our church. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing all of the children dressed in their halloween costumes. Brayden was a lion this year.

They had all kinds of games and inflatables for the children to play on. Brayden really enjoyed going down the big slide with mommy & daddy. He would giggle everytime we got close to it and start pointing at it to go again.

Playing in the duck pond with Margo

Going down the slide with daddy

Bradyen and Madeline, aka "Hannah Montana"

On Saturday, we dressed Brayden in his lion costume again and sat outside to give candy to the trick or treaters. He just watched in amazement as all the children came and went. We thought he was a little too young to go trick or treating himself this year, but next year we'll be sure to take him out for a little bit. Ready for the trick or treaters on HalloweenEnjoying a suckerCallie and Brayden

Lion on the prowl

"Attacking" daddy

Pumpkin Patch

After a few cold days, we have had some beautiful fall weather the past few days. Above is a picture of Brayden on the front porch with the mums I bought a few weeks ago (I really can't believe they haven't died yet...I don't have the best luck with any type of plant)

Greg, Brayden and I went to a pumpkin patch earlier since it has been such a gorgeous day. We went through the millet maze first, where we got a little lost. We had to backtrack a few times before we finally found our way out.

After the maze, we stopped to see and feed the goats. I'm not sure Brayden knew what to think of them. He just looked at them for awhile while Greg and I fed them. After a few minutes, he started trying to reach out and pet them. They were very sweet and happy to get some attention from us. Then we went to the pumpkin patch for a few pictures and to pick some pumpkins. Brayden enjoyed walking around seeing all the pumpkins. We ended up getting a large pumpkin to carve and a small pumpkin just for Brayden.

Happy 1st Birthday Brayden

Brayden turned 1 year old today! I am amazed at how fast this past year has flown by...it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. We had a beautiful day today, so we spent part of it outside riding in his new wagon. I think he would ride around in it all day if we'd let him!

Grandma & Grandpa Grimes came over for dinner to help celebrate Brayden's big day. We grilled out and then had cake & ice cream. Brayden did wonderfully with this candle this time...he just looked and didn't even try to touch it. When we blew out the candle he still was a little hesitant at first to touch the cake. But he eventually dug into it and really enjoyed it. He made a mess, so he did his job.Afterwards, he had a few more presents to open. He was very excited about his new ball and puzzle. More toys to add to the pile we've already collected. You can see more pictures from today and the party on Saturday by clicking here.It's hard to believe our baby boy is already one. I can't even begin to explain how much joy he has brought into our lives this past year. We have so enjoyed watching him grow and and change everyday, it just happened too fast. He needs to slow down! We are looking forward to what this next year brings us.

Happy Birthday sweet boy. We love you very much!