June Gone By

Joe and Chad with the little guys dressed alike!
The three amigos- Braden, Ryne and Max.

This month has flown by. Joe has had two work trips and tons of baseball - so we have been a little busy. Well, maybe the month has gone slower for Braden and I (Ok, mostly Mom who is exhausted caring for the little guy solo a lot)- but I really can't believe it's almost July! This past weekend we had a surprise 30th bday and all the kiddos were in full force. We all laughed because last year, the same group had only four kids and this year it was more like seven to eight. The pic above is of the three little guys that are very close in age. It's nice for Braden to have friends his same age. We look forward to more group outings in the future.

Hope you are all enjoying the summer so far and have a great 4th of July!!

9 Months of Fun!

The only way I can get a shot of Braden and the sign- while he is locked into his high chair and I am holding the sign in front! :)
This is the shot that I can get if I set the sign down in front of Braden- he grabs it, crinkles it or eats it! Obviously he finds this quite funny.
Happy guy at 9 months in his jumper!

Yesterday Braden turned 9 months old! It is getting harder and harder to take his monthly picture now- he eats and tares up the little paper so I am getting very creative in my camera-work (hence the first shot).

We also had his 9 month appointment this week. He is still a little guy- despite the squishy thighs. :) Braden is just under the 20th percentile for both height (27.3") and weight (18.8 lbs). But he is a good eater, so hopefully he will catch up eventually and is just a late bloomer.

We can't believe these 9 months have gone so fast! The next milestone is 1 year!! What is Braden up to at 9 months? He is a really funny little guy- he makes squealing noises while playing or crawling around the house, or he gets this deep voice that almost sounds like he is trying to be a scary monster. He is doing a ton of baby babble talk (so he's a vocal little guy)- but no new words besides Mom and da-da.

He is eating three meals a day of regular foods (broken up into tiny peices)- his favorites are avocado, banana, applesauce, string cheese, yogurt. He drinks 3 bottles of milk - but doesn't finish most of them right now, so we have to work on that so he is getting all of his nutrients and calories. He takes a late morning nap and a late afternoon nap and goes to bed around 8-8:30 and sleeps until about 6:45-7. He has one tooth- it's just peeking through right now so we have been dealing with some teething woes (not bad though). He is getting a little bit of dark hair in. Braden loves the swimming pool. He can climb stairs. He has no fear- he could leap off the bed or go head first down a slide if you let him! Yikes. He is going through a bit of stranger anxiety right now which the doctor says is normal/typical at 9 months of age. I hope it doesn't last long because I want him to be social and like to be around new people. :) Everyone that meets him says what a happy baby he is! He is always smiling and doing baby talk. He also is furniture cruising right now- walks around holding onto furniture. He prefers standing over crawling. He loves dogs and being anywhere outside where he can take in the sights and look at people. He is a busy, active, smiley, funny and fun little boy!

He is tons of fun right now and I can't believe that he is just as old as he was in my stomach! We look forward to watching all of the new things that Braden will do and we are appreciating the stage he is at right now! We are blessed!

Father's Day Fun!

Braden and Dad- after a fun-filled first Father's Day together!
Braden cruising around the furniture in between the Father's Day events.

I was so mad yesterday, I forgot to bring the camera with everywhere we went! We started out the day with a family jog that included a stop at the park so Braden could swing and crawl in the tube. I then made pumpkin pancakes. Joe had to head to his baseball game, he coaches 9-10 year olds and they had a tournament in St. Paul. When Braden woke up from his a.m. nap we headed over to the game. Braden cheered on the Minneapolis Millers, and his Dad who coaches at third base while the Millers are up to bat! The boys won the tournament and after it was over we headed to the St. Louis Park Splash Pad to cool off before Braden's bedtime. I had so many good picture opportunities and missed them all!

So, I hope you will suffice with a picture of Braden "furniture crusing" in his Father's Day outfit- blue and plaid. The other picture is of Dad and son hanging out on the front step after the fun-filled day. I at least got one of them together before the day was over! :) Next time, I will NOT forget the camera!

We hope you had a great Father's Day. I am so lucky to have a great Dad of my own, one who makes me laugh, who is so easy to talk to and hang out with, and who the grandkids just love (and not b/c he always has candy). I am lucky to have an amazing Father-in-law who adores Braden and is wonderful with kids. I am so lucky to have a husband who is the best Dad that Braden could ask for. We are so proud of you and how hard you work- both at Target and coaching little kids. Braden adores you and smiles ear to ear when you walk in that door each day, and so do I! Here's to all the wonderful Dads out there and the ones who are also angels above!!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things!

Lately, Braden is obsessed with looking out the front door and playing with our shoes. Already he has a shoe fetish just like Mom and Dad- we both have WAY too many pairs of shoes. (Yes, guys suprisingly can like shoes too I have discovered.) Anyway, here is a glimpse of my everyday...Braden climbing up the entry way step and hanging out there. He then pulls shoes off the shoe rack and bangs them together or tries to suck on them- yuck. He also likes to stand and look outside and bang on the window. I guess by observing these two daily obessions of his I can come to the conclusion that he too is a shoe-aholic and has a love for the outdoors.

Slow Down Mister!

Braden is growing up WAY too fast. I literally cannot keep up. He went from crawling , to standing (when holding on to furniture), and now he is climbing stairs and drinking Miller Chill. Yikes, what I am going to do! Ok, the climbing stairs part is true so we had to run out and get a gate lastnight that has to be installed ASAP! Slow down Braden, I am hoping that Dad wants to try to sell this townhouse sooner than later so you can have carpeted stairs to fall on and carpeted rooms to crawl on. Everyone that thinks Braden needs a bigger house please comment below. I know Mom really wants a new house, but really it's all about Braden here. :)

This Is......

...how I get to spend each day- with this brown-eyed, smiley guy!!

Braden is loads of fun these days, busy yes, but a blast! His personality is growing each and every day. He is pretty laid back. He loves going places, seeing new things and being around people. In big crowds (like of loud kids) he stays close to Mom. :) He doesn't like to have to sit in the car (unless he's sleeping) or in the stroller too long. He likes to be on the move- crawling, standing, climbing and exploring and doesn't like to be in his exersaucer or crib (when awake) anymore. He loves food- cheese, chicken, toast, pancakes, veggies, fruits, applesauce, bananas, and tortillas. He is ticklish on his thighs and hamstrings, and under his arms. He gives a screaming belly laugh when tickled in the right places. He likes books. He likes to find the airplanes in the sky when he hears them go by. He chases the vacuum around the house. He loves his bath and pool time - can you say water baby?!? He still loves the swings and now can crawl through the tubes.

I am so lucky to get to hang out with him everyday! I hope that I can continue to keep this smile on his face. I think he likes hanging out with me, so hopefully I can keep that up. :)

Trouble With a Capital T!

Yep, he's under the exersaucer!
Perfecting the climb up the entry way stair!

Braden is a crawling machine these days. He crawls from room to room. He crawls up the entry way step and now he's into crawling and climbing over things- like the bottom of the kitchen chairs, under the exersaucer, etc....I literally cannot take my eyes off him for a second because he's always into something (like pulling down the pictures and books off the coffee table or climbing under the rocking chair to pull the cable cord in the corner). So, I am a tired Mom these days- especially given this month is filled with Joe's travels and baseball so I don't have many breaks. I am sure I will be fine, but I might need to take some naps during Braden's naps in order to keep up with this bundle of energy. :) Easier said than done though-his nap times are my only times to get things done like shower, clean, fold laundry, check emails and I have been volunteering to help my old youth group- Young Life- with the Marketing and Communications for their annual golf outing to raise money for kids to go to camp. So, we shall see if I can keep up with this little guy this month. I have found out that swimming really tires him out so we may be making MANY trips to the pool! :)

Braden The Fish!

Braden and Mom - first swim!
Braden crawling around poolside.
Busy guy at the pool!
Braden and Dad swim time- can you tell this is self portrait?


Braden went swimming for the first time over the weekend. The pool in our townhome association opened on Friday so I took him on Friday afternoon. I was all prepared- sunscreen (check), swim shirt (check), swim hat (check), swim diaper (check), and swimming trunks (check). Oh, and some pool toys too! Joe then took him on Saturday morning, so he got to go two days in a row. It doesn't surprise me (knowing that Joe must have been a fish in a past life(, but Braden seems to really love the water. He didn't cry or even resist the water, he acted like he had been in a pool a hundred times! It probably helps that our pool is pretty warm though too. He did some kicking and some splashing. He hung onto the noodle while I zipped him around the shallow end. He also played with some rings that I brought with. The funniest part was that once in a while I would put him on the top step to just sit and splash around but he would immediately put his arms out for me to bring him back into the water. So, our little guy is a fish! I had a feeling he would be, considering Joe is one too. On all of our trips to the ocean, Joe spends hours (even by himself) flipping in the waves. At home we sometimes take Sunday night swims in the summer and I am always the one asking if we can leave because it's getting darker and cold. It is yet another "like father like son" moment- one of many more to come too! Here's to a fun-filled summer of lots of swim time!

Memorial Weekend - Party Hopping!

Braden wearing a life jacket for the first time, doesn't look too comfy but he didn't mind!
Braden and Mom- getting ready for Braden's first boat ride.
Braden crawling around Bapa Sullivan & Pama's lake home.
Braden and Dad hanging on the dock in the early morning, admiring the wildlife.

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a week- there has been lots of summer fun to be had! I took a ton of pictures, so expect a few posts this week to catch you up on what we've been up to!

For the holiday weekend we were pretty busy. Friday night we had a little picnic at Centennial Lakes for dinner. Then Saturday we headed up to Angie and Todd's house (Joe's sister/bro-in-law, my sis-in-law and bro-in-law) for their annual Memorial Day BBQ party. Braden enjoyed meeting new people and seeing the dogs. On Sunday morning we took a family jog and hit the park for a few minutes so Braden could have some fun. Then we headed up to my Dad's place in Turtle Lake, WI. It was fun to show Braden a cabin-type life for the first time. Cousins Ava, Levi and Mitchell were there to play as well. Monday we headed over to friends David and Brenda's cabin in Balsam Lake. There we took a nice boat ride, Braden's very first, and enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful scenery. We got back on Monday evening- everyone was tired out.

Braden did great as a traveling man. Everyone said what a laid-back and happy baby he is, and we definitely have to agree with that. He didn't fuss at all despite the fact that he woke up in a new location almost every nap! :) He did have some trouble sleeping in a new location- new sounds, different crib, etc...but other than that, he enjoyed seeing all the new things, being stimulated in a different way, hanging out with family and meeting new people. We had a great, fun-filled weekend but it's also nice to return to our normal routine today.

I hope you all had a great Memorial weekend with your friends and families.