Braden's First Thanksgiving

Uncle Jason meets Braden for the first time!
Cousin Reece can't get enough of the baby!
Grandpa and Grandma Hammond and their grandkids
Grandma and Braden
Proud Grandpa

This Thanksgiving we spent with Joe's family in Neillsville, WI. It was Braden's first time there. It was also his first road trip and overnight trip. We stayed for two days. We felt like we had to pack the entire car with his stuff just for the two days! Low and behold we used most of it, so it wasn't a waste! He did such a good job- slept pretty decent, didn't wake anyone up at night (except me of course), he showed everyone how he can laugh, talk and play and he spent quality time with his Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Uncle Jason, Aunt Shelly, and cousins Cooper and Reece actually met him for the first time at Thanksgiving. They were pretty excited and I think they really liked him. :) Grandpa and Grandma also fought a lot for who got to hold him. So, it was a great trip. Braden slept the entire way there and back - so far so good on his traveling skills!

Gobble, Gobble - Happy Thanksgiving!

We are in WI with Joe's family this weekend. I don't have any pics to post right now but I will when we get back. This is Braden's first road trip and first overnight adventure. He is doing pretty good. I hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving...more to come when we get home!

Milestones!

So we had a couple of milestones over the weekend. The first is that we made it through the second weekend without Joe. He had two back-to-back weekends of travel and although I thought it would be a bit much for me, it turned out okay and Braden was awesome. It helped that we kept busy with lots of family and friends time so hopefully he didn't get too sick of me. :)

The other milestone was that he began sleeping in bigger increments for two nights in a row. Saturday night he slept for six hours and Sunday night for seven. Both times he woke up to eat and went back to bed for another three or four hours. So, I hate to get excited but maybe he is moving towards sleeping through the night...or at least in bigger increments anyway. It's nice for me to get some solid sleep instead of the interrupted sleep of getting up every three hours! YEAH!!!! When he wakes up from his big sleep he is laughing and talking so loud- it's funny! Here are some pics of our getting to be a good sleeper guy!

Eight weeks ago, Braden joined our family!

So the sign in the picture says Braden is two months but I guess it's really eight weeks ago today that we were blessed with this amazing life - our son Braden. (The official two month milestone would be Nov. 22).

Braden, you are eight weeks old today and I look back at these eight weeks and think they have flown by but also think that I can't imagine life without you. You were seven pounds at birth and now you are 11 pounds - you are a growing boy! You are smiling, cooing and laughing - and each and every day with you gets better and better.

We are so blessed to have you as our son. We look back at eight weeks ago and can't believe that we didn't even know if you were a boy or girl. As soon as you entered the world, our lives changed more than we would have ever known. We have now experienced a love that we never knew was possible. You are so precious to us. I hold you every day and savor the moment because I know before I know it you will run away and not want to hug me. When you wake up in the middle of the night and fall back to sleep, I hold you a few minutes extra before going back to bed myself because I know soon enough you will squirm away from my hold. I watch you while you are sleeping - it is the most peaceful thing I have ever seen before. I can't wait for all that is in store, watching you grow and experience life. You will always be our little boy no matter how big you grow! Love, MOM